Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dermatomyositis and malignancy in Tunisia: a multicenter national retrospective study of 20 cases.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS The aim of our study was to report the epidemiologic, clinical, and biologic profiles of dermatomyositis (DM) associated with malignancy in patients from Tunisia. From January 1982 to January 2000, we collected retrospectively 20 case reports of DM associated with cancer from the different university hospital centers of Tunisia. Initial workup included anamnesis, clinical examination, cancer staging and classification, serum muscle enzymes (creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aldolase, and transaminases), electromyography, and muscular biopsy. We calculated the median survival and mean value of all the variables. Comparisons of statistical tests were done with the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS Among the 130 DM cases of our study, 20 were associated with cancer (15.38%). The mean age of our patients was 49.6 years and the sex ratio (female/male) was equal to 3. Cancers were mainly those of the breast (35%) and nasopharynx (25%). DM followed a paraneoplastic course in 90% of the cases. The profile of seric muscular enzymes showed a significant statistical difference (P =.05) between a group of patients with severe muscular weakness and a group with moderate muscle weakness only for creatine kinase. The median survival was 36.5 months after diagnosis of DM and 48.6 months after that of cancer. The 5-year actuarial survival was 38% as related to cancer and 16% as related to DM. Mortality was 45%, in 90% as a result of cancer. CONCLUSIONS In our study, nasopharyngeal carcinoma represents the second cancer associated with DM, after breast neoplasm, demonstrating the frequency of these 2 cancers in our country. Despite our reduced number of study samples, our study also suggests a relationship between severe muscle weakness and high seric muscle enzymes.
Causes of variation in soil carbon simulations from CMIP5 Earth system models and comparison with observations

Stocks of soil organic carbon represent a large component of the carbon cycle that may participate in climate change feedbacks, particularly on decadal and centennial timescales. For Earth system models (ESMs), the ability to accurately represent the global distribution of existing soil carbon stocks is a prerequisite for accurately predicting future carbon–climate feedbacks. We compared soil carbon simulations from 11 model centers to empirical data from the Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD) and the Northern Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database (NCSCD). Model estimates of global soil carbon stocks ranged from 510 to 3040 Pg C, compared to an estimate of 1260 Pg C (with a 95% confidence interval of 890–1660 Pg C) from the HWSD. Model simulations for the high northern latitudes fell between 60 and 820 Pg C, compared to 500 Pg C (with a 95% confidence interval of 380–620 Pg C) for the NCSCD and 290 Pg C for the HWSD. Global soil carbon varied 5.9 fold across models in response to a 2.6-fold variation in global net primary productivity (NPP) and a 3.6-fold variation in global soil carbon turnover times. Model–data agreement was moderate at the biome level (R2 values ranged from 0.38 to 0.97 with a mean of 0.75); however, the spatial distribution of soil carbon simulated by the ESMs at the 1° scale was not well correlated with the HWSD (Pearson correlation coefficients less than 0.4 and root mean square errors from 9.4 to 20.8 kg C m−2). In northern latitudes where the two data sets overlapped, agreement between the HWSD and the NCSCD was poor (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.33), indicating uncertainty in empirical estimates of soil carbon. We found that a reduced complexity model dependent on NPP and soil temperature explained much of the 1° spatial variation in soil carbon within most ESMs (R2 values between 0.62 and 0.93 for 9 of 11 model centers). However, the same reduced complexity model only explained 10% of the spatial variation in HWSD soil carbon when driven by observations of NPP and temperature, implying that other drivers or processes may be more important in explaining observed soil carbon distributions. The reduced complexity model also showed that differences in simulated soil carbon across ESMs were driven by differences in simulated NPP and the parameterization of soil heterotrophic respiration (inter-model R2 = 0.93), not by structural differences between the models. Overall, our results suggest that despite fair global-scale agreement with observational data and moderate agreement at the biome scale, most ESMs cannot reproduce grid-scale variation in soil carbon and may be missing key processes. Future work should focus on improving the simulation of driving variables for soil carbon stocks and modifying model structures to include additional processes.
Analysis of the Viscoelastic Properties of the Human Cornea Using Scheimpflug Imaging in Inflation Experiment of Eye Globes

