Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dysfunctional thinking patterns and immigration status as predictors of hearing protection device usage

Background: There is limited research on the role of dysfunctional/irrational thinking processes and immigration status on hearing protection device (HPD) usage.Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of low frustration tolerance (LFT) and immigration status on HPD usage among employees exposed to hazardous industrial noise.Methods: A total of 117 Israeli-borns and 80 new immigrants from former Soviet Union completed a questionnaire. The association between HPD usage and barriers to action, self-efficacy, and LFT (accounting for age, years of exposure, and immigration status) were assessed using ordered logistic regression models.Results: LFT was associated negatively (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = .25, 95%; confidence interval [CI] = .15−.41) with HPD usage. Self-efficacy was a modifier (adjusted OR = 1.47, 95%; CI = 1.34−1.63): the higher the self-efficacy for a given LFT level, the higher the extent of HPD usage. Immigration status was not a significant predictor.Conclusions: HPD usage is associated with both rational and irrational motivations. The role of LFT in hearing protection should be further investigated.
Cerebral Embolic Protection Devices During Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and Purpose— Silent ischemic embolic lesions are common after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The use of embolic protection devices (EPD) may reduce the occurrence of these embolic lesions. Thus, a quantitative overview and credibility assessment of the literature was necessary to draw a robust message about EPD. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to study whether the use of EPD reduces silent ischemic and clinically evident cerebrovascular events associated with TAVI. Methods— We conducted a comprehensive search to identify studies that evaluated patients undergoing TAVI with or without EPD. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to estimate the effect of EPD compared with no-EPD during TAVI using aggregate data. Results— Sixteen studies involving 1170 patients (865/305 with/without EPD) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The EPD delivery success rate was reported in all studies and was achieved in 94.5% of patients. Meta-analyses evaluating EPD versus without EPD strategies could not confirm or exclude any differences in terms of clinically evident stroke (relative risk, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38–1.29; P=0.26) or 30-day mortality (relative risk, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.20–1.64; P=0.30). There were no significant differences in new-single, multiple, or total number of lesions. The use of EPD was associated with a significantly smaller ischemic volume per lesion (standardized mean difference, −0.52; 95% CI, −0.85 to −0.20; P=0.002) and smaller total volume of lesions (standardized mean difference, −0.23; 95% CI, −0.42 to −0.03; P=0.02). Subgroup analysis by type of valve showed an overall trend toward significant reduction in new lesions per patient using EPD (standardized mean difference, −0.41; 95% CI, −0.82 to 0.00; P=0.05), driven by self-expanding devices. Conclusions— The use of EPD during TAVI may be associated with smaller volume of silent ischemic lesions and smaller total volume of silent ischemic lesions. However, EPD may not reduce the number of new-single, multiple, or total number of lesions. There was only very low quality of evidence showing no significant differences between patients undergoing TAVI with or without EPD with respect to clinically evident stroke and mortality.
Hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanostructures

Abstract One-dimensional nanostructures exhibit interesting electronic and optical properties due to their low dimensionality leading to quantum confinement effects. ZnO has received lot of attention as a nanostructured material because of unique properties rendering it suitable for various applications. Amongst the different methods of synthesis of ZnO nanostructures, the hydrothermal method is attractive for its simplicity and environment friendly conditions. This review summarizes the conditions leading to the growth of different ZnO nanostructures using hydrothermal technique. Doping of ZnO nanostructures through hydrothermal method are also highlighted.
WDM system based on radius variation of photonic microring resonators

In this paper, we propose a concept of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system using microring resonator radius variation method. The free spectral range is used to analyze the characteristics of the microring resonator where an increase in ring radius will decrease the FSR value. Consequently, the design concept of this WDM system is justified using the simulation results. The number of channels that can be incorporated is approximately 52 channels with 0.8nm spacing for a reference ring resonator of 1. 05µm radius.
Recommending APIs for API Related Questions in Stack Overflow

Application programming interface (API)-related questions are increasingly posted and discussed by developers in popular question and answer forums, such as Stack Overflow. However, their extremely long resolution time seriously delays the working schedules of developers. Despite researchers have investigated how to automatically resolve API-related questions by recommending correct APIs for them, there is still much room for additional improvement. In this paper, we propose a novel approach of recommending APIs for API-related questions based on API specifications and historical resolved questions (RASH). Given a new API-related question, RASH recommends APIs for it guided by two central observations. First, the more lexically similar the functional description in an API’s specification is to the new question, the more likely that the API can resolve the new question. Second, the APIs that have resolved more historical similar questions can also help to resolve the new question. To verify the effectiveness of RASH, we construct and publish a corpus containing 1234 API-related questions with their correct APIs from Stack Overflow, and conduct extensive experiments over it. The experimental results show that RASH is relatively stable and robust to a different quality of questions. In addition, RASH hits nearly 70% correct APIs and outperforms the state-of-the-art approach by 15.64% when recommending 15 APIs for each question.
Simulation and Modeling of the Powder Diffraction Pattern from Nanoparticles: Studying the Effects of Faulting in Small Crystallites

