Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-Scale Synthesis Route of TiO2 Nanomaterials with Controlled Morphologies Using Hydrothermal Method and TiO2 Aggregates as Precursor

TiO2 of controlled morphologies have been successfully prepared hydrothermally using TiO2 aggregates of different sizes. Different techniques were used to characterize the prepared TiO2 powder such as XRD, XPS, FEGSEM, EDS, and HRTEM. It was illustrated that the prepared TiO2 powders are of high crystallinity with different morphologies such as nanobelt, nanourchin, and nanotube depending on the synthesis conditions of temperature, time, and additives. The mechanism behind the formation of prepared morphologies is proposed involving nanosheet intermediate formation. Furthermore, it was found that the nanoparticle properties were governed by those of TiO2 nanoparticles aggregate used as a precursor. For example, the size of prepared nanobelts was proven to be influenced by the aggregates size used as a precursor for the synthesis.
Obstruction-Aware Signal-Loss-Tolerant Indoor Positioning Using Bluetooth Low Energy

Indoor positioning is getting increased attention due to the availability of larger and more sophisticated indoor environments. Wireless technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) may provide inexpensive solutions. In this paper, we propose obstruction-aware signal-loss-tolerant indoor positioning (OASLTIP), a cost-effective BLE-based indoor positioning algorithm. OASLTIP uses a combination of techniques together to provide optimum tracking performance by taking into account the obstructions in the environment, and also, it can handle a loss of signal. We use running average filtering to smooth the received signal data, multilateration to find the measured position of the tag, and particle filtering to track the tag for better performance. We also propose an optional receiver placement method and provide the option to use fingerprinting together with OASLTIP. Moreover, we give insights about BLE signal strengths in different conditions to help with understanding the effects of some environmental conditions on BLE signals. We performed extensive experiments for evaluation of the OASLTool we developed. Additionally, we evaluated the performance of the system both in a simulated environment and in real-world conditions. In a highly crowded and occluded office environment, our system achieved 2.29 m average error, with three receivers. When simulated in OASLTool, the same setup yielded an error of 2.58 m.
Phase Compensation of the Non-Uniformity of the Liquid Crystal on Silicon Spatial Light Modulator at Pixel Level

Phase compensation is a critical step for the optical measuring system using spatial light modulator (SLM). The wavefront distortion from SLM is mainly caused by the phase modulation non-linearity and non-uniformity of SLM’s physical structure and environmental conditions. A phase modulation characteristic calibration and compensation method for liquid crystal on silicon spatial light modulator (LCoS-SLM) with a Twyman-Green interferometer is illustrated in this study. A method using two sequences of phase maps is proposed to calibrate the non-uniformity character over the whole aperture of LCoS-SLM at pixel level. A phase compensation matrix is calculated to correct the actual phase modulation of the LCoS-SLM and ensure that the designed wavefront could be achieved. Compared with previously known compensation methods, the proposed method could obtain the phase modulation characteristic curve of each pixel on the LCoS-SLM, rather than a mono look-up table (LUT) curve or multi-LUT curves corresponding to an array of blocks over the whole aperture of the LCoS-SLM. The experiment results show that the phase compensation precision could reach a peak-valley value of 0. 061λ in wavefront and this method can be applied in generating freeform wave front for precise optical performance.
Building a specialized lexicon for breast cancer clinical trial subject eligibility analysis

