Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cosmological constraints using the newest VLT-KMOS H ii galaxies and the full Planck CMB spectrum

We present novel cosmological constraints based on a joint analysis of our H ii galaxies (HIIG) Hubble relation with the full Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy spectrum and the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) probes. The HIIG span a large redshift range (0.088 ≤ z ≤ 2.5), reaching significantly higher redshifts than available Type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) and hence they probe the cosmic expansion at earlier times. Our independent constraints compare well with those based on the ‘Pantheon’ compilation of SNeIa data, which we also analyse. We find our results to be in agreement with the conformal Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model within 1σ. We also use our HIIG data to examine the behaviour of the dark energy equation-of-state parameter under the Chevallier–Polarski–Linder (CPL) parametrization, w = w0 + waz/(1 + z), and find consistent results with those based on SNeIa, although the degeneracy in the parameter space and the individual parameter uncertainties, when marginalizing one over the other, are quite large.
On Bi-gram Graph Attributes

We propose a new approach to text semantic analysis and general corpus analysis using, as termed in this article, a "bi-gram graph" representation of a corpus. The different attributes derived from graph theory are measured and analyzed as unique insights or against other corpus graphs, attributes such as the graph chromatic number and the graph coloring, graph density and graph K-core. We observe a vast domain of tools and algorithms that can be developed on top of the graph representation; creating such a graph proves to be computationally cheap, and much of the heavy lifting is achieved via basic graph calculations. Furthermore, we showcase the different use-cases for the bi-gram graphs and how scalable it proves to be when dealing with large datasets.
Real Schur Flows

The problem of a flow with its velocity gradient being of real Schur form uniformly in a cyclic box is formulated for numerical simulation, and a semi-analytic algorithm is developed from the precise structures. Computations starting from two-component-two-dimensional-coupled-withone-component-three-dimensional initial velocity fields of the Taylor-Green and Arnold-BeltramiChildress fashions are carried out, and some discussions related to turbulence are offered for the multi-scale eddies which, though, present precise order and symmetry. Plenty of color pictures of patterns of these completely new flows are presented for general and specific conceptions.
Extended Few-Shot Learning: Exploiting Existing Resources for Novel Tasks

In many practical few-shot learning problems, even though labeled examples are scarce, there are abundant auxiliary datasets that potentially contain useful information. We propose the problem of extended few-shot learning to study these scenarios. We then introduce a framework to address the challenges of efficiently selecting and effectively using auxiliary data in few-shot image classification. Given a large auxiliary dataset and a notion of semantic similarity among classes, we automatically select pseudo shots, which are labeled examples from other classes related to the target task. We show that naive approaches, such as (1) modeling these additional examples the same as the target task examples or (2) using them to learn features via transfer learning, only increase accuracy by a modest amount. Instead, we propose a masking module that adjusts the features of auxiliary data to be more similar to those of the target classes. We show that this masking module performs better than naively modeling the support examples and transfer learning by 4.68 and 6.03 percentage points, respectively.
Least Squares Normalized Cross Correlation

Direct methods are widely used for alignment of models to images, due to their accuracy, since they minimize errors in the domain of measurement noise. They have leveraged least squares minimizations, for simple, efficient, variational optimization, since the seminal 1981 work of Lucas&Kanade, and normalized cross correlation (NCC), for robustness to intensity variations, since at least 1972. Despite the complementary benefits of these two well known methods, they have not been effectively combined to address local variations in intensity. Many ad-hoc NCC frameworks, sub-optimal least squares methods and image transformation approaches have thus been proposed instead, each with their own limitations. This work shows that a least squares optimization of NCC without approximation is not only possible, but straightforward and efficient. A robust, locally normalized formulation is introduced to mitigate local intensity variations and partial occlusions. Finally, sparse features with oriented patches are proposed for further efficiency. The resulting framework is simple to implement, computationally efficient and robust to local intensity variations. It is evaluated on the image alignment problem, showing improvements in both convergence rate and computation time over existing lighting invariant methods.
Breaking Barriers in Robotic Soft Tissue Surgery: Conditional Autonomous Intestinal Anastomosis

