Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Contrast Sensitivity Test for Pediatric Patients: Feasibility and Inter-Examiner Reliability in Ocular Disorders and Cerebral Visual Impairment

Purpose Assess feasibility and interexaminer reliability of a new test of contrast sensitivity (CS) for pediatric populations. Methods The Double Happy (DH) measures CS using a method similar to the Teller Acuity Cards. The schematic DH face is 16 degrees in diameter with features of 0.3 c/d and a channel frequency of 0.8 c/d. DH log10 CS is in 0.15 log unit steps, 0.05 to 2.1. Participants were 43 unselected patients, ages 2 to 18 years: 23 were diagnosed with ocular disorders only; 20 were diagnosed with cerebral visual impairment (CVI). Two examiners measured DH log10 CS. Visual acuity (VA) was also measured. Results All 43 participants were tested for binocular DH log10CS. Cohen's kappa values for interexaminer reliability were fair. The between examiner ICC was +0.92 (P < 0.001). The mean difference between examiners was near zero, and the 95% CI was −0.44 to 0.45 log10CS. DH log10CS was near normal in the ocular disorder group and reduced in the CVI group. VA was reduced in both groups. DH log10 CS and VA were correlated (r = −0.65). DH log10 CS was a marginally better predictor of diagnosis than VA. Conclusions DH log10CS test was successful in a diverse pediatric population diagnosed with ocular disorders or CVI. Interexaminer reliability was comparable to that of adults tested previously using the same stimuli and methods. Both CS and VA are reduced in CVI. Translational Relevance CS and VA both should be tested in pediatric clinical populations, especially in those at risk of CVI.
Endocan and Lumican in Relation to Cardiometabolic Risk in a Pediatric Overweight and Obese Cohort: A Cross-Sectional Study

The aim of the study was to evaluate serum Endocan and Lumican levels as biomarkers for pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and to explore their associations with pediatric cardiometabolic risk factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 68 pediatric obese and overweight (O&O) patients. Ten healthy controls were recruited. Serum Lumican and Endocan levels were analyzed using ELISA kits. O&O patients had lower levels of Endocan compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001). There were no differences between serum Endocan levels in O&O patients with NAFLD and those without (p = 0.53). Patients considered having Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) had lower Endocan levels compared to O&O patients without NASH (p = 0.026). Patients with metabolic syndrome had lower levels of Endocan (p = 0.003). There were no significant differences between serum Lumican levels in O&O children compared to healthy controls. Lumican levels were higher in patients with hypertension (p = 0.04). In O&O patients, Lumican levels were negatively correlated with Endocan levels (r = −0.37, p = 0.002). Endocan seems a promising biomarker for the evaluation of pediatric NASH. Lumican was not confirmed as a biomarker for NAFLD in our cohort but was associated with higher arterial pressure. Low Endocan levels are accompanied by high serum Lumican levels, and this could be an early signature of cardiometabolic risk.
Magnitude of Exploitable Heterosis for Yield and Quality Traits of Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Hybrids as Affected by Distant Parents in Origin and Morphology in Ethiopia

This study was conducted to generate information on the effects of distant parents in origin, growth habit and leaf tip color on the magnitude of standard heterosis (SH) in Coffea arabica L. hybrids for yield and quality in 34 hybrids generated from 15 parents in Ethiopia. The results showed distant parents in origin produce hybrids with higher standard heterosis in magnitude in a greater number of hybrids. It was observed that 16 and 11 out of 17 between and within region hybrids exhibited standard heterosis ranging from 0.8 to 52.8% and from 3.58 to 44.95%, respectively, for fresh cherry yield. In comparison, hybrids obtained from crossing distant parents in all factors (origin, growth habit and leaf tip color) registered the highest magnitude of SH, which ranged from 21.05% (clean coffee yield) to 52.80% (fresh cherry yield) with mean SH of 36.64 and 28.95% for fresh cherry and clean coffee yield, respectively. For coffee quality parameters, the effect of parents’ leaf tip color on the magnitude of heterosis was observed to be more important than the parents’ geographical origin. Five out of six hybrids having both parents green leaf tip color (Kaffa x Kaffa and Kaffa x Sidamo) exhibited SH of 1 to 16% for the overall coffee quality. These hybrids also exhibited positive and significant SH (14 to 33%) for 6 out of 8 coffee quality parameters. The results of this study suggested the importance of including distant parents in all possible factors to produce greater number of high yielding hybrids with highest magnitude of standard heterosis in Ethiopia. The results further revealed the possibility of improving target region coffee quality through selection of parents on the basis of their leaf tip color for crossing regardless of their origin. Keywords : Distant Parents; Growth Habit; Hybrids; Leaf Tip Color; Origin; Standard Heterosis
Cage bioassay of sugar and floral source attraction in mosquitoes

