Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hypofractionated radiation therapy in the treatment of canine thymoma: Retrospective study of eight cases

Thymomas are one of the most common tumors of the cranial mediastinum in dogs; however there is limited information available on the use of radiation therapy for treating this neoplasm. Objectives of the current retrospective observational study were to describe outcomes and side effects of a hypofractionated radiation therapy protocol in a group of dogs with confirmed thymoma. A total of eight dogs were included. To generate individualized treatment plans, we designed the planning target volume according to the limits on mean lung dose and the percentage of the total lung volume exceeding 20 Gy (V20). The total administered dose was 48-49 Gy, with one fraction per week for a total of six to seven fractions. After therapy, two dogs achieved complete responses, two achieved partial responses, and the disease remained stable in two. Two dogs died during the radiation therapy protocol and were not classified. The median mean lung dose and V20 were 6.0 Gy (range: 3.1-15.0 Gy) and 12.4% (range: 2.3-27.5%), respectively. The overall response rate was 50.0%, and the median time to response following treatment initiation was 22 days (range: 14-115 days). Acute and late side effects were common in the skin and/or lung and were self-limiting or asymptomatic. The median survival time was not reached (range: 8-1128 days) and the 1 year survival rate was 75.0%. Hypofractionated radiation therapy was well tolerated in this sample of dogs with thymoma and may be considered when owners decline surgical treatment or the tumor is deemed unresectable.
Sedentary Behavior in People with and without a Chronic Health Condition: How Much, What and When?

Purpose To describe sedentary behaviors (duration, bouts and context) in people with and without a chronic health condition. Methods Design: Secondary analysis of two cross-sectional studies. Participants: People with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n = 24, male:female 18:6) and their spousal carers (n = 24, 6:18); stroke survivors (n = 24, 16:8) and age- and sex-matched healthy adults (n = 19, 11:8). Level of physiological impairment was measured with post-bronchodilator spirometry (FEV1 %predicted) for people with COPD, and walking speed for people with stroke. Outcomes: Participants were monitored over seven days (triaxial accelerometer, Sensewear armband) to obtain objective data on daily sedentary time, and prolonged sedentary bouts (≥ 30 min). During the monitoring period, a 24-hour use of time recall instrument was administered by telephone interview to explore the context of sedentary activities (e.g. television, computer or reading). Sedentary time was quantified using accelerometry and recall data, and group differences were explored. Linear regression examined associations between physiological impairment and sedentary time. Results Participant groups were similar in terms of age (COPD 75 ± 8, carers 70 ± 11, stroke 69 ± 10, healthy 73 ± 7 years) and body mass index (COPD 28 ± 4, carers 27 ± 4, stroke 31 ± 4, healthy 26 ± 4 kg.m−2). The healthy group had the lowest sedentary time (45% of waking hours), followed by the carer (54%), stroke (60%) and COPD (62%) groups (p < 0.0001). Level of physiological impairment was an independent predictor of waking sedentary time (p = 0.001). Conclusions People with a chronic health condition spent more time sedentary than those without a chronic condition, and there were small but clear differences between groups in the types of activities undertaken during sedentary periods. The study findings may aid in the design of targeted interventions to decrease sedentary time in people with chronic health conditions.
Changes in muscle cross-sectional area, muscle force, and jump performance during 6 weeks of progressive whole-body vibration combined with progressive, high intensity resistance training

