julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Embedding of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs in Orodispersible Films—Comparison of Five Formulation Strategies
2022-12-21

The poor bioavailability of many newly developed active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) poses a major challenge in formulation development. To overcome this issue, strategies such as the preparation of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), and the application of the APIs in lipid nanocarriers or the wet-milling of the substances into nanoparticles have been introduced. In addition to an efficient formulation strategy, a dosage form that is accepted by all patients is also of great importance. To enable a simple application of the oral dosage form for all patients, orodispersible films (ODFs) are a very promising delivery platform for the APIs because the films directly disintegrate in the mouth. In this study, two poorly water-soluble APIs, fenofibrate and naproxen, were formulated using five different formulation strategies and then embedded in ODFs. It was found that the deliverable amount of API with one ODF highly depends on the formulation strategy as well as the physicochemical properties of the formulated API. The most promising film formulations were ASD-ODFs as well as films with API-loaded lipid nanoemulsions. Both showed a reduction of the dissolution time of the APIs from the ODF compared to an ODF with unformulated API micro particles. In addition, short disintegration times were achieved, although the mechanical film properties were slightly worse compared to the API-free film formulation.
Elite Recreation Specialization and Motivations among Birdwatchers: The Case of Club 300 Members
2022-12-21

Abstract Recreationists differ in their engagement, specialization and involvement in their leisure activity. Recreation specialization can be seen as a continuum from the novice to the highly advanced (or as a career process), sometimes grouped into three or four categories. Within the highest category of advanced recreationists, a specific hard-core, elite or devotee segment was identified. In this study, the highly specialized or elite segment of birdwatchers was addressed. Therefore, members of the Club 300 (in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland), were studied in comparison to non-members. Members of the Club 300 are required to have observed about 300 bird species in their respective country. Scales on recreation specialization, motivations and involvement were applied. A general linear multivariate model revealed a significant influence of Club 300 membership on the total set of the different dimensions with an eta-squared of 0.315, representing a high effect size. Subsequent uni-variate analyses showed that members differed from non-members significantly in all dimensions. Thus, Club 300 members fulfil the requirements of an elite segment because they differ in knowledge and behavior, as well as in their motivations from other birdwatchers.
Hydrodynamic turbulence in disks with embedded planets
2022-12-21

The vertical shear instability (VSI) is a source of hydrodynamic turbulence that can drive vigorous vertical mixing and moderate levels of accretion in protoplanetary disks, and it could be observable in the near future. With high-resolution three-dimensional numerical hydrodynamics simulations, we modeled the behavior of the VSI in protoplanetary disks with and without embedded planets. We then measured its accretion and mixing capabilities by comparing the full Reynolds stress, which includes the contribution of nonaxisymmetric features, such as spiral arms and vortices, to the Reynolds stress due to the azimuthally averaged velocity field, which can be attributed to good approximation to the VSI. We verified that the VSI can contribute to the accretion stress and showed that, depending on disk conditions, an embedded planet can coexist with or suppress VSI turbulent stress. Specifically, the presence of spiral shocks launched by a planet or planet-generated vortices can interfere with the VSI near the planet’s vicinity, with the instability recovering at large enough distances from the planet or vortex. Our results suggest that observations of VSI signatures are unlikely in disks that contain massive, nonaxisymmetric features.
Infrared Yang-Mills wave functional due to percolating center vortices
2022-12-21

Inspired by the center-vortex dominance in the infrared sector of Yang-Mills theory observed on the lattice, we propose a vacuum wave functional localized on an ensemble of correlated center vortices endowed with stiffness and magnetic monopoles that change the orientation of the vortex flux. In the electric-field representation, this wave functional becomes an effective partition function for N complex scalar fields. The inclusion of both oriented and nonoriented vortices as well as so-called N-vortex matchings leads to an effective potential that has only a center symmetry left. In the center-vortex condensed phase, this symmetry is spontaneously broken. In this case, the Wilson loop average can be approximated by a solitonic saddle point localized around the minimal surface. The asymptotic string tension thus obtained displays Casimir scaling.
Proof of principle for the clinical use of a CE-certified automatic imaging analysis tool in rare diseases studying hereditary spastic paraplegia type 4 (SPG4)
2022-12-21

