Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The association between smoking and unfavorable outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients with mechanical thrombectomy

INTRODUCTION Little is known about the relationship between smoking and clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy (MT). The outcomes could depend on different stroke subtypes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether smoking affected differently the outcomes in patients with different stroke subtypes who received MT. METHODS AIS patients who underwent MT were prospectively enrolled from three hospitals between January 2014 and December 2018. Smokers were defined as current users of cigarettes. The stroke subtypes were classified according to TOAST criteria. Outcome measurements included treatment effects, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and functional outcomes at 3 months. The effects of smoking on outcomes were assessed by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS A total of 128 AIS patients with MT were enrolled, including 64 smokers and 64 non-smokers. Logistic regression analysis indicated that smoking was related to higher risk of In-hospital ICH (OR=4.31; 95% CI: 1.10–16.96; p=0.036) in patients with cardioembolism subtype. Furthermore, smoking was also associated with lower rates of mild stroke at discharge (OR=0.07; 95% CI: 0.02–0.31; p<0.001) and functional independence (OR=0.13; 95% CI: 0.03–0.56; p=0.006) in patients with cardioembolism subtype. CONCLUSIONS In AIS patients undergoing MT, smoking could be related to a higher risk of In-hospital ICH and lower rates of mild stroke at discharge and functional independence if their stroke subtype is cardioembolism.
How Successful is Supplemental Intraseptal and Buccal Infiltration Anaesthesia in the Mandibular Molars of Patients Undergoing Root Canal Treatment or Tooth Extraction?

ABSTRACT Objectives To investigate the success rate of supplemental intraseptal and buccal infiltration anaesthesia in mandibular molars undergoing endodontic therapy/extraction when the inferior alveolar nerve block has failed. Material and Methods A prospective clinical trial including 200 patients undergoing lower molar root canal treatment/teeth extraction was conducted. Only 80 patients of the participants who had profound lower lip anaesthesia after the administration of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) were in pain within treatment. Patients experiencing moderate to severe pain upon using elevators, forceps, bur, or endodontic file were randomly allocated to the 2% lidocaine intraseptal injection and 4% articaine buccal infiltration groups. Level of pain was assessed every 2 to 10 min on standard 100 mm visual analogue scales. Results Overall, 55 (69%) of patients who were given either intraseptal injection of 2% lidocaine or buccal infiltration of 4% articaine had successful anaesthesia of lower molar teeth within 10 min. However, 25 (31%) of participating patients in the buccal infiltration and the intraseptal groups had failed anaesthesia within the study duration (10 min), and they received additional local anaesthetic. IANBs were more painful than buccal and intraseptal injections. However, buccal articaine injections were significantly more comfortable than intraseptal lidocaine injections (P > 0.001). Conclusions Supplemental intraseptal injection of 2% lidocaine and buccal infiltration of 4% articaine achieved profound pulpal anaesthesia in 69% of patients when the inferior alveolar nerve block failed. Recommendations can be given to dental practitioners to use infiltration of 4% articaine in conjunction with intraseptal injection of 2% lidocaine to anaesthetize the lower molar teeth when inferior alveolar nerve block fails.
Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag nanostructures

Noble metal/semiconductor oxide nanocomposites have considerable interest on degradation of pollutants from textile wastewaters. Ag-ZnO, as one of the noble metal/semiconductor oxide nanocomposite, is highly efficient catalyst in textile pollutant degradation that allows irradiation wavelength towards visible light region. Application of Ag on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles has caused e its greater degradation efficiency. Oxidation of the methylene blue consumes photo efficiently, blocking the electron-hole recombination and thus, increasi scavenger of the photogenerated electrons.
The Stress Problems and the Needs for Stress Counseling of High School Students in Vietnam

The correlation between the stress problems and the needs for high school students’ stress counseling in Vietnam is an unspecified issue that deserves attention. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that there was no correlation between the stress problems and the needs for counseling of high school students in Vietnam. Survey of 1,200 high school students in Vietnam from grades 6 to 12 with questionnaires, the results show that the mean score of stress problems in high school students is 2.67 corresponding to moderate level. Different levels of learning and living conditions are encountered in different student’s stress problems. The mean score for high school students' stress needs of counseling is 3.18 corresponding to the optional level. Different levels of education have different needs for stress counseling. There is a strong correlation between high school students' problems and needs for stress counseling. The more problematic high school students experience in stress, the more they need to be counseled on this issue.
Laser Cladding vs. Laser Alloying – a Comparative Study

