Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relative Navigation of Micro Air Vehicles in GPS-Degraded Environments

Relative Navigation of Micro Air Vehicles in GPS-Degraded Environments David Orton Wheeler Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Most micro air vehicles rely heavily on reliable GPS measurements for proper estimation and control, and therefore struggle in GPS-degraded environments. When GPS is not available, the global position and heading of the vehicle is unobservable. This dissertation establishes the theoretical and practical advantages of a relative navigation framework for MAV navigation in GPS-degraded environments. This dissertation explores how the consistency, accuracy, and stability of current navigation approaches degrade during prolonged GPS dropout and in the presence of heading uncertainty. Relative navigation (RN) is presented as an alternative approach that maintains observability by working with respect to a local coordinate frame. RN is compared with several current estimation approaches in a simulation environment and in hardware experiments. While still subject to global drift, RN is shown to produce consistent state estimates and stable control. Estimating relative states requires unique modifications to current estimation approaches. This dissertation further provides a tutorial exposition of the relative multiplicative extended Kalman filter, presenting how to properly ensure observable state estimation while maintaining consistency. The filter is derived using both inertial and body-fixed state definitions and dynamics. Finally, this dissertation presents a series of prolonged flight tests, demonstrating the effectiveness of the relative navigation approach for autonomous GPS-degraded MAV navigation in varied, unknown environments. The system is shown to utilize a variety of vision sensors, work indoors and outdoors, run in real-time with onboard processing, and not require special tuning for particular sensors or environments. Despite leveraging off-the-shelf sensors and algorithms, the flight tests demonstrate stable front-end performance with low drift. The flight tests also demonstrate the onboard generation of a globally consistent, metric, and localized map by identifying and incorporating loop-closure constraints and intermittent GPS measurements. With this map, mission objectives are shown to be autonomously completed.
A COMPARISON OF THE RATES OF SUCCESS AND COMPLICATIONS IN THE APPLICATION OF CENTRAL VENOUS CATHETERS APPLIED WITH ULTRASONOGRAPHY OR THE LANDMARK METHOD

Background: To compare the rates of success and the complications that can develop during the central venous catheterizations with ultrasonography and Landmark methods, usually used in the intensive care unit. Methods: This study was conducted retrospectively by scanning the files of 100 patients. Patients were divided into two groups as Ultrasonography (n=49) and Landmark (n=51). The distribution of the catheter diameters with the information obtained from the files based on groups, from which artery the operation was made based on the groups, the distribution of gender based on the groups, and the complications that occurred were compared. Results: In our study, the distribution of the thickness of the catheters used for CVCs did not vary by group, there was no variation in terms of gender distribution in the groups, the CVC was not entered with the USG method, 1 multiple-operation was tried in the IJV catheterization with the USG method, and no other complications were experienced. Conclusions: USG method is a reliable, practical, and applicable method in ICU for CVC (excepted SCV(subclavian vein) ) application.
Tendon Adaptations to Eccentric Exercise and the Implications for Older Adults

The purpose of this short review is to discuss the effects of eccentric exercise in modifying the properties of tendon tissue in healthy individuals. The tendon provides a mechanical link between muscle and bone, allowing force transmission to the skeleton, and thus, its properties have significant functional implications. Chronic resistance training has long been shown to increase the stiffness and Young’s modulus of the tendon and even tendon cross-sectional area. However, as the tendon responds to the amount and/or frequency of strain, it has been previously suggested that eccentric training may result in greater adaptations due to the potential for greater training loads. Thus, this review discusses the effects of eccentric training upon healthy tendon tissue and compares these to other training modalities. Furthermore, it has been reported that the tendon may undergo adverse age-related changes. Thus, this review also discusses the potential application of eccentric resistance training as a preferential modality for counteracting these age-related changes. We conclude that while there may be no difference between contraction types for overall tendon adaptation, the lower demands of eccentric contractions may make it more appealing for the elderly population.
Takotsubo syndrome – fatal prognosis of patients with low body mass index in 5-year follow-up

