Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Progressive and parallel decline of humoral and T cell immunity in convalescent health care workers with asymptomatic or mild-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract We investigated the duration of humoral and T-cell immune response in paired samples among 22 convalescent health care workers (HCWs). A median of 1.8 months after diagnosis, T-cell response was significantly lower in HCWs with early loss of antibodies (6 cases, 27%). After 5.1 months, antibodies decline was observed in 77% of cases (41% seroreverted; p<0.01), and 36% have lost T-cell response (75% lost response to spike protein). Persistence of immune response was observed in those who developed a greater adaptative immune response. Our data point to the initial immune response as the relevant player in COVID-19 duration of protection.
Efficacy of non-surgical monotherapies for hidradenitis suppurativa: a systematic review and network meta-analyses of randomized trials

Abstract Objective We determined the relative efficacy of non-surgical monotherapies for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Methods Network meta-analyses were conducted to determine treatments’ surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) value (i.e. an estimate that ranks efficacy); pairwise comparisons were conducted. Results and conclusions Ten trials were eligible for quantitative analyses; however, all did not have a common endpoint. Outcomes corresponded to pain severity, clinical response, quality of life and abscess count. For pain reduction, infliximab was ranked most efficacious (SUCRA = 94%) compared to bermekimab, anakinra and placebo; infliximab reduced pain more significantly (p < .05) than anakinra and then placebo. For the occurrence of clinical response, bimekizumab had the highest SUCRA (67%) relative to adalimumab, anakinra and placebo; bimekizumab was more efficacious than placebo (p < .05). For the quality of life in mild HS, Botox had the highest SUCRA (94%) compared to adalimumab and placebo; Botox was more efficacious than placebo (p < .05). For reduction in abscess count, oral tetracycline had the highest SUCRA (48%) compared to topical clindamycin and vehicle. Our work—being the first NMA study on non-surgical HS monotherapies—contributes to the comparative effectiveness literature for this condition.
Flipped teaching eased the transition from face-to-face teaching to online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rice University canceled classes for the week of March 9–13, 2020 and shifted all instruction to online only following spring break. For the second half of the semester, animal physiology was taught exclusively over Zoom. Here we describe how a flipped teaching format that was used before the pandemic eased the transition from face-to-face teaching to online instruction. The preclass preparation resources and the active learning materials that were already in place for flipped teaching were helpful in the transition to solely online teaching. Therefore, the focus during the transition was to reconfigure active learning and examinations from the face-to-face format to the online platform. Instead of small group discussions in the classroom, teams interacted in Zoom Breakout Rooms. Rather than taking exams in-person during scheduled class time, students submitted exams online. Additionally, students prerecorded their project presentations instead of presenting them “live” during the last week of classes. Overall, students felt that the class smoothly transitioned to a remote only format. These and other changes to the instructional methods will be implemented during the Spring 2021 semester when the course is taught fully online.
Renal tubular dilation and fibrosis after unilateral ureter obstruction revealed by relaxometry and spin‐lock exchange MRI

We evaluated the use of quantitative MRI relaxometry, including the dispersion of spin‐lock relaxation with different locking fields, for detecting and assessing tubular dilation and fibrosis in a mouse model of unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO). C57BL/6 J and BALB/c mice that exhibit different levels of tubular dilation and renal fibrosis after UUO were subjected to MR imaging at 7 T. Mice were imaged before UUO surgery, and at 5, 10 and 15 days after surgery. We acquired maps of relaxation rates and fit the dispersion of spin‐lock relaxation rates R1ρ at different locking fields (frequencies) to a model of exchanging water pools, and assessed the sensitivity of the derived quantities for detecting tubular dilation and fibrosis in kidney. Histological scores for tubular dilation and fibrosis, based on luminal space and positive fibrotic areas in sections, were obtained for comparison. Histology detected extensive tubular dilation and mild to moderate fibrosis in the UUO kidneys, in which enlargement of luminal space, deposition of collagen, and reductions in capillary density were observed in the cortex and outer stripe of the outer medulla. Relaxation rates R1, R2 and R1ρ clearly decreased in these regions of UUO kidneys longitudinally. While R1 showed the highest detectability to tubular dilation and overall changes in UUO kidneys, Sρ, a parameter derived from R1ρ dispersion data, showed the highest correlation with renal fibrosis in UUO. While relaxation parameters are sensitive to tubular dilation in UUO kidneys, Sρ depends primarily on the average exchange rate between water and other chemically shifted resonances such as hydroxyls and amides, and provides additional specific information for evaluating fibrosis in kidney disease.
[Calpain activation promotes dialysis-associated peritoneal fibrosis in rats].

