Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Upper Limits of Risk Ratios and Recommendations for Reporting Risk Ratios, Odds Ratios, and Rate Ratios

Background Relative measures, including risk ratios (RRs) and odds ratios (ORs), are reported in many epidemiological studies. RRs represent how many times a condition is likely to develop when exposed to a risk factor. The upper limit of RRs is the multiplicative inverse of the baseline incidence. Ignoring the upper limits of RRs can lead to reporting exaggerated relative effect sizes. Objectives This study aims to demonstrate the importance of such upper limits for effect size reporting via equations, examples, and simulations and provide recommendations for the reporting of relative measures. Methods Equations to calculate RRs and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were listed. We performed simulations with 10,000 simulated subjects and three population variables: proportions at risk (0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.8), baseline incidence (0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.8), and RRs (0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 10.0, and 25.0). Subjects were randomly assigned with a risk based on the set of proportions-at-risk values. A disease occurred based on the baseline incidence among those not at risk. The incidence of those at risk was the product of the baseline incidence and the RRs. The 95% CIs of RRs were calculated according to Altman. Results The calculation of RR 95% CIs is not connected to the RR upper limits in equations. The RRs in the simulated populations at risk could reach the upper limits of RRs: multiplicative inverse of the baseline incidence. The upper limits to the derived RRs were around 1.25, 2, 3.3, 10, and 20, when the assumed baseline incidence rates were 0.8, 0.5, 0.3, 0.2, and 0.05, respectively. We demonstrated five scenarios in which the RR 95% CIs might exceed the upper limits. Conclusions Statistical significance does not imply the RR 95% CIs not exceeding the upper limits of RRs. When reporting RRs or ORs, the RR upper limits should be assessed. The rate ratio is also subject to a similar upper limit. In the literature, ORs tend to overestimate effect sizes. It is recommended to correct ORs that aim to approximate RRs assuming outcomes are rare. A reporting guide for relative measures, RRs, ORs, and rate ratios, is provided. Researchers are recommended to report whether the 95% CIs of relative measures, RRs, ORs, and rate ratios, overlap with the range of upper limits and discuss whether the relative measure estimates may exceed the upper limits.
Hydrolyzed Conchiolin Protein (HCP) Extracted from Pearls Antagonizes both ET-1 and α-MSH for Skin Whitening

Pearl powder is a famous traditional Chinese medicine that has a long history in treating palpitations, insomnia, convulsions, epilepsy, ulcers, and skin lightining. Recently, several studies have demonstrated the effects of pearl extracts on protection of ultraviolet A (UVA) induced irritation on human skin fibroblasts and inhibition of melanin genesis on B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. To further explore the effect we focused on the whitening efficacy of pearl hydrolyzed conchiolin protein (HCP) on human melanoma MNT-1 cells under the irritation of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) or endothelin 1 (ET-1) to evaluate the intracellular tyrosinase and melanin contents, as well as the expression levels of tyrosinase (TYR), tyrosinase related protein 1 (TRP-1), and dopachrome tautomerase (DCT) genes and related proteins. We found that HCP could decrease the intracellular melanin content by reducing the activity of intracellular tyrosinase and inhibiting the expression of TYR, TRP-1, DCT genes and proteins. At the same time, the effect of HCP on melanosome transfer effect was also investigated in the co-culture system of immortalized human keratinocyte HaCaT cells with MNT-1. The result indicated that HCP could promote the transfer of melanosomes in MNT-1 melanocytes to HaCaT cells, which might accelerate the skin whitening process by quickly transferring and metabolizing melanosomes during keratinocyte differentiation. Further study is needed to explore the mechanism of melanosome transfer with depigmentation.
A 142-GHz 4/5 Dual-Modulus Prescaler for Wideband and Low Noise Frequency Synthesizers in 130-nm SiGe:C BiCMOS