Abstract Usage of MR imaging biomarkers is limited to experts. Automatic quantitative reports provide access for clinicians to data analysis. Automated data analysis was tested for usability in a small cohort of patients with hereditary spastic paraplegia type 4 (SPG4). We analyzed 3T MRI 3D-T1 datasets of n = 25 SPG4 patients and matched healthy controls using a commercial segmentation tool (AIRAscore structure 2.0.1) and standard VBM. In SPG4 total brain volume was reduced by 27.6 percentiles (p = 0.001) caused mainly by white matter loss (− 30.8th, p &lt; 0.001) and stable total gray matter compared to controls. Brain volume loss occurred in: midbrain (− 41.5th, p = 0.001), pons (− 36.5th, p = 0.02), hippocampus (− 20.9th, p = 0.002), and gray matter of the cingulate gyrus (− 17.0th, p = 0.02). Ventricular volumes increased as indirect measures of atrophy. Group comparisons using percentiles aligned with results from VBM analyses. Quantitative imaging reports proved to work as an easily accessible, fully automatic screening tool for clinicians, even in a small cohort of a rare genetic disorder. We could delineate the involvement of white matter and specify involved brain regions. Group comparisons using percentiles provide comparable results to VBM analysis and are, therefore, a suitable and simple screening tool for all clinicians with and without in-depth knowledge of image processing.
Using soft maximin for risk averse multi-objective decision-making
2022-12-21

Abstract Balancing multiple competing and conflicting objectives is an essential task for any artificial intelligence tasked with satisfying human values or preferences. Conflict arises both from misalignment between individuals with competing values, but also between conflicting value systems held by a single human. Starting with principle of loss-aversion, we designed a set of soft maximin function approaches to multi-objective decision-making. Bench-marking these functions in a set of previously-developed environments, we found that one new approach in particular, ‘split-function exp-log loss aversion’ (SFELLA), learns faster than the state of the art thresholded alignment objective method Vamplew (Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligenceg 100:104186, 2021) on three of four tasks it was tested on, and achieved the same optimal performance after learning. SFELLA also showed relative robustness improvements against changes in objective scale, which may highlight an advantage dealing with distribution shifts in the environment dynamics. We further compared SFELLA to the multi-objective reward exponentials (MORE) approach, and found that SFELLA performs similarly to MORE in a simple previously-described foraging task, but in a modified foraging environment with a new resource that was not depleted as the agent worked, SFELLA collected more of the new resource with very little cost incurred in terms of the old resource. Overall, we found SFELLA useful for avoiding problems that sometimes occur with a thresholded approach, and more reward-responsive than MORE while retaining its conservative, loss-averse incentive structure.
Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and power generation in open quantum optomechanical systems
2022-12-21

Cavity optomechanical systems are a paradigmatic setting for the conversion of electromagnetic energy into mechanical work. Experiments with atoms coupled to cavity modes are realized in nonequilibrium conditions, described by phenomenological models encoding non-thermal dissipative dynamics and falling outside the framework of weak system-bath couplings. This fact makes their interpretation as quantum engines, e.g., the derivation of a well-defined efficiency, quite challenging. Here, we present a consistent thermodynamic description of open quantum cavity-atom systems. Our approach takes advantage of their nonequilibrium nature and arrives at an energetic balance which is fully interpretable in terms of persistent dissipated heat currents. The interaction between atoms and cavity modes can further give rise to nonequilibrium phase transitions and emergent behavior and allows to assess the impact of collective many-body phenomena on the engine operation. To enable this, we define two thermodynamic limits related to a weak and to a strong optomechanical coupling, respectively. We illustrate our ideas focussing on a time-crystal engine and discuss power generation, energy-conversion efficiency, and emergence of metastable behavior in both limits.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONING OF STUDENTS IN ARABIC LEARNING THROUGH ONLINE GAME MODELS
2022-12-21

