Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Divided Digital Divide: The Third Level of the Digital Divide Depending on Devices and Purposes

: The digital divide remains a significant social issue despite technological advancements. While previous research primarily focused on access disparities, this study aimed to address the multifaceted nature of the digital divide by investigating the correlation between technology purpose and device accessibility. We bring to light significant insights into the three levels of the digital divide and examine the relationships between different devices, digital skills, emotional costs, and self-efficacy. Based on data collected from our questionnaires, the results indicate that individuals with greater digital skills experience reduced emotional costs when using ICT devices. Notably, smartphone usage is versatile, challenging common perceptions that it is only used for entertainment. However, laptop and tablet usage for work-related tasks displays a stronger correlation with the level of emotional cost compared to entertainment-related usage. Our findings imply that certain types of devices, their specific usage, and the digital skills needed to use them should be considered by policymakers and educators in digital inclusion strategies to profoundly understand and systemically resolve the digital divide. Although limited by a relatively small sample size, this study emphasizes the need for more extensive, diverse datasets to bolster generalizability.
An Adaptative Fuzzy-Based System to Evaluate Color Blindness

About 8% of men are affected by color blindness. That population is at disadvantage because an important portion of visual information cannot be viewed by them. This work presents three computational tools that we developed to help color blind people. The first one aims at testing color blindness and assesses its severity. The second tool is adaptive, based on Fuzzy Logic, and proposes a method for correction of digital images in order to improve visual quality for individuals with color vision disturbances. The third tool intends to simulate red and green color blindness. Finally, tests were conducted to evaluate the results.
Uncertainty Analysis of Deep Kernel Learning Methods on Diabetic Retinopathy Grading

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of vision loss. Therefore, screening for early signs and assessment of the DR severity is crucial and extensively studied. To support clinicians, screening could be automated by algorithms that can, for example, refer difficult decisions to specialists for further investigation. However, frequently used neural networks (NNs) typically do not know when they do not know and approximate Bayesian NNs often equally do not suffice to provide well-calibrated uncertainty estimates. Thus, in this work, we investigate whether and how to use deep kernel learning (DKL) which we designed as a hybrid combination of the state-of-the-art EfficientNet-B0 and a Gaussian process (GP) layer to improve the quality of uncertainty estimates in referral-based DR screening. To this end, we first analyze the necessity for recently proposed extensions to the DKL framework to resolve miscalibrated uncertainties, despite the theoretical superiority of GPs to uncertainty quantification. Our subsequent comprehensive comparison of the curated DKL’s performance to that of the most common approximate Bayesian NNs shows our DKL models to particularly improve the detection of near out-of-distribution (OOD) samples containing other eye diseases through epistemic uncertainty information, but also enhance the calibration of aleatoric in-distribution uncertainty and diagnostic performance. Hence, it can provide a substantial benefit for safety-critical medical applications, like automated DR screening, particularly by potentially reducing the risk of missing diseases other than DR due to the improved near-OOD detection performance.
A Dual-SLIP Model For Dynamic Walking In A Humanoid Over Uneven Terrain

Control of 3D dynamic walking in bipedal legged machines or humanoid robots remains a challenging problem. To address the complexity brought by the high degrees of freedom (DoFs) in the target system, very often a simple template model is used as an intermediate bridge. A template model is typically much simpler, but can still capture the key characteristics of the dynamics of a particular motion. Usually, a control policy is first developed to regulate the behavior of the template model, then resultant trajectories of the template model are mapped to the whole-body motion of the more complex robot through some optimization-based task-space control strategies. Currently, the most widely used walking template is the Linear Inverted Pendulum Model (LIPM). It has gained popularity due to its simple linearized dynamics, and walking controllers based on the LIPM have had some success. However, the resultant walking gaits from the LIPM miss some of the dynamics that can lead to more efficient gaits such as those in a human. This is due in part to its constant height assumption and the lack of a double support phase. Recently, an alternative walking template called the Dual-SLIP (spring-loaded inverted pendulum) model (or Bipedal SLIP model) has been proposed. This model has its roots in biomechanics studies. With leg compliance it can faithfully reproduce the ground reaction force (GRF) patterns and center of mass (CoM) vertical oscillations
Soft Finger Rehabilitation Exoskeleton of Biomimetic Dragonfly Abdominal Ventral Muscles: Center Tendon Pneumatic Bellows Actuator

