Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical Activity and its Influencing Factors in Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Dementia: A Path Analysis

Dementia is prevalent in worldwide, and increases the care burden and potential costs. Physical activity (PA) has been increasingly shown to be beneficial for them. This was a cross-sectional observational study aiming to investigate the status of PA among community-dwelling older adults with dementia in Beijing or Hangzhou, China, and verify the relationships between neuropsychiatric symptoms, activities of daily living (ADL), caregivers’ fear of patients’ falling and their PA using a path analysis approach. The level of PA among 216 included people with dementia was low. PA was related to the neuropsychiatric symptoms, with ADL and caregivers’ fear of patients’ falling have mediation roles. The findings indicated that person-centered strategies related to the management of these symptoms might be helpful to improve ADL, relieve caregivers’ concerns about them falling and consequently foster positive participation in PA.
Statin therapy in chronic viral hepatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies with 195,602 participants

Abstract Background Conflicting data suggest that statins could cause chronic liver disease in certain group of patients, while improving prognosis in those with chronic viral hepatitis (CVH). Purpose To quantify the potential protective role of statins on some main liver-related health outcomes in clinical studies on CVH patients. Data Sources: The search strategy was explored by a medical librarian using bibliographic databases, from January 2015 to April 2020. Data synthesis: The results showed no significant difference in the risk of mortality between statin users and non-users in the overall analysis. However, the risk of mortality significantly reduced by 39% in statin users who were followed for more than three years. Moreover, the risk of HCC, fibrosis, and cirrhosis in those on statins decreased by 53%, 45% and 41%, respectively. Although ALT and AST reduced slightly following statin therapy, this reduction was not statistically significant. Limitations A significant heterogeneity among studies was observed, resulting from differences in clinical characteristics between statin users and non-users, study designs, population samples, diseases stage, comorbidities, and confounding covariates. Conclusion Not only long-term treatment with statins seems to be safe in patients affected by hepatitis, but also it significantly improves their prognosis.
Evaluating the Feasibility of Continuing Medical Education for Disseminating Emerging Science on the Breast Cancer and Environment Connection

Developing continuing medical education (CME) training programs is a strategy for communicating emerging science to health practitioners. This research tests the feasibility of using CME modules for translating and disseminating research findings from the Breast Cancer and Environment Research Program. Recent findings have identified certain windows of susceptibility, like during puberty, in which exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals can increase breast cancer risk later in life. In order to reach pediatric patients and their caregivers, using a Diffusion of Innovations framework, pediatric health-care providers were identified as opinion leaders. Two CME modules informed by theory and formative research were tested with a sample of pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners. Participants completed knowledge, attitude, intention, and behavior items immediately before and after exposure to a randomly assigned module, and then again 3 weeks later. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate knowledge gain and strong links between practitioners’ intentions to enact and implemented behavior learned from training recommendations with parents and caregivers in their practices. Results indicate that CMEs can be an effective strategy for translational activities targeted to health providers in order to change behavior within practice.
circExp database: an online transcriptome platform for human circRNA expressions in cancers

Abstract Circular RNA (circRNA) is a highly stable, single-stranded, closed-loop RNA that works as RNA or as a protein decoy to regulate gene expression. In humans, thousands of circRNA transcriptional products precisely express in specific developmental stages, tissues and cell types. Due to their stability and specificity, circRNAs are ideal biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. To provide an integrated and standardized circRNA expression profile for human cancers, we performed extensive data curation across 11 technical platforms, collecting 48 expression profile data sets for 18 cancer types and amassing 860 751 expression records. We also identified 189 193 differential expression signatures that are significantly different between normal and cancer samples. All the pre-calculated expression analysis results are organized into 132 plain text files for bulk download. Our online interface, circExp, provides data browsing and search functions. For each data set, a dynamic expression heatmap provides a profile overview. Based on the processed data, we found that 52 circRNAs were consistently and differentially expressed in 20 or more processed analyses. By mapping those circRNAs to their parent protein-coding genes, we found that they may have profoundly affected the survival of 10 797 patients in the The Cancer Genome Atlas pan-cancer data set. In sum, we developed circExp and demonstrated that it is useful to identify circRNAs that have potential diagnostic and prognostic significance for a variety of cancer types. In this online and reusable database, found at http://soft.bioinfo-minzhao.org/circexp, we have provided pre-calculated expression data about circRNAs and their parental genes, as well as data browsing and searching functions. Database URL: http://soft.bioinfominzhao.org/circexp/
Mfn2 localization in the ER is necessary for its bioenergetic function and neuritic development

