Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biologically-Derived Nanomaterials for Targeted Therapeutic Delivery to the Brain

Delivery of imaging agents and pharmaceutical payloads to the central nervous system (CNS) is essential for efficient diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. However, therapeutic delivery is often restricted by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which prevents transport of clinical compounds to their region of interest. This review discusses the methods that have been used to avoid or overcome this barrier, presenting the use of biologically-derived nanomaterial systems as an efficient strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of CNS diseases. Biological nanomaterials have many advantages over synthetic systems, including being biodegradable, biocompatible, easily surface functionalised for conjugation of targeting moieties, and are often able to self-assemble. These abilities are discussed in relation to various systems, including liposomes, dendrimers, and viral nanoparticles.
On the Distributive Laws of Fuzzy Implication Functions Over Additively Generated Overlap and Grouping Functions

Overlap and grouping functions have been proposed by Bustince et al. for applications in image processing, classification problems, and decision making based on fuzzy preference relations. On the other hand, after the distributive law between two operations is posed by Aczél, there arise many works on this topic. In particular, distributive laws related to fuzzy implication functions and some special aggregation functions (e.g., t-norms, t-conorms, uninorms, t-operators, semiuninorms, and semi-t-operators) have been proposed by many authors. In this paper, we continue to discuss this topic for additively generated overlap and grouping functions. At first, we show some new results for additively generated overlap and grouping functions; and then, we propose the two basic distributive laws of fuzzy implication functions over additively generated overlap and grouping functions.
Digital radio frequency memory synthetic instrument enhancing US navy automated test equipment mission

This research project aims to expand the capability of a current US Navy Automated Test Equipment (ATE) family of testers known as the Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS). Industry research is now focused on breaking the historical construct of test equipment. Advances in the field of Synthetic Instruments have opened the door to test avionics in new ways. Every year new capabilities are developed using core hardware and increasingly capable software modules to create complex waveforms. This research creates a Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) Synthetic Instrument that can be programmed to perform a wide array of low latency Radio Frequency (RF) tests. Synthetic Instruments are defined as a concatenation of hardware and software modules used in combination to emulate a traditional piece of electronic instrumentation. This Synthetic Instrument couples high speed Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) to high speed Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) with Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) in between for digital signal processing. An RF front end is used to down convert the RF to baseband where it is sampled, modified, and up converted back to RF. The FPGA performs Digital Signal Processing (DSP) on the signal to achieve the desired output.
Can Wii Balance? Evaluating a Stepping Game for Older Adults

Decline in balance control is an issue for older adults as it leads to an increased risk of falling which may result in serious injury. Mitigating this risk may be achieved through balance training and exercise, but lack of adherence to an exercise program often occurs. Improvement in balance control may be difficult to quantify in an unbiased manner given the therapist providing the treatment also assesses the patient. We developed a gamified system using an off-the-shelf technology through an iterative feedback with therapists and clients to evaluate a response time during stepping as a measure of balance control. The game was designed using serious game strategies to increase participant engagement. This game included two Nintendo Wii balance boards between which the individual was required to step while the times were recorded. To provide evidence that the system could be used in a clinical environment, we conducted a cross-sectional study collecting data for five minutes at the beginning of a physiotherapy assessment. One hundred and four individuals older than 50 years of age were recruited who were able to step forward with or without an aid. The response time for a step using the system was negatively correlated to the Berg balance score.
Kinematic Characterization of a Target-Defense Problem With an Interception and Expelling Strategy

This paper considers a target-defense problem of one defender and one adversary (or called intruder), in which the defender tries to approach a desired interception-position between the intruder and the target to intercept the intruder and expel it from the target. The defender adopts this interception and expelling strategy since the defender is assumed to not capture or destroy the intruder. An expelling-decay exponent is introduced to characterize the expelling-decay rate on the intruder. The system is nonlinear, with distinct physical meaning and rich kinematics. The main concern in this paper is the analysis of the kinematic properties. First, two motion patterns of the system are characterized with respect to different values of the system parameters. Then, the stability and the transition condition of the two motion patterns are provided. Finally, the optimal interception of the defender is provided, which interestingly coincides with the transition condition for the two motion patterns. The interpretations for the physical meaning of the optimal interception are also provided.
Despite the hair failing, nails thrive…

Ectodermal dysplasias are defined as a group of congenital, nonprogressive, developmental syndromes with primary disorders in at least two ectoderm-derived structures namely eccrine glands, hair, nail and teeth. Pure hair and nail affecting ectodemal dysplasias are exceedingly rare in occurance and have been known to be associated with multiple abnormalities, such as keratoderma or ichthyosis, skeletal and hematological abnormalities, cardiac irregularities, mental or psychomotor retardation and cataracts. We herein report a case of hypotrichosis with trichorrhexis nodosa and twenty nail dystrophy- a hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia variant.
Transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) induces mouse precartilaginous stem cell differentiation through TGFRII‐CK1ε‐β‐catenin signalling

