Microplastics as an emerging threat to amphibians: Current status and future perspectives.

Given their pervasiveness in the environment, particularly in aquatic ecosystems, plastics are posing a growing concern worldwide. Many vertebrates and invertebrates in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems exhibit microplastic (MP) uptake and accumulation. Some studies have indicated the fatal impacts of MPs on animals and their possible transfer through food chains. Thus, it is crucial to study MP pollution and its impacts on environment-sensitive and globally threatened animal groups, such as amphibians, which also play an important role in the energy transfer between ecosystems. Unfortunately, research in this field is lacking and sources of organized information are also scarce. Hence, we systematically reviewed published literature on MPs in amphibians to fill the existing knowledge gap. Our review revealed that most of the previous studies have focused on MP bioaccumulation in amphibians, whereas, only a few research highlighted its impacts. We found that more than 80% of the studied species exhibited MP accumulation. MPs were reported to persist in different organs for a long time and get transferred to other trophic levels. They can also exhibit cytotoxic and mutagenic effects and may have fatal impacts. Moreover, they can increase the disease susceptibility of amphibians. Our study concludes the MPs as a potential threat to amphibians and urges increasing the scope and frequency of research on MP pollution and its impacts on this vulnerable animal group. We also provide a generalized method for studying MPs in amphibians with future perspectives and research directions. Our study is significant for extending the knowledge of MPs and their impacts on amphibians and guiding prospective research.

Glioma subtype classification from histopathological images using in-domain and out-of-domain transfer learning: An experimental study.

We provide in this paper a comprehensive comparison of various transfer learning strategies and deep learning architectures for computer-aided classification of adult-type diffuse gliomas. We evaluate the generalizability of out-of-domain ImageNet representations for a target domain of histopathological images, and study the impact of in-domain adaptation using self-supervised and multi-task learning approaches for pretraining the models using the medium-to-large scale datasets of histopathological images. A semi-supervised learning approach is furthermore proposed, where the fine-tuned models are utilized to predict the labels of unannotated regions of the whole slide images (WSI). The models are subsequently retrained using the ground-truth labels and weak labels determined in the previous step, providing superior performance in comparison to standard in-domain transfer learning with balanced accuracy of 96.91% and F1-score 97.07%, and minimizing the pathologist's efforts for annotation. Finally, we provide a visualization tool working at WSI level which generates heatmaps that highlight tumor areas; thus, providing insights to pathologists concerning the most informative parts of the WSI.

Numerical simulation and study on heat and mass transfer in a hybrid ultrasound/convective dryer.

Susceptibility of airborne ultrasonic power to augment heat and mass transfer during hot air dehydration of peppermint leaves was investigated in the present study. To predict the moisture removal curves, a unique non-equilibrium mathematical model was developed. For the samples dried at temperatures of 40‒70 °C and the power intensities of 0‒104 kW m-3, the diffusion of moisture inside the leaves and coefficients for of mass and heat transfer varied from 0.601 × 10-4 to 5.937 × 10-4 s-1, 4.693 × 10-4 to 7.975 × 10-4 m s-1 and 49.2 to 78.1 W m-2 K-1, respectively. In general, at the process temperatures up to 60 °C, all the studied transfer parameters were augmented in the presence of ultrasonic power.

Metal Free Functionalization of Saturated Heterocycles with Vinylarenes and Pyridine Enabled by Photocatalytic Hydrogen Atom Transfer.

Saturated heterocycles are important class of structural scaffolds in small-molecule drugs, natural products, and synthetic intermediates. Here, we disclosed a metal free, mild, and scalable functionalization of saturated heterocycles using vinylarenes as a linchpin approach. Key to success of this transformation is the employing of simple and cheap benzophenone as a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) catalyst. This operationally robust process was used for the making of diverse functionalized saturated heterocycles. Furthermore, aldehydes, alkane, and alcohol have been functionalized under the optimized conditions. The potential pharmaceutical utility of the procedure has also been demonstrated by late-stage functionalization of bioactive natural compounds and pharmaceutical molecules. Initial mechanism studies and control experiments were performed to elucidate the mechanism of the reactions.

Cell-in-cell-mediated intercellular communication exacerbates the pro-inflammatory progression in asthma.

