Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stretched penile length and its associations with testosterone and infertility

Background Male infertility can be associated with secondary sexual characteristics, hypogonadism, and several findings in the examination of external genitalia. We sought to identify if stretched penile length (SPL) is associated with infertility or baseline testosterone. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all males age 18–59 presenting to a Men’s health clinic from 2014 to 2017. SPL of patients with infertility were compared to patients with any other complaint. Patients with Peyronie’s disease, prior penile surgery, prostatectomy, on testosterone replacement, clomiphene or β-hCG were excluded from our study. Baseline characteristics were compared between the two groups (infertile vs. other). Linear regression was used to assess the association between infertility and testosterone with SPL after adjusting for patient age, BMI, and race. Scatterplot was used for correlation between testosterone and SPL. Results Six hundred and sixty-four men were included in our study (161 infertile, 503 other). The unadjusted mean SPL in the infertile group was 12.3 cm compared to 13.4 cm in the other group (P<0.001). The significance remained when adjusted for age, BMI, testosterone and race (12.4 vs. 13.3, P<0.001). Mean total testosterone in the infertile group was not significantly different than the other group (414 vs. 422, P=0.68). Infertile men were younger than the other group (33.2 vs. 42.1 years, P<0.001). BMI did not significantly differ (28.9 vs. 28.9 kg/m2, P=0.57). There was a weak positive correlation between testosterone and penile size in both the infertile group (r=0.20, P=0.01) and the other group (r=0.24, P<0.001). Conclusions Though SPL differed amongst our groups, adult testosterone levels did not. If developmental levels of testosterone exposure accounted for some of the differences in SPL between our two groups, these variations did not persist into adulthood. It remains unknown if reduced length is a result of genetic or congenital factors associated with infertility. Further investigation is needed to better understand the association of shorter SPL with male infertility.
Analyzing Adversarial Attacks against Deep Learning for Robot Navigation

: The autonomous system sector continues to experiment and is still progressing every day. Currently, it affects several applications, namely robots, autonomous vehicles, planes, ships, etc. The design of an autonomous system remains a challenge despite all the associated technological development. One of such challenges is the robustness of autonomous system decision in an uncertain environment and their impact on the security of systems, users and people around. In this work, we deal with the navigation of an autonomous robot in a labyrinth room. The objective of this paper is to study the efﬁciency of a decision-making model, based on Deep Neural Network, for robot navigation. The problem is that, under uncertain environment, robot sensors may generate disturbed measures affecting the robot decisions. The contribution of this work is the proposal of a system validation pipeline allowing the study of its behavior faced to adversarial attacks i.e. attacks consisting in slightly disturbing the input data. In a second step, we investigate the robustness of robot decision-making by applying a defence technique such as adversarial training. In the experiment stage, our study uses a on a public robotic dataset.
Influence of Ammonium on Conductivity and Water Content of Nafion 117 Membranes

Ion-exchange equilibria of ammonium between an aqueous phase and Nafion 117 were measured at 10, 25, 40, and 60°C by equilibrating the membrane in 0. 1 M chloride electrolytes of known cation composition. The water content in the membrane phase decreased linearly with increasing cation fraction of ammonium in the membrane phase (y NH + 4 ) from λ H2O = 21.2 (moles of water per mole-sulfonic acid groups) in proton form Nafion in pure water to λ H2O = 13.2 in ammonium form Nafion in a 0.1 M chloride solution. The conductivity was measured by ac impedance in a two-electrode setup using a stack of membranes. The conductivity also decreased linearly with increasing y NH+4 from 97 to 25 mS/cm at 25.0°C. Our results indicated that the conductivity of Nafion was isotropic, however, available literature is not conclusive on this matter. The temperature dependence of the conductivity was measured, and the fitted activation energy in an Arrhenius-type equation was found to depend on membrane composition and hence water content.
Extracellular vesicles derived from hypoxic glioma stem-like cells confer temozolomide resistance on glioblastoma by delivering miR-30b-3p

