Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bidirectional Transport of IgE by CD23 in the Inner Ear of Patients with Meniere’s Disease

Key Points Serum IgE level is positively correlated with clinical symptoms in patients with MD. IgE deposition increases in vestibular apparatus of patients with MD. IL-4 enhances the transcytosis of IgE by regulating the CD23 level. Meniere’s disease (MD) is a disorder of the inner ear characterized by episodes of spontaneous vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, and tinnitus. Recent studies have demonstrated that IgE may play a role in the pathogenesis of MD. Patients with MD (n = 103), acoustic neuroma (n = 5), and healthy subjects (n = 72) were recruited into the study. Serum from the participants was analyzed for IgE and type 2–related cytokines. IgE and CD23 expression levels in vestibular end organs of patients, C57BL/6 mice, or mouse HEI-OC1 cells were analyzed. Finally, the role of CD23 in IgE transcytosis was assessed using HEI-OC1 cells. Serum IgE was elevated in patients with MD and positively correlated with clinical symptoms. IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and CD23 levels were increased in patients with MD compared with the control group. In the transcytosis assay, mouse IgE was found to be bidirectionally transported across the HEI-OC1 cell monolayer. Additionally, CD23 downregulation using a small interfering RNA approach significantly reduced the efficiency of IgE transcytosis, suggesting that IgE is transported by CD23. Furthermore, exposure to IL-4 increased CD23 expression and enhanced IgE transcytosis in the HEI-OC1 cells and primary vestibular end organs. Our study indicated that IgE may play a role in the pathophysiology of MD. In addition, CD23-mediated IgE transcytosis in the hair cells may play a critical role in initiating inflammation in the inner ear. Thus, reducing the level of IgE may be a potentially effective approach for MD treatment.
A resurvey of historical green salamander locations in South Carolina

— Green Salamanders, Aneides aeneus, are habitat specialists found in narrow crevices of rock outcrops and under flaky bark of trees. The species is of high conservation priority throughout its range and has been negatively affected by habitat loss, climate change, disease, and over-collection. Many historical locations for this species have not been visited since the 1980’s or earlier in portions of the Blue Ridge Escarpment population. Across three counties in South Carolina, we conducted visual encounter surveys of rock outcrops and used binoculars to conduct arboreal surveys. We detected Green Salamanders at 30 of the 61 sites surveyed (49.2%). We collected a variety of habitat variables and compared a suite of Nmixture models using an AIC framework. Detection probability was positively influenced by time of day. A model of abundance that included aspect, habitat size, and elevation had the most support. Specifically, Green Salamanders were more abundant at larger sites with lower elevations and south-facing slopes. We conducted a follow up survey on a subset of sites in the fall of 2018 to better understand the influence of season and season-related variables on detection probability. Detections for green salamanders were marginally higher during the fall surveys. Knowledge of factors that influence population abundance and survey success will help guide future efforts to protect the species in the southern portion of its range.
A COMMUNITY BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING EARLY INITIATION OF BREAST FEEDING IN UPTO 2 YEARS OLD CHILD IN SLUM NEAR B.J. MEDICAL COLLEGE, AHMEDABAD

BACKGROUND: Early or timely initiation of breastfeeding is crucial in preventing newborn deaths and inuences childhood nutrition however remains low in India. Early neonatal mortality is assumed to be less if breast feeding is started within rst hour after birth. After so many efforts we cannot achieve early initiation of breast feeding to the maximum possible. OBJECTIVE: 1) Assessment of early initiation of breast-feeding practice in community. 2) To identify mother related and newborn related factors affecting early initiation of breast-feeding. METHOD: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from slum located near B.J. Medical college, Ahmedabad by interviewing 200 mothers of child less than 2 years of age. Data collection was done using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire and data analysis was done using Microsoft Excel 2019. RESULT: out of 200 mothers 47.5% had initiated breast-feeding within rst hour of child birth. 77.50% mothers had initiated breast feeding within 24 hours on child birth. 3 mothers had never given breast milk to their children. CONCLUSION: Maternal age >30, delivery in private hospitals, LSCS were having signicant association with low incidence of early initiation of breast feeding while gender of new born had no association with early initiation of breast feeding
Interactive Gated Decoder for Machine Reading Comprehension

Owing to the availability of various large-scale Machine Reading Comprehension (MRC) datasets, building an effective model to extract passage spans for question answering has been well studied in previous works. However, in reality, there are some questions that cannot be answered through the passage information, which brings more challenges to this task. In this article, we propose an Interactive Gated Decoder (IG Decoder), which focuses on modeling the interactions between the answer span prediction and no-answer prediction with a gating mechanism. We also propose a simple but effective approach for automatically generating pseudo training data, which aims to enrich the training data of the unanswerable questions. Experimental results on popular benchmark SQuAD 2.0 and NewsQA show that the proposed approaches yield consistent improvements over traditional BERT-large and strong ALBERT-xxlarge baseline systems. We also provide detailed ablations of the proposed method and error analysis on hard samples, which could be helpful in future research.
Virtual Reality Fitness (VRF) for Behavior Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mediation Analysis Approach

