Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The gut microbiota correlate with the disease characteristics and immune status of patients with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Background Gut microbiota characteristics in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are reportedly different when compared with the healthy population and it remains unclear if the gut microbiota affects host immunity and clinical disease features. This research investigated the gut microbiota in patients with untreated DLBCL and analyzed its correlation with patient clinical characteristics, humoral, and cell immune status. Methods Thirty-five patients with untreated DLBCL and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited to this study and microbiota differences in stool samples were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Absolute ratios of immune cell subset counts in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry and peripheral blood cytokine levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Relationships between changes in patient microbiomes and clinical characteristics, such as clinical stage, international prognostic index (IPI) risk stratification, cell origin, organ involved and treatment responses were investigated and correlations between differential microbiota and host immune indices were analyzed. Results The alpha-diversity index of intestinal microecology in DLBCL patients was not significantly different when compared with HCs (P>0.05), nonetheless beta-diversity was significantly decreased (P=0.001). p_Proteobacteria were dominant in DLBCL, while p_Bacteroidetes abundance was significantly decreased when compared with HCs (P<0.05). Gut microbiota characteristics were identified that were associated with clinical features, such as tumor load, risk stratification and cell origin, and correlation analyses were performed between differential flora abundance associated with these clinical features and host immune status. The p_Firmicutes was positively correlated with absolute lymphocyte values, g_Prevotella_2 and s_un_g_Prevotella_2 were negatively correlated with absolute lymphocyte values, T cell counts and CD4 cell counts, while g_Pyramidobacter, s_un_g_Pyramidobacter, and f_Peptostreptococcaceae were negatively correlated with IgA. Conclusions Dominant gut microbiota, abundance, diversity, and structure in DLBCL were influenced by the disease, correlated with patient immune status and this suggested that the microecology-immune axis may be involved in regulating lymphoma development. In the future, it may be possible to improve immune function in patients with DLBCL by regulating the gut microbiota, improve treatment response rates and increase patient survival rates.
Sex Differences in Multimorbidity, Inappropriate Medication and Adverse Outcomes of Inpatient Care: MoPIM Cohort Study

There is no published evidence on the possible differences in multimorbidity, inappropriate prescribing, and adverse outcomes of care, simultaneously, from a sex perspective in older patients. We aimed to identify those possible differences in patients hospitalized because of a chronic disease exacerbation. A multicenter, prospective cohort study of 740 older hospitalized patients (≥65 years) was designed, registering sociodemographic variables, frailty, Barthel index, chronic conditions (CCs), geriatric syndromes (GSs), polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) according to STOPP/START criteria, and adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Outcomes were length of stay (LOS), discharge to nursing home, in-hospital mortality, cause of mortality, and existence of any ADR and its worst consequence. Bivariate analyses between sex and all variables were performed, and a network graph was created for each sex using CC and GS. A total of 740 patients were included (53.2% females, 53.5% ≥85 years old). Women presented higher prevalence of frailty, and more were living in a nursing home or alone, and had a higher percentage of PIP related to anxiolytics or pain management drugs. Moreover, they presented significant pairwise associations between CC, such as asthma, vertigo, thyroid diseases, osteoarticular diseases, and sleep disorders, and with GS, such as chronic pain, constipation, and anxiety/depression. No significant differences in immediate adverse outcomes of care were observed between men and women in the exacerbation episode.
Effects of roughness on measured wall-pressure fluctuations beneath a turbulent boundary layer

This paper reports measurements of the cross‐spectral density of the wall‐pressure fluctuations beneath a turbulent boundary layer for three different surface‐roughness conditions. The roughness consisted of sparsely populated, uniformly distributed sand particles—each roughness being distinguished by the sand‐particle size. Separate studies of the spectral density and of the lateral and longitudinal narrow‐band normalized space‐time correlations were made in order to determine the cross‐spectral density of the wall‐pressure fluctuations. The results indicate that only the spectral density is strongly dependent on roughness size, for the roughnesses examined. To relate quantitatively the spectral densities measured on each surface, the roughness was characterized in terms of Nikuradse's equivalent sand‐roughness parameter. The spectral density was then normalized, using this roughness parameter, the shear velocity, and the local coefficient of skin friction. Also, for the roughest surface, the pressure fluctuations in the vicinity of a particle and the correlation of these fluctuations with pressure fluctuations at some distance from the particle were examined in order to determine any observable effects of the local flow about the particles. The results indicate that the local flow can be ignored, provided that the roughness size is not too large. The measurements do not reveal any direct relation between the cross‐spectral densities measured on rough surfaces with those measured on smooth.
A new design technique of magnetic systems using space mapping algorithm