Accurate statistical characterization of nanomaterials is crucial for their use in emerging technologies. This work investigates how different structural characteristics of metal nanoparticles influence the line profiles of the corresponding powder diffraction pattern. The effects of crystallite size, shape, lattice dynamics, and faulting are all systematically studied in terms of their impact on the line profiles. The studied patterns are simulated from atomistic models of nanoparticles via the Debye function. This approach allows for the existing theories of diffraction to be tested, and extended, in an effort to improve the characterization of small crystallites. It also begins to allow for the incorporation of atomistic simulations into the field of diffraction. Molecular dynamics simulations are shown to be effective in generating realistic structural models and dynamics of an atomic system, and are then used to study the observed features in the powder diffraction pattern. Furthermore, the characterization of a sample of shape controlled Pt nanoparticles is carried out through the use of a developed Debye function analysis routine in an effort to determine the predominant particle shape. The results of this modeling are shown to be in good agreement with complementary characterization methods, like transmission electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry.
HPV circulating tumor DNA to monitor the efficacy of anti‐PD‐1 therapy in metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal: A case report

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is a rare HPV‐associated cancer with limited sensitivity to standard chemotherapy. In a phase 2 study, nivolumab, an anti PD‐1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, demonstrated significant efficacy as single‐agent therapy in metastatic SCCA patients. Nevertheless, imaging assessment by standard RECIST criteria of the efficacy of immune therapy can be difficult in some patients due to tumor immune cell infiltration, and biomarkers of treatment efficacy are needed. We have previously developed a quantitative droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) technique to detect HPV circulating tumor DNA (HPV ctDNA), with excellent sensitivity and specificity. Here, we report, for the first time, the kinetics of HPV ctDNA during therapy in a patient with metastatic SCCA, who obtained sustained partial response to single‐agent nivolumab. We observed an early and very significant decrease of HPV ctDNA during therapy from the baseline level of 3713 copies/ml plasma to 564 copies/ml plasma at 4 weeks, and 156 copies/ml at 6 weeks, followed by a plateau. This observation provides proof‐of‐concept that HPV ctDNA can be used as a noninvasive early dynamic biomarker to monitor the efficacy of new immunotherapy agents.
Wireless Resource Scheduling in Virtualized Radio Access Networks Using Stochastic Learning

How to allocate the limited wireless resource in dense radio access networks (RANs) remains challenging. By leveraging a software-defined control plane, the independent base stations (BSs) are virtualized as a centralized network controller (CNC). Such virtualization decouples the CNC from the wireless service providers (WSPs). We investigate a virtualized RAN, where the CNC auctions channels at the beginning of scheduling slots to the mobile terminals (MTs) based on bids from their subscribing WSPs. Each WSP aims at maximizing the expected long-term payoff from bidding channels to satisfy the MTs for transmitting packets. We formulate the problem as a stochastic game, where the channel auction and packet scheduling decisions of a WSP depend on the state of network and the control policies of its competitors. To approach the equilibrium solution, an abstract stochastic game is proposed with bounded regret. The decision making process of each WSP is modeled as a Markov decision process (MDP). To address the signalling overhead and computational complexity issues, we decompose the MDP into a series of single-agent MDPs with reduced state spaces, and derive an online localized algorithm to learn the state value functions. Our results show significant performance improvements in terms of per-MT average utility.
A classifier based approach for the detection of potential threats in CT based Baggage Screening

Recent years have seen increased use of Computed Tomography (CT) based Unaccompanied Baggage and Package Screening (UBPS) systems for luggage examination to ensure air travel security. In this paper we present a research work on developing a system for automatic detection of potential threat items in cluttered 3D CT imagery originating from UBPS systems by combining 3D medical image segmentation techniques with 3D shape classification and retrieval methods.
Stratigraphic analysis of lake level fluctuations in Lake Ohrid: an integration of high resolution hydro-acoustic data and sediment cores

