Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Part I. Malnutrition in the pediatric population.

Seema Kumar, MD, Diane L. Olson, RD, CNSD, and W.F. Schwenk, MD, CNSP T he basic goals of nutrition during infancy and childhood are optimal growth and development, and prevention of deficiency states. Worldwide, malnutrition is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in childhood, and remains the single most common cause of growth retardation in children. Accurate assessment of nutritional status is an integral component of pediatric health care, and is based on anthropometric, clinical, dietary, and biochemical information. Management in children with nutritional depletion or who are at risk for malnutrition requires a comprehensive assessment and an individualized care plan.
Myeloid derived suppressor cells

The goal of achieving measurable response with cancer immunotherapy requires counteracting the immunosuppressive characteristics of tumors. One of the mechanisms that tumors utilize to escape immunosurveillance is the activation of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Upon activation by tumor-derived signals, MDSCs inhibit the ability of the host to mount an anti-tumor immune response via their capacity to suppress both the innate and adaptive immune systems. Despite their relatively recent discovery and characterization, anti-MDSC agents have been identified, which may improve immunotherapy efficacy.
Effect of Transglutaminase Enzyme on Physico-mechanical Properties of Rambouillet Wool Fiber

ABSTRACT Rambouillet wool fiber was scoured and treated with transglutaminase (TG) enzyme for different concentrations and duration at neutral pH at 45°C. The physical, mechanical, dyeing, and antimicrobial properties of the wool fiber before and after enzymatic treatment were evaluated as per standard methods. Results inferred that TG enzyme-treated wool fiber sample showed improvement in softness, luster, and tensile strength in comparison with scoured wool fiber. It is found that 0.5% TG enzyme treatment at 45°C for 60 min at pH 7 was an optimum condition. Scanning electron microscope images also confirmed the flattened and smooth scales of wool fiber after enzymatic treatment.
Is the Second Sodium Pump Electrogenic?

Transepithelial sodium transport is a process that involves active Na+ transport at the basolateral membrane of the epithelial cell. This process is mediated by the Na+/K+ pump, which exchanges 3 internal Na+ by 2 external K+ inducing a net charge movement and the second Na+ pump, which transports Na+ accompanied by Cl− and water. It has been suggested that this pump could also be electrogenic. Herein, we evaluated, in MDCK cells, the short-circuit current (I sc) generated by these Na+ pumps at the basolateral membrane of the epithelial cells, using amphotericin B as an apical permeabilizing agent. In Cl−-containing media, I sc induced by amphotericin B is totally inhibited by ouabain, indicating that only the electrogenic Na+/K+ pump is detectable in the presence of Cl−. Electrogenicity of the second Na+ pump can be demonstrated in Cl−-free media. The existence of a furosemide-sensitive component of I sc, in addition to an ouabain-sensitive one, was identified in absence of chloride. Passive Cl− movement associated with the function of the second Na+ pump seems to be regulated by the pump itself. These results demonstrate that the second Na+ pump is an electroneutral mechanism result from the stoichiometric movement of Na+ and Cl− across the basolateral plasma membrane of the epithelial cell.
Psychological Well-Being and Anticipated Positive Personal Events: Their Relationship to Depression.

