Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Primitive Shape Recognition for Object Grasping

Shape informs how an object should be grasped, both in terms of where and how. As such, this paper describes a segmentation-based architecture for decomposing objects sensed with a depth camera into multiple primitive shapes, along with a post-processing pipeline for robotic grasping. Segmentation employs a deep network, called PS-CNN, trained on synthetic data with 6 classes of primitive shapes and generated using a simulation engine. Each primitive shape is designed with parametrized grasp families, permitting the pipeline to identify multiple grasp candidates per shape region. The grasps are rank ordered, with the first feasible one chosen for execution. For task-free grasping of individual objects, the method achieves a 94.2% success rate placing it amongst the top performing grasp methods when compared to top-down and SE(3)-based approaches. Additional tests involving variable viewpoints and clutter demonstrate robustness to setup. For task-oriented grasping, PS-CNN achieves a 93.0% success rate. Overall, the outcomes support the hypothesis that explicitly encoding shape primitives within a grasping pipeline should boost grasping performance, including task-free and task-relevant grasp prediction.
Reinforcement Learning With Dual-Observation for General Video Game Playing

Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms have performed well in playing challenging board and video games. More and more studies focus on improving the generalization ability of RL algorithms. The General Video Game AI (GVGAI) Learning Competition aims to develop agents capable of learning to play different game levels that were unseen during training. This article summarizes the five years’ GVGAI Learning Competition editions. At each edition, three new games were designed. The training and test levels were designed separately in the first three editions. Since 2020, three test levels of each game were generated by perturbing or combining two training levels. Then, we present a novel RL technique with dual-observation for general video game playing, assuming that it is more likely to observe similar local information in different levels rather than global information. Instead of directly inputting a single, raw pixel-based screenshot of the current game screen, our proposed general technique takes the encoded, transformed global, and local observations (LOs) of the game screen as two simultaneous inputs, aiming at learning local information for playing new levels. Our proposed technique is implemented with three state-of-the-art RL algorithms and tested on the game set of the 2020 GVGAI Learning Competition. Ablation studies show the outstanding performance of using encoded, transformed global, and LOs as input.
One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Precious Metal-Doped Titanium Dioxide–Graphene Oxide Composites for Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 to Ethanol

We utilized a one-step hydrothermal process for the synthesis of precious metal-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2)/graphene oxide (GO) composites. The metal-doped TiO2/GO composites, including silver–TiO2/GO (Ag–TiO2/GO), palladium–TiO2/GO (Pd–TiO2/GO), and copper–TiO2/GO (Cu–TiO2/GO), were synthesized by mixing a metal precursor, titanium butoxide, and graphene oxide in a water–ethanol mixture in an autoclave hydrothermal reactor. The photocatalytic performance of the composites was tested in the photoreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to ethanol. Ag–TiO2/GO, Pd–TiO2/GO, and Cu–TiO2/GO exhibited an ethanol production rate of 109, 125, and 233 μmol/gcat h, respectively. The outstanding performances of Cu–TiO2/GO can be attributed to a combined effect of key parameters, including optical band gap, crystallite size, and BET surface area.
Second Line Volunteering in Lombardy Covid-19 Emergency as a Perspective on Medical Education and Psychological Distress

Objective Healthcare personnel across Italy were called to arms during COVID-19 emergency beginning March 2020. Despite their medical training, not all of them were able to fight in first line. Volunteering for COVID-19 Lombardy ICU Network Coordination Centre (C19-LINCC) was an opportunity to volunteer without being under biological threat: a smart-working in direct phone contact with the ICUs. Our aim was to investigate if second line volunteering during the COVID-19 outbreak had an impact on stress levels and whether medical training could mitigate them, along with personality factors, namely psychological flexibility. Method Volunteers of the C19-LINCC self-rated their own medical education related to SARS-CoV-2 and psychological response to the emergency. The questionnaire included five psychological scales (PSS, IES, MBI, AAQ-II, GHQ-12) addressing burnout, stress, general health, attention, cognitive fusion, and psychological flexibility. Results Psychological distress (GHQ p≤0,0001) and perception of personal achievement (MBI_p≤0,0001) change whether the subject is a volunteer or not, while perception of medical education does not have a significant impact between the two groups. No differences were found in acceptance, mindfulness, and psychological flexibility skills, however they inversely correlated with stress, burnout, and anxiety levels. Conclusions During this period of mandatory lockdown, trained and in-training doctors showed to benefit from this smart home-based volunteering in the C19-LINCC. In addition to volunteering, psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and acceptance skills can act as protective factors. Potentially, these are soft skills that could be added to medical education.
Proof complexity of CSP on algebras with linear congruence

