Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Change in Posterior Tibial Slope Angle After Displaced Pediatric Tibial Tubercle Fracture: A Model for Growth Modulation in the ACL-Deficient Knee

Background: Increased posterior tibial slope angle (PTSA) has been shown to be an important risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. PTSA modulation is not utilized routinely to reduce risk of primary rupture or graft failure. Displaced tibial tubercle (TT) fractures in the skeletally immature are associated with potential growth arrest and may be used as a model to study PTSA changes in this setting. Purpose/Hypothesis: To quantify the change in PTSA (ΔPTSA) after operative treatment of displaced TT fractures in skeletally immature patients. It was hypothesized that there would be a progressive decrease in PTSA after TT injury and that rate of ΔPTSA would be highest during peak growth velocity. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Included were 22 patients (n = 23 knees; mean chronological and bone age at injury, 14 years; 86% male) who underwent surgery for displaced TT fracture. PTSA was measured on lateral radiographs at time of surgery and subsequent follow-up, and bone age at the time of injury was determined using radiographic standards. The rate of ΔPTSA for individual patient, total cohort, and sex-based subgroup trends were determined via linear regression (degrees per month; positive value indicates relatively anterior). Individual patient regression coefficients were averaged into bone age cohorts. Results: Average follow-up was 17 months (range, 6-52 months). The mean PTSA was -12°± 2.4° at the time of injury, and the mean ΔPTSA for the cohort was 0.30°± 0.31° per month (range, -0.27° to 0.97° per month). Linear regression demonstrated a significant relationship between months postfixation and PTSA, demonstrating a ΔPTSA of 0.31° per month (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24° to 0.38°; P < .001). The highest ΔPTSA was seen at bone age 14 years (mean, 0.58°± 0.44° per month). The mean absolute change in PTSA from injury to final follow-up was 4.1° (range, -3.4° to 21°). Conclusion: Our data suggested that PTSA becomes more anterior after operatively treated pediatric TT fractures and that ΔPTSA may be influenced by bone age. This concept may be useful in considering surgical modulation of excessive PTSA in the pediatric ACL-deficient knee.
Pilot Study on the Efficacy and Safety of Long-Term Oral Imepitoin Treatment for Control of (Thunder)Storm-Associated Noise Phobia/Noise Aversion in Dogs Using an Individualized-Dose Titration Approach

Simple Summary Imepitoin is a medication that can be used to treat anxiety in dogs. Previous studies have shown that imepitoin when given at a dose of 30 mg/kg PO BID (milligram per kilogram of body weight by mouth twice a day), can reduce noise-related anxiety in dogs. However, this dosage may be higher than needed for some dogs. We aimed to determine how safe and effective this medication is for the treatment of storm-related fear and anxiety in dogs when started at a lower dose (10 mg/kg PO BID) and, if needed, when increased to a higher dose of 20 or 30 mg/kg PO BID. We determined the three dosages were safe and reduced clinical signs of storm related fear and anxiety in this study design. More side effects were seen in the 20 mg/kg PO BID group than in the 10 mg/kg PO BID group, which supports the use of this medication at an individually titrated dose starting at 10 mg/kg PO BID. Abstract Imepitoin is a low-affinity partial agonist for benzodiazepine binding sites of gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors with anxiolytic effects. It has been shown to reduce anxiety during noise-related events in dogs when given at 30 mg/kg PO BID, although this dose was associated with ataxia and increased appetite in some cases. The objective of this study was to assess its safety and efficacy for storm anxiety when started at 10 mg/kg PO BID and titrated to effect up to 30 mg/kg PO BID during storm season. Significant decreases in anxiety scores were seen in weekly surveys and storm logs (SLs) at 10, 20 and 30 mg/kg PO BID. Serious adverse events (AEs) were not reported in any subject. Ataxia was the most commonly reported non-serious AE (14/33), followed by increased hunger (13/33). The frequency of AEs was higher in the 20 mg/kg PO BID group than in the 10 mg/kg group PO BID. No clinically significant changes were seen in lab work pre- and post-study. In conclusion, Imepitoin given during storm season at doses ranging from 10 to 30 mg/kg PO BID reduced clinical signs of fear and anxiety during storms for the dogs in this study. These findings support the use of an individually titrated dose.
The Modification of Useful Injection-Molded Parts’ Properties Induced Using High-Energy Radiation

