Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm for random finite set based multi-target tracking

The multi target tracking (MTT) problem is essentially that of estimating the presence and associated time trajectories of moving objects based on measurements from a variety of sensors. Tracking a large number of unknown targets which move close and cross each other such as biological cells becomes difficult. The targets being tracked may randomly appear and disappear from the field of view, they may be temporarily obscured by other objects, may merge and split, may spawn other targets, and may cross or travel very close to each other for extended periods of time. Sensor measurements also present a number of challenging characteristics, such as noise which introduces location errors and may cause missed detection of targets, false measurements which do not belong to a valid target of interest, ghosting, misidentification etc. A new approach to this problem is proposed by first formulating the problem in a random set finite framework and then using the Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC) method for solving the problem. Under the random finite set (RFS) framework originally proposed by Mahler, a multi-target posterior distribution is propagated recursively via a Bayesian framework. The intractability of the posterior distribution is computed by using the PMCMC method that uses the sequential Monte Carlo outputs for the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. A RFS is a finite-set valued random variable. Alternatively, RFS can be interpreted as a random variable that is random in number of elements and in the values of these elements themselves and that the order of its elements is irrelevant. As a result, the RFS framework is a mathematically rigorous tool for capturing all uncertainties of its elements and its cardinality. With the uncertain properties of the MTT problem, the RFS framework is naturally used to formulate the MTT problem to capture the essence of MTT problem and then allows the multi-target posterior distribution to be propagated via a Bayesian framework. The first contribution of this dissertation is to derive the posterior distribution for the trajectories of the targets that is the special case for the multi-target posterior distribution. The multi-target posterior distribution is intractable so an approximation method such as PMCMC is required. PMCMC methods proposed by [4] use the Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) algorithm to design an efficient high dimensional proposal distribution for the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. The premise of this method is to sample from any distribution which has no closed form solution and which applying the traditional MCMC method or SMC method fails to give a reliable solution or is unfeasible on its own. The second contribution is to derive a RFS based PMCMC algorithm and implement this algorithm for the multi-target tracking problem when targets move close and/or cross each other in a dense environment and the number of targets is unknown.
An investigation of the Bell-type quantum nonlocality of spatially-entangled Fock states using homodyne detection

We investigate the quantum nonlocality of spatially-entangled two-mode Fock states of the form $(|m\ >_a|m'\ >_b+e^{i (m-m')\phi}|m'\ >_a|m\ >_b)/\sqrt{2}$, $m\neq m'$, with respect to the Bell-Clauser-Horne and Bell-Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequalities, using two well-known homodyne-based techniques. For a given total photon number $m+m'=N$, such states corresponding to different values of $m$ and $m'$ differ in their phase sensitivities in interferometric phase estimation. We explore the connection between their quantum nonlocality with respect to the above Bell's inequalities and sensitivity of phase estimation.
Perceptions Regarding Occupational Health and Safety Attitudes of Hospital Pharmacists in Ambulatory Care in Pakistan

Background: Standards for assessing and monitoring occupational health risks and safety measures for hospital pharmacists have been given prime importance in developed countries. However, occupational health and safety has often been neglected in developing countries. Lack of knowledge, poor training practices and insufficient resources are few of the reasons behind poor occupational health standards. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess perceptions regarding occupational health and safety attitudes of hospital pharmacists in ambulatory care in Pakistan. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. The study respondents included hospital pharmacists working in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Sample size was calculated to be 382 to achieve 95% confidence level with 5% margin of error. Convenient sampling technique was used to select respondents. A pre-validated tool Safety Attitudes Questionnaire-Ambulatory Version was used. Data was coded and analyzed using SPSS 21 after collection. Descriptive statistics comprising of frequency and percentages were calculated. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis (p ≥ 0.05) tests were applied according to different demographic variables. Results: Significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in perceptions of occupational health and safety attitudes in ambulatory care among respondents of different genders, cities, education level, age groups, experience, setting and salary. Females had poor safety attitudes in ambulatory care as compared to male respondents. Respondents having experience between 1-5 years had poor safety attitude as compared to other respondents. Respondents working in private sector had poor occupational health and safety attitudes as compared to those working in public sector. Conclusion: The present study concluded that hospital pharmacists working in ambulatory care had satisfactory occupational health and safety attitudes. Respondents agreed that they had made errors due to workplace pressures and workload. Trainings should be conducted to improve the occupational health and safety attitudes of hospital pharmacists in ambulatory care.
Accelerated Wound Healing in Diabetic Rat by miRNA-185-5p and Its Anti-Inflammatory Activity

