Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of Hybrid Prediction Methods in Spatial Assessment of Inland Excess Water Hazard

Inland excess water is temporary water inundation that occurs in flat-lands due to both precipitation and groundwater emerging on the surface as substantial sources. Inland excess water is an interrelated natural and human induced land degradation phenomenon, which causes several problems in the flat-land regions of Hungary covering nearly half of the country. Identification of areas with high risk requires spatial modelling, that is mapping of the specific natural hazard. Various external environmental factors determine the behavior of the occurrence, frequency of inland excess water. Spatial auxiliary information representing inland excess water forming environmental factors were taken into account to support the spatial inference of the locally experienced inland excess water frequency observations. Two hybrid spatial prediction approaches were tested to construct reliable maps, namely Regression Kriging (RK) and Random Forest with Ordinary Kriging (RFK) using spatially exhaustive auxiliary data on soil, geology, topography, land use, and climate. Comparing the results of the two approaches, we did not find significant differences in their accuracy. Although both methods are appropriate for predicting inland excess water hazard, we suggest the usage of RFK, since (i) it is more suitable for revealing non-linear and more complex relations than RK, (ii) it requires less presupposition on and preprocessing of the applied data, (iii) and keeps the range of the reference data, while RK tends more heavily to smooth the estimations, while (iv) it provides a variable rank, providing explicit information on the importance of the used predictors.
TRECVID 2004 Experiments at MediaTeam Oulu

University of Oulu’s MediaTeam research group participated in manual and interactive search tasks at TRECVID 2004 evaluation. Our experiments in manual search task evaluated the effect of using three different semantic levels of video shot similarity for retrieval: visual, concept and text. Where the visual search engine is based on computational low-level feature vector distances, text search engine matches the spoken words that are extracted from the audio track using speech recognition. Linear weights are defined to the search engines based on previous experiments with the TRECVID development database. The benefit of correcting ASR transcript errors with closed captions information as well as the significance of text query expansion was evaluated in the 2004 experiments. The role of the different search engines was also considered in the experimental setup.
New and unreported species of mushrooms of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

A total of six species have been reported in this paper. These are Lentinus strigosisi Coriolus versicolor, Irpex lacteus, Laetiporus sulphureus, Trametes hirsuta and Ganoderma lucidum. These belong to the two families, Boletaceae and Ganodermataceae.
Do polyandrous shorebirds trade off egg size with egg number

Classical polyandry in birds is rare and is most frequent in the shorebirds (Charadriiformes). Polyandrous shorebirds lay smaller eggs for their body masses than non-polyandrous shorebirds, indicating that polyandrous female shorebirds may trade egg size off against number of eggs in order to maximize reproductive success. However, this trade-off may be confounded by phylogeny because most polyandrous species belong to a single family, the Jacanidae. I re-analysed this adaptive hypothesis using phylogenetically-independent contrast analyses. These analyses showed that there was no statistically significant difference in egg size between polyandrous and monogamous shorebirds once the effects of phylogeny had been incorporated. This is one of the first studies to show that the results of independent contrasts analyses differ from those where phylogenetic effects have not been taken into account.
Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis 2015 to 2017, the Rise of Escherichia coli, and the Need for Novel Prevention Strategies.

Importance Early-onset sepsis (EOS) remains a potentially fatal newborn condition. Ongoing surveillance is critical to optimize prevention and treatment strategies. Objective To describe the current incidence, microbiology, morbidity, and mortality of EOS among a cohort of term and preterm infants. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective surveillance study included a cohort of infants born at a gestational age (GA) of at least 22 weeks and birth weight of greater than 400 g from 18 centers of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2017. Data were analyzed from June 14, 2019, to January 28, 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures Early-onset sepsis defined by isolation of pathogenic species from blood or cerebrospinal fluid culture within 72 hours of birth and antibiotic treatment for at least 5 days or until death. Results A total of 235 EOS cases (127 male [54.0%]) were identified among 217 480 newborns (1.08 [95% CI, 0.95-1.23] cases per 1000 live births). Incidence varied significantly by GA and was highest among infants with a GA of 22 to 28 weeks (18.47 [95% CI, 14.57-23.38] cases per 1000). No significant differences in EOS incidence were observed by sex, race, or ethnicity. The most frequent pathogens were Escherichia coli (86 [36.6%]) and group B streptococcus (GBS; 71 [30.2%]). E coli disease primarily occurred among preterm infants (68 of 131 [51.9%]); GBS disease primarily occurred among term infants (54 of 104 [51.9%]), with 24 of 45 GBS cases (53.3%) seen in infants born to mothers with negative GBS screening test results. Intrapartum antibiotics were administered to 162 mothers (68.9%; 110 of 131 [84.0%] preterm and 52 of 104 [50.0%] term), most commonly for suspected chorioamnionitis. Neonatal empirical antibiotic treatment most frequently included ampicillin and gentamicin. All GBS isolates were tested, but only 18 of 81 (22.2%) E coli isolates tested were susceptible to ampicillin; 6 of 77 E coli isolates (7.8%) were resistant to both ampicillin and gentamicin. Nearly all newborns with EOS (220 of 235 [93.6%]) displayed signs of illness within 72 hours of birth. Death occurred in 38 of 131 infected infants with GA of less than 37 weeks (29.0%); no term infants died. Compared with earlier surveillance (2006-2009), the rate of E coli infection increased among very low-birth-weight (401-1500 g) infants (8.68 [95% CI, 6.50-11.60] vs 5.07 [95% CI, 3.93-6.53] per 1000 live births; P = .008). Conclusions and Relevance In this study, EOS incidence and associated mortality disproportionately occurred in preterm infants. Contemporary cases have demonstrated the limitations of current GBS prevention strategies. The increase in E coli infections among very low-birth-weight infants warrants continued study. Ampicillin and gentamicin remained effective antibiotics in most cases, but ongoing surveillance should monitor antibiotic susceptibilities of EOS pathogens.
Spatiotemporal distance class analysis of plant disease epidemics

