Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New cellular imaging‐based method to distinguish the SPG4 subtype of hereditary spastic paraplegia

Microtubule defects are a common feature in several neurodegenerative disorders, including hereditary spastic paraplegia. The most frequent form of hereditary spastic paraplegia is caused by mutations in the SPG4/SPAST gene, encoding the microtubule severing enzyme spastin. To date, there is no effective therapy available but spastin‐enhancing therapeutic approaches are emerging; thus prognostic and predictive biomarkers are urgently required.
Muslim American Physicians' Experiences With, and Views on, Religious Discrimination and Accommodation in Academic Medicine.

OBJECTIVE To assess Muslim physician experiences with religious discrimination and identify strategies for better accommodating Muslim identity in healthcare. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING Interviews were conducted with Muslim physicians from three US-based Muslim clinician organizations between June to August 2021. STUDY DESIGN In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews used a phenomenological approach to describe experiences of religious discrimination and accommodation. A team-based framework approach to coding was used to inductively generate themes from interview data. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS Physicians from the Islamic Medical Association of North America, American Muslim Health Professionals, and the US Muslim Physicians group were invited to participate using closed organizational listservs. Inclusion criteria sought English-speaking, self-identifying Muslims with current or past affiliation with a university hospital in the US. Potential participants were segmented into groups based on responses to questions about perceived religious discrimination and accommodation. Purposive sampling was used to iteratively approach participants within these groups in order to capture a diverse respondent pool. Interviews stopped after thematic saturation was reached. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Eighteen physicians (11 women and 7 men; mean age: 41.5 [standard deviation=12.91] years) were interviewed. Nearly all (n=16) held Islam to be important in their lives. Three overarching themes, with several subthemes, emerged. Participants 1) struggled to maintain religious practices and observances due to unaccommodating organizational structures; 2) experienced religious discrimination which, in turn, impacted their professional trajectories and, at times, their personal well-being; and 3) believed that institutions could implement specific educational and policy interventions to advance the religious accommodation of Muslims in healthcare. CONCLUSIONS Muslim physicians frequently encounter religious discrimination, yet there are concrete ways in which healthcare workplaces can better accommodate their religious needs and combat discrimination. To improve workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion, educational forums and policies that support the religious practices of physicians need to be established.
Dimension Reduction for Multivariate Response Data

This article concerns the analysis of multivariate response data with multivariate regressors. Methods for reducing the dimensionality of response variables are developed, with the goal of preserving as much regression information as possible. We note parallels between this goal and the goal of sliced inverse regression, which intends to reduce the regressor dimension in a univariate regression while preserving as much regression information as possible. A detailed discussion is given for the case where the response is a curve measured at fixed points. The problem in this setting is to select basis functions for fitting an aggregate of curves. We propose that instead of focusing on goodness of fit, attention should be shifted to the problem of explaining the variation of the curves in terms of the regressor variables. A data-adaptive basis searching method based on dimension reduction theory is proposed. Simulation results and an application to a climatology problem are given.
Envelope-following method to compute steady-state solutions of electrical circuits

The paper deals with the determination of the steady-state solution of both autonomous and nonautonomous circuits. Only time-domain methods are considered, and, in particular, the shooting (SH) and multishooting (MSH) ones. It is well known that one of their main drawbacks is the lack of convergence if they are not started from an initial guess "close enough" to the steady-state solution. To overcome this problem, we present an envelope-following method that efficiently brings the operating point of the circuit into the convergence region of the shooting (SH) and multishooting (MSH) algorithms.
Noise of mode-locked lasers