Mfn2 is a mitochondrial fusion protein with bioenergetic functions implicated in the pathophysiology of neuronal and metabolic disorders. Understanding the bioenergetic mechanism of Mfn2 may aid in designing therapeutic approaches for these disorders. Here we show using endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or mitochondria‐targeted Mfn2 that Mfn2 stimulation of the mitochondrial metabolism requires its localization in the ER, which is independent of its fusion function. ER‐located Mfn2 interacts with mitochondrial Mfn1/2 to tether the ER and mitochondria together, allowing Ca2+ transfer from the ER to mitochondria to enhance mitochondrial bioenergetics. The physiological relevance of these findings is shown during neurite outgrowth, when there is an increase in Mfn2‐dependent ER‐mitochondria contact that is necessary for correct neuronal arbor growth. Reduced neuritic growth in Mfn2 KO neurons is recovered by the expression of ER‐targeted Mfn2 or an artificial ER‐mitochondria tether, indicating that manipulation of ER‐mitochondria contacts could be used to treat pathologic conditions involving Mfn2.
Soil Colloid Release Affected by Dissolved Organic Matter and Redox Conditions

We quantified and characterized soil colloid release as influenced by redox conditions and DOM. The interplay of colloids, OM, and redox conditions impacts colloid and soil OM release. This interplay also affects colloid stabilization or aggregation due to OM–colloid association. Colloids play an important role in C retention and release in redox‐dynamic environments.
Intestinal Spirochetosis: An Interesting Cause of Chronic Diarrhea

Forty-six-year male from India presented with 2-year history of small volume non bloody diarrhea with mild abdominal pain. He had no history of fever or constitutional symptoms and only minimal weight loss. His blood evaluation showed mild iron deficiency anemia with normal serum albumin and renal profile. Routine stool examination showed no blood, pus cells, ova or parasites. Celiac serology was negative. Contrast enhanced CT (Computed Tomography) abdomen showed subcentimetric mesenteric lymph nodes, bowel was normal in size and thickness. Upper GI endoscopy was normal with normal duodenal biopsy; Ileocolonoscopy showed few aphthous ulcers in terminal ileum with mild nodularity. Ileal biopsies showed bluish filamentous structure on surface epithelium forming a thick false brush border appearance, suggestive of intestinal spirochetosis. Rest of ileal architecture was well preserved. Patient was commenced on cyclical antibiotics including Nitazoxanide, Metronidazole, doxycycline and Rifaximin. Patient on follow up showed improvement in symptoms and weight gain. Intestinal spirochetosis is commonly transmitted to human from infected animals. Our patient was butcher by occupation. Our case is an interesting presentation of Intestinal Spirochetosis in form of chronic diarrhea.
Evaluation and selection of spray chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat) genotypes suitable for commercial cultivation under coastal plain zone of Odisha

