Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends and geographic variation of potentially avoidable hospitalizations in the veterans health-care system

The rate of hospitalizations due to ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) has been widely accepted as an indicator of access and quality of primary care. This study aimed to examine the trends and geographic variation of ACSC hospitalizations in US veterans health-care system, to identify factors associated with ACSC hospitalizations and to develop a quality indicator that can monitor access and effectiveness of primary care at hospital level. Using fiscal years 1997–2007 data, we found total ACSC hospitalizations per 1000 ACSC patients decreased by 58%; ACSC hospitalizations as percentage of total hospitalizations decreased 9%. However, significant geographic variations of ACSC hospitalizations remained and we found that adjustment of case-mix or confounding factors was essential in making meaningful comparisons among hospitals in a health-care system. Further, this study also reveals that low-income veterans still had higher ACSC hospitalization rates and patient travel time less than 30 minutes to the nearest VA providers was associated with fewer ACSC hospitalizations, which possess important policy implications.
The Mental Health Care Bill 2013: A Critical Appraisal

The Mental Health Care Bill – 2013 has been introduced in Rajya Sabha and is now waiting for enactment. The Bill entails unprecedented measures to be undertaken by the Government ensuring everyone right to access mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the Government. The Government is to meet the man-power requirement of mental health professionals according to international standard within a period of ten years. Various rights of persons with mental illness have been ensured. All the places where psychiatric patients are admitted and treated including the general hospital psychiatry units (GHPU) are to be registered as mental health establishments. Unmodified ECT has been banned and ECT to minors can be given only after approval from the Mental Health Review Board. This article advocates for exemption of GHPU from the purview of the Bill, taking into consideration impediment created in the treatment of vast majority of psychiatric patients who retain their insight into the illness and seldom require involuntary admissions. It is also advocated to reconsider ban on unmodified ECT and restriction placed on ECT to minor which are very effective treatment methods based on scientific evidence. In our country, family is an important asset in management of mental illness. But requirement of seeking approval from the Board in many of the mental health care decision may discourage the families to be proactive in taking care of their wards. The Board and Mental Health Authorities at the central and the state levels are authorized to take many crucial decisions, but these panels have very few experts in the field of mental health.
Using the Stage-Based Approaches to Predict Breast Self-Examination Among Rural Vietnamese Women

A stages-of-change approach would be helpful to understand cancer screening behaviors. This study aimed to identify the compliance and determinants of breast self-examination (BSE) based on transtheoretical model (TTM) and health belief model (HBM). A cross-sectional study was conducted with 296 rural Vietnamese women using a self-administered questionnaire consisting of Champion’s HBM scales, breast cancer knowledge (BCK), integrated connection to neighborhood storytelling networks (ICSN), and TTM stages of BSE. A generalized ordered logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with TTM stages of BSE. About 61% of women did not currently perform BSE. Perceived benefit was significant in all stages changes. When changing to the action stage, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, and BCK were significant. When changing to the maintenance stage, perceived susceptibility, benefits, self-efficacy, and ICSN were significant. Determinants influencing BSE behavior were different in each TTM stage, indicating that educational programs should be introduced with stage-matched strategies to increase BSE.
Precision medicine in primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a rare, complex autoimmune disease in relatively young patients. There is currently no treatment for the disease, resulting in high rates of advanced liver disease leading to death or liver transplantation. However, advances have been made in our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease, particularly from breakthroughs in the underlying genetics. Moreover, large international collaborations have generated important clinical data that have given greater detail on the different disease phenotypes and natural history, generating new risk prediction models. As a result, drug development may be designed to target specific disease mechanisms at known points of the disease natural history. Therefore, more drugs are entering phase II and III development, giving hope that soon patient‐specific treatments may be available to treat this difficult disease.
Evaluation of Friction and Wear Behavior of Date Palm Fruit Syrup as an Environmentally Friendly Lubricant

The effect of various operational factors, such as sliding speed, normal load and temperature on the tribological properties of Date palm fruit syrup (DPFS) as an environmentally friendly lubricant, is investigated. Ball-on-disc wear tests are conducted on mild steel samples in the presence of DPFS as a lubricant under different conditions and the coefficient of friction and wear rate are measured. Scanning electron microscopy, stylus profilometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are used to evaluate the wear tracks to determine the underlying wear mechanisms. Results showed that DPFS has excellent tribological properties in terms of low friction and low wear rates making it a potential candidate to be used as a lubricant in tribological applications.
On the asymptotic solutions of differential equations, with an application to the Bessel functions of large complex order

