Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GMP: A Genetic Mission Planner for Heterogeneous Multirobot System Applications

The use of multiagent systems (MASs) in real-world applications keeps increasing, and diffuses into new domains, thanks to technological advances, increased acceptance, and demanding productivity requirements. Being able to automate the generation of mission plans for MASs is critical for managing complex missions in realistic settings. In addition, finding the right level of abstraction to represent any generic MAS mission is important for being able to provide general solution to the automated planning problem. In this article, we show how a mission for heterogeneous MASs can be cast as an extension of the traveling salesperson problem (TSP), and we propose a mixed-integer linear programming formulation. In order to solve this problem, a genetic mission planner (GMP), with a local plan refinement algorithm, is proposed. In addition, the comparative evaluation of CPLEX and GMP is presented in terms of timing and optimality of the obtained solutions. The algorithms are benchmarked on a proposed set of different problem instances. The results show that, in the presence of timing constraints, GMP outperforms CPLEX in the majority of test instances.
Proprieties of adhesive surface arrays to thyroid cartilage for recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring

Background To investigate the optimal placement and size of adhesive thyroid cartilage electrodes (ATCEs) placed on the thyroid cartilage in porcine models for evaluating recurrent laryngeal nerve function compared with the other 3 recording electrode types. Methods Four Meishan piglets were used for this study. The electromyogram (EMG) signal stability was detected by intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM). Best location and size of ATCEs were detected, and the EMG signals from each were compared. Latency data were tested by stimulating the different nerve points, and 6 manipulations of the trachea and endotracheal tube (ET) were applied to test the stability of EMG signals. ET electrodes, needle electrodes, and transcutaneous recording electrodes were simultaneously tested with comparison to ATCEs. Results The optimal placement locations and sizes of ATCEs were determined. The amplitudes and latencies recorded from the ATCEs were consistent with those of the ET electrodes. More anti-interference was observed with the ATCEs than with the ET electrodes in surgical manipulations. ATCEs could be used during intermittent and continuous monitoring in similar fashion to ET electrodes and needle electrodes. Conclusions ATCEs had consistent monitoring function with ET electrodes and needle electrodes. Feasibility, EMG stability, and optimal location and size of ATCEs for IONM were resolved. The EMG profiles from the ATCEs were more stable during surgical manipulations.
Nocturnal non invasive ventilation in normocapnic cystic fibrosis patients: a pilot study

Background and aim: In patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) non-invasive ventilation (NIV) improves lung mechanics and gas exchange, and decreases the work of breathing. Domiciliary NIV is mainly used in hypercapnic patients with severe disease, because it counteracts the progression of lung functional impairment and it is often used as a useful “bridge” to lung transplantation. However, to date, there are no standardized criteria to indicate the effect of a precocious starting of NIV in patients with functional ventilation inhomogeneity without hypercapnia. In this pilot study we assessed whether an early NIV treatment might influence functional and clinical outcomes in CF patients. Methods: Six normocapnic CF patients were treated for one year with NIV. At baseline and after 1 year of NIV treatment, arterial gas analysis, spirometry, MBW to derive LCI, nocturnal cardio-respiratory polygraphy (PG), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were perfomed in all enrolled patients. Results: After one year, despite spirometric and LCI values remain statistically not modified, the number of infectious exacerbations was reduced by 50%. Conclusions: These results suggest that nocturnal NIV improves clinical conditions of stable CF patients. Finally, we suggest that this procedure can be useful to counteract the progression of lung disease even in normocapnic patients (www.actabiomedica.it)
Design, Synthesis and Application of Cholesterol-Based Molecular Probes as Biochemical Tools for the Study of Cholesterol Trafficking

