Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Analysis of Pleural Line and B-Lines in Lung Ultrasound Images for Severity Assessment of COVID-19 Pneumonia

Specific patterns of lung ultrasound (LUS) images are used to assess the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, while such assessment is mainly based on clinicians’ qualitative and subjective observations. In this study, we quantitatively analyze the LUS images to assess the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia by characterizing the patterns related to the pleural line (PL) and B-lines (BLs). Twenty-seven patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, including 13 moderate cases, seven severe cases, and seven critical cases, are enrolled. Features related to the PL, including the thickness (TPL) and roughness of the PL (RPL), and the mean (MPLI) and standard deviation (SDPLI) of the PL intensities are extracted from the LUS images. Features related to the BLs, including the number (NBL), accumulated width (AWBL), attenuation coefficient (ACBL), and accumulated intensity (AIBL) of BLs, are also extracted. The correlations of these features with the disease severity are evaluated. The performances of the binary severe/non-severe classification are assessed for each feature and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers with various combinations of features as input. Several features, including the RPL, NBL, AWBL, and AIBL, show significant correlations with disease severity (all ${p} < 0.05$ ). The classification performance is optimal using the SVM classifier using all the features as input (area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve = 0.96, sensitivity = 0.93, and specificity = 1). These findings demonstrate that the proposed method may be a promising tool for automatic grading diagnosis and follow-up of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.
Diffusion of polyelectrolytes in dispersions of nanoparticles

Polyelectrolytes are a particular class of polymers with ionizable repetition units that dissociate in polar solvents (such as water) leading to macro-ions and counterions. Solutions and materials made of polyelectrolytes are extensively used in several formulations and in industrial, biological and environmental processes. For a better insight into these systems, the properties of polyelectrolytes in presence of other particles have to be studied in more detail. This work deals with the modification of the dynamics properties of short polyelectrolytes in presence of charged silica nanoparticles.To study this problem, we design an experimental system made of carboxylate molecules of various sizes, from simple carboxylate (propionate) up to short polyelectrolytes (sodium polyacrylate, PAANa), diffusing in aqueous dispersions of silica nanoparticles of different size and surface charge. Both polyelectrolytes and nanoparticles are negatively charged at high pH. Thanks to the use of simple carboxylates, it is possible to reduce the complexity of the diffusers. The self-diffusion of the molecules is investigated using NMR diffusion experiments, which monitors the Brownian motions of individual molecules on 10-1000 ms timescale (10-100 μm spatial scale). This work also investigates how the presence of polyelectrolytes modifies the phase behaviour of silica particles by using small angle neutron scattering.
Metastatic patterns and prognosis of young lung cancer patients: a population-based study by age

Background We aimed to examine the different metastatic patterns and corresponding survival outcomes between all ages of young (aged <60 years) and elderly lung cancer patients. Methods Lung cancer patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2010 and 2015 were divided into a young and elderly group. The young group was subdivided into four consecutive subgroups. Baseline characteristics were analyzed by the Chi-square test. Survival differences were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models. Results Of the total 200,362 lung cancer patients, 155,348 were elderly patients and 45,014 were young patients, including 3,461 aged <45 years, 5,697 aged 45–49 years, 13,645 aged 50–54 years, and 22,211 aged 55–59 years. Compared with elderly lung cancer patients, extrathoracic metastases were significantly more frequent in each younger group, irrespective of the site and number of extrathoracic metastatic organs. Regardless of metastasis patterns, young ages were independent prognostic factors of lung cancer-specific survival (LCSS) [<45 years: hazard ratio (HR): 0.70; 45–49 years: HR: 0.87; 50–54 years: HR: 0.90; 55–59 years: HR: 0.93, all P values were <0.001]. In each age subgroup, patients with multi-organ extrathoracic metastasis had the worst LCSS. Conclusions Young lung cancer patients across all ages were at increased risk of extrathoracic metastasis, especially multi-organ patterns, but had a reduced risk of lung cancer-related death compared to elderly patients. Regular and meticulous monitoring of potential metastasized organs is required in young lung cancer patients throughout the follow-up period.
Non‐diabetic hypoglycaemia related to opioid toxicity

been shown to bind 5HT-1a receptors. A limitation for this case is that a clinical assay for lavender essential oil or its components is not available and thus the ideal confirmatory and quantitative analysis was not feasible. However, despite this limitation, there is evidence that can be extrapolated from analytical studies of other herbal teas that have demonstrated that essential oils were extracted from and displayed the same chemical profiles as the raw ingredients used in the teas, albeit in lesser quantities. This case demonstrates a possible association between lavender tea, sertraline and the manifestation of moderate serotonin toxicity with objective clinical features. Clinicians should ask about the use of complementary or herbal medications when taking a drug history given the potential for drug interactions with these agents and prescription medications.
Matrix completion based on Gaussian parameterized belief propagation

