Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of 3-D Surface Deformation Estimation for Simultaneous Squinted SAR Acquisitions

This paper addresses the performance in the retrieval of 3-D mean deformation maps by exploiting simultaneous or quasi-simultaneous squinted synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometric acquisitions in a repeat-pass scenario. In multisatellite or multibeam low earth observation missions, the availability of two (or more) lines of sight (LOSs) allows the simultaneous acquisition of SAR images with different squint angles, hence improving the sensitivity to the north–south component of the deformation. Due to the simultaneity of the acquisitions, the troposphere will be highly correlated and, therefore, will tend to cancel out when performing the differential measurement between the interferograms obtained with the different LOSs, hence resulting in a practically troposphere-free estimation of the along-track deformation measurement. In practice, however, the atmospheric noise in the differential measurement will increase for increasing angular separations. This paper expounds the mathematical framework to derive the performance by properly considering the correlation of the atmospheric delays between the simultaneous acquisitions. To that aim, the hybrid Cramér–Rao bound is exploited making use of the autocorrelation function of the troposphere. Some performance examples are presented in the frame of future spaceborne SAR missions at C and L band.
Osteonecrosis of the jaws: a 14‐year retrospective survey of hospital admissions

BACKGROUND Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a serious complication of both radiation and antiresorptive therapies. This study aimed to determine how many patients have been treated for medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ) and osteoradionecrosis (ORN), and whether the number of diagnoses has decreased over time with improved awareness and preventative measures. METHODS Medical records at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Gold Coast University Hospital and Robina Hospital were reviewed to identify patients diagnosed with MRONJ and ORN between January 2003 and May 2017. Data on patient demographics, year of admission and primary disease were analysed. RESULTS Two hundred and thirty-eight patients were diagnosed with ONJ, of which 74.4% were ORN and 25.6% were MRONJ. Tongue (24.6%), floor of mouth (17.3%) and tonsillar (15.1%) squamous cell carcinomas were the most common primary diseases associated with ORN, with a strong male predominance (80%). Of patients diagnosed with MRONJ, 52.5% were taking low-dose antiresorptives for osteoporosis (44.2%), rheumatoid arthritis (4.6%) or Paget's disease (3.3%), while 47.5% were oncology patients receiving high-dose antiresorptives. CONCLUSIONS The number of patients diagnosed with MRONJ and ORN has trended upwards since 2003. ORN affected three times more patients than MRONJ, and patients on low-dose antiresorptives accounted for over half of the MRONJ cases.
Lack of association of tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 4 (TNFSF4) gene polymorphisms (rs3850641 and rs17568) with coronary heart disease and stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To evaluate the association between the tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 4 (TNFSF4) gene polymorphisms and common cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Methods: A literature-based search was conducted through databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and WanFang data. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to estimate the strength of the association between TNFSF4 polymorphisms (rs3850641 and rs17568) and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Results: Overall, 11 eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. G allele was showed not to be associated with CHD and stroke, compared with A allele (rs3850641: OR=1.02, 95% CI=0.89–1.17; rs17568: OR=1.09, 95% CI=0.89–1.33). Genotypic analysis demonstrated that there was no significant association between the risk of CHD and stroke and rs3850641 [homozygous comparison (GG vs. AA): OR=1.05, 95% CI=0.74–1.50; heterozygous comparison (GA vs. AA): OR=1.00, 95% CI=0.88–1.13; recessive model (GG vs. GA+AA): OR=1.04, 95% CI=0.76–1.43; dominant model (GG+GA vs. AA): OR=1.01, 95% CI=0.88–1.17]. Similarly, no susceptibility between CHD and stroke and rs17568 polymorphism was uncovered (GG vs. AA: OR=1.04, 95% CI=0.74–1.46; GA vs. AA: OR=1.07, 95% CI=0.62–1.83; GG+GA vs. AA: OR=1.13, 95% CI=0.82–1.56; GG vs. GA+AA: OR=1.01, 95% CI=0.74–1.39). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that there is no significant relationship between TNFSF4 gene polymorphism and cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases.
Social network, autonomy, and adherence correlates of future time perspective in patients with head and neck cancer

Socioemotional selectivity theory proposes that, with more limited future time perspective (FTP), the meaning of individual life goals shifts from instrumental and long‐term goals, such as autonomy, to emotionally meaningful and short‐term life goals, especially concerning meaningful social relationships. Adverse side effects of cancer therapy may conflict with the realization of emotionally meaningful goals leading to nonadherence. In line with the theoretical assumptions, this study aimed to investigate (a) associations among disease symptoms, physical and cognitive limitations, and FTP and (b) among FTP, family network size, striving for autonomy, and treatment adherence.
Single-Cell Tracking Reveals a Role for Pre-Existing CCR5+ Memory Th1 Cells in the Control of Rhinovirus-A39 After Experimental Challenge in Humans

