Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A conceptual model of factors associated with health-related quality of life in men and women with knee osteoarthritis in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A multicenter cross-sectional study

This study used a conceptual model to examine the factors influencing physical, mental, and overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women and men aged 45 and older with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in Saudi Arabia. In this multicenter cross-sectional study, we randomly included 356 individuals aged 45 years or above with doctor-confirmed KOA from the orthopedic and physiotherapy departments of the 5 tertiary hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between March 2016 and March 2017. We split all participants into men (n = 146) and women (n = 210) based on gender. A conceptual model was developed using the HRQoL influential potential factors, such as age, sex, education, occupation, and way of eating (sociodemographic), and clinical factors, such as osteoarthritis knee and its severity, duration, pain, and body mass index. The 36-item short form health survey and its subscales of the physical composite scale and mental composite scale were used to evaluate overall HRQoL, physical, and mental health, respectively. We used unadjusted multiple linear regression analyses to investigate the associations between gender-specific potential factors and HRQoL outcomes. Women and men aged between 60 and 64 years were more strongly associated significantly with less physical composite scale score by −3.17, (standard error [SE] = 1.71, P = .021) and −3.18 (SE = 1.69, P = .023) respectively, followed by the primary school or less education by −3.40 (SE = 1.27, P = .0002), severe KOA of −8.94 (SE = 0.99, P < .001), eating on the floor bending the knee of −3.93 (SE = 1.63, P = .042), and pain of −2.39 (SE = 0.26, P < .0001). Women and men with primary school or less education significantly had low mental composite scale and 36-item short form health survey scores of −3.07 (SE = 1.22, P = .041) and −3.23 (SE = 0.99, P = .018), respectively, followed by severe KOA of −4.07 (SE = 1.22, P = .001) and −6.50 (SE = 0.83, P < .0001) and eating on the floor, extending the knee at −3.35 (SE = 1.74, P = .043). Risk factors like age, education, pain, body mass index, and severe KOA are linked to poor physical, mental, and overall HRQoL among women and men in Saudi Arabia.
Young children’s motivations and social cognitions toward swimming: Testing direct and moderation effects of sport competence in two large-scale studies

ABSTRACT Direct and moderation effects of swimming competence using an integrated model of self-determination theory (SDT) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) were examined in two large-scale studies among young children. Specifically, we examined whether swimming competence had direct and moderation effects on social psychological variables of perceived need support, autonomous motivation, TPB social cognition constructs, and intention. In Study 1, using a cross-sectional survey of 4959 primary school children, swimming competence formed significant positive relationships with all model variables (β =.061 to.330, p < .05) except intention (β = -.009, p > .05), and its moderation effect on model parameters were small in size or not statistically significant. In Study 2, using a pre-post-test quasi-experiment among 1,609 primary school children, improvement of swimming competence was associated with change-scores in all model variables (β =.046 to.230, p < .05) except subjective norm (β =.049, p > .05). Swimming competence did not significantly moderate the parameter estimates of the integrated model (p > .05) at the change-score level. Findings indicate that swimming competence is associated with higher autonomous motivation; TPB social cognitions of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control; and intention. However, swimming competence did not moderate the parameter estimates of the integrated model.
Taxonomic notes and range extension of several complex thalloid liverworts