Introduction The clinical courses of takotsubo syndrome (TS) and of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) seem to be very similar. However, there is limited knowledge about risk factors of poor outcomes. Low body mass index worsens the prognosis of patients with cardiovascular diseases, especially those undergoing surgical treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis in patients diagnosed with TS. Material and methods Eighty patients aged 15–89 (mean: 67.9 years), 74 women and 6 men with TS diagnosis according to Mayo Clinic diagnostic criteria were divided into 3 groups: low body mass (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), normal body mass (18.5 ≥ BMI < 25 kg/m2) and excessive body mass (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2). Results Patients with low BMI were older, but with less prevalent risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and positive family history of coronary artery disease and more frequent risk factors such as cigarette smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), depressive and anxiety disorders as well as malignancy. They also had higher haemoglobin, lower troponin, creatine kinase, C-reactive protein and lipid fractions. The highest annual, 3-year and 5-year mortality was observed in the group with BMI < 18.5 kg/m2. None of the patients with low BMI survived the 5-year follow-up period (100% vs. 25% vs. 15.2%; p < 0.0001). In group III, mortality among overweight patients (25 ≥ BMI < 30 kg/m2) was 8.3%, and in obese people (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) 1 out 5 patients died during follow-up. Conclusions The majority of typical cardiovascular risk factors are less frequently observed in patients with TS and low body mass. Early prognosis for TS patients and low BMI is relatively favourable, whereas the 5-year follow-up is associated with extremely high mortality. Overweight patients have the best prognosis in the long-term follow-up.
Disrupting Androgen Receptor Transactivation Domains to Identify Lead Compounds with Potential to be Optimized and Developed into Prostate Cancer Therapeutics

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the leading cause of cancer in men in the USA, with more than 160,000 new cases each year. PCa patients receiving standard of care androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) eventually acquire what’s known as castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and 20% of all PCa cases progress to this metastatic and incurable form of the disease. PCa is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in American men. Current FDA approved drugs for CRPC only provide a 2-5-month survival benefit due to the emergence of resistance to these therapies. Resistance involves continued androgen receptor (AR) signaling despite castrate serum levels of androgens. CRPC cells express elevated levels of both full-length AR (AR-FL), and constitutively active AR splice variants which lack the ligand binding domain (LBD) and display altered AR coactivator interactions, both of which contribute to persistent AR signaling. Overexpression of steroid-receptor coactivators are implicated in the progression of CRPC and amplify AR-mediated transcription by binding to either the activation function 2 (AF-2) surface formed by the AR-LBD, or the activation function 1 (AF-1) surface located in the amino-terminal domain of the receptor. Coactivator binding interactions enhance the recruitment of the basal transcriptional machinery and activate the transcription of AR target genes. Our lab has designed a screening paradigm to identify compounds with novel mechanisms of action to prevent or delay resistance. The screening paradigm uses a primary high content screening assay (HCS) designed to identify compounds that inhibit or disrupt protein-protein interactions (PPI’s) between AR and one of its coactivators, transcriptional intermediary factor 2 (TIF2), together with panels of counter screens and characterization assays to prioritize hit compounds that inhibit or disrupt AF-2 and/or AF-1 transactivation. The ideal hit compound would prevent the transcription of both AR-FL and AR-V7 thereby providing a dual approach to preventing CRPC progression.
Conditioned taste aversion memory extinction temporally induces insular cortical BDNF release and inhibits neuronal apoptosis

