Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Trans-Tenon Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection on Intraocular Pressure in Diffuse Diabetic Macular Edema (*)

Objectives: We evaluated the intraocular pressure (IOP) after trans-Tenon retrobulbar injections of triamcinolone acetonide (TTTA) in patients with with diffuse diabetic macular edema. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 30 eyes of 21 consecutive patients (12 females, 9 males; mean age 63.7aplusmn;6.92 years; range 49 to 77 years) who received a single dose of 20 mg TTTA injection for diffuse diabetic macular edema. Intraocular pressures were evaluated before and one week, one month, and three months after the injection. Results: Elevation of the IOP occurred only during the first week after TTTA injections. These rises returned to normal values with topical antiglaucoma medications. Improvements in visual acuity were significant at one month and three months. Conclusion: It was concluded that single-dose 20 mg TTTA injection was a safe and effective treatment in diffuse diabetic macular edema. Turkish Baslik: Diffuz Diyabetik Makuler Odemde Trans-Tenon Triamsinolon Asetonid Enjeksiyonu'nun Gozici Basinci Uzerine Etkisi Anahtar Kelimeler: Diyabetik retinopati/ilac tedavisi; enjeksiyon; makuler odem/ilac tedavisi; okuler hipertansiyon; triamsinolon asetonid/terapotik kullanim; gorme keskinligi Amac: Diffuz diyabetik makuler odemli hastalarda trans-Tenon retrobulber triamsinolon asetonid (TTTA) enjeksiyonu sonrasi gozici basinci degerlendirildi. Hastalar ve Yontemler: Bu retrospektif calismada diffuz diyabetik odem tanisi konan 21 hastanin (12 kadin, 9 erkek; ort. yas 63.7aplusmn;6.92; dagilim 49-77) 30 gozune tek doz 20 mg TTTA enjeksiyonu yapildi. Gozici basinclari, enjeksiyon oncesinde ve enjeksiyondan bir hafta, bir ay ve uc ay sonra degerlendirildi. Bulgular: Enjeksiyon sonrasi gozici basinc artisi sadece birinci haftada meydana geldi. Gozici basinc artislari, topikal antiglokomatoz tedavi ile normal degerlere dondu. Birinci ve ucuncu ayda gorme keskinliginde gozlenen artis anlamli bulundu. Sonuc: Diffuz diyabetik odemde tek doz 20 mg TTTA enjeksiyonunun guvenli ve etkili bir tedavi oldugu sonucuna varildi.
Spectral and Time-Domain Analyses of Heart-Rate Variability in Children with Severe Upper Airway Obstruction

Objective: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive index of neural activity of the heart. This study assessed the heart-rate variability response in children with severe upper airway obstruction. Material and Methods: A prospective trial was carried out in 15 children with severe adenoid and/or tonsil hypertrophy, compared to 15 age matched healthy children in order to attempt to relate such changes. Frequency domain measurements of the high and low frequency bands and the ratio low frequency/high frequency were derived from Holter electrocardiography recordings and computed by Fast Fourier analysis for five minute intervals. Time domain measurements were derived from 24 hour Holter recordings. Results: All spectral analysis of heart rate variability was altered in both preoperative and postoperative (three months after the operation) recordings compared to the control group. In both groups, time domain indices were significantly lower compared to the control group. Mean R-R values were signifi cantly reduced in pre and postoperative groups compared with control group, with the night time mean R-R values being significantly lower (pl0.05). These results indicate the increased frequency domain parameters in two groups. Conclusion: In this study, patients demonstrated altered volume loads and autonomic response. Further studies are needed to assess when such cardiac findings normalize upon relief of the upper airway obstruction.
Resource limitation and pollen source (self and outcross) affecting seed production in two louseworts, Pedicularis siphonantha and P. longiflora (Orobanchaceae)