In this contribution, the simulation and measurement results of a 4/5 dual-modulus prescaler, operating from dc to 142 GHz with a power consumption of 144 mW, are presented. For a division ratio of 4, the maximum operation frequency of 166 GHz is even higher. The prescaler is the core of a fully programmable dual-modulus frequency divider, which is a crucial component of modern measurement systems. The effect of the physical lengths and the resulting internal delays on the prescaler’s performance is analyzed. Furthermore, the voltage level of the fully differential emitter-coupled logic (ECL) is optimized in terms of phase noise and maximum operating frequency. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is realized in a 130-nm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with $f_{ \textit T}/f_{max}$ = 470/650 GHz.
Molecular phylogeny of the genus Dorometra Clark, 1917 (Crinoidea: Comatulida: Antedonidae): a new genus and new insights for future taxonomic revisions of Antedonidae

Dorometra Clark, 1917 (Comatulida: Antedonidae) is an Indo-Pacific genus of small-sized cryptic feather stars currently comprising nine species. The monophyly of this crinoid genus has been widely questioned, although only few studies have investigated the phylogeny of Antedonidae in depth. In this study we used an integrated approach combining molecular phylogenetic, morphology, and multivariate analyses to clarify the taxonomic placement of the genus Dorometra within family Antedonidae. Eight of the nine known species of the genus collected from Australia to the Sea of Japan were included in analyses. Phylogenetic analyses using sequences from two mitochondrial (COI, 16S) and one nuclear (28S) genes demonstrate that Dorometra is polyphyletic, and its species are divided into three main clades, which are spread within other Antedonidae. As a result, we herein describe Nesometra gen. nov. Four different species delimitation methods on single and multi-locus alignments also showed higher diversity than previously thought. In particular, our results highlighted the presence of cryptic diversity within the species Dorometra nana (Hartlaub, 1890) in geographically close localities within southern Japan. By multivariate analysis of morphological matrix, we confirmed the homoplasy and plasticity of the taxonomic characters used in the description of Dorometra species, providing a path forward for the general taxonomic revision of this genus and of Antedonidae and related families. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DB7C239C-5CA0-485B-B4A8-205288FC4080
Evaluating Novel Quantification Methods for Infectious Baculoviruses

Accurate and rapid quantification of (infectious) virus titers is of paramount importance in the manufacture of viral vectors and vaccines. Reliable quantification data allow efficient process development at a laboratory scale and thorough process monitoring in later production. However, current gold standard applications, such as endpoint dilution assays, are cumbersome and do not provide true process analytical monitoring. Accordingly, flow cytometry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction have attracted increasing interest in recent years, offering various advantages for rapid quantification. Here, we compared different approaches for the assessment of infectious viruses, using a model baculovirus. Firstly, infectivity was estimated by the quantification of viral nucleic acids in infected cells, and secondly, different flow cytometric approaches were investigated regarding analysis times and calibration ranges. The flow cytometry technique included a quantification based on post-infection fluorophore expression and labeling of a viral surface protein using fluorescent antibodies. Additionally, the possibility of viral (m)RNA labeling in infected cells was investigated as a proof of concept. The results confirmed that infectivity assessment based on qPCR is not trivial and requires sophisticated method optimization, whereas staining of viral surface proteins is a fast and feasible approach for enveloped viruses. Finally, labeling of viral (m)RNA in infected cells appears to be a promising opportunity but will require further research.
Measure-valued limits of interacting particle systems with k-nary interactions II. Finite-dimensional limits

It is shown that Markov chains in describing k-nary interacting particles of d different types approximate (in the continuous state limit) Markov processes on having pseudo-differential generators with symbols p (x,ξ) depending polynomially (degree k) on x. This approximation can be used to prove existence and non-explosion results for the latter processes. Our general scheme of continuous state (or finite-dimensional measure-valued) limits to processes of k-nary interaction yields a unified description of these limits for a large variety of models that are intensively studied in different domains of natural science from interacting particles in statistical mechanics (e.g. coagulation-fragmentation processes) to evolutionary games and multidimensional birth and death processes from biology and social sciences.
Sparse array radar forward-looking imaging based on fast atomic norm minimization

