Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precambrian frontier opportunity in Australia's Beetaloo sub-basin

A previously unexplored sub-basin of the Precambrian McArthur basin in northern Australia is developing into an exciting new petroleum province. Exploration by Pacific Oil Gas Pty. Ltd. the past 7 years has indicated that vast amounts of hydrocarbon have been generated from thick, highly organic rich shales present throughout the Beetaloo sub-basin. Several potential sandstone reservoirs are conveniently situated to be charged from the source units. Pacific has recovered oil and gas from these sandstones in several exploration wells demonstrating that maturation, migration, and preservation of hydrocarbons have been effective within the sub-basin. With only a few poorly defined targets drilled to date, more exploration is required to assess fully the hydrocarbon potential of the Beetaloo sub-basin. In addition to exploration for conventionally trapped oil and gas, Pacific has also been evaluating innovative methods to recover the immense resource of unmigrated live oil present within the source units. The paper discusses regional geology, Pacific's exploration, source and maturity, the reservoir, structure, and the potential for this area.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Models for Arrhythmias Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell – Derived Cardiomyocytes

As part of the series on Controversies in Cardiovascular Research, I have been asked to serve as the antagonist and discuss the limitations of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM) for modeling cardiac arrhythmias. A daunting task, given that the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Shinya Yamanaka and Sir John B. Gurdon for the invention of the iPSC technology, which allows the generation of pluripotent stem cells by reprogramming mature somatic cells harvested from patients. This technology theoretically enables an unlimited supply of patient-specific stem cells, which can be differentiated into different cell types for disease modeling, molecular diagnosis, cell-based therapy, and testing of personalized treatments. Among the first reports of iPSC disease models have been iPSC-CM models of genetic arrhythmia disorders (ie, long QT syndrome), generating substantial enthusiasm for adopting the iPSC technology in the field. Potential applications of iPSC-CM for arrhythmia disorders can be either patientspecific (ie, personalized medicine) or independent of the individual patient (Table 1). Among the patient-independent applications, drug safety testing, which uses iPSC-CM derived from control subjects, has received a lot of attention recently and is frequently mentioned as promising application of the iPSC technology. However, normal myocytes can also be generated from human embryonic stem cell (ESC), a technology that has been available for over a decade, but interestingly has not been widely adopted for drug safety screening. In this review, I will focus primarily on the role of iPSC-CM for patient-specific applications, which is the unique feature of the iPSC technology and theoretically could be used clinically to help diagnosis and personalized treatment for patients with arrhythmia disorders.
Effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobin therapy in cerebellar ataxia associated with gluten sensitivity

Martin and colleagues reported a case study of a child with “developmental delay,” studied with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). According to the authors, shortecho MRS data acquired using 6ml voxels in occipital gray matter, parieto-occipital white matter, and basal ganglia demonstrated “complete absence of NAA (Nacetylaspartate),” which was “even more obvious in the longecho spectrum. ” From these remarkable data, the authors conclude “the concentration of NAA, as determined by in vivo 1H-MRS, can no longer be taken as an indicator of viable neuronal tissue, and that the functional role of NAA in the brain must be reevaluated in order to correctly interpret neurospectroscopic results in a clinical setting. ” This conclusion would perhaps be warranted if two critical statements had truly reflected the data presented. First, the claim “no neurologic deficits were noted” discounts the severe cognitive and motor deficits described, specifically, that a 3.5-year-old boy is able only to sit unaided, walk a few broad-based steps, and express meaningless sounds. Characterization of the child as having “developmental delay” suggests that he might ultimately achieve full development, an assumption that currently cannot be substantiated. Second, the claim “all spectra obtained on both occasions demonstrate absence of NAA in all examined brain regions” is not supported by examination of the four spectra presented, all of which reveal measurable peaks at 2.02ppm. These strikingly low NAA levels are actually consistent with the severe functional deficits observed clinically, deficits that would likely be stratified as profound if subjected to quantitative neuropsychological assessment. Even if the child truly had no NAA in his brain, this does not mean that NAA is not necessary for normal brain function. By analogy, individuals can be born without a corpus callosum and still have interhemisphere communication. Does this mean that the corpus callosum is not the major pathway for connecting the cerebral hemispheres? If “viable” means “capable of living,” the perhaps glib characterization of NAA as “a marker of neuronal viability” may indeed be an overstatement of which we and others are guilty. However, given the two mischaracterizations of the data, a conclusion opposite that of the authors could be reached—this child has very low levels of brain NAA and profound neuropsychological deficits. Perhaps a better term than “viable” would be “integrity,” meaning “an unimpaired condition,” with the amount of spectroscopically visible NAA considered “a reflection of neuronal integrity. ” Certainly the report of Martin and colleagues would support this nomenclature.
Effects of Whitening Dentifrices on the Enamel Color, Surface Roughness, and Morphology

