Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Martensitic structures and deformation twinning in the U–Nb shape-memory alloys

Abstract An investigation of the microstructures of four U–Nb alloys has been conducted. The nominal Nb contents are 5, 9, 13 and 18at. % (approximately 2, 4, 5.5 and 8 wt%). The self-accommodating twin structures have been characterized and considered in terms of the lattice parameters of the martensite phases as well as the tetragonal distortion associated with the previously proposed intermediate γ0 phase. In addition, active deformation twinning systems during deformation of the U–13 at. % Nb shape-memory alloy have been identified and are discussed with respect to the α'' monoclinic distortion and ease of propagation in the microstructure.
Differentiation of the mammalian hepatic primordium in vitro. I. Morphogenesis and the onset of haematopoiesis.

This study was made to determine the nature of tissue contributions to murine hepatic morphogenesis, the developmental potential in vitro of various hepatic regions prior to and during definitive liver development, and to accurately determine the time of onset of hepatic haematopoiesis in vitro . Embryos were precisely staged by somite counts as well as time of original mating, and tissues were removed from the hepatic area at stages between anterior intestinal portal (9 days gestation) and definitive foetal liver (11·75–12 days gestation), and maintained in vitro for up to 4 weeks. Explants of anterior intestinal portal origin gave rise only to sheets of epithelial cells, whereas tissues from embryos of 10–11 days gestation, containing the hepatic sacculation of the ventral wall of the gut, gave rise to sheets of polygonal, frequently binucleate cells and granule containing cells, both suggestive of hepatic cytodifferentiation. Sinusoidal morphogenesis was also observed. Haematopoiesis was detected in vitro only in explants from 11·5-to 12-day embryos (28 to 30+ somites). The blood elements observed consisted of erythroblasts, granulocytes, megakaryocytes as well as macrophages and yolk sac derived erythroblasts. Duct systems, probably representative of the bile system, were also observed to develop. Current theories regarding hepatic morphogenesis are considered in the light of these observations. The inductive and cell seeding concepts of the origin of haematopoietic cells are discussed in view of the observed precise timing of the onset of hepatic haematopoiesis. Due to the substantial gestation time-gap between the detection of possible circulating haematopoietic stem cells (9 days gestation) and the actual onset of hepatic haematopoiesis (11·5 days gestation), it is suggested that either a suitable microenvironment must first develop within the hepatic area for haematopoiesis to occur, or that haematopoietic tissue arises in situ in the hepatic Anlage .
Clinical application of multimodality imaging in radiotherapy treatment planning for rectal cancer

Abstract Radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of rectal cancer. Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy and intensity-modulated radiotherapy are mainstay techniques of radiotherapy for rectal cancer. However, the success of these techniques is heavily reliant on accurate target delineation and treatment planning. Computed tomography simulation is a cornerstone of rectal cancer radiotherapy, but there are limitations, such as poor soft-tissue contrast between pelvic structures and partial volume effects. Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) can overcome these limitations and provide additional information for rectal cancer treatment planning. PET can also reduce the interobserver variation in the definition of rectal tumor volume. However, there is a long way to go before these image modalities are routinely used in the clinical setting. This review summarizes the most promising studies on clinical applications of multimodality imaging in target delineation and treatment planning for rectal cancer radiotherapy.
Growth of ZnO nanoparticles at low temperature and optical properties