Evaluation of chrysanthemum genotypes was carried out to identify and select elite genotypes. Nine genotypes viz., HCC-1, HCC-2, HCC-3, Bidhan Madhuri, Bidhan Jayanti, Bidhan Purna, Arka Gold, Arka Chandrika and Flirt as check were selected for evaluation. The study revealed that the various genotypes showed a significant difference in plant growth, flowering and flower yield. Flirt attained the maximum height (67.03cm), plant spread (E-W) (41.96cm); observed maximum flower diameter (7.52cm) and average flower weight (3.90g) but was late to flower (80.33 days). The minimum plant height (45.36cm), plant spread in both direction (24.59cm, 25.08cm), flower diameter (2.57cm), flower weight (0.40g) and weight of flowers per plant (102.42g) were recorded by HCC-2. HCC-3 had maximum plant spread in N-S direction, the minimum number of primary branches per plant; Bidhan Purna was early to first flower initiation and opening and has the longest duration of flowering. The highest number of flowers per plant was noted by HCC-2 and lowest by Flirt. HCC-2 and Bidhan Madhuri recorded the maximum vase life (21.44 days) while Flirt recorded the lowest.
Suppressed Daytime Convection Over the Amazon River

We investigated the interaction between surface conditions and precipitating convection by comparing the Amazon River against the surrounding forest. Despite similar synoptic conditions within a few tens of kilometers, the river surface is substantially cooler than the surrounding forest during the day and warmer at night. We analyzed 20 years of high‐resolution satellite precipitation data and confirmed previous findings of daytime rainfall reduction over the river for the whole Amazon Basin. The percentage reduction is strongest during the dry‐to‐wet transition season. In addition, the percentage reduction of individual tributary is significantly correlated with the Laplacian of surface temperature, which causes thermally driven surface divergence and suppresses local convection. Additionally, nighttime rainfall is enhanced over tributaries near the Atlantic coast during the wet season. A regional climate model then simulates the local rainfall anomalies associated with the river. Above the river, moisture diverges near the surface and converges above the surface before the daytime rainfall, partially driven by the horizontal gradient of humidity. Unlike the river, moisture convergence within the boundary layer is more critical for the rainfall above the forest region. Our studies suggest that strong thermal contrast can be important in deriving heterogeneous convection in moist tropical regions.
A Novel C30 Sterol from Porana racemosa

A novel C30 sterol, (22E, 24ξ)-24-n-propylcholest-7, 22-dien-3β-ol (racemosol, 1), along withscopoletin (2), scopolin (3), umbelliferone (4), methylβ-D-frucopyranoside (5), syringaresinol-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (8),eupatilin (9), kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10) and (E）-N-2-(2,3-dihydroxyphenyl) ethyl cinnamamide(11), was isolated from the whole plants of Porana racemosa Roxb. Their structures were elucidatedpredominantly by spectral evidence.
Are WANs Ready for Optical Topology Programming?

In today's wide-area networks, the optical layer is a relatively static and inflexible commodity. In response, Optical Topology Programming (OTP) has been proposed to enable fast and flexible reconfiguration of wavelengths at the optical layer from higher layers. We answer whether WANs are ready for OTP, concluding they are not. We reach this judgement by measuring reconfiguration delay on a long-haul fiber span. To push the needle on OTP towards feasibility, we show how to reduce the time to provision a circuit by an order of magnitude---from minutes to seconds. Finally, we propose a method to quickly store and load optical network equipment settings, reducing the time to less than 1 second.
How can manual testing processes be optimized? developer survey, optimization guidelines, and case studies

Manual software testing is tedious and costly as it involves significant human effort. Yet, it is still widely applied in industry and will be in the foreseeable future. Although there is arguably a great need for optimization of manual testing processes, research focuses mostly on optimization techniques for automated tests. Accordingly, there is no precise understanding of the practices and processes of manual testing in industry nor about pitfalls and optimization potential that is untapped. To shed light on this issue, we conducted a survey among 38 testing professionals from 16 companies, to investigate their manual testing processes and to identify potential for optimization. We synthesize guidelines when optimization techniques from automated testing can be implemented for manual testing. By means of case studies on two industrial software projects, we show that fault detection likelihood, test feedback time and test creation efforts can be improved when following our guidelines.
Changing the Contrast of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signals using Deep Learning