The development of soft robotics owes much to the field of biomimetics, where soft actuators predominantly mimic the movement found in nature. In contrast to their rigid counterparts, soft robots offer superior safety and human–machine interaction comfort, particularly in medical applications. However, when it comes to the hand rehabilitation exoskeletons, the soft devices have been limited by size and material constraints, unable to provide sufficient tensile strength for patients with high muscle tension. In this paper, we drew inspiration from the muscle structure found in the tail of dragonflies and designed a novel central tendon-based bellows actuator. The experimental results demonstrated that the central tendon-based bellows actuator significantly outperforms conventional pneumatic bellows actuators in terms of mechanical output. The tensile strength of the central tendon-based bellows actuator exceeded that of pneumatic actuators more than tenfold, while adding only 2 g to the wearable weight. This finding suggests that the central tendon-based bellows actuator is exceptionally well-suited for applications demanding substantial pulling force, such as in the field of exoskeleton robotics. With tensile strength exceeding that of pneumatic bellows actuators, this biomimetic design opens new avenues for safer and more effective human–machine interaction, revolutionizing various sectors from healthcare to industrial automation.
How Does Aphasia Affect Quality of Life? Preliminary Reports

Aphasia leads to disability, which, in turn, limits and can result in a complete breakdown of roles and social bonds. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of aphasia disorders on the quality of life of patients after an ischemic stroke. A prospective study among 116 patients with an ischemic stroke (the study group: 68 participants, 38.25% female, included patients with aphasia after a stroke; the control group: 48 patients, 37.5% female, without aphasia) was conducted at the Neurological Department of the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Włocławek. The patients were assessed twice: the first assessment was conducted during hospitalization using the Aphasia Dynamics Assessment Scale and the Aphasia Test Method of Jadwiga Szumska, and the second assessment of the quality of life after six months was conducted using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. The patients from the control group rated their overall quality of life more highly than the patients from the study group. Statistically significant differences were observed in the physical domain, the psychological domain, and the environmental domain. The analysis of sociodemographic factors indicated a negative impact on the quality of life of the following variables: female gender, 55–64 years of age, vocational education, and place of residence—rural area. The degree and type of aphasia influenced the overall quality of life. Studies with larger samples are necessary.
Predictors of Higher Frequency of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Background and Objectives: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is one of the effective therapeutic options in the treatment of systolic heart failure (HF) with persistent symptoms. This prospective study was designed to determine whether CRT with biventricular pacing would reduce the risk of development of atrial fibrillation (AF) and to identify predictors for AF occurrence. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 126 patients, with a mean age of 63.8 ± 9.1 years, who were eligible for CRT with biventricular pacing. Inclusion criteria were left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35%, QRS duration ≥ 130 msec, and persistent HF symptoms of New York Heart Association (NYHA) II or III, despite optimal drug therapy. Patients were followed for a period of 24 months and were evaluated through clinical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic examination at baseline (prior to CRT implantation), as well as at 6 and 24 months post-implantation. At the end of follow-up, patients were divided into clinical responders and non-responders based on the following criteria: decrease in NYHA class ≥ I, increase in LVEF ≥ 10%, and reduction in QRS duration ≥ 20 msec. Results: At follow-up, CRT was associated with a significant increase in LVEF (20.6 ± 6.9% pre-implantation, 32.9 ± 9.3% 24 months after implantation; p < 0.001), reduction in left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters, and decrease in QRS duration (167.6 ± 14.3 msec pre-implantation, 131.7 ± 11.7 msec 24 months after implantation; p < 0.001), while left atrial (LA) diameter was slightly increased (p = 0.070). The frequency of AF occurrence increased after two years of follow-up (52.4% to 56.9%, p < 0.001). Significant predictors of AF occurrence in our study population were response to CRT—AF more frequent in non-responders (B = 8.134; p < 0.001), LA diameter—AF more frequent with larger LA diameter (B = 0.813; p < 0.001), and coronary sinus (CS) lead position—AF more frequent with posterolateral in comparison with lateral CS lead position (B = 5.159; p = 0.005). Conclusions: The results of our study provide new data on AF predictors in patients with HF subjected to CRT. There remains a permanent need for new predictors, which might help in patient selection and improvement in response rate.
On the Scheduling of Energy-Aware Fault-Tolerant Mixed-Criticality Multicore Systems with Service Guarantee Exploration

