Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dogliotti and Phillips classifications are unsuitable for grading the histopathological findings of exogenous ochronosis

Cutaneous exogenous ochronosis (EO) is frequently graded and staged according to the Dogliotti or Phillips classification system, both in research studies and in clinical practice. There are no data to support the use of these systems in either of these settings. These systems additionally purport that the clinical and histopathological findings of EO are concordant; however, anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. We aimed to determine the clinical‐histopathological concordance rates in EO and to assess the suitability of the Dogliotti and Phillips classification systems for the grading and staging of EO lesions.
Saccharin test: Methodological validation and systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES Saccharin test (ST) is a convenient method to assess the efficiency of mucociliary clearance, the primary defense mechanism of the upper airways' tract. The study objectives are to: (1) substantiate its short- (3 days) and long-term (30 days) repeatability; (2) assess its tolerability; (3) conduct a systematic literature review and to compare our results with the existing evidence. METHODS Twenty-nine healthy subjects were enrolled in an observational prospective study to perform an ST on three separate visits (at baseline; at follow-up visits at day 3 and at day 30). Transit times were recorded and self-reported nasal and general symptoms noted. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to compare our results with the existing literature. RESULTS The mean values (±SD) of ST transit time (STTT) were 7.085 (±2.19), 7.788 (±2.11), and 7.790 (±2.06) minutes at baseline, day 3, and day 30, respectively. Significant linear regression analysis was observed between day 3 and baseline (r = .193; P = .019) and day 30 and baseline (r = .182 P = .024). Significant agreement for the intrasession repeatability was observed with an ICC = . 354 (P = .001). Outcomes' comparisons between baseline vs day 3 (P = .197) and baseline vs day 30 (P = .173) were not statistically significant. ST was well tolerated. Concordance with existing literature's data and high level of STTT repeatability were confirmed by the qualitative analysis. CONCLUSION STTT reproducibility was good both in the short- and long-term. ST tolerability was very good. Our study data are consistent with the existing literature, indicating ST as a sound methodology for detection of early respiratory health changes and for specific regulatory application in respiratory research.
Anti-diabetic effects of Protaetia brevitarsis in pancreatic islets and a murine diabetic model.

OBJECTIVE In this study, the antidiabetic efficacy of Protaetia brevitarsis in alloxan-treated pancreatic islets and db/db mice was investigated. P. brevitarsis was tested for alloxan-mediated cytotoxicity and nitric oxide production in mice pancreatic islets. MATERIALS AND METHODS The anti-diabetic effect of P. brevitarsis was also evaluated in db/db mice after 4 weeks of administration. Biochemical analysis, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and pancreatic histological analysis were performed. RESULTS P. brevitarsis displayed hypoglycemic activity in alloxan-treated mice pancreatic islets. Our results showed that P. brevitarsis protects pancreatic islets from cytotoxicity. Moreover, daily oral supplementation with P. brevitarsis for 4 weeks reduced plasma glucose levels without affecting body weight and food intake, elevated glucose tolerance in OGTT, improved blood lipid parameters, inhibited fat accumulation, and restored islet structure of db/db mice. CONCLUSIONS The present study provided evidence for the anti‑diabetic effect of P. brevitarsis in alloxan-treated pancreatic islets and db/db mice. These results suggest that P. brevitarsis may be used as an adjunctive anti-diabetic agent or as a functional food.
Neohesperidin promotes the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs via BMP2-Wnt/β-catenin pathway