Background Memory extinction has been reported to be related to psychiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Secretion and synthesis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been shown to temporally regulate various memory processes via activation of tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) receptors. However, whether memory extinction induces the synthesis and secretion of BDNF on the basis of its localization is not understood. In this study, we aim to investigate activity-dependent BDNF secretion and synthesis in the insular cortex (IC) in the setting of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) memory extinction. Materials and methods Rats were subjected to CTA memory extinction and BDNF antibody (or the equal volume of vehicle) was microinjected into the IC immediately after the extinction testing. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization were used to detect the gene expression of BDNF, NGF and NT4. The protein levels of BDNF were determined through the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the levels of phosphorylated TrkB normalized to total TrkB were evaluated using immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. c-Fos, total extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk), phosphorylated Erk, and apoptosis-related protein (caspase-3), were detected by Western blotting. Results We found that blocking BDNF signaling within the IC disrupts CTA extinction, suggesting that BDNF signaling in the IC is necessary for CTA extinction. Increased expression levels of c-Fos indicate the induced neuronal activity in the IC during CTA extinction. In addition, temporal changes in the gene expression and protein levels of BDNF in the IC were noted during extinction. Moreover, we found that phosphorylation of TrkB increased prior to the enhanced BDNF expression, suggesting that CTA extinction induces rapid activity-dependent BDNF secretion in the IC. Finally, we found decreased expression of caspase-3 in the IC after CTA extinction. Conclusion These results demonstrate that CTA memory extinction temporally induces the release and synthesis of BDNF in the IC and inhibits neuronal apoptosis.
Bilingual Language Assessment

4 Acknowledgements.5 Introduction.6 Literature Review.7 Purpose Statement.14 Methods.14 Selecting Research Articles.15 Data Coding and Analysis.16 Results.17 Reliability.18 Assessment Practices.19 Assessment of Linguistic Areas.24 Discussion.25 Strengths and Limitations of the Study and the need for Additional Research.27 Clinical Implications.28 References.29 Appendix A.38 BILINGUAL LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT 3 Appendix B.39 Appendix C.40 Appendix D.55 BILINGUAL LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT 4
Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Metastatic to the Breast: Case Report

Aims: To spot the light on metastatic tumors to the breast which represent only 0.5-1.5% of breast malignancies to avoid misdiagnosis as primary breast tumors. Presentation of the Case: 45-year-old female was referred to the Oncology Department of Meet Ghmmr Oncology Center in November 2017 after total thyroidectomy followed by cervical lymph node dissection for medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) 1 year ago at Oncology Center Mansoura University. The panel recommended postoperative radiotherapy. One month after the end of radiotherapy, she complained of frequent headache attacks and abdominal pain. CT was done in February 2018 revealed metastasis to the brain, lung, liver and ovaries. After the fifth cycle of chemotherapy, a progressively enlarging left breast mass appeared, that proved to be metastatic MTC. Discussion: MTC is a neuroendocrine tumor of the thyroid gland. Breast is an unusual metastatic site for MTC. Consequently, breast masses should be evaluated with caution, especially in the presence of a known primary malignancy. Histopathologic examination is the key diagnostic tool. Conclusion: Metastasis to the breast should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a breast mass in a patient with a past history of MTC. Histopathologic examination and proper panel of immunohistochemical markers are fundamental for diagnosis to prevent unneeded surgery.
Back pain and its risk factors in Brazilian adolescents: a longitudinal study

Owing to the lack of longitudinal studies in Latin American countries, we aimed to evaluate back pain and its risk factors in a 3-year longitudinal study of Brazilian adolescents. We analysed data of 525 adolescents (aged 11–16 years) attending primary school (fifth to eighth grade) in Brazil. The students were administered the self-reported Back Pain and Body Posture Evaluation Instrument (BackPEI) questionnaire in 2011 and at a follow-up evaluation that was conducted 3 years later (2014). Back pain was the outcome variable; the exposure variables included exercise, behavioural, hereditary and postural factors. Generalized estimating equations were used to perform a Poisson regression model with robust variance to evaluate the risk factors for back pain. The prevalence of back pain at baseline was 56% (n = 294); this increased significantly at the 3-year follow-up evaluation to 65.9% (n = 346). The frequency of experiencing back pain also significantly increased after 3 years in both boys (p = 0.002) and girls (p = 0.001). The prevalence of back pain increased significantly in adolescents up to the age of 13 years, stabilized in those aged 14 years and older and was higher among girls. A family history of back pain (in the parents), watching television for lengthy periods and carrying a backpack asymmetrically were predictors for back pain.
Influence of exhaled breath condensates from children with asthma on endothelial cells cultured in vitro. Do we really know everything about our breath condensate?

