Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SwarmNet: A Graph Based Learning Framework for Creating and Understanding Multi-Agent System Behaviors

A swarm describes a group of interacting agents exhibiting complex collective behaviors. Higherlevel behavioral patterns of the group are believed to emerge from simple low-level rules of decision making at the agent-level. With the potential application of swarms of aerial drones, underwater robots, and other multi-robot systems, there has been increasing interest in approaches for specifying complex, collective behavior for artificial swarms. Traditional methods for creating artificial multiagent behaviors inspired by known swarms analyze the underlying dynamics and hand craft low-level control logics that constitute the emerging behaviors. Deep learning methods offered an approach to approximate the behaviors through optimization without much human intervention. This thesis proposes a graph based neural network architecture, SwarmNet, for learning the swarming behaviors of multi-agent systems. Given observation of only the trajectories of an expert multi-agent system, the SwarmNet is able to learn sensible representations of the internal lowlevel interactions on top of being able to approximate the high-level behaviors and make long-term prediction of the motion of the system. Challenges in scaling the SwarmNet and graph neural networks in general are discussed in detail, along with measures to alleviate the scaling issue in generalization is proposed. Using the trained network as a control policy, it is shown that the combination of imitation learning and reinforcement learning improves the policy more efficiently. To some extent, it is shown that the low-level interactions are successfully identified and separated and that the separated functionality enables fine controlled custom training.
Variations of Water Transparency and Impact Factors in the Bohai and Yellow Seas from Satellite Observations

Water transparency, measured with Secchi disk depth (SDD), is an important parameter for describing the optical properties of a water body. This study evaluates variations of SDD and related impact factors in the Bohai and Yellow Seas (BYS). Based on a new mechanistic model proposed by Lee et al. (2015) applied to MODIS remote sensing reflectance data, climatological SDD variation from 2003 to 2019 was estimated. The annual mean images showed an increasing trend from the coastal zone to the deep ocean. Lower values were found in the Bohai Sea (BHS), while higher values observed in the center of the southern Yellow Sea (SYS). Additionally, the entire sea has shown a decreasing temporal tend, with the variation rate lowest in the BHS at 0.003 m y−1, and highest in the SYS at 0.015 m y−1. However, the weak increasing trend that appeared since 2017 suggests that water quality seems to have improved. Further, it displayed seasonal patterns of low in winter and spring and high in summer and autumn. The empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of SDD variations over the BYS, shows that the first SDD EOF mode is the highest, strongly correlated with total suspended matter. With the high correlation coefficients of chromophoric dissolved organic matter, it illustrates that the SDD variation is mainly dominated by the optical components in the seawater, although correlation with chlorophyll-a is the weakest. The second and third EOF modes show that photosynthetically available radiation, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and wind speed are the main covariates that cause SDD changes. Water transparency evaluation on a long-term scale is essential for water quality monitoring and marine ecosystem protection.
Physical properties evolution of sputtered zirconium oxynitride films: effects of the growth temperature

Zirconium oxynitride (ZrNO) films were deposited by RF reactive magnetron sputtering in water vapour–nitrogen atmosphere varying the deposition temperature from RT to 600 °C. Optical analysis, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are the employed characterization techniques to investigate the influence of the substrate temperature on the films physical properties. It was found that the variation of the substrate temperature from RT to 600 °C caused a structural transition from cubic phase of Zr2ON2 to ZrN one, as confirmed by TEM observations too. In particular, Forouhi–Bloomer dispersion equations for optical parameters (n and k) and deconvolution of XPS spectra allowed further chemical properties be elucidated. They also permitted identification of two oxynitride phases, γ phase (Eg = 1.94 eV) and β phase (Eg = 1.7 eV), and an over-stoichiometric nitride one. The use of [Ec − Ev] values helped to confirm further the distinction between (γ, β)-phases and N-rich zirconium nitride compound, which is unachievable by using only Eg values.
Campylobacter jejuni Cytolethal Distending Toxin C Exploits Lipid Rafts to Mitigate Helicobacter pylori-Induced Pathogenesis

