Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating immunohaematological profile among COVID-19 active infection and recovered patients in Ghana

Introduction The rapid spread of COVID-19 has been a global public health problem and it is yet to be put under control. Active COVID-19 is associated with unrestrained secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and imbalances in haematological profile including anaemia, leukocytosis and thrombocytopaenia. However, the haematological profile and immune status following recovery from COVID-19 has not been recognized. We evaluated the immunohaematological profile among COVID-19 patients with active infection, recovered cases and unexposed healthy individuals in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Methodology A total of 95 adult participants, consisting of 35 positive, 30 recovered and 30 unexposed COVID-19 negative individuals confirmed by RT-PCR were recruited for the study. All the patients had the complete blood count performed using the haematological analyzer Sysmex XN-1500. Their plasma cytokine levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) were analysed using ELISA. Statistical analyses were performed on R statistical software. Result The Patients with COVID-19 active infection had significantly higher levels of IL10 (181±6.14 pg/mL vs 155.00±14.32 pg/mL vs 158.80±11.70 pg/mL, p = 0.038), WBC count (5.5±0.4 x109 /L vs 4.5±0.6 x109 /L vs 3.8±0.5, p < 0.0001) and percentage basophil (1.8±0.1% vs 0.8±0.3% vs 0.7±0.2%, p = 0.0040) but significantly lower levels of IFN-γ (110.10±9.52 pg/mL vs 142.80±5.46 pg/mL vs 140.80±6.39 pg/mL, p = 0.021), haematocrit (24.1±3.7% vs 38.3± 3.0% vs 38.5±2.2%, p < 0.0001), haemoglobin concentration (9.4±0.1g/dl vs 12.5± 5.0g/dl vs 12.7±0.8, p < 0.0001) and MPV (9.8±0.2fL vs 11.1±0.5fL vs 11.6±0.3fL, p < 0.0001) compared to recovered and unexposed controls respectively. There were significant association between IL-1β & neutrophils (r = 0.42, p<0.05), IL-10 & WBC (r = 0.39, p<0.05), IL-10 & Basophils (r = -0.51, p<0.01), IL-17 & Neutrophil (r = 0.39, p<0.05) in the active COVID-19 cases. Conclusion COVID-19 active infection is associated with increased IL-10 and WBC with a concomitant decrease in IFN-γ and haemoglobin concentration. However, recovery from the disease is associated with immune recovery with appareantly normal haematological profile.
Preliminary assessment of the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) measurement onboard Himawari-8 geostationary satellite

The Japan Himawari-8 geostationary satellite was successfully launched into the geosynchronous orbit around 140°E on 17 October 2014. The Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) onboard the Himawari-8 has its channels 7–16 covering from the short- to the thermal-infrared bands, of which observations can be assimilated into a data assimilation system to improve the atmospheric analysis. Before conducting any AHI data assimilation experiments, it is the first and critical step to correctly quantify AHI bias and error variance, since these two variables are required in a data assimilation system. This study investigates the bias and the error variance of the AHI infrared measurements under clear-sky conditions by using a numerical weather prediction model and a radiative transfer model. Overall, AHI observations agree favourably with the model simulations. It is noted that channels 7–14 has a cold bias of approximately 1.0 K while the cold bias reaches around 2.0 ~ 3.0 K for the longwave Channel 15 and Channel 16. The sums of the observation and model error are about 1.5 K for three water vapour channels 8, 9, 10, and approximately 1.0 K for the remaining channels. The dependence of the bias on the scene temperature and scan angle is further investigated. It shows that a warm bias is negatively correlated with the scene temperature when the scene temperature is low for those surface-sensitive channels. Besides, linear regression tests between the bias and the sensor zenith angle shows that the fitting coefficient is less than 0.015 K/degree for all ten channels, indicating no obvious scan-angle-dependent bias.
A comparison of medium-term heat acclimation by post-exercise hot water immersion or exercise in the heat: adaptations, overreaching, and thyroid hormones

