Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Utility of PIVKA-II and AFP in Differentiating Hepatocellular Carcinoma from Non-Malignant High-Risk Patients

Background and Objectives: We aim to compare the diagnostic performance of Protein induced by vitamin K absence-II (PIVKA-II), a biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in differentiating HCC and non-malignant high-risk (NMHR) groups and to determine their cut-off values. Materials and Methods: A total of 163 patients, including 40 with HCC and 123 with NMHR (100 with liver cirrhosis and 23 with non-cirrhotic high-risk patients) were prospectively enrolled. The levels of AFP and PIVKA-II were measured, and their cut-off values were determined. We calculated and compared the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves of PIVKA-II, AFP, and their combination. Results: The levels of PIVKA-II and AFP were found to be significantly higher in the HCC compared to NMHR patients (p < 0.0001). For the differentiation of HCC from NMHR, the optimal cutoff values for PIVKA-II and AFP were 36.7 mAU/mL (90% sensitivity; 82.1% specificity) and 14.2 ng/mL (75% sensitivity; 93.5% specificity), respectively. The AUROC of PIVKA-II (0.905, p < 0.0001) was higher compared to AFP (0.869, p < 0.0001), but the combination of PIVKA–II and AFP gave the highest AUROC value (0.911, p < 0.0001). However, their differences were not statistically significant (AFP vs. PIVKA; p = 0.4775, AFP vs. Combination; p = 0.3808, PIVKA vs. Combination; p = 0.2268). Conclusions: PIVKA-II and AFP showed equal performance in detecting HCC in high-risk patients. AFP as a screening marker for HCC may be adequate, and replacing or adding the PIVKA-II test in current clinical practice may be of little value.
Assessing the Publicity and Reach of Peer-Led Online Medical Teaching: A Single-Event Evaluation

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to higher education, including medical studies. Online learner support became urgently necessary, and peer-support of learning was needed to supplement formal teaching. This study evaluates the impact and delivery media of OSCEazy, a student-led initiative supporting formal teaching across institutional and national boundaries. Methods A survey was created on Google Forms and disseminated via the Zoom chat function to all the participants at the end of our event titled, “The Cardiology Station”. Results A large proportion (99.5%) of the students have a Facebook account and (98.7%) use it to keep track of medical events (p=0.45 for comparison). However, a very small proportion of use their other social media to keep up with medical events (p<0.0001 for comparison). Conclusion It is evident from our results, that most of our participants used Facebook to keep track of medical events. The use of their other social media platforms (Instagram, etc) to keep track of medical events was limited. Thus, it is important for any organisation, such as ours, who conduct online events to evaluate which platform is most suitable for them to use to publicise their events.
Palaeobiology of the early sauropodomorph Mussaurus patagonicus inferred from its long bone histology

We present a detailed histological study of long bones from an ontogenetic series of Mussaurus patagonicus, an early sauropodomorph from the Lower Jurassic of Argentina. Twenty long bones, including humeri, femora and fibulae, obtained from 13 individuals of different body sizes were sampled for histological analysis. In general terms, the cortical bone is formed by a well vascularized fibrolamellar and parallel fibred bone. Except for the smaller individuals, cyclical growth marks (CGMs) are well recorded in all the specimens but their number and relative position is highly variable. Mussaurus exhibits marked variation regarding relative growth rate, with some individuals growing much faster than others. Such variation affects the size of the adult individuals, which results in a poor correlation between the body size and the age/ontogenetic stage for this taxon. These discrepancies may be related to sexual dimorphism and/or developmental plasticity. Intraspecific variation is also recorded with regard to the growth strategies, which can vary from cyclical, as in other early sauropodomorphs, to continuous, as reported in sauropods. Sexual maturity appears to have been reached between 23 and 31 years, which is delayed in comparison to other early sauropodomorphs but more comparable with derived sauropods. The attainment of somatic maturity appears to have been reached at about 14 years after onset of sexual maturity. Mussaurus is a sauropodiform, phylogenetically closer to sauropods than most other Early Jurassic sauropodomorphs, and therefore provides critical information for understanding palaeobiological aspects of the origin of sauropods and the onset of gigantism in this lineage.
A Self-Aligned Method of IMU-Based 3-DoF Lower-Limb Joint Angle Estimation

Inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based lower-limb joint angle estimation (JAE) that enables wearable and real-time monitoring of kinematic and biomechanical states has been studied for decades. However, 3-degree-of-freedom (DoF) JAE of lower-limb joints still requires cumbersome calibration procedures. In this article, we propose a self-aligned method by formulating a universal 3-DoF kinematic constraint and solving it by dividing it into three subproblems. Particularly, we divide the issue of optimizing the 3-DoF kinematic constraint by: 1) estimating the main axis following a widely adopted hinge-joint assumption; 2) unifying the reference frames according to a comprehensive metric; and 3) estimating the rest two joint axes. By estimating the coordinates of the three rotational axes of the 3-DoF joint, we further estimate the 3-DoF joint angles by decoupling the joint’s rotations into rotations around the axes. We evaluate our method by accuracy comparison with other methods, test–retest reliability, and ablation experiments. The performance demonstrates that the RMSEs of our method are below 2.9° for hip and knee, below 2.6° for ankle, which are comparable with other methods and able to estimate 3-DoF angles in a self-aligned manner. The agreement between test and retest is good, and the ablation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of sequentially solving the three subproblems. The proposed method is feasible for self-aligned JAE of 3-DoF lower-limb joints. This study may aid the wider application of IMU-based JAE in field conditions and provide a powerful component for wearable human intent decoding.
An Updated Framework for Theoretical and Practical Engagement With Sustainable Tourism Quality Control Tools

Quality control tools, such as certification programs, translate sustainable tourism into practice. Recent scholarship demonstrates considerable tool diversification, yet further theoretical and practical engagement is impeded by the absence of an updated conceptual framework. This conceptual research is the first to extend the only existing framework, the one-dimensional Quality Control Spectrum, after more than 15 years of quiescence. The proposed three-dimensional framework illustrates 26 tools organized across function categories (how each tool progresses sustainability), toolboxes (expressions of strength) and operational Fordism (expressions of adaptability). This reconceptualized diversity highlights tools facilitating flexible post-Fordist and less flexible Fordist models of sustainable tourism. The identification of “neo-Fordist” tools, which fuse characteristics of Fordist and post-Fordist practice, is a related substantive contribution. The framework provides a new paradigmatic basis for future theoretical engagement with sustainable tourism while offering a framework for pragmatic practitioner engagement.
Integrated topology and packaging optimization for conceptual-level electric vehicle chassis design via the component-existence method

Conventional vehicle architectures are undergoing significant transformation as automakers embrace electrification. With increased emphasis on lightweight structures design and efficient packaging of new electric powertrains, numerical tools are now essential to help solve these complex material and component distribution problems. To address these challenges, methods for integrated topology and packaging optimization (iTOPO) have been developed to couple these problem statements and form dynamic component-structure interactions. In this work, a component-existence approach is used for conducting iTOPO of self-contained electric vehicle chassis structures to demonstrate the benefits and scalability of this emerging methodology. Examples focus on incorporating simplified components for battery modules and electric motors within the underlying vehicle structure, integrating up to 43 components simultaneously in a 3D design domain. Here, discussion highlights the development of unique integrated layouts, methodology tunability, and practical insights of the formed component-structure interactions. iTOPO results are also compared to equivalent topology-only problems and show less than a 10% difference in compliance despite the addition of various complex integration requirements (e.g. multiple geometries, packaging symmetry).
Carbonate dissolution and temporal abundances of Foraminifera in Long Island Sound sediments