Spatiotemporal distance class analysis is proposed as a new form of spatiotemporal analysis of intensively mapped, binary data. The method detects and quantifies attributes of nonrandom patterns of disease increase in regularly spaced plant populations. The method tests the hypothesis that healthy plants in a population have an equal (random) chance of becoming diseased in the period between two disease assessment dates. Mapped disease incidence evaluations from two assessment dates are needed for the analysis. Expected spatial patterns of diseased plants for the second assessment date are generated by assigning the number of newly diseased plants to random spatial positions among the healthy plant population observed on the first assessment date. Distance class analysis techniques are used to compare these expected patterns with the actual spatial pattern observed on the second assessment date. The number, location, and configuration of significant distance classes are used to evaluate the randomness of the observed spatial distribution. Hypothetical examples and data from an epidemic of citrus variegated chlorosis in Brazil and an epidemic of papaya ringspot in Hawaii are presented to illustrate the procedure
Worker matricide in social bees and wasps

Abstract In bumble bees (Bombus) and vespine wasps (Vespa, Vespula, Dolichovespula), workers have regularly been observed to kill their colony's single queen (worker matricide). Workers gain a fitness payoff in worker-produced males from matricide because it removes the queen's inhibition over their reproduction. There is selection for the queen's death when this gain outweighs the fitness penalty of losing queen-derived offspring. A kin selection model explores this condition for three parties, the queen, nonlaying workers, and laying workers. Matricide is favoured by (i) annual life cycles, (ii) late-season colonies, (iii) declining queen productivity, (iv) male-only production by queens, and (v) single mating. Conflict and relative power among workers also affect whether matricide occurs. Existing data largely support these predictions. Queen dominance loss arguably culminates in matricide because of positive feedback between the queen's condition and worker treatment of her. Worker matricide represents an extreme form of kin-selected queen-worker conflict over sexual production.
Efficacy of Topical Finasteride 0.5% vs 17α-Estradiol 0.05% in the Treatment of Postmenopausal Female Pattern Hair Loss: A Retrospective, Single-Blind Study of 119 Patients

Background and Objectives Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is a common form of scalp hair loss that occurs in 38% of females. Currently, minoxidil solution is the only therapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, but many other treatments are used, including cyproterone acetate, spironolactone, topical 17α-estradiol, and prostaglandin analogs. Systemic finasteride has been considered a treatment option in women even though its teratogenic effects tend to limit its prescription. Recently, topical finasteride has been evaluated to limit the side effect profile of the drug. The objective of the present study is to compare retrospectively the efficacy of topical 0.05% 17α-estradiol solution and a 0.5% finasteride lotion in the treatment of FPHL. Patients and Methods We enrolled 119 postmenopausal female patients. The first group comprised 69 women treated with finasteride 0.5% and minoxidil 2%. The second group included 50 women treated with 17α-estradiol 0.05% and minoxidil 2%. At baseline and at 6- and 12- to 18-month follow-up, global photographs were systematically taken. Three operators blind to the prescribed treatment evaluated photographs using a 7-point scale. One-way analysis of variance and unpaired Student t tests were performed to analyze 7-point scale scores. Results The improvement was statistically significant from 6 months to 12–18 months, both for finasteride (P < 0.005) and 17α-estradiol (P < 0.05). The efficacy of topical finasteride was significantly greater than that of 17α-estradiol solution, both at the 6-month (P < 0.05) and at the 12- to 18-month follow-up (P < 0.005). In general, the highest improvement was observed after 12–18 months of treatment with topical finasteride therapy. Conclusions Topical finasteride 0.5% in combination with minoxidil 2% could represent a valid therapeutic option for the treatment of postmenopausal FPHL, showing higher efficacy than topical 17α-estradiol with minoxidil 2% both at 6-month and 12- to 18-month follow-up.
Fabrication of extended-dissolution divalproex tablets: a green solvent-free granulation technique