OBJECTIVE To explore the role of calpain activation in the progression of peritoneal fibrosis. OBJECTIVE Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized equally into control group, MDL28170 (a calpain inhibitor)+normal saline group, peritoneal dialysis (PD) model group and PD + MDL28170 group. In the latter two groups, the rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of 100 mL/kg of 4.25% glucose PD solution, and those in PD+MDL28170 group and MDL28170 saline group received daily infusion of 4 mg/kg MDL28170 every other day. Eight weeks later, the rats were euthanized for pathological examination of the parietal peritoneum, and the visceral peritoneum was used for examining the activation status of calpain and the expressions of fibronectin (FN) and collagen I (COL-I). Calpain activation and expressions of FN, COL-I and α-SMA were also examined using Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay in primary cultures of rat peritoneal mesothelial cells treated with MDL28170, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), or both. OBJECTIVE Compared with the control rats, the rats in PD model group showed significantly increased peritoneal peritoneum thickness, calpain activation in the peritoneal tissue, and expressions of FN and COL-I (P < 0.05). Treatment with MDL28170 significantly alleviated associated peritoneal fibrosis, decreased the thickness of the peritoneum (P < 0.05), and reduced the expressions of FN and COL-I in the rats with daily PD (P < 0.05). In the in vitro experiment, the expressions of FN and COL-I were also significantly lower in rat peritoneal mesothelial cells treated with both MDL28170 and TGF-β than in the cells treated with TGF-β alone (P < 0.05). OBJECTIVE Peritoneal calpain activity and expressions FN and COL-I all increase significantly in rat models of PD-associated peritoneal fibrosis. Calpain activation can promote peritoneal fibrosis, and inhibition of calpain can alleviate peritoneal fibrosis.
Microglial MT1 activation inhibits LPS‐induced neuroinflammation via regulation of metabolic reprogramming

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. Although its pathogenesis remains unclear, a number of studies indicate that microglia‐mediated neuroinflammation makes a great contribution to the pathogenesis of PD. Melatonin receptor 1 (MT1) is widely expressed in glia cells and neurons in substantia nigra (SN). Neuronal MT1 is a neuroprotective factor, but it remains largely unknown whether dysfunction of microglial MT1 is involved in the PD pathogenesis. Here, we found that MT1 was reduced in microglia of SN in 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)‐induced PD mouse model. Microglial MT1 activation dramatically inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced neuroinflammation, whereas loss of microglial MT1 aggravated it. Metabolic reprogramming of microglia was found to contribute to the anti‐inflammatory effects of MT1 activation. LPS‐induced excessive aerobic glycolysis and impaired oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) could be reversed by microglial MT1 activation. MT1 positively regulated pyruvate dehydrogenase alpha 1 (PDHA1) expression to enhance OXPHOS and suppress aerobic glycolysis. Furthermore, in LPS‐treated microglia, MT1 activation decreased the toxicity of conditioned media to the dopaminergic (DA) cell line MES23.5. Most importantly, the anti‐inflammatory effects of MT1 activation were observed in LPS‐stimulated mouse model. In general, our study demonstrates that MT1 activation inhibits LPS‐induced microglial activation through regulating its metabolic reprogramming, which provides a mechanistic insight for microglial MT1 in anti‐inflammation.
Who will drop out of voluntary social health insurance? Evidence from the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in China

