Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Suggested Sustainability Pattern for Online Social Networks The Facebook as a Case Study

—The survival of a software product for a long term is a challenging issue. Software doesn’t die but it becomes obsolete. The aim of this paper is to propose a design pattern that could help maintaining the sustainability of software products. The proposed pattern could be used in the architectural engineering phase of developing an online social network system to help maintaining its sustainability. We built our work based on an agreed upon definition of software sustainability from the software engineering perspective, we discussed the main factors that lead to maintain a sustainable software product, and introduced the risks that might lead to software death. Finally, a planning phase was introduced to help analyzing the need for a sustainable software and evaluating it economically. It is highly recommended to use the proposed pattern and to consider the proposed factors due to their comprehensiveness and flexibility.
University of Birmingham Recognition of Multiple Bird Species based on Penalised Maximum Likelihood and HMM-based Modelling of Individual Elements

This paper presents an extension of our recent work on recognition of multiple bird species from their vocalisations by incorporating an improved acoustic modelling. The acoustic scene is segmented into spectro-temporal isolated segments by employing a sinusoidal detection algorithm, which is able to handle multiple simultaneous bird vocalisations. Each segment is represented as a temporal sequence of frequencies of the detected sinusoid. Each bird species is represented by a set of hidden Markov models (HMMs), each HMM modelling a particular vocalisation element. A set of elements is discovered in an unsupervised manner using a partial dynamic time warping algorithm and agglomerative hierarchical clustering. Recognition of multiple bird species is performed based on maximising the likelihood of the set of detected segments on a subset of bird species models, with a penalisation applied for increasing the number of bird species. Experimental evaluations used audio ﬁeld recordings containing 30 bird species. Detected segments from several bird species are joined to simulate the presence of multiple bird species. It is demonstrated that the use of improved acoustic modelling in conjunction with the maximum likelihood score combination method provides considerable improvements over previous results and the use of majority voting.
DC-tCNN: A Deep Model for EEG-Based Detection of Dim Targets

Objective: Dim target detection in remote sensing images is a significant and challenging problem. In this work, we seek to explore event-related brain responses of dim target detection tasks and extend the brain-computer interface (BCI) systems to this task for efficiency enhancement. Methods: We develop a BCI paradigm named Asynchronous Visual Evoked Paradigm (AVEP), in which subjects are required to search the dim targets within satellite images when their scalp electroencephalography (EEG) signals are simultaneously recorded. In the paradigm, stimulus onset time and target onset time are asynchronous because subjects need enough time to confirm whether there are targets of interest in the presented serial images. We further propose a Domain adaptive and Channel-wise attention-based Time-domain Convolutional Neural Network (DC-tCNN) to solve the single-trial EEG classification problem for the AVEP task. In this model, we design a multi-scale CNN module combined with a channel-wise attention module to effectively extract event-related brain responses underlying EEG signals. Meanwhile, domain adaptation is proposed to mitigate cross-subject distribution discrepancy. Results: The results demonstrate the superior performance and better generalizability of this model in classifying the single-trial EEG data of AVEP task in contrast to typical EEG deep learning networks. Visualization analyses of spatiotemporal features also illustrate the effectiveness and interpretability of our proposed paradigm and learning model. Conclusion: The proposed paradigm and model can effectively explore ambiguous event-related brain responses on EEG-based dim target detection tasks. Significance: Our work can provide a valuable reference for BCI-based image detection of dim targets.
Building kidney organoids from pluripotent stem cells

