Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Filtering Antenna Array Based on Strongly Coupled Radiant Metal Block

This article proposes a novel concept of a strongly coupled radiator that can achieve different phase shift characteristics by choosing different operating states. The strongly coupled structure is realized by introducing a strong coupling in the second-order filter topology, which can be equivalent to two first-order topologies with different phase responses. The topology of strongly coupled radiators and their filtering responses are analyzed in detail. Based on this concept, a strongly coupled radiating metal block antenna is designed, which has the same radiation characteristics as the conventional first-order radiant metal blocks, but with antiphase characteristic. This feature can be utilized to design high-order mode cavity antenna array with low sidelobe and high gain. For verification, a third-order filtering antenna array is designed and fabricated using a TE501 mode cavity, three strongly coupled radiating metal blocks and two conventional radiating metal blocks. The measured results show high gain and low sidelobe level.
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item Pairing Predictiveness for Prescreening Depressive Symptomatology: Machine Learning Analysis

Background Anhedonia and depressed mood are considered the cardinal symptoms of major depressive disorder. These are the first 2 items of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)–9 and comprise the ultrabrief PHQ-2 used for prescreening depressive symptomatology. The prescreening performance of alternative PHQ-9 item pairings is rarely compared with that of the PHQ-2. Objective This study aims to use machine learning (ML) with the PHQ-9 items to identify and validate the most predictive 2-item depressive symptomatology ultrabrief questionnaire and to test the generalizability of the best pairings found on the primary data set, with 6 external data sets from different populations to validate their use as prescreening instruments. Methods All 36 possible PHQ-9 item pairings (each yielding scores of 0-6) were investigated using ML-based methods with logistic regression models. Their performances were evaluated based on the classification of depressive symptomatology, defined as PHQ-9 scores ≥10. This gave each pairing an equal opportunity and avoided any bias in item pairing selection. Results The ML-based PHQ-9 items 2 and 4 (phq2&4), the depressed mood and low-energy item pairing, and PHQ-9 items 2 and 8 (phq2&8), the depressed mood and psychomotor retardation or agitation item pairing, were found to be the best on the primary data set training split. They generalized well on the primary data set test split with area under the curves (AUCs) of 0.954 and 0.946, respectively, compared with an AUC of 0.942 for the PHQ-2. The phq2&4 had a higher AUC than the PHQ-2 on all 6 external data sets, and the phq2&8 had a higher AUC than the PHQ-2 on 3 data sets. The phq2&4 had the highest Youden index (an unweighted average of sensitivity and specificity) on 2 external data sets, and the phq2&8 had the highest Youden index on another 2. The PHQ-2≥2 cutoff also had the highest Youden index on 2 external data sets, joint highest with the phq2&4 on 1, but its performance fluctuated the most. The PHQ-2≥3 cutoff had the highest Youden index on 1 external data set. The sensitivity and specificity achieved by the phq2&4 and phq2&8 were more evenly balanced than the PHQ-2≥2 and ≥3 cutoffs. Conclusions The PHQ-2 did not prove to be a more effective prescreening instrument when compared with other PHQ-9 item pairings. Evaluating all item pairings showed that, compared with alternative partner items, the anhedonia item underperformed alongside the depressed mood item. This suggests that the inclusion of anhedonia as a core symptom of depression and its presence in ultrabrief questionnaires may be incompatible with the empirical evidence. The use of the PHQ-2 to prescreen for depressive symptomatology could result in a greater number of misclassifications than alternative item pairings.
Xylooligosaccharides: A Bibliometric Analysis and Current Advances of This Bioactive Food Chemical as a Potential Product in Biorefineries’ Portfolios

