Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of Vocal Fold Motion Impairment and Dysphagia after Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery: A Systematic Review

Objective The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding vocal fold motion impairment (VFMI), respiratory outcomes, and swallowing outcomes in children following congenital heart surgery (CHS). Data Sources PubMed, Embase, Medline, and CINAHL databases. Review Methods Data sources were searched from inception to November 30, 2018. Studies that described recovery of VFMI and swallowing function following CHS were included, and a qualitative analysis was performed. Results A total of 1371 studies were identified, of which 8 met inclusion criteria for VFMI and 5 met inclusion criteria for swallowing outcomes. Studies including patients who underwent isolate patent ductus arteriosus ligation were excluded. VFMI was present in 8% to 59% of subjects, and rates of recovery ranged from 9% to 96% at 6 months to 6 years of follow-up. Inability to maintain an oral diet occurred in 14% to 100% of subjects with VFMI and 11% to 61% without VFMI following surgery. Tolerance of an oral diet without tube feeding was present in 66% to 75% of subjects with VFMI and 88% to 100% without VFMI at 24 days to 3.2 years of follow-up. Limited data suggest that time to extubation is longer in VFMI subjects, but overall hospital length of stay and mortality may not be affected by VFMI status. Conclusions Data evaluating dysphagia and VFMI after CHS are limited. Most studies suggest significant improvement in swallowing function, while rate of recovery of VFMI is variable. Future prospective studies with standardized screening and follow-up are needed to better elucidate outcomes to help develop algorithms for identification and management of VFMI after CHS.
Usability and Instructional Design Heuristics for E-Learning Evaluation

Heuristic evaluation is a methodology for investigating the usability of software originally developed by Nielsen (1993, 2000). Nielsen’s protocol was modified and refined for an evaluation of an e-learning program by participants in a doctoral seminar held at The University of Georgia in 2001. The modifications primarily involved expanding Nielsen’s original ten heuristics (developed for software in general) to fifteen heuristics (designed to be more closely focused on e-learning programs). The set of fifteen e-learning heuristics as well as the protocol that guided the evaluation process are presented. The application of this protocol to a commercial e-learning program is described along with the changes that resulted from the evaluation.
Perceiving emotion and sex from the body: evidence from the Garner task for independent processes

ABSTRACT The appearance of the body signals socially relevant states and traits, but the how these cues are perceived is not well understood. Here we examined judgments of emotion and sex from the body’s appearance. Understanding how we extract these cues is important because they are both salient and socially relevant. Participants viewed body images and either reported the emotion expressed by each body while ignoring its sex, or else reported the sex while ignoring its emotion. Following Garner’s logic, two types of blocks were compared. In control blocks, the task-irrelevant dimension was fixed (e.g. all male in an emotion judgment task), whereas in orthogonal blocks it varied orthogonally to the task-relevant dimension (e.g. male-female). Where two dimensions draw on shared processes, interference results in relatively slower responses during orthogonal blocks. In contrast, a finding of no Garner interference – efficient selection of the task-relevant dimension – is taken to reflect independent processes. Bayesian analyses revealed evidence of no Garner interference between sex and emotion judgments, showing that extraction of these distinct signals from the body’s appearance proceeds along largely parallel processing streams. These findings are informative about the mental architecture behind our perception of socially relevant characteristics of other people.
A Deep Learning-Based Automatic Mosquito Sensing and Control System for Urban Mosquito Habitats

Mosquito control is important as mosquitoes are extremely harmful pests that spread various infectious diseases. In this research, we present the preliminary results of an automated system that detects the presence of mosquitoes via image processing using multiple deep learning networks. The Fully Convolutional Network (FCN) and neural network-based regression demonstrated an accuracy of 84%. Meanwhile, the single image classifier demonstrated an accuracy of only 52%. The overall processing time also decreased from 4.64 to 2.47 s compared to the conventional classifying network. After detection, a larvicide made from toxic protein crystals of the Bacillus thuringiensis serotype israelensis bacteria was injected into static water to stop the proliferation of mosquitoes. This system demonstrates a higher efficiency than hunting adult mosquitos while avoiding damage to other insects.
Abiotic conditions mediate intraguild interactions between mammalian carnivores.