UNLABELLED Well-being is now defined in a number of multicomponent ways. One approach to defining well-being-psychological well-being (PWB; Ryff, )-encompasses six dimensions of positive functioning. This study's first aim was to compare PWB self-report scores from a group of depressed participants (N = 26) with a non-depressed group (N = 26). The second aim was to examine anticipated well-being, specifically, how the positive events people anticipate in the future are seen as being related to various aspects of their well-being. Participants completed the self-report scales of PWB and a task which elicited events participants were looking forward to in the future and their thoughts about what was good about those events. Responses about the value of the events were independently coded for the presence of the six PWB dimensions. The depressed group scored significantly lower on all dimensions of self-reported PWB than the control group, with particularly marked deficits on environmental mastery and self-acceptance. For anticipated events, positive relations with others was the most commonly present aspect of PWB in participants' responses about what was good about the events. The frequency of PWB dimensions present in participants' responses was similar between the two groups with the exception of the depressed group having more self-acceptance related responses and fewer positive relationship responses. The well-established lack of positive anticipation found in depressed individuals is likely to mean a diminished resource for a wide range of aspects of well-being but especially positive relationships with others. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE The treatment of depression is thought to be more effective when it enhances psychological well-being as well as reducing dysfunction. In the present study, all dimensions of psychological well-being were lower in depressed participants with particularly marked deficits in environmental mastery and self-acceptance, suggesting that these may be particularly important treatment targets. People with depression show specific deficits in being able to anticipate future positive events. The present study suggests that anticipated well-being linked to positive relationships with other people may be particularly impacted by the lack of anticipated future events found in depression.
A modeling approach to determine how much UV radiation is available across the UK and Ireland for health risk and benefit studies

A detailed map of the available UV across the UK from 2003 to 2012 is provided. A suite of data derived from climatologies and satellite observations are used to calculate spectral UV irradiance and related weighted doses (erythema, DNA damage, vitamin D). The result is a well-validated tool that has two advantages: (i) the output is simulated spectral UV irradiance that can be weighted with any action spectrum for use in any research studies that require ambient UV data, (ii) reliance on instruments with planned operational lives of at least several years that ensures data and method homogeneity for extension to future studies. The model-derived doses are satisfactory validated against spectral ground-based measurements at two sites. According to the calculated climatology, the southern part of the UK receives 1.5–2 times more UV than the north during spring, summer and autumn. During wintertime, the UV doses in the far north are an order of magnitude lower than southern values. Even for the same latitude, regional variations of cloudiness result in doses at coastal sites being up to 25% higher than inland areas.
Cavamax W7 composite psoralen ethosomal gel versus cavamax W7 psoralen solid complex gel for topical delivery: A comparative evaluation

Aim: The present research work was aimed to formulate and characterize psoralen-encapsulated cavamax W7 composite ethosomal gel and compare its in vitro and ex vivo behavior against psoralen-cavamax W7-complex reference gel. Materials and Methods: A total of nine formulations of composite ethosomes were prepared by injection method using 32 factorial design and entrapment efficiency was designated as dependent variable. Concomitantly, psoralen was complexed with cavamax W7 (1:1 molar ratio) by kneading method and formation of complex was confirmed by Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results: F9 with vesicle size of 183 ± 2.8 nm, and highest % entrapment efficiency of 98.12 ± 1.15 was selected as optimized formulation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed uniform and spherical shaped vesicles. The optimized formulation F9 was formulated as carbapol gel and compared against ethosomal gel, psoralen gel, and psoralen cavamax W7 complex gel. The gels were evaluated for permeation characteristics and the rank order was composite ethosomal gel > ethosomal gel > psoralen-cavamax W7 complex gel > psoralen gel. The ethosomal gel (G5) with highest in vitro permeation of 82.48 ± 2.23% was subjected to in vivo Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) studies using rhodamine B as tracer. The penetration of rhodamine B was uniform, deeper, and two times faster into epidermis than control gel. Conclusion: Conclusively, cavamax W7 composite ethosomes present themselves as efficient carrier for superior topical delivery of psoralen and have potential for clinical applications in minimizing side effects associated with photosensitivity of psoralen.
Refined speech segmentation for concatenative speech synthesis