The aim of this study was to evaluate the whitening and abrasion effects of dentifrices containing different whitening agents on artificially stained and unstained enamel. 160 human dental enamel discs were distributed into four groups according to the type of dentifrices applied on them (n=40): Group I, non-whitening dentifrice (control group); Group II, dentifrice containing charcoal; Group III, dentifrice containing blue covarine; Group IV, dentifrice containing hydrogen peroxide. Half of the specimens in each group were immersed in coffee solution. Color measurements were evaluated from stained and unstained specimens before and after brushing by a spectrophotometer. The surface roughness of each unstained specimen was analyzed using a profilometer after the brushing and bleaching. The surface of one randomly selected specimen from each group was observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Statistical analysis of the color change was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The one-way ANOVA was used to evaluate surface roughness. Group III provided significantly higher recovery on ∆E00 values than other groups on the unstained enamel (p<0.05). Group IV showed significantly the highest ∆E00 values on stained enamel (p<0.05) and also Group IV showed the highest surface roughness values (p<0.05), SEM revealed a more irregular surface in groups III and IV. It can be stated that dentifrice containing blue covarine is both an effective and a safe way to provide whiter teeth with routine home tooth brushing.
Use of biomarkers to assess fruit and vegetables intake

A high intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) has been associated with reduced risk of a number of 26 chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. The aim of this review is to describe the 27 potential use of biomarkers to assess FV intake. Traditional methods of assessing FV intake 28 have limitations, and this is likely to impact on observed associations with disease outcomes and 29 markers of disease risk. Nutritional biomarkers may offer a more objective and reliable method 30 of assessing dietary FV intake. Some single blood biomarkers, such as plasma vitamin C and 31 serum carotenoids, are well established as indicators of FV intake. Combining potential 32 biomarkers of intake may more accurately predict overall FV intake within intervention studies 33 than the use of any single biomarker. Another promising approach is metabolomic analysis of 34 biological fluids using untargeted approaches to identify potential new biomarkers of FV intake. 35 Using biomarkers to measure FV intake may improve the accuracy of dietary assessment.
Workshop Position Paper: Understanding space, place and 'community'

This position paper is concerned with interdisciplinary notions of space and place and their nuanced interaction with ideas about ‘community’ and, in particular, the extent to which ‘communities’ might be supported by different kinds of technological intervention. In this paper we discuss the ongoing CASIDE Project (www.caside.lancs.ac.uk) and the interpolation of situated displays in the places inhabited by a particular community. The central aim of CASIDE is to understand the way in which the physical placement and design of networked displays in semi-wild settings influences and facilitates coordination and community. This understanding will inform the development of suitable guidelines and methods for the design of situated displays both within and beyond the lifetime of the project. This research is important because it is clear that nuanced understanding of place and its relationship to community and social practices is required in order to avoid inappropriate deployments of this ‘situated’ technology
Screening for cognitive impairment in older adults: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.

DESCRIPTION Update of the 2003 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening for dementia. METHODS The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the benefits, harms, and sensitivity and specificity of screening instruments for cognitive impairment in older adults and the benefits and harms of commonly used treatment and management options for older adults with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia and their caregivers. POPULATION This recommendation applies to universal screening with formal screening instruments in community-dwelling adults in the general primary care population who are older than 65 years and have no signs or symptoms of cognitive impairment. RECOMMENDATION The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for cognitive impairment. (I statement).
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Hypothalamic regulation of metabolism

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Aspects of design and analysis of reinforced soil dams

