Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical comparative observation of volar plate use for preserving pronator quadratus in distal radius fracture treatment

This study aimed to comparatively observe the effects of the volar plate for preserving the pronator quadratus (PQ) during distal radius fracture treatment. The patients were divided into the PQ preservation group (preservation group) and the PQ suture group (suture group), and the drainage amount and PQ function recovery time were recorded after internal fixation. Some of the patients underwent computed tomography scanning to measure wrist muscle thickness, and we exposed and measured the PQ width and thickness intraoperatively and performed a pathological examination. Anatomical differences in the PQ were noted between the two groups. Most muscles of the suture group exhibited fibrosis and scarring and adhered to the surrounding tissues. The average muscle thickness was significantly reduced to about 4 mm, average drainage was approximately 50 mL, and recovery of the wrist pronation function required approximately 4-6 weeks. The preservation group exhibited normal muscles, mild adhesions, and close to normal muscle width and thickness. The average muscle width was approximately 35 mm, average thickness was approximately 7.6 mm, average drainage was approximately 30 mL, and the wrist pronation function recovered in 2 weeks. PQ preservation was feasible, with less bleeding, faster PQ function recovery, fewer adhesions, and other advantages, and the postoperative muscle structures were close to normal. After being sutured, the PQ exhibited muscle atrophy and scarring, which might result in muscle dysfunction.
Immunostimulation by Silica Particles and the Development of Autoimmune Dysregulation

Immunostimulation by environmental and occupational factors has been shown to cause various human diseases such as allergy and autoimmune diseases [1,2]. For example, solvents such as vinyl chloride have been linked to the development of scleroderma (SSc) [3-5], and previous studies reported the relationship between exposure to solvents and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [6] or multiple sclerosis [7,8]. Another typical substance is silica. Patients exposed to silica particles were shown to develop not only pulmonary fibrosis, known as silicosis [9,10], one of the typical forms of pneumoconiosis, but also various autoimmune diseases [11,12] such as RA (historically known as Caplan syndrome) [13,14], SSc [15-17], systemic lupus erythem‐ atous (SLE) [18,19], and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-related vasculitis/ nephritis [20-22]. Many epidemiological reports have demonstrated that silica exposure is a risk factor of autoimmune diseases [11,12].
Phosphorus Distribution in Sequentially Extracted Fractions of Biosolids, Poultry Litter, and Granulated Products

Land application of biosolids and poultry litter can benefit crop production by providing phosphorus (P) and other nutrients and organic matter. However, the bioavailability of applied P in those waste materials is directly dependent on the presence of specific P forms. In this study, we comparatively examined the P forms in biosolids and broiler litter by sequential fractionation (i.e., H2O, 0.5 M NaHCO3, 0.1 M NaOH, and 1 M HCl fractions) coupled with enzymatic hydrolysis. Extractable P in broiler litter was found in the order of HCl > H2O > NaOH > NaHCO3. Biosolid P was found in the four fractions in the following order: HCl > NaOH > NaHCO3 > H2O. Correlation analysis indicated that P was coextracted with Ca, Mn, Zn, Fe, and Al, but not Mg. Whereas most P was Ca bound in broiler litter, Al, Mn, and Zn played more important roles in metal P species in biosolids. The relative abundance of P species was determined to be inorganic P > hydrolyzable organic P > nonhydrolyzable organic P in each fraction. Compared with the P levels in the samples stored in a freezer, storage of the broiler litter sample at room temperature transformed part of the phytate P in the HCl fraction to other forms, resulting in more labile P in the H2O fraction. Granulated products of poultry litter and biosolid could be used as off-farm nutrient sources. Data in this work show that granulation transformed moderate NaHCO3- and NaOH-extractable P bilaterally to labile water-soluble P and stable HCl-extractable P in the granulated poultry litter but did not remarkably change the distribution of H2O-, NaHCO3-, and NaOH-extractable P in granulated products containing both poultry litter and biosolids.
Malnutrition and Inflammation