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to investigate the role of neohesperidin (NH) in mice with steroid-induced femoral head necrosis (SONFH) and in bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). The SONFH model was established. The effects of NH on SONFH mice were detected by hematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining and micro-CT, while those on proliferation, osteogenic differentiation and associated pathways of BMSCs were detected by molecular experiments. Besides, the effects of NH on β-catenin nuclear translocation and the H3K27me3 abundance on the transcriptional start site of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP2) were also determined by immunofluorescence staining and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation. Results indicated that NH not only reduced histopathological changes and improved the structures of the femoral heads of the SONFH mice but also promoted the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of mouse BMSCs, enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and upregulated expressions of osteoblast markers in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, NH was also confirmed to upregulate the expressions of genes related to osteogenesis and Wnt/β-catenin pathway of BMSCs, which, however, were all noticeably downregulated by Noggin and DKK1. Additionally, Noggin and DKK1 in combination further promoted the suppressive effect on genes related to osteogenesis and Wnt/β-catenin pathway than alone. Besides, NH induced nuclear translocation of β-catenin in BMSCs and further reduced H3K27me3-triggered enrichment of BMP2. In conclusion, NH could promote proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs via BMP2-Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
MRI-based automatic segmentation of rectal cancer using 2D U-Net on two independent cohorts

Abstract Background Tumor delineation is time- and labor-intensive and prone to inter- and intraobserver variations. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides good soft tissue contrast, and functional MRI captures tissue properties that may be valuable for tumor delineation. We explored MRI-based automatic segmentation of rectal cancer using a deep learning (DL) approach. We first investigated potential improvements when including both anatomical T2-weighted (T2w) MRI and diffusion-weighted MR images (DWI). Secondly, we investigated generalizability by including a second, independent cohort. Material and methods Two cohorts of rectal cancer patients (C1 and C2) from different hospitals with 109 and 83 patients, respectively, were subject to 1.5 T MRI at baseline. T2w images were acquired for both cohorts and DWI (b-value of 500 s/mm2) for patients in C1. Tumors were manually delineated by three radiologists (two in C1, one in C2). A 2D U-Net was trained on T2w and T2w + DWI. Optimal parameters for image pre-processing and training were identified on C1 using five-fold cross-validation and patient Dice similarity coefficient (DSCp) as performance measure. The optimized models were evaluated on a C1 hold-out test set and the generalizability was investigated using C2. Results For cohort C1, the T2w model resulted in a median DSCp of 0.77 on the test set. Inclusion of DWI did not further improve the performance (DSCp 0.76). The T2w-based model trained on C1 and applied to C2 achieved a DSCp of 0.59. Conclusion T2w MR-based DL models demonstrated high performance for automatic tumor segmentation, at the same level as published data on interobserver variation. DWI did not improve results further. Using DL models on unseen cohorts requires caution, and one cannot expect the same performance.
Optimization of ship inner shell to improve the safety of seagoing transport ship

ABSTRACT A practical Ship Inner Shell Optimization Method (SISOM), the purpose of which is to improve the safety of the seagoing transport ship by decreasing the maximum Still Water Bending Moment (SWBM) of the hull girder under all typical loading conditions, is presented in this paper. The objective of SISOM is to make the maximum SWBM minimum, and the section areas of the inner shell are taken as optimization variables. The main requirements of the ship performances, such as cargo hold capacity, propeller and rudder immersion, bridge visibility, damage stability and prevention of pollution etc., are taken as constraints. The penalty function method is used in SISOM to change the above nonlinear constraint problem into an unconstrained one, which is then solved by applying the steepest descent method. After optimization, the optimal section area distribution of the inner shell is obtained, and the shape of inner shell is adjusted according to the optimal section area. SISOM is applied to a product oil tanker and a bulk carrier, and the maximum SWBM of the two ships is significantly decreased by changing the shape of inner shell plate slightly. The two examples prove that SISOM is highly efficient and valuable to engineering practice.
Large magnetic anisotropy in Co–Fe–Ni–N ordered structures: a first-principles study

