Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First Evaluation of a Newly Constructed Underwater Pulse Oximeter for Use in Breath-Holding Activities

Studying risk factors in freediving, such as hypoxic blackout, requires development of new methods to enable remote underwater monitoring of physiological variables. We aimed to construct and evaluate a new water- and pressure proof pulse oximeter for use in freediving research. The study consisted of three parts: (I) A submersible pulse oximeter (SUB) was developed on a ruggedized platform for recording of physiological parameters in challenging environments. Two MAX30102 sensors were used to record plethysmograms, and included red and infra-red emitters, diode drivers, photodiode, photodiode amplifier, analog to digital converter, and controller. (II) We equipped 20 volunteers with two transmission pulse oximeters (TPULS) and SUB to the fingers. Arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate (HR) were recorded, while breathing room air (21% O2) and subsequently a hypoxic gas (10.7% O2) at rest in dry conditions. Bland-Altman analysis was used to evaluate bias and precision of SUB relative to SpO2 values from TPULS. (III) Six freedivers were monitored with one TPULS and SUB placed at the forehead, during a maximal effort immersed static apnea. For dry baseline measurements (n = 20), SpO2 bias ranged between −0.8 and −0.6%, precision between 1.0 and 1.5%; HR bias ranged between 1.1 and 1.0 bpm, precision between 1.4 and 1.9 bpm. For the hypoxic episode, SpO2 bias ranged between −2.5 and −3.6%, precision between 3.6 and 3.7%; HR bias ranged between 1.4 and 1.9 bpm, precision between 2.0 and 2.1 bpm. Freedivers (n = 6) performed an apnea of 184 ± 53 s. Desaturation- and resaturation response time of SpO2 was approximately 15 and 12 s shorter in SUB compared to TPULS, respectively. Lowest SpO2 values were 76 ± 10% for TPULS and 74 ± 13% for SUB. HR traces for both pulse oximeters showed similar patterns. For static apneas, dropout rate was larger for SUB (18%) than for TPULS (<1%). SUB produced similar SpO2 and HR values as TPULS, both during normoxic and hypoxic breathing (n = 20), and submersed static apneas (n = 6). SUB responds more quickly to changes in oxygen saturation when sensors were placed at the forehead. Further development of SUB is needed to limit signal loss, and its function should be tested at greater depth and lower saturation.
Stress Hyperglycemia in Children and Adolescents as a Prognostic Indicator for the Development of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Hyperglycemia is a common manifestation in the course of severe disease and is the result of acute metabolic and hormonal changes associated with various factors such as trauma, stress, surgery, or infection. Numerous studies demonstrate the association of adverse clinical events with stress hyperglycemia. This article briefly describes the pathophysiological mechanisms which lead to hyperglycemia under stressful circumstances particularly in the pediatric and adolescent population. The importance of prevention of hyperglycemia, especially for children, is emphasized and the existing models for the prediction of diabetes are presented. The available studies on the association between stress hyperglycemia and progress to type 1 diabetes mellitus are presented, implying a possible role for stress hyperglycemia as part of a broader prognostic model for the prediction and prevention of overt disease in susceptible patients.
Association Between sTREM2, an Immune Biomarker of Microglial Activation, and Aging-Related Brain Volume Changes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A 7-Year Follow-Up Study