Aim Addressing both inflammation and epithelialization during the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers is an important step, but current treatment options are limited. MiRNA has important prospects in the treatment of diabetic foot refractory wound ulcers. Previous studies have reported that miR-185-5p reduces hepatic glycogen production and fasting blood glucose levels. We herein hypothesized that miR-185-5p might play an important role in the field of diabetic foot wounds. Materials and Methods MiR-185-5p in skin tissue samples from patients with diabetic ulcers and diabetic rats were measured using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The streptozotocin-induced diabetes rat model (male Sprague-Dawley rats) for diabetic wound healing was conducted. The therapeutic potential was observed by subcutaneous injection of miR-185-5p mimic into diabetic rat wounds. The anti-inflammation roles of miR-185-5p on human dermal fibroblast cells were analyzed. Results We found that miR-185-5p is significantly downregulated in diabetic skin (people with DFU and diabetic rats) compared to controls. Further, in vitro upregulation of miR-185-5p decreased the inflammatory factors (IL-6, TNF-α) and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) of human skin fibroblasts under advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Meanwhile, the increase of miR-185-5p promoted cell migration. Our results also confirmed that the topical increase of miR-185-5p decreases diabetic wound p-nuclear factor-κB (p-NF-κB), ICAM-1, IL-6, TNF-α, and CD68 expression in diabetic wounds. MiR-185-5p overexpression boosted re-epithelization and expedited wound closure of diabetic rats. Conclusion MiR-185-5p accelerated wound healing of diabetic rats, reepithelization, and inhibited the inflammation of diabetic wounds in the healing process, a potentially new and valid treatment for refractory diabetic foot ulcers.
TLR4 Agonist MPLA Ameliorates Heavy-Ion Radiation Damage via Regulating DNA Damage Repair and Apoptosis

Heavy-ion radiation received during radiotherapy as well as the heavy-ion radiation received during space flight are equally considered harmful. Our previous study showed that TLR4 low toxic agonist, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA), alleviated radiation injury resulting from exposure to low-LET radiation. However, the role and mechanism of MPLA in heavy-ion-radiation injury are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of MPLA on radiation damage. Our data showed that MPLA treatment alleviated the heavy-ion-induced damage to microstructure and the spleen and testis indexes. The number of karyocytes in the bone marrow from the MPLA-treated group was higher than that in the irradiated group. Meanwhile, western blotting analysis of intestine proteins showed that pro-apoptotic proteins (cleaved-caspase3 and Bax) were downregulated while anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2) were upregulated in the MPLA-treated group. Our in vitro study demonstrated that MPLA significantly improved cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis after irradiation. Moreover, immunofluorescence staining and quantification of nucleic γ-H2AX and 53BP1 foci also suggested that MPLA significantly attenuated cellular DNA damage repair. Collectively, the above evidence supports the potential ability of MPLA to protect against heavy-ion-radiation injury by inhibiting apoptosis and alleviating DNA damage in vivo and vitro, which could be a promising medical countermeasure for the prevention of heavy-ion-radiation injury.
Use of Adolescent “Community Researchers” to Address Obesity Among Mexican Immigrant Families

Background: Mexican–American immigrants have a disparate prevalence of overweight/obesity, and obesogenic illness. One approach is to train immigrant adolescents as “community researchers. ” Aims: (1) Design a program to train community researchers to address obesity among Mexican immigrant families and (2) identify the key components of a successful program. Methods: The content included an overview of community research/citizen science; obesity and food insecurity; study design and data collection and analysis for nutrition and physical activity. The students concluded by analyzing the results of group concept mapping (GCM) activities. Results: Post-session class discussions reflected an increased understanding of weekly topics. Analysis of GCM data suggests that members of the Mexican immigrant community may use emotional eating as a way to manage structural stigma, eventually leading to truncal obesity, T2DM and increased cardiovascular risk. Conclusions: Adolescents of Mexican heritage can have a major impact in promoting healthy lifestyles in their communities.
The Quest for Laws and Structure

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate, on some concrete examples, the quest of theoretical physicists for new laws of Nature and for appropriate mathematical structures that enables them to formulate and analyze new laws in as simple terms as possible and to derive consequences therefrom. The examples are taken from thermodynamics, atomism and quantum theory.
Is diabetic retinopathy screening worthwhile among people first diagnosed with diabetes at older ages? A cohort study of Norfolk diabetic retinopathy screening programme

