Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data-driven damage diagnosis under environmental and operational variability by novel statistical pattern recognition methods

Feature extraction by time-series analysis and decision making through distance-based methods are powerful and efficient statistical pattern recognition techniques for data-driven structural health monitoring. The motivation of this article is to propose an innovative residual-based feature extraction approach based on AutoRegressive modeling and a novel statistical distance method named as Partition-based Kullback–Leibler Divergence for damage detection and localization by using randomly high-dimensional damage-sensitive features under environmental and operational variability. The key novel element of the proposed feature extraction approach is to establish a two-stage offline and online learning algorithms for extracting the residuals of AutoRegressive model as the main damage-sensitive features. This technique brings the great benefit of reducing the computational time and storage space for feature extraction in long-term monitoring conditions. The major contribution of Partition-based Kullback–Leibler Divergence method is to exploit a partitioning strategy for dividing random features into individual partitions and utilize numerical information of partitioning in distance calculation rather than directly applying random samples. Dealing with the major challenging issue of using the high-dimensional features in decision making and applicability to both correlated and uncorrelated random datasets are the main advantages of Partition-based Kullback–Leibler Divergence method. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed approaches are experimentally validated by two well-known benchmark structures. The stationarity and linearity of measured vibration responses for using in AutoRegressive modeling are evaluated by two hypothesis tests. Comparative studies are also conducted to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed methods over some exciting state-of-the-art techniques. Results show that the methods presented here succeed in detecting and locating damage and make time-saving and efficient tools for feature extraction and damage diagnosis.
Model Predictive Control of Central Chiller Plant With Thermal Energy Storage Via Dynamic Programming and Mixed-Integer Linear Programming

— This work considers the optimal scheduling problem for a campus central plant equipped with a bank of multiple elec- trical chillers and a thermal energy storage (TES). Typically, the chillers are operated in ON/OFF modes to charge TES and supply chilled water to satisfy the campus cooling demands. A bilinear model is established to describe the system dynamics of the central plant. A model predictive control (MPC) problem is formulated to obtain optimal set-points to satisfy the campus cooling demands and minimize daily electricity cost. At each time step, the MPC problem is represented as a large-scale mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem. We propose a heuristic algorithm to obtain suboptimal solutions for it via dynamic programming (DP) and mixed integer linear programming (MILP). The system dynamics is linearized along the simulated trajectories of the system. The optimal TES operation pro ﬁ le is obtained by solving a DP problem at every horizon, and the optimal chiller operations are obtained by solving an MILP problem at every time step with a ﬁ xed TES operation pro ﬁ le. Simulation results show desired performance and computational tractability of the proposed algorithm. Note to Practitioners —This work was motivated by the supervisory control need for a campus central plant. Plant operators have to decide a scheduling strategy to mix and match various chillers with a thermal energy storage to satisfy the campus cooling demands, while minimizing the operation cost. This work mathematically characterizes the system dynamics of a campus central plant and establishes a linear model to predict campus cooling load. It proposes a model predictive control (MPC) strategy to optimally schedule the campus central plant based on plant system dynamics and predicted campus cooling load. A heuristic algorithm is proposed to obtain suboptimal solutions for the MPC problem. The effectiveness and ef ﬁ ciency of the proposed approach are well demonstrated for the central plant at the University of California, Irvine.
Effect of Altitudinal Gradients on the Content of Carbohydrate, Protein, Proline and Total Phenols of Some Desert Plants in Saint Katherine Mountain, South Sinai, Egypt

