Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preoperative Prediction of Microsatellite Instability in Rectal Cancer Using Five Machine Learning Algorithms Based on Multiparametric MRI Radiomics

Objectives: To establish and verify radiomics models based on multiparametric MRI for preoperatively identifying the microsatellite instability (MSI) status of rectal cancer (RC) by comparing different machine learning algorithms. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 383 (training set, 268; test set, 115) RC patients between January 2017 and June 2022. A total of 4148 radiomics features were extracted from multiparametric MRI, including T2-weighted imaging, T1-weighted imaging, apparent diffusion coefficient, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging. The analysis of variance, correlation test, univariate logistic analysis, and a gradient-boosting decision tree were used for the dimension reduction. Logistic regression, Bayes, support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and tree machine learning algorithms were used to build different radiomics models. The relative standard deviation (RSD) and bootstrap method were used to quantify the stability of these five algorithms. Then, predictive performances of different models were assessed using area under curves (AUCs). The performance of the best radiomics model was evaluated using calibration and discrimination. Results: Among these 383 patients, the prevalence of MSI was 14.62% (56/383). The RSD value of logistic regression algorithm was the lowest (4.64%), followed by Bayes (5.44%) and KNN (5.45%), which was significantly better than that of SVM (19.11%) and tree (11.94%) algorithms. The radiomics model based on logistic regression algorithm performed best, with AUCs of 0.827 and 0.739 in the training and test sets, respectively. Conclusions: We developed a radiomics model based on the logistic regression algorithm, which could potentially be used to facilitate the individualized prediction of MSI status in RC patients.
Functional Connectivity with Regions Related to Emotional Regulation is Altered in Emotional Laborers

Emotional labor, characterized by a dysfunctional type of emotional regulation called surface acting, has detrimental psychological consequences on employees, including depression and social anxiety. Because such disorders exhibit psychological characteristics manifested through brain activation, previous studies have succeeded in distinguishing individuals with depression and social anxiety from healthy controls using their functional connectivity characteristics. However, it has not been established whether the functional connectivity characteristics associated with emotional labor are distinguishable. Thus, we obtained resting-state fMRI data from participants in the emotion labor (EL) group and control (CTRL) group, and we subjected their whole-brain functional connectivity matrices to a linear support vector machine classifier. Our analysis revealed that the EL and CTRL groups could be successfully distinguished on the basis of individuals' connectivity patterns, and confidence in the classification was correlated with the scores on the depression and social anxiety scales. These results are expected to provide insight on the neurobiological characteristics of emotional labor and enable the sorting of employees undergoing adverse emotional labor utilizing neurobiological observations.
A bittersweet fate: detection of serotype switching in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

High-risk clone types in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are problematic global multidrug-resistant clones. However, apart from their ability to resist antimicrobial treatment, not much is known about what sets these clones apart from the multitude of other clones. In high-risk clone ST111, it has previously been shown that replacement of the native serotype biosynthetic gene cluster (O4) by a different gene cluster (O12) by horizontal gene transfer and recombination may have contributed to the global success of this clone. However, the extent to which isolates undergo this type of serotype switching has not been adequately explored in P. aeruginosa . In the present study, a bioinformatics tool has been developed and utilized to provide a first estimate of serotype switching in groups of multidrug resistant (MDR) clinical isolates. The tool detects serotype switching by analysis of core-genome phylogeny and in silico serotype. Analysis of a national survey of MDR isolates found a prevalence of 3.9 % of serotype-switched isolates in high-risk clone types ST111, ST244 and ST253. A global survey of MDR isolates was additionally analysed, and it was found that 2.3 % of isolates had undergone a serotype switch. To further understand this process, we determined the exact boundaries of the horizontally transferred serotype O12 island. We found that the size of the serotype island correlates with the clone type of the receiving isolate and additionally we found intra-clone type variations in size and boundaries. This suggests multiple serotype switch events. Moreover, we found that the housekeeping gene gyrA is co-transferred with the O12 serotype island, which prompted us to analyse this allele for all serotype O12 isolates. We found that 95 % of ST111 O12 isolates had a resistant gyrA allele and 86 % of all O12 isolates had a resistant gyrA allele. The rates of resistant gyrA alleles in isolates with other prevalent serotypes are all lower. Together, these results show that the transfer and acquisition of serotype O12 in high-risk clone ST111 has happened multiple times and may be facilitated by multiple donors, which clearly suggests a strong selection pressure for this process. However, gyrA-mediated antibiotic resistance may not be the only evolutionary driver.
On the optimal assignment of customers to parallel servers

