Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Exploration in the Management of Acute Scrotum in Children

Objective Acute scrotal conditions are a common clinical setting that present with pain and swelling of the hemiscrotum. The aim of our study has been to evaluate the findings in boys operated on acute scrotum. Methods A descriptive study was conducted on 100 patients with acute scrotum admitted to Mofid Children's Hospital from March 1993 to March 2007. Data included history, age, primary symptoms, definite diagnosis, side involvement, paraclinical tests, imaging modalities, medical or surgical management and type of the surgery. Findings Diagnosis was made mainly by clinical signs and symptoms and surgical exploration. Torsion of testis (n=31) was the most common cause of acute scrotum followed by incarcerated inguinal hernia (n=30), torsion of testicular appendage (n=27), epididymo-orchitis (n=7), idiopathic scrotal edema (n=4) and hematocele (n=1). Most (34%) of the patients were in the first year of life and the mean age was 5.4 years. The commonest signs were pain and swelling (62%) followed by pain, swelling and redness (21%) and pain alone (16%). 83 patients consisting of 31 with torsion of testis, 14 with torsion of testicular appendage, 30 with incarcerated hernia and 7 with epididymo–orchitis underwent surgical exploration after careful physical examination. 10 of 31 patients with torsion of testis had orchiectomy and orchiopexy of contra–lateral testis and the rest had detorsion and bilateral orchiopexy. 80% of patients were referred to the hospital after 12 hours of clinical onset of symptoms. Conclusion Early exploration of scrotum based on careful physical examination excludes the risk of misdiagnosis by diagnostic procedures and unnecessary delay by diagnostic techniques. Exploration of scrotum is a relatively safe and simple procedure with good cosmetic results, it also allows an accurate diagnosis to be made.
Pervasive Cryptic Epistasis in Molecular Evolution

The functional effects of most amino acid replacements accumulated during molecular evolution are unknown, because most are not observed naturally and the possible combinations are too numerous. We created 168 single mutations in wild-type Escherichia coli isopropymalate dehydrogenase (IMDH) that match the differences found in wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa IMDH. 104 mutant enzymes performed similarly to E. coli wild-type IMDH, one was functionally enhanced, and 63 were functionally compromised. The transition from E. coli IMDH, or an ancestral form, to the functional wild-type P. aeruginosa IMDH requires extensive epistasis to ameliorate the combined effects of the deleterious mutations. This result stands in marked contrast with a basic assumption of molecular phylogenetics, that sites in sequences evolve independently of each other. Residues that affect function are scattered haphazardly throughout the IMDH structure. We screened for compensatory mutations at three sites, all of which lie near the active site and all of which are among the least active mutants. No compensatory mutations were found at two sites indicating that a single site may engage in compound epistatic interactions. One complete and three partial compensatory mutations of the third site are remote and lie in a different domain. This demonstrates that epistatic interactions can occur between distant (>20Å) sites. Phylogenetic analysis shows that incompatible mutations were fixed in different lineages.
17Beta-Estradiol Signaling and Regulation of Proliferation and Apoptosis of Rat Sertoli Cells1

