Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How are Brazilian university students coping with the COVID-19 pandemic? Results of an online survey on psychosocial well-being, perceived burdens, and attitudes toward social distancing and vaccination

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to education systems worldwide, increasing pre-existing concerns regarding university students’ mental health. Brazil was among the countries most affected by COVID-19 cases and deaths and was considered a pandemic epicenter. This study aimed to investigate Brazilian university students’ mental health status and perceived burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods From November 2021 to March 2022, a cross-sectional and anonymous online survey was conducted among students of a Brazilian federal university. Mental health status (depressive symptoms, alcohol and drug consumption) and social and emotional aspects in the pandemic context (social support, perceived stress, loneliness, resilience, and self-efficacy) were assessed with standardized measures. Students’ attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination and perceived burdens of the pandemic were also investigated. Results A total of N = 2,437 students completed the online survey. The PHQ-9 mean sum score was 12.85 (SD = 7.40), while n = 1,488 (61.10%) participants reported a sum score of 10 or more, indicating clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Further, n = 808 (33.1%) of the total sample reported suicidal thoughts. Levels of depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and loneliness were higher among undergraduate/bachelor students than doctoral students. Almost all participants (97.3%) reported being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Multiple regression analyses showed that being single, having an income decreased during the pandemic, having a previous mental illness, having a chronic somatic condition, not finding positive aspects in the pandemic, lower self-efficacy, lower social support, lower resilience, and higher experienced loneliness were significantly associated with higher levels of depression. Conclusions The study showed high levels of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among Federal University of Parana students. Therefore, health care providers and universities need to recognize and address mental health issues; psychosocial policies must be enhanced to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on students’ mental health and wellbeing.
On the first positive Neumann eigenvalue

We study the first positive Neumann eigenvalue $\mu_1$ of the Laplace operator on a planar domain $\Omega$. We are particularly interested in how the size of $\mu_1$ depends on the size and geometry of $\Omega$. A notion of the intrinsic diameter of $\Omega$ is proposed and various examples are provided to illustrate the effect of the intrinsic diameter and its interplay with the geometry of the domain.
Interactive Skin Wound Segmentation Based on Feature Augment Networks

Skin wound segmentation in photographs allows non-invasive analysis of wounds that supports dermatological diagnosis and treatment. In this paper, we propose a novel feature augment network (FANet) to achieve automatic segmentation of skin wounds, and design an interactive feature augment network (IFANet) to provide interactive adjustment on the automatic segmentation results. The FANet contains the edge feature augment (EFA) module and the spatial relationship feature augment (SFA) module, which can make full use of the notable edge information and the spatial relationship information be-tween the wound and the skin. The IFANet, with FANet as the backbone, takes the user interactions and the initial result as inputs, and outputs the refined segmentation result. The pro-posed networks were tested on a dataset composed of miscellaneous skin wound images, and a public foot ulcer segmentation challenge dataset. The results indicate that the FANet gives good segmentation results while the IFANet can effectively improve them based on simple marking. Comprehensive comparative experiments show that our proposed networks outperform some other existing automatic or interactive segmentation methods, respectively.
Symptoms of illness during travel and risk factors for non-adherence to malaria prophylaxis—a cross-sectional study in travellers from Germany

Abstract Background Perceived adverse effects of antimalarial chemoprophylaxis can be difficult to distinguish from travel-related illness and are often cited as important reasons for non-adherence or refusal of antimalarial chemoprophylaxis. We aimed to investigate the occurrence of symptoms of illness in travellers with and without chemoprophylaxis in a cross-sectional study after travel and to identify risk factors for non-adherence to prophylaxis. Methods We enrolled 458 travellers to Africa and South America during their pre-travel medical consultation at the travel clinic of the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf and conducted post-travel interviews on symptoms of illness and intake of malaria prophylaxis. Results Eleven percent (49/437) of the participants reported symptoms of illness during travel. In total, 36% (160/448) of the participants reported prescription of chemoprophylaxis, the vast majority of these travelled to Africa (98%) and received atovaquone/proguanil (93%). Frequency of symptoms did not differ significantly between participants without prophylaxis and those taking atovaquone/proguanil. Non-adherence to prophylaxis was frequent (20%), but only 3% (4/149) of the participants stopped the medication early because of perceived side effects. Risk factors associated with non-adherence to prophylaxis included age under 30 years, travel to West or Central Africa and travel duration greater than 14 days. Conclusions Symptoms of illness during travel occurred at similar frequencies irrespective of intake of chemoprophylaxis. Travellers should be informed about chemoprophylaxis in a balanced way, without raising fear of side effects, especially among groups at higher risk for incorrect use of prophylaxis.
The Prevalence of Bowel and Bladder Function During Early Childhood: A Population-Based Study

