Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patient-Reported Allergies, a Marker of Preoperative Pain and Disability in Elective Spine Surgery

Study Design: Retrospective review. Objective: Previous literature demonstrates mixed results regarding the relationship between patient-reported allergies and pain, function, and satisfaction scores. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between patient-reported allergies and preoperative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement System (PROMIS) scores. Methods: All patients undergoing elective cervical, lumbar procedures between May 2017 and October 2018 were included. Baseline demographic information was recorded, as well as all reported allergies or adverse reactions. Preoperative PROMIS, ODI, and NDI scores were recorded. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between total number of allergies and the preoperative pain and function scores. Results: A total of 570 patients were included (476 lumbar, 94 cervical). The mean number of allergies reported was 1.89 ± 2.32. The mean preoperative ODI and NDI scores were 46.39 ± 17.67 and 43.47 ± 16.51, respectively. The mean preoperative PROMIS Physical Health and PROMIS Mental Health scores were 37.21 ± 6.54 and 43.89 ± 9.26, respectively. Hierarchical multiple linear regression showed that total number of reported allergies shared a statistically significant negative relationship with all of the following scores: ODI (B = 0.83, P = .02), NDI (B = 1.45, P = .02), PROMIS Physical Health (B = −0.29, P = .013), and PROMIS Mental Health (B = −0.38, P = .024). Conclusions: Patient-reported allergies share a statistically significant negative relationship with preoperative pain and function scores; as patients have increasing total number of allergies, the ODI/NDI scores become worse (increase) and the PROMIS scores become worse (decrease).
Establishing a Baseline for Management of the Rock Scallop, Spondylus calcifer (Carpenter 1857): Growth and Reproduction in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract The rock scallop (also known as “donkey thorny oyster,” “spiny oyster,” and “thorny oyster”), Spondylus calcifer, is the largest member of any Panamic Province Spondylus and has played important economic, political, and cultural roles in coastal communities of the Eastern Tropical Pacific for thousands of years. Despite its importance, knowledge of its biology is scant. We assessed seasonal variations in shell and adductor muscle growth, longevity, reproductive age and period, and population sex ratios in the upper Gulf of California, Mexico, the northernmost area within the geographic distribution of this species. Information on shell growth and age was obtained via the use of stable oxygen isotope profiles of shell aragonite cross-referenced with mark recapture data. Spondylus calcifer forms white growth bands during winter and spring months. Shell growth accelerates during warmer months and diminishes during colder months. Likewise, the adductor muscle increases in size and weight during colder months, affecting fishermen's distribution of fishing effort. These seasonal variations in growth are likely a result of energetic shifts related to resource allocation pre and post reproduction, which takes place in July-August as water temperatures reach 28°C to 30°C. The species reaches sexual maturity between 2.5–4 y of age and can live to at least 12 y. Overall sex ratios consisted of 1:1 male:female, a population structure in accordance with previous reports for the southern Gulf of California. We discuss our findings in the context of management and conservation of the species.
Study on combined antimicrobial activity of some biologically active constituents from wild Moringa peregrina Forssk.

Three plants were used in this study: Moringa pregrina, Achillea fragrantissima and Coleome droserifolia. Six active constituents were separated from n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions of Moringa pregrina. These active constituents were lupeol acetate, �-amyrin, �-amyrin, �-sitosterol, �sitosterol-3-O- �-D-glucoside and apignin were assayed individually and in combination against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. All constituents were proved to be more antibacterial than antifungal agents. Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium solani were completely resistant to all constituents. �-amyrin was the most effective antibacterial compound. The least relative activity was achieved by �-sitosterol against Bacillus subtilis compared to ampicillin. Reasonable antifungal activity was recorded in case of lupeol acetate, �-amyrin and �-amyrin, while �-sitosterol and �-sitosterol-3-O- �-D-glucoside, revealed no antifungal activity. Apignin missed both antifungal and antibacterial activities. Low MICs were detected by �-amyrin, �-amyrin and �-sitosterol-3-O-�-D-glucoside against all tested bacteria. Concerning fungi, �-sitosterol and �-sitosterol-3-O-�-D-glucoside showed no antimycotic activity. Lupeol acetate, �-amyrin and �-amyrin, however, have slightly high MICs for all tested dermatophytic fungi compared to that of fluconazole. Among ninety nine assayed combination mixtures, thirty seven synergistic combination mixtures were detected which exerts 37 synergisms against different pathogens with FICI less than 0.5, which indicates high efficacy of combination mixtures over monotherapy treatments.
The spatial and temporal dynamics of deep chlorophyll layers in high-mountain lakes: effects of nutrients, grazing and herbivore nutrient recycling as growth determinants

