Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hip fractures: mortality and correlation with preoperative comorbidities in Indian elderly population

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Hip fractures are an emerging health care problem due to increase in the elderly population all over the world and the associated complications, morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study is to find out the mortality rates in Indian elderly population with hip fractures and to establish an association between various related complications pre and post operatively for a better risk stratification. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods: </strong>A prospective observational cohort study, was carried out at a high-volume orthopaedic centre from 2009 to 2018. And all patients managed for hip fractures were followed up till death or 05 years. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results: </strong>The age adjusted first-year mortality was found to be 33% with statistically significant increase in the mortality in individuals with three or more pre-op comorbidities. The significantly associated co-morbidities were chronic renal failure (Hazard ratio 2.32 with CI 1.65- 3.24) and diabetes mellitus (Hazard ratio 1.66 with CI 1.25 – 2.21). There has been a significant dip in the cumulative survival rates of these individuals irrespective of age, sex, preop anaemia. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>A knowledge about the comorbidities/ risk factors and the extent to which they influence the long-term survival in the geriatric hip fracture patients can help treating physician to effectively prioritise and plan management in coordination with allied specialities. </p>
Underwater Light Manipulation by the Benthic Diatom Ctenophora pulchella: From PAR Efficient Collection to UVR Screening

Several species of diatoms, unicellular microalgae which constitute the main component of phytoplankton, are characterized by an impressive photosynthetic efficiency while presenting a noticeable tolerance versus exposure to detrimental UV radiation (UVR). In particular, the growth rate of the araphid diatom Ctenophora pulchella is not significantly affected by harsh treatments with UVR, even in absence of detectable, specific UV-absorbing pigments and even if it is not able to avoid high UV exposure by motility. In this work we applied a multi-disciplinary approach involving numerical computation, photonics, and biological parameters in order to investigate the possible role of the frustule, micro- and nano-patterned silica shell which encloses the cell, in the ability of C. pulchella to efficiently collect photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) and to simultaneously screen the protoplasm from UVR. The characterization of the photonic properties of the frustule has been accompanied by in vivo experiments conducted in water in order to investigate its function as optical coupler between light and plastids.
Exploring Dynamic Task Loading in SGX-Based Distributed Computing

Nowadays, data privacy is one of the most critical concerns in cloud computing, and many privacy-preserving distributed computing systems based on the trusted execution environment (e.g., Intel SGX) have been proposed to protect the user’s privacy during cloud-outsourced computation. However, these SGX-based solutions are vulnerable to some traffic analyses, and loading all tasks into the enclave introduces much overhead for frequent EPC-paging. In this article, we propose a T-SGX framework, which keeps the confidentiality of a distributed job and guarantees the system efficiency by allowing dynamically loading an enclave shared object for the task under processing. In T-SGX, all these objects are secretly shared and stored in a verifiably distributed share management system (SMS) outside the TCB. To mitigate the exposure of sensitive information, we present an efficient oblivious transfer (OT) protocol under the Decisional Diffie-Hellman (DDH) assumption for obliviously transmitting desired shares. Detailed security analysis demonstrates that the proposed T-SGX achieves the goal of secure distributed computing without privacy leakage to unauthorized parties. Finally, we benchmark the framework in six real-world applications, and the experimental results show that T-SGX significantly outperforms a state-of-the-art solution, with 11.9%-29.7% less overhead performing an SGX-based application.
Phytosome drug delivery system for natural cosmeceutical compounds: Whitening agent and skin antioxidant agent

