Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polymer-Ceramic Composite Scaffolds: The Effect of Hydroxyapatite and β-tri-Calcium Phosphate

The design of bioactive scaffolds with improved mechanical and biological properties is an important topic of research. This paper investigates the use of polymer-ceramic composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Different ceramic materials (hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tri-calcium phosphate (TCP)) were mixed with poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL). Scaffolds with different material compositions were produced using an extrusion-based additive manufacturing system. The produced scaffolds were physically and chemically assessed, considering mechanical, wettability, scanning electron microscopy and thermal gravimetric tests. Cell viability, attachment and proliferation tests were performed using human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs). Results show that scaffolds containing HA present better biological properties and TCP scaffolds present improved mechanical properties. It was also possible to observe that the addition of ceramic particles had no effect on the wettability of the scaffolds.
Effect of fluticasone in severe polyposis.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of intranasal corticosteroids in the treatment of polyps in patients with severe polyposis listed for surgical treatment and to determine the treatment effect on the progression of the disease. DESIGN A double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, 12-week study at a single center. SETTING A tertiary referral center in London, England. PATIENTS Thirty-four patients with severe polyposis listed for endoscopic surgical treatment. INTERVENTION By random allocation, fluticasone propionate aqueous nasal spray (FPANS), 200 microg twice a day; beclomethasone dipropionate aqueous nasal spray, 200 microg twice a day; or placebo nasal spray twice a day was administered. Patients received 2 actuations to each nostril in the morning and in the evening. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Efficacy end points were the need for polypectomy at the end of treatment, the results of acoustic rhinometry, the polyp score, the peak nasal inspiratory flow rate, and an assessment of symptoms. RESULTS The polyp score was significantly decreased in the FPANS-treated group (P < or = .01). The nasal cavity volume was significantly increased in both the FPANS-treated group and the group receiving beclomethasone compared with placebo (P < or = .01) at the end of treatment. The percentage change in the mean morning peak nasal inspiratory flow rate was greater in the FPANS-treated group, with a significant effect observed at week 2 (P = .01). Nasal blockage was significantly decreased in both active groups compared with the group receiving placebo. No significant difference was observed between the treatment groups in the number of patients requiring polypectomy. CONCLUSIONS Fluticasone and beclomethasone aqueous nasal sprays are effective in treating the symptoms of severe nasal polyps. There was some evidence that the group treated with FPANS responded more quickly to intervention and that the magnitude of the response was greater than in the group receiving beclomethasone.
Anxiety and Anxiety Management of People Living with HIV / AIDS in Bangladesh

Background: Anxiety is one of the dominant psychological symptoms occurring in both symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV patient group. Although previous work has described the prevalence of HIV-related anxiety and self-care strategies, but most of the studies till date reported were conducted in developed countries. Little is known about the anxiety experiences and the ways in which people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) manage and tackles anxiety in Bangladesh. Objective: This study aims to describe anxiety experiences and anxiety management of people living with HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh. Methods: The study was conducted using the descriptive research. The subjects were a minimum of 75 people living with HIV/AIDS recruited from the outpatient department at Infectious Diseases Hospital/NGO in Bangladesh. Data were collected using a selected questionnaire including: the Demographic Data Assessment Form (DDAF), the Anxiety Experience Questionnaire (AEQ), and the Anxiety Management Strategies Questionnaire (AMSQ). The contents of the questionnaire were validated by three experts. The AEQ and the AMSQ were tested for reliability using test-retest coefficient yielding of . 87 to 1.00. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, range, mean, and standard deviation. Results: The finding revealed that the majority of the subjects (76.0%) reported a high level of overall anxiety experiences (M = 6.62, SD = 2.69) and used several strategies to manage. Although pharmacological and non-pharmacological anxiety management activities were perform. The anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs were reported as helpful (M = 7.69, SD = .72, and M=6.99, SD=.51 respectively). Regarding non-pharmacological methods, using ventilation, avoidance coping and religious practice was reported to be most helpful. The research findings could guide nurses to promote better advice and services in reducing anxiety problems of PLWHA in Bangladesh. Key word: Anxiety, Anxiety experiences, Anxiety management, and HIV/AIDS.
ECG arrhythmia classification using a 2-D convolutional neural network