Material design of promising rare-earth free permanent magnet requires tailoring and controlling the intrinsic magnetic properties namely large saturation magnetization μ 0 M s, giant uniaxial magnetic anisotropy K u, and high Curie temperature T C. Based on first-principles electronic structure calculations, we present a detailed analysis for the intrinsic magnetic properties of Co x Fe1−x Ni and Co x Fe1−x NiN0.25 ordered structures. We predict an enhanced structural stability with improved K u ranging from 1.53–2.29 MJ m−3 for Co x Fe1−x NiN0.25 ordered structures, with the exception of CoNiN0.25 having planar anisotropy. Detailed analysis of the predicted large K u, based on perturbation theory and electronic structure calculations, is attributed to the cumulative effect of contribution from the increased tetragonal distortion and induced orbital distortion from the simultaneous Co substitution and interstitial N-doping. By tailoring the K u, we may create efficient and affordable PMs, bridging the gap between commonly used ferrite and high-performance Nd–Fe–B magnets.
Machine learning-based Decision Tree J48 with grey wolf optimizer for environmental pollution control

ABSTRACT Due to industrialization, activities of human and urbanization, environment is getting polluted. Air pollution has become a main issue in the metropolitan areas of the world. To protect people from diseases, monitoring air quality plays an important thing. This air pollutant may lead to many health issues like respiratory and cardiac problems. The major air pollutants are NO, C6H6, CO, etc. Many research works have been done in predicting air pollution-based health issues, predicting air pollution levels, monitoring and controlling the polluted levels. But they are not efficient, cost of maintenance is high and insufficient tool for monitoring it. To overcome these issues, this paper implements hybrid algorithm of Decision Tree J48 and Grey Wolf Optimizer (DT-GWO). This DT-GWO is a better model to addresses the predicting of Air Quality Index (AQI), which minimizes the error rate, accurately and effectively predicting the air quality. The AQI values are categorised as good, moderate, unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous. The dataset used in this work is collected from Kaggle website which contains air pollutants details with air quality index values. Accuracy obtained for decision Tree J48 is 93.72%, grey wolf optimizer is 96.83% and our proposed work DT-GWO is 99.78%. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Worldwide prevalence of inadequate work ability among hospital nursing personnel: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE To estimate the worldwide pooled prevalence of inadequate work ability among hospital nursing personnel using the Work Ability Index (WAI). DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS A systematic search was conducted on Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Nursing and Allied Health, LILACS, and Google Scholar from inception to July 2021 to identify observational studies on work ability among hospital nursing personnel using the WAI. Two researchers independently completed the study selection, quality assessments, and data extraction on the prevalence of inadequate work ability that was pooled using the random effects model. Finally, subgroup analyses were performed to explore sources of heterogeneity. FINDINGS A total of 42 studies were included, consisting of 24,728 subjects worldwide from 14 countries. Of these, 35 studies were included in the meta-analytical analyses. The worldwide pooled prevalence of inadequate work ability among hospital nursing personnel was 24.7% (95% CI = 20.2%-29.4%). High levels of heterogeneity were detected in all studies. Prevalence was higher in studies where samples were composed of nurses and nursing assistive personnel (26.8%; 95% CI = 22.4%-31.5%) than in those of nurses alone (22.2%; 95% CI = 13.1%-32.9%) and in studies where the sample was over 40 (28.1%; 95% CI = 19.5%-37.5%) than in those with a sample under that age (22.4%; 95% CI = 15.8%-29.7%). CONCLUSIONS Almost one in four members of hospital nursing staff in the world has inadequate work ability and therefore are at risk of several negative outcomes during their working life. These prevalence data correspond to the pre-pandemic period, so new studies should also be especially useful in quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work ability in the hospital nursing workforce. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The above findings justify the launch of initiatives that include annual assessment for the early identification of inadequate work ability, offering the possibility of anticipated corrective measures. Nursing workforce older than 40 years and those belonging to the professional category of nursing assistive personnel should be priority target groups for screening and intervention to improve work ability.
Shared brain transcriptomic signature in TDP-43 type A FTLD patients with or without GRN mutations

