Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skillful long‐range prediction of European and North American winters

Until recently, long‐range forecast systems showed only modest levels of skill in predicting surface winter climate around the Atlantic Basin and associated fluctuations in the North Atlantic Oscillation at seasonal lead times. Here we use a new forecast system to assess seasonal predictability of winter North Atlantic climate. We demonstrate that key aspects of European and North American winter climate and the surface North Atlantic Oscillation are highly predictable months ahead. We demonstrate high levels of prediction skill in retrospective forecasts of the surface North Atlantic Oscillation, winter storminess, near‐surface temperature, and wind speed, all of which have high value for planning and adaptation to extreme winter conditions. Analysis of forecast ensembles suggests that while useful levels of seasonal forecast skill have now been achieved, key sources of predictability are still only partially represented and there is further untapped predictability.
The IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer

We give here a brief report on the status of the IRAM Interferometer which is now in operation on Plateau de Bure. IRAM is a French-German founded Access The antennas are 15 meters in diameter, with a focal ratio of 0.325 . The sub-reflector has a diameter of 1.5 m. The receivers are in a cabin at the Cassegrain focus. The backup structure is made of carbon fiber tubes, and the reflecting sur face consists of 176 panels (carbon fiber plates on aluminium honeycomb). The current measured accuracy of the surface is typically 60 ^m rms. Holographic measurements have been started, aiming to improve this figure to reach the de sign goal of 50 //m. Three of the four antennas have being built, tested, and are now regularly used for astronomy as a three-element interferometer. Tracking is good for winds speeds up to 10 m/s. The pointing accuracy is 3" rms over the full sky. The fourth antenna is expected to be available in 1992. The antenna mounts incorporate self propelled transporters for moving the antennas along the tracks between stations. The antennas are described more
Evaluation of Low-Cost, Automated Lake Ice Thickness Measurements

Climate change is expected to decrease ice coverage and thickness globally while increasing the variability of ice coverage and thickness on midlatitude lakes. Ice thickness affects physical, biological, and chemical processes as well as safety conditions for scientists and the general public. Measurements of ice thickness that are both temporally frequent and spatially extensive remain a technical challenge. Here new observational methods using repurposed soil moisture sensors that facilitate high spatial–temporal sampling of ice thickness are field tested on Lake Mendota in Wisconsin during the winter 2015/16 season. Spatial variability in ice thickness was high, with differences of 10 cm of ice column thickness over 1.05 km of horizontal distance. When observational data were compared with manual measurements and model output from both the Freshwater Lake (FLake) model and General Lake Model (GLM), ice thickness from sensors matches manual measurements, whereas GLM and FLake results showed a thinner and thicker ice layer, respectively. The FLake-modeled ice column temperature effectively remained at 0°C, not matching observations. We also show that daily ice dynamics follows the expected linear function of ice thickness growth/melt, improving confidence in sensor accuracy under field conditions. We have demonstrated a new method that allows low-cost and high-frequency measurements of ice thickness, which will be needed both to advance winter limnology and to improve on-ice safety.
Pemanfaatan Nanoteknologi dalam Sistem Penghantaran Obat Baru untuk Produk Bahan Alam

