Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation between Residual Dizziness and Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance in Patients with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the correlation between subjective residual dizziness and objective postural imbalance after successful canalith repositioning procedure (CRP) in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) by using questionnaires and modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance (mCTSIB). Methods: A total of 31 patients with BPPV were included prospectively in the study. All included patients were successfully treated after initial CRP and their symptoms and nystagmus disappeared. Two weeks after CRP, all patients were asked to fill out the questionnaire including both Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and visual analog scale (VAS). We also conducted mCTSIB 2 weeks after CRP. We divided patients into two groups according to VAS: RD (residual dizziness) group, VAS＞0; non-RD group, VAS=0. We compared age, number of CRP, rates associated with three semicircular canals, DHI score and mCTSIB results between two groups. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between DHI score and mCTSIB results. Results: There were no significant differences in age, number of CRP, and rates associated with three semicircular canals between the two groups. RD group showed significantly higher DHI score and abnormal mCTSIB results than the non-RD group (p＜0.05). DHI score and the number of abnormal mCTSIB showed a statistically significant correlation. Conclusions: We demonstrated the correlation between DHI score and mCTSIB after successful CRP for BPPV. It also represents that subjective residual dizziness is correlated with objective postural imbalance even after successful CRP. Therefore, mCTSIB would be a useful test to evaluate both residual dizziness and postural imbalance after CRP in BPPV.
ETS-2 acts as both a transcriptional activator and repressor of target genes in transformed cells /

The Ras oncogenes can persistently activate the expression o f genes in cells via the activation o f the Ets family member Ets-2. Ets-2 is a target o f Ras signaling pathways conserved from Drosophila to man. Previous work has shown that two Ras effector pathways, Raf/Erk and the PI 3-kinase/Akt, activate Ets-2 via phosphorylation of threonine residue 72, an event that leads to activation o f target genes including; the growth factor HB-EGF, extracellular proteases urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and MMP3/stromelysinl, and the apoptotic regulator bcl-xL. In breast cancer cells, we have defined two new potential targets for Ets-2 action, the tumor suppressor BRCA1 and the metalloproteinase MT1-MMP. Analysis o f both the BRCA1 and MT1-MMP promoters indicates potential binding sites for the Ets family of transcription factors. In addition, expression of MT1-MMP mRNA is high in the invasive cell line MDA-MB-231 (MDA231) that expresses phosphorylated Ets-2, and low in the non-invasive cell line MCF7 that does not express phosphorylated Ets-2. BRCA1 mRNA is expressed in the opposite fashion, that is high in MCF7 and low in MDA231. Analysis o f the MT1-MMP promoter in these cells indicated that the MT1MMP promoter is 5-10 fold more active in MDA231 compared to MCF7. Co-expression of Ets-2 increased MT1-MMP promoter activity in MCF7 cells 5-10 fold. Analysis of the BRCA1 promoter by transient transfection demonstrated that the BRCA1 promoter ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. is approximately 10 times more active in MCF7 cells compared to MDA231 cells. Co­ expression o f Ets-2 lowered BRCA1 promoter activity in MCF7 cells approximately 10 fold. To further study Ets-2 action, we constructed MCF7 cell lines that conditionally express Ets-2 under the control o f the tetracycline operator, such that Ets-2 is expressed when tetracycline is removed from the media. Cell lines expressing low levels o f Ets-2 appeared to have a normal epithelial morphology and grew normally, however, cell lines expressing high levels of unphosphorylated Ets-2 had a more mesenchymal appearance and ceased to proliferate. Preliminary studies suggest that high levels o f unphosphorylated Ets-2 in MCF7 cells leads to apoptosis. BRCA1 promoter activity decreased 4 fold when transiently tranfected into a cell line expressing high levels o f Ets2. In addition, upon induction o f Ets-2 expression, BRCA1 mRNA expression levels decreased, whereas, both uPA and MMP3 expression levels increased. Taken together, the data suggests that Ets-2 can act as both a transcriptional activator and repressor o f target genes in transformed cells. In summary, we have shown that Ets-2 not only acts as a transcriptional activator o f uPA, MMP-3, and MT1-MMP, genes that promote metastasis, but may also act as a transcriptional repressor to inhibit expression of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1. The role o f Ets-2 in the development and progression of mammary carcinogenesis has been further defined as a result o f our studies.
Labor market and crisis: an analysis of sectoral segmentation in Brazilian rural1

