Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Beta Version of an Application Based on Computer Vision for the Assessment of Knee Valgus Angle: A Validity and Reliability Study

Background: In handball, the kinematics of the frontal plane seem to be one of the most important factors for the development of lower limb injuries. The knee valgus angle is a fundamental axis for injury prevention and is usually measured with 2D systems such as Kinovea software (Version 0.9.4.). Technological advances such as computer vision have the potential to revolutionize sports medicine. However, the validity and reliability of computer vision must be evaluated before using it in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to analyze the test-retest and inter-rater reliability and the concurrent validity of a beta version app based on computer vision for the measurement of knee valgus angle in elite handball athletes. Methods: The knee valgus angle of 42 elite handball athletes was measured. A frontal photo during a single-leg squat was taken, and two examiners measured the angle by the beta application based on computer vision at baseline and at one-week follow-up to calculate the test-retest and inter-rater reliability. A third examiner assessed the knee valgus angle using 2D Kinovea software to calculate the concurrent validity. Results: The knee valgus angle in the elite handball athletes was 158.54 ± 5.22°. The test-retest reliability for both examiners was excellent, showing an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) of 0.859–0.933. The inter-rater reliability showed a moderate ICC: 0.658 (0.354–0.819). The standard error of the measurement with the app was stated between 1.69° and 3.50°, and the minimum detectable change was stated between 4.68° and 9.70°. The concurrent validity was strong r = 0.931; p < 0.001. Conclusions: The computer-based smartphone app showed an excellent test-retest and inter-rater reliability and a strong concurrent validity compared to Kinovea software for the measurement of the knee valgus angle.
Efficacy of Fractional CO2 Laser Treatment for Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause in Short-Term Evaluation—Preliminary Study

The postmenopausal state covers 40% of modern women’s lives and 50–70% of postmenopausal women report GSM symptoms such as vaginal dryness, itching, frequent inflammations, lack of elasticity, or dyspareunia. Consequently, a safe and effective method of treatment is crucial. In a group of 125 patients, a prospective observational study was performed. The aim was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of fractional CO2 laser in the treatment of GSM symptoms using a protocol of three procedures in 6-week intervals. The vaginal pH, VHIS, VMI, FSFI, and treatment satisfaction questionnaire were used. The fractional CO2 laser treatment was effective in improving all the objective forms of evaluation: vaginal pH (from 5.61 ± 0.50 at the baseline up to 4.69 ± 0.21 in the 6-week follow-up after the third procedure); VHIS (12.02 ± 1.89 at the baseline vs. 21.50 ± 1.76); VMI (21.5 ± 5.66 vs. 48.4 ± 4.46). Similar results were obtained for FSFI: 12.79 ± 5.351 vs. 24.39 ± 2.733, where 79.77% of patients were highly satisfied. Fractional CO2 laser therapy increases the quality of life by having a beneficial effect on the sexual function of women with GSM symptoms. This effect is obtained by restoring the correct structure and proportions of the cellular composition of the vaginal epithelium. This positive effect was confirmed by both objective and subjective forms of evaluating GSM symptom severity.
New Spectroradiometers Complying with the NDSC Standards

Abstract The investigation of the effect of solar ultraviolet (UV) and visible radiation on biological organisms and photochemical reactions requires spectral measurements of the desired radiation parameters of high accuracy. The Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) and the World Meteorological Organization have set up stringent requirements for high-quality spectral measurements of ultraviolet radiation. It is shown that two new instruments comply with these standards. One is the newly developed spectroradiometer of the Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany. It is capable of covering the spectral range from the UV to the near-infrared (290–1050 nm) in a comparably fine resolution. One major aim is to deploy this instrument as a traveling NDSC spectroradiometer. The other new instrument is built for the U.S. National Science Foundation's UV Monitoring Network. It is designed to monitor UV and visible irradiance at high latitudes and covers .
Real-Time Steel Surface Defect Detection with Improved Multi-Scale YOLO-v5