Abstract Although public voluntary health insurance (VHI) has been adopted in many low- and middle-income countries to improve access to care for the population, a common issue with VHI is its high dropout rate. Using the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS)—a public VHI in China—as a case study, this article employs a fixed-effects negative binomial regression model combining the difference-in-difference-in-differences approach and multivariate distance matching to examine the factors associated with dropping out and the impact of dropout on outpatient care utilization among middle-aged and older people in rural China. Drawing data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, our results showed that healthy people, vulnerable people and people who use less healthcare tended to drop out. Dropout had a significant negative impact on outpatient care utilization, especially for those with worse health statuses and those living in poorer provinces. We also found that the impact of dropout on outpatient utilization was more pronounced at secondary and tertiary hospitals than at primary care clinics. We urge policymakers to rethink the design of the NCMS by waiving premiums for the most vulnerable people.
Formulation of Pickering emulsions for the development of surfactant‐free sunscreen creams

Pickering emulsions are increasingly used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields, especially for topical applications, since these systems require solid particles as emulsifiers instead of surfactants which are known to cause skin irritation. The solid inorganic nanoparticles (TiO2 and ZnO) used as UV filters in sunscreen formulations may also stabilize emulsion droplets, so that the utility of surfactants may be questioned. Surfactant‐free sunscreen emulsions solely stabilized by such nanoparticles (NPs) have been studied.
The Effectiveness of Cardanol as Plasticiser, Activator, and Antioxidant for Natural Rubber Processing

Cardanol is the main ingredient of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL), an agro-byproduct. The merits of cardanol as plasticiser, activator, and antioxidant for natural rubber processing are compared with those of a conventional plasticiser (aromatic oil), coactivator (stearic acid), and antioxidants (styrenated phenol (SP) and trimethyl quinoline (TQ)). The cure characteristics, mechanical properties, extractability, and ageing behaviour are compared under identical conditions. It has been established that cardanol, when used as plasticiser, coactivator, or antioxidant, gives rise among other things to similar tensile properties, shorter cure times, and superior ageing behaviour when compared with the conventional plasticiser, coactivator, and antioxidants. This is of significance from the viewpoint of economy and conservation.
Poster: Comparison of Channel State Information driven and RSSI-based WiFi Distance Estimation

The ubiquity of WiFi and its wide adoption in consumer electronic devices is a major advantage of this technology with regard to radio-frequency based localization. For the distance estimation between devices, WiFi-based solutions either make use of the Received Signal Strength In-dicator (RSSI) or of the Channel State Information (CSI). This work outlines the implementation of distance estimation approaches based on both RSSI and CSI measurements using the Nexmon CSI Extractor on Raspberry Pi 4 devices. Distances are estimated with the free-space attenuation model for RSSI data and with the FILA method for CSI data. We conducted preliminary experiments in the 2.4 GHz band, which show that distances calculated from CSI values have a smaller absolute median error than those calculated from RSSI values and therefore corroborate further research in this context. The gained results will serve as a benchmark for future WiFi-based distance estimation studies.
Condor: Mobile Golf Swing Tracking via Sensor Fusion using Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks

This paper explores the possibility of incorporating sensor-rich and ubiquitously deployed mobile devices into sports analytics, particularly to the game of golf. We develop a novel solution to track a player’s swing in three-dimensional (3D) space using inexpensive tools such as depth sensors and Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). Existing solutions based on these devices cannot produce consistent and accurate swing-tracking. This is due to commonly known issues with occlusion and low sampling rates generated by depth sensors and complex IMU noise models. To overcome these limitations, we introduce Condor , a tailored deep neural networks to make use of sensor fusion to combine the advantages of these two sensor modalities, where IMUs are not affected by occlusion and can support high sampling rates and depth sensors produce more accurate motion measurements than those produced by IMU. Condor could be implemented with edge devices such as a smart wristband and a smartphone, which are ubiquitously available, for accurate golf swing analytics (e.g. tracking, analysis and assessment) in the wild. Our comprehensive exper-iment shows that proposed method outperforms other solutions and reaches 6.57 cm error in subject-dependent model and less than 10 cm error for unknow-subjects via a tailored conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGAN).
Climate Change Increases the Risk of Wildfires