Both laser cladding and laser alloying are related techniques for surface modifications of tools – mainly used for increasing wear and/or corrosion resistance locally. While laser cladding is nowadays already well established but has certain competitors (e.g. PTA-welding and flame gunning), laser alloying is a unique technique with currently only one single industrial implementation but lots of prospective applications. This article will introduce the principles and differences of laser cladding and alloying and give a brief synopsis of the advantages compared to its competitive techniques. Finally a few selected applications are presented.
Estimating the Size of Branch-and-Bound Trees

This paper investigates the problem of estimating the size of branch-and-bound (B&B) trees for solving mixed-integer programs. We first prove that the size of the B&B tree cannot be approximated within a factor of 2 for general binary programs, unless [Formula: see text]. Second, we review measures of progress of the B&B search, such as the well-known gap and the often-overlooked tree weight, and propose a new measure, which we call leaf frequency. We study two simple ways to transform these progress measures into B&B tree-size estimates, either as a direct projection or via double-exponential smoothing, a standard time-series forecasting technique. We then combine different progress measures and their trends into nontrivial estimates using machine learning techniques, which yield more precise estimates than any individual measure. The best method that we have identified uses all individual measures as features of a random forest model. In a large computational study, we train and validate all methods on the publicly available MIPLIB and Coral general purpose benchmark sets. On average, the best method estimates B&B tree sizes within a factor of 3 on the set of unseen test instances, even during the early stage of the search, and improves in accuracy as the search progresses. It also achieves a factor of 2 over the entire search on each of the six additional sets of homogeneous instances that we tested. All techniques are available in version 7 of the branch-and-cut framework SCIP. Summary of Contribution: This manuscript develops a method for online estimation of the size of branch-and-bound trees, thereby combining methods of mixed-integer programming and machine learning. We show that high-quality estimations can be obtained using the presented techniques. The methods are also useful in everyday use of branch-and-bound algorithms to obtain approximate search-completion information. The manuscript is accompanied by an extensive online supplement comprising the code used for our simulations and an implementation of all discussed methods in the academic solver SCIP, together with the tools and instructions to train estimators for custom instance sets.
Impact of Different Developmental Instars on Locusta migratoria Jumping Performance

Ontogenetic locomotion research focuses on the evolution of locomotion behavior in different developmental stages of a species. Unlike vertebrates, ontogenetic locomotion in invertebrates is poorly investigated. Locusts represent an outstanding biological model to study this issue. They are hemimetabolous insects and have similar aspects and behaviors in different instars. This research is aimed at studying the jumping performance of Locusta migratoria over different developmental instars. Jumps of third instar, fourth instar, and adult L. migratoria were recorded through a high-speed camera. Data were analyzed to develop a simplified biomechanical model of the insect: the elastic joint of locust hind legs was simplified as a torsional spring located at the femur-tibiae joint as a semilunar process and based on an energetic approach involving both locomotion and geometrical data. A simplified mathematical model evaluated the performances of each tested jump. Results showed that longer hind leg length, higher elastic parameter, and longer takeoff time synergistically contribute to a greater velocity and energy storing/releasing in adult locusts, if compared to young instars; at the same time, they compensate possible decreases of the acceleration due to the mass increase. This finding also gives insights for advanced bioinspired jumping robot design.
Improvising Formalisation — Conversational Programming and Live Coding

In the present article we aim to contribute to the discussion of new computational paradigms for computer music from the speciﬁc angle of conversational sound programming. Over the last decade, sound programming has seen a turn toward including the programming activity into the dynamic unfolding of sound, both within performance (most strongly in live coding ) and in sound research. If we understand programming as a method of reﬂection on the possible, as a procedure of interpreting the rules of reformulation, this turn changes the relation between formalisation and process. Rather than one serving the other, formalisation becomes audible as a dialectical interplay between plan and action. Where a given plan can lead us is at least partially unforeseen (unless the plan is trivial), and consequently formalisation is by necessity improvisational in nature. The idea of (re-)programming music or sound programs while they run introduces a number of constraints, which suggest creating extensions to programming languages that support these activities. On the other hand, it opens new possibilities for communication, both between partners (such as co-musicians, or co-researchers in other contexts) and audiences. A particular approach developed by the authors chooses to introduce even more constraints than live coding in general, and leverages some features of the programming language of choice for even more artistic and communicative possibilities.
Screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: The Potential of MicroRNAs

