Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequency and Pattern of presentation of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and its predisposing Factors in patients presented to Nishtar Institute of Dentistry

Aim: To determine the Frequency and Pattern of Presentation of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and its Predisposing Factors in Patients Presented to Nishtar Institute of Dentistry. Study design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted from Aug 2021 to Jan 2022 at Nishtar Institute of Dentistry. Methodology: A total of 100 patients were included. Patients aged between18-80 years males and females were included whom were presented with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Detailed history and biopsy was taken along with CT scan or MRI. Radiological findings and TNM staging was observed of the patients. Results: Among those 100 patients 60 (60%) males and 40 (40%) females, 67 % of patients were in between 41-60 years. 35 patients (35%) had a lesion in buccal mucosa, 24 patients (24%) were presented with eythroplakia while histopathological reports of 100 showed 44 patients (44%) had grade 1 (well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. TNM showed 49 patients (49%) were placed in T1, 42 patients (42%) were in N2b and 13 patients (13%) had metastatic disease on presentation. Conclusion: Result shows that OSCC was present more in male population. Smoking was recorded as common risk factor. Buccal mucosa was common site of involvement followed by tongue. Ulceration was the frequent presenting feature while majority cases had moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Key words: oral squamous cell carcinoma, smoking, TNM
Performance/Area Tradeoffs in Booth Multipliers

Booth encoding is a method of reducing the number of summands required to produce the multiplication result. This paper compares the performance/area tradeoffs for the different Booth algorithms when trees are used as the summation network. This paper shows that the simple non-Booth algorithm is not a viable design, and that currently Booth 2 is the best design. It also points out that in the future Booth 3 may offer the best performance/area ratio.
On fractional powers of a pair of matrices and a plate-beam problem

In this paper we consider the transversal deflections of a dynamically-coupled Von Karman system consisting of a plate which has a beam attached to its one edge. The problem is considered in the form of a non-linear evolution problem in a product space. We show the existence of a unique local solution by following a fractional powers approach to first construct a “weak” solution in a larger space. Regularity properties for this solution yield a unique local strong solution for the original boundary-value problem. This approach entails the introduction of fractional powers of a pair of matrices.
HBK-10, A Compound with α1-Adrenolytic Properties, Showed Antiarrhythmic and Hypotensive Effects in Rats

Arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat, might be a life-threatening condition but also a risk factor for stroke or worsen the prognosis after myocardial infarction. The limited efficacy and proarrhythmic potential of the available drugs require searching for new, more effective, and safer pharmacotherapies. Studies indicate that the blockade of α1-adrenoceptors could be effective in treating heart rhythm abnormalities. In this study, we aimed to assess the antiarrhythmic and hypotensive potential of HBK-10, a novel 2-methoxyphenylpiperazine derivative, as well as its binding to the selected adrenergic receptors. Radioligand binding studies demonstrated that HBK-10 showed a high affinity for α1 but not for α2 or β1 receptors. Next, we evaluated the ability of HBK-10 to protect against an adrenaline-induced arrhythmia in rats. The compound showed potent prophylactic antiarrhythmic properties in this arrhythmia model. Notably, the compound did not show proarrhythmic potential in normotensive rats since it did not influence the ECG parameters at antiarrhythmic doses. Finally, the compound showed hypotensive properties in rats, which were not observed after coadministration with adrenaline, noradrenaline, or methoxamine, which suggests α1-adrenolytic properties of HBK-10. Our results confirm that compounds with a 2-methoxyphenylpiperazine group show a high affinity for α1-adrenoceptors and a significant antiarrhythmic effect. Given the promising results of our study, further evaluation of HBK-10 is necessary to unravel the mechanisms behind its pharmacological effects and evaluate the safety profile.
Timing the starburst–AGN connection

The mass of supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies is tightly correlated with the mass of the galaxy bulges which host them. This observed correlation implies a mechanism of joint growth, but the precise physical processes responsible are a matter of some debate. Here, we report on the growth of black holes in 400 local galactic bulges which have experienced a strong burst of star formation in the past 600 Myr. The black holes in our sample have typical masses of 10 6.5 -10 7.5 M ⊙ and the active nuclei have bolometric luminosities of the order of 10 42 -10 44 erg s -1 . We combine stellar continuum indices with Hα luminosities to measure a decay time-scale of ~300 Myr for the decline in star formation after a starburst. During the first 600 Myr after a starburst, the black holes in our sample increase their mass by on-average 5 per cent and the total mass of stars formed is about 10 3 times the total mass accreted on to the black hole. This ratio is similar to the ratio of stellar to black hole mass observed in present-day bulges. We find that the average rate of accretion of matter on to the black hole rises steeply roughly 250 Myr after the onset of the starburst. We show that our results are consistent with a simple model in which 0.5 per cent of the mass lost by intermediate-mass stars in the bulge is accreted by the black hole, but with a suppression in the efficiency of black hole growth at early times plausibly caused by supernova feedback, which is stronger at earlier times. We suggest this picture may be more generally applicable to black hole growth, and could help explain the strong correlation between bulge and black hole mass.
The Liouville equation for flavour evolution of neutrinos and neutrino wave packets

