Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cyclohexane and Benzene Confined in MCM-41 and SBA-15: Confinement Effects on Freezing and Melting

Using DSC scans and NMR line-shape analysis we have investigated the thermal properties of orientationally disordered crystal forming cyclohexane and benzene confined in highly ordered mesoporous materials MCM-41 and SBA-15. Phase transition temperatures and nature of the phases as a function of temperature were determined. In pores with diameters corresponding roughly to 10−30 molecular sizes (4.7 ≤ d ≤ 14.0 nm), important depressions of the melting point were observed and the confined material crystallizes only partially. The progressive melting of confined crystals detected by NMR is comparable to premelting effects usually observed in bulk molecular crystals. Here the surface of the pores plays the same role as the extended defects at the origin of premelting effects in bulk crystals. Unless in bulk crystals where premelting begins only a few degrees below the melting point, these effects spread out over a very large temperature range in confined crystals. The systematic analysis of various topology a.
On the number of independent reflections in a powder diffraction pattern

Peak overlap in powder diffraction patterns necessarily implies that the number of visible peaks is less than the number of Bragg peaks. While the number of Bragg reflections is easily enumerated, the number of statistically independent Bragg peaks is not. In this paper, it is shown that, although there is no single or simple answer to this problem, Bragg peak intensity correlation is a well behaved statistical quantity that can be used to express a measure of the number of independent peaks.
Visualization of Shear Motions of Cohesive Powders in the True Biaxial Shear Tester

Steady-state flow of powders is defined as a continuous deformation of the material without volume change while the stresses at the specimen's boundaries remain constant. Recent investigations have shown that this state, especially for cohesive powders, is not always as steady as it should be by definition. In this article a recent extension of the true biaxial shear tester is introduced that allows a view of the shear motion of the brick-shaped powder specimen inside the tester. By applying a dark-colored powder pattern onto a light powder sample, the movement of the powder can be captured using a CCD camera. Development of shear bands and inhomogeneities of the sample can be visualized. Experiments with a cohesive powder with purely strain-controlled, volume-preserving shear cycles, as well as mixed stress-strain controlled experiments, are presented. The recorded images as well as stress-strain data from discrete elements simulations are compared to the experimental results.
Local Well-posedness of a Nutku-Og̃uz-Burgers System With Time Dependent Coefficients Buena formulación local de un sistema de Nutku-Og̃uz-Burgers con coeficientes dependientes del tiempo

In this paper we study the local well-posedness of the initial value problem for a Nutku-Og̃uz-Burgers system with time dependent coefficients, formed by two Korteweg-de Vries equations coupled through the non-linear terms. The system appears as a model of wave propagation in a shallow channel with variable bottom surface, in which both nonlinear and dispersive effects are relevant. The proof of existence and uniqueness of local solution and the continuous dependence on the initial data of the local solution in Sobolev spaces H (R)×H (R), s > 3/2, are based on the works [9] and [17].
Regional performance variation in external validation of four prediction models for severity of COVID-19 at hospital admission: An observational multi-centre cohort study

Background: Several prediction models for coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) have been published. Prediction models should be externally validated to assess their performance before implementation. This observational cohort study aimed to validate published models of severity for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 using clinical and laboratory predictors. Methods: Prediction models fitting relevant inclusion criteria were chosen for validation. The outcome was either mortality or a composite outcome of mortality and ICU admission (severe disease). 1295 patients admitted with symptoms of COVID-19 at Kings Cross Hospital (KCH) in London, United Kingdom, and 307 patients at Oslo University Hospital (OUH) in Oslo, Norway were included. The performance of the models was assessed in terms of discrimination and calibration. Results: We identified two models for prediction of mortality (referred to as Xie and Zhang1) and two models for prediction of severe disease (Allenbach and Zhang2). The performance of the models was variable. For prediction of mortality Xie had good discrimination at OUH with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) 0.87 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.79-0.95] and acceptable discrimination at KCH, AUROC 0.79 [0.76-0.82]. In prediction of severe disease, Allenbach had acceptable discrimination (OUH AUROC 0.81 [0.74-0.88] and KCH AUROC 0.72 [0.68-0.75]). The Zhang models had moderate to poor discrimination. Initial calibration was poor for all models but improved with recalibration. Conclusions: The performance of the four prediction models was variable. The Xie model had the best discrimination for mortality, while the Allenbach model had acceptable results for prediction of severe disease.
Detecting cognitive decline using speech only: The ADReSSo Challenge