In this paper, we propose an effective electrocardiogram (ECG) arrhythmia classification method using a deep two-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN) which recently shows outstanding performance in the field of pattern recognition. Every ECG beat was transformed into a two-dimensional grayscale image as an input data for the CNN classifier. Optimization of the proposed CNN classifier includes various deep learning techniques such as batch normalization, data augmentation, Xavier initialization, and dropout. In addition, we compared our proposed classifier with two well-known CNN models; AlexNet and VGGNet. ECG recordings from the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database were used for the evaluation of the classifier. As a result, our classifier achieved 99.05% average accuracy with 97.85% average sensitivity. To precisely validate our CNN classifier, 10-fold cross-validation was performed at the evaluation which involves every ECG recording as a test data. Our experimental results have successfully validated that the proposed CNN classifier with the transformed ECG images can achieve excellent classification accuracy without any manual pre-processing of the ECG signals such as noise filtering, feature extraction, and feature reduction.
Bronchiolitis: Recent Evidence on Diagnosis and Management

Viral bronchiolitis is a leading cause of acute illness and hospitalization of young children. Research into the variation in treatment and outcomes for bronchiolitis across different settings has led to evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Ongoing investigation continues to expand this body of evidence. Authors of recent surveillance studies have defined the presence of coinfections with multiple viruses in some cases of bronchiolitis. Underlying comorbidities and young age remain the most important predictors for severe bronchiolitis. Pulse oximetry plays an important role in driving use of health care resources. Evidence-based reviews have suggested a limited role for diagnostic laboratory or radiographic tests in typical cases of bronchiolitis. Several large, recent trials have revealed a lack of efficacy for routine use of either bronchodilators or corticosteroids for treatment of bronchiolitis. Preliminary evidence suggests a potential future role for a combination of these therapies and other novel treatments such as nebulized hypertonic saline.
Knowledge, Practices And Socio-Cultural Restrictions Associated With Menstruation And Menstrual Hygiene Among In-School Adolescents In Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Background: A fifth of the world’s populations are adolescents, four out of five lives in developing countries like ours. Adolescence in girls is marked by the unique phenomenon called menarche. The perception and reaction of girls towards menstruation depends to a larger extent upon their awareness and knowledge of this phenomenon and also on the view of the society. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge, practices and socio-cultural restrictions associated with menstruation and menstrual hygiene among in-school adolescents in Nigeria Methodology: A multistage sampling technique was used. Adolescents girls (N= 382) completed questionnaires regarding socio-demographic details and assessing knowledge of in-school adolescent girls about menstruation and menstrual hygiene. Data was analyzed using STATA 11.
Phylogeography and adaptation genetics of stickleback from the Haida Gwaii archipelago revealed using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping

Threespine stickleback populations are model systems for studying adaptive evolution and the underlying genetics. In lakes on the Haida Gwaii archipelago (off western Canada), stickleback have undergone a remarkable local radiation and show phenotypic diversity matching that seen throughout the species distribution. To provide a historical context for this radiation, we surveyed genetic variation at >1000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci in stickleback from over 100 populations. SNPs included markers evenly distributed throughout genome and candidate SNPs tagging adaptive genomic regions. Based on evenly distributed SNPs, the phylogeographic pattern differs substantially from the disjunct pattern previously observed between two highly divergent mtDNA lineages. The SNP tree instead shows extensive within watershed population clustering and different watersheds separated by short branches deep in the tree. These data are consistent with separate colonizations of most watersheds, despite underlying genetic connections between some independent drainages. This supports previous suppositions that morphological diversity observed between watersheds has been shaped independently, with populations exhibiting complete loss of lateral plates and giant size each occurring in several distinct clades. Throughout the archipelago, we see repeated selection of SNPs tagging candidate freshwater adaptive variants at several genomic regions differentiated between marine–freshwater populations on a global scale (e.g. EDA, Na/K ATPase). In estuarine sites, both marine and freshwater allelic variants were commonly detected. We also found typically marine alleles present in a few freshwater lakes, especially those with completely plated morphology. These results provide a general model for postglacial colonization of freshwater habitat by sticklebacks and illustrate the tremendous potential of genome‐wide SNP data sets hold for resolving patterns and processes underlying recent adaptive divergences.
Motheye smart windows : bio-inspired, temperature-responsive glazing for passive regulation of building temperature with the ability to self-clean