Introduction Asthma-associated remodelling involves subepithelial fibrosis and increased vascularization of the bronchial wall. The latter may be associated with excessive production of several angiogenesis regulators which may be found in exhaled breath condensates (EBCs) collected from children with asthma. Aim To assess the influence of EBC samples of asthmatic children and healthy controls on in vitro cultures of normal human lung microvascular endothelial cells (HLMVEC) and murine endothelial cell line (C-166). Moreover, the proteomic profile of cytokines in EBC samples was analysed. Material and methods Breath condensates collected from children with mild asthma (n = 10) and from healthy controls (n = 10) were used for experiments. Colorimetric tetrazolium salt reduction assay was used to evaluate the effect of EBCs on HLMVEC and C-166 cell lines. Furthermore, influence of EBCs on C-166 cell line was assessed using Annexin V-binding assay. The cytokine screening of EBC samples was performed using a proteome microarray system. Results The EBCs from patients with asthma revealed a weak inhibitory influence on human and murine endothelial cells. Surprisingly, EBCs from healthy children led to cell death, mainly by the induction of apoptosis. There were no statistically significant differences in the cytokine profile between EBC samples from children with asthma and healthy controls. Conclusions Our preliminary report shows for the first time that the incubation of EBCs from healthy controls induced apoptosis in endothelial cells. The detailed mechanism responsible for this action remains unknown and requires further research.
The Effectiveness of Positive Psychotherapy on the Well-Being and Glycemic Control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundDiabetes is one of most widespread diseases that disturb the mental and physical health of patients.ObjectivesThe aim of study was searching a therapeutic method to enhance the diabetic’s health by supposing the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on the well-being and glycemic of patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran.MethodsIn a randomized, single-blinded clinical-trial study, from January 2016 to February 2017, a total of 30 type 2 diabetic patients of Yazd Diabetes Research Center, with purposeful sampling method, were selected randomly and put in two groups (Experimental and Control groups). While participants of both groups continued their drug therapy, the experimental group received 10 sessions of 90 minutes (a session per week) group positive psychotherapy while the control group remained on the waiting list. Data were gathered before the intervention and two weeks after intervention. At the end of the treatment sessions three of the experimental group (n = 12) and two of the control group (n = 13) were excluded from the study for their absence in post-test. Data were gathered by demographic form, general well-being questionnaire (GWB), and Glycemic test (HbA1c). SPSS software, version 16 with P = 0.05 level, Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S), chi-square, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used for analyzing data.ResultsThe results showed that positive psychotherapy significantly increases mental well-being, and its subscales in comparison with the control group (P < 0.01). Also, other results showed that glycemic in the experimental group in comparison with the control group significantly decreased (P < 0.05). ConclusionsIt can be deduced that positive therapy intervention can be effective in mental well-being and to some extent, blood glucose of diabetics. So, this therapy can be used when diabetic patient’s psychological factors should be carefully considered.
Characteristics and outcomes of patients with right-sided endocarditis undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background There has been an increasing incidence of right-sided infective endocarditis (RSIE) due to the global rise of intravenous drug use (IVDU) and an increasing number of implantable cardiac electronic devices and central venous catheters. Our aim was to investigate differences in the clinical presentation, microbiological findings and prognosis of patients undergoing surgery for RSIE compared to left-sided infective endocarditis (LSIE). Methods Relevant clinical data of all 432 consecutive patients undergoing valve surgery for infective endocarditis (IE) at our institution between January 2009 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Acquired data included patients' demographic and preoperative comorbidities, manifestation of IE according to the recently modified Duke Criteria, perioperative data and relevant clinical outcomes. Results A total of 403 patients (93.3%) underwent surgery for LSIE and twenty-nine patients (6.7%) for RSIE. Eleven patients with RSIE (37.9%) showed a concomitant left-sided infection. Compared to LSIE, RSIE patients were significantly younger [47.5 (40.4-69.3) vs. 65.1 (53.7-74.6); P=0.008] and presented with less comorbidities such as hypertension (41.4% vs. 65.3%; P=0.010) and coronary artery disease (6.9% vs. 29.0%; P=0.010). Rates of IVDU (34.5% vs. 4.5%; P<0.001), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (10.3% vs. 1.7%; P=0.023) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (24.1% vs. 5.2%; P=0.001) were greater in RSIE. The proportion of Staphylococcus aureus IE was significantly higher in RSIE compared to LSIE (37.9% vs. 21.1%; P=0.035). 30-day mortality was 6.9% after surgery for RSIE compared to 14.6% after operation for LSIE (P=0.372). Conclusions Patients undergoing surgery for RSIE compared to LSIE presented with a higher rate of pulmonary septic emboli, more Staphylococcus aureus infections and larger vegetations. Larger multicenter prospective trials are needed to provide more reliable data on the clinical profile of these patients, in order to determine optimal surgical management.
Elevated Serum Level of CXCR4 in Breast Cancer Women