by CAROLINE BROOKS (Under the Direction of Brian Forschler) ABSTRACT The goal of the project is to develop a simple bioassay system to test the attraction of mosquitoes using volatiles. The end goal would be to identify components that could be incorporated into an attractive toxic bait system. Bioassays were performed with Aedes albopictus, Aedes japonicus Culex restuans, as well as Aedes albopictus, Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus field collected eggs that were reared in the laboratory or from laboratory cultures, respectively. A cage bioassay system using sticky cards was employed with paired comparisons in a latin square design to identify attractive or repellant materials using newly emerged male and female mosquitoes. Replicates tested different concentrations of Bell Trapper LTD, Tanglefoot, Scentry Biologicals Inc., Stickem glue, sugar water, honey, AllClearTM, benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, and isoamyl acetate. The bioassay showed attraction to Bell Trapper LTD ® bell cards and repellency of citronella.
Extraction of Pectin from Citrus Fruit Peel and Its Utilization in Preparation of Jelly

The present study was focused on the potential of citrus peel as a source of pectin. Pectin was extracted from Sweet lemon (mosambi) peel powder using two different acids (citric and nitric) and at three different temperatures, time and pH viz (60, 70 & 80°C), (30,45 & 60 min),(1.5,2 & 2.5pH) respectively. Pectin yields varied from 21.4% to 76.0% and 17.4% to 46.4% extracted by using citric acid and nitric acid respectively. The best extraction condition was found to be higher in yield by using citric acid at 80°C, 60min, 1.5pH. The equivalent weight of pectin isolated from sweet lemon peel powder using citric acid and nitric acid as reagents contained 312.5 and 833.33 respectively. The percent methoxyl content of isolated pectin showed higher by using citric acid. The percent anhydrouronic acid of isolated pectin was found to be higher by using citric acid as compared to nitric acid as reagents. The pectin extracted using nitric acid in this study can be categorized as high methoxyl pectin because it has more than 50% of degree of esterification. The ash and moisture content of isolated pectin were studied. Sensory evaluation of developed jelly were
Over the top: do thermal barriers along elevation gradients limit biotic similarity?

Organismal dispersal through mountain passes should be more constrained by temperature-related differences between lowland and highland sites in montane environments. This may lead to higher rates of diversification through isolation of existing lineages toward the tropics. This mechanism, proposed by Janzen, could influence broad-scale patterns of biodiversity across mountainous regions and more broadly across latitudinal gradients. We constructed two complementary analyses to test this hypothesis. First, we measured topographically-derived thermal gradients using recently-developed climatic data across the Americas, reviewing the main expectations from Janzen's climatic model. Then, we evaluated whether thermal barriers predict assemblage similarity for amphibians and mammals along elevational gradients across most of their latitudinal extent in the Americas. Thermal barriers between low and high elevation areas, initially proposed to be unique to tropical environments, are comparably strong in some temperate regions, particularly along the western slopes of North American dividing ranges. Biotic similarity for both mammals and amphibians decreases between sites that are separated by elevation-related thermal barriers. That is, the stronger the thermal barrier separating pairs of sites across the latitudinal gradient, the lower the similarity of their species assemblages. Thermal barriers explain 10–35% of the variation in latitudinal gradients of biotic similarity, effects that were stronger in comparisons of sites at high elevations. Mammals' stronger dispersal capacities and homeothermy may explain weaker effects of thermal barriers on gradients of assemblage similarity than among amphibians. Understanding how temperature gradients have shaped gradients of montane biological diversity in the past will improve understanding of how changing environments may affect them in the future.
Design and Simulation of a Novel Polymer Based 4 Arms Mechanical Microgripper for Micromanipulation

