Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effective Feedback for Introductory CS Theory: A JFLAP Extension and Student Persistence

Computing theory analyzes abstract computational models to rigorously study the computational difficulty of various problems. Introductory computing theory can be challenging for undergraduate students, and the main goal of our research is to help students learn these computational models. The most common pedagogical tool for interacting with these models is the Java Formal Languages and Automata Package (JFLAP). We developed a JFLAP server extension, which accepts homework submissions from students, evaluates the submission as correct or incorrect, and provides a witness string when the submission is incorrect. Our extension currently provides witness feedback for deterministic finite automata, nondeterministic finite automata, regular expressions, context-free grammars, and pushdown automata. In Fall 2019, we ran a preliminary investigation on two sections (Control and Study) of the required undergraduate course Introduction to Computer Science Theory. The Study section used our extension for five targeted homework questions, and the Control section solved and submitted these problems using traditional means. Our results show that on these five questions, the Study section performed better on average than the Control section. Moreover, the Study section persisted in submitting attempts until correct, and from this finding, our preliminary conclusion is that minimal (not detailed or grade-based) witness feedback helps students to truly learn the concepts. We describe the results that support this conclusion as well as a related hypothesis conjecturing that with witness feedback and unlimited number of submissions, partial credit is both unnecessary and ineffective.
Stochastic Gradient Descent with Nonlinear Conjugate Gradient-Style Adaptive Momentum

Momentum plays a crucial role in stochastic gradient-based optimization algorithms for accelerating or improving training deep neural networks (DNNs). In deep learning practice, the momentum is usually weighted by a well-calibrated constant. However, tuning hyperparameters for momentum can be a significant computational burden. In this paper, we propose a novel \emph{adaptive momentum} for improving DNNs training; this adaptive momentum, with no momentum related hyperparameter required, is motivated by the nonlinear conjugate gradient (NCG) method. Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) with this new adaptive momentum eliminates the need for the momentum hyperparameter calibration, allows a significantly larger learning rate, accelerates DNN training, and improves final accuracy and robustness of the trained DNNs. For instance, SGD with this adaptive momentum reduces classification errors for training ResNet110 for CIFAR10 and CIFAR100 from $5.25\%$ to $4.64\%$ and $23.75\%$ to $20.03\%$, respectively. Furthermore, SGD with the new adaptive momentum also benefits adversarial training and improves adversarial robustness of the trained DNNs.
Catalytic Properties of Ceria and CeO2-Containing Materials

Abstract Over the past several years, cerium oxide and CeO2-containing materials have come under intense scrutiny as catalysts and as structural and electronic promoters of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Recent developments regarding the characterization of ceria and CeO2-containing catalysts are critically reviewed with a special focus towards catalyst interaction with small molecules such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, oxygen, and nitric oxide. Relevant catalytic and technological applications such as the use of ceria in automotive exhaust emission control and in the formulation of SO x reduction catalysts is described. A survey of the use of CeO2-containing materials as oxidation and reduction catalysts is also presented.
Nitrogen Fate and Transport in a Conventional Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Installed in a Clay Soil: Experimental Results

Relationships between N transport and hydraulic function of onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTSs) in clay‐textured soils are largely unknown. The objectives of this study were to quantify N concentrations in a clay soil and estimate denitrification in the vadose zone beneath a conventional OWTS. An OWTS installed in the Piedmont region of Georgia was dosed with residential strength wastewater three times per day for 2 yr. Soil near trench bottoms cycled between saturated and unsaturated conditions under the dosing schedule we used. Mean NH4–N concentrations decreased to <1 mg L−1 within 90 cm of trench bottoms due to adsorption, immobilization, and nitrification. Mean NO3–N concentrations increased as the drainfield matured and ranged from 10 to 25 mg L−1 near the end of the two year study period. Mean pressure heads and Cl− concentrations measured at 3.3 m and 6.6 m from trench inlets indicated that significantly more water infiltrated the drainfield at the 3.3 m position. Wet conditions at the 3.3 m position may have restricted nitrification, while dry conditions at the 6.6 m caused rapid nitrification. Nitrogen:chloride ratios suggested that 61% of N entering the drainfield was lost, potentially as volatile N‐species. The 30‐cm zone directly beneath the trenches had high biomass N and C contents (15 mg kg−1 N and 60 mg kg−1 C) and was presumably the most biologically active zone. The fate and transport of N was dynamic in this system due to variable moisture conditions near the trench‐soil interface which may have intermittently stimulated denitrification.
The opinions and feelings about their educational needs and role of familial caregivers of Parkinson’s Disease patients: a qualitative study