Purpose To demonstrate a Scheimpflug-based imaging procedure for investigating the depth- and time-dependent strain response of the human cornea to inflation testing of whole eye globes. Methods Six specimens, three of which with intact corneal epithelium, were mounted in a customized apparatus within a humidity and temperature-monitored wet chamber. Each specimen was subjected to two mechanical tests in order to measure corneal strain resulting from application of cyclic (cyclic regimen) and constant (creep regimen) stress by changing the intra-ocular pressure (IOP) within physiological ranges (18–42 mmHg). Corneal shape changes were analyzed as a function of IOP and both corneal stress-strain curves and creep curves were generated. Results The procedure was highly accurate and repeatable. Upon cyclic stress application, a biomechanical corneal elasticity gradient was found in the front-back direction. The average Young's modulus of the anterior cornea ranged between 2.28±0.87 MPa and 3.30±0.90 MPa in specimens with and without intact epithelium (P = 0.05) respectively. The Young's modulus of the posterior cornea was on average 0.21±0.09 MPa and 0.17±0.06 MPa (P>0.05) respectively. The time-dependent strain response of the cornea to creep testing was quantified by fitting data to a modified Zener model for extracting both the relaxation time and compliance function. Conclusion Cyclic and creep mechanical tests are valuable for investigating the strain response of the intact human cornea within physiological IOP ranges, providing meaningful results that can be translated to clinic. The presence of epithelium influences the results of anterior corneal shape changes when monitoring deformation via Scheimpflug imaging in inflation experiments of whole eye globes.
Physical Education Classes, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior in Children

Purpose This study aimed to examine the associations between participation frequency in physical education (PE) classes and objective measures of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in children from 12 countries at different levels of development. Methods This multinational, cross-sectional study included 5874 children 9–11 yr old from sites in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. PA and SB were monitored for seven consecutive days using a waist-worn accelerometer. PA and SB data were presented for weekdays (times in and out of school) and weekend days. Participation frequency in PE classes was determined by questionnaire. Multilevel modeling analyses stratified by sex were used. Results Overall, 24.8% of children self-reported participation in PE classes ≥3 times per week (25.3% in high-income countries [HIC] and 24.3% in low- and middle-income countries [LMIC]). After adjusting for age, sex, parental education, and body mass index z-score, results showed that children from low- and middle-income countries who took PE classes one to two times per week were more likely to present better indicators of PA and shorter time in SB in and out of school. In HIC, boys that participated in PE classes were more likely to meet the moderate-to-vigorous PA recommendations and to present better indicators of PA (in school) and shorter time in SB in and out of school. For girls in HIC, attending PE classes increased the likelihood of spending more time in moderate-to-vigorous PA, especially if they attended ≥3 times per week. Conclusion Attending PE classes is associated with a higher level of PA and a lower level of SB in and out of school during weekdays in children from countries at various levels of development.
Leaf level emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from some Amazonian and Mediterranean plants

Emission inventories defining regional and global biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) emission strengths are needed to determine the impact of VOC on atmospheric chemistry (oxidative capacity) and physics (secondary organic aerosol formation and effects). The aim of this work was to contribute with measurements of tree species from the poorly described tropical vegetation in direct comparison with the quite well-investigated, highly heterogeneous emissions from Mediterranean vegetation. VOC emission from sixteen plant species from the Mediterranean area were compared with twelve plant species from different environments of the Amazon basin by an emission screening at leaf level using branch enclosures. Analysis of the volatile organics was performed online by a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) and offline by collection on adsorbent tubes and subsequent gas chromatographic analysis. Isoprene was the most dominant compound emitted followed by monoterpenes, methanol and acetone. The average loss rates of VOC carbon in relation to the net CO 2 assimilation were found below 4% and indicating normal unstressed plant behavior. Most of the Mediterranean species emitted a large variety of monoterpenes, whereas only five tropical species were identified as monoterpene emitters exhibiting a quite conservative emission pattern (α-pinene < limonene < sabinene < s-pinene). Mediterranean plants showed additional emissions of sesquiterpenes. In the case of Amazonian plants no sesquiterpenes were detected. However, missing of sesquiterpenes may also be due to a lack of sensitivity of the measuring systems. Furthermore, our screening activities cover only 1% of tree species of such tropical areas as estimated based on recent biodiversity reports. Methanol emissions, an indicator of growth, were found to be common in most of the tropical and Mediterranean species. A few species from both ecosystems showed acetone emissions. The observed heterogeneous emissions, including reactive VOC species which are not easily detected by flux measurements, give reason to perform more screening at leaf level and, whenever possible, within the forests under ambient conditions.
Increasing Patient Engagement in Rehabilitation Exercises Using Computer-Based Citizen Science

