Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of the anticancer effect of atorvastatin-loaded nanoemulsions by improving oral absorption via multivalent intestinal transporter-targeting lipids

Abstract Atorvastatin (ATV) has attracted considerable attention as a potential therapeutic agent for cancer because it inhibits cancer cell proliferation by suppressing the mevalonate pathway. However, because of its low oral absorption, high doses of ATV are required for chemotherapeutic applications. In this study, we constructed ATV-loaded nanoemulsions (ATV-NEs) containing multivalent intestinal transporter-targeting lipids to improve the oral bioavailability of ATV. ATV-NEs were prepared via oil-in-water emulsification for transporter-targeted delivery, and contained the following anchors: an ionic complex of deoxycholic acid (DOCA) with the cationic lipid 1,2-dioleyl-3-trimethylammonium propane (DOTAP) (DOCA-DOTAP), a biotin-conjugated lipid (Biotinyl PE), and d-alpha-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) to allow bile acid- and multivitamin transporter-mediated permeation of ATV without P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated efflux. The optimized formulation (ATV-NE#6) had 1,091% higher oral bioavailability than free ATV. Finally, treatment of 4T1 cell-bearing mice with oral ATV-NE#6 (equivalent to 40 mg/kg ATV) significantly suppressed tumor growth; the maximum tumor growth reduction was 2.44-fold that of the control group. The results thus suggest that ATV-NEs allow for effective oral chemotherapy by enhancing the oral bioavailability of ATV.
Quantum Dirac Field on Moyal-Minkowski Spacetime - Illustrating Quantum Field Theory over Lorentzian Spectral Geometry

A sketch of an approach towards Lorentzian spectral geometry (based on joint work with Mario Paschke) is described, together with a general way to define abstractly the quantized Dirac field on such Lorentzian spectral geometries. Moyal-Minkowski spacetime serves as an example. The scattering of the quantized Dirac field by a non-commutative (Moyal-deformed) action of an external scalar potential is investigated. It is shown that differentiating the S-matrix with respect to the strength of the scattering potential gives rise to quantum field operators depending on elements of the non-commutative algebra entering the spectral geometry description of Moyal-Minkowski spacetime, in the spirit of "Bogoliubov's formula", in analogy to the situation found in external potential scattering by a usual scalar potential.
Efficient color edge detection based on synthetic weighted multi-structure element morphology

Applying the structure element (SE)-based morphology to detect the edges of the image corrupted by noise may obtain the irregular shape, and hence the precision of the object identification may decrease. Lately, the multi-SE morphology was introduced to detect the edge of gray-scale image, which yields the more integral and continual final result than that of the single-structure element. For color images, the robust color morphology gradient (RCMG) edge-detection, extended from CMG, was proposed by using a square SE along with the removing outliner technique to solve the noisesensitivity problem. In this paper, in order to solve such a noise problem on color images, we propose an efficient color edge-detection algorithm, called the ECMSEM (Efficient Color Multi-SE Morphology) by combining the advantage of the multi-SE morphology and the removing (noise) outliner. In our ECMSEM approach, the color multi-SE morphology with using a synthetic weighted method is introduced to detect only edge (except noise) and using multi-scale SEs to increase the precision of each SE-direction, and hence improve the edge-detection results. In performance evaluation, the edge-detection results (of synthetic color tested images) showed that our ECMSEM yielded the higher FOM than those of the RCMG approach.
The Role of Anti-Racist Community-Partnered Praxis in Implementing Restorative Circles Within Marginalized Communities in Southern California During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the adverse influence of structural racism and discrimination experienced by historically marginalized communities (e.g., Black, Latino/a/x, Indigenous, and transgender people). Structural racism contributes to trauma-induced health behaviors, increasing exposure to COVID-19 and restricting access to testing and vaccination. This intersection of multiple disadvantages has a negative impact on the mental health of these communities, and interventions addressing collective healing are needed in general and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Share, Trust, Organize, and Partner COVID-19 California Alliance (STOP COVID-19 CA), a statewide collaborative of 11 universities and 75 community partners, includes several workgroups to address gaps in COVID-19 information, vaccine trial participation, and access. One of these workgroups, the Vaccine Hesitancy Workgroup, adopted an anti-racist community-partnered praxis to implement restorative circles in historically marginalized communities to facilitate collective healing due to structural racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. The project resulted in the development of a multilevel pre-intervention restorative process to build or strengthen community–institutional partnerships when procurement of funds has been sought prior to community partnership. This article discusses this workgroup’s role in advancing health justice by providing a community-based mental health intervention to marginalized communities in Southern California while using an antiracist praxis tool to develop a successful community–institutional partnership and to live up to the vision of community-based participatory research.
Numerical Optimization Algorithm of Wavefront Phase Retrieval from Multiple Measurements