This study aims to analyze (a) the process of learning Arabic using online games , (b) the psychological condition of students before and after using online games, (c) students' Arabic skills .This study model uses a Mixed-Method. Research respondents were class V MIN 1 Metro and MIN 1 Lampung Timur students, which collected 70 students from each Madrasah. The data collection tool used in this study consisted of three instruments, namely interviews, questionnaires, and tests. The findings of this study that 99.4% of students respond with positive behavior when using online games, and only 0.6% of students respond with negative behavior. Furthermore, using online games improves the psychological condition of students at MIN 1 Metro by 64.75% and at MIN 1 East Lampung students by 64.39%. In addition, the use of online games has increased learning outcomes in Arabic by 39.00% for MIN 1 Metro students and 36.38% for MIN 1 students in East Lampung.
A flexible protruding microelectrode array for neural interfacing in bioelectronic medicine
2022-12-22

Abstract Recording neural signals from delicate autonomic nerves is a challenging task that requires the development of a low-invasive neural interface with highly selective, micrometer-sized electrodes. This paper reports on the development of a three-dimensional (3D) protruding thin-film microelectrode array (MEA), which is intended to be used for recording low-amplitude neural signals from pelvic nervous structures by penetrating the nerves transversely to reduce the distance to the axons. Cylindrical gold pillars (Ø 20 or 50 μm, ~60 μm height) were fabricated on a micromachined polyimide substrate in an electroplating process. Their sidewalls were insulated with parylene C, and their tips were optionally modified by wet etching and/or the application of a titanium nitride (TiN) coating. The microelectrodes modified by these combined techniques exhibited low impedances (~7 kΩ at 1 kHz for Ø 50 μm microelectrode with the exposed surface area of ~5000 μm2) and low intrinsic noise levels. Their functionalities were evaluated in an ex vivo pilot study with mouse retinae, in which spontaneous neuronal spikes were recorded with amplitudes of up to 66 μV. This novel process strategy for fabricating flexible, 3D neural interfaces with low-impedance microelectrodes has the potential to selectively record neural signals from not only delicate structures such as retinal cells but also autonomic nerves with improved signal quality to study neural circuits and develop stimulation strategies in bioelectronic medicine, e.g., for the control of vital digestive functions.
Delirium in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: Predictors and implications for patient outcome
2022-12-22

Introduction Delirium is recognized as a severe complication of coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19-associated delirium has been linked to worse patient outcomes and is considered to be of multifactorial origin. Here we sought to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of delirium in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, along with its impact on clinical outcome. Methods Consecutive adult COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary academic referral hospital between March 1 st and December 31 st , 2020 were included. Potential risk factors for delirium were evaluated, including: age, gender, disease severity (as per the highest WHO grading reached during admission), laboratory parameters for infection and renal function (as per their most extreme values), and presence of comorbidities. To assess the relative strength of risk factors for predicting the occurrence of delirium, we performed a random-forest survival analysis. Results 347 patients with positive COVID-19 PCR test and median age 68.2 [IQR 55.5, 80.5] years were included. Of those, 79 patients (22.8%) developed delirium, 81 (23.3%) were transferred to ICU, 58 (16.7%) died. 163 (73.8%) patients were discharged home, 13 (5.9%) to another hospital, 32 (14.5%) to nursing homes, 13 (5.9%) to rehabilitation with an overall median admission-to-discharge time of 53 [IQR 14, 195] days. The strongest predictors for the occurrence of delirium were blood urea nitrogen (minimal depth value (MD): 3.33), age (MD: 3.75), disease severity (as captured by WHO grading; MD: 3.93), leukocyte count (MD: 4.22), the presence of a neurodegenerative history (MD: 4.43), ferritin (MD: 4.46) and creatinine (MD: 4.59) levels. Conclusion The risk of delirium in COVID-19 can be stratified based on COVID-19 disease severity and–similar to delirium associated with other respiratory infections–the factors advanced age, neurodegenerative disease history, and presence of elevated infection and renal-retention parameters. Screening for these risk factors may facilitate early identification of patients at high-risk for COVID-19-associated delirium.
Exercise-Induced N-Lactoylphenylalanine Predicts Adipose Tissue Loss during Endurance Training in Overweight and Obese Humans
2022-12-22