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has a wide direct band gap of 3.37 eV at room temperature and a large excitonic binding energy of 60 meV. In this work, ZnO nanoparticles had been successfully fabricated at low temperature (60 °C). The structures, morphologies and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-Visible absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, respectively. Measurement results of XRD showed that the as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles are a random orientation. The nanoparticles are approximately particle shape with an average size of about 50 nm by SEM observation, UV-Vis absorption spectrum indicated that the as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in chloroform are highly transparent in the visible region and have a strong absorption band in the UV region, at the same time, we found a sharp absorption edge at near 370 nm. In addition, in the as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles/chloroform solution, both a near band edge (NBE) ultraviolet photoluminescence peak at 372 nm and a defect related deep level emission (DLE) green peak at 513 nm were observed. It suggested that the NBE photoluminescence peak should be attributed to free excitons transition, the DLE green peak should be ascribed to intrinsic defects of the single ionized oxygen vacancy (Vo *) through our research results. Furthermore, we obtained R (R=INBE/IDLE) value as 0.91. This indicates that there are a large amount of single ionized oxygen vacancies in as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles, which results in poor crystalline quality of ZnO nanoparticles.
Comparison of the new Exponential Injury Severity Score with the Injury Severity Score and the New Injury Severity Score in trauma patients: A cross-sectional study

Objective To compare Exponential Injury Severity Score (EISS) with Injury Severity Score (ISS) and New Injury Severity Score (NISS) in terms of their predictive capability of the outcomes and medical expenses of hospitalized adult trauma patients. Setting This study was based at a level I trauma center in Taiwan. Methods Data for 17,855 adult patients hospitalized from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2015 were retrieved from the Trauma Registry System. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were the hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, ICU LOS, and medical expenses. Chi-square tests were used for categorical variables to determine the significance of the associations between the predictor and outcome variables. Student t-tests were applied to analyze normally distributed data for continuous variables, while Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare non-normally distributed data. Results According to the survival rate-to-severity score relationship curve, we grouped all adult trauma patients based on EISS scores of ≥ 27, 9–26, and < 9. Significantly higher mortality rates were noted in patients with EISS ≥ 27 and those with EISS of 9–26 when compared to patients with EISS < 9; this finding concurred to the findings for groups classified by the ISS and NISS with the cut-off points set between 25 and 16. The hospital LOS, ICU admission rates, and medical expenses for patients with EISS ≥ 27 and patients with EISS of 9–26 were also significantly longer and higher than that of patients with EISS < 9. When comparing the demographics and detailed medical expenses of very severely injured adult trauma patients classified according to ISS, NISS, and EISS, patients with ISS ≥ 25 and NISS ≥ 25 both had significantly lower mortality rates, lower ICU admission rates, and shorter ICU LOS compared to patients with EISS ≥ 27. Conclusions EISS 9 and 27 can serve as two cut-off points regarding injury severity, and patients with EISS ≥ 27 have the greatest injury severity. Additionally, these patients have the highest mortality rate, the highest ICU admission rate, and the longest ICU LOS compared to those with ISS ≥ 25 and NISS ≥ 25, suggesting that patients with EISS ≥ 27 have the worst outcome.
A utility-theoretic ranking method for semi-automated text classification

In Semi-Automated Text Classification (SATC) an automatic classifier F labels a set of unlabelled documents D, following which a human annotator inspects (and corrects when appropriate) the labels attributed by F to a subset D' of D, with the aim of improving the overall quality of the labelling. An automated system can support this process by ranking the automatically labelled documents in a way that maximizes the expected increase in effectiveness that derives from inspecting D. An obvious strategy is to rank D so that the documents that F has classified with the lowest confidence are top-ranked. In this work we show that this strategy is suboptimal. We develop a new utility-theoretic ranking method based on the notion of inspection gain, defined as the improvement in classification effectiveness that would derive by inspecting and correcting a given automatically labelled document. We also propose a new effectiveness measure for SATC-oriented ranking methods, based on the expected reduction in classification error brought about by partially inspecting a list generated by a given ranking method. We report the results of experiments showing that, with respect to the baseline method above, and according to the proposed measure, our ranking method can achieve substantially higher expected reductions in classification error.
Predicting Development of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

