Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DCRAC: Deep Conditioned Recurrent Actor-Critic for Multi-Objective Partially Observable Environments

In many decision-making problems, agents aim to balance multiple, possibly conflicting objectives. Existing research in deep reinforcement learning mainly focuses on fully-observable single-objective solutions. In this paper, we propose DCRAC, a deep reinforcement learning framework for solving partially-objective multi-objective problems. DCRAC follows a conditioned actor-critic approach in learning the optimal policy, where the network is conditioned on the weights, i.e, relative importance for the different objectives. To deal with longer action-observation histories, in the case of partially observable environments, we introduce DCRAC-M which uses memory networks to further enhance the reasoning ability of the agent. Experimental evaluation on benchmark problems show the superiority of our approach when compared to state-of-the-art.
LES OF TURBULENT PREMIXED AND STRATIFIED COMBUSTION USING A SUB-GRID PDF METHOD

A numerical investigation on the influence of stratification on a turbulent premixed V-shaped flame is conducted. Simulations are carried out using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with a filtered probability density function (pdf) equation approach for the subgrid contributions, which is solved using the Eulerian stochastic field method. A reduced version of the GRI 3.0 mechanism with 15 reaction steps involving 19 species is employed to model the chemistry. The configuration being investigated is the Cambridge Stratified Slot Burner (CSSB), of which three conditions: premixed, moderately and highly stratified, with stratification ratios of 1.0, 1.86 and 3.0 respectively, are simulated.
Willingness of family caregivers of people with dementia to undertake Advance Care Planning: Examining an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Background and objectives Family caregivers of people with dementia experience high burden making medical decisions for their loved ones. Undertaking Advance Care Planning (ACP) can help reduce burden and stress. Having experiences making medical decisions for someone else may influence the way people make decisions for themselves. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess the willingness of family caregivers of people with dementia to undertake ACP for themselves, using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Research design and methods Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 195 family caregivers of people with dementia. A structured questionnaire was used to assessed participants’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, anticipated regret, the wish to prolong life and caregiver burden. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the contribution of the variables to the willingness to undertake ACP. Results Overall, participants expressed moderate willingness to undertake ACP. Among the various options for undertaking ACP, the highest willingness expressed was to appoint a durable power of attorney and the lowest willingness was to have informal conversations with their doctor. The hierarchical regression revealed that attitudes, subjective norms and anticipated regrets were main determinants of the willingness to undertake ACP. Discussion and implications Interventions should be developed to encourage family members to undertake ACP for themselves, which emphasize the advantages of the process and involve significant others in the formal and informal aspects of ACP.
Agricultural Robotics for Field Operations

Modern agriculture is related to a revolution that occurred in a large group of technologies (e.g., informatics, sensors, navigation) within the last decades. In crop production systems, there are field operations that are quite labour-intensive either due to their complexity or because of the fact that they are connected to sensitive plants/edible product interaction, or because of the repetitiveness they require throughout a crop production cycle. These are the key factors for the development of agricultural robots. In this paper, a systematic review of the literature has been conducted on research and commercial agricultural robotics used in crop field operations. This study underlined that the most explored robotic systems were related to harvesting and weeding, while the less studied were the disease detection and seeding robots. The optimization and further development of agricultural robotics are vital, and should be evolved by producing faster processing algorithms, better communication between the robotic platforms and the implements, and advanced sensing systems.
Encapsulation of Essential Oils via Nanoprecipitation Process: Overview, Progress, Challenges and Prospects

Essential oils are of paramount importance in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agricultural, and food areas thanks to their crucial properties. However, stability and bioactivity determine the effectiveness of essential oils. Polymeric nanoencapsulation is a well-established approach for the preservation of essential oils. It offers a plethora of benefits, including improved water solubility, effective protection against degradation, prevention of volatile components evaporation and controlled and targeted release. Among the several techniques used for the design of polymeric nanoparticles, nanoprecipitation has attracted great attention. This review focuses on the most outstanding contributions of nanotechnology in essential oils encapsulation via nanoprecipitation method. We emphasize the chemical composition of essential oils, the principle of polymeric nanoparticle preparation, the physicochemical properties of essential oils loaded nanoparticles and their current applications.
Hepatic gap junctions amplify alcohol liver injury by propagating cGAS-mediated IRF3 activation

