Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular and liver disease among pre-hospital trauma deaths: A review of autopsy findings

Introduction Pre-existing disease is a common contributor to mortality and morbidity after injury and resuscitation of injured patients are often altered in hospital based on comorbidities. However, this is uncommon in the pre-hospital phase of care where patients are managed according to clinical practice guidelines. This study aimed to quantify the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and liver disease among trauma patients attended by pre-hospital clinicians but who died prior to reaching hospital and assess associations with age. Methods This was a retrospective review of pre-hospital trauma deaths in the state of Victoria, Australia between 01 Jan 2008 and 31 Dec 2014. The inclusion criteria were (a) patients attended by pre-hospital clinicians, (b) deceased before arrival to hospital, (c) evidence of recent trauma and (d) underwent a full autopsy. Cardiovascular and liver disease status were extracted from autopsy reports. Results There were 1043 patients included in this study. Most patients were male (77.1%). Intentional self-harm was significantly more common in patients aged ≥65 years (17.4%). CVD was prevalent in 495 (47.5%; 95%CI: 44.4–50.5) cases with myocardial fibrosis the most common abnormality detected. All sub-groups of CVD demonstrated a significant association with increasing age, except right ventricular hypertrophy. Liver disease was present in 235 (22.5%; 95%CI: 20.1-25.2) patients and most common among patients aged 35–64 years. Discussion CVD was prevalent in almost half of all injured patients included in this study while liver disease was present in about a fifth. The prevalence of CVD was associated with increasing age, while liver disease was more common among middle-aged patients. This high prevalence in our population indicates that pre-existing cardiovascular and liver disease be considered when tailoring pre-hospital life-saving interventions for injured patients.
Estimating North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) location uncertainty following visual or acoustic detection to inform dynamic management

The United States and Canada employ dynamic management strategies to improve conservation outcomes for the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). These strategies rely on near real‐time knowledge of whale distribution generated from visual surveys and opportunistic sightings. Near real‐time passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) systems have been operational for many years but acoustic detections of right whales have yet to be incorporated in dynamic management because of concerns over uncertainty in the location of acoustically detected whales. This rationale does not consider whale movement or its contribution to location uncertainty following either visual or acoustic detection. The goal of this study was to estimate uncertainties in right whale location following acoustic and visual detection and identify the timescale at which the uncertainties become similar owing to post‐detection whale movement. We simulated whale movement using an autocorrelated random walk model parameterized to approximate three common right whale behavioral states (traveling, feeding, and socializing). We then used a Monte Carlo approach to estimate whale location over a 96‐hr period given the initial uncertainty from the acoustic and visual detection methods and the evolving uncertainties arising from whale movement. The results demonstrated that for both detection methods the uncertainty in whale location increases rapidly following the initial detection and can vary by an order of magnitude after 96 hr depending on the behavioral state of the whale. The uncertainties in whale location became equivalent between visual and acoustic detections within 24–48 hr depending on whale behavior and acoustic detection range parameterization. These results imply that using both visual and acoustic detections provides enhanced information for the dynamic management of this visually and acoustically cryptic and highly mobile species.
A robust least squares based approach to min‐max model predictive control

This article deals with the model predictive control (MPC) of linear, time‐invariant discrete‐time polytopic (LTIDP) systems. The 2‐fold aim is to simplify the treatment of complex issues like stability and feasibility analysis of MPC in the presence of parametric uncertainty as well as to reduce the complexity of the relative optimization procedure. The new approach is based on a two degrees of freedom (2DOF) control scheme, where the output r(k) of the feedforward input estimator (IE) is used as input forcing the closed‐loop system ∑f. ∑f is the feedback connection of an LTIDP plant ∑p with an LTI feedback controller ∑g. Both cases of plants with measurable and unmeasurable state are considered. The task of ∑g is to guarantee the quadratic stability of ∑f, as well as the fulfillment of hard constraints on some physical variables for any input r(k) satisfying an “a priori” determined admissibility condition. The input r(k) is computed by the feedforward IE through the on‐line minimization of a worst‐case finite‐horizon quadratic cost functional and is applied to ∑f according to the usual receding horizon strategy. The on‐line constrained optimization problem is here simplified, reducing the number of the involved constraints and decision variables. This is obtained modeling r(k) as a B‐spline function, which is known to admit a parsimonious parametric representation. This allows us to reformulate the minimization of the worst‐case cost functional as a box‐constrained robust least squares estimation problem, which can be efficiently solved using second‐order cone programming.
The Role of Endoscopic Ultrasound in Pancreatic Cancer Staging in the Era of Neoadjuvant Therapy and Personalised Medicine