Abstract Objective: Divalproex sodium (DVS) is a challenging drug owing to its hygroscopicity, bitter taste, and short in vivo half-life. This study aims to produce stable taste masked DVS once daily tablets using solvent free hot melt granulation (HMG) process. Methods: A lab scale high shear mixer granulator employing six meltable lipid binders (compritol®888 ATO, beeswax, gelucire®50/13, precirol® ATO5, stearyl alcohol, and geleol®) was used for the preparation of tablets. Quality control tests were performed on granules and tablets, and Box–Behnken’s design was adopted to investigate the effect of binder concentration, impeller speed, and granulation time on the drug dissolution. Shelf and accelerated stability evaluation, taste assessment, and in vivo pharmacokinetic study were conducted on the selected batches. Results: Results revealed that DVS tablets were successfully prepared, and that the in vitro dissolution of the drug was inversely proportional to the binder concentration. Beeswax and compritol® tablets showed similar dissolution profiles to the marketed product Depakote® 500 ER tablets (F1 < 15 and F2 > 50). The selected batches showed lower moisture content (<2%) and successfully masked the bitter taste compared to uncoated tablets based on a hydrophilic matrix. The in vivo pharmacokinetic study delineated relative bioavailability values for Beeswax and Compritol® tablets of 95.6% and 118%, respectively, compared to the marketed product. Conclusion: The solvent free HMG process can be employed to formulate 24 h extended dissolution DVS tablets with masked bitter taste and high stability, and comparable or higher bioavailability than the marketed product.
High prevalence of Bardet‐Biedl syndrome in La Réunion Island is due to a founder variant in ARL6/BBS3

Bardet‐Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare ciliopathy with variable retinal dystrophy, polydactyly, renal abnormalities, obesity, cognitive impairment, and hypogonadism. Biallelic pathogenic variants have been identified in 24 genes, leading to BBS in an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. In this study, we investigated a cohort of 16 families (20 individuals) presenting with typical BBS originating from La Réunion Island using sequencing (Sanger and high‐throughput methods) and SNP array. In eight families (12 individuals) we identified the same ARL6/BBS3 variation [c.535G > A, p.(Asp179Asn)]. Bioinformatics and functional analyses revealed an effect of this variant on the splicing of ARL6/BBS3. Owing to the relatively high frequency of this variant, a possible founder effect was suspected. Genotyping of six individuals revealed a common 3.8‐Mb haplotype and estimated the most recent common ancestor to about eight generations confirmed by the known genealogy. Knowledge of this founder effect modifies our diagnostic strategy and enables a personalized genetic counseling for patients from La Réunion Island. Being the first description of BBS patients from La Réunion Island, we could estimate its prevalence between ~1/45000 and ~ 1/66000 individuals.
On the modeling of tropical tree growth: the importance of intra-specific trait variation, non-linear functions and phenotypic integration.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The composition and dynamics of plant communities arises from individual-level demographic outcomes, which are driven by interactions between phenotypes and the environment. Functional traits that can be measured across plants are frequently used to model plant growth and survival. Perhaps surprisingly, species average trait values are often used in these studies and, in some cases, these trait values come from other regions or averages calculated from global databases. This data aggregation potentially results in a large loss of valuable information that likely results in models of plant performance that are weak or even misleading. METHODS We present individual-level trait and fine scale growth data from >500 co-occurring individual trees from 20 species in a Chinese tropical rain forest. We construct Bayesian models of growth informed by theory and to construct hierarchical Bayesian models that utilize both individual- and species-level trait data and to compare these models to models only using individual-level data. KEY RESULTS We show that trait-growth relationships measured at the individual-level vary across species, are often weak using commonly measured traits and do not align with the results of analyses conducted at the species-level. However, when we construct individual-level models of growth using leaf area ratio approximations and integrated phenotypes, we generated strong predictive models of tree growth. CONCLUSIONS Here, we have shown that individual-level models of tree growth that are built using integrative traits always out-perform individual-level models of tree growth that use commonly-measured traits. Furthermore, individual-level models, generally, do not support the findings of trait-growth relationships quantified at the species-level. This indicates that aggregating trait and growth data to the species-level results in poorer and likely misleading models of how traits are related to tree performance.
Performance of a new guideline for telephone triage in out-of-hours services in Belgium: A pilot study using simulated patients