The article aims to analyze which factors contributed to the inequality across income distribution of Brazilian workers in rural areas, occupied in agricultural and non-agricultural activities. Quantile regression with sample selection bias correction and counterfactual decomposition of income by quantiles were applied, using the microdata from the National Continuous Household Survey (PNAD-C) for the years 2012 and 2019. The results showed that there is income inequality favorable to workers occupied in non-agricultural activities concerning agricultural activities, which is intensive for those with lower incomes, as well as for those with high incomes. The presence of sectorial segmentation was also confirmed, of which the largest portion in 2012 corresponds to the labor market duality. However in 2019, in lower quantiles the segmentation obtained greater explanatory power for the difference in income between the groups, while in higher quantiles the theory of human capital prevailed.
Industry 4.0 with intelligent manufacturing 5G mobile robot based on genetic algorithm

A manufacturing fifth-generation (5G) mobile robot is a new development of industry 4.0 application, deploying an unmanned system. This study aims to implement a robot system for industrial applications in real-time with remote sensors to enable humans. Moreover, there is still some obstacle to cope with the better optimization solution for manufacturing 5G robot. This paper proposed a latency network algorithm for the manufacturing 5G mobile robot. An improved genetic algorithm (GA) by restructuring the genes is applied to plan a mobile robot path. The process of the robot path in a complex workspace is proposed, considering the node's collision-free constraint in the moving phase of a robot. The proposed scheme improves the robot path and delivery efficiency of the robot on average at 68% by moving on the industrial environment's shortest path and time average of the mobile robot reach its destination.
Investigation of the Lamellar Grains of Graft-type Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Application using Ultrasmall-angle X-ray Scattering

The extensive ultrasmall-angle X-ray scattering measurements are performed in order to investigate the changes of lamellar grains of poly(styrenesulfonic acid)-grafted poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) polymer electrolyte membranes (ETFE-PEMs) that occur during the alteration of grafting degree (GD) under dry and immersed conditions. The lamellar grains of three series of the samples (polystyrene-grafted ETFE films and dry and hydrated ETFE-PEMs) are formed during the grafting process and develop independently with the change of the lamellar stacks. Interestingly, three series of samples exhibit a very similar trend of lamellar grain at any GD and a significant amount of graft chains is observed directly in the region between the grains (GD £ 59%) and outside of the grain network structures (GD > 59%). This observation indicates: i) The formation of the lamellar grains; ii) The rapid changes in characteristic sizes of the lamellar grains compared with the lamellar stacks; and iii) The newly generated phases consisting of only the graft materials. These findings explain why the lamellar grains and the graft chains play an important role in the higher proton conductivity and compatible tensile strengths of the membranes, compared with Nafion, at the immersed and severe operating conditions.
Flavonoid, pterocarpans and steroid from Erythrina fusca Lour. growing in Bangladesh: isolation, and antimicrobial and free-radical scavenging activity

medicine treatment of various human ailments, liver complications, infections, and headaches. Objective: To carry out phytochemical study, and antimicrobial and free-radical scavenging activity evaluation of E. fusca . Methods: Ground stem bark of this plant was extracted by maceration with methanol, partitioned with various organic solvents, and compounds were isolated by chromatographic means. Structures of isolated compounds were confirmed by spectroscopic analyses. The antibacterial activity was assessed by the disc diffusion method, and the free-radical scavenging activity was determined by DPPH assay. Results: The carbon tetrachloride soluble fraction of the methanol extract of E. fusca afforded shinpterocarpin ( 1 ), lupinifolin ( 2 ), 3,9-dihydroxy-4-(3,3-dimethylallyl) [6a R ,11a R ]-pterocarpan ( 3 ) and β-sitosterol ( 4 ). Compounds 1 - 3 showed considerable antimicrobial activity against five Gram-positive and eight Gram–negative bacterial and three fungal strains tested in this study. Compound 1 exhibited the highest zone of inhibition of 19.4 mm against Bacillus subtilis . Additionally, compounds showed free-radical scavenging effects in DPPH assay with the IC 50 values of 8.8, 7.7 and 7.9 µg/mL for compound 1 , 2 and 3 , respectively. However, they displayed some general toxicity in BSL assay. Conclusion: The isolation of bioactive compounds 1 - 3 supports some traditional medicinal uses of this plant. However, general toxicities found in the BSL assay might raise concerns regarding its safety, while offering a new avenue of future investigation on cytotoxicity of these compounds against human cancer cell lines.
Subgrid snow depth coefficient of variation spanning alpine to sub-alpine mountainous terrain