Physical exercise is a powerful measure to prevent cardiometabolic diseases. However, the individual response to lifestyle interventions is variable and cannot, to date, be predicted. N-Lactoylphenylalanine (Lac-Phe) produced during exercise has recently been shown to mediate weight loss in obese mice. Lac-Phe could also contribute to, and potentially explain differences in, the effectiveness of exercise interventions in humans. Sedentary overweight and obese subjects completed an 8-week supervised endurance exercise intervention (n = 22). Before and after the intervention, plasma levels of Lac-Phe were determined by UHPLC-MS in the resting state and immediately after an acute bout of endurance exercise. Adipose tissue volume was quantified using MRI. Acute exercise caused a pronounced increase in Lac-Phe, both before and after the intervention. Higher levels of Lac-Phe after acute exercise were associated with a greater reduction in abdominal subcutaneous and, to a lower degree, visceral adipose tissue during the intervention. Lac-Phe produced during physical activity could contribute to weight loss by acting as a signaling molecule that regulates food intake, as previously shown in mice. Quantification of Lac-Phe during an exercise test could be employed as a tool to predict and potentially improve the individual response to exercise-based lifestyle interventions in overweight humans and those with obesity.
Think About It! Deliberation Reduces the Negative Relation Between Conspiracy Belief and Adherence to Prosocial Norms
2022-12-22

People believing in conspiracy theories question mainstream thoughts and behavior, but it is unknown whether it is also linked to lower adherence to the prosocial norms of the broader society. Furthermore, interventions targeting correlates of the belief in conspiracy theories so far are scarce. In four preregistered, mixed-design experiments ( N total = 1,659, N observations = 8,902), we tested whether believing in conspiracy theories is related to lower prosocial norm adherence and whether deliberation about the reason for the norms mitigates this relationship. Across four studies with the U.S. samples, we found that believing in conspiracy theories correlated negatively with prosocial norm adherence in the control condition, which was less pronounced after deliberation (effect size of interaction: d = 0.16). Whether the norm was related to the law or not did not moderate this effect. Results point toward possible ways of mitigating negative correlates and potentially also consequences of believing in conspiracy theories.
Machine Learning Models for Prediction of Soil Properties in the Riparian Forests
2022-12-22

Spatial variability of soil properties is a critical factor for the planning, management, and exploitation of soil resources. Thus, the use of different digital soil mapping models to provide accuracy plays a crucial role in providing soil physicochemical properties maps. Soil spatial variability in forest stands is not well-known in Iran. Meanwhile, riparian buffers are important for several services such as providing high water quality, nutrient recycling, and buffering agricultural production. Accordingly, in this research, 103 soil samples were taken using the Latin hypercubic method in the Maroon riparian forest of Behbahan and agricultural lands in the vicinity of the forest to evaluate the spatial variability of soil nitrogen, potassium, organic carbon, C:N ratio, pH, calcium carbonate, sand, silt, clay, and bulk density. Different machine learning models, including artificial neural networks, random forest, cubist regression tree, and k-nearest neighbor were used to compare the estimation of soil properties. Moreover, three main sources of spatial information including remote sensing images, digital elevation model, and climate parameters were used as ancillary data. Our results indicated that the random forest model has the best results in estimating soil pH, nitrogen, potassium, and bulk density. In contrast, the cubist regression tree indicated the best estimation for organic carbon, C:N ratio, phosphorous, and clay. Further, artificial neural networks showed the best estimation for calcium carbonate, sand, and silt contents. Our results revealed that geospatial information such as terrain parameters, climate parameters, and satellite images could be well used as ancillary data for the spatial mapping of soil physiochemical properties in riparian forests and agricultural lands. In conclusion, a specific machine learning model needs to be used for each soil property to provide highly accurate maps with less error.
Adaptive radiotherapy for breast cancer
2022-12-22