Deep chlorophyll layers (DCL) are a common feature of oligotrophic lakes, yet the mechanisms that form and maintain them are not understood fully. These phytoplankton populations occur in the metalimnia of lakes where light levels are moderate to low, and where nutrient levels and zooplankton grazing pressure are different than in the epilimnion. To test the importance of nutrients and grazing pressure for algal growth in different lake strata, microcosm experiments and monitoring were conducted in two oligotrophic lakes in the Rocky Mountains of North America that contain DCL. In situ microcosm experiments with natural phytoplankton communities from three depth strata were conducted with macronutrient additions and with and without the natural zooplankton grazing communities. Alkaline phosphatase assays and the in situ microcosm experiments indicated less nutrient limitation in the metalimnia than in the epilimnia of both lakes. Zooplankton grazing in the experiments decreased algal population growth rates by as much as 6% day –1 , with impacts shifting to progressively deeper strata over the summer. Zooplankton grazing losses, however, were partially offset by nutrient recycling that increased algal growth rates. Depthdifferential nutrient deficiency and zooplankton grazing and recycling interacted to maintain the DCL in these lakes.
A review of the relationship between milk protein polymorphism and milk composition/milk production

Among the dairy cattle population, genetic variants have been detected in several milk proteins, including: α s1 -casein, α s2 -casein, β-casein, κ-casein, β-lactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin. Most of those mutations are caused by changes in net electrical charges of the proteins and hence could be identified by electrophoresis. Several findings emerging from studies of genetic polymorphisms of milk proteins have been proposed as having practical applications for the purpose of improving the efficiencies of dairy production. Because the different polymorphic forms of milk proteins are controlled by autosomal genes which are inherited according to the Mandelian mode of inheritance, it is possible to select and breed for a desirable variant within a specific protein. There is great interest in using milk protein genes as markers for increasing milk production and improving milk composition according to demands. The effects of certain genetic variants on milk yield are, in the strictest sense, statistical correlations only and the observed differences between the genetic variants are mere associations, and in most cases little is known about the cause-and-effect relationships. Several studies which have reported on relationships between milk production and genetic variants of α s1 -casein, β-casein, K-casein and β-lactoglobulin are inconsistent for various reasons, including: reliability of small population size, different breeds of cattle, very low frequencies of some variants, methods of determining yields, and most importantly, the rigour of statistical analysis to correct for the major factors, which contribute more to milk production. There is a general tendency for α s1 -casein B and β-casein A 2 to be associated with higher milk production. Depending on the studies, different variants of K-casein and β-lactoglobulin have been shown to be associated with more favourable milk yield. The majority of studies have confirmed that the A variant of β-lactoglobulin milk contains more total protein and β-lactoglobulin but lower concentrations of casein and fat. The C variant of α s1 -casein and the B variant of β-casein are associated with higher fat, protein and casein in the milk. A lot of emphasis has been placed on the K-casein gene because the B variant milk contains more fat, protein, casein and κ-casein than the A variant milk.
Phylogenetic Relationship of Some Ipomoea Seed Proteins by SDS-PAGE

