Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asymmetric Ensemble of Asymmetric U-Net Models for Brain Tumor Segmentation With Uncertainty Estimation

Accurate brain tumor segmentation is crucial for clinical assessment, follow-up, and subsequent treatment of gliomas. While convolutional neural networks (CNN) have become state of the art in this task, most proposed models either use 2D architectures ignoring 3D contextual information or 3D models requiring large memory capacity and extensive learning databases. In this study, an ensemble of two kinds of U-Net-like models based on both 3D and 2.5D convolutions is proposed to segment multimodal magnetic resonance images (MRI). The 3D model uses concatenated data in a modified U-Net architecture. In contrast, the 2.5D model is based on a multi-input strategy to extract low-level features from each modality independently and on a new 2.5D Multi-View Inception block that aims to merge features from different views of a 3D image aggregating multi-scale features. The Asymmetric Ensemble of Asymmetric U-Net (AE AU-Net) based on both is designed to find a balance between increasing multi-scale and 3D contextual information extraction and keeping memory consumption low. Experiments on 2019 dataset show that our model improves enhancing tumor sub-region segmentation. Overall, performance is comparable with state-of-the-art results, although with less learning data or memory requirements. In addition, we provide voxel-wise and structure-wise uncertainties of the segmentation results, and we have established qualitative and quantitative relationships between uncertainty and prediction errors. Dice similarity coefficient for the whole tumor, tumor core, and tumor enhancing regions on BraTS 2019 validation dataset were 0.902, 0.815, and 0.773. We also applied our method in BraTS 2018 with corresponding Dice score values of 0.908, 0.838, and 0.800.
Construct Validation of Self-Determination Theory in Second Language Scale: The Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Approach

The present study aimed to assess the construct validity of the Self-Determination Theory in Second Language Scale (SDT-L2; Alamer, 2021). The study involved 266 undergraduate students learning English as a second language (L2) in Saudi Arabia. The factorial structure of the SDT-L2 was examined using the advanced bifactor-Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) method. The scale provided adequate composite reliability and the bifactor ESEM provided unique details about the multidimensionality of the scale which accounted for the specific constructs (i.e., intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external regulations) and the general constructs (i.e., autonomous motivation and controlled motivation), and allowed for assessment of convergent and discriminant validity. Predictive validity was established by showing that autonomous motivation significantly predicted L2 performance, while controlled motivation did not. Overall, the study demonstrated the usefulness of the bifactor ESEM for construct validation purposes and the results showed that SDT-L2 is a valid scale to assess students’ L2 motivation based on SDT perspective.
Fibroglandular Tissue and Background Parenchymal Enhancement on Breast MR Imaging Correlates With Breast Cancer

Objectives To evaluate the association of breast cancer with both the background parenchymal enhancement intensity and volume (BPEI and BPEV, respectively) and the amount of fibroglandular tissue (FGT) using an automatic quantitative assessment method in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods Among 17,274 women who underwent breast MRI, 132 normal women (control group), 132 women with benign breast lesions (benign group), and 132 women with breast cancer (cancer group) were randomly selected and matched by age and menopausal status. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was compared in Cancer vs Control and Cancer vs Benign groups to assess the discriminative ability of BPEI, BPEV and FGT. Results Compared with the control groups, the cancer group showed a significant difference in BPEV with a maximum AUC of 0.715 and 0.684 for patients in premenopausal and postmenopausal subgroup, respectively. And the cancer group showed a significant difference in BPEV with a maximum AUC of 0.622 and 0.633 for patients in premenopausal and postmenopausal subgroup, respectively, when compared with the benign group. FGT showed no significant difference when breast cancer group was compared with normal control and benign lesion group, respectively. Compared with the control groups, BPEI showed a slight difference in the cancer group. Compared with the benign group, no significant difference was seen in cancer group. Conclusion Increased BPEV is correlated with a high risk of breast cancer While FGT is not.
A Comparison of the Effects of Foam Rolling and Stretching on Physical Performance. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Foam rolling and stretching with its various techniques are frequently used as a warm-up routine to increase the range of motion of a joint. While the magnitude of the changes in range of motion between foam rolling and stretching (static and dynamic techniques) is similar, it is not clear if this also holds true for performance parameters (e.g., strength, jump height). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the effects of an acute bout of foam rolling (with and without vibration) with an acute bout of stretching (with all techniques included) on performance parameters in healthy participants. We assessed the results from 13 studies and 35 effect sizes by applying a random-effect meta-analysis. Moreover, by applying a mixed-effect model, we performed subgroup analyses with the stretching technique, type of foam rolling, tested muscle, treatment duration, and type of task. We found no significant overall effect, and the analysis revealed only a trend of the performance parameters in favor of foam rolling when compared to stretching (when considering all techniques). Significantly favorable effects of foam rolling on performance were detected with subgroup analyses when compared to static stretching, when applied to some muscles (e.g., quadriceps) or some tasks (e.g., strength), when applied for longer than 60 s, or when the foam rolling included vibration. When foam rolling was compared to dynamic stretching or applied in the non-vibration mode, the same magnitude of effect was observed. While the present meta-analysis revealed no significantly different effect between foam rolling and stretching (including all techniques) prior to exercise, differences could be observed under specific conditions.
The Impact of Interferon Beta-1b Therapy on Thyroid Function and Autoimmunity Among COVID-19 Survivors