Plants have been used as traditional medicine since ancient times for treating the diseases, metabolite active compounds from plants have excellent bioactivity, and pharmacological properties from plants are used as skin whitening agent and antioxidant in multiple mechanisms of action. However, these compounds have physicochemical limitations in terms of its poor solubility and penetration into the cells membrane. Phytosome drug delivery system can be the primary choice to improve the physicochemical properties, which allows increasing the effectiveness. This review aimed to summarize and discuss the phytosome formulations of potential active compounds as skin whitening agent and skin antioxidant, which obtained from Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. We assessed that the main purpose of these phytosome formulations was to improve penetration, stability, and solubility of the active compounds. These studies proved that phytosome formulations can improve the physicochemical characteristics and effectiveness of compounds. The phytosome drug delivery system becomes a promising modification technique for natural compounds due to the ability to improve the physicochemical properties and increase the effectiveness. Phytosome formulation could be the excellent approach for cosmeceutical product with good effectivity in the future.
Functional Availability of ON-Bipolar Cells in the Degenerated Retina: Timing and Longevity of an Optogenetic Gene Therapy

Degenerative diseases of the retina are responsible for the death of photoreceptors and subsequent loss of vision in patients. Nevertheless, the inner retinal layers remain intact over an extended period of time, enabling the restoration of light sensitivity in blind retinas via the expression of optogenetic tools in the remaining retinal cells. The chimeric Opto-mGluR6 protein represents such a tool. With exclusive ON-bipolar cell expression, it combines the light-sensitive domains of melanopsin and the intracellular domains of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 (mGluR6), which naturally mediates light responses in these cells. Albeit vision restoration in blind mice by Opto-mGluR6 delivery was previously shown, much is left to be explored in regard to the effects of the timing of the treatment in the degenerated retina. We performed a functional evaluation of Opto-mGluR6-treated murine blind retinas using multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) and observed long-term functional preservation in the treated retinas, as well as successful therapeutical intervention in later stages of degeneration. Moreover, the treatment decreased the inherent retinal hyperactivity of the degenerated retinas to levels undistinguishable from healthy controls. Finally, we observed for the first time micro electroretinograms (mERGs) in optogenetically treated animals, corroborating the origin of Opto-mGluR6 signalling at the level of mGluR6 of ON-bipolar cells.
Evaluation of the Antagonistic Potential of Bacterial Strains Isolated from Moroccan Soils for the Biological Control of Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.

Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. is a polyphagous fungus responsible for root rots of many cultivated crops. In Morocco, the fungus is responsible of important damages on sugar beet crop mainly in the Doukkala region. The aim of our study was to evaluate the antagonistic potential in vitro and in vivo of 191 bacterial isolates isolated from Moroccan soils and a bacterial strain from the laboratory collection Bacillus amyloliquefaciens referenced as I3, in the control of Sclerotium rolfsii. 14 of bacterial isolates showed antifungal activity against Sclerotium rolfsii. Isolates referenced as O4, E10 and E7 were the most efficient in vitro tests with an inhibition rate of the mycelial growth of Sclerotium rolfsii of 98.16%, 96.22% and 87.81%, respectively. The inhibition of sclerotia germination in soil by the bacterial suspensions varied from 85% to 95% for the aforementioned 3 isolates. The antifungal activity of the bacterial culture filtrates at proportions [1/2]; [1/3]; [1/4]; [1/10] ([Filtrate Volume /PDA Volume]) showed the ability of these bacteria to produce secondary metabolites capable of inhibiting Sclerotium rolfsii mycelial growth and sclerotia germination with inhibition percentages ranging from 30. 62% to 98.93% for mycelial inhibition and from 44.69% to 98.75% for sclerotia inhibition for isolate O4. The in vivo tests were performed by bacterization of seeds and the evaluation was done on 15 days old chickpea seedlings, statistical analysis revealed a very highly significant difference (p<0.05) between the isolates. Disease incidence was 7.5% with the T-O4 bacterized seeds and disease severity 30 days after inoculation was 20% for the most effective T-O4 treatment while the T control treatment had a severity of 89%. The isolates, isolated from Moroccan soils have shown their ability to inhibit Sclerotium rolfsii especially isolates O4 and E10.
Circ_0092367 Inhibits EMT and Gemcitabine Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer via Regulating the miR-1206/ESRP1 Axis