Sejak dahulu banyak ekstrak dari bahan alam yang secara empiris dimanfaatkan untuk pengobatan. Ekstrak-ekstrak tersebut digunakan karena mengandung senyawa bioaktif yang dapat memberikan efek farmakologis. Isolat dari ekstrak tersebut diuji baik secara in vitro maupun in vivo untuk mengetahui efek dan bioavailabilitas dalam tubuh secara ilmiah. Namun demikian diperkirakan lebih dari 40% senyawa bahan alam memiliki kelarutan yang rendah di dalam air atau bahkan memberikan toksisitas yang tinggi. Kelarutan yang rendah di dalam air serta kurangnya kemampuan permeabilitas menembus barrier absorpsi dapat mempengaruhi bioavailabilitas senyawa bahan alam di dalam tubuh. Tidak hanya itu, bioavailabilitas suatu senyawa juga sangat dipengaruhi oleh stabilitas terhadap pH lambung dan kolon, metabolisme oleh mikroflora normal dalam saluran pencernaan, absorpsi melalui dinding usus, mekanisme aktif pompa efflux dan metabolisme lintas pertama. Solusi dari permasalahan tersebut adalah dengan mengembangkan sistem penghantaran obat yang dikenal dengan sistem penghataran obat baru (novel drug delivery system). Sistem penghantaran obat baru merupakan suatu sistem penghantaran obat yang lebih modern dengan cara mengontrol pelepasan obat sehingga aktivitas farmakologis menjadi lebih baik. Pembuatan sediaan berbasis teknologi baru ini dapat menjadi alternatif dalam pembuatan produk herbal dan diharapkan bioavailabilitas produk herbal dalam tubuh menjadi lebih baik sehingga dapat memberikan efek terapi yang lebih baik
WSTrack: A Wi-Fi and Sound Fusion System for Device-free Human Tracking

The voice assistants benefit from the ability to localize users, especially, we can analyze the user’s habits from the historical trajectory to provide better services. However, current voice localization method requires the user to actively issue voice commands, which makes voice assistants unable to track silent users most of the time. This paper presents WSTrack, a Wi-Fi and Sound fusion tracking system for device-free human. In particular, current voice assistants naturally support both Wi-Fi and acoustic functions. Accordingly, we are able to build up the multi-modal prototype with just voice assistants and Wi-Fi routers. To track the movement of silent users, our insights are as follows: (1) the voice assistants can hear the sound of the user’s pace, and then extract which direction the user is in; (2) we can extract the user’s velocity from the Wi-Fi signal. By fusing multi-modal information, we are able to track users with a single voice assistant and Wi-Fi router. Our implementation and evaluation on commodity devices demonstrate that WSTrack achieves better performance than current systems, where the median tracking error is 0.37m.
A Normalization Method for Unified Near-Field and Far-Field Localization

An improved normalization method for unified near- field and far-field localization is proposed. The localization problem could be solved in the modification polar coordinate system (MPR) by firstly linearizing the nonlinear equations and using the weighted least squares (WLS) to obtain a coarse solution, then the coarse solution is tightened by a new constraint about the correlation between signals. The simulation results show that the proposed method could achieve a more efficient result compared with the traditional unified localization methods.
Multiobjective Deep Reinforcement Learning Assisted Resource Allocation for MEC-Caching-Coexist System

In order to overcome the vicious competition between different high-volume services, we study the wireless resource sharing problem in the transmission process of the MEC-caching-coexist (MCCe) system with the capability of mmWave communications. The multiobjective Markov decision process (MOMDP) is introduced to model the task scheduling and resource allocation problem for the mmWave links, which aims to minimize the transmission delay and energy consumption simultaneously. Note that, for practical consideration, the exact channel information of all links are not known. We propose a novel multiobjective deep reinforcement learning with discrete-continuous hybrid action space (MODRL/HA) algorithm. In particular, the envelope updated design (EUD) is designed to realize the multiobjective optimization from the perspective of the Bellman operator. On the other hand, the parameterized network design (PND) is developed to deal with the hybrid action space of discrete task scheduling and continuous beamwidth and power variables. Our simulations show that, the MODRL/HA algorithm can improve 22% performance in terms of the tradeoff between delay and energy consumption compared with the benchmark schemes, which are original deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) and multiobjective DDPG (MODDPG) algorithms.
Optimizing the predictive power of depression screenings using machine learning

