Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Free Functional Gracilis Flaps for Facial Reanimation in Elderly Patients.

Importance: The free functional gracilis flap (FFGF) is a versatile procedure in reanimating the paralyzed face, yet its application in seniors is limited by perceptions of morbidity and inefficacy. Objective: The study objective was to compare the morbidity and effectiveness of FFGF reanimation among senior and younger patients. Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective chart review was performed on 20 consecutive patients aged 60 years and above (seniors) and 35 patients aged 40 years and below (juniors) who underwent FFGF for facial reanimation. Among this group, 16 senior and 22 junior patients with available long-term follow-up data were analyzed for functional outcomes. Main Outcomes and Measures: The length of postoperative stay and postoperative complications were compared with assess immediate results. A second analysis for functional outcomes was assessed by resting and smile facial asymmetry index (FAI), as well as maxillary dental display to compare facial tone and lip excursion. Results: The average age of seniors was 67 ± 5 years and that of juniors was 27 ± 10 years. Mean lengths of postoperative stay were 4 ± 2 versus 3 ± 1 days in seniors versus Juniors, respectively (p = 0.16). There were no intraoperative complications and postoperative complications in one (5%) senior and four (11%) juniors (p = 0.64). There was functional muscle recovery in all cases, with more pronounced correction of both resting (Δ3.0 mm vs. Δ2.4 mm, p = 0.66) and dynamic (Δ5.2 mm vs. Δ4.2 mm, p = 0.37) FAI in seniors than in juniors. Among patients who underwent a multivector FGFF, there was an additional three versus one visualized maxillary teeth (p = 0.03) in seniors versus juniors, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: The FFGF is effective for facial reanimation among seniors and can be performed with minimal morbidity. Age alone should not preclude the application of the FFGF in seniors with a preference for more dynamic options.
Structure and dynamics of the central lipid pool and protein components of the bacterial holo-translocon

The bacterial Sec translocon, SecYEG, associates with accessory proteins YidC and the SecDF-YajC subcomplex to form the bacterial holo-translocon (HTL). The HTL is a dynamic and flexible protein transport machine capable of coordinating protein secretion across the membrane, and efficient lateral insertion of nascent membrane proteins. It has been hypothesized that a central lipid core facilitates the controlled passage of membrane proteins into the bilayer, ensuring efficient formation of their native state. By performing small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) on protein solubilized in match-out deuterated detergent, we have been able to interrogate a ‘naked’ HTL complex, with the scattering contribution of the surrounding detergent micelle rendered invisible. Such an approach has allowed the confirmation of a lipid core within the HTL, which accommodates between 8 and 29 lipids. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of the HTL also demonstrate a dynamic, central pool of lipids. An opening at this lipid rich region between YidC and the SecY lateral gate may provide an exit gateway for newly synthesized, correctly oriented, membrane protein helices to emerge from the HTL.
Marker-assisted breeding of hexaploid spring wheat in the Canadian prairies

Abstract: Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important crop and export commodity for Canada. Increased global population, demand for superior quality grains, and rapidly evolving pathogens have necessitated the breeding of high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat cultivars. Significant improvements in breeding efficiency can be made through advances in wheat genetics and genomics to develop tools that accelerate genetic gains in wheat. The identification of genes and quantitative trait loci for economically important traits and the development of associated molecular markers have the potential to improve selection efficiency. Marker-assisted selection enriches desirable allelic frequency, complements phenotypic data, and facilitates gene stacking. Molecular markers have been developed for various genes and quantitative trait loci conferring resistance to leaf rust, stripe rust, stem rust, Fusarium head blight, loose smut, common bunt, leaf spot, wheat blossom midge, and wheat stem sawfly. Markers are available for wheat grain and flour characteristics as well. Agronomic traits such as vernalization requirement, day-length sensitivity, and plant height can also be selected using molecular markers. Validated single nucleotide polymorphism based markers are a useful tool in breeding new wheat varieties for the Canadian prairies. In the current review, we present a compilation of validated molecular markers that are polymorphic and potentially useful for Canadian wheat breeding.
Research on the Indoor Physical Characteristic of the Ceiling of China National Aquatics Center under the Demand of Olympic Games