Objectives: We hypothesized that progressive whole-body vibration (WBV) superimposed to progressive high intensity resistance training has greater effects on muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), muscle force of leg muscles, and jump performance than progressive high intensity resistance training alone. Methods: Two groups of healthy male subjects performed either 6 weeks of Resistive Vibration Exercise (RVE, squats and heel raises with WBV, n=13) or Resistive Exercise (RE, squats and heel raises without WBV, n=13). Squats under RVE required indispensable weight loading on the forefoot to damp harmful vibrations to the head. Time, intervention, and interaction effects were analyzed. Results: After 6 weeks of training, knee extensor CSA, isometric knee extension force, and counter movement jump height increased equally in both groups (time effect, P<0.001, P≤0.02, and P≤0.03, respectively), whereas only in RVE ankle plantar flexor CSA and isometric ankle plantar flexion force reached significance or a tendency, respectively, (time effect, P=0.015 and P=0.069, respectively; intervention effect also for the latter, P=0.006). Drop jump contact time did significantly more improve in RVE (interaction effect, P=0.042). Conclusions: RVE showed better training effects than RE only in plantar flexor muscles. RVE seems to be suitable in professional sports with a special focus on calf muscles.
Outcomes of an uncertainty management intervention in younger African American and Caucasian breast cancer survivors.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To determine whether breast cancer survivors (BCSs) who received an uncertainty management intervention, compared to an attention control condition, would have less uncertainty, better uncertainty management, fewer breast cancer-specific concerns, and more positive psychological outcomes. DESIGN A 2 × 2 randomized block, repeated-measures design, with data collected at baseline and two other points postintervention, as well as a few days before or after either a mammogram or oncologist visit. SETTING Rural and urban clinical and community settings. SAMPLE 313 female BCSs aged 50 or younger; 117 African Americans and 196 Caucasians. METHODS Participants were blocked on ethnicity and randomly assigned to intervention or control. The intervention, consisting of a scripted CD and a guide booklet, was supplemented by four scripted, 20-minute weekly training calls conducted by nurse interventionists. The control group received the four scripted, 20-minute weekly training calls. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Uncertainty in illness, uncertainty management, breast cancer-specific concerns, and positive psychological outcomes. FINDINGS BCSs who received the intervention reported reductions in uncertainty and significant improvements in behavioral and cognitive coping strategies to manage uncertainty, self-efficacy, and sexual dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS The intervention was effective as delivered in managing uncertainties related to being a younger BCS. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING The intervention can realistically be applied in practice because of its efficient and cost-effective nature requiring minimal direct caregiver involvement. The intervention allows survivors who are having a particular survival issue at any given point in time to access information, resources, and management strategies. KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION Materials tested in CD and guide booklet format could be translated into online format for survivors to access as issues arise during increasingly lengthy survivorship periods. Materials could be downloaded to a variety of electronic devices, fitting with the information needs and management styles of younger BCSs.
Imprints of Natural Selection Along Environmental Gradients in Phenology-Related Genes of Quercus petraea

We explored single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variation in candidate genes for bud burst from Quercus petraea populations sampled along gradients of latitude and altitude in Western Europe. SNP diversity was monitored for 106 candidate genes, in 758 individuals from 32 natural populations. We investigated whether SNP variation reflected the clinal pattern of bud burst observed in common garden experiments. We used different methods to detect imprints of natural selection (FST outlier, clinal variation at allelic frequencies, association tests) and compared the results obtained for the two gradients. FST outlier SNPs were found in 15 genes, 5 of which were common to both gradients. The type of selection differed between the two gradients (directional or balancing) for 3 of these 5. Clinal variations were observed for six SNPs, and one cline was conserved across both gradients. Association tests between the phenotypic or breeding values of trees and SNP genotypes identified 14 significant associations, involving 12 genes. The results of outlier detection on the basis of population differentiation or clinal variation were not very consistent with the results of association tests. The discrepancies between these approaches may reflect the different hierarchical levels of selection considered (inter- and intrapopulation selection). Finally, we obtained evidence for convergent selection (similar for gradients) and clinal variation for a few genes, suggesting that comparisons between parallel gradients could be used to screen for major candidate genes responding to natural selection in trees.
Numerical investigation on the efficiency of a plasma actuator for turbine applications

