Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the Hydrogen Sulfide Signaling Pathway in Schwann Cells during Peripheral Nerve Degeneration: Multi-Omics Approaches

N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) inhibits peripheral nerve degeneration (PND) by targeting Schwann cells in a hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-pathway-dependent manner, but the underlying molecular and pharmacological mechanisms are unclear. We investigated the effect of NEM, an α,β-unsaturated carboxyl compound, on H2S signaling in in vitro- and ex vivo-dedifferentiated Schwann cells using global proteomics (LC-MS) and transcriptomics (whole-genome and small RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq)) methods. The multi-omics analyses identified several genes and proteins related to oxidative stress, such as Sod1, Gnao1, Stx4, Hmox2, Srxn1, and Edn1. The responses to oxidative stress were transcriptionally regulated by several transcription factors, such as Atf3, Fos, Rela, and Smad2. In a functional enrichment analysis, cell cycle, oxidative stress, and lipid/cholesterol metabolism were enriched, implicating H2S signaling in Schwann cell dedifferentiation, proliferation, and myelination. NEM-induced changes in the H2S signaling pathway affect oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, and the cell cycle in Schwann cells. Therefore, regulation of the H2S signaling pathway by NEM during PND could prevent Schwann cell demyelination, dedifferentiation, and proliferation.
The Experiences of Cervical Cancer Patients During Follow-Up Care in Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study

Purpose The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences among cervical cancer patients during follow-up care. Patients and Methods A qualitative study was conducted with purposively selected cervical cancer patients receiving follow-up treatment at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed via thematic analysis. Results The results obtained in this study indicated that women experienced a variety of physical and psychosocial difficulties in the context of cervical cancer care. The data analysis resulted in five themes. Women have undergone difficulties indicated as lack of satisfaction with the health care experience, dealing with treatment side effects, struggle in work and daily life, having stress, disruption in social relationships, and financial difficulties incurred because of their illness and treatment. Conclusion This study highlights that cervical cancer patient’s experience is the outcome of a complex interplay by personal, clinical, psychological, and social spheres. Thus, interdisciplinary approach between health and psychosocial professionals is needed during follow-up care in order to help women experience better psychosocial adjustment.
Managing Shaping Complexity in Reinforcement Learning with State Machines - Using Robotic Tasks with Unspecified Repetition as an Example

Reinforcement learning (RL) has been widely used in the field of robotics in recent years. It is an optimization process that finds a policy to maximize the expected reward. Thus, designing a suitable reward function is critical. Sparse reward is easier to design, but for complex tasks, such as robot operations with unspecified repetition, the agent can rarely receive useful reward signals. Dense reward with shaping may be used, but current practices are mostly ad hoc. In this paper, we demonstrate that reward shaping may be done in a more systematic way by using a set of design principles together with the reward machine. We applied the method to train neural networks with RL that can perform block stacking and block lining up tasks with unspecified repetition. The experimental results show that the resultant neural networks can achieve success rates up to 66% and 81% for block stacking and block lining up tasks respectively, which are far better than those using ad hoc sparse rewards.
Design and Evaluation of a Robust Power-Efficient Ternary SRAM Cell

This paper presents a novel ternary Static Random Access Memory (T-SRAM) cell. To validate the functionality of the proposed T-SRAM, carbon nanotube field-effect transistors are selected as a proof-of-concept, whereas either post-CMOS or CMOS technologies can replace it. Our T-SRAM intrinsically eliminates the need to store the intermediate ternary state’s voltage level, thus significantly reducing leakage power and increasing robustness. Extensive SPICE simulation and comparison results show that the proposed T-SRAM can be a promising alternative for CMOS SRAMs deploying in low-power edge AI. Further, the analysis verifies that the proposed design is more robust than previous implementations.
D-Penicillamine Reveals the Amelioration of Seizure-Induced Neuronal Injury via Inhibiting Aqp11-Dependent Ferroptosis

Repetitive seizures, a common phenomenon in diverse neurologic conditions such as epilepsy, can undoubtedly cause neuronal injury and our prior work reveals that ferroptosis is a contributing factor of neuronal damage post seizure. However, there is no drug available in clinical practice for ameliorating seizure-induced neuronal impairment via targeting ferroptosis. Our present work aimed to explore whether D-penicillamine (DPA), an originally approved drug for treating Wilson’s disease, inhibited neuronal ferroptosis and alleviated seizure-associated brain damage. Our findings revealed that DPA remarkably improved neuronal survival in kainic acid (KA)-treated mouse model. Furthermore, ferroptosis-associated indices including acyl-coA synthetase long chain family member 4 (ACSL4), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (Ptgs2) gene and lipid peroxide (LPO) level were significantly decreased in KA mouse model after DPA treatment. In a ferroptotic cell death model induced by glutamate or erastin, DPA was also validated to evidently suppress neuronal ferroptosis. The results from RNA-seq analysis indicated that Aqp11, a gene coding previously reported channel protein responsible for transporting water and small solutes, was identified as a molecular target by which DPA exerted anti-ferroptotic potential in neurons. The experimental results from in vivo Aqp11 siRNA transfer into the brain also confirmed that knockdown of Aqp11 abrogated the inhibitory effect of seizure-induced ferroptosis after DPA treatment, suggesting that the effects of DPA on ferroptosis process are dependent upon Aqp11. In conclusion, DPA can be repurposed to cure seizure disorders such as epilepsy.
Analyzing dispersion effects from replicated order-of-addition experiments