Background Patients in Belgium needing out-of-hours care have two options: the emergency department or the general practitioner on call often organised in a general practitioner cooperative. Currently, there is no triage system in Belgium so patients do not know where to go. Methods Our primary objective was to examine the ability of a newly developed telephone guideline, called 1733, to adequately estimate the urgency of health problems presented by simulated patients. Ten clinical vignettes were presented to 12 operators in a simulated phone call. The operators had to assign a protocol, urgency level and resource to dispatch (ambulance, general practitioner house visit, etc.) to each case. Results A total of 120 phone calls were analysed. The operators chose the right protocol in 69% and the correct urgency level in 35% of the cases. The proportion of under- and over-triage was 26% and 39%, respectively. There was important variation in between the operators. The sensitivity for detecting highly urgent cases was 0.42, the specificity 0.92. Conclusion Using the new Belgian 1733 guideline for telephone triage, operators mostly chose the appropriate protocol but only chose the correct urgency in one out of three cases. In this phase of development, the studied telephone guideline is not ready for implementation.
Group testing in mediation analysis

We consider the scenario where there is an exposure, multiple biologically defined sets of biomarkers, and an outcome. We propose a new two‐step procedure that tests if any of the sets of biomarkers mediate the exposure/outcome relationship, while maintaining a prespecified familywise error rate. The first step of the proposed procedure is a screening step that removes all groups that are unlikely to be strongly associated with both the exposure and the outcome. The second step adapts recent advances in postselection inference to test if there are true mediators in each of the remaining candidate sets. We use simulation to show that this simple two‐step procedure has higher statistical power to detect true mediating sets when compared with existing procedures. We then use our two‐step procedure to identify a set of Lysine‐related metabolites that potentially mediate the known relationship between increased body mass index and the increased risk of estrogen‐receptor positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Application of holographic augmented reality for external approaches to the frontal sinus

External approaches to the frontal sinus such as osteoplastic flaps are challenging because they require blind entry into the sinus, posing risks of injury to the brain or orbit. Intraoperative computed tomography (CT)‐based navigation is the current standard for planning the approach, but still necessitates blind entry into the sinus. The aim of this work was to describe a novel technique for external approaches to the frontal sinus using a holographic augmented reality (AR) application.
Simplifying Glycan Profiling through a High-Throughput Micropermethylation Strategy

Glycoproteins play key roles in various molecular and cellular functions and are among the most difficult to analyze biomolecules on account of their microheterogeneity, non-template-driven synthesis, and low abundances. The stability, serum half-life, immunogenicity, and biological activity of therapeutic glycoproteins, including antibodies, vaccines, and biomarkers, are regulated by their glycosylation profile. Thus, there is increasing demand for the qualitative and quantitative characterization and validation of glycosylation on glycoproteins. One of the most important derivatization processes for the structural characterization of released glycans by mass spectrometry (MS) is permethylation. We have recently developed a permethylation strategy in microscale that allows facile permethylation of glycans and permits the processing of large sample sets in nanogram amounts through high-throughput sample handling. Here, we are reporting the wide potential of micropermethylation-based high-throughput structural analysis of glycans from various sources, including human plasma, mammalian cells, and purified glycoproteins, through an automated tandem electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) platform. The glycans released from the plasma, cells, and glycoproteins are permethylated in microscale in a 96-well plate or microcentrifuge tube and isolated by a C18 tip-based cleanup through a shorter and simple process. We have developed a workflow to accomplish an in-depth automated structural characterization MS program for permethylated N/O-glycans through an automated high-throughput multistage tandem MS acquisition. We have demonstrated the utility of this workflow using the examples of sialic acid linkages and bisecting GlcNAc (N-acetylglucosamine) on the glycans. This approach can automate the high-throughput screening of glycosylation on large sample sets of glycoproteins, including clinical glycan biomarkers and glycoprotein therapeutics.
The biological activities, molecular docking studies, and anticancer effects of 1-arylsuphonylpyrazole derivatives

Abstract This work is devoted to definition of the direction of reaction between 1-benzenesulfonylimino pyridinium chloride and α- or β-halo-containing sulfamides, chloroacetic acid, 1-chloro-2,3-dihydroxypropane, etc. The optimal conditions for the synchronous reaction of heterocyclization are determined. Benzenesulfonyliminopyridinium chloride was obtained to form pyrazolopyridines with 1,2-polarophiles, and pyridazine pyridines with 1,3-polarophiles. These novel derivatives were found as effective inhibitors of the α-glycosidase with Ki values in the range of 13.66 ± 2.63–60.63 ± 12.71 nM. The molecules (II-X) against enzyme were compared theoretically with the help of molecular docking to compare biological activities. The results were compared with the numerical values of the parameters obtained from molecular docking calculations and found to be in great agreement with the experimental results. However, ADME analysis of molecules was performed. Also, the compounds exhibited significant anticancer effect depending on the doses administered. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma