Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling of track overlapping effect on layer integrity in the process of laser sintering of polymer suspension

A regression model for determination of hatch spacing during layered laser sintering of reinforced solids is proposed. A subject matter of the process is that a reinforcing element is inserted in a special vat, polymer suspension is added and then the surface of the suspension is processed with a laser beam. Particles of the suspension dispersed phase are sintered and form a single layer attached to the reinforcing element. The model is based on error function and allows estimating of effect of overlapping factor on probability of layer integrity. Adequacy of this model is confirmed by means of analysis of a number of samples. Analogous modeling can be used for analysis of other processes of surface treatment by high-energy sources.
Types of Errors by Referees and Perception of Injustice by Soccer players: A Preliminary Study

This study investigated the effect of referees' errors on players' perceived injustice in soccer. The conditions investigated were Referee Decision, with three types: Correctly Called a foul vs Wrongly Called a foul vs Did not Call a foul and Repetition of the Situation, with two types: Isolated vs Repeated. Male soccer players at regional and departmental levels of practice (N = 95, Mage = 23.2, SD = 5.1) were asked to rank six hypothetical situations according to the perceived injustice. Analysis indicated significant effects of Referee Decisions and Repetition of the Situation on the perception of injustice, but showed no differences between the types of error. However, age and years of soccer experience were associated with perception of injustice when the referee correctly called a foul.
Four Score and Seven Years from Now: The Date/Delay Effect in Temporal Discounting

We describe a new anomaly in intertemporal choice-the "date/delay effect": discount rates that are imputed when time is described using calendar dates (e.g., on October 17) are markedly lower than those revealed when future outcomes are described in terms of the corresponding delay (e.g., in six months). Date descriptions not only reduce discount rates, but also affect the implied shape of the discount function: When inferred from intertemporal choices between options referenced by calendar dates, the discount function appears markedly less hyperbolic. We discuss potential psychological bases of the date/delay effect, its implications, and other modes of temporal reference.
Treatment of Hyperesthetic Neuropathic Pain in Diabetics Decompression of the Tarsal Tunnel

ObjectiveThe authors evaluated the causal relationship between entrapment of the posterior tibial nerve and neuropathic pain and describe the results of nerve decompression in a selected group of patients with intractable pain. Summary Background DataPainful metabolic neuropathy has, until recently, been thought to be an irreversible and essentially untreatable complication of diabetes. Recent studies have shown that metabolic deterioration is only one component of the disease process. MethodsA group of patients with intractable painful neuropathy and a positive percussion sign underwent posterior tibial nerve decompression. ResultsNerve decompression relieved the pain in the majority of treated patients. Return of other sensory function also was noted. ConclusionsPainful diabetic neuropathy of the lower extremities is potentially reversible. It appears to be caused partially by nerve entrapment and can be reversed by decompression.
Carriage of Methicillin‐Resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in Small Animal Veterinarians: Indirect Evidence of Zoonotic Transmission

Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) is increasingly reported in small animals and cases of human infections have already been described despite its recent emergence in veterinary practice. We investigated the prevalence of MRSP and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among small animal dermatologists attending a national veterinary conference in Italy. Nasal swabs were obtained from 128 veterinarians, seven of which harboured MRSP (n = 5; 3.9%) or MRSA (n = 2; 1.6%). A follow‐up study of two carriers revealed that MRSP persisted for at least 1 month in the nasal cavity. Methicillin‐susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) was isolated from 32 (25%) conference participants, whereas methicillin‐susceptible S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) was not detected, suggesting that MRSP may have a particular ability to colonize humans compared to MSSP. All isolates were characterized by spa typing. Methicillin‐resistant isolates were further typed by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, SCCmec and multi‐locus sequence typing. Two lineages previously associated with pets were identified among the five MRSP isolates; the European epidemic clone ST71‐SCCmec II‐III and ST106‐SCCmec IV. One of the two MRSA isolates displayed a genotype (ST22‐ SCCmecIV) frequently reported in dogs and cats. MRSP isolates were resistant to more antimicrobial agents compared with MRSA isolates and displayed the typical multidrug resistance patterns of MRSP in pets. The 32 MSSA isolates belonged to 20 spa types and the most frequent types (t12, t15 and t166) were associated with common S. aureus lineages in humans (CC30 and CC45). Although low, the 3.9% MRSP carriage rate found among small animal dermatologists was surprising in consideration of the rare occurrence of S. pseudintermedius in humans, the lack of MSSP detection and the recent appearance of MRSP in Europe. As cases of human MRSP infection have been linked with pets, veterinarians should be aware of this zoonotic risk and proper preventative measures should be taken to avoid MRSP transmission from animal patients.
Local Enhancement of Terahertz Waves in Structured Metals

Strong enhancement of electromagnetic (EM) fields is at the core of optics research as higher EM intensity is essential in various nonlinear applications, and, particularly, in the field of terahertz (THz) optics where photon energy is relatively low. In this review, we discuss THz wave interaction with various types of structured metals that results in strong local enhancements of THz fields. Specifically, we consider the aperture-type, the rod-type, and the hybrid type metamaterial systems and explain the analytic nature of local enhancements.
Gamma-glutamyltransferase: determinants and association with mortality from ischemic heart disease and all causes.