Rationale: Glioma stem-like cells (GSCs) contribute to temozolomide (TMZ) resistance in gliomas, although the mechanisms have not been delineated. Methods: In vitro functional experiments (colony formation assay, flow cytometric analysis, TUNEL assay) were used to assess the ability of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from hypoxic GSCs to promote TMZ resistance in glioblastoma (GBM) cells. RNA sequencing and quantitative Reverse Transcription-PCR were employed to identify the functional miRNA in hypoxic EVs. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to analyze the transcriptional regulation of miRNAs by HIF1α and STAT3. RIP and RNA pull-down assays were used to validate the hnRNPA2B1-mediated packaging of miRNA into EVs. The function of EV miR-30b-3p from hypoxic GSCs was verified by in vivo experiments and analysis of clinical samples. Results: Hypoxic GSC-derived EVs exerted a greater effect on GBM chemoresistance than those from normoxic GSCs. The miRNA profiling revealed that miR-30b-3p was significantly upregulated in the EVs from hypoxic GSCs. Further, HIF1α and STAT3 transcriptionally induced miR-30b-3p expression. RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA-pull down assays revealed that binding of miR-30b-3p with hnRNPA2B1 facilitated its transfer into EVs. EV-packaged miR-30b-3p (EV-miR-30b-3p) directly targeted RHOB, resulting in decreased apoptosis and increased proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Our results provided evidence that miR-30b-3p in CSF could be a potential biomarker predicting resistance to TMZ. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that targeting EV-miR-30b-3p could provide a potential treatment strategy for GBM.
Does academic practice protect emergency physicians against burnout?

Burnout is a complex syndrome thought to result from long‐term exposure to career‐related stressors. Physicians are at higher risk for burnout than the general United States (US) working population, and emergency medicine has some of the highest burnout rates of any medical specialty. Burnout impacts physicians’ quality of life, but it can also increase medical errors and negatively affect patient safety. Several studies have reported lower burnout rates and higher job satisfaction in academic medicine as compared with private practice. However, researchers have only begun to explore the factors that underlie this protective effect. This paper aims to review existing literature to identify specific aspects of academic practice in emergency medicine that may be associated with lower physician burnout rates and greater career satisfaction. Broadly, it appears that spending time in the area of emergency medicine one finds most meaningful has been associated with reduced physician burnout. Certain non‐clinical academic work, including involvement in research, leadership, teaching, and mentorship, have been identified as specific activities that may protect against burnout and contribute to higher job satisfaction. Given the epidemic of physician burnout, hospitals and practice groups have a responsibility to address burnout, both by prevention and by early recognition and support. We discuss methods by which organizations can actively foster physician well‐being and provide examples of 2 leading academic institutions that have developed comprehensive programs to promote physician wellness and prevent burnout.
A Parametric Study of a Deep Reinforcement Learning Control System Applied to the Swing-Up Problem of the Cart-Pole

In this investigation, the nonlinear swing-up problem associated with the cart-pole system modeled as a multibody dynamical system is solved by developing a deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) controller. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of the deep RL controller applied to the cart-pole swing-up problem is carried out. To this end, the influence of modifying the physical properties of the system and the presence of dry friction forces are analyzed employing the cumulative reward during the task. Extreme limits for the modifications of the parameters are determined to prove that the neural network architecture employed in this work features enough learning capability to handle the task under modifications as high as 90% on the pendulum mass, as well as a 100% increment on the cart mass. As expected, the presence of dry friction greatly affects the performance of the controller. However, a post-training of the agent in the modified environment takes only thirty-nine episodes to find the optimal control policy, resulting in a promising path for further developments of robust controllers.
Lookup Table Approach for Radiometric Calibration of Miniaturized Multispectral Camera Mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Over recent years, miniaturized multispectral cameras mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) have been widely used in remote sensing. Most of these cameras are integrated with low-cost, image-frame complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. Compared to the typical charged coupled device (CCD) sensors or linear array sensors, consumer-grade CMOS sensors have the disadvantages of low responsivity, higher noise, and non-uniformity of pixels, which make it difficult to accurately detect optical radiation. Therefore, comprehensive radiometric calibration is crucial for quantitative remote sensing and comparison of temporal data using such sensors. In this study, we examine three procedures of radiometric calibration: relative radiometric calibration, normalization, and absolute radiometric calibration. The complex features of dark current noise, vignetting effect, and non-uniformity of detector response are analyzed. Further, appropriate procedures are used to derive the lookup table (LUT) of correction factors for these features. Subsequently, an absolute calibration coefficient based on an empirical model is used to convert the digital number (DN) of images to radiance unit. Due to the radiometric calibration, the DNs of targets observed in the image are more consistent than before calibration. Compared to the method provided by the manufacturer of the sensor, LUTs facilitate much better radiometric calibration. The root mean square error (RMSE) of measured reflectance in each band (475, 560, 668, 717, and 840 nm) are 2.30%, 2.87%, 3.66%, 3.98%, and 4.70% respectively.
Information Dissemination and Interactions in Higher Education Social Media Posts

Abstract The purpose of this study is the analyze patterns of information dissemination by U.S.-based universities on Facebook and the possible effect of these patterns on the number and types of interactions the posts receive. Frequency and types of information (e.g., athletics, student accomplishments, campus announcements) shared in 50 universities’ Facebook posts over four months are analyzed. Kruskal–Wallis H Tests evaluate differences in interactions with social media posts based on the type of information shared. The findings of this study indicate that there are several unique types of information shared on Facebook. Posts that involve a human element (like stories about student and faculty accomplishments) are found to receive the most interactions.
Effect of AlGaN interlayer on the GaN/InGaN/GaN/AlGaN multi-quantum wells structural properties toward red light emission