Background Some studies have indicated that interferon (IFN) may be valuable in COVID-19. We aimed to evaluate the impact of short-term IFN on incident thyroid dysfunction and autoimmunity among COVID-19 survivors. Methods We included consecutive adults without known thyroid disorder admitted to Queen Mary Hospital for COVID-19 from July 2020 to January 2021 who had thyroid function tests (TFTs) and anti-thyroid antibodies measured both on admission and at three months. Results 226 patients were included (median age 55.0 years; 49.6% men): 135 were IFN-treated. There tended to be more abnormal TFTs upon reassessment in IFN-treated patients (8.1% vs 2.2%, p=0.080). 179 patients (65.4% IFN-treated) had a complete reassessment of anti-thyroid antibodies. There were significant increases in titres of both anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO: baseline 29.21 units [IQR: 14.97 – 67.14] vs reassessment 34.30 units [IQR: 18.82 – 94.65], p<0.001) and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (anti-Tg: baseline 8.23 units [IQR: 5.40 – 18.44] vs reassessment 9.14 units [IQR: 6.83 – 17.17], p=0.001) in the IFN-treated group but not IFN-naïve group. IFN treatment (standardised beta 0.245, p=0.001) was independently associated with changes in anti-TPO titre. Of the 143 patients negative for anti-TPO at baseline, 8 became anti-TPO positive upon reassessment (seven IFN-treated; one IFN-naïve). Incident anti-TPO positivity was more likely to be associated with abnormal TFTs upon reassessment (phi 0.188, p=0.025). Conclusion IFN for COVID-19 was associated with modest increases in anti-thyroid antibody titres, and a trend of more incident anti-TPO positivity and abnormal TFTs during convalescence. Our findings suggest that clinicians monitor the thyroid function and anti-thyroid antibodies among IFN-treated COVID-19 survivors, and call for further follow-up studies regarding the clinical significance of these changes.
Identifying Risk Factors for Secondary Infection Post-SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Patients With Severe and Critical COVID-19

Emerging evidence has unveiled the secondary infection as one of the mortal causes of post-SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the factors related to secondary bacterial or fungi infection remains largely unexplored. We here systematically investigated the factors that might contribute to secondary infection. By clinical examination index analysis of patients, combined with the integrative analysis with RNA-seq analysis in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell isolated shortly from initial infection, this study showed that the antibiotic catabolic process and myeloid cell homeostasis were activated while the T-cell response were relatively repressed in those with the risk of secondary infection. Further monitoring analysis of immune cell and liver injury analysis showed that the risk of secondary infection was accompanied by severe lymphocytopenia at the intermediate and late stages and liver injury at the early stages of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the metagenomics analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and the microbial culture analysis, to some extent, showed that the severe pneumonia-related bacteria have already existed in the initial infection.
Interpretable Outputs: Criteria for Machine Learning in the Humanities

Those disciplines and fields that understand themselves as primarily humanistic have long had a special interest in exploring nuance, uncertainty, and ambiguity in our objects. While data-driven research might frequently be assumed to be in opposition to such concepts, this is not the case. Data may, in fact, enable the discovery and foregrounding of ambiguity. Yet as computational methods, especially those designed to operate on large-scale textual archives, increasingly enter into the work of such humanists there is a risk that access to those ambiguous dimensions of data will be lost. This risk is as much present for the researcher using these tools to interpret their objects as it is for the skeptical reader or reviewer of such interpretations. Visually appealing graphic renderings of data, high classification accuracy and confidence scores, and impressive summary statistics can easily be rhetorically structured to appeal to preconceived notions and commonly accepted understandings. Effective and academically responsible argumentation and interpretation in the humanities requires not just openness, which is to say unfettered access to the methods and data used to generate visualizations and to demonstrate accuracy, but that the selected datasets and models are interpretable. When features are derived from text, as in the case of much of the machine learning taking place in the humanities, these features need to be exposed along with the data that helps readers understand their significance. Humanistic work that is primarily argumentative — it should be acknowledged that of course not all digital humanities work is argumentative — depends upon certain frameworks by which readers can evaluate claims. These frameworks generally operate within established interpretive communities of scholars working on similar problems or using similar approaches [Fish 1980]. While data and statistics have had a minimal presence within the humanities prior to the twenty-first century, contemporary computational approaches, if presented properly, are highly compatible with existing humanistic argumentative frameworks [Dobson 2019]. While some computational fields have been undergoing a reproducibility crisis, the present discussion is not primarily an argument about access, an argument that would critique the use of so-called black box algorithms or advocate for the digital humanities to join in the movement toward
PPA_A_310945 1497..1504