In this paper, a new design method using a space mapping algorithm is presented for the design of magnetic systems. The method mathematically combines the magnetic equivalent circuit method and the finite element method and the optimal design is achieved by employing a quasi-Newton iteration in conjunction with first-order derivative approximations updated by the classic Broyden formula. Therefore, this method can preserve the computational efficiency of the magnetic equivalent circuit method and the accuracy of finite element method. Two numerical examples are tested to prove feasibility and numerical efficiency of the implementation of the proposed design method.
Cancer Vaccines Based on Fluorine-Modified KH-1 Elicit Robust Immune Response

KH-1 is a tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen (TACA), which serves as a valuable target of antitumor vaccines for cancer immunotherapies. However, most TACAs are thymus-independent antigens (TD-Ag), and they tend to induce immunological tolerance, leading to their low immunogenicity. To overcome these problems, some fluorinated derivatives of the KH-1 antigen were designed, synthesized, and conjugated to the carrier protein CRM197 to form glycoconjugates, which were used for immunological studies with Freund’s adjuvant. The results showed that fluorine-modified N-acyl KH-1 conjugates can induce higher titers of antibodies, especially IgG, which can recognize KH-1-positive cancer cells and can eliminate cancer cells through complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). The trifluoro-modified KH-1-TF-CRM197 showed great potential as an anticancer vaccine candidate.
Improving Linearity in CMOS Phase Interpolators

We compare the prior art in phase interpolators (PIs), classifying them as current-mode, voltage-mode, and integrating-mode PI. Next, we present an integrating-mode PI where the voltage slopes with high phase linearity are generated through the integration of phase-shifted weighted current sources. The constant and variable voltage slopes are generated by current sources/sinks created using stacked devices in a 0.75-V 5-nm finFET technology. This PI technique supports the high-speed and low-power operation and achieves dual-edge interpolation with improved duty-cycle distortion characteristics. The PI generates an output clock with 9 bits of resolution and a small peak-to-peak integral nonlinearity (INLpp) and peak-to-peak differential nonlinearity (DNLpp) of 2.4° and 1.4°, respectively, at 13.3 GHz with just quadrature clock inputs. The PI has a 71-fsrms random jitter (integrated from 3 MHz to 3 GHz) and occupies an active area of 0.006 mm2 while consuming 6-mW power at 14 GHz. An integrated rotation spur of −42.6 dBc for 256-ppm modulation at 13.3-GHz operating frequency is achieved for 1-GHz update rate for the dynamic linearity measurements.
Discrimination of Salvia miltiorrhiza from Different Geographical Origins by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) with Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)

Abstract A method for discriminating Salvia miltiorrhiza from different geographical origins was developed using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) with convolutional neural network (CNN). The LIBS spectra of Salvia miltiorrhiza samples from six geographical locations were preprocessed with the maximum minimum normalization method. The classification model for discriminating these samples was developed by using a one-dimensional convolutional neural network. The discrimination accuracy of the developed CNN model reached 97.09%. Compared with support vector machine and k-nearest neighbor methods, the CNN model showed higher discrimination accuracy. The results demonstrate that the combination of LIBS and CNN is suitable for discriminating Salvia miltiorrhiza from different geographical locations.
Mpox Perceptions and Vaccine Advocacy among the Healthcare Workers of Solid Organ Transplant Centers: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Survey in Saudi Arabia

Background: In response to the global Mpox outbreaks, this survey aimed to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and advocacy of Mpox vaccines among solid organ transplant healthcare workers (HCWs) in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among solid organ transplant HCWs in Saudi Arabia from 15 August to 5 September 2022. A total of 199 responses were received from participants primarily working in the kidney (54.8%) and liver (14.6%) transplant units. Results: The survey found that most participants were aware of the 2022 Mpox outbreak, but the majority were more concerned about COVID-19 than Mpox. While the majority of participants thought laboratory personnel and HCWs in direct contact with Mpox patients should receive the vaccine, less than 60% believed that all HCWs should be vaccinated. Additionally, over half of the participants lacked knowledge of animal–human transmission of the virus. Conclusion: The results highlight the need for increased education on Mpox among transplant HCWs in Saudi Arabia, particularly regarding the virus’s transmission dynamics and vaccines. This education is crucial to improve HCWs’ understanding of this emerging disease, especially given their vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Multiplicative nonnegative graph embedding

