Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcomes Following Interposition Arthroplasty of the First Metatarsophalangeal Joint for the Treatment of Hallux Rigidus: A Systematic Review

Background: Interposition arthroplasty of the first MTP joint has recently experienced renewed interest as a treatment for hallux rigidus. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the rapidly expanding literature on PRO following interposition arthroplasty of the first MTP joint. Methods: PubMed Central, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched. Inclusion criteria included length of time to follow-up, number of patients, outcome measure, and use of allogeneic or autogenous soft tissue or a synthetic matrix as interposition. Results: 20 studies were included in the review, comprising 498 patients and 539 feet with mean time to follow-up of 4.5 years. The most common substance used for interposition in the included studies was autogenous first MTPJ capsular tissue, a technique reported on in 12 (60.0%) of the included articles. In studies reporting preoperative and postoperative outcomes by way of a standardized outcome scoring system, mean group improvements exceed minimal clinically important differences in the majority of studies. Eighty-five percent of the studies included in this review were of Level IV quality evidence, and of this subset of studies, 70.6% were of a retrospective nature. Progression to further surgery was observed in 3.8% of toes. The most common complication reported was transfer metatarsalgia of 1 or more lesser toes, observed in up to 57.9% of patients in one study. Conclusion: Interposition arthroplasty appears to be a viable option for the treatment of moderate to severe hallux rigidus in patients looking to salvage motion through the first metatarsophalangeal joint. A wide array of autogenous, allogeneic, and synthetic implant materials have surfaced in recent years, but long-term follow-up and prospective, comparative study designs with low risk of bias are limited. Level of Evidence: Level IV, systematic review of Level III-IV studies
Hepatic Sarcoidosis: Lesson Based on a Case Report

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disease of unknown etiology that can involve lungs, abdominal organs, and lymph nodes. The incidence of sarcoidosis is highest between the ages of 20 and 40 years, and it affects both sexes equally. The most frequent localization is in the lungs, and about half of the affected patients are generally asymptomatic but can involve in small percentages of various other parts such as the biliary tract, pancreas, stomach, and urinary tract. Hepatic and splenic localization is infrequent, and lesions are often mistaken for metastases due to their morphologic similarity. The histological lesion of sarcoidosis is a noncaseous granuloma always associated with high levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme, hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and, in a significant percentage of cases (35%–40%), liver enzyme alteration. The pathological evolution of granulomas is fibrosis, and the most severe cases of hepatic sarcoidosis can develop into cirrhosis or portal hypertension. Imaging is essential for lesion localization and is represented by ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography/CT. The differential diagnosis is very difficult and is almost always histological. We describe a case of hepatic sarcoidosis in an asymptomatic patient with elevated liver enzymes.
Understanding Naturalistic Facial Expressions with Deep Learning and Multimodal Large Language Models

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of affective computing systems for facial expression recognition (FER) research in naturalistic contexts. The first section presents an updated account of user-friendly FER toolboxes incorporating state-of-the-art deep learning models and elaborates on their neural architectures, datasets, and performances across domains. These sophisticated FER toolboxes can robustly address a variety of challenges encountered in the wild such as variations in illumination and head pose, which may otherwise impact recognition accuracy. The second section of this paper discusses multimodal large language models (MLLMs) and their potential applications in affective science. MLLMs exhibit human-level capabilities for FER and enable the quantification of various contextual variables to provide context-aware emotion inferences. These advancements have the potential to revolutionize current methodological approaches for studying the contextual influences on emotions, leading to the development of contextualized emotion models.
Preventive Behaviors of Iranian Women Toward Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Perspective of Motivation Protection Theory

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are frequently unreported, representing implied public health concerns, especially for women and in more vulnerable communities. This study aimed to determine the STI preventive behavior of Iranian women and related factors in protection motivation theory (PMT). Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on a convenience sample from 20 January to 21 March 2021 in Iran. Women who were 18-35 years old with marital status were eligible to participate (N=600). The collected variables included demographic characteristics and STI-related behaviors regarding constructs of PMT: knowledge, perceived vulnerability, perceived self-efficacy, and preventive intention. A Persian version of the Korean four-scale about STI preventive behaviors was used as the assessment tool, and one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests were used for analysis. Results: A significant difference was observed between knowledge, perceived vulnerability, perceived self-efficacy, and preventive intention with sociodemographic variables. STI-perceived vulnerability and STI-knowledge with mean scores of 62.37 and 42.52 were the highest and lowest perceived constructs of preventive behavior, respectively. STI knowledge of Iranian women was low, and STI-preventive self-efficacy was perceived as a positive predictor for STI protective behaviors. Conclusion: A theory-based educational intervention is highly recommended to improve STI-protective behaviors.
Long non-coding RNA growth arrest-specific 5 inhibits liver fibrogenesis in biliary atresia by interacting with microRNA-222 and repressing IGF1/AKT signaling