Purpose of review During embryogenesis, the kidney is mainly generated from three progenitor cells; nephron progenitors, ureteric bud progenitors and stromal progenitors. Mutual interactions of the all three progenitor populations are essential to form a functional kidney with the higher-order structure. Pluripotent stem cells have potential to differentiate into all cell types of the animal body, including the kidney. In this review, we will summarize recent advances in reconstructing kidney organoids from pluripotent stem cells. Recent findings In the past years, major advances were reported to induce nephron and ureteric bud progenitors from pluripotent stem cells in mice and humans, and to create kidney organoids of nephron and/or ureteric bud-derived collecting duct tissues in vitro. These kidney organoid technologies were applied to high-throughput genetic screenings and small chemical screenings to identify key factors for kidney development and disease. Furthermore, a novel method was established to induce stromal progenitors from pluripotent stem cells, leading to creation of kidney organoids with the higher-order structures completely derived from pluripotent stem cells. Summary These advances in kidney organoids from pluripotent stem cells should lay a foundation to establish a novel therapy for kidney disease, which ultimately eliminate the need of dialysis and kidney transplantation for patients with kidney disease in the future.
Markers of fungal translocation are elevated during post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 and induce NF-κB signaling

Long COVID, a type of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), has been associated with sustained elevated levels of immune activation and inflammation. However, the mechanisms that drive this inflammation remain unknown. Inflammation during acute coronavirus disease 2019 could be exacerbated by microbial translocation (from the gut and/or lung) to blood. Whether microbial translocation contributes to inflammation during PASC is unknown. We did not observe a significant elevation in plasma markers of bacterial translocation during PASC. However, we observed higher levels of fungal translocation — measured as β-glucan, a fungal cell wall polysaccharide — in the plasma of individuals experiencing PASC compared with those without PASC or SARS-CoV-2–negative controls. The higher β-glucan correlated with higher inflammation and elevated levels of host metabolites involved in activating N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (such as metabolites within the tryptophan catabolism pathway) with established neurotoxic properties. Mechanistically, β-glucan can directly induce inflammation by binding to myeloid cells (via Dectin-1) and activating Syk/NF-κB signaling. Using a Dectin-1/NF-κB reporter model, we found that plasma from individuals experiencing PASC induced higher NF-κB signaling compared with plasma from negative controls. This higher NF-κB signaling was abrogated by piceatannol (Syk inhibitor). These data suggest a potential targetable mechanism linking fungal translocation and inflammation during PASC.
Cost-Effectiveness of Catheter Ablation Versus Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation: The CABANA Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: In the CABANA trial (Catheter Ablation vs Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation), catheter ablation did not significantly reduce the primary end point of death, disabling stroke, serious bleeding, or cardiac arrest compared with drug therapy by intention-to-treat, but did improve the quality of life and freedom from atrial fibrillation recurrence. In the heart failure subgroup, ablation improved both survival and quality of life. Cost-effectiveness was a prespecified CABANA secondary end point. Methods: Medical resource use data were collected for all CABANA patients (N=2204). Costs for hospital-based care were assigned using prospectively collected bills from US patients (n=1171); physician and medication costs were assigned using the Medicare Fee Schedule and National Average Drug Acquisition Costs, respectively. Extrapolated life expectancies were estimated using age-based survival models. Quality-of-life adjustments were based on EQ-5D–based utilities measured during the trial. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, comparing ablation with drug therapy on the basis of intention-to-treat, and assessed from the US health care sector perspective. Results: Costs in the first 3 months averaged $20 794±SD 1069 higher with ablation compared with drug therapy. The cumulative within-trial 5-year cost difference was $19 245 (95% CI, $11 360–$27 170) and the lifetime mean cost difference was $15 516 (95% CI, –$2963 to $35,512) higher with ablation than with drug therapy. The drug therapy arm accrued an average of 12.5 life-years (LYs) and 10.7 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). For the ablation arm, the corresponding estimates were 12.6 LYs and 11.0 QALYs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $57 893 per QALY gained, with 75% of bootstrap replications yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio <$100 000 per QALY gained. With no quality-of-life/utility adjustments, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $183 318 per LY gained. Conclusions: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation was economically attractive compared with drug therapy in the CABANA Trial overall at present benchmarks for health care value in the United States on the basis of projected incremental QALYs but not LYs alone.
Presurgical Cleft Management of Infants: A Survey of ACPA Approved and International Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Teams