We consider several aspects related to the form, derivation and applications of the Liouville equation (LE) for flavour evolution of neutrinos. To take into account the quantum nature of neutrinos we derive the evolution equation for the matrix of densities using wave packets instead of Wigner functions. The obtained equation differs from the standard LE by an additional term which is proportional to the difference of group velocities. We show that this term describes loss of the propagation coherence in the system. In absence of momentum changing collisions, the LE can be reduced to a single derivative equation over a trajectory coordinate. Additional time and spatial dependence may stem from initial (production) conditions. The transition from single neutrino evolution to the evolution of a neutrino gas is considered.
Placement Precision of Organic Fertilizer Based on Soil Conservation in Taro Cultivation

One of the things that are important to consider when fertilizing is how to place the fertilizer so that plants can consume nutrients efficiently. The research objective was to assess the precision of soil conservation based on fertilizer placement so that fertilizers could increase the production of taro effectively. This study applied four treatments, namely without fertilizer, placing manure in the planting hole, placing manure in the biopore, and placing manure on the borders. The three treatments were given 1 kg of goat manure. The treatment was performed with six replications. Harvesting is carried out in 8 months after planting. The results showed that the placement of manure on the borders was the most effective treatment with the highest yield of wet tubers of 21.4 Mg/ha and was not different from the treatment of manure in biopore 18.3 Mg/ha.This yield was different significantly as compared to that of resulted from treatments where fertilizer was placed in the planting hole (15.9 Mg/ha) or the production of taro without manure application (11.57 Mg/ha). Keywords: Organic fertilizers, production, soil conservation, taro
Biological Activity of Different Forms of Oxidized Parathyroid Hormone

Preclinical studies have shown that parathyroid hormone (PTH) loses its biological effects through oxidation. PTH can be oxidized at methionines 8 and 18. Three possible variations of oxidized PTH (oxPTH) exist: Met8(ox)PTH, Met18(ox)PTH, and Met8, Met18(di-ox)PTH. A recent study showed that Met18(ox)PTH retained biological activity and was able to upregulate Fgf23 gene expression, whereas Met8(ox)PTH and Met8, Met18(di-ox)PTH showed less or no biological activity. An earlier study likewise showed that the oxidation of Met18 has minor effects on the secondary structure of PTH, whereas the oxidation of Met8 causes substantial structural changes, consistent with another study showing that oxidization just at Met8 blocks the generation of the second messenger cAMP, whereas the effect of the oxidation of Met18 is much less potent in inhibiting cAMP formation. A considerable percentage of circulating PTH in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is oxidized. However, we do not know the relative amounts of the different forms of oxPTH with agonistic, partial agonistic, or even antagonistic biological actions in different CKD populations. This might explain different clinical findings in the different CKD populations analyzed so far. The currently available method that was used in these clinical studies just distinguishes between oxPTH and noxPTH without being able to differentiate between different forms of oxPTH. Only methods of PTH measurement that are able to differentiate between PTH forms (noxPTH, Met8(ox)PTH, Met18(ox)PTH, and Met8, Met18(di-ox)PTH) have the potential to improve patient care, because only these methods will definitively separate bioactive from non-bioactive PTH forms. Such methods need to be developed, validated, and used in prospective randomized clinical trials to define the potential value of bioactive PTH forms as a predictor of cardiovascular events, mortality, and bone turnover.
Coping and Resilience Strategies among Ukraine War Refugees

(1) Background: The war in Ukraine has triggered a huge humanitarian crisis: millions of refugees have escaped from their homes looking for shelter beyond Ukraine’s borders. This emergency offers a unique opportunity to investigate and to document those characteristics of the human condition that emerge in exceptional circumstances provoked by war. Based on considerations derived from recent studies on resilience, the research at the base of this paper was conducted to better understand the circumstances, states of mind, and coping mechanisms of the refugees leaving their homes looking for security. (2) Methods: A qualitative approach was applied, resorting to semi-structured interviews (n = 94) to closely explore the traumatic experiences lived by refugees and to identify their coping strategies. (3) Results: The data obtained pointed to a plurality of coping and resilience strategies. Maintaining communication with separated loved ones as well as experiencing accompaniment by helpers and hosts emerged as principal elements for coping and resilience. It was found that a prior development of interior life or practice of prayer served as psychological “capital” that increased their resilience. (4) Conclusion: The results point to the need to care for social networking, attention by hosts, and cultivating interior life as keys for resilience.
Using Behavioural Economics to Analyse and Enhance Contraception Usage Decisions