To investigate the phylogenetic relationship of nine Ipomoea species, seed proteins were analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Based on the analysis, total 50 bands were identified. The number of bands varies from 8 bands in Ipomoea obscura to 4 in Ipomoea mauritiana. Phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the presence or absence of protein bands using Freetree and Treeview software programme.
ALLOZYME VARIABILITY IN SOME CENTRAL ANATOLIAN BUMBLE BEE (BOMBUS, APIDAE, HYMENOPTERA) SPECIES

Summary: In this study some bumble bees from the genus Bombus Latreille, which were collected from different localities in Central Anatolia, were analysed by horizontal starch-gel enzyme electrophoresis. Of the eight species examined, only Bombus (Thoracobombus) humilis were found to be polymorphic with low heterozygosity (Mean heterozygosity = 0.19±0.19), while the other species had distinct electromorphs fixed in different populations. The situation in B. humilis populations can be regarded as a possible reason for the confusion at subspecies level. The phenogram based on electrophoretic data showed the same systematic pattern proposed before by several authors. This supported the hypothesis that the subgeneric system in some bumble bees reflects the evolutionary pathway and may be accepted as natural.
Seed ecology, dormancy, and germination: a modern synthesis from Baskin and Baskin

The names Baskin and Baskin will be as familiar to readers interested in the ecology of seed germination as ‘‘radicle’’ and ‘‘plumule. ’’ It is Jerry Baskin who has the role of plumule in this scientific partnership, being the more visible (first named) author on the majority of the some 250 publications the Baskins have produced in the last three decades, but radicles become taproots and it is Carol Baskin who is senior author of this book with its massive accumulation of knowledge about seed germination that runs to more than 600 pages. It is interesting to learn that these partners were introduced to each other as well as to what has become the subject of their lifetimes’ work at the same moment in 1966 when chance determined they were to share a student project on the germination of Sporobolus vaginiflorus and Aristida longespica. Seeds can exhibit notoriously idiosyncratic germination behavior, sometimes varying as much among the progeny of a single maternal parent as they do among different species. This has made for a voluminous literature composed mainly of minutiae and, at least until relatively recently, lacking in synthesis. When I first became interested in this subject myself in the mid-1970s its ‘‘bible’’ was in fact not a work of synthesis but The Bibliography of Seedsby Lela V. Barton, to whom (along with Marianna G. Nikolaeva) the book under review is dedicated. I well remember the feeling of excitement when I finally obtained my own copy ofThe Bibliography of Seeds in a used bookstore in New York for $5. I only later discovered how difficult it was to extract any generalizations from the volume and why anyone had been prepared to part with it so cheaply. My copy has long sat on a top shelf, out of easy reach, in my office. Have Baskin and Baskin unscrambled the literature of seed germination sufficiently for their book to escape the same fate as Barton, quite apart from the fact that it is unwise to place any hardback book weighing 1.8 kilos on a top shelf? If it is to be successful, unscrambling requires at least three operations: first, methodological issues must be addressed, suspect findings must be eliminated and a core of reliable observations must be assembled; second a classification of seed dormancy traits needs to be devised and used to catalog the data; third, an ecological and evolutionary synthesis is needed. METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES
Comparación entre diferentes tests para la determinación del umbral de potencia funcional en carrera

Introduction: Power is an important variable to evaluate performance. With the increasing of devices for the power measurement, it is simple to associate certain watts to the running Functional Threshold Power measured in watts (rFTPw) as indicates Vance (2016). Affirming that the estimation of the power through accelerometry, can revolutionize the training of running.The main goal of this study was to find the most appropriate test for the determination of rFTPw. Material and methods: 9 recreational triathletes participated in the study (22.9 + 4.8 years). All the tests were carried out with a minimum of 24 hours of rest between each test carried out in an athletics track measuring the running power data with Stryd Summit footpod (Stryd, Boulder, CO, USA). Results: The T 3 min -9 min was the one that presented a lower average error with respect to the rFTPw M for power and pace. Conclusions: T 3 min – 9 min could be the best alternative without taking into account the distance or duration of competition. Because that rFTPw changes depending of the duration of each test. It would not be valid to use the watts associated to Critical Speed (CS) obtained in the test T 3 MT. Being that it supposes a greater average error regarding the rFTPw M in power and pace. The T 30 min could be an alternative when calculating the rFTPw with the data obtained in a training or competition of the same duration. The tests with the lowest average error in the external variable power are the ones with the lowest error in pace. Although the pace would remain the main variable to control the external load in running.
Linking evolutionary quantitative genetics to the conservation of genetic resources in natural forest populations

