Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of two commercial multiplex PCR tests for the diagnosis of acute respiratory infections in hospitalized children

Background Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI), including the common cold, pharyngitis, sinusitis, otitis media, tonsillitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia are the most common diagnoses among pediatric patients and account for the majority of antibiotic prescriptions. A clear and rapid diagnosis is the key to preventing antibiotic abuse. Recently, based on different detection principles, many multi-target molecular analyses that can simultaneously detect dozens of pathogens have been developed, thereby greatly improving sensitivity and shortening turnaround time. In this work, we conducted a head-to-head comparative study between melting curve analysis (MCA) and capillary electrophoresis assay (CE) in the detection of nine respiratory pathogens in sputum samples collected from hospitalized ARTI childre. Methods Through MCA and CE analysis, nine common respiratory pathogens were tested on hospitalized children under the age of 13 who met the ARTI criteria. Results A total of 237 children with sputum specimens were tested. For all the targets combined, the positive detection rate of XYRes-MCA was significantly higher than ResP-CE (72.2% vs. 63.7%, p = .002). Some pathogens were detected more often with MCA, such as parainfluenza virus, influenza B and coronavirus, and some pathogens do the opposite, such as adenovirus and influenza A (all p < .01). Very good kappa values for most of pathogens were observed, except for Influenza B and coronavirus (both κ = .39). Conclusions Multiplex melting curve and capillary electrophoresis assays performed similarly for the detection of common respiratory pathogens in hospitalized children, except for Influenza B and coronavirus. Higher sensitivity was observed in the melting curve assay. By using this sensitive and rapid test, it may improv patient prognosis and antimicrobial management.
Linkable Privacy-Preserving Scheme for Location-Based Services

Query content privacy and location privacy of the user and point of interest (POI) of the service provider are a serious concern for location-based services (LBS). The current LBS schemes either protect the query content privacy or location privacy. To protect query content of the user and POI of the server, several schemes have been proposed based on ${k}$ -anonymity, Oblivious transfer (OT), private information retrieval (PIR), and homomorphic encryption. To protect location privacy, the existing schemes either use cryptographic schemes or need a trusted third party (TTP) between the server and the user. A change of location requires re-execution of the core scheme, which causes communication and computational overhead. To address these problems, we propose a linkable location-based services (L2BS) scheme that uses Modified Linkable Spontaneous Anonymous Group (MLSAG) signature scheme and the OT scheme. The proposed MLSAG scheme provides privacy-preserving authentication with privacy preserving service linking. The OT protocol protects the query content of the user and the POI of the server. When a user requests for service and sends a query to the same server second time onwards, the L2BS scheme does not require re-execution of the OT. This, L2BSWOT scheme, decreases the communication and computation costs in addition to privacy-preserving linking of past and current queries from the same user. Results show that L2BS scheme with or without the need for OT execution (L2BSWOT scheme) outperforms other existing LBS schemes in terms of communication and computation costs while satisfying all privacy requirements of an LBS.
Achieving Smooth Motion for Piezoelectric Stick Slip Actuator with the Inertial Block Structure

A piezoelectric stick slip actuator with the inertial block structure is presented in an attempt to achieve smooth motion. Under asymmetric excitation, the inertial block produces different inertia, which can dynamically change the normal pressure between the stator and rotor to adjust the friction. During the slip stage, the driving arm produces a deflection away from the rotor, the normal pressure between the stator and rotor can be eliminated, and the angular impulse of the moment of friction force on the rotor can be almost reduced to zero. To verify the feasibility of the prototype, finite element method (FEM) simulation is performed. On the basis of the experimental system, the output characteristics of the prototype are systematically studied. The experimental results indicate that the prototype can achieve smooth motion under large pre-tightening displacement. The displacement curve under the load of 2.0 kg still shows good smoothness, and the resolution is 1.56 rad. This work proposes a new design concept of dynamic control of the normal pressure to achieve smooth motion for piezoelectric stick slip actuators, even under heavy-load conditions, using the inertial block structure.
Catalysis performance comparison for electrochemical reduction of CO2 on Pd–Cu/graphene catalyst

