Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precocious Puberty Diagnoses Spike, COVID-19 Pandemic, and Body Mass Index: Findings From a 4-year Study

Abstract Context Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of girls with suspected precocious puberty has increased. Objective To compare the incidence of idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) during COVID-19 with that of the previous 4 years. Methods Anthropometric, biochemical, and radiological parameters were collected between January 2016 and June 2021 from 133 girls who met the Rapidly Progressive ICPP criteria (RP-ICPP). Results We found a higher incidence of RP-ICPP between March 2020 and June 2021 (group 2) compared with January 2016 through March 2020 (group 1) (53.5% vs 41.1%); 2021 showed the highest annual incidence (P < .05). Group 1 and group 2 differed in age at diagnosis (7.96 ± 0.71 vs 7.61 ± 0.94; P < .05), mean Tanner stage (2.86 ± 0.51 vs 2.64 ± 0; P < .05), and in the time between the appearance of thelarche and diagnosis (0.93 ± 0.75 vs 0.71 ± 0.62 years, P < .05). There was an increase in the number of girls aged <8 years in group 2 and a significantly higher number of girls aged >8 years was found in group 1 (42 in group 1 vs 20 in group 2, P < 0.05). Overall body mass index SD score showed higher values in group 2 (1.01 ± 1.23 vs 0.69 ± 1.15; P = .18), which spent an average of 1.94 ± 1.81 hours per day using electronic devices; 88.5% of this group stopped any physical activity. Conclusions A spike in new diagnoses of idiopathic (1.79-fold higher) and RP-CPP coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The incidence of RP-ICPP was 1.3-fold higher during COVID-19 with a trend toward an increase in body mass index SD score. The expanding use of digital devices and the reduction of daily physical activity represent possible risk factors.
Hepatocyte Sirtuin 6 Protects against Atherosclerosis and Steatohepatitis by Regulating Lipid Homeostasis

Histone deacetylase Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) regulates many biological processes. SIRT6 is known to regulate hepatic lipid metabolism and inhibit the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to investigate the role of hepatocyte SIRT6 in the development of atherosclerosis and further characterize the mechanism underlying SIRT6’s effect on NAFLD. Ldlr−/− mice overexpressing or lacking hepatocyte SIRT6 were fed a Western diet for 16 weeks. The role of hepatic SIRT6 in the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), atherosclerosis, and obesity was investigated. We also investigated whether p53 participates in the pathogenesis of NAFLD in mice overexpressing hepatic SIRT6. Our data show that loss of hepatocyte SIRT6 aggravated the development of NAFLD, atherosclerosis, and obesity in Ldlr−/− mice, whereas adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated overexpression of human SIRT6 in the liver had opposite effects. Mechanistically, hepatocyte SIRT6 likely inhibited the development of NAFLD by inhibiting lipogenesis, lipid droplet formation, and p53 signaling. Hepatocyte SIRT6 also likely inhibited the development of atherosclerosis by inhibiting intestinal lipid absorption and hepatic VLDL secretion. Hepatic SIRT6 also increased energy expenditure. In conclusion, our data indicate that hepatocyte SIRT6 protects against atherosclerosis, NAFLD, and obesity by regulating lipid metabolism in the liver and intestine.
Vision-Based Reactive Temporal Logic Motion Planning for Quadruped Robots in Unstructured Dynamic Environments

Temporal logic-based motion planning has been extensively studied to address complex robotic tasks. However, existing works primarily focus on static environments or assume the robot has full observations of the environment. This limits their practical applications since real-world environments are often dynamic, and robots may suffer from partial observations. To tackle these issues, this study proposes a framework for vision-based reactive temporal logic motion planning (V-RTLMP) for robots integrated with LiDAR sensing. The V-RTLMP is designed to perform high-level linear temporal logic (LTL) tasks in unstructured dynamic environments. The framework comprises two modules: offline preplanning and online reactive planning. Given LTL specifications, the preplanning phase generates a reference trajectory over the continuous workspace via sampling-based methods using prior environmental knowledge. The online reactive module dynamically adjusts the robot trajectory based on real-time visual perception to adapt to environmental changes. Extensive numerical simulations and real-world experiments using a quadruped robot demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed vision-based reactive motion planning.
Analytical approaches for the evaluation of data deficient simulated leachable compounds in ENDS products: a case study

