Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proficiency Testing for Pressure Calibration at the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP)

Abstract: The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) has initiated a proficiency testing program for calibration laboratories accredited for pressure, designated as NVLAP code 20/T05. This program involves measurements by the laboratory on NVLAP-provided test artifacts at specific pressure points in gas, and then comparisons of the results to similar measurements by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Thermodynamic Metrology Group. The statistical test of the value of the En parameter is used to determine whether or not the laboratory shows proficiency at each pressure point, and the entire set of En values determines whether or not the laboratory demonstrates proficiency for their declared scope in pressure. This proficiency test can evaluate both laboratories that primarily calibrate effective area of piston gauges, and laboratories that calibrate electronic pressure instruments. The test protocol, methods of data analysis, and some results to date are presented. All NVLAP calibration laboratories currently accredited for effective area of piston gauges passed the proficiency test.
Program Evaluation of Magnet Program Implementation

The purpose of this study was to examine the fidelity of the implementation of a magnet program at an area intermediate rural school. A case study approach was used to conduct the study, based on observations and perceptual information. The following research questions were developed to address the problem of this study: (a) How does the magnet curriculum affect the delivery of magnet instruction in core content areas? (b) How do participants perceive the strengths and weaknesses of how the magnet program was implemented? The quantitative research consisted of classroom observations to determine if magnet curriculum was being implemented in classrooms. The qualitative research consisted of interviews with school-based participants, to examine the perceptions of participants regarding strengths and weaknesses of magnet program implementation. Results revealed that there were seven components where improvement is needed in order to fully achieve the intended objectives of the magnet school. On the other hand, there were five components of the magnet school that were observed to be present to a high degree in their school and are achieving the objectives of the magnet school as intended. The interview findings presented: (a) new teachers were not aware that the school had magnet programs; (b) the overall mission, vision, and goals varied amongst participants; (c) some veteran teachers perceive that magnet theme-based instruction should still be delivered in classrooms, while other veteran teachers perceived this as not being the case; (d) During the initiation process, all veteran teachers express that they were implementing the magnet theme-based curriculum in core content areas; (e) all teachers have been motivated at some point to use innovative approaches with teaching and assessments as it relates to the magnet integration because of how students were engaged and the liberty it provided, enabling teachers to be creative with instructional strategies; (f) parental involvement is still an expectation across the board.
Cost-Effectiveness of Apatinib and Cabozantinib for the Treatment of Radioiodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Background: The effectiveness of apatinib and cabozantinib for the treatment of radioactive iodine–refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC) has been demonstrated recently. We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these treatments from the Chinese healthcare system perspective. Methods: Two partitioned survival models over a 10-year horizon were built to compare the cost and effectiveness of apatinib vs. placebo and cabozantinib vs. placebo based on the clinical data from the phase 3 randomized REALITY and COSMIC-311 trials. Costs and utility data were obtained from the literature and institutional database. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the conclusion. Results: Apatinib yielded an additional quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) of 0.74 at an additional cost of Chinese Renminbi ¥44,077. The ICER was ¥93,460 (US dollar $13545)/QALY and it was below the current willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of ¥217341/QALY. Cabozantinib was associated with an additional QALY of 0.79 at an extra cost of ¥3,55,614 when compared with placebo, and the ICER was ¥4,52,325 ($65,554)/QALY, which was above the WTP threshold. The conclusion were robust under one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. The price of cabozantinib has to drop to ¥5.87/mg (39% of the current price) for it has a 50% likelihood of being cost-effective. Conclusion: Apatinib is cost-effective for RAIR-DTC when compared with placebo from the perspective of Chinese healthcare system. However, based on the current evidence, cabozantinib might not be cost-effective and a reduction of price is warranted.
Antioxidant System and Ions Concentrations After Femoral Neck and Resurfacing Hip Arthroplasty