A Pd–Cu/graphene catalyst for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 was prepared by means of sodium borohydride reduction in a graphite oxide suspension with metal precursor salts, and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and current–time (I–t) scans technologies. The formation of Pd–Cu catalysts was investigated by changing the precursors and the Pd–Cu ratio. The results indicated that graphene with a d-spacing of 3.82 A was fabricated and Pd–Cu metal nanoparticles whose size ranges from 8 to 10 nm were highly dispersed on the graphene sheets with amorphous structure. Additionally, sharp increase of the reduction current under CO2 compared to that under N2 could be observed which contributed to the catalytic reaction of CO2 reduction on the Pd–Cu/graphene electrode. The best catalytic performance of the metal/graphene catalysts was achieved on 1 wt% Pd–2 wt% Cu/graphene, which had a relative positive peak potential and reduction current were −1.3 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and −2.8 mA, respectively. The Pd–Cu/graphene electrode effectively suppressed the reaction process of hydrogen and showed stable CO2 reduction activity. Finally, the reaction pathway for the CO2 reduction on the Pd–Cu/graphene electrode was proposed.
Antibacterial Powders for Medical Application Prepared by Microwave Hydrothermal Assisted Synthesis

Hybrid Ag-ZnO nano-structured microparticles and ZnO hierarchical microparticles were prepared by amicrowave assisted hydrothermal synthesis. Here we present arapid and energy saving one-pot hydrothermal synthesis using amicrowave pressure system. Zinc nitrate and silver nitrate were used as sources of Zn 2+ and Ag + . Hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) was used asa reduction and precipitation agent in water solutions. Crystalline structures of obtained Ag-ZnO and ZnO powders were characterized by an X-ray diffractometer. A scanning electron microscopy was used for the characterization of structure, morphology and particle size of the Ag-ZnO filler. An elemental analysis of the Ag-ZnO filler was made by an Energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The growth mechanism of particles was elucidated. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by an inhibition zone test; one of the materials has shown good antibacterial stability against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans.
Photocatalytic Selective Bromination of Electron-Rich Aromatic Compounds Using Microporous Organic Polymers with Visible Light

Pure organic, heterogeneous, metal-free, and visible light-active photocatalysts offer a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional metal-based catalysts. Here we report a series of microporous organic polymers containing photoactive conjugated organic semiconductor units as heterogeneous photocatalysts for a visible-light-promoted, highly selective bromination reaction of electron-rich aromatic compounds using HBr as a bromine source and molecular oxygen as a clean oxidant. Via a simple Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction, the microporous organic polymers were obtained by cross-linking of organic semiconductor compounds with defined valence and conduction band positions. The utilization of the simply prepared porous polymer-based photocatalytic systems opens new opportunities toward a sustainable and efficient material design for catalysis.
A Two-Stage Underwater Enhancement Network Based on Structure Decomposition and Characteristics of Underwater Imaging

Due to the scattering and attenuation of light into the water, the underwater image usually appears with color distortion, blurred details, and low contrast. To address these problems, a novel two-stage underwater image convolutional neural network (CNN) based on structure decomposition (UWCNN-SD) for underwater image enhancement is proposed by considering the characteristics of underwater imaging. Specifically, the raw underwater image is decomposed into high-frequency and low-frequency based on theoretical analysis of the underwater imaging. Then, a two-stage underwater enhancement network including a preliminary enhancement network and a refinement network is proposed. In the first stage, the preliminary enhancement network, which contains the high-frequency and the low-frequency enhancement networks, is proposed. The high-frequency part is enhanced directly by a deep learning network, and the low-frequency enhancement network is based on the underwater imaging, which is integrated transmission map and background light into joint component map. In the second stage, the refinement network is designed to further optimize the color of the underwater image by considering complexity of underwater imaging. The experimental results of synthetic and real-world underwater images/videos demonstrate that the proposed UWCNN-SD method can perform color correction and enhancement on different types of underwater images. The ablation study verifies the effectiveness of each component, and application tests further illustrate that the proposed UWCNN-SD method can obtain underwater images with higher visual quality. The trained model is available at: https://github.com/wushengcong/UWCNN-SD .
In vitro modelling of the mucosa of the oesophagus and upper digestive tract