Patient motivation is an important factor to consider when developing rehabilitation programs. Here, we explore the effectiveness of active participation in web-based citizen science activities as a means of increasing participant engagement in rehabilitation exercises, through the use of a low-cost haptic joystick interfaced with a laptop computer. Using the joystick, patients navigate a virtual environment representing the site of a citizen science project situated in a polluted canal. Participants are tasked with following a path on a laptop screen representing the canal. The experiment consists of two conditions: in one condition, a citizen science component where participants classify images from the canal is included; and in the other, the citizen science component is absent. Both conditions are tested on a group of young patients undergoing rehabilitation treatments and a group of healthy subjects. A survey administered at the end of both tasks reveals that participants prefer performing the scientific task, and are more likely to choose to repeat it, even at the cost of increasing the time of their rehabilitation exercise. Furthermore, performance indices based on data collected from the joystick indicate significant differences in the trajectories created by patients and healthy subjects, suggesting that the low-cost device can be used in a rehabilitation setting for gauging patient recovery.
The influence of sentence context and accented speech on lexical access in second-language auditory word recognition*

Until now, research on bilingual auditory word recognition has been scarce, and although most studies agree that lexical access is language-nonselective, there is less consensus with respect to the influence of potentially constraining factors. The present study investigated the influence of three possible constraints. We tested whether language nonselectivity is restricted by (a) a sentence context in a second language (L2), (b) the semantic constraint of the sentence, and (c) the native language of the speaker. Dutch–English bilinguals completed an English auditory lexical decision task on the last word of low- and high-constraining sentences. Sentences were pronounced by a native Dutch speaker with English as the L2, or by a native English speaker with Dutch as the L2. Interlingual homophones (e.g., lief “sweet” – leaf /liːf/) were always recognized more slowly than control words. The semantic constraint of the sentence and the native accent of the speaker modulated, but did not eliminate interlingual homophone effects. These results are discussed within language-nonselective models of lexical access in bilingual auditory word recognition.
Edyn: Dynamic Signaling of Changes to Forests Using Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Charts

Remote detection of forest disturbance remains a key area of interest for scientists and land managers. Subtle disturbances such as drought, disease, insect activity, and thinning harvests have a significant impact on carbon budgeting and forest productivity, but current change detection algorithms struggle to accurately identify them, especially over decadal timeframes. We introduce an algorithm called Edyn, which inputs a time series of residuals from harmonic regression into a control chart to signal low-magnitude, consistent deviations from the curve as disturbances. After signaling, Edyn retrains a new baseline curve. We compared Edyn with its parent algorithm (EWMACD—Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Change Detection) on over 3500 visually interpreted Landsat pixels from across the contiguous USA, with reference data for timing and type of disturbance. For disturbed forested pixels, Edyn had a mean per-pixel commission error of 31.1% and omission error of 70.0%, while commission and omission errors for EWMACD were 39.9% and 65.2%, respectively. Edyn had significantly less overall error than EWMACD (F1 = 0.19 versus F1 = 0.13). These patterns generally held for all of the reference data, including a direct comparison to other contemporary change detection algorithms, wherein Edyn and EWMACD were found to have lower omission error rates for a category of subtle changes over long periods.
A Simplified Analytical Technique for High Frequency Characterization of Resonant Tunneling Diode

Moustafa Hussein Aly A Simplified Analytical Technique for High Frequency Characterization of Resonant Tunneling Diode This paper proposes a simplified analytical technique for high frequency characterization of the resonant tunneling diode (RTD). An equivalent circuit of the RTD that consists of a parallel combination of conductance, G (V, f), and capacitance, C (V, f) is formulated. The proposed approach uses the measured DC current versus voltage characteristic of the RTD to extract the equivalent circuit elements parameters in the entire bias range. Using the proposed analytical technique, the frequency response including the high frequency range of many characteristic aspects of the RTD is investigated. Also, the maximum oscillation frequency of the RTD is calculated. The results obtained have been compared with those concluded and reported in the literature. The reported results in literature were obtained through simulation of the RTD at high frequency using either a computationally complicated quantum simulator through difficult RF measurements. A similar pattern of results and highly concordant conclusion are obtained. The proposed analytical technique is simple, correct, and appropriate to investigate the behavior of the RTD at high frequency. In addition, the proposed technique can be easily incorporated into SPICE program to simulate circuits containing RTD.
In Situ Biofilm Formation on Titanium, Gold Alloy and Zirconia Abutment Materials

