Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrast‐enhanced XROMM reveals in vivo soft tissue interactions in the hip of Alligator mississippiensis

Extant archosaurs exhibit highly divergent articular soft tissue anatomies between avian and crocodilian lineages. However, the general lack of understanding of the dynamic interactions among archosaur joint soft tissues has hampered further inferences about the function and evolution of these joints. Here we use contrast‐enhanced computed tomography to generate 3D surface models of the pelvis, femora, and hip joint soft tissues in an extant archosaur, the American alligator. The hip joints were then animated using marker‐based X‐Ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) to visualize soft tissue articulation during forward terrestrial locomotion. We found that the anatomical femoral head of the alligator travels beyond the cranial extent of the bony acetabulum and does not act as a central pivot, as has been suggested for some extinct archosaurs. Additionally, the fibrocartilaginous surfaces of the alligator’s antitrochanter and femoral neck remain engaged during hip flexion and extension, similar to the articulation between homologous structures in birds. Moreover, the femoral insertion of the ligamentum capitis moves dorsoventrally against the membrane‐bound portion of the medial acetabular wall, suggesting that the inner acetabular foramen constrains the excursion of this ligament as it undergoes cyclical stretching during the step cycle. Finally, the articular surface of the femoral cartilage model interpenetrates with those of the acetabular labrum and antitrochanter menisci; we interpret such interpenetration as evidence of compressive deformation of the labrum and of sliding movement of the menisci. Our data illustrate the utility of XROMM for studying in vivo articular soft tissue interactions. These results also allow us to propose functional hypotheses for crocodilian hip joint soft tissues, expanding our knowledge of vertebrate connective tissue biology and the role of joint soft tissues in locomotor behavior.
Effect of Ethrel® on Flowering, Sex-Expression and Yield in Cashew

A field trial was conducted at Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurle, Dist. Sindhudurg, (Maharashtra) to assess the efficacy of Ethrel® in relation to flowering behavior and yield enhancement in cashew on seven year old Cashew trees of Vengurle -7 variety during 2008-09. Three sprays of Ethrel® @ 100 ppm, 200 ppm and 400 ppm along with water spray were given before flushing, after flushing and during fruit-set. Control consisted of no. spray. Among treatments, Ethrel® @ 100 ppm significantly increased number of flowering panicles m-2 (12.0), number of perfect flowers per panicle (52.8), fruit-set m-2 (28.8), number of nuts per panicle (2.9) and yield tree-1 ( 1.51 kg tree-1) than control and water spray. Thus, lower concentration of Ethrel® had a beneficial effect on cashew.
Liver Injury in Patients With Cholestatic Liver Disease Treated With Obeticholic Acid

Obeticholic acid (OCA) was approved for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) based on studies in patients with an alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level of at least 1.67 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) or elevated total bilirubin less than 2 times ULN.1 Postmarket reports of serious liver injury in patients receiving OCA prompted a boxed warning by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in patients with PBC can put them at risk for acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) and increased mortality.2 We describe in this report worsening of liver disease or ACLF after starting OCA among a cohort of patients with PBC and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
A network analysis of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire in patients with rheumatic diseases and human immunodeficiency virus infection

Abstract Objective: To examine the construct of illness perception (IP) as measured by the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) using network analysis in patients with rheumatic diseases (RD) and with human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Design: Cross-sectional and multicentre survey. Main Outcome Measures: The BIPQ and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: BIPQ network structures did not differ between patients with RD and HIV/AIDS. Community analysis identified two clusters: one comprised consequences, timeline, identity, concern and emotional response; and the other consisted of personal control, treatment control and comprehensibility. Centrality indices indicate that concern, consequences and emotional response are central dimensions of the BIPQ. Directed acyclic graph analysis revealed that concern was a dominant network item, activating emotional response, consequences, identity and comprehensibility. Emotional response and consequences were bridging items linking IP to anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Perceived impact of illness on life and emotion and illness concern are central dimensions of the BIPQ that link IP to anxiety and depression in patients with RD and HIV/AIDS. Care of patients with RD and HIV/AIDS may benefit from addressing IP, particularly concern, emotional response and consequences to prevent clinical anxiety and depression.
High RSF1 protein expression is an independent prognostic feature in prostate cancer