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, cellphone health apps and virtual reality fitness for treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s were beneficial. Virtual reality has been used to treat PTSD, depression, anxieties, dementia, ADHD, dyslexia, and pain control in various settings. Virtual reality exercise has been studied for its effects on biological, mental, rehabilitation, behavior, and attitude management. Purpose This research aimed to find out the role of virtual reality fitness (VRF) for behavior management during the COVID-19 pandemic concerning the demographic characteristics of the study participants and the use of fitness and health apps. Methods The population for the current study was Chinese residents across China who were in home isolation during the early pandemic in China. According to the study objective, a convenience sampling method was used to collect the primary data through an online survey. SPSS-25 statistical software was used to analyze the demographic information and clean and prepare the data to test all proposed hypotheses. The proposed research framework was examined using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach through SmartPLS 3.0 software. Results The structural equation model analysis shows that all the proposed hypotheses (H1: β = 0.137, t = 10.454, p = <0.000; H2: β = 0.256, t = 16.824, p = <0.000; H3: β = 0.418, t = 27.827, p = <0.000; H4: β = 0.133, t = 8.913, p = <0.000; H5: β = 0.076, t = 4.717, p = <0.000; H6: β = 0.162, t = 10.532, p = <0.000; H7: β = 0.384, t = 26.645, p = <0.000) are confirmed. Conclusion Fitness and health apps with virtual reality fitness play a substantial role in improving the overall quality of life and positively influencing behavior and attitude.
EMD-WOG-2DCNN based EEG signal processing for Rolandic seizure classification

Abstract Objective Approximately 65 million people have epilepsy around the world. Recognition of epilepsy types is the basis to determine the treatment method and predict the prognosis in epilepsy patients. Childhood benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) or benign Rolandic epilepsy is the most common focal epilepsy in children, accounting for 15–20% of childhood epilepsies. These EEG patterns of individuals usually predict good treatment responses and prognosis. Until now, the interpretation of EEG still depends entirely on experienced neurologists, which may be a lengthy and tedious task. Method In this article, we proposed a novel machine learning model that efficiently distinguished Rolandic seizures from normal EEG signals. The proposed machine learning model processes the identification procedure in the following order (1) creating preliminary EEG features using signal empirical mode decomposition, (2) applying weighted overlook graph (WOG) to represent the decomposed EMD of IMF, and (3) classifying the results through a two Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (2DCNN). The performance of our classification model is compared with other representative machine learning models. Results The model offered in this article gains an accuracy performance exceeding 97.6% in the Rolandic dataset, which is higher than other classification models. The effect of the model on the Bonn public dataset is also comparable to existing methods and even performs better in some subsets. Conclusion The purpose of this study is to introduce the most common childhood benign epilepsy type and propose a model that meets the real clinical needs to distinguish this Rolandic EEG pattern from normal signals accurately. Significance Future research will optimize the model to categorize other types of epilepsies beyond BECTS and finally implement them in the hospital system.
Network analysis approach for exploring dementia representations in the Slovak media

Objectives The aim of the present study is to test the network analysis method on a corpus of media texts with the aim of systematically analysing media representations of dementia in the Slovak media. Methods A word-network was modelled from the corpus of media documents using social network analysis. 244 text-documents (web, print, TV and radio) from 2015 to 2018 (inclusive) were retrieved from the Newton media database using the search words ‘dementia’ and ‘Alzheimer’s disease’. Results Twelve clusters of co-occurring concepts corresponding to individual themes were identified. The results of the analysis provide evidence that biomedical themes such as ‘medical diagnosis’, ‘prevalence of dementia’ and ‘memory disorders’ possess the greatest representational strength and centrality and account for roughly two-thirds of the whole corpus. Conclusion Results of the present study provide valuable insights into the representation of dementia in the Slovak media but also demonstrate how media representations can be studied using the innovative approach of network analysis.
Off-Policy Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning with Maximum Mutations