Adam J. P. Smith1, Matthew W. Jones1, John T. Abatzoglou2, Josep G. Canadell3, Richard A. Betts4, 5 1 Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia (UEA), UK. 2 Management of Complex Systems, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA. 3 CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, G.P.O. Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. 4 Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK. 5 College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK.
Design, synthesis, characterization, cytotoxicity, molecular docking and analysis of binding interactions of novel acetylacetonatopalladium(II) alanine and valine complexes with CT-DNA and BSA

To enhance the development of potential anti-tumor agents, a pair of new, water-soluble and neutral acetylacetonatopalladium(II) complexes with alanine and valine amino acids have been synthesized. They were characterized by elemental analysis (C, H, N), FT-IR, UV-Vis, resonance signals in the 1H-NMR, ESI-MS and conductivity measurements. The molecular geometry, the energy level of the frontier orbitals and the NMR chemical shift values of the Pd(II) complexes have been calculated by using B3LYP/LANL2DZ method and 6-311g* basis set. Cytotoxicity effects of the complexes towards cancer cell line of K562 were measured using MTT assay. The interactions of these complexes with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) were investigated under physiological condition in Tris–HCl buffer pH = 7 containing 0.02 M sodium chloride using spectroscopic methods including UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, ethidium bromide displacement, fluorescence titration spectra and viscosity measurements. The results obtained from these analyses indicated that both complexes effectively interact with CT-DNA and BSA at low concentrations. Fluorescence titration revealed that the complexes strongly quench DNA bound ethidium bromide (EB) as well as the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA through static quenching procedures. Binding constant (Kb), apparent bimolecular quenching constant (Kq) and number of binding sites (n) for CT-DNA and BSA were calculated using Stern–Volmer equation. Also, thermodynamic parameters data suggested that hydrogen binding and van der Waals force play a major role in the association of CT-DNA–Pd(II) and BSA–Pd(II) complex formation and follow the binding affinity order of valine complex > alanine complex. The complexes exhibited groove binding with CT-DNA and interact with main binding pocket of BSA. In both cases the binding forces are spontaneous owing to −ΔG°. Finally, the results of molecular docking calculations of [Pd(acac)(Ala)] and [Pd(acac)(Val)] complexes for CT-DNA and BSA clarify the binding modes and binding sites which are in good accordance with experimental results.
The Burden of Liver Cirrhosis in Mortality: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: Liver cirrhosis related death is a serious threat worldwide. Rare study explored the mortality trend of liver cirrhosis caused by specific etiologies. This study aimed to demonstrated the pattern and trend based on GBD data.Methods: The liver cirrhosis mortality data was collected from GBD 2017. The ASR and EAPC were used to estimate the temporal trend of liver cirrhosis mortality by etiologies, regions, SDI and sexes.Results: Globally, mortality cases of liver cirrhosis increased 47.15%. Though the global ASR of liver cirrhosis mortality reminded stable during the period, the temporal trend varied in etiologies. The ASR of liver cirrhosis mortality caused by HCV, alcohol consumption and NASH increased with an EPAC of 0.17 (95% CI 0.14–0.20), 0.20 (95% CI 0.16–0.24), 1.00 (95% CI 0.97–1.04), respectively. A decrease trend of ASR was found in etiologies for HBV and other causes. The increase pattern was heterogeneous worldwide. The most pronounced increase trend was found in middle-high SDI regions and Eastern Europe. In contrary, the most pronounced decrease trend was found in low SDI regions and Western Sub-Saharan Africa.Conclusion: Liver cirrhosis is still a public health problem. The growth trend of liver cirrhosis mortality caused by HCV has been slowed by promoting direct-acting antiviral therapy. Unfortunately, we observed an unfavorable trend in etiologies for alcohol consumption and NASH, suggesting that more targeted and specific strategies should be established to limit alcohol consumption and promote healthy lifestyles in high risk countries, especially in middle-high SDI regions and Eastern Europe.
A TRIPLE-BAND ANTENNA WITH A METAMATERIAL SLAB FOR GAIN ENHANCEMENT AND SPECIFIC ABSORPTION RATE (SAR) REDUCTION