Objective To characterize the presurgical infant orthopedics (PSIO) and gingivoperiosteoplasty (GPP) protocols across the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) approved and international cleft palate (CP) and craniofacial teams. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting ACPA approved and international CP and craniofacial teams. Results Respondents from 115 out of 215 ACPA approved and international CP and craniofacial teams permitted to contact (out of a total of 259 total teams) completed the survey (response rate = 53.5%). There were 89 (77.4%) ACPA approved teams and the remaining international teams were mainly located in Europe (13.0%). Seventy-eight CP and craniofacial teams (67.8%) provided PSIO and 65 (83.3%) of these teams used alveolar molding (AM). Twenty-two CP and craniofacial teams (19.1%) provided GPP. A mean of 9.5 ± 2.6 different specialists were on the cleft team with the most common being orthodontists (97.4%), speech therapists (96.5%), and plastic/craniofacial surgeons (90.4%). Conclusions Most ACPA approved and ACPA registered international CP and craniofacial teams provided PSIO techniques by orthodontists using lip taping (LT) and AM, while few provide GPP.
Analysis of paralysis: understanding the role of vocal cords in facemask ventilation

1Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, TheUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada 2Consultant, Department of Anesthesia, BCWomen’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada 3Consultant, Department of Anesthesia, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada 4Consultant, Department of Anaesthesia and Peri-OperativeMedicine, Guy’s and St Thomas’NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK 5Honorary Senior Lecturer, King’s College London, London, UK
Diaphragm impairment in patients admitted for severe COVID-19

Among patients affected by the virus COVID-19, physicians have observed ventilation disorders. It is relevant to assess neurological involvement, including the role of diaphragmatic function. Its possible impairment could be related to the systemic inflammatory response and disease progression that both typify COVID-19 infection. We distinguished two groups (severe group (SG) and mild group (MG)) according to the severity of respiratory symptomatology. We performed neurophysiological and sonography studies to evaluate the diaphragmatic function. Regarding the sonography variables, we identified statistically significant differences in the right mean diaphragmatic thickness along with the expiration, showing 1.56 mm (SEM: 0.11) in the SG vs 1.92 mm (SEM: 0.19) in the MG (p = 0.042). The contractibility of both hemidiaphragms was 15% lower in the severe group, though this difference is not statistically significant. In our examination of the neurophysiological variables, in the amplitude responses, we observed a greater difference between responses from both phrenic nerves as follows: the raw differences in amplitude were 0.40 μV (SEM: 0.14) in the SG vs 0.35 μV (SEM: 0.19) in the MG and the percentage difference was 25.92% (SEM: 7.22) in the SG vs 16.28% (SEM: 4.38%) in the MG. Although diaphragmatic dysfunction is difficult to detect, our combined functional and morphological approach with phrenic electroneurograms and chest ultrasounds could improve diagnostic sensitivity. We suggest that diaphragmatic dysfunction could play a relevant role in respiratory disturbance in hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19.
Structural and functional analyses of antibodies specific for modified core N‐glycans suggest a role in TH2 responses

Immune responses to N‐glycan structures from allergens and parasites are often associated with pronounced, high affinity IgE reactivities. Cross‐reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCDs) are constituted by modified N‐glycan core structures and represent the most frequently recognized epitopes in allergic immune responses. Although recently accepted as potentially allergenic epitopes, the biological and clinical relevance as well as structural and functional characteristics of CCD‐specific antibodies remain elusive.
CoIn: Correlation Induced Clustering for Cognition of High Dimensional Bioinformatics Data

