Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current State and Future Trends: A Citation Network Analysis of the Academic Performance Field

Background: In recent years, due to its complexity and relevance, academic performance has become a controversial research topic within the health and educational field. The main purposes of this study were to analyze the links between publications and authors via citation networks, to identify the different research areas and to determine the most cited publications. Methods: The publication search was performed through the Web of Science database, using the term “Academic Performance” for a time interval from 1952 to 2019. The software used to analyze the publications was the Citation Network Explorer. Results: We found a total of 16,157 publications with 35,213 citations generated in the network, and 2018 had the highest number of publications of any year. The most cited publication was published in 2012 by Richardson et al. with a citation index score of 352. By using the clustering function, we found nine groups related to different areas of research in this field: health, psychology, psychosociology, demography, physical activity, sleep patterns, vision, economy, and delinquency. Conclusions: The citation network showed the main publications dealing with the different factors that affect academic performance, and it was determined that psychological and psychosocial factors were the most relevant.
Strategic Responses to Perceived Corruption in an Emerging Market: Lessons From MNEs Investing in China

Success in foreign emerging markets is increasingly critical to the global market leadership for many multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, corruption in emerging markets is pervasive and rampant. This study addresses how MNE subunits strategically respond to perceived corruption in the business segment of a foreign emerging market wherein they invest and operate. My analysis suggests that an MNE subunit’s investment commitment decreases, and its export market orientation increases, with perceived escalated corruption in the specific business segment. Though perceived corruption in an industrial setting (sectorial corruption) has a stronger effect on the subunit’s market orientation, changes in perceived corruption over time (longitudinal corruption) exert a greater influence on investment commitment. To individual subunits, the strength of these strategic responses to corruption is heightened by their ethical awareness but weakened by their indigenous dependence.
Long Non-Coding RNA NEAT1 Regulates Pyroptosis in Diabetic Nephropathy via Mediating the miR-34c/NLRP3 Axis

Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus and is considered to be a sterile inflammatory disease. Increasing evidence suggest that pyroptosis and subsequent inflammatory response play a key role in the pathogenesis of DN. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for pyroptosis in DN are largely unknown. Methods: The rat models of DN were successfully established by single 65 mg/kg streptozotocin treatment. Glomerular mesangial cells were exposed to 30 mmol/L high glucose media for 48 h to mimic the DN environment in vitro. Gene and protein expressions were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. Cell viability and pyroptosis were measured by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. The relationship between lncRNA NEAT1, miR-34c, and Nod-like receptor protein-3 (NLRP3) was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. Results: We found that upregulation of NEAT1 was associated with the increase of pyroptosis in DN models. miR-34c, as a target gene of NEAT1, mediated the effect of NEAT1 on pyroptosis in DN by regulating the expression of NLRP3 as well as the expressions of caspase-1 and interleukin-1β. Either miR-34c inhibition or NLRP3 overexpression could reverse the accentuation of pyroptosis and inflammation by sh-NEAT1 transfection in the in vitro model of DN. Conclusions: Our findings suggested NEAT1 and its target gene miR-34c regulated cell pyroptosis via mediating NLRP3 in DN, providing new insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms of pyroptosis in the pathogenesis of DN.
The Janus Role of Adhesion in Chondrogenesis

Tackling the first stages of the chondrogenic commitment is essential to drive chondrogenic differentiation to healthy hyaline cartilage and minimize hypertrophy. During chondrogenesis, the extracellular matrix continuously evolves, adapting to the tissue adhesive requirements at each stage. Here, we take advantage of previously developed nanopatterns, in which local surface adhesiveness can be precisely tuned, to investigate its effects on prechondrogenic condensation. Fluorescence live cell imaging, immunostaining, confocal microscopy and PCR analysis are used to follow the condensation process on the nanopatterns. Cell tracking parameters, condensate morphology, cell–cell interactions, mechanotransduction and chondrogenic commitment are evaluated in response to local surface adhesiveness. Results show that only condensates on the nanopatterns of high local surface adhesiveness are stable in culture and able to enter the chondrogenic pathway, thus highlighting the importance of controlling cell–substrate adhesion in the tissue engineering strategies for cartilage repair.
Results of Total Maxillary Edentulism Rehabilitation Protocol with Implant-Supported Prostheses in the Pterygomaxillary-Pyramidal Region as Posterior Anchorage Loci.