Autonomous robotic surgery has the potential to provide efficacy, safety, and consistency independent of individual surgeons skill and experience. Autonomous soft-tissue surgery in unstructured and deformable environments is especially challenging as it necessitates intricate imaging, tissue tracking and surgical planning techniques, as well as a precise execution via highly adaptable control strategies. In the laparoscopic setting, soft-tissue surgery is even more challenging due to the need for high maneuverability and repeatability under motion and vision constraints. We demonstrate the first robotic laparoscopic soft tissue surgery with a level of autonomy of 3 out of 5, which allows the operator to select among autonomously generated surgical plans while the robot executes a wide range of tasks independently. We also demonstrate the first in vivo autonomous robotic laparoscopic surgery via intestinal anastomosis on porcine models. We compared the criteria including needle placement corrections, suture spacing, suture bite size, completion time, lumen patency, and leak pressure between the developed system, manual laparoscopic surgery, and robot-assisted surgery (RAS). The ex vivo results indicate that our system outperforms expert surgeons and RAS techniques in terms of consistency and accuracy, and it leads to a remarkable anastomosis quality in living pigs. These results demonstrate that surgical robots exhibiting high levels of autonomy have the potential to improve consistency, patient outcomes, and access to a standard surgical technique.
Biocompatible and antibacterial soy protein isolate/quaternized chitosan composite sponges for acute upper gastrointestinal hemostasis

Abstract Innovative biomedical applications have high requirements for biomedical materials. Herein, a series of biocompatible, antibacterial and hemostatic sponges were successfully fabricated for the treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGB). Quaternized chitosan (QC) and soy protein isolate (SPI) were chemically cross-linked to obtain porous SPI/QC sponges (named SQS-n, with n = 30, 40, 50 or 60 corresponding to the weight percentage of the QC content). The chemical composition, physical properties and biological activity of SQS-n were investigated. SQS-n could support the adhesion and proliferation of L929 cells while triggering no obvious blood toxicity. Meanwhile, SQS-n exhibited good broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against both gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli). The in vivo hemostatic effect of SQS-n was evaluated using three different bleeding models. The results revealed that SQS-50 performed best in reducing blood loss and hemostatic time. The overall hemostatic effect of SQS-50 was comparable to that of a commercial gelatin sponge. The enhanced antibacterial and hemostatic activities of SQS-n were mainly attributed to the QC component. In conclusion, this work developed a QC-functionalized hemostatic sponge that is highly desirable for innovative biomedical applications, such as AUGB.
Determination of Nitrate-N in Water by 2-Isopropyl-5-methyphenol Spectrophotometry

Objective To develop a rapid determination method of nitrate-N in water.Methods In concentrated sulfuric acid,2-isopropyl-5-methyphenol reacts on nitrate and produces the nitro-compound which may turn into the yellow compound in the alkaline solution for the moleculars rearrange.The content of nitrate-N in water can be calculated according to the absorption value at the wave length of 415 nm.Results A good linear relation was found between the concentrations of nitrate-N and the absorption values in the range of 0-15.0 mg/L.The lowest determination concentration was 0.25 mg/L,the recovery rates were 96%-108% and RSD was 1.6%-4.0%. The results were consistent with those determined by UV spectrophotometry.Conclusion The method was simple,sensitive,rapid and accurate.
Practical view of the topical treatment of peripheral venous catheter-related phlebitis: A scoping review.