In the practice of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games in 2022 for the renovation and reuse of the 2008 Olympic legacy venues, PVC film-based clips integrated with the black coated fabric were employed as a shielding material, to reduce the influence of sunlight under the ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) air pillow ceiling system and maintain a good and stable indoor environment. Based on winter outdoor meteorological parameters, we measured the temperature; solar irradiance; and illuminance of the playing field, as well as the upper and lower surfaces of the ceiling enclosure and its internal cavity. Meanwhile, a simulation of the indoor environment before and after the shielding was carried out. The distribution and transmission mechanism of light, humidity, and heat in the venue were studied. It was found that the shielding material can block more than 98% of the sunlight and solar radiation; and after the addition of shielding material, the temperature of the playing field changes throughout the day about 1 °C. The difference between the surface temperature under the ceiling and the indoor temperature is about 3 °C, which is not easy to condense. The physical characteristics of the shielding of the roof enclosure structure are revealed, and the shading and heat insulation performance of it is verified, so that the venue meets the requirements of the Olympic Winter Games in the indoor environment.
Microtia and anotia in a dog

The aim of this case presentation is to report microtia and anotia in a 3 ‑ year ‑ old female dog. Owner complained about hearing loss and absence of auricles. There were no auricles in both control ears in clinical examination. Degree of the hearing problem was nearly deafness. A fistula was determined in left lateral cranial side. Grade III microtia and grade IV anotia were diagnosed in the ear canal of the left and right sides, respectively. Under general anesthesia, the dog underwent auricular reconstructive surgery for microtia on the left side. Two weeks after operation, the owner evaluated the patient’s hearing as moderate. This finding was clinically confirmed through performance of the Pyror’s reflex. In conclusion, grade III microtia can be treated surgically to improve the conductive hearing of the patient.
Speech Synthesis of Children’s Reading Based on CycleGAN Model

The generation of emotional speech is a challenging and widely applied research topic in the field of speech processing. Because the design method of effective speech feature expression and generation model directly affects the accuracy of emotional speech generation, it is difficult to find a general solution of emotional speech synthesis. In this paper, the CycleGAN model is used as the starting point, and the improved convolution neural network (CNN) model and identity mapping loss scheme are used to achieve effective timing information capture. At the same time, we learn the positive mapping and the reverse mapping to find the best matching design scheme, and retain the speech information in this process, without relying on other audio data. Experiments show that the emotional speech can be accurately recognized by comparing the speech emotion before and after the improvement on the speech corpus of children’s reading. By comparing with the common emotional speech generation model, the advantages of the model proposed in this paper are verified.
The Effects of Nanosilica and Nanoclay Particles Inclusions on Mode II Delamination, Thermal and Water Absorption of Intraply Woven Carbon/Aramid Hybrid Composites

Abstract The effects of nanosilica (NS) and nanoclay (NC) particle inclusions on mode II delamination and thermal properties as well as water absorption capability of carbon/aramid fiber reinforced hybrid composites (CAFRE) were experimentally investigated at different nanoparticle contents. NS and NC particles modified CAFRE samples were reinforced with intraply woven and twill weave of carbon and aramid fibers, and were manufactured by using hot mold press assisted with hand-layup method. Various thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat capacity were experimentally measured with respect to NS and NC particle weight contents according to ISO-22007 standard. In addition, the water absorption test was performed according to ASTM D570-98 standard. Results from this study showed that addition of NS and NC particles improved mode II delamination toughness of CAFRE composites at 1.5 wt% and 2 wt% of NS and NC particle contents, respectively. Water absorption capacity of the CAFRE samples was increased as increasing NS and NC weigh contents while thermal tests showed that thermal diffusivity values increased, and specific heat decreased with increasing both NC and NS particle weight contents.
Feeding Emitters for Microirrigation with a Digestate Liquid Fraction up to 25% Dilution Did Not Reduce Their Performance

