Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Theoretical and Experimental Studies on the Signal Propagation in Soil for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks

Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSNs), an important part of Internet of things (IoT), have many promising applications in various scenarios. Signal transmission in natural soil undergoes path loss due to absorption, radiation, reflection and scattering. The variability and dynamic of soil conditions and complexity of signal attenuation behavior make the accurate estimation of signal path loss challenging. Two existing propagation models for predicting path loss are reviewed and compared. Friis model does not consider the reflection loss and is only applicable in the far field region. The Fresnel model, only applicable in the near field region, has not considered the radiating loss and wavelength change loss. A new two stage model is proposed based on the field characteristics of antenna and considers four sources of path loss. The two stage model has a different coefficient m in the near field and far field regions. The far field distance of small size antenna is determined by three criteria: 2 D2/λ, 5 D, 1.6 λ in the proposed model. The proposed two stage model has a better agreement with the field experiment data compared to Friis and Fresnel models. The coefficient m is dependent on the soil types for the proposed model in near field region. It is observed from experiment data that the m value is in the range of 0~0.20 for sandy soils and 0.433~0.837 for clayey silt.
Neither mycorrhizal inoculation nor atmospheric CO2 concentration has strong effects on pea root production and root loss.

• Root responses to elevated CO2 concentrations, where nutrient demand was expected to be higher than at ambient CO2 , and possible interactions with mycorrhizal symbionts are reported for pea (Pisum sativum). These are important below-ground components affecting carbon flow into the soil. • A video-minirhizotron system was used to study root growth in pot-grown mycorrhizal (inoculated with Glomus caledonium) and nonmycorrhizal pea plants at ambient or elevated CO2 concentrations over 9 wk. Analyses were made of root length changes, cohort size and survivorship. • Root length production at ambient, but not at elevated CO2 , was higher in nonmycorrhizal than in mycorrhizal plants from week 4-7. Root loss began at week 5, peaking 2 wk later with 40-50% loss of the root length produced by week 8. The decline in root production and increase in root loss coincided with the onset of flowering. • Neither mycorrhizal inoculation nor CO2 concentration has a strong effect on pea root production and root loss, although mycorrhizal infection has a greater effect than CO2 .
Sympathetic neural abnormalities in type 1 and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Microneurographic recordings of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) have shown that sympathetic activation may characterize diabetes mellitus. However, it is recognized that comorbidities and metabolic abnormalities frequently associated with both type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) diabetes affect MSNA, generating potential confounding effects and making the association between sympathetic activation and diabetes mellitus still a controversial matter. METHODS The present meta-analysis evaluated 11 microneurographic studies enrolling 314 diabetes mellitus patients and healthy controls, and MSNA was chosen as the main variable of interest. Collection of the data included indirect adrenergic markers such as heart rate and venous plasma noradrenaline, together with hemodynamic, anthropometric and metabolic variables. RESULTS A total of 11 microneurographic studies were evaluated including 314 diabetes mellitus patients and controls. Diabetes mellitus displayed MSNA significantly greater than controls (mean difference amounting to 8.1, 95% confidence interval 1.21-15.08, P < 0.05). This difference was ascribed to T2DM, since T1DM patients displayed MSNA values superimposable to controls. In T2DM MSNA was directly related to age (r = 0.83, β = 0.82, P < 0.04) and plasma insulin (r = 1.00, β = 2.25, P < 0.01) but not to other variables. CONCLUSION T2DM-related sympathetic activation is detectable even when obesity, hypertension and metabolic syndrome are excluded; not found in T1DM; not associated with anthropometric and hemodynamic variables; and related to plasma insulin.
Reasons for Not Attending Cervical Cancer Screening and Associated Factors in Rural Ethiopia