England's Diabetic Eye Disease Screening Programme offers screening to every resident over age 12 with diabetes, starting as soon as possible after diagnosis and repeated annually. People first diagnosed with diabetes at older ages have shorter life expectancy and therefore may be less likely to benefit from screening and treatment. To inform decisions about whether diabetic eye screening policy should be stratified by age, we investigated the probability of receiving treatment according to age at first screening episode.
The Impact of Cataracts on the Measurement of Macular Choriocapillaris Flow Deficits Using Swept-Source OCT Angiography

Purpose The impact of cataracts on the measurement of macular choriocapillaris flow deficits (CC FDs) was assessed by comparing the quantitative results before and after cataract surgery using an image quality algorithm developed for swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) scans and a validated strategy for quantifying the CC FDs. Methods SS-OCTA image quality scores and CC FDs measurements within the fovea-centered 1-mm, 3-mm, and 5-mm diameter circles were compared before and after cataract surgery. CC FDs changes in a modified Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid were further investigated. Results Twenty-four eyes were studied. Overall image quality in all three circles was observed to improve significantly following the removal of cataracts (all P < 0.05). Although there was good repeatability in the measurements of CC FDs at both visits (intraclass correlation coefficients were over 0.95), significant decreases in CC FD measurements were observed after surgery within the 1-mm circle (P < 0.001) and the 3-mm circle (P = 0.011), but no changes were observed within the 5-mm circle (P = 0.509) or any of the quadrant sectors of the modified ETDRS grid (all P > 0.05). Conclusions The presence of cataracts resulted in worse image quality and increased CC FD measurements within the fovea-centered 1-mm and 3-mm circles, with the 1-mm circle being impacted the most. Translational Relevance The impaired detection of CC perfusion deficits within the central macula of cataract eyes needs to be appreciated when imaging the CC in phakic eyes, especially in clinical trials.
Flow Control Using Unsteady Aerodynamic Sensitivity Analysis

The present paper deals with a method for the active flow control of compressible laminar/turbulent flows utilizing discrete aerodynamic sensitivity analysis. Unsteady discrete aerodynamic sensitivity equations are formulated. Unsteady sensitivity code and adjoint code are then developed by hand-differentiation from a two-dimensional unsteady covpressible Navier-Stokes solver via direct differentiation method and adjoint method, respectively. An algebraic turbulence model is also differentiated by hand for the accurate computation of sensitivity derivatives in turbulent flows. Active flow controls are efficiently carried out by minimizing an unsteady objective function defined at an instant instead of integrating a response for a period of time. Unsteady sensitivity derivatives of the objective function are calculated by the unsteady sensitivity codes, and optimization is conducted utilizing a linear line search method at every physical time step. Flow control of several unsteady problems including the vortex shedding control from a circular cylinder and airfoil shock buffet control shows very satisfactory results. The computed results validate that the present active flow control method utilizing unsteady sensitivity analysis is robust and problem-independent compared to previous approaches.
Bordetella bronchiseptica and Bordetella pertussis: Similarities and Differences in Infection, Immuno-Modulation, and Vaccine Considerations

Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica belong to the genus Bordetella, which comprises 14 other species. B. pertussis is responsible for whooping cough in humans, a severe infection in children and less severe or chronic in adults. These infections are restricted to humans and currently increasing worldwide. B. bronchiseptica is involved in diverse respiratory infections in a wide range of mammals. SUMMARY Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica belong to the genus Bordetella, which comprises 14 other species. B. pertussis is responsible for whooping cough in humans, a severe infection in children and less severe or chronic in adults. These infections are restricted to humans and currently increasing worldwide. B. bronchiseptica is involved in diverse respiratory infections in a wide range of mammals. For instance, the canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC), characterized by a chronic cough in dogs. At the same time, it is increasingly implicated in human infections, while remaining an important pathogen in the veterinary field. Both Bordetella can evade and modulate host immune responses to support their persistence, although it is more pronounced in B. bronchiseptica infection. The protective immune responses elicited by both pathogens are comparable, while there are important characteristics in the mechanisms that differ. However, B. pertussis pathogenesis is more difficult to decipher in animal models than those of B. bronchiseptica because of its restriction to humans. Nevertheless, the licensed vaccines for each Bordetella are different in terms of formulation, route of administration and immune responses induced, with no known cross-reaction between them. Moreover, the target of the mucosal tissues and the induction of long-lasting cellular and humoral responses are required to control and eliminate Bordetella. In addition, the interaction between both veterinary and human fields are essential for the control of this genus, by preventing the infections in animals and the subsequent zoonotic transmission to humans.
Historical land use patterns provide insight into contemporary insect diversity loss

