Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Muscle Atrophy Evaluation via Radiomics Analysis Using Ultrasound Images: A Cohort Data Study

Objective: Existing methods for muscle atrophy evaluation based on muscle size measures from ultrasound images are inadequate in precision. Radiomics has been widely used in various medical studies, but its validity for the evaluation of muscle atrophy has not been fully explored. Methods: This study presents a radiomics analysis for muscle atrophy evaluation using ultrasound images. The hindlimb unloading rat model was developed to simulate weightlessness muscle atrophy and ultrasound images of the hind limbs were acquired for both the hindlimb unloaded (HU) and control groups during a 21-day HU period. A total of 368 radiomics features were extracted and the stable and informative features were selected through a two-stage feature selection procedure. The feature change trajectory of the stable features was analyzed using the hierarchical clustering method. Finally, an adaptive longitudinal feature selection and grading network, ALNet, was developed to evaluate muscle atrophy. Results: The clustering trajectories of ultrasound image features showed similar trends to the changes in muscle atrophy at the molecular level. The best grading accuracy achieved by the ALNet was 79.5% for the Soleus (Sol) muscle and 82.6% for the Gastrocnemius (Gas) muscle. Conclusion: The test-retest is essential in performing radiomics analysis on ultrasound images. The longitudinal feature selection is important for muscle atrophy grading. The ultrasound image features of the Gas muscle have better discrimination ability than that of the Sol muscle. This study proves for the first time the capability of ultrasound image features for muscle atrophy evaluation.
The synovial and blood monocyte DNA methylomes mirror prognosis, evolution, and treatment in early arthritis

Identifying predictive biomarkers at early stages of inflammatory arthritis is crucial for starting appropriate therapies to avoid poor outcomes. Monocytes (MOs) and macrophages, largely associated with arthritis, are contributors and sensors of inflammation through epigenetic modifications. In this study, we investigated associations between clinical features and DNA methylation in blood and synovial fluid (SF) MOs in a prospective cohort of patients with early inflammatory arthritis. DNA methylation profiles of undifferentiated arthritis (UA) blood MOs exhibited marked alterations in comparison with those from healthy donors. We identified additional differences both in blood and SF MOs after comparing patients with UA grouped by their future outcomes, i.e., good versus poor. Patient profiles in subsequent visits revealed a reversion toward a healthy level in both groups, those requiring disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and those who remitted spontaneously. Changes in disease activity between visits also affected DNA methylation, which was partially concomitant in the SF of UA and in blood MOs of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Epigenetic similarities between arthritis types allow a common prediction of disease activity. Our results constitute a resource of DNA methylation–based biomarkers of poor prognosis, disease activity, and treatment efficacy for the personalized clinical management of early inflammatory arthritis.
The role of routine radial styloidectomy in proximal row carpectomy: a retrospective review of 120 patients

Impingement between the radial styloid and the trapezium can occur after a proximal row carpectomy (PRC). We hypothesized that a PRC with primary radial styloidectomy reduces the risk of radial impingement, without affecting clinical or functional outcomes. In this retrospective cohort study, 120 patients were divided into two groups: PRC with or without primary radial styloidectomy. Patient-related outcome, strength and range of motion after proximal row carpectomy were measured in a subgroup. The occurrence of radial impingement was significantly lower in the group with primary radial styloidectomy versus those without (p = 0.002). Five patients in the latter group were subsequently treated by a secondary radial styloidectomy, as compared with one patient who underwent primary radial styloidectomy (p = 0.034). There were no significant differences in range of motion or patient-related outcome observed between the two groups. From our study, a radial styloidectomy is recommended as a routine part of the PRC procedure to prevent radial impingement without negatively impacting on function. Level of evidence: IV
Structural Performance of High Strength Lightweight Concrete Pretensioned Bridge Girders