Abstract Dispersion effects may play a vital role, in addition to location effects, in exploring optimal addition orders of several materials in some chemical, industrial and pharmaceutical studies. Two replication-based statistical methods developed using frequentist and fiducial probability arguments are introduced in this paper to identify active dispersion effects from replicated order-of-addition experiments. Simulation results show that both approaches can maintain empirical sizes sufficiently close to the nominal level while their finite-sample performances are very similar. From a statistical perspective, the fiducial method can provide a unified probability framework to analyze dispersion effects as well as location effects. However, it is computationally more expensive than the frequentist method. Consequently, the frequentist method is recommended for real-world applications due to its low computational cost. A drug combination study is used to illustrate these two approaches. In addition, some eligible order-of-addition designs are collected in a catalogue for future work.
New conceptual design of portable bamboo bridge for emergency purposes

Portable bridges serve as routes for troops during the military operations and the disaster relief operation. Nowadays, bamboo has been regarded as one of the alternative construction materials for building and bridge structures. This paper presents the conceptual design of the portable bridge. Several types of portable bridges and bamboo bridges are reviewed in the current work. The characteristics, capability and method of construction of each bridge are discussed. Finally, the conceptual of the portable bamboo bridge for emergency purposes is presented. The idea of producing portable bridge is proposed in the current work as it is crucial for providing route for communities affected by natural disasters.
Prevalence of Prehypertension among Saudi Adults: A Narrative Review

Prehypertension is a pre-disease state wherein an individual has a blood pressure (BP) measurement above normal (≥120/80 mmHg) but below the hypertensive range (<140/90 mmHg). Large population-based studies have shown that individuals with a BP in the prehypertensive range have an increased risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular events. Despite these risks and high mortality rates associated with pre-hypertension, there are currently no reviews that define the prevalence of pre-hypertension in the Saudi population. To determine the magnitude of the pre-hypertension problem among Saudi adults and identify areas for future research based on the current gaps in the literature. This narrative review considers studies addressing the prevalence of pre-hypertension among Saudi adults; 8 studies were identified for this review. In total, 14,782 men and women participated in these studies. The overall prevalence of pre-hypertension in both sexes ranged from 18.5-54.9%. Men had higher rates of pre-hypertension (24.7-66.1%) than women (7-48.1%). A modifiable risk factor reported in the majority of the studies was increased adiposity. Lifestyle changes to reduce weight may be effective in preventing or at least delaying the progression to hypertension and its associated cardiovascular events. Large, prospective, epidemiological studies are needed to estimate the risk of incident hypertension and cardiovascular events in pre-hypertension patients. Randomized clinical trials are also needed to evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle modification and/or pharmacotherapy in reducing the risk of incident hypertension.
High-order tensor low-rank approximation with application in color video recovery

Abstract. Video denoising is an elementary but critical task in computer vision and has been widely studied in recent years. However, the existing denoising methods have inevitable drawbacks: some need to predefine rank, some ignore the local information, and most cannot deal with higher-order data. To overcome these shortcomings, we consider two high-order tensor low-rank approximation methods, aiming to achieve color video denoising in a mixed noise environment. First, we establish a high-order tensor framework. Based on this framework, high-order tensor robust principal component analysis (HRPCA) is proposed. Although HRPCA is capable of processing high-order data, there is still a loss of recovery details. Then, we develop another method called high-order tensor low-rank approximation with total variation regularization (HTV). In particular, the TV consists of frontal total variation (FTV) and global total variation (GTV), thus extending the HTV into HFTV and HGTV, respectively. Extensive experimental results of color videos show that the HRPCA and HTV are more efficient in dealing with denoising problems than other state-of-the-art methods.
MYO Armband-based a Master-Slave Heterolateral Elbow Joint Rehabilitation Robot System