The modification of polymer materials’ useful properties can be applicable in many industrial areas due to the ability to make commodity and technical plastics (plastics that offer many benefits, such as processability, by injection molding) useful in more demanding applications. In the case of injection-molded parts, one of the most suitable methods for modification appears to be high-energy irradiation, which is currently used primarily for the modification of mechanical and thermal properties. However, well-chosen doses can effectively modify the properties of the surface layer as well. The purpose of this study is to provide a complex description of high-energy radiation’s (β radiation) influence on the useful properties of injection-molded parts made from common polymers. The results indicate that β radiation initiates the cross-linking process in material and leads to improved mechanical properties. Besides the cross-linking process, the material also experiences oxidation, which influences the properties of the surface layer. Based on the measured results, the main outputs of this study are appropriately designed regression models that determine the optimal dose of radiation.
The role of polymorphic cytochrome P450 gene (CYP2B6) in B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) incidence and outcome among Egyptian patients

Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) play a prominent role in catalyzing phase I xenobiotic biotransformation and account for about 75% of the total metabolism of commercially available drugs, including chemotherapeutics. The gene expression and enzyme activity of CYPs are variable between individuals, which subsequently leads to different patterns of susceptibility to carcinogenesis by genotoxic xenobiotics, as well as differences in the efficacy and toxicity of clinically used drugs. This research aimed to examine the presence of the CYP2B6*9 polymorphism and its possible association with the incidence of B-CLL in Egyptian patients, as well as the clinical outcome after receiving cyclophosphamide chemotherapy. DNA was isolated from whole blood samples of 100 de novo B-CLL cases and also from 100 sex- and age-matched healthy individuals. The presence of the CYP2B6*9 (G516T) polymorphism was examined by PCR-based allele specific amplification (ASA). Patients were further indicated for receiving chemotherapy, and then they were followed up. The CYP2B6*9 variant indicated a statistically significant higher risk of B-CLL under different genetic models, comprising allelic (T-allele vs. G-allele, OR = 4.8, p < 0.001) and dominant (GT + TT vs. GG, OR = 5.4, p < 0.001) models. Following cyclophosphamide chemotherapy, we found that the patients with variant genotypes (GT + TT) were less likely to achieve remission compared to those with the wild-type genotype (GG), with a response percentage of (37.5% vs. 83%, respectively). In conclusion, our findings showed that the CYP2B6*9 (G516T) polymorphism is associated with B-CLL susceptibility among Egyptian patients. This variant greatly affected the clinical outcome and can serve as a good therapeutic marker in predicting response to cyclophosphamide treatment.
Aided Diagnosis Model Based on Deep Learning for Glioblastoma, Solitary Brain Metastases, and Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma with Multi-Modal MRI