Social, economic, and cultural factors have been associated with the level of participation in cervical cancer screening programs. This study identified factors associated with nonparticipation in cervical cancer screening, as well as reasons for not attending, in the context of a population-based, cluster-randomized trial in Ethiopia. A total of 2,356 women aged 30 to 49 years in 22 clusters were invited to receive one of two screening approaches, namely human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling or visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Participants and nonparticipants were analyzed according to their sociodemographic and economic characteristics. Reasons were determined for the refusal of women to participate in either screening method. More women in the VIA arm compared to the HPV arm declined participation in the screening [adjusted OR (AOR) 3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.6–4.8]. Women who declined attending screening were more often living in rural areas (AOR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1–3.5) and were engaged in informal occupations (AOR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1–2.4). The majority of nonattendants perceived themselves to be at no risk of cervical cancer (83.1%). The main reasons given for not attending screening for both screening approaches were lack of time to attend screening, self-assertion of being healthy, and fear of screening. We found that perceived time constraints and the perception of being at no risk of getting the disease were the most important barriers to screening. Living in rural settings and informal occupation were also associated with lower participation. Offering a swift and convenient screening service could increase the participation of women in cervical cancer screening at the community level.
Management of Choledochal Cysts at a Tertiary Care Centre: A Nine-Year Experience from India

Background Although choledochal cyst disease is seen predominantly in childhood, it is becomingly increasingly diagnosed in adult patients. Methods Data of 36 patients with choledochal cysts managed in our institute between January 2010 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Median age at presentation was 37 years (range: 13–72 years). Female-to-male ratio was 3.5 : 1. All patients were symptomatic, and abdominal pain was the most common symptom. 72.2% had other associated conditions. There was a considerable delay from the onset of symptoms to referral, median duration being 348 days. There were 28 cases of type I (77.8%), 5 cases of type IVA (13.9%), and 3 cases of type IVB (8.3%). Cyst excision with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy was performed in 29 (80.55%) cases. This procedure was combined with a left lateral sectionectomy, left hepatectomy, and radical cholecystectomy in 1, 2, and 1 cases, respectively. Lilly's technique was used in 2 cases, and cyst excision with hepaticoduodenostomy was performed in 1 case. Early complications were seen in 21 patients (58.3%), and late complications were seen in 5 patients (13.8%). 2 patients were found to have associated malignancies. One patient was detected to have cholangiocarcinoma in the resected liver incidentally, and another patient was diagnosed to have gall bladder cancer intraoperatively. Conclusion Choledochal cysts should be considered in the differential diagnosis of adults presenting with epigastric or right hypochondrium pain or jaundice. A thorough preoperative evaluation is required. Cyst excision with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy forms the standard treatment in most cases. Long-term follow-up is essential for management of complications and early detection of malignant change.
Interpretable Complex Question Answering

We will review cross-community co-evolution of question answering (QA) with the advent of large-scale knowledge graphs (KGs), continuous representations of text and graphs, and deep sequence analysis. Early QA systems were information retrieval (IR) systems enhanced to extract named entity spans from high-scoring passages. Starting with WordNet, a series of structured curations of language and world knowledge, called KGs, enabled further improvements. Corpus is unstructured and messy to exploit for QA. If a question can be answered using the KG alone, it is attractive to ‘interpret’ the free-form question into a structured query, which is then executed on the structured KG. This process is called KGQA. Answers can be high-quality and explainable if the KG has an answer, but manual curation results in low coverage. KGs were soon found useful to harness corpus information. Named entity mention spans could be tagged with fine-grained types (e.g., scientist), or even specific entities (e.g., Einstein). The QA system can learn to decompose a query into functional parts, e.g., “which scientist” and “played the violin”. With increasing success of such systems, ambition grew to address multi-hop or multi-clause queries, e.g., “the father of the director of La La Land teaches at which university? ” or “who directed an award-winning movie and is the son of a Princeton University professor? ” Questions limited to simple path traversals in KGs have been encoded to a vector representation, which a decoder then uses to guide the KG traversal. Recently the corpus counterpart of such strategies has also been proposed. However, for general multi-clause queries that do not necessarily translate to paths, and seek to bind multiple variables to satisfy multiple clauses, or involve logic, comparison, aggregation and other arithmetic, neural programmer-interpreter systems have seen some success. Our key focus will be on identifying situations where manual introduction of structural bias is essential for accuracy, as against cases where sufficient data can get around distant or no supervision.
Joint line elevation and tibial slope are associated with increased polyethylene wear in cruciate‐retaining total knee replacement