for large complex values of the parameter p2, may be regarded as classical in the presence of certain customary hypotheses which may be enunciated as follows :t (a) that the variable x is real; (b) that on the interval considered the coefficient +2(x) is continuous and bounded from zero; and (c) that +2(x) is essentially real (i.e., except possibly for a constant complex factor). t The author has sought in an earlier paper, which will be referred to throughout the present discussion by the designation [L ], ? to extend the theory to the case in which the function k2(x) vanishes in the manner of some power of the variable at a point of the interval given. The discussion was restricted to the case of a real variable, and the hypothesis (c) above was retained in an appropriately modified form, namely, in an assumption of the essential reality of the quotient of &2(x) by the power of the variable involved in it as a factor.
Whisker Vibrations and the Activity of Trigeminal Primary Afferents in Response to Airflow

Rodents are the most commonly studied model system in neuroscience, but surprisingly few studies investigate the natural sensory stimuli that rodent nervous systems evolved to interpret. Even fewer studies examine neural responses to these natural stimuli. Decades of research have investigated the rat vibrissal (whisker) system in the context of direct touch and tactile stimulation, but recent work has shown that rats also use their whiskers to help detect and localize airflow. The present study investigates the neural basis for this ability as dictated by the mechanical response of whiskers to airflow. Mechanical experiments show that a whisker's vibration magnitude depends on airspeed and the intrinsic shape of the whisker. Surprisingly, the direction of the whisker's vibration changes as a function of airflow speed: vibrations transition from parallel to perpendicular with respect to the airflow as airspeed increases. Recordings from primary sensory trigeminal ganglion neurons show that these neurons exhibit responses consistent with those that would be predicted from direct touch. Trigeminal neuron firing rate increases with airspeed, is modulated by the orientation of the whisker relative to the airflow, and is influenced by the whisker's resonant frequencies. We develop a simple model to describe how a population of neurons could leverage mechanical relationships to decode both airspeed and direction. These results open new avenues for studying vibrissotactile regions of the brain in the context of evolutionarily important airflow-sensing behaviors and olfactory search. Although this study used only female rats, all results are expected to generalize to male rats. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The rodent vibrissal (whisker) system has been studied for decades in the context of direct tactile sensation, but recent work has indicated that rats also use whiskers to help localize airflow. Neural circuits in somatosensory regions of the rodent brain thus likely evolved in part to process airflow information. This study investigates the whiskers' mechanical response to airflow and the associated neural response. Airspeed affects the magnitude of whisker vibration and the response magnitude of whisker-sensitive primary sensory neurons in the trigeminal ganglion. Surprisingly, the direction of vibration and the associated directionally dependent neural response changes with airspeed. These findings suggest a population code for airflow speed and direction and open new avenues for studying vibrissotactile regions of the brain.
Prevalence of upper airway obstruction in patients with apparently asymptomatic euthyroid multi nodular goitre

Aims: To study the prevalence of upper airway obstruction (UAO) in “apparently asymptomatic” patients with euthyroid multinodular goitre (MNG) and find correlation between clinical features, UAO on pulmonary function test (PFT) and tracheal narrowing on computerised tomography (CT). Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients with apparently asymptomatic euthyroid MNG attending thyroid clinic in a tertiary centre underwent clinical examination to elicit features of UAO, PFT, and CT of neck and chest. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was done with SPSS version 11.5 using paired t-test, Chi square test, and Fisher's exact test. P value of <0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: Fifty-six patients (52 females and four males) were studied. The prevalence of UAO (PFT) and significant tracheal narrowing (CT) was 14.3%. and 9.3%, respectively. Clinical features failed to predict UAO or significant tracheal narrowing. Tracheal narrowing (CT) did not correlate with UAO (PFT). Volume of goitre significantly correlated with degree of tracheal narrowing. Conclusions: Clinical features do not predict UAO on PFT or tracheal narrowing on CT in apparently asymptomatic patients with euthyroid MNG.
Formation and Stability of Emulsions Prepared with a Water-Soluble Extract from the Microalga Chlorella protothecoides.