1Bure Primary Hospital, Amhara National Regional State, Bure, Ethiopia; 2Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia Background: Globally, an estimated 1.7 million new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections occurred in 2018. Although significant progress has been made still, it remained a public health threat. Thus, this capstone project aimed to improve the quality of services among anti-retroviral therapy (ART) users through a strategic problem-solving approach at Bure Primary Hospital, northwest Ethiopia, 2020. Methods: A before–after study design was employed among 357 people living with HIV (PLWH) clients on ART from December 2019 to January 2020 and from April to May 2020 pre and post capstone project. The capstone project involved regular internal mentorship, availing supplies, and providing refresher training. Data were entered using EPI data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 statistical for analysis. Paired t-test was used for comparing the mean scores before and after the capstone project. A mean score with 95% CI and a P-value <0.05 were used to determine the effect of the capstone project on the quality of the service. Results: The overall quality of ART service was improved as evidenced by the presence of a positive gap score (+0.0164) according to the SERVQAUL model. Receiving first CD4 count was improved from 65% to 85.1% and screening for TB from 90% to 97% with 95% CI at a p-value of 0.001. Whereas, viral load measurement at six months is 78% to 89.75% and IPT uptake is 62% to 71% with 95% CI at a p-value of 0.013 and 0.004, respectively. Conclusion: Ensuring regular internal mentorship, availing supplies, and providing refresher training have a significant effect on the quality of ART service. Therefore, adhering to national guidelines and fulfilling the availability of the recommended infrastructures helps to improve the quality of ART service.
IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF P16 IN CERVICAL AND URINARY BLADDER SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

Background: p16 is a tumor suppressor protein important in regulating cell cycle. In bladder cancer, p16 mutations are widespread and tend to be more prevalent in low-grade superficial tumors than in higher-grade invasive tumors. Objective: To evaluate expression of p16 in 25 cases of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and 25 cases of urinary bladder squamous cell carcinoma. Patients and methods: This study was carried out in the Histopathology Department of Al-Azhar University Hospitals and from some private laboratories during the period from August 2019 up to January 2020. H & E stained sections were prepared from paraffin blocks for revision of diagnosis. Immunohistochemical analysis was done on 4 micron sections of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue using the labeled streptavidinbiotin method after antigen retrieval. Antibodies against P16 were utilized on sections from paraffin blocks. CINtec Histology kit includes a two-step antibody method for detection of human p16 antibody. Results: Expression of P16 was positive in 92% of cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix and 60% of cases squamous cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. In patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma, there was statistically significant relation between intensity of P16 staining and tumor grading. In patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder, there was a statistically significant relation between intensity of P16 staining and tumor grading and staging. Moderate/strong staining intensity can predict staging 2B among patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix, and negative/weak staining intensity can predict staging 1A, 1B, 2A with sensitivity 52.9% and specificity 37.5% among patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. Conclusion: p16 immunohistochemical expression alone should not be used as a marker for differentiation between cervical and urinary squamous cell carcinoma.
Using Fennel Seeds and their Oil as a Preservative and Functional Food to Produce Some Food and Drink Products to Alleviate Cough Symptoms

Fennel seeds and their aromatic oil contain ingredients which are biologically active with high nutritional value, as well as their antimicrobial and fungal effects and alleviation of some disease symptoms. The aim of this research was to determine the chemical properties of fennel seeds, their aromatic oil, effect on the growth of microbes and alleviation of respiratory disease symptoms such as cough and sore throat.
Sagittal otolith morphology and biometric relationships of three snakehead species from the upper Brahmaputra Basin, India

North-east India is blessed with diverse aquatic habitats which harbours a rich repository of ichthyofaunal resource including Channid species (Vishwanath and Geetakumari, 2009). The channids, also known as snakeheads are native to Asian and African continents inhabiting in swampy areas and small water bodies (Ruber et al., 2020). The group comprises of three distinct genera; Parachanna, Channa and Aenigmachanna (Britz et al., 2019; Praveenraj et al., 2019) and the genus Channa shows the highest species diversity with 48 valid species. According to Praveenraj et al. (2020), 19 species of Channa are reported from Eastern Himalayan region, out of which 11 species are endemic. Three species of Channa viz. Channa punctata, Channa gachua and Channa striata are ubiquitous in the upper Brahmaputra basin of Assam, India. Significant work related to their biology (Dasgupta, 2000; Ali et al., 2013), ecology (Goswami et al., 2006) and taxonomy (Lakra et al., 2010; Choudhury and Dutta, 2013; Dey et al., 2014) have been successfully carried out. However, detailed study ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: Received:June 24, 2019 Accepted: July 19, 2021 Online: Aug. 28, 2021 _______________
Effects of gamma radiation on quantitative traits and genetic variation of three successive generations of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.)