Background This study aimed to investigate the association between serum levels of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2), a soluble form of an innate immune receptor expressed on the microglia, and brain volume in older adults. Methods The survey was conducted twice in Kurokawa-cho, Imari, Saga Prefecture, Japan, among people aged 65 years and older. We collected data from 596 residents. Serum sTREM2 level measurements, brain MRI, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and clinical dementia rating (CDR) were performed at Time 1 (2009–2011). Follow-up brain MRI, MMSE, and CDR were performed at Time 2 (2016–2017). The interval between Time 1 and Time 2 was approximately 7 years. Sixty-nine participants (16 men, mean age 72.69 ± 3.18 years; 53 women, mean age 72.68 ± 4.64 years) completed this study. We analyzed the correlation between serum sTREM2 levels (Time 1) and brain volume (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 1–Time 2 difference) using voxel-based morphometry implemented with Statistical Parametric Mapping. Results Participants in this study had lower MMSE and higher CDR scores 7 years after the baseline evaluation. However, analyses at the cluster level by applying multiple comparison corrections (family wise error; P < 0.05) showed no correlation between serum sTREM2 levels and volume of different brain regions, either cross-sectional or longitudinal. Conclusion Serum sTREM2 level could not serve as an immune biomarker of aging-related volume changes in brain regions closely related to cognitive function in older adults aged 65 years and above.
Improving axial resolution in Structured Illumination Microscopy using deep learning

Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) is a widespread methodology to image live and fixed biological structures smaller than the diffraction limits of conventional optical microscopy. Using recent advances in image up-scaling through deep learning models, we demonstrate a method to reconstruct 3D SIM image stacks with twice the axial resolution attainable through conventional SIM reconstructions. We further demonstrate our method is robust to noise and evaluate it against two-point cases and axial gratings. Finally, we discuss potential adaptions of the method to further improve resolution. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Super-resolution structured illumination microscopy (part 1)’.
AGNEP: An Agglomerative Nesting Clustering Algorithm for Phenotypic Dimension Reduction in Joint Analysis of Multiple Phenotypes

Genome-wide association study (GWAS) has identified thousands of genetic variants associated with complex traits and diseases. Compared with analyzing a single phenotype at a time, the joint analysis of multiple phenotypes can improve statistical power by taking into account the information from phenotypes. However, most established joint algorithms ignore the different level of correlations between multiple phenotypes; instead of that, they simultaneously analyze all phenotypes in a genetic model. Thus, they may fail to capture the genetic structure of phenotypes and consequently reduce the statistical power. In this study, we develop a novel method agglomerative nesting clustering algorithm for phenotypic dimension reduction analysis (AGNEP) to jointly analyze multiple phenotypes for GWAS. First, AGNEP uses an agglomerative nesting clustering algorithm to group correlated phenotypes and then applies principal component analysis (PCA) to generate representative phenotypes for each group. Finally, multivariate analysis is employed to test associations between genetic variants and the representative phenotypes rather than all phenotypes. We perform three simulation experiments with various genetic structures and a real dataset analysis for 19 Arabidopsis phenotypes. Compared to established methods, AGNEP is more powerful in terms of statistical power, computing time, and the number of quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs). The analysis of the Arabidopsis real dataset further illustrates the efficiency of AGNEP for detecting QTNs, which are confirmed by The Arabidopsis Information Resource gene bank.
Prevalence and Characteristics of Chronic Pain in Buprenorphine and Methadone-Maintained Patients