This review discusses the utility and limitations of model gut systems in accurately modelling the mucosa of the digestive tract from both an anatomical and functional perspective, with a particular focus on the oesophagus and the upper digestive tract, and what this means for effective in vitro modelling of oesophageal pathology. Disorders of the oesophagus include heartburn, dysphagia, eosinophilic oesophagitis, achalasia, oesophageal spasm and gastroesophageal reflux disease. 3D in vitro models of the oesophagus, such as organotypic 3D culture and spheroid culture, have been shown to be effective tools for investigating oesophageal pathology. However, these models are not integrated with modelling of the upper digestive tract—presenting an opportunity for future development. Reflux of upper gastrointestinal contents is a major contributor to oesophageal pathologies like gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barratt’s oesophagus, and in vitro models are essential for understanding their mechanisms and developing solutions. The limitations of current model gut systems in modelling the mucosa is not only limited to the oesophagus. Integration of modelling of the mucus covered epithelia of the stomach and small intestine in to upper digestive tract models is limited and often not considered at all. In this paper we discuss mucus structure and function and current approaches to modelling of the mucus layer in isolation, and in integrated systems with cell culture systems and digestive models. We identify a need for relevant modelling of the viscoelastic properties of mucus and its protective function to allow complete integration in modelling. Addressing limitations of current in vitro models and integrating upper gastrointestinal models with those of the oesophagus presents an opportunity for better understanding oesophageal physiology and pathophysiology where reflux of digestive fluids is involved.
A Many-Objective Optimization Based Intelligent High Performance Data Processing Model for Cyber-Physical-Social Systems

As an emerging paradigm, Cyber-Physical Social System (CPSS) can provide humans with efficient, convenient and personalized services. However, due to the explosive growth of user data, massive and high-dimensional data has become a key issue for CPSS services. In the past, researchers mainly focused on big data analysis methods, ignoring the processing of high-dimensional data before analysis. In response to above problem, this paper focus on the redundant attributes in high-dimensional data. By using intelligent optimization technology, the vision model is optimized for four conflicting goals at the same time, so as to better solve the problem. In order to support this model, a collaboration mechanism (MaOEA-CM) was designed. The algorithm uses the combination of sum of objectives and shift-based density estimation (${I}_{SDE} {+}$) indicator as the criterion of gradual co-evolution, and guides individuals to search in the high convergence and multiple directions of CPSS. Experiments on four data sets show that the proposed algorithm and model can significantly improve the accuracy of data processing in CPSS and have higher performance than other feature selection models.
The Interpretation of Plasma Electrolytes

Determinations of plasma electrolyte concentrations have little diagnostic value, but are frequently used by clinicians to detect dehydration or depletion of sodium or potassium. However, many investigators have found that the plasma concentrations correlate poorly with total body electrolytes (Burnell et al., 1956; Cort and Matthews, 1954; Cox et al., 1964; Darrow et al., 1949; Dole et al., 1951; Duncan et al., 1956; Edelman et al., 1958; Garrow, 1965; Howe and Le Quesne, 1964; Jagger et al., 1963; Keitel and Jones, 1959; MacPhee, 1953; Moore et al., 1963; Nichols and Nichols, 1953; Randall and Papper, 1958; Soloff et al., 1960; Talso et al., 1956). The study reported here was undertaken to assess the diagnostic value of plasma electrolyte analyses in conditions of salt, water or potassium depletion. Since the plasma concentrations and body content do not correlate closely, the pattern of plasma electrolyte concentrations was studied.
Advanced Hydrogen Production through Methane Cracking: A Review