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are nondigestible compounds of great interest for food and pharmaceutical industries due to their beneficial prebiotic, antibacterial, antioxidant, and antitumor properties. The market size of XOS is increasing significantly, which makes its production from lignocellulosic biomass an interesting approach to the valorization of the hemicellulose fraction of biomass, which is currently underused. This review comprehensively discusses XOS production from lignocellulosic biomass, aiming at its application in integrated biorefineries. A bibliometric analysis is carried out highlighting the main players in the field. XOS production yields after different biomass pretreatment methods are critically discussed using Microsoft PowerBI® (2.92.706.0) software, which involves screening important trends for decision-making. Enzymatic hydrolysis and the major XOS purification strategies are also explored. Finally, the integration of XOS production into biorefineries, with special attention to economic and environmental aspects, is assessed, providing important information for the implementation of biorefineries containing XOS in their portfolio.
Effects of Exercise on Quality of Life in Subjects with Alzheimer’s Disease: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that progressively affects memory, thinking, and behavior. It can interfere with daily activities and lead to a decline in cognitive abilities over time. Exercise-based interventions can complement Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Exercise is a valuable tool in all healthcare settings and has shown promise as an effective cognitive improvement intervention for people with cognitive impairments. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to analyze the effect of physical exercise on the QoL of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. A search was performed with the help of the electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science. Randomized controlled trials with exercise-based interventions were selected. Four studies met the inclusion criteria, which included interventions based on exercise. The effects were summarized using standardized mean differences (95% confidence intervals) using random-effect models. The results showed that exercise had no significant effect on the QoL of subjects with Alzheimer. Thus, the effect of exercise interventions on the QoL of patients with Alzheimer’s disease is not conclusive. More research is needed about this topic and the way in which the QoL is assessed; the necessity to conduct an objective way to assess the QoL in this population is mandatory.
Paneth cell dysfunction in radiation injury and radio-mitigation by human α-defensin 5

Introduction The mechanism underlying radiation-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis is undefined. This study examined the effect of radiation on the intestinal Paneth cell α-defensin expression and its impact on microbiota composition and mucosal tissue injury and evaluated the radio-mitigative effect of human α-defensin 5 (HD5). Methods Adult mice were subjected to total body irradiation, and Paneth cell α-defensin expression was evaluated by measuring α-defensin mRNA by RT-PCR and α-defensin peptide levels by mass spectrometry. Vascular-to-luminal flux of FITC-inulin was measured to evaluate intestinal mucosal permeability and endotoxemia by measuring plasma lipopolysaccharide. HD5 was administered in a liquid diet 24 hours before or after irradiation. Gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Intestinal epithelial junctions were analyzed by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and mucosal inflammatory response by cytokine expression. Systemic inflammation was evaluated by measuring plasma cytokine levels. Results Ionizing radiation reduced the Paneth cell α-defensin expression and depleted α-defensin peptides in the intestinal lumen. α-Defensin down-regulation was associated with the time-dependent alteration of gut microbiota composition, increased gut permeability, and endotoxemia. Administration of human α-defensin 5 (HD5) in the diet 24 hours before irradiation (prophylactic) significantly blocked radiation-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, disruption of intestinal epithelial tight junction and adherens junction, mucosal barrier dysfunction, and mucosal inflammatory response. HD5, administered 24 hours after irradiation (treatment), reversed radiation-induced microbiota dysbiosis, tight junction and adherens junction disruption, and barrier dysfunction. Furthermore, HD5 treatment also prevents and reverses radiation-induced endotoxemia and systemic inflammation. Conclusion These data demonstrate that radiation induces Paneth cell dysfunction in the intestine, and HD5 feeding prevents and mitigates radiation-induced intestinal mucosal injury, endotoxemia, and systemic inflammation.
Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review

Background This systematic review aimed to identify the risk factors and protective factors for parental stress in families with children with special educational needs. Studies have indicated that the wellbeing of families is related to the physical, psychological, and social conditions of the children, as well as the family functioning, stress coping strategies, and social and professional support of their parents. The parents of children with special educational needs experience high levels of parental stress. Identifying the associated risk factors and protective factors may shed light on the provision of interventions to promote the mental wellbeing of these parents. Methods Boolean operators were used to search multiple online databases, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were applied in this systematic review. Data were extracted into categories of population, age, region, the child's diagnosis, the stress-measuring instrument, and the risk factors and protective factors. Results Twenty-six studies, including 5,169 parents and 3,726 children, were reviewed. The following four major risk factors and protective factors were found to be associated with parental stress: the sex of the parents, diagnosis-related coping issues, socioeconomic characteristics, and social isolation of the parents. Conclusions This systematic review identified four significant risk factors and protective factors related to social support from couples, family members, and social circles. Various agencies may provide financial and manpower assistance and professional support and services to improve the parents' knowledge and coping skills, as well as affectional support, early screening, and continuous assessment of the parents' progress. Social policies and interventions offering continuous and diagnosis-related support to the parents of children with special educational needs are highly recommended.
High-Speed Tracking with Mutual Assistance of Feature Filters and Detectors