The contrast settings to select before acquiring magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal depend heavily on the subsequent tasks. As each contrast highlights diﬀerent tissues, automated segmentation tools for example might be optimized for a certain contrast. Unfortunately, the optimal contrast for the subsequent automated methods might not be known during the time of signal acquisition, and performing multiple scans with diﬀerent contrasts increases the total examination time and registering the sequences introduces extra work and potential errors. Building on the recent achievements of deep learning in medical applications, the presented work describes a novel approach for transferring any contrast to any other. The novel model architecture incorporates the signal equation for spin echo sequences, and hence the model inherently learns the unknown quantitative maps for proton density, T 1 and T 2 relaxation times. This grants the model the ability to retrospectively reconstruct spin echo sequences by changing the contrast settings Echo and Repetition Times. The model learns to identify the contrast of pelvic MR images, therefore no paired data of the same anatomy from diﬀerent contrasts is required for training. This means that the experiments are easily reproducible with other contrasts or other patient anatomies. Despite the contrast of the input image, the model achieves accurate results for re-constructing signal with contrasts available for evaluation. For the same anatomy, the quantitative maps are consistent for a range of contrasts of input images. Realized in practice, the proposed method would greatly simplify the modern radiotherapy pipeline. The trained model is made public together with a tool for testing the model on example images.
Carcerality, theatre, rights

ABSTRACT Threatened with ever-increasing levels of surveillance and confinement, this special issue attempts to extend the discussion of Prison Theatre to consider ‘carcerality’ as a pervasive neoliberal strategy. The issue aims to steer the discussion away from considerations of utility and the aesthetics of redemption, towards understandings of the arts in carceral spaces as a fundamental human right. What role can theatre and performance play in highlighting the rights of those experiencing state-sponsored control, confinement and exclusion? And what role can theatre and performance play in challenging the exclusionary structures of carcerality by enhancing freedoms, liberty and inclusion?
Poetry as a way to express emotions in mental health

ABSTRACT Poetic depiction of problems and complex thoughts is an innovative approach that facilitates introspective thinking and the building of self-identity. This study aimed at providing nursing students with in-depth knowledge about mental health through free poetic production. A qualitative, descriptive research approach, of sociopoetic inspiration involving 96 undergraduate nursing students, was conducted. All ethical recommendations were considered. Four categories emerged: “Hybrid emotions, feelings and sensations”; “Associations”; “Doubts and questions”; and “Reflections”. Students’ poetic writings were analysed and the results highlighted the students’ perception of the dynamics between brain and heart symbolizing reason and emotion. Poetic writing enhances creativity and fosters introspection, acting as an important facilitator of the complexity of mental health-related issues and contributing to improve therapeutic communication skills. Importantly, the search and development of new pedagogical approaches can help to deal with the emotional stressors linked to the novelty of mental health education.
The genus Amorphoscelis Stål (Mantodea: Amorphoscelidae) from China, with description of two new species and one newly recorded species