Wavefront phase retrieval from a set of intensity measurements can be formulated as an optimization problem. Two nonconvex objective models (MLP and its variants LS) based on maximum likelihood estimation are investigated. We develop numerical optimization algorithms for real-valued function of complex variables and apply them to solve the wavefront phase retrieval problem efficiently. Numerical simulation is given with application to three wavefront phase retrieval problems. LS model shows better numerical performances than MLP model. An explanation for this is that the distribution of the eigenvalues of Hessian matrix of LS model is more clustered than MLP model. LBFGS shows more robust performance and takes fewer calculations than other line search methods.
Noncommutative topological $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant

We generalize the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant of topological insulators using noncommutative differential geometry in two different ways. First, we model Majorana zero modes by KQ-cycles in the framework of analytic K-homology, and we define the noncommutative $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant as a topological index in noncommutative topology. Second, we look at the geometric picture of the Pfaffian formalism of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant, i.e., the Kane--Mele invariant, and we define the noncommutative Kane--Mele invariant over the fixed point algebra of the time reversal symmetry in the noncommutative 2-torus. Finally, we are able to prove the equivalence between the noncommutative topological $\mathbb{Z}_2$ index and the noncommutative Kane--Mele invariant.
Optimal Control Problems with Time Delays (Preliminary Version)

This paper provides necessary conditions of optimality for optimal control problems with time delays in both state and control variables. Different versions of the necessary conditions cover fixed end-time problems and, under additional hypotheses, free end-time problems. The conditions improve on previous available conditions in a number of respects. They can be regarded as the first generalized Pontryagin Maximum Principle for fully non-smooth optimal control problems, involving delays in state and control variables, only special cases of which have previously been derived. Even when the data is smooth, the conditions advance the existing theory. For example, we provide a new `two-sided' generalized transversality condition, associated with the optimal end-time, which gives more information about the optimal end-time than the `one-sided' condition in the earlier literature. But there are improvements in other respects, relating to the treatment of initial data, specifying past histories of the state and control, and to the unrestrictive nature of the hypotheses under which the necessary conditions are derived.
Insomnia Severity Mediates the Association between COVID-19 Related Anxiety and Increase in Tobacco Smoking During the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults

ABSTRACT Objectives Examining the associations of COVID-19 related anxiety and insomnia with increased smoking following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigating whether increased insomnia severity mediates the association between COVID-19 related anxiety and increased smoking Methods 598 participants, aged 18–40, out of whom 140 self-identified as smokers, completed online questionnaires during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures included two items assessing COVID-19 related anxiety, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Insomnia Severity Index, which included a pre-pandemic retrospective report. Results Compared with nonsmokers, smokers reported lower sleep quality and more severe symptoms of insomnia. Among smokers, more severe symptoms of insomnia were associated with greater odds of increased smoking during the COVID-19 outbreak. COVID-19 related anxiety was indirectly associated with greater odds of increased smoking through greater insomnia severity during the COVID-19 outbreak, after controlling for pre-pandemic levels of insomnia. Conclusions Smokers experienced more sleep difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic than nonsmokers. The results also lend support to the suggestion that anxiety, such that was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, may lead to further exacerbation of sleep difficulties, leading in turn to increase in smoking. These findings have important clinical implications that may be particularly relevant to attempts to minimize smoking during stressful circumstances.
Limits of random tree-like discrete structures

We study a model of random $\mathcal{R}$-enriched trees that is based on weights on the $\mathcal{R}$-structures and allows for a unified treatment of a large family of random discrete structures. We establish distributional limits describing local convergence around fixed and random points in this general context, limit theorems for component sizes when $\mathcal{R}$ is a composite class, and a Gromov--Hausdorff scaling limit of random metric spaces patched together from independently drawn metrics on the $\mathcal{R}$-structures. Our main applications treat a selection of examples encompassed by this model. We consider random outerplanar maps sampled according to arbitrary weights assigned to their inner faces, and classify in complete generality distributional limits for both the asymptotic local behaviour near the root-edge and near a uniformly at random drawn vertex. We consider random connected graphs drawn according to weights assigned to their blocks and establish a Benjamini--Schramm limit. We also apply our framework to recover in a probabilistic way a central limit theorem for the size of the largest $2$-connected component in random graphs from planar-like classes. We prove Benjamini--Schramm convergence of random $k$-dimensional trees and establish both scaling limits and local weak limits for random planar maps drawn according to Boltzmann-weights assigned to their $2$-connected components.
Metabolic and microvascular function assessed using near‐infrared spectroscopy with vascular occlusion in women: age differences and reliability