The association of serum levels of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) with cardiovascular disease risk factors, and with mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and non-cardiovascular diseases, has been examined in a prospective study of 7,613 middle-aged British men followed for 11.5 years. GGT levels were strongly associated with all-cause mortality, largely due to a significant increase in deaths from ischemic heart disease and other non-cardiovascular disease causes, i.e., non-cancer deaths, in the top quintile of the GGT distribution. No association was seen with cancer mortality. However, GGT was significantly (positively) associated with alcohol intake, body mass index, smoking, preexisting ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, antihypertensive medication, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, heart rate, and blood glucose, and negatively associated with physical activity and lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)). After adjustment for these personal characteristics and biologic variables, elevated GGT (highest quintile > or = 24 unit/liter vs. the rest) was still associated with a significant increase in mortality from all causes (relative risk (RR) = 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.42; n = 818 deaths) and from ischemic heart disease (RR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.12-1.80; n = 332 deaths). The increase in other non-cardiovascular disease causes was of marginal significance (RR = 1.45, 95% CI 0.95-2.20; n = 127 deaths). When examined separately by the presence or absence of preexisting ischemic heart disease, the increased risk of ischemic heart disease mortality was more marked in those with evidence of ischemic heart disease at screening, particularly in those with previous myocardial infarction (RR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.03-2.69; n = 84 deaths). The increased risk of other non-cardiovascular disease deaths was only seen in men without preexisting ischemic heart disease, largely due to an excess of hepatic cirrhosis. In summary, many factors other than alcohol intake are associated with increased levels of GGT, in particular body mass index, diabetes mellitus, and serum total cholesterol. The finding of increased risk of ischemic heart disease mortality seen in men with preexisting ischemic heart disease is related to the severity of the underlying myocardial damage. The biologic significance of raised GGT in men with preexisting ischemic heart disease merits further study.
The Importance of Multi-level Theoretical Integration in Biopsychosocial Research

There is a growing interest in the unification of health research in a biopsychosocial framework. However, increasing specialization and advancement in instrumentation makes it more difficult to bridge understanding across areas. It would be very useful to ground biopsychosocial research in the most powerful explanatory framework in the life sciences, evolution by natural and sexual selection. This would require and explanation of the functional significance of the phenomena related to the area of study, in addition to descriptions of the mechanism. The application of an integrative evolutionary framework will be illustrated with the example of sex differences in human mortality rates, which are related to endocrine, psychological, and socio-environmental factors. The integrative evolutionary model will be contrasted with a theoretical model that acknowledges physiological and social influences, but artificially separates them.
Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: proposal of a diagnostic algorithm based on perforin expression

Summary. Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare, fatal disorder of early infancy. Mutations of the PRF1 gene have been identified in a subset of patients. However, the distinction between the different genetically determined and environmental subtypes of the disease remains a major issue to be solved. This may result in delayed or inappropriate application of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). We propose an algorithm that uses a combination of three rapid laboratory tests, i.e. perforin expression by peripheral lymphocytes, assessment of the behaviour of the 2B4 lymphocyte receptor and natural killer (NK) cell activity, to identify the different subgroups of HLH. In 19 patients diagnosed according to current criteria, we tested perforin expression, 2B4 receptor function and NK cell activity. PRF1 mutations were found in all seven patients showing absent perforin expression. In one male with abnormal behaviour of the 2B4 receptor, SH2D1A mutation confirmed the diagnosis of X‐linked lymphoproliferative disease. Four patients with normal NK cell activity had evidence of associated infections. Of the seven with impaired NK cell activity, two had a probable genetically determined subtype of HLH and five appeared as sporadic, infection‐associated cases. Improving the diagnostic approach may restrict the use of BMT, the only recognized curative treatment, to HLH patients with a documented poor prognosis while patients with milder disorders may be treated less intensively. Our flow chart could also lead to better selection of patients for specific gene analysis.
Lead content of Paratenuisentis ambiguus (Acanthocephala), Anguillicola crassus (Nematodes) and their host Anguilla anguilla.