We consider a queuing system with several identical servers, each with its own queue. Identical customers arrive according to some stochastic process and as each customer arrives it must be assigned to some server's queue. No jockeying amongst the queues is allowed. We are interested in assigning the arriving customers so as to maximize the number of customers which complete their service by a certain time. If each customer's service time is a random variable with a non-decreasing hazard rate then the strategy which does this is one which assigns each arrival to the shortest queue.
Single-layer MoSe2 based NH3 gas sensor

High performance chemical sensor is highly desirable to detect traces of toxic gas molecules. Two dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) semiconducting materials has attracted as high performance gas sensor device applications due to unique properties such as high surface to volume ratio. Here, we describe the utilization of single-layer MoSe2 as high-performance room temperature NH3 gas sensors. Our single-layer MoSe2 based gas sensor device shows comprehensible detection of NH3 gas down to 50 ppm. We also confirmed gas sensing measurement by recording the Raman spectra before and after exposing the device to NH3 gas, which subsequently shows the shift due to charger transfer and analyte gas molecule adsorption on surface of single-layer MoSe2 nanosheet. Our investigations show the potential use of single-layer and few layer thick MoSe2 and other TMDC as high-performance gas sensors.
Erosion, deposition and size distributions of sand

A mathematical–physical model for erosion and deposition of sand is formulated and related to the logarithmic hyperbolic distributional form of mass–size distributions. The location-scale invariant parameters χ and ξ of the hyperbolic distribution express, respectively, the skewness and the kurtosis of that distribution, and the triangular domain of variation of these two parameters is referred to as the hyperbolic shape triangle. The erosion–deposition model implies that erosion will tend to move the (χ, ξ)-position of a given sediment to the right-hand part of the shape triangle and that deposition will move the (χ, ξ)-position towards the left part of the triangle, along specified curves. This is confirmed by sediments from a variety of natural environments. An empirically determined curve bisecting the shape triangle is found to separate the samples from predominantly depositional environments as compared with the samples from predominantly erosional environments. The hyperbolic shape triangle is also found to discriminate well between samples of different but closely related origins.
Application of stereo vision to three-dimensional deformation analyses in fracture experiments

Based on a pinhole camera model, camera model equations that account for the radial lens distortion are used to map three-dimensional (3-D) world coordinates to two-dimensional (2-D) computer image coordinates. Using two cameras to form a stereo vision, the 3-D information can be obtained. It is demonstrated that such stereo imaging systems can be used to measure the 3-D displacement field around the crack tip of a fracture specimen. To compare with the available 2-D theory of fracture mechanics, the measured displacement fields expressed in the world coordinates are converted, through coordinate transformations, to the displacement fields expressed in specimen crack tip coordinates. By using a smoothing technique, the in-plane displacement components are smoothed and the total strains are obtained. Rigid body motion is eliminated from the smoothed in-plane displacement components and unsmoothed out-of-plane displacement. Compared with the theoretical elastic-plastic field at a crack tip, the results appear to be consistent with expected trends, which indicates that the stereo imaging system is a viable tool for the 3-D deformation analysis of fracture specimens.
Parameter estimation with closed-loop operating data under time varying discrete proportional-integral control

Disturbance and dynamic models are often used to obtain feedback control schemes that may be used to adjust a process that would, otherwise, be out of control. A method for evaluating the exact likelihood function of scalar or vector ARMA time series models is applied in this article to estimate the parameters in the disturbance and dynamic models. A simulation example is provided to help appreciate the small sample properties of the maximum likelihood estimates. The asymptotic variance-covariance matrix of these estimates is also given.
Predicting Challenge and Threat Appraisal of Job Demands among Nurses: The Role of Matching Job Resources

(1) Background: Empirical studies have started to examine employees’ subjective appraisals of job demands and their relations to employees’ health. However, knowledge of working conditions, which might contribute to how employees appraise specific job demands, is scarce. The present study aimed to examine predictors of nurses’ appraisals of job demands (i.e., time pressure, emotional demands, physical demands, and role ambiguity) as challenges and/or threats among corresponding job resources (i.e., autonomy, social support, physical resources, participation in decision-making). It also examined moderating effects of these predictors. (2) Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected via an online survey in a sample of 425 nurses working in Luxembourg. (3) Results: Multiple regression analyses indicated that matching job resources predicted nurses’ appraisal of job demands as challenging. Threat appraisal was predicted by three out of four kinds of job resources (i.e., autonomy, physical resources, participation in decision-making). However, the current study did not find any moderating effects between job demands and job resources on challenge/threat appraisals. (4) Conclusions: The present study identified domain-specific job resources that contribute to how employees perceive selected job demands. Accordingly, we encourage scholars and practitioners to align job demands with matching job resources to prevent nurses’ threat appraisal of job demands, and to promote their challenge appraisals.
Business Churning and Neighborhood Instability: Is There a Link?