This thesis was concerned with the design, analysis and geometrical optimisation of reinforced soil dams (RSDs, singular RSD) and aimed to develop a computer program for these tasks. In order to achieve this objective, the following tasks were carried out as parts of this thesis. (a) Comprehensive literature survey. This part included an overview of the history of reinforced soil, its application, material components, design considerations, construction methods, and economic considerations of reinforced soil. The fundamentals of design and analysis of conventional earth dams were also considered. This included the history, classification, factors governing the choice of dam type, stability analysis, design criteria, and limitations of conventional earth dams. This project also gave a detailed evaluation and design criteria of a number of existing RSDs. A summary of recent investigations on the behaviour of RSDs was outlined. This continued by considering the classification of RSDs and the forces acting on them. (b) Stability analysis of RSDs. This part was focused on some formulae in order to optimise the cross sectional area of RSDs. The external stability analysis of RSD was evaluated as a whole structure based on analytical approach. Some design formulae were given for RSD optimisation concerning the minimum base length required against sliding, overturning, overstressing, bond failure, and rupture failure. The internal stability of RSD was also taken into account based on a semi-empirical method. Some empirical relationships were proposed to eliminate the tangent discontinuity which exists in the Coherent Gravity Method formulae. These relationships reflect the non-linearity indicated by the field data and eliminate unknown parameters existing in the formulae of Modified Coherent Gravity Method. They also offer a better fit with the available field observations. Relationships between the lateral earth pressure and the apparent friction factor with the fill depth were proposed. The apparent friction factor versus the reinforcement length were also undertaken.
Tradable Discharge Permits System for Water Pollution of the Upper Napan River, China

The upper Nanpan river in Qujing city, Yunnan province, China is heavily polluted. Its main stream (122 km long) is designated as water for industrial and agricultural use. However, the instream water quality is unsuitable for any use. Industrial discharges and municipal sources contribute significantly to the river's pollutant loads which are much higher than the total maximum loads allowable (TMLAs). Substantial efforts have been made to correct the situation, but the water pollution is still out of control. At present, it appears that environmental management instruments must be improved, and more capital must be invested in water pollution control. Among several environmental management instruments implemented in the upper Nanpan river catchment area, the current non-tradable permits system for water pollution must be improved first through the development of a tradable discharge permits (TDP) system for water pollution. By providing flexibility to the dischargers, the trading system is assumed to be more cost-effective in attaining specific effluent reduction targets than the non-trading system. This study provides information on and analysis of point/point source effluent trading, an explanation of the theory underlying trading, an examination of international experiences to date, and an evaluation of the lessons learned. It also focuses on evaluating the applicability of a practical TDP system to the upper Nanpan river.
A unified path seeking algorithm for IMRT and IMPT beam orientation optimization

Objective. Fully automated beam orientation optimization (BOO) for intensity-modulated radiotherapy and intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) is gaining interest, since achieving optimal plan quality for an unknown number of fixed beam arrangements is tedious. Fast group sparsity-based optimization methods have been proposed to find the optimal orientation, but manual tuning is required to eliminate the exact number of beams from a large candidate set. Here, we introduce a fast, automated gradient descent-based path-seeking algorithm (PathGD), which performs fluence map optimization for sequentially added beams, to visualize the dosimetric benefit of one added field at a time. Approach. Several configurations of 2–4 proton and 5–15 photon beams were selected for three head-and-neck patients using PathGD, which was compared to group sparsity-regularized BOO solved with the fast iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm (GS-FISTA), and manually selected IMPT beams or one coplanar photon VMAT arc (MAN). Once beams were chosen, all plans were compared on computational efficiency, dosimetry, and for proton plans, robustness. Main results. With each added proton beam, Clinical Target Volume (CTV) and organs at risk (OAR) dosimetric cost improved on average across plans by [1.1%, 13.6%], and for photons, [0.6%, 2.0%]. Comparing algorithms, beam selection for PathGD was faster than GS-FISTA on average by 35%, and PathGD matched the CTV coverage of GS-FISTA plans while reducing OAR mean and maximum dose in all structures by an average of 13.6%. PathGD was able to improve CTV [Dmax, D95%] by [2.6%, 5.2%] and reduced worst-case [max, mean] dose in OARs by [11.1%, 13.1%]. Significance. The benefit of a path-seeking algorithm is the beam-by-beam analysis of dosimetric cost. PathGD was shown to be most efficient and dosimetrically desirable amongst group sparsity and manual BOO methods, and highlights the sensitivity of beam addition for IMPT in particular.
Mineral substrate quality determines the initial soil microbial development in front of the Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard

