Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Partial cavity flows. Part 1. Cavities forming on models without spanwise variation

Partial cavities that formed on the vertices of wedges and on the leading edge of stationary hydrofoils were examined experimentally. The geometry of these test objects did not vary in the spanwise direction (i.e. two-dimensional). Open partial cavities formed on a series of two-dimensional wedges and on a plano-convex hydrofoil. These cavities terminated near the point of maximum cavity thickness, and small vapour-filled vortices were shed in the turbulent cavity wake. The turbulent flow in the wake of the open cavity was similar to the turbulent shear flow downstream of a rearward-facing step. Re-entrant flow was not observed in the cavity closure of open cavities, although recirculating flow associated with a region of flow separation was detected for some cases. Predictions of a two-dimensional free-streamline model of the cavitating wedge flows were compared to the experimentally observed cavities. The model predicted the profile of the open cavity only to the point of maximum cavity thickness. Examination of the flow field near the closure of the open cavities revealed adverse pressure gradients near the cavity closure. The pressure gradients around the open cavities were sufficient to cause large-scale condensation of the cavity. Unsteady re-entrant partial cavities formed on a two-dimensional NACA0009 hydrofoil. The interface of the unsteady closed cavities smoothly curved to form a re-entrant jet at the cavity terminus, and the re-entrant flow was directed upstream. The re-entrant flow impinged on the cavity interface and led to the periodic production of cloud cavitation. These cavities exhibited a laminar flow reattachment. The flow around the closed cavity was largely irrotational, while vorticity was created when the cloud cavitation collapsed downstream of the cavity. Examination of the flow field near closure of these cavities also revealed adverse pressure gradients near the partial cavity closure, but the rise in pressure did not lead to the premature condensation of the cavity.
Veno‐arterial CO2 difference and lactate for prediction of early mortality after cardiac arrest

Patients admitted to intensive care after cardiac arrest are at risk of circulatory shock and early mortality due to cardiovascular failure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the veno‐arterial pCO2 difference (∆pCO2; central venous CO2 – arterial CO2) and lactate to predict early mortality in postcardiac arrest patients. This was a pre‐planned prospective observational sub‐study of the target temperature management 2 trial. The sub‐study patients were included at five Swedish sites. Repeated measurements of ∆pCO2 and lactate were conducted at 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48, and 72 h after randomization. We assessed the association between each marker and 96‐h mortality and their prognostic value for 96‐h mortality. One hundred sixty‐three patients were included in the analysis. Mortality at 96 h was 17%. During the initial 24 h, there was no difference in ∆pCO2 levels between 96‐h survivors and non‐survivors. ∆pCO2 measured at 4 h was associated with an increased risk of death within 96 h (adjusted odds ratio: 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.29; p = .018). Lactate levels were associated with poor outcome over multiple measurements. The area under the receiving operating curve to predict death within 96 h was 0.59 (95% CI: 0.48–0.74) and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.72–0.92) for ∆pCO2 and lactate, respectively. Our results do not support the use of ∆pCO2 to identify patients with early mortality in the postresuscitation phase. In contrast, non‐survivors demonstrated higher lactate levels in the initial phase and lactate identified patients with early mortality with moderate accuracy.
Good practice: The experiences with the utilization of residual cancer burden—A single institution study

The use of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) has been showing an incraesing tendency in the treatment of locally advanced breast cancer. The evaluation of residual cancer could be performed by Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) calculator. The prognostic system takes the two largest diameters of the tumor, the cellularity, the amount of in situ carcinoma, the number of metastatic lymph nodes, and the size of the largest metastatic deposit into account. The aim of our study was to examine the reproducibility of RCB in NAT treated patients.
Physicochemical properties and micro-interaction between micro-nanoparticles and anterior corneal multilayer biological interface film for improving drug delivery efficacy: the transformation of tear film turnover mode

Abstract Recently, various novel drug delivery systems have been developed to overcome ocular barriers in order to improve drug efficacy. We have previously reported that montmorillonite (MT) microspheres (MPs) and solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) loaded with the anti-glaucoma drug betaxolol hydrochloride (BHC) exhibited sustained drug release and thus intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering effects. Here, we investigated the effect of physicochemical particle parameters on the micro-interactions with tear film mucins and corneal epithelial cells. Results showed that the MT-BHC SLNs and MT-BHC MPs eye drops significantly prolonged the precorneal retention time due to their higher viscosity and lower surface tension and contact angle compared with the BHC solution, with MT-BHC MPs exhibiting the longest retention due to their stronger hydrophobic surface. The cumulative release of MT-BHC SLNs and MT-BHC MPs was up to 87.78% and 80.43% after 12 h, respectively. Tear elimination pharmacokinetics study further confirmed that the prolonged precorneal retention time of the formulations was due to the micro-interaction between the positively charged formulations and the negatively charged tear film mucins. Moreover, the area under the IOP reduction curve (AUC) of MT-BHC SLNs and MT-BHC MPs was 1.4 and 2.5 times that of the BHC solution. Accordingly, the MT-BHC MPs also exhibit the most consistent and long-lasting IOP-lowering effect. Ocular irritation experiments showed no significant toxicity of either. Taken together, MT MPs may have the potential for more effective glaucoma treatment. Graphical Abstract
Two-Part Pattern-Mixture Model for Longitudinal Incomplete Semi-Continuous Toenail Data

Longitudinal data with true zero values, known as longitudinal semi-continuous data, frequently occur in medical, environmental and biological studies. To model longitudinal semi-continuous data, two-part modelling approaches have been widely used in literature. In the first part of the two-part model, binary logistic regression is commonly used after converting the semi-continuous responses to binary responses. In the second part, the semi-continuous data are converted to positive continuous data after removing the true zero values from the responses. Although positive continuous or non-zero values tend to show a positively skewed distribution pattern, in the literature the normal distribution is commonly used to model them. Also, in longitudinal studies, data often suffer individual dropouts as they are collected overtime. In this paper, we propose a two-part pattern-mixture model to analyze longitudinal semi-continuous data with dropouts. In the proposed approach, we use pattern-mixture binary mixed models for the first part and positively continuous pattern-mixture gamma mixed models for the second part. Our approach can accommodate both subject- and time-specific correlation as well as dropout pattern. We also incorporate a computationally efficient estimation method for our models using a penalize quasi-likelihood approach. The proposed method is illustrated with an application to the longitudinal incomplete toenail data.
Regression-Based Tests for a Change in Persistence

We show that the minimal forward (reverse) recursive unit tests of Banerjee, Lumsdaine and Stock [Journal of Business and Economics Statistics (1992) Vol. 10, pp. 271–288] are consistent against the alternative of a change in persistence from I(0) to I(1) [I(1) to I(0)]. However, these statistics are also shown to diverge for series which are I(0) throughout. Consequently, a rejection by these tests does not necessarily imply a change in persistence. We propose a further test, based on the ratio of these statistics, which is consistent against changes either from I(0) to I(1), or vice versa, yet does not over‐reject against constant I(0) series. Consistent breakpoint estimators are proposed.
Neighborhood-Built Environment and Ageism in Later Life

Ageism is a global challenge and a public health concern that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated. Existing research has mainly focused on individual factors, overlooking the association between the neighborhood-built environment and ageism. This study examined this association and whether its effect varied among areas possessing different socioeconomic characteristics. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1278 older people in Hong Kong and merged this with the built environment factors derived from geographical information system data. We used multivariable linear regression to examine the association. Findings revealed that more parks were significantly associated with a lower level of ageism, an impact that remained significant in low-income or low-education areas. Conversely, more libraries in high-income areas were associated with a lower level of ageism. Our findings provide urban planners and policymakers insight into planning for the built environment that reduces ageism enabling older people to achieve a better life.
A novel smartphone application for the informal caregivers of cancer patients: Usability study

Informal caregivers are a critical source of support for cancer patients. However, their perspectives are not routinely collected, despite health impacts related to the burden of caregiving. We created the TOGETHERCare smartphone application (app) to collect observer-reported outcomes regarding the cancer patient’s health and caregiver’s perceptions of their own mental and physical health, and to provide tips and resources for self-care and patient care. We enrolled 54 caregivers between October 2020 and March 2021 from Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), an integrated healthcare system. Fifty caregivers used the app for approximately 28 days. Usability and acceptability were assessed using questions from the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS), the System Usability Scale (SUS), the Net Promoter Score (NPS), and semi-structured interviews. The caregivers’ mean age was 54.4 years, 38% were female and 36% were non-White. The SUS total mean score was 83.4 (SD = 14.2), for a percentile rank of 90–95 (“excellent”). Median MARS responses to the functionality questions were also high. The NPS score of 30 at the end of the study indicated that most caregivers would recommend the app. Themes from semi-structured interviews were consistent across the study period and indicated that the app was easy to use and helpful. Caregivers indicated a need for feedback from the app, suggested some changes to the wording of questions, the app’s visuals, and timing of notifications. This study demonstrated that caregivers are willing to complete frequent surveys about themselves and their patients. The app is unique because it provides a remote method to collect caregivers’ observations about the patient that may be useful for clinical care. To our knowledge, TOGETHERCare is the first mobile app developed specifically to capture adult cancer patient symptoms from the informal caregiver’s perspective. Future research will examine whether use of this app can help improve patient outcomes.
Mapping Resident Immune Cells in the Murine Ocular Surface and Lacrimal Gland by Flow Cytometry

ABSTRACT Background The ocular surface and lacrimal gland have a frontline position in mucosal immunology. However, there have been few updates to the immune cell atlas of these tissues in recent years. Purpose To map the immune cells in murine ocular surface tissues and lacrimal gland. Methods Central and peripheral corneas, conjunctiva, and lacrimal gland were dissociated into single cell suspensions, followed by flow cytometry. Discrepancy of immune cells between the central and peripheral corneas was compared. In the conjunctiva and lacrimal gland, myeloid cells were clustered by tSNE and FlowSOM based on the expression of F4/80, Ly6C, Ly6G, and MHC II. ILCs, type 1 immune cells, and type 3 immune cells were analyzed. Results The number of immune cells in peripheral corneas was about 16 folds of that in central corneas. B cells accounted for 8.74% of immune cells in murine peripheral corneas. In the conjunctiva and lacrimal gland, most myeloid cells tended out to be monocytes, macrophages, and classical dendritic cells (cDCs). ILC3 were 6.28% and 3.63% of ILCs in the conjunctiva and lacrimal gland, respectively. Th1, Tc1, and NK cells were predominant type 1 immune cells. γδ T17 cells and ILC3 outnumbered Th17 cells among type 3 T cells. Conclusion B cells resident in murine corneas were reported for the first time. Additionally, we proposed a strategy of clustering myeloid cells to better understand their heterogeneity in the conjunctiva and lacrimal gland based on tSNE and FlowSOM. Furthermore, we identified the ILC3 in the conjunctiva and lacrimal gland for the first time. Compositions of type 1 and type 3 immune cells were summarized. Our study provides a fundamental reference and novel insights for ocular surface immune homeostasis and diseases.
Linear and non-linear adaptive noise cancelers

Viewing noise cancellation as an input/output identification problem, designs are developed using third-order statistics which are insensitive to corruption of the reference signal by additive Gaussian noise of unknown covariance. As a by-product of designing linear noise cancelers, a parametric time-delay estimation approach is readily available. Higher-order statistics can also be employed to design nonlinear cancelers of the discrete Volterra type, which maximize the output signal-to-noise ratio. Both the linear only and the linear-quadratic designs are derived in batch and adaptive form, the latter being implemented using recursive least-squares approaches. Simulation examples are given to illustrate the new cancelers and to compare them with conventional approaches. <<ETX>>
Incidence of bradycardia during noradrenaline or phenylephrine bolus treatment of postspinal hypotension in cesarean delivery: A randomized double‐blinded controlled trial

The treatment of choice for spinal anesthesia‐induced hypotension during cesarean section is phenylephrine. As this vasopressor can cause reflex bradycardia, noradrenaline is a suggested alternative. This randomized double‐blinded controlled trial included 76 parturients undergoing elective cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia. Women received noradrenaline in bolus doses of 5 mcg or phenylephrine in bolus doses of 100 mcg. These drugs were used intermittently and therapeutically to maintain systolic blood pressure ≥ 90% of its baseline value. The primary study outcome was bradycardia incidence (<60 bpm) with intermittent bolus administration of these drugs. Secondary outcomes included extreme bradycardia (<40 bpm), number of bradycardia episodes, hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 120% of baseline value), and hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 90% of baseline value and requiring vasopressor use). Neonatal outcomes per the Apgar scale and umbilical cord blood gas analysis were also compared. The incidence of bradycardia in both groups (51.4% and 70.3%, respectively; p = 0.16) were not significantly different. No neonates had umbilical vein or artery pH values below 7.20. The noradrenaline group required more boluses than phenylephrine group (8 vs. 5; p = 0.01). There was no significant intergroup difference in any of the other secondary outcomes. When administered in intermittent bolus doses for the treatment of postspinal hypotension in elective cesarean delivery, noradrenaline, and phenylephrine have a similar incidence of bradycardia. When treating hypotension related to spinal anesthesia in obstetric cases, strong vasopressors are commonly administered, thought these can also have side effects. This trial assessed bradycardia after bolus administration of noradrenaline or phenylephrine, and found no difference in risk for clinically meaningful bradycardia.
Evaluation of an Emergency Department Visit Data Mental Health Dashboard