The use of high compressive strengths in prestressed bridge girders can lower costs by allowing for longer spans, increased girder spacing, and smaller cross-sections. If high strength lightweight concrete (HSLWC) is used, these advantages are further enhanced due to the corresponding reduction in self-weight. Additional benefits can then be realized in the form of more traffic lanes, increased load capacity, smaller substructures, reduced crane capacity requirements, and lower shipping costs. Despite the possible economic savings, HSLWC has been used infrequently in prestressed bridge girder applications across the nation. While recent research has been performed to extend the applicability of current bridge design specifications to normal weight concretes with strengths as high as 18 ksi, little has been done by comparison with regards to HSLWC. The purpose of the research in this report was to assess whether current bridge design specifications for transfer length, development length, prestress loss, camber, and flexural capacity are satisfactory for use with fully-bonded, pretensioned flexural members consisting of HSLWC and to make recommendations for improvements where necessary. Twelve high strength pretensioned beams of variable unit weight (eight lightweight beams and four normal weight beams) and strand size (eight beams with 0.5-in. strand and four beams with 0.6-in. strand) were cast at the Thomas M. Murray Structural Engineering Laboratory at Virginia Tech. These beams were allowed to sit for a period of several months after fabrication while measurements were taken regarding transfer length, prestress loss, and camber. After this period, the beams were load tested to collect development length data, flexural data, and further data related to prestress loss. In addition to the laboratory cast beams, prestress loss and camber data from six full-size bridge beams (five lightweight beams and one normal weight beam) cast as part of a separate project at Virginia Tech was examined. Analysis of the results for all beams shows that with a few caveats, the current AASHTO LRFD Specifications and other design methods examined regarding the topics under consideration are satisfactory for use in the design of HSLWC pretensioned bridge girders with properties similar to those of the beams studied.
Determination of phytotoxicity and cytogenotoxicity due to exposure to particles originating from sugarcane burning using test systems Lactuca sativa L. and Allium cepa L.

ABSTRACT Sugarcane straw burning generates particulate matter with complex composition resulting in atmosphere pollution. Sugarcane straw sugarcane burning particles (PSSB) contain several chemical compounds that were previously identified to be associated with carcinogenic and mutagenic processes. The aim of the present study was to extract PSSB under lab conditions and subsequently determine phyto- and cytogenotoxicity of these particles using Lactuca sativa L. and Allium cepa L. bioassays. Seeds of lettuce var. Cinderela and onion cv. Vale-Ouro IPA-11 were germinated in Petri dishes containing different concentrations of PSSB at 25, 50, 100, 200 or 300 mg/ml as well as control for 72 hr. Seed germination of lettuce was inhibited by PSSB, in a concentration-dependent manner, accompanied by decreased root growth, suggesting phytotoxic effects. Further, reduction of mitotic index and high number of chromosomal alterations in onion of meristematics cells indicated a cytogenotoxic action attributed to PSSB. Although the chemical composition of PSSB in question has not been determined, the phyto- and cytogenotoxic effects may be linked to the possible presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are were identified as the main constituents of particulate matter resulting from burning of sugarcane straw, in addition to exerting adverse biological effects that might result in mutations and cancer. Data demonstrated that the use of plants bioassays might be an important tool for biomonitoring air quality.
Edinburgh Research Explorer The T-box family Protein family review The T-box family

Transcription factors of the T-box family are required both for early cell-fate decisions, such as those necessary for formation of the basic vertebrate body plan, and for differentiation and organogenesis. When mutated, T-box genes give dramatic phenotypes in mouse and zebrafish, and they have been implicated both in fundamentals of limb patterning and in a number of human congenital malformations such as Holt-Oram, ulnar-mammary and DiGeorge syndromes, as well as being amplified in a subset of cancers. Genes encoding members of the T-box family have recently been shown to comprise approximately 0.1% of genomes as diverse as those of nematodes and humans and have been identified in a wide variety of animals from ctenophores (comb jellies) to mammals; they are, however, completely absent from genomes from other organisms (such as the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana ). tion of Brachyury have short
First-Principles Study on Pyrites and Marcasites for Photovoltaic Application

This thesis deals with first-principles calculations for pyrite and marcasite compounds, with a particular focus on their suitability for photovoltaic applications. Their electronic structure and their optical properties are thoroughly investigated within density-functional theory (DFT) using various exchange-correlation functionals, among them sophisticated hybrid functionals. To account for electronic excitations the many-body perturbation theory in the GW approximation has also been exploited. The investigation of the electronic and optical properties of iron pyrite (FeS2) covers an essential part of this thesis, since iron pyrite is reported to be a promising material for photovoltaic applications due to its large optical absorption, a suitable band gap and large photocurrents. Furthermore, iron pyrite consists of abundant elements, and thus would allow for a large-scale and long-term utilization. However, iron pyrite solar cells exhibit only an open-circuit voltage of merely 200 mV, leading to a small conversion efficiency of 3%, which disqualifies iron pyrite for photovoltaic applications at present. This thesis exposes that the question about the size of the fundamental and optical band gap of iron pyrite, both, theoretically and experimentally, might not be settled yet. Low-intensity contributions in the optical absorption might complicate the determination of the optical band gap, and the GW results show that the fundamental band gap might be much smaller than expected. Therefore, the small fundamental band gap of pristine iron pyrite in the bulk phase might be already responsible for the low open-circuit voltage. Since interfaces and surfaces play an important role for the photovoltaic performance, the electronic structure of the most stable iron pyrite surfaces is also discussed, revealing that surface states of Fe 3d character might act as charge recombination centers. First attempts to passivate these surface states indicate that heavier adatoms are more suitable than light adatoms. The application of the GW approximation on iron pyrite yields an unconventional reduction of the band gap compared to the “plain” DFT results, whereas largely overestimated band gaps are obtained using hybrid functionals. By extending the calculations to other pyrite compounds (RuS2, OsS2, NiP2 and ZnS2) and to the structurally closely related marcasite compounds (FeS2, FeSe2 and FeTe2), it is shown that the interplay of transitions between p and d states and the screening caused by the d states is responsible for this peculiar behavior. Finally, a particular focus is set on FeS2 marcasite, which is reported to coexist with the pyrite phase, but is presumed to degrade the photovoltaic performance. However, the results in this thesis indicate that iron marcasite might be better suited for photovoltaic applications than iron pyrite.
Can reducing black carbon and methane below RCP2.6 levels keep global warming below 1.5 oC ?: Reducing black carbon and methane to attain the 1.5 oC target

