Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The quality of life for the young adult with neurodisability: overview and reprise

THE MANIA FOR MEASUREMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE ‘Quality of life’ (QoL) has been ‘discovered’! Everyone from advertisers to politicians to front-line clinicians and patients now wants to know what impact any product, policy, intervention programme, or treatment can be expected to have on QoL. In the health field there is a burgeoning array of measures of QoL in what some have aptly referred to as the ‘quality of life industry’. As a consequence, it is felt that we must beware of the seduction of ‘new toys’ (in this case measures) which are too easy to apply without considering: and ‘What is ⁄are the question(s) we want to answer with these tools? ’ ‘What do we want to know about ‘‘quality of life’’ of individuals or populations, and why are these issues important to explore? ’ It appears that QoL has achieved a cachet that impels us as professionals to feel that we must include some consideration of this dimension of people’s lives in our discussions and research. This brings researchers up against several challenges. Some are associated with the complexities of instrument development and others concern decision-making required about the nature of the tools to be created or applied in research or clinical endeavours. Generic instruments address broad general themes about people’s QoL, but may be perceived to lack specificity for particular conditions. One consequence is that clinicians and researchers appear to want to create diseaseor condition-specific tools to evaluate the QoL associated with specific disorders of interest to them. As discussed at the Workshop and widely in the literature, the use of generic measures allows one to make comparisons across conditions; on the other hand, condition-specific instruments have some advantages for understanding individual disorders, but their use makes the aggregation of data and cross-condition comparisons difficult. It was suggested during the meeting that where the assessment of QoL is concerned it is important at this stage in the evolution of the field to take stock of what we are doing, and why we are doing it. It may be that we are putting the cart before the horse, and measuring QoL for its own sake, rather than answering a specific question.
Histopathological analysis of the olfactory epithelium of zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to sublethal doses of urea

Chronic renal disease is known to alter olfactory function, but the specific changes induced in olfactory organs during this process remain unclear. Of the uraemic toxins generated during renal disease, high levels of urea are known to induce hyposmic conditions. In this study, the effects of environmental exposure to elevated concentrations of urea (7, 13.5 and 20 g L−1) on the sensory mucosa of zebrafish in acute toxicity and chronic toxicity tests were described. It was observed that lamellae maintained structural integrity and epithelial thickness was slightly reduced, but only following exposure to the highest concentrations of urea. Pan‐neuronal labelling with anti‐Hu revealed a negative correlation with levels of urea, leading to investigation of whether distinct neuronal subtypes were equally sensitive. Using densitometric analysis of immunolabelled tissues, numbers of Gα olf‐, TRPC2‐ and TrkA‐expressing cells were compared, representing ciliated, microvillous and crypt neurons, respectively. The three neuronal subpopulations responded differently to increasing levels of urea. In particular, crypt cells were more severely affected than the other cell types, and Gα olf‐immunoreactivity was found to increase when fish were exposed to low doses of urea. It can be concluded that exposure to moderate levels of urea leads to sensory toxicity directly affecting olfactory organs, in accordance with the functional olfactometric measurements previously reported in the literature.
OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY-RASTER SCANNING AND MANUAL SEGMENTATION IN DETERMINING DRUSEN VOLUME IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