Abstract Background: Remodelling and spacing factor 1 (RSF1) is involved in the regulation of chromatin remodelling and represents a potential therapeutic target. High RSF1 expression has been linked to adverse tumour features in many cancer types, but its role in prostate cancer is uncertain. Methods: In this study, RSF1 expression was analysed by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray with 17,747 prostate cancers. Results: Nuclear RSF1 staining of 16,456 interpetable cancers was considered strong, moderate, weak and negative in 25.2%, 48.7%, 5.3% and 20.8% of cancers respectively. Positive RSF1 expression was associated with advanced tumour stage, high Gleason grade, lymph node metastasis (p < .0001 each), early biochemical recurrence (p < .0003) and more frequent in the ERG positive than in the ERG negative subset (88% versus 71%; p < .0001). Subset analysis revealed, that associations between RSF1 expression and unfavourable tumour phenotype and PSA recurrence were present in both subgroups but stronger in the ERG negative than in the ERG positive subset. The univariate Cox proportional hazard ratio for PSA recurrence-free survival for strong versus negative RSF1 expression was a weak 1.60 compared with 5.91 for the biopsy Gleason grade ≥4 + 4 versus ≤3 + 3. The positive association of RSF1 protein detection with deletion of 3p13, 10q23 (PTEN), 12p13, 16q23, and 17p13 (p < .0001 each) suggest a role of high RSF1 expression in the development of genomic instability. Conclusion: In summary, the results of our study identify RSF1 as an independent prognostic marker in prostate cancer with a particularly strong role in ERG negative cases.
Selection of Sensitive Methylation Markers for the Detection of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction: While early-stage lung cancer is curable by surgical resection, most patients are diagnosed with advanced- stage disease. Annual low-dose computed tomography screening decreases lung cancer mortality, however effective biomarkers to address the high false positive rate and to better define high risk individuals are lacking. This study was designed to identify potential DNA methylation markers for the detection of non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer. Methods: 152 candidate methylation genes were first investigated in lung cancer cell lines and a pilot set of lung tissues. Five promising methylated genes, DMRTA, HOXA9, ZIC4, HOXA7, and SIX3, were selected and further validated in 150 non-small cell lung cancers and 142 tumor-free surrounding lung tissues using the quantitative methylation-specific PCR. Results: Methylation levels of DMRTA2, HOXA9, ZIC4, HOXA7, and SIX3 were significantly higher in tumors compared to tumor-free surrounding lung tissues (P 0.05). Conclusion: We identified a group of highly sensitive and specific methylation markers in non-small cell lung cancer. These markers are potential valuable candidates to improve the performance of lung cancer screening.
Legitimacy of work tasks, psychosocial work environment, and time utilization among primary care staff in Sweden

Abstract Objective: Primary care staff faces a complex work environment including a heavy administrative work load and perceive some work tasks as illegitimate. This study aimed to elucidate associations between the perceived legitimacy of work tasks, the psychosocial work environment, and the utilization of work time among Swedish primary care staff. Design and setting: The study was designed as a multicenter study involving all staff categories, i.e. registered nurses, primary care physicians, care administrators, nurse assistants and allied professionals, at eleven primary care centers in Sweden. Subjects: Participants completed the Bern Illegitimate Tasks Scale and the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. They also recorded time spent on all work tasks, day by day during two separate weeks. Main outcome measures and results: More than a quarter (27%) of primary care physicians perceived a high proportion of unnecessary work tasks. After adjusting for profession, age and gender, the perception of having to perform unreasonable work tasks was positively associated with experiencing role conflicts and with the proportion of organization-related administration and service work tasks. Conclusion: Across all staff groups, the perception of unreasonable work tasks was more pronounced among staff with a high proportion of non-patient related administration. Also, the perception of having to perform a large amount of illegitimate work tasks affected the psychosocial work environment negatively, which might influence staffs perception of their professional roles. These results illuminate the importance of decision makers to thoroughly consider the distribution and allocation of non-patient related work tasks among staff in primary care. Key points We observed an interaction between perception of having a large proportion of illegitimate work tasks and impaired psychosocial work environment. • More than a quarter of the primary care physicians perceived a high proportion of unnecessary work tasks. • Across all staff groups, performing unreasonable work tasks was associated with an experience of having role conflicts. • Across all staff groups, a perception of performing unreasonable work tasks was associated with the proportion of non-patient related administrative work tasks.
Comparison of the subgingival temperature of smokers and nonsmokers in healthy and diseased sites of gingiva in association with sublingual body temperature

Background: To compare the subgingival temperature in healthy and diseased sites of gingiva in smokers and non-smokers using a modified digital thermometer. To also find whether subgingival temperature measurements can be used as reliable indicator of periodontal disease activity. Materials and Methods: Participants for this study comprised 50 males, 25 smokers and 25 non-smokers with mild to moderate periodontitis, aged 25-40 years and had four maxillary incisor teeth (12, 11, 21, 22) intact. For each participant, six sites around each tooth were examined. Hence, a total of 24 sites for each participant were examined. The clinical parameters used were probing pocket depth and gingival bleeding index. Results: Sublingual and subgingival temperature was found to be warmer in smokers compared to non-smokers. Subgingival temperature was more in diseased sites than healthy sites in both smokers and non-smokers. The mean temperature differential of diseased sites in smokers was more compared to non-smokers. Mean probing pocket depth was higher in smokers, but bleeding sites were less. Conclusion: Subgingival temperature measurement was found to be a good indicator of periodontal disease activity.
Frequency-selective surfaces to enhance performance of broad-band reconfigurable arrays

