Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wound Infection in Abdominal Surgery by Using Double Ring Wall Autoretractor

Background: Surgical Site Infection (SSI) remains an important problem in abdominal surgery. The aim of this study is to determine if the use of a wound protection system can be effective in reducing the incidence of wound infection after abdominal surgery. Methods: Prospective observational study over 409 consecutive patients underwent laparotomy by two surgeons during an eight-year period (2010-2018). A laparotomy auto-retractor was used in all cases (Alexis Wound Retractor; Applied Medical, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA). Ther were151 colorectal resections, 144 appendicectomies, 80 cholecystectomies, 14 gastrectomies and other operations in 20 cases. Preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis was given to all patients. To perform the laparotomy, the skin, subcutaneous tissue, fascia and peritoneum were cut with diathermy. On closing the laparotomy, gloves were changed and no previously used needle holders, forceps, and separators were used. No antibacterial-coated sutures were used for laparotomy closure. The principal variable of the study was wound infection at 30 days, both deep and superficial. Results: Median age of the series was 58 years (range 14-92). The median Body Mass Index was 24 (range 18-39.5). One hundred and eighty patientes (44%) were operated on an emergency basis. Two hundred and ninety six patients were classified ASA I-II (72%). There were oly four cases of wound infection (1%). The median postoperative stay was four days (range 1-34). Conclusion: Our results suggest that Alexis wound retractor, is an effective wound edge protector, which contributes to significantly reduce the wound infection rate in abdominal surgery.
Human Capital, Quality of Life, and the Adjustment Process in American Metropolitan Areas

This paper presents a locational analysis of growth and change within the American constellation of metropolitan areas. It begins with the premise that the development process happens in two interconnected ways: Via demand-induced growth, which is driven by economic opportunity, and supply-induced growth, which is driven by personal preference. The nature and spatial outcome of these mechanisms are investigated by estimating a series of three-equation regional adjustment models wherein changes in population density, employment density, and the average annual wage are endogenously determined. In order to account for spatial dependence in the development process, each model is specified with spatial lags of its three dependent variables and is estimated using a spatial two-stage least squares technique. The results of the analysis illustrate the evolving nature of the adjustment process and yield insight into the land use patterns that it produces.
How Can Remote Sensing Help Monitor Tropical Moist Forest Degradation? - A Systematic Review

In the context of the climate and biodiversity crisis facing our planet, tropical forests playing a key role in global carbon flux and containing over half of Earth’s species are important to preserve. They are today threatened by deforestation but also by forest degradation, which is more difficult to study. Here, we performed a systematic review of studies on moist tropical forest degradation using remote sensing and fitting indicators of forest resilience to perturbations. Geographical repartition, spatial extent and temporal evolution were analyzed. Indicators of compositional, structural and regeneration criteria were noted as well as remote sensing indices and metrics used. Tropical moist forest degradation is not extensively studied especially in the Congo basin and in southeast Asia. Forest structure (i.e., canopy gaps, fragmentation and biomass) is the most widely and easily measured criteria with remote sensing, while composition and regeneration are more difficult to characterize. Mixing LiDAR/Radar and optical data shows good potential as well as very high-resolution satellite data. The awaited GEDI and BIOMASS satellites data will fill the actual gap to a large extent and provide accurate structural information. LiDAR and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) form a good bridge between field and satellite data. While the performance of the LiDAR is no longer to be demonstrated, particular attention should be brought to the UAV that shows great potential and could be more easily used by local communities and stakeholders.
Histopathological study of developmental toxicity of Carbamazepine in the mice

Developmental toxicity is a structural or functional alteration, which interferes with normal growth, differentiation, and development. Carbamazepine is one of the most widely used antiepileptic drugs among women of childbearing age. Investigation of carbamazepine developmental toxicity for vital organs. The healthy pregnant females were divided into three groups. The (control) group received distilled water/day orally. Second and third group received 52.5, 65 mg/day of carbamazepine respectively by gastric gavage. Fetuses were delivered by hysterectomy on the 18th day of gestation. Each fetus was assessed for histopathological changes of liver, kidney and heart. Liver mice showed congestion, inflammation with areas of hydropic degeneration in second group and marked complete distortion of the hepatic cells and large areas of degeneration in third group. Kidney mice showed atrophy of glomeruli, degeneration of renal tubules in second group and complete distortion of glomeruli and renal tubules in third group. Cardiac mice showed loss of normal architecture, degeneration of the myocardial fibers in second group and marked widespread fragmentation and degeneration of myocardial fibers in third group. Histopathological changes of liver, kidney and heart due to Carbamazepine developmental toxicity represents as congenital anomalies of organs depending on overdose degree of carbamazepine.
Deep learning vs. kernel methods: Performance for emotion prediction in videos