Precise staging of pancreatic cancer is crucial for treatment choice. In clinical practice, this includes the TNM staging and determination of tumour resectability, based on a multimodality imaging workup. International guidelines recommend multi-detector computed tomography (CT), with a dedicated pancreatic protocol, as the first-line tool for TNM staging and evaluation of tumour-vessel relationships. In non-metastatic disease upon initial CT assessment, both magnetic resonance imaging and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) may add relevant information, potentially changing treatment sequence. EUS may have distinct advantages in pancreatic cancer diagnosis and staging when compared with other modalities, being particularly valuable in the determination of portal venous confluence involvement (particularly in small and ill-defined/isoattenuating tumours on CT), in locoregional nodal staging and in the detection of ascites. As we step forward to a more frequent use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to personalised medicine, the importance of EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) also increases. The recent availability of third-generation biopsy needles significantly increased the diagnostic yield of EUS-guided tissue acquisition, providing diagnostic cell blocks in approximately 95% of cases with only two dedicated passes and allowing ancillary testing, such as immunohistochemistry and molecular profiling of the tumour. In this article, the authors present an updated perspective of the place of EUS and EUS-FNB in the staging algorithm of pancreatic cancer. Data supporting the increasing role of neoadjuvant therapy and the importance of a patient-tailored treatment selection, based on tumoural subtyping and molecular profiling, are also discussed.
An Energy Efficient Routing Approach for Cloud-Assisted Green Industrial IoT Networks

The green industrial Internet of things (IIoT) is emerging as a new paradigm, which envisions the concept of connecting different devices and reducing energy consumption. In multi-hop low power and lossy network, a resource-constrained node should aware of its energy consumption while routing the data packets. As part of IoT, the routing protocol for low power and lossy network (RPL) is considered to be a default routing standard. Recently, RPL has gained a significant maturity, but still, energy optimization is one of the main issues, because the default objective function (OF), which makes routing decision mainly based on a single parameter, such as link quality, and ignores the energy cost. Therefore, this paper aims to consider the concept of green IIoT concerning how a routing approach can achieve energy efficiency in resource-constrained IoT networks. For this, we propose a resource aware and reliable OF (RAROF), which constructs an optimum routing path by exploiting the information regarding the duty cycle, link quality, energy condition, and resource availability of a node. In addition, we propose node vulnerability index (NVI), a new routing metric that identifies the vulnerable nodes in terms of energy. To deal with the diverse data traffic of the IIoT network, we implement a multi-queuing based traffic differentiation approach that ensures the application requirements. The extensive simulation results show that the proposed RAROF can effectively extend the lifetime of the network, enhance the energy efficiency, and achieve higher reliability than that of other OFs. In this way, RAROF makes a routing decision with the purpose of extending network lifetime and minimizing energy depletion, paving the way towards green IIoT.
Using knowledge exchange between prosumers and enterprises to implement circular economy activities in businesses

The prosumer engagement conceptual model was considered in light of the Process Classification Framework and how results from Poland and United Kingdom (UK) survey data informed design of the combined prosumer engagement and knowledge exchange conceptual model. The desk literature method was used to review the papers in answering the research propositions. The revised model contains the constructs for supporting prosumer engagement to include sustainability and describes the flow of knowledge sharing and knowledge exchange. Knowledge exchange is the method used to capture and improve enterprise analysis of prosumer knowledge sharing. The sustainability construct includes circular economy philosophy where enterprises evaluate their product and service designs in terms of process stages. The findings confirm the need for increased prosumer engagement as enterprises strive to adopt ways of limiting negative impacts on the environment and improving ethical and responsible business practices. The circular economy is having an impact on all industrial sectors requiring them to evaluate and rethink their processes. The enhancement of the role of prosumers in the circular economy could act as a positive driver for business process changes and aid enterprises in meeting carbon neutral plans. The main contribution of this paper is to offer a novel concept that explains how enterprises can capture and translate prosumer knowledge to inform business strategy within a circular economy setting.
Asymptomatic Professional Footballers: Prevalence of Ankle Retinacula Injury with Associated Lateral Ligament and Tendon Abnormalities

