Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overcoming Salience Bias: How Real-Time Feedback Fosters Resource Conservation

Inattention and imperfect information bias behavior toward the salient and immediately visible. This distortion causes costs to individuals, the organizations they work in, and soci- ety at large. We show that an effective way to overcome this bias is making the implications of one's behavior salient in real time, while individuals can directly adapt. In a large-scale field experiment, we gave participants real-time feedback on the resource consumption of a daily, energy-intensive behavior (showering). We find that real-time feedback reduced re- source consumption for the target behavior by 22%. At the household level, this led to much larger conservation gains in absolute terms than conventional policy interventions that provide aggregate feedback on resource use. High-baseline users displayed a larger conservation effect, in line with the notion that real-time feedback helps eliminate "slack" in resource use. The approach is cost-effective, technically applicable to the vast majority of households, and generated savings of 1.2 kWh per day and household, which exceeds the average energy use for lighting.The intervention also shows how digitalization in our every- day lives makes information available that can help individuals overcome salience bias and act more in line with their preferences.
Preliminary computational framework to map MRI-derived markers to predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy

Prediction of the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is still uncertain. On our previous CRT clinical research, we have found that a decrease in the ratio between the two principal axes of the 3D trajectory of the electrode at the pacing site (S1/S2) recorded before and after pacing could define a marker between responders and non-responders to CRT. The aim of this work is to design a framework to map the S1/S2 marker on the 3D ventricular anatomy as a preliminary test to verify if the concept of the S1/S2 may predict the response to CRT in a pre-implant scenario. Based on MR images of a CRT candidate, the 3D mesh of the left ventricle geometry is constructed. Using image registration we are able to track the deformation of the mesh throughout the cardiac cycle and to compute the trajectory of each point of the mesh. Then the S/S2 is calculated for every trajectory and mapped on a 3D geometry representation. We have applied this framework to one CRT patient, highlighting that in the area in which the electrode was placed the S/S2 was low. This value suggests a poor possibility of a pacing-induced decrease for the S1/S2 ratio after implant. Consistently the patient was classified as non-responder at the clinical follow-up. Ongoing work focuses on the clinical validation of S1/S2 as a tool for the prediction of CRT response and the acquisition of MR data of potential candidates to CRT for the assessment of the presented framework.
Renal denervation therapy beyond resistant hypertension.

It is estimated that over one billion people worldwide are affected by hypertension (HTN) and that over nine million annual deaths can be attributed to complications of HTN such as myocardial infarction, stroke and renal disease. The prevalence of HTN is constantly rising and this trend is expected to continue unless appropriate measures are taken (1,2). Importantly, even very mild reductions in blood pressure were linked to a large effect on rates of cardiovascular events (3,4).
Administration of daily 5 mg tadalafil improves endothelial function in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Abstract Introduction: Tadalafil is a promising phosphodiesterase (PDE) 5 inhibitor prescribed for erectile dysfunction (ED). Daily low dose (5 mg) of tadalafil has also been used for the treatment of male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). PDE5 inhibitors induce relaxation of smooth muscle cells in the urethra, prostate, bladder neck, and blood vessels. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of tadalafil on vessels endothelial function, in patients with male LUTS symptoms associated with BPH. Methods: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved this clinical study and informed consents had been obtained from 81 BPH patients. The following male LUTS parameters: international prostate symptom score (IPSS), overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS), voiding volume, max and mean voiding flow on voiding flowmetry examination and post-voiding residual urine (RU) were compared at 0, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after a daily dose of 5 mg tadalafil. In addition, erectile function was evaluated by the sexual health inventory for men (SHIM) score and vessels endothelial function and peripheral neuropathy were assessed by the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), ankle brachial index (ABI), and vibration perception threshold (VPT) at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment. Results: The mean age of 81 patients was 66.4 ± 11.4 years old. Their prostate size was 30.2 ± 22.1 ml. Male LUTS parameters including IPSS, OABSS, and RU showed significant improvement from 1 to 12 months after tadalafil administration. Max and mean voiding flow was significantly increased at 6 months after tadalafil treatment. The SHIM score showed significant improvement after 3 months. Whilst, the results of baPWV also showed significant improvement from 3 to 12 months. ABI was also significantly improved at 6 months. However, there was no change in the VPT at any time point. Conclusions: Tadalafil is effective for both male LUTS and ED. It is also shown that tadalafil improves baPWV, which we can conclude that higher vessels elasticity has been obtained. This major finding of this study shows that tadalafil has the potency to improve vessels endothelial dysfunction in patients with BPH.
Polymer-free graphene transfer for enhanced reliability of graphene field-effect transistors