Recent years, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, non-contact rehabilitation medical methods gain traction. The master-slave rehabilitation robot system which meet the good isolation effect has become the equipment that rehabilitation hospitals crave. During treatment, long-term ipsilateral rehabilitation guidance will easily cause muscle fatigue in the physiothesrapist’s guiding arm, while part of heterolateral control (like foot-hand control) may reduces the rehabilitation effect. In order to balance that, in this paper, a novel master-slave heterolateral elbow joint robot rehabilitation system is proposed. Physiotherapist control the patient’s heterolateral elbow joint robotic arm through the MYO armband, enabling the physiotherapist to observe the patient’s movements more intuitively while maintaining a safe distance from the patient face to face. The sEMG signal of the physiotherapist’s upper arm are transmitted to the system through the surface electromyography (sEMG) sensor in the MYO armband, so that it can realize the motion reconstruction of the driven end, thereby helping patients with heterolateral motion rehabilitation. To confirm the effectiveness of the system, the master-end elbow joint motion angle estimated by the sEMG signal are compared with the actually grasped hetero-slave-end motion angle obtained from the IMU by us. At the moment, the control accuracy of the mechanical system and the recognition accuracy of the prediction period are analyzed by us. The experiment proves the feasibility of this master-slave heterolateral elbow rehabilitation robot system.
At Which Spatial Scale Does Crop Diversity Enhance Natural Enemy Populations and Pest Control? An Experiment in a Mosaic Cropping System

The importance of plant richness to enhance the presence, biodiversity and efficiency of natural enemies in agricultural systems has largely been studied and demonstrated these last decades. Planting and preserving non-crop plants or manipulating crop richness in fields are practices that have proven their efficiency. However, the impact of crop-richness continuity in space and time on pests and natural enemies at a landscape scale remains poorly studied. In a two-year study, we assessed the effect of crop richness (single crop vs. multiple crops) on pest and natural enemy abundance and spillover in a field experiment in north-east China. Overall, we found crop diversity had a limited impact on pest and natural enemy abundance at the spatial scale tested (0.025 vs. 0.2 ha). The total pest and natural enemy abundances were not different between single-crop and multi-crop plots in either year, and the community composition at the functional group level was mostly determined by the crop but not crop diversity. However, we found that crop diversity influenced the numeric response of ladybirds to aphids in wheat; their negative response (higher abundance where aphid abundance was lower, suggesting predation) was attenuated in multi-crop plots (no correlation of aphid and ladybird abundance, suggesting the use of alternative resources). This pattern was not found in maize. Finally, crop succession enhanced the spillover of ladybirds from wheat and maize to cotton plots but with limited benefits for aphid control. Because of these limited impacts, we hypothesized that crop diversity may benefit natural enemy populations and enhance pest control at larger spatial scales; while we found similar abundances of ladybirds between our small (0.025–0.2 ha) plots and in large (2 ha) close-by cotton fields, aphid abundances were more than ten times higher in large cotton fields. Our study highlights the need to accurately estimate the spatial scale at which crop biodiversity may benefit pest control, in relation to the ecology of the target pest and natural enemies.
Quantum circuit learning

We propose a classical-quantum hybrid algorithm for machine learning on near-term quantum processors, which we call quantum circuit learning. A quantum circuit driven by our framework learns a given task by tuning parameters implemented on it. The iterative optimization of the parameters allows us to circumvent the high-depth circuit. Theoretical investigation shows that a quantum circuit can approximate nonlinear functions, which is further confirmed by numerical simulations. Hybridizing a low-depth quantum circuit and a classical computer for machine learning, the proposed framework paves the way toward applications of near-term quantum devices for quantum machine learning.
Compact meandered RFID tag antenna with high read range for UHF band applications

In this work, a compact, long read range, and an efficient spiral loop structure coupled tag antenna is proposed for UHF‐RFID applications. Meandered line element is inductively coupled to spiral loop for matching its input impedance to Higgs‐4 chip. Equivalent circuit of antenna is extracted to analyze its working mechanism in the operating band. Experimental characterization validates the performance of proposed tag antenna in free space and on cardboard sheet in terms of read range, tag sensitivity, and differential radar cross section with an EIRP of 3.28 W. The measured radiation pattern of the tag is found to be omnidirectional in H plane and figure of eight in E plane. The tag's read range is measured on objects like fiber, wood, plastic, and glass in outdoor scenario to study its environment tolerance. The tag antenna has volumetric size of 1736 mm3 and read range of 13.6 m in US RFID band.
Factors Supporting the Transition to a Green European Economy and Funding Mechanisms