Steel surface defect detection is an important issue when producing high-quality steel materials. Traditional defect detection methods are time-consuming and uneconomical and require manually designed prior information or extra supervisors. Surface defects have different representations and features at different scales, which make it challenging to automatically detect the locations and defect types. This paper proposes a real-time steel surface defect detection technology based on the YOLO-v5 detection network. In order to effectively explore the multi-scale information of the surface defect, a multi-scale explore block is especially developed in the detection network to improve the detection performance. Furthermore, the spatial attention mechanism is also developed to focus more on the defect information. Experimental results show that the proposed network can accurately detect steel surface defects with approximately 72% mAP and satisfies the real-time speed requirement.
Radiative Transfer Modeling for the CLAMS Experiment

Spectral and broadband radiances and irradiances (fluxes) were measured from surface, airborne, and spaceborne platforms in the Chesapeake Lighthouse and Aircraft Measurements for Satellites (CLAMS) campaign. The radiation data obtained on the 4 clear days over ocean during CLAMS are analyzed here with the Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere Radiative Transfer (COART) model. The model is successively compared with observations of broadband fluxes and albedos near the ocean surface from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Ocean Validation Experiment (COVE) sea platform and a low-level OV-10 aircraft, of near-surface spectral albedos from COVE and OV-10, of broadband radiances at multiple angles and inferred top-of-atmosphere (TOA) fluxes from CERES, and of spectral radiances at multiple angles from Airborne Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), or ‘‘AirMISR,’’ at 20-km altidude. The radiation measurements from different platforms are shown to be consistent with each other and with model results. The discrepancies between the model and observations at the surface are less than 10 W m 22 for downwelling and 2 W m22 for upwelling fluxes. The model‐observation discrepancies for shortwave ocean albedo are less than 8%; some discrepancies in spectral albedo are larger but less than 20%. The discrepancies between low-altitude aircraft and surface measurements are somewhat larger than those between the model and the surface measurements; the former are due to the effects of differences in height, aircraft pitch and roll, and the noise of spatial and temporal variations of atmospheric and oceanic properties. The discrepancy between the model and the CERES observations for the upwelling radiance is 5.9% for all angles; this is reduced to 4.9% if observations within 15 8 of the sun-glint angle are excluded. The measurements and model agree on the principal impacts that ocean optical properties have on upwelling radiation at low levels in the atmosphere. Wind-driven surface roughness significantly affects the upwelling radiances measured by aircraft and satellites at small sun-glint angles, especially in the near-infrared channel of MISR. Intercomparisons of various measurements and the model show that most of the radiation observations in CLAMS are robust, and that the coupled radiative transfer model used here accurately treats scattering and absorption processes in both the air and the water.
Weed Control in Direct Seeded Puddled Rice

To evaluate the performance of rice herbicides in combination with manual weeding in direct seeded puddled rice a field trial was conducted during kharif 1995 and 1996 at CCSHAU Rice Research Station. Kaul. Pretilachlor 1.0 kg/ha in combination with hand weeding reduced weed population and weed dry weight significantly over remaining treatments except butachlor+ hand weeding during both the years. However, hand weeding twice and pretilachlor 0.75 kg/ha + hand weeding also remained statistically similar toit in respect of total weed population. The highest grain yield (41.42 and 49.17 q/ha) was recorded with pretilachlor 1.0 kg/ha in combination with hand weeding during 1995 and 1996. respectively. It was found statistically similar to butachlor 1.5 kg/ha + hand weeding and hand weeding twice during both the years. These proved significantly superior over rest of the treatments.
The Evaluation of Cartilage Regeneration Efficacy of Three-Dimensionally Biofabricated Human-Derived Biomaterials on Knee Osteoarthritis: A Single-Arm, Open Label Study in Egypt