This research compared thermal and perceptual adaptations, endurance capacity, and overreaching markers in men after 3, 6, and 12-days of post-exercise hot water immersion (HWI) or exercise heat acclimation (EHA) with a temperate exercise control (CON), and examined thyroid hormones as a mechanism for the reduction in resting and exercising core temperature (Tre) after HWI. HWI involved a treadmill run at 65% V̇O2peak in 19°C followed by a 40°C bath. EHA and CON involved a work-matched treadmill run at 65% V̇O2peak in 33°C or 19°C, respectively. Compared with CON, resting mean body temperature (Tb), resting and end-exercise Tre, Tre at sweating onset, thermal sensation and perceived exertion were lower and whole-body sweat rate (WBSR) was higher after 12-days of HWI (all P ≤ 0.049, resting Tb: CON -0.11 ± 0.15°C, HWI -0.41 ± 0.15°C). Moreover, resting Tb and Tre at sweating onset were lower after HWI than EHA (P ≤ 0.015, resting Tb: EHA -0.14 ± 0.14°C). No differences were identified between EHA and CON (P ≥ 0.157) except WBSR which was greater after EHA (P = 0.013). No differences were observed between interventions for endurance capacity or overreaching markers (mood, sleep, Stroop, P ≥ 0.190). Thermal adaptations observed after HWI were not related to changes in thyroid hormone concentrations (P ≥ 0.086). In conclusion, 12-days of post-exercise hot water immersion conferred more complete heat acclimation than exercise heat acclimation without increasing overreaching risk, and changes in thyroid hormones are not related to thermal adaptationsafter post-exercise hot water immersion.
Some formal properties on superstatistics and superposition of statistical factors

By focusing on the interchangeable role in a generating function (i.e., $\beta \leftrightarrow E$ in the Laplace transform), the superstatistics proposed by Beck and Cohen can be viewed as a counterpart of the canonical partition function. Some formal properties of this superstatistics are presented in connection with thermodynamic structures and information aspects. For any combination of the local equilibrium statistical factor and the form of fluctuating field, which are ingredients of making a generic superstatistics, a variance of the fluctuating quantity appears in the correction term. This fact enables us to relate parameters contained in the statistical factor with the variance in {\it any} situation.
Dispersion of Heterogeneous Medium in Pulsatile Blood Flow and Absolute Pulsatile Flow Velocity Quantification

Heterogeneous medium enhanced angiogr- ams are key diagnostic tools in clinical practice; the associated hemodynamic information is crucial for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases. However, the dynamics of such medium in physiological blood flow are poorly understood. Herein, we report a previously unnoticed dispersion pattern, which is a universal phenomenon, of a medium in pulsatile blood flow. We present a physical theory for studying the dispersion of a steadily injected heterogeneous medium into a thin tubular blood vessel in which the blood flow is pulsatile. In a thin tubular blood vessel, we demonstrate that variations of concentration associated with the heterogeneous medium obey a one-dimensional advection diffusion equation, and the diffusion has limited effect whenever a short vascular segment is considered. A distinct feature of the distribution of the medium in the axial distance–time plane is a “dilation-retraction” pattern. The time evolution signals at different axial positions exhibit distinct concentration waveforms. A numerical scheme is proposed for exploiting this information to estimate the pulsatile velocity. Artificial data are adopted to validate the scheme. Real X-ray angiography is also analyzed to support our theory and method. The theory is applicable whenever imaging protocols involve a heterogeneous medium in pulsatile flow.
Efficacy and safety of mechanical thrombectomy in acute stroke patients with pre-morbid disability

ABSTRACT Introduction Patients with pre-morbid disability have been generally excluded from randomized controlled trials of mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke. However, stroke physicians commonly encounter such patients in practice, and face challenging treatment decisions when caring for them. Areas covered We review the literature on the safety and efficacy of thrombectomy in patients with pre-morbid disability. Recent clinical-epidemiological studies have highlighted the adverse outcomes that come with each increment of additional post-stroke disability in these patients. Several observational studies – both case series and registry-based studies – have helped demonstrate the comparable safety of thrombectomy in patients with pre-morbid disability as in those without, complementing similar data on thrombolysis. These data also suggest similar rates of successful recanalization, symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage, and return to pre-stroke level of disability when treated with mechanical thrombectomy, although they have higher mortality. Expert opinion In the absence of high-quality evidence, we recommend pursuing shared decision-making with patients or family members and being upfront about the uncertain evidence. Available observational data underline the potential for a substantial proportion of these patients to return to their pre-morbid state, do not indicate a greater rate of treatment-related complications, and do not support routinely excluding these patients from thrombectomy.
Arctigenin: pharmacology, total synthesis, and progress in structure modification