Background Little is known about T cells that respond to human rhinovirus in vivo, due to timing of infection, viral diversity, and complex T-cell specificities. We tracked circulating CD4+ T cells with identical epitope specificities that responded to intranasal challenge with rhinovirus (RV)-A39, and we assessed T-cell signatures in the nose. Methods Cells were monitored using a mixture of 2 capsid-specific major histocompatibility complex II tetramers over a 7-week period, before and after RV-A39 challenge, in 16 human leukocyte antigen-DR4+ subjects who participated in a trial of Bifidobacterium lactis (Bl-04) supplementation. Results Pre-existing tetramer+ T cells were linked to delayed viral shedding, enriched for activated CCR5+ Th1 effectors, and included a minor interleukin-21+ T follicular helper cell subset. After RV challenge, expansion and activation of virus-specific CCR5+ Th1 effectors was restricted to subjects who had a rise in neutralizing antibodies, and tetramer-negative CCR5+ effector memory types were comodulated. In the nose, CXCR3-CCR5+ T cells present during acute infection were activated effector memory type, whereas CXCR3+ cells were central memory type, and cognate chemokine ligands were elevated over baseline. Probiotic had no T-cell effects. Conclusions We conclude that virus-specific CCR5+ effector memory CD4+ T cells primed by previous exposure to related viruses contribute to the control of rhinovirus.
Thickness and material selection of polymeric passive samplers for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water: Which more strongly affects sampler properties?

Three configurations of single‐phase polymer passive samplers made of polyoxymethylene (POM), silicone rubber, and polyethylene (PE) were simultaneously calibrated in laboratory experiments by determining their partitioning coefficients and the POM diffusion coefficients and by validating a kinetic accumulation model. In addition, the performance of each device was evaluated under field conditions. With the support of the developed model, the device properties are discussed with regard to material selection and polymer thickness. The results show that a sampler's properties, such as its concentration‐averaging period and ability to sample a large amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are widely affected by material selection. Sampler thickness also allows modulation of the properties of the device but with a much lower magnitude. Selection of the appropriate polymer and/or thickness allows samplers to be adapted either for quick equilibration or for the kinetic accumulation regime and promotes either membrane or water boundary layer control of the kinetic accumulation. In addition, membrane‐controlled or equilibrated compounds are quantified with greater accuracy because they are not corrected by the performance reference compounds approach. However, the averaged concentrations cannot be assessed when compounds reach equilibrium in the sampler, whereas membrane‐controlled devices remaining in the kinetic accumulation regime provide averaged concentrations without requiring performance reference compound correction; detection limits are then increased because of the higher mass transfer resistance of the membrane. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1708–1717. © 2015 SETAC
Physical Layer Security in the Presence of Interference

We evaluate and quantify the joint effect of fading and multiple interferers on the physical-layer (PHY) security of a system consisting of a base-station (BS), a legitimate user, and an eavesdropper. To this end, we present a novel closed-form expression for the secrecy outage probability, which takes into account the fading characteristics of the wireless environment, the location and the number of interferers, as well as the transmission power of the BS and the interference. The results reveal that the impact of interference should be seriously taken into account in the design and deployment of a wireless system with PHY security.
Agriculture shapes the trophic niche of a bat preying on multiple pest arthropods across Europe: Evidence from DNA metabarcoding

The interaction between agricultural production and wildlife can shape, and even condition, the functioning of both systems. In this study, we i) explored the degree to which a widespread European bat, namely the common bent‐wing bat Miniopterus schreibersii, consumes crop‐damaging insects at a continental scale, and ii) tested whether its dietary niche is shaped by the extension and type of agricultural fields. We employed a dual‐primer DNA metabarcoding approach to characterize arthropod 16S and COI DNA sequences within bat faecal pellets collected across 16 Southern European localities, to first characterize the bat species’ dietary niche, second measure the incidence of agricultural pests across their ranges and third assess whether geographical dietary variation responds to climatic, landscape diversity, agriculture type and vegetation productivity factors. We detected 12 arthropod orders, among which lepidopterans were predominant. We identified >200 species, 44 of which are known to cause agricultural damage. Pest species were detected at all but one sampling site and in 94% of the analysed samples. Furthermore, the dietary diversity of M. schreibersii exhibited a negative linear relation with the area of intensive agricultural fields, thus suggesting crops restrict the dietary niche of bats to prey taxa associated with agricultural production within their foraging range. Overall, our results imply that M. schreibersii might be a valuable asset for biological pest suppression in a variety of agricultural productions and highlight the dynamic interplay between wildlife and agricultural systems.
Access to specialist palliative care services by people with severe and persistent mental illness: A retrospective cohort study