Leachable investigations are routinely undertaken across a range of sectors (e.g., pharmaceuticals, medical devices, etc.) to determine whether chemicals from a container closure system transfer into a product under normal conditions of use. For Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) the container closure system includes all materials in contact with the e-liquid that is aerosolized and subsequently inhaled by the user. Currently, there is no guidance for conducting leachable studies for ENDS products, however, there are relevant guidance documents for orally inhaled drug products that can be applied to an ENDS container closure system. We present a case study of the analytical investigation of two leachable compounds identified in simulated leachable studies using aged JUULpods filled with unflavored e-liquid (PG/VG/nicotine/benzoic acid). Both compounds had limited toxicological information and were considered data deficient. A qualitative analysis of the aerosol collected from aged commercial JUULpods (Virginia Tobacco and Menthol), using a similar analytical method (LC-MS/MS) used in the simulated leachable studies, showed no trace or detectable levels of either leachable compound. Therefore, this qualitative analysis did not provide semi-quantitative values for the data-deficient leachable compounds necessary to support toxicological risk assessment. Further, no commercial authentic standards or reasonable synthetic route were available due to the molecular size and structural complexity of the compounds. Instead, method limits were established using an alternative approach to standard ICH guidelines. The experimentally determined method limit of quantitation, using spiked samples of simulated leachable e-liquid, provided conservative semi-quantitative values for each data deficient leachable compound in the aerosol that enabled a transfer efficiency from e-liquid to aerosol to be estimated. The transfer efficiency of each leachable compound was experimentally determined to be less than 3% based on the limit of quantitation, which then could be used to define a relevant exposure limit for the toxicological risk assessment. This work details a novel analytical approach for determining the transfer efficiency of data deficient leachable compounds from ENDS container closure systems into the ENDS aerosol to support toxicological health risk assessments.
Generalised gamma kernel density estimation for nonnegative data and its bias reduction*

We consider density estimation for nonnegative data using generalised gamma density. What is being emphasised here is that a negative exponent is allowed. We show that, for each positive or negative exponent, (i) generalised gamma kernel density estimator, without bias reduction, has the mean integrated squared error (MISE) of order , as in other boundary-bias-free density estimators from the existing literature, and that (ii) the bias-reduced versions have the MISEs of order , where n is the sample size. We illustrate the finite sample performance of the proposed estimators through the simulations.
Iron-Tapping State Recognition of Blast Furnace Based on Bi-GRU Composite Model and Post-Processing Classifier

The recognition of blast furnace iron-tapping status is crucial for improving the production efficiency and quality of ironmaking plants. However, traditional manual observation methods face interference from a large amount of iron powder and other dust in the environment, as well as problems such as iron splashing during tapping, making it difficult to achieve accurate real-time recognition. In addition, the liquid-level detection required for automatic recognition of iron-tapping status is also affected by factors such as iron splashing and foam, surface oxidation, and slag skin, making it impossible to accurately identify the iron-tapping status. These issues highlight the urgency of developing innovative identification methods. To address this, this study collected 2 million continuous three-month field liquid-level data, and constructed a time-series dataset of iron-tapping liquid levels through data slicing. Based on deep learning, a hybrid neural network model of bidirectional gated recurrent units (Bi-GRUs) and attention mechanism was designed to extract the features of iron-tapping iron water status for state recognition, and then a post-processing classifier was designed and introduced for multipoint judgment. Finally, an iron-tapping status recognition accuracy of 98.1% was achieved in on-site applications. The application results show that the deep learning-based blast furnace iron-tapping state recognition technology proposed in this study can achieve high-precision and strong adaptability recognition under the harsh blast furnace iron-tapping environment in ironmaking plants. This technology not only improves production efficiency and quality but also avoids human interference, reduces labor costs, and is of great significance for intelligent metallurgical production.
Self-expanding vs. balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valves in small aortic annuli