Abstract Arctium lappa L. is a prevalent medicinal herb and a health supplement that is commonly used in Asia. Over the last few decades, the bioactive component arctigenin has attracted the attention of researchers because of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, multiple sclerosis fighting, antitumor, and anti-leukemia properties. After summarising the research and literature on arctigenin, this study outlines the current status of research on pharmacological activity, total synthesis, and structural modification of arctigenin. The purpose of this study is to assist academics in obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of the research progress on arctigenin and to provide constructive suggestions for further investigation of this useful molecule.
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the production of entropy : life, earth, and beyond

Entropy Production by Earth System Processes. - Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics in an Energy-Rich Universe. - Stumbling Into the MEP Racket: An Historical Perspective. - Maximum Entropy Production and Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics. - Using Ecology to Quantify Organization in Fluid Flows. - Cosmological and Biological Reproducibility: Limits on the Maximum Entropy Production Principle. - Entropy Production in Turbulent Mixing. - Entropy Production of Atmospheric Heat Transport. - Water Vapor and Entropy Production in the Earth's Atmosphere. - Thermodynamics of the Ocean Circulation: A Global Perspective on the Ocean System and Living Systems. - Entropy and the Shaping of the Landscape by Water. - Entropy Production in the Planetary Context. - The Free-Energy Transduction and Entropy Production in Initial Photosynthetic Reactions. - Biotic Entropy Production and Global Atmosphere-Biosphere Interactions. - Coupled Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere and Biosphere. - Temperature, Biogenesis and Biospheric Self-Organization. - Entropy and Gaia: Is there a Link Between MEP and Self-Regulation in the Climate System? - Insights from Thermodynamics for the Analysis of Economic Processes.
Pitx2 is a useful marker of midgut‐derived neuroendocrine tumours – an immunohistochemical study of 224 cases

Pitx2 is a transcription factor responsible for establishment of the right–left axis and development of the gut and pituitary. In mouse embryos, Pitx2 is expressed in the greater curvature of the stomach and midgut. Previously, Pitx2 was studied in pituitary neuroendocrine tumours but not in other NETs. Pitx2 expression was immunohistochemically assessed in whole sections and tissue microarrays in a cohort of 224 neuroendocrine neoplasms, and was analysed in 29 cases. The cohort included 18 cauda equina NETs, 38 paragangliomas, 98 cases of primary visceral NETs from different organs, 23 metastases of visceral NETs and 47 neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Pitx2 expression was observed in 29.5% (29 of 98) NETs and 14.9% (7 of 47) NECs, but was not observed in any paraganglioma or cauda equina NET. Pitx2 was observed only in tumours of midgut‐derived organs, including the small intestine (100%, 20 of 20), appendix (88.9%, eight of nine) and large intestine (9.1%, one of 11 – only caecal NET). The NETs of remaining locations were negative. Pitx2 was 96.7% sensitive and 100% specific for NETs of midgut origin. In NECs, Pitx2 positivity was observed in goblet cell adenocarcinoma (75%, three of four), medullary thyroid carcinoma (42.9, three of seven) and one Merkel cell carcinoma (25%, one of four). In metastatic NETs, Pitx2 was observed in all the tumours originating in the small intestine (n = 17) or caecum (n = 1). No positivity was observed in tumours from other locations (four pancreas, one lung). We observed no correlation between immunoreactivity and mRNA expression. Thus, Pitx2 immunohistochemistry can be helpful in assessing the midgut origin of NETs.
Simultaneous polar cap and magnetotail observations of intense polar rain. [precipitation of low-energy electrons