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 SUMMARY Background. The retinacula are important dynamic stabilizers around the ankle joint and are susceptible to potential injury in high-level footballers. Aim. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of retinacula injury in asymptomatic professional football players and for the presence of associated ankle tendon or ligament abnormalities. Methods. Seventeen professional football players from one English premier league club underwent ultrasound examination of both ankles. The retinacula around the ankle were measured for thickness and compared with normal values. Ankle tendons were evaluated for the presence of abnormal vascularity or tendinopathy, tendon sheath effusions, and for peroneal tendon subluxation. Lateral ankle ligaments were also examined. Results. The results indicated increased thickness of the retinacula at the following sites: superior extensor retinaculum on the medial side(1.5 mm, normal 0.9 mm) ; superior peroneal retinaculum at the anterior insertion (2.16 mm, normal 1 mm); and flexor retinaculum at the anterior insertion into the tibia (1.78 mm, normal.0.9 mm). Fluid around the tibialis posterior tendon was a frequent finding representing 74%, whilst over 25% revealed fluid within the peroneal tendon sheaths. Over 50% of the scans revealed thickened and abnormal lateral ligament complexes. Conclusions. The thickening of the retinacula may indicate scarring from previous injury or repetitive micro-trauma, attributable to the ball kicking biomechanics, kinematics and contact injuries during tackles. Furthermore tendon sheath fluid was commonly seen on both the medial and lateral side of the ankle. We conclude that chronic scarring and thickening of these structures should be recognized as a common and often incidental finding and the significance in asymptomatic professional footballers is minimal.
The genetic and functional role of ABCA12 in Harlequin Ichthyosis

P Bland, B Fell and D P Kelsell. “The up-regulation of ABCA1 by the activation of LXRβ and PPARδ/γ to renew archetypical differentiation in Harlequin Ichthyosis”, European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) Meeting Copenhagen, Denmark, 10-13 September 2014.
Dos Nuevas Especies de Coleoptera Melolonthidae de la Costa Grande de Guerrero, México

Resumen. Se describen dos nuevas especies de melolóntidos colectados en Barra de Potosí, localidad ubicada en la costa de Guerrero, México: Cyclocephala huamilule recolectada en un matorral xerófilo cercano a la playa a 10 m de altitud y Phyllophaga barrapotosiana, especie que se incluye en el grupo pallida y que se colectó dentro de un remanente de selva baja caducifolia en recuperación a 15 m de altitud. Se incluyen ilustraciones de los caracteres diagnósticos, una modificación de las claves más recientes, así como comentarios sobre la taxonomía de las especies nuevas y se comparan con otras cercanas.
Vulnerability of hop‐yields due to compound drought and heat events over European key‐hop regions

Compound climate events in which only one variable is extreme (e.g., either hot but no drought or extreme drought but not hot) and events in which both variables are extreme (e.g., drought and heat waves) may have different impacts on hop yields and alpha‐bitter acid contents. Increasing occurrences of compound drought and heat events have led to increased income variability for beer production, and also affecting the major hop growers across Europe (EU). Our study includes the key hop‐growing regions across the EU such as Hallertau (Germany); Úštěcko, Žatecko and Tršická (Czech Republic); Kent (Great Britain); Alsace (France); Lublin (Poland); Koroška (Slovenia) and León and Galicia (Spain). For these regions, we used the concurrent bivariate return period to model the joint probability distributions of daily precipitation and maximum temperature extremes and to provide risk assessments for concurrent drought‐heat waves during the hop‐growing season. We estimated the risk of lower yields from hop cones based on concurrent dry‐cool, dry‐hot, wet‐cool and wet‐hot modes over the target areas. The results show that longer and more severe drought and heat wave concurrences have increased more frequently than shorter concurrences. The degree of risk was estimated as being higher over the extensive hop‐growing areas in the Czech Republic and Germany. A total of 22.4, 12.5 and 7.2% of EU areas with conditions suitable for commercial hop production fell into the moderate, high and very high yield loss risk categories, respectively. Integrating the damage between April and August indicated that more than 62.7% of total yield losses were due to high temperatures under dry conditions and that 21.5% of the yield losses were due to dry‐cool conditions in the top hop‐farming regions. The hotter European droughts caused decreases in noble aromatic hops by 29–68%. This indicates that hop yields are very vulnerable to these events due to a slower rate of adaptation of hops compared to field crops.
THE ROLE OF CDC42 IN THE BUDDING PATTERN OF HAPLOID BUDDING YEAST