We propose a polymer-free graphene transfer technique for chemical vapor deposition-grown graphene to ensure the intrinsic electrical properties of graphene for reliable transistor applications. The use of a metal catalyst as a supporting layer avoids contamination from the polymer material and graphene films become free of polymer residue after the transfer process. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the polymer-free transferred graphene shows closer properties to intrinsic graphene properties. The reliability of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) was investigated through the analysis of the negative gate bias-stress-induced instability. This work reveals the effect of polymer residues on the reliability of GFETs, and that the developed new polymer-free transfer method enhances the reliability.
Directional connectivity in the EEG is able to discriminate wakefulness from NREM sleep

A reliable measure of consciousness is of great interest for various clinical applications including sleep studies and the assessment of depth of anaesthesia. A number of measures of consciousness based on the EEG have been proposed in the literature and tested in studies of dreamless sleep, general anaesthesia and disorders of consciousness. However, reliability has remained a persistent challenge. Despite considerable theoretical and experimental effort, the neural mechanisms underlying consciousness remain unclear, but connectivity between brain regions is thought to be disrupted, impairing information flow. Objective: The objective of the current work was to assess directional connectivity between brain regions using directed coherence and propose and assess an index that robustly reflects changes associated with non-REM sleep. Approach: We tested the performance on polysomnographic recordings from ten healthy subjects and compared directed coherence (and derived features) with more established measures calculated from EEG spectra. We compared the performance of the different indexes to discriminate the level of consciousness at group and individual level. Main results: At a group level all EEG measures could significantly discriminate NREM sleep from waking, but there was considerable individual variation. Across all individuals, normalized power, the strength of long-range connections and the direction of functional links strongly correlate with NREM sleep stages over the experimental timeline. At an individual level, of the EEG measures considered, the direction of functional links constitutes the most reliable index of the level of consciousness, highly correlating with the individual experimental time-line of sleep in all subjects. Significance: Directed coherence provides a promising new means of assessing level of consciousness, firmly based on current physiological understanding of consciousness.
Hamstring Muscle Injury Prediction by Isokinetic Ratios Depends on the Method Used.

OBJECTIVES Hamstring muscle injury prediction by isokinetic strength ratios is low but could result from the method-depending either on the use of the limbs or of the sportsmen as references. We aimed to establish a predictive model including unilateral and bilateral ratios calculated from the dominant, nondominant, right, and left limb in injured and uninjured professional soccer players. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING Soccer team of the French Professional Premier League. PATIENTS Ninety-one professional soccer players. INTERVENTIONS Isokinetic muscle strength was prospectively measured at the beginning of 5 consecutive seasons (2009-2014). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Several bilateral, conventional, and functional ratios were calculated from isokinetic measurements at different angular speeds (60 and 240 degrees/s in concentric mode and 30 degrees/s in eccentric mode). Thirty-one soccer players had a hamstring injury during the seasons and were compared with 60 uninjured players. Four models were tested to predict the occurrence of hamstring injury from isokinetic ratios calculated in accordance with the dominant, nondominant, right, and left limb. RESULTS No predictive model was found when ratios were calculated from the dominant or the right limb. Two models of prediction were found when ratios were calculated from the nondominant or the left limb. In these 2 models, only the bilateral concentric hamstring-to-hamstring ratio at 60 degrees/s was predictive. The best prediction was found with the left limb. CONCLUSIONS We identified 2 low predictive models for hamstring muscle injuries depending on the limbs studied. Because of a low prediction, the consensual method used to predict hamstring muscle injury must be defined in future studies.
The Support to Rural India's Public Education System (STRIPES) Trial: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial of Supplementary Teaching, Learning Material and Material Support

Background The aim of the STRIPES trial was to assess the effectiveness of providing supplementary, remedial teaching and learning materials (and an additional ‘kit’ of materials for girls) on a composite of language and mathematics test scores for children in classes two, three and four in public primary schools in villages in the Nagarkurnool division of Andhra Pradesh, India. Methods STRIPES was a cluster randomised trial in which 214 villages were allocated either to the supplementary teaching intervention (n = 107) or to serve as controls (n = 107). 54 of the intervention villages were further randomly allocated to receive additional kit for girls. The study was not blinded. Analysis was conducted on the intention to treat principle, allowing for clustering. Results Composite test scores were significantly higher in the intervention group (107 villages; 2364 children) than in the control group (106 villages; 2014 children) at the end of the trial (mean difference on a percentage scale 15.8; 95% CI 13.1 to 18.6; p<0.001; 0.75 Standard Deviation (SD) difference). Composite test scores were not significantly different in the 54 villages (614 girls) with the additional kits for girls compared to the 53 villages (636 girls) without these kits at the end of the trial (mean difference on a percentage scale 0.5; 95% CI -4.34 to 5.4; p = 0.84). The cost per 0.1 SD increase in composite test score for intervention without kits is Rs. 382.97 (£4.45, $7.13), and Rs.480.59 (£5.58, $8.94) for the intervention with kits. Conclusions A 18 month programme of supplementary remedial teaching and learning materials had a substantial impact on language and mathematics scores of primary school students in rural Andhra Pradesh, yet providing a ‘kit’ of materials to girls in these villages did not lead to any measured additional benefit. Trial Registration Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN69951502
EVALUATION OF OVIPOSITION SUBSTRATES AND ORGANIC INFUSIONS ON COLLECTION OF CULEX IN FLORIDA