The CSP (constraint satisfaction problems) is a class of problems deciding whether there exists a homomorphism from an instance relational structure to a target one. The CSP dichotomy is a profound result recently proved by Zhuk [17] and Bulatov [4]. It says that for each ﬁxed target structure CSP is either NP-complete or p -time. Zhuk’s algorithm for p -time case of the problem eventually leads to algebras with linear congruence. We show that Zhuk’s algorithm for algebras with linear congruence can be formalized in theory V 1 . Thus, using known methods of proof complexity Zhuk’s algorithm for negative instances of the problem can be augmented by extra information: it not only rejects X that cannot be homomorphically mapped into A , but produces a certiﬁcate - a short extended Frege ( EF ) propositional proof - that this rejection is correct.
uvrY Deletion and Acetate Reduce Gut Colonization of Crohn’s Disease-Associated Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli by Decreasing Expression of Type 1 Fimbriae

Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) is involved in onset and/or exacerbation of Crohn’s disease (CD). AIEC adapts to the gut environment by altering gene expression programs, leading to successful gut-lumen colonization. ABSTRACT Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) is involved in onset and/or exacerbation of Crohn’s disease (CD). AIEC adapts to the gut environment by altering gene expression programs, leading to successful gut-lumen colonization. However, the underlying mechanism of gut colonization is still far from clarified. Here, we show the role of UvrY, a response regulator of bacterial two-component signal transduction systems, in AIEC gut colonization. An AIEC mutant lacking the uvrY gene exhibited impairment of competitive colonization in the murine intestinal tract. UvrY contributes to functional expression of type 1 fimbriae by activating expression of small RNA CsrB, which confers adherence and invasion into epithelial cells on AIEC. In contrast, acetate suppresses the UvrY-dependent expression of type 1 fimbriae, resulting in less efficient cell invasion and attenuated gut colonization. Our findings might lead to therapeutic interventions for CD, in which inhibitions of UvrY activation and acetate supplementation reduce the colonization levels of AIEC by decreasing type 1 fimbria expression.
Impact of the extent of resection of neuroendocrine tumor liver metastases on survival: A systematic review and meta-analysis

In patients with neuroendocrine tumors with liver metastases (NETLMs), complete resection of both the primary and liver metastases is a potentially curative option. When complete resection is not possible, debulking of the tumour burden has been proposed to prolong survival. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effect of curative surgery (R0-R1) and debulking surgery (R2) on overall survival (OS) in NETLMs. For the subgroup of R2 resections, outcomes were compared by the degree of hepatic debulking (≥ 90% or ≥ 70%). A systematic review of the literature was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines using PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Embase databases. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated for each study and pooled using a random-effects inverse-variance meta-analysis model. Of 538 articles retrieved, 11 studies (1,729 patients) reported comparisons between curative and debulking surgeries. After pooling these studies, OS was found to be significantly shorter in debulking resections, with an HR of 3.49 (95% confidence interval, 2.70–4.51; p < 0.001). Five studies (654 patients) compared outcomes between ≥ 90% and ≥ 70% hepatic debulking approaches. Whilst these studies reported a tendency for OS and progression-free survival to be shorter in those with a lower degree of debulking, they did not report sufficient data for this to be assessed in a formal meta-analysis. In patients with NETLM, OS following surgical resection is the best to achieve R0-R1 resection. There is also evidence for a progressive reduction in survival benefit with lesser debulking of tumour load.
Using Health Concept Surveying to Elicit Usable Evidence: Case Studies of a Novel Evaluation Methodology