Gemcitabine is the first-line treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer (PC), yet most patients develop resistance to gemcitabine. Recent studies showed that circular RNAs (circRNAs) have important regulatory roles in PC progression and chemoresistance. In this study, the ability of circRNA circ_0092367 to enhance gemcitabine efficacy was tested and the underlying molecular mechanism of circ_0092367 was investigated. The expression levels of circ_0092367, miR-1206, and ESRP1 were measured using qRT-PCR experiments. The effects of circ_0092367, miR-1206, and ESRP1 on PC cell lines exposed to gemcitabine were examined by CCK-8 assays. We performed luciferase assays to determine the relationship between circ_0092367 and miR-1206 and between miR-1206 and ESRP1. We demonstrated that circ_0092367 was significantly downregulated in PC tissues and cell lines, and a high expression of circ_0092367 was associated with improved survival in patients with PC. Gain- and loss-of-function assays revealed that circ_0092367 inhibited epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotypes and sensitized PC cells to gemcitabine treatment in vitro and in vivo. Cytoplasmic circ_0092367 could directly repress the levels of miR-1206 and thus upregulate the expression of ESRP1, thereby inhibiting EMT and enhancing the sensitivity of PC cells to gemcitabine treatment. Our findings show that circ_0092367 plays a crucial role in sensitizing PC cells to gemcitabine by modulating the miR-1206/ESRP1 axis, highlighting its potential as a valuable therapeutic target in PC patients.
Treatment of Unruptured Cerebral Artery Aneurysm: A Meta-Analysis

Unruptured middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms can be treated using two techniques or procedures, microsurgical clipping and endovascular coiling. The aim of this meta-analysis study is to compare the safety and efficacy of microsurgical clipping with the endovascular coiling in the treatment of unruptured MCA aneurysms. We searched electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane library) to identify studies published between 1991 and 2019. For clipping and coiling techniques, separate meta-analyses were conducted on efficacy and safety after the intervention and at follow-up by using random- and fixed-effects models. Forty-one articles were included in our meta-analyses: 23 case series using clipping and 25 case series using coiling procedures. The complete aneurysm occlusion rate was higher in the clipping procedure (96.1%, 95% CI: 92.8%-97.9%) as compared to the coiling procedure (57.6%, 95% CI: 49.4 – 65.4%). Clipping procedure has a slightly higher rate of favorable functional outcomes (96.4%, 95% CI: 94.8 – 97.5%) compared to coiling procedure (94.8%, 95% CI: 93.1 – 96%). Interestingly, the rate of occlusion appears to decrease with time in the clipping group and increase with time in the coiling group, while the rate of favorable functional outcomes appears to increase with time in the clipping group and decrease with time in the coiling group. Publication bias was unlikely in all our analysis for studies assessing: coiling and occlusion rate, clipping and occlusion rate, coiling and functional outcomes, and clipping and functional outcomes. Microsurgical clipping yields a higher aneurysm occlusion rate, with slightly higher favorable functional outcomes in the treatment of unruptured MCA aneurysms than the endovascular coiling.
Brazilian Consumers’ Attitudes towards So-Called “Cell-Based Meat”