Simple Summary Diagnosing glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), solitary brain metastases (SBM), and primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) in malignant tumors of the central nervous system using multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is significantly important in helping physicians develop treatment plans and enhance patient prognosis. In this paper, MFFC-Net is developed and validated using deep learning methods to predict these three tumor categories from multi-modal MRI without the manual region of interest (ROI). MFFC-Net first uses a multi-encoder with DenseBlocks to extract deep features from multi-modal MRI. Then, the feature fusion layer fuses the deep information between different modalities and tissues. Finally, the spatial-channel attention module suppresses redundant new information and activates tumor classification-related features. Compared with radiomics models, MFFC-Net demonstrated higher accuracy. In addition, the results in the different sequences provide important references for future clinical work on MRI image acquisition. We believe that MFFC-Net has the potential to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors in the future. Abstract (1) Background: Diagnosis of glioblastoma (GBM), solitary brain metastases (SBM), and primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) plays a decisive role in the development of personalized treatment plans. Constructing a deep learning classification network to diagnose GBM, SBM, and PCNSL with multi-modal MRI is important and necessary. (2) Subjects: GBM, SBM, and PCNSL were confirmed by histopathology with the multi-modal MRI examination (study from 1225 subjects, average age 53 years, 671 males), 3.0 T T2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2-Flair), and Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CE-T1WI). (3) Methods: This paper introduces MFFC-Net, a classification model based on the fusion of multi-modal MRIs, for the classification of GBM, SBM, and PCNSL. The network architecture consists of parallel encoders using DenseBlocks to extract features from different modalities of MRI images. Subsequently, an L1−norm feature fusion module is applied to enhance the interrelationships among tumor tissues. Then, a spatial-channel self-attention weighting operation is performed after the feature fusion. Finally, the classification results are obtained using the full convolutional layer (FC) and Soft-max. (4) Results: The ACC of MFFC-Net based on feature fusion was 0.920, better than the radiomics model (ACC of 0.829). There was no significant difference in the ACC compared to the expert radiologist (0.920 vs. 0.924, p = 0.774). (5) Conclusions: Our MFFC-Net model could distinguish GBM, SBM, and PCNSL preoperatively based on multi-modal MRI, with a higher performance than the radiomics model and was comparable to radiologists.
Investigating effective psychological interventions in pregnant women’s sexual satisfaction: A systematic review

Sexual satisfaction is an important factor in people’s lives, which is effective in all aspects of a couple’s life. During pregnancy, due to existing changes, sexual performance is affected, which will also change sexual satisfaction. By performing effective interventions, changes can be made in the level of sexual satisfaction. The aim of this study is to investigate effective psychological interventions in the sexual satisfaction of pregnant women, which has been conducted in the form of a systematic review. This study is performed in 2022 with the steps of design of study question, search in SID, PubMed, Magiran, Iran doc, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar search engine with keywords such as “interventions”, “sexual satisfaction”, “Sexual function”, “couples”, “pregnant women” and their English equivalents, and after that, related studies were identified from the period of 2012 to 2022 (the last 10 years), the selection of studies, which after screening the title, abstract, and full text. Among 821 studies, finally 13 studies were left to announce the results. Researches that had unclear sample size and method of implementation and whose full text was not available were initially excluded from the study process. Screening of the quality of the studies was done by the risk assessment checklist and the Jadad Scale of the intervention studies. Then the findings were classified. The results of the present study were taken from 13 articles, which included mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, therapy based on acceptance and commitment and group counseling, PLISSIT model intervention, and education and support package. As per the results of interventions, all interventions during pregnancy can increase sexual satisfaction in pregnant women. Therefore, such interventions are recommended but it is necessary to do more interventions with minimal bias and long-term follow-up and comprehensive examination of variables to reach stronger evidence.
Characteristics of Functional Hyperthermia Detected in an Outpatient Clinic for Fever of Unknown Origin

Background: Functional hyperthermia (FH) is characterized by hyperthermia resulting from sympathetic hyperactivity rather than inflammation, and it is frequently overlooked by medical practitioners due to the absence of abnormalities in a medical examination. Although FH is an important differential diagnosis for fever of unknown origin (FUO), the literature on FUO cases in Japan lacks information on FH. In this study, we aimed to uncover the population of FH patients hidden in FUO cases. Methods: An outpatient clinic for FUO was established at Okayama University Hospital, and 132 patients were examined during the period from May 2019 to February 2022. Results: A diagnosis of FH was made in 31.1% of the FUO cases, and FH predominantly affected individuals in their third and fourth decades of life with a higher incidence in females (68.3%). The frequency of a history of psychiatric illness was higher in patients with FH than in patients with other febrile illnesses. Although the C-reactive protein (CRP) is generally negative in FH cases, some obese patients, with a body mass index ≥ 25 had slightly elevated levels of CRP but were diagnosed with FH. Conclusions: The results showed the importance of identifying FH when encountering patients with FUO without any organic etiology.
Early Callovian nannofossils from the Kuldhar section, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