by Katherine M. Byrd The overall goal of this project is to design, synthesize and apply cholesterolbased molecular probes that would aid in the understanding of cholesterol trafficking disorders. One such probe is a novel fluorescent cholesterol mimic that would serve as a general tool to track cholesterol movement in live cells or identify cholesterol localization in fixed cells. The other probes are cholesterol-based cross-linker molecular probes that consist of two cholesterol units are linked from head-to-tail. Our hypothesis behind this probe design is that these cross-linker probes can be used to identify and isolate protein pairs that participate in the transfer of cholesterol. Initially, these probes will be studied in the context of Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease since the proteins that are involved in the transport of cholesterol have been well studied. Once we have proven that this probe design works, we can utilize these types of probes in studies of other lipid storage diseases such as Tay-Sachs disease and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis.
Can learning from workplace feedback be enhanced by reflective writing? A realist evaluation in UK undergraduate medical education

ABSTRACT Introduction: Doctors and medical students in the UK are currently required to provide evidence of learning by reflective writing on (among other things) feedback from colleagues. Although the theoretical value of reflecting-on-action is clear, research is still needed to know how to realise the potential of written reflection in medical education. This study arose out of efforts to improve medical student engagement with a reflective writing exercise. We used realist methodology to explain the disinclination of the majority to do written reflection on workplace feedback, and the benefits to the minority. Method: Realist evaluation is a suitable approach to researching complex interventions which have worked for some and not for others. Focus groups were held over a three-year period with year 3 and 4 students. Focus group transcripts were coded for context-mechanism-outcome configurations (the realist approach to analysing data) explaining students’ choice not to write a reflection, to write a ‘tick-box’ reflection or to write for learning. A sub-set of eight students’ reflections were also analysed to ascertain evidence of learning through reflection. Results and discussion: 27 students participated in 4 focus groups. Three summary theories emerged showing the importance of context. Firstly, written reflection is effortful and benefits those who invest in it for intrinsic reasons in situations when they need to think more deeply about a learning event. Secondly, following a reflective feedback discussion writing a reflection may add little because the learning has already taken place. Thirdly, external motivation tends to result in writing a ‘tick-box’ reflection.
Subjective global nutritional assessment as a nutritional tool in childhood chronic liver disease

Abstract Objective of the study was to assess subjective global nutritional assessment (SGNA) in children with chronic liver diseases (CLD). Children aged 3 months to 18 years with CLD were prospectively enrolled (January 2016 to October 2018). SGNA was performed as per validated pro forma for children. Nutritional categories were categorised into three groups: A (well-nourished), B (moderately malnourished) and C (severely malnourished). Agreement between SGNA and anthropometric measures, prediction of morbidity and death or liver transplantation (LT) at 1-year post-enrolment by SGNA and inter-observer reliability of SGNA were assessed. Ninety-two subjects were enrolled, median age 23·5 (3–216) months. SGNA classified 47 patients (51·1 %) in group A, 26 (28·3 %) in group B and 19 (20·6 %) in group C. Kendall coefficients disclosed significant association of SGNA with all anthropometric measurements, greatest with weight for age (r = −0·637), height for age (r = −0·581) and mid-arm fat area (r = −0·449). At 12 months follow-up, twenty children died and four received LT. A significantly higher number of children with malnutrition (groups B and C) had poor outcome (OR 6·74 (95 % CI 2·21, 20·55), P = 0·001), increased risk of hospital readmission (OR 12·2 (95 % CI 4·60, 35·88), P = 0·001), higher rate of infectious complications (OR 22·68 (95 % CI 7·29, 70·53), P < 0·0001) and lower median survival with native liver (Log Rank < 0·001) as compared with group A. Inter-observer agreement in assessment of SGNA was good (90·2 %). SGNA, in contrast to anthropometric measures, is a better nutritional assessment tool. It is reliable, comprehensive and predicts poor outcome in childhood CLD.
Flotation Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy for Chronic Pain