What is the central question of this study? Can the near‐infrared spectroscopy with vascular occlusion test (NIRS‐VOT) reliably measure skeletal muscle metabolic and microvascular function in women? What is the main finding and its importance? The NIRS‐VOT can be used as a reliable technique for the assessment of skeletal muscle metabolism and microvascular function in women, with reliability being generally greater in younger women. These findings have important implications for the planning and development of future studies employing the NIRS‐VOT in women, and provide insights into the effects of age on these parameters in women specifically.
Human Stabilization of Delay-Induced Instability of Haptic Rendering in a Stiffness Discrimination Task

Towards developing a coupled stability theory for haptic systems, we study the interaction of operators with time-delayed force feedback. In this work, we analyzed and validated experimentally the stability boundaries of an uncoupled system – without considering the human. We then designed an experiment in which the participants used a haptic device to interact with virtual elastic force fields in a stiffness discrimination task. We compared the performance and kinematics of users in uncoupled-unstable and uncoupled-stable conditions and characterized the stabilizing contribution of the users. We found that the users were able to perform the task regardless of the uncoupled-stability conditions. In addition, in uncoupled-unstable conditions, users maintained movement characteristics that were important for exploratory mediation, such as depth and duration of the movement, whereas other characteristics were not preserved. The results were reproduced in a simulation of the human controller that combined an inverse model and an optimal feedback controller. Adequate performance under the uncoupled-unstable yet coupled-stable conditions supports the potential benefit of designing for coupled stability of haptic systems. This could lead to the use of less conservative controllers than state-of-the-art solutions in haptic and teleoperation systems, and advance the fidelity of haptic feedback.
Novel Three‐Holed Titanium Plate Fixation during Open Door Laminoplasty for Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Comparison with Conventional Titanium Plate

For reconstructing the posterior cervical muscular–ligament complex, attachment points and various modified techniques were designed and applied in clinical practice. This study investigated the clinical and radiographic outcomes of open door laminoplasty with modified centerpiece mini‐plate fixation and extensor attachment point reconstruction in the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM).
A solution of Deligne's conjecture

Deligne asked in 1993 whether the Hochschild cochain complex of an associative ring has a natural action by the singular chains of the little 2-cubes operad. In this paper we give an affirmative answer to this question. We also show that the topological Hochschild cohomology spectrum of an associative ring spectrum has an action of an operad equivalent to the little 2-cubes.
Joint connectivity matrix independent component analysis: Auto‐linking of structural and functional connectivities

The study of human brain connectivity, including structural connectivity (SC) and functional connectivity (FC), provides insights into the neurophysiological mechanism of brain function and its relationship to human behavior and cognition. Both types of connectivity measurements provide crucial yet complementary information. However, integrating these two modalities into a single framework remains a challenge, because of the differences in their quantitative interdependencies as well as their anatomical representations due to distinctive imaging mechanisms. In this study, we introduced a new method, joint connectivity matrix independent component analysis (cmICA), which provides a data‐driven parcellation and automated‐linking of SC and FC information simultaneously using a joint analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion‐weighted MRI data. We showed that these two connectivity modalities produce common cortical segregation, though with various degrees of (dis)similarity. Moreover, we show conjoint FC networks and structural white matter tracts that directly link these cortical parcellations/sources, within one analysis. Overall, data‐driven joint cmICA provides a new approach for integrating or fusing structural connectivity and FC systematically and conveniently, and provides an effective tool for connectivity‐based multimodal data fusion in brain.
Does Long-Term Shift Work Increase the Risk of Dementia? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Shift work is associated with impaired sleep quality and disrupted circadian rhythms, but the way in which it increases the risk of dementia remains controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the integrated risk of dementia with shift work. Methods: Searching in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science databases, the relative risks of dementia with shift work were extracted from 12 included studies with 3975 dementia cases from 84 492 participants. The subgroup analysis was stratified by age, gender, sample size, dementia cases, shift schedule, occupation, and follow-up time. Heterogeneity analysis and publication bias analysis were conducted for quality control. Results: The pooled risk ratios (RRs) of dementia with shift work were 1.15 (95%CI = 1.02-1.30). The subgroup analysis found that continuous evening shifts reversibly reduced the risk, but continuous night shifts remarkedly increased the risk of dementia. In addition, a larger cohort and longer follow-up significantly increased the risk of dementia with shift work. Conclusion: Shift work shows mild increases in the risk of dementia using meta-analysis.
X-point modelling in linear configurations using BOUT++