Unicellular microalgae are a valuable source of macro- and micronutrients. They contain, for example, proteins that are potentially useful as new emulsifiers. The aim of this study was to investigate the emulsifying properties of a less-refined lyophilized crude water-soluble extract (WSE), obtained from the heterotrophically cultivated microalga Chlorella protothecoides. Interfacial tension measurements indicated that mainly the proteins in the extract showed interfacial activity. O/W emulsions were prepared by high-pressure homogenization (1 000 bar, 3 passes) with 5.0 wt % of oil and 2.5 wt % of protein from Chlorella protothecoides, resulting in emulsions having a volume-based mean droplet diameter of d43 ≤ 1 μm and being stable for at least 7 days. Two different stress tests showed that ( i) protein-stabilized emulsions were resistant to very high salt concentrations (up to 500 mM NaCl), and ( ii) emulsions were stable over a very broad pH range of 2-9, with only minor changes in the particle size d43 (e.g. with an increase of only 300 nm when the pH was lowered from 5 to 4) compared to whey protein-stabilized emulsions. All WSE emulsions had monomodal particle size distributions and were macro- and microscopically stable during a storage of up to 7 days. The results indicate that the WSE of Chlorella protothecoides has remarkably good emulsifying properties and might be of use as a new emulsifier in various applications in which emulsions are exposed to a broad range of ionic strengths and pH values.
Body fluid concentrations of bisphenol A and their association with in vitro fertilization outcomes

Abstract Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine-disrupting chemical thought to mimic the action of oestrogens. There have been reports suggesting an association between BPA exposure and infertility in humans. In this prospective cohort study, 146 couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) were recruited. Total BPA concentrations were measured in urine, plasma, follicular fluid and semen samples using LC-MS/MS. Pregnancy (serum β-HCG >1.2 mIU/mL) was observed in 67 (45.9%) out of 146 couples. The mean of urine BPA for all participants was 3.7 ng/mL. In the logistic regression models, BPA concentrations of body fluids (female/male urine, female/male plasma, follicular fluid, and semen) did not significantly affect the outcomes such as pregnancy, presence of good quality embryo, or the proportion of normally fertilized oocytes. In the multiple linear regression models, BPA concentrations of body fluids did not significantly affect the parameters such as number of retrieved oocytes, peak E2 level, sperm concentration, and sperm motility. In conclusion, BPA concentrations in body fluids were not significantly associated with IVF outcomes such as pregnancy, good quality embryo, normally fertilized oocytes, number of retrieved oocytes, peak E2 level, sperm concentration, and sperm motility. Therefore, we could not find the evidence that the non-occupational low-dose exposure to BPA affects IVF outcomes.
CELLULAR CHANGES IN CULTURED MOUSE THYROID GLANDS AND ISLETS OF LANGERHANS

Islets of Langerhans cultured 7 days in vitro no longer contained any capillary endothelial cells, but their endocrine cells remained ultrastructurally normal up to 14 days. Vascular endothelial cells were also lost from cultured thyroid lobes, but more slowly. Thyroid endothelium was readily identified after 7 days of culture, although many cells appeared to be degenerating, and a few degenerating endothelial cells were still present after 14 days in culture. Erythrocytes and leukocytes in the lumina of thyroid vessels were observed to degenerate at about the same rate as the endothelial cells, while those in islet capillary lumina were largely washed out during isolation of the islets. Thyroid lymphatic endothelium and the numerous adipose cells present in this tissue also degenerated during the culture period. Follicle epithelial cells remained viable throughout the culture period, but the number of colloid droplets and endocytic vesicles they contained was markedly decreased. Thyroid fibroblasts remained viable and appeared to enlarge and accumulate dense granules during culture. These cells were a prominent feature of thyroid lobes after 14 days of culture. Parathyroid tissue associated with the thyroid lobes showed viable endocrine cells but a loss of vascular endothelium after 14 days in culture. The loss of blood leukocytes and vascular endothelial cells is probably the major factor in the altered behavior of thyroid and islet allografts after culture in vitro.
Temporal and Spatial Variation in Scots Pine Resin Pressure and Composition

Resin is a first-line defense in pine trees, but important questions regarding its temporal and spatial variation remain unsolved. Resin pressure varies according to water potential in dry conditions, but in moist conditions, it follows temperature dynamics for a yet unknown reason. Relations between resin composition, resin pressure, and shoot monoterpene emissions are also unquantified. To gain mechanistic understanding on the resin dynamics in a boreal forest, we measured temperature and water potential dependency of Scots pine resin pressure. We attempted to quantify the temperature dependency of resin pressure in terms of three contributions: 1) saturation vapor pressure, 2) thermal expansion, and 3) N2, O2, and CO2 solubility. We also analyzed monoterpene composition in the resin and the shoot emissions of 16 pines with gas chromatography mass spectrometry to study their interrelations. We show that in moist conditions, resin pressure is driven by temperature at a diurnal scale, but also affected by soil water potential at a day-to-day scale. Diurnal temperature dependency was explained by thermal expansion of resin and changes in bubble volume due to changes in gas solubility in resin with temperature. Resin pressures correlated also with total monoterpene and α-pinene content in resin and with total monoterpene and ∆3-carene and terpinolene emissions from shoots.
Pseudoexfoliative glaucoma in patients with open‐angle glaucoma in the Northwest of Spain