Funding information Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Grant/Award Number: GA01101; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Grant/Award Number: GA01101 Methane and black carbon aerosols have been identified as exerting the two strongest positive radiative forcings after carbon dioxide and therefore drastic reductions in these atmospheric constituents could potentially offer strong leverage in reducing global warming. Using the HadGEM2-ES model, we reduce concentrations of methane and black carbon while holding all other emissions at representative concentration pathway RCP2.6 levels to examine whether we can achieve the target of keeping global-mean temperature rise below 1.5 C relative to the pre-industrial level during the remainder of the 21st century. We find that even total cessation of black carbon aerosol emissions is ineffective in attaining this goal. Reducing methane concentrations at four times the rate assumed in RCP2.6 is able to return warming levels to below 1.5 C by the 2070s but overshoots the target level prior to that. As RCP2.6 represents an optimistic scenario relative to the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, our results highlight the importance of deep and rapid reductions in both CO2 and methane emissions if humanity is serious about attaining the 1.5 C target.
Quantify contribution of aerosol errors to cloud fraction biases in CMIP5 AMIP simulations: Contribution of AOD simulation errors to CMIP5 AMIP model CF biases

Funding information Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Grant/Award Number: 312231103, 2017EYT18; National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Number: 41575143, 41705125, 91337103; Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, Grant/Award Number: 2017YFC1501403; State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Grant/Award Number: 2017ZY-02 Identifying the error sources in total cloud fraction (CF) simulated by global climate models is essential for improving climate prediction. This study investigates if and how significant the aerosol simulation errors contribute to the model CF biases in the Atmosphere Model Inter-comparison Project (AMIP) simulations of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models. The aerosol optical depths (AODs) and CFs in 12 CMIP5/AMIP models have been examined and compared with 8-year moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite observations. The results show that the global-averaged multimodel ensemble mean AOD and CF, which are . 14 and 56.2%, are 22.2 and 15.2% lower than those from MODIS, respectively. The simulated relationship between AOD and CF generally agrees with the observation on the global scale but differs on regional scale. Based on the “conditional sampling approach,” the AOD simulation errors that affect the CF biases of the models were separated from the model biases caused by the aerosol–CF errors that are related to dynamics, thermodynamics, and microphysics. It is found that the AOD errors barely contribute to the CF biases for most CMIP5/AMIP models on the global scale. Instead, simulated aerosol–CF errors are still the major contributors to the CF biases. However, we should note that AOD biases contribution in some regions, such as south Indian Ocean, Asia, Europe, and North Pacific Ocean, cannot be ignored. We also found that with increasing cloud liquid water path the CF does not increase with AOD as sensitively in the CMIP5/AMIP models as in the MODIS observations.
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

We examined the relationships among tuna consumption, hair mercury levels, and knowledge of mercury exposure risk from tuna consumption in university students that were offered tuna daily at university‐run dining halls. Hair total mercury levels in tuna consumers were higher than those in non‐tuna consumers (average= 0.466 μg/g± 0.328 standard deviation [SD], n= 20 vs 0.110 μg/g± 0.105 SD, n= 33, respectively; p< 0.0001, Mann–Whitney U test), with tuna eaters exhibiting a positive relationship between self‐reported tuna consumption at dining halls and hair mercury levels (R= 0.868, p< 0.0001, n= 17, linear regression). For all tuna eaters surveyed, more than half (54%) self‐reported eating ≥3 tuna meals/wk, potentially exceeding the US Environmental Protection Agency’s reference dose for methylmercury of 0.1 μg/kg body weight/d. Seven percent of study participants reported they consumed>20 tuna meals/wk, which was related to hair mercury levels >1 μg/g, a level of concern. Study participants had an overall lack of knowledge and confidence in their knowledge about mercury exposure risk from tuna consumption, with>99% of participants reporting low knowledge and low confidence in survey answers. Our study highlights the importance of education about the risks of tuna consumption, particularly in institutional settings where individuals have unlimited access to tuna products. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:1988–1994. © 2019 SETAC
Tendency towards a more extreme precipitation climate in the CMIP5 models

