Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rhinosurgical therapy planning via endonasal airflow simulation.

Nowadays, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods play an important part in the production process of the automotive industry. Progress in recent years has made possible highly sophisticated airflow-simulation models that are used in engineering for optimization and verification of aerodynamics. The key purpose of the Simulation Tool for Airflow in the human Nose (STAN), developed at the Darmstadt University of Technology in cooperation with the University Hospital in Greifswald, is to use these techniques to support the rhinosurgeon in diagnosis and planning of therapy (Frühauf T, Mlynski G. Simulation and visualization of the air flow in the human nose. Proceedings of the First World Congress on Computational Medicine, Austin, Texas, 1994). A system has been developed that realizes a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the endonasal cavities based on computer tomography (CT) scans. This semiautomatic reconstruction method requires minimal manual intervention. The surface model is used to create an unstructured 3D volume mesh suitable for finite volume simulations. In this way, an individual simulation based on patient-specific data can be realized. At the University Hospital in Greifswald, experimental investigations and measurements are made in nasal models to verify the simulation result. The goal of this project is to investigate individual nasal complaints and to detect respiratory disorders. The surgeon should be able to simulate the disordered respiration before performing a surgical procedure, and thereby increase the effectiveness of surgical planning.
Isolation and Characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria Associated with the Rhizosphere of Salt Marsh Plants

ABSTRACT Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading bacteria were isolated from contaminated estuarine sediment and salt marsh rhizosphere by enrichment using either naphthalene, phenanthrene, or biphenyl as the sole source of carbon and energy. Pasteurization of samples prior to enrichment resulted in isolation of gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria. The isolates were characterized using a variety of phenotypic, morphologic, and molecular properties. Identification of the isolates based on their fatty acid profiles and partial 16S rRNA gene sequences assigned them to three main bacterial groups: gram-negative pseudomonads; gram-positive, non-spore-forming nocardioforms; and the gram-positive, spore-forming group,Paenibacillus. Genomic digest patterns of all isolates were used to determine unique isolates, and representatives from each bacterial group were chosen for further investigation. Southern hybridization was performed using genes for PAH degradation fromPseudomonas putida NCIB 9816-4, Comamonas testosteroni GZ42, Sphingomonas yanoikuyae B1, andMycobacterium sp. strain PY01. None of the isolates from the three groups showed homology to the B1 genes, only two nocardioform isolates showed homology to the PY01 genes, and only members of the pseudomonad group showed homology to the NCIB 9816-4 or GZ42 probes. The Paenibacillus isolates showed no homology to any of the tested gene probes, indicating the possibility of novel genes for PAH degradation. Pure culture substrate utilization experiments using several selected isolates from each of the three groups showed that the phenanthrene-enriched isolates are able to utilize a greater number of PAHs than are the naphthalene-enriched isolates. Inoculating two of the gram-positive isolates to a marine sediment slurry spiked with a mixture of PAHs (naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene) and biphenyl resulted in rapid transformation of pyrene, in addition to the two- and three-ringed PAHs and biphenyl. This study indicates that the rhizosphere of salt marsh plants contains a diverse population of PAH-degrading bacteria, and the use of plant-associated microorganisms has the potential for bioremediation of contaminated sediments.
Chemopreventive effects of calcium but not aspirin supplementation in cholic acid-promoted colon carcinogenesis: correlation with intermediate endpoints.

Epidemiological studies have suggested that increased intake of calcium (Ca) or aspirin (ASA) is associated with a reduced risk for colon cancer. To delineate a possible mechanism of action, the present study used male F344 rats in an azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colon tumor model to study the single and interactive effects of Ca and ASA on cholic acid-promoted experimental colon carcinogenesis. Following initiation with AOM, a promotion diet containing 0.5% cholic acid was fed for 34 weeks until the adenoma development stage. Cholic acid was used as a surrogate for high-fat diets and to promote carcinogenesis. Diets were supplemented with CaCO3 (2% Ca by weight), 250 p.p.m. ASA, or both. After 34 weeks, the diets were switched during the progression stage and rats were killed at week 51. Several intermediate endpoints were examined during the course of AOM carcinogenesis to determine their reliability as predictors of colon cancer risk. Intermediate endpoints included colon crypt height measurement, colon mucosal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and colon mucosal protein kinase C (PKC) activities. The biomarkers were examined at the beginning of the study at 2 weeks, and thereafter at 5, 15, 30 and 40 weeks of dietary treatment. Animals were necropsied at week 51 and tumor incidence and numbers were analyzed for correlation with biomarkers. Survival was highest in the group fed CaCO3 during the promotion stage and tumor burden was lowest in groups fed CaCO3 during this stage. Supplementation during the progression stage was ineffective. The cholic acid promotion model resulted in increased ODC which was inhibited by intervention during the promotion stage with Ca, but not ASA. PKC was also activated by cholic acid feeding, and this effect was modulated by intervention in the promotional stage with Ca or ASA. Colon tumor incidence and burden was increased by cholic acid promotion and decreased by Ca, but not affected by ASA. In summary, Ca is a more effective chemopreventive agent in cholic acid-promoted colon carcinogenesis than ASA, impacting both incidence and tumor number. Colonic ODC, but not PKC may be a suitable predictor of risk and response in chemoprevention trials for colon cancer.
Editorial comment--Stroke incidence studies one step closer to the elusive gold standard?