The relationship between nutrition and immune function is being widely recognized, although its study is relatively recent. The 1968 World Health Organisation monograph about “Interactions between Nutrition and Infection” presented the mechanisms linking infection and poor nutritional status. Following the development of immunology as a science, increasing evidence was obtained as well to show how undernutrition impaired resistance to infections and the immune response. It was initially recognized that deficits in certain micronutrients (like vitamins and minerals) had a direct impact on immune function. But the relationship between immune function and nutrition extends far beyond that, and the term immunonutrition has been coined. We are now aware of many conditions of nutritional imbalance (not all necessarily linked to nutritional deficiencies) that lead to impaired immune response. For instance, it is currently believed that nutrition is a key factor in the onset and development of many types of cancer, or that the dietary component of atherosclerosis risk can directly influence immune cells and the inflammatory response; certain nutrients, like seed and fish oils have been shown to respectively induce the release of proand anti-inflammatory mediators. Accordingly, the idea of undernutrition has been replaced by that of malnutrition, meaning that inappropriate nutrition or nutritional imbalance per se, whether it implies a nutrient deficit or not, influences immune function. That is the reason why overnutrition, or an excessive energy intake, is also now considered as malnutrition. In this chapter we will discuss three paradigmatic cases of malnutrition that have a strong immune and inflammatory impact: anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), as examples of severe undernutrition; obesity, also referred to as overnutrition; and celiac disease (CD), a pathological reaction of the body to a particular type of nutrients that leads to malnutrition. Although these nutrition-related diseases have different origins (psychological for eating disorders, modifiable lifestyle factors for obesity and autoimmune for CD), they all have in common to present an important inflammatory component and to have nutritional treatment as the main therapeutic approach.
TREATMENT OF TEXTILE WASTE WATER USING H2O2/UV SYSTEM

Treatment of textile wastewater with the Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) is based on using the H2O2/UV system. The optimum condition for treatment of an effluent sample was determined by ex* perimenting on a synthetic dye solution prepared using the blue sulfur dye. Different parameters that affect the reaction rate were tested (UV intensity of 18, 36 and 54 W, initial dye concentration of 70, 80, 90 and 100 ppm, pH 3, original pH of the solution equal to 7.29 and 10 as well as the catalyst dose). Absorbance was measured to determine the decolorization efficiency and then the total organic carbon was measured for the reactions at optimal conditions to assure that decolorization is accompa* nied by degradation.
Aslam, Syeda Kanwal, Zaheer, Sidra, Rao, Saadiyah, and Shafique, Kashif (2014) Prevalence and determinants of susceptibility to cigarette smoking among school students in Pakistan: secondary analysis of Global Youth

Background: Susceptibility to smoke has been recognized as a strong predictor of smoking experimentation and taking up regular smoking habit. The identification of smoking susceptible individuals and its determinants is important in the efforts to reduce future smoking prevalence. The aims of this study are to estimate prevalence of susceptibility to smoke among adolescents, and identify factors associated with it. Methods: Cross sectional data was obtained from Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in three cities of Pakistan in year 2004. Study population consisted of students in grades, 8, 9, and 10; aged 13 to 15 years. Secondary analysis using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the associations between smoking susceptibility and co-variates. Descriptive statistics were reported in proportions, and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were used to report logistic regression analyses. Results: Approximately 12% of nonsmoking students were found susceptible to smoking. Students, who were females (OR = 1.53, 95% CI [1.24-1.89]); whose parents (OR = 1.64, 95% CI [1.35-1.99]); or close friend smoked (OR = 2.77, 95% CI [2.273.40]) were more susceptible to cigarette smoking. Students who had good knowledge about harmful effects of smoking (OR = 0.54, 95% CI [0.43-0.69]); and had access to anti-smoking media (OR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.59-0.89]) were less likely to be susceptible to smoking. Conclusion: Students who were females, had smoking parents, friends or exposure to newspaper/magazines cigarette marketing, were more susceptible to cigarette smoking among Pakistani adolescents. While knowledge of harmful effects of smoking and access to anti-smoking media served as protective factors against susceptibility to smoking.
enthic cages versus floating cages in Octopus vulgaris : Biological performance nd biochemical composition feeding on Boops boops discarded from fish farms