ABSTRACT The sparse array imaging radar could largely reduce the system complexity, but it also suffers from poor azimuthal resolution due to the limited aperture length and incomplete observation caused by non-uniform array configuration. In this letter, a radar forward-looking imaging method with improved imaging quality and reduced system complexity is proposed. Firstly, the matrix completion method is utilized to recover the missing signals of sparse array. Then, based on the plane-wave assumption, a fast 2-dimensional atomic norm minimization (ANM) is adopted to solve the positions and amplitudes of scatterers. As a continues compressed sensing method, the result of ANM-based method earns sharper main-lobes and much lower-level side-lobes compared to the fast Fourier transform -based method. Although the resolution of proposed method is still limited by Rayleigh resolution, the imaging quality can be greatly improved by emphasizing main-lobes and avoiding the perturbation of side-lobes. Simulations and experiments are carried out to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.
FINITE VOLUMES FOR THE SIMULATION OF UNSTEADY SHALLOW WATER FLOWS

Summary. When applying the unsteady shallow water model to the simulation of overland flow in urban flooding problems it is necessary to handle correctly all kind of situations related to the complex geometry that can appear. The numerical model used to solve the system of equations has to provide well balanced solutions (equilibrium in cases of still water) and to maintain non-negative water depths for simulations involving wetting and drying transitions. Due to the complex topographic features involved in some cases, strong discontinuities in the bed elevation may appear, and as a result the suitability of the numerical model employed can be compromised. Godunov methods have been found a reliable tool to simulate realistic scenarios but, to ensure a correct performance of the numerical solution in all cases, the approximations involved to generate the numerical method have to be revisited. This revision results in new approximate solutions and a complete definition of the stability region avoiding additional tuning parameters commonly found in literature. Also, the proposed new solver indicates that the definition of well-balanced equilibrium in trivial cases is not sufficientto provide correct results: it is necessary to provide discrete evaluations of the source term that ensure energy dissipating solutions when demanded.
Optimal Learning Paradigm and Clustering for Effective Radio Resource Management in 5G HetNets

Ultra-dense heterogeneous networks (UDHN) based on small cells are a requisite part of the future cellular networks as they are proposed as one of the enabling technologies to handle coverage and capacity problems. But co-tier and cross-tier interferences in UDHN severely degrade the quality of service due to K-tiered architecture. Machine learning based radio resource management either through independent learning or cooperative learning is a proven efficient scheme for interference mitigation and quality of service provision in UDHN in a both distributive and cooperative manner. However, an optimal learning paradigm selection, i.e., either independent or cooperative learning and optimal cooperative cluster size in cooperative learning for efficient radio resource management in UDHN is still an open research problem. In this article, a Q-learning based radio resource management scheme is proposed and evaluated for both distributive and cooperative schemes using independent and cooperative learning. The proposed Q-learning solution follows the $\epsilon -$ greedy policy for optimal convergence. The simulation results for the UDHN in an urban setup show that in comparison to the independent learning paradigm, cooperative learning has no significant impact on macro cell user capacity. However, there is a significant improvement in small cell user capacity and the sum capacity of the cooperating small cells in the cluster. A significant increase of 48.57% and 37.9% is observed in the small cell user capacity, and sum capacity of the cooperating small cells, respectively, using cooperative learning as compared to independent learning which sets cooperative learning as an optimal learning strategy in UDHN. The improvement in small cell user capacity is at cost of increased computational time which is directly proportional to the number of cooperating small cells. To solve the issue of computational time in cooperative learning, an optimal clustering algorithm is proposed. The proposed optimal clustering reduced the computational time by four times in cooperative Q-learning.
An Improved Method of Image Fast Defogging