Key Points Question Do 5 sessions of flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy alleviate chronic pain? Findings This randomized clinical trial of 99 participants included intervention, placebo, and wait-list control groups. No differences among the groups were found for the primary end point (change in pain intensity 1 week after the last treatment session) or for secondary long-term outcomes; in the short term, a significant increase in relaxation and decrease in anxiety, pain intensity, pain area, and widespreadness (number of body regions affected by pain) were observed. Meaning Patients with chronic pain experienced no long-term benefits from the 5 treatment sessions.
Co(salen) supported on graphene oxide for oxidation of lignin

Co(salen) was supported on graphene oxide (GO) (Co-GO) by covalently grafting. Spectroscopy analyses confirmed its successful synthesis. Co-GO demonstrated a high activity in the cleavage of βO4 linkage in lignin model compounds. The catalyst was also effective in depolymerizing an organosolv lignin polymer. The polymer residues were separated, and extensively analyzed by FTIR and NMR in order to understand the various structural changes of the polymer occurring versus catalyst. In catalytic oxidation, the βO4 ether linkages were cleaved and the side-chains were oxidized occurring in the polymer. The polymer was thus converted into smaller monomers called degradation products which were detected by GC-MS. The evolution of the polymer found that Co-GO exhibited a significant catalytic effect as compared with Co-NaY, Co-MCM-48, Co-SSZ-13. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44133.
Contributions of the Monkey Inferior Temporal Areas TE and TEO to Visual Categorization.

The ability to categorize images is thought to depend on neural processing within the ventral visual stream. Recently, we reported that after removal of architectonic area TE, the terminal region of the ventral stream, monkeys were still able to categorize images as cats or dogs moderately well. Here, we investigate the contribution of TEO, the architectonically defined region located one step earlier than area TE in the ventral stream. Bilateral removal of TEO caused only a mild impairment in categorization. However, combined TE + TEO removal was followed by a severe, long-lasting impairment in categorization. All of the monkeys tested, including those with combined TE + TEO removals, had normal low-level visual functions, such as visual acuity. These results support the conclusion that categorization based on visual similarity is processed in parallel in TE and TEO.
ASSAY OF FOUR PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS CHLORPROMAZINE, CLOMIPRAMINE, AMITRIPTYLINE AND NORTRIPTYLINE IN TABLETS BY A SINGLE HPLC METHOD

Objective: The objective of the study was to develop and validate a novel and single HPLC method, which is a additional practical choice in quality control laboratories, in order to assay four psychotropic drugs chlorpromazine, clomipramine, amitriptyline and nortriptyline in tablets. Methods: The chromatographic conditions comprised of a classical C 8 -type stationary phase (250 × 4.6 mm, 5μ), with a mobile phase consisting of 3g of sodium lauryl sulfate in a mixture of 400 ml of deionized water and 600 ml of acetonitrile, then 0.5 g of ammonium nitrate was added and apparent pH of 3.0 was adjusted with glacial acetic acid. The flow rate was 1 ml/min; the detection wavelength was at 254 nm under a temperature of 22 ○ C. Results: The method was validated for linearity with correlation coefficients very close to one, the accuracy with mean recovery values between 95.0-105.0%, precision with relative standard deviations of the calculated concentrations less than 5.0% and specificity in the presence of degradation products and excipients. Then it was used successfully to the assay of these drugs in tablets purchased from Syria. These analyzed tablets contained the active ingredient within 100±5% of stated concentration, within the limits specified by British Pharmacopeia. Conclusion: The results presented in this paper showed that the developed method was simple and practical for the determination of the four drugs in tablets.
Forkhead box O1 targeting replication factor C subunit 2 expression promotes glioma temozolomide resistance and survival