OBJECTIVE Identifying individuals most at risk for diabetic retinopathy progression and intervening early can limit vision loss and reduce the costs associated with managing more advanced disease. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with progression from nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a retrospective cohort analysis using a claims database of all eye care recipients age ≥30 years enrolled in a large managed-care network from 2001 to 2009. Individuals with newly diagnosed NPDR were followed longitudinally. Multivariable Cox regression analyses identified factors associated with progression to PDR. Three- and five-year probabilities of retinopathy progression were determined. RESULTS Among the 4,617 enrollees with incident NPDR, 307 (6.6%) developed PDR. After adjustment for confounders, every 1-point increase in HbA1c was associated with a 14% (adjusted hazard ratio 1.14 [95% CI 1.07–1.21]) increased hazard of developing PDR. Those with nonhealing ulcers had a 54% (1.54 [1.15–2.07]) increased hazard of progressing to PDR, and enrollees with nephropathy had a marginally significant increased hazard of progressing to PDR (1.29 [0.99–1.67]) relative to those without these conditions. The 5-year probability of progression for low-risk individuals with NPDR was 5% (range 2–8) and for high-risk patients was 38% (14–55). CONCLUSIONS Along with glycemic control, nonophthalmologic manifestations of diabetes mellitus (e.g., nephropathy and nonhealing ulcers) are associated with an increased risk of diabetic retinopathy progression. Our retinopathy progression risk score can help clinicians stratify patients who are most at risk for disease progression.
A structural-developmental analysis of levels of role taking in middle childhood.

SELMAN, ROBERT L. , and BYRNE, DIANE F. A Structural-Developmental Analysis of Levels of Role Taking in Middle Childhood. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 803-806. 40 childrenages 4, 6, 8, and 10-were interviewed by standard and Piagetian clinical method on 2 sociomoral dilemmas. Each child's discussion of the perspectives of different characters in the dilemma was analyzed according to a previously defined sequence of role-taking levels. The high correlation of these levels with increasing age indicates that role taking as a concept is amenable to a structural-developmental analysis.
Predictors of broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections in adult primary care.

CONTEXT Broad-spectrum antibiotics are commonly prescribed, but little is known about the physicians who prescribe and the patients who take these agents. OBJECTIVE To identify factors associated with prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics by physicians caring for patients with nonpneumonic acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Cross-sectional study using data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey between 1997 and 1999. Information was collected on a national sample of 1981 adults seen by physicians for the common cold and nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) (24%), acute sinusitis (24%), acute bronchitis (23%), otitis media (5%), pharyngitis, laryngitis, and tracheitis (11%), or more than 1 of the above diagnoses (13%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Prescription of broad-spectrum antibiotics, defined for this study as quinolones, amoxicillin/clavulanate, second- and third-generation cephalosporins, and azithromycin and clarithromycin. RESULTS Antibiotics were prescribed to 63% of patients with an ARTI, ranging from 46% of patients with the common cold or nonspecific URTIs to 69% of patients with acute sinusitis. Broad-spectrum agents were chosen in 54% of patients prescribed an antibiotic, including 51% of patients with the common cold and nonspecific URTIs, 53% with acute sinusitis, 62% with acute bronchitis, and 65% with otitis media. Multivariable analysis identified several clinical and nonclinical factors associated with choice of a broad-spectrum agent. After adjusting for diagnosis and chronic comorbid illnesses, the strongest independent predictors of broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing were physician specialty (odds ratio [OR], 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-3.5 for internal medicine physicians compared with general and family physicians) and geographic region (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.4-4.8 for Northeast and OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.4-4.2 for South [both compared with West]). Other independent predictors of choosing a broad-spectrum agent included black race, lack of health insurance, and health maintenance organization membership, each of which was associated with lower rates of broad-spectrum prescribing. Patient age, sex, and urban vs rural location were not significantly associated with prescribing choice. CONCLUSIONS Broad-spectrum antibiotics are commonly prescribed for the treatment of ARTIs, especially by internists and physicians in the Northeast and South. These high rates of prescribing, wide variations in practice patterns, and the strong association of nonclinical factors with antibiotic choice suggest opportunities to improve prescribing patterns.
High‐temperature alkaline α‐amylase from Bacillus iicheniformis TCRDC‐B13