Advances in Reinforcement Learning (RL) have demonstrated data efficiency and optimal control over large state spaces at the cost of scalable performance. Genetic methods, on the other hand, provide scalability but depict hyperparameter sensitivity towards evolutionary operations. A combination of the two methods has recently demonstrated success in scaling RL agents to high-dimensional action spaces. Parallel to recent developments, we present the Evolution-based Soft Actor-Critic (ESAC), a scalable RL algorithm. We abstract exploration from exploitation by combining Evolution Strategies (ES) with Soft Actor-Critic (SAC). Through this lens, we enable dominant skill transfer between offsprings by making use of soft winner selections and genetic crossovers in hindsight. Simultaneously we improve hyperparameter sensitivity in evolutions using the novel Automatic Mutation Tuning (AMT). AMT gradually replaces the entropy framework of SAC allowing the population to succeed at the task while acting as randomly as possible , without making use of backpropagation updates. In a study of challenging locomotion tasks consisting of high-dimensional action spaces and sparse rewards, ESAC demonstrates improved performance and sample efficiency in comparison to the Maximum Entropy framework. Additionally, ESAC presents efficacious use of hardware resources and algorithm overhead. Our implementation is available at the Project Website.
Acute Inhalation of Generator Exhaust-Fumes May Impair Learning and Memory in Mice

The study assessed the effects of acute inhalation of generator exhaust fumes on the anxiety-associated learning and memory (L&M), and motor coordination in mice. Twenty-four mice were divided into 4 groups. First and second groups were tested for motor coordination (beam walk) and L&M (Elevated Plus Maze, EPM) respectively. Mice in the experimental groups were exposed to the generator fume for 30min. , 1hr. , and 2hrs respectively before the tests. In Day 1, experimental animals showed significant decrease in the mean TL (13.4 ± 1.5sec.) and an increase (73 ± 8.4sec.) at 30min. and 1hr respectively, when compared to their controls (28.6 ± 5.2sec.) and (21.8 ± 4.4sec.). In day 2, there were significant increase in the mean TLs during the 30min. (48.4 ± 12.8sec.) and 2hrs exposures (66.8 ± 15.3 sec.), when compared to their controls (13.6 ± 1.9sec.) and (22.6 ± 6.6sec.) respectively. The result suggests decreased ability of the exposed mice to learn and recall the new behaviour. There was significant increase in the mean %COHb level of the experimental group (2.06 ± 0.012%) when compared to the control (0.76 ± 0.089%). Exposure to CO from the generator exhaust fumes impaired learning and memory in mice. Keywords: Carbon monoxide, Learning and Memory, Motor coordination, Elevated Plus Maze, Beam walk.
Analysis on the Settlements of Metro Tunnels in Soft Soil

In view of the seepage of metro tunnel, by the use of coupled flow and mechanical calculation method, the settlements of the tunnel are calculated and analyzed in the condition of different ratio of seepage rate of the tunnel to surrounding soft soil. Then the stability time of the settlements is analyzed. The calculation results show that the seepage settlements of the tunnels in soft soil in Shanghai can reach to 22cm, which is near monitoring settlement data.
uso de los resultados españoles de PISA en publicaciones científicas

In the last decade, interest in PISA results has grown, both in public debate and in the use of its data for research. The aim of this study is to analyse the use of the Spanish PISA results by the scientific community. A bibliometric analysis of 119 scientific articles included in the Scopus, Eric EBSCOHost and Web of Science databases was carried out between 2002 and 2019 using frequency analysis, MDS analysis and binary logistic regressions. Results reflect a growing interest in the Spanish PISA results from 2005 to the present within university research in the field of Education, to which most of the authors of our sample pool belong. With regard to the use of PISA information, the majority of studies use data for generating knowledge, with socio-economic issues such as the family and equity being the ones with the greatest presence alongside student performance. We conclude that, despite the fact that PISA has been slow to have an impact among the Spanish academic community, its results are increasingly being used as primary source of information for carrying out detailed studies on a wide range of subjects. However, PISA is used generically as an indicator of the quality of the education system, without authors going into detail into the contextualised analysis of performance for the competences under study. En la última década, el interés por los resultados de PISA ha crecido, tanto en el debate público como en el uso de los datos para la investigación. El objetivo de este estudio consiste en analizar la utilización de los resultados españoles de PISA por parte de la comunidad científica. Se realizó un análisis bibliométrico de 119 artículos científicos incluidos en las bases de datos Scopus, Eric EBSCOHost y Web of Science entre 2002 y 2019 mediante análisis de frecuencias, análisis MDS y regresiones logísticas binarias. Los resultados reflejan el creciente interés por los resultados españoles de PISA desde 2005 hasta la actualidad, perteneciendo los autores principalmente al ámbito universitario de la Educación. Respecto al uso de la información de PISA, la mayoría de los estudios emplean los datos como vía para generar conocimiento, siendo los temas socioeconómicos como la familia y la equidad los que han tenido una mayor presencia junto al rendimiento de los estudiantes. Se concluye que, a pesar de que PISA ha tardado en tener impacto entre la comunidad académica española, sus resultados son cada vez más utilizados como fuente de información primaria para la realización de estudios detallados sobre temas muy diversos. No obstante, a su vez, PISA se utiliza de forma genérica como indicador de calidad del sistema educativo, sin entrar en detalle en el análisis contextualizado del rendimiento en las competencias objeto de estudio.
Propofol via Antioxidant Property Attenuated Hypoxia-Mediated Mitochondrial Dynamic Imbalance and Malfunction in Primary Rat Hippocampal Neurons