Background Additional mechanisms of temozolomide (TMZ) resistance in gliomas remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to identify another DNA repair mechanism involving forkhead box O1 (FoxO1) and replicator C2 (RFC2) in gliomas. Methods We established glioma cells against TMZ, U87R, by exposure to TMZ. Proliferation rate Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) was used, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related markers were detected by western blot. The association between FoxO1 and RFC2 was analyzed by heat maps and scatter plot, and Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the effect of FoxO1 on the expression of RFC2. The regulation effect of FoxO1 on RFC2 expression was analyzed by luciferase reporter gene assay. Knockdown of FoxO1/RFC2 was achieved via short hairpin RNA (shRNA), the effect of knockdown on the proliferation was determined by CCK8 assay and colony formation assay, and apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. Results The TMZ-resistant glioma cell line, U87R, was established. The FoxO1 and RFC2 proteins increased significantly in U87R. The expression of FoxO1 and RFC2 were positively related in glioma tissues. We found that FoxO1 contributes to TMZ resistance and cell survival via regulating the expression of RFC2. Moreover, FoxO1 functions as a transcriptional activator to RFC2 by binding to the promoter of RFC2. Furthermore, knockdown of FoxO1/RFC2 suppressed cell proliferation, TMZ resistance, and induced apoptosis in U87R. Conclusions The FoxO1/RFC2 signaling pathway promotes glioma cell proliferation and TMZ resistance, suggesting that the FoxO1/RFC2 pathway may be a potential target for TMZ-resistant glioma therapy.
Whole-exome sequencing identifies somatic mutations associated with lung cancer metastasis to the brain

Background Lung cancer is the most aggressive cancer, resulting in one-quarter of all cancer-related deaths, and its metastatic spread accounts for >70% of these deaths, especially metastasis to the brain. Metastasis-associated mutations are important biomarkers for metastasis prediction and outcome improvement. Methods In this study, we applied whole-exome sequencing (WES) to identify potential metastasis-related mutations in 12 paired lung cancer and brain metastasis samples. Results We identified 1,702 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and 6,131 mutation events among 1,220 genes. Furthermore, we identified several lung cancer metastases associated genes (KMT2C, AHNAK2). A mean of 3.1 driver gene mutation events per tumor with the dN/dS (non-synonymous substitution rate/synonymous substitution rate) of 2.13 indicating a significant enrichment for cancer driver gene mutations. Mutation spectrum analysis found lung-brain metastasis samples have a more similar Ti/Tv (transition/transversion) profile with brain cancer in which C to T transitions are more frequent while lung cancer has more C to A transversion. We also found the most important tumor onset and metastasis pathways, such as chronic myeloid leukemia, ErbB signaling pathway, and glioma pathway. Finally, we identified a significant survival associated mutation gene ERF in both The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (P=0.01) and our dataset (P=0.012). Conclusions In summary, we conducted a pairwise lung-brain metastasis based exome-wide sequencing and identified some novel metastasis-related mutations which provided potential biomarkers for prognosis and targeted therapeutics.
Adaptation and validation of the main concept analysis of spoken discourse by native Japanese adults

ABSTRACT Many people with aphasia demonstrate problems of oral production at the discourse level. The Main Concept Analysis (MCA) for oral discourse production is a published evidence-based battery for quantifying the degree of presence, accuracy, completeness, and efficiency of targeted main concepts in oral discourse. In Japan, such a standardized tool specialized for assessing spoken discourse is currently lacking. The purpose of this study was to adapt the Japanese version of MCA for oral discourse production (the Japanese-MCA) and examine its validity and reliability. Stage 1 of the study involved the establishment of linguistically-specific main concepts (MCs) of the Japanese-MCA. Ten speech-language-hearing therapists and 60 healthy participants who were native monolingual Japanese speakers were recruited to determine MCs. Stage 2 examined the criterion validity and reliability of the Japanese-MCA. Language samples of 20 participants with aphasia, as verified by Standard Language Test of Aphasia (SLTA), and 20 healthy older participants were used. Results of Stage 1 of the study yielded normative data with a set of target MCs that were geographically and linguistically specific for use in Japan. The results also revealed the comparability of the Japanese-MCA and previously reported versions of other languages. Stage 2 findings indicated not only a high correlation of criterion validity, but also good reliability of the test. With established norms and specific scoring criteria of the Japanese-MCA, it is believed that this new tool will become a useful addition to clinical management and research of aphasia in Japan.
Design, synthesis, and molecular docking studies of thiazolidinediones as PPAR‐γ agonists and thymidylate synthase inhibitors