Abstract: Xiang, Y. -L. , Xu, H. , Shen, C. , Huang, W. -Z. , Zhang, L. -N. , Shu, L. & Zhu, R. -L. 2023. Taxonomic notes and range extension of several complex thalloid liverworts. – Herzogia 36: 193 –205. Riccia billardierei Mont. & Nees and R. rhenana Lorb. ex Müll. Frib. were found in Southern China. Phylogenetic analyses of the genus Riccia based on the sequences of rbcL, rps4, and trnL–F reveal that two Chinese samples of R. billardierei and six samples from Australia and Thailand form a well-supported clade, which is sister to R. gangetica. Riccia rhenana is molecular-phylogenetically investigated for the first time and it is sister to R. fluitans L. Sphaerocarpos siguniangensis R.L. Zhu & You L.Xiang was discovered for the first time outside the type locality. The Chinese Exormotheca bischlerae Furuki & Higuchi, previously known only from Sichuan, was newly found in Yunnan and Xizang. In addition, Aitchisoniella himalayensis Kashyap and Peltolepis quadrata (Saut.) Müll. Frib. rare in China were found for the first time in Yunnan and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, respectively. Illustrations of Aitchisoniella himalayensis, Exormotheca bischlerae, Peltolepis quadrata, Riccia billardierei, R. rhenana, and Sphaerocarpos siguniangensis are provided. Zusammenfassung: Xiang, Y. -L. , Xu, H. , Shen, C. , Huang, W. -Z. , Zhang, L. -N. , Shu, L. & Zhu, R. -L. 2023. Taxonomische Bemerkungen und Arealerweiterungen von einigen komplex aufgebauten, thallosen Lebermoosen. – Herzogia 36: 193 –205. Riccia billardierei Mont. & Nees und R. rhenana Lorb. ex Müll. Frib. wurden in Südchina nachgewiesen. Phylogenetische Analysen der Gattung Riccia basierend auf den Sequenzen rbcL, rps4 und trnL–F zeigen, dass zwei chinesische Proben von R. billardierei und sechs Proben aus Australien und Thailand eine gut unterstützte Gruppe bilden, die Schwestergruppe zu R. gangetica ist. Riccia rhenana wird erstmals molekular-phylogenetisch untersucht und ist Schwester von R. fluitans L. Sphaerocarpos siguniangensis R.L. Zhu & You L.Xiang wurde erstmals außerhalb der Typuslokalität nachgewiesen. Die bisher nur aus Sichuan bekannte chinesische Exormotheca bischlerae Furuki & Higuchi wurde in Yunnan und Xizang neu gefunden. Außerdem wurden Aitchisoniella himalayensis Kashyap und Peltolepis quadrata (Saut.) Müll. Frib. , die in China selten sind, erstmals in Yunnan bzw. auf dem Qinghai-Tibet-Plateau nachgewiesen. Abbildungen werden von Aitchisoniella himalayensis, Exormotheca bischlerae, Peltolepis quadrata, Riccia billardierei, R. rhenana und Sphaerocarpos siguniangensis bereitgestellt.
Radiometric model for the stereo camera STC onboard the BepiColombo ESA mission

The STereoscopic imaging Channel (STC) is one of the instruments on-board the BepiColombo mission, which is an ESA/JAXA Cornerstone mission dedicated to the investigation of the Mercury planet. STC is part of the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS) suite. STC main scientific objective is the 3D global mapping of the entire surface of Mercury with a mean scale factor of 55 m per pixel at periherm. To determine the design requirements and to model the on-ground and in-flight performance of STC, a radiometric model has been developed. In particular, STC optical characteristics have been used to define the instrument response function. As input for the model, different sources can be taken into account depending on the applications, i.e. to simulate the in-flight or on-ground performances. Mercury expected radiance, the measured Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE) integrating sphere radiance, or calibrated stellar fluxes can be considered. Primary outputs of the model are the expected signal per pixel expressed in function of the integration time and its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). These outputs allow then to calculate the most appropriate integration times to be used during the different phases of the mission; in particular for the images taken during the calibration campaign on-ground and for the in-flight ones, i.e. surface imaging along the orbit around Mercury and stellar calibration acquisitions. This paper describes the radiometric model structure philosophy, the input and output parameters and presents the radiometric model derived for STC. The predictions of the model will be compared with some measurements obtained during the Flight Model (FM) ground calibration campaign. The results show that the model is valid, in fact the foreseen simulated values are in good agreement with the real measured ones.
Transformation-aware perceptual image metric