A compact triple-band antenna of size 20 × 13 × 1.6 mm3 for WLAN (2.4/5 GHz) and WiMAX (3.5 GHz) applications and a metamaterial slab for Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) reduction are proposed in this paper. The antenna comprises a rectangular patch with two conjoint square split rings, attached along its top edge, to excite two resonances in the 2.5 GHz and 5.5 GHz range. The antenna is also backed with a slotted ground plane structure to achieve miniaturization. The radiator is subsequently slotted to yield the third tone around 3.5 GHz. Several parameters are tuned independently to achieve the desired bands of resonance around (2.2–2.6) GHz, (3.40–3.60) GHz, and (5.0–6.9) GHz with impedance bandwidths of 17%, 5.5%, and 46%, respectively. To validate the simulated results, the designed antenna is fabricated and measured experimentally. Later, a metamaterial slab composed of a 5× 3 array of pentagonal split-rings printed on a 20× 13× 1.6 mm3 FR-4 substrate is placed above the antenna at a suitable distance to increase the gain as well as to reduce the SAR. Inclusion of this slab improved the maximum radiation efficiency and gain of the proposed antenna from 65% and 2.7 dB to 80% and 3dB. A cubical tissue model is designed and used for simulation. SAR reduction of 84.5% is inferred with the metamaterial slab. This paper has taken a cubical tissue model for SAR calculation, which can be further enhanced by taking a human phantom model in future.
Solving the Generalized Constrained Longest Common Subsequence Problem with Many Pattern Strings

We consider the constrained longest common subsequence problem with an arbitrary set of input strings as well as an arbitrary set of pattern strings. This problem has applications in computational biology, text processing, sequence analysis etc. We give a formal proof that already finding any feasible solution of arbitrary length is in general NP-complete. To solve larger instances of the problem heuristically, we first propose three algorithms for finding a feasible solution: a greedy approach, a specific beam search that aims for feasibility, and a variable neighborhood search. Further, in order to obtain high-quality solutions with respect to the length, we propose a beam search approach and a hybrid of a restricted beam search and a variable neighborhood search. The beam search is guided by a probability-based heuristic guidance function. Our variable neighborhood search makes use of two types of shaking and local search procedures, based on inserting or changing/deleting characters from solution strings. An exact A∗ search approach, which utilizes a problem-specific filtering of nodes, is also proposed with the aim to obtain possibly optimal solutions to small-to-middle sized instances. In comparison to an existing Automaton approach from the literature, it turns out that the A∗ search is about one order of magnitude faster in proving optimality concerning considered real-world instances. An exhaustive experimental study shows the efficiency of the proposed approaches along the following three lines: finding any feasible solution, finding high-quality solutions, as well as proving optimality.
Pharmacothrapy of Cancer in Ayurveda

Cancer is an uncontrolled growth disorder of cells characterized by the formation of tumor, invasiveness, metastasis and anaplasia. The disease is a major cause of motility and morbidity across the world. Despite a huge advancement in the therapeutic strategies, it is still a major cause of death worldwide. Ayurveda describes a variety of clinical conditions which have approximate similarities with cancer. Out of them description of Granthi and Arvuda by Sushruta and delineation of their characteristic features apparently denote to benign and malignant tumors respectively. The treatment strategy in Ayurveda consists of surgical, parasurgical as well as medicinal treatments. Therefore it is judicious to design a proper treatment strategy for the treatment of cancer with special reference to Arvuda in Ayurveda. In this paper attempts have been made to design a suitable medicinal strategy for the treatment of cancer on the basis of their mechanism of action with special reference to the pharmacodynamical factors of drug action mentioned in Ayurveda.