ABSTRACT The genus Amorphoscelis Stål, 1871 includes 50 species recorded from Africa and Asia, and four species recorded from China. Here, after examining numerous specimens of Amorphoscelis, we describe two new species, A. guaduna sp. nov. and A. xueshani sp. nov., and consider A. stellulata Yang, 1999 and A. phaesoma Yang, 1999 to be synonyms of A. chinensis Tinkham, 1937 based on their identical male genetalia. We also provide a new species record from China, A. singaporana Giglio-Tos, 1915, with necessary redescription. There are currently five described Amorphoscelis species from China. A key to all species of Amorphoscelis from China is presented. Necessary illustrations, a map, and discussion of important diagnostic characters are also provided. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:19B6B8B9-D142-426E-B2DA-6743CB042BC8 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8E87074A-82D6-4215-BDF4-99C26091E3B2
TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY DEVELOPMENTS IN SOIL SCIENCE: II. COAXIAL FLOW CELL FOR MEASURING EFFLUENT ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a recognized and widely used technique for measuring electrical conductivity (EC) and volumetric water content (&thgr;) in porous media. The ability of TDR to measure both EC and &thgr; is especially appealing in solute transport in variably saturated media. It is commonly assumed that TDR measurements are representative of the EC and &thgr; in the horizontal plane in which the probe is located. The problem is that it is difficult to recognize heterogeneous solute transport with TDR, especially if it occurs outside the sample volume or in regions where the solute is giving little weight to the TDR-measured EC. To determine the presence of heterogeneous solute transport effectively, there is a need for a device to monitor the EC boundary conditions. In this study, a simple and easy-to-make coaxial flow cell is designed and tested for this purpose. The flow cell is made primarily of cheap, prefabricated, and readily available components, and the construction requires only a hacksaw and some welding skills. The idea is to make the effluent from a solute transport experiment pass through the coaxial flow cell, thereby obtaining a measure of the effluent EC. In addition to providing detailed information on the solute transport through the entire sample of porous medium, it will also detect, for example, bypass flow. A solute transport experiment was carried out in a PVC pipe packed with coarse silica sand under saturated conditions to calibrate the flow cell and to demonstrate its potential use. Step input breakthrough and breakdown functions were created using tap water and a KCl solution. Highly detailed measurements of EC in the effluent were obtained, from which solute transport parameters can easily be inferred.
HoCL: High level specification of dataflow graphs

We introduce HoCL (Higher order Coordination Language), a domain specific language (DSL) for specifying hierarchical, parameterized dataflow graphs. HoCL leverages on a purely functional semantics to allow graph structures to be described in an abstract and concise manner. Generic graph patterns, in particular, can be encapsulated as user-definable higher-order functions. HoCL descriptions are independent of the underlying dataflow model of computation and the HoCL compiler is intended to be used as a front-end to existing dataflow visualization, analysis and implementation tools. HoCL and its documentation are freely available on Github [17].
Linearizability: a Typo

Linearizability is the de facto consistency condition for concurrent objects, widely used in theory and practice. Loosely speaking, linearizability classifies concurrent executions as correct if operations on shared objects appear to take effect instantaneously during the operation execution time. This paper calls attention to a somewhat-neglected aspect of linearizability: restrictions on how pending invocations are handled, an issue that has become increasingly important for software running on systems with non-volatile main memory. Interestingly, the original published definition of linearizability includes a typo (a symbol is missing a prime) that concerns exactly this issue. In this paper we point out the typo and provide an amendment to make the definition complete. We believe that pointing this typo out rigorously and proposing a fix is important and timely.
A New Generation of Task-Parallel Algorithms for Matrix Inversion in Many-Threaded CPUs

We take advantage of the new tasking features in OpenMP to propose advanced task-parallel algorithms for the inversion of dense matrices via Gauss-Jordan elimination. Our algorithms perform a partitioning of the matrix operand into two levels of tasks: The matrix is first divided vertically, by column blocks (or panels), in order to accommodate the standard partial pivoting scheme that ensures the numerical stability of the method. In addition, depending on the particular kernel to be applied, each panel is partitioned either horizontally by row blocks (tiles) or vertically by μ-panels (of columns), in order to extract sufficient task parallelism to feed a many-threaded general purpose processor (CPU). The results of the experimental evaluation show the performance benefits of the advanced tasking algorithms on an Intel Xeon Gold processor with 20 cores.
Limited domains considered useful

Limited domains were defined conceptually in RFC 8799 to cater to requirements and behaviours that extend the dominant view of IP packet delivery in the Internet. This paper argues not only that limited domains have been with us from the very beginning of the Internet but also that they have been shaping innovation of Internet technologies ever since, and will continue to do so. In order to build limited domains that successfully interoperate with the existing Internet, we propose an architectural framework as a blueprint. We discuss the role of the IETF in ensuring continued innovation in Internet technologies by embracing the wider research community's work on limited domain technology, leading to our key insight that Limited Domains are not only considered useful but a must to sustain innovation.