Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Privacy-Preserving near Neighbor Search via Sparse Coding with Ambiguation

In this paper, we propose a framework for privacy-preserving approximate near neighbor search via stochastic sparsifying encoding. The core of the framework relies on sparse coding with ambiguation (SCA) mechanism that introduces the notion of inherent shared secrecy based on the support intersection of sparse codes. This approach is ‘fairness-aware’, in the sense that any point in the neighborhood has an equiprobable chance to be chosen. Our approach can be applied to raw data, latent representation of autoencoders, and aggregated local descriptors. The proposed method is tested on both synthetic i.i. d data and real image databases.
Enhanced configurational sampling in binding free-energy calculations

The newly developed method of replica-exchange thermodynamic integration (RETI) was tested and compared with finite-difference thermodynamic integration (FDTI) on the calculation of the relative binding free energies of halides to a calix[4]pyrrole derivative. The calculation was challenging, because the dimethylsulfoxide solvent was contaminated by small amounts of water. The lambda-swap move of RETI enabled more-complete sampling of the solvents and produced relative binding free energies that included the effect of the fluoride's higher affinity for water. In addition, the lambda-swap move increased the quality of the configurational sampling of the host, because the system was able to escape from local minima. The results demonstrate that the sampling of RETI is superior to that of FDTI, at no additional computational expense.
Scalable Inference of Sparsely-changing Markov Random Fields with Strong Statistical Guarantees

In this paper, we study the problem of inferring time-varying Markov random fields (MRF), where the underlying graphical model is both sparse and changes sparsely over time. Most of the existing methods for the inference of time-varying MRFs rely on the regularized maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), that typically suffer from weak statistical guarantees and high computational time. Instead, we introduce a new class of constrained optimization problems for the inference of sparsely-changing MRFs. The proposed optimization problem is formulated based on the exact $\ell_0$ regularization, and can be solved in near-linear time and memory. Moreover, we show that the proposed estimator enjoys a provably small estimation error. As a special case, we derive sharp statistical guarantees for the inference of sparsely-changing Gaussian MRFs (GMRF) in the high-dimensional regime, showing that such problems can be learned with as few as one sample per time. Our proposed method is extremely efficient in practice: it can accurately estimate sparsely-changing graphical models with more than 500 million variables in less than one hour.
Optimal Transport in the Face of Noisy Data

Optimal transport distances are popular and theoretically well understood in the context of data-driven prediction. A ﬂurry of recent work has popularized these distances for data-driven decision-making as well although their merits in this context are far less well understood. This in contrast to the more classical entropic distances which are known to enjoy optimal statistical properties. This begs the question when, if ever, optimal transport distances enjoy similar statistical guarantees. Optimal transport methods are shown here to enjoy optimal statistical guarantees for decision problems faced with noisy data.
Bi2Te3 nanoplates and nanoflowers: Synthesized by hydrothermal process and their enhanced thermoelectric properties

Bi2Te3 nanoplates with a thickness of 15–20 nm and self-assembled flower-like nanostructures using previous nanoplates as building blocks have been fabricated through a low-cost hydrothermal method with ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an additive. The structures and morphologies of the samples were characterized viaX-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements. The growth mechanisms have been proposed based on the experimental results. The nanoplates and flower-like Bi2Te3 nanocrystals (NCs) with no residual additives were consolidated by high pressure to an n-type nanostructured bulk material with preserved crystal grain sizes. Moreover, self-assembly NCs show higher thermoelectric properties than the nanoplates. The power factors and thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of chemically synthesized flower-like Bi2Te3 NCs were improved up to 8.6 μW cm−1K−2 and 0.7, respectively, which possess the potential to design new materials and devices for thermoelectric applications.
Sub-100-nm-wide slit for detecting ground state atoms with near-field photoionization