In order to improve degraded image clarity and color fidelity in foggy weather,an improved defogging method based on dark-channel prior is proposed.According to the more computation time,and on the premise of defogging effect,fast bilateral filtering is used instead of soft matting to refine transmission map that reduces the complexity of the algorithm greatly.The processing time is 5% of original method,which can meet the real-time requirements of the general engineering.Since the brightness of image after haze removal is lower than the actual scene and the color is dim,a simple and effective method of image contrast and brightness enhancement is proposed.It adaptively enhances the image brightness,and modifies the local contrast which is due to the thick fog and haze.The experimental results indicates that this method can restore the fog scene and color rapidly and effectively,and guaranteed the stability and reliability of outdoor imaging system in bad weather in a certain extent.
An injectable hydrogel combining medicine and matrix with anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic properties for potential treatment of myocardial infarction

Abstract One of the main illnesses that put people’s health in jeopardy is myocardial infarction (MI). After MI, damaged or dead cells set off an initial inflammatory response that thins the ventricle wall and degrades the extracellular matrix. At the same time, the ischemia and hypoxic conditions resulting from MI lead to significant capillary obstruction and rupture, impairing cardiac function and reducing blood flow to the heart. Therefore, attenuating the initial inflammatory response and promoting angiogenesis are very important for the treatment of MI. Here, to reduce inflammation and promote angiogenesis in infarcted area, we report a new kind of injectable hydrogel composed of puerarin and chitosan via in situ self-assembly with simultaneous delivery of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (CHP@Si) for myocardial repair. On the one hand, puerarin degraded from CHP@Si hydrogel modulated the inflammatory response via inhibiting M1-type polarization of macrophages and expression of pro-inflammatory factors. On the other hand, silica ions and puerarin released from CHP@Si hydrogel showed synergistic activity to improve the cell viability, migration and angiogenic gene expression of HUVECs in both conventional and oxygen/glucose-deprived environments. It suggests that this multifunctional injectable CHP@Si hydrogel with good biocompatibility may be an appropriate candidate as a bioactive material for myocardial repair post-MI.
Managing Workplace Boredom: Employee Coping Strategies, Supervisor Communication, and Job Satisfaction

This survey study (n = 297, 47% Caucasian, 52% female) examines U.S. employees’ experience of workplace boredom, their strategies for boredom coping, and their perceptions of managerial support of employee boredom mitigation. In regression analyses, employee job and supervisor satisfaction are predicted by perceived managerial effectiveness in reducing boring aspects of work, as well as perceived managerial support of employee coping mechanisms. Analysis of qualitative data provides a typology of worker coping mechanisms; a typology of managerial communicative responses to worker feedback surrounding the tasks performed; and a grounded theoretical framework for managerial communication with employees performing repetitive work routines.
Unraveling the Dysbiosis of Vaginal Microbiome to Understand Cervical Cancer Disease Etiology—An Explainable AI Approach

Microbial Dysbiosis is associated with the etiology and pathogenesis of diseases. The studies on the vaginal microbiome in cervical cancer are essential to discern the cause and effect of the condition. The present study characterizes the microbial pathogenesis involved in developing cervical cancer. Relative species abundance assessment identified Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria dominating the phylum level. A significant increase in Lactobacillus iners and Prevotella timonensis at the species level revealed its pathogenic influence on cervical cancer progression. The diversity, richness, and dominance analysis divulges a substantial decline in cervical cancer compared to control samples. The β diversity index proves the homogeneity in the subgroups’ microbial composition. The association between enriched Lactobacillus iners at the species level, Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, and Enterococcus genera with cervical cancer is identified by Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) prediction. The functional enrichment corroborates the microbial disease association with pathogenic infections such as aerobic vaginitis, bacterial vaginosis, and chlamydia. The dataset is trained and validated with repeated k-fold cross-validation technique using a random forest algorithm to determine the discriminative pattern from the samples. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), a game theoretic approach, is employed to analyze the results predicted by the model. Interestingly, SHAP identified that the increase in Ralstonia has a higher probability of predicting the sample as cervical cancer. New evidential microbiomes identified in the experiment confirm the presence of pathogenic microbiomes in cervical cancer vaginal samples and their mutuality with microbial imbalance.
Nonparametric Bootstrap Inference in a Multivariate Spatial-Temporal Model