Plasma actuators are all electrical devices capable of altering flow paths and preventing separated boundary layers. The application to low pressure turbine stages in axial turbine engines offers further fuel efficiency improvements at low Reynolds numbers. Validated against wind-tunnel experiments, a numerical plasma model via steady-state RANS turbulence modeling simulations was developed. Reasonable agreement has been observed in the calibration of the numerical plasma model to experimental data. Further parametric studies are considered, aiming to optimize control, reduce pressure loss for turbine stages, and offset actuator power consumption. Results indicate that optimum flow control and positioning can prevent flow separation, reducing aerodynamic drag by 70% and offset power consumption inclusive of the actuator by up to 20± 4%.
A Splice Defect in the EDA Gene in Dogs with an X-Linked Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (XLHED) Phenotype

X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED) caused by variants in the EDA gene represents the most common ectodermal dysplasia in humans. We investigated three male mixed-breed dogs with an ectodermal dysplasia phenotype characterized by marked hypotrichosis and multifocal complete alopecia, almost complete absence of sweat and sebaceous glands, and altered dentition with missing and abnormally shaped teeth. Analysis of SNP chip genotypes and whole genome sequence data from the three affected dogs revealed that the affected dogs shared the same haplotype on a large segment of the X-chromosome, including the EDA gene. Unexpectedly, the whole genome sequence data did not reveal any nonsynonymous EDA variant in the affected dogs. We therefore performed an RNA-seq experiment on skin biopsies to search for changes in the transcriptome. This analysis revealed that the EDA transcript in the affected dogs lacked 103 nucleotides encoded by exon 2. We speculate that this exon skipping is caused by a genetic variant located in one of the large introns flanking this exon, which was missed by whole genome sequencing with the illumina short read technology. The altered EDA transcript splicing most likely causes the observed ectodermal dysplasia in the affected dogs. These dogs thus offer an excellent opportunity to gain insights into the complex splicing processes required for expression of the EDA gene, and other genes with large introns.
Cubist Consequentialism: The Pros and Cons of an Agent–Patient Template for Morality

Gray, Young, and Waytz (this issue) make a compelling case for why mind perception is a vital component of moral judgment. The agent–patient dyad is a useful tool that helps identify and organize the psychological processes that often operate when people confront moral stimuli. One strength of the idea is that it is thoroughly psychological; it provides an overarching framework geared toward describing the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that compose individuals’ experiences with morality, and therefore it connects research on morality with mainstream theories about basic processes. It also offers a precise and parsimonious account of the conditions necessary to initiate moral evaluation. That said, the implicit consequentialism in the agent–patient dyad may not account well for moral motivation and the way people perceive their own moral actions. In addition, the exclusive focus on harm may limit the capacity of the approach to explain the origins of moral disagreement, or differences in how people think about harm in different contexts. In sum, the agent–patient dyad is one possible psychological template for morality, but morality may be too diverse to distill down to a single essence. In our commentary, we begin with a discussion of what we see as the major contributions of the mind perception approach and then shift to a discussion of aspects of morality that the agent–patient dyad seems less able to explain.
Corrosion propagation in cracked and uncracked concrete

The penetration of species that cause corrosion in Reinforced Concrete (RC) such as chloride ions, oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture into concrete is governed by both the quality and condition of the cover concrete. The presence of cracks in the concrete cover may therefore aggravate the problem of corrosion in RC structures. This study focuses on both cracked and uncracked reinforced concrete beam specimens made using Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and 50/50 OPC/Corex slag blend. Crack widths of 0.4 mm, 0.7 mm and incipient cracks were investigated using 100 × 100 × 500 mm long beam specimens made with water/binder (w/b) ratios of 0.40 and 0.55. A constant concrete cover to steel of 40 mm was used for all the specimens. The tests focused on chloride-induced corrosion, using 5% NaCl solution, in order to investigate the influence of cracks on corrosion propagation. Preliminary results indicate that binder type, w/b ratio and the presence of cracks on the concrete surface influence the corrosion rate.
Resolving issues of imprecise and habitat-biased locations in ecological analyses using GPS telemetry data