A novel MEMS based gripper tool based on polymer material with self locking mechanism and anti slipping structure to handle the micro components is designed and simulated in this article, where the prototyped gripper tool is tend to operate in the moisture and mucous environment it is devised with a polymer material. Hence the main advantage is the biocompatibility of the device to handle biological molecules or samples. The device is designed with a default in plane displacement of less than 50 microns where the tools are completely in clipped position. As the device is initially closed i.e. based on self locking system, it will not require any additional forces to be operated in the device or in the sample all over the time. The device works on the principle of a push based mechanical actuation method where it can hold devices up to a diameter of about 300 microns with 150 microns as a minimum diameter, where the entire device is controlled by a screw based actuation method and controlled precisely. The device works on mechanical actuation, so no loss will incur in the form of energy conversion or no other external forces will be needed to be supplied to the device during operation. The usual problem of slipping of gripper arms is addressed by supporting structures which arise from the core beam, ensures the stationary positioning of arms. The device is fabricated with Rapid Prototyping Process and structural mechanics simulation is carried out with COMSOL Multi physics Simulation software.
Diagnostic Yield of EUS-FNA with 22G Needles for the Assessment of the Ki-67 Index in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Background: the Ki-67 antigen is a marker whose expression is strictly associated with cell proliferation and only can be detected in the nucleus. Its index correlates with survival in patients with pancreatic neuro endocrine tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration with 22G needles, allows obtaining adequate samples for the assessment of the Ki-67 index and adapting the gradation of this type of tumors to the new classification of WHO-2010. Methods: retrospective observational analysis of a database of 20 patients with pancreatic neuro endocrine tumors (mean age 56 years ± 15) with an average of lesion size of 24.5 mm (Interval: 10-60 mm), who underwent a fine-needle aspiration puncture guided by endoscopic ultrasonography with 22G needles, to obtain samples for cytology, immunocytochemistry and Ki-67 assessment. Modesto J Varas Lorenzo1,2,3, Joan B Gornals Soler3,4, Carmen Loras Alastruey2,3, Esther Sanfeliu Torres5, Elena Sánchez-Vizcaíno Mengual6* and Antonio Monleón Getino7 1Hospital Sanitas CIMA, Department of Gastroenterology, Spain 2Teknon Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology, Spain 3Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Barcelona, Spain 4Delfos Medical Center, Endoscopy Unit and Department of Gastroenterology, Spain 5Teknon Medical Center, Department of Pathology, Spain 6Hospital Sanitas CIMA, Clinical Research Unit, Spain 7University of Barcelona, Department of Statistics, Spain *Corresponding author: Elena Sánchez-Vizcaíno Mengual, Hospital Sanitas CIMA, Clinical Research Unit, Barcelona, Spain, Tel: +34 935522799; Fax: +34 935522767; Email: esanchezvizcaino@sanitas.es Published Date: November 23, 2017 Gr up SM
An exploration of the professional and leader identity of IT professionals transitioning to a permanent hybrid role: a longitudinal investigation

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the role of professional and leader identity and the maintenance of identity, through identity work as IT professionals transitioned to a permanent hybrid role. This study therefore contributes to the under-researched area of permanent transition to a hybrid role in the context of IT, where there is a requirement to enact both the professional and leader roles together.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilised a longitudinal design and two qualitative methods (interviews and reflective diaries) to gather data from 17 IT professionals transitioning to hybrid roles.FindingsThe study findings reveal that IT professionals engage in an ongoing process of reconciliation of professional and leader identity as they transition to a permanent hybrid role, and they construct hybrid professional–leader identities while continuing to value their professional identity. They experience professional–leader identity conflict resulting from reluctance to reconcile both professional and leader identities. They used both integration and differentiation identity work tactics to ameliorate these tensions.Originality/valueThe longitudinal study design, the qualitative approaches used and the unique context of the participants provide a dynamic and deep understanding of the challenges involved in performing hybrid roles in the context of IT.
Species Traits of Relevance for Climate Vulnerability and the Prediction of Phenological Responses to Climate Change

ABSTRACT. In many ways, known and unknown, climate change will affect species' distributions, life cycles, phenologies, and ultimately survival. Lepidoptera are among the organisms that have been shown to be strongly impacted by climate change, and their conservation presents challenges that are both unique and unprecedented. Various studies have sought to determine what ecological and life traits of Lepidoptera influence species' responses to climate change, and here I review the few studies that evaluate such responses over a long period of time for a large number of species for common associations. Species with wider geographic distribution and less habitat specificity are generally considered less vulnerable to climate change, while those with opposite traits are deemed more vulnerable. The latter are more likely to change their phenology in response to climate change. Larval diet breadth and composition, overwintering stage, and adult activity period appear to be consistent predictors of changes in flight phenology. The knowledge of these traits for species of concern allows us to assess the implications of the possible phenological changes, and decide what can be done about those changes. Determining how phenological changes may affect current management or conservation practices and defining actions and priorities can be crucial for the success of a conservation plan.
A Low-cost, Low-energy Wearable ECG System with Cloud-Based Arrhythmia Detection

Continuously monitoring the Electrocardiogram (ECG) is an essential tool for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) patients. In low-resource countries, the hospitals and health centers do not have adequate ECG systems, and this unavailability exacerbates the patients' health condition. Lack of skilled physicians, limited availability of continuous ECG monitoring devices, and their high prices, all lead to a higher CVD burden in the developing countries. To address these challenges, we present a low-cost, low-power, and wireless ECG monitoring system with deep learning-based automatic arrhythmia detection. Flexible fabric-based design and the wearable nature of the device enhances the patient's comfort while facilitating continuous monitoring. An AD8232 chip is used for the ECG Analog Front-End (AFE) with two 450 mi-Ah Li-ion batteries for powering the device. The acquired ECG signal can be transmitted to a smart-device over Bluetooth and subsequently sent to a cloud server for analysis. A 1-D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based deep learning model is developed that provides an accuracy of 94.03% in classifying abnormal cardiac rhythm on the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database.
Limitations in learning an interpreted language with recurrent models