OBJECTIVE To identify and analyse topical treatments for peripheral venous catheter (PVC)-related phlebitis. DESIGN The methodological framework used to make this scoping review was developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005; (International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8, 2005 and 19)). DATA SOURCES A literature search was performed in various databases such as PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane, Cuiden, Web of Science, WorldWideScience and Joanna Briggs. Additionally, articles from informal sources were incorporated. REVIEW METHODS A search and selection were made of experimental, quasi-experimental and pre-experimental studies published between January 2015 and September 2020 that consider the use of topical products for the treatment of hospital in-patients with PVC-related phlebitis. Appraisal of the methodological quality of the study was performed independently by pairs of reviewers on the basis of the Cochrane Collaboration tool. The review was based on the guidelines in the PRISMA-ScR statement. RESULTS Twenty-two articles were selected (8 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), 12 quasi-RCTs and 2 pre-experimental studies) which considered treatments applied to a total of 2042 adult patients. The topical treatments described were classified into physical measures and phytotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments. The physical measures are easy to apply, but their effectiveness is limited. The main limitation of the phytotherapeutic treatments is their marketing and use in eastern culture. The best performing pharmacological treatment is the application of magnesium sulphate either with or without glycerine. These products can be presented in different pharmaceutical formulas: ointment, solution and oil. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The evidence currently available on this issue is limited and often of dubious methodological rigour. Further studies are required on the treatment and follow-up of intravenous therapy-related phlebitis in different national and international contexts.
A systematic evaluation of source reconstruction of resting MEG of the human brain with a new high‐resolution atlas: Performance, precision, and parcellation

Noninvasive functional neuroimaging of the human brain can give crucial insight into the mechanisms that underpin healthy cognition and neurological disorders. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measures extracranial magnetic fields originating from neuronal activity with high temporal resolution, but requires source reconstruction to make neuroanatomical inferences from these signals. Many source reconstruction algorithms are available, and have been widely evaluated in the context of localizing task‐evoked activities. However, no consensus yet exists on the optimum algorithm for resting‐state data. Here, we evaluated the performance of six commonly‐used source reconstruction algorithms based on minimum‐norm and beamforming estimates. Using human resting‐state MEG, we compared the algorithms using quantitative metrics, including resolution properties of inverse solutions and explained variance in sensor‐level data. Next, we proposed a data‐driven approach to reduce the atlas from the Human Connectome Project's multi‐modal parcellation of the human cortex based on metrics such as MEG signal‐to‐noise‐ratio and resting‐state functional connectivity gradients. This procedure produced a reduced cortical atlas with 230 regions, optimized to match the spatial resolution and the rank of MEG data from the current generation of MEG scanners. Our results show that there is no “one size fits all” algorithm, and make recommendations on the appropriate algorithms depending on the data and aimed analyses. Our comprehensive comparisons and recommendations can serve as a guide for choosing appropriate methodologies in future studies of resting‐state MEG.
Topographical Overlapping of the Amyloid-β and Tau Pathologies in the Default Mode Network Predicts Alzheimer's Disease with Higher Specificity.

BACKGROUND While amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and tau tangles are the well-recognized pathologies of Alzheimer's disease (AD), they are more often observed in healthy individuals than in AD patients. This discrepancy makes it extremely challenging to utilize these two proteinopathies as reliable biomarkers for the early detection as well as later diagnosis of AD. OBJECTIVE We hypothesize and provide preliminary evidence that topographically overlapping Aβ and tau within the default mode network (DMN) play more critical roles in the underlying pathophysiology of AD than each of the tau and/or Aβ pathologies alone. METHODS We used our newly developed quantification methods and publicly available neuroimaging data from 303 individuals to provide preliminary evidence of our hypothesis. RESULTS We first showed that the probability of observing overlapping Aβ and tau is significantly higher within than outside the DMN. We then showed evidence that using Aβ and tau overlap can increase the reliability of the prediction of healthy individuals converting to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to a lesser degree converting from MCI to AD. Finally, we provided evidence that while the initial accumulations of Aβ and tau seems to be started independently in the healthy participants, the accumulations of the two pathologies interact in the MCI and AD groups. CONCLUSION These findings shed some light on the complex pathophysiology of AD and suggest that overlapping Aβ and tau pathologies within the DMN might be a more reliable biomarker of AD for early detection and later diagnosis of the disease.
An Ideal Absorbed Solution Theory (IAST) Study of Adsorption Equilibria of Binary Mixtures of Methane and Ethane on a Templated Carbon