Objectives: Our primary aim was to determine bowel and bladder function in children aged 1 month to 7 years in the general Dutch population. Second, we aimed to identify demographic factors associated with the presence of bowel and bladder dysfunction, and their coexistence. Methods: For this cross-sectional, population-based study, parents/caregivers of children aged from 1 month to 7 years were asked to complete the Early Pediatric Groningen Defecation and Fecal Continence questionnaire. Different parameters of bowel and bladder function were assessed using validated scoring systems such as the Rome IV criteria. Results: The mean age of the study population (N = 791) was 3.9 ± 2.2 years. The mean age at which parents/caregivers considered their child fully toilet-trained was 5.1 ± 1.5 years. Prevalence of fecal incontinence among toilet-trained children was 12%. Overall prevalence of constipation was 14%, with a constant probability and severity at all ages. We found significant associations between fecal incontinence and constipation [odds ratio (OR) = 3.88, 95% CI: 2.06–7.30], fecal incontinence and urinary incontinence (OR = 5.26, 95% CI: 2.78–9.98), and constipation and urinary incontinence (OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.24–3.42). Conclusions: Even though most children are fully toilet-trained at 5 years, fecal incontinence is common. Constipation appears to be common in infants, toddlers, and older children. Fecal incontinence and constipation frequently coexist and are often accompanied by urinary incontinence. Increased awareness of bowel and bladder dysfunction in infants, toddlers, and young children is required to prevent these problems from continuing at older ages.
Molecular gas and dust in spiral galaxies

Abstract Several recent surveys (HERACLES, NGLS, KINGFISH, VNGS) have provided us with sensitive high-resolution observations of the molecular gas and dust content in spiral galaxies within 25 Mpc. I review recent results on the molecular gas content and its relation to star formation, as well as on the gas to dust ratio and the dust heating in spiral galaxies. I also present new results on the effect of environment on the molecular gas content of spiral galaxies.
Gastrointestinal Symptoms Profile in Gastroparesis Compared to Other Functional and Organic Gastrointestinal Diseases

Objectives: The primary objective was to compare the patient-reported gastrointestinal symptoms profiles of pediatric patients with gastroparesis to pediatric patients with 1 of 7 other functional gastrointestinal disorders and organic gastrointestinal diseases using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales. Methods: The gastrointestinal symptoms profiles of 64 pediatric patients with gastroparesis who manifested abnormal gastric retention based on gastric emptying scintigraphy testing were compared to 582 pediatric patients with 1 of 7 physician-diagnosed gastrointestinal disorders (functional abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional constipation, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis). The PedsQL Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales encompass 10 individual multi-item scales which measure stomach pain, stomach discomfort when eating, food and drink limits, trouble swallowing, heartburn and reflux, nausea and vomiting, gas and bloating, constipation, blood in poop, and diarrhea/fecal incontinence, with an overall total gastrointestinal symptoms score. Results: The gastrointestinal symptoms profile analysis identified significantly worse overall total gastrointestinal symptoms scores between pediatric patients with gastroparesis compared to all other gastrointestinal groups except for irritable bowel syndrome (most Ps < 0.001), with significant differences for stomach discomfort when eating compared to all 7 other gastrointestinal groups (most Ps < 0.001). Nausea and vomiting were significantly worse for gastroparesis compared to all other gastrointestinal groups except for functional dyspepsia (all Ps < 0.001). Conclusions: Pediatric patients with gastroparesis self-reported significantly worse overall total gastrointestinal symptoms compared to all other gastrointestinal diagnostic groups except for irritable bowel syndrome, with stomach discomfort when eating and nausea and vomiting symptoms exhibiting the greatest differences compared to most gastrointestinal diagnostic groups.
Beyond Antioxidation: Keap1–Nrf2 in the Development and Effector Functions of Adaptive Immune Cells