Analysis of high dimensional biomedical data such as microarray gene expression data and mass spectrometry images, is crucial to provide better medical services including cancer subtyping, protein homology detection, etc. Clustering is a fundamental cognitive task which aims to group unlabeled data into multiple clusters based on their intrinsic similarities. However, for most clustering methods, including the most widely used $K$-means algorithm, all features of the high dimensional data are considered equally in relevance, which distorts the performance when clustering high-dimensional data where there exist many redundant variables and correlated variables. In this paper, we aim at addressing the problem of the high dimensional bioinformatics data clustering and propose a new correlation induced clustering, CoIn, to capture complex correlations among high dimensional data and guarantee the correlation consistency within each cluster. We evaluate the proposed method on a high dimensional mass spectrometry dataset of liver cancer tumor to explore the metabolic differences on tissues and discover the intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH). By comparing the results of baselines and ours, it has been found that our method produces more explainable and understandable results for clinical analysis, which demonstrates the proposed clustering paradigm has the potential with application to knowledge discovery in high dimensional bioinformatics data.
Effects of different degrees of deacetylation and levels of chitosan on performance, egg traits and serum biochemistry of laying hens

ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to evaluate whether the deacetylation degree of chitosan (low: 70% vs. high: 90%) and its dietary level (0, 200, 400, 800, 1600 mg/kg diet) would affect laying performance, faeces viscosity, egg quality, egg and serum biochemistry of layers. For the experimental feeding period of 8 weeks, 140 four weeks old Hisex Brown layers were divided into 10 treatment groups, comprising 14 birds each. The birds were housed in individual cages in a complete randomised design. Performance was assessed by recording feed intake, egg weight, daily egg production, egg quality and egg biochemistry. Serum biochemistry parameters were determined at the beginning and end of the experiment and faeces viscosity at the end of the experiment. Feed conversion ratio and faeces viscosity were deteriorated by increased level of chitosan. Lightness of egg yolk was significantly increased in animals receiving high-degree deacetylated chitosan compared to low-degree deacetylated chitosan. Yellowness of egg yolk was affected by interaction of deacetylation degree and level of chitosan. Yolk cholesterol concentration was lower in groups receiving high deacetylated chitosan by increasing chitosan level, while laying hens fed low deacetylated chitosan had a higher level of yolk cholesterol. A significant interaction between degree of deacetylation and chitosan level was determined for serum glucose and calcium concentration. Serum total antioxidant content increased with higher levels of dietary chitosan. In conclusion, dietary level or different degrees of deacetylated chitosan may reduce yolk cholesterol and improve serum antioxidant status. However, feed conversion ratio and faeces viscosity were impaired by increasing levels of chitosan supplementation, and lightness of yolk was increased by supplementation of chitosan with a high degree of deacetylation.
UCP2 KO mice exhibit ameliorated obesity and inflammation induced by high-fat diet feeding

Uncoupling protein 2 (Ucp2) was first introduced as a member of Uncoupling protein family and a regulator of ROS formation; however, its role in adipose tissue is not fully understood. In the present study, we have investigated the role of Ucp2 against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) and browning of inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT). Diet-induced obesity is closely related to macrophage infiltration and the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Macrophages surround adipocytes and form a crown-like-structure (CLS). Some reports have suggested that CLS formation requires adipocyte apoptosis. After 12 weeks of HFD challenge, Ucp2 knockout (KO) mice maintained relatively lean phenotypes compared to wild-type (WT) mice. In eWAT, macrophage infiltration, CLS formation, and inflammatory cytokines were reduced in HFD KO mice compared to HFD WT mice. Surprisingly, we found that apoptotic signals were also reduced in the Ucp2 KO mice. Our study suggests that Ucp2 deficiency may prevent diet-induced obesity by regulating adipocyte apoptosis. However, Ucp2 deficiency did not affect the browning capacity of iWAT.
RSV disease in infants and young children: Can we see a brighter future?