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to investigate the intracellular signaling events downstream of the classical estrogen receptors (ESRs) and G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER) involved in regulation of proliferation and apoptosis of rat Sertoli cells, in which we have previously described ESR1, ESR2, and GPER. ESRs play a role in Sertoli cell proliferation, and GPER, but not ESRs, plays a role modulating gene expression involved with apoptosis. The present study shows that 17beta-estradiol (E2) and the GPER-selective agonist G-1 rapidly activate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK3)/serine threonine protein kinase (AKT) and cyclic AMP response element-binding (CREB) phosphorylation. E2 and the ESR1-selective agonist 4,4′,4″-(4-propyl-(1H)-pyrazole-1,3,5-triyl)trisphenol (PPT) increase the expression of cyclin D1 (CCND1), whereas the ESR2-selective agonist 2,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionitrile (DPN) and G-1 do not change the expression of this protein, suggesting that ESR1 is the upstream receptor regulating Sertoli cell proliferation. E2- or PPT-ESR1, through activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/mitogen-activated protein kinase 3/1 (MAPK3/1) and PIK3 pathways, induces upregulation of CCND1. KG-501, the compound that disrupts the phospho-CREB/CREB binding protein (CBP) complex, does not change E2- or PPT-ESR1-mediated CCND1 expression, suggesting that phospho-CREB/cyclic AMP response element/CBP is not involved in the expression of this protein. E2- or G-1-GPER, through activation of EGFR/MAPK3/1 and PIK3 pathways, may be involved in the upregulation of antiapoptotic proteins BCL2 and BCL2L2. E2- or G-1-GPER/EGFR/MAPK3/1/phospho-CREB decreases BAX expression. Taken together, these results show a differential effect of E2-GPER on the CREB-mediated transcription of proapoptotic and antiapoptotic genes of the same BCL2 gene family. ESR1 and GPER can mediate the rapid E2 actions in the Sertoli cells, which in turn can modulate nuclear transcriptional events important for Sertoli cell function and maintenance of normal testis development and homeostasis. Our findings are important to clarify the role of estrogen in a critical period of testicular development, and to direct further studies, which may contribute to better understanding of the causes of male infertility.
Comparison of the Effects of Continuous and Discontinuous PWM Schemes on Power Losses of Voltage-Sourced Inverters for Induction Motor Drives

In this paper, losses in a 4-kVA three-phase voltage-sourced inverter designed to drive an induction machine, are investigated. A comparison of inverter losses with sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation (PWM), space vector PWM and discontinuous PWM (DPWM) is presented, concluding that DPWM is the method of choice. These PWM schemes are implemented using a field-programmable gate array and modeled in Pspice. PWM excitation models are combined with an inverter model that incorporates the Hefner model for the insulated gate bipolar transistors. After verification of the complete inverter model with calorimetric measurements, the model is used to predict inverter losses under various conditions of modulation index, switching frequency, and gate resistance for each of the PWM scheme. A breakdown of losses into conduction and switching losses is presented. Moreover, the effects of different DPWM variants on inverter losses are also being considered. Overall, the use of DPWM is found to give minimum losses as a consequence of the reduced number of switching transitions.
Acculturation Attitudes and Perceptions of Collective Narratives

The relationship between acculturation attitudes and attitudes toward collective narratives is explored in the context of Palestinian adolescents, citizens of the State of Israel. Employing Berry’s acculturation framework, we expected that approaching the hegemonic Israeli Jewish culture would be related to higher acceptance of its collective narrative concerning main historical events. We further expected that retaining the Palestinian culture would be related to higher acceptance of the Palestinian narrative of the same events. Data were collected from a sample of 365 teenagers in six Israeli Arab high schools. Generally, the results tend to support our hypotheses regarding relationships between acculturation and attitudes toward collective narratives. Majority of the adolescents endorsed a separation strategy and expressed rejection of the Israeli Jewish collective narrative while endorsing the Palestinian one. The findings suggest that acculturation attitudes may be composed of different behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components, and those components may not be well correlated.
The Influence of Psychiatric Symptoms and Cognitive Abilities on Competence-Related Abilities

This study evaluated the influence of psychiatric symptoms (psychoticism, withdrawal, depression, hostility) and cognitive abilities (executive functioning, working memory, attention, processing speed) on competence-related abilities (understanding, reasoning, appreciation). Seventy-seven male forensic patients were administered the MacCAT-CA, the BPRS, and several cognitive measures. Results revealed that, when considered as a group, the cognitive abilities accounted for more variance in the scores for all three competence-related abilities than did the psychiatric symptoms although there was an additive effect when these groups of variables were considered collectively. Both the psychiatric symptoms and cognitive abilities accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in understanding and reasoning scores, but less so for appreciation. Psychoticism and attention were important factors across all aspects of competence, while working memory was associated with understanding and reasoning, but not appreciation. The presence of symptoms of psychosis had a moderating effect on all four cognitive variables with regard to reasoning, but not understanding or appreciation. The knowledge gained from these results can be used by practitioners to help improve the consistency and accuracy of competency evaluations.
They Need Help: Transfer Students from Four-Year to Four-Year Institutions