Objective Mental health self-report and clinician-rating scales with diagnoses defined by sum-score cut-offs are often used for depression screening. This study investigates whether machine learning (ML) can detect major depressive episodes (MDE) based on screening scales with higher accuracy than best-practice clinical sum-score approaches. Methods Primary data was obtained from two RCTs on the treatment of depression. Ground truth were DSM 5 MDE diagnoses based on structured clinical interviews (SCID) and PHQ-9 self-report, clinician-rated QIDS-16, and HAM-D-17 were predictors. ML models were trained using 10-fold cross-validation. Performance was compared against best-practice sum-score cut-offs. Primary outcome was the Area Under the Curve (AUC) of the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve. DeLong's test with bootstrapping was used to test for differences in AUC. Secondary outcomes were balanced accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and number needed to diagnose (NND). Results A total of k = 1030 diagnoses (no diagnosis: k = 775; MDE: k = 255) were included. ML models achieved an AUCQIDS-16 = 0.94, AUCHAM-D-17 = 0.88, and AUCPHQ-9 = 0.83 in the testing set. ML AUC was significantly higher than sum-score cut-offs for QIDS-16 and PHQ-9 (ps ≤ 0.01; HAM_D-17: p = 0.847). Applying optimal prediction thresholds, QIDS-16 classifier achieved clinically relevant improvements (Δbalanced accuracy = 8%, ΔF1-score = 14%, ΔNND = 21%). Differences for PHQ_9 and HAM-D-17 were marginal. Conclusions ML augmented depression screenings could potentially make a major contribution to improving MDE diagnosis depending on questionnaire (e.g., QIDS-16). Confirmatory studies are needed before ML enhanced screening can be implemented into routine care practice.
The Association between Malaria and β-Carotene Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: β-Carotene, which is a prominent carotenoid with notable antioxidant properties, may play a role in countering the oxidative stresses induced by malaria. The association between β-carotene levels and malaria is not yet fully understood, prompting this systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A rigorous search of databases, including Nursing and Allied Health Premium, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, was undertaken to collate studies that focused on β-carotene levels in malaria patients. The selected studies underwent critical appraisal, followed by data extraction for a meta-analysis. Results: Of the 2498 records initially identified, 10 were deemed suitable for synthesis. A considerable number of these studies indicated a pronounced reduction in β-carotene levels among malaria patients in contrast with uninfected individuals. The meta-analysis, encompassing 421 malaria patients and 240 uninfected controls, revealed a significant correlation between reduced β-carotene levels and malaria (p < 0.01, Hedges’s g: −1.26, 95% CI: −2.00–(−0.53), I2: 93.86%, seven studies). Conclusions: The conducted systematic review and meta-analysis corroborated the correlation between lower β-carotene levels and malaria. The intricate relationship between malaria and β-carotene merits deeper exploration. A comprehensive understanding of this association might pave the way for innovative therapeutic approaches leveraging the antioxidant attributes of β-carotene to combat malaria-induced oxidative stress.
Intratumour microbiota modulates adrenocortical cancer responsiveness to mitotane

The infiltrating microbiota represents a novel cellular component of the solid tumour microenvironment that can influence tumour progression and response to therapy. Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive endocrine malignancy for which mitotane (MTT) treatment represents the first-line therapy, though its efficacy is limited to a therapeutic window level (14–20 mg/L). Novel markers able to predict those patients who would benefit from MTT therapy are urgently needed to improve patient’s management. The aim of our study was to evaluate the presence of intratumoural bacterial microbiota DNA in 26 human ACC tissues vs 9 healthy adrenals; moreover, the association between the relative bacterial composition profile, the tumour mass characteristics and MTT ability to reach high circulating levels in the early phase of treatment, were explored. We found the presence of bacterial DNA in all adrenal samples from both tumours and healthy cortex specimens, documenting significant differences in the microbial composition between malignancy and normal adrenals: in detail, the ACC tissues were characterised by a higher abundance of the Proteobacteria phylum (especially the Pseudomonas and Serratia genera). In addition, the Proteobacteria’s low abundance was negatively associated with tumour size, Ki67 and cortisol secretion. MTT levels reached higher levels at 9 months in ACC patients with high abundance of Proteobacteria, Pseudomonas and Serratia and with low abundance of Bacteroidota, Firmicutes and Streptococcus. These findings are the first indication that human ACCs are characterised by infiltrating bacteria and their specific abundance profile seems to influence the increase in circulating MTT levels at 9 months.
Analyzing Three-Dimensional Laplace Equations Using the Dimension Coupling Method