Breast cancer is a disease that can be described as malignant cells from the breast tissues. Immune deregulation has been postulated to be one of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of breast cancer. The current study is planned to shed light on the following profiles and identify the relationships serum levels of CXCR4 among obesity postmenopausal, and Breast cancer. This study hypothesized that CXCR4 level would have a link with breast cancer patients. The serum CXCR4 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in breast cancer patients (n=60) and healthy controls (n=61). The observations indicate a significant increase (P =0.05) in breast cancer patient’s serum levels of CXCR4 compared with healthy control. The study also presented a significant difference among age and Body Mass Index (BMI) between patients and control groups. The results supported that the immune disturbance is related tobreast cancer patients and might play an important role in the pathophysiology of breast cancer.
MINIMALLY INVASIVE PARATHYROIDECTOMY FOR PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM.

Context Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), characterized by the inappropriate secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) with respect to the extracellular calcium concentration. Curative treatment of PHPT is surgery and bilateral neck exploration has been replaced by minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP), with the advanced imaging technologies combined with radio-guided occult lesion localization (ROLL). Objectives The present study analyzes the MIP data from 45 patients who underwent surgery for parathyroid adenoma and debates if MIP is a feasible technique for the treatment of PHPT. Design The study presents the MIP excision data of 45 hyperparathyroidism patients with a 58-month follow up period. Results Forty-five operations were performed for 48 parathyroid adenomas. The mean duration of operation was 22.7 (12-55) minutes. Mean follow-up was 14.2 (6-26) months. All patients had normal postoperative calcium levels and PTH levels were normal in the follow-up period, except for one persistent hyperparathyroidism. Conclusions ROLL-guided MIP is a feasible technique for parathyroid surgery and reduces surgeon based failure. It also provides the widespread application of parathyroid surgery by decreasing the need for specific experience.
An educational interventional study on knowledge, attitude of cervical cancer among nursing students of HKES’ college of nursing, Kalaburagi

Introduction: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, with an estimate of 468,000 new cases annually in the world, 80% of these countries. India accounts for one-fifth of the world burden of cervical cancer the incidence of cervical cancer has declined in western countries following the introduction of screening programs which are often rudimentary or nonexistent in countries like India due to infrastructural, financial and personnel constraints. In developing countries like ours, more than three fourths of cervical cancer patients are diagnosed at advanced stages leading to poor prospects of long-term survival and cure