Precartilaginous stem cells (PSCs) are adult stem cells which could self‐renew or differentiate into chondrocytes to promote bone growth. In this study, we aimed to understand the role of transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) in precartilaginous stem cell (PSC) differentiation and to study the mechanisms that underlie this role. We purified PSCs from the neonatal murine perichondrial mesenchyme using immunomagnetic beads, and primary cultured them. Their phenotype was confirmed by the PSC marker fibroblast growth factor receptor‐3 (FGFR‐3) overexpression. TGF‐β1 was added to induce PSCs differentiation. TGF‐β1 increased mRNA expression of chondrogenesis‐related genes (collagen type II, Sox 9 and aggrecan) in the cultured PSCs. This was abolished by TGF‐β receptor II (TGFRII) and Casein kinase 1 epsilon (CK1ε) lentiviral shRNA depletion. Meanwhile, we found that TGF‐β1 induced CK1ε activation, glycogen synthase kinase‐3β (GSK3β) phosphorylation and β‐catenin nuclear translocation in the mouse PSCs, which was almost completely blocked by TGFRII and CK1ε shRNA knockdown. Based on these results, we suggest that TGF‐β1 induces CK1ε activation to promote β‐catenin nuclear accumulation, which then regulates chondrogenesis‐related gene transcription to eventually promote mouse PSC differentiation.
Femtosecond Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures on Fused Silica: The Impact of the Initial Substrate Temperature

The formation and properties of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) were investigated upon fs-laser irradiation of fused silica at different initial substrate temperatures, TS. For substrate heating between room temperature, TRT, and TS = 1200 °C, a continuous wave CO2 laser was used as the radiation source. The surface structures generated in the air environment at normal incidence with five successive fs-laser pulses (pulse duration, τ = 300 fs, laser wavelength, λ = 1025 nm, repetition frequency, frep = 1 kHz) were characterized by using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and 2D-Fourier transform analysis. The threshold fluence of fused silica was systematically investigated as a function of TS. It was shown that the threshold fluence for the formation of low-spatial frequency LIPSS (LSFL) decreases with increasing TS. The results reveal that the initial spatial period observed at TRT is notably increased by increasing TS, finally leading to the formation of supra-wavelength LIPSS. The findings are discussed in the framework of the electromagnetic interference theory, supplemented with an analysis based on thermo-convective instability occurring in the laser-induced molten layer. Our findings provide qualitative insights into the formation mechanisms of LIPSS, which allow improvements of the control of nanostructure formation to be made for corresponding applications of dielectric materials in the future.
Sero‐prevalence and viremia status of dengue virus among asymptomatic blood donors post epidemic outbreak in Chinese Guangzhou in 2015

Dear Sir, Dengue virus (DENV) has been listed on a catalogue from the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) as transfusion transmissible infectious (TTIs) (Stramer et al., 2009). Routine screening for DENV RNA with nucleic acid testing (NAT) on donors’ samples has been suggested to reduce the transfusion-transmitted risk of DENV in several countries and regions with high epidemic, such as Honduras (Linnen et al., 2008) and Brazil (Dias et al., 2012). In China, the third historically largest dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) outbreak spread throughout Guangdong province with 6024 confirmed DHF cases resulting in six deaths (Sun et al., 2016), as well as reported cases among 26 Chinese provinces (Lai et al., 2015) in 2014. The outbreak of DHF raised the increasing concern on DENV infection nationwide. However, the data on the DENV sero-prevalence and viremia status among blood donors were rare. A pilot investigation among asymptomatic donors in Guangzhou city (Guangdong province) during the epidemic outbreak (2014) reported that the anti-DENV IgM prevalence rate was 2·4% (n= 3000) (Rong et al., 2015), indicating a potential transfusion-transmitted risk. The sero-prevalence and viremia rate of DENV in blood donors from Guangzhou post the epidemic outbreak should be investigated. From April to October 2015, 1164 whole blood and apheresis donors who passed the routine pre-donation screening process were recruited during the routine donation process from the Guangzhou blood centre. Donor samples from the first 3 weeks of each month during the study period (n= 819) were selected and tested both for anti-DENV IgG and IgM using capture ELISA kits from Panbio (Brisbane, Australia), in which 34 were positive for IgG and three positive for IgM. The DENV seropositive rates were: IgG, 4·2% (34/819, 95%CI: 2·8–5·6%) and IgM, 0·4% (3/819, 95%CI: 0–0·8%). The demographic characteristics of 36 seropositive donors (one donor positive both for IgG and IgM) were similar to that of all the participated donors and no significant difference was found by gender, ethnicity and age. The DENV IgG rate was similar to the rate from donor samples collected in 2014 in the same area (3·4%, 51/1500)(Liao et al., 2017),
Next generation microbiology and cystic fibrosis diagnostics: are we there yet?