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as budding yeast, is a microorganism that has the capability to proliferate rapidly under optimal environmental conditions. Previous studies focused on cells that exhibit symmetry breaking where proteins undergo polarization without spatial cues. In our study, we would like to understand how localization of Cdc42 is established when a spatial cue is present. In wild type haploid cells, the spatial cues interact with a downstream module that includes Rsr1/Bud1 which recruit different proteins including a key protein called Cdc42. A positive feedback loop involving a GDP-GTP exchange factor Cdc24, helps the maintenance of Cdc42 at the bud site. We have created a model to understand how haploid budding yeast wild type cells undergo polarization with spatial cues in order to understand how yeast cells select the next bud site. Simulations have shown that there are two biological possibilities. We conducted corresponding biological experiments in the lab of Dr. Hay-Oak Park. Currently the data shows that two cases are possible. To check the accuracy of our model, 3-D reconstructions will be performed in the future. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisors Dr. Ching-Shan Chou and Dr. Hay-Oak Park for their help and guidance. I would also like to thank Dr. Chuan Xue for serving on my committee. I would like to thank my research collaborator Dr. Wing-Cheong Lo. I would finally like to thank Dr. Pil Kang and Mid Eum Lee who helped me in conducting experiments in Dr. Park’s Lab.
A Mini Review on Doped Nickel-Based Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

The energy crisis and environmental pollution have attracted much attention and have promoted researches on clean and sustainable hydrogen energy resources. With the help of highly active and stable transition metal nickel-based catalysts, the production of hydrogen from water electrolysis from electrolyzed water has become an inexpensive and efficient strategy for generating hydrogen energy. In recent years, heteroatom doping has been found to be an effective strategy to improve the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performances of nickel-based catalysts in acidic, neutral, and alkaline media. This review will highlight many recent works of inexpensive and readily available heteroatom-doped nickel-based HER catalysts. The evaluation methods for the performances of HER catalyst will be briefly described, and the role of heteroatom doping and its application in nickel-based catalyst will be summarized. This article will also point out some heteroatom doping strategies, which may provide references and inspire the design of other catalysts with dopants.
Finite Difference Schemes for Modelling the Propagation of Axisymmetric Elastic Longitudinal Waves

Abstract. An efficient finite difference shock-capturing scheme for the solution of direct seismic problems is constructed. Problem formulation is based on equations of the dynamics of elastic medium with axial symmetry. When implementating the scheme on multiprocessor computing systems, the two-cyclic splitting method with respect to spatial variables is used. One-dimensional systems of equations that arise in the context of splitting procedure are represented as subsystems for longitudinal, transverse and torsional waves. The case of longitudinal waves is considered in this paper. The results of simulations with the use of explicit grid-characteristic schemes and implicit schemes of the "predictor–corrector" type with controllable dissipation of energy are compared with exact solutions that describe propagation of monochromatic waves.
Human Dental Pulp Tissue during Orthodontic Tooth Movement: An Immunofluorescence Study

The orthodontic tooth movement is the last step of several biological processes that take place after the application of external forces. During this process, dental pulp tissue is subjected to structural and protein expression modifications in order to maintain their integrity and functional morphology. The purpose of the present work was to perform an in vivo study, evaluating protein expression modifications in the human dental pulp of patients that have undergone orthodontic tooth movement due to pre-calibrated light force application for 30 days. Dental pulp samples were extracted from molars and premolars of the control group and after 7 and 30 days of treatment; the samples were then processed for immunofluorescence reactions using antibodies against fibronectin, collagen I and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Our results show that, after 7 days of treatment, all tested proteins change their pattern expression and will reset after 30 days. These data demonstrate that the dental pulp does not involve any irreversible iatrogenic alterations, supporting the efficacy and safety of using pre-calibrated force application to induce orthodontic tooth movement in clinical practice.
Within genome variation of germ-line and somatic mutation

Variation in the mutation rate along the human genome, if not properly understood and accounted for, has the potential to confound evolutionary studies, produce spurious driver candidates in cancer studies, and hinder the diagnostics aimed at understanding the etiologies of genetic diseases. In this thesis I consider mutation rate variation in both the germ-line and somatic tissues, at varying scales. In the germ-line, the major advance of this thesis over previous works is use of direct methods to analyse the magnitude, scale and determinants of mutation rate variation. This has enabled us to tease apart the evolutionary and mutational forces, whilst directly quantifying the variation in the human mutation rate at different scales; at large scales the variation appears to be quite modest, however at the single nucleotide scale there is potentially huge cryptic variation in the mutation rate. I envisage that within the near future, the increase in de novo mutations coming from pedigree studies will allow for even greater understanding. I extend this work into somatic tissues, however due to the quality of data and heterogeneity of samples and cell types, the primary findings lean towards highlighting areas of improvement for next genereation sequencing (NGS) pipelines - I show ~4% of all single nucleotide variants from cancers appear to be errors - and develop methods with which future studies could provide more insight. With these methods and the ever increasing flow of somatic single nucleotide variants, coupled with the continual improvements in NGS technology, it should soon be possible to provide accurate answers to the questions posed of somatic mutation rate variation in this thesis.