In this work, InGaN/GaN Multi-Quantum Wells (MQWs) with strain compensating AlGaN interlayers grown by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy have been investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence (PL). For different AlGaN strain compensating layer thicknesses varying from 0 to 10.6 nm, a detailed X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the MQW stack become completely strained on GaN along a and c. The compensation is full from an AlGaN layer thickness of 5.2 nm, and this does not change up to the largest one that has been investigated. In this instance, the AlGaN was grown at the same temperature as the GaN barrier, on top of a protective 3 nm GaN. It is found that the crystalline quality of the system is progressively degraded when the thickness of the AlGaN interlayer is increased through strain concentrated domains which randomly form inside the 3 nm GaN low temperature layer. These domains systematically contribute to a local decrease of the QW thickness and most probably to an efficient localisation of carriers. Despite these defects, the PL is highly improved towards the red wavelengths and compares with the reports on ultrathin AlGaN layers where this has been correlated to the improvement of the crystalline quality although with less strain compensation.
Patients’ Perspectives on Elements of Stable Housing and Threats to Housing Stability

Objective: This study assessed how patients who screened positive for housing instability in a clinical outpatient setting perceived stable housing and threats to housing stability—understanding that will help to ensure that their housing needs are addressed. Method: We conducted qualitative interviews with 60 patients (40 men, 20 women) who sought services at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in a large northeastern city and screened positive on the Veterans Health Administration Homelessness Screening Clinical Reminder. We used a modified grounded-theory approach and constant comparative method to analyze data. Results: Participants identified four core concepts of stable housing: affordable, permanent, comfortable and safe, and structurally and functionally adequate; they also identified three primary threats to housing stability: uncertain finances, the volatile nature of available housing, and personal stressors. Results reflect both physical housing elements and psychological features of home. Conclusions: Health care systems should consider appropriate screening items for their particular service population, ensuring that patients’ needs are addressed along a continuum of housing instability. In addition, it is important to integrate each domain identified by patients into services to mitigate homelessness; existing interventions may have limited capacity to fulfill the domain of comfort and safety.
Accruals Management to Avoid The Current Ratio Falling Below One: An Empirical Analysis Among Nonprofits

This study examines the distribution of the current ratio among large Belgian nonprofit organizations (NPOs). A current ratio falling below one signals (potential) liquidity problems among different types of stakeholders. Consistent with managerial intervention to avoid the current ratio falling below one, we observe significantly more (fewer) observations meeting or just exceeding (falling below) the threshold of one than would normally be expected. This discontinuity around one disappears when considering the distribution of the “pre-managed” current ratio (i.e., the current ratio corrected for abnormal working capital accruals). The latter observation is consistent with managerial intervention in the financial reporting process to avoid the current ratio falling below one. The aforementioned findings are supported by a multivariate regression model revealing significantly higher abnormal working capital accruals for observations having a current ratio equaling or exceeding one, but a pre-managed current ratio falling below one.
Adding insult to injury: Illegitimate stressors and their association with situational well-being, social self-esteem, and desire for revenge

ABSTRACT Implying an offense to self, appraising a stressor as indicating a lack of consideration by others should have effects beyond its stressfulness per se. In Stress-as-Offense-to-Self theory (SOS), such stressors are called “illegitimate stressors. ” We assessed situations appraised as stressful in two diary studies (N1 = 117, N2 = 137). Outcome variables were feelings of resentment in both studies, plus nervousness, anxiety, and sadness in Study 1 and depressive mood, threat to social self-esteem, and desire for revenge in Study 2. Controlling for stressfulness, perceived illegitimacy predicted affective reactions that are outward-directed (feelings of resentment [Studies 1 and 2], threat to social self-esteem and desire for revenge [Study 2]); it also predicted sadness in Study 1 but not depressive mood in Study 2, nor nervousness (Study 1). Thus, not all hypotheses were confirmed but the pattern was as expected, in that results were consistent regarding outcomes typically associated with the attribution of blame. The independent contribution of perceived illegitimacy aligns well with the underlying Stress-as-Offense-to-Self theory. Practical implications refer to efforts to avoid illegitimate stressors, for instance by perspective-taking, by showing appreciation and support, and by supporting such behaviours through keeping stressors in general at a manageable level.
A High-Throughput Method to Analyze the Interaction Proteins With p22 Protein of African Swine Fever Virus In Vitro