Existent literature helped narrow down variables influencing modern contraceptive adoption (usage), a behaviour carrying enormous positive externality. Using finite population sample size formula and probability proportional to size method of sample selection, primary data was collected from participants using inclusion and exclusion criterions. Binary logistic regression model was used to predict probability of occurrence of dependent variable ‘usage of modern method of contraception’ being treated at a dichotomous outcome level. Predictor variables after confirming association by cross tabulation were introduced stepwise to build model subject to elimination of those variables adding insignificantly to the overall predictability of the model. Variables such as gender, education level, spousal influence, extended family influence, financial well-being and contraceptive information were found to significantly predict the probability of occurrence of the dependent variable. Except for financial well-being with three sub-categories, other independent variables were treated at dichotomous level. Income level was found to be an important predictor although found statistically insignificant. Non-contributory factors such as age, occupation and years of marriage were dropped. Post-model construction, borrowing ‘nudges’ from behavioural economics (BE) domain, strategies to nurture the significant context specific influencing variables, were articulated. BE was particularly preferred for its openness to the paradigm of non-rational behavioural choices.
Differential immunological effects of silica nanoparticles on peripheral blood mononuclear cells of silicosis patients and controls

Silicosis is a fibrotic disease caused by the inhalation of respirable silica particles, which are typically engulfed by alveolar macrophages and subsequently induce the release of inflammatory cytokines. Various animal experimental and human studies have focused on modeling silicosis, to assess the interactions of macrophages and other cell types with silica particles. There is still, however, limited knowledge on the differential response upon silica-exposure between silicosis patients and controls. We focused on studying the responsiveness of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) - Ludox and NM-200 - of silicosis patients and controls. The proliferative capacity of T- CD3+ and B- CD19+ cells, were evaluated via Carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) assay. The activation status of lymphocyte subsets and response to silica were also evaluated by comparing the extent of micro-granuloma or aggregate formation with the cytokine secretion profiles between both groups of individuals. The proliferative capacity of CD19+ cells was elevated in silicotic patients as opposed to controls. Subsets of regulatory T cells (CD4+ CD25+ and CD8+ CD25+) and immunoglobulins IgM and IgG were also significantly increased in patients. The number and the size of aggregates formed were higher with SiNPs stimulation in patients compared to controls. Multivariable analysis also elucidated the role of key cytokines like interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), which were upregulated in SiNP-stimulated PBMCs of patients compared to controls. Our ex vivo model thus has potential to provide insights into the immunological effects of silica particles in lymphocytes of silicosis patients and controls.
Prevalence of Periodontal Disease among Patients at the Outpatient Clinic of Internal Medicine in an Academic Hospital in The Netherlands: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

There is a worldwide increase in individuals suffering ≥2 chronic diseases (multimorbidity), and the cause of combinations of conditions remains largely unclear. This pilot study analysed the prevalence of periodontal disease (PD) among (multi)-morbid patients at the outpatient clinic of internal medicine. PD is an inflammatory disease of the tooth supporting tissues and has a negative impact on the overall health. Data were obtained from 345 patients, on demographics, systemic conditions and presence of PD. The possible differences in the distribution of PD status among patients with/without multimorbidity and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) disease chapters were explored. In total, 180 (52.2%) patients suffered from multimorbidity. The prevalence of severe PD was 16.2%, while the prevalence of mild and severe PD combined (Total PD) was 53.6%. Patients with disease chapter cardiovascular diseases (CVD) had a significantly higher prevalence of severe PD (odds ratio (OR) 2.33; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25, 4.33) and Total PD (OR 1.61; 95% CI 1.04, 2.50) than patients without CVD. After subsequent analyses, myocardial infarction was significantly associated with severe PD (OR: 4.68 (95% CI; 1.27 to 17.25)). Those suffering from multimorbidity showed to have a non-significant increased risk for severe (OR 1.27; 95% CI 0.69, 2.34) or Total PD (OR 1.23; 95% CI 0.81, 1.88). In conclusion, PD is highly prevalent in multimorbidity patients. Furthermore, PD was significantly prevalent in patients with CVD. However, larger epidemiological studies are necessary to confirm that the prevalence of PD is significantly increased among multimorbid patients.
Improved Lower Limits on Lyman Alpha Forest Cloud Dimensions