Irrigation with wastewater can strongly contribute to the reduction of water abstraction in agriculture with an especial interest in arid and semiarid areas. However, its use can have drawbacks to both soil and micro-irrigation systems, especially when the total solids in the wastewater are high, such as in digestate liquid fractions (DLF) from plant material. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the performances of a serpentine shaped micro-emitter injected with a hydrocyclone filtered DLF (HF-DLF) from corn + barley biomass and evaluate the traits of the liquid released within a 8-h irrigation cycle. HF-DLF was injected at 10%, 25%, and 50% dilution compared to tap water (at pH = 7.84) and the system performances were measured. No clogging was found, which likely depended on both the shape of the emitter and the high-pressure head (200 kPa). HF-DLF dilution at 10%, 25%, and 50% consisted in +1.9%, +3.5, and −4.9% amount of liquid released compared to the control. Fluid temperature during irrigation (from 9:00 to 17:00) did not explain the difference in the released amounts of liquid. In 10% HF-DLF % and 25% HF-DLF, a pH difference of + 0.321 ± 0.014 pH units compared to the control was found, and such difference was constant for both dilutions and at increasing the time. In contrast, 50% HF-DLF increased pH by around a half point and such difference increased with time. Similar differences among treatments were found for the total solids in the liquid. These results indicate that 50% HF-DLF was accumulating materials in the serpentine. These results suggest that a low diluted HF-DLF could directly be injected in irrigation systems with few drawbacks for the irrigation system and contribute to water conservation since such wastewater are available from the late spring to the early fall, when water requirements are high.
A dual‐port dual‐frequency integration antenna design

In this article, a compact dual‐port dual‐frequency slot antenna compatible with printed circuit board (PCB) technology is proposed. The antenna has two feed structures for two frequencies with slots and the capacitive matching circuits. The antenna radiates at specific frequency with the matching network and the frequency of the antenna can be adjustable by changing the matching element parameters. Taking the advantage of resonance by the subwavelength feed slots, the efficient radiation can be achieved at the outer ground edge of the PCB board, thus contributing to the excellent performance of gain and the good isolation between two frequency band paths. In consideration given to the wireless communication application bands, the antenna is designed to work at 1.57 and 2.4 GHz. The experimental radiation patterns show a unidirectional antenna with maximum radiation of 0.86 dBi in 171° direction at 1.57 GHz and maximum radiation of 5.2 dBi in 278° direction at 2.4 GHz, respectively. The proposed compact cost‐effective antenna demonstrates the potential of application in small multifrequency Internet of Things devices to drive WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
DIFERENÇAS DE GÊNERO NA DIABETES: UM PONTO DE PARTIDA PARA OTIMIZAR A QUALIDADE DE VIDA

Objetivo : analisar as diferencas de genero na qualidade de vida e indicadores antropometricos entre pessoas com diabetes tipo 2 (DM2) e sem DM2. Metodo : Estudo quantitativo de carater transversal realizado no Centro Hiperdia de Vicosa-Minas Gerais, com 117 individuos diagnosticados com DM2 e 81 controles (CTL), com idade igual ou superior a 40 anos. Utilizou-se analise univariada para as variaveis sociodemograficas e teste t de Student para comparacao das medias na qualidade de vida e nos indicadores antropometricos. Resultados : na presenca da diabetes a qualidade de vida das mulheres piora em maior medida comparada a dos homens, sobre tudo do ponto de vista mental. Mulheres apresentam valores mais elevados para as variaveis antropometricas comparadas aos homens, sendo que este pode ser um fator que interfere na qualidade de vida das mulheres DM2. Conclusao : e necessario adotar estrategias orientadas pelo genero na assistencia e controle de pessoas DM2.
Effective Application of Pharmacotherapy Strategy for Hospitalized Ischemic Stroke Patients in Malaysia