Cell-in-cell (CIC) structures have been suggested to mediate intracellular substance transport between cells and have been found widely in inflammatory lung tissue of asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of CIC structures in inflammatory progress of asthma. CIC structures and related inflammatory pathways were analyzed in asthmatic lung tissue and normal lung tissue of mouse model. In vitro, the activation of inflammatory pathways by CIC-mediated intercellular communication was analyzed by RNA-Seq and verified by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Results showed that CIC structures of lymphocytes and alveolar epithelial cells in asthmatic lung tissue mediated intercellular substance (such as mitochondria) transfer and promoted pro-inflammation in two phases. At early phase, internal lymphocytes triggered inflammasome-dependent pro-inflammation and cell death of itself. Then, degraded lymphocytes released cellular contents such as mitochondria inside alveolar epithelial cells, further activated multi-pattern-recognition receptors and NF-kappa B signaling pathways of alveolar epithelial cells, and thereby amplified pro-inflammatory response in asthma. Our work supplements the mechanism of asthma pro-inflammation progression from the perspective of CIC structure of lymphocytes and alveolar epithelial cells, and provides a new idea for anti-inflammatory therapy of asthma.

Young adults' perception of transition from paediatric to adult care.

AIM: Medical advancements will lead to more children with long-term illnesses and/or disabilities undergoing the transition to adult care. Previous studies show that many young adults are unprepared for this transition, and might suffer from loss of follow-up. This study aimed to investigate the post-transfer experiences of the transition among young adults with long-term illnesses and/or disabilities. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Three semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 15 participants (18-25 years of age) recruited via patient organisations focusing on children and young adults with disabilities and/or long-term illnesses. The interviews were analysed with conventional content analysis. RESULTS: One theme emerged: limbo, defined as an indefinite experience without knowing when or even if something would happen, or whether they would be overlooked. The theme rested on four categories: transition experiences, organisational aspects, influence on daily life, and self-management. CONCLUSION: Areas for improvement were identified across the entire transition that is, in the preparation, transfer, and post-transfer stages. Our findings indicate a limited understanding among healthcare providers (HCPs) that the transition continues until the young adult has been fully integrated into adult care.

Can serum progesterone concentration direct a fresh or freeze-all transfer strategy in the first in vitro fertilisation cycle?

PURPOSE: To examine the interaction between serum progesterone concentration on the trigger day and choice of freeze-all and fresh transfer strategies on live birth in an unselected population as well as in patients over 35 years old. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 26,661 patients commencing their first IVF cycle in a large fertility centre between 2015 and 2019, including 4687 patients over 35 years old. We performed a multivariable fractional polynomial interaction analysis within a logistic regression model to investigate the interaction between serum progesterone concentration and the choice of freeze-all or fresh transfer strategy following the first transfer. RESULTS: 15,539 patients underwent a fresh embryo transfer and 11,122 underwent a freeze-all strategy in their first IVF cycle. The freeze-all group had a higher live birth rate compared to the fresh group (43.9% vs 40.3%). After adjusting for confounding factors, there was a positive interaction between serum progesterone concentrations and the choice of a freeze-all versus fresh embryo transfer on live birth (p for interaction 0.0001), with a larger magnitude of effect when progesterone concentration was higher. Such an interaction was also observed in patients over 35 years old (p for interaction 0.01), but the treatment effect curve over progesterone concentrations was almost flat. CONCLUSIONS: In an unselected population, frozen transfer is associated with greater chances of live birth, especially in patients with higher serum progesterone concentration. In patients over 35 years old, the benefit of a freeze-all policy appears small across all serum progesterone concentrations.

Training flexible spatial-cognitive estimation strategies using augmented reality.

We investigated the potential for augmented reality (AR) as a training aid for spatial estimation skills. Though there are many tools to support spatial judgments, from measuring cups to rulers, not much is known about training spatial skills for retention and transfer. Display of AR was manipulated to train the spatial skill of portion estimation. In Experiment 1, an AR-aided strategy of creating smaller portions out of a larger example amount was compared to a no-AR control condition. This manipulation was based on previous non-AR experiments where amorphous foods were better estimated when divided into smaller portions. There was a significant benefit of estimating using a solid AR shape. In Experiment 2, cognitive anchoring was manipulated. Using meaningful AR anchors resulted in the best performance and most learning. We conclude that spatial estimation skills can be combined with mental strategies and trained via AR.

Various methods of providing augmented reality reference images were compared in the training of spatial estimation skills. Findings using AR reference images differed from previous research on portion estimation and providing solid, meaningful images resulted in the best performance and learning, as measured via retention and transfer.

Analyzing of hydrodynamic stress and mass transfer requirements of a fermentation process carried out in a coaxial bioreactor: a scale-up study.