In recent years, many solid-state lasers have been mode-locked successfully, using the additive pulse mode-locking (APM) principle. It has been shown that, under appropriate approximations, the theory of APM is congruent with that of saturable absorber mode-locking, supplemented by self-phase modulation and group velocity dispersion. When the shortest pulses are achieved, the pulses behave like transform-limited solitons, perturbed by the gain-bandwidth limiting and the APM action. In this limit, a perturbation theory is feasible that is closely related to that of soliton perturbation theory. Noise is handled by perturbation theory; an adiabatic perturbation of the pulse changes its amplitude, phase, carrier frequency and timing. Contrary to soliton perturbations, amplitude and frequency perturbations of mode-locked solitary pulses do not persist but shed some of their energy into the continuum. This is a consequence of the gain saturation and gain-bandwidth limitation not encountered with solitons (nonlinear Schrodinger equation). The timing experiences a random walk, and so does the phase. The latter leads to a Lorentzian line-shape of the resonant cavity modes, similar to that of a free-running oscillator. The spectrum of the amplitude and frequency are Lorentzian because both have nonzero relaxation times. The frequency relaxes to the center frequency of the gain, the amplitude to the value required to equate gain to loss.
Toxicology assessment for six per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS)‐free aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) products

There is an urgent need to understand the toxicity hazards of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) replacement products to ensure the balance between performance and toxicity hazards and avoid regrettable substitutions during the rapid phasing out of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS)‐containing AFFFs. To address this need, we assessed the toxicity of six candidate PFAS‐free products via literature review, estimation techniques, and incorporation of testing data from whole products and compared them against one PFAS‐containing product. Then, we combined the relative hazards across human occupational exposure (e.g., concentrate, foam, or dilute exposures), human environmental exposure (e.g., training, emergency response, cleanup), and environmental exposure to aquatic, mammalian, and other terrestrial species using an index‐based scoring system to quantify potential hazards across these domains. We found that most PFAS‐free products in their concentrated form may cause dermal and ocular irritation, and aquatic toxicity may be a concern from direct or repeated environmental releases. Additionally, all PFAS‐free AFFF products assessed contain chemicals that are notable as plausible hazards resulting from release uncertainties (e.g., concentration, release volume, release timing), but the PFAS‐free AFFF products appear to have a lower likelihood of environmental persistence and bioaccumulation and to have lower oral human health toxicity than the PFAS‐containing reference product. Decision makers can use this information alongside cost–benefit, sustainability, or life‐cycle analyses to make a data‐driven decision for the adoption of PFAS‐free AFFF. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:1609–1618. © 2023 SETAC
Robust nonlinear multivariable tracking control design to a manipulator with unknown uncertainties using operator-based robust right coprime factorization

In this paper, an operator-based robust nonlinear multivariable tracking control for a manipulator with uncertainties is proposed by using a robust right coprime factorization approach. In general, there exist unknown modelling errors in measuring structural parameters of the manipulator and external disturbances in real situations. In the present control system design, the effect of the modelling errors and disturbance on system performance is considered to be uncertainties in the manipulator dynamics. Considering the uncertainties, an operator-based robust nonlinear multivariable tracking control using robust right coprime factorization is studied. That is, firstly a robustly stable control based on robust right coprime factorization is designed. Secondly, a robust nonlinear multivariable tracking system is proposed for improving the trajectory of the manipulator, and the output tracking performance is evaluated based on the exponential iteration theorem. Finally, the effectiveness of the designed system is confirmed by simulation results.
Sleep Quality and Associated Factors Among Adult Cancer Patients on Treatments at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital Oncology Unit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021