: The present study was carried out to show the effect of altitudinal gradients on total soluble carbohydrate, water soluble protein, proline and total phenols of five plant species in Saint Katherine Mountain under natural conditions. All Analyses were carried out through five different altitudes viz., 1800 m a.s. l. , 2000m a.s. l. , 2200 m a.s. l. , 2400 m a.s. l. & 2600 m a.s. l. for five species ( Nepeta septemcrenata , Seriphidium herba album , Tanacetum sinaicum , Ballota undulate & Teucrium polium ). An obvious variation was recorded as regards the biochemical constituents of the plants among the different elevation ranks in all species. The maximum value of total soluble carbohydrate was recorded in Teucrium polium at elevation from 1800-2000, while the maximum value of water soluble protein was recorded in Nepeta septemcrenata at elevation from 1800-2000. At the same time, Seriphidium herba-album attained the maximum value of free proline at elevation from 2200-2400 and the maximum value of total phenols at elevation from 1800-2000.
The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009—Key Findings

Like the clothes in their suitcases, the technologies students bring to campus change every year. Occasionally, the change can be dramatic. It’s hard to believe, but when the college seniors we surveyed for this year’s study began their education four years ago, netbooks, iPhones, and the Nintendo Wii had yet to hit the market. When they went home for the holidays during their freshman year, some returned with a brand new game called Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2, and some may have been lucky enough to score a $250 4-GB iPod nano or an ultrathin digital camera. Today’s freshmen have mobile phones that hold more songs than that 4-GB nano, and they can use them to take digital photos and videos of the same quality as the $400 camera today’s seniors got for their high school graduation.
kshv-mir-k12-1-5p promotes cell growth and metastasis by targeting SOCS6 in Kaposi ’ s sarcoma cells

Background: Kaposi ’ s sarcoma (KS) is a highly disseminated angiogenic tumour of endothelial cells. Many deregulated miRNAs, including kshv-mir-k12-1-5p, have been identi ﬁ ed in KS. kshv-mir-k12-1-5p plays important roles in KS. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the exact functions of kshv-mir-k12-1-5p in KS cells. Materials and methods: The biological functions of kshv-mir-k12-1-5p were studied using CCK-8, apoptosis, migration and invasion assays. Bioinformatics software was used to identify the target gene (SOCS6) of kshv-mir-k12-1-5p. A dual luciferase assay, Western blot (WB) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) were performed to further verify the target gene. The underlying molecular mechanisms of kshv-mir-k12-1-5p in KS cells were also explored. Results: kshv-mir-k12-1-5p can promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of KS cells and inhibit cell apoptosis. Suppressor of cytokine signalling 6 (SOCS6) was identi ﬁ ed as a direct target of kshv-mir-k12-1-5p, and kshv-mir-k12-1-5p can downregulate SOCS6 expression. In addition, knockdown of SOCS6 rescued the effects of kshv-mir-k12-1-5p inhibitor. Hence, a direct relationship between kshv-mir-k12-1-5p and SOCS6 was con ﬁ rmed. Conclusions: kshv-mir-k12-1-5p promotes the malignant phenotype of KS cells by targeting SOCS6, suggesting that kshv-mir-k12-1-5p could be a potential therapeutic target for KS.
LNIT-Local nasal immunotherapy in allergic rhinitis: revisited evidence and perspectives

Purpose of review Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a personalized treatment approach for the allergic airway disease. The most common routes of administration are subcutaneous and sublingual. Local nasal immunotherapy (LNIT) presents another alternative route for allergen desensitization. Nasal mucosa is the first entry site of pathogens and numerous lymphoid organs are located in this area, making LNIT a favorable method for triggering immune tolerance. LNIT has shown promising results in reducing symptoms and medication use in allergic rhinitis patients. Over time, difficulties in dosing adjustments have made this method less popular. Recent advances in intranasal drug delivery systems warrant re-examination of LNIT as a viable option for the treatment of the allergic airway disease. Recent findings The scope of the review includes evidences of LNIT in human trials including comparison with placebo and conventional method of immunotherapy. Recent articles regarding the mechanism of LNIT and the challenges of intranasal drug delivery are reviewed. Advances in the LNIT delivery system which have overcome previous limitations demonstrate promising effects. Summary LNIT presents a judicious alternative for noninjection AIT. The evidences from previous clinical trials and the novel improvement of drug delivery system will lead into the future allergen vaccine production.
Maternal perception of fetal movements: onset and associated factors