Background Oxidative stress is a disruption of the pro-oxidative-antioxidant balance, caused by excessive production or ineffective removal of reactive oxygen species. Material/Methods The study included 42 male patients aged 38 to 69 years. The first group consisted of 21 men with osteoarthritis after primary hip arthroplasty using the Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant. The second group included 21 men after hip arthroplasty using the femoral neck SPIRON K-implant. In both groups, concentrations of ions, the antioxidant system in the blood, and parameters of oxidative stress were evaluated twice. Clinical assessment using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, Harris Hip Score, and Short Form (12) Health Survey (SF-12) scales was performed. Results Concentrations of metal ions in the blood and the level of oxidative stress were significantly higher in the resurfacing group than in the femoral neck arthroplasty group. The response of the antioxidant system was significantly greater in the femoral neck arthroplasty group. During clinical evaluation, groups did not show significant differences, with the exception of greater shortening of the operated limb and a lower score in the mental-sphere of the SF-12 scale in the resurfacing arthroplasty group. Conclusions Resurfacing hip arthroplasty increased oxidative stress, increased the concentration of metal ions, and did not affect alignment of the abbreviation of the operated limb. A significant improvement in the quality of life of patients in the mental sphere according to the SF-12 occurred after the application of resurfacing arthroplasty, in the first month after the procedure.
Changes in the Activity of the CLE41/PXY/WOX Signaling Pathway in the Birch Cambial Zone under Different Xylogenesis Patterns

The balance between cell proliferation and differentiation into other cell types is crucial for meristem indeterminacy, and both growth aspects are under genetic control. The peptide-receptor signaling module regulates the activity of the cambial stem cells and the differentiation of their derivatives, along with cytokinins and auxin. We identified the genes encoding the signaling module CLE41-PXY and the regulator of vascular cambium division WOX4 and studied their expression during the period of cambial growth in the radial row: the conducting phloem/cambial zone and the differentiating xylem in two forms of Betula pendula, silver birch and Karelian birch. We have shown that the expression maximum of the BpCLE41/44a gene precedes the expression maximum of the BpPXY gene. Non-figured Karelian birch plants with straight-grained wood are characterized by a more intensive growth and the high expression of CLE41/44-PXY-WOX4. Figured Karelian birch plants, where the disturbed ratio and spatial orientation of structural elements characterizes the wood, have high levels of BpWOX4 expression and a decrease in xylem growth as well as the formation of xylem with a lower vessel density. The mutual influences of CLE41-PXY signaling and auxin signaling on WOX4 gene activity and the proliferation of cambium stem cells are discussed.
Improving Attention through Individualized fNIRS Neurofeedback Training: A Pilot Study

Attention is a particularly important indicator in life, as inattention can lead to many negative consequences. As a non-invasive intervention, real-time neurofeedback training can effectively enhance individuals’ attention adjustment abilities. However, previous studies have neglected to consider differences among individuals. In this study, an individualized neurofeedback training (INT) method based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was proposed for attention improvement and compared with non-individualized neurofeedback training (NINT). The neurofeedback channels and thresholds were determined individually for each subject. Then, participants conducted four runs of neurofeedback training. Two attention tests (i.e., AX version of continuous performance task (AX-CPT) and attention network test (ANT)) were used to assess the performance of the neurofeedback training. The length of time that the two groups of participants continuously kept their oxygenated hemoglobin concentration above a threshold showed an increasing trend, and the improvement rate of the INT group was higher than that of the NINT group. The reaction times for both groups showed a downward trend, but the INT group declined more significantly. In the fNIRS data, it was observed that the activation degree of the INT group in the middle and dorsolateral prefrontal areas was higher than that of the NINT group. It is preliminarily proved that the proposed INT method can effectively improve the attention level, and its overall performance is better than that of the NINT method.
Intense Electromagnetic Pulses Generated From kJ-Laser Interacting With Hohlraum Targets

Irradiating hohlraum targets with high-power laser pulses is a promising approach to achieve inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Unfortunately, such interaction is accompanied by intense electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). The EMPs can interfere with various physical diagnostic signals and even cause a malfunction of some crucial equipment. In this study, EMPs generated due to kJ-laser coupling with hohlraum targets are recorded using B-dot probes inside the target chamber. The configuration of the hohlraum has a more remarkable effect on EMP amplitudes compared to laser energy. 0.6 mg/cc of He gas filling in the hohlraum and the presence of the capsule inside the hohlraum both dramatically reduce EMPs. Moreover, EMP frequencies corresponding to various hohlraums are basically below 1.75 GHz. Soft X-ray (0.1–4 keV) radiant flux is used to reveal the characteristics of EMPs. The conclusions are expected to enable us to better understand the relationship of EMPs with target configuration and laser energy.
Sea Urchins in Acute High Temperature and Low Oxygen Environments: The Regulatory Role of microRNAs in Response to Environmental Stress