Intraguild (IG) interactions are common among mammalian carnivores, can include intraguild predation (IGP) and interspecific killing (IK), and are often asymmetrical, where a larger more dominant species (IGpredator ) kills a smaller one (IGprey ). According to ecological theory, the potential for an IGpredator and IGprey to coexist depends on whether the direct consumptive benefits for the IGpredator are substantial (IGP) or insignificant (IK), the extent to which the IGprey is the superior exploitative competitor on shared prey resources, and overall ecosystem productivity. We used resource selection models and spatially explicit age and harvest data for two closely related mesopredators that engage in IG interactions, American martens (Martes americana; IGprey ) and fishers (Pekania pennanti; IGpredator ), to identify drivers of distributions, delineate areas of sympatry and allopatry, and explore the role of an apex predator (coyote; Canis latrans) on these interactions. Model selection revealed that fisher use of this landscape was strongly influenced by late winter abiotic conditions, but other bottom-up (forest composition) and top-down (coyote abundance) factors also influenced their distribution. Overall, fisher probability of use was higher where late winter temperatures were warmer, snowpack was deeper, and measures of productivity were greater. Martens were constrained to areas of the landscape where the probability of fisher use, coyote abundance, and productivity were low and selected for forest conditions that presumably maximized prey availability. Marten age data indicated an increased proportion of juveniles outside of the predicted area of sympatry, suggesting that few animals survived >1.5 years in this area that supported higher densities of fishers and coyotes. Consistent with asymmetrical IG interaction theory, the IGpredator (fishers and, to a lesser degree, coyotes) competitively excluded the IGprey (martens) from more productive, milder temperature habitats, whereas IGpredators and IGprey coexisted in low productivity environments, where a combination of abiotic and biotic conditions enabled the IGprey to be the superior exploitative competitor.
Dissociable cognitive patterns related to depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis

Background: Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently present with depression and anxiety, as well as cognitive impairment, challenging clinicians to disentangle interrelationships among these symptoms. Objective: To identify cognitive functions associated with anxiety and depression in MS. Methods: Mood and cognition were measured in 185 recently diagnosed patients (Reserve Against Disability in Early Multiple Sclerosis (RADIEMS) cohort), and an independent validation sample (MEM CONNECT cohort, n = 70). Partial correlations evaluated relationships of cognition to anxiety and depression controlling for age, sex, education, and premorbid verbal intelligence. Results: In RADIEMS cohort, lower anxiety was associated with better nonverbal memory (rp = –0.220, p = 0.003) and lower depression to better attention/processing speed (rp = –0.241, p = 0.001). Consistently, in MEM CONNECT cohort, lower anxiety was associated with better nonverbal memory (rp = –0.271, p = 0.028) and lower depression to better attention/processing speed (rp = –0.367, p = 0.002). Relationships were unchanged after controlling for T2 lesion volume and fatigue. Conclusion: Consistent mood–cognition relationships were identified in two independent cohorts of MS patients, suggesting that cognitive correlates of anxiety and depression are separable. This dissociation may support more precise models to inform treatment development. Treatment of mood symptoms may mitigate effects on cognition and/or treatment of cognition may mitigate effects on mood.
Student selection to a rural veterinary school. 2: predictors of student performance and attrition.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the extent to which current selection processes at Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia, predict performance within and attrition from the veterinary degree program. DESIGN Retrospective evaluation of application details and student performance data. METHODS Database records of 424 students entering the veterinary program were retrieved from university records, including all students graduating (n = 356) or leaving the program without completing (n = 68) between 2005 and 2016. Demographic data were related to results of selection processes and achievement within the degree using univariable and multivariable general linear and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS The grade point average achieved over the 6 years of the degree was influenced by academic achievement prior to entry, gender (females performed ≈ 2% better than males) and interview scores. Preceptor evaluation of final-year clinical performance was associated with interview scores, gender (males performed ≈ 4% better than females) and residential address at the time of application. Attrition for personal reasons was more common for female students and students who had completed a prior degree, and students who experienced academic or personal attrition had lower written application scores. Factors that have been previously linked to poor academic outcomes, including rural or low socioeconomic background, were not associated with adverse student outcomes. CONCLUSION Selection processes did not systematically disadvantage students admitted to the degree program. Gender differences in personal attrition and academic and clinical performance warrant further evaluation. Factors in addition to academic aptitude predicted student success.
Donor-specific antibodies following liver and intestinal transplantation: Clinical significance, pathogenesis and recommendations