Compared to the general population, people with pre-existing serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) have higher rates of physical illness and die at an earlier age, raising questions about their palliative and end-of-life care needs when they are diagnosed with an incurable physical illness. In the present study, we explored access to specialist palliative care services within one New Zealand health district. Routinely-collected, de-identified patient information on a cohort of people diagnosed with SPMI, and receiving specialist palliative care services from the Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB), was compared to the general population from the same health district. People with SPMI are 3.5 times less likely to receive specialist palliative services compared to the general population from the Capital and Coast District Health Board. The proportion of people identifying as Māori is 1.2 times higher in the SPMI cohort than the general CCDHB population. The SPMI cohort experiences a higher level of deprivation compared to the general population in the CCDHB. The present study confirms that those diagnosed with an SPMI are less likely to use specialist palliative care services at the end of life. Research using a national dataset is needed to determine whether the study findings are applicable to the national population.
Stigma experience of families supporting an adult member with substance misuse

Stigmatization of families supporting an adult member with substance misuse is common and undermines their capacity to support the person and maintain their own well-being. The aims of the present study were to understand affected family members (AFMs)' experience of stigma within the context of substance misuse, and to explicate what steps, if any, they took to try to counteract stigma and social isolation. Semistructured, audio-recorded qualitative interviews were conducted with 31 AFMs from Victoria in Australia. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to guide data collection and analysis. Two main themes and related subthemes abstracted from the data illustrated how participants perceived and responded to stigma associated with a family member's substance misuse: 'engaging in secrecy, and minimizing contact with others' and 'lack of knowledge and empathy, and judgmental attitudes reinforcing isolation'. A third theme, 'adopting measures to moderate the effect of stigma', highlights how some attempted to respond to stigma by challenging informal supports' misconceptions about substance misuse, and being open selectively with others about their situation. Stigma against AFMs should be identified and challenged. Mental health nurses and other clinicians in the alcohol and other drugs field are in a strong position to support AFMs, with a particular focus on reducing courtesy stigma, challenging some clinicians' judgmental attitudes, and improving ways of communicating with families.
Diffusion behavior of the fluorescent proteins eGFP and Dreiklang in solvents of different viscosity monitored by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Abstract Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy relies on temporal autocorrelation analysis of fluorescence intensity fluctuations that spontaneously arise in systems at equilibrium due to molecular motion and changes of state that cause changes in fluorescence, such as triplet state transition, photoisomerization and other photophysical transformations, to determine the rates of these processes. The stability of a fluorescent molecule against dark state conversion is of particular concern for chromophores intended to be used as reference tags for comparing diffusion processes on multiple time scales. In this work, we analyzed properties of two fluorescent proteins, the photoswitchable Dreiklang and its parental eGFP, in solvents of different viscosity to vary the diffusion time through the observation volume element by several orders of magnitude. In contrast to eGFP, Dreiklang undergoes a dark-state conversion on the time scale of tens to hundreds of microseconds under conditions of intense fluorescence excitation, which results in artificially shortened diffusion times if the diffusional motion through the observation volume is sufficiently slowed down. Such photophysical quenching processes have also been observed in FCS studies on other photoswitchable fluorescent proteins including Citrine, from which Dreiklang was derived by genetic engineering. This property readily explains the discrepancies observed previously between the diffusion times of eGFP- and Dreiklang-labeled plasma membrane protein complexes.
Vibrio cholerae cytolysin: Multiple facets of the membrane interaction mechanism of a β‐barrel pore‐forming toxin

Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC) is a membrane‐damaging protein toxin with potent cytolytic/cytotoxic activity against wide range of eukaryotic cells. VCC is a β‐barrel pore‐forming toxin (β‐PFT), and it inflicts damage to the target cell membranes by forming transmembrane heptameric β‐barrel pores. To exert pore‐forming activity, VCC must bind to the cell membranes in an efficient manner. Efficient interaction with the cell membranes is an essential pre‐requisite to trigger subsequent structural/conformational and organizational changes in the toxin molecules leading toward formation of the transmembrane oligomeric β‐barrel pores. Based on the large numbers of studies investigating the mode of action of VCC, it is now evident that VCC is capable of using multiple distinct mechanisms to recognize and bind to the membrane components and cell surface molecules. In this review article, we present an overview of our current understanding regarding the membrane interaction mechanisms of VCC, and their functional implications for the pore‐forming activity of the toxin. © 2018 IUBMB Life, 70(4):260–266, 2018
Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Canola Meal on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and its Economic Efficiency in Finishing Pigs