Jurassic nannofossils are scarcely known from the Indian subcontinent. We report here a well-diversified and moderately preserved Early Callovian nannofossil assemblage comprising twenty-one species recovered from the Kuldhar Member, Jaisalmer Formation, Rajasthan, western India, which is exposed along the banks of the Masrudi river, adjacent to the ruins of the Kuldhar village. The assemblage demonstrates a typical Tethyan aspect and can be precisely calibrated with standard low-latitude nannofossil Ansulasphaera helvetica (NJ 12) zone. The Kuldhar Member is rich in mega and microfossils, including datable ammonoids, brachiopods, pelecypods, benthic foraminifera, ostracods, nannofossils and ichnofossils. Though the age of these sediments is traditionally based on ammonoid evidences, nannofossils provide another potentially reliable tool for dating and correlation.
Enhanced waveguide effect for deep‐focus earthquakes in the subducting Pacific slab produced by a metastable olivine wedge

Deep‐focus (>400 km) earthquakes in the subducting Pacific slab produce areas of anomalously large and lengthy shaking along the fore‐arc (Pacific ocean) side of northern Japan. This effect arises because the slab acts as an efficient waveguide for seismic waves from earthquakes at depth within the slab. The mechanism of such slab‐induced waveguide effect can be explained by efficient propagation of seismic waves in a cold and low‐attenuation (high Q) slab, with multiple forward scattering of high‐frequency (>1 Hz) waves in a quasi‐laminar stochastic waveguide. In this study, we demonstrate an additional mechanism to enhance the waveguide effect for deeper events, which is caused by reduction of the seismic wave speed in a metastable olivine wedge (MOW) in the core of the slab for depths between 400 and 600 km. We present evidence for the presence of the low‐wave speed MOW from analysis of broadband waveforms of deep‐focus earthquakes in the Pacific slab descending beneath the Sea of Japan. For events below 400 km depth, low‐frequency and slightly dispersed P and S phases arrive ahead of the most energetic high‐frequency direct phases. Numerical simulations of high‐frequency seismic wave propagation for both 2‐D and 3‐D heterogeneous subduction zone models demonstrate a strong waveguide effect from the MOW due to focusing of high‐frequency seismic waves toward the up‐dip direction in the slab. The presence of the metastable olivine in slabs allows the development of very large and lengthy ground motion for stations on the fore‐arc side of northern Japan in good agreement with the observations.
Association of peripheral B cells and delirium: combined single-cell sequencing and Mendelian randomization analysis

Background Delirium seriously affects the prognosis of patients and greatly reduces the ability to work and live. Peripheral inflammatory events may contribute to the development of delirium, the mechanism of which is still unclear. There is a lack of effective diagnostic and treatments for delirium in clinical practice. The study aims to investigate alterations in peripheral immune cell subsets under inflammatory stress and to explore causal associations with delirium. Methods Single-cell transcriptional sequencing data of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) before and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intervention were processed by the Seurat package in R software. PBMC subsets and cellular markers were defined after downscaling and clustering by the Harmony algorithm to identify characteristic subsets in the context of inflammatory stress. Subsequently, a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was used to explore the causal associations of these inflammation-related PBMC subsets and their molecular phenotypes with delirium. Based on publicly available genetic data, the study incorporated 70 PBMC-associated immune traits, including 8 types of circulating immune cells, 33 B cell subsets and molecular phenotypes, 13 T cell subsets, and 16 B cell-associated cytokines. The results were also validated for robustness, heterogeneity, and horizontal pleiotropy. Results Under LPS-induced inflammatory stress, B cells, T cells, monocytes, and dendritic cells in human PBMC showed significant activation and quantitative changes. Of these, only lymphocyte and B cell counts were causally associated with delirium risk. This risk link is also seen in the TNF pathway. Further studies of B cells and their subsets revealed that this association may be related to unswitched memory B cells and CD27 expressed on memory B cells. Annotation of the screened SNPs revealed significant polymorphisms in CD27 and CD40 annotated by rs25680 and rs9883798, respectively. The functions of the key annotated genes may be related to the regulation of immune responses, cell differentiation, proliferation, and intercellular interactions. Conclusion The present study revealed the potential possibility that B cell, memory B cell subset, and TNF-related molecules may be involved in the development of delirium due to peripheral inflammation, which can provide clues for further investigation of delirium prevention and treatment strategies.
Intraplate seismicity in mid-plate South America: correlations with geophysical lithospheric parameters