ABSTRACT Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly contagious seasonal virus and the leading cause of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTI), including pneumonia and bronchiolitis in children. RSV-related LRTI cause approximately 3 million hospitalizations and 120,000 deaths annually among children <5 years of age. The majority of the burden of RSV occurs in previously healthy infants. Only a monoclonal antibody (mAb) has been approved against RSV infections in a restricted group, leaving an urgent unmet need for a large number of children potentially benefiting from preventive measures. Approaches under development include maternal vaccines to protect newborns, extended half-life monoclonal antibodies to provide rapid long-lasting protection, and pediatric vaccines. RSV has been identified as a major global priority but a solution to tackle this unmet need for all children has yet to be implemented. New technologies represent the avenue for effectively addressing the leading-cause of hospitalization in children <1 years old.
Parallel periodically poled LiNbO3 waveguides module for polarization diversity wavelength conversion and amplification

We have designed and developed a nonlinear-optic wavelength converter with periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) waveguides for optical fiber communication systems. The wavelength conversion module comprises two parallel PPLN ridge waveguide devices for a polarization-independent operation. We demonstrate highly efficient wavelength conversions and amplifications based on a cascaded second harmonic generation (SHG) and difference frequency generation (DFG), and optical parametric amplifier (OPA). The wavelength conversion efficiencies and the signal gains more than 20 dB are achieved for both orthogonal transverse magnetic (TM) polarization and transverse electric (TE) polarization in the module.
Long-Term Clinical Outcomes and Implant Survivorship of 151 Total Ankle Arthroplasties Using the HINTEGRA Prosthesis

Background: Few studies have investigated long-term clinical outcomes of a mobile-bearing total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) system. This study analyzed long-term outcomes of TAA using the HINTEGRA prosthesis at a single, non-developer center. Methods: Primary TAAs were performed on 213 ankles in 194 patients, and 151 consecutive ankles [71%] in 136 patients with a minimum follow-up of 10 years after the primary TAA were included in this study. Clinical results were assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale score, the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale (AOS) pain and disability subscores, and ankle range of motion. Prosthesis survivorship, reoperations, and risk factors were also evaluated. Results: The mean follow-up was 135.5 months (range, 120.0 to 204.0 months). All clinical scores and ankle range of motion improved significantly from preoperatively to 2 years, 4 to 6 years, and ≥10 years after TAA (p < 0.001). A total of 43 ankles (28.5%) required revision procedures, with the most common reason being periprosthetic osteolysis (32 ankles [21.2%]). The overall implant survivorship was 93.5% in Kaplan-Meier survival analysis at the mean follow-up of 11.3 years after the TAA. Conclusions: TAA using the HINTEGRA prosthesis with careful follow-up observation and appropriate adjunct procedures for the treatment of end-stage ankle arthritis produced satisfactory clinical results, which were maintained at a follow-up of ≥10 years, and resulted in 93.5% of implant survivorship. Level of Evidence: Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
A quantitative and simulation model for managing sudden supply delay with fuzzy demand and safety stock

In this paper, a recovery model is developed for managing sudden supply delays that affect retailers’ economic order quantity model. For this, a mathematical model is developed that considers fuzzy demand and safety stock, and generates a recovery plan for a finite future period immediately after a sudden supply delay. An efficient heuristic solution is developed that generates the recovery plan after a sudden supply delay. An experiment with scenario-based analysis is conducted to test our heuristic and to analyse the results. To assess the quality and consistency of solutions, the performance of the proposed heuristic is compared with the performance of the generalised reduced gradient method, which is widely applied in constrained mathematical programming. A simulation model is also designed to bring the recovery model closer to real-world processes. Several numerical examples are presented and a sensitivity analysis is performed to demonstrate the effects of various parameters on the performance of the heuristic method. The results show that safety stock plays an important role in recovery from sudden supply delays, and there is a trade-off between backorder and lost sales costs in the recovery plan. With the help of the proposed model, supply chain decision-makers can make accurate and prompt decision regarding recovery plans in case of sudden supply delay.