We develop a message-passing algorithm for noisy matrix completion problems based on matrix factorization. The algorithm is derived by approximating message distributions of belief propagation with Gaussian distributions that share the same first and second moments. We also derive a memory-friendly version of the proposed algorithm by applying a perturbation treatment commonly used in the literature of approximate message passing. In addition, a damping technique, which is demonstrated to be crucial for optimal performance, is introduced without computational strain, and the relationship to the message-passing version of alternating least squares, a method reported to be optimal in certain settings, is discussed. Experiments on synthetic datasets show that while the proposed algorithm quantitatively exhibits almost the same performance under settings where the earlier algorithm is optimal, it is advantageous when the observed datasets are corrupted by non-Gaussian noise. Experiments on real-world datasets also emphasize the performance differences between the two algorithms.
Obstacle course soldiers’ reaction and perception time: Combat equipment load effects

We analysed reaction and perception capabilities in soldiers with or without combat equipment load. Spanish infantry soldiers (n = 46) completed a one-kilometre obstacle course without combat equipment and with combat equipment load. In each case they completed measures of reaction time and perception accuracy. Comparisons (t-tests) indicated the soldiers to be slower in reaction time with combat equipment loading while their perceptual abilities were unaffected with combat equipment loading. The differential effects of combat equipment loading on reaction time and perceptual ability could be explained by the mental arousal improving the moderate intensity of soldiers, being able to answer more quickly after the physical effort.
Auto insurance premiums in Ghana: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag model approach to risk exposure variables

This study examined risk exposure and auto insurance premium determinants in Ghana. We analysed an existing data set of 23 434 policies (without claims = 84.1%, policies with claims = 15.9%; comprehensive policies = 48.0%, third-party policies = 52.0%) applying the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, controlling for driver demographics, value of car, and car usage variables. Findings indicate policyholders’ age significantly determine premiums charges. Additionally, auto seating capacity significantly influenced third-party rather than comprehensive premiums, and auto’s cubic capacity had no significant impact on premium charges. Pricing system impact premiums were influenced by policyholders’ characteristics more than variables from the insured vehicle. These findings suggest that policyholders’ age (novice drivers) and vehicles with many occupants increases auto insurers risk exposure.
Client’s Experiences of Occupational Therapy Group Interventions in Mental Health Settings: A Meta-Ethnography

Abstract Occupational therapy interventions in mental health settings are often delivered to groups. This meta-ethnography synthesizes existing qualitative literature on clients’ experiences of occupational therapy interventions in mental health service settings to determine factors that influence the occupational therapy experience. A model illustrating clients’ group occupational therapy experiences was constructed by the authors using Noblit and Hare’s seven phases of meta-ethnography. Through participation in occupational therapy groups, clients undergo transformative learning, leading to enhanced self-esteem, a sense of belonging, the development of skills, and the experience of positive emotions. Situations negatively experienced by clients are also discussed.
Class antagonism and the limits of utopia in Matthew Lewis and Robert Owen

The distinctive mark of the utopian imagination, as ﬁ rst outlined by Thomas More in 1516, is perhaps not so much its negative spatial quality, its self-presentation as a non-place or ou-topos , forever rivalling in More ’ s playful etymology with the eu-topos or good place of its more openly political declension, but rather what Fredric Jameson has named utopia ’ s “ constitutive secessionism ” (2005, 23). According to Jameson, “ the modi ﬁ cation of reality ” that utopia proposes “ must be absolute and totalizing ” : “ the mark of this absolute totaliza-tion is the geopolitical secession of the Utopian space itself from the world of empirical or historical reality: the great trench which King Utopus causes to be dug in order to “ delink ” from the world, and to change his promontory into an island ” (2005, 39). This latter operation is crucial, for it not only establishes a spatial and geographical paradigm for the textual genre inaugurated by More, but also brands the island, itself such a central trope to the historical constitution of European modernity, with a transcendent, and indeed redemptive, vocation. And yet, as a modern literary motif and setting, the island also emerges as a locus of fundamental contradiction and tension between this separatist impulse, forever inscribed with its eu-topian principle, and the fact of its historical integration into a fabric of economic, political, and, to be sure, cultural interrelations as part of what Immanuel Wallerstein (2011) calls the “ modern world-system ” of capitalism. In this article, I want to begin by revisiting Matthew Lewis ’ s Journal of a West India Proprietor , a signi ﬁ cant early nineteenth-century island narrative (written 1815 – 1818 and only published posthumously in 1834) that is not only an important account of slavery and plantation life on the eve of emancipation, but also a text
Grade 12 performance and academic performance in first-year psychology students: Influences of generational status and academic self-concept