Hydrogen is widely produced and used for our day-to-day needs. It has also the potential to be used as fuel for industry or can be used as an energy carrier for stationary power. Hydrogen can be produced by different processes like from fossil fuels (Steam methane reforming, coal gasification, cracking of natural gas); renewable resources (electrolysis, wind, etc.); nuclear energy (thermochemical water splitting). In this paper, few processes have been discussed briefly. Cracking of methane has been given special emphasis in this review for production of hydrogen. There are mainly two types of cracking, non-catalytic and catalytic. Catalytic cracking of methane is governed mainly by finding a suitable catalyst; its generation, deactivation, activation and filament formation for the adsorption of carbon particles (deposited on metal surface); study of metallic support which helps in finding active sites of the catalyst for the reaction to proceed easily. Non-catalytic cracking of methane is mainly based on thermal cracking. Moreover, several thermal cracking processes with their reactor configurations have been discussed.
Determining a Cut-off Point for Evaluating the Ability of Activities of Daily Living Using the Short Physical Performance Battery Score in Older Adults Requiring Care

Background: Little is known regarding the cut-off value of the short physical performance battery in assessing independence or dependence in carrying out activities of daily living in older adults requiring care. Clarifying the cut-off value for short physical performance battery could be a useful screening test for the detection of participants in whom the ability to carry out activities of daily living may decline. Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, we recruited 37 participants aged 60 years or older requiring care using long-term care insurance in Japan [12 men, 25 women, average age (standard deviation): 84.0 (7.3) years]. Short physical performance battery and barthel index as the ability to carry out activities of daily living were measured. The relationship between barthel index (Group 1: ≥85 and Group 2:
Reduction of Rotational Vibration Using Coriolis Force Generated by Electromagnetic Oscillatory Actuator Moving in Radial Direction

This article presents a new hybrid dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) using the Coriolis effect to reduce a rotational vibration observed in various kinds of rotating machinery. The Coriolis force is generated by a linear oscillatory actuator (LOA), which reciprocates in the radial direction. The effectiveness of the proposed hybrid DVA is confirmed through a MATLAB/Simulink simulation under passive and hybrid operations of the LOA. Moreover, an active torque ripple control is also presented for the purpose of applying this DVA to a switched reluctance motor (SRM). A numerical simulation shows that the proposed hybrid DVA is able to reduce the torque ripple of the SRM by a nonsinusoidal position control of the LOA.
Study on the effects of nanoparticulates of SiC, Al2O3, and ZnO on the mechanical and tribological performance of epoxy-based nanocomposites

ABSTRACT In this research work, mechanical and tribological characteristics of ortho cresol novalac epoxy (OCNE)-based nanocomposites filled with nanoparticulates of SiC, Al2O3, and ZnO have been investigated. Also, in these investigations, the influence of wear parameters such as applied normal load, sliding velocity, filler contents, and sliding distance have been explored. The experimental plan for four factors at three levels using face centered composite design (CCD) has been employed by the response surface methodology (RSM) technique. The friction and wear tests were carried out using a pin on disc wear test apparatus under dry sliding conditions. The hardness and flexural strength of nano ortho cresol novalac epoxy composites filled with nano (SiC, Al2O3, and ZnO) particulates increases with an increase in the filler contents. Whereas, the tensile strength of these nanocomposites increases with an increase in the filler contents from 1 to 2 wt%, and with a further increase in filler contents the tensile strength decreases. The results of the study also showed that (2 wt%) filler contents bring superior mechanical and tribological properties. The lowest coefficient of friction and specific wear rate were found with nano Al2O3-filled composites. Also, the wear mechanisms of these nanocomposites were studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an EDS analyzer.
Analysis of trait association and principal component of variability in field pea (Pisum sativum L.) genotypes