Background Long non-coding RNA growth arrest-specific 5 (lncRNA GAS5) has been shown to inhibit liver fibrosis through serving as a competing endogenous RNA for microRNA-222 (miR-222). Progressive liver fibrosis is a typical characteristic of biliary atresia (BA). However, the role of GAS5/miR-222 and its underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown in BA. Methods The expression of GAS5 was determined in the liver and primary hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) of BA patients. Then, the effects of GAS5 on the activation and proliferation of HSCs were evaluated. Furthermore, the interaction between GAS5 and miR-222 was investigated by a luciferase gene report assay. Next, the effects of IGF1/AKT signaling were determined to clarify the downstream mechanism of GAS5. Finally, GAS5 administration was performed to explore its role in an experimental BA mouse model. Results GAS5 expression was decreased in liver tissues and HSCs of BA patients, and was inversely correlated with liver fibrosis in BA. Up-regulation of GAS5 in LX-2 cells significantly reduced smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA) and collagen 1a1 (COL1A1) expression, inhibited cell proliferation and clone formation ability, induced S phase increase, and promoted cell apoptosis. Moreover, GAS5 was negatively regulated by miR-222, which promoted HSCs activation and proliferation, and was positively correlated with liver fibrosis in BA. Additionally, the expressions of IGF1, p-PI3K, and p-AKT were decreased when LX-2 cells over-expressed GAS5, whereas knockdown of IGF1 or AKT significantly decreased α-SMA and COL1A1 expression, suppressed cell proliferation, and enhanced cell apoptosis in LX-2 cells. Furthermore, GAS5 administration significantly increased apoptosis and reduced liver fibrosis, α-SMA and COL1A1 expressions in liver tissues of BA mice. Conclusions GAS5 inhibited liver fibrosis in BA by interacting with miR-222 and regulating IGF1/AKT signaling, which may be a therapeutic target to alleviate liver fibrosis in BA.
Environmental and Cultural Contexts of Paleoshoreline Sites on the Northwestern Olympic Peninsula of Washington State

This article addresses recent research on the northwestern Olympic Peninsula of Washington State that focuses upon archaeological sites that appear to be associated with one or more older sea level stands. The sites are located in forest settings between approximately seven and fourteen metres above the top of the modern intertidal zone. Several are located along the flanks of coastal river valleys that would have been bays when the local sea levels were higher. We present background information on the context of these sites, summarize the work that has been undertaken at them, and place the results of our research within the environmental and cultural histories of this region.
Spatio-Temporal Reconstruction for 3D Motion Recovery

This paper addresses the challenge of 3D motion recovery by exploiting the spatio-temporal correlations of corrupted 3D skeleton sequences. We propose a new 3D motion recovery method using spatio-temporal reconstruction, which uses joint low-rank and sparse priors to exploit temporal correlation and an isometric constraint for spatial correlation. The proposed model is formulated as a constrained optimization problem, which is efficiently solved by the augmented Lagrangian method with a Gauss–Newton solver for the subproblem of isometric optimization. The experimental results on the CMU motion capture dataset, Edinburgh dataset, and two Kinect datasets demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves better motion recovery than the state-of-the-art methods. The proposed method is applicable to Kinect-like skeleton tracking devices and pose estimation methods that cannot provide accurate estimation of complex motions, especially in the presence of occlusion.
Flora of North America North of Mexico

The Flora of North America north of Mexico treats all native and naturalized vascular plants and bryophytes in Canada, Greenland, St. Pierre et Miquelon, and the continental United States including the Florida Keys and Aleutian Islands (approximately 18 million square kilometers). It provides accepted names, literature citations, basionyms, synonyms, morphological descriptions, habitat, geographical distribution, conservation or weed status, and a discussion of taxonomic issues for approximately 20,000 species. Of the total 30 volumes anticipated, 18 have been published and one is in press, treating 2021 genera and 12,393 species. For the remaining volumes, 763 genera and 5,008 species have been submitted, and 82 of the 144 families have been submitted in full. Completion is anticipated by the end of 2017. The project is managed by the Flora of North America Association. Content from published volumes is available through eFloras and JSTOR and has been provided to the World Flora informatics team.
Intraoperative Iridectomy in Femto-Laser Assisted Smaller-Incision New Generation Implantable Miniature Telescope