PURPOSE To present functional and esthetic success of a well-defined protocol for rehabilitation with implant-supported complete-arch prostheses in the treatment of patients with maxillary edentulism. MATERIALS AND METHODS Medical records of patients treated from 1990 to September 2014 were reviewed. This clinic history should include clinical, anatomicalfunctional, and esthetic data for at least the first 5 years of follow-up. RESULTS Two hundred eighty-two implants were inserted into the pterygomaxillary-pyramidal region in 141 edentulous patients using cylindrical osteotomes to form bone sites and thereby minimize the use of drills in bone preparation. Also, 580 implants were inserted in the premaxilla using lyophilized bone of bovine origin as a graft material and platelet-rich plasma for repairing small bone defects around implants and as a volume-generating material to support perioral structures. Of the 282 implants placed in the pterygomaxillary-pyramidal region, 272 survived (96.1% survival rate). The 10 failures occurred after being subjected to functional load. Of the 580 implants placed in the premaxilla, 19 implants failed; thus, the survival rate was 96.7%. Moreover, from the results obtained in the study sample, it was observed that the retention and stability obtained with the implant-supported prosthesis helps improve the ability to speak, swallow, and chew, which improves patient comfort and satisfaction. CONCLUSION The rehabilitation of total maxillary edentulism with an implant-supported complete-arch prosthesis achieves a high level of functional and esthetic success, which is reflected directly in oral health and patient satisfaction.
An efficient and accurate parallel hybrid acoustic signal correction method for transcranial ultrasound

Phased-control focused ultrasound transducers provide a new and noninvasive treatment method for brain disease. However, improving the accuracy of phase correction and reducing the calculation time during treatment have always been contradictory constraints. In this paper, a hybrid acoustic signal correction (HASC) method combined with k-Wave stage and holography stage was introduced for phase correction and simulation of transcranial focused ultrasound. The k-Wave stage is mainly used to calculate the sound field in a heterogeneous medium (skull), which divides the sound field calculation process into paths that can be calculated in parallel, and the transcranial correction phase can also be obtained during the calculation. The holography stage is sufficient to simulate the acoustic field in the homogenous intracranial medium after ultrasound transmitting through the skull. The agreement of the k-space corrected pseudospectral time domain method and HASC method was assessed by statistical methods: linear regression between the two methods provided a slope of 0.9735, intercept of 0.0078, and R2 of 0.9982. The Bland–Altman method provided a bias of 0.0015 and 95% limits of agreement 0.065 apart. We demonstrated that the difference in sound intensity at the focal point corrected by HASC and time reversal phase correction method was 0.2% and 0.5% in the results of simulation and experiment, respectively. Not only that, the phase calculation time by the HASC phase correction method can be reduced to 11 min on a multi GPU array, which has clinical potential for ultrasound treatment of brain therapy.
Questionnaire : Rapid and Easy Tool for Identifying Physical Limitations in Hemodialysis Patients