We present a novel frequency-selective surface (FSS) design aimed at enhancing the performance of broad-band reconfigurable antenna apertures. In particular, reconfigurable printed dipole arrays are examined in the presence of a multilayer FSS. Of particular interest is the design of FSS structures whose reflection coefficient has prespecified phase response over a broad set of frequencies. Previous FSSs primarily considered designs on the basis of the reflection coefficient amplitude and were intended for radome applications rather than substrates. Designing FSSs subject to phase requirements is seen to require some compromise in the magnitude. Broad-band requirements also present us with a need for noncommensurate FSS designs.
Changes in noninsurance and care unaffordability among cancer survivors following the Affordable Care Act.

BACKGROUND Little is known about changes in socioeconomic disparities in noninsurance and care unaffordability among non-elderly cancer survivors following the Affordable Care Act (ACA). METHODS Cancer survivors aged 18-64 years nationwide were identified from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Trend and difference-in-differences (DD) analyses were conducted to examine changes in percent uninsured and percent reporting care unaffordability pre-(2011-2013) and post-(2014-2017) ACA Medicaid expansion, by sociodemographic factors. RESULTS A total of 118,631 cancer survivors were identified from Medicaid expansion (N = 72,124) and nonexpansion (N = 46,507) states. Following the ACA, percent uninsured and percent reporting care unaffordability decreased nationwide. Medicaid expansion was associated with a 1.8 (95% CI: 0.1, 3.5) percentage points (ppt) net decrease in noninsurance and a 2.9 (95% CI: 0.7, 5.1) ppt net decrease in care unaffordability. In stratified analyses by sociodemographic factors, substantial decreases were observed in female survivors, those with low/medium household incomes, unemployed and survivors with multiple comorbidities. However, we observed slightly increased percentages in reporting noninsurance (1.7 [95% CI: -1.2, 4.5] ppt) and care unaffordability (3.1 [95% CI: -0.4, 6.5] ppt) in nonexpansion states between 2016-2017, translating to 67,163 and 124,160 survivors, respectively. CONCLUSION We observed reductions in disparities by sociodemographic factors in noninsurance and care unaffordability among nonelderly cancer survivors following the ACA, with largest decreases in females, those with low/medium income, multiple comorbid conditions, the unemployed, and those residing in Medicaid expansion states. However, the uptick of 82,750 uninsured survivors in 2017, mainly from nonexpansion states, is concerning. Ongoing monitoring of the effects of the ACA is warranted, especially in evaluating health outcomes.
Pulmonary Nodule Detection Based on Multi-branch 3D Squeeze-and-Excitation Network

Convolutional neural networks based regional proposal networks (RPN) have recently achieved breakthrough results in a variety of medical image detection tasks. Among them, 3D RPN network in conjunction with advanced ResNet gains the state-of-the-art performance. However, current 3D RPN network cannot fully consider different hierarchically spatial information and relationship between channels contained in networks themselves. To overcome this problem, this work proposes a novel multi-branch 3D Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) network, i.e., Mb3DSENet, which embeds SE-Inception and SE-Residual-Inception blocks into existing 3D RPN network by appropriately assembling SE unit, Inception module and residual connection. Mb3DSENet not only inherits the merits of the basic 3D RPN network, but also enhances its spatial representation power and selectively highlights channel-wise feature responses. Experiment results on the public LUNA16 dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed network.
Bone Conduction Stimulation Applied Directly to the Otic Capsule: Intraoperative Assessment in Humans