Stroke should be studied in a population-wide context because a large proportion of the burden of care for stroke is borne by health services outside the hospital sector and by families of affected patients.1,2 Assessing the need for stroke-related prevention strategies and health services, and geographical and secular trends in stroke burden, is best achieved with standardized population-based registers. Analyses limited to hospital cases, incomplete mortality data, or cases with varying criteria and definitions may distort results because of nonstandardized measures and nonrepresentative study populations. However, identifying all new stroke events in a population is particularly challenging, so that such epidemiological studies are relatively rare compared with studies using mortality data, hospital-based stroke registers, or incidence studies in younger age groups only.2,3 Moreover, even among published population-based stroke incidence studies, there are differences in the methodologies used to ensure completeness of case ascertainment. Until recently, assessing completeness of case ascertainment in stroke incidence studies has been performed directly (eg, repeated cross-sectional surveys of the study population) and/or indirectly (eg, …
Shift-related sleep problems vary according to work schedule

Objectives Shift-related sleep and sleepiness problems may be due to characteristics of both shifts (ie, day, evening and night shifts) and work schedules (ie, permanent vs rotational schedules). The Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire (BSWSQ) was used to investigate associations between shift-related sleep problems and work schedules. Methods 1586 nurses completed the BSWSQ. Participants who, in relation to a shift, ‘often’ or ‘always’ experienced both a sleep problem and a tiredness/sleepiness problem were defined as having shift-related insomnia (separate for day, evening and night shifts and rest-days). Logistic regression analyses were conducted for day, evening, night, and rest-day insomnia with participants on both permanent and rotational schedules. Results Shift-related insomnia differed between the work schedules. The evening shift insomnia was more prevalent in the two-shift rotation schedule than the three-shift rotation schedule (29.8% and 19.8%, respectively). Night shift insomnia showed higher frequencies among three-shift rotation workers compared with permanent night workers (67.7% and 41.7%, respectively). Rest-day insomnia was more prevalent among permanent night workers compared with two- and three-shift rotations (11.4% compared with 4.2% and 3.6%, respectively). Conclusions The prevalences of shift-related insomnia differed between the work schedules with higher frequencies for three-shift rotations and night shifts. However, sleep problems were present in all shifts and schedules. This suggests that both shifts and work schedules should be considered in the study of shift work-related sleep problems.
Validity and Specificity of the Persian Version of the Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire

Introduction. The Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) is a well-known questionnaire for evaluating the quality of life in asthmatic patients. It has been translated to Persian and its validity and specificity should be evaluated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. In this study, we attempted to improve the questionnaire’s adaptability to Persian culture and also evaluate its validity, specificity, and applicability among asthmatics at our tertiary referral center. Materials and methods. Previously translated and psychometrically evaluated SGRQ for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients was made more adaptive to Persian. Upon acceptability of the questionnaire by a small group of patients, 301 asthmatics referred for spirometry and completed the form. Consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s α coefficient and validity was assessed by comparison of scores with other measures of asthma exacerbation. These measures included FEV1, patient’s clinical presentation, visual analog scale (used to assess difficulty breathing), Katz activity index and section scores of the General Health Questionnaire, anxiety, depression, and social impact. Results. The study group included 165 female and 139 male asthmatics with a mean age of 44.4 ± 1.0 years. Measurement of consistency for the SGRQ revealed Cronbach’s α to be 0.699 for symptoms, 0.805 for activity, 0.879 for impact, and 0.916 for the total questionnaire. By omitting question 8, time of wheezing during the day increased Cronbach’s coefficient of the symptoms section to 0.719. Omitting “uselessness of respiratory drugs” from the impact section increased Cronbach’s α to 0.881. However, scoring of the section then varied from the original questionnaire. A statistically significant correlation was found between the SGRQ sections and total score (using Katz index and General Health Questionnaire, p < .001). Conclusion. Our study showed good validity and reliability for the Persian version of SGRQ for a population of asthmatics referred to our tertiary pulmonary clinic.
Degradation and mineralization of atrazine by a soil bacterial isolate