Full thickness cartilage defects in cases of knee osteoarthritis are challenging in nature and are difficult to treat. The implantation of three-dimensional (3D) biofabricated grafts into the defect site can be a promising biological one-stage solution for such lesions that can avoid different disadvantages of the alternative surgical treatment options. In this study, the short-term clinical outcome of a novel surgical technique that uses a 3D bioprinted micronized adipose tissue (MAT) graft for knee cartilage defects is assessed and the degree of incorporation of such graft types is evaluated via arthroscopic and radiological analyses. Ten patients received 3D bioprinted grafts consisting of MAT with an allogenic hyaline cartilage matrix on a mold of polycaprolactone, with or without adjunct high tibial osteotomy, and they were monitored until 12 months postoperatively. Clinical outcomes were examined with patient-reported scoring instruments that consisted of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). The graft incorporation was assessed using the Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) score. At 12 months follow-up, cartilage tissue biopsy samples were taken from patients and underwent histopathological examination. In the results, at final follow-up, the WOMAC and KOOS scores were 22.39 ± 7.7 and 79.16 ± 5.49, respectively. All scores were significantly increased at final follow-up (p < 0.0001). MOCART scores were also improved to a mean of 82.85 ± 11.49, 12 months after operation, and we observed a complete incorporation of the grafts with the surrounding cartilage. Together, this study suggests a novel regeneration technique for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis patients, with less rejection response and better efficacy.
Intestinal Coccidian Infections in Cancer Patients: A Case Series

Introduction Coccidian protozoa and microsporidian fungi are opportunistic pathogens increasingly implicated in infections in immunosuppressed individuals. These parasites typically infect the intestinal epithelium, resulting in secretory diarrhea and malabsorption. The disease burden and timeline are both greater and longer among immunosuppressed patients. Therapeutic options for immunocompromised individuals are limited. As a result, we wanted to better characterize the disease course and treatment efficacy of these parasitic gastrointestinal infections. Methods We performed a single-center, retrospective MedMined (BD Healthsight Analytics, Birmingham, AL, USA) chart review of patients between January 2012 and June 2022 diagnosed with coccidian or microsporidian infections. Relevant data were collected from Cerner’s PowerChart (Oracle Cerner, Austin, TX, USA). Descriptive analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), and Microsoft Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) was used to generate graphs and tables. Results In these 10 years, there were 17 patients with Cryptosporidium infections, four with Cyclospora infections, and no positive cultures for Cystoisospora belli or microsporidian infections. In both infections, the majority of patients experienced diarrhea, fatigue, and nausea, with vomiting, abdominal pain, appetite loss, weight loss, and fever occurring to a lesser degree. Nitazoxanide was the most common treatment for Cryptosporidium, while trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or ciprofloxacin were the treatments of choice for Cyclospora. Of the Cryptosporidium infections, three received combination therapy with azithromycin, immunoreconstitution, or IV immunoglobulins. Among the four Cyclospora-infected patients, one received combination therapy of ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Treatment lasted around two weeks, and 88% of Cryptosporidium patients and 75% of Cyclospora patients had a resolution of symptoms. Conclusion The most detected coccidian infection was Cryptosporidium, followed by Cyclospora, with the lack of Cystoisospora or microsporidian infections likely due to diagnostic limitations and prevalence. Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora likely caused their associated symptoms in most cases, with other possible etiologies, including graft-versus-host disease, medications, and feeding tubes. The small number of patients receiving combination therapy prohibited a comparison with monotherapy. In our patient population, though, there was a clinical response to treatment despite immunosuppression. While promising, additional randomized control experiments are required to fully understand the efficacy of parasitic treatments.
Tropospheric and Stratospheric Precursors to the January 2013 Sudden Stratospheric Warming