Building on the success of the ADReSS Challenge at Interspeech 2020, which attracted the participation of 34 teams from across the world, the ADReSSo Challenge targets three difficult automatic prediction problems of societal and medical relevance, namely: detection of Alzheimer's Dementia, inference of cognitive testing scores, and prediction of cognitive decline. This paper presents these prediction tasks in detail, describes the datasets used, and reports the results of the baseline classification and regression models we developed for each task. A combination of acoustic and linguistic features extracted directly from audio recordings, without human intervention, yielded a baseline accuracy of 78.87% for the AD classification task, an MMSE prediction root mean squared (RMSE) error of 5.28, and 68.75% accuracy for the cognitive decline prediction task.
Remote Assessment of Cognition in Kids and Adolescents with Daytime Sleepiness: A pilot study of feasibility and reliability

In this pilot study, we assessed the reliability of cognitive testing for kids and adolescents ages 8-19 years of age with narcolepsy or subjective daytime sleepiness compared to healthy controls. Forty-six participants took part in the study (n=18 with narcolepsy type 1, n=6 with subjective daytime sleepiness, and n= 22 healthy controls recruited from the community). Participants completed verbal (vocabulary testing) and non-verbal intelligence quotient (IQ) tasks (block design, matrix reasoning) from the Weschler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence- Second Edition (WASI-II) in-person or remotely in their home through a HIPAA compliant telehealth web platform with conditions counterbalanced. We found that vocabulary T-scores showed good reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.85) between remote and in-person testing conditions. Matrix Reasoning T-scores showed moderate reliability ( ICC 0.69, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.90) and Block Design T-scores was poor between testing conditions. Bland-Altman plots showed outliers on vocabulary and matrix reasoning tasks performed better on remote assessments. Overall, the results of this pilot study support the feasibility and reliability of verbal and non-verbal IQ scores collected by telehealth. Use of telehealth to collect verbal and non-verbal IQ scores may offer a means to acquire cognitive data for pediatric sleep research through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Thermo‐Hydro‐Mechanical Model and Caprock Deformation Explain the Onset of an Ongoing Seismo‐Volcanic Unrest

Modeling seismicity at volcanoes remains challenging as the processes that control seismic energy release due to fluid transport, heat flow, and rock deformation are firmly coupled in complex geological media. Here, we couple fluid‐flow and mechanical (deformation) simulators (TOUGHREACT–FLAC3D) to reproduce fluid‐induced seismicity at Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy) in isothermal (HM) and nonisothermal (THM) conditions. The unique ability of the Campi Flegrei caprock to withstand stress induced by hot‐water injections is included in the model parametrization. After pore pressure accumulation is guided by a combination of thermal and hydromechanical interactions, contrasting compressive and extensional forces act on the basal and top parts of the caprock, respectively. Then, pressure perturbation and caprock deformation induce fractures that allow hot fluids uprising to pressurize the overlying fault, driving it toward failure and triggering seismicity. Under similar mechanical boundary conditions, the induced thermal effects prompt seismic slip earlier but with higher seismic magnitudes when (1) thermal equilibrium is preserved and (2) the thermal contrast is enhanced due to increased fluid injection temperatures. The results indicate that numerical models of volcano seismicity must consider the influence of rock‐sealing formations to obtain more robust, accurate, and realistic seismic predictions at volcanoes. The proposed models satisfactorily reproduce the magnitude–depth distribution of the swarm (October 5, 2019), preceding the two strongest earthquakes recorded in 35 years at the caldera (3.1 and 3.3—on December 6, 2019, and April 26, 2020, respectively) using hot‐water injection from depth.
2 Is free will an observer-based concept rather than a brain-based one ? A critical neuroepistemological account