In this paper, we study the problem of nonnegative graph embedding, originally investigated in [J. Yang et al., 2008] for reaping the benefits from both nonnegative data factorization and the specific purpose characterized by the intrinsic and penalty graphs. Our contributions are two-fold. On the one hand, we present a multiplicative iterative procedure for nonnegative graph embedding, which significantly reduces the computational cost compared with the iterative procedure in [14] involving the matrix inverse calculation of an M-matrix. On the other hand, the nonnegative graph embedding framework is expressed in a more general way by encoding each datum as a tensor of arbitrary order, which brings a group of byproducts, e.g., nonnegative discriminative tensor factorization algorithm, with admissible time and memory cost. Extensive experiments compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms on nonnegative data factorization, graph embedding, and tensor representation demonstrate the algorithmic properties in computation speed, sparsity, discriminating power, and robustness to realistic image occlusions.
Associations between Sleep, Depression, and Cognitive Performance in Adolescence

The relevance of cognitive performance during adolescence requires further studies that analyze potential associated factors. This study aimed to analyze inductive reasoning, reading comprehension, and mathematical thinking (problem-solving and number and calculation) in relation to sleep and depression in 244 students aged 12–17 years (47.6% boys and 52.4% girls). Daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, dysthymia, and euthymia (state and trait) were assessed by self-reported questionnaires. Moreover, correlations between these variables and cognitive performance, and differences depending on sociodemographic variables (sex, age, or academic year) were analyzed using non-parametric tests. Robust regression models were also conducted to evaluate the predictive role of significant variables on cognitive performance. The results showed significant bidirectional relationships between sleep- and depression-related variables, and between the latter ones and cognitive performance. Depression-trait was more related to cognitive performance than depression-state, and euthymia more than dysthymia, but neither daytime sleepiness nor sleep quality significantly correlated with it. As for sociodemographic variables, girls reported worse sleep and more depressive symptoms than boys did, and younger students reported better sleep but performed worse than the older ones. Although these findings should be further explored in forthcoming studies adding other promising variables, they highlight the importance of promoting euthymia to improve cognitive performance in adolescents.
‘A difficult conversation’: community stakeholders’ and key informants’ perceptions of the barriers to talking about sex and HIV with adolescents and young people in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract Adolescence and young adulthood are important periods of transition and therefore for action and intervention to ensure future sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Caregiver-adolescent communication about sex and sexuality is a protective factor for SRH, but there are often barriers to this. Adults’ perspectives are limited within the literature but important as they should lead this process. This paper uses exploratory qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 40 purposively sampled community stakeholders and key informants to explore their insights into the perceived, experienced or expected challenges adults’ experience when having these conversations within a high HIV prevalence, South African context. Findings suggest that respondents recognised the value of communication and were generally willing to try it. However, they identified barriers such as fear, discomfort and limited knowledge and perceived capacity to do so. They show that in high prevalence contexts adults grapple with their own personal risks, behaviours and fears that may affect their ability to have these conversations. This demonstrates the need to equip caregivers with the confidence and ability to communicate about sex and HIV, alongside managing their own complex risks and situations to overcome barriers. It is also necessary to shift the negative framing of adolescents and sex.
On the Laplacian Eigenvalues and Metric Parameters of Hypergraphs

The aim of this paper is to generalize some concepts and recent results of the algebraic graph theory in order to investigate and describe, by algebraic methods, the properties of some combinatorial structures. Here we introduce a version of "Laplacian matrix" of a hypergraph and we obtain several spectral-like results on its metric parameters, such as the diameter, mean distance, excess, bandwidth and cutsets.
Energy-per-bit and noise limits in plasmonic intergrated photodetectors

The energy consumption per transmitted bit is becoming a crucial figure of merit for communication channels. In this paper, we study the design trade-offs in photodetectors, utilizing the energy per bit as a benchmark. We propose a generic model for a photodetector that takes optical and electrical properties into account. Using our formalism, we show how the parasitic capacitance of photodetectors can drastically alter the parameter values that lead to the optimal design. Given certain energy-per-bit and bandwidth requirements, is it possible that a photodetector optimized for the energy per bit would be noise limited? We identify different noise sources and model them in the simplest useful approximation in order to calculate this noise limit. Finally, we apply our theory to a practical case study for an integrated plasmonic photodetector, showing that energies per bit below 100 attojoules are feasible despite metallic losses and within noise limitations without the introduction of an optical cavity or voltage amplifying receiver circuits.
Threat detection and tracking using 3D FLASH ladar data