The transition from fossil fuels to fuels from renewable energy sources can lead to decentralisation of the energy systems, causing structural changes in economic and political relations between countries. The economy of the energy transition will change the global economic map. The move to the “new” “green” European Economy can be achieved in a sustainable way, as long as, certain catalysts are identified and appropriate financial support mechanisms are anchored. This research paper addresses the issue of identifying such factors that, being aggregated, can support the complex process of transition to a new economy. The case study of the research proposes a specific methodology for the analysis of exogenous factors: the energy consumption from fossil fuels, the consumption of renewable energy, the number of researchers involved in research and development (generically assimilated to innovation), and the value of domestic credit to the private sector. The influences of exogenous factors on two endogenous factors are analyzed: Gross Domestic Product and exports of goods and services, representative of the economic dimension, at the level of selected countries in the European Union. The results obtained show that all four independent variables significantly influence the economic performance of selected countries in the European Union, analyzed in terms of Gross Domestic Product and exports of goods and services. The significant impact of energy consumption from renewable sources is noticeable. The research also includes a dedicated section to correlate the results of the empirical study with the financial dimension of the instruments developed to support the energy transition.
Exploiting the Common Case When Accelerating Input-Dependent Stream Processing by FPGA

FPGAs have traditionally been successful in accelerating stream processing applications where the amount and type of work performed on each record—e.g., image, packet—do not depend on the record's contents. On the other hand, accelerating ‘input-dependent’ stream processing on FPGAs presents a much more challenging problem where different records in the stream can require widely different operations. It is inefficient and unnecessary to support all operations at the same throughput when the distributions of the operations are skewed. In this paper, we examine the application of the ”make the common case fast” strategy to efficiently accelerate ‘input-dependent’ stream processing on FPGAs. In particular, we study the use of fast-slow path and early-exit techniques in the design of an FPGA-accelerated network intrusion prevention system (IPS). To avoid overfitting when common-case behavior is varied, we further examine compile-time re-tuning and runtime adaptation techniques. A quantitative analysis shows that fast-slow path and early-exit techniques can save an order of magnitude of resources compared to a common-case unaware IPS design. Compile-time re-tuning to specific conditions further achieves 30% – 94% BRAM savings relative to a generalized design. Adding runtime adaptation improves the zero-loss throughput by 1.43 – 2.75 × compared to a fixed design.
A Point-of-Care Digital Workflow for 3D Printed Passive Presurgical Orthopedic Plates in Cleft Care

Cleft lip and palate are one of the most common congenital craniofacial malformations. As an initial treatment, presurgical orthopedics is considered standard treatment at many cleft centers. Digital impressions are becoming feasible in cleft care. Computer-aided design (CAD) and three-dimensional (3D) printing are manufacturing standards in dentistry. The assimilation of these technologies has the potential to alter the traditional workflow for the fabrication of customized presurgical orthopedic plates. We present a digital workflow comprising three steps: 3D digital image acquisition with an intraoral scanner, open-source CAD modeling, and point-of-care 3D printing for the fabrication of personalized passive presurgical plates for newborns with cleft lip and palate. The digital workflow resulted in patient-related benefits, such as no risk of airway obstruction with quicker data acquisition (range 1–2.5 min). Throughput time was higher in the digital workflow 260–350 min compared to 135 min in the conventional workflow. The manual and personal intervention time was reduced from 135 min to 60 min. We show a clinically useful digital workflow for presurgical plates in cleft treatment. Once care providers overcome procurement costs, digital impressions, and point-of-care 3D printing will simplify these workflows and have the potential to become standard for cleft care.
Permutation Test Approach for Ordered Alternatives in Randomized Complete Block Design: A Comparative Study

Randomized complete block design is one of the most used experimental designs in statistical analysis. For testing ordered alternatives in randomized complete block design, parametric tests are used if random sample are drawn from Normal distribution. If normality assumption is not provide, nonparametric methods are used. In this study, we are interested nonparametric tests and we introduce briefly the nonparametric tests, such as Page, Modified Page and Hollander tests. We also give Permutation Version of Page test. We compare the performance of these tests in terms of the empirical type I error rates and powers of tests. Key words: Permutation test, Page test, Hollander test, Modified Page test, Simulation study
An ultrasound-guided percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation regimen devised using finite element modeling promotes functional recovery after median nerve transection

Percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation of an injured nerve can promote and accelerate peripheral nerve regeneration and improve function. When performing acupuncture and moxibustion, locating the injured nerve using ultrasound before percutaneous nerve stimulation can help prevent further injury to an already injured nerve. However, stimulation parameters have not been standardized. In this study, we constructed a multi-layer human forearm model using finite element modeling. Taking current density and activated function as optimization indicators, the optimal percutaneous nerve stimulation parameters were established. The optimal parameters were parallel placement located 3 cm apart with the injury site at the midpoint between the needles. To validate the efficacy of this regimen, we performed a randomized controlled trial in 23 patients with median nerve transection who underwent neurorrhaphy. Patients who received conventional rehabilitation combined with percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation experienced greater improvement in sensory function, motor function, and grip strength than those who received conventional rehabilitation combined with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. These findings suggest that the percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation regimen established in this study can improve global median nerve function in patients with median nerve transection.