Magnetic X-point configurations in tokamak geometries are critical in determining edge and scrape off layer (SOL) dynamics, and hence particle and heat flux onto plasma facing components. Alternative configurations have been proposed which aim to reduce fluxes to material surfaces, but their performance depends on cross-field transport in the region of the null point which is currently poorly understood. There is therefore a need for theoretical and experimental studies of turbulence in X-point magnetic configurations. In conventional 3D turbulence simulations of tokamaks, a field-aligned coordinate system is used, which introduces numerical instabilities at the null point due to zero volume elements. As a result, X-point dynamics are often interpolated based on nearby flux surfaces, which could exclude relevant physics. Here we simulate X-point configurations in linear geometries using a non-field-aligned coordinate system, and present results of 3D drift-wave turbulence and flow simulations in X- point configurations using an isothermal model which evolves density, vorticity, parallel velocity and parallel current density. Simulations have been performed to explore the feasibility of experimentally studying X-point configurations in linear plasma devices which indicate that even a modest coil set carrying 300A should produce a measurable effect on the driftwave turbulence and plasma profiles near the null region. The energy dynamics of the system are also explored and indicate that an X-point causes ohmic dissipation in higher mode number turbulence.
The anti‐cancer effect of chitosan/resveratrol polymeric nanocomplex against triple‐negative breast cancer; an in vitro assessment

Abstract Herein, the authors synthesised chitosan nanoparticles (Cs NPs) as a resveratrol (RSV) carrier and evaluated their efficacy in stimulating apoptosis in MDA‐MB 231 cells. Blank (Cs NPs) and RSV‐ Cs NPs (RSV‐Cs NPs) were synthesised via ionic gelation and characterised by using fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscope, dynamic light scattering/Zeta potential and RSV release. MDA‐MB 231 cells were treated with RSV, Cs NPs and RSV‐Cs NPs (24, 48, and 72 h), followed by the 3‐[4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl]‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Cell toxicity was evaluated using lactate dehydrogenase assay, and real‐time polymerase chain reaction was performed to explore apoptosis induction. FTIR spectra confirmed the NPs via the formation of cross‐linking bonds. Cs and RSV‐Cs NPs sizes were about 75 and 198 nm with 14 and 24 mV zeta potentials. The RSV entrapment efficiency was 52.34 ± 0.16%, with an early rapid release followed by a sustained manner. Cs and RSV‐Cs NPs inhibited cell proliferation at lower concentrations and IC50 values. RSV‐Cs NPs had the most cytotoxic effect and stimulated intrinsic apoptotic pathway, indicated by increased Bcl‐2‐associated x (BAX), BAX/Bcl‐2 ratio, P53 expressions, reduced Bcl‐2 and upregulated caspases 3, 8 and 9. RSV‐Cs NPs have a great potential to suppress invasive breast cancer cell proliferation by targeting mitochondrial metabolism and inducing the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.
Adaptive Observers for Nonlinearly Parameterized Systems Subjected to Parametric Constraints

We consider the problem of adaptive observer design in the settings when the system is allowed to be nonlinear in the parameters, and furthermore they are to satisfy additional feasibility constraints. A solution to the problem is proposed that is based on the idea of employing observers comprising of an exponentially converging part coupled with exploratory dynamics (cf. Tyukin et al. (2013)). The procedure is illustrated with an example.
Sequential changes in cellular properties accompanying amniote somite formation

Somites are transient structures derived from the pre‐somitic mesoderm (PSM), involving mesenchyme‐to‐epithelial transition (MET) where the cells change their shape and polarize. Using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy, we study the progression of these events along the tail‐to‐head axis of the embryo, which mirrors the progression of somitogenesis (younger cells located more caudally). SEM revealed that PSM epithelialization is a gradual process, which begins much earlier than previously thought, starting with the dorsalmost cells, then the medial ones, and then, simultaneously, the ventral and lateral cells, before a somite fully separates from the PSM. The core (internal) cells of the PSM and somites never epithelialize, which suggests that the core cells could be ‘trapped’ within the somitocoele after cells at the surfaces of the PSM undergo MET. Three‐dimensional imaging of the distribution of the cell polarity markers PKCζ, PAR3, ZO1, the Golgi marker GM130 and the apical marker N‐cadherin reveal that the pattern of polarization is distinctive for each marker and for each surface of the PSM, but the order of these events is not the same as the progression of cell elongation. These observations challenge some assumptions underlying existing models of somite formation.
Optimal Co-Optimizing of Distributed Generation and ESS Facilities Considering Voltage Stability

The paper deals with the optimal sizing and allocation of dispersed generation, and distributed storage systems. The optimization aims at minimizing the sum of the costs sustained by the distributor for the power losses, for network upgrading, for carrying out the reactive power service and the costs of storage and capacitor installation, over a planning period of several years. Also, analysis of the effect of distributed generation capacity and location on voltage stability enhancement of distribution networks are presented in this paper. The analysis is performed using a steady state voltage stability index which can be evaluated at each node of the distribution system. Different optimal capacities and locations are used to check this effect. The location of distributed generation has the main effect on the system voltage stability. Voltage stability should be taken into account as one of the objectives of distributed generation optimal allocation techniques. The analysis is conducted on a 69-node distribution system in order to show the feasibility of the proposed procedure.