The work presented in thesis is dedicated primarily to improving the optical properties of vanadium dioxide (a thermochromic material used for energy-saving window applications) through the incorporation of bio-mimetic sub-wavelength nanostructures at the air–glass interface. The focal points of our work have been: firstly, to identify where in the world these types of smart windows are most effective; secondly, to synthesise vanadium dioxide and characterise its optical properties; thirdly, to develop design rules for nanostructured Motheye Smart Windows; fourthly and finally, to fabricate the desired motheye nanostructures in glass.
Deep ECGNet: An Optimal Deep Learning Framework for Monitoring Mental Stress Using Ultra Short-Term ECG Signals.

BACKGROUND Stress recognition using electrocardiogram (ECG) signals requires the intractable long-term heart rate variability (HRV) parameter extraction process. This study proposes a novel deep learning framework to recognize the stressful states, the Deep ECGNet, using ultra short-term raw ECG signals without any feature engineering methods. METHODS The Deep ECGNet was developed through various experiments and analysis of ECG waveforms. We proposed the optimal recurrent and convolutional neural networks architecture, and also the optimal convolution filter length (related to the P, Q, R, S, and T wave durations of ECG) and pooling length (related to the heart beat period) based on the optimization experiments and analysis on the waveform characteristics of ECG signals. The experiments were also conducted with conventional methods using HRV parameters and frequency features as a benchmark test. The data used in this study were obtained from Kwangwoon University in Korea (13 subjects, Case 1) and KU Leuven University in Belgium (9 subjects, Case 2). Experiments were designed according to various experimental protocols to elicit stressful conditions. RESULTS The proposed framework to recognize stress conditions, the Deep ECGNet, outperformed the conventional approaches with the highest accuracy of 87.39% for Case 1 and 73.96% for Case 2, respectively, that is, 16.22% and 10.98% improvements compared with those of the conventional HRV method. CONCLUSIONS We proposed an optimal deep learning architecture and its parameters for stress recognition, and the theoretical consideration on how to design the deep learning structure based on the periodic patterns of the raw ECG data. Experimental results in this study have proved that the proposed deep learning model, the Deep ECGNet, is an optimal structure to recognize the stress conditions using ultra short-term ECG data.
Exact solutions for nondiffracting beams. I. The scalar theory

We present exact, nonsingular solutions of the scalar-wave equation for beams that are nondiffracting. This means that the intensity pattern in a transverse plane is unaltered by propagating in free space. These beams can have extremely narrow intensity profiles with effective widths as small as several wavelengths and yet possess an infinite depth of field. We further show (by using numerical simulations based on scalar diffraction theory) that physically realizable finite-aperture approximations to the exact solutions can also possess an extremely large depth of field.
Elasticity of Bamboo Fiber Variants from Brillouin Spectroscopy

Abstract Bamboo is a fast growing biomaterial that is of great interest as a rapidly renewable structural building material. As such, knowledge of the elastic properties is crucial to its use. Using non-contact, non-invasive Brillouin spectroscopy, we measure the entire elastic stiffness tensor and determine the complete set of elastic moduli of six species of bamboo fiber variants. The Young’s moduli, bulk modulus, shear moduli, and Poisson’s ratios are determined and shown to scale linearly with fiber density. These results provide the first order elastic properties of several fiber variants of bamboo which is crucial to a thorough understanding of how species variation yields specific elastic properties thereby enabling a complex understanding of the properties of this unique biomaterial.
Climacteric women at work: What lurks behind poor occupational quality of life?