Purpose: Drusen are the hallmark of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and substantial evidence exists that the amount of drusen and their effect on retinal pigment epithelium is a strong predictor of progression of AMD and vision loss. Until recently, it was not possible to quantitate the volume of the drusen. However, the use of image-stabilized scanning laser ophthalmoscope or spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (OCT) has enabled determination of drusen volume of this abnormal material. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation of drusen volume with Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) grade and drusen area in dry AMD. Methods: Thirty-six eyes from 18 patients with nonexudative AMD with visual acuity between 20/16 and 20/160 were studied. Spectral domain-OCT or simultaneous OCT scans were taken as color fundus photographs (35°) of each eye. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visions were also recorded. The full AREDS score excluding late-stage AMD was determined by agreement between two trained observers. Drusen volume was determined by examination of a series of 96 spectral domain-OCT scans taken from arcade to arcade for a length of 6 mm. The volume was determined by calculating the drusen area in each scan and determining the drusen volume by calculating the effective volume of each cut using National Institutes of Health Image J. Drusen were identified and outlined manually, not using an automated algorithm. Results: There was a strong and significant correlation between drusen volume and AREDS-determined drusen area (P < 0.0001, r = 0.78). In addition, there was a correlation between AREDS classification and drusen volume (P = 0.023, r = 0.43) as determined by pairwise correlation. Conclusion: Drusen volume as determined by spectral domain-OCT correlates with AREDS-determined drusen area and AREDS grade in nonexudative AMD. The correlation is not perfect, however, because drusen area and volume average 40% and 82% of the variation, respectively. Drusen volume can provide additional information in grading the severity of eyes with dry AMD.
Is Wildlife Fertility Control Always Humane?

Simple Summary There are various fertility control methods (modalities) currently available that aim to reduce the abundance of problematic free-ranging mammalian wildlife. Here, we propose that dissimilarities in the mechanism of action indicate these methods produce great variation in animal welfare outcomes. We present a framework to assist managers in minimising animal welfare risks. Abstract Investigation of fertility control techniques to reduce reproductive rates in wildlife populations has been the source of much research. Techniques targeting wildlife fertility have been diverse. Most research into fertility control methods has focused upon efficacy, with few studies rigorously assessing animal welfare beyond opportunistic anecdote. However, fertility control techniques represent several very different mechanisms of action (modalities), each with their own different animal welfare risks. We provide a review of the mechanisms of action for fertility control methods, and consider the role of manipulation of reproductive hormones (“endocrine suppression”) for the long-term ability of animals to behave normally. We consider the potential welfare costs of animal manipulation techniques that are required to administer fertility treatments, including capture, restraint, surgery and drug delivery, and the requirement for repeated administration within the lifetime of an animal. We challenge the assumption that fertility control modalities generate similar and desirable animal welfare outcomes, and we argue that knowledge of reproductive physiology and behaviour should be more adeptly applied to wild animal management decisions. We encourage wildlife managers to carefully assess long-term behavioural risks, associated animal handling techniques, and the importance of positive welfare states when selecting fertility control methods as a means of population control.
Anti-C 1 q antibodies antedate patent active glomerulonephritis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Introduction Autoantibodies against C1q correlate with lupus nephritis. We compared titers of anti-C1q and anti-dsDNA in 70 systemic lupus erythematosus patients with (n = 15) or without (n = 55) subsequent biopsy-proven lupus nephritis. Methods The 15 patients with subsequent lupus nephritis had anti-C1q assays during clinical flares (mean Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), 10.0 ± 4.7; range, 3 to 22) before the diagnosis of lupus nephritis (median, 24 months; range 3 to 192). Among the 55 others, 33 patients had active lupus (mean SLEDAI, 10.3 ± 6.2; range, 4 to 30) without renal disease during follow-up (median 13 years; range 2 to 17 years) and 22 had inactive lupus (mean SLEDAI, 0; range, 0 to 3). Results Anti-C1q titers were elevated in 15/15 (100%) patients who subsequently developed nephritis (class IV, n = 14; class V, n = 1) and in 15/33 (45%) patients without renal disease (P < 0.001). The median anti-C1q titer differed significantly between the groups (P = 0.003). Anti-C1q titers were persistently positive at the time of glomerulonephritis diagnosis in 70% (7/10) of patients, with no difference in titers compared with pre-nephritis values (median, 147 U/ml; interquartile range (IQR), 69 to 213 versus 116 U/ml; 50 to 284, respectively). Titers decreased after 6 months' treatment with immunosuppressive drugs and corticosteroids (median, 76 U/ ml; IQR, 33 to 106) but remained above normal in 6/8 (75%) patients. Anti-dsDNA antibodies were increased in 14/15 (93.3%) patients with subsequent nephritis and 24/33 (72.7%) patients without nephritis (P = ns). Anti-C1q did not correlate with anti-dsDNA or the SLEDAI in either group. Conclusions Anti-C1q elevation had 50% positive predictive value (15/30) and 100% (18/18) negative predictive value for subsequent class IV or V lupus nephritis. Introduction Active proliferative glomerulonephritis is a serious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that may exist at disease onset or may develop later on during a flare. Clinical nephritis develops in about 50% of patients with SLE. Early diagnosis and rapid treatment of lupus nephritis are crucial to improving survival in SLE patients [1]. The prognostic significance of lupus nephritis indicates a need for identifying early biomarkers that predict nephritis development [2-4]. A major pathogenic hypothesis is that SLE involves defective renal clearance of immune complexes. Among immunological parameters, consumption of the early components of the classical complement pathway, such as C1q and C4, is strongly associated with the development of active SLE [5]. Low C1q levels, although occasionally caused by a rare genetic abnormality, are usually related to consumption by immune complexes such as dsDNA–anti-dsDNA or nucleosomes– antinucleosomes [6,7]. Another cause of low C1q levels is the presence of anti-C1q antibodies with the formation of C1q/ anti-C1q immune complexes [8]. Anti-C1q antibodies have
Kinesthetic cues aid spatial memory

We are interestind in building and evaluating human computer interfaces that make information more memorable. Psychology research informs us that humans access memories through cues, or "memory hooks," acquired at the time we learn the information. In this paper, we show that kinesthetic cues, or the awareness of parts of our body's position with respect to itself or to the environment, are useful for recalling the positions of objects in space. We report a user study demonstrating a 19% increase in spatial memory for information controlled with a touchscreen, which provides direct kinesthetic cues, as compared to a standard mouse interface. We also report results indicating that females may benefit more than males from using the touchscreen device.
DESIGN, FORMULATION, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF LIPOSOMAL-ENCAPSULATED GEL FOR TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY OF FLUCONAZOLE

Objectives: The present objective for the study was to prepare proliposomal gel bearing an antifungal agent, fluconazole (FLZ) intended for topical application.Methods: Various proliposome formulations were prepared using thin-film hydration technique by varying the lipid phase composition (phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol). Proliposome formulations were characterized for vesicle size, vesicle size distribution, vesicle morphology, drug content, entrapment efficiency, percentage yield value, storage stability analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), in vitro diffusion study, release kinetic studies, and antifungal activity. Topical proliposomal gels were prepared by incorporation of lyophilized proliposome into a structured vehicle carbopol 934 (2.5%). Results: A spherical shape of reconstituted FLZ liposome with an average vesicle about 5â€“8 I¼m was observed in photomicrographs. The percentage entrapment of drug was increased with increase in phospholipid composition in the range of 55. 13â€“69.61%. The FTIR and DSC studies showed no possible drug-excipient interaction. Proliposomal gel showed the prolonged release of FLZ than the lyophilized liposomes. The release kinetic values of regression coefficients confirmed the diffusion-dependent release of the drug. Stability studies indicated that product is stable and should be stored at low temperature.Conclusion: The proposed FLZ proliposomal gel showed sustained release with enhanced antifungal activity implicating its potential in effective transdermal delivery for the topical pharmacotherapy.
Investigation For Shrinkage Deformation In The Desktop 3D Printer Process By Using DOE Approach Of The ABS Materials