Object detection and tracking in camera images is a fundamental technology for computer vision and is used in various applications. In particular, object tracking using high-speed cameras is expected to be applied to real-time control in robotics. Therefore, it is required to increase tracking speed and detection accuracy. Currently, however, it is difficult to achieve both of those things simultaneously. In this paper, we propose a tracking method that combines multiple methods: correlation filter-based object tracking, deep learning-based object detection, and motion detection with background subtraction. The algorithms work in parallel and assist each other’s processing to improve the overall performance of the system. We named it the “Mutual Assist tracker of feature Filters and Detectors (MAFiD method)”. This method aims to achieve both high-speed tracking of moving objects and high detection accuracy. Experiments were conducted to verify the detection performance and processing speed by tracking a transparent capsule moving at high speed. The results show that the tracking speed was 618 frames per second (FPS) and the accuracy was 86% for Intersection over Union (IoU). The detection latency was 3.48 ms. These experimental scores are higher than those of conventional methods, indicating that the MAFiD method achieved fast object tracking while maintaining high detection performance. This proposal will contribute to the improvement of object-tracking technology.
Pangenome graphs in infectious disease: a comprehensive genetic variation analysis of Neisseria meningitidis leveraging Oxford Nanopore long reads

Whole genome sequencing has revolutionized infectious disease surveillance for tracking and monitoring the spread and evolution of pathogens. However, using a linear reference genome for genomic analyses may introduce biases, especially when studies are conducted on highly variable bacterial genomes of the same species. Pangenome graphs provide an efficient model for representing and analyzing multiple genomes and their variants as a graph structure that includes all types of variations. In this study, we present a practical bioinformatics pipeline that employs the PanGenome Graph Builder and the Variation Graph toolkit to build pangenomes from assembled genomes, align whole genome sequencing data and call variants against a graph reference. The pangenome graph enables the identification of structural variants, rearrangements, and small variants (e.g., single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions) simultaneously. We demonstrate that using a pangenome graph, instead of a single linear reference genome, improves mapping rates and variant calling for both simulated and real datasets of the pathogen Neisseria meningitidis. Overall, pangenome graphs offer a promising approach for comparative genomics and comprehensive genetic variation analysis in infectious disease. Moreover, this innovative pipeline, leveraging pangenome graphs, can bridge variant analysis, genome assembly, population genetics, and evolutionary biology, expanding the reach of genomic understanding and applications.
Un protocole de validation pour la réplication optimiste dans les syst̀emes ŕepartis śemantiquement riches

We study eventual consistency in an asynchronous system wit h optimistic data replication. A site executes actions submitted by the local client, a d remote actions as they are received. This state is only tentative, because semantic constraints such as conflicts, dependence, or atomicity may cause it to roll back some of its state and compute a new sta te. The system should be eventually consistent, i.e., (i) each local schedule be correct and sta bili e eventually, and (ii) the schedules at each site eventually converge. We propose a decentralised, a ynchronous commitment protocol that ensures this. Each site proposes a set of schedules to all oth er si es. A proposal can be decomposed into one or more semantically-meaningful units, call ed candidates. A candidate wins when it receives a majority or a plurality of the votes in its electio n, leaving room for missing votes. The protocol is fully asynchronous: each site executes its tentati ve schedule independently, and determines locally when a candidate has won an election. The protocol is safe in the presence of non-byzantine faults. It supports a rich repertoire of semantic relations , viz., it resolves conflicts, it guarantees sound executions with respect to dependence or atomicity, a nd it orders non-commuting pairs of actions, but not necessarily commuting ones. We describe th e protocol in detail and prove it safe. Key-words: data replication, optimistic replication, semantic repli cat on, commitment, voting protocols. ∗ LIP6, 104, ave. du Président Kennedy, 75016 Paris, France; mailto:pierre.sutra@lip6.fr Un protocole de validation pour la réplication optimiste dans les syst̀emes ŕepartis śemantiquement riches Résuḿe : Nous examinons à travers ce document la cohérence dans les syst` mes répartis répliquant des données de manière optimiste. Le paradigme de la répl ication optimiste est que les sites composant le système réparti peuvent ré-éxecuter les requêtes d es clients (actions) si la sémantique liant les actions le nécessite. Dans de tels systèmes le critère de coh ́ rence est que les sites convergent à terme vers des exécutions équivalentes. Afin d’assurer ce tte onvergence, un protocole de validation est nécessaire. C’est l’objet de cette étude. Notre proto cole procède par éléctions successives sur des ensembles d’actions exécutées de manière optimiste par l système. La sémantique prise en compte dans ce protocole est suffisament riche pour exprimer des not ions telles que la non-commutativité, le conflit ou encore la causalité entre les actions. Nous pro uvons que notre protocole est sûr, et ce en dépit des éventuelles pannes franches pouvant survenir s ur les sites. Mots-clés : réplication optimiste, validation, protocoles de vote An asynchronous, decentralised commitment protocol for se mantic optimistic replication 3
Utilizing Contrastive Predictive Coding for the Detection of Epilepsy in EEG Data