Background Clinical consequences of prosthesis–patient mismatch (PPM) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is currently in the focus of clinical research. Patients with small aortic annulus are at higher risk to display PPM. Data on incidence and clinical consequences of PPM after TAVR with either balloon-expandable (BEV) or self-expanding (SEV) transcatheter heart valves in small aortic annulus are sparse. Methods Patients with small aortic annulus (perimeter < 72 mm or aortic annulus area < 400 mm2) who underwent BEV or SEV with contemporary transcatheter heart valve types were identified from the institutional TAVR database. Propensity score matching was applied for imbalanced baseline characteristics between patients undergoing BEV or SEV. Echocardiography and clinical follow-up beyond 3 years was reported following VARC-3 recommendations. Primary endpoint was the incidence of pre-discharge PPM and its association with 3-year mortality. Results From a total of 507 patients with small aortic annulus, 192 matched patient pairs with SEV or BEV were identified. Mean age was 81 ± 7 (SEV) vs. 81 ± 6 (BEV) years (p = 0.5), aortic annulus perimeter was 69 ± 3 vs.69 ± 3 mm, (p = 0.8), annulus area was 357 ± 27 vs.357 ± 27 mm2 (p = 0.8), and EuroScore II was 5.8 ± 6.6 vs.5. 7 ± 7.2 (p = 0.9). SEV resulted in less moderate (20% vs. 31%, p < 0.001) and severe pre-discharge PPM (9% vs.18%, p < 0.001) compared to BEV. At discharge (7 ± 4 vs. 12 ± 9 mmHg, p = 0.003) and at 1-year follow-up (7 ± 5 vs.13 ± 3 mmHg, p < 0.001), SEV displayed lower mean gradients compared to BEV. Estimated survival after SEV was 85% (95% confidence interval (CI): 80%–90%) at 1 year, 80% (95% CI: 75%–86%) at 2 years, and 71% (95% CI: 65%–78%) at 3 years; estimated survival after BEV was 87% (95% CI: 82%–92%) at 1 year, 81% (95% CI: 75%–86%) at 2 years, and 72% (95% CI: 66%–79%) at 3 years, with no significant difference among the groups (p = 0.9) Body surface area (OR: 1.35, p < 0.001), implantation of BEV (odds ratio (OR): 3.32, p < 0.001), and the absence of postdilatation (OR: 2.16, p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for any PPM. At 3 years, patients without PPM had a higher 3-year survival compared with patients with ≥moderate PPM (77% vs. 67%, p = 0.03). Conclusion BEV implantation in patients with small annulus was associated with a twofold higher incidence of pre-discharge severe PPM compared to SEV implantation. Survival at 3 years after TAVR was similar after BEV and SEV. However, patients with the absence of pre-discharge PPM had a higher 3-year survival compared to patients with ≥moderate PPM.
Glycemic index of a nutritional supplement designed for people with chronic kidney disease

Abstract The study was carried out to measure the glycemic index (GI) of an oral food supplement for people with CKD as well as on patients on maintenance dialysis. The study was conducted as per international protocols for testing GI, was approved by the local institutional ethics committee, and was registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI). This was a crossover randomized controlled study which enrolled 15 participants between the ages of 18 and 45 years. The participants were randomly allotted to one group that consumed either the reference food (27.5 g of glucose monohydrate) or 118 g of the nutritional supplement which contained 25 g of available carbohydrates. Fasting capillary blood samples as well as blood samples at different time intervals as per the GI protocol, after consumption of either the supplement or the reference food were taken from the participants. Each testing day was separated by a 3‐day washout period. GI was calculated from the incremental area under the blood glucose response elicited by the nutritional supplement as a percentage of the response after the consumption of 25 g of glucose (27.5 g of glucose monohydrate) by the same participant using a standard formula. The GI of the nutritional supplement was calculated to be 10.3 ± 2.0 which is considered to be low as per international GI testing standards. The product was created to supplement the diet of people with CKD at different stages and to help prevent the progression from CKD to ESRD as well as the risk for CVD. This product was found to have a low GI which is desirable for people with CKD as well as diabetics in general who are at risk for developing CKD.
Bioavailability Study of Maxicuma Capsules Versus Micronized Curcumin Capsules as A Single Oral Dose in Fasted Healthy Adult Human Subjects