Strongylocentrotus intermedius is an economically valuable sea urchin species in China. However, its growth and survival are severely constrained by ocean warming and the hypoxia that often accompanies high water temperatures. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression in response to environmental change. In this study, high-throughput RNA sequencing was used to investigate changes in miRNA expression in S. intermedius under heat (25°C), hypoxia (2 mg/L O2), and combined heat and hypoxia stresses. Twelve small RNAs libraries were constructed and 17, 14, and 23 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified in the heat, hypoxia, and combined stress groups (P<0.05), respectively. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway functional analyses of putative target genes of the DEMs suggested that these miRNAs were important in basal metabolism, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and immune-related pathways. By co-analysis with published transcriptome data, key DEMs (miR-193, miR-184, miR-133, miR-125, miR-2008) and their key target genes (EGF3, ABCB4, CYCL, PAN2, CALN) were identified. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of the expression of 10 DEMs and their key target genes confirmed the RNA sequencing results. These results provide information on gene expression regulation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the response of S. intermedius to multi-cause environmental stresses.
The Impact of Employee Involvement and Empowerment in Lean Manufacturing System Implementation towards Organizational Performances

Lean Manufacturing System (LMS) implementations in Malaysia’s automotive industry has not been extensive in its expected reach, as extensive inquiries revealed it being adopted as a “pick-and-choose” system for certain processes or only upon determined levels within the industry. Current implementation strategy does not permit the industry to gain total benefits from the system itself. Undeniably, a few significant factors are being given less significance in multiple stages of LMS’ execution. Employee involvement and employee empowerment have been identified as part of these contributing factors in a successful implementation of LMS in an organization. However, important criterion with its contributing aspects of these factors is not given the necessary attention, translating into a lamer impact upon companies embarking on a LMS deployment. This paper examines the impact of these two factors in the implementation of a lean manufacturing system towards achieving organizational performances in the automotive industry. A questionnaire-survey was administered to gauge the impact of these two factors in an implementation process of a lean manufacturing system and later analyzing the effect towards their organizational performances. Data from 204 automotive parts manufacturers were gathered and analyzed. The correlation between the influencing factors, 5 lean activities and 6 organizational performances were measured. The results gained suggest that the integration between employee involvement and employee empowerment will be a valuable critical organizational capability impacting organizational performances towards the successful implementation of LMS in the Malaysian automotive industry.
Intelligent Deep Learning Enabled Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Detection and Classification Using Biomedical Images

Oral cancer is one of the lethal diseases among the available malignant tumors globally, and it has become a challenging health issue in developing and low-to-middle income countries. The prognosis of oral cancer remains poor because over 50% of patients are recognized at advanced stages. Earlier detection and screening models for oral cancer are mainly based on experts' knowledge, and it necessitates an automated tool for oral cancer detection. The recent developments of computational intelligence (CI) and computer vision-based approaches help to accomplish enhanced performance in medical-image-related tasks. This article develops an intelligent deep learning enabled oral squamous cell carcinoma detection and classification (IDL-OSCDC) technique using biomedical images. The presented IDL-OSCDC model involves the recognition and classification of oral cancer on biomedical images. The proposed IDL-OSCDC model employs Gabor filtering (GF) as a preprocessing step to eliminate noise content. In addition, the NasNet model is exploited for the generation of high-level deep features from the input images. Moreover, an enhanced grasshopper optimization algorithm (EGOA)-based deep belief network (DBN) model is employed for oral cancer detection and classification. The hyperparameter tuning of the DBN model is performed using the EGOA algorithm which in turn boosts the classification outcomes. The experimentation outcomes of the IDL-OSCDC model using a benchmark biomedical imaging dataset highlighted its promising performance over the other methods with maximum accuy, precn, recal, and Fscore of 95%, 96.15%, 93.75%, and 94.67% correspondingly.
An image recognition system aimed at search activities using cyber search and rescue dogs

Disaster response presents major challenges for robotics and computer vision alike. The Cyber‐Enhanced Canine Suit is a suit equipped with a camera, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and various other sensors, to be worn by search and rescue (SAR) dogs for the purpose of enhancing SAR dog operations. This paper presents an image recognition system for use in disaster scenarios and its integration with the Cyber‐Enhanced Canine Suit platform. The system’s intended use is to spot personal items of missing individuals or other visual clues in video streams from various disaster response platforms. The system facilitates quick learning of targets from limited data and makes providing that data quick and easy. It also provides backtrack recognition functionality, to rapidly find novel targets in the seen footage. We evaluated the recognition system on footage gathered in the field, obtaining promising results. Integrated with the Cyber‐Enhanced Canine Suit, the system can automatically plot detections of search targets onto a map display, to provide operators with a quick overview of what was seen where.
Sperm selection by birefringence: a promising non-invasive tool to improve ICSI outcomes