Two animal-pollinated hermaphrodite plants, Pedicularis siphonantha and P. longiflora, have been used to investigate factors limiting seed production in natural populations. To evaluate the potential seed abortion due to resources limitation, seed development has been observed and seed count conducted twice. Seed production per capsule has been compared when flowers have been removed and in a control group. Open pollination has been investigated and pollen supplementation undertaken to estimate the possibility of pollen limitation. Results show that seed abortion is frequent. Stigmatic pollen load is significantly higher than ovule number per ovary under open pollination for both species. Additional self and outcross pollen did not affect seed production. Flower removal significantly increases seed production per capsule, which indicates that seed production of the studied species is limited by available resources. To detect differences in seed production between flowers pollinated by self and outcross pollen, hand pollination of bagged flowers has also been conducted in natural populations of the two Pedicularis species. Compared with open pollination, hand-pollinating self-pollen decreases, while outcross pollen increases seed production per capsule. Such results suggest that inbreeding depression in the two self-compatible species may also result in partial seed abortion under open pollination if mixed pollen is deposited on the stigma. Our results also suggest that pollen interference plays an important role in low female fertility in the two Pedicularis species. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005, 147, 83–89.
The Poincaré Inequality Does Not Improve with Blow-Up

Abstract For each β > 1 we construct a family Fβ of metric measure spaces which is closed under the operation of taking weak-tangents (i.e. blow-ups), and such that each element of Fβ admits a (1, P)-Poincaré inequality if and only if P > β.
Securitising Sustainability? Questioning the 'Water, Energy and Food-Security Nexus'

The water, energy and food-security nexus approach put forward by the Bonn2011 Conference highlights the need for an integrative approach towards issues of water, energy and food, and puts them under a general framework of security. While acknowledging the need for urgent solutions in terms of sustainability, the nexus approach, at the same time, makes a normative claim to tackle the needs of the poorest parts of the world population. A closer look at the underlying rationales and proposed policy instruments, however, suggests that the primary scope of the conference proceedings is not a normative one, but one that reframes the conflict between distributional justice and the needs of the world economy under the paradigm of security. Reading this slightly shifted perspective through a Foucauldian lens, we propose that security is now put forward as the key mechanism to foster a new 'green' economy, and that the needs of the poorest are, if anything at all, a secondary effect of the proposed nexus approach.
Fabrication and structural optimization of porous single-crystal α-Fe2O3 microrices for high-performance lithium-ion battery anodes

Three-dimensional (3D) porous frameworks have shown great promise in the field of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the size effects of 3D porous frameworks on the structural and functional optimization are rarely reported. Herein, porous single-crystal α-Fe2O3 microrices synthesized through a facile one-pot hydrothermal method have been developed as a model system to investigate the correlations between the pore structure and LIB performance. A top-down chemical etching method was used to control the pore size and porosity of α-Fe2O3 microrices simultaneously over a wide range. α-Fe2O3 porous microrices were further coated with carbon to stabilize the structure. Electrochemical characterization shows that the increase of the pore size and total porosity leads to a higher specific capacity but poorer cycling performance. Carbon coating on the surface of α-Fe2O3 microrices significantly enhances the structural stability of particles and improves the cyclability of batteries. The obtained α-Fe2O3@C porous microrices exhibit a high capacity of ∼1107 mA h g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1, 83% capacity retention after 100 cycles and an excellent rate capability, which are among the best ones reported so far for α-Fe2O3 electrodes. Our results provide a general structural optimization strategy for porous oxides for high performance LIB anodes.
Radiation Therapy Medical Physics Review – Delivery, Interactions, Safety, Feasibility, and Head to Head Comparisons of the Leading Radiation Therapy Techniques

Radiation therapy uses high energy radiation to kill cancer cells1. Radiation therapy for cancer treatment can take the form of photon therapy (using x-rays and gamma rays), or charged particle therapy including proton therapy and electron therapy. Within these categories, numerous methods of delivery have been developed. For example, a certain type of radiation can be administered by a machine outside of the body, called external-beam radiation therapy, or by a “seed” placed inside of the body near cancer cells, called internal radiation therapy or brachytherapy2. Approximately half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy, and the form of radiation treatment depends on the type of tumor, location of the tumor, available resources, and characteristics of the individual receiving treatment3. In the current paper, we discuss and review the various forms of radiation therapy, the physics behind these treatments, the effectiveness of each treatment type compared with the others, the latest research on radiation therapy treatment, and future research directions. We found that proton therapy is the most promising and effective form of radiation therapy, with photon methods such as intensity modulated radiation therapy, 3D-conformal radiation therapy, image guided radiation therapy, and volumetric modulated radiation therapy also showing very good comparative performance.
On Approximations for the GI / GI / 1 Queue and Generalized Jackson Open Queueing Networks Using Indices of Dispersion