Fluid hydrodynamic stress has a deterministic effect on the morphology of filamentous fungi. Although the coaxial mixer has been recognized as a suitable gas dispersion system for minimizing inhomogeneities within a bioreactor, its performance for achieving enhanced oxygen transfer while operating at a reduced shear environment has not been investigated yet, specifically upon scale-up. Therefore, the influence of the impeller type, aeration rate, and central impeller retrofitting on the efficacy of an abiotic coaxial system containing a shear-thinning fluid was examined. The aim was to assess the hydrodynamic parameters, including stress, mass transfer, bubble size, and gas hold-up, upon conducting a scale-up study. The investigation was conducted through dynamic gassing-in, tomography, and computational fluid dynamics combined with population balance methods. It was observed that the coaxial bioreactor performance was strongly influenced by the agitator type. In addition, coaxial bioreactors are scalable in terms of shear environment and oxygen transfer rate.

Combining transfer learning and hyperspectral imaging to identify bruises of pears across different bruise types.

Mechanical bruise is one of the most crucial factors affecting the quality of pears, which has a huge influence on postharvest transportation, storage, and sale of pears. To rapidly detect early bruises of pears across different bruise types, hyperspectral imaging technology coupled with transfer learning methods was performed in this study. Two transfer learning methods, that is, transfer component analysis (TCA) and manifold embedded distribution alignment (MEDA), were applied for two tasks (impact bruise â†’ crush bruise, crush bruise â†’ impact bruise). Supporting vector machine (SVM) was set as a baseline to conduct analysis and comparison of the transferability of the models. The result showed that, for task 1 (impact bruise â†’ crush bruise), MEDA and TCA-SVM model achieved a classification accuracy of 93.33% and 91.11% in target domain, individually. For task 2 (crush bruise â†’impact bruise), MEDA and TCA-SVM model achieved an accuracy of 88.89% and 85.19% in target domain, respectively. Both the two models improved the accuracy compared with SVM models (84.44% for task 1; 77.04% for task 2). Overall, the results indicated that transfer learning approaches could perform pear bruise detection across different bruise types. Hyperspectral imaging in combination with transfer learning methods is a promising possibility for the efficient and cost-saving field detection of fruit bruises among different bruise types. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The production and export of pears are faced with problems of mechanical damage due to vibration, collision, impact, and other factors, which cause chemical changes in color, odor, and taste. Sometimes the bruise was too slight to be ignored which would infect with other fruits in the future. In this study, we used hyperspectral imaging combined with transfer learning method could detect these slight bruises caused by different factors. Distinguishing different types of damage can provide a reference for quick judgment of the process causing damage and take prompt measures to reduce economic losses.

Altered Cortical Information Interaction During Respiratory Events in Children with Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome.

Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) significantly impairs children's growth and cognition. This study aims to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying OSAHS in children, with a particular focus on the alterations in cortical information interaction during respiratory events. We analyzed sleep electroencephalography before, during, and after events, utilizing Symbolic Transfer Entropy (STE) for brain network construction and information flow assessment. The results showed a significant increase in STE after events in specific frequency bands during N2 and rapid eye movement (REM) stages, along with increased STE during N3 stage events. Moreover, a noteworthy rise in the information flow imbalance within and between hemispheres was found after events, displaying unique patterns in central sleep apnea and hypopnea. Importantly, some of these alterations were correlated with symptom severity. These findings highlight significant changes in brain region coordination and communication during respiratory events, offering novel insights into OSAHS pathophysiology in children.

Charge Relay Without Proton Transfer: Coupling of Two Short Hydrogen Bonds via Imidazole in Models of Catalytic Triad of Serine Protease Active Site.

A homologous series of 20 substituted alcohol-imidazole-acetate model complexes imitating the charge relay system in Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad of serine proteases is considered quantum-chemically. We show qualitatively that the geometries of alcohol-imidazole and imidazole-acetate short hydrogen bonds are strongly coupled via the central imidazole and such complexes are capable of effectively relaying the charge from acetate to alcohol moiety upon relatively small concerted proton displacements. We hypothesize an alternative catalytic mechanism of serine proteases that does not require two complete proton transfers or hydrogen bond breakage between Ser and His residues.

Scrutinizing a Lactococcus lactis mutant with enhanced capacity for extracellular electron transfer reveals a unique role for a novel type-II NADH dehydrogenase.