High accuracy phonetic segmentation is critical for achieving good quality in concatenative text to speech synthesis. Due to the short-comings of current automated techniques based on HMM-based alignment or Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), manual veriﬁcation and labeling are often required. In this paper we present a novel technique for automatic placement of phoneme boundaries in a speech waveform using explicit statistical models for phoneme boundaries. Thus we are able to cut down substantially on the labor and time intensive manual labeling process required to build a new voice. The phonetic speech segmentation is carried out using a two-step process, similar to the way a human expert would label the waveform. In the ﬁrst step an initial estimate of the labeling is generated using an HMM based phoneme recognizer. The second step reﬁnes the boundary placements by searching for the best match in a region near the estimated boundaries with predeﬁned boundary models generated from existing labeled speech corpora. The proposed method can be used in conjunction with any of the segmentation schemes used in practice. In the performance evaluations carried out the system is able to give time marks which are 30-40% better than the schemes currently used.
Neuropsychological functioning of an Asperger child with exceptional skill in arranging picture stories

A striking special ability in arranging picture stories was reported in an Asperger child (C.M.) showing an exceptional performance on Wechsler picture arrangement subtest. Neuropsychological examination did not disclose visuoperceptual and spatial defects, or working memory, attention and executive disorders, but revealed an attentional bias towards local details of complex structures. A specific assessment of C.M. ’s understanding of picture stories demonstrated that, with respect to normal controls, he showed an enhanced ability to detect causal links among elements of a story. These findings provide support to the hypothesis that savantism can be related to strong systemizing in autism.
Fault detection and diagnosis of networked control system

Consider the plant of Multiple-input Networked Control System (NCS) with long reduced delay. The effect of the disturbances to the NCS is discussed and the iterative method is used to compensate the delay when design a reduced-order state observer with a γ-stability margin (0 < γ < 1) for system. By computing the residual between the output of the practical system and the output of the reduced-order state observer, the fault detection and diagnosis scheme of NCS is given. An illustrative example shows the effectiveness of the method.
Prediction of Neurodevelopmental and Sensory Outcome at 5 Years in Norwegian Children Born Extremely Preterm

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disability and the predictive value of pre-, peri-, and postnatal data on neurologic, sensory, cognitive, and motor function in children born extremely preterm. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study of all infants born in Norway between 1999 and 2000 with gestational ages between 22 and 27 weeks or birth weights between 500 and 999 g. Cognitive function was assessed with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Revised, motor function with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, and severity of cerebral palsy with the Gross Motor Function Classification for Cerebral Palsy. Disabilities were described as mild, moderate, or severe. RESULTS: Of 371 eligible children, 306 (82%) were examined at a mean (SD) age of 5 years and 10 (4) months. For gestational age less than 28 weeks (n = 239), 26 (11%) children had cerebral palsy alone (n = 21) or in combination with blindness (n = 3) or deafness (n = 2); 1 was blind and 1 was deaf. Of the remaining children, the mean full-scale IQ was 94 ± 15, and significant predictors were (values given as the difference in IQ points [95% confidence intervals]) high maternal education (9.6 [5.7–13.4]), preeclampsia (−7.7 [−12.7 to −2.7]), and retinopathy of prematurity higher than grade 2 (−17.5 [−27.1 to −8.0]). Movement Assessment Battery for Children scores were positively associated with gestational age and prenatal steroids and negatively associated with being small for gestational age, male gender, and having retinopathy of prematurity. Moderate to severe neurodevelopmental disability was more common for gestational ages 25 weeks or less (28 of 87 children) than for 26 to 27 weeks (12 of 152 children; P < .001) and 28 weeks or more (7 of 67 children; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: The outcome was poorer for children with gestational ages of 25 weeks or less compared with those with gestational ages between 26 and 27 weeks. For those without cerebral palsy, blindness, or deafness, however, gestational age had a limited association with cognitive and motor function.
Evolution of the Vertebrate Cranium: Viewed from Hagfish Developmental Studies

