Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Following Influenza Vaccination: A Claims-Based Cohort Study Using Propensity Score Matching

Background: Prior studies have found a reduced risk of dementia of any etiology following influenza vaccination in selected populations, including veterans and patients with serious chronic health conditions. However, the effect of influenza vaccination on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk in a general cohort of older US adults has not been characterized. Objective: To compare the risk of incident AD between patients with and without prior influenza vaccination in a large US claims database. Methods: Deidentified claims data spanning September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2019 were used. Eligible patients were free of dementia during the 6-year look-back period and≥65 years old by the start of follow-up. Propensity-score matching (PSM) was used to create flu-vaccinated and flu-unvaccinated cohorts with similar baseline demographics, medication usage, and comorbidities. Relative risk (RR) and absolute risk reduction (ARR) were estimated to assess the effect of influenza vaccination on AD risk during the 4-year follow-up. Results: From the unmatched sample of eligible patients (n = 2,356,479), PSM produced a sample of 935,887 flu–vaccinated-unvaccinated matched pairs. The matched sample was 73.7 (SD, 8.7) years of age and 56.9% female, with median follow-up of 46 (IQR, 29–48) months; 5.1% (n = 47,889) of the flu-vaccinated patients and 8.5% (n = 79,630) of the flu-unvaccinated patients developed AD during follow-up. The RR was 0.60 (95% CI, 0.59–0.61) and ARR was 0.034 (95% CI, 0.033–0.035), corresponding to a number needed to treat of 29.4. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that influenza vaccination is associated with reduced AD risk in a nationwide sample of US adults aged 65 and older.
Efficient Modeling of Heat Conduction across Thin Surface Coatings on 3D Anisotropic Substrate

In aerospace applications, surface coatings have been widely applied for variouspurposes. One typical example is the use of thermal barrier coating (TBC) applied on anisotropic substrate for enhancing the heat resistance of the substrate under severe operational environments. Numerical modeling of thin coatings usually present difficulties for most techniques, due to their dimensional orders being far below that of the substrate. This paper presents a numerical methodology to efficiently model the heat conduction across thin layered coatings on 3D, generally anisotropic, media by the boundary element method (BEM). In the modeling, singularities of the surface-integrals are weakened by using Green’s Second Identity, where a newly introduced function is solved by the finite volume method. Using the proposed approach, the heat conduction problem can be efficiently analyzed, despite the great difference in dimensional orders in comparison with that of the substrate beneath, by simply employing very coarse surface meshes. Such analysis shows great efficiency in calculating the nearly singular boundary integrals for the modeling. Finally, two benchmark examples of thermal barrier coatings are analyzed to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Serological Evidence of Exposure to Onyong-Nyong and Chikungunya Viruses in Febrile Patients of Rural Taita-Taveta County and Urban Kibera Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya

Several alphaviruses, such as chikungunya (CHIKV) and Onyong-nyong (ONNV), are endemic in Kenya and often cause outbreaks in different parts of the country. We assessed the seroprevalence of alphaviruses in patients with acute febrile illness in two geographically distant areas in Kenya with no previous record of alphavirus outbreaks. Blood samples were collected from febrile patients in health facilities located in the rural Taita-Taveta County in 2016 and urban Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi in 2017 and tested for CHIKV IgG and IgM antibodies using an in-house immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and a commercial ELISA test, respectively. A subset of CHIKV IgG or IgM antibody-positive samples were further analyzed using plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT) for CHIKV, ONNV, and Sindbis virus. Out of 537 patients, 4 (0.7%) and 28 (5.2%) had alphavirus IgM and IgG antibodies, respectively, confirmed on PRNT. We show evidence of previous and current exposure to alphaviruses based on serological testing in areas with no recorded history of outbreaks.
VCSNet: V‐fused color saliency net

Image salient region detection methods, which can detect and extract interesting regions in pictures, have been a hot research direction in recent years. Most of current salient region detection algorithms and corresponding training datasets originated from general visual attention processes and primarily reflected attention to object shape in pictures. While color vision provided more useful information in vision systems, the color effect of visual attention should be and must be considered. First, we collected cue data of painting pictures from several observers using eye‐track recording technology when observers were asked to pay attention to color information of various paintings. Second, we constructed a color attention dataset, color saliency dataset (CSD), from the cue data and pictures. Thirdly, we designed a V‐fused color saliency net (VCSNet) model which included three modules: a color information fusion module, a prediction module, and an optimization module and trained the model using the CSD. Finally, we compared our method with previous algorithms on the CSD, and results showed that our method outperformed the previous algorithms in color saliency detection with MAE of 0.057 and Fmax of 0.265. We open source part of the self‐created dataset: https://github.com/InfiniteEM/ColorSaliencyDataSet.
An Academic-Community Research Partnership to Enhance Structural Competency for Health Equity