An atrazine-degrading bacterial culture was isolated from an agricultural soil previously impacted by herbicide spills. The organism was capable of using atrazine under aerobic conditions as the sole source of C and N. Cyanuric acid could replace atrazine as the sole source of N, indicating that the organism was capable of ring cleavage. Ring cleavage was confirmed in 14CO2 evolution experiments with [U-14C-ring]atrazine. Between 40 and 50% of ring-14C was mineralized to 14CO2. [14C]biuret and [14C]urea were detected in spent culture media. Cellular assimilation of 14C was negligible, in keeping with the fully oxidized valence of the ring carbon. Chloride release was stoichiometric. The formation of ammonium during atrazine degradation was below the stoichiometric amount, suggesting a deficit due to cellular assimilation and metabolite-N accumulation. With excess glucose and with atrazine as the sole N source, free ammonium was not detected, suggesting assimilation into biomass. The organism degraded atrazine anaerobically in media which contained (i) atrazine only, (ii) atrazine and glucose, and (iii) atrazine, glucose, and nitrate. To date, this is the first report of a pure bacterial isolate with the ability to cleave the s-triazine ring structure of atrazine. It was also concluded that this bacterium was capable of dealkylation, dechlorination, and deamination in addition to ring cleavage.
Development of direct patterning and visualization system for fabrication of hydrogel microstructure

In this study, we developed a direct patterning system based on infinity-corrected optics for light-induced fabrication of hydrogel microstructures, while still visualizing the fabrication process in real time by integrating the objective lens and red LED system. The optical projection system for reducing the size of patterns from film mask to desired substrate was optimized through the theoretical calculation and the numerical simulation. Then the optic system was integrated with macro and micro manipulation stage for direct patterning of hydrogel. To demonstrate the proposed patterning and visualizing system, the UV-curable hydrogel was patterned in micro-scale and observed simultaneously.
The ontogeny of alpha‐foetoprotein in the foetal and neonatal rabbit, and its experimental induction in adult rabbits

The relative concentration of AFP in the foetal and neonatal rabbit was studied by immunological methods. A peak foetal concentration of AFP was found between the 24th and 26th days of gestation. AFP could not be detected in newborn serum after the 28th day post‐partum. The concentration of AFP between the 20th and 25th days of gestation was found to rise from 327 mg/100 ml to 525 mg/100 ml.
Health Promotion in the Workplace: Assessing Stress and Lifestyle With an Intranet Tool

Background Chronic noncommunicable conditions, particularly cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, are the major causes of death and morbidity in both industrialized and low- to middle-income countries. Recent epidemiological investigations suggest that management of lifestyle factors, such as stress and lack of physical activity, could have an important value in cardiometabolic conditions, while information technology tools could play a significant facilitatory role. Objectives The objective of our study was to verify the feasibility of using a private website, directed to the workers of a major Italian company, to describe their health profile and lifestyle and work habits using an ad hoc self-administered questionnaire. Methods We administered anonymous multiple choice Web-based questionnaires to 945 participants (683 completed the task) as part of an ongoing health promotion program in a multinational company. Qualitative and quantitative data were synthesized with nonlinear principal component analysis to construct indicators (ie, variables) for stress, control, and lifestyle domains. Considering in addition absenteeism, the Calinski-Harabasz statistic and cluster analysis jointly differentiated seven clusters, which displayed different distributions of standardized classification variables. The final step consisted in assessing the relationship of the resulting seven subject typologies with personal data, illnesses, and metabolic syndrome status, carried out for the most part with descriptive methods. Results Statistical analyses singled out two not-overlapping domains of stress and control, as well as three not-overlapping domains of physical activity, smoking, and alcohol habits. The centroids of the seven clusters generated by the procedure were significantly (P < .001) different considering all possible 21 comparisons between couples of groups. Percentage distributions of variables describing personal information (gender, age group, work category, illness status, or metabolic syndrome) within participant typologies show some noteworthy findings: females, workers aged 35–44 years, junior white collar workers, and respondents reporting illness were more prevalent in the stress group than in the overall studied population; preclinical metabolic syndrome status was more prevalent in the group with higher alcohol consumption. Absentees reported more illness. Conclusions The present Intranet-based study shows the potential of applying diverse statistical techniques to deal jointly with qualitative and quantitative self-reported data. The resulting formal description of subject typologies and their relationship with personal characteristics might provide a convenient tool for supporting health promotion in the work environment.
Sensitivity of the Classification of Psoriatic Arthritis Criteria in Early Psoriatic Arthritis