Background Hypoxia may induce mitochondrial abnormality, which is associated with a variety of clinical phenotypes in the central nervous system. Propofol is an anesthetic agent with neuroprotective property. We examined whether and how propofol protected hypoxia-induced mitochondrial abnormality in neurons. Methods Primary rat hippocampal neurons were exposed to propofol followed by hypoxia treatment. Neuron viability, mitochondrial morphology, mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production were measured. Mechanisms including reactive oxygen species (ROS), extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK), protein kinase A (PKA), HIF-1α, Drp1, Fis1, Mfn1, Mfn2, and Opa1 were investigated. Results Hypoxia increased intracellular ROS production and induced mPTP opening, while reducing ATP production, MMP values, and neuron viability. Hypoxia impaired mitochondrial dynamic balance by increasing mitochondrial fragmentation. Further, hypoxia induced the translocation of HIF-1α and increased the expression of Drp1, while having no effect on Fis1 expression. In addition, hypoxia induced the phosphorylation of ERK and Drp1ser616, while reducing the phosphorylation of PKA and Drp1ser637. Importantly, we demonstrated all these effects were attenuated by pretreatment of neurons with 50 μM propofol, antioxidant α-tocopherol, and ROS scavenger ebselen. Besides, hypoxia, propofol, α-tocopherol, or ebselen had no effect on the expression of Mfn1, Mfn2, and Opa1. Conclusions In rat hippocampal neurons, hypoxia induced oxidative stress, caused mitochondrial dynamic imbalance and malfunction, and reduced neuron viability. Propofol protected mitochondrial abnormality and neuron viability via antioxidant property, and the molecular mechanisms involved HIF-1α-mediated Drp1 expression and ERK/PKA-mediated Drp1 phosphorylation.
Unsteady friction model modified with compression–expansion effects in transient pipe flow

This paper aims to modify the conventional one-coefficient instantaneous acceleration-based (IAB) model for better prediction of unsteady friction behavior. In this work, the energy dissipation caused by viscous stress during fluid volume compression–expansion (CE) was derived from the compressible Navier–Stokes equation. It is found that the energy dissipation term can be expressed by the product of the second-order partial derivative of velocity in space and the second viscosity coefficient. On this basis, a modified IAB-CE model was developed with the energy dissipation term and solved by the method of characteristic (MOC). The numerical results obtained from the modified model showed a good agreement with the four test cases, where the relative errors are improved by 0.26, 2.03, 9.56, and 36.67%, compared with the results from the original IAB model. The estimation for wave peak and valley is improved as well. Furthermore, the Bradley equation can be applied to establish the relationship between the dissipation coefficient and the Reynolds number. The modified model developed in this study takes into account the fluid CE effects and improves the prediction accuracy of wave amplitude of unsteady flow.
Aberrant RET expression affects normal mammary gland post-lactation transition, enhancing cancer potential

ABSTRACT RET is a receptor tyrosine kinase with oncogenic potential in the mammary epithelium. Several receptors with oncogenic activity in the breast are known to participate in specific developmental stages. We found that RET is differentially expressed during mouse mammary gland development: RET is present in lactation and its expression dramatically decreases in involution, the period during which the lactating gland returns to a quiescent state after weaning. Based on epidemiological and pre-clinical findings, involution has been described as tumor promoting. Using the Ret/MTB doxycycline-inducible mouse transgenic system, we show that sustained expression of RET in the mammary epithelium during the post-lactation transition to involution is accompanied by alterations in tissue remodeling and an enhancement of cancer potential. Following constitutive Ret expression, we observed a significant increase in neoplastic lesions in the post-involuting versus the virgin mammary gland. Furthermore, we show that abnormal RET overexpression during lactation promotes factors that prime involution, including premature activation of Stat3 signaling and, using RNA sequencing, an acute-phase inflammatory signature. Our results demonstrate that RET overexpression negatively affects the normal post-lactation transition.
Healthcare disparities in trauma: why they exist and what we can do

Purpose of review This review will explore the underlying causes of healthcare disparities among trauma patients and offer considerations for reducing inequities to improve trauma care. Recent findings Newly recognized racial disparities exist with respect to triaging trauma patients and in acute pain management. Social Determinants of Health offers a model to understand disparity in trauma care. Summary Race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and access to healthcare drive outcome disparity among trauma patients. These disparities include reduced healthcare services, inadequate pain management, reduced postdischarge care, and increased mortality. Increasing workforce diversity may mitigate implicit bias and improve cultural competency. Social determinants of health impact the disparities in trauma care and offer a framework to address care through creative solutions.