Lactococcus lactis, a lactic acid bacterium used in food fermentations and commonly found in the human gut, is known to possess a fermentative metabolism. L. lactis, however, has been demonstrated to transfer metabolically generated electrons to external electron acceptors, a process termed extracellular electron transfer (EET). Here, we investigated an L. lactis mutant with an unusually high capacity for EET that was obtained in an adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiment. First, we investigated how global gene expression had changed, and found that amino acid metabolism and nucleotide metabolism had been affected significantly. One of the most significantly upregulated genes encoded the NADH dehydrogenase NoxB. We found that this upregulation was due to a mutation in the promoter region of NoxB, which abolished carbon catabolite repression. A unique role of NoxB in EET could be attributed and it was directly verified, for the first time, that NoxB could support respiration in L. lactis. NoxB, was shown to be a novel type-II NADH dehydrogenase that is widely distributed among gut microorganisms. This work expands our understanding of EET in Gram-positive electroactive microorganisms and the special significance of a novel type-II NADH dehydrogenase in EET.IMPORTANCEElectroactive microorganisms with extracellular electron transfer (EET) ability play important roles in biotechnology and ecosystems. To date, there have been many investigations aiming at elucidating the mechanisms behind EET, and determining the relevance of EET for microorganisms in different niches. However, how EET can be enhanced and harnessed for biotechnological applications has been less explored. Here, we compare the transcriptomes of an EET-enhanced L. lactis mutant with its parent and elucidate the underlying reason for its superior performance. We find that one of the most significantly upregulated genes is the gene encoding the NADH dehydrogenase NoxB, and that upregulation is due to a mutation in the catabolite-responsive element that abolishes carbon catabolite repression. We demonstrate that NoxB has a special role in EET, and furthermore show that it supports respiration to oxygen, which has never been done previously. In addition, a search reveals that this novel NoxB-type NADH dehydrogenase is widely distributed among gut microorganisms.

Effect of anti-Müllerian hormone on early pregnancy loss in hormone replacement therapy-frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles: An analysis including 6597 pregnant patients undergoing their first in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycle.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level and early pregnancy loss in patients who underwent their first embryo transfer by hormone replacement therapy-frozen-thawed embryo transfer (HRT-FET) and analyze the threshold effect. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed on pregnant women undergoing HRT-FET at the Reproductive Medical Center of Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2016 to December 2021. The patients were divided into four groups based on AMH concentration according to the Poseidon criteria: group A (≤1 µg/L), group B (1-≤2 µg/L), group C (2-≤6 µg/L), and group D (>6 µg/L). Univariate analysis, multivariate logistic regression analysis, smooth curve fitting, and threshold effect analysis were applied to investigate the influence of AMH on the outcome of early pregnancy loss in in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection and HRT-FET cycles. RESULTS: Of the 6597 pregnant women, early pregnancy loss occurred in 893, giving an early pregnancy loss rate of 13.54%. Univariate regression analysis demonstrated that age, female body mass index, AMH, antral follicle count, endometrial thickness at endometrial transformation day, total retrieved oocyte number, number of pregnancies, duration of infertility, type of infertility, and the number of embryos transferred were all factors influencing the early pregnancy loss rate (P < 0.050). Multivariate logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for confounders, further stratified the analysis of patients of different ages. With group A as the control group, the results showed that when age was younger than 35 years, the pregnancy loss rates in groups B, C, and D were lower than that in group A, with statistical significance (P < 0.050); when age was 35 years or older, there was no statistically significant difference in outcome indicators between the groups (P > 0.050). A threshold effect analysis revealed that the AMH threshold was 2.83 µg/L. When the AMH concentration was less than 2.83 µg/L, the early pregnancy loss rate decreased significantly with increasing AMH concentration; the early pregnancy loss rate decreased by 21% for each unit increase in AMH (odds ratio 0.79; 95% confidence interval 0.71-0.88; P < 0.001); when the AMH concentration was 2.83 µg/L or more, there was no statistical difference in the change in early pregnancy loss rate (odds ratio 1.01; 95% confidence interval 0.99-1.03; P = 0.383). CONCLUSION: For pregnant women after their first embryo transfer, there is a curvilinear relationship between the influences of AMH levels on early pregnancy loss rates in patients younger than 35 years. When the AMH level was less than 2.83 µg/L, the early pregnancy loss rate declined significantly with increasing AMH levels.

Absorption spectra of p-nitroaniline derivatives: charge transfer effects and the role of substituents.