Abstract Scholars have begun to call for more formalized training of clinicians in “structural competency” as a way to address health inequities. Existing programs tend to focus on physicians. This continuing education program brought together a diverse group of academics and community partners to provide a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to structural competency training. The objective of this article is to outline the processes and procedures utilized to address structural determinants of health in a collaborative, community-based participatory research model. Study participants attended 12 weekly, two-hour seminars and completed electronic pre/post-knowledge surveys and a program evaluation form. The principal investigator and a graduate student reviewed open-ended survey responses using a grounded theory approach and summarized findings using narrative and descriptive statistics. Participants demonstrated an increased understanding of the distinction between structural competency and the social determinants of health. The program also led to successful collaborations on two research proposals. Even though structural determinants of health are distinct from the social determinants of health, many clinicians are unfamiliar with these distinctions. Working with an interdisciplinary team that includes community partnerships and individuals with diverse non-clinical areas of expertise can help healthcare professionals better understand these distinctions and how they influence patient outcomes. A multidisciplinary structural competency course can improve practical understanding of the structural determinants of health through an engaged community partnership platform.
Effects of Rumen-Protected Creatine Pyruvate on Meat Quality, Hepatic Gluconeogenesis, and Muscle Energy Metabolism of Long-Distance Transported Beef Cattle

Pre-slaughter long-distance transport resulted in a rapid depletion of muscle glycogen and led to a higher rate of dark, firm and dry (DFD) meat. Therefore, enhancing muscle glycogen reserves is critical for beef cattle prior to transportation. Creatine pyruvate (CrPyr) can provide simultaneous pyruvate and creatine and both are proven to promote the glycogen reserves. This study aimed to investigate the effects of transport treatment and dietary supplementation of rumen-protected (RP)-CrPyr on the meat quality, muscle energy metabolism, and hepatic gluconeogenesis of beef cattle. Twenty 18 month-old male Simmental crossbred cattle (659 ± 16 kg) were allotted 4 treatments based on a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two RP-CrPyr levels (140 g/d or 0 g/d) and two transport treatments (12 h or 5 min): ST_CrPyr0, ST_CrPyr140, LT_CrPyr0 and LT_CrPyr140. Three cattle per group were slaughtered after 30 days of feeding. The interaction of transport and RP-CrPyr had a significant effect on the muscle pH45 min, redness, glycogen content, GP, and AMP level (P < 0.05). Compared with short-distance transport, long-distance transport increased the muscle pH45 min value, redness, yellowness, drip loss, creatine level (P < 0.05), decreased muscle glycogen content, glycolytic potential (GP), and liver glucose amount (P < 0.05). Supplementation of RP-CrPyr decreased the activities of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase in serum, muscle pH24 h value, redness, yellowness, lactate content, AMP level, and AMP/ATP (P < 0.05), increased the muscle glycogen content, GP, hexokinase activity, ATP and ADP levels, and ATP/ADP, liver pyruvate and glucose contents, activity of pyruvate carboxylase in the liver of cattle than those in the nonsupplemented treatments (P < 0.05). These results indicated that dietary RP-CrPyr supplementation might be favorable to improve meat quality and regulatory capacity of energy metabolism of beef cattle suffering long-distance transport followed with recovery treatment by increasing muscle glycogen storage, energy supply, and hepatic gluconeogenesis.
Extended Object-Oriented Modeling of Intelligent Information Agent Planners

The development of artificial intelligence systems for information infrastructures is updated. The purpose of model-analytical intelligence of software information agents is described. Process approach to modeling of intelligent information agent planners is proposed. A family of extended object-oriented models of planners is presented. A method for generating knowledge about the quality profiles of planners is defined. The results of analytical modeling of intelligent information agent planners are presented and analyzed.
The Removal of a Textile Dye from an Aqueous Solution Using a Biocomposite Adsorbent

The adsorption mechanisms of methylene blue (MB) onto olive waste (residue) treated with KOH (OR-KOH) and onto an OR-KOH and PEG–silica gel composite (OR-KOH/PEG-SG) at various temperatures were investigated using a combination of experimental analysis and Monte Carlo ab-initio simulations. The effects of adsorption process variables such as pH, temperature, and starting adsorbate concentration were investigated. The experimental data were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich models. The maximum adsorption capacities of MB onto OR-KOH and OR-KOH/PEG-SG adsorbents reached values of 504.9 mg/g and 161.44 mg/g, respectively. The experimental FT-IR spectra indicated that electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bond formation were critical for MB adsorption onto the adsorbents generated from olive waste. The energetic analyses performed using Monte Carlo atomistic simulations explained the experimental results of a differential affinity for the investigated adsorbents and confirmed the nature of the interactions between methylene blue and the adsorbents to be van der Waals electrostatic forces.
STANDUP database of plantar foot thermal and RGB images for early ulcer detection