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine the onset of fetal movements’ perception and to identify parameters that affect this timing. Methods This was a prospective cohort study including singleton pregnancies that attended routine prenatal care, in a tertiary care center, in northern Greece, between January 2020 and July 2021. We collected data on medical and obstetric history, and invited women to record the time that they perceived the fetal movements for the first time, that being the primary outcome of the study. Furthermore, we studied the associations between this timing and several obstetric and sociodemographic parameters. Results In total, 2,009 women participated in the study. The mean gestational age at first perception of fetal movements was 19 weeks (±1.5). This ranged from as early as 14+0–14+6 weeks (0.1%) to 24+0–24+6 weeks (0.1%). The majority of women (73.3%) reported initial perception of fetal movements between 18+0 and 20+6 weeks. Following multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found that nulliparity (OR: 2.607; 95% CI: 1.876–3.622; p<0.001), anterior placental position (OR: 1.918; 95% CI: 1.575–2.336; p<0.001), increasing body mass index (OR: 1.063; 95% CI: 1.040–1.088; p=0.001) and advancing maternal age (OR: 1.062; 95% CI: 1.040–1.084; p<0.001) were associated with a delayed perception of fetal movements. Multiparous women reported the onset of fetal movements almost one week earlier on average (18.6±1.4 weeks) compared to nulliparous (19.4±1.4 weeks; MD: 0.843; 95% CI: 0.718–0.968; p<0.001). Conclusions The onset of maternal perception of fetal movements is around 19 weeks and this timing may be delayed by higher maternal age, higher body mass index, nulliparity and anterior placental position.
[18F]FDG brain uptake of C57Bl/6 male mice is affected by locomotor activity after cocaine use: A small animal positron emission tomography study

We verified if cocaine‐induced peripheral activation might disrupt [18F]FDG brain uptake after a cocaine challenge and suggested an optimal protocol to measure cocaine‐induced brain metabolic alterations in mice. C57Bl/6 male mice were injected with [18F]FDG and randomly separated into three groups. Groups 1 and 2 were kept conscious after [18F]FDG administration and after 5 min received saline or cocaine (20 mg/kg). The animals in group 1 (n = 5) were then evaluated in the open field for 30 min and those from group 2 (n = 6) were kept alone in a home cage for the same period. Forty‐five minutes after [18F]FDG administration, images were acquired for 30 min. Group 3 (n = 6) was kept anesthetized and image acquisition started immediately after tracer injection, for 75 min. Saline (Day 1) or cocaine (Day 2) was injected 5 min after starting acquisition. Another set of animals (n = 5) were treated with cocaine every other day for 10 days or saline (n = 6) and were scanned with the dynamic protocol to verify its efficacy. [18F]FDG uptake increased after cocaine administration when compared to baseline only in animals kept under anesthesia. No brain effect of cocaine was observed in animals submitted to the open field or kept in the home cage. The use of anesthesia is essential to visualize cocaine‐induced changes in brain metabolism by [18F]FDG PET, providing an interesting preclinical approach to investigate naïve subjects and enabling a bidirectional translational science approach for better understanding of cocaine use disorder.
Comparison of EM and Multiple Imputation Methods with Traditional Methods in Monotone Missing Pattern

Complete-case analysis is easy to carry out and it may be fine with small amount of missing data. However, this method is not recommended in general because the estimates are usually biased and not efficient. There are numerous alternatives to complete-case analysis. A natural alternative procedure is available-case analysis. Available-case analysis uses all cases that contain the variables required for a specific task. The EM algorithm is a general approach for computing maximum likelihood estimates of parameters from incomplete data. These methods and multiple imputation(MI) are reviewed and the performances are compared by simulation studies in monotone missing pattern.
Fully Connected Networks on a Diet With the Mediterranean Matrix Multiplication