Recently, mainly due to the advances of deep learning, the performances in scene and object recognition have been progressing intensively. On the other hand, more subjective recognition tasks, such as emotion prediction, stagnate at moderate levels. In such context, is it possible to make affective computational models benefit from the breakthroughs in deep learning? This paper proposes to introduce the strength of deep learning in the context of emotion prediction in videos. The two main contributions are as follow: (i) a new dataset, composed of 30 movies under Creative Commons licenses, continuously annotated along the induced valence and arousal axes (publicly available) is introduced, for which (ii) the performance of the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) through supervised fine-tuning, the Support Vector Machines for Regression (SVR) and the combination of both (Transfer Learning) are computed and discussed. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first approach in the literature using CNNs to predict dimensional affective scores from videos. The experimental results show that the limited size of the dataset prevents the learning or finetuning of CNN-based frameworks but that transfer learning is a promising solution to improve the performance of affective movie content analysis frameworks as long as very large datasets annotated along affective dimensions are not available.
MRI-Based Deep Learning Segmentation and Radiomics of Sarcoma in Mice

Small-animal imaging is an essential tool that provides noninvasive, longitudinal insight into novel cancer therapies. However, considerable variability in image analysis techniques can lead to inconsistent results. We have developed quantitative imaging for application in the preclinical arm of a coclinical trial by using a genetically engineered mouse model of soft tissue sarcoma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images were acquired 1 day before and 1 week after radiation therapy. After the second MRI, the primary tumor was surgically removed by amputating the tumor-bearing hind limb, and mice were followed for up to 6 months. An automatic analysis pipeline was used for multicontrast MRI data using a convolutional neural network for tumor segmentation followed by radiomics analysis. We then calculated radiomics features for the tumor, the peritumoral area, and the 2 combined. The first radiomics analysis focused on features most indicative of radiation therapy effects; the second radiomics analysis looked for features that might predict primary tumor recurrence. The segmentation results indicated that Dice scores were similar when using multicontrast versus single T2-weighted data (0.863 vs 0.861). One week post RT, larger tumor volumes were measured, and radiomics analysis showed greater heterogeneity. In the tumor and peritumoral area, radiomics features were predictive of primary tumor recurrence (AUC: 0.79). We have created an image processing pipeline for high-throughput, reduced-bias segmentation of multiparametric tumor MRI data and radiomics analysis, to better our understanding of preclinical imaging and the insights it provides when studying new cancer therapies.
Genotyping of Clostridium perfringens Isolates from Domestic Livestock in Saudi Arabia

The present study was undertaken to confirm the genetic identity of Clostridium perfringens isolates from domestic livestock in Saudi Arabia and to characterize the genes encoding to alpha, beta, epsilon, and iota (α-, β-, ε-, and ι-) toxins. C. perfringens were confirmed in 104 out of 136 isolates on multiplex polymerase chain reaction using specific primers amplifying genes related to toxins produced by C. perfringens. Genes encoding α-toxins were detected in 104 samples. Of the isolates, 80.8% were diagnosed as type A, 15.4% as type D, 2.9% as type C, and 0.96% as type B. None of the isolates has genes encoding iota (ι-) toxin. All isolates investigated yielded enterotoxin (cpe) products and none yielded β2 (cpb2-toxin) or NetB products. PLC gene sequences encoding α-toxin showed >96.7% similarity. Isolates which had α-toxins as well as enterotoxin (cpe) are regarded as type F. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood analysis yielded two clades, and the majority of the isolates were in one group while only two isolates clustered on the second clade. Within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strains, 54 variable positions and 23 polymorphic amino acids were noticed. Isolates with ε- and β-toxins were variable and were found to be close to those published for C. perfringens. ETX gene sequences encoding ε-toxins were found to be related to CPE sequences.
Availability of ENT Surgical Procedures and Medication in Low-Income Nation Hospitals: Cause for Concern in Zambia