Some benthic cephalopods are considered potential candidates to diversify marine aquaculture, as they show fast growth and high market price. Most research on cephalopod culture is currently focusing on the development of specific enrichments and compound feeds, while little research has been conducted in order to test new rearing systems for cephalopods. The rigid characteristic of the floating cages commonly used for the ongrowing of Octopus vulgaris has restricted their use to calm water conditions (estuaries and harbors). Such sites are scarce and highly demanded, especially by the tourism industry; therefore the development of O. vulgaris grow out at these locations competes with touristic interests. The present study was set to compare the biological performance of O. vulgaris reared in a benthic cage (2 m2) as opposed to the traditional floating cage (2.5 m2), during two ongrowing trials. Initial rearing density was 10 kg m−3 and octopuses (892 ± 125 g) were fed on bogue Boops boops, discarded from fish farms, for 60–67 days. High growth (1.8–1.9% day−1) and high survival (91–97%) were observed, regardless of the rearing system, and led to best biomass increment (178–212%) and food conversion rates (2.3–2.6) ever recorded for O. vulgaris under industrial rearing conditions. These results underline the adequacy of the benthic cage for the ongrowing of this species, and also the potential of aquaculture discarded fishes, particularly bogue, as a single diet for this species. High growth rates obtained and the high lipid content of bogue (44% dry weight) suggest efficient lipid utilization in this species. Proximate composition and fatty acid profile in octopus muscle was not affected by the rearing system. High dietary lipid content was not reflected in muscle proximate composition, which showed high protein (87% dw) and low lipid content (5% dw) by the end of the experimental period. Farmed octopus showed high levels of n-3 HUFA nce i (42%), which should enha
An alternative route to the system-size expansion

The master equation is rarely exactly solvable and hence various means of approximation have been devised. A popular systematic approximation method is the system-size expansion which approximates the master equation by a generalised Fokker–Planck equation. Here we first review the use of the expansion by applying it to a simple chemical system. The example shows that the solution of the generalised Fokker–Planck equation obtained from the expansion is generally not positive definite and hence cannot be interpreted as a probability density function. Based on this observation, one may also a priori conclude that moments calculated from the solution of the generalised Fokker–Planck equation are not accurate; however calculation shows these moments to be in good agreement with those obtained from the exact solution of the master equation. We present an alternative simpler derivation which directly leads to the same moments as the system-size expansion but which bypasses the use of generalised Fokker–Planck equations, thus circumventing the problem with the probabilistic interpretation of the solution of these equations.
Comparison of C═C bond hydrogenation in C-4 unsaturated nitriles over Pt/alumina

The hydrogenation of allyl cyanide (but-1-ene-4-nitrile, AC), trans- and cis-crotononitrile (E- and Z-but-2-ene nitrile, TCN and CCN), and methacrylonitrile (2-cyano-1-propene, MCN) were studied, both singly and competitively, over a Pt/alumina catalyst in the liquid phase. Each unsaturated nitrile only underwent C═C bond hydrogenation: no evidence was found for the formation of the saturated or unsaturated amine. The nonconjugated allyl cyanide was found to be the most reactive unsaturated nitrile. Activation energies for the hydrogenation of the C═C bond in AC and MCN were determined giving values of 64 ± 7 kJ mol–1 for AC and 37 ± 4 kJ mol–1 for MCN. The reaction was zero order for both nitriles. Competitive hydrogenations revealed that not only does allyl cyanide react preferentially over the other isomers but also it inhibits the hydrogenation of the other isomers. When all four nitriles were simultaneously hydrogenated, inhibition effects were easily seen suggesting that in terms of strength of bond.
Effects of rheo-die casting process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AM50 magnesium alloy