Background and aim of the work. In the advanced stages of Parkinson’s Disease, patients need complex care and support, especially at home, where they often receive assistance by familial caregivers. However, caregivers may be or feel unable to cope with their role and, despite the needs of caregivers are often assessed in the literature, their opinions and feelings about these needs are not widely explored yet. This study aimed at exploring the opinions and feelings about their educational needs and role of familial caregivers of Parkinson’s Disease patients. Methods. A qualitative study was conducted from October to December 2017 in a polyclinic of central Italy. Fourteen caregivers voluntarily participated in the study; semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted, and audio recorded until data saturation. Two investigators reviewed the transcribed notes, created Meaning Units, Sub-categories and finally the Categories with emerged themes. Results. The analysis of the 14 interviews generated three categories: supportiveness of healthcare educational programs; sense of inability to manage caregiver tasks; need for interaction with other familial caregivers. Conclusions. The caregivers declared their belief that healthcare educational courses can be useful in helping them live and understand the caregiving tasks and expressed their need to share their experiences with other caregivers. In fact, they often they felt abandoned and poorly trained for the patient’s management at the home. The clinical practice should allow healthcare professionals to meet the training and emotional needs of caregivers and create a trust relationship with them to make caregivers skilled in caring for patients. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Bacteremia due to Streptococcus gallolyticus: A Name with an Ominous Significance?

Abstract Streptococcus bovis is an underrecognized agent of systemic infections. It underwent reclassification into different subtypes and is currently termed as Streptococcus gallolyticus. Bacteremia due to S. gallolyticus has been traditionally associated with colon cancer or hepatobiliary disease and can result in endocarditis. Detection of S. gallolyticus in blood cultures prompts a thorough clinical evaluation in order to clarify the source of the bloodstream infection and the presence of complications. Subspeciation is crucial to understand the disease association, which is now possible with the use of phenotypic detection methods, such as, Vitek 2. The retrospective study by Niyas et al. serves to call attention to this organism and optimal approach to management. How to cite this article: Soman R, Eashwernath R. Bacteremia due to Streptococcus gallolyticus: A Name with an Ominous Significance? Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(10):901–902.
Microscopy with Fluorescent Light

The principles of fluorescent microscopy are discussed, together with the apparatus necessary for its study. Specially necessary is a lamp giving radiation in the ultraviolet, with filters to remove most of the visible light. Some histological structures have a natural fluorescence and may be studied directly. In other instances fluorescence is induced by the addition of various activating substances (usually dyes) known as fluorochromes. A list of commercial preparations of this sort is given, together with the type of fluorescence which they induce in various histological structures.
Surface structure change of a [Pt4(µ-CH3COO)8]/SiO2 catalyst active for the decomposition of formic acid

Pt4-cluster/SiO2catalyst, prepared from the [Pt4(µ-CH3COO)8] cluster, has shown remarkably high catalytic activity with 100% selectivity to CO2 and H2 for the decomposition of formic acid as compared with the Pt-particle/SiO2 catalyst. In order to elucidate the genesis and the mechanism for catalysis by Pt4-cluster/SiO2, the samples were characterized by kinetics, Pt LIII-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and FTIR spectroscopy. EXAFS and IR data revealed that the surface structure of the catalyst changed from the tetramer to dimers during an induction period, then to monomers which were active for the catalysis. Eventually Pt particles were formed which were of much lower catalytic activity. The structural transformations of the Pt4-cluster/SiO2 catalyst are discussed in relation to the catalytic reaction profiles.
C5a complement and cytokine signaling mediate the pronociceptive effects of complex regional pain syndrome patient IgM in fracture mice.

It has been proposed that Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a post-traumatic autoimmune disease. Previously we observed that B cells contribute to CRPS-like changes in a mouse tibia fracture model, and that early (< 12 months duration) CRPS patient IgM antibodies have pronociceptive effects in the skin and spinal cord of muMT fracture mice lacking B cells. The current study evaluated the pronociceptive effects of intraplantar or intrathecal injections of early CRPS IgM (5ug) in muMT fracture mice. Skin and lumbar spinal cord were collected for immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses. Wildtype mice exhibited post fracture increases in complement component C5a and its receptor expression in skin and spinal cord, predominantly on dermal macrophages and spinal microglia. Intraplantar IgM injection caused nociceptive sensitization in muMT fracture mice with increased complement component C1q and inflammatory cytokine expression, and these IgM effects were blocked by a C5a receptor antagonist (PMX53) or a global cytokine inhibitor (pentoxifylline). Intrathecal IgM injection also had pronociceptive effects with increased spinal cytokine expression, effects that were blocked by PMX53 or pentoxifylline treatment. Intrathecal injection of chronic (> 12 months duration) CRPS patient IgM (but not IgG) caused nociceptive sensitization in muMT fracture mice, but intraplantar injection of chronic CRPS IgM or IgG had no effect. We postulate that CRPS IgM antibodies bind to neoantigens in the fracture limb skin and corresponding spinal cord to activate C5a complement signaling in macrophages and microglia, evoking proinflammatory cytokine expression contributing to nociceptive sensitization in the injured limb.
Injektionsbestimmte Defektelektronenströme in Anthracenkristallen