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with short- and long-term complications in both mothers and their offspring. Screening and early diagnosis of GDM is advocated as a strategy to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, there is currently no test that is amenable to routine screening, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. In recent years, miRNAs have been the focus of increasing research due to their important role in regulating biological pathways and their aberrant expression during disease. The discovery of circulating miRNAs in maternal blood, and their altered expression during pregnancy-associated complications have increased interest into their potential as diagnostic biomarkers for GDM. In this review, we summarise studies that have investigated miRNAs in maternal blood thus providing an update of the current status of miRNAs as biomarkers for GDM. We also discuss the challenges of miRNA profiling, and highlight perspectives and recommendations for research.
Effect of Calcium Carbonate Residues from Cement Industries on the Phenolic Composition and Yield of Shiraz Grapes

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites synthesised in response to biotic or abiotic stress in plants. This stress-induced increase in phenolic compound concentrations is generally activated by internal levels of abscisic acid (ABA). The exogenous application of ABA or calcium chloride on grapevines is also known to increase grape yield and alter the phenolic composition of grapes. Residues of cement industries such as calcium carbonates (CaCO3) are a safe environmental source of calcium that could be used to induce the synthesis of phenolic compounds and act as a yield promoter in grapes and other crops. Consequently, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of cement industries’ CaCO3 residues (CaCO3R) on the yield and concentration of phenolic compounds in Shiraz grapes. Thirteen phenolic compounds were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD. Malvidin-3-O-glucoside was the major anthocyanin found in Shiraz grapes, and its concentration increased by more than 200% in CaCO3R-treated vines. Similarly, the concentration of cinnamic acid, the main precursor of phenolic compounds, increased by more than 900% in grapes treated with CaCO3 residues at harvest time. Finally, catechin, epicatechin and procyanidin B1 and B2 increased significantly at harvest time in CaCO3R-treated grapes relative to the controls. In general, it was found that foliar application of CaCO3 residues from the cement industry at veraison induced an increase in yield, and in the concentration and composition of phenolic compounds in grapes.
Volatiles emitted by resistance inducer-treated grapevines affect Hyalesthes obsoletus behavioural responses.

The planthopper Hyalesthes obsoletus Signoret (Hemiptera Cixiidae) is the main vector of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, that cause the grapevine Bois noir disease. Amongst the alternatives to synthetic pesticides, many studies have investigated the use of resistance inducers to control plant pathogens and phytophagous insects. In this study, the planthopper behavioural responses to volatiles emitted by grapevine shoots treated with three commercial chemical elicitors were investigated in a dual-choice olfactometer. Each formulation was applied at one of three different times, as 0, 2, and 7 days before the bioassays. Insect behavioural responses toward grapevine volatiles differed significantly across formulations and application times. In particular, H. obsoletus were significantly (χ2 = 7.258, df = 1, P = 0.005) repelled by volatiles emitted by grapevines sprayed with a benzothiadiazolebased formulation 7 days before the bioassays. The two other formulations were based on oligosaccharides and glutathione and gave contrasting results. The planthoppers were significantly (χ2 = 3.571, df =1, P = 0.044) attracted to volatiles emitted by grapevines treated with one of these formulations on the same day of bioassays, but not subsequently. This suggested a response to the product rather than an elicited response from the plants, so we conducted headspace analysis on samples of the three products to identify differences in volatile constituents for future experimentation. The remaining formulation had no effect at any of the posttreatment intervals. Our results indicate that the benzothiadiazole-based formulation may contribute to a novel sustainable integrated management strategy for the control of H. obsoletus, the main vector of the Bois noir phytoplasma.
NEUROPROTECTIVE UPSHOT OF CENTELLA ASIATICA AGAINST PENTYLENETETRAZOLE INDUCED EPILEPSY IN RATS WITH REFERENCE TO PROTEIN METABOLISM