Funding information Suomen Akatemia, Grant/Award Number: 278067 Extremity of precipitation climate can be evaluated by the intensity of both wet and dry extremes. Here we illustrate the tendency towards more extreme precipitation climate during the 21st century in a multi-model ensemble of 32 climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. We compare the projected changes in two climatic indices describing the extremity of precipitation climate. One index, the maximum 1-d precipitation (R1d) represents the wet and another, the maximum number of consecutive dry days (CDD), represents the dry extremes. Averaged over the globe, both indices are projected to increase, implying an overall tendency towards more extreme precipitation climate. The projected increase, in relative terms, is approximately twice as large in R1d as in CDD. Also on a regional scale, in almost all global land areas the precipitation climate is rather projected to become more than less extreme. Two thirds of these areas exhibit a more pronounced change in wet than dry extremes and slightly less than one third of the areas showing a more pronounced change in dry than wet extremes. Only over limited areas the precipitation climate shows a tendency towards less extreme conditions. In reproducing the observed mean precipitation in 1971–2000, the models tend to be too wet in dry regions and too dry in wet regions. There are not any consistent differences in the tendency towards more extreme precipitation climate among the models depending on their horizontal or vertical resolution.
Total Ionizing Dose effects on a 28 nm Hi-K metal-gate CMOS technology up to 1 Grad

This paper presents the results of an irradiation study on single transistors manufactured in a 28 nm high-k commercial CMOS technology up to 1 Grad. Both nMOSFET and pMOSFET transistors have been irradiated and electrical parameters have been measured. For nMOSFETs, the leakage current shows an increase of 2–3 orders of magnitude, while only moderate degradation for other parameters has been observed. For pMOSFETs, a more severe degradation of parameters has been measured, especially in the drain current. This work is relevant as the evaluation of a new generation of CMOS technologies to be used in future HEP experiments.
The interaction between moist diabatic processes and the atmospheric circulation in African EasterlyWave propagation: The interaction between moist processes and circulation in AEWs

An objective tracking algorithm is used to characterize the three-dimensional structure of African Easterly Waves (AEWs) in ERA-Interim reanalysis and a Met Office Unified Model (UM) simulation. A special focus is dedicated to the coupling of dynamical aspects of the wave and moist convection. The relation between baroclinic features of the wave and latent heating is explored. Latent heating at and slightly ahead of the wave trough is found to reinforce and sustain the anomalous wave circulation through potential vorticity (PV) generation and vortex stretching. The coupling of moist processes and the circulation takes place mainly through moisture convergence at lower mid-tropospheric levels, between 850 and 500 hPa. These findings are confirmed and examined in more detail in a case-study of a strong AEW based on high-resolution UM simulations. PV tracers are used to investigate how different moist diabatic processes invigorate the wave. Again moisture anomalies are found to be the main contributors to generating small-scale convergence centres and updraughts ahead of the trough at mid-tropospheric levels. Although buoyancy effects are ultimately responsible for the convective uplift, the results suggest that mesoscale circulations associated with the AEW dynamics are crucial in creating the small-scale moist static instabilities and vortices which are essential for the AEW maintenance. Boundary-layer mixing and advection from the northern Sahel may create pockets of high-PV air around the trough in some instances, but this mechanism of wave sustainment needs further investigation.
Residual compressive stress-strain relation of recycled aggregate concrete after being exposed to high temperatures: Residual compressive stress-strain relation of RC

Funding information Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/ Award numbers: 51308135, 51478126; Guangxi Natural Science Foundation, Grant/Award number: 2014GXNSFBA118242. The complete compressive stress-strain curve of recycled aggregate concrete (RC) after exposure to high temperatures improves to assess the post-fire behavior of reinforced RC structures. In this paper, 60 specimens containing different levels of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA; i.e., 0, 30, 50, 70 and 100%) were produced to study the residual compressive stress-strain relation of RC after exposure to high temperatures. Those specimens designed for thermal temperatures were initially heated to temperatures of 300, 400 and 500 C for 6 hr and then being submitted to test the compressive stress-strain curves after cooling to ambient temperature. The test results were compared with specimens tested at room temperature (about 20 C). The effect of RCA and high temperatures on residual compressive strength, peak strain and elastic modulus are discussed and the empirical formulas for these parameters are also established. The recommended equation for the compressive constitutive relation for conventional concrete in the Chinese code for the design of concrete structures (GB50010-2010) was adopted to fit the test data and was shown to be applicable to heated RC for different temperatures.