Chronic pain and substance use disorders frequently co-occur. Indeed, chronic pain is highly prevalent, affecting 23–68% of patients receiving opioid agonist treatments (OAT) worldwide. The majority of available estimates come from American studies, but data are still lacking in Europe. We aim to provide European estimates of the prevalence of chronic pain in patients receiving OAT using French data, since France is the first European country in terms of number of patients with OAT. The secondary objectives were to characterize the features and management of chronic pain, as well identify associated risk factors. We conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study, recruiting patients treated either with buprenorphine or methadone in 19 French addiction centers, from May to July 2016. All participants had to complete a semi-directed questionnaire that collected sociodemographic and medical data, pain characteristics, and licit or illicit drug consumption. In total, 509 patients were included. The prevalence of chronic pain was estimated at 33.2% (95% CI: 29.1–37.3). Compared to non-chronic pain patients, chronic pain patients were older (38.4 vs. 36.1 years, p = 0.006), were more unemployed (66 vs. 52%, p = 0.003), had more psychiatric comorbidities (50 vs. 39%, p = 0.02), and split their OAT for pain management more frequently (24 vs. 7%, p = 0.009). Pain intensity was moderate or severe in 75% of chronic pain patients. Among patients with chronic pain, 15.4% were not prescribed, and did not self-medicate with, any analgesic drugs, 52.1% were prescribed analgesics (non-opioid analgesics, 76.3%; codeine, tramadol, opium, 27.2%; and morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, 11.8%), and 32.5% exclusively self-medicated with analgesics. Moreover, 20.1% of patients with chronic pain also used illicit drugs for pain relief. On multivariate analysis, variables that remained significantly associated with chronic pain were age [OR = 1.03 (95% CI: 1.00–1.05], p = 0.02], anxiety [OR = 1.52 (1.15–2.02), p = 0.003], and depression [OR = 1.25 (1.00–1.55), p = 0.05]. Chronic pain is a highly prevalent condition in patients receiving OAT, and its appropriate management remains uncertain, since insufficient relief and frequent additional self-medications with analgesics or illicit drugs were reported by these patients. Increased awareness among caregivers is urgently needed regarding a systematic and careful assessment, along with an adequate management of chronic pain in patients receiving OAT.
Do Teacher Assistants Improve Student Outcomes? Evidence From School Funding Cutbacks in North Carolina

This article examines the influence of teacher assistants and other personnel on outcomes for elementary school students during a period of recession-induced cutbacks in teacher assistants. Using panel data from North Carolina, we exploit the state’s unique system of financing its local public schools to identify the causal effects of teacher assistants, controlling for other staff, on measures of student achievement. We find consistent evidence of positive effects of teacher assistants, an understudied staffing category, on student performance in reading and math. We also find larger positive effects of teacher assistants on achievement outcomes for students of color and students in high-poverty schools than for White students and students in more affluent schools. We conclude that teacher assistants are a cost-effective means of raising student achievement, especially in reading.
Seismogenic Structure Orientation and Stress Field of the Gargano Promontory (Southern Italy) From Microseismicity Analysis

Historical seismic catalogs report that the Gargano Promontory (southern Italy) was affected in the past by earthquakes with medium to high estimated magnitude. From the instrumental seismicity, it can be identified that the most energetic Apulian sequence occurred in 1995 with a main shock of MW = 5.2 followed by about 200 aftershocks with a maximum magnitude of 3.7. The most energetic earthquakes of the past are attributed to right-lateral strike-slip faults, while there is evidence that the present-day seismicity occur on thrust or thrust-strike faults. In this article, we show a detailed study on focal mechanisms and stress field obtained by micro-seismicity recorded from April 2013 until the present time in the Gargano Promontory and surrounding regions. Seismic waveforms are collected from the OTRIONS Seismic Network (OSN), from the Italian National Seismic Network (RSN), and integrated with data from the Italian National Accelerometric Network (RAN) in order to provide a robust dataset of earthquake localizations and focal mechanisms. The effect of uncertainties of the velocity model on fault plane solutions (FPS) has been also evaluated indicating the robustness of the results. The computed stress field indicates a deep compressive faulting with maximum horizontal compressive stress, SHmax, trending NW-SE. The seismicity pattern analysis indicates that the whole crust is seismically involved up to a depth of 40 km and indicates the presence of a low-angle seismogenic surface trending SW-NE and dipping SE-NW, similar to the Gargano–Dubrovnik lineament. Shallower events, along the eastern sector of the Mattinata Fault (MF), are W-E dextral strike-slip fault. Therefore, we hypothesized that the seismicity is locally facilitated by preexisting multidirectional fractures, confirmed by the heterogeneity of focal mechanisms, and explained by the different reactivation processes in opposite directions over the time, involving the Mattinata shear zone.
Real-Time PCR Validation for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Detection Targeting IS6110 Directly From Bovine Lymph Nodes