AbstractThis paper investigates the tropospheric and stratospheric precursors to a major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) that began on 6 January 2013. Using the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis dataset, the analysis identified two distinct decelerations of the 10-hPa zonal mean zonal wind at 65°N in December in addition to the major SSW, which occurred on 6 January 2013 when the 10-hPa zonal mean zonal wind at 65°N reversed from westerly to easterly. The analysis shows that the two precursor events preconditioned the stratosphere for the SSW.Analysis of the tropospheric state in the days leading to the precursor events and the major SSW suggests that high-latitude tropospheric blocks occurred in the days prior to the two December deceleration events, but not in the days prior to the SSW. A detailed wave activity flux (WAF) analysis suggests that the tropospheric blocking prior to the two December deceleration events contributed to an anomalously positive 40-day-average 100-hPa zonal mean meridional e.
Permeability of Metformin across an In Vitro Blood–Brain Barrier Model during Normoxia and Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation Conditions: Role of Organic Cation Transporters (Octs)

Our lab previously established that metformin, a first-line type two diabetes treatment, activates the Nrf2 pathway and improves post-stroke recovery. Metformin’s brain permeability value and potential interaction with blood–brain barrier (BBB) uptake and efflux transporters are currently unknown. Metformin has been shown to be a substrate of organic cationic transporters (Octs) in the liver and kidneys. Brain endothelial cells at the BBB have been shown to express Octs; thus, we hypothesize that metformin uses Octs for its transport across the BBB. We used a co-culture model of brain endothelial cells and primary astrocytes as an in vitro BBB model to conduct permeability studies during normoxia and hypoxia using oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) conditions. Metformin was quantified using a highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method. We further checked Octs protein expression using Western blot analysis. Lastly, we completed a plasma glycoprotein (P-GP) efflux assay. Our results showed that metformin is a highly permeable molecule, uses Oct1 for its transport, and does not interact with P-GP. During OGD, we found alterations in Oct1 expression and increased permeability for metformin. Additionally, we showed that selective transport is a key determinant of metformin’s permeability during OGD, thus, providing a novel target for improving ischemic drug delivery.
The Role of Peroxiredoxins in Cancer Development

Simple Summary Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are unstable derivatives of oxygen that are generated naturally as products or biproducts of biological reactions. ROS, such as hydrogen peroxide, can be utilized for defense against infectious agents and as messengers in the biological system. However, excess ROS can damage DNA, lipids, and proteins, possibly inactivating or altering their functions. The molecules utilized by the body to stop production of ROS, to neutralize excess ROS, or to repair damage caused by ROS are known as antioxidants. Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are one of the antioxidant enzymes expressed in species from bacteria to humans that protect cells against ROS. In recent years, great progress has been made in understanding the role of Prxs in normal physiology and in different diseases. In this review, we have briefly summarized the recent findings regarding Prxs in cancer. Abstract Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are antioxidant enzymes with ubiquitous expression in human tissues. Prxs are expressed in archaea, bacteria, and eukaryota, often in multiple isoforms. Because of their abundant expression in different cellular organelles and extraordinary sensitivity to H2O2, Prxs are among the first defenses against oxidative stress. Prxs undergo reversible oxidation to disulfides, and some family members perform chaperone or phospholipase functions upon further oxidation. Prxs are upregulated in cancer cells. Research has suggested that Prxs can function as tumor promoters in various cancers. The major objective of this review is to summarize novel findings regarding the roles of Prxs in common cancer types. Prxs have been shown to influence differentiation of inflammatory cells and fibroblasts, remodeling of extracellular matrix, and regulation of stemness. Since aggressive cancer cells have higher intracellular levels of ROS that they can utilize to proliferate and metastasize compared to normal cells, it is critical that we understand the regulation and functions of primary antioxidants such as Prxs. These small but mighty proteins could prove to be key for improving cancer therapeutics and patient survival.
Validity evidences of two Sports-Pedagogy-related scales: socio-educational and autonomy development in youth sports