Abstract. Predicting human visual perception has several applications such as compression, rendering, editing, and retargeting. Current approaches, however, ignore the fact that the human visual system compensates for geometric transformations, e.g., we see that an image and a rotated copy are identical. Instead, they will report a large, false-positive difference. At the same time, if the transformations become too strong or too spatially incoherent, comparing two images gets increasingly difficult. Between these two extrema, we propose a system to quantify the effect of transformations, not only on the perception of image differences but also on saliency and motion parallax. To this end, we first fit local homographies to a given optical flow field, and then convert this field into a field of elementary transformations, such as translation, rotation, scaling, and perspective. We conduct a perceptual experiment quantifying the increase of difficulty when compensating for elementary transformations. Transformation entropy is proposed as a measure of complexity in a flow field. This representation is then used for applications, such as comparison of nonaligned images, where transformations cause threshold elevation, detection of salient transformations, and a model of perceived motion parallax. Applications of our approach are a perceptual level-of-detail for real-time rendering and viewpoint selection based on perceived motion parallax.
LAUE MONOCHROMATOR PERFORMANCE CALCULATIONS FOR A FUTURE CANADIAN LIGHT SOURCE DIFFRACTION BEAMLINE

LAUE MONOCHROMATOR PERFORMANCE CALCULATIONS FOR A FUTURE CANADIAN LIGHT SOUCE DIFFRACTION BEAMLINE Gabriel Dina Advisor: University of Guelph, 2011 Professor S. W. Kycia The computational investigation of perfect and bent crystals both cylindrically and sagittaly, have led to the development of sets of optimized parameters to be used for the high energy wiggler beamline monochromator being built at the CLS. Using both Si and Ge in Bragg and Laue geometries, the developed algorithms examine parameter space for most photon flux at the crystal. Using programs in XOP, the calculation analysis for a single incident beam revealed that for symmetric flat crystals the reflection (1,1,1) in the Bragg geometry is most preferable for producing the most throughput at energies below 24keV. For cylindrically bent crystals at energies higher than 24keV, a Laue geometry is more preferred as a result of an increase in the rocking curve width and throughput. Development of a program that calculates the diffracted intensity and energy resolution of a saddle bent crystal with varying asymmetry angles are presented here.
Exploring Parameter Relations for Multi‐Stage Models in Stage‐Wise Constant and Time Dependent Hazard Rates

Single cohort stage‐frequency data are considered when assessing the stage reached by individuals through destructive sampling. For this type of data, when all hazard rates are assumed constant and equal, Laplace transform methods have been applied in the past to estimate the parameters in each stage‐duration distribution and the overall hazard rates. If hazard rates are not all equal, estimating stage‐duration parameters using Laplace transform methods becomes complex. In this paper, two new models are proposed to estimate stage‐dependent maturation parameters using Laplace transform methods where non‐trivial hazard rates apply. The first model encompasses hazard rates that are constant within each stage but vary between stages. The second model encompasses time‐dependent hazard rates within stages. Moreover, this paper introduces a method for estimating the hazard rate in each stage for the stage‐wise constant hazard rates model. This work presents methods that could be used in specific types of laboratory studies, but the main motivation is to explore the relationships between stage maturation parameters that, in future work, could be exploited in applying Bayesian approaches. The application of the methodology in each model is evaluated using simulated data in order to illustrate the structure of these models.
Anti-topoisomerase, but not anti-centromere B cell responses in systemic sclerosis display active, Ig-secreting cells associated with lung fibrosis