Rapid and accurate diagnostic tools, such as Real-Time PCR (qPCR), need to be implemented as a confirmatory test in the framework of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) surveillance and control programs, shortening the turnaround time to confirm bTB infection. The present study aimed to evaluate a direct qPCR from fresh tissue samples targeting the insertion sequence IS6110 using individually homogenized bovine lymph nodes compared with microbiological culture. Retropharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and mesenteric lymph nodes fresh tissue samples (n = 687) were collected from 230 different cattle carcasses at the slaughterhouse. Only 23 of the 230 examined animals showed tuberculosis-like lesions, with 62 of 230 considered as positive. Among these 62 animals, 61 resulted as culture-positive, whereas 48 were qPCR-positive. Thus, this qPCR targeting IS6110 showed an apparent diagnostic sensitivity and specificity values of 77.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 66.5–87.6%] and 99.4% (95% CI: 98.3–100.6%), respectively, and a positive predictive value of 97.9% (95% CI: 93.9–102.0%) and negative predictive value of 92.3% (95% CI: 88.4–96.2%). Positive and negative likelihood ratios were 130.2 and 0.2, respectively, and the agreement between microbiological culture and this qPCR was almost perfect (κ = 0.82). These results highlight this qPCR targeting IS6110 as a suitable complementary method to confirm bTB in animals with either tuberculosis-like lesions or non-tuberculosis-like lesions, decreasing the number of samples subjected to microbiological culture and, hence, its overall associated costs and the turnaround time (under 48 h) to confirm bTB infection. Besides, sampling mesenteric lymph node, which is uncommonly sampled, together with tracheobronchial and retropharyngeal ones, is advisable during postmortem inspection in bTB surveillance programs at the slaughterhouse, especially in areas with a low bTB prevalence scenario.
Nowhere to Go: Parents' Descriptions of Children's Physical Activity During a Global Pandemic

Background: Schools and outdoor public spaces play a substantial role in children's physical activity. Yet, the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates bound many children to their available home spaces for learning, movement, and development. The exact effect this mandate had on children's physical activity may vary among families. Objective: To understand, from the perspective of parents, how the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates affected children's physical activity, while also considering families' socioeconomic status. Design: Open-ended survey. Setting: Online. Method: Data were collected from 321 parents living in the United States of America. Parents answered an open-ended prompt to describe their children's physical activity during COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates. Following data collection, inductive and deductive content analysis examined patterns in the data. Results: Analyses indicated that shelter-in-place mandates restricted children's opportunities for physical activity. However, if families had access to outdoor spaces or equipment, they could encourage and support more physical activity opportunities than those without. Families in the lower-income bracket had less access to outdoor space and subsequently those children had fewer opportunities to be physically active. Parents supported their children's physical activity through their involvement and encouragement. Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of access to outdoor spaces and equipment for increasing children's physical activity. Findings can be used by educators and policymakers to equitably support families of lower socioeconomic status who reported less access to outdoor spaces.
Hematite heterostructures for photoelectrochemical water splitting: rational materials design and charge carrier dynamics

Hematite (α-Fe2O3), with a bandgap suitable for absorption of the solar spectrum, is ideally suited for use as a photoanode material in photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion of solar light into hydrogen fuel via water splitting. However, low hole mobility, short hole lifetime, high density of surface states, and slow kinetics for oxygen evolution at the α-Fe2O3/electrolyte interface have limited the PEC performance of α-Fe2O3 photoanodes to date. Along with numerous reports on doping and nanostructuring of α-Fe2O3, increased attention has been paid to α-Fe2O3 heterostructure design for improved PEC performance. This review article provides an overview of four main approaches to rational heterostructure design: coupling α-Fe2O3 with (1) an n- or p-type semiconductor for promoting charge separation; (2) a nanotextured conductive substrate for efficient charge collection; (3) a surface/interface passivation layer for reduced surface/interface charge recombination; (4) a catalyst for accelerated water oxidation kinetics. The achievements to date demonstrate that high PEC performance may be accessed with these designs. In addition, we review time-resolved laser techniques used to probe the charge carrier dynamics of these heterostructures. Dynamic studies have provided insight into the mechanisms responsible for the improved PEC performance in these materials and helped to guide continued design of α-Fe2O3 heterostructures for further enhancement of PEC water splitting. As summarized in this review article, rational heterostructure design is a promising strategy to push forward the application of α-Fe2O3 for potential low cost and high efficiency solar hydrogen conversion. A better fundamental understanding of the charge carrier dynamics in these structures in turn helps to guide and improve the heterostructure design.
Determination of some Quality Characteristics in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Genotypes and Relationships between Characteristics