The dynamics of benthic Foraminifera assemblages can be used to examine carbonate dissolution processes in nearshore sediments and as a general assay of physical-chemical factors affecting survival of juvenile benthos. Abundances of total Foraminifera (live and dead) fluctuate regularly throughout the year in Long Island Sound (LIS) mud deposits, with highest numbers in spring-summer and lowest in winter. Essentially all forams disappear each year. Pore-water undersaturation with respect to carbonate minerals coincides with periods of rapid disappearance of forams and suggests that these fluctuations reflect a balance between the rate of production-recruitment and the rates of death and dissolution of the calcareous tests of the animals. Reworking by macrofauna in LIS central basin sediments inhibits accumulation or depletion of pore-water solutes and is responsible for minimizing pore-water carbonate saturation states. Quantitative estimates of seasonal patterns of foram dissolution with a simple mass balance model give a minimum average annual flux of Caz+ in LIS sediments of -6 mmol Ca2+ m-2 d- 1 (due solely to Foraminifera dissolution). Abandoned tests have a maximum mean residence time of -86+ 13 d. Dissolution-precipitation of forams may significantly affect benthic ZCO, fluxes and likely accounts for a large proportion (>30%) during some seasons or at some locales. Other organisms with carbonate tests of similar size, particularly juvenile bivalves, may also be affected by periods of undersaturated pore waters. Conditions promotinn dissolution of tests may represent an important source of mortality for calcareous meiofauna.
Melatonin and its Receptors

Background: Melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine) is a hormone that has numerous physiological functions. Synthesized and released during nighttime, melatonin exerts its physiological effects in a circadian manner. Melatonin acts by binding to its different types of receptors. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize recent findings about melatonin, its receptors, and the differential functionalities of the most characterized melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2. Methods: We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for studies that reported melatonin receptor subtypes, their differential functionalities, biochemical structures, signal transductions, and various functions of melatonin such as pain, sleep, temperature, and antioxidative effects. We chose seventy articles for this systematic review. Summary: These studies highlight melatonin’s range of physiological functions and the differential functionalities of the melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2; they characterize the receptors’ signal transduction cascades and their biochemical structures. More studies assessing melatonin receptors’ functions would help patients with disorders in sleep, pain, and circadian rhythm.
Challenges for the agritourism sector in the United States: Regional comparisons of access

Agritourism has become a popular pursuit for farms and ranches in the United States, aiming to diversify revenue sources and meet agricultural edu­cation and community-building goals. How­ever, there has been limited research around the challenges experienced by operators and limited access to resources that can help address these chal­lenges. This article fills that gap in knowledge by examining the challenges agritourism opera­tions currently face in the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West regions of the U.S. In this study, we use a mixed-methods approach to the Five Dimen­sions of Access framework developed by Penchansky and Thomas (1981). We opera­tionalize their model in an ordinal probit regression to analyze data from a national survey of agritourism operators, analyzed by region. Results from the quantitative analysis are sub­stantiated using qualitative, open-ended comments from the same survey. The analyses show that agritourism operators encounter different challenges according to their region. We find that operators in most regions of the United States are concerned about agritourism liability. However, states in the West region experience more chal­lenges with regulations, zoning, and permitting, while operators in the South have more problems with e-connectivity. These results can be applied in three ways: support services for agritourism, policy and regulations, and future research.
Stress, Marginalization, and Disruption: A Qualitative Rapid Situational Assessment of Substance Users and HIV Risk in Lebanon

Lebanon is a diverse and dynamic nation of six million people that has experienced considerable disruption for the last two decades. The Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, resulted in the displacement of 1.1 million Syrians to Lebanon. Today, Lebanon is the country with the largest per capita number of refugees in the world. In addition, the country experienced a social, economic, and political crisis in 2019 that destabilized the entire society—circumstances that were further complicated by COVID-19 pandemic. With all of the competing calamities in Lebanon, there has been limited scientific investigation into substance use and the risk of HIV infection among the country’s population. To address this gap in knowledge, a qualitative rapid situational assessment (RSA) of substance use and risk of HIV infection in and around Beirut, the nation’s capital, was conducted. The goal of this analysis is to describe the demographics and drug use patterns of this population, explore their HIV knowledge and risks, and build knowledge about their perceptions of and access to substance use treatment and other social services.
Relativistic astrophysics : 20th Texas symposium, Austin, Texas 10-15 December 2000