Healthy insect populations are vital for maintaining natural ecosystems and essential to global food security. The ongoing dramatic loss of insect species and biomass is thus a global cause for concern, with much focus on this topic in the media. Yet, determining the mechanism behind these declines remains difficult, particularly when attempting to differentiate between anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity loss and long‐term natural fluctuations. In a From the Cover manuscript in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Crossley et al. (2022) examined the long‐term impact of land use change on freshwater insects by estimating levels of genetic diversity with publicly available data for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) mitochondrial locus from >700 aquatic insect species across the United States. Contemporary genetic diversity measures reflect both current and past demography and therefore are related to both past and present habitat change. Crossley et al. found that environments with greater cropland extent over the last 200 years were associated with lower genetic diversity in contemporary aquatic insect populations. This indicates that historical land use is an important factor in contemporary population dynamics. Most critically, in regions of historical cropland cover that have been converted towards other uses (such as urban environments) more recently, aquatic insect populations exhibited higher levels of genetic diversity, indicating a possible rebound in insect populations after cessation of agricultural activity. This study highlights the power of using publicly available data to answer crucial questions regarding the current biospheric emergency.
Red shifted spectral dependence of the SERS enhancement in a random array of gold nanoparticles covered with a silica shell: extinction versus scattering

We report on the spectral dependence of the SERS amplification in randomly distributed gold nanoparticle arrays grown by electron beam evaporation, covered with a thin shell of SiO2. Experiments carried out with six different laser lines highlight a remarkable red-shift between the optimal excitation wavelength (785 nm) and the localized plasmon resonance peak (560 nm) measured by extinction spectra. The different enhancement undergone by the vibrational peaks of the probe molecule is studied as a function of the excitation energy. The origin of such a shift is discussed in terms of the scattering efficiency of the gold nanoparticles.
Products of representations of the symmetric group and non-commutative versions

Products of Representations of the Symmetric Group and Non-Commutative Versions. (May 2008) Rivera Walter Moreira Rodriguez, B.S., Universidad de la República; M.S., Universidad de la República Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Marcelo Aguiar We construct a new operation among representations of the symmetric group that interpolates between the classical internal and external products, which are defined in terms of tensor product and induction of representations. Following Malvenuto and Reutenauer, we pass from symmetric functions to non-commutative symmetric functions and from there to the algebra of permutations in order to relate the internal and external products to the composition and convolution of linear endomorphisms of the tensor algebra. The new product we construct corresponds to the Heisenberg product of endomorphisms of the tensor algebra. For symmetric functions, the Heisenberg product is given by a construction which combines induction and restriction of representations. For non-commutative symmetric functions, the structure constants of the Heisenberg product are given by an explicit combinatorial rule which extends a well-known result of Garsia, Remmel, Reutenauer, and Solomon for the descent algebra. We describe the dual operation among quasi-symmetric functions in terms of alphabets.
Determination of the number of times for reuse of hemodialysis dialyzer through macrophage responses against dialyzer-eluted protein, a proposed method.

BACKGROUND Although the number of times dialyzer-reuse in hemodialysis is currently determined by the total volume of the dialyzer, the determination by macrophage activation using dialyzer-eluted protein might predict systemic inflammation. OBJECTIVE The pro-inflammatory activities of the proteins from 5- and 15-times reused dialyzers were tested as a proof of concept experiment. METHODS Accumulated proteins in dialyzers were eluted by the roller pump (the recirculation of 100 mL of buffer in a dialyzer with a roller pump at 15 mL/min for 2 h) or infusion procedures (infusion of 100 mL buffer in a dialyzer for 2 h) using chaotropic or potassium phosphate buffers (KPB) before the activation on macrophages cell lines (THP-1-derived human macrophages or RAW264.7 murine macrophages). RESULTS The concentrations of dialyzer-eluted protein from both methods were not different and the infusion procedure was further used. The eluted proteins (by both buffers) from 15-times-reused dialyzers reduced cell viability, increased supernatant cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6), and upregulated pro-inflammatory genes (IL-1β and iNOS) in either THP-1-derived or RAW264.7 macrophages (higher responses in RAW264.7 cells) compared with the new dialyzer. Meanwhile, the 5-times-reused dialyzer protein did not reduce cell viability but enhanced some of these pro-inflammatory macrophage markers. CONCLUSIONS Due to the simpler preparation of KPB over chaotropic buffer with an easier protocol of RAW264.7 over THP-1-derived macrophages, the responses of RAW264.7 against dialyzer-eluted protein with infusion method using KPB buffer were proposed for determination of the number of times dialyzer reuse in hemodialysis.