Background Developers, designers, and researchers use rapid prototyping methods to project the adoption and acceptability of their health intervention technology (HIT) before the technology becomes mature enough to be deployed. Although these methods are useful for gathering feedback that advances the development of HITs, they rarely provide usable evidence that can contribute to our broader understanding of HITs. Objective In this research, we aim to develop and demonstrate a variation of vignette testing that supports developers and designers in evaluating early-stage HIT designs while generating usable evidence for the broader research community. Methods We proposed a method called health concept surveying for untangling the causal relationships that people develop around conceptual HITs. In health concept surveying, investigators gather reactions to design concepts through a scenario-based survey instrument. As the investigator manipulates characteristics related to their HIT, the survey instrument also measures proximal cognitive factors according to a health behavior change model to project how HIT design decisions may affect the adoption and acceptability of an HIT. Responses to the survey instrument were analyzed using path analysis to untangle the causal effects of these factors on the outcome variables. Results We demonstrated health concept surveying in 3 case studies of sensor-based health-screening apps. Our first study (N=54) showed that a wait time incentive could influence more people to go see a dermatologist after a positive test for skin cancer. Our second study (N=54), evaluating a similar application design, showed that although visual explanations of algorithmic decisions could increase participant trust in negative test results, the trust would not have been enough to affect people’s decision-making. Our third study (N=263) showed that people might prioritize test specificity or sensitivity depending on the nature of the medical condition. Conclusions Beyond the findings from our 3 case studies, our research uses the framing of the Health Belief Model to elicit and understand the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may affect the adoption and acceptability of an HIT without having to build a working prototype. We have made our survey instrument publicly available so that others can leverage it for their own investigations.
Pemphigus patients with initial negative levels of anti‐desmoglein: A subtype with different profile?

Pemphigus is a blistering autoimmune disease that is characterized by autoantibodies against desmogleins (Dsg), including anti‐Dsg1 and anti‐Dsg3. Despite the diagnosis of diseases, the anti‐Dsg test by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is negative in a small group of pemphigus patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical course, clinical symptoms, and response to treatment in pemphigus patients with negative levels of anti‐Dsg1 and anti‐Dsg3. In this study, the data of pemphigus patients referred to Razi Hospital were retrospectively collected from the medical records from 2016 to 2020. Eight patients, whose initial anti‐Dsg1/anti‐Dsg3 was negative by the ELISA test, were enrolled and their clinical course, clinical signs, and response to treatment were evaluated. The mean age of the subjects (8 females) was 38.75 ± 12.09. The most common phenotype of the subjects was pemphigus vulgaris (PV) with mucosal involvement. Additionally, the common site of blister inception was mouth of the patients. The mean prednisolone dose received by the patients at the initiation was 32.5 ± 13.62 mg/day. According to Pemphigus disease area index (PDAI), six patients had mild severity, while two cases had moderate severity. Among the patients, six subjects received rituximab (RTX). Also, five patients experienced remission after 6.2 ± 5.21 months. PV is the most common phenotype of the disease and mucosal involvement is more common in patients with negative anti‐Dsg‐1/3 results. The severity of the lesions in most of the patients is mild at baseline and most patients seems to respond to RTX therapy and reach remission.
RAA Enzyme Is a New Family of Class A Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase from Riemerella anatipestifer Strain RCAD0122

Whole-genome sequencing of Riemerella anatipestifer isolate RCAD0122 revealed a chromosomally located β-lactamase gene, blaRAA-1, which encoded a novel class A extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), RAA-1. RAA-1 shared ≤65% amino acid sequence identity with other characterized β-lactamases. ABSTRACT Whole-genome sequencing of Riemerella anatipestifer isolate RCAD0122 revealed a chromosomally located β-lactamase gene, blaRAA-1, which encoded a novel class A extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), RAA-1. RAA-1 shared ≤65% amino acid sequence identity with other characterized β-lactamases. The kinetic assay of native purified RAA-1 revealed ESBL-like hydrolysis activity. Furthermore, blaRAA-1 could be transferred to a homologous strain by natural transformation. However, an epidemiological study showed that the blaRAA-1 gene is not prevalent currently.
Targeting memory T cell metabolism to improve immunity