This study examines the bachelor's degree attainment among students who first matriculate in four-year institutions but who then transfer to other four-year institutions. It constitutes a contribution to the research that has primarily studied transferring students who start at two-year colleges. This study uses Heckman's two-step model to correct the sample selection bias. The major finding of this study is that transfer students, especially those with broken enrollment, have a much lower probability of bachelor's degree attainment than students with unbroken enrollment. Possible policies to improve the efficiency of four-to-four transfer are also discussed.
Beta and gamma oscillatory activities associated with olfactory memory tasks: different rhythms for different functional networks?

Olfactory processing in behaving animals, even at early stages, is inextricable from top down influences associated with odor perception. The anatomy of the olfactory network (olfactory bulb, piriform, and entorhinal cortices) and its unique direct access to the limbic system makes it particularly attractive to study how sensory processing could be modulated by learning and memory. Moreover, olfactory structures have been early reported to exhibit oscillatory population activities easy to capture through local field potential recordings. An attractive hypothesis is that neuronal oscillations would serve to “bind” distant structures to reach a unified and coherent perception. In relation to this hypothesis, we will assess the functional relevance of different types of oscillatory activity observed in the olfactory system of behaving animals. This review will focus primarily on two types of oscillatory activities: beta (15–40 Hz) and gamma (60–100 Hz). While gamma oscillations are dominant in the olfactory system in the absence of odorant, both beta and gamma rhythms have been reported to be modulated depending on the nature of the olfactory task. Studies from the authors of the present review and other groups brought evidence for a link between these oscillations and behavioral changes induced by olfactory learning. However, differences in studies led to divergent interpretations concerning the respective role of these oscillations in olfactory processing. Based on a critical reexamination of those data, we propose hypotheses on the functional involvement of beta and gamma oscillations for odor perception and memory.
Web Item Reviewing Made Easy By Leveraging Available User Feedback

The widespread use of online review sites over the past decade has motivated businesses of all types to possess an expansive arsenal of user feedback to mark their reputation. Though a significant proportion of purchasing decisions are driven by average rating, detailed reviews are critical for activities like buying expensive digital SLR camera. Since writing a detailed review for an item is usually time-consuming, the number of reviews available in the Web is far from many. Given a user and an item our goal is to identify the top-$k$ meaningful phrases/tags to help her review the item easily. We propose general-constrained optimization framework based on three measures - relevance (how well the result set of tags describes an item), coverage (how well the result set of tags covers the different aspects of an item), and polarity (how well sentiment is attached to the result set of tags). By adopting different definitions of coverage, we identify two concrete problem instances that enable a wide range of real-world scenarios. We develop practical algorithms with theoretical bounds to solve these problems efficiently. We conduct experiments on synthetic and real data crawled from the web to validate the effectiveness of our solutions.
Lexical decision and word naming in bilinguals: Language effects and task effects

We studied effects of 18 variables on Dutch and English lexical decision, standard word naming, and delayed word naming performed by Dutch-English bilinguals. The stimuli were 440 Dutch nouns and their English translations. In lexical decision in both languages the frequency variables were the most important predictors and the semantic variables also played a role. In addition, English lexical decision was affected by length. In contrast, onset structure was the most important predictor in Dutch naming, and it was also relatively important in English naming. In Dutch and English standard naming, word length and the intensity of the onset were also important variables and the word's neighborhood also played a role. The meaning variables affected performance in English naming but not in Dutch naming. These results are discussed in terms of differences in (1) task requirements, (2) orthographic depth, and (3) our participants' language proficiency in Dutch and English.
Interaction of Genetic Risk Factors Confers Higher Risk for Thrombotic Stroke in Male Chinese: A Multicenter Case‐Control Study