Due to the low computational efficiency of the Improved Element-Free Galerkin (IEFG) method, efficiently solving three-dimensional (3D) Laplace problems using meshless methods has been a longstanding research direction. In this study, we propose the Dimension Coupling Method (DCM) as a promising alternative approach to address this challenge. Based on the Dimensional Splitting Method (DSM), the DCM divides the 3D problem domain into a coupling of multiple two-dimensional (2D) problems which are handled via the IEFG method. We use the Finite Element Method (FEM) in the third direction to combine the 2D discretized equations, which has advantages over the Finite Difference Method (FDM) used in traditional methods. Our numerical verification demonstrates the DCM’s convergence and enhancement of computational speed without losing computational accuracy compared to the IEFG method. Therefore, this proposed method significantly reduces computational time and costs when solving 3D Laplace equations with natural or mixed boundary conditions in a dimensional splitting direction, and expands the applicability of the dimension splitting EFG method.
Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and COVID-19 Infection—A Single Center Survey

Background: Previous research has shown different effects of hematological malignancies on the outcome of patients with COVID-19 infection depending on the type of disease and the treatment received. This research was aimed at examining the clinical outcome of COVID-19 infection in positive patients with chronic myeloid leukemia treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Methods: We collected retrospective information on chronic myeloid leukemia patients who were treated and monitored in our institution during the pandemic period. Within this cohort, we recorded COVID-19 positive symptomatic patients and analyzed their basic characteristics, symptoms, severity, and outcome. Results: In the study cohort when COVID-19 was diagnosed, 86.7% of patients were on first-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors therapy—imatinib. At the time of infection, 70% of patients were in molecular remission, 23.4% in complete cytogenetic remission, and 3.3% in complete hematological response. Most patients had symptomatic disease. Within the analyzed group, 56.7% of patients had asymptomatic/mild COVID-19 infection, 23.3% of patients had moderate symptoms which did not require hospitalization, and 20% of patients had severe/critical symptoms that required admission to the intensive care unit. More than half of the patients interrupted treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors temporarily during COVID-19. There were no deaths due to COVID-19 infection. Conclusions: In compliance with other larger clinical studies, analysis of the clinical outcome of COVID-19 infection in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia on tyrosine kinase inhibitors therapy in this study showed that they do not have an increased risk for COVID-19 infection and that they have a mild course of the disease with recovery.
Chemical and Physical Properties of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) Fillet Following Prolonged Feeding with Insect Meal-Based Diets

A 25-week experiment was undertaken to explore the effect of partial replacement of dietary fishmeal (FM) with black soldier fly meal (Hermetia illucens) (BS), mealworm meal (Tenebrio molitor) (MW), and a 1 : 1 mixture of both insect meals (BSMW) on fillet quality in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). A total of 96 fish with an average initial body weight of 248 ± 28 g were stocked into a recirculating aquaculture system and fed in four different dietary groups (control, BS, MW, and BSMW). No mortality was recorded in any of the groups. At the end of the feeding period, 24 fish (n = 6 for each treatment, weight between 690 and 822 g) were used for analysis. There was no alteration in filleting yield or other slaughter indices within experimental groups, except the hepatosomatic index. Among quality attributes, pH 24 hr postmortem exhibited a significant difference (p < 0.05). In respect of the fatty acid profile, the n-6/n-3 ratio ranged between 1.17 and 1.40 but was not significantly modified by the partial replacement of FM. Similarly, the proximate composition of the fillets was not significantly different between the control and experimental diet groups. The ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acids ranged between 0.67 and 0.79 in the fillets, without significant differences between groups. The atherogenic index was increased in the BS group, as compared to the others; however, the thrombogenicity index of fillets was not significantly affected. Similarly, the conventional quality traits of the fillet, such as cooking, drip, and thawing losses, did not differ within treatments. This study demonstrates that the dietary inclusion of black soldier fly and/or mealworm meals used for African catfish at the tested inclusion level has negligible impact on fillet properties.
Cardiovascular Prognosis of Subclinical Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Coronary Artery Disease