Significance Alcohol-related liver disease is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Improved patient outcomes will be driven by advances in our understanding of disease pathogenesis, allowing for the development of novel, targeted therapeutics. By combining patient data with animal models of alcohol-related liver disease, we demonstrate the critical importance of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate synthase-interferon regulatory factor 3 (cGAS-IRF3) pathway and its amplification through hepatocyte intercellular communication in fueling liver injury caused by alcohol. Thus, our results identify two potentially druggable pathways to improve patient outcomes and reduce mortality resulting from this devastating disease. Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) accounts for the majority of cirrhosis and liver-related deaths worldwide. Activation of IFN-regulatory factor (IRF3) initiates alcohol-induced hepatocyte apoptosis, which fuels a robust secondary inflammatory response that drives ALD. The dominant molecular mechanism by which alcohol activates IRF3 and the pathways that amplify inflammatory signals in ALD remains unknown. Here we show that cytoplasmic sensor cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate (AMP) synthase (cGAS) drives IRF3 activation in both alcohol-injured hepatocytes and the neighboring parenchyma via a gap junction intercellular communication pathway. Hepatic RNA-seq analysis of patients with a wide spectrum of ALD revealed that expression of the cGAS-IRF3 pathway correlated positively with disease severity. Alcohol-fed mice demonstrated increased hepatic expression of the cGAS-IRF3 pathway. Mice genetically deficient in cGAS and IRF3 were protected against ALD. Ablation of cGAS in hepatocytes only phenocopied this hepatoprotection, highlighting the critical role of hepatocytes in fueling the cGAS-IRF3 response to alcohol. We identified connexin 32 (Cx32), the predominant hepatic gap junction, as a critical regulator of spreading cGAS-driven IRF3 activation through the liver parenchyma. Disruption of Cx32 in ALD impaired IRF3-stimulated gene expression, resulting in decreased hepatic injury despite an increase in hepatic steatosis. Taken together, these results identify cGAS and Cx32 as key factors in ALD pathogenesis and as potential therapeutic targets for hepatoprotection.
Gut Microbiota: A Pivotal Hub for Polyphenols as Antidepressants.

Polyphenols, present in a broad range of plants, have been thought to be responsible for many beneficial health effects, such as anti-depressant. Despite polyphenols can be absorbed in small intestine directly, most of them have low bioavailability and reach the large intestine without any modifications due to their complex structures. The interactions between microbial communities and polyphenols in the intestine is important for the latter to exert antidepressant effects. Gut microbiota can improve the bioavailability of polyphenols, in turn, polyphenols can maintain the intestinal barrier, as well as the community of the gut microbiota in normal status. Furthermore, gut microbita catabolize polyphenols to more active, better-absorbed metabolites, further ameliorate depression through the microbial-gut-brain (MGB) axis. Based on these evidences, the review illustrated the potential role of gut microbiota in the processes of polyphenols or their metabolites acting as antidepressants, and further envisioned the gut microbiota as the therapeutic targets for depression.
The Serratia marcescens Siderophore Serratiochelin Is Necessary for Full Virulence during Bloodstream Infection

Serratia marcescens is a bacterium frequently found in the environment, but over the last several decades it has evolved into a concerning clinical pathogen, causing fatal bacteremia. To establish such infections, pathogens require specific nutrients; one very limited but essential nutrient is iron. We sought to characterize the iron acquisition systems in S. marcescens isolate UMH9, which was recovered from a clinical bloodstream infection. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we identified two predicted siderophore gene clusters (cbs and sch) that were regulated by iron. ABSTRACT Serratia marcescens is a bacterium frequently found in the environment, but over the last several decades it has evolved into a concerning clinical pathogen, causing fatal bacteremia. To establish such infections, pathogens require specific nutrients; one very limited but essential nutrient is iron. We sought to characterize the iron acquisition systems in S. marcescens isolate UMH9, which was recovered from a clinical bloodstream infection. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we identified two predicted siderophore gene clusters (cbs and sch) that were regulated by iron. Mutants were constructed to delete each iron acquisition locus individually and in conjunction, generating both single and double mutants for the putative siderophore systems. Mutants lacking the sch gene cluster lost their iron-chelating ability as quantified by the chrome azurol S (CAS) assay, whereas the cbs mutant retained wild-type activity. Mass spectrometry-based analysis identified the chelating siderophore to be serratiochelin, a siderophore previously identified in Serratia plymuthica. Serratiochelin-producing mutants also displayed a decreased growth rate under iron-limited conditions created by dipyridyl added to LB medium. Additionally, mutants lacking serratiochelin were significantly outcompeted during cochallenge with wild-type UMH9 in the kidneys and spleen after inoculation via the tail vein in a bacteremia mouse model. This result was further confirmed by an independent challenge, suggesting that serratiochelin is required for full S. marcescens pathogenesis in the bloodstream. Nine other clinical isolates have at least 90% protein identity to the UMH9 serratiochelin system; therefore, our results are broadly applicable to emerging clinical isolates of S. marcescens causing bacteremia.
Specific polyphenol oxidase activity of red clover (Trifolium pratense) and its relation with forage quality in field experiments