Abstract AM50 Mg alloy is usually processed by high-pressure die casting (HPDC) for applications demanding high ductility. However, this alloy has a high tendency of hot tearing, and is difficult to cast because of its large freezing range and low final solidification temperature. In this investigation, the rheo-die casting (RDC) process, a new semi-solid processing technology developed by BCAST at Brunel University, was used to overcome such casting difficulties and to improve mechanical properties. It was found that the RDC AM50 alloy exhibited much improved mechanical properties, especially for the elongation, over those of the same alloy produced by HPDC and other semi-solid processing technologies. The improved mechanical properties can be attributed to the elimination of large gas pores as a result of gas entrapment, substantial reduction of hot tearing, and fine, uniform microstructure, as a consequence of solidification under high shear rate and high intensity of turbulence in the RDC process.
On Böttcher coordinates and quasiregular maps

It is well-known that a polynomial f(z) = adzd(1 + o(1)) can be conjugated by a holomorphic map � to w 7! wd in a neighbourhood of in�nity. This map � is called a Bottcher coordinate for f near in�nity. In this paper we construct a Bottcher type coordinate for compositions of a�ne mappings and polynomials, a class of mappings �rst studied in [9]. As an application, we prove that if h is a�ne and c 2 C, then h(z)2 +c is not uniformly quasiregular.
Comparative Proteomics Reveals Set of Oxidative Stress and Thaumatin-Like Proteins Associated with Resistance to Late Blight of Tomato

Proteomics techniques were used to study the molecular mechanisms involved in the defense of tomato against late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Proteins were extracted from resistant access BGH-2127 and susceptible cultivar “Santa Clara”. Leaves of the inoculated and non-inoculated (control) genotypes were collected at 0, 2, and 48 h after inoculation and analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), followed by identification with mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF-TOF). A total of 56 differentially abundant proteins were identified, of which 39 were resistant genotypes and 17 were susceptible. These proteins were categorized into functional groups of energy and metabolism, photosynthesis, stress and defense, transcription, other proteins, and as un-characterized ones. For access BGH-2127, oxidative stress proteins (2-cis peroxiedoxin BAS1 and 2-cis peroxiredoxin) and thaumatin-like protein showed increase in the relative abundance at 0 and 48 h of inoculation, respectively, and were therefore considered important for the defense mechanism of this genotype. The expression standards evaluated by real-time PCR differed from the results of the proteomic analysis. The protein-protein interaction networks provided important information on the cellular activities involved in the resistance of BGH-2127 late blight.
Optimal Portfolio Liquidation for CARA Investors

We consider the finite-time optimal portfolio liquidation problem for a von Neumann-Morgenstern investor with constant absolute risk aversion (CARA). As underlying market impact model, we use the continuous-time liquidity model of Almgren and Chriss (2000). We show that the expected utility of sales revenues, taken over a large class of adapted strategies, is maximized by a deterministic strategy, which is explicitly given in terms of an analytic formula. The proof relies on the observation that the corresponding value function solves a degenerate Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation with singular initial condition.
Seascape ecology of coastal biogenic habitats: advances, gaps, and challenges

