Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical significance and related factors of rectal hyposensitivity in patients with functional defecation disorder

Background Rectal hyposensitivity (RH) is not uncommon in patients with functional defecation disorder (FDD). FDD patients with RH are usually unsatisfied with their treatment. Aims The aim of this study was to find the significance of RH in patients with FDD and the related factors of RH. Methods Patients with FDD first completed clinical questionnaires regarding constipation symptoms, mental state, and quality of life. Then anorectal physiologic tests (anorectal manometry and balloon expulsion test) were performed. Rectal sensory testing (assessing rectal response to balloon distension using anorectal manometry) was applied to obtain three sensory thresholds. Patients were separated into three groups (non-RH, borderline RH, and RH) based on the London Classification. The associations between RH and clinical symptoms, mental state, quality of life, and rectal/anal motility were investigated. Results Of 331 included patients with FDD, 87 patients (26.3%) had at least one abnormally elevated rectal sensory threshold and 50 patients (15.1%) were diagnosed with RH. Patients with RH were older and mostly men. Defecation symptoms were more severe (p = 0.013), and hard stool (p < 0.001) and manual maneuver (p = 0.003) were more frequently seen in the RH group. No difference in rectal/anal pressure was found among the three groups. Elevated defecatory desire volume (DDV) existed in all patients with RH. With the number of elevated sensory thresholds increasing, defecation symptoms got more severe (r = 0.35, p = 0.001). Gender (male) (6.78 [3.07–15.00], p < 0.001) and hard stool (5.92 [2.28–15.33], p < 0.001) were main related factors of RH. Conclusion Rectal hyposensitivity plays an important role in the occurrence of FDD and is associated with defecation symptom severity. Older male FDD patients with hard stool are prone to suffer from RH and need more care.
Diffusion by internal waves

A perturbation analysis of the Lagrangian equations of motion is used to examine the diffusion induced by a random field of internal waves. At second order there is a random field of shearing motion in the horizontal plane. We calculate the single-particle, two-particle, and patch diffusivities that result from this motion. Patch and two-particle diffusivity both increase as scale raised to the power of 4/3 for an internal wave field in which the spectrum of horizontal velocity varies as ω−2.
Changes in the Velocity Centroid of SiO Maser Emission

The v = 1, J = 1-0 silicon monoxide maser emission from 85 stars was resurveyed in 2005 and 2006. The emission from these stars had previously been measured in 1979 and/or 1983. For the detected stars the velocity centroids were determined and compared with the previous values. If supergiant stars, known binary stars, and S Virginis were removed from the data set, 76 sources remained. Seven of these sources were not of sufficient flux density to be claimed as detections. The mean difference in the velocity centroids of the remaining sources was 0.065 km s-1, and the standard deviation was 2.00 km s -1. It is important to determine the standard deviation of SiO maser time variations in order to identify the level of the time variability of the sources, possible binary stars, unusual emission patterns, or perhaps planets. The velocity centroid of S Virginis differed by 13.5 km s-1 from its 1983 value. This difference indicates that S Virginis is probably part of a multiple-star system. A naive analysis of the present data combined with earlier published observations indicates a revolution period of 14.8 yr.
Development of Deep Learning with RDA U-Net Network for Bladder Cancer Segmentation

Simple Summary This study proposed the “Residual-Dense-Attention” (RDA) U-Net model architecture to automatically segment organs and lesions in computed tomography (CT) images. The RDA U-Net used ResBlock and DenseBlock at the encoder. Attention gates were used at the decoder position to help the model suppress irrelevant areas of the CT image. Forty-one patients’ bladder images were provided for training. The RDA U-Net provided faster but satisfactory segmentation results for bladder cancers and lesions. Abstract In today’s high-order health examination, imaging examination accounts for a large proportion. Computed tomography (CT), which can detect the whole body, uses X-rays to penetrate the human body to obtain images. Its presentation is a high-resolution black-and-white image composed of gray scales. It is expected to assist doctors in making judgments through deep learning based on the image recognition technology of artificial intelligence. It used CT images to identify the bladder and lesions and then segmented them in the images. The images can achieve high accuracy without using a developer. In this study, the U-Net neural network, commonly used in the medical field, was used to extend the encoder position in combination with the ResBlock in ResNet and the Dense Block in DenseNet, so that the training could maintain the training parameters while reducing the overall identification operation time. The decoder could be used in combination with Attention Gates to suppress the irrelevant areas of the image while paying attention to significant features. Combined with the above algorithm, we proposed a Residual-Dense Attention (RDA) U-Net model, which was used to identify organs and lesions from CT images of abdominal scans. The accuracy (ACC) of using this model for the bladder and its lesions was 96% and 93%, respectively. The values of Intersection over Union (IoU) were 0.9505 and 0.8024, respectively. Average Hausdorff distance (AVGDIST) was as low as 0.02 and 0.12, respectively, and the overall training time was reduced by up to 44% compared with other convolution neural networks.
Destabilising effect of long-range forces in thin liquid films on wettable substrates