Current decision-making on conservation of genetic resources has not been well fused with evolutionary quantitative genetics, which can provide new insights into the “dynamic conservation” of gene pools. With the assumption of no epistasis at QTLs (quantitative trait loci), alleles of unequal effects can be maintained at different levels of polymorphism in natural populations. However, at adaptive QTLs, rare alleles of large effect cannot contribute much adaptation to future environment changes. Rather, QTLs of small effect play a major role in creating genetic variation of adaptive quantitative traits, and mediating future adaptive changes. Owing to the impacts of mating system and to differences of mutation rates between markers and QTLs, the information provided by molecular markers is not that helpful for guiding conservation of quantitative genetic variation. Also, the genetic properties of QTLs allowing in situ conservation of quantitative genetic variation need to be better understood. Although some methods for ex situ conservation of “continuous evolutionary potential” are not static, they are not the same methods as used for in situ conservation. The conceptual method of “dynamic conservation” should be given a priority because of the temporally and spatially fluctuating environments where forest trees grow.
The preparation of mayonnaise containing spent brewer's yeast β- glucan as a fat replacer

The work presents the application of β-glucan prepared from spent brewer's yeast as a fat replacer in mayonnaise. Fat was partially substituted by β-glucan at levels of 25, 50, 75 %. Physicochemical, rheological and microbiological analyses of mayonnaises obtained were performed. The results indicated that all mayonnaises containing β-glucan had higher water content and lower caloric value (244-597 kcal/100g) than the control sample without β-glucan (778 kcal/100g) and these differences increased with increasing substitution levels of β-glucan. The pH values of the mayonnaise samples (3.85-3.88) decreased in time at room temperature or at 4-6 0 C temperature storage with increasing substitution levels of β-glucan. Microbial loadings of all analyzed mayonnaises were in the acceptable limit throughout the storage time that was min.63 days at 25-30 0 C and min. 91 days at 4-6 0 C. All mayonnaises exhibited thixotropic shear thinning behavior under steady shear tests and were rheologically classified as more solid - like gels. The mayonnaise with 50 % β-glucan showed higher storage stability than the other samples. It has been demonstrated that spent brewer's yeast β- glucan can be used as a fat replacer in mayonnaise as well as an emulsion stabilizer.
Development of Ultralight Hybrid Pneumatic Artificial Muscle for Large Contraction and High Payload

This paper presents a novel pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) that is able to generate a high payload and buckling pressure. The proposed actuator exploits open-cell foam, and 0.8 mm thick rigid rings to reinforce structure stiffness, and to implement stable contraction under depressurization. All components are embedded in a sealing elastomeric skin. The actuator can support 6.8 N of external load, which is 34.5 times greater than its own weight (20g). When depressurized, the actuator deforms stably, without buckling. The results of the preliminary experimental analysis show that it is able to contract up to 51.8% upon -80kPa, with a 5.6% hysteresis for pressure vs. contraction ratio. Moreover, a quasi-static model is proposed to estimate the actuator blocking force, of which the measured maximum value is 32.7 N at -80kPa vacuum. The presented actuator shows repeatable and reliable performance, providing a promising soft material solution for pneumatic driven movement.
Fast Prediction of Cortical Dementia Based on Original Brain MRI images Using Convolutional Neural Network