Our knowledge of vertebrate cranium evolution has relied largely on the study of gnathostomes. Recent evolutionary and developmental studies of cyclostomes have shed new light on the history of the vertebrate skull. The recent ability to obtain embryos of the hagfish, Eptatretus burgeri, has enabled new studies which have suggested an embryonic morphological pattern (the “cyclostome pattern”) of craniofacial development. This pattern is shared by cyclostomes, but not by modern jawed vertebrates. Because this pattern of embryonic head development is thought to be present in some stem gnathostomes (ostracoderms), it is possible that the cyclostome pattern represents the vertebrate ancestral pattern. The study of cyclostomes may thus lead to an understanding of the most ancestral basis of craniofacial development. In this review, we summarize the development of the hagfish chondrocranium in light of the cyclostome pattern, present an updated comparison of the cyclostome chondrocranium, and discuss several aspects of the evolution and development of the vertebrate skull.
Predicting the Herd Immunity Threshold during an Outbreak: A Recursive Approach

Background The objective was to develop a novel algorithm that can predict, based on field survey data, the minimum vaccination coverage required to reduce the mean number of infections per infectious individual to less than one (the Outbreak Response Immunization Threshold or ORIT) from up to six days in the advance. Methodology/Principal Findings First, the relationship between the rate of immunization and the ORIT was analyzed to establish a link. This relationship served as the basis for the development of a recursive algorithm that predicts the ORIT using survey data from two consecutive days. The algorithm was tested using data from two actual measles outbreaks. The prediction day difference (PDD) was defined as the number of days between the second day of data input and the day of the prediction. The effects of different PDDs on the prediction error were analyzed, and it was found that a PDD of 5 minimized the error in the prediction. In addition, I developed a model demonstrating the relationship between changes in the vaccination coverage and changes in the individual reproduction number. Conclusions/Significance The predictive algorithm for the ORIT generates a viable prediction of the minimum number of vaccines required to stop an outbreak in real time. With this knowledge, the outbreak control agency may plan to expend the lowest amount of funds required stop an outbreak, allowing the diversion of the funds saved to other areas of medical need.
Effects of hypertonic saline on expression of human polymorphonuclear leukocyte adhesion molecules

Hypertonic saline prevents vascular adherence of neutrophils and ameliorates ischemic tissue injury. We hypothesized that hypertonic saline attenuatesN‐formyl‐methionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine (fMLP)‐stimulated expression of adhesion molecules on human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs). fMLP‐stimulated up‐regulation of β2‐integrins was diminished by hypertonic saline but not by hypertonic choline chloride‐, mannitol‐, or sucrose‐modified Hanks’ buffered salt solution. Shedding of l‐selectin was decreased by hypertonic saline and choline chloride but not by hypertonic mannitol or sucrose. When the effects of hypertonic sodium chloride‐ and choline chloride‐modified media were compared, neither solution affected fMLP‐receptor binding but both equally inhibited fMLP‐stimulated increase in intracellular calcium, ionophore A23187, and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)‐stimulated numerical up‐regulation of β2‐integrins. Analysis of mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinases p38 and p44/42 for phosphorylation revealed that hypertonic solutions did not differ in preventing fMLP‐stimulated increases in phospho‐p38 and phospho‐p44/42. Resting PMNLs shrunk by hypertonic saline increased their volume during incubation and further during chemotactic stimulation. Addition of amiloride further enhanced inhibition of up‐regulation of β2‐integrins. No fMLP‐stimulated volume changes occurred in PMNLs exposed to hypertonic choline chloride, resulting in significant cell shrinkage. Results suggest a sodium‐specific inhibitory effect on up‐regulation of β2‐integrins of fMLP‐stimulated PMNLs, which is unlikely to be caused by alterations of fMLP receptor binding, decrease in cytosolic calcium, attenuation of calcium or protein kinase C‐dependent pathways, suppression of p38‐ or p44/42 MAP kinase‐dependent pathways, or cellular ability to increase or decrease volumes.
On a follower tone-jammer countermeasure technique

A countermeasure technique to a follower tone-jammer is evaluated for frequency-hopped spread spectrum communications. This technique utilizes randomized decisions by the transmitter and the receiver to lure the jammer into helping the communicator's performance part of the time. It is shown that the proposed technique reduces the bit error rate of the system. >
A Method for Quantitatively Investigating the Rear-Side Passivation Performance of PERC Cells