Given the substantial variability of snow in complex mountainous terrain, a considerable challenge of coarse scale modeling applications is accurately representing the subgrid variability of snowpack properties. The snow depth coefficient of variation (CVds) is a useful metric for characterizing subgrid snow distributions but has not been well defined by a parameterization for mountainous environments. This study utilizes lidar-derived snow depth datasets spanning alpine to sub-alpine mountainous terrain in Colorado, USA to evaluate the variability of subgrid snow distributions within a grid size comparable to a 1000 m resolution common for hydrologic and land surface models. The subgrid CVds exhibited a wide range of variability across the 321 km2 study area (0.15 to 2.74) and was significantly greater in alpine areas compared to subalpine areas. Mean snow depth was the dominant driver of CVds variability in both alpine and subalpine areas, as CVds decreased nonlinearly with increasing snow depths. This negative correlation is attributed to the static size of roughness elements (topography and canopy) that strongly influence seasonal snow variability. Subgrid CVds was also strongly related to topography and forest variables; important drivers of CVds included the subgrid variability of terrain exposure to wind in alpine areas and the mean and variability of forest metrics in subalpine areas. Two statistical models were developed (alpine and subalpine) for predicting subgrid CVds that show reasonable performance statistics. The methodology presented here can be used for characterizing the variability of CVds in snow-dominated mountainous regions, and highlights the utility of using lidar-derived snow datasets for improving model representations of snow processes.
Anti-Candida activity of cinnamon Inhibition of virulence factors of clinical strains of Candida albicans by essential oil of Cinnamomum zeylanicum

Essential oil of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) has been used in medicine and food additives. In the present work, we examined the antifungal activity of essential oil extracted from C. zeylanicum bark against oral opportunistic strains of Candida albicans. In addition, we verified the capability of this essential oil to inhibit fungal adhesion to buccal epithelial cells (BECs), germ tube formation, and proteinase activities. Cinnamon oil presented minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values that ranged from 31.2 to 125 μg mL -1 against the isolates of the tested C. albicans strains. Cinnamon essential oil could inhibit the adhesion of C. albicans to BECs for all of the isolates tested in present study. The C. albicans strains showed inhibited proteinase production after treatment with cinnamon oil, based on the MIC values determined for each C. albicans strain. Cinnamon oil was also able to inhibit the germ tube formation of all isolates of C. albicans, with the percentage of inhibition ranging from 44.7 to 82.9%. Our results showed that cinnamon oil presented potent antifungal activity and the ability to inhibit virulence factors of oral pathogenic strains of C. albicans.
COPD_A_329454 2869..2881

Department of Internal Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 220, Taiwan; Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, Zhongli, Taoyuan, 320, Taiwan; Changhua Christian Hospital, Thoracic Medicine Research Center, Changhua, 500, Taiwan; Institute of Hospital and Health Care Administration, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, 112, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, 100, Taiwan; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, 833, Taiwan; Division of Chest, Department of Internal Medicine, Poh-Ai Hospital, Luodong, 265, Taiwan; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, College of Medicine and Hospital, Tainan, 701, Taiwan; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan; Department of Chest Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, 112, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan; Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi Branch, 613, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien, 970, Taiwan; Big Data Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan; Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan; Department of Recreation and Holistic Wellness, MingDao University, Changhua, 523, Taiwan
The State of Job Burnout Amongst New Zealand Managers: Implications for Employment Relations

Job burnout is a perennial issue for workers, but the most popular way to measure it has become widely critiqued. We utilise the newest burnout construct – the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) – and provide New Zealand’s first data on managers. Importantly, the BAT provides a cut-off score representing severe burnout (being burnt-out). Using data from 840 New Zealand managers, support for the BAT construct is found, and 11.3 per cent of managers meeting the burnt-out threshold. Statistical analysis towards burnt-out status shows significant differences across managerial position, firm size, and workforce education, although no significant differences by sector. In light of growing attention to burnout, we discuss the implications for employment relations around burnout and the importance for firms to address this growing issue.
Optimization of the Proportions for Banana Based Weaning Flour by Variation in Ingredients

The transformation of green banana flour by making various products is an alternative to add value to banana flour hence reducing postharvest losses in banana. This study aimed at optimization of the proportions for the banana based weaning flour for infants between 6 to 24 months of age by variation in ingredients. The composite flour consisted of banana flour (B), soybean flour (S) and grain amaranth flour (A). NutriSurvey2007 software was used to optimize the proportions for the ingredients in accordance with the recommended nutrient requirement for weaning children 6-24 months of age. The formulations developed were 60B:30S:10A, 60B:35S:05A, 55B:30S:15A, 55B:35S:10A, 50B:30S:20A and 50B:35S:15A. The different composites were analyzed for proximate composition, physical- chemical and sensory properties. The data was then fed into the D-Optimal mixture design under Design Expert software 11 to come up with the most desirable formulation that meets the nutrient requirement for weaning children 6-24 months of age. The optimum formulation was found to be 54.4B:35S:10.6A with a gross energy of 366.63 Kcal, protein content of 23.15%, Carbohydrate content of 52.23%, fat content of 7.23%, fiber content of 3.02, ash content of 4.07, moisture content of 10.3, in vitro protein digestibility of 78.97%, acceptability of 6.8 and desirability of 5.3.
Application of Elements of Quality by Design to Development and Optimization of HPLC Method for Fingolimod