African swine fever virus (ASFV) has been identified as the agent of African swine fever, resulting in a mortality rate of nearly 100% in domestic pigs worldwide. Protein p22 encoded by gene KP177R has been reported to be localized at the inner envelope of the virus, while the function of p22 remains unclear. In this study, p22 interacting proteins of the host were identified by a high-throughput method and analyzed by Gene ontology terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes (KEGG) pathways; numerous cellular proteins in 293-T that interacted with p22 protein were identified. These interacting proteins were related to the biological processes of binding, cell structure, signal transduction, cell adhesion, etc. At the same time, the interacted proteins participated in several KEGG pathways like ribosome, spliceosome, etc. The key proteins in the protein–protein interaction network were closely related to actin filament organization and movement, resulting in affecting the process of phagocytosis and endocytosis. A large number of proteins that interacted with p22 were identified, providing a large database, which should be very useful to elucidate the function of p22 in the near future, laying the foundation for elucidating the mechanism of ASFV.
Study of Low-Temperature Combustion in a Low-NOxBurner

Abstract A Natural Gas Premixed Forced Internal Recirculation Burner (FIR) developed at the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT) reduces NOx emission level to sub-1O vppm. The FIR burner incorporates air staging and internal recirculation of combustion products. which greatly enhances heat removal. In the primary zone, combustion of rich natural gas/air mixtures occurs at low-temperatures (800 to 13ooK), therefore, NOx formation is unaffected by the thermal NOx mechanism - the main source of NO in typical natural gas burners. In the primary zone of the FIR burner, the composition of NOx emissions mainly consists of (70 to 80%) N02. This composition significantly differs from typical natural gas burners and from the FIR exit composition. where NO2 concentration is less than 5% of the total NOx, amount. The low-temperature (800 to 13ooK) ignition and combustion in the primary zone of the FIR burner was modeled by admixing products with initial methane-air mixture. The developed approach predicts methane ignition and oxidation within typical residence times in the primary zone of the burner. NOx formation in low-temperature methane combustion was analyzed and attributed to the prompt NO mechanism. High concentration levels of HO2 in the rich low-temperature flame in the FIR primary zone resulted in NO conversion to NO2. To further investigate low-temperature methane combustion a plausible kinetic mechanism was developed. Using the developed mechanism, the ignition of methane was found to be strongly promoted by the internal recirculation of combustion products. When the recirculation ratio is about 20 to 30%, the difference in ignition delays between methane and natural gas is insignificant.
Public Service Motivation and Prosocial Rule-Breaking: An International Vignettes Study in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands

We theorize that people with high Public Service Motivation (PSM) are especially prone to engage in prosocial rule-breaking (PSRB) behavior, which ultimately leads to discriminatory practices, particularly for clients associated with positive affect. We conduct an original vignette study in three countries (Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands) with 928 observations in total. Our findings provide tentative behavioral evidence on a linear relationship between PSM and the likelihood of PSRB and a strong positive association with client likeability, which is an asymmetric relationship: Negative affect cues have a larger negative effect than positive affect cues have a positive effect on PSRB. Although our results vary across the three country studies regarding the effects of PSM, overall, the results imply that high-PSM individuals have a tendency to being more likely to engage in PSRB and that clients who are perceived as more favorable will receive a less strict application of bureaucratic rules compared to less favorable clients.
Combination of Texture, Color and Shape Operators to Describe Image Content: A Survey

In many image processing and computer vision applications, the main aim is to describe image contents. So, different visual properties such as color, texture and shape are extracted to make aim. In this respect, texture information play important role in image description and visual pattern classification. Texture is referred to a specific local distribution of intensities that is repeated throughout the image. Since now different operations or descriptors have been proposed to analysis texture characteristics. In the multi object images specific texture operators usually doesn’t provide accurate results. So, in many cases, combination of texture operators are used to achieve more discriminant features. In this paper, some combination methods are survived to analysis effect of combinational texture features in image content description. Also, in the result part, different related methods are compared in terms of accuracy and computational complexity.
Intensification of auxetic effect in high stiffness auxetic yarns with potential application as the reinforcing element of composite

Helical auxetic yarn (HAY) is a newly developed composite yarn with negative Poisson’s ratio. HAYs offers advantageous merits as a reinforcing element in composite materials. In this paper high stiffness HAYs composed of Nylon filament core and fine steel wire wrap yarns were developed. The importance of the stiffness ratio of the wrap to the core components in the resultant auxetic yarn was examined. The differences between instantaneous and engineering Poisson’s ratio analyses in the understanding of the strain-dependent behavior of HAY was investigated. Results revealed that the utilization of the fine steel multifilament in the developed HAY samples enormously improves the stiffness of HAY. It was possible to obtain an elastic modulus of 9 GPa and a maximum auxetic effect of –16.82 in the samples. It was concluded that such highly stiff auxetic yarn can successfully be used as reinforcement in various composite materials such as cementitious composites.