Abstract A growing body of evidence shows that donor-specific antibodies (DSA) are associated with rejection and allograft failure following both liver and intestinal transplantation. However, data have clearly shown that not all DSA are injurious. The reasons for this remain unclear but appear to be multifactorial, impacted by clinical factors such as immunosuppression and infection as well as immunologic factors such as HLA expression and donor-specific antibodies affinity. Establishing a diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) remains clinically challenging, especially given that AMR can present as either acute or chronic graft dysfunction. These observations highlight the need for a better understanding of the immune mechanisms by which DSA and AMR contribute to rejection and allograft failure. This review focuses on current knowledge of DSA and AMR in liver and intestinal transplant recipients and specifically highlights the clinical impact, prevalence, and pathogenesis.
Pseudocepstrum for assessing stereo quality of retinal images

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the primary cause of visual loss in the west, although 95% of visual loss cases due to DR can be prevented if detected and treated early. Early treatment of diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) has been set by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to assign a severity level based on evaluation of stereo retinal images of people suffering from DR, and was described as the Gold standard for early detection and treatment. To produce accurate results, the implementation of the standard depends on high resolution color stereoscopic images of the retina that meets certain quality criteria such as clarity & focus, field definition, and stereo effect. A fast and robust image quality assessment (IQA) tool can is imperative to efficient and accurate disease diagnosis based on ETDRS. Specifically, this paper focuses on the stereo quality of the image pair due to its importance in the grading process, and we propose the use of the cepstrum or pseudocepstrum filtering to develop an efficient IQA tool for assessing the stereo quality of the retinal image pair.
Impulsive signaling model of cytoneme-based morphogen gradient formation

Morphogen protein gradients play a vital role in regulating spatial pattern formation during development. The most commonly accepted mechanism of protein gradient formation involves the diffusion and degradation of morphogens from a localized source. However, there is growing experimental evidence for a direct cell-to-cell signaling mechanism via thin actin-rich cellular extensions known as cytonemes. Recent modeling studies of cytoneme-based morphogenesis in invertebrates ignore the discrete nature of vesicular transport along cytonemes, focusing on deterministic continuum models. In this paper, we develop an impulsive signaling model of morphogen gradient formation in invertebrates, which takes into account the discrete and stochastic nature of vesicular transport along cytonemes. We begin by solving a first passage time problem with sticky boundaries to determine the expected time to deliver a vesicle to a target cell, assuming that there is a ‘nucleation’ time for injecting the vesicle into the cytoneme. We then use queuing theory to analyze the impulsive model of morphogen gradient formation in the case of multiple cytonemes and multiple targets. In particular, we determine the steady-state mean and variance of the morphogen distribution across a one-dimensional array of target cells. The mean distribution recovers the spatially decaying morphogen gradient of previous deterministic models. However, the burst-like nature of morphogen transport can lead to Fano factors greater than unity across the array of cells, resulting in significant fluctuations at more distant target sites.
Evaluating a Single Domain Antibody Targeting Human PD-L1 as a Nuclear Imaging and Therapeutic Agent

The PD-1:PD-L1 immune checkpoint axis is central in the escape of cancer cells from anticancer immune responses. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for PD-L1 have been approved for treatment of various cancer types. Although PD-L1 blockade has proven its merit, there are still several aspects that require further attention to fully capitalize on its potential. One of these is the development of antigen-binding moieties that enable PD-L1 diagnosis and therapy. We generated human PD-L1 binding single domain antibodies (sdAbs) and selected sdAb K2, a sdAb with a high affinity for PD-L1, as a lead compound. SPECT/CT imaging in mice following intravenous injection of Technetium-99m (99mTc)-labeled sdAb K2 revealed high signal-to-noise ratios, strong ability to specifically detect PD-L1 in melanoma and breast tumors, and relatively low kidney retention, which is a unique property for radiolabeled sdAbs. We further showed using surface plasmon resonance that sdAb K2 binds to the same epitope on PD-L1 as the mAb avelumab, and antagonizes PD-1:PD-L1 interactions. Different human cell-based assays corroborated the PD-1:PD-L1 blocking activity, showing enhanced T-cell receptor signaling and tumor cell killing when PD-1POS T cells interacted with PD-L1POS tumor cells. Taken together, we present sdAb K2, which specifically binds to human PD-L1, as a new diagnostic and therapeutic agent in cancer management.
From plant fungi to bee parasites: mycorrhizae and soil nutrients shape floral chemistry and bee pathogens.