Recent robust queueing approximations for open queueing networks exploit partial characterizations of each arrival process by its rate and index of dispersion for counts (IDC), which is a scaled version of the variance-time curve. Even though only means and variances are involved, for the GI/GI/1 queue and generalized Jackson networks, where the arrival processes are renewal processes, the arrival processes are fully characterized by the rate and IDC. This provides a basis for more accurate approximations than traditional partial characterizations.
Assessing Financial Reporting Quality of Early Stage Private Companies

There are a variety of widely accepted methods that are used in order to evaluate the financial positioning of companies that are traded on stock exchanges. However, these methods that are common in the public markets do not suffice for assessing companies that are privately held. Attempting to devise an intrinsic value using anticipated cash flows is ineffective given that most companies are pre-revenue. Deriving a value based off of assets held is also inaccurate given that a young company will be in the process of capitalizing itself and more of its assets cannot be represented on a balance sheet, compared to public companies. Furthermore, the sheer lack of raw data provided by the companies in some cases can also contribute to pitfalls in valuation attempts. In addition, the lack of reliability of private companies’ financial information makes the valuation of these companies difficult. This study aims to develop a framework to assess the financial reporting quality of these early stage private companies.
The Biological Enhancement of Spinal Fusion for Spinal Degenerative Disease

In this era of aging societies, the number of elderly individuals who undergo spinal arthrodesis for various degenerative diseases is increasing. Poor bone quality and osteogenic ability in older patients, due to osteoporosis, often interfere with achieving bone fusion after spinal arthrodesis. Enhancement of bone fusion requires shifting bone homeostasis toward increased bone formation and reduced resorption. Several biological enhancement strategies of bone formation have been conducted in animal models of spinal arthrodesis and human clinical trials. Pharmacological agents for osteoporosis have also been shown to be effective in enhancing bone fusion. Cytokines, which activate bone formation, such as bone morphogenetic proteins, have already been clinically used to enhance bone fusion for spinal arthrodesis. Recently, stem cells have attracted considerable attention as a cell source of osteoblasts, promising effects in enhancing bone fusion. Drug delivery systems will also need to be further developed to assure the safe delivery of bone-enhancing agents to the site of spinal arthrodesis. Our aim in this review is to appraise the current state of knowledge and evidence regarding bone enhancement strategies for spinal fusion for degenerative spinal disorders, and to identify future directions for biological bone enhancement strategies, including pharmacological, cell and gene therapy approaches.
Uso de novas tecnologias na validação de conteúdos ministrados durante as aulas

As novas tecnologias estão contribuindo de forma ampla para inserção de mudanças significativas na sociedade em geral, alterando a forma como interagimos com as coisas e com as pessoas. No ramo educacional, essas modificações contribuíram para substanciais mudanças na forma de ensinar, e agora existe a possibilidade de os alunos validarem o conteúdo ministrado em sala de aula. Diante do exposto, o presente estudo buscou responder à seguinte indagação: Quais as percepções dos discentes do Curso de Ciências Contábeis sobre o hábito da validação do conteúdo ministrado em aulas, com o uso das novas ferramentas tecnológicas disponíveis? A pesquisa é classificada como descritiva, de levantamento e predominantemente quantitativa. Através da adoção de Survey, obtiveram-se 209 respostas válidas dos discentes do Curso Superior de Ciências Contábeis, com as quais foi possível verificar que grande parte dos entrevistados reconhece que possuem o hábito de validação do conteúdo ministrado em aulas através das novas tecnologias. Além disso, foi possível observar que grande parte dos entrevistados considera a tecnologia neutra, contudo, ainda segundo a visão deles, ela não é difundida de forma democrática. Palavras-Chave:Gestão do Conhecimento. Novas Tecnologias. Ciências Contábeis. Link:http://www.periodicos. ufpb.br/ojs2/index.php/ies/article/view/38668/pdf
A Hybrid Empirical Green’s Function Technique for Predicting Ground Motion from Induced Seismicity: Application to the Basel Enhanced Geothermal System

A method is described for the prediction of site-specific surface ground motion due to induced earthquakes occurring in predictable and well-defined source zones. The method is based on empirical Green’s functions (EGFs), determined using micro-earthquakes at sites where seismicity is being induced (e.g., hydraulic fracturing and wastewater injection during shale oil and gas extraction, CO2 sequestration, and conventional and enhanced geothermal injection). Using the EGF approach, a ground-motion field (e.g., an intensity map) can be calculated for a potentially felt induced event originating within the seismic zone. The approach allows site- and path-specific effects to be mapped into the ground-motion field, providing a local ground-motion model that accounts for wave-propagation effects without the requirement of 3D velocity models or extensive computational resources. As a test case, the ground-motion field for the mainshock (ML = 3.4, M = 3.2) resulting from the Basel Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) was simulated using only seismicity recorded prior to the event. We focussed on peak ground velocity (PGV), as this is a measure of ground motion on which Swiss norms for vibration disturbances are based. The performance of the method was significantly better than a previously developed generic ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) for induced earthquakes and showed improved performance through intrinsic inclusion of site-specific effects relative to predictions for a local GMPE. Both median motions and the site-to-site ground-motion variability were captured, leading to significantly reduced misfit relative to the generic GMPE. It was shown, however, that extrapolation beyond units of a couple of magnitude leads to significant uncertainty. The method is well suited to a real-time predictive hazard framework, for which shaking estimates are dynamically updated in light of newly recorded seismicity.
U.S. Inland Pacific Northwest Wheat Farmers’ Perceived Risks: Motivating Intentions to Adapt to Climate Change?

The Regional Approaches to Climate Change for the Pacific Northwest Agriculture (REACCH PNA) project was a USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funded effort aimed at taking a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to understanding the implications of climate change on wheat and other cereal crop production in the inland Pacific Northwest (iPNW). As part of this project, two comprehensive surveys of wheat producers were conducted in 2012/13 and 2015/16, which included questions concerning production practices, risk perception, and attitudes towards climate change adaptation and mitigation. This paper explores farmers’ anticipated adaptive responses to climate change across five different adaptation strategies, including, cropping system, crop rotation, tillage practices, soil conservation practices, and crop insurance. This research examines whether farmers anticipate making little to no change or moderate to big changes to their production system in response to climate change and whether perceived economic and environmental risks motivate farmers’ intentions to adapt to climate change. I found that a small percentage (18–28%) of respondents intend on taking moderate to big action in response to predicted climate change, across both surveys and all five adaptation strategies. Further, high levels of perceived economic and environmental risks, associated with climate change and positive attitudes towards adaptation, are motivating intentions to adapt.
A Review of Rainwater Harvesting in Malaysia: Prospects and Challenges

The mismatch between freshwater demand and its availability is a major problem that causes global water scarcity. The exploration and utilization of rainwater seem to be viable options for minimizing the aforementioned issue. This manuscript reviews the prospects and challenges of the rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) in Malaysia. Malaysia can be categorized as a country that has high annual rainfall, as well as high domestic water consumption. Thus, Malaysia is well positioned to harvest rainwater for both potable and non-potable uses. Although the RWH guidelines were issued in Malaysia in 1999, the implementation of RWHS as an alternative water resource is still very limited due to its long return on investment and poor public acceptance. Major future challenges on the implementation of RWHS in Malaysia are to achieve competitive cost, the wide application of commercial buildings, a cost effective treatment system, effective policy implementation, the application of green materials, public perception improvement, and reliable first flush technology. Some recommendations such as providing appropriate subsidies and limiting the use of piped water are necessary for implementing RWHS at wider scales.
Relaxin 2/RXFP1 Signaling Induces Cell Invasion via the β-Catenin Pathway in Endometrial Cancer