A natural language processing (NLP) application requires sophisticated lexical resources to support its processing goals. Different solutions, such as dictionary lookup and MetaMap, have been proposed in the healthcare informatics literature to identify disease terms with more than one word (multi-gram disease named entities). Although a lot of work has been done in the identification of protein- and gene-named entities in the biomedical field, not much research has been done on the recognition and resolution of terminologies in the clinical trial subject eligibility analysis. In this study, we develop a specialized lexicon for improving NLP and text mining analysis in the breast cancer domain, and evaluate it by comparing it with the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT). We use a hybrid methodology, which combines the knowledge of domain experts, terms from multiple online dictionaries, and the mining of text from sample clinical trials. Use of our methodology introduces 4243 unique lexicon items, which increase bigram entity match by 38.6% and trigram entity match by 41%. Our lexicon, which adds a significant number of new terms, is very useful for matching patients to clinical trials automatically based on eligibility matching. Beyond clinical trial matching, the specialized lexicon developed in this study could serve as a foundation for future healthcare text mining applications.
Virus Control in Vaccinated Rhesus Macaques Is Associated with Neutralizing and Capturing Antibodies against the SHIV Challenge Virus but Not with V1V2 Vaccine–Induced Anti-V2 Antibodies Alone

Key Points Vaccines were designed to induce only V1V2 Abs in NHP before SHIV challenge. Vaccine-induced V2 Abs did not independently control SHIV infection. Neutralizing and virus capture anti-Env Abs correlated with SHIV virus control. Visual Abstract The role of vaccine-induced anti-V2 Abs was tested in three protection experiments in rhesus macaques. In an experiment using immunogens similar to those in the RV144 vaccine trial (Anti-envelope [Env]), nine rhesus macaques were coimmunized with gp16092TH023 DNA and SIV gag and gp120A244 and gp120MN proteins. In two V2-focused experiments (Anti-V2 and Anti-V2 Mucosal), nine macaques in each group were immunized with V1V292TH023 DNA, V1V2A244 and V1V2CasaeA2 proteins, and cyclic V2CaseA2 peptide. DNA and protein immunogens, formulated in Adjuplex, were given at 0, 4, 12, and 20 weeks, followed by intrarectal SHIVBaL.P4 challenges. Peak plasma viral loads (PVL) of 106–107 copies/ml developed in all nine sham controls. Overall, PVL was undetectable in one third of immunized macaques, and two animals tightly controlled the virus with the Anti-V2 Mucosal vaccine strategy. In the Anti-Env study, Abs that captured or neutralized SHIVBaL.P4 inversely correlated with PVL. Conversely, no correlation with PVL was found in the Anti-V2 experiments with nonneutralizing plasma Abs that only captured virus weakly. Titers of Abs against eight V1V2 scaffolds and cyclic V2 peptides were comparable between controllers and noncontrollers as were Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and Ab-dependent cell-mediated virus inhibition activities against SHIV-infected target cells and phagocytosis of gp120-coated beads. The Anti-Env experiment supports the role of vaccine-elicited neutralizing and nonneutralizing Abs in control of PVL. However, the two V2-focused experiments did not support a role for nonneutralizing V2 Abs alone in controlling PVL, as neither Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, Ab-dependent cell-mediated virus inhibition, nor phagocytosis correlated inversely with heterologous SHIVBaL.P4 infection.
Silk-Based Materials for Hard Tissue Engineering

Hard tissues, e.g., bone, are mechanically stiff and, most typically, mineralized. To design scaffolds for hard tissue regeneration, mechanical, physico-chemical and biological cues must align with those found in the natural tissue. Combining these aspects poses challenges for material and construct design. Silk-based materials are promising for bone tissue regeneration as they fulfill several of such necessary requirements, and they are non-toxic and biodegradable. They can be processed into a variety of morphologies such as hydrogels, particles and fibers and can be mineralized. Therefore, silk-based materials are versatile candidates for biomedical applications in the field of hard tissue engineering. This review summarizes silk-based approaches for mineralized tissue replacements, and how to find the balance between sufficient material stiffness upon mineralization and cell survival upon attachment as well as nutrient supply.
Predictive Value of Plasma NGAL:Hepcidin-25 for Major Adverse Kidney Events After Cardiac Surgery with Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Pilot Study