Nonparametric bootstrap inference in a multivariate spatial-temporal model is proposed to verify two important assumptions namely, constant multivariate characteristics across spatial locations and constant multivariate characteristics across time points. The bootstrap normal confidence intervals and type-2 p-value for the multivariate characteristics across spatial locations/points were constructed for the test procedures. Results of the simulation studies indicate that the proposed test procedures are powerful and is correctly size. The test procedures for multivariate characteristics across spatial locations/time points are also robust for a wide range of data structures.
Conformal Field Theory and Percolation

In this thesis, important features of two dimensional bond percolation on an infinite square lattice at its critical point within a conformal field theory (CFT) approach are presented. This includes a level three null vector interpretation for Watts’ differential equation [78] describing the horizontal vertical crossing probability within this setup. A unique solution among the minimal models, c(6,1) = −24 seems to be a good candidate, satisfying the level two differential equation for the horizontal crossing probability derived by Cardy [7] as well. Commonly assumed to be a truly scale invariant problem, percolation nevertheless is usually investigated as a c = 0 CFT. Moreover this class of CFTs is important for the study of percolation or quenched disorder models in general. Since c(3,2) = 0 as a minimal model only consists of the identity field, following Cardy [9] different approaches to get a non trivial CFT whose partition functions differ from one as suggested by the work of Pearce and Rittenberg [69] are presented. Concentrating on a similar ansatz for logarithmic behavior as for the triplet series (c(p,1)), we examine the properties of such a CFT based on the extended Kac-table for c(9,6) = 0 using a general ansatz for the stress energy tensor residing in a Jordan cell of rank two. We will derive the interesting OPEs in this setup (i.e. of the stress energy tensor and its logarithmic partner) and illustrate it by a bosonic field realization. We will give a motivation why the augmented minimal model seems to be more promising than the previous approaches and present an example of a tensor construction as a fourth ansatz to solve the c → 0 problem as well.
Lamé Resonator Integrated With Chevron-Shaped Thermal Actuators to Improve Motional Resistance and Temperature Stability

This paper presents a capacitive bulk mode resonator operating in Lamé mode, where the motional resistance and temperature stability are enhanced by implementing a set of chevron-shaped thermal actuators to reduce the transducer air gaps. The chevrons are heated using micro-heaters that are integrated on the actuator. The device is fabricated in the PiezoMUMPS standard microfabrication process by MEMSCAP. The measured resonant frequency for the fabricated device was observed to be 17.9 MHz. It has been experimentally shown that the transducer air gap can be reduced from $2.5 \mu m$ to $0.5 \mu m$ by applying a heater voltage of 2.7 V at atmospheric pressure. In the proposed resonator, the transmission loss can be reduced by 8.54 dB when the actuators are biased at 1.8 V in vacuum, as opposed to when the actuator is off. Under these conditions, the thermal actuators each consume 39 mA. In addition, the implemented thermal actuators can function as integrated heaters that increase the temperature of the suspended square structure to compensate for ambient temperature variations. As such, applying a voltage of 1.8 V in vacuum reduces the resonant frequency from 17.95 MHz to 17.91 MHz, while applying a voltage of 2.6 V at atmospheric pressure reduces the resonant frequency from 17.97 MHz to 17.86 MHz. [2022-0188]
Micro Droplets Merging by Electrowetting: Lattice Boltzmann Study

In this paper, the Free Energy Based Lattice Boltzmann (FEB-LB) method which has been recently extended by the author for modeling and simulation of Electrowetting (EW) phenomenon is applied to another application of EW, i.e., droplets merging. The obtained results ware compared against experimental data and the results show good accuracy of the numerical simulation.