Background Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases are an oft overlooked global health concern. Despite their high prevalence and associated morbidity and mortality, ENT diseases have remained neglected in health care delivery. In Zambia and many other low-income countries, ENT services are characterized by poor funding, unavailable surgical procedures, and erratic supply of essential drugs. Objective To investigate ENT service provision in Zambia with regard to availability of surgical procedures and supply of essential drugs. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted using a piloted structured questionnaire between 17 January 2017 and 2 January 2018. Included in the study were the 109 hospitals registered with the Ministry of Health (MoH) across the 10 provinces of Zambia. Results Of the participating hospitals, only 5.9% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% (n = 1) and 40% ( Conclusion ENT service delivery in Zambia is limited with regard to performed surgical procedures and availability of essential drugs, necessitating urgent intervention. The findings from this study may be used to direct national policy on the improvement of provision of ENT services in Zambia.
Weighted gene correlation network analysis reveals novel biomarkers associated with mesenchymal stromal cell differentiation in early phase

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem that is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and its prevalence is increasing as the world’s population ages. Therefore, understanding the molecular basis of the disease is becoming a high priority. In this regard, studies have shown that an imbalance in adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is associated with osteoporosis. In this study, we conducted a Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis to identify gene modules associated with the differentiation of bone marrow MSCs. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome enrichment analysis showed that the most significant module, the brown module, was enriched with genes involved in cell cycle regulation, which is in line with the initial results published using these data. In addition, the Cytoscape platform was used to identify important hub genes and lncRNAs correlated with the gene modules. Furthermore, differential gene expression analysis identified 157 and 40 genes that were upregulated and downregulated, respectively, after 3 h of MSCs differentiation. Interestingly, regulatory network analysis, and comparison of the differentially expressed genes with those in the brown module identified potential novel biomarker genes, including two transcription factors (ZNF740, FOS) and two hub genes (FOXQ1, SGK1), which were further validated for differential expression in another data set of differentiation of MSCs. Finally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis suggested that the two most important candidate hub genes are involved in regulatory pathways, such as the JAK-STAT and RAS signaling pathways. In summary, we have revealed new molecular mechanisms of MSCs differentiation and identified novel genes that could be used as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of osteoporosis.
Does the Liquidity Trap Exist?

The liquidity trap is synonymous with ineffective monetary policy. The common wisdom is that, as the short-term interest rate nears its effective lower bound, monetary policy cannot do much to stimulate the economy. However, central banks have resorted to alternative instruments, such as QE, credit easing and forward guidance. Using state-of- the-art estimates of the effects of monetary policy, we show that monetary easing stimulates output and inflation, also during the period when short-term interest rates are near their lower bound. These results are consistent across the United States, the euro area and Japan.
Influence of climatic variability and respiratory viruses on the burden of medically attended acute respiratory infections in Cuba

Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world, mainly in young children, elderly and immune-compromised patients. They also contribute with a great burden to the health systems regarding medical attendance and hospital admissions. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, ARI is the fourth cause of mortality worldwide, with more than two million deaths annually [1]. Among children under five years-old, ARI was the leading cause of death in 2016 [2]. Respiratory viruses are the main etiology of respiratory illness throughout the world [3,4], 90% of ARI are estimated to be related with viruses [5]. Among these viruses, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) play predominant role, causing high morbidity and mortality, mostly affecting individuals aged < 5 and ≥ 65 years and persons with underlying medical conditions, including HIV infection [6-9]. Since ancient times influenza viruses have caused large epidemics and pandemics in the world; the last one in 2009 caused more than 500,000 deaths. It is one of the most contagious diseases by its high mutation capacity [10].
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis Presented as Post-Obstruction Pyonephrosis: A Commonly Known Malignancy in a Rare Location