The difficulty in predicting epileptic seizures in the early stages stems from the absence of clear precursors to these episodes. Therefore, the capacity to identify the impending onset of epileptic seizures accurately at this early stage is crucial. To improve early-stage seizure identification, our study employs a Contrastive Predictive Coding (CPC) framework to identify key EEG regions. CPC uses an autoregressive model predicting future occurrences in latent space, improving data representation learning. We introduce a probabilistic contrastive loss, capturing information vital for future sample prediction, and positive sampling to enhance efficiency. Testing on the CHB-MIT EEG database validates CPC's efficacy in extracting useful representations and seizure pre-warning. This effective framework paves the way for advanced structures for precise epilepsy-related.
Interval estimation for the generalized inverted exponential distribution under progressive first failure censoring

ABSTRACT In this paper, we consider the inferential procedures for the generalized inverted exponential distribution under progressive first failure censoring. The exact confidence interval for the scale parameter is derived. The generalized confidence intervals (GCIs) for the shape parameter and some commonly used reliability metrics such as the quantile and the reliability function are explored. Then the proposed procedure is extended to the prediction interval for the future measurement. The GCIs for the reliability of the stress-strength model are discussed under both equal scale and unequal scale scenarios. Extensive simulations are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed GCIs and prediction interval. Finally, an example is used to illustrate the proposed methods.
Modelling fate and transport of Escherichia coli and Cryptosporidium spp. using Soil and Water Assessment Tool

Maintaining good quality of drinking water sources is essential as a part of drinking water management. Important steps are evaluation of drinking water sources quality and identification of contamination sources. Lately microbial organisms originating from faecal contamination have been increasingly identified as health risks and as impediments for providing safe drinking water. Stäket catchment area drains to Lake Mälaren, a drinking water source for two million people. The aim with this study was to set up the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in the Stäket drainage basin in order to model transport and fate of faecal contaminants in the form of Escherichia coli and Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts. Sources of faecal contamination and microbial attributes were identified through literature studies and contacts with local authorities. During calibration, model performance evaluated on water flow in three different subbasins showed an NSE of 0.44, 0.25, 0.18 and R 2 of 0.53, 0.27 and 0.26 respectively, whereas validation gave an NSE of 0.11, 0.05 and 0.11 and R 2 of 0.16, 0.10 and 0.14 respectively. SWAT results showed that wastewater treatment plants were the dominating source of faecal contamination and that contributions from diffuse sources were generally evenly spread over the area. Concentrations of E. coli were higher than acceptable for Swedish bathing water quality and Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts concentrations were in the same range as reported in other studies. Should the model be used further it ought to be calibrated on additional parameters.
A Novel Mathematical Framework for Multibaseline InSAR Phase Unwrapping

Multibaseline (MB) interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is an extension of conventional InSAR and is used to improve phase unwrapping (PU) accuracy without obeying the Itoh condition. The Chinese remainder theorem (CRT) is the mathematical foundation of most MB PU algorithms for determining the connection between different MB interferograms. However, CRT only exploits the relationship between the interferometric phase and terrain height or surface deformation alone, i.e., the phases of topography and deformation are considered the measurement biases for each other in the traditional processing chains. In other words, traditional MB InSAR cannot directly obtain InSAR products from interferograms that contain both the topography and deformation phases without external information or assumptions. To solve this issue, different from CRT, this article presents a new mathematical framework for MB PU, which provides a likelihood function to jointly estimate the topography and deformation velocity gradient. Based on this framework, a novel MB PU method is proposed for simultaneously obtaining a digital elevation model (DEM) and deformation information from interferograms. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective and efficient for DEM reconstruction and deformation monitoring.