Abstract. Ancient Lake Ohrid is a steep-sided, oligotrophic, karst lake that was tectonically formed most likely within the Pliocene and often referred to as a hotspot of endemic biodiversity. This study aims on tracing significant lake level fluctuations at Lake Ohrid using high-resolution acoustic data in combination with lithological, geochemical, and chronological information from two sediment cores recovered from sub-aquatic terrace levels at ca. 32 and 60 m water depth. According to our data, significant lake level fluctuations with prominent lowstands of ca. 60 and 35 m below the present water level occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 and MIS 5, respectively. The effect of these lowstands on biodiversity in most coastal parts of the lake is negligible, due to only small changes in lake surface area, coastline, and habitat. In contrast, biodiversity in shallower areas was more severely affected due to disconnection of today sub-lacustrine springs from the main water body. Multichannel seismic data from deeper parts of the lake clearly image several clinoform structures stacked on top of each other. These stacked clinoforms indicate significantly lower lake levels prior to MIS 6 and a stepwise rise of water level with intermittent stillstands since its existence as water-filled body, which might have caused enhanced expansion of endemic species within Lake Ohrid.
Agulhas Leakage Predominantly Responds to the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies

AbstractThe Agulhas Current plays a crucial role in the thermohaline circulation through its leakage into the South Atlantic Ocean. Under both past and present climates, the trade winds and westerlies could have the ability to modulate the amount of Indian–Atlantic inflow. Compelling arguments have been put forward suggesting that trade winds alone have little impact on the magnitude of Agulhas leakage. Here, employing three ocean models for robust analysis—a global coarse-resolution, a regional eddy-permitting, and a nested high-resolution eddy-resolving configuration—and systematically altering the position and intensity of the westerly wind belt in a series of sensitivity experiments, it is shown that the westerlies, in particular their intensity, control the leakage. Leakage responds proportionally to the intensity of westerlies up to a certain point. Beyond this, through the adjustment of the large-scale circulation, energetic interactions occur between the Agulhas Return Current and the Antarctic Ci.
Network partition via a bound of the spectral radius

Based on the density of connections between the nodes of high degree, we introduce two bounds of the spectral radius. We use these bounds to split a network into two sets, one of these sets contains the high degree nodes, we refer to this set as the spectral--core. The degree of the nodes of the subnetwork formed by the spectral--core gives an approximation to the top entries of the leading eigenvector of the whole network. We also present some numerical examples showing the dependancy of the spectral--core with the assortativity coefficient, its evaluation in several real networks and how the properties of the spectral--core can be used to reduce the spectral radius.
CALIBRATION OF INSTRUMENTS FOR HARDNESS TESTING BY USE OF A STANDARD

As a standard for the calibration of force and depth scales of hardness testing instruments a system of silicon springs is described. The standard shows a linear force-deflection characteristic F = k · f up to a stop point (typical: Fst = 420 mN; fst = 22 µm). For the calibration of stiffness and stop point of the standard the characteristic should be measured using a spherical indenter. In view of the practical application for the assessment of instruments also Vickers indenters can be used. In this case indentations are produced. The resulting wear can be minimized by reducing the maximum force and using only the measured stiffness k for a quick assessment.
Similarity search for image retrieval via local-constrained linear coding

Similarity search is critical for image retrieval, which involves retrieving similar images among the database for queries. Current state-of-the-art approaches rely on matrix factorization, consisting of dictionary learning and sparse coding step. However, the extensive dictionary learning time and the non-smooth encoding restrict its application. In this paper, we have proposed a similarity search approach based on local-constrained linear coding (LLC). This approach can reduce the time cost of dictionary learning by simply using k-means clustering. In addition, the LLC schema can lead to a better representation over sparse coding, which can benefit for similarity search. Experimental results on three image retrieval datasets demonstrate that the proposed approach can reduce offline learning time and achieve better retrieval accuracy over the state-of-the-art approach for balanced data.
Reduced Decorin, Fibromodulin, and Transforming Growth Factor-&bgr;3 in Deep Dermis Leads to Hypertrophic Scarring