Stroke is a polygenic or multifactorial disease, and each single susceptibility gene has modest effects. We hypothesize that combined effects of multiple genes might confer a higher stroke risk than a single susceptibility gene. To test our hypothesis we initially recruited 2000 stroke patients (44.3% thrombosis, 28.3% lacunar infarction and 27.4% intracerebral hemorrhage) and 2000 controls, and examined 6 polymorphisms in 5 candidate genes for stroke. Plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] level was defined as a categorical variable and also included. Interactions between genetic risk factors were detected by the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method and further evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. A significant combined effect on stroke due to the C677T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), the T2354A polymorphism of 5‐lipoxygenase activating protein (ALOX5AP), and Lp(a) level, was detected using the MDR method. Furthermore, the combination of MTHFR 677TT, ALOX5AP 2354AA and Lp(a) elevation (Lp(a) concentration≥30 mg/dL) was found to be strongly associated with thrombotic stroke in males (OR, 10.419; 95%CI, 2.602 to 41.749; P= 0.001) using the multivariate logistic regression model.
Framing the user experience: information biases on website quality judgement

Understanding the complexities of users' judgements and user experience is a prerequisite for informing HCI design. Current user experience (UX) research emphasises that, beyond usability, non-instrumental aspects of system quality contribute to overall judgement and that the user experience is subjective and variable. Based on judgement and decision-making theory, we have previously demonstrated that judgement of websites can be influenced by contextual factors. This paper explores the strength of such contextual influence by investigating framing effects on user judgement of website quality. Two experimental studies investigate how the presentation of information about a website influences the user experience and the relative importance of individual quality attributes for overall judgement. Theoretical implications for the emerging field of UX research and practical implications for design are discussed.
Renal IL-18 Production Is Macrophage Independent During Obstructive Injury

Background Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that mediates fibrotic renal injury during obstruction. Macrophages are a well-known source of IL-18; however, renal tubular epithelial cells are also a potential source of this cytokine. We hypothesized that IL-18 is predominantly a renal tubular cell product and is produced during renal obstruction independent of macrophage infiltration. Methods To study this, male C57BL6 mice were subjected to unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) vs. sham operation in the presence or absence of macrophage depletion (liposomal clodronate (1 ml/100 g body weight i.v.)). The animals were sacrificed 1 week after surgery and renal cortical tissue harvested. Tissue levels of active IL-18 (ELISA), IL-18 receptor mRNA expression (real time PCR), and active caspase-1 expression (western blot) were measured. The cellular localization of IL-18 and IL-18R was assessed using dual labeling immunofluorescent staining (IFS). Results Immunohistochemical staining of renal tissue sections confirmed macrophage depletion by liposomal clodronate. IL-18 production, IL-18R expression, and active caspase 1 expression were elevated in response to renal obstruction and did not decline to a significant degree in the presence of macrophage depletion. Obstruction-induced IL-18 and IL-18R production localized predominantly to tubular epithelial cells (TEC) during obstruction despite macrophage depletion. Conclusion These results demonstrate that renal tubular epithelial cells are the primary source of IL-18 production during obstructive injury, and that tubular cell production of IL-18 occurs independent of macrophage infiltration.
A cognitive approach to understanding university image

This study employed a cognitive psychological approach to examining a little studied phenomenon – university image – among two groups of evaluators. The study found that different groups used different criteria when rating ten major US universities. Found to significantly predict the image of the universities among a sample of current university students were three factors: academic factors, athletic factors, and the extent of news coverage of the university. Found to significantly predict the image of the same universities among an adult, non‐student sample were four factors: a combined factor including all university attributes (including academic and athletic); the extent of news coverage; the education level of respondents; and the respondents’ level of sports fanship. Recent research in attitude structure is used to explain how different image criteria are recalled and employed by the different groups.
Automatic blood pressure measurement: the oscillometric waveform shape is a potential contributor to differences between oscillometric and auscultatory pressure measurements