Background SARC‐F is a simple questionnaire for rapidly assessing physical function and screening for sarcopenia. This study aimed to determine whether the SARC‐F questionnaire is useful for identifying impaired physical function and the risk of physical limitations in hemodialysis patients. Methods and results This cross‐sectional study included 281 patients undergoing hemodialysis at two dialysis units. SARC‐F, handgrip strength, leg strength, one‐leg standing time, usual gait speed, and short physical performance battery (SPPB) score were measured. Patients were classified according to the SARC‐F score (SARC‐F <4 and SARC‐F ≥4), indicating the risk of sarcopenia. Furthermore, we defined physical limitations as handgrip strength of <26 kg for men and <18 kg for women, leg strength of <40%, usual gait speed of ≤0.8 m/s, and SPPB score of ≤8 points. To calculate the areas under the curves (AUCs) of the SARC‐F score for physical limitations, receiver‐operating characteristic curve analysis was performed. SARC‐F ≥4 was observed in 75 (26.7 %) hemodialysis patients. The SARC‐F ≥4 group had a significantly lower handgrip and leg strength, shorter one‐leg standing time, slower usual gait speed, and lower SPPB score than the SARC‐F <4 group, even after adjusting for potential confounders (all P <0.001). Further, SARC‐F demonstrated good accuracy in identifying the risk of physical limitations (all AUCs > 0.75). Conclusions The SARC‐F questionnaire is useful for screening impaired physical function and for identifying the risk of physical limitations in hemodialysis patients and can be easily and rapidly administered to this patient group in clinical practice. Address for correspence: Atsuhiko Matsunaga, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1‐15‐1 Kitasato, Minami‐ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252‐0373, Japan, Tel: +81‐42‐778‐9970; Fax: +81‐42‐778‐9686; E‐mail: atsuhikonet@gmail.com
Aspects of the Biology and Population Genetics of the Antarctic Nototheniid Fish Trematomus nicolai

Abstract Trematomus nicolai is a near shore benthic notothenioid fish most abundant in the subzero shelf waters of East Antarctica. During recent collecting we obtained the first specimens of this species from West Antarctica (the Bransfield Strait), and we compare these with specimens from the Ross Sea (McMurdo Sound) in East Antarctica. Because T. nicolai has been frequently misidentified as T. tokarevi, we provide several non-meristic characters that separate these species. We employ a radiographic technique for rapid visualization of the cephalic lateral-line canals, an important diagnostic character in trematomids. Compared to those from McMurdo Sound, the Bransfield Strait specimens have lower ranges and mean counts for meristic characters, with significant differences for anal rays, pectoral rays, and vertebrae. Our data suggest a panmictic population, but the Bransfield Strait specimens live in water 3–4°C warmer than McMurdo Sound, and this may contribute to lower meristic counts. The mean buoyancy between the two samples is not significantly different. We examined sequence variation in the ND2 portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome for evidence of population structure in samples from both areas. We identified 12 mtDNA haplotypes (haplotype diversity [h] = 0.978, nucleotide diversity [π] = 0.458%) and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) shows no significant global differentiation. A median-joining network that represents the genealogical relationships among the mitochondrial haplotypes also shows little separation between the samples from West and East Antarctica, and additional tests suggest the T. nicolai population is in equilibrium and of constant size. Trematomus nicolai exemplifies the potential of the Antarctic current regime for circum-Antarctic dispersal of a variety of organisms in the Southern Ocean.
Additive Manufacturing of Isotropic NdFeB PPS Bonded Permanent Magnets

Extrusion based additive manufacturing of polymer composite magnets can increase the solid loading volume fraction with greater mechanical force through the printing nozzle as compared to traditional injection molding process. About 63 vol% of isotropic NdFeB magnet powders were compounded with 37 vol% of polyphenylene sulfide and bonded permanent magnets were fabricated while using Big Area Additive Manufacturing without any degradation in magnetic properties. The polyphenylene sulfide bonded magnets have a tensile stress of 20 MPa, almost double than that of nylon bonded permanent magnets. Additively manufactured and surface-protective-resin coated bonded magnets meet the industrial stability criterion of up to 175 °C with a flux-loss of 2.35% over 1000 h. They also exhibit better corrosion resistance behavior when exposed to acidic (pH = 1.35) solution for 24 h and also annealed at 80 °C over 100 h (at 95% relative humidity) over without coated magnets. Thus, polyphenylene sulfide bonded, additively manufactured, protective resin coated bonded permanent magnets provide better thermal, mechanical, and magnetic properties.
Accurate Reconstruction of the LoD3 Building Model by Integrating Multi-Source Point Clouds and Oblique Remote Sensing Imagery