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) worsens prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the cardiovascular prognosis in patients with stable or mildly symptomatic COPD remains unclear. Here, we sought to determine the long-term cardiovascular events in patients with subclinical or early-stage COPD with concomitant CAD. Methods This was a longitudinal analytical study involving 117 patients with suspected or established CAD who underwent assessment of pulmonary function by spirometry and who were followed up for six years (March 2015–January 2021). The patients were divided into two groups, one comprising COPD (n=44) and the other non-COPD (n=73) patients. Cox regression was used to evaluate the association between COPD and cardiovascular events, with adjustment for the established CAD risk factors, and the effect size was measured by the Cohen test. Results COPD patients were older (p=0.028), had a greater frequency of diabetes (p=0.026), were more likely to be smokers (p<0.001), and had higher modified Medical Research Council scores (p<0.001). There was no difference between the groups regarding gender, body mass index, hypertension, dyslipidemia, family history of CAD, and type of angina. CAD frequency and the proportion of patients with severe and multivessel CAD were significantly higher among COPD than among non-COPD patients (all p<0.001). At six-year follow-up, patients with COPD were more likely to have experienced adverse cardiovascular events than those without COPD (p<0.001; effect size, 0.720). After adjusting for established CAD risk factors, COPD occurrence remained an independent predictor for long-term adverse cardiovascular events (OR: 5.13; 95% CI: 2.29–11.50; p<0.0001). Conclusion COPD was associated with increased severity of coronary lesions and a greater number of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with suspected or confirmed CAD. COPD remained a predictor of long-term cardiovascular events in stable patients with subclinical or early-stage of COPD, independently of the established CAD risk factors.
Effects of preservation methods of muscle tissue from upper-trophic level reef fishes on stable isotope values (δ13C and δ15N)

Research that uses stable isotope analysis often involves a delay between sample collection in the field and laboratory processing, therefore requiring preservation to prevent or reduce tissue degradation and associated isotopic compositions. Although there is a growing literature describing the effects of various preservation techniques, the results are often contextual, unpredictable and vary among taxa, suggesting the need to treat each species individually. We conducted a controlled experiment to test the effects of four preservation methods of muscle tissue from four species of upper trophic-level reef fish collected from the eastern Gulf of Mexico (Red Grouper Epinephelus morio, Gag Mycteroperca microlepis, Scamp Mycteroperca phenax, and Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus). We used a paired design to measure the effects on isotopic values for carbon and nitrogen after storage using ice, 95% ethanol, and sodium chloride (table salt), against that in a liquid nitrogen control. Mean offsets for both δ13C and δ15N values from controls were lowest for samples preserved on ice, intermediate for those preserved with salt, and highest with ethanol. Within species, both salt and ethanol significantly enriched the δ15N values in nearly all comparisons. Ethanol also had strong effects on the δ13C values in all three groupers. Conversely, for samples preserved on ice, we did not detect a significant offset in either isotopic ratio for any of the focal species. Previous studies have addressed preservation-induced offsets in isotope values using a mass balance correction that accounts for changes in the isotope value to that in the C/N ratio. We tested the application of standard mass balance corrections for isotope values that were significantly affected by the preservation methods and found generally poor agreement between corrected and control values. The poor performance by the correction may have been due to preferential loss of lighter isotopes and corresponding low levels of mass loss with a substantial change in the isotope value of the sample. Regardless of mechanism, it was evident that accounting for offsets caused by different preservation methods was not possible using the standard correction. Caution is warranted when interpreting the results from specimens stored in either ethanol or salt, especially when using those from multiple preservation techniques. We suggest the use of ice as the preferred preservation technique for muscle tissue when conducting stable isotope analysis as it is widely available, inexpensive, easy to transport and did not impart a significant offset in measured isotopic values. Our results provide additional evidence that preservation effects on stable isotope analysis can be highly contextual, thus requiring their effects to be measured and understood for each species and isotopic ratio of interest before addressing research questions.