Background Patients with cancer frequently reported sleep problems during their treatments which can affect their sleep quality have an impact on patients’ quality of life (QOL). Objective to assess the prevalence of sleep quality and associated factors in adult cancer patients on treatment in the Oncology unit of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021 Methods institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used and data was collected by using face-to-face structured interview questionnaires from March 1 to April 1, 2021. Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) consisted of 19 items, the social support scale (OSS-3) consisted of 3 items, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) consisted of 14 items were applied. Logistic regression including bivariate and multivariate analysis was done to examine the association between dependent and independent variables, and P< 0.05 was considered the level of significance for associations. Results A total of 264 sampled adult cancer patients on treatments were included in this study, with a response rate of 93.61%. About 26.5% of the participants’ age distribution was between 40 to 49 years, and 68.6% were female. 59.8% of the study participants were married. Concerning education, about 48.9% of participants attended primary and secondary school and 45% of participants were unemployed. Overall, 53.79% of individuals had poor sleep quality. Low income ((AOR=5.36 CI 95% (2.23, 12.90), fatigue (AOR=2.89 CI 95(1.32, 6.33), pain (AOR 3.82 C I95 % (1.84, 7.93), poor of social support (AOR =3.20 CI 95% (1.43, 6.74), anxiety (AOR=3.48 CI 95% (1.44, 8.38) and depression (AOR 2.87 CI 95 % (1.05-7.391) were all associated with poor sleep quality. Conclusion This study revealed a high prevalence of poor sleep quality, which was significantly associated with factors like low income, fatigue, pain, poor social support, anxiety, and depression among cancer patients on treatments.
Numerical Solution of the Problem of Vortex Street Development

A method is described for the solution of time‐dependent problems concerning the flow of viscous incompressible fluids in several space dimensions. The method is numerical, using a high‐speed computer for the solution of a finite‐difference approximation to the partial differential equations of motion. The application described here is to a study of the development of a vortex street behind a plate which has impulsively accelerated to constant speed in a channel of finite width; the Reynolds‐number range investigated was 15 ≤ R ≤ 6000. Particular attention was given to those features for which comparison could be made with experiments, namely, critical Reynolds number for vortex shedding, drag coefficient, Strouhal number, vortex configuration, and channel‐wall effects. The nature of the early stages of flow‐pattern development was also investigated.
Molecular dynamics simulation of phosphatidylcholine membrane in low ionic strengths of sodium chloride

Abstract The one-microsecond molecular dynamics simulations of a membrane-protein complex investigate the influence of the aqueous sodium chloride solutions on the structure and dynamics of a palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine bilayer membrane. The simulations were performed on five different concentrations (40, 150, 200, 300, and 400 mM) in addition to a salt-free system by using the charmm36 force field for all atoms. Four biophysical parameters, (membrane thicknesses of annular and bulk lipids, and the area per lipid of both leaflets), were computed separately. Nevertheless, the area per lipid was expressed by using the Voronoi algorithm. All time-independent analyses were carried out for the last 400 ns trajectories. Different concentrations revealed dissimilar membrane dynamics before equilibration. The biophysical properties of the membrane (thickness, area-per-lipid, and order parameter) have non-significant changes with increasing ionic strength, however, the 150 mM system had exceptional behavior. Sodium cations were dynamically penetrating the membrane forming weak coordinate bonds with single or multiple lipids. Nevertheless, the binding constant was unaffected by the cation concentration. The electrostatic and Van der Waals energies of lipid-lipid interactions were influenced by the ionic strength. On the other hand, the Fast Fourier Transform was performed to figure out the dynamics at the membrane-protein interface. The nonbonding energies of membrane-protein interactions and order parameters explained the differences in the synchronization pattern. All results were consensus with experimental and theoretical works. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Interior tomography from low-count local projections and associated Hilbert transform data

This paper presents a statistical interior tomography approach combining an optimization of the truncated Hilbert transform (THT) data. With the introduction of the compressed sensing (CS) based interior tomography, a statistical iteration reconstruction (SIR) regularized by the total variation (TV) has been proposed to reconstruct an interior region of interest (ROI) with less noise from low-count local projections. After each update of the CS based SIR, a THT constraint can be incorporated by an optimizing strategy. Since the noisy differentiated back-projection (DBP) and its corresponding noise variance on each chord can be calculated from the Poisson projection data, an object function is constructed to find an optimal THT of the ROI from the noisy DBP and the present reconstructed image. Then the inversion of this optimized THT on each chord is performed and the resulted ROI will be the initial image of next update for the CS based SIR. In addition, a parameter in the optimization of THT step can be used to determine the stopping rule of the iteration heuristically. Numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the proposed approach. Our results indicate that this approach can reconstruct an ROI with high accuracy by reducing the noise effectively.
Muramyl dipeptide alleviates estrogen deficiency‐induced osteoporosis through canonical Wnt signaling

Wnt signaling is a positive regulator of bone formation through the induction of osteoblast differentiation and down‐regulation of osteoclast differentiation. We previously reported that muramyl dipeptide (MDP) increases bone volume by increasing osteoblast activity and attenuating osteoclast activity in receptor activator of nuclear factor‐κB ligand (RANKL)‐induced osteoporotic model mice. In this study, we investigated whether MDP could alleviate post‐menopausal osteoporosis through Wnt signaling regulation in an ovariectomy (OVX)‐induced mouse osteoporosis model. MDP‐administered OVX mice exhibited higher bone volume and bone mineral density than mice of the control group. MDP significantly increased P1NP in the serum of OVX mice, implying increased bone formation. The expression of pGSK3β and β‐catenin in the distal femur of OVX mice was lower than that in the distal femur of sham‐operated mice. Yet, the expression of pGSK3β and β‐catenin was increased in MDP‐administered OVX mice compared with OVX mice. In addition, MDP increased the expression and transcriptional activity of β‐catenin in osteoblasts. MDP inhibited the proteasomal degradation of β‐catenin via the down‐regulation of its ubiquitination by GSK3β inactivation. When osteoblasts were pretreated with Wnt signaling inhibitors, DKK1 or IWP‐2, the induction of pAKT, pGSK3β, and β‐catenin was not observed. In addition, nucleotide oligomerization domain‐containing protein 2‐deficient osteoblasts were not sensitive to MDP. MDP‐administered OVX mice exhibited fewer tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)‐positive cells than did OVX mice, attributed to a decrease in the RANKL/OPG ratio. In conclusion, MDP alleviates estrogen deficiency‐induced osteoporosis through canonical Wnt signaling and could be an effective therapeutic for the treatment of post‐menopausal bone loss. © 2023 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Epidemiology of herpes simplex virus type 2 in the Middle East and North Africa: Systematic review, meta‐analyses, and meta‐regressions

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV‐2) infection is a prevalent, sexually transmitted infection with poorly characterized prevalence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This study characterized HSV‐2 epidemiology in MENA. HSV‐2 reports were systematically reviewed as guided by the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook and findings were reported following PRISMA guidelines. Random‐effects meta‐analyses and meta‐regressions were performed to estimate pooled mean outcome measures and to assess predictors of HSV‐2 antibody prevalence (seroprevalence), trends in seroprevalence, and between‐study heterogeneity. In total, sixty‐one overall (133 stratified) HSV‐2 seroprevalence measures and two overall (four stratified) proportion measures of HSV‐2 detection in laboratory‐confirmed genital herpes were extracted from 37 relevant publications. Pooled mean seroprevalence was 5.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.6%–6.8%) among general populations, 13.3% (95% CI: 8.6%–18.7%) among intermediate‐risk populations, 20.6% (95% CI: 5.3%–42.3%) among female sex workers, and 18.3% (95% CI: 3.9%–39.4%) among male sex workers. Compared to Fertile Crescent countries, seroprevalence was 3.39‐fold (95% CI: 1.86–6.20) and 3.90‐fold (95% CI: 1.78–8.57) higher in Maghreb and Horn of Africa countries, respectively. Compared to studies published before 2010, seroprevalence was 1.73‐fold (95% CI: 1.00–2.99) higher in studies published after 2015. Pooled mean proportion of HSV‐2 detection in genital herpes was 73.8% (95% CI: 42.2%–95.9%). In conclusion, MENA has a lower HSV‐2 seroprevalence than other world regions. Yet, 1 in 20 adults is chronically infected, despite conservative prevailing sexual norms. Seroprevalence may also be increasing, unlike other world regions. Findings support the need for expansion of surveillance and monitoring of HSV‐2 infection in MENA.
Stationary solitary, snoidal and sinusoidal ion acoustic waves