Six prolonged episodes of intense polar rain with average or above average temperatures occured during the four-month period from mid-February to mid-June 1978. Electrons with energies up to 1 keV are observed throughout these events, and 9-keV electrons occasionally are detected. To investigate whether this intense polar rain is accelerated within the magnetosphere, we compare DMSP F2 electron measurements made at low altitudes over the polar cap with near-simultaneous ISEE 1 electron measurements made in the northern tail lobe at distances between 10 and 22.6 RE. In some cases, the electron spectra measured at low altitude are nearly identical to those measured in the tail lobe. In other cases, intensities are similar, but the phase space densities measured by DMSP exceed those measured by ISEE at energies above 500 eV. The episodes with extremely similar spectra show that intense polar rain can pass through the tail lobes without undergoing acceleration between 22.6 RE and 800 km altitude. Three-dimensional ISEE measurements of electron distribution functions suggest that the field-aligned pitch angle anisotropy of the tail lobe electron population may account for most if not all of the differences when the spectra do not match.
Polynomial approximation of the small‐signal stability region boundaries and its credible region in high‐dimensional parameter space

SUMMARY This paper presents a polynomial approximation method to give an explicit expression for the boundaries of small-signal stability region (SSSR) based on the implicit function approach. Different from most of the current methods, the proposed method solves the problem of SSSR boundary approximation directly in the high-dimensional parameter spaces. To settle the problem of local validity due to the polynomial approximation, we further put forward an optimization formula to estimate the credible region of the approximation with a given accuracy. The correctness and effectiveness of the proposed methods are verified through the case studies on a rudimentary power system and the real Hainan power grid of China. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Introduction to chaos : physics and mathematics of chaotic phenomena

WHAT IS CHAOS? Characteristics of chaos Chaos in nature LI-YORKE CHAOS, TOPOLOGICAL ENTROPY, AND LYAPUNOV NUMBER Li-Yorke theorem and Sharkovski theorem: Li-Yorke's theorem Sharkovski's theorem Periodic orbits: Number of periodic orbits Stability of orbits Li-Yorke theorem (continued) Scrambled set and observability of Li-Yorke chaos: Nathanson's example Observability of Li-Yorke chaos Topological entropy Density of orbits: Observable chaos and Lyapunov number Denseness of orbits Invariant measure Lyapunov number Summary ROUTE TO CHAOS Pitchfork bifurcation and Feigenbaum route Conditions for pitchfork bifurcation Windows Intermittent chaos CHAOS IN REALISTIC SYSTEMS Conservative system and dissipative system Attractors and Poincare section Lyapunov numbers and change of volume Construction of attractor Hausdorff dimension, generalized dimension and fractal Evaluation of correlation dimension Evaluation of Lyapunov number Global spectrum-the If(a) method APPENDICES Periodic solutions of the logistic map Mobius function and inversion formula Countable sets and uncountable sets Upper limit and lower limit Lebsgue measure Normal numbers Periodic orbits with finite fraction initial value The delta-function Where does period 3 window begin in logistic map? Newton method How to evaluate topological entropy Examples of invariant measure Generalized dimension Dq is monotonically decreasing in q Saddle point method Chaos in double-pendulum Singular points and limit cycle of van der Pol Equation Singular points of the Rossler model REFERENCES SOLUTIONS INDEX
Personalized Federated Learning with Communication Compression

In contrast to training traditional machine learning (ML) models in data centers, federated learning (FL) trains ML models over local datasets contained on resource-constrained heterogeneous edge devices. Existing FL algorithms aim to learn a single global model for all participating devices, which may not be helpful to all devices participating in the training due to the heterogeneity of the data across the devices. Recently, Hanzely and Richt\'{a}rik (2020) proposed a new formulation for training personalized FL models aimed at balancing the trade-off between the traditional global model and the local models that could be trained by individual devices using their private data only. They derived a new algorithm, called Loopless Gradient Descent (L2GD), to solve it and showed that this algorithms leads to improved communication complexity guarantees in regimes when more personalization is required. In this paper, we equip their L2GD algorithm with a bidirectional compression mechanism to further reduce the communication bottleneck between the local devices and the server. Unlike other compression-based algorithms used in the FL-setting, our compressed L2GD algorithm operates on a probabilistic communication protocol, where communication does not happen on a fixed schedule. Moreover, our compressed L2GD algorithm maintains a similar convergence rate as vanilla SGD without compression. To empirically validate the efficiency of our algorithm, we perform diverse numerical experiments on both convex and non-convex problems and using various compression techniques.
Robust Data-Driven 3-D Shape Servoing of Unmodeled Continuum Robots Using FBG Sensors in Unstructured Environments