Abstract Ubiquitously expressed in mammalian cells, the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1)–NF erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) complex forms the evolutionarily conserved antioxidation system to tackle oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species, generated as byproducts of cellular metabolism, were identified as essential second messengers for T cell signaling, activation, and effector responses. Apart from its traditional role as an antioxidant, a growing body of evidence indicates that Nrf2, tightly regulated by Keap1, modulates immune responses and regulates cellular metabolism. Newer functions of Keap1 and Nrf2 in immune cell activation and function, as well as their role in inflammatory diseases such as sepsis, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis, are emerging. In this review, we highlight recent findings about the influence of Keap1 and Nrf2 in the development and effector functions of adaptive immune cells, that is, T cells and B cells, and discuss the knowledge gaps in our understanding. We also summarize the research potential and targetability of Nrf2 for treating immune pathologies.
Bayes optimality in classification, feature extraction and shape analysis

A major goal in pattern recognition algorithms is to achieve the performance of the Bayes optimal rule, i.e. minimum probability in classification error. Unfortunately, we usually can't achieve to this goal, because the original data distributions are unknown. This leaves us with the need to estimate the true, underlying class distributions from samples. This estimation procedure adds classification errors due to two major causes. First, the form of the density function used in our estimate may not correctly define the data. Second, noise and limited data available may generate incorrect estimates. In particular, the first problem usually occurs when the data representations share a common norm (spherical data). Since the estimation of the Gaussian model is much easier than those of spherical models, researchers generally resort to the uses of the former. In this thesis, we show that in some particular cases, which we named spherical-homoscedastic, one can use the Gaussian model and still obtain Bayes optimal classifications. We applied the developed theory to many practical problems including text classification, gene expression analysis and shape analysis. For the analysis of shapes, we introduce the new key concept of rotation in-variant kernels. Here, we derive a criterion to select the parameter of this kernel that make the shape distributions spherical-homoscedastic in the kernel space. The second major problem is addressed by proposing a feature extraction algorithm considering the Bayes optimality of the solution. Similarly to the above classification problem, most of the algorithms defined to date are extracting the classification information depending on some discriminant criteria, rather than the Bayes error itself. This is due to the difficulties associated with calculating the Bayes error. In the second part of this thesis, we design an algorithm that can extract the 1-dimensional subspace where the Bayes error is minimized for homoscedastic (i.e., same covariance) Gaussian distributions. We then extend this algorithm to extract a d-dimensional subspace. Better solutions come at a higher computational cost. To address this problem we propose a linear approximation. The conditions underlying the estimation for Bayes optimal feature extraction are relaxed by using a kernel which maps the original space into one where the data adapts to the homoscedastic model. We demonstrate the practical usages of the proposed algorithms in the classification of images of objects, gene expression sequences, text data and shapes. A detailed analysis is held on classification of a new specimen called LB1.
Isotopic and Energy Groupwise Dependence of Fuel Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity in Natural Uranium-Fueled Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors

Abstract We have studied the individual effect of the temperature dependence of the multigroup cross sections of 238U, 235U, 239Pu, 240Pu, and 16O on the calculated fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) by performing detailed sensitivity studies. The thermal contribution and the Doppler contribution of the FTC have been estimated for the above isotopes for the 19-element UO2-fueled heavy water lattice of the pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR). The groupwise breakdown of the FTC due to 238U resonances has also been obtained. The FTC of Canada deuterium uranium reactor (CANDU)-type pressurized heavy water moderated lattices using UO2 fuel becomes less negative with burnup and changes sign at high burnups. Our studies clearly demonstrate that the positive component of the FTC in natural UO2-fueled PHWRs arises primarily because of the temperature dependence of scattering cross sections of 16O in agreement with the earlier findings of Stammler. In this paper, we have calculated the reactivity due to the change in fuel temperature, and all our discussions are based on this fuel temperature reactivity rather than the FTC itself.
Evaluation of Reproductive Success of the Olive Ridley Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea (Testudinata: Cheloniidae) Using Different Incubation Treatments

Abstract: In nesting areas with extreme climatic conditions, such as high temperatures, it is advisable to use mitigation strategies that counteract these negative effects on the hatching success of sea turtle nests. We evaluated the effect of incubation treatment on hatching success and incubation period for olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea during the 2019 nesting season in Guerrero, Mexico. Three incubation treatments (T1 = shade & freshwater irrigation; T2 = shade, seawater pre-irrigation, sand covered & freshwater irrigated; T3 = shade, seawater pre-irrigation, covered with a plastic lid & freshwater irrigated) were trialed at two different times during the nesting season. One of our goals was to compare the reproductive success of hatchery nests versus in situ nests, however, in situ nests hatching success was zero. We found that treatments had no effect on hatching success or incubation period, but there were differences in proportions of dead and crushed hatchlings. Clutches incubated in the second relocation period had longer incubation times. However, nest relocation periods had no effect on hatching success, dead hatchlings, or the proportion of crushed hatchlings. Our results also showed that the amount of seawater applied to the holes and the rate of irrigation were not lethal for the incubating eggs, but prolonged the incubation period. These results could help to increase our understanding of sea turtle reproductive success and may serve as a baseline to adapt the spatio-temporal conditions of the hatcheries in other areas with similar environmental conditions.
Population Size and Habitat Occupancy by the Endangered Mariana Crow