Purpose of review The major problem for cystic fibrosis patients is the recurrent and chronic infections of the lungs, determining their prognosis. The challenge from biofilm-growing bacteria and emerging viruses urge the microbiological laboratories to develop better and faster diagnostic tools. Of these, molecular diagnostics are rapidly developing. However, beyond detecting many microorganisms, the task is to evaluate their clinical significance. This has always been a problem resulting in Koch's postulates. Then, the task was to distinguish the offending pathogens from the normal flora, as today, however, the normal flora is renamed microbiota. Recent findings This review includes the most recent studies on molecular diagnostics of viral and bacterial infections in cystic fibrosis. Generally, molecular methods have revolutionized virus and bacterial detection, and species-specific and multiplex molecular methods are valuable. However, the large amount of data obtained from new sequencing techniques challenge the interpretation and evaluation of clinical relevance. Summary More research is needed to discriminate offending pathogens from contaminating microbiota and to be able to identify the anatomical origin of the many detected microbes. Furthermore, the sequencing techniques must report all the detected microbes to the species level to allow the clinician to evaluate the properties of the microbes being relevant for the infection.
Relationship between white matter integrity and post-traumatic cognitive deficits: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To investigate relationships between cognitive domains and white matter changes in different regions in patients with cognitive deficits after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods Databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and CENTRAL were searched for studies published before 5 August 2017. Correlation coefficients between cognition and white matter integrity, measured by diffusion metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA), were pooled from 49 studies including 1405 patients. The influence of demographic factors was assessed by meta-regression analysis. Results Significant pooled FA–executive correlations (p<0.001) were found across various regions, including the corpus callosum (CC) (r=0.42, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.54), superior longitudinal fasciculus (r=0.50, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.59) and internal capsule (IC) (r=0.49, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.61). The fornix (r=0.62, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.78) and cingulum (r=0.57, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.81) particularly correlated with memory (p<0.001). The CC and IC also showed significant relationships with attention and processing speed (p<0.001). Demographic factors had no influence overall, except that studies with a greater proportion of males had stronger correlations between memory and white matter (p<0.05). Conclusions FA is the most sensitive metric for detecting post-TBI cognitive decline across various domains. Representative white matter regions, such as the CC and IC, perform better than whole-brain white matter for reflecting a wide range of cognitive domains, including memory, attention and executive functions. Moreover, the fornix and cingulum particularly reflect memory function. They yield insights into particular imaging indicators that have neuropsychological value.
Digging into Browser-based Crypto Mining

Mining is the foundation of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin rewarding the miner for finding blocks for new transactions. The Monero currency enables mining with standard hardware in contrast to special hardware (ASICs) as often used in Bitcoin, paving the way for in-browser mining as a new revenue model for website operators. In this work, we study the prevalence of this new phenomenon. We identify and classify mining websites in 138M domains and present a new fingerprinting method which finds up to a factor of 5.7 more miners than publicly available block lists. Our work identifies and dissects Coinhive as the major browser-mining stakeholder. Further, we present a new method to associate mined blocks in the Monero blockchain to mining pools and uncover that Coinhive currently contributes 1.18% of mined blocks having turned over 1293 Moneros in June 2018.
Mechanically Reconfigurable Linear Array Antenna Fed by a Tunable Corporate Waveguide Network With Tuning Screws

A mechanical technique to provide beam-steering capabilities to a linear array antenna is presented. The methodology is based on the insertion of metallic tuning screws into power dividers in rectangular waveguide technology. These tuning screws establish a short circuit between the top and bottom plates of the waveguide, and a phase change in the transmitted signal is then generated. Therefore, the phase difference between the output ports of a conventional waveguide divider can be controlled with these tuning screws. A corporate waveguide feeding network with several tuning screws has been designed. This tunable waveguide network is used to feed an aperture stacked patch array, forming the final mechanically reconfigurable linear array. Seven different phase configurations have been synthetized by using the tuning screws, which provide a noncontinuous angular scanning. In particular, a main beam steering from −26° to +26° with 13 discrete radiation patterns has been obtained. The use of waveguide technology makes the proposed reconfigurable antenna suitable for low-loss and high-power applications. Total efficiency values higher than 90% have been achieved for every configuration.
Transformerless Line-Interactive UPS With Low Ground Leakage Current