Abstract Competition is the essence of sports and, when conceived having participants as references, it can contributes to the development of different pedagogical contents, among them, socio-educative aspects and autonomy. The purpose of this research was to demonstrate the first validity evidences of two scales for supporting socio-educational and autonomy development in youth sports; both are part of the Battery of Tests Gonçalves-Balbinotti of Pedagogical Contents’ Development Support in Youth Sports. We aim to estimate their internal structures, test their stabilities and estimate their internal consistency. A sample of 210 coaches answered the scales related to socio-educational and autonomy development, which presented second order two-factor structures with significant factor loadings (> 0.40) and explaining 80.6% and 73.2% of the constructs’ total variance, respectively. The results related to the model fit were satisfactory (X2/df < 2.00; AGFI > 0.95; RMSEA < 0.05; CFI > 0.95; TLI > 0.95). The results regarding the internal consistency (0.786 < α < 0.913 for the factors; αSE = 0.889; αAu = 0.870) assure the precision of the measures and the reliability of their uses according to their purposes. The results answer the main and specific purposes of this research and indicate the safe use of these two scales.
On the Study of Analogue Network Coding for Multi-Pair, Bidirectional Relay Channels

We consider a scenario where multiple pairs of users exchange information within pair, with the help of a dedicated multi-antenna relay. The protocol integrates the idea of analogue network coding in mixing two data streams originating from the same user pair, together with the spatial multiplexing of the data streams originating from different user pairs. The key feature of the protocol is that it enables both the relay and the users to participate in interference cancellation. We propose several beamforming schemes for the multi-antenna relay and evaluate the performance using information theoretical metrics such as ergodic capacity, outage probability and diversity and multiplexing tradeoff. Analytical and simulation results justify that the ergodic capacity, outage probability and diversity and multiplexing tradeoff of the proposed beamforming schemes outperform comparable schemes.
Vertical extrapolation of Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) ocean surface winds using machine-learning techniques

Abstract. The increasing demand for wind energy offshore requires more hub-height-relevant wind information, while larger wind turbine sizes require measurements at greater heights. In situ measurements are harder to acquire at higher atmospheric levels; meanwhile the emergence of machine-learning applications has led to several studies demonstrating the improvement in accuracy for vertical wind extrapolation over conventional power-law and logarithmic-profile methods. Satellite wind retrievals supply multiple daily wind observations offshore, however only at 10 m height. The goal of this study is to develop and validate novel machine-learning methods using satellite wind observations and near-surface atmospheric measurements to extrapolate wind speeds to higher heights. A machine-learning model is trained on 12 years of collocated offshore wind measurements from a meteorological mast (FINO3) and space-borne wind observations from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT). The model is extended vertically to predict the FINO3 vertical wind profile. Horizontally, it is validated against the NORwegian hindcast Archive (NORA3) mesoscale model reanalysis data. In both cases the model slightly over-predicts the wind speed with differences of 0.25 and 0.40 m s−1, respectively. An important feature in the model-training process is the air–sea temperature difference; thus satellite sea surface temperature observations were included in the horizontal extension of the model, resulting in 0.20 m s−1 differences with NORA3. A limiting factor when training machine-learning models with satellite observations is the small finite number of daily samples at discrete times; this can skew the training process to higher-/lower-wind-speed predictions depending on the average wind speed at the satellite observational times. Nonetheless, results shown in this proof-of-concept study demonstrate the limited applicability of using machine-learning techniques to extrapolate long-term satellite wind observations when enough samples are available.
Complex Quality Control of Significant Level Rawinsonde Temperatures

Abstract Rawinsonde heights and temperatures have been quality controlled using complex quality control at the National Centers for Atmospheric Prediction since December 1988 when an algorithm using only hydrostatic checking was introduced for the checking of mandatory level heights and temperatures. The quality control of significant level temperatures was added to the hydrostatic code in April 1990. In November 1991, the mandatory level checking was greatly expanded and improved by the inclusion of additional checks: increment (observation minus 6-h forecast), horizontal, and vertical. This paper describes a major improvement to the significant level quality control, introduced in May 1994, using complex quality control techniques. The philosophy of the method and the various checks are described. The principles of the decision-making algorithm are stated, examples are shown, and some statistics of the use of the significant level checking are presented.