Abstract. We fabricated a 50-nm-wide slit on a glass substrate using the lift-off process witha bilayer resist including Cr. The nanometric slit is designed for detecting a small number ofneutral atoms inthegroundstatewithhighspatial accuracybywayof two-stepphotoionizationwith two-color near-ﬁeld lights. Conducting the ﬁnite difference time domain simulations, wedrew the spatial proﬁles of near-ﬁeld lights generated in the vicinity of the slit for both casesof normal illumination and total-internal reﬂection (TIR) illumination with a linearly polarizedlight beam. In the slit-parallel-incident TIR conﬁguration with s -polarization, we obtained agoodthroughputof1 1 10 2 andthehighestextinctionratioof2 2 10 7 forawavelengthof780 nm. In this case, the ionization efﬁciency of low-energy 87 Rb atoms in the 5S 1 2 hyperﬁnestate is estimated to exceed 1 %. Keywords: nano slit, atom detection, near-ﬁeld light, total-internal reﬂection, lift-off process,two-step photoionization 1 INTRODUCTION Control of atoms with resonant laser light has been greatly developed, including magneto-optical trap [1]. The atom-optical techniques can be applied to nano-scale science/engineeringand quantum computing if spatial accuracy of manipulating atoms is improved below 100 nm.However, the conventional optical methods are limited by diffraction of light waves. In orderto overcome the diffraction limit, we utilize localized near-ﬁeld light for optical atom control.Indeed,wedemonstrateddeﬂectingatomsbyblue-detunednear-ﬁeldlightinducedina200-nm-wide slit [2]. The deﬂection scheme is straightforward used as a near-ﬁeld-light lens for atomicnano-focusing [3]. In addition, we are advancing fabrication of a single-atom-trap device witha bow-tie structure.In order to demonstrate the nano-optical methods, we need to detect a small number ofneutral atoms in the ground state with high spatial resolution that exceeds 100 nm. To this end,wehaveproposedaslit-typeatomdetector usingtwo-stepphotoionizationwithtwo-color near-ﬁeld lights [4,5]. As an example, let us consider the two-step photoionization of
Mono- or narrow disperse poly(methacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) microspheres by Precipitation polymerization

Precipitation copolymerizations of five mono-vinyl methacrylic monomers including methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA), dodecyl methacrylate (DMA), glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with divinylbenzene (DVB), in a wide range of comonomer composition, were carried out in acetonitrile to form mono- or narrow disperse crosslinked copolymer microspheres. In addition, two divinyl methacrylic monomers, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), were also copolymerized with DVB, and optionally a third comonomer (GMA or HEMA), to yield similar microspheres in acetonitrile. The possibility of creating porosity was explored for some of the copolymer particles. All these microspheres have clean surfaces due to the absence of any added steric or ionic stabilizer, and they are in the size of the micrometer range, varying from 1 to 7 µm, depending on the type and content of the methacrylic comonomer. Particle size distribution, surface morphology, internal texture, and porosity properties of these particles were studied by a Coulter Multisizer, a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, and an Autosorb-1. The effects of comonomers on microsphere formation and morphology are described. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 2899–2907, 1999
Determination of Homovanillic Acid in Human Plasma Using HPLC with Electrochemical Detection and Automated Solid Phase Extraction

Abstract An isocratic HPLC method with electrochemical detection for the quantification of homovanillic acid (HVA) is described. The method included automated solid phase extraction on C-18-reversed phase material, followed by separation on a 3-μm Nucleosil 100 C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm I. D.) with a 100 mM citric acid solution (pH 6.6) containing 4% acetonitrile (v/v) as eluent at a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min. Isovanillinic acid served as internal standard. Extractability of both analytes was ca. 80 %. After extraction of 1 ml of plasma, coefficients of variation of replicate analyses were below 10 % in the naturally occuring concentration range.
Analysis of the I–V characteristics of Al/4H-SiC Schottky diodes

The capability of silicon carbide in general to operate at high temperatures, and the fact that the electron mobility of the 4H-SiC polytype is twice that of the 6H polytype, has led to significant interest in 4H-SiC devices. Experimental data for Al/4H-SiC Schottky diodes is limited, and in this article we present forward and reverse I–V characteristics measured over a temperature range of 298–378 K. An analysis of the results shows that the charge transport mechanism is dominated by thermionic emission at forward biases less than 0.3 V, and series resistance at forward biases greater than 0.9 V. However, for a forward bias in the range of 0.3–0.9 V, we found the data fitted the space-charge-limited emission model. The competing mechanisms of thermionic emission and space-charge-limited emission lead to nonideal I–V characteristics, resulting in an increase in measured ideality factor. Space-charge-limited currents are dependent on the trap distribution in the material, and the estimated trap density is .
Intelligent Intrusion Detection System in Internal Communication Systems for Driverless Cars

The modern car is a complicated system consisting of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) with engines, detectors and wired and wireless communication protocols, that communicate through different types of intra-car networks. The cyber-physical design relies on this ECU network that has been susceptible to several kinds of attacks using wireless, internal and external access. The internal network contains several security vulnerabilities that make it possible to launch attacks via buses and propagation over the entire ECU network, therefore anomaly detection technology, which represents the security protection, can efficiently reduce security threats. So, this paper proposes new Intrusion Detection System (IDS) using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to monitor the state of the car by information collected from internal buses and to achieve security, safety of the internal network The parameters building the ANN structure are trained CAN packet information to devise the fundamental statistical attribute of normal and attacking packets and in defense, extracted the related attribute to classify the attack. Experimental evaluation on Open Car Test-Bed and Network Experiments (OCTANE) show that the proposed IDS achieves acceptable performance in terms of intrusions detection. Results show its capability to detect attacks with false-positive rate of 1.7 %, false-negative rate 24.6 %, and average accuracy of 92.10 %.
Effect of LHRH-PE40 on target cells via LHRH receptors*