Aim: The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the amount of free Curcumin in the human blood plasma after administration of three Capsules of Maxicuma 500 mg and three Capsules of Micronized Curcumin 95% each 500 mg as single dose in fasted healthy adult human subjects. The results of the study are also compared with plasma concentration of free Curcumin by Standard Curcumin as reported in the literature [17]. Methodology: Comparative bioavailability of free curcumin for three Capsules of Maxicuma 500 mg and three Capsules of Micronized Curcumin 95%, (500) mg was evaluated in an open label, non-randomized, two-treatment, two-period, two-group crossover study after single oral dose administration in 14 fasted healthy adult humans. The free Curcumin was determined along with pharmacokinetic parameters such as Cmax, AUC0-t, T1/2, Ke, Tmax, %AUC extra, n points, Ke_first and Ke_last. Linear & Semi log graphs were plotted with the help of SASR ® . In addition, the total Curcuminoids (Comprising Curcumin, Bis-Demethoxy curcumin, Demethoxy curcumin & Tetra hydrocurcumin) after reaction with mixture of glucuronidas3 + sulphatase enzyme was estimated in plasma using validated LC-MS-MS method. Results: Data from the study reveals that the maximum measured plasma concentration of free Curcumin was 195.196 ng/mL for Maxicuma and 81.270 ng/mL for Micronized Curcumin 95%. The times where maximum plasma concentration of free Curcumin achieved for the Maxicuma and Micronized Curcumin 95%, were 3.129 hours and 4.750 hours respectively. Conclusion: Maxicuma composition was 3.11 fold more bioavailable, in terms of free Curcumin level, as compared to Micronized Curcumin 95%. As it is known from the literature that, micronization enhances the bioavailability by 9 folds, one can conclude that Maxicuma was 66.47(3.11/0.4 x 0.95 x 9) times more bioavailable in terms of total Curcuminoids compared to Standard Curcumin extract powder 95% and based on the literature study, provides 172 times more bioactive free Curcumin when compared to Standard Curcumin 95%.
NIGHT-FROST MODULATION OF NEAR-SURFACE SOIL-WATER ION CONCENTRATION AND THERMAL FIELDS

The modulation of the soil-water ion concentration and thermal fields resulting from night frost is illustrated with data from temperature-electric potential probes in the upper 15 cm of a sandy loam soil. The relative soil-water ion concentration, calculated from soil electric potential observations, aids in the detection of these modulation effects produced by non-conductive heat-mass transfer processes. The apparent thermal diffusivity, calculated from soil-temperature data, further facilitates the detection and analysis of these non-conductive processes. This new technology demonstrates the distorting effects of soil-water advection to the freezing zone, “ice purification” of soil water in the freezing zone and other coupled mass-heat transport effects produced by night frost. The conversion of electric potential observations to a relative index of soil-water ion concentration and the calculation of the apparent thermal diffusivity from the temperature data matrix are demonstrated as effective methods.
Stability, electronic and structural properties of aluminene from first-principles calculations

Results from first-principle calculations of density functional theory are presented to investigate the stability of aluminene in a monolayer aluminum structure. Configurations such as hexagonal (graphene), buckled (silicene), Trigonal (space group P3m1), and orthorhombic (space group Pmmn) are considered. Our study reveals the stability of the graphene-type and silicene-type structures. Moreover, the results predict the metallic behavior for the electronic structure of both graphene-type and silicene-type structures. The Compression and stretching of those stable structures revealed that the graphene-type configuration is stable up to 35% compression and 35% stretching. As for the silicene configuration, we were able to determine its stability up to 25% stretch and 30% compression.
E3-UAV: An Edge-Based Energy-Efficient Object Detection System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Motivated by the advances in deep learning techniques, the application of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based object detection has proliferated across a range of fields, including vehicle counting, fire detection, and city monitoring. While most existing research studies only a subset of the challenges inherent to UAV-based object detection, there are few studies that balance various aspects to design a practical system for energy consumption reduction. In response, we present the E3-UAV, an edge-based energy-efficient object detection system for UAVs. The system is designed to dynamically support various UAV devices, edge devices, and detection algorithms, with the aim of minimizing energy consumption by deciding the most energy-efficient flight parameters (including flight altitude, flight speed, detection algorithm, and sampling rate) required to fulfill the detection requirements of the task. We first present an effective evaluation metric for actual tasks and construct a transparent energy consumption model based on hundreds of actual flight data to formalize the relationship between energy consumption and flight parameters. Then, we present a lightweight energy-efficient priority decision algorithm based on a large quantity of actual flight data to assist the system in deciding flight parameters. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the system, and our experimental results demonstrate that it can significantly decrease energy consumption in real-world scenarios. Additionally, we provide four insights that can assist researchers and engineers in their efforts to study UAV-based object detection further.
Ice-water dynamics over a land-terminating sector of western Greenland