Abstract Substrate geochemistry is an important factor influencing early microbial development after glacial retreat on nutrient-poor geological substrates in the High Arctic. It is often difficult to separate substrate influence from climate because study locations are distant. Our study in the retreating Nordenskiöldbreen (Svalbard) is one of the few to investigate biogeochemical and microbial succession in two adjacent forefields, which share the same climatic conditions but differ in their underlying geology. The northern silicate forefield evolved in a classical chronosequence, where most geochemical and microbial parameters increased gradually with time. In contrast, the southern carbonate forefield exhibited high levels of nutrients and microbial biomass at the youngest sites, followed by a significant decline and then a gradual increase, which caused a rearrangement in the species and functional composition of the bacterial and fungal communities. This shuffling in the early stages of succession suggests that high nutrient availability in the bedrock could have accelerated early soil succession after deglaciation and thereby promoted more rapid stabilization of the soil and production of higher quality organic matter. Most chemical parameters and bacterial taxa converged with time, while fungi showed no clear pattern.
Double-layered blood vessels over 3 mm in diameter extruded by the inverse-gravity technique

One of the most promising techniques for treating severe peripheral artery disease is the use of cellular tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs). This study proposes an inverse-gravity (IG) extrusion technique for creating long double-layered cellular TEVGs with diameters over 3 mm. A three-layered coaxial laminar hydrogel flow in an 8 mm-diameter pipe was realised simply by changing the extrusion direction of the hydrogel from being aligned with the direction of gravity to against it. This technique produced an extruded mixture of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) and type-I collagen as a tubular structure with an inner diameter of 3.5 mm. After a 21 day maturation period, the maximal burst pressure, longitudinal breaking force, and circumferential breaking force of the HASMC TEVG were 416 mmHg, 0.69 N, and 0.89 N, respectively. The HASMC TEVG was endothelialised with human umbilical vein endothelial cells to form a tunica intima that simulated human vessels. Besides subcutaneous implantability on mice, the double-layered blood vessels showed a considerably lower adherence of platelets and red blood cells once exposed to heparinised mouse blood and were considered nonhaemolytic. The proposed IG extrusion technique can be applied in various fields requiring multilayered materials with large diameters.
JoTR: A Joint Transformer and Reinforcement Learning Framework for Dialog Policy Learning

Dialogue policy learning (DPL) is a crucial component of dialogue modelling. Its primary role is to determine the appropriate abstract response, commonly referred to as the"dialogue action". Traditional DPL methodologies have treated this as a sequential decision problem, using pre-defined action candidates extracted from a corpus. However, these incomplete candidates can significantly limit the diversity of responses and pose challenges when dealing with edge cases, which are scenarios that occur only at extreme operating parameters. To address these limitations, we introduce a novel framework, JoTR. This framework is unique as it leverages a text-to-text Transformer-based model to generate flexible dialogue actions. Unlike traditional methods, JoTR formulates a word-level policy that allows for a more dynamic and adaptable dialogue action generation, without the need for any action templates. This setting enhances the diversity of responses and improves the system's ability to handle edge cases effectively. In addition, JoTR employs reinforcement learning with a reward-shaping mechanism to efficiently finetune the word-level dialogue policy, which allows the model to learn from its interactions, improving its performance over time. We conducted an extensive evaluation of JoTR to assess its effectiveness. Our extensive evaluation shows that JoTR achieves state-of-the-art performance on two benchmark dialogue modelling tasks, as assessed by both user simulators and human evaluators.
Learning multi-modal generative models with permutation-invariant encoders and tighter variational bounds

Devising deep latent variable models for multi-modal data has been a long-standing theme in machine learning research. Multi-modal Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) have been a popular generative model class that learns latent representations which jointly explain multiple modalities. Various objective functions for such models have been suggested, often motivated as lower bounds on the multi-modal data log-likelihood or from information-theoretic considerations. In order to encode latent variables from different modality subsets, Product-of-Experts (PoE) or Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) aggregation schemes have been routinely used and shown to yield different trade-offs, for instance, regarding their generative quality or consistency across multiple modalities. In this work, we consider a variational bound that can tightly lower bound the data log-likelihood. We develop more flexible aggregation schemes that generalise PoE or MoE approaches by combining encoded features from different modalities based on permutation-invariant neural networks. Our numerical experiments illustrate trade-offs for multi-modal variational bounds and various aggregation schemes. We show that tighter variational bounds and more flexible aggregation models can become beneficial when one wants to approximate the true joint distribution over observed modalities and latent variables in identifiable models.