Using optical microscopy, we followed the evolution of thin and initially smooth liquid polymer films on wettable solid substrates for different surrounding media. For thicknesses between 30 and 110 nm, we observed an instability of the film, eventually leading to the formation of nanodroplets on a remaining wetting layer. Exchanging the surrounding medium allowed to reverse the process and to re-establish a smooth film. Our results are in accordance with theoretical considerations and computer simulations. Weak but long-ranged dispersion forces may have drastic consequences concerning the morphology of thin liquid films even if short-range interactions force the film to stay on the substrate.
The Anaerobic Delayed Heat-Production After a Tetanus

In a previous paper of this series it was shown by one of us that, in the case of a regular succession of separate twitches, there is no considerable anaerobic delayed heat-production: the only important after-effect of such anaerobic stimulation is a permanent increase in the resting beat-rate. It was pointed out there that this increment, produced by activity, in the basal beat-rate, cannot be regarded as part of the contraction-process itself, though it may easily be misinterpreted; unless the galvanometer-sere and the temperature of the thermopile be very steady, this permanent increase may be mistaken for a long-continued delayed heat associated with contraction and ending in 10 or 15 minutes. The diagram of fig. 1 illustrates this point, At time zero the muscle is stimulated by a short tetanus and the galvanometer deflects, returning to a constant position—but not to its original one—in about 3 minutes. The displacement from the initial position is a measure of the increment in resting heat-rate. This increment must be supposed to occur at, or immediately after, the moment of contraction. There is no obvious reason why it should occur at any other moment. If so, the baseline from which the area of the deflection-time curve must be calculated is the continuation backwards of the line representing the final level attained by the galvanometer. Now let us imagine that owing to galvanometer instability, or to gradual temperature change in the thermopile, there is a slow, small and not quite regular creep of the spot of light on the scale. The only way to proceed is to allow a sufficient time to elapse after stimulating and to join the initial to the final position, so obtaining a base-line ( e. g ., B in the diagram) from which to measure the area of the deflection-time curve. It is obvious that a greater area will thus lie found than if the correct base-line A bad been adopted. His case illustrated in the diagram is exaggerated. It will made clear, however, how an error may occur unless extreme stability of galvanometer and thermostat be available. We have found, employing the present apparatus, in all cases, whether of short tetanic stimuli or of a series of single shocks, that with the thermopiles used the galvanometer becomes quite steady again in 3 or 4 minutes: there is no long-continued delayed anaerobic heat , such as was described by ourselves (1) (2) and by Furusawa and Hartree (3). The genuine anaerobic delayed heat is confined to the first 2 or 3 minutes after stimulation.
Parametric instability in a fluid with temperature-dependent surface tension

Stability of the free surface of a viscous fluid with temperature-dependent surface tension, vibrated sinusoidally in the vertical direction, is presented. The onset of surface waves in a thick layer of fluid is delayed by the inhomogeneity in the surface tension. The latter pushes the marginal stability curves corresponding to harmonic waves upward in the forcing amplitude–wave-number plane more than those corresponding to subharmonic waves in thin layers of low Prandtl number fluids. This leads to an interesting possibility of a multicritical point at the instability onset that may involve only subharmonic waves of different wave numbers.
Compactification of hyperbolic monopoles

We prove that the space of SU(2) hyperbolic monopoles based at the centre of hyperbolic space is homeomorphic to the space of (unbased) rational maps of the two-sphere. The homeomorphism extends to a map of the natural compactifications of the two spaces. We also show that the scattering methods used in the study of monopoles apply to the configuration space for hyperbolic monopoles giving a homotopy equivalence of this space with the space of continuous self-maps of the two-sphere.
Uncontrolled Asthma Among Children and Its Association With Parents’ Asthma Knowledge and Other Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors

Objective To estimate the frequency of uncontrolled asthma among asthmatic children from Jeddah and to analyze its association with parental asthma knowledge and other socioeconomic and environmental factors. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pediatrics Departments of King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from July to December 2018. It involved the caregivers of 150 children with asthma, who were following at KAUH. A structured questionnaire was administered by a phone interview to collect the following: socioeconomic and environmental factors of asthma, answers to the Arabic version of the Asthma Control TestTM (ACT), and answers to the Arabic version of the caregiver Asthma Knowledge questionnaire (AKq). Result The frequency of uncontrolled asthma was 32.7% (95%CI: 25.2 - 40.8). Parents had myths about asthma such as “children with asthma should use asthma control medications (inhaled corticosteroids) only when they have symptoms” and “it’s not good for children to use the inhaler for too long”. Besides, we observed mixed results regarding parents’ knowledge about the disease, with correct answers ranging from 56.0% to 88.7% depending on the item. Exposure to bakhoor (aromatic woodchips) at home (OR = 0.41, p=0.044), two or more ICU admissions during the past 12 months (OR = 3.30, p=0.030), and using a rescue inhaler even if there’s no cough or wheeze when the child gets the flu (OR = 0.22, p=0.001) were the three independent factors of uncontrolled asthma among children. Conclusion Uncontrolled asthma concerns one-third of the asthmatic children following at our centre, representing a less concerning figure compared to the national data. The contribution of parents’ knowledge to asthma control did not show significant results, although uncontrolled asthma may represent an opportunity to increase parents’ knowledge and awareness. We emphasize the significance of exposure to bakhoor, the use of oral steroids, and the number of ICU admission as strong indicators for uncontrolled asthma in children. An adaptive national strategy should be designed to enable effective and personalized interventions, resources, and objectives for maximized benefits.
A Comprehensive Genetic Analysis of Slovenian Families with Multiple Cases of Orofacial Clefts Reveals Novel Variants in the Genes IRF6, GRHL3, and TBX22

Although the aetiology of non-syndromic orofacial clefts (nsOFCs) is usually multifactorial, syndromic OFCs (syOFCs) are often caused by single mutations in known genes. Some syndromes, e.g., Van der Woude syndrome (VWS1; VWS2) and X-linked cleft palate with or without ankyloglossia (CPX), show only minor clinical signs in addition to OFC and are sometimes difficult to differentiate from nsOFCs. We recruited 34 Slovenian multi-case families with apparent nsOFCs (isolated OFCs or OFCs with minor additional facial signs). First, we examined IRF6, GRHL3, and TBX22 by Sanger or whole exome sequencing to identify VWS and CPX families. Next, we examined 72 additional nsOFC genes in the remaining families. Variant validation and co-segregation analysis were performed for each identified variant using Sanger sequencing, real-time quantitative PCR and microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization. We identified six disease-causing variants (three novel) in IRF6, GRHL3, and TBX22 in 21% of families with apparent nsOFCs, suggesting that our sequencing approach is useful for distinguishing syOFCs from nsOFCs. The novel variants, a frameshift variant in exon 7 of IRF6, a splice-altering variant in GRHL3, and a deletion of the coding exons of TBX22, indicate VWS1, VWS2, and CPX, respectively. We also identified five rare variants in nsOFC genes in families without VWS or CPX, but they could not be conclusively linked to nsOFC.
Multifaceted Transcriptional Network of Estrogen-Related Receptor Alpha in Health and Disease

Estrogen-related receptors (ERRα, β and γ in mammals) are orphan members of the nuclear receptor superfamily acting as transcription factors. ERRs are expressed in several cell types and they display various functions in normal and pathological contexts. Amongst others, they are notably involved in bone homeostasis, energy metabolism and cancer progression. In contrast to other nuclear receptors, the activities of the ERRs are apparently not controlled by a natural ligand but they rely on other means such as the availability of transcriptional co-regulators. Here we focus on ERRα and review the variety of co-regulators that have been identified by various means for this receptor and their reported target genes. ERRα cooperates with distinct co-regulators to control the expression of distinct sets of target genes. This exemplifies the combinatorial specificity of transcriptional regulation that induces discrete cellular phenotypes depending on the selected coregulator. We finally propose an integrated view of the ERRα transcriptional network.
The LHCb detector at the LHC