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the important plants in terms of nutrition. The yield and quality studies on chickpea, which has the highest production value among edible grain legumes, continue at full stem in our country. When it comes to quality, certain consumer expectations such as protein content, cooking time and seed coat ratio dominate the quality improvement. This study was conducted according to the experimental designs of randomized blocks under the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Usak University and the laboratory conditions of Faculty of Agriculture, Ondokuz Mayis University. In this study, a total of 30 chickpea genotypes were used, 13 of them have different varieties. Cooking Time (min), Water Absorption Index (%), Seed Coat Rate (%), Protein Rate (%) and Amylose Rate (%) values of the genotypes have been obtained. The statistically significant differences have been detected between the genotypes in terms of all parameters examined in the variance analysis conducted as a result of this study. Similarly, the result of this study has revealed the correlation between the properties. This study was obtained from a part of the master’s thesis.
An Empirical Study For Investigating How Politeness in Virtual Commercial Contexts Influence Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

—Politeness exhibited in a commercial context influences a business. E-commerce emerges a major way to conduct business; by contrast, politeness issues in virtual commercial contexts receive rare attention. This work aims to investigate whether politeness influence customer satisfaction and loyalty in online storefronts. The present work extended the American customer satisfaction index (ACSI) model by taking the politeness construct into account. The instrument’s reliability and validity were confirmed through empirical data analysis. By using the extended model, business can examine to which extent the politeness will influence their customers’ satisfaction and loyalty. Besides its practical applications, this work sets a stage for future studies trying to investigate the relationships between the politeness construct and other constructs interesting business administrators.
Symptomatic intraosseous Schmörl herniation

AbstrAct Intraosseous disc herniation—or Schmörl nodes (SN)—are a herniation or prolapse of the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc through the vertebral plate and into the adjacent vertebral body. They are usually associated with vertebral deformities, such as Scheuerman’s disease, or rheumatic diseases, such as ankylopoietic spondylitis. In general, they are spontaneous and asymptomatic findings, and there are only a few reported cases of symptomatic nodes. The etiology is supposedly related to a weakened spinal plate due to trauma or repeated stress. When the node is acute or recent, it can be difficult to differentiate a benign degeneration from a malignant infiltration or infection. In this paper, we discuss the unusual case of a painful Schmörl node in a man with no relevant history and a masked metastatic lumbar spinal tumor originated from pancreatic cancer. We performed a literature review.
Nonlinear Dynamics and Suppressing Chaos in Magnetic Bearing System

A nonlinear mathematical model of a magnetic bearing system has been obtained by applying a modified conventional identification technique based on the principle of harmonic balance. In this study, we examined the rich nonlinear dynamics of a magnetic bearing system with closed-loop control using phase portraits, Poincaré maps, and frequency spectra. The resulting bifurcation diagram can be used to evaluate the operational range of systems employing nonlinear actuators. Estimates of the largest Lyapunov exponent based on the properties of synchronization revealed the occurrence of chatter vibration indicative of chaotic motion. Various control methods, such as the state feedback control and the injection of dither signals, were then used to quench the chaotic behavior.
Cancer diagnosis and treatment of children and dogs: coping strategies used by parents and owners in teaching hospitals

Luciane Cristina Vieira1*, Emerson Antonio Contesini2 & José Roberto Goldim3 1 Veterinarian, DSc. , Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. 2 Veterinarian, DSc. , Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. 3 Biologist, DSc. , Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.