Background Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and hepcidin-25 are involved in catalytic iron-related kidney injury after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. We explored the predictive value of plasma NGAL, plasma hepcidin-25, and the plasma NGAL:hepcidin-25 ratio for major adverse kidney events (MAKE) after cardiac surgery. Methods We compared the predictive value of plasma NGAL, hepcidin-25, and plasma NGAL:hepcidin-25 with that of serum creatinine (Cr) and urinary output and protein for primary-endpoint MAKE (acute kidney injury [AKI] stages 2 and 3, persistent AKI >48 hours, acute dialysis, and in-hospital mortality) and secondary-endpoint AKI in 100 cardiac surgery patients at intensive care unit (ICU) admission. We performed ROC curve, logistic regression, and reclassification analyses. Results At ICU admission, plasma NGAL, plasma NGAL:hepcidin-25, plasma interleukin-6, and Cr predicted MAKE (area under the ROC curve [AUC]: 0.77, 0.79, 0.74, and 0.74, respectively) and AKI (0.73, 0.89, 0.70, and 0.69). For AKI prediction, plasma NGAL:hepcidin-25 had a higher discriminatory power than Cr (AUC difference 0.26 [95% CI 0.00–0.53]). Urinary output and protein, plasma lactate, C-reactive protein, creatine kinase myocardial band, and brain natriuretic peptide did not predict MAKE or AKI (AUC <0.70). Only plasma NGAL:hepcidin-25 correctly reclassified patients according to their MAKE and AKI status (category-free net reclassification improvement: 0.82 [95% CI 0.12–1.52], 1.03 [0.29–1.77]). After adjustment to the Cleveland risk score, plasma NGAL:hepcidin-25 ≥0.9 independently predicted MAKE (adjusted odds ratio 16.34 [95% CI 1.77–150.49], P=0.014). Conclusions Plasma NGAL:hepcidin-25 is a promising marker for predicting postoperative MAKE.
How We Assess Spatial Neglect Matters

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and functional impact of unilateral spatial neglect on right hemisphere stroke patients in an inpatient rehabilitation facility using a multidimensional, functionally based behavioral measure (Catherine Bergego Scale [CBS]). Design This was a retrospective cohort study of 742 consecutive admissions of patients with right hemispheric stroke to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Spatial neglect was assessed using the CBS. Functional impact of neglect was measured by hospital length of stay, Functional Independence Measure change per day, discharge destination, and number of falls. Results As measured by the CBS, 86% of the right hemisphere stroke patients had symptoms of spatial neglect. Moderate and severe neglect was associated with less Functional Independence Measure change per day and lower rates of community discharge. The presence of neglect was not significantly associated with fall rate or length of hospital stay after controlling for admission Functional Independence Measure scores and age. The “difficulty looking left” CBS item had the strongest relationship with total CBS scores and effectively predicted Functional Independence Measure change per day and discharge destination. Conclusions Using a sensitive measure, the CBS, rates of spatial neglect are extremely high in right hemisphere stroke patients entering inpatient rehabilitation. Both identification and determination of neglect severity are extremely important given their significant relationship to rehabilitation outcomes and discharge destinations. To Claim CME Credits Complete the self-assessment activity and evaluation online at http://www.physiatry. org/JournalCME CME Objectives Upon completion of this article, the reader should be able to (1) describe why carefully assessing spatial neglect in right hemisphere stroke patients is important; (2) identify multiple dimensions of spatial neglect assessed by the Catherine Bergego Scale and how this approach differs from traditional paper and pencil assessment methods; and (3) describe the relationship between spatial neglect as measured by the Catherine Bergego Scale and functional outcomes of right hemisphere stroke patients in inpatient rehabilitation settings. Level Advanced Accreditation The Association of Academic Physiatrists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Association of Academic Physiatrists designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Individual Magnitudes of Neural Variability Quenching are Associated with Motion Perception Abilities.