How are the brain and our observation of it in neuroscientific investigation related to each other? I here distinguish between brain-based and observer-based concepts. Brain-based concepts mean that they are very much in accordance with the way the brain functions and processes neural activity independent of our observation of it. In contrast, observer-based concepts refer to the dependence of our observations on the observer and his or her particular experimental (and technological and other) requirements. Since in observer-based concepts the observer intrudes into the observations and ultimately into the brain itself, I also speak of ‘observer-related intrusions’. I distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic observer-related intrusions: extrinsic observer-related intrusions can in principle be avoided and minimized while intrinsic ones cannot in principle be overcome. This is so because they concern, as I assume, intrinsic design features of the brain, and do therefore define the brain as brain. I conclude that the intrinsic observer-related intrusions pose ‘neuro-experimental and neuroepistemological constraints’ on our possible knowledge of the brain. Extrinsic observer-related intrusions pose methodological fallacies that are to be avoided, as, for instance, the projection of the concept of free will onto the brain.
Hepatocardiac or Cardiohepatic Interaction: From Traditional Chinese Medicine to Western Medicine

There is a close relationship between the liver and heart based on “zang-xiang theory,” “five-element theory,” and “five-zang/five-viscus/five-organ correlation theory” in the theoretical system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Moreover, with the development of molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and others, the Modern Medicine indicates the existence of the essential interorgan communication between the liver and heart (the heart and liver). Anatomically and physiologically, the liver and heart are connected with each other primarily via “blood circulation. ” Pathologically, liver diseases can affect the heart; for example, patients with end-stage liver disease (liver failure/cirrhosis) may develop into “cirrhotic cardiomyopathy,” and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may promote the development of cardiovascular diseases via multiple molecular mechanisms. In contrast, heart diseases can affect the liver, heart failure may lead to cardiogenic hypoxic hepatitis and cardiac cirrhosis, and atrial fibrillation (AF) markedly alters the hepatic gene expression profile and induces AF-related hypercoagulation. The heart can also influence liver metabolism via certain nonsecretory cardiac gene-mediated multiple signals. Moreover, organokines are essential mediators of organ crosstalk, e.g., cardiomyokines link the heart to the liver, while hepatokines link the liver to the heart. Therefore, both TCM and Western Medicine, and both the basic research studies and the clinical practices, all indicate that there exist essential “heart-liver axes” and “liver-heart axes. ” To investigate the organ interactions between the liver and heart (the heart and liver) will help us broaden and deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of both liver and heart diseases, thus improving the strategies of prevention and treatment in the future.
Prospective single-blinded single-center randomized controlled trial of Prep Kit-C and Moviprep: Does underlying inflammatory bowel disease impact tolerability and efficacy?

BACKGROUND Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for detection of colonic disease. An optimal evaluation depends on adequate bowel cleansing. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), require frequent endoscopic assessment for both activity and dysplasia assessment. Two commonly used bowel preparations in Australia are Prep Kit-C (Pc) and Moviprep (Mp). Little is known about tolerability, efficacy and safety of split protocols of Mp and Pc in both IBD and non-IBD patients. AIM To primary aim was to compare the tolerability, efficacy and safety of split protocols of Mp and Pc in patients having a colonoscopy. The secondary aim was to compare the efficacy, tolerability and safety of either preparation in patients with or without IBD. METHODS Patients were randomized to Pc or Mp bowel preparation. Patients completed a questionnaire to assess tolerability. Efficacy was assessed using the Ottawa Bowel Preparation Score. Serum electrolytes and renal function were collected one week prior to colonoscopy and on the day of colonoscopy. RESULTS Of 338 patients met the inclusion criteria. Of 168 patients randomized to Mp and 170 to Pc. The efficacy of bowel preparation (mean Ottawa Bowel Preparation Score) was similar between Mp (5.4 ± 2.4) and Pc (5.1 ± 2.1) (P = 0.3). Mean tolerability scores were similar in Mp (11.84 ± 5.4) and Pc (10.99 ± 5.2; P = 0.17). 125 patients had IBD (73 had Crohn’s Disease and 52 had Ulcerative colitis). Sixty-four IBD patients were allocated to Mp and 61 to Pc. In non-IBD patients, 104 were allocated to Mp and 109 to Pc. The mean tolerability score in the IBD group was lower than the non-IBD group (mean tolerability scores: IBD: 10.3 ± 5.1 and non-IBD: 12.0 ± 5.3; P = 0.01). IBD patients described more abdominal pain with Mp when compared with Pc; (Mp: 5.7 ± 4.4 vs Pc: 3.6 ± 2.6, P = 0.046). Serum magnesium level increased with Pc compared with Mp in all patients (mean increase in mmol/L: Mp: 0.03 ± 0.117 and Pc: 0.11 ± 0.106; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION In this study, the efficacy, tolerability and safety of Mp and Pc were similar in all patients. However, patients with IBD reported lower tolerability with both preparations. Specifically, IBD patients had more abdominal pain with Mp. These results should be considered when recommending bowel preparation especially to IBD patients.
Current status of the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal schwannoma