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with several gastrointestinal diseases, including gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma. Two major cytotoxins, vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) and cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA), interact closely with lipid rafts, contributing to H. pylori-associated disease progression. The Campylobacter jejuni cytolethal distending toxin consists of three subunits: CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC. Among them, CdtA and CdtC bind to membrane lipid rafts, which is crucial for CdtB entry into cells. In this study, we employed recombinant CdtC (rCdtC) to antagonize the functions of H. pylori cytotoxin in cells. Our results showed that rCdtC alleviates cell vacuolation induced by H. pylori VacA. Furthermore, rCdtC reduces H. pylori CagA translocation, which decreases nuclear factor kappa-B activation and interleukin-8 production, resulting in the mitigation of gastric epithelial cell inflammation. These results reveal that CdtC hijacks cholesterol to compete for H. pylori cytotoxin actions via lipid rafts, ameliorating H. pylori-induced pathogenesis.
Morphology, Life Cycle, Environmental Factors and Fitness – a Machine Learning Analysis in Kissing Bugs (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

Populations are permanently evolving and their evolution will influence their survival and reproduction, which will then alter demographic parameters. Several phenotypic, life history and environmental variables are known to be related to fitness measures. The goal of this article was to look into the possible types of those relationships in insects of the subfamily Triatominae, vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. After an exhaustive literature review of 7,207 records of publications referring exclusively to all possible features of the triatomines, using 15 keywords those records were reduced to 2,968 publications, that were analyzed individually; after deleting those publications that did not have the data in quantitative form as needed for the objective of this article, I found that 171 papers were adequate for the present analysis. From them I compiled a dataset of 11 variables and 90 cases from 36 triatomine species. Those variables included four environmental, two life cycle, and four morphological variables, and one demographic parameter: a fitness measure (the population intrinsic rate of natural increase, r0), used as dependent variable. However, the relationship between T. cruzi and its vector host was not included in this analysis despite triatomine-T. cruzi interactions constitute an important factor in the evolution of triatomine’s life history. I resorted to the Random Forest method as a machine learning approach for the analysis of this dataset, and found that –in addition to the triatomine species themselves– only the two life cycle variables (mean development time from egg to adult, and mean fecundity, expressed as the average number of female eggs laid per female per day) were statistically significant in determining fitness (r0). The machine learning approach used in the analysis provided a similar but deeper insight into these relationships than classical regression. Except for an analysis on senescence, this is the first study in triatomines addressing these questions. These results will be useful for other theoretical optimization approaches (frequency-dependence, density-dependence, evolutionary game theory, and adaptive dynamics), thus contributing to the theoretical framework for interpreting the succession of stages in insect adaptations, a framework yet to be constructed.
Venlafaxine Attenuated the Cognitive and Memory Deficit in Mice Exposed to Isoflurane Alone

Post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication during the post-operative period. It affects the recovery time of the patient after surgery and the stay time in hospital, which causes a great deal of burden to patients and families emotionally and financially. However, there is no specific and effective treatment available for this disorder. Recent study indicated exposure to general anesthetics contributed to POCD by triggering gamma-amino butyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors hyperactivities that persisted even the anesthetic compounds have been eliminated. Here, we investigated the antidepressant, venlafaxine (VLX), in a mouse model of POCD and studied whether VLX attenuated the cognitive dysfunction of mice exposed to general anesthetic, isoflurane (ISO). We found that ISO significantly induced an increased surface expression of the GABAA receptor subunit, α5, in the hippocampus of the mice. However, VLX treatment reduced the increase in α5 subunit expression. Meanwhile, we found the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and IL-6 in the brains of mice exposed to ISO were significantly increased. However, VLX could prevent the increase in these cytokines. We also investigated the memory deficit of these mice by using a Y maze behavioral test. Mice with ISO exposure showed decreased alternation performance that could be prevented by the VLX treatment. Collectively, our results here are in line with the previous findings that α5 subunit plays an important role of the formation of POCD, but VLX may be a promising candidate compound for the treatment of POCD.
Spatial Language of Young Children During Block Play in Kindergartens in Urban China