Objectives: Aim was to investigate the innovative method of direct acoustic bone conduction (BC) stimulation applied directly to the otic capsule and measured intraoperatively by promontory displacement in living humans. The objective was to find the best stimulation site that provides the greatest transmission of vibratory energy in a living human and compare it with the results previously obtained in cadavers. Design: The measurements were performed in 4 adult patients referred to our department for vestibular schwannoma removal via translabyrinthine approach. The measurements were performed in the operated site. The cadaver data were obtained in our previous study and here they are reanalyzed for comparison. Promontory displacement was measured using a commercial scanning laser Doppler vibrometer. The laser Doppler vibrometer points located on the promontory were used to analyze the promontory displacement amplitude. Cochlear stimulation was induced with BC stimulation through an implant positioned at three sites. The first site was on the skull surface at the squamous part of the temporal bone (BC No. 1), the second at the bone forming the ampulla of the lateral semicircular canal (BC No. 2), and the third between the superior and lateral semicircular canals (BC No. 3). BC No. 2 and BC No. 3 were located directly on the otic capsule. Four frequencies in total were tested (500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz), one at a time. Results: In patients, the detailed analysis of promontory displacement amplitudes revealed the BC No. 1 magnitude to be the smallest and significantly different from BC No. 2 and No. 3 at all measured frequencies. Transmission of vibratory energy at BC No. 2 and BC No. 3 was the most effective and similar with a small and insignificant difference at 500, 1000, and 4000 Hz, and a significant difference at 2000 Hz. The results observed in cadavers were similar to those in living humans. However, a few differences were observed when comparing patients and cadavers. Small and insignificant differences were found for BC No. 1. Almost the same results were obtained for BC No. 2 and BC No. 3 in cadavers as in living humans, with only BC No. 3 measurements results at 500 Hz at the limit of statistical significance, with no other significant differences observed. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that the promontory vibration amplitude increases when the BC stimulation location approaches the cochlea. BC No. 1 stimulation located on the squama caused overall smaller displacement than both BC No. 2 and No. 3 screwed to the ampulla of the lateral semicircular canal and to the midpoint between the semicircular canals, respectively. In our opinion, the results of BC stimulation applied directly to the otic capsule present a potential new stimulation site that could be introduced in the field of BC hearing rehabilitation.
In vitro effects of 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid dimethylamine salt and enrofloxacin on BTH

In this study, the in vitro effects of enrofloxacin, a broad spectrum antibiotic, and 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid dimethylamine salt that, a herbicide, on the bovine testicular hyaluronidase (BTH) were analyzed. BTH was purified using the method of ammonium sulfate precipitation and using affinity gel (Sepharose-4B-L-tyrosine-m-anisidine). Then the inhibiting effects of enrofloxacin and 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid dimethylamine salt on the purified BTH enzyme were identified. IC50 values of these chemical substances were found to be 0.3101 and 0.4276 mM, respectively.
Stereo Image to Graphics Conversion for Indoor Environments

The paper presents an efficient algorithm for approximating a real world 3D scene captured by a camera by a computer generated 3D graphics environment. First, to extract the 3D edge from an available 2D stereo image pair, straight edges are detected from both the images and a correspondence is established between them through the fundamental matrix based matching scheme. In the next step, we triangulate the end points of the common region of this matched edge pair to find the end points of a 3D straight edge. Using these, we locate the existence of planes between coplanar 3D lines, devising a coplanarity score for pairs of 3D lines and finally eliminating non-physical 3D planes by SIFT based analysis on the basis of discrepancies in depth of SIFT features in those 3D planes. 
Dividend Practices in Listed Companies: Study on the Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh

Abstract The dividend model of the listed manufacturing firms and the organizational policies related to dividend decisions are analyzed to reveal the contemporary state of the payout pattern in the capital market of Bangladesh. This study exhibits the settings of dividend disbursement in association with the diverse aspects of the firm such as industry segment of the firm, the age of the firms, size, leverage, risk, and earnings.
Effects of pulsed nutrient enrichment on enclosed phytoplankton: ecophysiological and successional responses

A microcosm experiment was carried out during early spring 1994 in order to investigate the effect of Si-sufficient but low N:P ratio or high N:P ratio nutrient inputs, added at different fre- quencies, on phytoplankton succession patterns. Eight Perspex cylinders were filled with 30 l of coastal water from Masnou (20 km north of Barcelona) and placed in a chamber at 17°C under a 12:12 h light:dark photoperiod. Four experimental conditions were randomly assigned to duplicate containers: low N:P ratio (N-deficient) or high N:P ratio (P-deficient) nutrient inputs (including suffi- cient Si in all cases), in combination with addition intervals of 2 or 6 d. Integrated chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations in the P-deficient containers were significantly higher than in the N-deficient ones, presumably due to the faster recycling of P with respect to N, but differences between addition inter- vals were non-significant. All microcosms presented an initial bloom dominated by diatoms. In the post-bloom phase, after depletion of the nutrient in short supply, dinoflagellate abundances were higher and diatom abundances lower in the N-deficient than in the P-deficient microcosms. Within nutrient treatments, the qualitative composition of the phytoplankton assemblages was similar across frequencies and replicates. In contrast, characteristics, such as total phytoplankton biovolume or the abundance of dominant taxa, presented significant variability, presumably due to non-linear interac- tions, even within replicates. This finding suggests the importance of focussing on assemblages rather than on individual taxa when attempting to derive regularities concerning the response of phytoplankton to environmental factors.