Existing genetic variability and strong trait association among cultivars/germplasm offer great help in enhancing the genetic gain/breeding value in crop plants. The objective of this study was to analyze the traits association and principal components causing genetic variability present in twenty-eight genotypes (Parents + Hybrids) using 12 agro-morphological traits. The experiment was consisted 28 genetically diverse pea genotypes (7 parents and 21 F1 crosses, developed in half diallel fashion) were evaluated under Randomized Block Design (RBD) under recommended agro-practices. The ANOVA analysis revealed that parentage and crosses has genetic variability (among parentage and F1s) for all the traits studied. The no. of pod per plant (r = 0.685 and 0.670, respectively at P≤0.01) has substantial genotypic and phenotypic correlation with seed yield/plant followed by pod length (0.639), no. of nodes to first flowering (0.576) etc. Existence of great genetic variability with comparative value of PCV and GCV reflects that the genotypes have played substantial role rather least environmental effects on these traits suggest selection suitability of these traits. Hence, information generated in the study has immense value in formulation of further breeding strategies and exploitation of maximum genetic gain in field pea
Timescales of transport from the troposphere into the lowermost stratosphere

The lowermost stratosphere (LMS) as part of the extratropical UTLS can be divided into dynamically and chemically distinct regions. A layer of mixed tropospheric and stratospheric tracer characteristics in the proximity of the extratropical tropopause: the extratropical tropopause transition layer (ExTL). This chemically distinct layer roughly coincides with a layer of strongly enhanced thermal stratification: the tropopause inversion layer (TIL) (Birner, 2006). The LMS above the ExTL, also named the free LMS (Bonisch et al., 2009), is less coupled to the local extratropical troposphere. Simultaneous in-situ measurements of CO2 and SF6 have been used to calculate mean transport time from the troposphere to the measurement location in the free LMS (Bonisch et al., 2009) which is on the order of months.
Autonomous Parameter Design for Cascade-Structure Feedback Controller Based on Cooperative Optimization Method

This paper presents a cooperative optimization-based autonomous parameter design method for cascade-structure feedback (FB) controllers used in industrial precision servo systems. Designing fine parameters for a cascade-structure FB controller that realizes a wide control bandwidth is a nonconvex optimization problem owing to the nonlinear relations between the parameters. In conventional parameter design methods based on nonlinear optimization techniques, the obtained parameters strongly depend on the initial point, which requires considerable labor for trial and error-based initial point setting in industry. This paper aims to eliminate such annoyance in cascade-structure FB controller design by using the cooperative optimization technique with a simple initial parameter setting method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through an example FB controller design for a galvanometer scanner, compared to a sequential quadratic programming-based parameter optimization method.
Dynamically Optimizing Display Advertising Profits Under Diverse Budget Settings

As a revolutionary auction mechanism for display advertising, real-time bidding (RTB) allows advertisers to purchase individual ad impressions through real-time auctions. In RTB, the demand-side platform (DSP) acts as advertisers’ bidding agent and aims at developing appropriate bidding strategies to maximize their specific key performance indicators (KPIs). Existing bidding strategies perform well for optimizing profits when the ad budget severely limited. However, when there is sufficient budget, their performance deteriorates. This results in added complexity for advertisers when applying these approaches in practice, hindering wider adoption. To address this challenging limitation, we propose the Adaptive ROI-Aware Bidding (ARAB) approach. It intelligently analyzes the budget setting and auction market conditions, and adjusts the bidding function accordingly to optimize profits. Different from previous studies that only bid based on the ad revenue, our proposed ROI-aware bidding function also takes into account the ad cost at impression-level. By doing so, ARAB dynamically allocates the budget on more cost-effective impressions to increase profits. Through extensive offline experiments on two real-world public datasets, we demonstrate that the proposed ARAB has achieved significant improvements in terms of both profit and ROI compared to state-of-the-art approaches.