Advancement of Cyber-Physical Systems has attracted attention to Mixed-Criticality Systems (MCSs), both in research and in industrial designs. As multicore platforms are becoming the dominant trend in MCSs, joint energy and reliability management is a crucial issue. In addition, providing guaranteed service level for low-criticality tasks in critical mode is of great importance. To address these problems, we propose “LETR-MC” scheme that simultaneously supports certification, energy management, fault-tolerance, and guaranteed service level in mixed-criticality multicore systems. In this paper, we exploit task-replication to not only satisfy reliability requirements, but also to improve the QoS of low-criticality tasks in overrun situation. Our proposed LETR-MC scheme determines the number of replicas, and reduces the execution time overlap between the primary tasks and replicas. Moreover, instead of ignoring low-criticality tasks or selectively executing them without any guaranteed service level in overrun mode, it mathematically explores the minimum achievable service guarantee for each low-criticality task in different execution modes, i.e., normal, fault-occurrence, overrun and critical operation modes. We develop novel unified demand bound functions (DBF), along with a DVFS method based on the proposed DBF analysis. Our experimental results show that LETR-MC provides up to 59 percent (24 percent on average) energy saving, and significantly improves the service levels of low-criticality tasks compared to the state-of-the-art schemes.
Enhancing Mobile Aerosol Monitoring with CE376 Dual-Wavelength Depolarization Lidar

We present the capabilities of a compact dual-wavelength depolarization lidar to assess the spatio-temporal variations in aerosol properties aboard moving vectors. Our approach involves coupling the lightweight CIMEL CE376 lidar, which provides measurements at 532 nm and 808 nm and depolarization at 532 nm, with a photometer to monitor aerosol properties. The 15 assessments, both algorithmic and instrumental, were conducted at ATOLL (ATmospheric Observatory of liLLe) platform operated by the Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique (LOA), in Lille France. An early version of the CE376 lidar co-located with the CE318-T photometer and with a multi-wavelength Raman lidar were considered for comparisons and validation. We developed a modified Klett inversion method for simultaneous two-wavelength elastic lidar and photometer measurements. Using this setup, we characterized aerosols during two distinct events of Saharan dust and dust smoke aerosols transported over Lille in spring 2021 20 and summer 2022. For validation purposes, comparisons against the Raman lidar were performed, demonstrating good agreement in aerosols properties with relative differences of up to 12 % in the depolarization measurements. Moreover, a first dataset of CE376 lidar and photometer performing on-road measurements was obtained during the FIREX-AQ (Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality) field campaign, deployed in summer 2019 over the Northwestern USA. By lidar and photometer mapping in 3D, we investigated the transport of released smoke from active fire spots at William Flats (North East 25 WA, USA). Despite the extreme environmental conditions, our study enabled the investigation of aerosol optical properties near the fire source, distinguishing the influence of diffuse, convective, and residual smoke. Backscatter, extinction profiles, and column-integrated lidar ratios at 532 and 808 nm were retrieved for a quality-assured dataset. Additionally, Extinction Angstrom Exponent (EAE), Color Ratio (CR), Attenuated Color Ratio (ACR) and Particle Linear Depolarization Ratio (PLDR) were derived. In this study, we discuss the capabilities (and limitations) of the CE376 lidar in bridging observational gaps in aerosol monitoring, 30 providing valuable insights for future research in this field.
Recurrent stroke shortly after mechanical thrombectomy secondary to carotid web: A case report

Rationale: Carotid web, a known source of thrombus for embolic stroke, presents a considerable risk of stroke recurrence. While case reports have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy in treating carotid web-related stroke, the need for concurrent carotid artery stenting to prevent recurrent stroke immediately after thrombectomy remains unclear. This study aims to underscore the importance of immediate carotid artery stenting in preventing recurrent stroke following mechanical thrombectomy in patients with carotid web-related stroke. Patient concerns: A 43-year-old woman with acute onset of left limb weakness and slurred speech within 3 hours was admitted to the emergency department. Diagnoses: Computed tomographic angiography confirmed the M1 segment occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery. Interventions: The patient received intravenous thrombolysis in the local hospital and mechanical thrombectomy in our stroke center. Outcomes: Three days post-mechanical thrombectomy, there was a sudden exacerbation of her neurological deficit symptoms. A reexamination via computed tomographic angiography revealed a re-occlusion in M1 segment of the right middle cerebral artery, despite the implementation of stringent anticoagulation therapy for carotid web-related stroke. Lessons: Stroke patients with carotid web had a high risk of stroke recurrence and it was necessary to conduct carotid artery stenting to prevent stroke recurrence secondary to the carotid web immediately after mechanical thrombectomy.
Delivering London 2012: spectator transport

This paper provides an overview of how the UK's Olympic Delivery Authority, its delivery partners and others have worked together to facilitate the huge logistical challenge of transporting spectators to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the world's largest sporting event. Over 10 million spectator tickets are available for the 27 days of games, and transporting those people to and from the venues has to take place while keeping London and the rest of the UK moving. The paper describes the complex planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services that will help to ensure that London 2012 is a success.
The Potential Utility of Salivary and Tear Proteomics to Discriminate Sjögren’s Disease from Non-Sjögren’s Sicca