Vaccination affords protection from disease by activating pathogen-specific immune cells and facilitating the development of persistent immunologic memory toward the vaccine-specific pathogen. Current vaccine regimens are often based on the efficiency of the acute immune response, and not necessarily on the generation of memory cells, in part because the mechanisms underlying the development of efficient immune memory remain incompletely understood. This Review describes recent advances in defining memory T cell metabolism and how metabolism of these cells might be altered in patients affected by mitochondrial diseases or metabolic syndrome, who show higher susceptibility to recurrent infections and higher rates of vaccine failure. It discusses how this new understanding could add to the way we think about immunologic memory, vaccine development, and cancer immunotherapy.
Gilteritinib clinical activity in relapsed/refractory FLT3 mutated acute myeloid leukemia previously treated with FLT3 inhibitors

Gilteritinib is approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an FLT3‐mutation (FLT3mut+). However, the gilteritinib phase 3 ADMIRAL study (Perl et al NEJM 2019) was conducted prior to widespread adoption of either midostaurin as a component of standard intensive induction and consolidation or posttransplant FLT3 inhibitor maintenance. We performed a retrospective analysis using data from 11 US centers and where we identified 113 patients who received gilteritinib alone or as combination therapy for the treatment of R/R FLT3mut+ AML. The composite complete remission (CR) rate (CRc, defined as CR + CRi + CR with incomplete platelet recovery [CRp]) was 48.7% (n = 55). The CRc rate after treatment with gilteritinib in patients who were treated with only prior 7+3 and midostaurin with or without consolidation was 58% with a median survival of 7.8 months. Survival was longest in patients who obtained a CR, particularly a cMRD (clinical minimal or measurable residual disease) negative response; this remained significant after censoring at the time of stem cell transplant. The mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathway activating mutations that are known for gilteritinib resistance (NRAS, KRAS, and PTPN11) had lower CRc (35% vs. 60.5%) and lower median overall survival than patients' whose leukemia did not express these mutations (4.9 months vs. 7.8 months) (HR 2.4; 95% CI 1. 5.4) p value <. 01.
OCT Assisted Quantification of Vitreous Inflammation in Uveitis

Purpose Vitreous haze (VH) is a key marker of inflammation in uveitis but limited by its subjectivity. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has potential as an objective, noninvasive method for quantifying VH. We test the hypotheses that OCT can reliably quantify VH and the measurement is associated with slit-lamp based grading of VH. Methods In this prospective study, participants underwent three repeated OCT macular scans to evaluate the within-eye reliability of the OCT vitreous intensity (VI). Association between OCT VI and clinical findings (including VH grade, phakic status, visual acuity [VA], anterior chamber cells, and macular thickness) were assessed. Results One hundred nineteen participants were included (41 healthy participants, 32 patients with uveitis without VH, and 46 patients with uveitis with VH). Within-eye test reliability of OCT VI was high in healthy eyes and in all grades of VH (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] > 0.79). Average OCT VI was significantly different between healthy eyes and uveitic eyes without and uveitic eyes with VH, and was associated with increasing clinical VH grade (P < 0.05). OCT VI was significantly associated with VA, whereas clinical VH grading was not. Cataract was also associated with higher OCT VI (P = 0.03). Conclusions OCT VI is a fast, noninvasive, objective, and automated method for measuring vitreous inflammation. It is associated with clinician grading of vitreous inflammation and VA, however, it can be affected by media opacities. Translational Relevance OCT imaging for quantifying vitreous inflammation shows high within-eye repeatability and is associated with clinical grading of vitreous haze. OCT measurements are also associated with visual acuity but may be affected by structures anterior to the acquisition window, such as lens opacity and other anterior segment changes.
Isoform-dependent lysosomal degradation and internalization of apolipoprotein E requires autophagy proteins