The purpose of this retrieval study was to determine the effect of implant positioning on wear, taking patient‐related factors into account. Therefore, the volumetric material loss of 59 retrieved tibial liners was quantitatively determined using a coordinate measuring‐machine. All retrievals were made of the same polyethylene and design by a single manufacturer. Using time in‐situ and linear regression, a wear rate for each liner was determined and corrected for bedding‐in. Backside damage was qualitatively scored. The following implant positioning parameters were obtained from radiographs: anatomical lateral‐distal femoral angle, anatomical medial‐proximal tibial angle, femoral tilt angle, and posterior tibial slope. The patella position was assessed by the Blackburne‐Peel index and the Insall‐Salvati ratio. Unlike the Insall‐Salvati ratio, the Blackburne‐Peel index is known to detect surgical joint line elevation. Using general linear modeling the most impactful factors on wear rate and backside damage was determined, thereby taking patient demographic factors into account. The mean volumetric wear rate was 11.6 mm3/y. Wear decreased with older age (P = .021) and female sex (P = .001). The wear rate increased with joint line elevation as indicated from a decreased Blackburne‐Peel index (P = .019), and increased with increased posterior tibial slope (P = .026). The backside damage score also increased with joint line elevation (P = .036). A Blackburne‐Peel index decrease of 0.1, signifying joint line elevation, was found to increase the wear rate by 1.8 mm3/y and increase back‐sided wear. A high tibial slope (>7°) led to a 9.3 mm3/y increase in wear rate compared with a low tibial slope (<3°). The results of this study demonstrate that tibial liner positioning has a significant impact on polyethylene wear with potential implications on osteolysis over time.
IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE FIBERS

Mammalian skeletal muscle fibers have several types of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms. Immunohistochemical techniques enable us to identify the MHC isoform type in a single muscle fiber, i.e., MHCI, MHCIIa, MHCIIx, or MHCIIb. In addition, hybrid single fibers having more than one MHC isoform type can be classified using immunohistochemistry. The presence of different MHC isoform(s) in a single fiber correlates with the maximal contractile velocity and the enzyme histochemical reaction of the myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase. The adaptive response of the skeletal muscle is the basis of the fiber-type transformation depending on the phenotypic expression pattern in several MHC isoforms. In this review article, we address the availability of the monoclonal antibodies which recognize specific MHC isoform(s) in a single fiber.
Oxygen therapy alleviates hepatic steatosis by inhibiting hypoxia-inducible factor-2α.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is difficult to manage due to the lack of effective treatments. Increased oxygen consumption caused by overnutrition, along with reduced oxygen delivery to liver cells induces hepatic steatosis. Here, we investigated the efficacy of oxygen therapy (OT) to alleviate hepatic steatosis. The effect of OT on hepatic steatosis was evaluated in high-fat-diet (HFD)-fed mice and palmitic acid (PA)-treated primary hepatocytes. Liver biopsy tissue samples were used to determine the relationship between the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) and the progression of NAFLD. The role of HIF-2α in the OT group was determined based on the overexpression of HIF-2α in vitro. OT safely alleviated hepatic hypoxia and improved hepatic steatosis by inhibiting hepatic de novo lipogenesis in HFD-fed mice and PA-treated primary hepatocytes, and this was accompanied by reduced expression of HIF-2α and hepatic de novo lipogenesis. The analysis of liver tissues from individuals with or without NAFLD revealed a positive correlation between hepatic HIF-2α expression and NAFLD progression. Overexpression of HIF-2α in vitro inhibited the beneficial effect of OT against hepatic lipogenesis and steatosis. OT might be a viable treatment option for NAFLD and functions by alleviating hypoxia and inhibiting the liver HIF-2α signalling pathway.
Calculated initial parenteral treatment of bacterial infections: Skin and soft tissue infections