Stix's treatment of zero-damped electrostatic waves in a Maxwellian plasma is extended to the nonlinear regime. Stationary Bernstein-Greene-Krusk almodes which propagate with ion acoustic speed are constructed. This subclass consists of solitary, snoidal (=periodical waves, like ocean waves, which can be written in terms of Jacobian elliptic functions) and sinusoidal waves. A discrimination of those waves can be given by a single parameter, the steepness parameter, which contains nonlinearity, trapping of particles and dispersion. It turns out that Sadgeev's soliton represents a special case of the class solitons having the largest width and the lowest velocity. Hence a modified Korteweg-de-Vries equation must exist with a stronger nonlinearity.
THE LATTICE DYNAMICS OF AN ANHARMONIC CRYSTAL

Abstract The theory of the physical properties of an anharmonic crystal is discussed by using the thermodynamic Green's functions for the phonons. A perturbation procedure is developed to obtain the Green's functions and it is shown that for some purposes a quasi-harmonic approximation is useful, in which the frequencies of the normal modes are those determined by infra-red or neutron spectrometry. The thermodynamic, elastic, dielectric and scattering properties of an anharmonic crystal are discussed in terms of the Green's functions, and detailed expressions are given for the more important contributions. Detailed numerical calculations are presented of the thermal expansion, dielectric properties and shapes of some of the inelastically scattered neutron groups, for sodium iodide and potassium bromide. The calculations, which give reasonable agreement with experiment, show that even at quite low temperatures, the lifetimes of some of the normal modes can be quite short. By using the quasi-harmonic approx.
Hindbrain Adenosine 5-Triphosphate (ATP)-Purinergic Signaling Triggers LH Surge and Ovulation via Activation of AVPV Kisspeptin Neurons in Rats

Ovulation disorders are a serious problem for humans and livestock. In female rodents, kisspeptin neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) are responsible for generating a luteinizing hormone (LH) surge and consequent ovulation. Here, we report that adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP), a purinergic receptor ligand, is a possible neurotransmitter that stimulates AVPV kisspeptin neurons to induce an LH surge and consequent ovulation in rodents. Administration of an ATP receptor antagonist (PPADS) into the AVPV blocked the LH surge in ovariectomized (OVX) rats treated with a proestrous level of estrogen (OVX + high E2) and significantly reduced the ovulation rate in proestrous ovary-intact rats. AVPV ATP administration induced a surge-like LH increase in OVX + high E2 rats in the morning. Importantly, AVPV ATP administration could not induce the LH increase in Kiss1 KO rats. Furthermore, ATP significantly increased intracellular Ca2+ levels in immortalized kisspeptin neuronal cell line, and coadministration of PPADS blocked the ATP-induced Ca2+ increase. Histologic analysis revealed that the proestrous level of estrogen significantly increased the number of P2X2 receptor (an ATP receptor)-immunopositive AVPV kisspeptin neurons visualized by tdTomato in Kiss1-tdTomato rats. The proestrous level of estrogen significantly increased varicosity-like vesicular nucleotide transporter (a purinergic marker)-immunopositive fibers projecting to the vicinity of AVPV kisspeptin neurons. Furthermore, we found that some hindbrain vesicular nucleotide transporter-positive neurons projected to the AVPV and expressed estrogen receptor α, and the neurons were activated by the high E2 treatment. These results suggest that hindbrain ATP-purinergic signaling triggers ovulation via activation of AVPV kisspeptin neurons. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Ovulation disorders, which cause infertility and low pregnancy rates, are a serious problem for humans and livestock. The present study provides evidence that adenosine 5-triphosphate, acting as a neurotransmitter in the brain, stimulates kisspeptin neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus, known as the gonadotropin-releasing hormone surge generator, via purinergic receptors to induce the gonadotropin-releasing hormone/luteinizing hormone surge and ovulation in rats. In addition, histologic analyses indicate that adenosine 5-triphosphate is likely to be originated from the purinergic neurons in the A1 and A2 of the hindbrain. These findings may contribute to new therapeutic controls for hypothalamic ovulation disorders in humans and livestock.