Abstract In feeding studies, red clover (RC) influenced positively the N utilization by ruminants. A relationship between polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and forage quality has not been established. Our objective was to investigate seasonal, site, genotype, and management effects on specific PPO activity in RC in three experiments under field conditions, and relate the activity to forage-quality parameters. In Experiment 1, six RC genotypes at two study sites were submitted to a 3-cut system. Specific PPO activity, forage quality, and vegetation stage were determined. PPO activity varied between harvest and study sites, with genotypes differing up to 3-fold in PPO activity within harvests. The specific PPO activity, forage quality, and vegetation stage in RC subjected to 5-cut system and grazing (Experiment 2) were determined. Additionally, in Experiment 3, cutting frequency in RC swards including mechanical stress (rolling) was investigated. The induction of PPO activity in RC by grazing or mechanical stress (Experiments 2 and 3) increased the activity up to 2.5-fold compared with RC at similar vegetation stage submitted to the 5-cut system. Mechanical stress induced by grazing or rolling, and seasonal differences, seem to have a larger influence on specific PPO activity than does the genotype effect observed in Experiment 1. For forage quality, an increased specific PPO activity explained 29–46% of the reduction in protein fraction ‘A’ content (non-protein N) in the cutting systems in Experiments 2 and 3. Other CP fractions achieved a lower relation. Furthermore, the precipitation-to-temperature ratio preceeding a harvest explained 63% of the variation in the specific PPO activity. In conclusion, the PPO activity in RC is induced by grazing and rolling. Whereas weather conditions preceeding a harvest showed a large influence, genotype influence had only minor relevance. These results may have implications for regional harvest management towards efficient N utilization by ruminants.
Examining the Effects of Overtime Work on Subjective Social Status and Social Inclusion in the Chinese Context

Although researchers have argued that long work hours have been shown to threaten individual health, lead to work-family conflict, and reduce job performance, the effect of overtime work on social-related outcomes has received little attention. Based on the framework of relative deprivation, we attempt to address this important issue by exploring whether, why, and when individuals’ overtime work influences their social attitudes. By using the data of 400 Chinese employees from the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey (CLD), we found that overtime work was associated with a low level of subjective social status and social inclusion. In addition, we found that the time type of overtime work (work overtime on weekdays or on weekends and holidays) has a moderating effect on the relationship between overtime work and social inclusion. That is, employees who work overtime on weekdays are unlikely to have a sense of social inclusion. Furthermore, the negative relationship between overtime work and subjective social status was stronger at a low level of fairness rather than a high level of fairness. In contrast, the negative relationship between overtime work and social inclusion was stronger at a high level of fairness rather than a low level of fairness. These findings highlight the critical role of overtime work in social life and also provide novel insights into social intervention aimed at the happiness and harmony of a society.
The emotional and psychiatric problems of adolescents on parole whose parents are substance users: A Brazilian cross-sectional study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the associations between having parents with substance use problems, and having suffered neglect within the family, and behavioral problems (psychological and drug use) among adolescents. All the participants were enrolled on the socio-educational parole scheme, ‘Assisted Freedom’. In this cross-sectional study, 150 adolescents were interviewed using the Drug Abuse Screening Test, Teen Addiction Severity Index, and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Ninety-five percent of the participants were male (n = 143), aged 13–17. Thirty percent of adolescents had a parent who used substances and had experienced neglect from their families. Those adolescents who were living with both parents (odds ratio adjusted (ORA) = 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.13–6.37), from a low-income family (ORA = 6.7, 95% CI = 1.85–24.22), experienced hallucinations (ORA = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.25–6.14), had problems controlling violent behavior (ORA = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.12–5.87), and were physically neglected (ORA = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.24–7.49) were more likely to have parents who used substances and to have experienced parental neglect. This article concludes that adolescents, who are on parole, come from families with high level of psychosocial vulnerabilities, including substance use, experience neglect by their families leading to adverse emotional and psychological states.
EFFECTS OF STATIC AND ELF MAGNETIC FIELDS ON FREE-RADICAL PROCESSES IN RAT LIVER AND KIDNEY

The aim of the study was to evaluate the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dysmutase (SOD, EC. 1.15.1.1), catalase (CAT, EC. 1.11.1.6), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px, EC. 1.11.1.9) and the levels of malonic dialdehyde (MDA), a phospholipid peroxidation product, in the liver and kidneys of male and female rats exposed to static (0.49-T) and extremely low-frequency (50-Hz, 0.018-T) magnetic fields. Extremely low frequency magnetic fields increased all enzyme activities and MDA levels in both the liver and kidneys. In contrast, static magnetic field did not produce changes. The results of the study suggest that ELF magnetic fields affect free-radical processes in the liver and kidney.
Optimization of Selenium-Enriched Mycelium of Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler as a Food Supplement