Background: Worldwide, cerebrovascular accident (stroke) is the second leading cause of death and is the third leading cause of disability. Sadly, stroke prevalence in the low- and middle-income countries remains high (70%) with both stroke-related deaths and disability-adjusted life years reported to be as high as 87%. Aim: The objective of this study is to evaluate the success of pharmacotherapy management strategy for Malaysian stroke patients in a public hospital based on the Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG), 2012. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study based on medical records of patients (n=682) with confirmed diagnoses of ischemic stroke admitted to Sungai Buloh Hospital for four years was conducted. Data was collected using self-developed data collection forms consisting of demographic profiles, comorbidity and pharmacotherapy treatment. Results: The mean age of reported cases was 66.66 years with the majority (58%) being males while only 42% were females. The majority (>72%) adhered to the pharmacotherapy management of Clinical Practice Guideline Malaysia 2012 for ischemic stroke inpatients setting in a public hospital (p=0.001). Conclusion: Most patients complied to the pharmacotherapy management of ischemic stroke guideline which is important to avoid disability and mortality caused by stroke.
Deep Neck Space Infections: An Experience in Rural District Level Hospital

The general tendency of reduction in life threatening infections in the post antibiotic era is also seen in deep neck space infections. However for patients who develop deep neck space infections, the morbidity is high. Factors associated with increased incidence of deep neck space infections are diabetes mellitus, HIV, AIDS. Our study is a prospective analysis of 25 cases of deep neck space infections over a period of 1 year in a district hospital.
Using software metrics for predicting vulnerable classes and methods in Java projects: A machine learning approach

[Context]A software vulnerability becomes harmful for software when an attacker successfully exploits the insecure code and reveals the vulnerability. A single vulnerability in code can put the entire software at risk. Therefore, maintaining software security throughout the software life cycle is an important and at the same time challenging task for development teams. This can also leave the door open for vulnerable code being evolved during successive releases. In recent years, researchers have used software metrics‐based vulnerability prediction approaches to detect vulnerable code early and ensure secure code releases. Software metrics have been employed to predict vulnerability specifically in C/C++ and Java‐based systems. However, the prediction performance of metrics at different granularity levels (class level or method level) has not been analyzed. In this paper, we focused on metrics that are specific to lower granularity levels (Java classes and methods). Based on statistical analysis, we first identified a set of class‐level metrics and a set of method‐level metrics and then employed them as features in machine learning techniques to predict vulnerable classes and methods, respectively. This paper describes a comparative study on how our selected metrics perform at different granularity levels. Such a comparative study can help the developers in choosing the appropriate metrics (at the desired level of granularity). [Objective] The goal of this research is to propose a set of metrics at two lower granularity levels and provide evidence for their usefulness during vulnerability prediction (which will help in maintaining secure code and ensure secure software evolution). [Method] For four Java‐based open source systems (including two releases of Apache Tomcat), we designed and conducted experiments based on statistical tests to propose a set of software metrics that can be used for predicting vulnerable code components (i.e., vulnerable classes and methods). Next, we used our identified metrics as features to train supervised machine learning algorithms to classify Java code as vulnerable or non‐vulnerable. [Result] Our study has successfully identified a set of class‐level metrics and a second set of method‐level metrics that can be useful from a vulnerability prediction standpoint. We achieved recall higher than 70% and precision higher than 75% in vulnerability prediction using our identified class‐level metrics as features of machine learning. Furthermore, method‐level metrics showed recall higher than 65% and precision higher than 80%.
Evaluation of Stratospheric Intrusions and Biomass Burning Plumes on the Vertical Distribution of Tropospheric Ozone Over the Midwestern United States