Background: Biofilm formation on trans-gingival implant surfaces is a common reason for local inflammation of the peri-implantary tissue and can lead to implant loss. The aim of the current in situ study was to evaluate biofilm formation on titanium, gold alloy and zirconia abutment materials directly in the trans-gingival region. Materials and Methods: Specimens were attached to implant healing abutments and were inserted in 8 patients for 14 days. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to measure biofilm height and surface coverage. Results: Titanium showed a mean biofilm height of 10.8 μm and a surface coverage of 26.5%. For gold alloy, a height of 14.6 μm and coverage of 27.3% was found. Zirconia had a biofilm height of 2.7 μm and coverage of 10.5%. No statistically significant difference between the three materials was found. However, zirconia tended to form less biofilm than the other materials. Conclusion: All three materials seem to be suitable for the use as abutment material. Zirconia appeared to have the most favourable biological and aesthetic properties.
Genetic variation in carcinogen metabolizing genes associated with oral cancer in pakistani population.

BACKGROUND Xenobiotics are metabolized by either phase I enzymes like CYP1A1 or phase II enzymes like GSTs. Polymorphisms in the encoding genes (CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1) potentially may therefore contribute towards risk association for oral cancer. METHODOLOGY These genes were investigated via a case control study consisting of 228 oral cancer patients and 150 cancer free normal individuals as controls. DNA was extracted from WBCs for genotyping. Polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) was used for screening CYP1A1 and GSTP1 genes mutations. Deletion of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes were analyzed by multiplex PCR. RESULTS Two novel mutations were found in this study in relation to oral cancer. A substitution mutation of A2842 with C resulting in missense tyrosine to serine formation along with a frameshift mutation due to insertion of thymidine at nucleotide 2842 resulting in 495 nucleotide sequence to alter was found in oral cancer patients. GSTM1 and GSTT1 deletion polymorphism was found in significantly higher number of individuals (OR=2.08, CI 1.05-4.2; OR=1.5, CI 0.9-2.4 respectively) compared to controls. 10 patients had deletion of both GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes. GSTP1 gene was also found to have novel substitution mutations of A2848 to T and G2849 to A in exon 7 resulting in leucine to leucine and alanine to threonine formation respectively. Two intronic deletions of cytosine at positions 1074 and 1466 was found in intron 3 and 4 in patients and no control had these exonic or intronic variants in GSTP1 gene. CONCLUSION These results suggest that accumulation of genetic changes in CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 genes are associated with increased risk of oral cancer.
Genetic diversity and population structure of locally adapted South African chicken lines: Implications for conservation

In this study microsatellite markers were applied to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of the six local chicken lines kept in the “Fowls for Africa” program, for better clarification of parameters for breed differentiation and genetic conservation of this valuable resource. The lines included the Black Australorp, Potchefstroom Koekoek, New Hampshire, Ovambo, Lebova- Venda and a Naked Neck line. Unbiased estimates for heterozygosity ranged from 50% in the Potchefstroom Koekoek to as high as 65% in the Naked Neck chickens. FIS values varied from as low as 0.16 for the Black Australorp line to as high as 0.35 for the Ovambo chickens. The FST values indicated moderate to high genetic differentiation between the Naked Neck and New Hampshire (0.11); Ovambo and Naked Neck lines (0.12), and Naked Neck and Lebowa- Venda (0.14). A total of 13% of the total genetic variation observed was between the chicken lines and 87% within the lines, supporting moderate genetic differentiation. Population structure was assessed using STRUCTURE where the Black Australorp was genetically best defined. Although six clusters for the different populations could be distinguished, the other lines were not as clearly defined, with individual birds tending to share more than one cluster. Results support a broad classification of these lines and further investigation of unique alleles is recommended for conservation of the lines within the program.
Increased rates of atrial fibrillation recurrence following pulmonary vein isolation in overweight and obese patients

Catheter ablation is common for patients with symptomatic, drug‐refractory atrial fibrillation (AF). Obesity is a known risk factor for incident AF. The impact of obesity on AF ablation outcomes is incompletely understood. We sought to determine the impact of elevated body mass index (BMI) on pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) procedural outcomes and associated complications.