Every two years this conference convenes the leaders in the general topic of relativistic astrophysics to survey the latest results and the status of the field. The proceedings cover the full range of topics where speeds near the velocity of light and/or high gravitational fields apply to astrophysics. These include cosmology, galaxy formation, dark matter and energy, black holes and neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high energy cosmic rays.
Association of upper airway bacterial microbiota and asthma: systematic review

Individual studies have suggested that upper airway dysbiosis may be associated with asthma or its severity. We aimed to systematically review studies that evaluated upper airway bacterial microbiota in relation to asthma, compared to nonasthmatic controls. Searches used MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science Core Collection. Eligible studies included association between asthma and upper airway dysbiosis; assessment of composition and diversity of upper airway microbiota using 16S rRNA or metagenomic sequencing; upper airway samples from nose, nasopharynx, oropharynx or hypopharynx. Study quality was assessed and rated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A total of 249 publications were identified; 17 in the final analysis (13 childhood asthma and 4 adult asthma). Microbiome richness was measured in 6 studies, species diversity in 12, and bacterial composition in 17. The quality of evidence was good and fair. The alpha-diversity was found to be higher in younger children with wheezing and asthma, while it was lower when asthmatic children had rhinitis or mite sensitization. In children, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were higher in asthmatics compared to controls (7 studies), and Moraxella, Streptococcus, and Haemophilus were predominant in the bacterial community. In pooled analysis, nasal Streptococcus colonization was associated with the presence of wheezing at age 5 (p = 0.04). In adult patients with asthma, the abundance of Proteobacteria was elevated in the upper respiratory tract (3 studies). Nasal colonization of Corynebacterium was lower in asthmatics (2 studies). This study demonstrates the potential relationships between asthma and specific bacterial colonization in the upper airway in adult and children with asthma.
Genetic markers in Andean Puya species (Bromeliaceae) with implications on plastome evolution and phylogeny

Abstract The Andean plant endemic Puya is a striking example of recent and rapid diversification from central Chile to the northern Andes, tracking mountain uplift. This study generated 12 complete plastomes representing nine Puya species and compared them to five published plastomes for their features, genomic evolution, and phylogeny. The total size of the Puya plastomes ranged from 159,542 to 159,839 bp with 37.3%–37.4% GC content. The Puya plastomes were highly conserved in organization and structure with a typical quadripartite genome structure. Each of the 17 consensus plastomes harbored 133 genes, including 87 protein‐coding genes, 38 tRNA (transfer RNA) genes, and eight rRNA (ribosomal RNA) genes; we found 69–78 tandem repeats, 45–60 SSRs (simple sequence repeats), and 8–22 repeat structures among 13 species. Four protein‐coding genes were identified under positive site‐specific selection in Puya. The complete plastomes and hypervariable regions collectively provided pronounced species discrimination in Puya and a practical tool for future phylogenetic studies. The reconstructed phylogeny and estimated divergence time for the lineage suggest that the diversification of Puya is related to Andean orogeny and Pleistocene climatic oscillations. This study provides plastome resources for species delimitation and novel phylogenetic and biogeographic studies.
Biological control needs evolutionary perspectives of ecological interactions