Centella asiatica (CA) is being used in traditional medicine in the treatment of several neurological disorders including epilepsy. The present study is carried out to investigate the anticonvulsant effect of different extracts of CA with particular reference to protein metabolism in different regions of rat brain (Cerebellum, Cerebral Cortex, Hippocampus and Pons-medulla) during Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)induced epilepsy. The rats were randomly divided into 8 groups having 6 in each group: 1. Control group received Saline, 2. PTZ-induced epileptic group (60 mg/kg b.w./ i.p/ 1 day) 3.Epileptic group pretreated with n-Hexane extract (n-HE), 4. Epileptic group pretreated with Chloroform extract (CE), 5. Epileptic group pretreated with nbutanol extract (n-BE), 6. Epileptic group pretreated with Ethyl acetate (EAE) extract, 7. Epileptic group pretreated with Aqueous(AE) extract and 8. Epileptic group pretreated with Diazepam (DP; Reference control) (2 mg/kg b.w/i.p). The CA extracts were administered at the dose of 200 mg/kg body weight orally for one week. Selected parameters representing protein (total, soluble and structural proteins) metabolism was studied in different regions of brain during induced epilepsy and on pre-treatment with different extracts of CA. PTZ treatment in a convulsive dose of 60 mg/kg significantly reduced total and soluble proteins content in all the brain regions compared to controls. Whereas significantly higher levels found in the PTZ treated epileptic group. Treatment with different extracts of CA reversed the alterations that have occurred during PTZ-induced epilepsy. Hence, it is evident that the different bioactive factors of CA offered protection against PTZ-induced epilepsy.
Clinical Advances in the Treatment of Metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with a high risk of recurrence and generally a bad prognosis. More than one-third of patients with TNBC will present distant metastases during the course of their disease. Although chemotherapy has been the main treatment option for metastatic TNBC for a long time, this scenario has changed recently with the advent of the polyadenosinediphosphate-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) for patients harbouring a mutation in the BRCA genes (BRCAmut) and also with the results of immunotherapy in patients with PD-L1-positive tumours. The present manuscript proposes a treatment algorithm for patients with metastatic TNBC based on the currently available, most relevant literature on the topic. For patients with a BRCAmut and able to tolerate chemotherapy, we recommend initiating treatment with platins (carboplatin/cisplatin) and to start PARPis at disease progression. For patients with PD-L1-positive tumours (PD-L1 expression on tumour-infiltrating immune cells ≥1%), we recommend first-line treatment with nab-paclitaxel and atezolizumab, when available. In patients without a BRCA mutation and with PD-L1-negative tumours, we recommend single agent chemotherapy with taxanes (paclitaxel or docetaxel) as a first-line treatment. In patients with a high disease burden or who are very symptomatic, combinations such as anthracyclines plus cyclophosphamide or platins with taxanes are valid options. Chemotherapy should be maintained until the occurrence of disease progression or limiting toxicities. After progression to first-line chemotherapy, anthracyclines are an option for patients who received taxanes and vice versa. For patients who progressed to taxanes and anthracyclines, or who present contraindications to these agents, fluorouracil/capecitabine, eribulin, gemcitabine, cisplatin/carboplatin, vinorelbine and ixabepilone are alternatives. The treatment of TNBC is constantly evolving, and the inclusion of patients in ongoing trials evaluating new targeted agents, immunotherapy and predictive biomarkers should be encouraged, in an attempt to improve metastatic TNBC treatment outcomes.
A cross-sectional study to investigate motivation for physical activity in a sample of Iranian community-dwelling older adults

Background: On the basis of the Social-Ecological Model, there are assumed to be three sources of motivation – intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community motivation – that prompt older adults to participate in physical activity (PA). These three motivational sources can lead to PA behavior adherence. Little empirical research exists that investigates which motivational source is more influential in older adults’ adherence to PA, thus creating an area of interest for this research. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to investigate the relationship between levels of PA and different sources of motivation. The convenience sample of 140 community-dwelling older adults, aged 60 and greater, living in Shiraz, Iran agreed to complete self-reported questionnaires,to measure motivation and PA. Five statistical tests were used: Independent-samples t test, one way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, chi-square, and ordinal regression. Results: Ordinal regression indicated that gender (P = 0.001, CI: 0.523-2.115) and intrapersonal motivation (P < 0.001, CI: 0.038-0.126) were useful predictors of variations in the levels of PA. Compared to males, females engaged in PA with less frequency (P = 0.006). Community motivation decreased with age (r = - 0.213, P < 0.05). There were no significant relationships between age, educational level, health status, and PA (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Interpersonal and community motivation were insignificant factors for PA participation, perhaps due to non-facilitating environment. Future research should be conducted to investigate the environmental issues that hinder PA participation in older adults.
Development of a scanning soft X-ray spectromicroscope to investigate local electronic structures on surfaces and interfaces of advanced materials under conditions ranging from low vacuum to helium atmosphere.

A scanning soft X-ray spectromicroscope was recently developed based mainly on the photon-in/photon-out measurement scheme for the investigation of local electronic structures on the surfaces and interfaces of advanced materials under conditions ranging from low vacuum to helium atmosphere. The apparatus was installed at the soft X-ray beamline (BL17SU) at SPring-8. The characteristic features of the apparatus are described in detail. The feasibility of this spectromicroscope was demonstrated using soft X-ray undulator radiation. Here, based on these results, element-specific two-dimensional mapping and micro-XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure) measurements are reported, as well as the observation of magnetic domain structures from using a reference sample of permalloy micro-dot patterns fabricated on a silicon substrate, with modest spatial resolution (e.g. ∼500 nm). Then, the X-ray radiation dose for Nafion® near the fluorine K-edge is discussed as a typical example of material that is not radiation hardened against a focused X-ray beam, for near future experiments.