We examined the relationship between students’ Grade 12 achievement and their first-year academic performance and the potential moderating and/or mediating roles of generational status and academic self-concept in this relationship. Participants were 203 students (female = 82.8%; black African =73.9%; mean age =19.46 years, SD = 1.36 years). They completed a self-concept scale and self-reported their demographic and academic information. A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results indicated that Grade 12 academic performance explained a significant amount of variance in first-year marks (10.5%). Generational status was not a moderator in the relationship between students’ Grade 12 achievement and their first-year academic performance. Academic self-concept had a main effect on participants’ psychology marks but was neither a mediator nor a moderator. Our findings are consistent with the evidence that academic performance in higher education is dependent on prior academic performance and academic self-concept. There remains a need for studies on contextual factors that would explain the complex interplay of factors that influence the achievement of students in the transition from high school to university.
The prevalence and correlates of suicidal behaviour among adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago

We examined the prevalence and correlates of suicidal behaviour among adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago, utilising cross-sectional data from 3 869 adolescents (median age = 14 years). Data were from the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS). Results show that 7.1% and 6.6% of students reported to have attempted suicide once and two or more times, respectively, in the past year. Multinomial logistic regression indicated female sex, having no close friends, anxiety, frequent bullying victimisation, loneliness, frequent school truancy, current tobacco use, multiple injuries, and trouble from alcohol use were associated with two or more suicide attempts. Current cannabis use was associated with having attempted suicide once. Almost one in seven adolescent students from Trinidad and Tobago reported past-year suicide attempts. Several correlates of suicide attempts were found that may assist in designing interventions.
Introduction: shades of contestation and politicisation of CFSP

ABSTRACT Contestation and politicisation are two concepts of increasing relevance to European foreign and security policy (CFSP) scholars and practitioners alike. However, reasonable doubts can be raised as regards this growing literature: first, political conflict has always been part of CFSP, and national and European politics have traditionally been at the centre of research in this field. Second, exploring how the two concepts relate to European foreign, security and defence policies is complicated by the fact that foreign affairs more broadly do not meet all the criteria set by the literature on politicisation, which usually requires that some form of mass mobilisation takes place, or at least a high degree of salience. This article addresses these concerns by looking at the changing politics of CFSP. As the introduction to the special issue, we explore the hypothesis that contestation of European foreign, security and defence policy is now more in line with the broader way in which political conflict is being re-structured in Europe. If this is so, political conflict over CFSP will more easily be associated with issues that have an appeal beyond the narrow community of its practitioners and observers.
Teaching Note—Virtual Practice Fridays: Responding to Disruptions Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Field and Classroom

ABSTRACT Preparing students for social work practice is an important responsibility shared by field education and schools of social work. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to social work practice training and education in the classroom and field. This teaching note describes an online simulation-based learning activity known as Virtual Practice Fridays that was adapted from an in-person activity in response to the pandemic. Virtual Practice Fridays was a 10-week seminar for two cohorts of master of social work students, each facilitated by two PhD students who were supervised by a faculty member. Master of social work students developed holistic competence, including knowledge, skills, and self-awareness, as they met with two simulated clients over several sessions. Students described unique features of this simulation-based learning activity that supported their learning, such as working with clients virtually, having an opportunity to see simulated clients for several sessions from assessment to termination, and being able to use the time completed at Virtual Practice Fridays toward fulfillment of practicum hours. This was a new experience for the doctoral students and faculty member, and it permitted us to reflect on how to effectively teach students about social work practice. Implications for social work practice and education are discussed.
Constructing Strangeness: Exploratory Modeling and Concept Formation

Abstract The notion of exploratory modeling constitutes a powerful heuristic tool for historical-epistemological analysis and especially for studying concept formation. I will show this by means of a case study from the history of particle physics: the formation of the concept of “strangeness” in the early 1950s at the interface of theory and experiment. Strangeness emerged from a broad space of possibilities opened up by exploratory modeling by authors working in communication and competition, and constructing both new questions and new answers. A systematic focus on exploratory modeling also helps compensate a bias towards the “right” developments still often present in historical investigations of theoretical work.
Electrospun liquid crystal elastomer microfiber actuator