In Anthracenkristallen (Harshaw) wurden Dunkelstrome parallel zur ab-Ebene gemessen. Die Kontaktierung erfolgte mit Leitsilber. Eine spezielle Anordnung gestattete die Variierung der Elektrodentemperatur unabhangig von der Temperatur des Kristallvolumens. Es zeigte sich, das der stationare Kristallstrom nur von der Temperatur der Anode abhangt. Die zugehorige Aktivierungsenergie betragt 0,7 eV. Die Injektion von Defektelektronen mus daher geschwindigkeitsbestimmend fur den Leitungsmechanismus sein. Sattigungsverhalten wurde nicht beobachtet, da die Injektionsrate angenahert proportional der Feldstarke anwachst. Der Strom ist unabhangig von der Driftgeschwindigkeit der Ladungstrager, so das Einfang- und Ausheizeffekte, die von der Lage des Fermi-Niveaus fur Locher abhangen, keine Rolle spielen. Schlieslich wird gezeigt, das wahrscheinlich alle fruher gemessenen Dunkelstrome in Anthracen injektionsbestimmt waren. Dark currents parallel to the ab-plane in anthracene crystals (Harshaw) are measured. The contacts are formed with silver-paste, and the temperature of the electrodes is varied independently from the temperature of the bulk. The observed stationary current is found to depend only on the temperature of the anode. The activation energy is 0.7 eV. It is therefore concluded that the conduction is determined by hole injection. No saturation effects are obtained because the injection is increasing approximately linearily with the field. The current is independent of the drift-velocity of the carriers, i.e. trapping and thermal release, depending on the height of the Fermi-level for holes, have no effect. Finally, it is suggested that all dark currents formerly measured in anthracene were injection currents.
Association of Interleukin-6 Levels and Futile Reperfusion After Mechanical Thrombectomy

Objective To assess whether interleukin-6 (IL-6) level is a marker of futile reperfusion in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large vessel occlusion treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Methods The Cohort of Patients to Identify Biological and Imaging Markers of Cardiovascular Outcomes in Stroke (HIBISCUS-STROKE) includes patients with AIS treated with MT after MRI. We performed a sequential assessment of IL-6 (admission, 6 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours and 3 months from admission). Among patients with successful reperfusion (Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction scale 2b/3), reperfusion was considered effective if 3-month modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score was 0 to 2 and futile if 3-month mRS score was 3 to 6. Our model was adjusted for the main confounding variables. Results One hundred sixty-four patients represent the study population. One hundred thirty-three patients had successful reperfusion (81.1%), while in 46 (34.6%), reperfusion was classified as futile. In single-variable analyses, high IL-6 levels at 6, 24, and 48 hours in combination with a higher age, a prestroke mRS score >2, a history of hypertension or diabetes, lack of current smoking, a higher baseline NIH Stroke Scale score, the absence of associated intravenous thrombolysis, an intracranial internal carotid artery or a tandem occlusion, and an increased infarct growth were associated with futile reperfusion. After multivariable analyses, a high IL-6 level at 24 hours (odds ratio 6.15, 95% confidence interval 1.71–22.10) remained associated with futile reperfusion. Conclusions IL-6 is a marker of futile reperfusion in the setting of MT.
On Root Detection Strategies for Android Devices

The Android operating system runs on the majority of smartphones nowadays. Its success is driven by its availability to a variety of smartphone hardware vendors on the one hand, and the customization possibilities given to its users on the other hand. While other big smartphone operating systems restrict user configuration to a given set of functionality, Android users can leverage the whole potential of their devices. This high degree of customization enabled by a process called rooting, where the users escalate their privileges to those of the operating system, introduces security, data integrity and privacy concerns. Several rooting detection mechanisms for Android devices already exist, aimed at different levels of detection. This paper introduces further strategies derived from the Linux ecosystem and outlines their usage on the Android platform. In addition, we present a novel remote rooting detection approach aimed at trust and integrity checks between devices in wireless networks.
Comparative transcriptome and metabolome analyses of two strawberry cultivars with different storability