Objectives Almost all patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) harbour autoantibodies. Anti-topoisomerase antibodies (ATA) and anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) are most prevalent and associate with distinct clinical phenotypes. B cell responses underlying these phenotypes are ill-defined. To understand how B cell autoreactivity and disease pathology connect, we determined phenotypic and functional characteristics of autoreactive B cells in ATA-positive and ACA-positive patients. Methods Levels and isotypes of autoantibodies secreted by ex vivo cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with ATA-positive (n=22) and ACA-positive (n=20) SSc were determined. Antibody secreting cells (ASCs) were isolated by cell sorting and cultured separately. Correlations were studied between the degree of spontaneous autoantibody production and the presence and degree of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Results Circulating B cells secreting either ATA-immunoglobulin G (IgG) or ACA-IgG on stimulation was readily detectable in patients. The ATA response, but not the ACA response, showed additional secretion of autoreactive IgA. ATA-IgG and ATA-IgA were also secreted spontaneously. Additional cell sorting confirmed the presence of ATA-secreting plasmablasts. The degree of spontaneous ATA-secretion was higher in patients with ILD than in those without (p<0.001) and correlated with the degree of pulmonary fibrosis (p<0.001). Conclusion In contrast to ACA-positive patients, ATA-positive patients show signs of recent activation of the B cell response that hallmarks this disease. The degree of activation correlates with the presence and severity of ILD, the most deleterious disease manifestation. This could explain differential responsiveness to B cell depleting therapy. The abundant and spontaneous secretion of ATA-IgG and ATA-IgA may point toward a continuously activating trigger.
Identification of exponent from load-deformation relation for soft materials from impact tests

When two bodies are brought into contact, the magnitude of occurring reaction forces increase together with the amplitude of deformations. The load-deformation dependency of two contacting bodies is described by a function having the form F = Cxα. An accurate illustration of this relationship assumes finding the precise coefficient C and exponent α. This representation proved to be very useful in hardness tests, in dynamic systems modelling or in considerations upon the elastic-plastic ratio concerning a Hertzian contact. The classical method for identification of the exponent consists in finding it from quasi-static tests. The drawback of the method is the fact that the accurate estimation of the exponent supposes precise identification of the instant of contact initiation. To overcome this aspect, the following observation is exploited: during an impact process, the dissipated energy is converted into heat released by internal friction in the materials and energy for plastic deformations. The paper is based on the remark that for soft materials the hysteresis curves obtained for a static case are similar to the ones obtained for medium velocities. Furthermore, utilizing the fact that for the restitution phase the load-deformation dependency is elastic, a method for finding the α exponent for compression phase is proposed. The maximum depth of the plastic deformations obtained for a series of collisions, by launching, from different heights, a steel ball in free falling on an immobile prism made of soft material, is evaluated by laser profilometry method. The condition that the area of the hysteresis loop equals the variation of kinetical energy of the ball is imposed and two tests are required for finding the exponent. Five collisions from different launching heights of the ball were taken into account. For all the possible impact-pair cases, the values of the exponent were found and close values were obtained.
Severe versus less severe intimate partner violence: Aggressors and victims

In order to study the differences between severe intimate partner violence (S-IPV) and less severe intimate partner violence (LS-IPV), reports by 16,385 women who had suffered some type of abuse in 2016 and 2017 were analysed by means of the Police Risk Assessment Questionnaire. Chi-square tests indicate that S-IPV aggressors present criminological features to a significantly greater extent and are more likely to perpetrate various types of violence against their partners (for example, sexual aggression, death threats, degrading treatment, and controlling behaviour). Their behaviours seem to depend more on their beliefs and attitudes than on any possible psychopathological disturbance. Likewise, the victims of S-IPV are significantly more likely to report substance abuse, isolation from their environment, and vulnerability due to a mental disorder or disability; furthermore, they are less likely to report their abusers and continue with the judicial process. Therefore, efforts must be focused on fighting isolation, guaranteeing access to assistance and support services, and protecting victims during the processing of the criminal investigation. Professionals must also be alert to conflicts between partners linked to emotional breakdown and apply the relevant risk-management strategies, especially in cases with a history of mistreatment of women and an increase in violence severity.
‘Strikingly and stubbornly high’: Investigating the paradox of public confidence in the Irish police