Nowadays, 3D printing (3DP) has become a popular personal approach as it being able to produce a product more quickly and increased accessibility. 3DP was also known as Rapid Prototyping (RP) where it builds three-dimensional (3D) products using layer by layer method from a Computer Aided Design (CAD) files. However, dimensional accuracy (DA) was one of the major problems of these technologies. Thus, it is important to evaluate the best parameter in order to find out the best adjustment to avoid the dimensional error. The objectives of this study were to find the best parameter setting and to evaluate the influence of the changing parameter in 3D part shrinkage error. This study only focused on desktop 3D printer machines, which was the Odyssex Designex X2 and the material used was Acrylonitrile Butadiene Stryrene (ABS). In investigate which factors that most significant to shrinkage, DOE approach was used with parameters such as layer thickness (LT), nozzle temperature (NT), print speed (PS), infill density (ID) and bed temperature (BT). Minitab software has been used for analysis purposes. The significant process parameter effect and the best setting of parameter were determined from ANOVA, Main Effect Plot (MEP) and regression method. Finally, from the results of this study, BT was the most significant effect to shrinkage (SK) and the best setting for achieving less value in SK in ABS materials was LT = 0.25mm, NT = 235°C, PS = 55mm/s, ID = 25% and BT = 100°C. The validation runs was conducted based on the best setting value and it shows that the different between predicted value and actual value was 2.56%. This means that the model was reasonably accurate and the best parameter setting was highly recommended. The results also proved the quality of products was improved by using the DOE approach.
A robust geometry estimation method for spiral, sequential and circular cone-beam micro-CT.

PURPOSE The authors propose a novel method for misalignment estimation of micro-CT scanners using an adaptive genetic algorithm. METHODS The proposed algorithm is able to estimate the rotational geometry, the direction vector of table movement and the displacement between different imaging threads of a dual source or even multisource scanner. The calibration procedure does not rely on dedicated calibration phantoms and a sequence scan of a single metal bead is sufficient to geometrically calibrate the whole imaging system for spiral, sequential, and circular scan protocols. Dual source spiral and sequential scan protocols in micro-computed tomography result in projection data that-besides the source and detector positions and orientations-also require a precise knowledge of the table direction vector to be reconstructed properly. If those geometric parameters are not known accurately severe artifacts and a loss in spatial resolution appear in the reconstructed images as long as no geometry calibration is performed. The table direction vector is further required to ensure that consecutive volumes of a sequence scan can be stitched together and to allow the reconstruction of spiral data at all. RESULTS The algorithm's performance is evaluated using simulations of a micro-CT system with known geometry and misalignment. To assess the quality of the algorithm in a real world scenario the calibration of a micro-CT scanner is performed and several reconstructions with and without geometry estimation are presented. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that the algorithm successfully estimates all geometry parameters, misalignment artifacts in the reconstructed volumes vanish, and the spatial resolution is increased as can be shown by the evaluation of modulation transfer function measurements.
A critique on the theory of ® nancial intermediation

This comment discusses the review by Franklin Allen and Anthony Santomero of the theory of ®nancial intermediation in the 20th anniversary special issue of the Journal of Banking and Finance. We do not fully agree with their view that risk management is only of recent importance to the ®nancial industry and with putting central the concept of participation costs. We suggest how the theory of ®nancial intermediation might be developed further in order to understand present-day phenomena in the ®nancial services sector. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classi®cation: E51; G10; G20; L23
Experimental and simulation study on the effect of geometrical and flow parameters for combined-hole film cooling