Gastrointestinal schwannoma is a rare, slow-growing and benign tumor that mostly originates in the Auerbach myenteric nerve plexus in the gastrointestinal tract. The clinical manifestations may be associated with the location, size, differentiation type, and degree of malignancy of the tumor. Endoscopy, ultrasound and imaging examinations serve an important auxiliary role in the clinical identification, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of lesions; assessment of risk; and preparation for surgery. S-100 positivity is a hallmark of schwannoma. CD34, CD117, discovered on GIST-1, P53, ALK, β-catenin, smooth muscle actin and Desmin negativity are helpful for the identification of other gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Surgical removal of the tumor is the main treatment for schwannoma. Benign gastrointestinal schwannoma has a good prognosis without recurrence and metastasis; malignant transformation is extremely rare and has a poor prognosis.
3D CNN with Visual Insights for Early Detection of Lung Cancer Using Gradient-Weighted Class Activation

The 3D convolutional neural network is able to make use of the full nonlinear 3D context information of lung nodule detection from the DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) images, and the Gradient Class Activation has shown to be useful for tailoring classification tasks and localization interpretation for fine-grained features and visual explanation for the internal working. Gradient-weighted class activation plays a crucial role for clinicians and radiologists in terms of trusting and adopting the model. Practitioners not only rely on a model that can provide high precision but also really want to gain the respect of radiologists. So, in this paper, we explored the lung nodule classification using the improvised 3D AlexNet with lightweight architecture. Our network employed the full nature of the multiview network strategy. We have conducted the binary classification (benign and malignant) on computed tomography (CT) images from the LUNA 16 database conglomerate and database image resource initiative. The results obtained are through the 10-fold cross-validation. Experimental results have shown that the proposed lightweight architecture achieved a superior classification accuracy of 97.17% on LUNA 16 dataset when compared with existing classification algorithms and low-dose CT scan images as well.
Interface properties of InAs quantum dots produced by antimony surfactant-mediated growth: Etching of segregated antimony and its impact on the photoluminescence and lasing characteristics

We present a method that improves the emission efficiency of InAs quantum dots (QDs) fabricated by antimony surfactant-mediated metal organic chemical vapor deposition. This process consists of removing the excess segregated antimony from the surface of InAs/Sb:GaAs QDs by applying a high arsenic pressure before capping. In such a way, one benefits from the advantages of InAs/Sb:GaAs QDs (high density, low coalescence) without the formation of antimony-induced nonradiative defects. Finally, we show that this better QD interface quality results in a strong decrease of the threshold current densities of InAs/Sb:GaAs QD lasers in the 1.3 μm band.
Characteristic changes in malt, wort, and beer produced from different Nigerian rice varieties as influenced by varying malting conditions