Abstract Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions (FTLD-TDP) is a complex heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder for which mechanisms are poorly understood. To explore transcriptional changes underlying FTLD-TDP, we performed RNA-sequencing on 66 genetically unexplained FTLD-TDP patients, 24 FTLD-TDP patients with GRN mutations and 24 control participants. Using principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering, differential expression and coexpression network analyses, we showed that GRN mutation carriers and FTLD-TDP-A patients without a known mutation shared a common transcriptional signature that is independent of GRN loss-of-function. After combining both groups, differential expression as compared to the control group and coexpression analyses revealed alteration of processes related to immune response, synaptic transmission, RNA metabolism, angiogenesis and vesicle-mediated transport. Deconvolution of the data highlighted strong cellular alterations that were similar in FTLD-TDP-A and GRN mutation carriers with NSF as a potentially important player in both groups. We propose several potentially druggable pathways such as the GABAergic, GDNF and sphingolipid pathways. Our findings underline new disease mechanisms and strongly suggest that affected pathways in GRN mutation carriers extend beyond GRN and contribute to genetically unexplained forms of FTLD-TDP-A.
Al0.78Sc0.22N Lamb Wave Contour Mode Resonators

This article presents the lamb wave contour mode resonators (CMRs) based on 22% aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN) thin film with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda $ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 12–24 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and operating in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{S}_{{0}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mode. We report the design, fabrication, and characterization of 500 nm-thick AlScN CMRs, which take advantage of optimized stress control of co-sputtered AlScN thin films and vertical inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching profile. The experimental results are compared to theoretical predictions by finite element analysis (FEA). All Al<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{{0.78}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>Sc<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{{0.22}}\text{N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> devices show excellent agreement with simulations in piezoelectric coupling using modified AlScN film parameters. The best Al<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{{0.78}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>Sc<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{{0.22}}\text{N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> CMR has achieved an electromechanical coupling coefficient (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${k}_{t}^{{2}}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 5.24% and loaded quality factor (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${Q}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 1219 with an operating frequency at approximately 300 MHz, which exhibits a high Figure-of-Merit (FoM) of 63.88 in piezoelectric microelectromechanical system (MEMS) lamb wave CMR. This article also presents the co-sputtering characteristics of the AlScN thin films under <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{N}_{{2}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> gas to achieve low-stress and high-quality piezoelectric materials, and the etching optimization of high concentration Sc doping aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films under Cl2/BCl3/Ar chemistry to obtain record profile angle of 77°, high selectivity of 1:1 with SiO2 hard mask.
A system architecture for autonomous visual road vehicle guidance

A hierarchical system architecture for autonomous visual road vehicle guidance is presented, which consists of four levels: a vehicle level, a 4D-level, a rule-based level, and a knowledge-based level. The system architecture is applied to VaMP, a Mercedes passenger car which autonomously performs missions on German freeways. VaMP perceives the environment with its sense of vision and conventional sensors. It controls its actuators for locomotion and attention focussing.
Analytical design for a family of cosine modulated filter banks

A new family of modulated filter banks has been derived. The design is particularly simple since it is mainly based on a closed-form expression. Nearly perfect reconstruction filter banks are obtained as well as guidelines to estimate the filter bank parameters. Furthermore a slight modification of the prototype filter coefficients is sufficient to exactly satisfy the perfect reconstruction constraints.
Mild Chronic Colitis Triggers Parkinsonism in LRRK2 Mutant Mice Through Activating TNF‐α Pathway

Leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a common risk gene for Parkinson's disease (PD) and inflammatory bowel disorders. However, the penetrance of the most prevalent LRRK2 mutation, G2019S, is <50%. Factors other than genetic mutations are needed in PD process.
Motion envelopes: unfolding longitudinal rotation data from walking stick-figures

Abstract This work presents Motion Envelopes (ME), a simple method to estimate the missing longitudinal rotations of minimal stick figures, which is based on the spatial-temporal surface traced by line segments that connect contiguous pairs of joints. We validate ME by analyzing the gait patterns of 6 healthy subjects, comprising a total of 18 gait cycles. A strong correlation between experimental and estimated data was obtained for lower limbs and upper arms, indicating that ME can predict their longitudinal orientation in normal gait, hence, ME can be used to complement the kinematic information of stick figures whenever it is incomplete.
Modeling frazil ice growth in the St. Lawrence River1