Remarkable trial-by-trial variability is apparent in cortical responses to repeating stimulus presentations. This neural variability across trials is relatively high before stimulus presentation, and then reduced (i.e., quenched) ~0.2s after stimulus presentation. Individual subjects exhibit different magnitudes of variability quenching, and previous work from our lab has revealed that individuals with larger variability quenching exhibit lower (i.e., better) perceptual thresholds in a contrast discrimination task. Here, we examined whether similar findings were also apparent in a motion detection task, which is processed by distinct neural populations in the visual system. We recorded EEG data from 35 adult subjects as they detected the direction of coherent motion in random dot kinematograms. The results demonstrated that individual magnitudes of variability quenching were significantly correlated with coherent motion thresholds, particularly when presenting stimuli with low dot densities, where coherent motion was more difficult to detect. These findings provide consistent support for the hypothesis that larger magnitudes of neural variability quenching are associated with better perceptual abilities in multiple visual domain tasks.
'You can't bullshit a bullshitter' (or can you?): Bullshitting frequency predicts receptivity to various types of misleading information.

Research into both receptivity to falling for bullshit and the propensity to produce it have recently emerged as active, independent areas of inquiry into the spread of misleading information. However, it remains unclear whether those who frequently produce bullshit are inoculated from its influence. For example, both bullshit receptivity and bullshitting frequency are negatively related to cognitive ability and aspects of analytic thinking style, suggesting that those who frequently engage in bullshitting may be more likely to fall for bullshit. However, separate research suggests that individuals who frequently engage in deception are better at detecting it, thus leading to the possibility that frequent bullshitters may be less likely to fall for bullshit. Here, we present three studies (N = 826) attempting to distinguish between these competing hypotheses, finding that frequency of persuasive bullshitting (i.e., bullshitting intended to impress or persuade others) positively predicts susceptibility to various types of misleading information and that this association is robust to individual differences in cognitive ability and analytic cognitive style.
Cell wall–associated effectors of plant-colonizing fungi

ABSTRACT Plant-colonizing fungi secrete a cocktail of effector proteins during colonization. After secretion, some of these effectors are delivered into plant cells to directly dampen the plant immune system or redirect host processes benefitting fungal growth. Other effectors function in the apoplastic space either as released proteins modulating the activity of plant enzymes associated with plant defense or as proteins bound to the fungal cell wall. For such fungal cell wall–bound effectors, we know particularly little about their molecular function. In this review, we describe effectors that are associated with the fungal cell wall and discuss how they contribute to colonization.
Video Game–Based Rehabilitation Approach for Individuals Who Have Undergone Upper Limb Amputation: Case-Control Study

Background Brain plasticity is an important factor in prosthesis usage. This plasticity helps with brain adaptation to learn new movement and coordination patterns needed to control a prosthetic hand. It can be achieved through repetitive muscle training that is usually very exhausting and often results in considerable reduction in patient motivation. Previous studies have shown that a playful concept in rehabilitation can increase patient engagement and perseverance. Objective This study investigated whether the inclusion of video games in the upper limb amputee rehabilitation protocol could have a beneficial impact for muscle preparation, coordination, and patient motivation among individuals who have undergone transradial upper limb amputation. Methods Ten participants, including five amputee participants and five able-bodied participants, were enrolled in 10 1-hour sessions within a 4-week rehabilitation program. In order to investigate the effects of the rehabilitation protocol used in this study, virtual reality box and block tests and electromyography (EMG) assessments were performed. Maximum voluntary contraction was measured before, immediately after, and 2 days after interacting with four different EMG-controlled video games. Participant motivation was assessed with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire and user evaluation survey. Results Survey analysis showed that muscle strength and coordination increased at the end of training for all the participants. The results of Pearson correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive association between the training period and the box and block test score (r8=0.95, P<.001). The maximum voluntary contraction increment was high before training (6.8%) and in the follow-up session (7.1%), but was very small (2.1%) shortly after the training was conducted. The IMI assessment showed high scores for the subscales of interest, perceived competence, choice, and usefulness, but low scores for pressure and tension. Conclusions This study demonstrated that video games enhance motivation and adherence in an upper limb amputee rehabilitation program. The use of video games could be seen as a complementary approach for physical training in upper limb amputee rehabilitation.
Senescence associated long non-coding RNA 1 regulates cigarette smoke-induced senescence of type II alveolar epithelial cells through sirtuin-1 signaling