Spatial language is an important predictor of spatial skills and might be inspired by peer interaction and goal-oriented building behaviors during block play. The present study investigated the frequency, type and level of children’s spatial language during block play and their associations with the level of block play by observing 228 young children in classrooms equipped with unit blocks and allowing free play on a daily basis. The findings showed that during block play, young children used more words about spatial locations, deictic terms, dimensions, and shapes and fewer words about spatial features or properties and spatial orientations or transformations. Spatial locations were used most frequently, and young children tended to use vertical location words to represent the corresponding location. Most young children used gestures in conjunction with spatial deictic terms. Among shape words, tetragon words were frequently used, and the representation of spatial shapes showed alternatives, collective tendencies and gender differences. The use of spatial language during the play process had a significant positive correlation with age, the construction structure, and form of block building.
Intravesical Recurrence After Radical Nephroureterectomy of Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A Large Population-Based Investigation of Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Survival Outcomes

Background: Of patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), 22–47% developed bladder recurrence after radical nephroureterectomy. Furthermore, the effect of surgery for UTUC-bladder cancer (BC) has not been well validated. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of standard primary BC surgical strategy on survival of patients diagnosed with UTUC-BC. Patients and Methods: A total of 676 UTUC-BC patients and 197,753 primary BC patients diagnosed from 2004 to 2016, were identified based on the SEER database. The Kaplan-Meier method and the Fine and Gray competing risks analysis were performed to assess overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific mortality (CSM). Multivariate Cox regression model and competing risks regression model were used to identify independent risk factors. Propensity score matching (PSM) was also performed to adjust potential confounding factors. Results: The baseline characteristics and survival outcomes of the two BC patient cohorts are quite different. For UTUC-BC patients, no significant difference in OS (NMIBC: p = 0.88; MIBC: p = 0.98) or cumulative incidence of CSM (NMIBC: p = 0.12; MIBC: p = 0.96) were noted for various surgical procedures. Local tumor treatment and partial cystectomy for UTUC-NMIBC patients produced lower 1-year (6.1%) and 3-year CSM (16.2%). Radical cystectomy for UTUC-MIBC patients produced lower 1-year (11.8%) but higher 3-year CSM (62.7%). After PSM for covariates, UTUC-BC patients still had a worse prognosis after surgery compared with primary BC patients. Based on regression models, older age, advanced T stage, N positive disease, M positive disease, and shorter interval between UTUC and BC were identified as independent risk factors for UTUC-BC patients. Conclusion: Standard primary BC surgical strategy did not provide significant survival benefit for UTUC-BC patients. Compared with primary BC patients, UTUC-BC patients had a worse prognosis after surgery, suggesting that current primary BC surgical guidelines are not entirely appropriate for UTUC-BC patients. Our findings underscore the continued importance and need for better prognosis and improved guidelines for management of UTUC-BC patients.
Case Report: Refusal of an Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Due to Malignant Disease? — An Extremely Rare Form of Cardiac Involvement in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

We report here on a 61-year-old patient with acute right heart failure of unclear etiology. Echocardiography revealed a myocardial mass infiltrating the heart, though, we assumed a cardiac lymphoma. A VA-ECMO was implanted as bridging for diagnosis and therapy. Our patient received chemotherapy, under which the tumor (of unknown etiology at this point) reached a partial remission. Nine months after first admission the patient developed acute myeloid leukemia with DNMT3a and TET2 mutations. Retrospective analysis of the cardiac biopsy revealed the identical mutations and matched with the diagnosis of an extremely rare primary extramedullary manifestation of an AML (myelosarcoma). The patient received induction-chemotherapy and was planned for consolidating allogeneic stem cell transplantation. From this case, we conclude that an extracorporeal therapy should be discussed in selected patients even in case of an initially fatal appearing prognosis. In selected cases, extracorporeal support can generate enough time for diagnosis and therapy. However, transparent planning, including discussion of best supportive care strategies involving the patient's family are indispensable requirements for starting ECMO in such patients.
Croissance, structuration et analyse de films synthétisés par PLD couplant des ions terres rares luminescents et des nanostuctures métalliques (Al, Ag) en vue d’application à la conversion spectrale UV-Visible

Les films minces luminescents dopes terres rares offrent des proprietes interessantes pour la conversion spectrale UV-bleu, en particulier pour une meilleure adaptation du spectre solaire aux cellules solaires en silicium. Deux materiaux luminophores ont ete etudies dans cette these : Y2O3 dope Eu3+ et CaYAlO4 codope Ce3+, Pr3+. L'utilisation de ces luminophores pour les applications sous forme de films minces est limitee car ils possedent un faible coefficient d'absorption. Deux pistes ont ete examinees pendant cette these pour pallier ce probleme : (i) l'effet plasmonique a ete etudie en realisant des films avec une architecture multicouche couplant les films luminophores et des nanostructures metalliques d'aluminium et d'argent qui possedent une resonnance plasmon dans la gamme UV et bleu respectivement ; (ii) l'effet photonique a ete evalue en realisant une structuration du film luminophore via une croissance sur des membranes macro-poreuses. La methode de synthese choisie est le depot par ablation laser pulse
Climate Change Impacts on Atlantic Oceanic Island Tuna Fisheries

Climate change is already affecting the distributions of marine fish, and future change is expected to have a particularly large impact on small islands that are reliant on the sea for much of their income. This study aims to develop an understanding of how climate change may affect the distribution of commercially important tuna in the waters around the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic. The future suitable habitat of southern bluefin, albacore, bigeye, yellowfin and skipjack tunas were modelled under two future climate change scenarios. Of all the tunas, the waters of Tristan da Cunha are the most suitable for southern bluefin, and overall, the environmental conditions will remain so in the future. Tristan da Cunha is not projected to become more suitable for any of the other tuna species in the future. For the other tuna species, Ascension Island and Saint Helena will become more suitable in the future, particularly so for skipjack tuna around Ascension Island, as the temperature and salinity conditions change in these areas. Large marine protected areas have been designated around the territories, with those in Ascension and Tristan da Cunha closed to tuna fishing. Although these areas are small relative to the whole Atlantic, these model projections could be useful in understanding whether this protection will benefit tuna populations into the future, particularly where there is high site fidelity.
Differential Elevation of Inflammation and CD4+ T Cell Activation in Kenyan Female Sex Workers and Non-Sex Workers Using Depot-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate

Background Depot Medroxyprogesterone (DMPA) is one of the most widely used contraceptives in Sub-Saharan Africa where HIV incidence is high. We explored the effect of DMPA on the activation of HIV cellular targets and inflammation as a possible mechanism of increased HIV risk with DMPA use. Since sex work is known to affect the immune system, this study aimed to understand the effect of DMPA on the immune system among sex workers and non-sex worker women. Methods Twenty-seven DMPA-using HIV seronegative female sex workers (FSW) and 30 DMPA-using HIV seronegative non-sex worker (SW) women were enrolled in the study. Twenty-four FSWs and 30 non-sex workers who were not using any hormonal contraception (no HC) were recruited as controls. Blood and cervico-vaginal samples were collected from all participants and assayed for T cell activation and proinflammatory cytokines. Results Among no HC users, sex workers had lower expression of CD38 and CD69 on blood-derived CD4+ T cells along with lower CD4+CCR5+ cells frequency in the endocervix. Plasma MCP-1, TNFα and IL-17 also had reduced expression in FSW not using HC. Non-sex workers using DMPA had elevated proportions of blood-derived CD4+CD38+, CD4+CD69+ and CD4+HLA-DR+ T cells relative to non-sex workers who were not taking any HC. DMPA-using non-sex workers also had an increased level of plasma interferon gamma (IFN-γ), monokine induced by interferon-γ (MIG) and sCD40L, alongside higher proportion of CD4+CD38+ and CD4+CD69+ T cells at the cervix compared to non-sex workers no-HC controls. , Finally, non-sex workers and FSWs using DMPA had similar levels of genital and peripheral CD4+ T cell activation and inflammation. Conclusion DMPA increased inflammation and expression of activation markers on potential HIV target cells in non-sex workers. These data show that DMPA is a strong immune modulator and its use counteracts the decreased immune activation associated with sex work. These findings suggest that inflammation and increased HIV target cells in blood and at the genital tract may be mechanisms by which DMPA increases susceptibility to HIV.
Comparative Study on Different Skin Pruritus Mouse Models