This is the ninth chapter of the guideline “Calculated Parenteral Initial Therapy of Adult Bacterial Disorders – Update 2018” in the 2nd updated version. The German guideline by the Paul-Ehrlich-Gesellschaft für Chemotherapie e.V. (PEG) has been translated to address an international audience. The chapter contains the first German S2k guidelines for bacterial skin and soft tissue infections. They encompass recommendations on diagnosis and treatment of the defined entities erysipelas (caused by beta-hämolytic streptococci), limited superficial cellulitis (S. aureus), severe cellulitis, abscess, complicated skin and soft tissue infections, infections of feet in diabetic patients (“diabetic foot”), necrotizing soft tissue infection and bite injuries.
Postnatal Ethanol-Induced Neurodegeneration Involves CB1R-Mediated β-Catenin Degradation in Neonatal Mice

Alcohol consumption by pregnant women may produce neurological abnormalities that affect cognitive processes in children and are together defined as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). However, the molecular underpinnings are still poorly defined. In our earlier studies, we found that ethanol exposure of postnatal day 7 (P7) mice significantly induced widespread neurodegeneration mediated via endocannabinoids (eCBs)/cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R). In the current study, we examined changes in the β-catenin protein levels that are involved in the regulation of neuronal function including neuronal death and survival. We found that moderate- and high-dose postnatal ethanol exposure (PEE) significantly reduced active-β-catenin (ABC) (non-phosphorylated form) protein levels in the hippocampus (HP) and neocortex (NC). In addition, we found that moderate- and high-dose PEE significantly increased the phosphorylated-β-catenin (p-β-catenin)/ABC ratios in the HP and NC. Antagonism/null mutation of CB1R before PEE to inhibit CC3 production mitigated the loss of ABC protein levels. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that the CB1R/β-catenin signaling mechanism causes neurodegeneration in neonatal mouse brains following PEE.
Bone Diseases: Current Approach and Future Perspectives in Drug Delivery Systems for Bone Targeted Therapeutics

Bone diseases include a wide group of skeletal-related disorders that cause mobility limitations and mortality. In some cases, e.g., in osteosarcoma (OS) and metastatic bone cancer, current treatments are not fully effective, mainly due to low patient compliance and to adverse side effects. To overcome these drawbacks, nanotechnology is currently under study as a potential strategy allowing specific drug release kinetics and enhancing bone regeneration. Polymers, ceramics, semiconductors, metals, and self-assembled molecular complexes are some of the most used nanoscale materials, although in most cases their surface properties need to be tuned by chemical or physical reactions. Among all, scaffolds, nanoparticles (NPs), cements, and hydrogels exhibit more advantages than drawbacks when compared to other nanosystems and are therefore the object of several studies. The aim of this review is to provide information about the current therapies of different bone diseases focusing the attention on new discoveries in the field of targeted delivery systems. The authors hope that this paper could help to pursue further directions about bone targeted nanosystems and their application for bone diseases and bone regeneration.
SNAI1-Driven Sequential EMT Changes Attributed by Selective Chromatin Enrichment of RAD21 and GRHL2

Over two decades of research on cancer-associated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) led us to ascertain the occurrence of transitional intermediate states (collectively referred to as the EMT spectrum). Among the molecular factors that drive EMT, SNAI1 plays an indispensable role in regulating other core transcription factors, and this regulation is highly context-dependent. However, molecular investigation on this context-dependent regulation is still lacking. Using two ovarian cancer cell lines, we show that SNAI1 regulation on other core EMT-TFs switches from a repressive control in highly epithelial cells to an activation signaling in intermediate epithelial cells. Upon further scrutiny, we identify that the expression of early epithelial genes PERP and ERBB3 are differentially regulated in SNAI1-induced sequential EMT changes. Mechanistically, we show that changes in PERP and ERBB3 transcript levels could be correlated to the selective enrichment loss of RAD21, a cohesin component, at the distal enhancer sites of PERP and ERBB3, which precedes that of the proximal promoter-associated sites. Furthermore, the RAD21 enrichment at the distal enhancer sites is dependent on GRHL2 expression. In a nutshell, the alteration of GRHL2-associated RAD21 enrichment in epithelial genes is crucial to redefine the transition of cellular states along the EMT spectrum.
Palliative electrochemotherapy in primary or recurrent vulvar cancer