New thiazolidine‐2,4‐dione hybrids were designed and synthesized as potential peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor (PPAR)‐γ agonists and thymidylate synthase inhibitors. All the synthesized compounds follow Lipinski's and Veber's rules and possess the desired pharmacokinetics properties. The PPAR‐γ transactivation results displayed that compounds 12 (78.9%) and 11 (73.4%) were the most active compounds and they increased PPAR‐γ gene expression by 2.2‐ and 2.4‐fold, respectively. Compounds 12, 11, and 8 showed promising cytotoxicity, with IC50 values ranging from 1.4 to 4.5 μM against MCF‐7 cells and from 1.8 to 8.4 μM against HCT‐116 cells. Compounds 11 and 12 also inhibited thymidylate synthase with IC50 values of 5.1 and 3.2 μM, respectively, confirming their mode of action as thymidylate synthase inhibitors. Finally, molecular docking studies supported the in vitro biological activity results.
Availability, Formulation, Labeling, and Price of Low-sodium Salt Worldwide: Environmental Scan

Background Regular salt is about 100% sodium chloride. Low-sodium salts have reduced sodium chloride content, most commonly through substitution with potassium chloride. Low-sodium salts have a potential role in reducing the population's sodium intake levels and blood pressure, but their availability in the global market is unknown. Objective The aim of this study is to assess the availability, formulation, labeling, and price of low-sodium salts currently available to consumers worldwide. Methods Low-sodium salts were identified through a systematic literature review, Google search, online shopping site searches, and inquiry of key informants. The keywords “salt substitute,” “low-sodium salt,” “potassium salt,” “mineral salt,” and “sodium reduced salt” in six official languages of the United Nations were used for the search. Information about the brand, formula, labeling, and price was extracted and analyzed. Results A total of 87 low-sodium salts were available in 47 out of 195 (24%) countries worldwide, including 28 high-income countries, 13 upper-middle-income countries, and 6 lower-middle-income countries. The proportion of sodium chloride varied from 0% (sodium-free) to 88% (as percent of weight; regular salt is 100% sodium chloride). Potassium chloride was the most frequent component with levels ranging from 0% to 100% (potassium chloride salt). A total of 43 (49%) low-sodium salts had labels with the potential health risks, and 33 (38%) had labels with the potential health benefits. The median price of low-sodium salts in high-income, upper-middle-income, and lower-middle-income countries was US $15.00/kg (IQR 6.4-22.5), US $2.70/kg (IQR 1.7-5.5), and US $2.90/kg (IQR 0.50-22.2), respectively. The price of low-sodium salts was between 1.1 and 14.6 times that of regular salts. Conclusions Low-sodium salts are not widely available and are commonly more expensive than regular salts. Policies that promote the availability, affordability, and labeling of low-sodium salts should increase uptake, helping populations reduce blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular diseases. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.1111/jch.14054
Revisiting the Acquisition of Onset Complexity: Affrication in Québec French

Abstract I investigate the acquisition of affrication in Québec French (QF), where affricates are in complementary distribution with coronal stops, being realized before high front vowels and glides. Previous research on other languages shows that affricates are acquired before branching onsets, which supports the idea that complexity at the level of the segment is acquired before complexity at the level of the syllable (Lleó & Prinz, 1997). In contrast, I hypothesize that affricates are acquired after branching onsets in QF, as learners are required to understand the constraints on their distribution. I examine longitudinal data from two QF-speaking children for whom the acquisition of branching onsets has been previously analyzed (Rose, 2000). Results show that affricates are indeed acquired after branching onsets, consistent with the hypothesis. Overapplication errors indicate that children make generalizations about the phonological constraints on affrication from an early age, which is expected for the acquisition of rules.