of the acanthocephalan Paratenuisentis ambjguus and the nematode Anguillicola crassus were collected from eels from the river Weser, Germany, and examined for lead levels. In addition to these parasites, different fish tissues (liver, bile and intestine) were also analysed for lead, using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. P ambiguus was found to contain the highest amounts of lead. The mean lead level in A. crassus was much lower, resembling the values obtained from eel tissues. The accumulation capacity of P. ambiguus was about 100 times higher than that of A. crassus. Thus, P. ambiguus can be considered a rather sensitive indicator of lead in aquatic ecosystems.
Stress among healthcare students – A cross disciplinary perspective

Background and purposes: Perceived stress (PS) among healthcare students worldwide is a recognized problem. To address the paucity of data about the actual degree of PS, this study aimed to: 1) evaluate and compare PS across three healthcare programs (Physical Therapy [PT], Communication Disorders [CD], and Nutrition Sciences [NS]) in one university; 2) evaluate changes in PS across study years; 3) identify the contribution of academic- and socio-demographic-related variables to PS; and 4) determine whether the Israeli students' PS levels differ from those of their peers in other countries. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed among all undergraduate PT, CD, and NS students from one university. Data were collected using anonymous questionnaires. Instruments included the Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS) and the Undergraduate Sources of Stress (USOS). ANOVA was used to evaluate the differences between the three programs, and regression analysis to evaluate the contribution of socio-demographic factors to PS and USOS. Results: A total of 312 students (PT – 154; CD – 92; NS – 66) participated in the study. Mean PSS (range: 13.5–13.6) was similar in the three programs. The USOS academic factor was the most reported source of stress in all programs. Most socio-demographic variables were not related to either PS or USOS. Conclusions: Students from PT, CD, and NS programs perceived similar levels of stress. The academic factor was perceived as the most important source of stress by students from the three departments, despite differences in the academic educational programs. Further studies are needed to generalize these results and enable a comparison between healthcare students and other students' stress perceptions.
An Adaptive Location Estimator Based on Kalman Filtering for Dynamic Indoor Environments

This paper presents algorithms for calibrating and tracking the location of a mobile terminal based on radio propagation modeling (RPM) and Kalman filtering for indoor wireless local area networks (WLANs). In this Kalman filter-based (KF-based) tracking algorithm, the observed location information is extracted from the empirical and RPM positioning methods. Not only can the proposed RPM algorithm calibrate the change of different environmental conditions in a real dynamic environment but also the KF-based tracking algorithm can reduce the location error with smaller sampling time and vanquish the phenomenon of the aliasing in the signal space. Our experimental results show that more than 90 percent of the estimated locations have error distances less than 2.3 meters.
COMPARISON OF TENDON-TO-BONE HEALING USING EXTRACORTICAL AND ANATOMIC INTERFERENCE FIT FIXATION OF SOFT TISSUE GRAFTS IN A SHEEP MODEL OF ACL RECONSTRUCTION

INTRODUCTION: The short and long term fate oft soft tissue graft ACL reconstruction relies on a proper osseous graft incorporation. Using conventional extracortical fixation techniques, the tendon-to-bone healing progresses via the development of a fibrous interzone (FIZ) which results in an indirect, periosteal-like insertion site (1). The original ACL insertion, however, is characterized as a direct ligament insertion with a transition zone consisting of mineralized and fibrocartilage. A direct insertion may be more appropriate to transmit tensile forces between the ligament tissue and the underlying bone (2). In contrast, an anatomic interference fit fixation of soft tissue grafts may reduce graft-tunnel motion, thus eliminating a tunnel enlargement. Therefore, it has been suggested that anatomic interference fit fixation promotes tendon-to-bone healing, resulting in the development of a direct type of ligament insertion (3). To test the hypothesis that different healing patterns apply for different soft tissue graft fixation techniques we studied the tendon-to-bone healing histologically in an intraarticular model of soft tissue graft ACL reconstruction using extracortical and anatomic graft fixation.
Acclimation of photosynthetic temperature optima of temperate and boreal tree species in response to experimental forest warming