This paper proposes a transformerless line-interactive uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with low ground leakage current. A high-efficiency bidirectional inverter is suggested, which performs the line-interactive UPS functions with low ground leakage current. It has a full-bridge inverter and a bidirectional switch, which operate with the unipolar pulsewidth modulation. Because the bidirectional switch operates at the line-frequency, switching losses can be lower than the previous transformerless inverters. As the inverter operates, the parasitic capacitance between the inverter and the ac voltage ground is clamped to zero voltage for a positive line cycle and to the ac voltage for a negative line cycle, respectively. Thus, the parasitic capacitance can be prevented from being charged or discharged, which ensures the absence of the ground leakage current. The operation modes of the proposed system are described. The control schemes are presented to design the proposed inverter for the line-interactive UPS. Experimental results for a 2.0 kW prototype are discussed to verify the performance of the proposed system.
Design and Implementation of Three-Phase Current Sensorless Control for PFC Bridge Converter With Considering Voltage Drops of Power Semiconductors

Three-phase bridge converter is popular in ac–dc power conversion. The conventional sensor control with inner current loop and outer voltage loop is often used to control the three-phase bridge converter. Many three-phase sensorless control methods had been proposed to control the bridge converter with considering the inductance and inductor resistance. In this paper, the voltage drop of the power semiconductor is first considered in the proposed three-phase current sensorless control method. At first, the dynamic behaviors of three-phase bridge converter for power factor correction (PFC) applications are studied, and its equivalent three-switch model is developed. Based on this developed model, three-phase current sensorless control with only voltage controller is proposed. Additionally, the voltage-loop transfer function of PFC bridge converter controlled by the proposed method is modeled, and the result is helpful to obtain the controller parameter. The proposed control method is implemented on the DSP-based platform for evaluation. Finally, the provided simulation and experimental results demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.
European Pain Federation (EFIC) position paper on appropriate use of cannabis‐based medicines and medical cannabis for chronic pain management

Cannabis‐based medicines are being approved for pain management in an increasing number of European countries. There are uncertainties and controversies on the role and appropriate use of cannabis‐based medicines for the management of chronic pain. EFIC convened a European group of experts, drawn from a diverse range of basic science and relevant clinical disciplines, to prepare a position paper to empower and inform specialist and nonspecialist prescribers on appropriate use of cannabis‐based medicines for chronic pain. The expert panel reviewed the available literature and harnessed the clinical experience to produce these series of recommendations. Therapy with cannabis‐based medicines should only be considered by experienced clinicians as part of a multidisciplinary treatment and preferably as adjunctive medication if guideline‐recommended first‐ and second‐line therapies have not provided sufficient efficacy or tolerability. The quantity and quality of evidence are such that cannabis‐based medicines may be reasonably considered for chronic neuropathic pain. For all other chronic pain conditions (cancer, non‐neuropathic noncancer pain), the use of cannabis‐based medicines should be regarded as an individual therapeutic trial. Realistic goals of therapy have to be defined. All patients must be kept under close clinical surveillance. As with any other medical therapy, if the treatment fails to reach the predefined goals and/or the patient is additionally burdened by an unacceptable level of adverse effects and/or there are signs of abuse and misuse of the drug by the patient, therapy with cannabis‐based medicines should be terminated.
Work-in-Progress: Chronic Disease Risk Prediction Using Distributed Machine Learning Classifiers

The prime use of the classification technique is to predict the target class accurately for each case in the dataset. The recent study is focused on the usage of classification techniques in the field of medical science and bioinformatics. The main focus of this paper is to predict Chronic- Kidney-Disease and its usage for classification in the field of medical bioinformatics. It firstly classifies dataset and then determines which algorithm performs better for diagnosis and prediction of Chronic- Kidney-Disease. Thus, the prime objective of this paper is to analyze the data from a chronic- kidney-disease (CKD) dataset using classification technique to predict class accurately in each case. Many researchers have compared the performance of different classifiers applied on various datasets. But, none of the author worked on prediction of accuracy for chronic-kidney-disease dataset. Here, we have considered two critical classifiers to study their performance based on various parameters obtained by applying them in the dataset.
Navigation Systems for Treatment Planning and Execution of Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation

The application of navigational systems has the potential to improve percutaneous interventions. The accuracy of ablation probe placement can be increased and radiation doses reduced. Two different types of systems can be distinguished, tracking systems and robotic systems. This review gives an overview of navigation devices for clinical application and summarizes first findings in the implementation of navigation in percutaneous interventions using irreversible electroporation. Because of the high number of navigation systems, this review focuses on commercially available ones.