The paper presents a complete energy balance model of suspended frazil ice formation in the tidal water column of the St. Lawrence River. The model estimates of suspended frazil ice concentration are compared to in situ observations of an analogue of suspended frazil ice crystals, with good results. A time series of observed acoustic backscattering from suspended frazil serves as the analogue of the suspended frazil concentration. The model of frazil ice growth is used to estimate the rate of increase in mass of the suspended frazil ice by balancing the net rate of energy exchange with the atmosphere with the observed changes in water temperature and in anchor ice thickness. The positive results are achieved despite a number of difficulties with analysis. These difficulties include the bias resulting from the inability of the sonar to detect across the complete size range of suspended ice, the unknown impacts of advection, the unknown impact of anchor ice build-up on temperature and sonar readings, and th.
Novel and efficient method for loading aptamer-conjugated liposomes with arsenic trioxide for targeting cancer cells

Abstract Although the therapeutic effect of liposomal arsenic trioxide arsenic trioxide (ATO) in the treatment of solid tumours has been confirmed, its dose-limiting loading is a challenging issue. To solve the problems in the preparation of liposomal ATO, different loading strategies were evaluated and compared. In addition, liposomes decorated with anti-nucleolin aptamers were developed as a novel formulation for targeted delivery with high loading efficiency and sustained releasing property in order to treat solid tumours. The liposomes were prepared by a thin-film method exploiting the passive loading strategy of Co(II) hydrogen arsenite (CHA). The structural characteristics of the liposomes were also investigated by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potentiometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction (EDX) techniques. To evaluate the potential cytotoxicity of this liposomal drug vehicle in vitro, MTT assay was performed on HT-29 cancer cell line. The results showed that the synthesised liposomes loaded with CHA exhibited high entrapment efficiency (77%). MTT assays showed a significant difference between the percentage of viable cells when HT −29 cells were treated with free ATO and liposomal formulation which can be corresponded to the sustained release of the drug from the liposomes. The results of this study may lead to a promising strategy for the effective treatment of solid tumours.
Novel subtype of mucopolysaccharidosis caused by arylsulfatase K (ARSK) deficiency

Background Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are monogenic metabolic disorders that significantly affect the skeleton. Eleven enzyme defects in the lysosomal degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) have been assigned to the known MPS subtypes (I–IX). Arylsulfatase K (ARSK) is a recently characterised lysosomal hydrolase involved in GAG degradation that removes the 2-O-sulfate group from 2-sulfoglucuronate. Knockout of Arsk in mice was consistent with mild storage pathology, but no human phenotype has yet been described. Methods In this study, we report four affected individuals of two unrelated consanguineous families with homozygous variants c.250C>T, p.(Arg84Cys) and c.560T>A, p.(Leu187Ter) in ARSK, respectively. Functional consequences of the two ARSK variants were assessed by mutation-specific ARSK constructs derived by site-directed mutagenesis, which were ectopically expressed in HT1080 cells. Urinary GAG excretion was analysed by dimethylene blue and electrophoresis, as well as liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS analysis. Results The phenotypes of the affected individuals include MPS features, such as short stature, coarse facial features and dysostosis multiplex. Reverse phenotyping in two of the four individuals revealed additional cardiac and ophthalmological abnormalities. Mild elevation of dermatan sulfate was detected in the two subjects investigated by LC-MS/MS. Human HT1080 cells expressing the ARSK-Leu187Ter construct exhibited absent protein levels by western blot, and cells with the ARSK-Arg84Cys construct showed markedly reduced enzyme activity in an ARSK-specific enzymatic assay against 2-O-sulfoglucuronate-containing disaccharides as analysed by C18-reversed-phase chromatography followed by MS. Conclusion Our work provides a detailed clinical and molecular characterisation of a novel subtype of mucopolysaccharidosis, which we suggest to designate subtype X.