Postharvest storability is an important trait for breeding strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.). We evaluated the postharvest fruit quality of five strawberry cultivars (‘Durihyang’, ‘Kingsberry’, ‘Maehyang’, ‘Seolhyang’, and ‘Sunnyberry’) and identified differences in their fruit ripening during the transition from the big-green to fully-red stage between two cultivars with the highest (‘Sunnyberry’) and lowest (‘Kingsberry’) storability, using comparative transcriptome and -metabolome analysis. The differentially expressed genes revealed transcriptome changes related to anthocyanin biosynthesis and cell walls. Consistently, the metabolites of both cultivars showed general changes during ripening along with cultivar-specific characteristics in sugar and amino acid profiles. To identify the genes responsible for storability differences, we surveyed the expression of transcription factors, and found that the expression levels of WRKY31, WRKY70, and NAC83 correlated with delayed senescence and increased storability. Among them, the expression levels of NAC83, and its downstream target genes, in the five cultivars suggested that NAC83 expression can be used to predict postharvest strawberry fruit storability.
Radar Artifact Labeling Framework (RALF): Method for Plausible Radar Detections in Datasets

Research on localization and perception for Autonomous Driving is mainly focused on camera and LiDAR datasets, rarely on radar data. Manually labeling sparse radar point clouds is challenging. For a dataset generation, we propose the cross sensor Radar Artifact Labeling Framework (RALF). Automatically generated labels for automotive radar data help to cure radar shortcomings like artifacts for the application of artificial intelligence. RALF provides plausibility labels for radar raw detections, distinguishing between artifacts and targets. The optical evaluation backbone consists of a generalized monocular depth image estimation of surround view cameras plus LiDAR scans. Modern car sensor sets of cameras and LiDAR allow to calibrate image-based relative depth information in overlapping sensing areas. K-Nearest Neighbors matching relates the optical perception point cloud with raw radar detections. In parallel, a temporal tracking evaluation part considers the radar detections' transient behavior. Based on the distance between matches, respecting both sensor and model uncertainties, we propose a plausibility rating of every radar detection. We validate the results by evaluating error metrics on semi-manually labeled ground truth dataset of $3.28\cdot10^6$ points. Besides generating plausible radar detections, the framework enables further labeled low-level radar signal datasets for applications of perception and Autonomous Driving learning tasks.
Material Recognition via Heat Transfer Given Ambiguous Initial Conditions

Humans and robots can recognize materials with distinct thermal effusivities by making physical contact and observing temperatures during heat transfer. This works well with room temperature materials, yet research has shown that contact with distinct materials can result in similar temperatures and confusion when one material is heated or cooled. To thoroughly investigate this form of ambiguity, we designed a psychophysical experiment in which a participant discriminates between two materials given initial conditions that result in similar temperatures (i.e., ambiguous initial conditions). In this article, we conducted a study with 32 human participants and a robot. Humans and the robot confused the materials. We also found that robots can overcome this ambiguity using two temperature sensors with different temperatures prior to contact. We support this conclusion based on a mathematical proof using a heat transfer model and empirical results in which a robot achieved 100% accuracy compared to 5% human accuracy. Our results also indicate that robots with a single temperature sensor can use subtle cues to outperform humans. Overall, our work provides insights into challenging conditions for material recognition via heat transfer, and suggests methods by which robots can overcome these challenges.
Factors for Blood Transfusions Following Hemi Hip Arthroplasty for Patients With Femoral Neck Fracture

Background: Hemi hip arthroplasty is one treatment option for femoral neck fractures; however, there has been limited evidence on factors associated with blood transfusions following hemi hip arthroplasty. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify the predictors of blood transfusion after hemi hip arthroplasty, which could lead to the establishment of proper guidelines for management protocols. Materials and Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort study, conducted in a single center of 323 femoral neck fracture patients having undergone hemi hip arthroplasty. Peri-operative factors and demographic data were extracted from the electronic medical records, from 2007 to 2019. A predictive model was developed by logistic regression (LR), and adjusted by multivariate logistic regression. Result: One hundred and twenty-six (39%) patients received blood transfusions. On multivariate analysis, those of a female gender (odds ratio (OR) 2.00, p = 0.037), having a body mass index lower than 18.5 kg/m2 (OR 2.40, p = 0.028), lower preoperative hemoglobin levels (OR 0.52, p < 0.001) and given general anesthesia (OR 2.07, p = 0.028) were shown to be significantly associated with a higher risk of requiring a blood transfusion. Conclusion: The authors recommend that preparation of blood components coupled with the utilization of blood conserving methods for high risk patients, as studies have stated, in addition to the consideration of spinal anesthesia; if patients have no contraindication, should be implemented.
Complement Activation in the Treatment of B-Cell Malignancies

Unconjugated monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have revolutionized the treatment of B-cell malignancies. These targeted drugs can activate innate immune cytotoxicity for therapeutic benefit. mAb activation of the complement cascade results in complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and complement receptor-mediated antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (cADCP). Clinical and laboratory studies have showed that CDC is therapeutically important. In contrast, the biological role and clinical effects of cADCP are less well understood. This review summarizes the available data on the role of complement activation in the treatment of mature B-cell malignancies and proposes future research directions that could be useful in optimizing the efficacy of this important class of drugs.