Gluten-free beer could be produced with rice, although the latter would primarily serve as adjunct in combination with barley malt in today’s brewing. However, the recent growing realisation of the potential and applications of rice malt for brewing an all-rice malt beer through varying malting conditions cannot be overlooked. In this study, therefore, the characteristic changes in malt, wort, and beer from different Nigerian rice varieties (FARO 44, FARO 57, NERICA 7) as influenced by varying malting conditions (steeping duration (18, 24 and 30 h), germination periods (2, 3 and 4 days) and kilning temperatures (50 and 55 °C)), were investigated. Rice (grain) samples were examined by thousand kernel weight (TKW), germinative energy (GE), germinative capacity (GC), and degree of steeping (DoS). To ensure that rice wort/beer with unique beer style and enhanced attributes, comparable to barley wort/beer is produced, malting conditions that produced rice malts with peak diastatic power (DP), cold water extract (CWE), and hot water extract (HWE) were selected. Peak DP, CWE and HWE were obtained at FARO 44 (18 h steeping, 3 days germination, 55 °C kilning (S18G3K55°)), FARO 57 (30 h steeping, 2 days germination, 50 °C kilning (S30G2K50°)) and NERICA 7 (24 h steeping, 3 days germination, 55 °C kilning (S24G3K55°)). Selected malts were further tested for moisture content, total nitrogen, malt yield and malting loss and subsequently progressed to wort and beer production. Wort’s pH, total soluble nitrogen (TSN), brix, kolbach index (KI), free amino nitrogen (FAN), dextrose equivalent (DE), original extract (OE) and sugar profile were determined, as well as beer’s pH, colour, apparent extract (AE), alcohol by volume (%ABV), turbidity and sensory attributes. Rice grain varied significantly (p < 0.05) in TKW, GE, GC and DoS across varieties. Despite wort’s pH, TSN, DE, OE as well as beer pH, colour, AE and turbidity resembling (p > 0.05) across varieties, wort’s brix, KI, FAN, sugar profile as well as beer’s %ABV, differed significantly (p < 0.05). Sensory attributes of appearance, colour, mouthfeel, and overall acceptability in beer differed noticeably (p < 0.05), except for aroma and taste (p > 0.05). Overall, the rice beer, though very slightly hazy, represented a pale yellow light lager, which is indicative of its peculiar beer style. Besides increased DP and enhanced hydrolysis, varying malting conditions of current study could serve as a pathway of reducing the cost of exogenous (commercial) enzymes or barley malt imports, together with decreasing barley’s dependency for brewing in the tropics.
Eurotium cristatum Fermented Loose Dark Tea Ameliorates Cigarette Smoke-Induced Lung Injury by MAPK Pathway and Enhances Hepatic Metabolic Detoxification by PXR/AhR Pathway in Mice

Cigarette smoke- (CS-) induced oxidative stress and inflammation in the lung are serious health problems. Primary and reprocessed tea products contain multiple antioxidants that have been reported to protect the lung against CS-induced injury. However, the beneficial effects of Eurotium cristatum fermented loose dark tea (ECT) and Eurotium cristatum particle metabolites (ECP) on CS-induced lung injury and its potential hepatic metabolic detoxification are still unclear. Therefore, sixty mice were randomly divided into six equal groups. CS-exposed mice were prevented or treated with ECP or ECT infusions for 12 or 8 weeks to determine the antioxidative stress, anti-inflammatory and potential metabolic detoxification of ECT and ECP. Thirty-six mice were randomly divided into six equal groups to observe the effects on hepatic metabolic detoxification by replacing daily drinking water with ECT. Results showed that CS significantly decreased the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and upregulated the expressions of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, and IL-1β in serum. These adverse effects were modulated by ECP and ECT. In addition, ECT upregulated the mRNA expression of pregnane X receptor (PXR) and cytochrome P450 (CYP450) in the liver on daily free drinking ECT mice group. Western blot analysis further revealed that in CS-exposed mice, ECP and ECT significantly decreased the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the lung but upregulated the protein expressions of PXR and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in the liver. Overall, our findings demonstrated that ECT and ECP protected against lung injury induced by CS via MAPK pathway and enhanced hepatic metabolic detoxification via PXR and AhR pathways. Therefore, daily intake of ECT and ECP can potentially protect against CS-induced oxidative and inflammatory injuries.