Purpose: A HPLC method for Fingolimod was developed using a Quality by Design concept. QbD has gained importance in recent times due to regulatory requirements. Actual study was started after determination of target profile and qualification of instrument. Methods: Separation was carried on a Grace C-8 column (4.6 x 250 mm, 5-μm particle size). The composition of mobile phase was methanol and 20 mM ammonium formate buffer of pH5.8 in gradient mode HPLC method development is affected by critical factors like pH, flow rate and mobile phase composition. Results: To study the effects of these three factors on USP tailing, Box Behnken optimization model was applied. Desirability of the model was set at Tailing less than 1.2. Analysis of results was done using surface diagrams. Verification of Software generated results was done by taking six replicates of the run. Thus developed and optimised method was Finally validated as per ICH guideline. Conclusion: A Quality by Design approach has been successfully utilised in method development of the Fingolimod in bulk. All key aspect of QbD were tried to be implemented in said study. Systematic approach was utilized for method development which includes beginning with determination of target profile characteristics, instrument qualification, risk assessment, design of experiment and validation. Three factors i.e. Ph, flow rate and methanol concentration were analysed for their effect on USP tailing as a responce. Interaction and quadratic effect of the factors were studied with least possible runs by using Box Behnken model. Response surface diagrams and contour plots were studied for coming to conclusion which factors are affecting response and their limits were recorded. Optimum run condition was obtained; Replicates of run having optimized condition were taken to confirm the predicted response with actual response.
Safety-critical Decision-making and Control for Autonomous Vehicles with Highest Priority

This paper proposes a comprehensive framework to enable autonomous vehicles (AVs) with the highest priority (e.g., ambulances) to perform lane change maneuvers timely and continuously to achieve speed benefits without compromising safety. This type of vehicles can override traffic rules and drive at high speeds when necessary. The proposed framework comprises three parts: a decision-making layer, a motion planning layer, and a safety filter for the controller. The discrete decisions are coordinated by a speed-oriented finite state machine (FSM). Once the decision has been made, model predictive control (MPC) is utilized for planning and control, ensuring safety guarantees. Safety filters are constructed as longitudinal and lateral constraints by decoupled and discrete control barrier functions (DCBFs), combined with MPC, making it a convex optimization problem. Specifically, the region of interest (ROI) is employed to determine the range of the activation of lateral constraints. The proposed framework is tested through comparative numerical simulations, demonstrating its ability to gain speed and ensure safety across randomly generated driving scenarios. Additionally, some emergency scenarios have been considered in the experiment.
HiVAD : A Voice Activity Detection Application Based on Deep Learning

In this paper, the detection of sound activity is presented on smartphones in real-time with convolutional neural networks. Reduced computing time is a problem from previous studies. Despite the use of machine learning approaches, there are still many shortcomings from previous research. A log-mel energy spectrogram narrates the sound signal image. Then the sound signal image is inputted into CNN's deep learning to classify the human voice and noise. HiVAD outperformed the percentage of other VAD methods, namely G729B, Sohn, and RF from the test results shown with an average SHR accuracy of 15.89%, 28.98%, 42.13% at 0dB, 8.67%, 16.29% ,17.63% at 5 dB, and 1.35%, 7.72%, 5.14% at 10 dB. In addition, the Multi-threading mechanism enables efficient computing for real-time. This study shows that CNN's architecture on HiVAD significantly improves the accuracy of sound activity detection.
Kinship and emergence of political leaders in Pakhtun society: A comparison of ANP & JUI-F ..

The purpose of this paper is to describe kinship system and its relationship with the emergence of political leaders in district Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). This study elaborates the role of kinship in the emergence of leaders at micro levels i.e., Village Council, Union Council, Tehsil Council and District Council. The study analyses the impact of kinship in the electoral politics of Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F). The ANP leaders and followers are mostly the local inhabitants of Charsadda having large number of kin members. While on the other hand, the JUI-F leaders and followers are mostly immigrants of the other districts of KP having limited number of kin members in tehsil Charsadda. However, at micro level both the parties’ leaders and their family members attempt to make fusion against the distant relatives in order to win the election. This paper describes that how the number of kin members directly affects the victory and defeat of ANP and JUI-F? This study argues that kinship and neighbourhood have significant impact in the emergence of leaders at micro level. Qualitative research method was used and the tools for data collection were participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.