ABSTRACT Physical and psychological changes during menopausal transition may affect various aspects of everyday functioning including women's work ability and work productivity. Presence of menopausal symptoms has been well-acknowledged to negatively affect quality of life (QOL). However, data on factors associated with occupational QOL among women at this period of life are lacking. The authors' purpose in this study was to evaluate factors affecting occupational QOL in a sample of employed mid-life women who are experiencing menopause. The authors performed a cross-sectional study among 335 employed women aged 40 to 65 years from Serbia. Socio-demographic questionnaire, Utian's Quality of Life Scale, and Beck's Depression Inventory were used in data collection. Women's average monthly household income and educational level were positively correlated, while having uterine prolapse was negatively associated with occupational QOL. Significant regression models assessing impact of gynecological illnesses and menopause-specific symptoms on occupational QOL (direct value and categories—below vs. above mean) showed that having insomnia, uterine prolapse, and genital inflammations may differentiate “good” from “poor” occupational QOL. Uterine prolapse, genital inflammation, and insomnia were associated with worse occupational QOL among working women in menopausal transition.
Nationwide Routine‐Data Analysis of Sex Differences in Outcome of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Women have been reported to suffer from impaired outcome after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of our study was to determine the impact of sex and age on utilization of inpatient healthcare and outcome in patients with AMI (STEMI and NSTEMI) in a real‐life setting. We performed a routine‐data‐based analysis of 203 106 nationwide inpatients hospitalized with STEMI and NSTEMI, focusing on sex differences regarding risk constellation, treatments, and in‐hospital outcome. A logistic regression model was designed to evaluate the use of coronary angiography and interventions and their sex‐related impact on mortality (within 30 days). Compared with males, female STEMI patients (25 146, vs 52 965 males) were older and had a higher incidence of diabetes mellitus (27.4% vs 20.6%), heart failure (32.8% vs 26.2%), and chronic kidney disease (19.1% vs 13.5%, respectively; all P < 0.05), and had higher observed in‐hospital mortality (STEMI, 16.9% vs 9.9%; NSTEMI, 11.7% vs 8.7%). Females were less likely to receive coronary angiography in STEMI in the age groups <60 and ≥ 80 years (odds ratio: 0.8, 95% confidence interval: 0.76–0.83, P < 0.05), despite similar mortality risk reduction. Estimated overall in‐hospital mortality showed no differences with respect to sex in STEMI for age groups 40 to 79 years. However, females age ≥ 80 years had slightly higher in‐hospital mortality after adjustment. The increased observed in‐hospital mortality in females was attributed to the impact of more unfavorable risk and age distribution. Coronary angiography was associated with lower in‐hospital mortality; particularly, older females were less frequently treated.
Molecular control of gene expression by Brucella BaaR, an IclR-type transcriptional repressor