Objective. To detect the effect and cytotoxicity of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone-Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin 40 (LHRH-PE40) on target cells using LHRH receptors (LHRHR). Methods. The affinity of LHRH-PE40 and LHRH binding to LHRHR on the membrane surface of target cells were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Morphological observations with light microscope were used to analyze its receptor pathway, with Spiegelmer, and cytotoxicity. IC50 values of LHRH-PE40, which caused 50% inhibition of tumor cell growth were evaluated by MTT assay. The target cells were exposed to LHRH-PE40 and its cytotoxicity was analyzed by scanning and transmission electron microscopies, agarose gel electrophoresis, and flow cytometry. Results. LHRH-PE40 killed target cells by LHRHR pathway. The morphological changes in these cells showed decreased cell size, cytoplasmic membrane blebbing, and chromatin condensation and margination. At a certain concentration and time point, HeLa cells were also induced to undergo programmed cell death. Conclusion. LHRH-PE40 induced target cells apoptosis via LHRHR.
Feeling Touched: Empathy Is Associated With Performance in a Tactile Acuity Task

The concept of empathy describes our capacity to understand the emotions and intentions of others and to relate to our conspecifics. Numerous studies investigated empathy as a state as well as a stable personality trait. For example, recent studies in neuroscience suggest, among other brain areas such as the insula or the ACC, a role of the somatosensory cortices for empathy (e.g., when observing someone else being touched). Since the classic understanding of the primary somatosensory cortex is to represent touch on the body surface, we here aimed to test whether tactile performance is linked to the personality trait empathy. To test this, we examined the tactile acuity of 95 healthy participants (mean age 31 years) by using a two-point discrimination threshold task at the index fingers. Trait empathy was assessed by employing the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI), which measures self-reported empathy with four scales (empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress). Results of regression analyses suggested the subscale empathic concern to be positively associated with performance in the tactile acuity task. We discuss this finding in the light of recent studies on empathy and consider possible implications of tactile training to enhance empathy.
China Multi-Center Preschool Autism Project (CMPAP): Design and Methodologies to Identify Clinical Symptom Features and Biomarkers of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: The etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not yet been fully identified, but it seems to be triggered by complex genetic and environmental risk factors. Moreover, the tremendous etiological and clinical differences among individuals with ASD has had a major negative impact on early diagnosis and individualized treatment. Earlier diagnosis of precise clinical subtypes of ASD could lead to individualized treatment and a better prognosis. However, few large-scale epidemiological studies have explored precise clinical subtypes and clinically meaningful biomarkers, especially in China. Methods and Design: The China Multi-center Preschool Autism Project (CMPAP) includes nearly 3,000 children−1,469 individuals with ASD and 1,499 typically-developing (TD) controls—from 13 cities in China. Using a case-control design, each participant was comprehensively characterized in terms of feeding and disease history, maternal history, family history, clinical core symptoms, comorbidities, biochemical markers, genomics, urine/fecal metabonomics, and intestinal flora. In addition, data on environmental risk factors were obtained using interviews and electronic medical records. Conclusion: The study was designed to: (1) investigate age at diagnosis and treatment and family and social support for preschool children with ASD in China, (2) develop a more accurate clinical subtype and intervention system for the ICD-11, and (3) find the specific genes and environmental markers of different subtypes, which will help in the development of early diagnosis and individual intervention programs for preschool children with ASD. This study will provide the basis for improving national health policies for ASD in China.
Solid‐State Reference Electrode Based on Electrodeposited Nanoporous Platinum for Microchip

A new solid-state reference electrode operating in buffered aqueous solution for electrochemical system on microfluidic chip is reported. The anodized nanoporous platinum showed its usefulness as a solid-state reference electrode owing to near-Nernstian behavior, low hysteresis, and quick response. The presence of redox couples such as Fe(CN) 3� =4� 6 , bringing about significant interference, can be successfully suppressed by an electropolymerized poly1,3-phenylendiamine (poly-m-PD) layer on the nanoporous platinum surface. Since the poly-m-PD coated nanoporous platinum oxide responds exclusively to pH, its potential should be constant and stable in a buffer solution. The nanoporous platinum oxide with poly-m-PD film is easy to produce and is particularly compatible with microfabrication. The experimental results in this study demonstrate that the proposed system successfully works as a solid-state reference electrode that should be integrated on microchips for microanalysis systems.
Plausible Scenarios for Thai Energy Businesses in the Next 30 Years