The animal model is an important tool to study the mechanism of disease formation. Different animal models of pruritus have been adopted based on the purpose of researchers in the study of the itching mechanism. Although the symptoms of various models are quite different, scratching behavior is a key indicator. Therefore, it is necessary to find an animal model that can quickly induce animal scratching and maintain the stability of scratching behavior. In this study, we compared animal models of pruritus induced by four substances and found that the scratching behavior of mice induced by urushiol not only reached the plateau stage quickly but also showed more stability in the plateau phase than that induced by 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene, oxazolone, and imiquimod. Meanwhile, in the animal model induced by urushiol, the changes of epidermal thickening and inflammatory cell aggregation were also more obvious. In addition, pruritus induced by urushiol is prevalent all over the world, especially in the United States and Europe, involving outdoor groups such as firefighters, forest loggers, and farmers. Therefore, we believe that the urushiol-induced animal model is an ideal choice for the study of the itch formation mechanism and the development of antipruritic drugs.
Endothelin-1 Upregulates Activin Receptor-Like Kinase-1 Expression via Gi/RhoA/Sp-1/Rho Kinase Pathways in Human Pulmonary Arterial Endothelial Cells

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by pulmonary vasoconstriction and organic stenosis. It has been demonstrated that endothelin-1 (ET-1) induces pulmonary vasoconstriction through the activation of RhoA. In addition, a gene mutation of activin receptor-like kinase (ACVRL)-1 is recognized in PAH patients. However, little is known about the association between ET-1 and ACVRL-1. Objective: In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of ET-1 on ACVRL-1 expression and delineate the involvement of the Gi/RhoA/Rho kinase pathway. Methods: ET-1 was added to culture medium of human pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs). Pre-treatment with pertussis toxin (PTX) or exoenzyme C3 transferase (C3T) was performed for inhibition of Gi or RhoA, respectively. Rho kinase was inhibited by Y27632. Mithramycin A was used for inhibition of Sp-1, which is a transcriptional factor of ACVRL-1. The active form of RhoA (GTP-RhoA) was assessed by pull-down assay. Results: ACVRL-1 expression was increased by ET-1 in the PAECs. Pull-down assay revealed that ET-1 induced GTP-loading of RhoA, which was suppressed by pre-treatment with PTX or C3T. Further, PTX, C3T, and Y27632 suppressed the ET-1-induced ACVRL-1 expression. ET-1 increased the activity of the ACVRL-1 promoter and stabilized the ACVRL-1 mRNA. Sp-1 peaked 15 min after adding ET-1 to the PAECs. PTX and C3T prevented the increase of Sp-1 induced by ET-1. Inhibition of Sp-1 by mithramycin A suppressed ET-1-induced ACVRL-1 upregulation. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that ET-1 increases ACVRL-1 expression in human PAECs via the Gi/RhoA/Rho kinase pathway with the involvement of Sp-1.