The main goal of this online survey was to investigate the attitudes of Brazilians towards “cell-based meat”, which has become the subject of great scientific and media enthusiasm. The answers of 4471 respondents concluded that 46.6% of them thought “cell-based meat” was promising and acceptable. More than 66% would be willing to try this novel product compared to 23% who expressed reluctance to do so. Nearly 40% of the total respondents did not want to eat “cell-based meat” regularly at all, whereas 29%, 43.2%, and 39.9% were willing to eat it regularly in restaurants, at home, and/or in ready-made meals, respectively. However, the majority of respondents (71%) were keen to pay much less for “cell-based meat” than conventionally produced meat (or even nothing at all), compared to 24.3% who were willing to pay the same price as conventional meat, whereas only 4.8% were willing to pay more. Approximately 51% of them considered that “cell-based meat” should not be called “meat” for marketing purposes. Job, monthly income, age, and gender were major factors impacting consumer acceptance. Meat professionals and consumers with higher incomes were less willing to eat “cell-based meat” regularly. Women (especially younger women) were the most concerned about the ethical and environmental issues related to meat production and were the most convinced that reducing meat consumption could be a good solution to the meat industry’s problems. Respondents who did not accept “cell-based meat” and did not eat meat substitutes had a negative attitude to this novel food (they considered it absurd and/or disgusting) and did not believe that “cell-based meat” should be called “meat” for marketing purposes. In contrast, the people who thought that “cell-based meat” could be called “meat” perceived it in a rather positive way. These results are important for consumers of meat and meat substitutes and for companies aiming to enter the potential future Brazilian market of “cell-based meat”.
Opinions and Recommendations of Academics Training Special Education Teachers About Applicability of Integration in Turkey

This study aims to state the opinions and recommendations of academics who train special education teachers for integration applications. The study is patterned as a descriptive case study, and the participants consist of 28 faculty members from 18 universities who work in the special education undergraduate program and whose professional experience ranges from 5 to 45 years. The study data were collected through face-to-face interviews with participants using the semi-structured interview technique. The obtained data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. The findings show that most academics think that integration is not being applied today and that there is a lack of necessary infrastructure for its application. Faculty members participating in the study stated that teachers do not receive adequate training about integration, teachers should undergo serious in-service training, and courses related to special education should be introduced in all departments of the faculty of education. For successful integration, it is necessary to make physical and educational arrangements, provide support education services, train teachers to have an integration perspective and improve their attitudes. In conclusion, integration is an application that can only be realized with the joint effort of all parties through multidimensional discussions of its contents.
Developing and Testing a Deep Learning Approach for Mapping Retrogressive Thaw Slumps

In a warming Arctic, permafrost-related disturbances, such as retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS), are becoming more abundant and dynamic, with serious implications for permafrost stability and bio-geochemical cycles on local to regional scales. Despite recent advances in the field of earth observation, many of these have remained undetected as RTS are highly dynamic, small, and scattered across the remote permafrost region. Here, we assessed the potential strengths and limitations of using deep learning for the automatic segmentation of RTS using PlanetScope satellite imagery, ArcticDEM and auxiliary datasets. We analyzed the transferability and potential for pan-Arctic upscaling and regional cross-validation, with independent training and validation regions, in six different thaw slump-affected regions in Canada and Russia. We further tested state-of-the-art model architectures (UNet, UNet++, DeepLabv3) and encoder networks to find optimal model configurations for potential upscaling to continental scales. The best deep learning models achieved mixed results from good to very good agreement in four of the six regions (maxIoU: 0.39 to 0.58; Lena River, Horton Delta, Herschel Island, Kolguev Island), while they failed in two regions (Banks Island, Tuktoyaktuk). Of the tested architectures, UNet++ performed the best. The large variance in regional performance highlights the requirement for a sufficient quantity, quality and spatial variability in the training data used for segmenting RTS across diverse permafrost landscapes, in varying environmental conditions. With our highly automated and configurable workflow, we see great potential for the transfer to active RTS clusters (e.g., Peel Plateau) and upscaling to much larger regions.
Validation of a Web-Based, Time-Use Application to Assess Children’s School Meal Intakes: My E-Diary for Activities and Lifestyle (MEDAL)