Hypertrophic scar (HTS) occurs after injuries involving the deep dermis, while superficial wounds (SWs) to the skin heal with minimal or no scarring. The levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr;1 and small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) with fibroblast subtype and function may influence the development of HTS. The aim of this study was to characterize the expression and localization of factors that regulate wound healing including SLRPs, TGF-&bgr;1, and TGF-&bgr;3 in an experimental human SW and deep wound (DW) scar model including fibroblasts from superficial and deep layers of normal dermis. A 6-cm horizontal dermal scratch experimental wound was created, which consisted of progressively deeper wounds that were superficial at one end (0–0.75 mm deep) and deep (0.75–3 mm deep) at the other end, located on the anterior thigh of an adult male. Immunofluorescence staining, immunoblotting, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and flow cytometry were performed to analyze the cellular and molecular differences between the SW scar and DW scar as well as fibroblasts isolated from superficial layer (L1) and deep layer (L5) of normal dermis. Comparing SWs and L1 fibroblasts, the expression of decorin, fibromodulin, and TGF-&bgr;3 was considerably lower than in DWs and L5 fibroblasts; however, TGF-&bgr;1 was higher in the deeper dermal wounds. When compared with L1 fibroblasts, L5 fibroblasts had lower Thy-1 immunoreactivity and significantly higher expression of TGF-&bgr; receptor type II. Decreased antifibrotic molecules in matrix of deep dermis of the skin and the unique features of the associated fibroblasts including an increased sensitivity to TGF-&bgr;1 stimulation contribute to the development of HTS after injuries involving the deep dermis.
Surface Finish Techniques for FDM Parts

Additive manufacturing technologies decrease production time and costs in engineering industry but also in other industries. Parts produced with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) have typical low surface finish quality. This paper is aimed on research of surface finishing technologies applicable to improve the quality of FDM prototypes surface finish. Pretreated samples were blasted with sodium bicarbonate and glass beads. The values of Ra and Rz were measured on the samples and compared the impact of selected pre-treatment, blasting medium and blasting conditions on surface finish quality of FDM prototypes.
Menopausal Hot Flashes and Carotid Intima Media Thickness Among Midlife Women

Background and Purpose— There has been a longstanding interest in the role of menopause and its correlates in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. Menopausal hot flashes are experienced by most midlife women; emerging data link hot flashes to CVD risk indicators. We tested whether hot flashes, measured via state-of-the-art physiologic methods, were associated with greater subclinical atherosclerosis as assessed by carotid ultrasound. We considered the role of CVD risk factors and estradiol concentrations in these associations. Methods— A total of 295 nonsmoking women free of clinical CVD underwent ambulatory physiologic hot flash assessments; a blood draw; and carotid ultrasound measurement of intima media thickness and plaque. Associations between hot flashes and subclinical atherosclerosis were tested in regression models controlling for CVD risk factors and estradiol. Results— More frequent physiologic hot flashes were associated with higher carotid intima media thickness (for each additional hot flash: &bgr; [SE]=0.004 [0.001]; P=0.0001; reported hot flash: &bgr; [SE]=0.008 [0.002]; P=0.002, multivariable) and plaque (eg, for each additional hot flash, odds ratio [95% confidence interval] plaque index ≥2=1.07 [1.003–1.14]; P=0.04, relative to no plaque, multivariable] among women reporting daily hot flashes; associations were not accounted for by CVD risk factors or by estradiol. Among women reporting hot flashes, hot flashes accounted for more variance in intima media thickness than most CVD risk factors. Conclusions— Among women reporting daily hot flashes, frequent hot flashes may provide information about a woman’s vascular status beyond standard CVD risk factors and estradiol. Frequent hot flashes may mark a vulnerable vascular phenotype among midlife women.
Inhibition of prostate cancer proliferation by Deferiprone

Cancer growth and proliferation rely on intracellular iron availability. We studied the effects of Deferiprone (DFP), a chelator of intracellular iron, on three prostate cancer cell lines: murine, metastatic TRAMP‐C2; murine, non‐metastatic Myc‐CaP; and human, non‐metastatic 22rv1. The effects of DFP were evaluated at different cellular levels: cell culture proliferation and migration; metabolism of live cells (time‐course multi‐nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy cell perfusion studies, with 1‐13C‐glucose, and extracellular flux analysis); and expression (Western blot) and activity of mitochondrial aconitase, an iron‐dependent enzyme. The 50% and 90% inhibitory concentrations (IC50 and IC90, respectively) of DFP for the three cell lines after 48 h of incubation were within the ranges 51–67 μM and 81–186 μM, respectively. Exposure to 100 μM DFP led to: (i) significant inhibition of cell migration after different exposure times, ranging from 12 h (TRAMP‐C2) to 48 h (22rv1), in agreement with the respective cell doubling times; (ii) significantly decreased glucose consumption and glucose‐driven tricarboxylic acid cycle activity in metastatic TRAMP‐C2 cells, during the first 10 h of exposure, and impaired cellular bioenergetics and membrane phospholipid turnover after 23 h of exposure, consistent with a cytostatic effect of DFP. At this time point, all cell lines studied showed: (iii) significant decreases in mitochondrial functional parameters associated with the oxygen consumption rate, and (iv) significantly lower mitochondrial aconitase expression and activity. Our results indicate the potential of DFP to inhibit prostate cancer proliferation at clinically relevant doses and plasma concentrations.