ABSTRACT Gravid mosquito traps are commonly used for both arbovirus surveillance and population surveillance of mosquitoes of the genus Culex. Oviposition substrates, used as baits in these traps, were tested against Culex under laboratory and field conditions. In the laboratory all substrates tested as 1% and 10% dilutions in 2-choice bioassays against female Cx. quinquefasciatus were significantly more effective than well water controls in eliciting oviposition. Strongest responses were to dilutions of dairy effluent, followed by larval water and infusions of alfalfa hay, alfalfa pellets, Bermuda hay, oak leaves, and Typha leaves, with lowest responses to cow manure infusion. In the field, few significant differences in collections were obtained between traps baited with different infusions. Significantly more Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. nigripalpus were collected in traps baited with cow manure infusion (highest) compared to alfalfa hay infusion (lowest). Responses of Cx. quinquefasciatus to dairy effluent and infusions of Bermuda hay, oak leaves, and Typha leaves were not significantly different from either cow manure infusion or alfalfa hay infusion. Responses of Cx. nigripalpus were highest to cow manure infusion and equally low to infusions of alfalfa hay and Typha leaves; moderate responses were observed to dairy effluent and infusions of Bermuda hay and oak leaves. Gravid females comprised 66.7–81.9% of the collections for each infusion type, with no significant difference among infusions in the proportion of gravid females collected.
CHEAP AND EFFICIENT PROTOCOL FOR THE ONE- POT MULTICOMPONENT SYNTHESIS OF DIHYDROPYRIMIDINONE DERIVATIVES USING SILICA NANOPARTICLES AS REUSABLE CATALYST

Multicomponent reactions have been successfully adopted by the chemists for the synthesis of a library of biologically active molecules. A one-pot practical synthesis of 3, 4-dihydro-pyrimidin-2(1H)-ones has been developed using silica nanoparticles (SiO2- NPs) as reusable catalyst. The advantages of using SiO2NPs are: ease to synthesize from readily available and inexpensive materials and stability at elevated temperatures.
diffeRS: A Mobile Recommender Service

Thanks to advances in mobile technology, modern mobile devices have become essential companions, assisting their users in attaining their daily tasks. It will not be long before these devices will become recommending companions, advising users about what data (e.g., restaurants) and what services e.g., podcast channels) they may enjoy in the local area at the present time Because of the very nature of the items (both data and services being suggested (i.e., location dependent and mobile with respect to the consuming user), recommendations cannot be computed on central servers and then pushed to the users. Rather, a novel decentralised mobile recommender service will have to be developed and deployed; instead of relying on global knowledge about users’ profiles, such service will have to exploit the wisdom of local communities to compute recommendations. Moreover, because of resource limitations of mobile devices, the algorithms it will employ will have to be computationally light. In this paper, we propose diffeRS, a totally decentralised mobile recommender service specifically designed for pervasive environments. diffeRS crafts a virtual view of the local community’s preferences, by exchanging users’ profiles via radio technology (e.g., Bluetooth)during periods of colocation. Profiles are stored locally and recommendations are computed using a lightweight algorithm. As our experimental evaluations demonstrate, diffeRS achieves an accuracy and coverage that are comparable
Conformational energy range of ligands in protein crystal structures: The difficult quest for accurate understanding

In this review, we address a fundamental question: What is the range of conformational energies seen in ligands in protein‐ligand crystal structures? This value is important biophysically, for better understanding the protein‐ligand binding process; and practically, for providing a parameter to be used in many computational drug design methods such as docking and pharmacophore searches. We synthesize a selection of previously reported conflicting results from computational studies of this issue and conclude that high ligand conformational energies really are present in some crystal structures. The main source of disagreement between different analyses appears to be due to divergent treatments of electrostatics and solvation. At the same time, however, for many ligands, a high conformational energy is in error, due to either crystal structure inaccuracies or incorrect determination of the reference state. Aside from simple chemistry mistakes, we argue that crystal structure error may mainly be because of the heuristic weighting of ligand stereochemical restraints relative to the fit of the structure to the electron density. This problem cannot be fixed with improvements to electron density fitting or with simple ligand geometry checks, though better metrics are needed for evaluating ligand and binding site chemistry in addition to geometry during structure refinement. The ultimate solution for accurately determining ligand conformational energies lies in ultrahigh‐resolution crystal structures that can be refined without restraints.
Heterogeneous time preferences and interest rates—the preferred habitat theory revisited