Present study investigated the effects of dietary increasing levels of solvent extracted canola meal (CM) as a substitute for soybean meal as an energy and amino acid source in finishing pigs. A total of 192 finishing pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc; initial body weight of 48.62 ± 3 kg) were randomly allotted to 4 treatments on the basis of BW. There were 4 replicate pens in each treatment with 12 pigs per pen. Dietary treatments were basal diet supplemented with 0, 4, 8 and 12% canola meal. Experimental diets were fed in meal form for 35 days. Dietary inclusion of increasing levels of canola meals had no effects (P>0.05) on growth performance and ATTD of nutrients and energy. Total feed cost per pigs was linearly reduced (P 0.05) on total weight gain (TWG), total feed intake (TFI) and feed cost per kg weight gain (FCG). These results indicates that up to 12% canola meal can be included in finishing pig's diet without any adverse effect on growth performance and ATTD of nutrient. In addition, finisher pigs feed cost can be reduced with dietary inclusion of canola meal.
Nuclear magnetic resonance‐ and mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics to study maleic acid toxicity from repeated dose exposure in rats

Maleic acid (MA), a chemical intermediate used in many consumer and industrial products, was intentionally adulterated in a variety of starch‐based foods and instigated food safety incidents in Asia. We aim to elucidate possible mechanisms of MA toxicity after repeated exposure by (1) determining the changes of metabolic profile using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and multivariate analysis, and (2) investigating the occurrence of oxidative stress using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry by using Sprague–Dawley rat urine samples. Adult male rats were subjected to a 28 day subchronic study (0, 6, 20 and 60 mg kg−1) via oral gavage. Urine was collected twice a day on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28; organs underwent histopathological examination. Changes in body weight and relative kidney weights in medium‐ and high‐dose groups were significantly different compared to controls. Morphological alterations were evident in the kidneys and liver. Metabolomic results demonstrated that MA exposure increases the urinary concentrations of 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine, 8‐nitroguanine and 8‐iso‐prostaglandin F2α; levels of acetoacetate, hippurate, alanine and acetate demonstrated time‐ and dose‐dependent variations in the treatment groups. Findings suggest that MA consumption escalates oxidative damage, membrane lipid destruction and disrupt energy metabolism. These aforementioned changes in biomarkers and endogenous metabolites elucidate and assist in characterizing the possible mechanisms by which MA induces nephro‐ and hepatotoxicity.
Negotiated safety – components, context and use: an integrative literature review

AIM The aim of this study was to examine the components and use of negotiated safety in the context of HIV prevention and to identify reported factors associated with the concept. BACKGROUND There is an emerging interest in dyadic approaches to address HIV transmission. Although there are theoretical foundations for how interpersonal relationships influence individual behaviour, how these dyadic processes influence on health is still not wholly understood. DESIGN Integrative review of empirical and theoretical literature. DATA SOURCES The Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) MEDLINE and PsychINFO electronic databases were accessed. REVIEW METHODS Articles were read to gain a historical context of the term and identify varying interpretations of the concept. Factors warranting consideration in association with NS were identified and clinical and public health implications were noted. RESULTS Forty-eight studies were reviewed. Negotiated safety included the following components: (i) HIV sero-negative concordant men within a primary relationship; (ii) joint HIV screening and mutual disclosure of their HIV status; (iii) explicit relationship boundaries which establish either nonexclusively that allows for the dispensing of condoms within the primary relationship and consistent condom use for extra-dyadic sex; or dispensing of condoms within a primary partnership and exclusivity; and (iv) a breach clause that allows communication to re-establish the agreement if needed. CONCLUSION Negotiated safety is a prescriptive approach to HIV risk reduction among couples. Researchers and practitioners could benefit from promoting this approach to HIV prevention.
CliCR: a Dataset of Clinical Case Reports for Machine Reading Comprehension

We present a new dataset for machine comprehension in the medical domain. Our dataset uses clinical case reports with around 100,000 gap-filling queries about these cases. We apply several baselines and state-of-the-art neural readers to the dataset, and observe a considerable gap in performance (20% F1) between the best human and machine readers. We analyze the skills required for successful answering and show how reader performance varies depending on the applicable skills. We find that inferences using domain knowledge and object tracking are the most frequently required skills, and that recognizing omitted information and spatio-temporal reasoning are the most difficult for the machines.