Objective The primary aim of our study was to explore the mechanisms through which long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-mediated sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) signaling regulates type II alveolar epithelial cell (AECII) senescence induced by a cigarette smoke-media suspension (CSM). Methods Pharmacological SIRT1 activation was induced using SRT2104 and senescence-associated lncRNA 1 (SAL-RNA1) was overexpressed. The expression of SIRT1, FOXO3a, p53, p21, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 in different groups was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting; the activity of SA-β gal was detected by staining; the binding of SIRT1 to FOXO3a and p53 gene transcription promoters was detected by Chip. Results We found that CSM increased AECII senescence, while SAL-RNA1 overexpression and SIRT1 activation significantly decreased levels of AECII senescence induced by CSM. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we found that SIRT1 bound differentially to transcriptional complexes on the FOXO3a and p53 promoters. Conclusion Our results suggested that lncRNA-SAL1-mediated SIRT1 signaling reduces senescence of AECIIs induced by CSM. These findings suggest a new therapeutic target to limit the irreversible apoptosis of lung epithelial cells in COPD patients.
Foods for Plant-Based Diets: Challenges and Innovations

Plant-based diets have become popular as a means of reducing the environmental footprint of the diet and promoting human health and animal welfare. Although the percentages of vegetarians and vegans are low compared to omnivores, their numbers have increased significantly in the last years. The use of non-animal food products other than meat alternatives is also increasing and this tendency constitutes an opportunity for the food industry. In this review, we present that plant-based meat and milk alternatives are consolidated but that there is a niche for egg, seafood alternatives, and new products which may not resemble any traditional animal food. However, not all animal food substitutes are sustainable and some of them are even ultra-processed. In addition, there are concerns on safety and labeling, and consumers demand clear information and regulation. The challenges in this field are connected with food design and technology, sensory science, nutrition, and dietetics. Moreover, adequate selection and combination of foods is important in order to achieve consumer acceptance while preventing nutritional deficiencies in those who choose this type of diet.
Structural and optical properties of self-assembled AlN nanowires grown on SiO2/Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Self-assembled AlN nanowires (NWs) are grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) on SiO2/Si (111) substrates. Using a combination of in situ reflective high energy electron diffraction and ex situ x-ray diffraction (XRD), we show that the NWs grow nearly strain-free, preferentially perpendicular to the amorphous SiO2 interlayer and without epitaxial relationship to Si(111) substrate, as expected. Scanning electron microscopy investigation reveals significant NWs coalescence, which results in their progressively increasing diameter and formation of columnar structures with non-hexagonal cross-section. Making use of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), the NWs initial diameters are found in the 20–30 nm range. In addition, the formation of a thin (≈30 nm) polycrystalline AlN layer is observed on the substrate surface. Regarding the structural quality of the AlN NWs, STEM measurements reveal the formation of extended columnar regions, which grow with a virtually perfect metal-polarity wurtzite arrangement and with extended defects only sporadically observed. Combination of STEM and electron energy loss spectroscopy reveals the formation of continuous aluminum oxide (1–2 nm) on the NW surface. Low temperature photoluminescence measurements reveal a single near-band-edge (NBE) emission peak, positioned at 6.03 eV (at 2 K), a value consistent with nearly zero NW strain evidenced by XRD and in agreement with the values obtained on AlN bulk layers synthesized by other growth techniques. The significant full-width-at-half-maximum of NBE emission, found at ≈20 meV (at 2 K), suggests that free and bound excitons are mixed together within this single emission band. Finally, the optical properties of the hereby reported AlN NWs grown by PAMBE are comprehensively compared to optical properties of bulk, epitaxial and/or columnar AlN grown by various techniques such as: physical vapor transport, metal organic vapor phase epitaxy, metal organic chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy.