Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Anxiety and Depression Over the First Year of COVID-19 Pandemic in Philadelphia, PA

Active surveillance for anxiety and depression during prolonged response to disasters is warranted, especially when the employment situation is destabilized or disrupted. Family and union support do not diminish the need for access to mental health treatment. Particular attention may be needed to depression that grew, unlike anxiety, over time. Objective We investigated the change in anxiety and depression in a general population cohort over the first year of COVID-19 pandemic in relation to work characteristics and mental health support. Methods We administered questionnaires to a convenience sample in Greater Philadelphia, in summer of 2020 and a year later. With more than 60% response rate, 461 people had repeated measurements. Results Anxiety declined but depression increased in the cohort after a year of COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived increase in support from family and trade unions, stable employment, and professional mental health support were protective. Depression scores worsened mostly in healthcare, higher education, and manufacturing industries. Conclusions We observed that while anxiety dissipated over the first year of COVID-19 pandemic, depression worsened, perhaps more so in some industries and where mental health support faltered over time.
Decrease of high harmonic generation yield in the barrier-suppression regime

High-order harmonic generation with ultrashort (2 optical cycles) laser pulses of intensity up to 7 x 10 14 W/cm 2 is investigated using numerical solution of the three-dimensional Schrodinger equation for a hydrogen atom. Under this fundamental intensity, the ionization of the atom mainly takes place in the barrier-suppression regime. We find that the harmonic yield stops increasing with the fundamental intensity and then even essentially decreases. The plateau cutoff takes place at slightly lower harmonic numbers than is predicted from the extrapolation of the theoretical law obtained for tunneling ionization. The decrease of the harmonic yield can be explained by the enhancement of the electron wave-packet spreading and the decrease in the recombination cross section for higher intensities.
Accommodative disorders in non‐presbyopic subjects with type 1 diabetes without retinopathy: A comparative, cross‐sectional study

The purpose of this study was to assess accommodative function in non‐presbyopic individuals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) without any signs of retinopathy, to determine the existence of possible accommodative disorders related to this disease, and to determine the influence of T1D duration and glycosylated haemoglobin values on accommodative function.
Physics from the Gamma-Ray Spectra of Blazars

Blazars are numerous and often bright sources of cosmic γ-rays with several hundred such objects currently detected in this regime. However, there are several outstanding issues surrounding them. For example, it is uncertain exactly where in the kiloparsec- scale blazar jet γ-rays are produced and what the physical mechanisms responsible for the emission are. This thesis is an investigation in the physics and astronomy that can be learnt from studying the γ-ray energy spectra of blazars. Two studies are presented analysing bright blazars with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT). From the smooth spectral curvature seen in many of the objects and the lack of sharp spectral breaks it is concluded that the emission region is likely beyond the radius of the broad line region of 0.1 pc. It is seen that nearby confusing objects can lead to apparent breaks being ob- served in the spectra. However, a light curve analysis is performed of the bright blazar 3C 454.3 and it is seen that spectral breaks do sometimes occur when the object is in high flux states. From the shift in the peak of the γ-ray emission it is concluded that the high flux states are caused by an increase in the Lorentz factor of the emission region or by changes in the population of electrons in the emission region, but the origin of the breaks remains unexplained. Finally, a study is presented examining the effect that hypothetical axions or axion-like particles (ALPs) would have on the spectra if these particles should exist. It is found that under the right conditions a sudden flux boost could appear in the spectrum at a few TeV. The chances of the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) detecting the effects of photon-ALP mixing in AGN spectra is considered through simu- lated observations. These effects potentially present themselves in the spectra two ways: firstly the aforementioned flux boost and secondly due to the fact that the existence of ALPs could mitigate the pair absorption that γ-rays undergo when they traverse inter- galactic space. It is concluded that CTA will have good prospects of either detecting these effects or else, if no effect is seen, setting limits on the mass and coupling constant that ALPs could have.
Detecting Mild Phonotrauma in Daily Life

The aim of this study was to gain quantitative insights into the role of daily voice use associated with mild phonotrauma via the Daily Phonotrauma Index (DPI), a measure derived from neck‐surface acceleration magnitude (NSAM) and difference between the first two harmonic magnitudes (H1 − H2).
Semantic segmentation of retinal exudates using a residual encoder–decoder architecture in diabetic retinopathy

Exudates are a common sign of diabetic retinopathy, which is a disease that affects the blood vessels in the retina. Early detection of exudates is critical to avoiding vision problems through continuous screening and treatment. In traditional clinical practice, the involved lesions are manually detected using photographs of the fundus. However, this task is cumbersome and time‐consuming and requires intense effort due to the small size of the lesion and the low contrast of the images. Thus, computer‐assisted diagnosis of retinal disease based on the detection of red lesions has been actively explored recently. In this paper, we present a comparison of deep convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures and propose a residual CNN with residual skip connections to reduce the parameter for the semantic segmentation of exudates in retinal images. A suitable image augmentation technique is used to improve the performance of network architecture. The proposed network can robustly segment exudates with high accuracy, which makes it suitable for diabetic retinopathy screening. A comparative performance analysis of three benchmark databases: E‐ophtha, DIARETDB1, and Hamilton Ophthalmology Institute's Macular Edema, is presented. The proposed method achieves a precision of 0.95, 0.92, 0.97, accuracy of 0.98, 0.98, 0.98, sensitivity of 0.97, 0.95, 0.95, specificity of 0.99, 0.99, 0.99, and area under the curve of 0.97, 0.94, and 0.96, respectively.
Influence of Body Posture on Internal Organ Dosimetry: Radiocesium Exposure Modeling Using Novel Posture-dependent Mesh Computational Phantoms

Abstract Current practice in reference internal dosimetry assumes a fixed upright standing posture is maintained throughout the dose-integration period. Recently, the mesh-type ICRP adult reference computational phantoms were transformed into different body postures (e.g., sitting, squatting) for use in occupational dose reconstruction applications. Here, for the first time, we apply this phantom series to the study of organ dose estimates following radionuclide intake. We consider the specific cases of 137Cs and 134Cs ingestion (accidental/occupational intake) with attention to variability in absorbed dose as a function of posture. The ICRP Publication 137 systemic biokinetic model for soluble cesium ingestion was used to compute organ-level time-integrated activity coefficients for reference adults, over a 50-y dose-integration period, for 134Cs and 137Cs (and its radioactive progeny 137mBa). Mean posture time-allocations (h d−1 for standing, sitting, and lying) were taken from published survey data. In accord with modern dosimetry formalisms (e.g., MIRD, ICRP), a posture weighting factor was introduced that accounts for the fraction of time spent within each independent posture. Absorbed dose coefficients were computed using PHITS Monte Carlo simulations. ICRP 103 tissue weighting factors were applied along with the posture weighting factors to obtain committed effective dose per unit intake (Sv Bq−1). For 137Cs ingestion, most organ absorbed dose coefficients were negligibly to marginally higher (< ~3%) for sitting or crouched (lying fetal/semi-fetal) postures maintained over the dose commitment period, relative to the upright standing posture. The committed effective dose coefficients were 1.3 × 10−8 Sv Bq−1 137Cs for standing, sitting, or crouched postures; thus, the posture-weighted committed effective dose was not significantly different than the committed effective dose for a maintained upright standing posture. For 134Cs ingestion, most organ absorbed dose coefficients for the sitting and crouched postures were significantly larger than the standing posture, but the differences were still considered minor (< ~8% for most organs). The committed effective dose coefficients were 1.2 × 10−8 Sv Bq−1 134Cs for the standing posture and 1.3 × 10−8 Sv Bq−1 134Cs for the sitting or crouched posture. The posture-weighted committed effective dose was 1.3 × 10−8 Sv Bq−1 134Cs. Body posture has minor influence on organ-level absorbed dose coefficients and committed effective dose for ingestion of soluble 137Cs or 134Cs.
Optical fiber biosensor based on localized surface plasmon resonance in gold nanoparticles

We developed a label-free, highly sensitive, real time, and micrometer-sized optical fiber biosensor without using any attenuated total reflection (ATR) optics. The sensor is based on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LPR) in gold nanoparticles. The gold nanoparitlces show a large absorption band at around 520 nm due to LPR, which is quite sensitive to the environment around the nanoparticles. Thus change of the refractive index of the ambient medium around the nanoparticles or overcoating a thin dielectric layer on the particles results in a red-shift of the absorption band and change of the absorption intensity. This paper reports a novel optical fiber biosensor that is constructed at the endface of the optical fiber. The fiber probe is consisting of gold nanoparticles that plays as a transducer, where ligand is coated. The return light intensity from the fiber probe is changed by the adsorption of the biomolecules that has affinity to the ligand. The sensitivity was evaluated to be 10 pg/mm2 (2x10-5 RIU) with an LED light, which is compatible with the conventional surface plasmon resonance biosensors that use the ATR optics.
Predictors of Linkage to an Opioid Treatment Program and Methadone Treatment Retention following Hospital Discharge in a Safety-Net Setting

Abstract Background: Methadone is increasingly initiated during hospitalization for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). However, little is known about which factors are associated with linkage to opioid treatment programs (OTP) and retention in methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) following hospital discharge. Materials & Methods: This is a retrospective study of adults with OUD hospitalized in an urban, safety-net hospital referred by inpatient clinicians to an onsite OTP for post-discharge MMT follow-up from October 2017 to July 2019. We used multivariable modified Poisson regression models to generate adjusted risk ratios (aRR) for associations of sociodemographic factors, mental health disorders, alcohol use, stimulant use, and prior care engagement with post-discharge OTP enrollment and MMT retention at 30 and 90-days. Results: Of the 125 patients referred, 40% enrolled in the OTP post-discharge. Among enrollees, 74% were retained at 30-days and 52% were retained at 90-days. Patients with co-occurring stimulant use were less likely to enroll in the OTP post-discharge compared to those without stimulant use (aRR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44–0.97). We found no associations with 30-day MMT retention, but patients who reported stable housing were more likely to be retained in MMT at 90-days compared to those without stable housing (aRR 1.66, 95% CI 1.03–2.66). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that hospitalized patients with co-occurring stimulant use may need additional support to optimize post-discharge OTP linkage. Stable housing may improve retention in MMT. Additional research is needed to identify trends in MMT engagement among those referred from the acute hospital setting.
Image filtering based on modified BP neural network and PSO

A new method for image noise reduction based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) and modified BP neural network is proposed.This method introduces BP neural network by utilizing hyperbolic tangent error function instead of mean square error function as its cost function,and then the modified BP neural network is optimized with PSO.The proposed method can minish the influence on the accuracy of BP neural network model which is controlled by image noise and avoid local infinitesimal obviously.Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can reduce Gaussian noise of images and preserve image details more effectively than traditional algorithms.
Career Development Needs of Physician Associates in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Introduction The physician associate (PA) profession is relatively new to the United Kingdom (UK) with the first UK-trained PAs graduating in 2008. Unlike other UK health professions, there is currently no well-established career framework after graduating as a PA. This pragmatic research aimed primarily to provide useful information for the future development of a PA career framework that will best support the career development needs of the PA profession. Methods The current study used qualitative 1:1 interviews to understand senior PAs' aspirations, postgraduate education, career progression, development opportunities, and perceptions for a career framework. Where are they now? What are they doing? What are their expectations for the future? What subsequent changes do senior PAs think a career framework might bring to the profession? Results Most PAs support a career framework and the opportunity to highlight and facilitate the PA's unique ability to transfer specialties; both generalist and specialized PA experience should be recognized. All participants supported a postgraduate standardization of PA practice citing patient safety and equal opportunities for the PA workforce. Furthermore, although the PA profession was introduced to the UK with lateral rather than vertical progression, the current study demonstrates the existence of hierarchical roles within the PA workforce. Discussion A postqualification framework is needed in the UK, one that supports the current flexibility of the PA workforce.
DNS of Turbulent Channel Flow With a Flexible Square Cylinder

In the present paper in order to investigate possibility of flow control using elastic body, we conduct a simulation of a finite-length flexible cylinder installed in turbulent channel flow. For the flexible cylinder, the rigorous equation of motion for elastic continuum is solved with a finite volume method; the effect of existence of cylinder in the flow computation is taken into account using the immersed boundary method. From instantaneous and time averaged flow quantities, we demonstrate that the flexible cylinder markedly modulates the wake structure depending on the elasticity of cylinder. Further in order to extract coherent structures, the DMD (dynamic mode decomposition) method are applied. The primary flow structures in the wake of cylinder are demonstrated.Copyright © 2015 by JSME
YKL-40 promotes proliferation and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells by activating akt/MMP9 signalling in placenta accreta spectrum disorders

Abstract YKL-40 is a secreted glycoprotein that can promote invasion, angiogenesis and inhibit apoptosis, and was highly expressed in a variety of tumours. In this paper, we investigated the impacts of YKL-40 on proliferation and invasion in HTR-8/SVneo cells during placenta accreta spectrum disorders (PAS) development. The levels of YKL-40 protein in late-pregnant placental tissue were detected using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting, and gene expression using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis abilities of HTR-8/SVneo cells were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), Transwell, scratch assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. Our current results showed that YKL-40 was significantly increased in the PAS group compared to the normal control group (P < 0.01). Biological function experiments showed that YKL-40 significantly promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells, and inhibited cell apoptosis. Knockdown of YKL-40 inhibited the activation of Akt/MMP9 signalling in trophoblast cells. These data suggested that YKL-40 might be involved in the progression of PAS, which may be attributed to the regulation of Akt/MMP9 signalling pathway. IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known on this subject? YKL-40 is a secretory glycoprotein that can promote invasion, angiogenesis, and inhibit apoptosis and was highly expressed in a variety of tumours. Trophoblast cells resemble tumour cells in their migration and invasion. What the results of this study add? YKL-40 expression was significantly up-regulated in PAS. CCK-8 assays showed that YKL-40 remarkably enhanced the viability of HTR-8/SVneo cells. Scratch and Transwell assays demonstrated that YKL-40 significantly promoted the migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells. Additionally, YKL-40 attenuated apoptosis in HTR-8/SVneo cells. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Akt/MMP9 was involved in the regulation of YKL-40 on trophoblast invasion, which may provide theoretical basis and new ideas for the drug blocking intervention of placenta accreta.
NCTC3000: a century of bacterial strain collecting leads to a rich genomic data resource

The National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) was founded on 1 January 1920 in order to fulfil a recognized need for a centralized repository for bacterial and fungal strains within the UK. It is among the longest-established collections of its kind anywhere in the world and today holds approximately 6000 type and reference bacterial strains – many of medical, scientific and veterinary importance – available to academic, health, food and veterinary institutions worldwide. Recently, a collaboration between NCTC, Pacific Biosciences and the Wellcome Sanger Institute established the NCTC3000 project to long-read sequence and assemble the genomes of up to 3000 NCTC strains. Here, at the beginning of the collection’s second century, we introduce the resulting NCTC3000 sequence read datasets, genome assemblies and annotations as a unique, historically and scientifically relevant resource for the benefit of the international bacterial research community.
Identification of operational risk of embedded Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) technology based on ISO 31000: Systematic Literature Review

In the current digital era, telecommunications industry technology is growing rapidly, impacting the demands for innovation in the telecommunications operator business. One of them is the change in the size of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card model, which is getting smaller, and the use of embedded SIM (eSIM) technology on smartphones. This study aims to identify operational risk factors from the change in SIM card technology to eSIM. The research method used is the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method. This study documents and reviews scientific journal papers from scientific databases published from 2015 to 2022 on risk management in the information technology field, following this research's objectives. The results obtained from this study showed that there were 43 journals studied, of which four had the theme of technology-embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM), and 13 discussed risk operations technology
Chinese Normal Students’ Satisfaction of Emergency Remote Learning in Higher Education during COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite the widespread use of emergency remote learning (ERL) during the COVID-19 pandemic in higher education, little is known about the determinants of Chinese normal student satisfaction with ERL. This study uses a questionnaire survey method to examine how Chinese normal students' satisfaction with ERL during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that Chinese normal students prefer face-to-face teaching to online teaching to some extent. According to the findings, it is important to emphasize students' pre-class preparation, adjust course assessment methods, change teachers' teaching strategies, create a positive teaching environment, boost students' learning confidence, and help them deal with their anxiety during ERL to improve the online course experience for Chinese students at normal universities.
Biofloc technology and cockroach (Nauphoeta cinerea) insect meal-based diet for Nile tilapia: zootechnical performance, proximate composition and bacterial profile

Abstract Different inclusion levels of cockroach meal Nauphoeta cinerea (CM) were investigated in diets for tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) reared in biofloc systems in substitution of the soybean meal. Five treatments were evaluated (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% of CM inclusion) using three experimental units per treatment. The experiment lasted for five weeks with units stocked with 10 juveniles (3.00±0.25 g) per replicate. Water quality, zootechnical performance, bacteriological profile, and proximate composition were analyzed and monitored. Zootechnical data was submitted to a regression analysis up to second order. No differences were verified regarding feed conversion, survival and productivity. The CM presented high protein levels (66.84%), high estimated gross energy (5270 kcal kg−1), low lipids (6.07%) and mainly long-chain saturated fatty acids. Different bacteriological profiles were identified including species which may be potentially pathogenic and responsible for degrading organic matter. The overall results indicated that it is possible to include CM up to 10% in diets for tilapia juveniles raised in biofloc systems.
Sorting receptor SORCS2 facilitates a protective stress response in pancreatic islets

Objective SORCS2 is an intracellular sorting receptor genetically associated with body mass index (BMI) in humans, yet its mode of action remains unknown. Elucidating the receptor function that defines its role in metabolic health is the objective of this work. Methods Combining in vivo metabolic studies in SORCS2-deficient mouse models with ex vivo structural and functional analyses as well as single-cell transcriptomics of murine pancreatic tissues, we studied the pathophysiological consequences of receptor dysfunction for metabolism. Results Our studies identified an important role for SORCS2 in islet stress response essential to sustain glucose-stimulated insulin release. In detail, we show that SORCS2 is predominantly expressed in islet alpha cells. Loss of receptor expression coincides with the inability of these cells to produce osteopontin, a secreted factor that facilitates insulin release from beta cells under stress. In line with diminished osteopontin levels, beta cells in SORCS2- deficient islets show changes in gene expression patterns related to aggravated ER stress, protein misfolding, as well as mitochondrial dysfunction; and they exhibit defects in insulin granule maturation and a blunted response to glucose stimulation in vivo and ex vivo. Impaired glucose tolerance in receptor mutant mice coincides with alterations in body weight and composition. Conclusion Our data identified a novel concept in protective islet stress response involving the alpha cell receptor SORCS2 and provide experimental support for association of SORCS2 with metabolic control in humans.