My E-Diary for Activities and Lifestyle (MEDAL), a web-based application, was developed to assess the diets of children. This study examined the validity of school recess meals reported by children on MEDAL, using meal photography as the reference. Recess meals were photographed by trained researchers, and food items and portion sizes of recess meals reported on MEDAL were compared to recess meal photos. Validity was assessed by percentages of match, omission and intrusion for food items and percentages of the match, underestimation and overestimation for portion sizes. The Mann–Whitney test and the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test examined if sex, school and day of recording influenced the validity of food item reporting. We found that participants (n = 33, aged 10–11 years) recalled 60.2% of food items consumed at recess accurately (matches); omissions (24.6%) were more common than intrusions (15.2%). Omissions tended to be side dishes, and intrusions tended to be high-calorie items. Sex, school and day of recording did not influence validity. For food portion sizes, 58.3% of items were accurately reported. Overestimations (33.3%) were more common than underestimations (8.3%). In conclusion, these children were able to report food items consumed during school recess meals using MEDAL, albeit with limitations on the degree of accuracy.
Trade‐offs of forest management scenarios on forest carbon exchange and threatened and endangered species habitat

Management of forest lands under climate warming poses challenges to managers, some of which are dif ﬁ cult to predict. Examining the trade-offs associated with forest stewardship choices is essential to avoid consequences associated with loss of natural capital. We utilized LANDIS-II process model simulations for three forested sites located in disparate parts of the United States with the purpose of understanding the trade-offs imposed by management choices under climate warming and associated wild ﬁ re. There were only small trade-offs that emerged from the simulations, between habitat area for threatened and endangered species (TES), net ecosystem exchange for CO 2 (NEE), and risk of wild ﬁ re. Stand management in the form of thinning and prescribed burning typically increased NEE while simultaneously increasing habitat for TES, while reducing the risk of wild ﬁ re. These bene ﬁ ts were also observed under a climate warming scenario; however, the bene ﬁ ts were greatly outweighed by the negative impacts of warming on both TES habitat and NEE. Balancing these ecosystem services via thinning and burning treatments is a strategic approach to mitigate risks of wild ﬁ re both currently and under a warming future climate.
How Does Lexical Access Fit into Models of Word Reading?

ABSTRACT Skilled reading requires fast and accurate access to previously encountered words stored in memory. Yet, little research addresses skills that support such lexical access. Based on theoretical predictions, one skill that may support lexical access is orthographic knowledge. Thus, our goal was to investigate the relation between lexical access and orthographic knowledge. We addressed this research question in a sample of 104 English-speaking fourth grade children. We assessed lexical access with an experimenter-created measure of timed word recognition; word reading efficiency with the TOWRE Sight Word Efficiency subtest; and lexical and sublexical orthographic knowledge with real and nonword orthographic choice tasks, respectively. We controlled for other reading related skills, including nonverbal ability and phonological awareness. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that lexical access and word reading efficiency are separate constructs. A subsequent linear regression revealed a concurrent relation between sublexical orthographic knowledge and lexical access beyond controls. Results highlight a unique place for lexical access in reading development theory and help us better understand the specific skills required to read quickly and accurately.
Researcher Performance in Scopus Articles (RPSA) as a New Scientometric Model of Scientific Output: Tested in Business Area of V4 Countries

The purpose of this study is to present a new scientometric model for measuring individual scientific performance in Scopus article publications in the field of Business, Management, and Accounting (BMA). With the help of this model, the study also compares the publication performance of the top 50 researchers according to SciVal in the field of BMA, in each of the Central European V4 countries (Czech Republic; Hungary; Poland; Slovakia). To analyze the scientific excellence of a total of top 200 researchers in the countries studied, we collected and analyzed the data of a total of 1844 partially redundant and a total of 1492 cleansed BMA publications. In the scope of the study, we determined the quality of the journals using SCImago, the individual contributions to the journal articles, and the number of citations using Scopus data. A comparison of individual performance, as shown by published journal articles, can be made based on the qualities of the journals, the determination of the aggregated co-authorship ratios, and the number of citations received. The performance of BMA researchers in Hungary lags behind the average of V4s in terms of quantity, but in terms of quality it reaches this average. As for BMA journal articles, the average number of co-authors is between two and three; concerning Q4 to Q2 publications, this number typically increases. In fact, in the case of these Q journals multiple co-authorship results in higher citations, but it is not the case concerning Q1 journals.