Background: In this study, we aimed to report the short-term (6 months) effects on visual functionality and safety of femto-laser assisted smaller-incision new-generation implantable miniature telescope (SING-IMT™) implanting, particularly related to postsurgical intraocular pressure increase, in patients suffering from end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataract. This device, designed for monocular use, aims to minimise the impact of the central scotoma by projecting the images onto a larger area of the photoreceptors surrounding the macula. Methods: In this prospective multicentric observational case series study, 6 eyes of 6 patients who underwent SING-IMT™ implantations were enrolled. At baseline and 6 months follow-up, best corrected distance visual acuity (BCDV) and best corrected near visual acuity (BCNVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), anterior chamber depth, endothelial cells count were assessed. In addition, IOP was also measured at 7, 15, 30, 45 days, and at 3 months follow-up. Finally, the incidence of complications was evaluated. Results: At final follow-up, in the study eyes, mean BCDVA improved by +10.0 letters (6.25; 13.8) letters and mean BCNVA improved by −0.30 logMAR (−0.55; −0.20). At postoperative month 6, we reported a mean IOP decrease of 4.50 mmHg (−5.75; −0.25). Interestingly, 83.3% of patients had an increased IOP value in at least one of the first two postoperative follow-ups (7 days and 15 days). In patients in whom intraoperative mechanical iridotomy was not performed, it was necessary to perform a postoperative YAG laser iridotomy to improve IOP management. Compared to the baseline, ECD loss at 6 months follow-up was 12.6%. Conclusions: The SING IMT™ device was found to be effective in the distance and near vision improvement, without serious postoperative complications. We recommend intraoperative mechanical iridectomy in order to easily manage post-operative IOP and to avoid sudden IOP rise with its possible consequences. These good results can be a hope to partially improve the quality of life of patients suffering from severe end stage macular atrophy.
Impact of e-learning service quality on student satisfaction during the Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review

Educational institutions around the world transitioned from face-to-face learning to online learning as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This sudden transition had grave consequences on e-learning service quality (ELSQ) and student satisfaction with online learning; however, what dimensions of ELSQ impacted student satisfaction most during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unclear. This study represents the first systematic effort reviewing and synthesizing the available literature on the relationships between the various dimensions of ELSQ and student satisfaction with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. We searched the databases Education Source, Education Resources Information Center, and Computer & Applied Sciences Complete for quantitative studies. The results show that ELSQ dimensions were positively associated with student satisfaction with e-learning during COVID-19 pandemic. System quality was the most commonly demonstrated predictor of student satisfaction, followed closely by instructor and course material quality. Little research has focused on the administrative and support service aspect of ELSQ. The most frequent system-related subdimensions were perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, website design and content, responsiveness, functionality, technical support, advantages and compatibility of ICT, and information quality. The most prevalent instructor- and course-related subdimensions were the course content and design, instructor quality, student-student and student-instructor interactions, responsiveness, and instructor support.
Performance assessment: Improving metacognitive ability in mathematics learning

This study aims to examine the improvement of metacognitive abilities in learning mathematics through a variety of formative assessments. The study applied an experimental approach with a pre- and post-tests control group design. Six classes of students were chosen by cluster random sampling as the sample, with two classes serve as the experimental group with performance assessments, two classes serve as the comparison group with essay assessments and two additional classes serve as the control group with multiple choice assessments. The instrument to measure metacognitive ability was developed specifically for the pre-and post-tests. The gain score was analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and continued with the Scheffe test. The study discovered that students who participated in learning with formative assessments of performance showed the highest levels of metacognitive skills followed by those who participated in learning with formative assessments of essays and those who participated in learning with formative assessments of multiple-choice questions came in third. These findings lead to the conclusion that formative assessment of performance has a positive effect on improving metacognitive abilities. According to the characteristics of learning mathematics, this situation might happen because the performance evaluation includes activities that are difficult, comprehensive and associated with daily life. In addition, performance assessment also has intrinsic value because it requires students to organize and present material in their own way. It is recommended that mathematics teachers use formative performance assessments in order to enhance cognitive capacities.
Evaluating sentiment analysis and word embedding techniques on Brexit