The influence of heterogeneous time preferences on the term structure is studied in the framework of a continuous-time pure exchange economy, in which agents have, apart from differential time preferences, the same degree of relative risk aversion. A closed-form solution for the financial equilibrium is obtained. In equilibrium, one long-term bond and one short-term bond form a complete market. Agents use these bonds to finance their consumption plans. The long-term bond is bought by agents with a long habitat. The short rate is a weighted average of the short rates which prevail in homogeneous economies populated by one type of agent only. It is shown by example that heterogeneity of time preferences can produce additional humps in the yield curve.
A 3D Fax Machine based on Claytronics

This paper presents a novel application of modular robotic technology. Many researchers expect manufacturing technology will allow robot modules to be built at smaller and smaller scales, but movement and actuation are increasingly difficult as dimensions shrink. We describe an application - a 3D fax machine - which exploits inter-module communication and computation without requiring self-reconfiguration. As a result, this application may be feasible sooner than applications which depend upon modules being able to move themselves. In our new approach to 3D faxing, a large number of submillimeter robot modules form an intelligent "clay" which can be reshaped via the external application of mechanical forces. This clay can act as a novel input device, using intermodule localization techniques to acquire the shape of a 3D object by casting. We describe software for such digital clay. We also describe how, when equipped with simple inter-module latches, such clay can be used as a 3D output device. Finally, we evaluate results from simulations which test how well our approach can replicate particular objects
Lifelog-based classification of mild cognitive impairment using artificial neural networks

The swift diagnosis and treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as a prestage of dementia, are important to reduce the enormous costs of dementia treatment. The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential features in human behavior to facilitate the early diagnosis of MCI. In order to extract specific features from lifelogs, we collected data of activity and sleep using Fitbit's wrist band worn day and night from 12 subjects, for 12 week each. These data were analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) for verification and 12 total numbers of the significant features are extracted, further these features used for classification based on artificial neural networks (ANNs). ANNs with 8 input neurons (extracted features), 4 hidden neurons, and output neurons (diagnosis) were used to classify the patients. The results indicate that lifelog-based classifier have a good capacity (AUC=0.81 ±0.08) to discriminate MCI patients from healthy controls.
Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid extracted from Boswellia serrata promotes Schwann cell proliferation and sciatic nerve function recovery

Frankincense can promote blood circulation. Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) is a small molecule with anti-inflammatory properties that is derived from Boswellia serrata. Here, we hypothesized that it may promote regeneration of injured sciatic nerve. To address this hypothesis, we established a rat model of sciatic nerve injury using a nerve clamping method. Rats were administered AKBA once every 2 days at doses of 1.5, 3, and 6 mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection for 30 days from the 1st day after injury. Sciatic nerve function was evaluated using the sciatic functional index. Degree of muscle atrophy was measured using the triceps surae muscle Cuadros index. Neuropathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Western blot analysis was used to detect expression of phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (p-ERK1/2) in injured nerve. S100 immunoreactivity in injured nerve was detected by immunohistochemistry. In vivo experiments showed that 3 and 6 mg/kg AKBA significantly increased sciatic nerve index, Cuadros index of triceps muscle, p-ERK1/2 expression, and S100 immunoreactivity in injured sciatic nerve of sciatic nerve injury model rats. Furthermore, for in vitro experiments, Schwann cells were treated with AKBA at 0–20 μg/mL. Proliferation of Schwann cells was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 colorimetry assay. The results showed that 2 μg/mL AKBA is the optimal therapeutic concentration. In addition, ERK phosphorylation levels increased following 2 μg/mL AKBA treatment. In the presence of the ERK1/2 inhibitor, PD98059 (2.5 μL/mL), the AKBA-induced increase in p-ERK1/2 protein expression was partially abrogated. In conclusion, our study shows that AKBA promotes peripheral nerve regeneration with ERK protein phosphorylation playing a key role in this process.
Continuous distributions of inhomogeneities in liquid-crystal-like bodies

By casting the theory of liquid-crystal-like materials within the framework of the theory of generalized Cosserat media, it becomes feasible to support the possible existence of continuous distributions of inhomogeneities at the microstructural level. The main feature of the formulation is the manner in which the constitutive functional is made to become sensitive to the presence of a special director field, thereby allowing for the application of general results of the theory of inhomogeneities of media with internal structure.