In this paper, we provide details of a research database consisting of 415 multispectral images (thermal and RGB images) of plantar foot from healthy (125 images) and diabetic subjects (290 images). The healthy subjects were members of two research laboratories (PRISME in France and IRF-SIC in Morocco). The second group was composed of type II diabetic patients who participated in an acquisition campaign at the Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo in Lima, Peru, as part of a study on the early detection of ulcers in patients with diabetic foot. The purpose of this article is to describe the recruitment and acquisition protocols as well as the equipment used to help other units create similar databases. Our database was created in the context of the European STANDUP Horizon 2020 project #777661, in which eight scientific research entities and high-tech companies partnered.
Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Cancer, and Toxicity Assessment of Tribulus terrestris—In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Tribulus terrestris L. belongs to the family Zygophyllaceae and integral part of various ancient medicinal systems including Chinese, Indian, and European to combat various health ailments. The aim of the present study was to assess the phytochemical constituents, in vitro antioxidant activity using DPPH, FRAP, and H2O2 assays, in vitro anticancer activity using MTT assay, and in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory properties of T. terrestris. The acute and sub-acute toxicity of extracts exhibiting most biological potential was examined using murine models. Liquid–liquid partitioning followed by RP–HPLC sub-fraction of crude extract was performed. After that, ESI-MS/MS analysis was done for the timid identification of bioactive metabolites responsible for bioactivities of sub-fractions and HPLC analysis to quantify the compounds using external standards. Among all extracts, T. terrestris methanol extract was noted to hold maximum phenolic (341.3 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (209 mg QE/g) contents, antioxidant activity in DPPH (IC50 71.4 µg/mL), FRAP (35.3 mmol/g), and H2O2 (65.3% inhibition) assays, anti-inflammatory activities in vitro at 400 µg/mL (heat-induced hemolysis, % inhibition 68.5; egg albumin denaturation, % inhibition 75.6%; serum albumin denaturation, % inhibition 80.2), and in vivo at 200 mg/kg (carrageenan-induced paw edema, % inhibition 69.3%; formaldehyde-induced paw edema, % inhibition 71.3%) and anticancer activity against breast cancer cell (MCF-7) proliferation (IC50 74.1 µg/mL). Acute and sub-acute toxicity studies recorded with no change in body weight, behavior, hematological, serum, and histopathological parameters in treated rats with T. terrestris methanol extracts when compared to control group. Fraction B obtained through liquid–liquid partitioning resulted in more bioactive potential as compared to the parent methanol extract. RP–HPLC analysis of fraction B resulted with four sub-fractions (TBTMF1-TBTMF4), wherein TBTMF3 delineated notable bioactive capabilities as compared to other fractions and parent methanol extract. ESI-MS/MS analysis of TBTMF3 resulted with tentative identification of myricetin, rutin, liquitrigenin, physcion, and protodioscin. It can be stated that T. terrestris is a potential bearing herb and findings of current study further verify the claims made in ancient medicinal systems. However, after investigation of each identified compound, it must be considered for drug discovery.
Mechanosensitive Piezo1 is crucial for periosteal stem cell-mediated fracture healing

The biomechanical environment plays a dominant role in fracture healing, and Piezo1 is regarded as a major mechanosensor in bone homeostasis. However, the role of Piezo1 in fracture healing is not yet well characterized. In this study, we first delineated that Piezo1 is highly expressed in periosteal stem cells (PSCs) and their derived osteoblastic lineage cells and chondrocytes. Furthermore, downregulation of Piezo1 in callus leads to impaired fracture healing, while activation by its specific agonist promotes fracture healing through stimulation of PSC-modulated chondrogenesis and osteogenesis, along with accelerated cartilage-to-bone transformation. Interestingly, vascular endothelial growth factor A is upregulated after Yoda1 treatment of PSCs, indicating an indirect role of Piezo1 in angiogenesis. Mechanistically, activation of Piezo1 promotes expression of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and its nuclear localization in PSCs, which in turn increases the expression and nuclear localization of β-catenin. In detail, YAP directly interacts with β-catenin in the nucleus and forms a transcriptional YAP/β-catenin complex, which upregulates osteogenic, chondrogenic and angiogenic factors. Lastly, Yoda1 treatment significantly improves fracture healing in a delayed union mouse model generated by tail suspension. These findings indicate that Piezo1 is a potential therapeutic target for fracture delayed union or nonunion.
Substrate associated biogeographical patterns in the north-western Pannonian forest-steppe