In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of pre-trained word embeddings for sentiment analysis on a real-world topic, namely Brexit. We compare the performance of several popular word embedding models such global vectors for word representation (GloVe), FastText, word to vec (word2vec), and embeddings from language models (ELMo) on a dataset of tweets related to Brexit and evaluate their ability to classify the sentiment of the tweets as positive, negative, or neutral. We find that pre-trained word embeddings provide useful features for sentiment analysis and can significantly improve the performance of machine learning models. We also discuss the challenges and limitations of applying these models to complex, real-world texts such as those related to Brexit.
Investigation of the Potential of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) and Pressmud for the Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater

Improper management of organic industrial wastes, such as empty fruit bunch (EFB) from the palm oil industry and pressmud, i.e., a by-product of the sugar refinery industry can lead to environmental problems. This study aims to investigate the potential of pressmud and EFB as adsorbent materials in wastewater pollution removal. The chemical analysis in this study revealed that the EFB sample contained 7.30% of SiO2, 2.11% of Fe2O3, 1.91% of MgO, 28.02% of CaO, 37.59% of K2O, 1.45% of P2O5, 14.51% of Cl, 4.39% of SO3, and 2.38% of other elements. Meanwhile, the pressmud sample contained 14.32% of SiO2, 1.39% of SO3, 81.71% of CaO, 1.03% of Fe2O3, and the remaining 1.56% of other compounds. The possible adsorption capacities of pressmud and EFB were determined using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The absorption of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in these samples was analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. By comparing both models, the research revealed that the Langmuir model provided a more precise description of the adsorption process for the EFB and pressmud samples and was competently compared to the Freundlich model, as indicated by the highest R2 values. The results indicate the potential of EFB and pressmud as promising reactive materials for heavy metal adsorption, and this involves recognizing possibilities for repurposing these economical and sustainable waste materials.
The combination of apigenin and ursolic acid reduces the severity of cerebral malaria in Plasmodium berghei ANKA-infected Swiss Webster mice

Cerebral malaria (CM) is a complication of severe malaria characterized by reduced consciousness and other neurological symptoms resulting from Plasmodium falciparum infection. Apigenin and ursolic acid have antimalarial activity in vitro and in vivo in both P. falciparum culture and murine models. So this study evaluated the combination of apigenin and ursolic acid in inhibiting experimental CM in Plasmodium berghei Antwerpen-Kasapa (ANKA)- infected mice. Mice that were infected with P. berghei and showed neurological symptoms (ECM score ≥3) were treated orally for 4 days with 0.5% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) control; 20 mg/kg chloroquine; 75, 100, and 125 mg/kg apigenin; 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg ursolic acid; a combination of 50 mg/kg apigenin + 50 mg/kg ursolic acid and 75 mg/kg apigenin + 50 mg/kg ursolic acid. The percentage inhibition of parasites, neurological assessment, mean survival time (MST), and the measurement of the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was recorded. The combination of 75 mg/kg apigenin + 50 mg/kg ursolic acid inhibited parasite growth, extended the MST, reduced neurological symptoms, and protected the BBB in mice with CM. In conclusion, combining apigenin and ursolic acid can reduce the severity of CM in P. berghei ANKA-infected mice.
Weekend Admission and Mortality in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-analysis

Objective Previous studies have reported the presence of a “weekend effect” with respect to mortality in serious emergency admissions, including cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the relationship between weekend hospitalization and TBI mortality has not been fully established. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review of available evidence and investigate differences in mortality among TBI patients between weekday and weekend admissions. Methods Electronic databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase were used to obtain relevant articles. Mortality, as the primary outcome of interest, encompassed in-hospital or 30-day mortality. Mortality rates were compared between the 2 groups, weekend and weekday admissions. Additionally, meta-regression analysis was performed on potential confounders to verify and provide comparative results. Results A total of 7 studies involving 522,942 TBI patients were eligible for inclusion in the synthesis of the systematic review. Of these patients, 71.6% were admitted during weekdays, whereas 28.4% were hospitalized on weekends. The overall integrated mortality was 11.0% (57,286/522,942), with a mortality rate of 10.8% in the weekday group and 11.3% in the weekend group. Pooled analysis revealed no significant difference in mortality between the weekday and weekend groups (risk ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.90–1.09; p=0.78). Furthermore, the meta-regression analysis for sensitivity assessment showed no modifying effect on mortality (p=0.79). Conclusion This study found no difference in mortality rates between weekday and weekend admissions among TBI patients. Additional sensitivity analyses also demonstrated no significant increase in the risk of mortality in the weekend group.