Sjögren’s Disease (SjD) is an autoimmune disorder associated with decreased saliva and/or tear secretions, resulting in patients reporting dryness in the mouth and eyes. Serum autoantibodies directed against the Ro60/SS-A and La/SS-B autoantigens are a distinctive feature of the disease. Analysis of the saliva and tear proteomes represents one promising alternative method of both classifying and monitoring the condition, and research into salivary and tear proteomics in patients with SjD, with and without sicca, has shown its efficacy and practicality in both clinical and research settings. Studies analyzing the saliva proteomics of SjD patients have generally shown an overexpression of proteins involved in T-cell activation, the immune response, β-2 microglobulin, and the recruitment of pro-inflammatory agents. These studies also show a decrease in or downregulation of proteins involved in salivary secretion. Studies analyzing the tear proteomics of patients with SjD have generally indicated an upregulation of proteins involved with TNF-α signaling, B-cell survival, and the recruitment of pro-inflammatory agents. Studies also note the differential expression of tear protein folding as a hallmark of ocular involvement in this condition. These findings help to elucidate the biochemical relationship between the proteomes of saliva/tear fluids and the general pathophysiology of the gland involved with the pathogenesis of this condition, giving further credence to the potential role of salivary and tear proteomics in the future of diagnosis and treatment for patients with SjD.
Exploring the pharmacological and molecular mechanisms of Salvia chinensis Benth in colorectal cancer: A network pharmacology and molecular docking study

While Salvia chinensis Benth (commonly known as “Shijianchuan” in Chinese, and abbreviated as SJC) is commonly used in adjuvant therapy for colorectal cancer (CRC) in traditional Chinese medicine, its mechanism of action remains unclear. In this study, Initially, we examined the impact of SJC on CRC cells in an in vitro setting. Next, we initially retrieved the primary active components and targets of SJC from databases such as TCMSP and existing literature. Subsequently, we integrated differential gene expression data from the GEO database and collected CRC-related targets from resources like DisGeNET. The matching of these datasets enabled the identification of SJC-CRC targets. We constructed a protein-protein interaction network and identified core targets through topological analysis. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed using clusterProfiler. We established networks linking traditional Chinese medicine components to targets and core targets to signaling pathways. Additionally, we performed molecular docking to validate interactions between the main compounds and targets, and employed Western blot analysis to explore how the major components of SJC affect crucial signaling pathways. In this study, SJC inhibited the viability of HCT-116 and HT-29 cells. We identified a total of 11 active components in SJC along with 317 target genes. Among these, there were 8612 target genes associated with CRC, and we successfully matched 276 SJC-CRC target genes. Through topological analysis of the protein-protein interaction network, we pinpointed 20 core targets. It was revealed that SJC effects are linked to genes governing processes like cell apoptosis, proliferation, hypoxia, oxidative stress, and signaling pathways such as PI3K-Akt through GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses. Additionally, we applied molecular docking techniques and observed that the majority of active compounds displayed robust binding affinity with the selected targets. In vitro experiments suggested that SJC and its key component, Ursolic acid, may exert its anti-CRC effects by modulating the core PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through inhibiting the phosphorylation of the target Akt1. This discovery is consistent with the predictions derived from network pharmacology methods. This study marks the inaugural utilization of bioinformatics methods in conjunction with in vitro experiments to comprehensively investigate the pharmacological and molecular mechanisms responsible for SJC anti-CRC effects.
Colistin Effects on Emphysematous Lung in an LPS-Sepsis Model

Emphysema is prevalent in various respiratory diseases like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis. Colistin and vasoconstrictive drugs are crucial for treating these patients when diagnosed with sepsis in the ICU. This study examines colistin impact in ether-induced emphysematous septic and non-septic animals, focusing on lung pathophysiology and inflammatory responses, including IL-1β, TNF-α, AMPK, caspase-3, cyclin-D1, and colistin levels in lung tissue. All animals exhibited significant emphysematous changes, accentuated by LPS-induced septic conditions, validating the emphysema model and highlighting the exacerbating effect of sepsis on lung pathology. Colistin, alone or with vasoconstrictive drugs, stimulated immune responses through increased inflammatory cell infiltration and the presence of lymphocytes, indicating potential immunomodulatory effects. Vasoconstriction did not alter the effects of colistin or sepsis but correlated with increased colistin levels in the lungs of septic animals. These observations suggest a potential interplay between vasoconstrictive drugs and colistin distribution/metabolism, leading to enhanced local concentrations of colistin in the lung microenvironment. The findings suggest the need for further investigations to optimize colistin and vasoconstrictive drug delivery in critically ill patients with lung pathologies. Understanding these complexities may guide more effective management of inflammatory responses and lung pathologies in these critical conditions.