An electrospun liquid crystal elastomer microfiber actuator can generate large actuation with high power density. Fibers capable of generating axial contraction are commonly seen in nature and engineering applications. Despite the broad applications of fiber actuators, it is still very challenging to fabricate fiber actuators with combined large actuation strain, fast response speed, and high power density. Here, we report the fabrication of a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) microfiber actuators using a facile electrospinning technique. Owing to the extremely small size of the LCE microfibers, they can generate large actuation strain (~60 percent) with a fast response speed (<0.2 second) and a high power density (400 watts per kilogram), resulting from the nematic-isotropic phase transition of liquid crystal mesogens. Moreover, no performance degradation is detected in the LCE microfibers after 106 cycles of loading and unloading with the maximum strain of 20 percent at high temperature (90 degree Celsius). The small diameter of the LCE microfiber also results in a self-oscillatory behavior in a steady temperature field. In addition, with a polydopamine coating layer, the actuation of the electrospun LCE microfiber can be precisely and remotely controlled by a near-infrared laser through photothermal effect. Using the electrospun LCE microfiber actuator, we have successfully constructed a microtweezer, a microrobot, and a light-powered microfluidic pump.
The Green Bamboo Pit Viper, Trimeresurus stejnegeri, Discriminates Chemical Stimuli Among Anuran Species

Abstract: The green bamboo pit viper, Trimeresurus stejnegeri, is a sit-and-wait predator that forages mainly on frogs in Taiwan. We predicted that T. stejnegeri is able to identify prey at the species level to locate appropriate ambushing sites. We conducted a chemical preference test among frog species and compared its result with the natural diet of T. stejnegeri. The test suggested that T. stejnegeri can discriminate prey species even within the same family. The three highest tongue flick ambush scores (TFAM) were obtained in Odorrana swinhoana, Polypedates braueri, and Zhangixalus moltrechti, which corresponded to the dominant prey items found in stomach contents. Some frog species, however, did not show coincidence between TFAM and the snake's natural diet. Abundance, active period, and defensive mechanisms of frogs are potential factors affecting the realized diet of T. stejnegeri in the field. We also propose that ambushing behavior exhibited during the chemical preference test should be considered an important indicator of interest in potential prey for sit-and-wait species of snakes.
Normal Development of an Aquatic Spawning Tree Frog, Buergeria japonica (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae)

Abstract: The family Rhacophoridae, including Buergeria japonica, shows a great diversity of reproductive patterns, but the knowledge of developmental processes is still limited. The genus Buergeria is a sister group to all other rhacophorids and shows a conservative, probably primitive, reproductive mode for this family. Thus, it is valuable to clarify the developmental process in this genus for understanding the evolution and diversification history of reproductive modes and developmental processes across the broader family members. In this study, we describe the normal development of B. japonica by rearing eggs and larvae under ambient temperatures of 27±1°C. The developmental speed of B. japonica from fertilization to gill elongation (stage 20), corresponding to their hatching period, was faster than most of other anuran species, when comparison was made using relative age, which is independent of temperature. The rapid embryonic development may be advantageous in their highly fluctuating breeding environment.
Apparent dependence of transformation on the stage of deoxyribonucleic acid replication of recipient cells

We would like to open this symposium dealing with the entrance of foreign nucleic acids into bacterial cells in an unorthodox way, namely, by presenting data that suggest that sometimes, perhaps quite frequently, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) may not really enter in a free form into cells into which it transfers information, at least not in the sense of an actual penetration of free DNA into the cytoplasm. Our results suggest that, as already suspected by some other investigators (4, 5, 16, 18), the critical event, namely, the interaction between donor DNA and the recipient's DNA, may occur in the bacterial membrane rather than in the cytoplasm. The pertinent data were collected in studies on transformation of Bacillus subtilis in which recipient cell populations with synchronized DNA replication were employed. This synchronization of the replication of DNA in the recipient cells was an accidental but, as it turned out, important by-product of the use of spores for initiating cultures that led to populations containing competent recipients for transformation. A procedure based in part on the method of Ephrati-Elizur (8) was employed. About 105 spores derived from polyauxotrophs of strain 168 were suspended in minimal medium supplemented with 0.1% yeast extract and incubated at 37 C. After incubation for 18 hr, the cells were diluted 1:10 into fresh medium of identical composition. Competence for transformation appeared in this medium about 60 min later and lasted for about 3 hr. A large proportion of bacteria were in a synchronized state of DNA replication during this period. This synchronization was confirmed by a test based on Sueoka and Yoshikawa's (14) results which employed transforming DNA preparations extracted from the cell population at various times after the initial culture had been transferred. In such tests, a sequential enrichment (up to 40%) of replicated markers, according to their location on the B. subtilis chromosome, was observed. Such spore-derived, partially synchronized,