Our goal was to optimize the growth conditions of submerged mycelial cultures of Lentinula edodes (Shiitake mushroom) in order to obtain a new dietary supplement enriched in selenium We designed a process technology in which mycelial cultures were cultivated in media composed of beet molasses, 10%; liquid stillage, 5%; corn steep liquor, 0.15%; and KH2PO4, 0.3%, enriched with selenium in concentrations ranging from 0 to 100 μg/mL by the addition of sodium selenite of selenic acid. Se concentrations in mycelial dry mass rose from 0.001 mg/g (mycelia cultivated in media containing no selenium) to 50 mg/g (mycelia cultivated in medium containing 100 μg Se/mL). The highest mycelial specific growth rate (0.46/day) was recorded when the concentration of selenium in the medium was lower than 20 μg/mL. In vitro, estimated Se bioavailabilities from selenized mycelium strongly depended on its preparation in a proper manner and were 60% and 82% for dried mycelium and mycelial lyophilizate, respectively. Our results suggest that these optimized culture conditions could be applied to obtain a new Se-enriched dietary supplement.
Deep Learning Regression for Prostate Cancer Detection and Grading in Bi-Parametric MRI

One of the most common types of cancer in men is prostate cancer (PCa). Biopsies guided by bi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can aid PCa diagnosis. Previous works have mostly focused on either detection or classification of PCa from MRI. In this work, however, we present a neural network that simultaneously detects and grades cancer tissue in an end-to-end fashion. This is more clinically relevant than the classification goal of the ProstateX-2 challenge. We used the dataset of this challenge for training and testing. We use a 2D U-Net with MRI slices as input and lesion segmentation maps that encode the Gleason Grade Group (GGG), a measure for cancer aggressiveness, as output. We propose a method for encoding the GGG in the model target that takes advantage of the fact that the classes are ordinal. Furthermore, we evaluate methods for incorporating prostate zone segmentations as prior information, and ensembling techniques. The model scored a voxel-wise weighted kappa of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.446 \pm 0.082$</tex-math></inline-formula> and a Dice similarity coefficient for segmenting clinically significant cancer of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.370 \pm 0.046$</tex-math></inline-formula>, obtained using 5-fold cross-validation. The lesion-wise weighted kappa on the ProstateX-2 challenge test set was <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.13 \pm 0.27$</tex-math></inline-formula>. We show that our proposed model target outperforms standard multiclass classification and multi-label ordinal regression. Additionally, we present a comparison of methods for further improvement of the model performance.
In vivo near-infrared fluorescent optical imaging for CNS drug discovery

ABSTRACT Introduction In vivo imaging technologies have become integral and essential component of drug discovery, development, and clinical assessment for central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging in the range of 650–950 nm is widely used for pre-clinical in vivo imaging studies. The recent expansion of NIR imaging into the shortwave infrared (SWIR, 1000–1700 nm) window enabled improvements in tissue penetration and resolution required for anatomical, dynamic, and molecular neuroimaging with high potential for clinical translation. Areas covered This review focuses on the latest progress in near-infrared (NIR)-fluorescent optical imaging modalities with an emphasis on the SWIR window. Advantages and challenges in developing novel organic and inorganic SWIR emitters, with special attention to their toxicology and pharmacology, are discussed. Examples of their application in preclinical imaging of brain function and pathology provide a platform to assess the potential for their clinical translation. Expert opinion Propelled through concomitant technological advancements in imaging instrumentation, algorithms and new SWIR emitters, SWIR imaging has addressed key barriers to optical imaging modalities used in pre-clinical studies addressing the CNS. Development of biocompatible SWIR emitters and adoption of SWIR into multi-modal imaging modalities promise to rapidly advance optical imaging into translational studies and clinical applications.
A modified scar model with controlled tension on secondary wound healing in mice

Abstract Pathological scars might cause a distorted appearance and restricted mobility, and the study of scar pathophysiology has been hindered by the absence of a reliable model. In this study, we introduce a model with a modified device to induce controlled tension on a wound healing by secondary intention to overcome the shortcomings of the model generated by Aarabi et al. We investigated and recommend an induction of 0.1 N/mm2 tension on day 7 for 14 days to mimic the characteristics of human scars. A 3.5-fold increase in scar tissue and a 2-fold increase in collagen production were induced by the modified model. Histologically, the modified method increased scar thickness. However, no significant difference was found in cell density between the two groups. This modified procedure significantly increased scar tissue, which could be used for further cellular and biomolecular research. The mechanical force applied to the wound became measurable and controllable. This method is more convenient for researchers to observe in real-time and for providing timely adjustments of the tension used in this modified model.