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of the renal pelvis is an extremely rare clinical entity, constituting less than 1% of all urinary tract neoplasms. The diagnosis is usually not possible due to inconclusive clinical and radiological features. Chronic urothelial irritation due to recurrent infection and longstanding nephrolithiasis would encourage squamous metaplasia of the renal collecting system and predispose to such aggressive nature of the tumor. A typical manifestations and consequent delay in diagnosis may result in locally advanced or metastatic disease upon presentation and poor prognosis and outcomes. We report a case of incidentally diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis in a 47-year-old man, presented with asymptomatic bilateral renal stones. Postright percutaneous nephrolithotomy, the patient developed severe intermittent left hypochondrial pain with spikes of fever with rigidity extending from below the left costal margin to the groin and crossing the middle line. Urethral catheter drained pure pus while the right nephrostomy tube drained clear urine. Left nephrectomy performed with intra operative drainage of ~2200 cc of pus from such a huge kidney containing multiple variable sized impacted calculi. Histopathology revealed moderately differentiated T4NxMx squamous cell arising from the renal pelvis. The case highlights the importance of careful gross and histopathological assessment of any specimen when associated with hydro or pyonephrosis secondary to a long-standing history of nephrolithiasis and an associated poor or non-functioning kidney. In the current report, a case will be presented with its clinical and morphological features together with a review of the relevant current literature.
Correlation study of rehabilitation intention, self-efficacy and rehabilitation exercise management behavior in middle- aged stroke patients

Method: By convenience sampling, a general data questionnaire, a sports rehabilitation willingness questionnaire, a General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and a stroke self-management behavior scale were used to investigate 175 middle-aged stroke patients hospitalized in a third-grade general hospital in Zibo. The effect of exercise rehabilitation willing-ness and self-efficacy on rehabilitation exercise of middle-aged stroke patients were investigated was analysed by one-way ANOVA, Pearson CorrelationCoefficient ,multiple linear regression, structural equation analysis.
Morphological evolution of heteroepitaxial islands during Stranski–Krastonov growth

Three-dimensional finite element method is used to simulate the formation, self-assembly and shape transition of heteroepitaxial islands during Stranski–Krastonov growth. In the formulation, strain energy, surface energy, surface anisotropy and elastic anisotropy of a cubic lattice structure are taken into account. In the simulations, the SiGe/Si material system is used as a model system. An empirical surface energy as a function of surface orientation is proposed. The minimum energy surfaces are identified based on existing experimental observations. The simulation results show that the coupling of elastic energy relaxation, surface energy anisotropy and elastic anisotropy strongly influences the surface roughening morphology, self-assembly and shape transition of epitaxial islands, resulting in diverse evolution pathways. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars: Results from the Initial Detector Era

We present the results of searches for gravitational waves from a large selection of pulsars using data from the most recent science runs (S6, VSR2 and VSR4) of the initial generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory) and Virgo. We do not see evidence for gravitational wave emission from any of the targeted sources but produce upper limits on the emission amplitude. We highlight the results from seven young pulsars with large spin-down luminosities. We reach within a factor of ﬁve of the canonical spin-down limit for all seven of these, whilst for the Crab and Vela pulsars we further surpass their spin-down limits. We present new or updated limits for 172 other pulsars (including both young and millisecond pulsars). Now that the detectors are undergoing major upgrades, and, for completeness, we bring together all of the most up-to-date results from all pulsars searched for during the operations of the ﬁrst-generation LIGO, Virgo and GEO600 detectors. This gives a total of 195 pulsars including the most recent results described in this paper.
Periodontal parameters and oral hygiene in diabetic and nondiabetic adolescents in Zanjan

Background: Periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus are 2 most common encountered chronic diseases. The occurrence, appearance, and severity of the periodontium tissue conditions vary during adolescence. Also, there is controversy about the relationship between diabetes mellitus and increased periodontal disease breakdown during puberty. This study aimed to assess the periodontal parameters and oral hygiene in diabetic and nondiabetic adolescents in city of Zanjan. Methods: In this case and controls study, 140 diabetic (case) and 140 nondiabetic (control) adolescents were compared. The participants were matched by age, sex, and socioeconomic status using the group matching method. Clinical attachment loss, periodontal pocket depth, gingival index, periodontal index, and bleeding on probing were measured for the 6 Ramfjord index teeth. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, t test, and one-way ANOVA using SPSS version 18. Results: The mean age of the diabetic and nondiabetic group was 16.7±1.6 and 17.1±0.30 years, respectively. Duration of diabetes was 2.15 ±0.86 years. Mean clinical attachment loss, periodontal pocket depth, gingival index, and bleeding on probing in the patient group were 7.4, 1.68, 12.9, and 97.7%, respectively. All these indices in diabetic adolescents were significantly greater than in nondiabetics. Only the PI was poor in both groups and no significant difference was noted in this respect between the 2 groups. Conclusion: Both diabetic and nondiabetic adolescents had equally poor oral hygiene. Gingivitis and periodontitis indices were significantly poorer in diabetic patients.