The energy sector is currently facing different challenges. It is necessary for business leaders to understand the forthcoming changes that will affect their businesses in order to prepare themselves for any uncertainties and take advantage of new opportunities. This paper identifies changes that are expected to have an impact on Thailand’s energy system in the next 30 years and explores plausible scenarios for Thailand’s energy sector under such changes. The study starts with an examination of global and local circumstances. The examination pinpoints a focal issue as “to achieve sustainable development goals (SDG) by 2050”. Then, STEEP analysis is implemented to identify business drivers in social (S), technological (T), economical (E), ecological (E), and political (P) aspects. Subsequently, consultations with stakeholders are arranged to finalize the critical uncertainties. Policy and technology are found to be two of the most powerful factors affecting energy business and are, therefore, used as fundamental frameworks for scenario development. Accordingly, four plausible scenarios are derived providing different possible prospects for Thailand’s energy businesses. The findings can further be used in the analysis of national energy balance with detailed sector-by-sector projections. All of which will be beneficial in strategic energy planning at both the national and corporate level with a view to achieving the SDGs by 2050.
The Expression of TRIM6 Activates the mTORC1 Pathway by Regulating the Ubiquitination of TSC1-TSC2 to Promote Renal Fibrosis

Renal fibrosis is considered as the final pathway of all types of kidney diseases, which can lead to the progressive loss of kidney functions and eventually renal failure. The mechanisms behind are diversified, in which the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is one of the most important regulatory pathways that accounts for the disease. Several processes that are regulated by the mTOR pathway, such as autophagy, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, are tightly associated with renal fibrosis. In this study, we have reported that the expression of tripartite motif-containing (TRIM) protein 6, a member of TRIM family protein, was highly expressed in renal fibrosis patients and positively correlated with the severity of renal fibrosis. In our established in vitro and in vivo renal fibrosis models, its expression was upregulated by the Angiotensin II-induced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p50 and p65. In HK2 cells, the expression of TRIM6 promoted the ubiquitination of tuberous sclerosis proteins (TSC) 1 and 2, two negative regulators of the mTORC1 pathway. Moreover, the knockdown of TRIM6 was found efficient for alleviating renal fibrosis and inhibiting the downstream processes of EMT and ER in both HK2 cells and 5/6-nephrectomized rats. Clinically, the level of TRIM6, TSC1/2, and NF-κB p50 was found closely related to renal fibrosis. As a result, we have presented the first study on the role of TRIM6 in the mTORC1 pathway in renal fibrosis models and our findings suggested that TRIM6 may be a potential target for the treatment of renal fibrosis.
A Position Statement on the Utility of Interval Imaging in Standard of Care Brain Tumour Management: Defining the Evidence Gap and Opportunities for Future Research

Objectiv e To summarise current evidence for the utility of interval imaging in monitoring disease in adult brain tumours, and to develop a position for future evidence gathering while incorporating the application of data science and health economics. Methods Experts in ‘interval imaging’ (imaging at pre-planned time-points to assess tumour status); data science; health economics, trial management of adult brain tumours, and patient representatives convened in London, UK. The current evidence on the use of interval imaging for monitoring brain tumours was reviewed. To improve the evidence that interval imaging has a role in disease management, we discussed specific themes of data science, health economics, statistical considerations, patient and carer perspectives, and multi-centre study design. Suggestions for future studies aimed at filling knowledge gaps were discussed. Results Meningioma and glioma were identified as priorities for interval imaging utility analysis. The “monitoring biomarkers” most commonly used in adult brain tumour patients were standard structural MRI features. Interval imaging was commonly scheduled to provide reported imaging prior to planned, regular clinic visits. There is limited evidence relating interval imaging in the absence of clinical deterioration to management change that alters morbidity, mortality, quality of life, or resource use. Progression-free survival is confounded as an outcome measure when using structural MRI in glioma. Uncertainty from imaging causes distress for some patients and their caregivers, while for others it provides an important indicator of disease activity. Any study design that changes imaging regimens should consider the potential for influencing current or planned therapeutic trials, ensure that opportunity costs are measured, and capture indirect benefits and added value. Conclusion Evidence for the value, and therefore utility, of regular interval imaging is currently lacking. Ongoing collaborative efforts will improve trial design and generate the evidence to optimise monitoring imaging biomarkers in standard of care brain tumour management.