Global positioning system (GPS) technologies collect unprecedented volumes of animal location data, providing ever greater insight into animal behaviour. Despite a certain degree of inherent imprecision and bias in GPS locations, little synthesis regarding the predominant causes of these errors, their implications for ecological analysis or solutions exists. Terrestrial deployments report 37 per cent or less non-random data loss and location precision 30 m or less on average, with canopy closure having the predominant effect, and animal behaviour interacting with local habitat conditions to affect errors in unpredictable ways. Home-range estimates appear generally robust to contemporary levels of location imprecision and bias, whereas movement paths and inferences of habitat selection may readily become misleading. There is a critical need for greater understanding of the additive or compounding effects of location imprecision, fix-rate bias, and, in the case of resource selection, map error on ecological insights. Technological advances will help, but at present analysts have a suite of ad hoc statistical corrections and modelling approaches available—tools that vary greatly in analytical complexity and utility. The success of these solutions depends critically on understanding the error-inducing mechanisms, and the biggest gap in our current understanding involves species-specific behavioural effects on GPS performance.
Fast Convergence for Stochastic and Distributed Gradient Descent in the Interpolation Limit

Modern supervised learning techniques, particularly those using deep nets, involve fitting high dimensional labelled data sets with functions containing very large numbers of parameters. Much of this work is empirical. Interesting phenomena have been observed that require theoretical explanations; however the non-convexity of the loss functions complicates the analysis. Recently it has been proposed that the success of these techniques rests partly in the effectiveness of the simple stochastic gradient descent algorithm in the so called interpolation limit in which all labels are fit perfectly. This analysis is made possible since the SGD algorithm reduces to a stochastic linear system near the interpolating minimum of the loss function. Here we exploit this insight by presenting and analyzing a new distributed algorithm for gradient descent, also in the interpolating limit. The distributed SGD algorithm presented in the paper corresponds to gradient descent applied to a simple penalized distributed loss function, $L(\mathbf{w}_{1},\ \ldots,\ \mathbf{w}_{n})=\Sigma_{i}l_{i}(\mathbf{w}_{i})+ \mu\sum_{ < i, j > }-\vert \mathbf{w}_{i}-\mathbf{w}_{j}\vert ^{2}$. Here each node holds only one sample, and its own parameter vector. The notation $< i, j >$ denotes edges of a connected graph defining the communication links between nodes. It is shown that this distributed algorithm converges linearly (ie the error reduces exponentially with iteration number), with a rate 1 $-\displaystyle \frac{\eta}{n}\lambda_{min}(H) < R < 1$ where $\lambda_{min}(H)$ is the smallest nonzero eigenvalue of the sample covariance or the Hessian H. In contrast with previous usage of similar penalty functions to enforce consensus between nodes, in the interpolating limit it is not required to take the penalty parameter to infinity for consensus to occur. The analysis further reinforces the utility of the interpolation limit in the theoretical treatment of modern machine learning algorithms.
Experimental thermal transport evolution of silane activated nano-clay reinforced styrene butadiene elastomeric nanocomposites

In this study, silane activated nanoclay was reinforced in styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) to enhance the thermal resistance/stability and mechanical properties of SBR. silane activated nanoclay with variant concentrations was impregnated in the rubber matrix to fabricate polymer nanocomposites under control processing conditions. Experimental thermal transport, thermal oxidation, phase transition study, and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite specimens were carried out. Thermal insulation, thermal stability, and heat flow response were remarkably enhanced with the addition of nanokaolinite in the polymer matrix. Phase transition temperatures, their corresponding enthalpies, tensile strength, elastic modulus, elongation at break and hardness of the rubber composites were positively influenced with the filler incorporation into the host matrix. The Even dispersion of nanoreinforcements, morphological and compositional analyses of the thermal transport tested specimens were performed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively.
Effects of School Gardening Lessons on Elementary School Children's Physical Activity and Sedentary Time.