A bacterial strain, Bacillus licheniformis, has been isolated and identified which produces high‐temperature alkaline α‐amylase. Cultural conditions, such as types of carbon and nitrogen sources, temperature, pH, and time of reaction, have been optimized for production of α‐amylase in shake flask and fermenter. The enzyme produced was quite active even at 100°C; however, it showed optimum activity at 90°C. It exhibited optimum activity in the broad pH range 5.5–10. The effects of Na+ and Ca2+ ions on enzyme activity was also studied.
KAMA: A Temperature-Driven Model of Mate Choice Using Dynamic Partner Representations

KAMA is a model of mate-choice based on a gradual, stochastic process of building up representations of potential partners through encounters and dating, ultimately leading to marriage. Individuals must attempt to find a suitable mate in a limited amount of time with only partial knowledge of the individuals in the pool of potential candidates. Individuals have multiple-valued character profiles, which describe a number of their characteristics (physical beauty, potential earning power, etc.), as well as preference profiles, that specify their degree of preference for those characteristics in members of the opposite sex. A process of encounters and dating allows individuals to gradually build up accurate representations of potential mates. Individuals each have a “temperature,” which is the extent to which they are willing to continue exploring mate-space and which drives individual decision making. The individual-level mechanisms implemented in KAMA produce population-level data that qualitatively matches empirical data. Perhaps most significantly, our results suggest that differences in first-marriage ages and hazard-rate curves for men and women in the West may to a large extent be due to the Western dating practice whereby males ask women out and women then accept or refuse their offer.
Radical Scavenging and Radiomodulatory Effects of Psoralea corylifolia Linn. Substantiated by in vitro Assays and EPR Spectroscopy

The present study is the first report of the radiomodulatory effects of Psoralea corylifolia Linn. The extract (IBG-RA-26) prepared from P. corylifolia was chemically analysed by HPLC, LC-MS/MS and NMR. The total polyphenolic content of IBG-RA-26 was 0.287 mg/ ml of quercetin equivalents. IBG-RA-26 exhibited a dose-dependent increase in 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. It exhibited comparable (> 50%) site-specific and non-site-specific hydroxyl radical scavenging activity in higher concentration ranges (500 - 1000 μg/ml), while at lower concentrations (5 - 50 μg/ml) it exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) higher non-site-specific scavenging ability compared to site-specific activity. Nitric oxide scavenging activity of IBG-RA-26 (5 - 1000 μg/ml) increased in a concentrationdependent manner, while maximum superoxide ion scavenging ability (79%) was observed at 50 μg/ml. The electron donation potential of IBG-RA-26 was found to be higher than that of ascorbic acid at lower concentrations (up to 5 μg/ml). Analysis of the ability of IBGRA- 26 to protect membranes against γ-radiation, utilizing an artificial membrane system (liposome), revealed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) as a function of the concentration of IBG-RA-26. Radiation-induced lysis of human erythrocytes was monitored and efficacy of IBG-RA-26 was tested in the concentration range 25 - 1000 μg/ml, with significant protective efficacy observed in the range 25 - 50 μg/ml. IBG-RA-26 rendered significant (p < 0.05) protection against radiation (0.25 kGy)-induced DNA damage. EPR spectroscopy was used to investigate the DPPH radical scavenging capacity of IBG-RA-26. IBG-RA-26 exhibited a good DPPH radical scavenging capacity in a concentration-dependent manner. By direct EPR spectroscopy we have also demonstrated the possible formation of free radical species in a solution of IBG-RA-26. The wide spectrum of radioprotective and antioxidant properties exhibited by IBG-RA-26 indicate that P. corylifolia has potential as a radiomodulatory agent.
Correlation between percentage of body fat measured by the Slaughter equation and bio impedance analysis technique in Mexican schoolchildren.