The north-western part of the Carpathian Basin is an important biogeographical crossroad. This transitional area between the forest-steppe biome of the Pannonian biogeographical region and the temperate forest biome hosts scattered patches of natural steppe embedded in forests, especially in rugged landscapes. The unique geographical position is reflected in the plant assemblages, which are composed of species of different origins, mainly central-European, continental, Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean. We sampled sites with well-preserved forest-steppe vegetation on different substrates across this region. At each site, we sampled the vegetation in three habitats: steppe, forest and ecotone. We then attempted to disentangle the influence of geographical location, climate and substrate on the species composition of forest-steppe landscapes and the percentage of the species with a particular type of distribution. We found that substrate is the main factor determining species sorting. Substrate is also largely responsible for the percentage of species with particular types of distribution. While continental species are most frequent on loess, Mediterranean species are mainly found on andesite. Sub-Mediterranean species are most frequent on dolomite and rare on loess. The distributions of these species can be explained by the environmental conditions in the core of their native ranges. The complexity of the distribution patterns of species in the north-western Pannonian forest-steppe shown in this study should be considered in the discussion of the environmental history of the region and conservation planning.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Escherichia coli Isolated from the Urine of Asymptomatic Students in a University in South-Western Nigeria

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a common occurrence among healthy students, with a tendency to develop intosymptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs). This study was carried out to investigate the occurrence andantimicrobial susceptibility profile of Escherichia coli from the urine of asymptomatic students. A total of 180 midstreamurine samples were collected from apparently healthy students, whose consents were sought. E. coli wasisolated and tested for their susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobial agents using the disk diffusion protocol.Result analysis was done using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the help of SPSS and level ofsignificance taken at p<0.05. The isolates showed resistance against 90% of the antibiotics used in this study with93.3% of the isolates resistant to cefuroxime and 35 % resistant to nitrofurantoin. Multidrug resistance (MDR) wasalso observed where the isolates showed resistance to at least three classes of the antimicrobial agents used in thisstudy. A multiple antibiotic resistance index greater than 0.2 was observed in over 80 % of the isolates. This studyshowed a rare occurrence in which almost all the Escherichia coli isolates showed resistance to over 90% of theantibiotics used in this study with the exception of nitrofurantoin which seems to be the most effective antibioticsagainst all the isolates. This situation portends grave danger to public health; hence, the need for high levelsurveillance and monitoring of the use of antibiotics in therapy as well as the molecular identification of theprevalent resistant strains.
Impedance Investigation of MIFM Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction Using a Comprehensive Small-Signal Model

The urge to develop efficient and ultra-low power architectures for modern and future technological needs lead to an increasing interest and investigation of neuromorphic and ultra-low power computing. In this respect, ferroelectric technology is found to be a perfect candidate to guide this technological transition. Elucidating the physical mechanisms occurring during ferroelectric-based devices operations is fundamental in order to improve the reliability of emerging architectures. In this work, we investigate metal/insulator/ferroelectric/metal (MIFM) ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) consisting of a ferroelectric hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) layer and an alumina (Al2O3) layer by means of C-f and G-f measurements performed at multiple voltages and temperatures. For a trustworthy interpretation of the measurements results, an innovative small signal model is introduced that goes beyond the state of the art by ${i}$ ) separating the role played by the leakage in the two layers; ii) including the impact of the series impedance (that depends on the samples layout); iii) including the frequency dependence of the dielectric permittivity; iv) accounting for the fact that not the whole HZO volume crystallizes in the orthorhombic ferroelectric phase. The model correctly reproduces measurements taken on different devices in different conditions. Results highlight that the typical estimation method for interface trap density may be misleading.
Strong coupling theory of the spinless charges on triangular lattices: Possible formation of a gapless charge-ordered liquid

We propose an existence of charge-ordered liquid state in the spinless fermion system on a triangular lattice under strong intersite Coulomb interactions, $V$. The classical ground state in the strong coupling limit is disordered due to geometrical frustration. The introduction of a quantum hopping term lifts the degeneracy and drives the system to a partially ordered phase, which we call a ``pinball liquid. '' A possibly long-range-ordered Wigner-crystal solid coexists with a liquid component which is moving around them like a pinball. This liquid is dominant over a wide range of filling and even away from the regular triangle. Relevance to the organic $\ensuremath{\theta}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{ET}}_{2}X$ is discussed.
Control System Development for Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Driven Active Rotor Systems

An active trailing-edge flap system for helicopter rotor blades using pneumatic artificial muscles was investigated, with the goal of generating flap deflections suitable for both vibration mitigation and primary flight control. Prior work with these actuators showed that large deflections were possible under full-scale conditions. This study developed and demonstrated an inner loop feedback controller that enables the flap to track the complex waveforms required to achieve its goal. Control algorithm development began with proportional feedback, but required the addition of a dead time compensator to reduce tracking error and increase bandwidth. The dead time compensator initially had a fixed value, though this transitioned to a variable to cope with potential changes in the dead time due to changing operating conditions. In this case, the system can continuously adjust the dead time estimate from the position error and predict future tracking error using that estimate, and adjust the control action acco.