—In this paper, we present a novel and generic data- driven method to servo-control the 3-D shape of continuum robots embedded with ﬁber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. Developments of 3-D shape perception and control technologies are crucial for continuum robots to perform the tasks autonomously in surgical interventions. However, owing to the nonlinear properties of continuum robots, one main difﬁculty lies in the modeling of them, especially for soft robots with variable stiffness. To address this problem, we propose a new robust adaptive controller by leveraging FBG shape feedback and neural networks (NNs) that can online estimate the unknown model of continuum robot and accounts for unexpected disturbances together with NN approximation errors, which exhibits an adaptive behavior to the unmodeled system without priori data exploration. Based on a new composite adaptation algorithm, the asymptotic conver- gences of the closed-loop system with NNs learning parameters have been proven by Lyapunov theory. To validate the proposed method, we present a comprehensive experimental study by using two continuum robots both integrated with multi-core FBGs, including a robotic-assisted colonoscope and multi-section extensible soft manipulators. The results demonstrate the feasi- bility, adaptability, and superiority of our controller in various unstructured environments as well as phantom experiments.
Parallel MCMC Algorithms: Theoretical Foundations, Algorithm Design, Case Studies

Parallel Markov Chain Monte Carlo (pMCMC) algorithms generate clouds of proposals at each step to efficiently resolve a target probability distribution μ. We build a rigorous foundational framework for pMCMC algorithms that situates these methods within a unified ‘extended phase space’ measuretheoretic formalism. Drawing on our recent work that provides a comprehensive theory for reversible single proposal methods, we herein derive general criteria for multiproposal acceptance mechanisms which yield unbiased chains on general state spaces. Our formulation encompasses a variety of methodologies, including proposal cloud resampling and Hamiltonian methods, while providing a basis for the derivation of novel algorithms. In particular, we obtain a top-down picture for a class of methods arising from ‘conditionally independent’ proposal structures. As an immediate application of this formalism, we identify several new algorithms including a multiproposal version of the popular preconditioned CrankNicolson (pCN) sampler suitable for highand infinite-dimensional target measures which are absolutely continuous with respect to a Gaussian base measure. To supplement the aforementioned theoretical results, we carry out a selection of numerical case studies that evaluate the efficacy of these novel algorithms. First, noting that the true potential of pMCMC algorithms arises from their natural parallelizability and the ease with which they map to modern highperformance computing architectures, we provide a limited parallelization study using TensorFlow and a graphics processing unit to scale pMCMC algorithms that leverage as many as 100k proposals at each step. Second, we use our multiproposal pCN algorithm (mpCN) to resolve a selection of problems in Bayesian statistical inversion for partial differential equations motivated by fluid measurement. These examples provide preliminary evidence of the efficacy of mpCN for high-dimensional target distributions featuring complex geometries and multimodal structures.
Systems with both constant and time-varying delays: a switched systems approach and application to observer-controller co-design

In this paper, we study the application of switched systems stability criteria to derive delay-dependent conditions for systems affected by both a constant and a time-varying delay. The main novelty of our approach lies on the use of path-complete Lyapunov techniques along with the proposition of a new modified functional to obtain convex analysis conditions while avoiding the need of computing a dwell time for each mode in a switched system representation, as usual in the switched approach for time-delay systems. Furthermore, we leverage the developed analysis to obtain LMIs for the closed-loop stabilization of systems with time-varying sensor delays by means of an observer-based compensator. A numerical example illustrates the proposed methods.