3D urban building models, which provide 3D information services for urban planning, management and operational decision-making, are essential for constructing digital cities. Unfortunately, the existing reconstruction approaches for LoD3 building models are insufficient in model details and are associated with a heavy workload, and accordingly they could not satisfy urgent requirements of realistic applications. In this paper, we propose an accurate LoD3 building reconstruction method by integrating multi-source laser point clouds and oblique remote sensing imagery. By combing high-precision plane features extracted from point clouds and accurate boundary constraint features from oblique images, the building mainframe model, which provides an accurate reference for further editing, is quickly and automatically constructed. Experimental results show that the proposed reconstruction method outperforms existing manual and automatic reconstruction methods using both point clouds and oblique images in terms of reconstruction efficiency and spatial accuracy.
Succession of Species within a Community: Chronological Clustering, with Applications to Marine and Freshwater Zooplankton

A clustering method is presented to describe the discontinuities in a multivariate (multispecies) series of biological samples, obtained from a single station at successive times. The method takes into account the sequence of sampling (time contiguity constraint) and makes it possible to eliminate singletons. Such singletons can be found in most ecological series, due to random components or to external forcings such as a temporary shift of water masses or immigration and emigration at a fixed station. The clustering proceeds from a sample x sample association matrix, built with an appropriately chosen similarity or distance coefficient. Agglomerative clustering is applied with the time constraint, and a randomization test is performed to verify whether the fusion is valid. This test compares the number of "high" distances in the between-group matrix to that in the fusion matrix of the two groups tested. When a singleton is discovered, with this same test, it is temporarily removed from the study and the clustering is started again from the beginning. This procedure is used because a singleton can well disturb the whole clustering geometry, as a result of the contiguity constraint. The end result is a nonhierarchical partition of the series into nonoverlapping homogeneous groups, which are the steps of the ecological succession. Interval graph tests and a posteriori tests help to understand the relationships between the groups, as well as the origin of the singletons. Examples are presented of a 78-wk Mediterranean zooplankton (chaetognaths) series and also of a 28-mo series of the zooplankton community in a freshwater reservoir. The results are compared to those obtained with several other methods of analyzing succession data. In the Appendixes we discuss various mathematical aspects of the work.
Problematic Relationships with Smartphones of Spanish and Colombian University Students

The presence of smartphones in the lives of the population in general, and of youth in particular, is evident, and is derived from elements such as the diversity of prices as well as the ease of access of all the resources that can be reached through the internet. With the use of a descriptive approach using a quantitative poll, the objective of the present study was to discover the opinions of university students in Spain and Colombia about smartphone use, as well as the consequences of its use, and if this use could derive into so-called problematic smartphone use (PSU). For gathering the information, the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUSA) was utilized, with a sample size n = 4009. The main result reached was that the model obtained is structured around six factors that determined the elements in light of PSU. The initial conclusion found was that the model applied can be utilized with Colombian students, with young Spanish women and students in the macro area of Social Sciences, the ones who had problematic behavior with the devices, as compared to the Health Sciences students who did not have it.
Comparative Effect of Statins and Omega-3 Supplementation on Cardiovascular Events: Meta-Analysis and Network Meta-Analysis of 63 Randomized Controlled Trials Including 264,516 Participants