Surface melt water reaching the bed of the Greenland ice sheet imparts a fundamental control on basal motion. Sliding speed depends on ice/bed coupling dictated by the configuration and pressure of the hydrologic drainage system. In-situ observations in a four-site transect containing 23 boreholes drilled to Greenland’s bed reveal basal water pressures unfavorable to water-draining conduit development extending inland beneath deep ice. This finding is supported by numerical analysis based on realistic ice sheet geometry. Slow melt-back of ice walls limits conduit growth, inhibiting their capacity to transport increased discharge. Key aspects of current conceptual models for Greenland basal hydrology, derived primarily from study of mountain glaciers, appear bounded to a portion of the ablation zone near the ice sheet margin.
Recombination between coronaviruses and synthetic RNAs and biorisk implications motivated by a SARS-CoV-2 FCS origin controversy

The urgent need for improved policy, regulation, and oversight of research with potential pandemic pathogens (PPPs) has been widely acknowledged. A 2022 article in Frontiers in Virology raises questions, reporting on a 100% sequence homology between the SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site (FCS) and the negative strand of a 2017 patented sequence. Even though Ambati and collaborators suspect a possible inadvertent or intentional cause leading to the FCS insert, the related underpinnings have not been studied from the perspective of potential biorisk policy gaps. A commentary on their article contests the low coincidence likelihood that was calculated by Ambati et al., arguing that the sequence match could have been a chance occurrence alone. Additionally, it has been suggested that the odds of the recombination event may be low. These considerations seem to have put many speculations related to any implied viral beginnings, notably from a research setting likely outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology, to rest. However, potential implications for future disasters in terms of biosafety and biosecurity have not been addressed. To demonstrate the feasibility of the Ambati et al. postulate, a theoretical framework is developed that substantially extends the research orientations implicated by these authors and the related patent. It is argued that specific experimental conditions, in combination, could significantly increase the implied recombination profile between coronaviruses and synthetic RNAs. Consequently, this article scrutinizes these largely unrecognized vulnerabilities to discuss implications across the spectrum of the biological risk landscape, with special attention to a potential “crime harvest. ” Focusing on insufficiently understood features of interaction between the natural and man-made world, vulnerabilities related to contaminants, camouflaging, and various misuse potentials fostered by the digitization and computerization of synthetic biology, it highlights novel biorisk gaps not covered by existing PPP policy. Even though this work does not aim to provide proof of the viral origin, it will make the point that, in theory, a convergence of under-appreciated lab experiments and technologies could have led to the SARS-CoV-2 FCS insert, which analogously could be exploited by various threat actors for the clandestine genesis of similar or even worse pathogens.
An Introduction to Museum Archaeology

Part I. Introduction: 1. What for whom? 2. Origins and influences 3. Current aims, scope, and theory 4. The legal framework 5. Geographic scope Part II. Collections: 6. Archaeological collections 7. Excavation archives 8. Human remains 9. Research 10. Conservation and collections care Part III. Interpretation: 11. The visiting public 12. Displaying archaeology: methods 13. Displaying archaeology: examples 14. Schools, public and community programmes Part IV. Conclusions: 15. Conclusions 16. Museums mentioned in text.