This article proposes the Mediterranean matrix multiplication, a new, simple and practical randomized algorithm that samples angles between the rows and columns of two matrices with sizes <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m, n, $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$p$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to approximate matrix multiplication in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O(k(mn+np+mp))$ </tex-math></inline-formula> steps, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is a constant only related to the precision desired. The number of instructions carried out is mainly bounded by bitwise operators, amenable to a simplified processing architecture and compressed matrix weights. Results show that the method is superior in size and number of operations to the standard approximation with signed matrices. Equally important, this article demonstrates a first application to machine learning inference by showing that weights of fully connected layers can be compressed between <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$30\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$100\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> with little to no loss in inference accuracy. The requirements for pure floating-point operations are also down as our algorithm relies mainly on simpler bitwise operators.
Psychische Belastung und ihre Folgen für die Krankheitskosten – eine Längsschnittstudie in Deutschland

Zusammenfassung Ziel der Studie Die Studie verfolgt das Ziel, die Effekte der psychischen Belastung auf die Höhe und die Zusammensetzung der Krankheitskosten (ambulante Kosten, Krankenhauskosten, Rehabilitationskosten, Arzneimittelkosten) im Zeitverlauf zu überprüfen. Methodik Im Längsschnittdesign untersuchten wir die psychische Belastung von 3.287 Studienteilnehmern der erwachsenen Allgemeinbevölkerung anhand der Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) und ihren Effekt auf die Höhe und die Zusammensetzung der Krankheitskosten aufgrund von psychischen Erkrankungen im Jahr der Befragung t0 und den beiden Folgejahren [t1] {t2}. Ergebnisse Im Vergleich zur Referenzgruppe, die keine psychischen Belastungen aufweist, waren die Krankheitskosten in der Gruppe mit geringen psychischen Belastungen um den Faktor 2,0 [2,2] {1,5}, bei jenen mit moderater psychischer Belastung um den Faktor 3,7 [4,2] {3,1} und bei jenen mit schweren psychischen Belastungen um den Faktor 7,5 [9,0] {5,2} signifikant erhöht. Im Zeitverlauf zeigten sich signifikante Effekte auf die Krankheitskosten nur an den beiden äußeren Rändern der psychischen Belastungsgrade (keine und schwere psychische Belastungen) mit einer Tendenz zur Mitte. Mit zunehmendem Grad psychischer Belastung dominierten Krankenhauskosten die Gesamtkosten aufgrund psychischer Belastung und der Anteil der ambulanten Krankheitskosten an den Gesamtkosten nahm ab. Schlussfolgerung Mit dem Grad psychischer Belastung steigen die Krankheitskosten steil an. Die Progredienz psychischer Erkrankungen zu verhindern, ist deshalb nicht nur aus individueller, sondern auch aus gesundheitsökonomischer Perspektive bedeutsam.
Radiographic Contrast Media and the Kidney

AKI is a potential complication of intravascular iodinated contrast exposure. Contrast-associated AKI, which typically manifests as small and transient decrements in kidney function that develop within several days of contrast administration, is associated with serious adverse outcomes, including progressive kidney dysfunction and death. However, a causal link between the small increases in serum creatinine that characteristically occur with contrast-associated AKI and serious adverse outcomes remains unproven. This is important given mounting evidence that clinically indicated, potentially lifesaving radiographic procedures are underutilized in patients with CKD. This has been hypothesized to be related to provider concern about precipitating contrast-associated AKI. Intravascular gadolinium-based contrast, an alternative to iodinated contrast that is administered with magnetic resonance imaging, has also been linked with potential serious adverse events, notably the development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with severe impairment in kidney function. Patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit frequently have clinical indications for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures that involve the intravascular administration of contrast media. Accordingly, critical care providers and others treating critically ill patients should possess a sound understanding of the risk factors for and incidence of such outcomes, the ability to perform evidence-based risk-benefit assessments regarding intravascular contrast administration, and knowledge of empirical data on the prevention of these iatrogenic complications.
Dispersion of synonymous codon usage patterns in hepatitis E virus genomes derived from various hosts