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Comprehensive Determination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Nontuberculous Mycobacteria From Targeted Capture Sequencing

Infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) challenges effective pulmonary infectious disease control. Current phenotypic and molecular assays could not comprehensively and accurately diagnose MTB, NTM, and drug resistance. Next-generation sequencing allows an “all-in-one” approach providing results on expected drug susceptibility testing (DST) and the genotype of NTM strains. In this study, targeted capture sequencing was used to analyze the genetic backgrounds of 4 MTB strains and 32 NTM pathogenic strains in 30 clinical samples, including 14 sputum specimens and 16 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples. Through comparing with other TB diagnostic tests, we proved that targeted capture sequencing could be used as a highly sensitive (91.3%) and accurate (83.3%) method to diagnose TB, as well as MGIT 960. Also, we identified 7 NTM strains in 11 patients; among them, seven patients were MTB/NTM co-affected, which indicated that it was a meaningful tool for the diagnosis and treatment of NTM infection diseases in clinic. However, based on a drug-resistant mutation library (1,325 drug resistance loci), only 9 drug resistance strains and 22 drug resistance loci were discovered, having considerable discordance with the drug-resistant results of MGIT 960. Our finding indicated that targeted capture sequencing approach was applicable for the comprehensive and accurate diagnosis of MTB and NTM. However, from data presented here, the DST results identified by next-generation sequencing (NGS) showed a relatively low consistency with MGIT 960, especially in sputum samples. Further work should be done to explore the reasons for low drug-resistance detection rate of NGS.
Performance on the DANA Brief Cognitive Test Correlates With MACE Cognitive Score and May Be a New Tool to Diagnose Concussion

Nearly 380,000 U.S. service members between 2000 and 2017 were, and at least 300,000 athletes annually are, diagnosed with concussion. It is imperative to establish a gold-standard diagnostic test to quickly and accurately diagnose concussion. In this non-randomized, prospective study, we examined the reliability and validity of a novel neurocognitive assessment tool, the Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment (DANA), designed to be a more sensitive, yet efficient, measure of concussion symptomatology. In this study, the DANA Brief version was compared to an established measure of concussion screening, the Military Acute Concussion Evaluation (MACE), in a group of non-concussed service members. DANA Brief subtests demonstrated low to moderate reliability, as measured by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC; values range: 0.28–0.58), which is comparable to other computerized neurocognitive tests that are widely-implemented to diagnose concussion. Statistically significant associations were found between learning and memory components of the DANA Brief and the diagnostic MACE cognitive test score (DANA Brief subtests: CDD: R2 = 0.05, p = 0.023; CDS: R2 = 0.10, p = 0.010). However, a more robust relationship was found between DANA Brief components involving attention and working memory, including immediate memory, and the MACE cognitive test score (DANA Brief subtests: GNG: R2 = 0.08, p = 0.003; PRO: R2 = 0.08, p = 0.002). These results provide evidence that the DANA Rapid version, a 5-min assessment self-administered on a hand-held portable device, based on the DANA Brief version, may serve as a clinically useful and improved neurocognitive concussion screen to minimize the time between injury and diagnosis in settings where professional medical evaluation may be unavailable or delayed. The DANA's portability, durability, shorter test time and lack of need for a medical professional to diagnose concussion overcome these critical limitations of the MACE.
Adjuvant Transarterial Chemoembolization for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Stage A Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatectomy

Introduction The care for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is challenging. This study is to evaluate the effect of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage A HCC patients after hepatectomy. Methods Consecutive HCC patients with BCLC stage A, treated by hepatectomy alone (HA) or hepatectomy with TACE (HT), were retrospectively enrolled. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance baseline differences. The recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier. The impact of TACE on survival outcome was determined by Cox hazard regression. Results After PSM, 230 patients (115 HT and 115 HA) were enrolled in the analysis. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year RFS rates were 87.0, 63.5, and 50.4%, respectively, for the HT group, and 87.8, 67.0, and 58.3% for the HA group. The OS rates at 1-, 3-, and 5-year were 99.1, 93.9, and 87%, respectively, for the HT group, and 100, 92.2, and 88.7% for the HA group. No significant differences were seen in either the RFS (log-rank test, χ2 = 0.891, p = 0.345) or OS (log-rank test, χ2 = 0.146, p = 0.702) between the specific pairs of two groups. Cox regression identified that TACE was not the factor affecting RFS or OS (p = 0.399; HR 0.847; 95% CI 0.576–1.245 for RFS vs. p = 0.989; HR 0.995; 95% CI 0.471–2.100 for OS). Conclusion Our data indicate that TACE is not an effective intervention in the adjuvant setting for BCLC stage A HCC after hepatectomy.