Context: Local health departments (LHDs) need timely county-level and subcounty-level data to monitor health-related trends, identify health disparities, and inform areas of highest need for interventions as part of their ongoing assessment responsibilities; yet, many health departments rely on secondary data that are not timely and cannot provide subcounty insights. Objective: We developed and evaluated a mental health dashboard in Tableau for an LHD audience featuring statewide syndromic surveillance emergency department (ED) data in North Carolina from the North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool (NC DETECT). Design: We developed a dashboard that provides counts, crude rates, and ED visit percentages at statewide and county levels, as well as breakdowns by zip code, sex, age group, race, ethnicity, and insurance coverage for 5 mental health conditions. We evaluated the dashboards through semistructured interviews and a Web-based survey that included the standardized usability questions from the System Usability Scale. Participants: Convenience sample of LHD public health epidemiologists, health educators, evaluators, and public health informaticians. Results: Six semistructured interview participants successfully navigated the dashboard but identified usability issues when asked to compare county-level trends displayed in different outputs (eg, tables vs graphs). Thirty respondents answered all questions on the System Usability Scale for the dashboard, which received an above average score of 86. Conclusions: The dashboards scored well on the System Usability Scale, but more research is needed to identify best practices in disseminating multiyear syndromic surveillance ED visit data on mental health conditions to LHDs.
SpliceTools, a suite of downstream RNA splicing analysis tools to investigate mechanisms and impact of alternative splicing

Abstract As a fundamental aspect of normal cell signaling and disease states, there is great interest in determining alternative splicing (AS) changes in physiologic, pathologic, and pharmacologic settings. High throughput RNA sequencing and specialized software to detect AS has greatly enhanced our ability to determine transcriptome-wide splicing changes. Despite the richness of this data, deriving meaning from sometimes thousands of AS events is a substantial bottleneck for most investigators. We present SpliceTools, a suite of data processing modules that arms investigators with the ability to quickly produce summary statistics, mechanistic insights, and functional significance of AS changes through command line or through an online user interface. Utilizing RNA-seq datasets for 186 RNA binding protein knockdowns, nonsense mediated RNA decay inhibition, and pharmacologic splicing inhibition, we illustrate the utility of SpliceTools to distinguish splicing disruption from regulated transcript isoform changes, we show the broad transcriptome footprint of the pharmacologic splicing inhibitor, indisulam, we illustrate the utility in uncovering mechanistic underpinnings of splicing inhibition, we identify predicted neo-epitopes in pharmacologic splicing inhibition, and we show the impact of splicing alterations induced by indisulam on cell cycle progression. Together, SpliceTools puts rapid and easy downstream analysis at the fingertips of any investigator studying AS.
Measurement of three-dimensional force fields with atomic resolution using dynamic force spectroscopy

Using dynamic force microscopy and spectroscopy in an ultrahigh vacuum (“noncontact atomic force microscopy”) at low temperatures, we measured three-dimensional force fields with atomic resolution. The method is based on the systematic recording of the frequency shift of a cantilever oscillating near the sample surface. The presented experimental results were obtained on a NiO(001) sample surface with an iron-coated silicon tip, but the measurement principle can be extended to any tip–sample system.
Random spin-orbit coupling and spin relaxation in symmetric quantum wells

The effective “spin–orbit” field acting upon spins of carriers in two-dimensional electronic structures (the Rashba field) arises due to the spatial asymmetry of the system. It will be shown in this letter that even in quantum wells with perfectly symmetric environment, a random Rashba field arises due to fluctuations of concentration of dopant ions. The magnitude of the field, its correlation function, and electron spin relaxation rate in this field are presented.
Timing of Violence Exposure and Girls’ Temperament Stability From Childhood to Adolescence

Individual differences in temperament (e.g., negative emotionality) are robust early predictors of emotional and behavioral health. Although temperament is often conceptualized as relatively stable across the lifespan, evidence suggests that it may change over time as a function of social context. Extant studies have been limited by cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal designs that have precluded tests of stability as well as factors that may influence stability across developmental periods. In addition, few studies have tested the impact of social contexts that are common for children living in urban and under-resourced environments, such as exposure to community violence. In the present study we hypothesized that levels of negative emotionality, activity, and shyness would decrease across development from childhood to mid-adolescence as a function of early exposure to violence in the Pittsburgh Girls Study, a community study of girls enriched for families living in low-resourced neighborhoods. Temperament was assessed by parent- and teacher-report on the Emotionality Activity Sociability Shyness Temperament Survey in childhood (5–8-years-old), early-adolescence (11-years-old), and mid-adolescence (15-years-old). Violence exposure (e.g., victim of or witness to violent crime, exposure to domestic violence) was assessed annually via child and parent report. Results showed that on average, combined caregiver and teacher reports of negative emotionality and activity level exhibited small but significant reductions from childhood to adolescence, whereas shyness remained stable. Violence exposure in early adolescence predicted increases in negative emotionality and shyness by mid-adolescence. Violence exposure was not associated with stability of activity level. Our findings suggest that exposure to violence, particularly in early adolescence, amplifies individual differences in shyness and negative emotionality, underlying an important pathway of risk for developmental psychopathology.