Objective Since vulvar cancer is such a rare disease, the international experience with electrochemotherapy has been derived from only a few centers. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcome and side effects profile with the use of electrochemotherapy in patients with primary or recurrent vulvar cancer. Methods Data were retrospectively collected from November 2017 to November 2019 in two major Italian oncologic institutes: Regina Elena Institute and Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS. Electrochemotherapy was offered in a palliative setting to patients with a primary or recurrent vulvar cancer who were not candidates for surgery or any other treatment, because of poor performance status or previous delivered treatments. All patients underwent general anesthesia. Electrical pulses were delivered using a pulse generator. Intravenous bleomycin was administered in conjunction with electrochemotherapy. Follow-up examinations were performed at 1, 3, and 6 months. Primary endpoint was to assess the response rate of electrochemotherapy as palliative treatment in patients with vulvar cancer. Results A total of 15 patients were included in the study. Fourteen patients (93.3%) had a squamous cell carcinoma and one patient had vulvar carcinosarcoma. Ten patients (66.7 %) had a single lesion and 5 patients (33.3%) had multiple lesions. Median number of electrical pulses was 22 (range 3–42) and median operative time was 13 (range 7–20) min. No intra-procedure complications occurred. One patient had pneumonia during their post-operative stay. Overall response rate after 1 month was 80%. At the 3-month follow-up, 3 patients (20%) had disease progression, 3 patients (20%) had died from ongoing disease, 1 patient (6.7%) died for other reasons, whereas the other patients maintained their 1-month clinical response. A total of 8/13 patients (61.5%) were alive at 6-month follow-up, whereas 6/12 patients (50%) were alive at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions Electrochemotherapy is a feasible, easy to perform, and reproducible procedure in patients with primary or recurrent vulvar cancer who are unable to undergo surgery. Survival after 1 year in this population was 50%. Electrochemotherapy may have a role in the management of vulvar cancer, especially as palliative treatment when other therapies are no longer applicable.
Kinetics on the DPPH· reaction with hydroalcoholic extracts from various pomegranate parts

In the present study the antioxidant activity and kinetics on DPPH· (2,2-diphenyl-1-pycryl-hydrazyl) reaction in the presence of hydroalcoholic extracts from various pomegranate parts have been investigated. Pomegranate, the fruit of the small three Punica granatum L. , is extensively used for obtaining food products, especially juices and alcoholic drinks, also having curative properties due to the presence of polyphenolic compounds and vitamin C. Pomegranate extracts were obtained from various fruit parts such as red or white internal shell, pulp, seeds and whole fruit, using ethanol 96% as solvent or the raw juice, at room temperature. The kinetic of the DPPH· reaction in the presence of pomegranate extracts (diluted at 1:50 and 1:100) was determined spectrophotometrically, measuring the variation of the absorbance at 518 nm during fifteen minutes. Consequently, the variation of DPPH· concentration during the reaction was determined using a calibration curve for the free radical. The mean DPPH· reaction rates were obtained for the pseudolinear intervals of 030 s, 30-90 s and 90-900 s. The mean DPPH· reaction rate for the first interval had values in a wide range of 0.17-3.03 μM/s, with maximum values for pomegranate red shell and pulp extracts and the lowest ones for seeds extracts. On the other hand, the corresponding values for the second interval were in a narrow range of 0.05-0.6 μM/s, with the same observation for the lowest values for pomegranate seeds extracts. The antioxidant activity of these extracts were significantly higher for the pomegranate red and white internal shell extracts, as well as for the pulp extracts (46.9-54.9%), in comparison with the pomegranate juice samples (7.9-18.4%) and only 3.9-5.1% for the seeds extracts, after 11⁄2 minutes of evaluation by DPPH· method. This study demonstrates the value of the pomegranate red and internal white shell (generally considered as waste) from the antioxidant activity point of view and suggest the recovery and reutilization of such by-products in the food, pharmaceutical or cosmetic fields.