Statins and omega-3 supplementation have been recommended for cardiovascular disease prevention, but comparative effects have not been investigated. This study aimed to summarize current evidence of the effect of statins and omega-3 supplementation on cardiovascular events. A meta-analysis and a network meta-analysis of 63 randomized controlled trials were used to calculate pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the effects of specific statins and omega-3 supplementation compared with controls. Overall, the statin group showed significant risk reductions in total cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke; however, omega-3 supplementation significantly decreased the risks of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction only, in the comparison with the control group. In comparison with omega-3 supplementation, pravastatin significantly reduced the risks of total cardiovascular disease (RR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.72–0.91), coronary heart disease (RR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.60–0.94), and myocardial infarction (RR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.55–0.94). Risks of total cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke in the atorvastatin group were statistically lower than those in the omega-3 group, with RRs (95% CIs) of 0.80 (0.73–0.88), 0.64 (0.50–0.82), 0.75 (0.60–0.93), and 0.81 (0.66–0.99), respectively. The findings of this study suggest that pravastatin and atorvastatin may be more beneficial than omega-3 supplementation in reducing the risk of total cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction.
Sensory Acceptability of Dual-Fortified Milled Red and Yellow Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) Dal in Bangladesh

This study evaluated the sensory properties of uncooked and cooked milled lentils that were fortified with varying concentrations of Fe and Zn in the form of NaFeEDTA and ZnSO4.H2O, respectively. Our study was carried out among 196 lentil consumers residing in rural Bangladesh who experience with growing, processing, and marketing lentils. A nine-point hedonic scale was used to rate the appearance, odor, taste, texture and overall acceptability of three uncooked and two cooked lentil (dal) samples made from each of the three milled lentil product types (LPTs), red football, red split and yellow split. Preferences for sensory properties were found to be significantly different among all uncooked lentil samples, but not significantly different for cooked samples, with a few exceptions. This means that the fortification process minimally affects dual-fortified lentil sample (fortified with 16 mg of Fe and 8 mg of Zn per 100 g of lentil), which was compared to another cooked sample (unfortified control), in terms of consumers liking for all four attributes (appearance, odor, taste, and texture).
Reverse logistics system applied to the reuse of iron ore tailings

Iron ore tailings (IOT) from tailings dams cause significant environmental, economic, and social impacts, which has motivated the search for reuse alternatives. In this scenario, the present work uses reverse logistics to size the resources required to reuse the IOT for road infrastructure. A reverse logistics system was modelled to transport the IOT from the tailings dam to a processing plant and then to the construction site of a road. Resource capacity constraints and operational limitations were considered, and the economic feasibility of the system was analysed. Two scenarios for tailings transportation on the dam/plant route were simulated aiming at a cost less than R$ 25 (US$ 6.13) per tonne: (1) trucks; and (2) conveyor belts. The economic feasibility of both scenarios was proven, with scenario 1 presenting the most promising results – a transport distance of 290 km within the established price limit. This methodology can thus be applied to encourage the large-scale reuse of IOT.
Do nest boxes in restored woodlands promote the conservation of hollow‐dependent fauna?

Vegetation restoration is considered as an important strategy for reversing biodiversity decline in agricultural areas. However, revegetated areas often lack key vegetation attributes like large old hollow‐bearing trees. As these trees take a long time to develop, artificial cavities such as nest boxes are sometimes provided to address lag effects. We conducted a 3‐year experiment using 150 nest boxes with 4 designs to quantify patterns of occupancy within 16 replanted areas and 14 patches of remnant old‐growth eucalypt woodland. We quantified patterns of occupancy of nest boxes in physically connected versus isolated remnants and plantings, and multiple covariate effects on nest box occupancy at the nest box, tree, patch, and landscape levels. Our analyses revealed a lower probability of nest box occupancy within remnants (vs. plantings) for 2 of the 6 response variables examined: any species and the Feral Honeybee. Nest boxes in connected remnants and plantings were more likely to be occupied than those in isolated plantings and remnants by any mammal and the Common Brushtail Possum. Nest boxes in restored woodlands are used by some hollow‐dependent fauna but principally already common species and not taxa of conservation concern. Nest boxes were also used by pest species. A key management consideration must be to create connected habitat to facilitate colonization of nest boxes by mammals. Approximately 15% of the cavity‐dependent vertebrates within the study area used next boxes, possibly because the diverse requirements of the array of other species were not met by the range of nest boxes deployed.