Objective To explore the differences between oscillometric and auscultatory measurements. Method From a simulator evaluation of a non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) device regenerating 242 oscillometric blood pressure waveforms from 124 subjects, 10 waveforms were selected based on the differences between the NIBP (oscillometric) and auscultatory pressure measurements. Two waveforms were selected for each of five criteria: systolic over and underestimation; diastolic over and underestimation; and close agreement for both systolic and diastolic pressures. The 10 waveforms were presented to seven different devices and the oscillometric–auscultatory pressure differences were compared between devices and with the oscillometric waveform shapes. Results Consistent patterns of waveform-dependent over and underestimation of systolic and diastolic pressures were shown for all seven devices. The mean and standard deviation, for all devices, of oscillometric–auscultatory pressure differences were: for the systolic overestimated waveforms, 36 ± 28/−6 ± 3 and 23 ± 2/−1 ± 3 mmHg (systolic/diastolic differences); for systolic underestimated waveforms, −21 ± 5/−4 ± 3 and −11 ± 4/−3 ± 3 mmHg; for diastolic overestimated waveforms, 3 ± 4/12 ± 5 and 17 ± 6/10 ± 2 mmHg; for diastolic underestimated waveforms, 1 ± 4/−22 ± 4 and −9 ± 6/−29 ± 4 mmHg; and for the two waveforms with good agreement, 0 ± 6/0 ± 3 and −2 ± 4/−4 ± 3 mmHg. Waveforms for which devices showed good oscillometric and auscultatory agreement had smooth envelopes with clearly defined peaks, compared with the broader plateau and complex shapes of those waveforms for which devices over or underestimated pressures. Conclusion By increasing the understanding of the characteristics and limitations of the oscillometric method and the effects of waveform shape on pressure measurements, simulator evaluation should lead to improvements in NIBP devices.
Ieee Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 1 What Shape Are Dolphins? Building 3d Morphable Models from 2d Images

—3D morphable models are low-dimensional parametrizations of 3D object classes which provide a powerful means of associating 3D geometry to 2D images. However, morphable models are currently generated from 3D scans, so for general object classes such as animals they are economically and practically infeasible. We show that, given a small amount of user interaction (little more than that required to build a conventional morphable model), there is enough information in a collection of 2D pictures of certain object classes to generate a full 3D morphable model, even in the absence of surface texture. The key restriction is that the object class should not be strongly articulated, and that a very rough rigid model should be provided as an initial estimate of the 'mean shape'. The model representation is a linear combination of subdivision surfaces, which we fit to image silhouettes and any identifiable key points using a novel combined continuous-discrete optimization strategy. Results are demonstrated on several natural object classes, and show that models of rather high quality can be obtained from this limited information.
Malaysian Parent Ratings of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire–Short Form: Factor Structure and Invariance across Girls and Boys and Mothers and Fathers

SYNOPSIS Objective. The short version of the Parent-Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (Parent-PARQ/S; Rohner, 2005) measures current parental acceptance and rejection of their children. It has four scales measuring coldness/lack of affection, hostility/aggression, indifference/neglect, and undifferentiated rejection. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Parent-PARQ/S. Design. A sample of 1,382 Malaysian parents completed the Parent-PARQ/S. Results. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a slightly modified version of the proposed 4-factor model (i.e., item number 13 reallocated to coldness/lack of affection factor instead of the proposed indifference/neglect factor). Cronbach’s α coefficients of the factors in this model ranged from . 65 to . 77, and the factors correlated significantly and positively with measures of child problem behaviors. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated support for invariance across parent ratings of their female and male children, and between mother and father ratings of their children. Conclusion. The findings indicate good support for the psychometric properties of the Parent-PARQ/S in a Malaysian sample.