Film cooling method was applied to the turbine blades to provide thermal protection from high turbine inlet temperatures in modern gas turbines. Recent literature discovers that combining two cylindrical holes of film cooling is one of the ways to further enhance the film cooling performances. In the present study, a batch of simulations and experiments involving two cylindrical holes with opposite compound angle were carried out and this two cylindrical hole also known as combined-hole film cooling. The main objective of this study is to determine the influence of different blowing ratio, M with a combination of different lateral distance between cooling holes (PoD), a streamwise distance between cooling holes (LoD) and compound angle of cooling hole (γ1/γ2) on the film cooling performance. The simulation of the present study had been carried out by using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) with application of Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model analysis from ANSYS CFX. Meanwhile, the experimental approach makes used of open end wind tunnel and the temperature distributions were measured by using infrared thermography camera. The purpose of the experimental approach in the present study is to validate three cases from all cases considered in the simulation approach. As the results shown, the lateral coverage was observed to be increased as PoD and γ1/γ2 increased due to the interaction between two cooling air ejected from both cooling holes. Meanwhile, film cooling performance insignificantly changed when different LoD was applied. As the conclusion, a combination of the different geometrical parameters with various flow parameters produced a pattern of results. Therefore, the best configuration has been determined based on the average area of film cooling effectiveness. For M = 0.5, PoD = 1.0, LoD = 2.5 and γ1 / γ2 = -45°/+45° case is the most effective configuration. In the case of M = 1.0 and M = 1.5, PoD = 0.0, LoD = 3.5, γ1 / γ2 = -45°/+45° and PoD = 0.0, LoD = 2.5, γ1 / γ2 = -45°/+30° are the best configurations based on the overall performance of film cooling.
Quantification of Brain Voriconazole Levels in Healthy Adults Using Fluorine Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

ABSTRACT Voriconazole is more effective for aspergillosis infections with central nervous system involvement than other antifungal agents. The clinical efficacy of voriconazole for central nervous system infections has been attributed to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. However, pharmacokinetic studies are limited to plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, so it remains unclear how much of the drug enters the brain. Fluorinated compounds such as voriconazole can be quantified in the brain using fluorine-19 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Twelve healthy adult males participated in a pharmacokinetic analysis of voriconazole levels in the brain and plasma. Open-label voriconazole was dosed per clinical protocol with a loading dose of 400 mg every 12 h on day 1, followed by 200 mg every 12 h administered orally over a 3-day period. MRS was performed before and after dosing on the third day. Voriconazole levels in the brain exceeded the MIC for Aspergillus. The brain/plasma ratios were 3.0 at steady state on day 3 (predose) and 1.9 postdose. We found that voriconazole is able to penetrate the brain tissue, which can be quantified using a noninvasive MRS technique. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT00300677.)
Finite Model Reasoning in Expressive Fragments of First-Order Logic

Over the past two decades several fragments of first-order logic have been identified and shown to have good computational and algorithmic properties, to a great extent as a result of appropriately describing the image of the standard translation of modal logic to first-order logic. This applies most notably to the guarded fragment, where quantifiers are appropriately relativized by atoms, and the fragment defined by restricting the number of variables to two. The aim of this talk is to review recent work concerning these fragments and their popular extensions. When presenting the material special attention is given to decision procedures for the finite satisfiability problems, as many of the fragments discussed contain infinity axioms. We highlight most effective techniques used in this context, their advantages and limitations. We also mention a few open directions of study.
Synthesis of rGO/nanoclay/PVK nanocomposites, electrochemical performances of supercapacitors

ABSTRACT In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was chemically reacted with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) to form reduced graphene oxide (rGO). rGO, Montmorillonite nanoclay, and polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) were used to form a ternary nanocomposite via chemical reaction. These nanocomposite qualities were described via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated transmission reflectance (FTIR-ATR). In addition, these materials were used in supercapacitor device as an active material to test electrochemical performances via cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The rGO/nanoclay/PVK nanocomposite shows significantly improved specific capacitance (Csp = 168.64 Fg−1) compared to that of rGO (Csp = 63.26 Fg−1) at the scan rate of 10 mVs−1 by CV method. The enhanced capacitance results in high power density (P = 5522.6 Wkg−1) and energy density (E = 28.84 Whkg−1) capabilities of the rGO/nanoclay/PVK nanocomposite material. The addition of nanoclay and PVK increased the specific capacitance of rGO material due to a dopant effect for supercapacitor studies. Ragone plots were drawn to observe energy and power density of supercapacitor devices. The Csp of rGO/nanoclay/PVK nanocomposite has only 86.4% of initial capacitance for charge/discharge performances obtained by CV method for 5000 cycles. Graphical Abstract