ABSTRACT The human apolipoprotein E4 isoform (APOE4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), and lysosomal dysfunction has been implicated in AD pathogenesis. We found, by examining cells stably expressing each APOE isoform, that APOE4 increases lysosomal trafficking, accumulates in enlarged lysosomes and late endosomes, alters autophagic flux and the abundance of autophagy proteins and lipid droplets, and alters the proteomic contents of lysosomes following internalization. We investigated APOE-related lysosomal trafficking further in cell culture, and found that APOE from the post-Golgi compartment is degraded through autophagy. We found that this autophagic process requires the lysosomal membrane protein LAMP2 in immortalized neuron-like and hepatic cells, and in mouse brain tissue. Several macroautophagy-associated proteins were also required for autophagic degradation and internalization of APOE in hepatic cells. The dysregulated autophagic flux and lysosomal trafficking of APOE4 that we observed suggest a possible novel mechanism that might contribute to AD pathogenesis. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Consumer intention to purchase GM soybean oil in China: effects of information consistency and source credibility

ABSTRACT Consumers’ potential reactions toward genetically modified (GM) foods affect their commercial feasibility and determine the decisions of economic agents. Inconsistent information on GM foods has created a sense of uncertainty in Chinese consumers’ mind. This paper studies how the information about risks and benefits of GM foods from major sources influences Chinese consumer intention to purchase GM soybean oil. This analysis uses data from a survey of 880 residents randomly sampled from 13 cities in Jiangsu province. Using a multinomial logit model, we analyze the effects of information consistency and source credibility. The results show because of new information about 17.36% of consumers increase their intention to purchase GM soybean oil, and 15.10% of consumers decrease purchase intention. Compared to consistent information, inconsistent information can maximize change of purchase intention. The attitude change is greatest when there is a moderate difference between the new information and the initial consumer attitude. Furthermore, trust in biotechnology research institutes, government departments about GM, and GM experts are easier to promote consumers to change their intention to purchase GM soybean oil in a positive direction. Finally, we discuss implications for agencies as to strengthening the regulation and supervision of information sources, and including public-involved policies. Abbreviations: GM, Genetically modified; GMOs, Genetically modified organisms; AGGMO, Center of Agriculture’s Genetically Modified Organisms’ safety management and policy research organization at Nanjing Agricultural University; MARA, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; ¥1 (RMB)≈$6.8 (USD).
Kiss1 expression in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus is lower in dairy cows of reduced fertility

Abstract We tested the hypothesis that divergent genetic merit for fertility of dairy cows is due to aberrant reproductive neuroendocrine function. The kisspeptin status of non-pregnant cows of either positive (POS) or negative (NEG) breeding values (BVs) for fertility was studied in three groups (n = 8), based on their previous post-partum period: POS cows, which had spontaneous ovarian cycles (POS-CYC) and NEG cows, which either cycled (NEG-CYC) or did not cycle (NEG-NONCYC). Ovarian cycles were synchronized, blood samples were taken to define endocrine status, and the animals were slaughtered in an artificial follicular phase. The brains and the pituitary glands were collected for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and in situ hybridization of hypothalamic GNRH1, Kiss1, TAC3, and PDYN and pituitary expression of LHB and FSHB. Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and kisspeptin levels were quantified in snap frozen median eminence (ME). GNRH1 expression and GnRH levels in the ME were similar across groups. Kiss1 expression in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus was also similar across groups, but Kiss1 in the arcuate nucleus was almost 2-fold higher in POS-CYC cows than in NEG groups. TAC3 expression was higher in POS-CYC cows. The number of pituitary gonadotropes and the level of expression of LHB and FSHB were similar across groups. We conclude that the lower levels of Kiss1 and TAC3 in NEG cows with low fertility status and may lead to deficient GnRH and gonadotropin secretion.