Abstract: I present data on the Mariana Crow for an extensive but previously unavailable set of population and habitat surveys from 1992 to 1993. From these, I (1) compute a series of population estimates from that period during which Mariana Crow numbers were first entering a precipitous decline, (2) quantitatively assess the habitats occupied by individual birds and thereby provide a view of the range of habitats occupied during a time when the species was still widespread, and (3) provide the first direct wet-dry season comparisons of populations and habitat occupancy. Surveys yielded significantly different wet (943) and dry season (459) population estimates, which suggested wet season courtship activity preceding dry season nesting when birds became more secretive. Moreover, they indicated that the critical turning point in population decline was after 1995. Forest was the principal habitat type occupied during both wet and dry seasons, with savanna present less than half as often as forest, although birds occupied a range of additional habitats. The species was more versatile in habitat use than is often assumed, as rates of habitat occupancy and availability were similar. Versatility is an advantage for populations confined to small islands that periodically suffer catastrophic habitat damage due to typhoons.
Entropy-Based Uncertainty Measures for , , and With a Hirschman Optimal Transform for

The traditional Heisenberg-Weyl measure quantifies the joint localization, uncertainty, or concentration of a signal in the phase plane based on a product of energies expressed as signal variances in time and in frequency. In the image processing lit- erature, the term compactness also has been used to refer to this same notion of joint localization, in the sense of a signal represen- tation that is efficient simultaneously in time (or space) and fre- quency. In this paper, we consider Hirschman uncertainty prin- ciples based not on energies and variances directly but rather on entropies computed with respect to normalized energy densities in time and frequency. Unlike the Heisenberg-Weyl measure, this entropic Hirschman notion of joint uncertainty extends naturally from the case of infinitely supported continuous-time signals to the cases of both finitely and infinitely supported discrete-time signals. For the first time, we consider these three cases together and study them relative to one another. In the case of infinitely supported continuous-time signals, we find that, consistent with the energy- based Heisenberg principle, the optimal time-frequency concentra- tion with respect to the Hirschman uncertainty principle is realized by translated and modulated Gaussian functions. In the two dis- crete cases, however, the entropy-based measure yields optimizers that may be generated by applying compositions of operators to the Kronecker delta. Study of the discrete cases yields two inter- esting results. First, in the finitely supported case, the Hirschman- optimal functions coincide with the so-called "picket fence" func- tions that are also optimal with respect to the joint time-frequency counting measure of Donoho and Stark. Second, the Hirschman optimal functions in the infinitely supported case can be recon- ciled with continuous-time Gaussians through a certain limiting process. While a different limiting process can be used to recon- cile the finitely and infinitely supported discrete cases, there does not appear to be a straightforward limiting process that unifies all three cases: The optimizers from the finitely supported discrete case are decidedly non-Gaussian. We perform a very simple exper- iment that indicates that the Hirschman optimal transform (HOT) is superior to the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and discrete co- sine transform (DCT) in terms of its ability to separate or resolve two limiting cases of localization in frequency, viz. pure tones and additive white noise. We believe that these differences arise from the use of entropy rather than energy as an optimality criterion and are intimately related to the apparent incongruence between
Spatio-temporal optical vortex (STOV) pulses

We review highlights of our recent contributions to understanding the propagation dynamics and transverse orbital angular momentum of optical pulses carrying spatiotemporal optical vortices (STOVs). STOVs, which were first observed as an emergent phenomenon in nonlinear self-focusing, were first linearly generated using a 4𝑓 pulse shaper and measured using transient-grating single-shot supercontinuum spectral interferometry (TG-SSSI). That STOV-based transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM) is carried at the single photon level was then confirmed in measurements of OAM conservation in second harmonic generation. Our recent theory for the electromagnetic mode structure and transverse OAM of STOV-carrying pulses in dispersive media predicts half-integer OAM and the existence of a transverse OAM-carrying quasiparticle: the bulk medium STOV polariton.