CONTEXT: Push-pull compounds are model systems and have numerous applications. By changing their substituents, properties are modified and new molecules for different applications can be designed. The work investigates the gas-phase electronic absorption spectra of 15 derivatives of push-pull para-nitroaniline (pNA). This molecule has applications in pharmaceuticals, azo dyes, corrosion inhibitors, and optoelectronics. Both electron-donor and electron-withdrawing groups were investigated. Employing machine learning-derived Hammett's constants σm, σm0, σR, and σI, correlations between substituents and electronic properties were obtained. Overall, the σm0 constants presented the best correlation with HOMO and LUMO energies, whereas the σR constants best agreed with the transition energy of the first band and HOMO-LUMO energy gap. Electron-donors, which have lower σR values, redshift the absorption spectrum and reduce the HOMO-LUMO energy gap. Conversely, electron-withdrawing groups (higher σR's) blueshift the spectrum and increase the energy gap. The second band maximum energies, studied here for the first time, showed no correlation with σ but tended to increase with σ. A comprehensive charge transfer (CT) analysis of the main transition of all systems was also carried out. We found that donors (lower σ's) slightly enhance the CT character of the unsubstituted pNA, whereas acceptors (higher σ's) decrease it, leading to increased local excitations within the aromatic ring. The overall CT variation is not large, except for pNA-SO2H, which considerably decreases the total CT value. We found that the strong electron donors pNA-OH, pNA-OCH3, and pNA-NH2, which have the smallest HOMO-LUMO energy gaps and lowest σ's, have potential for optoelectronic applications. The results show that none of the studied molecules is fluorescent in the gas phase. However, pNA-NH2 and pNA-COOH in cyclohexane and water reveal fluorescence upon solvation. METHODS: We investigated theoretically employing the second-order algebraic diagrammatic construction (ADC(2)) ab initio wave function and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) the gas-phase electronic absorption spectra of 15 derivatives of p-nitroaniline (pNA). The investigated substituents include both electron-donor (C6H5, CCH, CH3, NH2, OCH3, and OH,) and electron-withdrawing (Br, CCl3, CF3, Cl, CN, COOH, F, NO2, and SO2H) substituents.

Synchronous removal of gaseous toluene and benzene and degradation process shifts in microbial fuel cell-biotrickling filter system.

Illustrating the biodegradation processes of multi-component volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will expedite the implication of biotechnology in purifying industrial exhaust. Here, performance shifts of microbial fuel cell and biotrickling filter combined system (MFC-BTF) are investigated for removing single and dual components of toluene and benzene. Synchronous removal of toluene (95 %) and benzene (97 %) are achieved by MFC-BTF accompanied with the output current of 0.41 mA. Elevated content of extracellular polymeric substance facilitates the mass transfer of benzene with the presence of toluene. Strains of Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi contribute to the removal of dual components VOCs. Empty bed reaction time and the VOCs concentration are the important factors influencing their dissolution in the system. The biodegradation of toluene and benzene proceeds with 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde and o-hydroxybenzoic acid as the main intermediates. These results provide a comprehensive understanding of multi-component VOCs removal by MFC-BTF and guide the system design, optimization, and scale-up.

Skin-to-skin transfer from the delivery room to the neonatal unit for neonates of 1,500g or above: a feasibility and safety study.

Objective: Immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is already standard care for healthy term newborns, but its use for term or preterm newborns requiring admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with or without respiratory support is challenging. This study aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of SSC during the transfer of newborn infants, using a new purpose-built mobile shuttle care-station, called "Tandem". Material and methods: A monocentric prospective observational study was conducted at the tertiary referral center of the Université libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium after ethical approval by Hopital Erasme's Ethics Committee (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06198478). Infants born with a birth weight above 1,500 g were included. Following initial stabilization, infants were placed in SSC with one of their parents and transferred to the NICU using the Tandem. Results: Out of 65 infants initially included, 64 (98.5%) were successfully transported via SSC using the Tandem. One transfer was not successful due to last minute parental consent withdrawal. The median (range) duration of continuous skin-to-skin contact after birth was 120 min (10-360). SSC transfers were associated with gradually decreasing heart rate (HR) values, stable oxygen saturation levels (SpO2), and no increase in median fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2). Heatloss was predominantly observed during initial setup of SSC. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of tachycardia, desaturation or hypothermia between preterm and term neonates. No equipment failures compromising the transfer were recorded. Conclusion: Skin-to-skin transfer of infants with a birthweight of equal or above 1,500 g using the Tandem shuttle is feasible and associated with stable physiological parameters. This method facilitates early bonding and satisfies parents. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06198478).