Naturally occurring ozone‐rich stratosphere‐to‐troposphere transport (STT) intrusions and biomass burning (BB) plumes reaching the surface can contribute to exceedances of the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ground‐level ozone (70 ppbv implemented in 2015). Additionally, fires can inject significant pollution into the free troposphere where it can be transported long distances. The combined air quality impacts from these sources on ozone have only been analyzed in a few case studies for the Midwest United States. Here we study ozone impacts in a Midwestern city, for the first time in St. Louis, Missouri, using a series of ozonesonde profiles taken during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) field campaign in August–September 2013. All ozonesondes showed enhancements above the background profile levels (~55 ppbv) throughout each tropospheric column. Two models were used to estimate ozone origins in columns. A chemical transport model identified STT enhancements equivalent to 10 to 15 ppbv over the background with a 10% to 15% contribution overall to the column. Two FLEXPART‐WRF simulations, one with smoke in the boundary layer and another with smoke above, identified BB enhancements equivalent to 10 to 80 ppbv. Overall, the total BB contribution is 15% to 30% of the total column. Five ozonesondes showed signatures of mixed BB plumes and STT intrusions. During this study period, BB in the western United States contributed 70% to ozone enhancements in the total column compared to 3% from the central United States and 27% from other areas.
Finite element modeling of residual stress and geometrical error formations in selective laser melting of metals

Recent works, both numerical and experimental, on residual stress and geometrical errors in selective laser melting-produced parts highlighted the preponderance of these phenomena. However, their mechanisms of appearance are not yet fully explained. An in-house finite element model was developed and implemented to reproduce their formations. The consistence of the model with existing simulation results and with respect to experimental observations was checked. Simulations were then performed using a computational design of experiments to better comprehend the underlying phenomena and the influence of the laser speed and power. Relationships between process parameters and residual stress, plastic strain, and geometrical errors formations have been put into evidence which can support optimization procedures at design stage.
Current‐Induced Planar Resistive Switching Mediated by Oxygen Migration in NiO/Pt Bilayer

New materials and mechanisms to retain electrically tunable resistance states are highly pursed to advance information technology. In this study, a novel scenario of current‐induced planar resistive switching mediated by oxygen migration is unveiled in the NiO/Pt bilayers. Sawtooth‐like switching is successfully realized in various crystalline NiO, and the switching amplitude monotonically increases with the Pt thickness. On the other hand, the critical switching current is found to be strongly correlated with the substrate thermal conductivity hence suggesting a thermal origin. By directly probing the Ni2+ and O2− distribution before and after switching via electron energy loss spectrum, the switching behavior in NiO/Pt is assuredly associated with the planar redistribution of O2−, thereby setting forth an oxygen migration scenario underlying the switching process. Under this scenario, the planar resistive switching is extended to the SrTiO3/Pt, GdOx/Pt, and TbOx/Pt, and the manipulation of the switching characteristics is successfully achieved by controlling the oxygen content in the GdOx/Pt and TbOx/Pt bilayers. The results offer novel strategy to design new emergent memory devices through oxygen mediated planar resistive switching.
Forecasting Visitors’ behaviour in Crowded Museums

In this paper, we tackle the issue of measuring and understanding the visitors’ dynamics in a crowded museum in order to create and calibrate a predictive mathematical model. The model is then used as a tool to manage, control and optimize the fruition of the museum. Our contribution comes with one successful use case, the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy.
Drug Resistance Evolution in HIV in the Late 1990s: Hard Sweeps, Soft Sweeps, Clonal Interference and the Accumulation of Drug Resistance Mutations

The evolution of drug resistance in pathogens such as HIV is an important and widely known example in the field of evolutionary medicine. Here, we focus on a unique data set from the late 1990s with multiple viral sequences from multiple time points in 118 patients. We study patterns of evolutionary dynamics in the viral populations in these patients who were treated with Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors and Protease Inhibitors in the late 1990s. Specifically, we aim to visualize and analyze examples of population genetic processes such as selective sweeps and clonal interference. The figures and descriptions in this paper can be used in evolution and population genetics classes. We show and analyze a wide variety of patterns, specifically: soft sweeps, hard sweeps, softening sweeps and hardening sweeps, simultaneous sweeps, accumulation of mutations and clonal interference.