Much of the work concerning economic dynamism has focused on its aggregate-level implications, while there have been rising concerns about business displacement at the community or neighborhood level. In this article, we analyze this important (restructuring) process using detailed establishment-level business information and explore how it manifests itself across space within the Los Angeles—Long Beach—Santa Ana, CA Urbanized Area. We also investigate the association between business churning and neighborhood-level housing vacancy rates to understand the implications of dramatic changes in the business landscape. We find that housing vacancies are more likely to increase in urban neighborhoods with a higher establishment death rate, while the creation of new businesses can mitigate the association to some extent. We also detect substantial variation across decades not only in the spatial distribution of business churning but also in its association with housing vacancy rates, suggesting the evolving nature of business dynamics and their implications.
Taiwan cobra envenoming: serum venom concentration before and after specific treatment and relationship with debridement of necrotic wound tissue

Abstract Background: Bivalent freeze-dried neurotoxic (FN) antivenom has been the primary treatment since the 1980s for Taiwan cobra (Naja atra) envenomation in Taiwan. However, envenomation-related wound necrosis is a significant problem after cobra snakebites. In the present study, we analyzed the changes in serum venom concentration before and after antivenom administration to discover their clinical implications and the surgical treatment options for wound necrosis. Methods: The patients were divided into limb swelling and wound necrosis groups. The clinical outcome was that swelling started to subside 12 hours after antivenom treatment in the first group. Serum venom concentrations before and after using antivenoms were measured to assess the antivenom's ability to neutralize the circulating cobra venom. The venom levels in wound wet dressing gauzes, blister fluids, and debrided tissues were also investigated to determine their clinical significance. We also observed the evolutional changes of wound necrosis and chose a better wound debridement timing. Results: We prospectively enrolled 15 Taiwan cobra snakebite patients. Males accounted for most of this study population (n = 11, 73%). The wound necrosis group received more antivenom doses than the limb swelling group (4; IQR:2-6 vs 1; IQR:1-2, p = 0.05), and less records of serum venom concentrations changed before/after antivenom use (p = 0.0079). The necrotic wound site may release venom into circulation and cause more severe envenomation symptoms. Antivenom can efficiently diminish limb swelling in cobra bite patients. However, antivenom cannot reduce wound necrosis. Patients with early debridement of wound necrosis had a better limb outcome, while late or without debridement may have long-term hospital stay and distal limb morbidity. Conclusions: Antivenom can efficiently eliminate the circulating cobra venom in limb swelling patients without wound necrosis. Early debridement of the bite site wound and wet dressing management are suggestions for preventing extended tissue necrosis and hospital stay.
The In Vitro Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion Affects the Bioaccessibility and Bioactivity of Beta vulgaris Constituents

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is an important root vegetable crop and a valuable food source of micronutrients and bioactive constituents. In this study, the bioaccessibility of minerals, organic acids, and betacyanins in beetroot powder during simulated gastrointestinal digestion was investigated, as well as the antioxidant activity of the final fractions of each phase of the process. Mineral elements were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), organic acids by ultra-fast liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (UFLC-PDA), and betacyanins by liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn). The oxidative hemolysis inhibition assay was used to assess the ex vivo antioxidant activity. The bioaccessibility of minerals at the end of gastrointestinal digestion ranged from 43 to 65%, depending on the mineral element. Among these, Mg was the most bioaccessible, while Ca and Fe had the lowest bioaccessibility. For organic acids, a major release during digestion was observed for quinic acid. It was also found that betanin (the major betalain in beetroot) was highly unstable during the digestion process, probably due to its hydrophilic nature, which agreed with the significant (p < 0.05) decrease in antioxidant/antihemolytic activity. These results suggest that beetroot antioxidant compounds are unstable under gastrointestinal conditions, and could be useful for future development of novel and more stable beetroot food formulations.
Have Synergies Between Nitrogen Deposition and Atmospheric CO2 Driven the Recent Enhancement of the Terrestrial Carbon Sink?

The terrestrial carbon sink has increased since the turn of this century at a time of increased fossil fuel burning, yet the mechanisms enhancing this sink are not fully understood. Here we assess the hypothesis that regional increases in nitrogen deposition since the early 2000s has alleviated nitrogen limitation and worked in tandem with enhanced CO2 fertilization to increase ecosystem productivity and carbon sequestration, providing a causal link between the parallel increases in emissions and the global land carbon sink. We use the Community Land Model (CLM4.5‐BGC) to estimate the influence of changes in atmospheric CO2, nitrogen deposition, climate, and their interactions to changes in net primary production and net biome production. We focus on two periods, 1901–2016 and 1990–2016, to estimate changes in land carbon fluxes relative to historical and contemporary baselines, respectively. We find that over the historical period, nitrogen deposition (14%) and carbon‐nitrogen synergy (14%) were significant contributors to the current terrestrial carbon sink, suggesting that long‐term increases in nitrogen deposition led to a substantial increase in CO2 fertilization. However, relative to the contemporary baseline, changes in nitrogen deposition and carbon‐nitrogen synergy had no substantial contribution to the 21st century increase in global carbon uptake. Nonetheless, we find that increased nitrogen deposition in East Asia since the early 1990s contributed 50% to the overall increase in net biome production over this region, highlighting the importance of carbon‐nitrogen interactions. Therefore, potential large‐scale changes in nitrogen deposition could have a significant impact on terrestrial carbon cycling and future climate.
Applying health and well-being: Exploring the ‘Sound Sleep’ curriculum in secondary schools