We review the progress made in the emerging field of coastal seascape ecology, i.e. the ap- plication of landscape ecology concepts and techniques to the coastal marine environment. Since the early 1990s, the landscape ecology approach has been applied in several coastal subtidal and intertidal biogenic habitats across a range of spatial scales. Emerging evidence indicates that animals in these seascapes respond to the structure of patches and patch mosaics in different ways and at different spa- tial scales, yet we still know very little about the ecological significance of these relationships and the consequences of change in seascape patterning for ecosystem functioning and overall biodiversity. Eco- logical interactions that occur within patches and among different types of patches (or seascapes) are likely to be critically important in maintaining primary and secondary production, trophic transfer, bio- diversity, coastal protection, and supporting a wealth of ecosystem goods and services. We review faunal responses to patch and seascape structure, including effects of fragmentation on 5 focal habitats: seagrass meadows, salt marshes, coral reefs, mangrove forests, and oyster reefs. Extrapolating and generalizing spatial relationships between ecological patterns and processes across scales remains a sig- nificant challenge, and we show that there are major gaps in our understanding of these relationships. Filling these gaps will be crucial for managing and responding to an inevitably changing coastal envi- ronment. We show that critical ecological thresholds exist in the structural patterning of biogenic ecosys- tems that, when exceeded, cause abrupt shifts in the distribution and abundance of organisms. A bet- ter understanding of faunal-seascape relationships, including the identifications of threshold effects, is urgently needed to support the development of more effective and holistic management actions in restoration, site prioritization, and forecasting the impacts of environmental change.
Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence: Support for Health Care Interventions Targeted at Level of Risk

Abstract The mental health correlates of male aggression or violence against an intimate partner (IPV) are examined using exploratory cluster analysis for 81 men who self-reported risk factors for IPV perpetration on a computer-based health risk assessment. Men disclosing IPV perpetration could be meaningfully subdivided into two different clusters: a high pathology/high violence cluster, and lower pathology/low violence cluster. These groups appear to perpetrate intimate partner violence in differing psychoemotional contexts and could be robustly identified using multiple distinct analytic methods. If men who self-disclose IPV in a health care setting can be meaningfully subdivided based on mental health symptoms and level of violence, it lends support for potential new targeted approaches to preventing partner violence perpetration by both women and men.
Embedding a Blended Learning Approach From First Year

Advantages to the student As DIT strives to enhance the transition of students into third level education, a number of priority areas were identified as part of the ongoing STEER (Student Transition, Expectations, Engagement, Retention) initiative. Two areas related to blended learning were recognised as crucial to the initiative and the overall transition experience; firstly, to enable students to become self-directed learners and secondly, to ensure students are cognisant of blended learning as an effective pedagogy. The purpose of this poster is to provide a framework for how a lecturer can introduce blended learning into a module, with specific focus on first year undergraduate teaching.
LEARNING APPROACHES TO APPLYING ROBOTICS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

The methodology and ideas behind educational robotics arise from the 1960s, when the first hardware platforms together with computers were used in research studies in schools. Since the 1990s, the market for educational robotics has grown, and there are many solutions available to use in schools. Despite a wide variety of platform approaches for using robots in education, they are still based on ideas that are decades old. This study evaluates different approaches used nowadays to teach with robots. Problem-based, constructionist, and competition-based learning are identified as the most common uses of robots under observation. Each approach is analysed qualitatively based on the published literature. Each has positive and negative properties; though none have been studied thoroughly using quantitative methods. Results indicate that all these approaches are used in schools with robots interdisciplinary. The current reasons for using robots are based mostly on teachers’ and students’ impressions. However, robotics can be seen as a “tool” to create many approaches to science education, such as inquiry learning and problem solving. Key words: constructionism, constructivism, educational robotics, inquiry learning, LEGO Mindstorms, problem solving.
Switching Volatility in International Equity Markets

In this paper, we analyze the behavior of time-varying volatility, when structural changes are allowed in international stock markets. We use a recent model developed by Hamilton and Susmel (1994), the SWARCH model, which is a more general specification than the popular ARCH model. We fit an exponential SWARCH (E-SWARCH) model to eight series of weekly returns from international stock markets. Under the SWARCH model, we find that ARCH and asymmetric effects are significantly reduced. We also find, however, that when compared to a standard GARCH-t model, the benefits of a SWARCH model are marginal. Using the ability of the Hamilton (1989) filter to date states, we use the switching model to date volatility states. We compare these states and conclude that with the exception of Japan and the U.K., and the U.S. and Canada, the domestic volatility states tend to be independent of foreign volatility states. For these two pairs, we find evidence for common volatility states.