Bee populations have experienced declines in recent years, due in part to increased disease incidence. Multiple factors influence bee-pathogen interactions, including nectar and pollen quality and secondary metabolites. However, we lack an understanding of how plant interactions with their environment shape bee diet quality. We examined how plant interactions with the belowground environment alter floral rewards and, in turn, bee-pathogen interactions. Soil-dwelling mycorrhizal fungi are considered plant mutualists, although the outcome of the relationship depends on environmental conditions such as nutrients. In a 2x2 factorial design, we asked whether mycorrhizal fungi and nutrients affect concentrations of nectar and pollen alkaloids (anabasine and nicotine) previously shown to reduce infection by the gut pathogen Crithidia in the native bumblebee Bombus impatiens. To ask how plant interactions affect this common bee pathogen, we fed pollen and nectar from our treatment plants, and from a wildflower pollen control with artificial nectar, to bees infected with Crithidia. Mycorrhizal fungi and fertilizer both influenced flowering phenology and floral chemistry. While we found no anabasine or nicotine in nectar, high fertilizer increased anabasine and nicotine in pollen. AMF decreased nicotine concentrations, but the reduction due to AMF was stronger in high than low-nutrient conditions. AMF and nutrients also had interactive effects on bee pathogens via changes in nectar and pollen. High fertilizer reduced Crithidia cell counts relative to low fertilizer in AMF plants, but increased Crithidia in non-AMF plants. These results did not correspond with effects of fertilizer and AMF on pollen alkaloid concentrations, suggesting that other components of pollen or nectar were affected by treatments and shaped pathogen counts. Our results indicate that soil biotic and abiotic environment can alter bee-pathogen interactions via changes in floral rewards, and underscore the importance of integrative studies to predict disease dynamics and ecological outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Calibration of the PlusOptix PowerRef 3 with change in viewing distance, adult age and refractive error

The PowerRef 3 is frequently used in studying the near triad of accommodation, vergence and pupil responses in normal and clinical populations. Within a range, the defocus measurement of the PowerRef 3 is linearly related to the eye's defocus. While the default factory‐calibrated slope of this relation (calibration factor) is 1, it has been shown that the slope can vary across individuals. Here, we addressed the impact of changes in viewing distance, age and defocus of the eye on the calibration factor.
White Light Emission from Thin-Film Samples of ZnO Nanocrystals, Eu3+ and Tb3+ Ions Embedded in an SiO2 Matrix

In this work, a method was developed to determine the concentration of Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions in a thin-film sample of SiO2, co-doped with ZnO-nanocrystals (ZnO-nc), to produce a sample of any desired colour in the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) colour space. Using this method, a white light emitting sample was fabricated. The thin-film sample combines red, green and blue emissions from the Eu3+ ions, Tb3+ ions and ZnO-nc, respectively, to create white light or light of any desired colour. The emissions at 614 nm and 545 nm from Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions, respectively, is due to the energy transfer from the excited ZnO-nc to the rare-earth (RE) ions. In this way, only a single excitation wavelength is needed to excite the ZnO-nc, Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions in the sample to produce emission of a desired colour from the sample. We developed an empirical 4th-degree polynomial equation to determine the concentrations of Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions to produce light of any desired colour in the CIE colour space. Based on the above empirical equation, the concentration of Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions for a white light emitting sample was found to be 0.012 and 0.024 molar fractions, respectively. The white light emission from the sample was confirmed by fabricating the sample using the low-cost sol–gel process. The stimulated emission spectra and the experimental emission spectra of the white light sample fit very well. The results presented in this work are important to develop energy efficient solid state lighting devices.
Module 5: Introduction to Multilevel Modelling (Stata Practical)

Introduction to the Scottish Youth Cohort Trends Dataset . 1 P5.1 Comparing Groups using Multilevel Modelling . 3 P5.1. 1 A multilevel model of attainment with school effects . 3 P5.1. 2 Examining school effects (residuals) . 7 P5.2 Adding Student-level Explanatory Variables: Random Intercept Models . 10 P5.3 Allowing for Different Slopes across Schools: Random Slope Models . 15 P5.3. 1 Testing for random slopes . 16 P5.3. 2 Interpretation of random cohort effects across schools . 17 P5.3. 3 Examining intercept and slope residuals for schools . 17 P5.3. 4 Between-school variance as a function of cohort . 19 P5.3. 5 Adding a random coefficient for gender (dichotomousx) . 20 P5.3. 6 Adding a random coefficient for social class (categoricalx) . 23 P5.4 Adding Level 2 Explanatory Variables . 29 P5.4. 1 Contextual effects . 31 P5.4. 2 Cross-level interactions . 34 P5.5 Complex Level 1 Variation . 37 P5.5. 1 Within-school variance as a function of cohort (continuous x) . 37 P5.5. 2 Within-school variance as a function of gender (dichotomous x) . 37 P5.5. 3 Within-school variance as a function of cohort and gender . 39 P5.6 References . 40