While ecological interactions have been identified as determinant for biological control efficiency, the role of evolution remains largely underestimated in biological control programs. With the restrictions on the use of both pesticides and exotic biological control agents (BCAs), the evolutionary optimization of local BCAs becomes central for improving the efficiency and the resilience of biological control. In particular, we need to better account for the natural processes of evolution to fully understand the interactions of pests and BCAs, including in biocontrol strategies integrating human manipulations of evolution (i.e., artificial selection and genetic engineering). In agroecosystems, the evolution of BCAs traits and performance depends on heritable phenotypic variation, trait genetic architecture, selection strength, stochastic processes, and other selective forces. Humans can manipulate these natural processes to increase the likelihood of evolutionary trait improvement, by artificially increasing heritable phenotypic variation, strengthening selection, controlling stochastic processes, or overpassing evolution through genetic engineering. We highlight these facets by reviewing recent studies addressing the importance of natural processes of evolution and human manipulations of these processes in biological control. We then discuss the interactions between the natural processes of evolution occurring in agroecosystems and affecting the artificially improved BCAs after their release. We emphasize that biological control cannot be summarized by interactions between species pairs because pests and biological control agents are entangled in diverse communities and are exposed to a multitude of deterministic and stochastic selective forces that can change rapidly in direction and intensity. We conclude that the combination of different evolutionary approaches can help optimize BCAs to remain efficient under changing environmental conditions and, ultimately, favor agroecosystem sustainability.
Early Emergence of 5′ Terminally Deleted Coxsackievirus-B3 RNA Forms Is Associated with Acute and Persistent Infections in Mouse Target Tissues

Major EV-B populations characterized by 5′ terminal deletions (5′TD) have been shown to be associated with the development of myocarditis and type 1 diabetes in mice or humans. To date, the dynamics of EV-B 5′TD-RNA forms’ emergence during the course of infection and their impact on cellular functions remain unclear. Using a RACE-PCR approach in CVB3/28-infected mouse organs, we showed an early (3 days post infection, DPI) emergence of major 5′TD populations associated with minor full-length RNA forms. Viral replication activities with infectious particle production were associated with heart, liver, and pancreas acute inflammatory lesions, whereas clearance of viral RNA without organ lesions was observed in the brain, lung, intestines, and muscles from 3 to 7 DPI. At 28 DPI, low viral RNA levels, +/-RNA ratios < 5 associated with viral protein 1 expression revealed a persistent infection in the heart and pancreas. This persistent infection was characterized by molecular detection of only 5′TD RNA forms that were associated with dystrophin cleavage in the heart and insulin production impairment in beta-pancreatic cells. These results demonstrated that major EV-B 5′TD RNA forms can be early selected during systemic infection and that their maintenance may drive EV-induced acute and persistent infections with target cell dysfunctions.
Optimisation of a Holographic Microscope for Microbial Study

Background: Tracking of microbial organisms over a volume requires images at multiple focal planes along the orthogonal direction. With most conventional microscopes, this requires repeated readjustments; using Digital Holographic Microscopy (DHM), it is possible to use a set of interference patterns to reconstruct at various distances, thereby creating a 3D stack based off a single image. Methods: We used an off-axis Mach-Zehnder DHM for imaging and tracking bacterial movement. We describe the algorithm employed for tracking, as well as our improvement of trackability by testing differences in image contrast with the use of Quantum Dots. Results: We show that the use of Quantum Dots resulted in an increase in contrast of approximately 11%. Conclusion: We suggest this as a method of increasing resolvability of individual microbes. With a more compact design, the microscope will be applicable in various fields, and can be used remotely for studies of microbial organisms.
Review of scaling effects on physical properties and practicalities of cantilever sensors

Reducing sensor dimension is a good way to increase system sensitivity and response. However the advantages gained must be weighed against other effects which also became significant during the scaling process. In this paper, the scaling effect of cantilever sensors from micrometre to nanometre regimes is reviewed. Changes in the physical properties such as Q-factor, Young’s modulus, noise and nonlinear deflections, as well as effects on practical sensor applications such as sensor response and sensor readouts, are presented. Since cantilever is an elemental transducer and device building block, its scaling effects can be further extrapolated to other sensing systems and applications.