An annual pulse crop cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ), commonly named southern pea, is a nourishing constituent for the human diet and fodder. Gamma rays are a potent mutagenic agent to stimulate genetic variation with better characteristics, improving the yield relating traits in crops. Hence, the present study focused on exploring genetic variation between three generations in the mutant populations of cowpea through SCoT markers. The mutant populations of three successive generations, M1, M2 and M3, were induced by different doses [200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 Gray (Gy)] gamma irradiation. The results depict that the quantitative characters were reduced by increasing the dosage of gamma irradiation in the M1 generation. In contrast, the second and third generation of plants showed a significant increase in yield and yield contributing traits than control and the maximum increase was noticed at 200 Gy and 400 Gy. Days to first flowering was delayed in irradiated plants than control of M1 generation. In contrast, in consecutive generations (M2 and M3), the early first flowering was noticed at 400 Gy and late flowering was observed at 800 Gy compared respectively to control and other doses. Seed yield per plant mean value was increased at 200 Gy in both generations (M2 and M3); it may produce new genotypes to desirable traits such as yield and quality. SCoT markers were used to explore genetic variation at the genomic level of mutant populations and screened with eight primers. Among them, seven primers showed amplification of 222 bands, in which 133 bands showed polymorphism. The polymorphic bands varied from 3.03–96.07%. The genetic variation, such as the number of different alleles (Na), effective number of alleles (Ne), Shannon’s information index (I), expected heterozygosity (He) and unbiased expected heterozygosity (uHe) showed an average value of 1.352 ± 0.092, 1.278 ± 0.027, 0.293 ± 0.023, 0.184 ± 0.016, and 0.194 ± 0.016, respectively. AMOVA depicted significant genetic variation between all generations and indicated a total of 95% within populations and 5% among population variation by the marker used. The present investigations prominently showed that the variations induced by gamma irradiation were inherited from successive generations of the improvement in cowpea quantitative traits. This investigation gives acceptable proof that the SCoT markers are a valuable tool to identify the genetic variation among the three generations of cowpea.
Black Raisins Improved Experimentally Induced Iron Deficiency Anemia. Biochemical and Histological Evidence

Iron deficiency anemia is a challenging clinical problem with a profound impact on general health. Administration of iron-containing preparations were reported to be associated with many side effects. The current study aimed to evaluate black raisins’ therapeutic role against experimentally induced iron deficiency anemia in rats. Forty female rats were divided into 4 groups (n=10); control, anemia, anemia + iron, and anemia + raisins. Anemia was induced by bleeding and an iron-deficient diet for 4 weeks. Anemic rats were treated with ferric sulfate (200 mg/kg) or raisin extract (375 mg/kg) daily for 12 weeks. Complete blood count (CBC), blood films, body weight, splenic weight, and index were assessed. The spleens were processed and stained by hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) and immunohistochemically stained for CD3+ and CD68. Raisins contain a considerable amount of iron, vitamin B, phenolics, and flavonoid antioxidants. In raisins treated rats, CBC parameters displayed a significant increase compared to the anemic rats. Most of the RBCs in blood films showed normal shape, size, and central pallor. The spleen of raisins and iron-treated rats showed a marked increase in the area of white pulp. Their spleens also showed a significant increase in the CD3+ PALS area compared to anemic rats. Iron and raisins significantly decreased splenic CD68 macrophages. Consumption of black raisins could be considered an excellent natural source for flavonoids and iron to be used as an adjuvant supplement to iron for anemic patients with increased splenic T lymphocytes.
Polyamines: An Essentially Regulatory Modulator of Plants to Abiotic Stress Tolerance: A Review

Environmental stimuli including abiotic stresses, most notably salinity, drought, and cold stress greatly impact the growth, development, productivity, and disposal of plants worldwide. It has been calculated that two-thirds of the sustainable crop productivity are routinely facing a great challenge due to the unfavorable environmental factors by reducing the potential yield. There is a substantial amount of evidence to support that polyamines (PAs) are highly accumulated under abiotic stresses. PAs have a low molecular weight, are positively charged at physiological pH, and have a high affinity for nucleic acids and membrane phospholipids, which are found in all living cells. The most frequently used putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spm), and spermine (Spm) are well-known PAs that play a significant role in cell growth and development, leaf senescence, embryogenesis, and modulating plant tolerance to a wide range of abiotic stresses. These studies are highlights to dissever the action of polyamines mechanism in order to develop new strategies to enhance plant continuity in unfavorable environmental conditions.