While levels of public confidence in the police have declined internationally, the Republic of Ireland appears to have bucked this trend with confidence levels that remain ‘strikingly and stubbornly high’ ( Mulcahy, 2016: 275). This situation appears all the more puzzling given the wave of scandals to have hit the force in recent decades, ranging from police corruption in Donegal in the late 1990s to a more recent whistleblower scandal that has resulted in the resignation of a slew of Ministers and high-ranking officials. Such developments beg important questions as to the factors sustaining public confidence over this tumultuous period. Drawing on international and domestic data, this article aims to probe this ‘paradox’ of public confidence in the Irish police. It argues that, although confidence is high, there is more to the dynamics of confidence in the police in Ireland than this initial appraisal suggests. Indeed, it advances the Irish case as an illustration both of the dimensionality of the public confidence concept and the complexity of the pathways to trust in the police.
Spatial Cost of Living and Welfare Indices for India with Application to Policies Implementation

In the present study, we evaluate spatial cost of living and welfare indices for various states of India based on linear as well as price-independent generalised logarithmic cost functions. We compare the values of the indices as well as examine their correlations and find that there is significant difference among them and, hence, are not substitutable. We implement cluster analysis on constructed indices to club states and Union territories of India. We find that such clusters are closely linked to their per capita output. JEL Codes: C43, C50, R11, R12, D12, D63, D61, D65
Vacancies for controlling the behavior of microstructured three-dimensional mechanical metamaterials

Mechanical metamaterials are designed to exhibit enhanced properties not found in natural materials or to bolster the properties of existing materials. The theoretical foundations for tuning the mechanical properties have been established, including topological states, controllable buckling behavior, and quasi-two-dimensional mechanical metamaterials with structures containing vacancies. However, the fabrication and experimental procedures to study these structures at the microscale have not been developed yet and the three-dimensional (3D) architectures examined to date are fairly limited. In this study, 3D mechanical metamaterial structures with select unit cells designed to have vacancies were fabricated by multi-photon lithography, having as the principal objective to control (localize) failure and increase the strain energy capacity of the structure. The metamaterial structure from which all the current designs originate is the octet-truss structure, one of the most widely studied 3D metamaterials. The design of the structures was inspired by the role of vacancies in crystal lattices. Vacancies were introduced in the metamaterial structures to allow localized buckling of lattice members to occur in specific unit cells. The significant increase of the strain energy dissipated in these metamaterials is demonstrated by nanoindentation experiments and finite element results. Vacancy effects on the dynamic response of metamaterial structures are also examined in the light of modal analysis simulations. The findings of this study illustrate the importance of strategically placing vacancies in the microlattices of metamaterial structures to control the overall mechanical behavior and greatly increase strain energy dissipation.
Recreational Water Quality Index (RWQI) for Colina Lake in Chihuahua, Mexico

Recreational water use provides important benefits for human health; nevertheless, there can be adverse effects if the water is polluted. Aim of this work was to develop a Recreational Water Quality Index (RWQI) for Colina Lake in Mexico. Water samples were collected from March 2011 to February 2012 at seven random locations and at three depths (0.30 m, 1.0 m and 2.0 m). Parameters analyzed were pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature (T), turbidity, total hardness (TH) chlorides (Cl-) and total (TC) and fecal coliforms (FC). Statistical analyses were made considering a 12 ↔ 3 factorial arrangement design while the RWQI was calculated for the 0.30 m depth. In general, results for parameters did not differ according to sampling depth or the interaction, but there were statistical differences according to sampling month. The RWQI indicates that water quality is generally adequate for recreational purposes.
Growth-Hormone Response to Clonidine in Panic Disorder Patients in Comparison to Patients with Major Depression and Healthy Controls

Growth-hormone (GH) responses to the a2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine were measured in 9 panic disorder patients, in 9 patients fulfilling DSM-Ill-R criteria for major depressive episode, and in 9 age-and sex-rnatched controls. CH responses to clonidine were not significantly different between the groups. The data do not agree with the assumption that blunted CH responses to clonidine represent a general feature of panic disorder or major depression.