Objective. To determine the sensitivity of the CASPAR criteria in patients with early psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods. Consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of PsA and a disease duration < 12 months were enrolled for study. The proportion of patients meeting the criteria (i.e., the sensitivity) was determined. Results. Forty-four patients with early PsA (23 women, 21 men; mean age 51 yrs, range 16–90) were enrolled. Mean disease duration (± SD) was 15.8 ± 14.3 weeks (range 0.1–50.9 wks). Thirty-four patients satisfied the criteria at the first visit (sensitivity 77.3%). Most patients met the skin and laboratory criterion, i.e., they were rheumatoid factor-negative, while only 2 satisfied the radiologic criterion. Conclusion. Our findings suggest a less satisfactory performance of the CASPAR criteria when applied in early PsA. Lower sensitivity could mainly depend on the small proportion of patients fulfilling the radiologic criterion.
SEARCHING FOR FAINT COMPANIONS TO NEARBY STARS WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

A search for faint companions (FC's) to selected stars within 5 pc of the Sun using the Hubble Space Telescope's Planetary Camera (PC) has been initiated. To assess the PC's ability to detect FC's, we have constructed both model and laboratory-simulated images and compared them to actual PC images. We find that the PC's point-spread function (PSF) is 3-4 times brighter over the angular range 2"-5" than the PSF expected for a perfect optical system. Azimuthal variations of the PC's PSF are 10-20 times larger than expected for a perfect PSF. These variations suggest that light is scattered nonuniformly from the surface of the detector. Because the anomalies in the PC's PSF cannot be precisely simulated, subtracting a reference PSF from the PC image is problematic. We have developed a computer algorithm that identifies local brightness anomalies within the PSF as potential FC's. We find that this search algorithm will successfully locate FC's anywhere within the circumstellar field provided that the average pixel signal from the FC is at least 10 sigma above the local background. This detection limit suggests that a comprehensive search for extrasolar Jovian planets with the PC is impractical. However, the PC is useful for detecting other types of substellar objects. With a stellar signal of 109 e-, for example, we may readily detect brown dwarfs as faint as MI = 16.7 separated by 1" from alpha Cen A.
EFFECT OF CLAIM COST ON INSURERS ’ PROFITABILITY IN NIGERIA

This study examines the relationship between claims cost and profitability in the Non – life sector of the Nigerian insurance industry. The study also develops two linear regression models that can be used to forecast future events in the industry. Data were generated from the financial statements of ten (10) insurance companies covering a period of ten years (2002 – 2011). These data were analysed using descriptive statistics, coefficient of determination (R 2 ), ANOVA (F), standard error test, test of correlation (T), multiple linear regression and ordinary least square Regression techniques. In addition, two hypotheses were also tested. The results revealed that PBT (profitability) correlates directly with NC (Net Claims) and ER (Expense Ratio) but correlates inversely with LR (Loss Ratio). It also showed that for every one percent increase in NC, there will be a corresponding increase of 36.7% in LR. The policy implications of this study for the stakeholders of the insurance industry are numerous. Nigerian insurers should pay due attention to their underwriting activities to ensure objective risk selection and management. In addition, insurers need to invest more on human capital development and staff motivation as these enhance productivity and subsequently profitability.
Comparison of induction machine equivalent circuit models

Most textbooks on electric machines present a classical five-element constant impedance equivalent circuit for modeling polyphase induction machines operating under balanced polyphase sinusoidal steady-state conditions. Yet it is known for cage rotor machines that the rotor element impedances vary significantly with rotor frequency. Research is in progress to determine a better AC equivalent circuit model, balancing accuracy against practicality of use and data acquisition. This paper provides a qualitative assessment of several advanced machine models. <<ETX>>
Investigation of shaped laser beam propagation in turbid media

Shaping laser beams has been a fascinating topic in optic studies lately, because they exhibit intriguing characteristics and have potential applications. One of the most commonly used profiles is the Bessel beams. These beams, which are first shown by Durnin and others, are called also diffraction-free beams [1]. They have much long length of focus and their profiles do not change in free space propagation. Bessel beams also indicate self-healing property [2]. When the beams encounter an obstacle, they can reconstruct their initially intensity profiles after short propagation. This property enables imaging deeper into highly scattering media like biological tissues [3]. Recently, Siviloglou and others have demonstrated accelerating Airy beams [4]. Airy beams are also diffraction-free beams like Bessel beams. Furthermore, they expose acceleration. Focus of an Airy beam moves along a parabola. Airy beams also exhibit self-healing. However, the self-healing behaviour of Airy beams in turbid media has not yet been explored comprehensively.
ADVANCES IN ANESTHESIA Sugammadex : Past , Present , and Future

THE PAST Ever since the introduction of neuromuscular blocking drugs into anesthesia practice, the mechanism by which the paralytic effect is reversed has been imperfect. Traditional muscle relaxant reversal using inhibitors of anticholinesterase is a flawed process for several reasons. The mechanism of reversal is indirect, the efficacy is limited, rapid reversal of deep block is not possible, and undesirable cardiovascular and autonomic responses occur [1].