Objective Despite higher sperm DNA fragmentation may affect intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes, sperm selection protocols do not evaluate this parameter. Therefore, sperm’s head birefringence has been suggested as an adjuvant of seminal processing to select viable sperm for couples with severe male factor. Considering men with normal seminal parameters may also curse with DNA fragmentation, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of sperm selection by birefringence on ICSI outcomes in couples with different infertility factors compared to those submitted to conventional sperm selection. Methods In this case-control study, medical records from 181 couples who underwent ICSI from January 2018 to August 2020 (107 from the Conventional and 74 from the Birefringence group) were included in the study. Clinical characteristics and ICSI outcomes were compared between the groups using Student’s t test or Chi-square test (p<0.05) and a multivariate logistic regression model was applied regarding clinical pregnancy. Results Despite the Birefringence group showed higher female age (p=0.01), lower seminal sperm concentration (p<0.01) and higher sperm DNA fragmentation (p<0.01), those patients cursed with both higher cleavage rate (p=0.04), clinical pregnancy rate per transfer (p=0.03) and clinical pregnancy rate per initiated cycle (p=0.02). The logistic regression showed a positive group effect on clinical pregnancy. Conclusions The findings suggest a positive clinical impact of this cheap and easily reproducible adjuvant technique on ICSI outcomes in couples with different infertility factors. If confirmed by further methodologically appropriate studies, the sperm’s head birefringence could be considered to improve the reproductive chances of those patients.
Dietary Zinc Intake Affects the Association Between Dietary Vitamin A and Depression: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Dietary vitamin A concentrations correlate with depression. Zinc has been reported to be associated with lower depression. In addition, zinc is an important cofactor in the activation of vitamin A. However, there are few studies investigating relationships between of dietary zinc intake, dietary vitamin A intake and depression. Materials and Methods The data for this study came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2018 and involved 70,190 participants. We stratified participants by recommended dietary zinc intake (recommended dietary zinc intake for women: 8 mg/day, recommended dietary zinc intake for men: 11 mg/day). We further assessed the association between vitamin A and depression in participants with low and high zinc intake (interaction test) using univariate logistic regression of intake participants. Result In the female population we grouped the population into low and high zinc intake groups using the recommended dietary zinc intake of 8 (mg/day), with an increase in total vitamin A, the risk of depression was significantly lower in the low zinc intake group (OR: 0.85 95 CI: 0.76–0.96), while the risk of depression was increased in the high zinc intake group (OR: 1.05 95 CI: 0.95 to 1.17). Thus, in the female population, there was a significant interaction between insufficient vitamin an intake and depression (interaction likelihood ratio test of p = 0.011). In the male population we grouped the population by the recommended dietary zinc intake of 11(mg/day). Again, the population was divided into two groups with low and high zinc intake, however we did not find significant results for the interaction (p = 0.743 for the interaction likelihood ratio test). Conclusion Our findings suggest that zinc intake may influence the relationship between dietary vitamin A and depression. Of course, our findings require further randomized controlled trials to enhance the credibility.
Metastatic Extrapulmonary Small Cell Carcinoma Presenting as Obstructive Jaundice

Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma (EPSCC) is a rare cancer with a poor prognosis. It can arise from almost any site and is usually associated with extensive metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Due to the rarity of this cancer, very limited data is available in the literature and most of the recommendations for its evaluation and treatment are based on retrospective studies and expert opinion. This case report shares one such presentation of EPSCC. A 78-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with presenting symptoms of abdominal pain and discoloration of the eyes and urine for 2 months. Initial laboratory investigation revealed obstructive jaundice and leukocytosis. His infectious workup was negative. An ultrasound abdomen was performed, showing multiple liver deposits. He received a computed tomography chest, abdomen, and pelvis with contrast also showing multiple liver deposits highly indicative of metastatic disease. No other obvious abnormality or mass in other visceral organs was reported. He underwent endoscopy and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, showing normal pancreatic-biliary ducts. A plastic stent was deployed to help with biliary drainage. A liver biopsy was performed and showed poorly differentiated small cell carcinoma of extrapulmonary origin. His abdominal pain improved after stent placement; however, liver tests continued to worsen. During his hospital stay, he was seen by oncology and given metastatic disease; he was offered palliative chemotherapy. Understanding his poor prognosis, the patient himself opted for comfort care and decided to go home with hospice care. Within days, he became lethargic, likely secondary to hepatic encephalopathy, and expired in the span of the next few days.