BACKGROUND Recess and physical education time continue to diminish, creating a need for additional physical activity opportunities within the school environment. The use of school gardens as a teaching tool in elementary science and math classes has the potential to increase the proportion of time spent active throughout the school day. METHODS Teachers from 4 elementary schools agreed to teach 1 math or science lesson per week in the school garden. Student physical activity time was measured with ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers on 3 garden days and 3 no-garden days at each school. Direct observation was used to quantify the specific garden-related tasks during class. The proportion of time spent active and sedentary was compared on garden and no-garden days. RESULTS Seventy-four children wore accelerometers, and 75 were observed (86% participation). Children spent a significantly larger proportion of time active on garden days than no-garden days at 3 of the 4 schools. The proportion of time spent sedentary and active differed significantly across the 4 schools. CONCLUSIONS Teaching lessons in the school garden may increase children's physical activity and decrease sedentary time throughout the school day and may be a strategy to promote both health and learning.
Leaf Photosynthetic Rate of Tropical Ferns Is Evolutionarily Linked to Water Transport Capacity

Ferns usually have relatively lower photosynthetic potential than angiosperms. However, it is unclear whether low photosynthetic potential of ferns is linked to leaf water supply. We hypothesized that there is an evolutionary association of leaf water transport capacity with photosynthesis and stomatal density in ferns. In the present study, a series of functional traits relating to leaf anatomy, hydraulics and physiology were assessed in 19 terrestrial and 11 epiphytic ferns in a common garden, and analyzed by a comparative phylogenetics method. Compared with epiphytic ferns, terrestrial ferns had higher vein density (Dvein), stomatal density (SD), stomatal conductance (gs), and photosynthetic capacity (Amax), but lower values for lower epidermal thickness (LET) and leaf thickness (LT). Across species, all traits varied significantly, but only stomatal length (SL) showed strong phylogenetic conservatism. Amax was positively correlated with Dvein and gs with and without phylogenetic corrections. SD correlated positively with Amax, Dvein and gs, with the correlation between SD and Dvein being significant after phylogenetic correction. Leaf water content showed significant correlations with LET, LT, and mesophyll thickness. Our results provide evidence that Amax of the studied ferns is linked to leaf water transport capacity, and there was an evolutionary association between water supply and demand in ferns. These findings add new insights into the evolutionary correlations among traits involving carbon and water economy in ferns.
A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Child-Centered Therapy for Child Anxiety Disorders

This study compared individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and a supportive child-centered therapy (CCT) for child anxiety disorders on rates of treatment response and recovery at posttreatment and 1-year follow-up, as well as on real-world measures of emotional functioning. Youth (N = 133; ages 9–14) with anxiety disorders (generalized, separation, and/or social anxiety) were randomized using a 2:1 ratio to CBT (n = 90) or CCT (n = 43), which served as an active comparison. Treatment response and recovery at posttreatment and 1-year follow-up were assessed by Independent Evaluators, and youth completed ecological momentary assessment of daily emotions throughout treatment. The majority of youth in both CBT and CCT were classified as treatment responders (71.1% for CBT, 55.8% for CCT), but youth treated with CBT were significantly more likely to fully recover, no longer meeting diagnostic criteria for any of the targeted anxiety disorders and no longer showing residual symptoms (66.7% for CBT vs. 46.5% for CCT). Youth treated with CBT also reported significantly lower negative emotions associated with recent negative events experienced in daily life during the latter stages of treatment relative to youth treated with CCT. Furthermore, a significantly higher percentage of youth treated with CBT compared to CCT were in recovery at 1-year follow-up (82.2% for CBT vs. 65.1% for CCT). These findings indicate potential benefits of CBT above and beyond supportive therapy on the breadth, generalizability, and durability of treatment-related gains.