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important zoonotic pathogen infecting a wide range of host species. It has a positive‐sense, single‐stranded RNA genome encoding three open reading frames (ORFs). Synonymous codon usages of viruses essentially determine their survival and adaptation to susceptible hosts. To better understand the interplay between the ever‐expanding host range and synonymous codon usages of HEV, we quantified the dispersion of synonymous codon usages of HEV genomes isolated from different hosts via Vs calculation and information entropy. HEV ORFs show species‐specific synonymous codon usage patterns. Ruminant‐derived HEV ORFs own the most synonymous codons with stable usage patterns (Vs value <0.1) which leads to the stable overall codon usage patterns (R value being close to zero). Swine‐derived HEV ORFs own more concentrated synonymous codons than those from wild boar. Compared with HEV strains isolated from other hosts, the human‐derived HEV exhibits a distinct pattern at the overall codon usage (R < 0). Generally, ORF1 contains more synonymous codons with stable usage patterns (Vs < 0.1) than those of ORFs 2 and 3. Moreover, ORF3 contains more synonymous codons with varied patterns (Vs > 1.0) than ORFs 1 and 2. The host factor serving as one of the evolutionary dynamics probably influences synonymous codon usage patterns of the HEV genome. Taken together, synonymous codons with stable usage patterns in ORF1 might help to sustain the infection, while that with varied usage patterns in ORF3 may facilitate cross‐species infection and expand the host range.
The structure and functional mechanism of eyespot in Chlamydomonas

Light plays a crucial role in photosynthesis, photoperiodism, and photomorphogenesis. Algae have a specialized visual system to perceive the light signal known as eyespot. A typical eyespot is an orange‐colored, membranous structure packed with pigmented granules. In algae, the eyespot membrane bears a specialized type of photoreceptors, which shows similarity with animal rhodopsin photoreceptors. This light‐sensing receptor is responsible for the photo‐mobility response known as phototaxis. In this, light acts as a signal for onset and cascade of downstream signal transduction pathway leading to a conformational change in photoreceptor. This induces the continuous influx of calcium ions through the opening of calcium ion channels leading to membrane depolarization, and beating of flagella which is responsible for phototaxis. Mutational studies have assisted the discovery of eyespot genes, which are involved in eyespot development, assembly, size control, and functioning in Chlamydomonas. These genes belong to photoreceptors (cop1‐12, acry, pcry, cry‐dash1, cry‐dash2, phot, uvr8), eyeless mutants (eye2, eye3), miniature‐eyespot mutants (min1, min2), multiple eyespot mutants (mlt1, mlt2). This review discusses the structural biology of eyespots with special reference to Chlamydomonas, molecular insights, related genes, and proteins responsible for its proper functioning.
Self-antigens, benign autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes: a beta-cell and T-cell perspective

Purpose of review Recent work using immunopeptidomics and deconvolution of the antigenic reactivity of islet-infiltrating CD8+ T cells has expanded our knowledge about the autoimmune target epitopes of type 1 diabetes. The stem-like properties of autoimmune CD8+ T cells have also been described. We here propose a possible link between these findings. Recent findings Weak major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-binding epitopes list among the major targets of human islet-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, likely resulting in low peptide-MHC presentation that delivers weak T-cell receptor (TCR) signals, especially in the face of low-affinity autoimmune TCRs. These weak TCR signals may favor the maintenance of the partially differentiated stem-like phenotype recently described for islet-reactive CD8+ T cells in the blood and pancreatic lymph nodes. These weak TCR signals may also be physiological, reflecting the need for self-peptide-MHC contacts to maintain homeostatic T-cell survival and proliferation. These features may underlie the universal state of benign autoimmunity that we recently described, which is characterized by islet-reactive, naïve-like CD8+ T cells circulating in all individuals. Summary These observations provide novel challenges and opportunities to develop circulating T-cell biomarkers for autoimmune staging. Therapeutic halting of islet autoimmunity may require targeting of stem-like T cells to blunt their self-regeneration.