Abstract Mid-plate South America remains one of the least-studied regions of intraplate seismicity. Little is known about the origin and controlling factors that make this area the least seismically active intraplate region in the world. We analysed the distribution of intraplate seismicity and its correlation with several geophysical lithospheric parameters in an attempt to establish which factors might promote or inhibit the occurrence of intraplate earthquakes. We found that above-average seismicity occurs mostly in Neoproterozoic fold belts, associated with areas having a positive gravity anomaly, lower elastic thickness, higher heat flow, thinned crust and a negative S-wave anomaly at 100 km depth (associated with non-cratonic crust). Cratonic areas with a higher elastic thickness and lower heat flow are associated with low rates of seismicity. Our study suggests that the most important controlling factors are elastic thickness and heat flow. We propose that earthquake-prone areas with these favourable conditions correspond to regions of weakened lithosphere, where most of the regional lithospheric stresses are supported by the overlying brittle upper crust. These areas act as local concentrators of the regional compressional stress field, with the stress build-up then leading to the occurrence of intraplate seismicity. Supplementary material: contains additional statistics and figures considering different filters for the used catalogue as a mean of comparison with the figures presented in the main text. They are available at http://www.geolsoc. org.uk/SUP18872
New Evidence for Retrospectively Cued Perception

Past research suggests a continuity between perception and memory, as reflected in influences of orienting of spatial attention by cues presented after a visual target offset (post-target cues) on target perception. Conducting two experiments, we tested and confirmed this claim. Our study revealed an elevated reliance on post-target cues for target detection with diminishing target visibility, leading to better performance in validly versus invalidly cued trials, indicative of contrast gain. We demonstrated this post-target cueing impact on target perception without a postcue response prompt, meaning that our results truly reflected a continuity between perception and memory rather than a task-specific impact of having to memorize the target due to a response prompt. While previous studies found an improvement in accuracy through valid compared to invalid cues using liminal targets, in Experiment 1, we further showed an influence of attention on participants’ response time by the post-target cues with cues presented away from a clearly visible target. This suggests that visual interactions at the target location provided no better explanation of post-target cueing effects. Our results generalize prior research with liminal targets and confirm the view of a perception–memory continuum so that visual target processing is not shielded against visuospatial orienting of attention elicited by events following the offset of the visual target.
The impact of fiscal deficit on economic growth: An empirical study in selected MENA countries

The purpose of this article is to investigate how the fiscal deficit affects economic growth in five Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries: Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan. These economies are bewildered by their high deficit levels, and their weak investment growth keeps them from achieving economic growth. This investigation, which spans the years 1995 through 2020, uses the ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) methodology. The author selected four variables for this study: economic growth serves as the dependent variable, while the set of independent variables includes economic growth (GDPG), gross fixed capital formation as a percentage of GDP (GFCF), deficit as a percentage of GDP (DEFICIT), and inflation (INF). The long-run results showed that there is a negative link between economic growth and deficit; however, a positive relationship existed between inflation and economic growth. Gross fixed capital formation did not show any significant relationship with economic growth in the long run. In the short run, the results showed that inflation has a negative relationship with economic growth. The remaining variables, deficit, and gross fixed capital formation did not show a significant relationship with economic growth.