A method that can have insight into the rear-side passivation performance of passivated emitter and real cells (PERC) is crucial for further improving the cell efficiency. In this paper, we propose a method based on high-resolution laser beam induced current (HR-LBIC) for investigating the rear-side passivation performance of PERC cells. Using this method, the performance of local back surface field (LBSF) regions and rear dielectric passivation regions can be distinguished quantitatively, and it helps easily comparing the cells with different rear-side passivation performance. Most importantly, the potential Voc of the PERC cells under current used aluminum paste can be estimated as well.
Diurnal Variation of Retinal Thickness with Spectral Domain OCT

Purpose. To investigate whether diurnal variation occurs in retinal thickness measures derived from spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods. Twelve healthy adult subjects had retinal thickness measured with SD-OCT every 2 h over a 10 h period. At each measurement session, three average B-scan images were derived from a series of multiple B-scans (each from a 5 mm horizontal raster scan along the fovea, containing 1500 A-scans/B-scan) and analyzed to determine the thickness of the total retina, as well as the thickness of the outer retinal layers. Average thickness values were calculated at the foveal center, at the 0.5 mm diameter foveal region, and for the temporal parafovea (1.5 mm from foveal center) and nasal parafovea (1.5 mm from foveal center). Results. Total retinal thickness did not exhibit significant diurnal variation in any of the considered retinal regions (p > 0.05). Evidence of significant diurnal variation was found in the thickness of the outer retinal layers (p < 0.05), with the most prominent changes observed in the photoreceptor layers at the foveal center. The photoreceptor inner and outer segment layer thickness exhibited mean amplitude (peak to trough) of daily change of 7 ± 3 &mgr;m at the foveal center. The peak in thickness was typically observed at the third measurement session (mean measurement time, 13:06). Conclusions. The total retinal thickness measured with SD-OCT does not exhibit evidence of significant variation over the course of the day. However, small but significant diurnal variation occurs in the thickness of the foveal outer retinal layers.
The Composites of Graphene Oxide with Metal or Semimetal Nanoparticles and Their Effect on Pathogenic Microorganisms

The present experiment describes a synthesis process of composites based on graphene oxide, which was tested as a carrier for composites of metal- or metalloid-based nanoparticles (Cu, Zn, Mn, Ag, AgP, Se) and subsequently examined as an antimicrobial agent for some bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The composites were first applied at a concentration of 300 µM on all types of model organisms and their effect was observed by spectrophotometric analysis, which showed a decrease in absorbance values in comparison with the control, untreated strain. The most pronounced inhibition (87.4%) of S. aureus growth was observed after the application of graphene oxide composite with selenium nanoparticles compared to control. Moreover, the application of the composite with silver and silver phosphate nanoparticles showed the decrease of 68.8% and 56.8%, respectively. For all the tested composites, the observed antimicrobial effect was found in the range of 26% to 87.4%. Interestingly, the effects of the composites with selenium nanoparticles significantly differed in Gram-positive (G+) and Gram-negative (G−) bacteria. The effects of composites on bacterial cultures of S. aureus and MRSA, the representatives of G+ bacteria, increased with increasing concentrations. On the other hand, the effects of the same composites on G− bacteria E. coli was observed only in the highest applied concentration.
Camera-based system for contactless monitoring of respiration

Reliable, remote measurement of respiration rate is still an unmet need in clinical and home settings. Although the predictive power of respiratory rate for a patient's health status is well-known, this vital sign is often measured inaccurately or not at all. In this paper we propose a camera-based monitoring system to reliably measure respiration rate without any body contact. A computationally efficient algorithm to extract raw breathing signals from the video stream has been developed and implemented. Additionally, a camera offers an easy access to motion information in the analyzed scenes, which significantly improves subsequent breath-to-breath classification. The performance of the sensor system was evaluated using data acquired with healthy volunteers, as well as with a mechanical phantom, under laboratory conditions covering a large range of challenging measurement situations.