Laser-based 3D sensors measure range with high accuracy and allow for detection of objects behind various type of occlusion, e.g., tree canopies. Range information is valuable for detection of small objects that are typically represented by 5-10 pixels in the data set. Range information is also valuable in tracking problems when the tracked object is occluded under parts of its movement and when there are several objects in the scene. In this paper, on-going work on detection and tracking are presented. Detection of partly occluded vehicles is discussed. To detect partly occluded objects we take advantage of the range information for removing foreground clutter. The target detection approach is based on geometric features, for example local surface detection, shadow analysis and height-based detection. Initial results on tracking of humans are also presented. The benefits with range information are discussed. Results are illustrated using outdoor measurements with a 3D FLASH LADAR sensor and a 3D scanning LADAR.
Effect of longitudinal magnetic field on microwave efficiency of virtual cathode oscillator

The effect of a longitudinal magnetic field on the microwave efficiency of a virtual cathode oscillator is investigated by particle-in-cell simulations. The mechanism of the oscillation associated with microwave emission is physically understood. It is found that the reflection of the electron beam back to the diode region is important to the oscillation. When a longitudinal magnetic field is applied, the residence time of the electrons in the potential well is lengthened, resulting in a large energy spread of the electron beam, which reduces the output power of the microwave.
Effect of Citrus Pellet on Extrusion Parameters, Kibble Macrostructure, Starch Cooking and In Vitro Digestibility of Dog Foods

Simple Summary Recently, there has been widespread social and environmental pressure for the efficient reuse of agricultural industry residues due to the global intensification of food production, which creates large quantities of food co-products. Citrus Pulp Pellet (CPP) is the solid waste part of orange juice production, characterized by a good proportion of soluble and fermentable fiber. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of increasing amounts of CPP on the extrusion process and kibble characteristics as well as on the digestibility of dog foods. Five diets with different CPP inclusions (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) were developed for adult dogs and produced in a single screw extruder. The inclusion of CPP in the formula had an impact on the extrusion traits, influencing the processing parameters and the characteristics of the final product; therefore, the beneficial effects of this ingredient cannot be generalized. However, recycling and proper use of co-products in pet foods improve sustainable agriculture by transforming low-quality co-products into high-quality foods. This, in compliance with current legislation, we strongly encourage the food industry to find new end-uses for refusals such as the CPP exemplified in the present study. Abstract Fiber supplemented extruded foods are produced by pet food companies to help with several specific health conditions. The fiber material, however, is difficult to incorporate efficiently into dry kibble diets for dogs. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of citrus pulp pellet (CPP), the solid waste part of the production of orange juice characterized by a good proportion of soluble and fermentable fiber, on extrusion traits, kibble macrostructure, starch gelatinization and in vitro digestibility of dog foods. A control formula (CO) was developed for dogs. CPP was added to CO at different inclusion levels: 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. Foods were extruded in a single screw extruder using two different die diameters (dd): 5 mm and 7 mm. CPP inclusion with 5 mm dd did not affect bulk and piece density and resulted in a lower impact on kibble expansion; It also resulted in greater starch gelatinization and kibble expansion compared to the 7 mm dd configuration (p < 0.01). In addition to the nutritional implications, recycling and proper uses of this material exemplified in the present study by the exploration of CPP as a fiber source to dogs, this method can improve sustainable agriculture by transforming low-quality materials into high-quality foods.
Reduction of crosstalk in a colourless multicasting LCOS-based wavelength selective switch by the application of wavefront encoding

To optimise the design of a wavelength selective switch based on a phase-only liquid crystal on silicon spatial light modulator and mitigate crosstalk, we propose using a technique referred to as wavefront encoding that involves purposefully building a wavefront error into the optical system. Experimental results taken at 674nm are presented that show wavefront encoding based on defocus can reduce the worst case crosstalk by >10dB compared to a standard Fourier transform set-up. In the case of the WSS we propose using wavefront encoding based on astigmatism.
Linear waves on fixed Kerr background and their relevance in jet formation

In the conventional models of astrophysical jets magnetohydrodynamics is believed to play the most role. Recently there were several qualitative arguments emphasizing that the role of pure gravitational effects might be more important than expected before. Here we present some preliminary but quantitate results clarifying the role of gravity in the formation of astrophysical jets.