The adsorption equilibria of pure methane and ethane gases as well as their binary mixtures were measured on a template-synthesized carbon. The pure component isotherm data were fitted to the Sips equation, while the binary equilibria were studied by the extended Sips equation as well as the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST). It was found that the IAST performed better than the extended Sips in predicting the binary data on the highly heterogeneous carbon sample.
Placental weight mediates association between prenatal exposure to cooking oil fumes and preterm birth

Abstract Background: There are some reports on association between maternal prenatal cooking oil fume (COF) exposure and preterm birth (PTB), but its mechanism remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study aims to assess whether placental weight mediates their associations. Method: We enrolled 619 pregnant women delivering PTB newborns as cases and 1701 delivering full-term appropriate for gestational age newborns as controls. They were inquired with a self-reported questionnaire about prenatal COF exposure, socio-demographics and obstetric characteristics at Women and Children’s Hospitals of Shenzhen and Foshan. After controlling for the potential confounders, a series of logistic and linear regressions were conducted to assess associations among COF exposure, placental weight and PTB, and the mediation of placental weight in the association between COF exposure and PTB. Results: Maternal prenatal COF exposure was significantly associated with PTB and the frequency of prenatal COF exposure was negatively associated with placental weight. Compared with mother who never cooked, those cooking occasionally, sometimes or often increased the risk of PTB, and similarly, those cooking between half to an hour was also showed a higher risk of PTB. Typical Chinese cooking methods including stir-frying, pan-frying and deep-frying were also associated with PTB. Different oil types mainly used, including peanut oil, corn oil and animal oil were associated with PTB as well. Mediation analysis illustrated that placental weight partially mediated 13.60% (95% CI = 10.62–33.20%) of the effects on the association between the frequency of maternal prenatal COF exposure and PTB. Conclusion: Maternal cooking during pregnancy and the frequency of prenatal COF exposure might increase the risk of PTB, in which placenta might play mediation role.
Development of gates to measure the immature platelet fraction in C57BL/6J mice using the Sysmex XN-V series multispecies hematology analyzer

The immature platelet fraction (IPF) is a measure of newly released platelets, which has been used as a marker of platelet production in multiple human studies but is not widely available in multispecies analyzers. We developed gates to measure the IPF in diluted and undiluted murine blood samples on the Sysmex XN-1000V multispecies hematology analyzer. IPF gates were created using undiluted and diluted (1/10) blood samples obtained from adult and newborn (postnatal day 10, P10) C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) mice, and from 3 murine models of thrombocytopenia: c-MPL−/− mice, which lack the thrombopoietin receptor (hyporegenerative); antibody-mediated thrombocytopenia; and acute inflammation-induced thrombocytopenia. P10 mice were chosen because, at their size, we could consistently obtain (by terminal phlebotomy) the blood volume needed to run an undiluted sample. The undiluted blood IPF gate successfully differentiated between mechanisms of thrombocytopenia in both adult and P10 mice. For diluted samples, 2 IPF gates were generated: a thrombocytopenic (T) gate, which performed well in samples with platelet counts (PCs) <800 × 109/L in adult mice and <500 × 109/L in newborn mice, and a non-thrombocytopenic (NT) gate, which performed well in samples with PCs above these thresholds. PCs and IPFs measured in diluted blood using these gates agreed well with those measured in undiluted blood and had good reproducibility. These diluted gates allow for the accurate measurement of PCs and IPFs in small (10 µL) blood volumes, which can be obtained easily from adult and newborn mice as small as P1 to assess platelet production serially.
Design and characterization of a novel dimeric blood–brain barrier penetrating TNFα inhibitor

Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNFα) inhibitors could prevent neurological disorders systemically, but their design generally relies on molecules unable to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). This research was aimed to design and characterize a novel TNFα inhibitor based on the angiopeptide‐2 as a BBB shuttle molecule fused to the extracellular domain of human TNFα receptor 2 and a mutated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) dimerization domain. This new chimeric protein (MTV) would be able to trigger receptor‐mediated transcytosis across the BBB via low‐density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein‐1 (LRP‐1) and inhibit the cytotoxic effect of TNFα more efficiently because of its dimeric structure. Stably transformed CHO cells successfully expressed MTV, and its purification by Immobilized‐Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC) rendered high purity degree. Mutated VEGF domain included in MTV did not show cell proliferation or angiogenic activities measured by scratch and aortic ring assays, which corroborate that the function of this domain is restricted to dimerization. The pairs MTV‐TNFα (Kd 279 ± 40.9 nM) and MTV‐LRP1 (Kd 399 ± 50.5 nM) showed high affinity by microscale thermophoresis, and a significant increase in cell survival was observed after blocking TNFα with MTV in a cell cytotoxicity assay. Also, the antibody staining in CHOK1 and bEnd3 cells demonstrated the adhesion of MTV to the LRP1 receptor located in the cell membrane. These results provide compelling evidence for the proper functioning of the three main domains of MTV individually, which encourage us to continue the research with this new molecule as a potential candidate for the systemic treatment of neurological disorders.
Polymer Chemistry Applications of Cyrene and its Derivative Cygnet 0.0 as Safer Replacements for Polar Aprotic Solvents

Abstract This study explores a binary solvent system composed of biobased Cyrene and its derivative Cygnet 0.0 for application in membrane technology and in biocatalytic synthesis of polyesters. Cygnet‐Cyrene blends could represent viable replacements for toxic polar aprotic solvents. The use of a 50 wt % Cygnet‐Cyrene mixture makes a practical difference in the production of flat sheet membranes by nonsolvent‐induced phase separation. New polymeric membranes from cellulose acetate, polysulfone, and polyimide are manufactured by using Cyrene, Cygnet 0.0, and their blend. The resultant membranes have different morphology when the solvent/mixture and temperature of the casting solution change. Moreover, Cyrene, Cygnet 0.0, and Cygnet‐Cyrene are also explored for substituting diphenyl ether for the biocatalytic synthesis of polyesters. The results indicate that Cygnet 0.0 is a very promising candidate for the enzymatic synthesis of high molecular weight polyesters.
Exploration into practical significance of integral water permeability of textile vascular grafts

Water permeability of textile vascular grafts has been considered as a key indicator for predicting blood permeability after implantation. However, a correlation between water and blood permeability has not been established yet. Therefore, even though the water permeability of a vascular graft can be tested according to the standard ISO 7198, the results fail to guide a manufacturer or a surgeon to judge whether this vascular graft needs pre-clotting or not prior to implantation. As a result, all commercial graft products show almost zero water permeability, which leads to the loss of advantages that textile vascular grafts have the pore size-controlled porous wall. To solve this problem, four types of woven vascular grafts were designed and manufactured in the present work. Then their permeability to water, simulated plasma, and anticoagulated whole blood were measured at graded pressures from 8 to 16 kPa. Moreover, the correlations among the water permeability, the simulated plasma permeability, and the anticoagulated whole blood permeability were established. The results suggest that relatively steady correlations exist between the water permeability and the anticoagulated whole blood permeability, and that the evaluation of the blood permeability using the water permeability is feasible and objective. The present work provides a quantitative method for evaluating the blood permeability using the water permeability, and the latter is thus endowed with practical significance for guiding designs and clinical pre-clotting operations of textiles vascular grafts.