In June 2011, the North Ayrshire Educational Psychology Service was represented on a training course run by Sleep Scotland. The training aimed to raise awareness in schools of the importance of sleep for emotional and physical well-being. As a result of this input, the authority was able to purchase a curriculum pack with a view to introducing the concepts across our secondary schools. This summary report outlines the initial pilot of the materials in a variety of contexts and makes recommendations for the successful implementation of the project in years 2 and 3. A rationale for the project will be outlined along with the implementation procedure, initial evaluation findings and implications for practice.
Premaximum observations of the type Ia SN 1990N

Spectroscopic and photometric observations of SN 1990N were obtained at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths, beginning 14 days before maximum light. The early observations reveal important differences from spectra of SN Ia's around maximum light. Photometry and spectroscopy obtained after maximum show that SN 1990N is a typical SN Ia and that most of the observed differences are due to the early epoch of the observations. The most significant characteristics are (1) the high velocities of Ca and Si up to 22,000 km/s; (2) the presence of Co and Fe 2 weeks before maximum; and (3) the more rapid increase in the UV flux compared to the optical. The most popular models for white dwarf deflagration that have provided the standard interpretation for SN Ia's at maximum light do not reproduce the high velocities of Ca II and Si II lines observed in SN 1990N. 37 refs.
Percent body fat, but not body mass index, is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents

Abstract Background The epidemic of overweight and obesity has become a worldwide public health problem. Cardiometabolic diseases may originate in childhood. We investigated the association between percent body fat (PBF) measured by the bioelectrical impedance assay and cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in pediatrics. Methods This cross‐sectional study involved 3819 subjects (6–17 years old) in Shanghai. We assessed the association between PBF and body mass index (BMI) with multiple CMR factors. We examined the risk for cardiometabolic abnormalities attributable to overweight and obesity based on age‐ and sex‐specific PBF Z‐scores and BMI Z‐scores, respectively. Results PBF, but not BMI, was positively associated with multiple CMR factors in males and females except for total cholesterol in females (all p < 0.05). Compared with the non‐overweight group based on PBF, overweight and obese subjects had increasingly higher odds ratio of dyslipidemia (2.90 (1.99–4.23), 4.59 (2.88–7.32) for males and 1.82 (1.20–2.75), 2.46 (1.47–4.11) for females) and elevated blood pressure (BP) (3.26 (2.35–4.51), 4.55 (2.92–7.09) for males and 1.59 (1.07–2.34), 3.98 (2.27–6.17) for females). Obesity females showed a higher likelihood for hyperglycemia (2.19 (1.24–3.84)) than non‐overweight females. In both sexes, the predictive effect of PBF on dyslipidemia and elevated BP in adolescents was better than that in children. For hyperglycemia, the predictive effect of PBF was better in male adolescents and female children. There was no risk difference for cardiometabolic abnormalities attributable to BMI‐based obesity categories. Conclusions PBF but not BMI was associated with CMR. Overweight and obesity categories based on PBF had an increased risk for cardiometabolic abnormalities in children and adolescents.
The effect of stratification and shade on germination of Nothofagus cliffortioides (Hook.f.) Oerst seeds

ABSTRACT Seed stratification can substantially improve germinability. In glasshouse settings, knowledge of stratification requirements is critical for allowing effective control of germination. In addition, for species that seed irregularly, understanding how to break dormancy of aged seeds is important. This study tests whether moisture is required as well as cold conditions to stratify Nothofagus cliffortioides (Hook.f.) Oerst. (mountain beech) seeds, and whether shading during the germination period improves germination and survival. The seeds tested had been collected during a heavy mast year and stored dry for c. 2 years at −20°C. Dry cold stratification failed to break dormancy, with average germination (3.3%) not significantly different from unstratified controls (5.3%). In contrast, average germination of moist cold stratified seeds was at least four times higher (21.7%), with most germination occurring within 30 days. Hessian covers on trays had no impact on germination or survival. These results provide useful information for growing N. cliffortioides from seed and raise the possibility that lengthened drought periods under future climate regimes could affect natural Nothofagus regeneration by reducing the effectiveness of natural winter conditions for breaking seed dormancy.