INTRODUCTION Obesity is considered one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century in children and adolescents. The percentile or Z-score of the body mass index is widely used in children and adolescents to define and assess overweight and obesity, but it does not determine the percentage of total body fat. Other anthropometric measurements that determine total body fat are skinfold thickness and methods of body composition assessment such as bio impedance analysis, both of which are rapid and inexpensive. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to correlate the percentage of body fat determined by the Slaughter equation with the percentage of body fat determined by the bio impedance analysis technique, and the body mass index in schoolchildren. METHODS The design of the study is cross-sectional and it was performed on a random selection of 74 children (9.47 ± 1.55 years old) attending a primary school in Colima, Mexico during 2011. The percentage of body fat was measured by the Slaughter equation and bio impedance analysis technique. Body mass index was calculated. Inferential statistics were performed with the non-paired Student's t test, Pearson's correlation for quantitative variables (percentage of body fat by the Slaughter equation and bio impedance analysis) and the Fisher exact test for qualitative variables. RESULTS A significant correlation (r = 0.74; p < 0.001) was identified between the percentage of fat measured by the Slaughter equation and bio impedance analysis. We also identified a significant correlation between the percentage of fat measured by the Slaughter equation and body mass index (r = 0.85; p < 0.001) and the percentage of fat measured by bio impedance analysis and body mass index (r = 0.78; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Given that we identified a significant positive correlation between BIA and STE, we conclude that both are adequate alternatives for measuring the percentage of body fat among schoolchildren in our population.
Assessing the validity of an abdominal CT scoring system in the diagnosis of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a severe peritoneal fibrotic reaction in patients on long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD). The early clinical features may be nonspecific. The purpose of the study is to assess the reliability and diagnostic utility of abdominal CT scanning in the diagnosis of EPS. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Abdominopelvic CT scans of 27 patients diagnosed with EPS on clinical and radiologic grounds in our unit from 1997 to 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. In addition, 35 control CT scans were scored: 15 from hemodialysis patients (HD controls) and 20 from patients on PD (PD controls). Scans were anonymized and scored independently by three radiologists. RESULTS Inter-rater agreement was moderate to very good (kappa = 0.40 to 0.75) for peritoneal calcification, bowel distribution, bowel wall thickening, and bowel dilation but poorer for loculation of ascites and peritoneal thickening. There was a strongly significant difference between the total CT scan scores at EPS diagnosis and controls (P < 0.00001). Each individual parameter also showed significant differences between EPS and controls (P < 0.006). Bowel tethering and peritoneal calcification were the most specific parameters, and. loculation was the least discriminatory parameter. Interestingly, prediagnostic scans a median of 1.5 yr before EPS diagnosis were normal or near-normal in 9 of 13 EPS patients. CONCLUSIONS CT scanning is a valid and reliable adjunct to the diagnosis of EPS but may not be useful as a screening tool, as the prediagnostic scans did not show abnormalities in many patients who subsequently developed EPS.
Contributing to Overall Life Satisfaction: Personality Traits Versus Life Satisfaction Variables Revisited—Is Replication Impossible?

Virtually everybody would agree that life satisfaction is of immense importance in everyday life. Thus, it is not surprising that a considerable amount of research using many different methodological approaches has investigated what the best predictors of life satisfaction are. In the present study, we have focused on several key potential influences on life satisfaction including bottom-up and top-down models, cross-cultural effects, and demographic variables. In four independent (large scale) surveys with sample sizes ranging from N = 488 to 40,297, we examined the associations between life satisfaction and various related variables. Our findings demonstrate that prediction of overall life satisfaction works best when including information about specific life satisfaction variables. From this perspective, satisfaction with leisure showed the highest impact on overall life satisfaction in our European samples. Personality was also robustly associated with life satisfaction, but only when life satisfaction variables were not included in the regression model. These findings could be replicated in all four independent samples, but it was also demonstrated that the relevance of life satisfaction variables changed under the influence of cross-cultural effects.