Research in the field of local and locoregional breast cancer radiotherapy aims to maintain excellent oncological outcomes while reducing treatment-related toxicity. Adaptive radiotherapy (ART) considers variations in target and organs at risk (OARs) anatomy occurring during the treatment course and integrates these in re-optimized treatment plans. Exploiting ART routinely in clinic may result in smaller target volumes and better OAR sparing, which may lead to reduction of acute as well as late toxicities. In this review MR-guided and CT-guided ART for breast cancer patients according to different clinical scenarios (neoadjuvant and adjuvant partial breast irradiation, whole breast, chest wall and regional nodal irradiation) are reviewed and their advantages as well as challenging aspects discussed.
An unsupervised map of excitatory neurons’ dendritic morphology in the mouse visual cortex
2022-12-22

Abstract Neurons in the neocortex exhibit astonishing morphological diversity which is critical for properly wiring neural circuits and giving neurons their functional properties. However, the organizational principles underlying this morphological diversity remain an open question. Here, we took a data-driven approach using graph-based machine learning methods to obtain a low-dimensional morphological “bar code” describing more than 30,000 excitatory neurons in mouse visual areas V1, AL and RL that were reconstructed from the millimeter scale MICrONS serial-section electron microscopy volume. Contrary to previous classifications into discrete morphological types (m-types), our data-driven approach suggests that the morphological landscape of cortical excitatory neurons is better described as a continuum, with a few notable exceptions in layers 5 and 6. Dendritic morphologies in layers 2–3 exhibited a trend towards a decreasing width of the dendritic arbor and a smaller tuft with increasing cortical depth. Inter-area differences were most evident in layer 4, where V1 contained more atufted neurons than higher visual areas. Moreover, we discovered neurons in V1 on the border to layer 5 which avoided deeper layers with their dendrites. In summary, we suggest that excitatory neurons’ morphological diversity is better understood by considering axes of variation than using distinct m-types.
Search for primordial black hole dark matter with x-ray spectroscopic and imaging satellite experiments and prospects for future satellite missions
2022-12-22

Ultra-light primordial black holes (PBHs) in the mass range of 10 - 10 g are allowed by current observations to constitute a significant fraction, if not all, of the dark matter in the Universe. In this work, we present limits on ultra-light, non-rotating PBHs which arise from the non-detection of the Hawking radiation signals from such objects in the keV-MeV energy band. Namely, we consider observations from the current-generation missions XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL/SPI and discuss the observational perspectives of the future missions Athena, eXTP, and THESEUS for PBH searches. Based on 3.4 Msec total exposure time XMM-Newton observations of Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy, we conclude that PBH with masses g can not make all dark matter at 95% confidence level. Our ON-OFF-type analysis of Msec of INTEGRAL/SPI data on the Milky Way halo puts significantly stronger constraints. Only % dark matter can be presented by PBHs with masses g while the majority of dark matter can not be represented by PBHs lighter than g at 95% confidence level. We discuss the strong impact of systematic uncertainty related to the variations of instrumental and astrophysical INTEGRAL/SPI background on the derived results and estimate its level. We also show that future large-field-of-view missions such as THESEUS/X-GIS will be able to improve the constraints by a factor of 10-100 depending on the level of control under the systematics of these instruments.