On a obtenu des spectres de 2345+007 A,B. Ces nouvelles observations soutiennent l'interpretation selon laquelle il s'agit d'une image gravitationnellement dedoublee. On a trouve plusieurs systemes de raies d'absorption Lyα en commun entre les deux images
A Parallel Spiking Neural Network Based on Adaptive Lateral Inhibition Mechanism for Objective Recognition

Spiking neural network (SNN) has attracted extensive attention in the field of machine learning because of its biological interpretability and low power consumption. However, the accuracy of pattern recognition cannot completely surpass deep neural networks (DNNs). The main reason is that the inherent nondifferentiability of spiking neurons makes SNN unable to be trained directly by the gradient descent algorithm, and there is also no unified training algorithm for SNN. Inspired by the biological vision system, this paper proposes a parallel convolution SNN structure combined with an adaptive lateral inhibition mechanism. And, a way of dynamically evolving the time constant with the training of SNN is proposed to ensure the diversity of neurons. This paper verifies the effectiveness of the proposed methods on static datasets and neuromorphic datasets and extends it to the recognition of breast tumors. Experimental results show that the SNN has obvious advantages in dynamical datasets. For breast tumors, it is also an edge-based task, because the edge of a medical image contains the most important information in the image. This kind of information can provide great help for the noninvasive and accurate diagnosis of diseases. The Experimental results show that the proposed method is very close to the recognition results of DNNs on static datasets, and its performance on neuromorphic datasets exceeds that of DNNs.
The Effect of FIFA 11+ on the Isometric Strength and Running Ability of Young Soccer Players

Soccer is the world’s game, and keeping athletes healthy while playing the game has often been a focus of study. There is a high occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries reported in soccer. FIFA 11+ was developed as an intervention to help prevent such injuries. FIFA 11+ has previously been studied for its efficacy as an injury prevention program, but not for its effect on sports performance in an adolescent population. The purpose of this study was to look at the effect of implementing the FIFA 11+ intervention on strength, speed, and agility. Twenty youth soccer players were randomly divided into an intervention group (INT) and a control group (CON). The intervention lasted for eight weeks and performance assessments were completed pre- and post-intervention. Post-test INT knee flexor strength was significantly higher than pre-test scores (p < 0.05). INT also demonstrated significantly higher hamstring to quadriceps strength ratio (H/Q) after the intervention (p < 0.05), while the CON H/Q did not change significantly. 30-m sprint performance of both groups improved from pre- to post-test (p < 0.05). Shuttle run performance was significantly improved in post-test scores for INT players (p < 0.05), but did not change significantly for the CON players. It is suggested that implementing FIFA 11+ before training in young soccer players can lead to performance benefits as well as injury prevention benefits.
Correlation Structure and Fat Tails in Finance: a New Mechanism

Fat tails in financial time series and increase of stocks cross-correlations in high volatility periods are puzzling facts that ask for new paradigms. Both points are of key importance in fundamental research as well as in Risk Management (where extreme losses play a key role). In this paper we present a new model for an ensemble of stocks that aims to encompass in a unitary picture both these features. Equities are modelled as quasi random walk variables, where the non-Brownian components of stocks movements are leaded by the market trend, according to typical trader strategies. Our model suggests that collective effects may play a very important role in the characterization of some significantly statistical properties of financial time series.
PERFORMANCE AND PROFITABILITY OF GROWER GRASSCUTTERS FED DIETS CONTAINING CASHEW KERNEL PROCESSING WASTE

: The study was conducted to investigate the performance and profitability of feeding growing grasscutters with diets containing graded levels of Cashew Kernel Processing Waste (CKPW). Twelve grasscutters were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments of three replicates each. Each replicate had one grasscutter with T 1 having a diet with no inclusion of cashew kernel processing nwaste and maize inclusion at 30%, while T 2 had CKPW inclusion of 10% and maize at 20%, T 3 had CKPW inclusion of 20% and maize at 10% and T 4 had CKPW inclusion of 30% and no inclusion of maize. Animals were fed and watered ad libitum. Performance parameters were not significantly (P>0.05) different in the daily weight gain 9.04 g (T 1 ) - 13.35 g (T 2 ), daily water intake 50.30 (T 3 ) – 64.51 ml (T 1 ) and feed conversion ratio of 4.05 (T 2 ) -5.48 (T 3 ). The profitability was analyzed for feed cost/kg, feed cost/kg gain, total cost, revenue, gross margin, cost benefits ratio, protein efficiency ratio, and energy efficiency ratio. There were no significant (P>0.05) differences in all parameters for economic yield. However, CKPW up to 10% inclusion and maize inclusion at 20% renders the production more economical. Inclusion of CKPW at 10% had a beneficial effect on performance of growing grasscutters. Optimal level of CKPW in the diets of growing grasscutters still needs to be ascertained.