The general stress response sigma factor σE1 directly and indirectly regulates the transcription of dozens of genes that influence stress survival and host infection in the zoonotic pathogen Brucella abortus. Characterizing the functions of σE1-regulated genes therefore would contribute to our understanding of B. abortus physiology and infection biology. σE1 indirectly activates transcription of the IclR family regulator Bab2_0215, but the function of this regulator remains undefined. Here, we present a structural and functional characterization of Bab2_0215, which we have named Brucella adipic acid-activated regulator (BaaR). We found that BaaR adopts a classic IclR-family fold and directly represses the transcription of two operons with predicted roles in carboxylic acid oxidation. BaaR binds two sites on chromosome II between baaR and a divergently transcribed hydratase/dehydrogenase (acaD2), and it represses transcription of both genes. We identified three carboxylic acids (adipic acid, tetradecanedioic acid, and ϵ-aminocaproic acid) and a lactone (ϵ-caprolactone) that enhance transcription from the baaR and acaD2 promoters. However, neither the activating acids nor caprolactone enhanced transcription by binding directly to BaaR. Induction of baaR transcription by adipic acid required the gene bab2_0213, which encodes a major facilitator superfamily transporter, suggesting that Bab2_0213 transports adipic acid across the inner membrane. We conclude that a suite of structurally related organic molecules activate transcription of genes repressed by BaaR. Our study provides molecular-level understanding of a gene expression program in B. abortus that is downstream of σE1.
THE COMPLETE LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRONGHORN SPINY LOBSTER PANULIRUS PENICILLATUS (DECAPODA: PALINURIDAE) IN CULTURE

Abstract The ability to culture larval lobsters is of paramount importance to the commercial development of effective aquaculture methods. Recently, we developed two separate laboratory culturing strategies that yielded the complete larval development from egg to puerulus (post-larva) for the commercially important and transpacific Pronghorn spiny lobster, Panulirus penicillatus (Olivier, 1791). Individual phyllosomal culture of 10 newly hatched animals was carried out in a static seawater system. Two of the 10 phyllosomata held at 24.5-26.0°C metamorphosed after 22 molts to the puerulus stage at 256 and 294 days respectively (final body lengths = 30.80 mm and 32.00 mm). Mass culture of 500 newly hatched phyllosomata was also carried out in two specialized acrylic flow-through seawater tanks. Of the 500 larval animals, 215 were randomly sampled and morphologically staged (10 distinct stages were observed and documented as well as two sub-stages). Seven phyllosomata that were mass cultured metamorphosed to the puerulus stage under a constant temperature regime of 24°C (mean days = 302.4 and mean final body length = 32.133 mm). This species is now one of eight palinurid lobsters and only the fourth Panulirus spp. to be cultured completely from hatch to settlement stage. The biological understanding of larval development for this species promotes the feasibility for aquaculture and potentially facilitates future modeling of larval dispersal and duration in the field.
Three-Dimensional Registration for Handheld Profiling Systems Based on Multiple Shot Structured Light

In this article, a multi-view registration approach for the 3D handheld profiling system based on the multiple shot structured light technique is proposed. The multi-view registration approach is categorized into coarse registration and point cloud refinement using the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. Coarse registration of multiple point clouds was performed using relative orientation and translation parameters estimated via homography-based visual navigation. The proposed system was evaluated using an artificial human skull and a paper box object. For the quantitative evaluation of the accuracy of a single 3D scan, a paper box was reconstructed, and the mean errors in its height and breadth were found to be 9.4 μm and 23 μm, respectively. A comprehensive quantitative evaluation and comparison of proposed algorithm was performed with other variants of ICP. The root mean square error for the ICP algorithm to register a pair of point clouds of the skull object was also found to be less than 1 mm.
Psychological Entitlement: Interpersonal Consequences and Validation of a Self-Report Measure

Nine studies were conducted with the goal of developing a self-report measure of psychological entitlement and assessing its interpersonal consequences. The Psychological Entitlement Scale (PES) was found to be reliable and valid (Study 1, 2), not associated with social desirability (Study 2), stable across time (Study 3), and correlated negatively with two of the Big Five factors: agreeableness and emotional stability (Study 4). The validity of the PES was confirmed in studies that assessed willingness to take candy designated for children (Study 5) and reported deservingness of pay in a hypothetical employment setting (Study 6). Finally, the PES was linked to important interpersonal consequences including competitive choices in a commons dilemma (Study 7), selfish approaches to romantic relationships (Study 8), and aggression following ego threat (Study 9). Psychological entitlement has a pervasive and largely unconstructive impact on social behavior.