Fast and automatic identification of different types of Cortical Dementia, specially Alzheimer’s disease, based on Brain MRI images, is a crucial technology which can help physicians in early and effective treatment. Although preprocessing of MRI images could improve the accuracy of machine learning techniques for classification of the normal and abnormal cases, this could slow down the process of automatic identification and tarnish the applicability of these methods in clinics and laboratories. In this paper we examine classification of a small sample of the original brain MRI images, using a 2D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The data consists of 172 healthy individuals as the control group (HC) and only 89 patients with different grades of Dementia (DP) which was collected in National Brain Mapping Center of Iran. The model could achieve an accuracy of 97.47% on the test set and 93.88% based on a 5-fold cross-validation.
Essential epidemiological parameters of COVID-19 for clinical and mathematical modeling purposes: a rapid review and meta-analysis

We present a literature review and meta-analysis of relevant epidemiological parameters (24 for adults, 7 for children) of COVID-19. Standardization of these parameters is key to performing valid clinical and mathematical modeling, as well as forecasts, helping us to improve our understanding about the characteristics and impact of the pandemic.
Why Didn't the College Premium Rise Everywhere? Employment Protection and On-the-Job Investment in Skills

Why has the college wage premium risen rapidly in the United States since the 1980s, but not in European economies such as Germany? We argue that differences in employment protection can account for much of the gap. We develop a model in which firms and workers make relationship-specific investments in skill accumulation. The incentive to invest is stronger when employment protection creates an expectation of long-lasting matches. We argue that changes in the economic environment have reduced relationship-specific investment for less-educated workers in the United States, but not for better-protected workers in Germany.
Online Learning: The Meanings of Student Engagement

Advanced communication technology has facilitated an exponential growth in online education for decades. High dropout rates in online learning have also posted a challenge to higher education institutions. Higher education leaders search for ways to improve student retention and graduation rates. As countless research revealed, student engagement is a key ingredient in keeping students connected with the course and their learning progress. Instructors have a significant role in student engagement. Timely, substantive instructor’s feedback facilitates learning, improves student performance, and supports student retention. Feedback given from instructors plays a vital role in student’s learning and satisfaction in the online learning environment. Satisfied students are likely to continue their studies and succeed academically. Overall, student engagement is a critical approach to keep students in the program until graduation. In this paper, a quantitative study investigates student engagement and student satisfaction in an online undergraduate program in health care administration. The aim of this study is to investigate the levels of student engagement from the first-year and senior-year students as well as the correlation between student engagement and student satisfaction. As it is expected, the results derived from this study espouse the discoveries from a myriad of previous research studies. Recommendations, limitations, and future research are also discussed.
ALTERATIONS OF P53 (GENE MUTATION AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION) IN ORAL EPITHELIAL DYSPLASIA

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is usually preceded by precancerous lesions. These lesions appear white or red clinically (Leukoplakia and Erythroplakia respectively) and show dysplastic epithelial changes on histopathological examination (Abbas et al, 2007). If p53 alterations (gene mutations and protein expression) in premalignant lesions are detected and treated in their early stages, it might help in prevention of progression to cancer (Patton et al, 2008). Aim was to determine the frequency of p53 gene mutation and protein expression in oral epithelial dysplastic lesions. This was a descriptive study carried out at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi and was of one year duration from 8 th May 2010- 5 th May 2011. Thirty cases of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) were retrieved from the record files. Some fresh/frozen sections were also included. Gene p53 mutation was detected in these cases by PCR-SSCP Analysis. DNA was extracted from the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue sections and fresh/frozen sections. DNA thus extracted was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The amplified products were denatured and finally analyzed by gel electrophoresis. Gene mutation was detected as electrophoretic mobility shift. The immunohistochemical marker p53 was applied to the same 30 cases and protein p53 expression was recorded. Mutations of the p53 gene were detected in 20% of the dysplastic lesions. Immunohistochemical staining of marker p53 was positive in 60% of the cases. Gene p53 mutation and protein expression was not coexistent.