Rising temperatures caused by climate change could negatively alter plant ecosystems if temperatures exceed optimal temperatures for carbon gain. Such changes may threaten temperature‐sensitive species, causing local extinctions and range migrations. This study examined the optimal temperature of net photosynthesis (Topt) of two boreal and four temperate deciduous tree species grown in the field in northern Minnesota, United States under two contrasting temperature regimes. We hypothesized that Topt would be higher in temperate than co‐occurring boreal species, with temperate species exhibiting greater plasticity in Topt, resulting in better acclimation to elevated temperatures. The chamberless experiment, located at two sites in both open and understory conditions, continuously warmed plants and soils during three growing seasons. Results show a modest, but significant shift in Topt of 1.1 ± 0.21 °C on average for plants subjected to a mean 2.9 ± 0.01 °C warming during midday hours in summer, and shifts with warming were unrelated to species native ranges. The 1.1 °C shift in Topt with 2.9 °C warming might be interpreted as suggesting limited capacity to shift temperature response functions to better match changes in temperature. However, Topt of warmed plants was as well‐matched with prior midday temperatures as Topt of plants in the ambient treatment, and Topt in both treatments was at a level where realized photosynthesis was within 90–95% of maximum. These results suggest that seedlings of all species were close to optimizing photosynthetic temperature responses, and equally so in both temperature treatments. Our study suggests that temperate and boreal species have considerable capacity to match their photosynthetic temperature response functions to prevailing growing season temperatures that occur today and to those that will likely occur in the coming decades under climate change.
Are procalcitonin or other infection markers useful in the detection of group A streptococcal acute tonsillitis?

Abstract Background: The Centor criteria and the streptococcal rapid antigen detection test (RADT) are commonly used to differentiate sore throat patients with group A streptococci (GAS) from patients with other pathogens. We aimed to investigate if procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC), and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) could increase the diagnostic accuracy when added to the Centor score and RADT, or be used instead of the RADT, in the differential diagnosis. Methods: A 6-month prospective study was carried out in a Danish general practice with 8 physicians. One hundred acute tonsillitis patients aged 15 to 40 y were included. Results: The prevalence of GAS was 26%. The sensitivity (90%) and specificity (97%) of the RADT were high. Mean values of CRP, WBC, and ANC were significantly higher in patients with GAS compared to non-GAS patients (p < 0.001). However, the sensitivities (66–90%) and specificities (45–75%) were low. No difference in PCT levels was found (p = 0.334). CRP was the most reliable infection marker (sensitivity 90% and specificity 45%) for GAS aetiology. Conclusions: The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve of the RADT were higher than those of the 4 measured infection markers in the differentiation between GAS and non-GAS acute tonsillitis patients. The infection markers did not increase the diagnostic accuracy when added to the Centor score and RADT. When RADT is not available, measurement of CRP or ANC may increase the diagnostic accuracy in the detection of GAS-positive patients.
Beyond the diagnosis: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of persons with hepatitis B in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana

Objective This study explored the experiences of people with hepatitis B in the Accra metropolis. Design The study employed qualitative exploratory descriptive design with purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through face-to-face interview and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed using content analysis. Settings Participants were recruited from one government and one mission hospital in Ghana. Participants Fourteen individuals aged between 26 and 45 years with hepatitis B infection were interviewed. Results The findings of the study showed that people with hepatitis B in the Accra metropolis were unclear about the impact of their infection. Furthermore, they experienced psychological and social problems especially when they were initially informed about their hepatitis B status. Sadness, fear, shock, shame and disbelief were some of the experiences reported by participants. Coping strategies adopted include religiosity, denial and lifestyle modification. Conclusions It is, therefore, necessary as a country to integrate hepatitis B counselling into the already existing HIV structures in the health delivery system to offer support for individuals diagnosed with hepatitis B. Furthermore, it is important to draw lessons from the process used in the diagnosis of HIV, particularly in ensuring that people provide consent for being tested.
Beneficial effects of levo-carnitine on lipid metabolism and cardiac function in neonatal streptozotocin rat model of diabetes

Levo-carnitine (L-carnitine) facilitates the transport of long chain fatty acyl co-enzyme A (CoA) across the mitochondrial membrane for eventual oxidation and energy production. Carnitine deficiency results in free fatty acid accumulation and contributes to cardiovascular complications in experimental diabetes. In this condition, oral carnitine supplementation provides cardio-protection by its various metabolic effects. The beneficial effects of six weeks treatment with L-carnitine (600 mg/kg day orally) were studied in neonatal streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats. STZ (90 mg/kg) was administered to five day old rats and after fourteen weeks of STZ administration, the rats showed hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and associated cardiac defects like hypertension and bradycardia. L-carnitine treatment for six weeks after induction of diabetes and associated complications significantly lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels and normalized blood pressure and heart rate; however the treatment was not found to produce beneficial effects against hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in diabetic rats. The L-carnitine treatment may have fulfilled the carnitine deficiency and have improved the lipid metabolism and subsequently the cardiac function in diabetic rats. The study suggest that long term treatment with L-carnitine not only prevents but also partially reverses the diabetes-associated lipid metabolism and cardiac function abnormalities in neonatal STZ diabetic rats.