Electrical stress and acid orange 7 synergistically clear the blockage of electron flow in the methanogenesis of low-strength wastewater.

Energy recovery from low-strength wastewater through anaerobic methanogenesis is constrained by limited substrate availability. The development of efficient methanogenic communities is critical but challenging. Here we develop a strategy to acclimate methanogenic communities using conductive carrier (CC), electrical stress (ES), and Acid Orange 7 (AO7) in a modified biofilter. The synergistic integration of CC, ES, and AO7 precipitated a remarkable 72-fold surge in methane production rate compared to the baseline. This increase was attributed to an altered methanogenic community function, independent of the continuous presence of AO7 and ES. AO7 acted as an external electron acceptor, accelerating acetogenesis from fermentation intermediates, restructuring the bacterial community, and enriching electroactive bacteria (EAB). Meanwhile, CC and ES orchestrated the assembly of the archaeal community and promoted electrotrophic methanogens, enhancing acetotrophic methanogenesis electron flow via a mechanism distinct from direct electrochemical interactions. The collective application of CC, ES, and AO7 effectively mitigated electron flow impediments in low-strength wastewater methanogenesis, achieving an additional 34% electron recovery from the substrate. This study proposes a new method of amending anaerobic digestion systems with conductive materials to advance wastewater treatment, sustainability, and energy self-sufficiency.

A rotary transformer cross-subject model for continuous estimation of finger joints kinematics and a transfer learning approach for new subjects.

Introduction: Surface Electromyographic (sEMG) signals are widely utilized for estimating finger kinematics continuously in human-machine interfaces (HMI), and deep learning approaches are crucial in constructing the models. At present, most models are extracted on specific subjects and do not have cross-subject generalizability. Considering the erratic nature of sEMG signals, a model trained on a specific subject cannot be directly applied to other subjects. Therefore, in this study, we proposed a cross-subject model based on the Rotary Transformer (RoFormer) to extract features of multiple subjects for continuous estimation kinematics and extend it to new subjects by adversarial transfer learning (ATL) approach. Methods: We utilized the new subject's training data and an ATL approach to calibrate the cross-subject model. To improve the performance of the classic transformer network, we compare the impact of different position embeddings on model performance, including learnable absolute position embedding, Sinusoidal absolute position embedding, and Rotary Position Embedding (RoPE), and eventually selected RoPE. We conducted experiments on 10 randomly selected subjects from the NinaproDB2 dataset, using Pearson correlation coefficient (CC), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), and coefficient of determination (R2) as performance metrics. Results: The proposed model was compared with four other models including LSTM, TCN, Transformer, and CNN-Attention. The results demonstrated that both in cross-subject and subject-specific cases the performance of RoFormer was significantly better than the other four models. Additionally, the ATL approach improves the generalization performance of the cross-subject model better than the fine-tuning (FT) transfer learning approach. Discussion: The findings indicate that the proposed RoFormer-based method with an ATL approach has the potential for practical applications in robot hand control and other HMI settings. The model's superior performance suggests its suitability for continuous estimation of finger kinematics across different subjects, addressing the limitations of subject-specific models.

Effect of the Photoexcitation Wavelength and Polarization on the Generated Heat by a Nd-Doped Microspinner at the Microscale.

Thermal control at small scales is critical for studying temperature-dependent biological systems and microfluidic processes. Concerning this, optical trapping provides a contactless method to remotely study microsized heating sources. This work introduces a birefringent luminescent microparticle of NaLuF4:Nd3+ as a local heater in a liquid system. When optically trapped with a circularly polarized laser beam, the microparticle rotates and heating is induced through multiphonon relaxation of the Nd3+ ions. The temperature increment in the surrounding medium is investigated, reaching a maximum heating of ≈5 °C within a 30 µm radius around the static particle under 51 mW laser excitation at 790 nm. Surprisingly, this study reveals that the particle's rotation minimally affects the temperature distribution, contrary to the intuitive expectation of liquid stirring. The influence of the microparticle rotation on the reduction of heating transfer is analyzed. Numerical simulations confirm that the thermal distribution remains consistent regardless of spinning. Instead, the orientation-dependence of the luminescence process emerges as a key factor responsible for the reduction in heating. The anisotropy in particle absorption and the lag between the orientation of the particle and the laser polarization angle contribute to this effect. Therefore, caution must be exercised when employing spinning polarization-dependent luminescent particles for microscale thermal analysis using rotation dynamics.