Abstract. A prospective study of pseudoexfoliative (PSX) glaucoma was carried out in the Northwest of Spain. In 546 examined eyes with open‐angle glaucoma, PSX glaucoma was found in 243 (44.5%). The mean age in eyes with PSX glaucoma was 72.4 years as opposed to 68.2 of the glaucomas without PSX. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and visual field defects were higher in the PSX glaucomas than in the non‐PSX (P<0.0001), and within PSX glaucomas was higher in males than in females (P<0.001). We found no relation between the IOP of one eye and the contralateral in the bilateral PSX glaucomas, while there was a certain relation to the rest of bilateral glaucomas. In 83.9% of the unilateral glaucomas there was PSX. In 68.4% of the eyes with alteration of the field defect degree 3–4, PSX‐glaucomas were observed. Finally, 59.6% of the eyes with glaucoma and cataract showed PSX.
Primary Metabolites, Anthocyanins, and Hydrolyzable Tannins in the Pomegranate Fruit

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an important and interesting fruit tree that is cultivated in many parts of the world. In recent years, along with the increase in its cultivation and consumption there has been a dramatic increase in the scientific interest in its biology, methods of cultivation, adaptation to environmental cues and its health-promoting properties. Quite a large proportion of the various metabolites produced in the pomegranate were determined and their content in the bark, roots, leaves, and fruit was reported. Many reviews on polyphenolic compound content, antioxidant activity and health-promoting compounds were published recently. However, only very few recent reports were dedicated to primary metabolites, despite the fact that much work was done on organic acids, sugars, proteins, lipids, and amino acids of the pomegranate fruit. In this review, a special effort was made to present these recent studies and the review is devoted to primary metabolites. The reported data show high variation in the content of primary metabolites within the pomegranate fruit; therefore the data is presented (whenever possible) according to fruit tissues (peel, arils, and seeds), developmental stages of the fruit, environmental and climatic conditions, and genetic background. Most of the data on pomegranate is based on metabolic content and contains no genetic or molecular analysis except for work done on anthocyanins and hydrolyzable tannins. In those cases, gene assignment and genetic control studies were pointed out in the review. The recent publication of the genome sequences from several pomegranate varieties and transcriptomic data from fruits, flowers, and leaves is expected to facilitate the understanding of genetic control of metabolites in pomegranate.
RGBD-Inertial Trajectory Estimation and Mapping for Ground Robots

Using camera sensors for ground robot Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) has many benefits over laser-based approaches, such as the low cost and higher robustness. RGBD sensors promise the best of both worlds: dense data from cameras with depth information. This paper proposes to fuse RGBD and IMU data for a visual SLAM system, called VINS-RGBD, that is built upon the open source VINS-Mono software. The paper analyses the VINS approach and highlights the observability problems. Then, we extend the VINS-Mono system to make use of the depth data during the initialization process as well as during the VIO (Visual Inertial Odometry) phase. Furthermore, we integrate a mapping system based on subsampled depth data and octree filtering to achieve real-time mapping, including loop closing. We provide the software as well as datasets for evaluation. Our extensive experiments are performed with hand-held, wheeled and tracked robots in different environments. We show that ORB-SLAM2 fails for our application and see that our VINS-RGBD approach is superior to VINS-Mono.
Emotion regulation processes linking peer victimization to anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescence

Abstract Difficulties with emotion regulation can take many forms, including increased sensitivity to emotional cues and habitual use of maladaptive cognitive or behavioral regulation strategies. Despite extensive research on emotion regulation and youth adjustment, few studies integrate multiple measures of emotion regulation. The present study evaluated the underlying structure of emotion regulation processes in adolescence using both task- and survey-based measures and determined whether differences in these emotion regulation latent factors mediated the association between peer victimization and internalizing psychopathology. Adolescents aged 16–17 years (n = 287; 55% female; 42% White) recruited in three urban centers in the United States completed baseline and follow-up assessments 4 months apart. Three models of emotion regulation were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis. A three-factor model fit the data best, including cognitive regulation, behavioral regulation, and emotional reactivity latent factors. Task-based measures did not load onto these latent factors. Difficulties with behavioral regulation mediated the association between peer victimization and depression symptoms, whereas cognitive regulation difficulties mediated the association with anxiety symptoms. Findings point to potential targets for intervention efforts to reduce risk for internalizing problems in adolescents following experiences of peer victimization.