Relaxin is known to play an important role in animal pregnancies, including those of humans. It is suggested that relaxin induces aggressive cell growth and invasiveness in several types of cancer, including endometrial cancer. However, the mechanisms of relaxin remain largely unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of relaxin 2 (RLN2), the major circulating relaxin in humans, on human endometrial carcinoma cell lines. RLN2 treatment induced invasion in HEC-1B and Ishikawa cells. RLN2-induced cell invasion was significantly decreased by transfection of relaxin receptor 1 (RXFP1) siRNAs. The β-catenin inhibitor, XAV939, also significantly inhibited the RLN2-induced cell invasions. Both a decrease of cadherin expression and an increase of β-catenin phosphorylation were observed in response to the RLN2 treatment in HEC-1B and Ishikawa cells. We then examined RLN2 and RXFP1 expression in 80 human endometrioid endometrial carcinoma tissues. RLN2 immunoreactivity was detected in the human endometrial carcinoma cells and had a correlative tendency with histological grade and RXFP1. These results suggest that adherens junctions in cancer cells are weakened by the breakdown of the cadherin/catenin complex, which is induced by β-catenin phosphorylation via RLN2/RXFP1 signaling.
Impact of Experimental Hyperlipidemia on Histology of Major Salivary Glands Deneysel Hiperlipideminin Büyük Tükürük Bezlerinin Histolojisi Üzerine Etkisi

Objectives: To examine the histologic structure of major salivary glands in high-fat diet induced hyperlipidemic rats. Materials and Methods: Sixteen Wistar Albino rats were grouped as control group (CG) and hyperlipidemic group (HG). CG was fed a standard chow and HG was fed a high-fat diet. At the end of three months, blood samples were obtained for lipid analyses. For histological analysis, major salivary glands were evaluted under light microscopy. Results: In HG; the number of intracellular lipid droplets (ILD) in the major salivary glands significantly increased while the diameter of ILD significantly increased in the parotid and sublingual glands (palt; 0.01). The cell types mainly affected were serous cells in the parotid and submandibular, serous demilunar cells and, to a lesser extent, mucous cells in the sublingual gland. Serum levels of all lipids were significantly correlated with the lipid numbers in the parotid and the sublingual glands. In the submandibular gland, only serum LDL and cholesterol levels were found to be significantly correlated with the lipid numbers (palt;0.05). Conclusion: High-fat diet caused intracellular lipid accumulation in the parotid and sublingual glands without any structural alteration. Submandibular gland exerted a partial resistance to intracellular lipid accumulation. Turkish Baslik: Deneysel Hiperlipideminin Buyuk Tukuruk Bezlerinin Histolojisi Uzerine Etkisi Anahtar Kelimeler: Deneysel hiperlipidemi; buyuk tukuruk bezleri; lipid birikimi ve Oil red O Amac: Yag icerigi zengin diyet ile beslenerek hiperlipidemi olusturulan sicanlarda, buyuk tukuruk bezlerinin histolojik yapisini incelemektir. Gerec ve Yontemler: On alti adet Wistar Albino sicani kontrol grubu (KG) ve hiperlipidemik grup (HG) olmak uzere ikiye ayrildi. CG standart yem, HG ise yag icerigi zengin diyet ile beslendi. Uc ay sonunda, lipit analizi icin kan ornekleri alindi. Histolojik degerlendirme icin, buyuk tukuruk bezleri isik mikroskobu ile incelendi. Bulgular: Hiperlipidemik gruba ait buyuk tukuruk bezlerinde hucre ici lipit damlaciklarinin sayisinda anlamli bir artis gorulurken, sublingual ve parotis bezinin hucre ici lipit damlaciklarinin capinda anlamli derecede artis tespit edildi (palt;0.01). Parotis ve submandibular bezlerde esas olarak seroz hucreler, sublingual bezde ise seroz yarimlar ve daha az derecede mukoz hucreler hiperlipidemiden etkilendi. Tum serum lipit duzeyleri ile sublingual ve parotis bezde biriken lipit damlaciklari sayisi arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli korelasyon saptandi. Submandibular bezde ise, sadece LDL ve kolesterol duzeyleri ile lipit damlaciklari sayisi arasinda anlamli bir korelasyon tespit edildi (palt;0.05). Sonuc: Yuksek yag iceren diyet, parotis ve sublingual bezlerde yapisal bir degisiklige neden olmaksizin, hucre ici lipit birikimine neden olmaktadir. Submandibular bez ise intraseluler lipit birikimine karsi kismi bir direnc gostermektedir.