The LHCb experiment is dedicated to precision measurements of CP violation and rare decays of B hadrons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Geneva). The initial configuration and expected performance of the detector and associated systems, as established by test beam measurements and simulation studies, is described.
Truncation-induced multilayer relaxation of the A1(110) surface

Results from a low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) analysis of the Al(110) surface are presented and discussed. The results indicate that a multilayer relaxation exists in the Al(110) surface region such that the spacing between layers 1 and 2 has a relative change . delta.d/sub 12/ of -8.5% from the bulk value, while . delta.d/sub 23/ = +5.5%, . delta.d/sub 34/ = +2.2%, and . delta.d/sub 45/ = +1.6%. When these results are compared with those from an independent LEED analysis, excellent agreement is found between results for . delta.d/sub 12/ and . delta.d/sub 23/. However, a disagreement is found to exist between the results of the two analyses for . delta.d/sub 34/. When this disagreement is considered in relationship to predictions of a recent theory for the multilayer relaxation of metallic surfaces, the importance of future work to resolve this . delta.d/sub 34/ discrepancy is apparent.
Low-energy fine-structure resonances in photoionization of O II

2 P o 1/2,3/2) are found to be in agreement with experimental measurements on synchrotron-based photon sources [1‐3], thereby identifying the excited O III levels present in the ion beams. These are also the first results from a recently developed version of Breit-Pauli R-matrix (BPRM) codes, with inclusion of two-body magnetic interaction terms. The improved relativistic treatment could be important for other astrophysical applications and for more precise benchmarking of experimental measurements.
Group Decisions in the Face of Differences of Opinion

Suppose a number of honest, intelligent individuals differ in their rankings of a set of possible actions. They may do so because they have difierent objectives, or they may do so solely because they disagree about what are the probable outcomes of the acts. The latter is the relevant case if they are acting disinterestedly as consultants. In this case how should the actions be ranked by the executive? Here the essential problem is that of "consensus theory"--to find a reasonable way of resolving the experts' differences of opinion about the facts (the circumstances determining the outcomes). To tackle this problem we enlarge it. We pose the problem mathematically in an abstract form which encompasses a very wide range of hypothetical cases, allowing small and big differences over objectives (utilities) as well as over probability assessments (of the facts). We then look for general rules for generating a group ranking for the acts which would simultaneously satisfy axioms referring to varying extreme cases. On certain assumptions the group ranking of acts implies an underlying consensus about the facts. The object of the paper is to show which axioms of group choice lead to which formulas for consensus. The paper arrives at both positive and negative results. Under two alternative sets of appealing axioms, the group's implicit consensus is given as a linear opinion pool; the consensual probabilities are weighted averages of the individuals' ones. On the other hand, under a third set of reasonable axioms, the group ranking cannot be arrived at by any rules for separately combining the probabilities and combining the utilities. However, this "impossibility" result depends on wanting the rule to work for cases of extreme differences over rankings of acts.
Micromechanical Definition of the Strain Tensor for Granular Materials

In order to develop constitutive relations for granular materials from the micromechanical viewpoint, general expressions relating macroscopic stress and strain to contact forces and particle displacements are required. Such an expression for the stress tensor under quasi-static conditions is well established in the literature, but a corresponding expression for the strain tensor has been lacking so far. This paper presents such an expression for two-dimensional assemblies. This expression is verified by computer simulations of biaxial and shear tests. As a demonstration of the use of the developed expression, a study is made of the elastic moduli of two-dimensional, isotropic assemblies of bonded, nonrotating disks. Theoretical expressions are given for the elastic moduli in terms of micromechanical parameters, such as coordination number and contact stiffnesses. Comparison with the results from computer simulations show that the agreement is fairly good over a wide range of coordination numbers and contact stiffness ratios.
Design of observers for descriptor systems using a descriptor standard form

Methods are developed for constructing Luenberger-type observers for linear time-invariant descriptor systems. Based on the descriptor standard form derived here by means of a simple matrix calculus, full-order observers, reduced-order observers and function observers of a general type are proposed. Some necessary and sufficient conditions for the function observers to estimate linear functions of the state are discussed. Then, the so-called separation property of combined observer-controller systems is established.
Coupling the Simple Exclusion Process

Consider the infinite particle system on the countable set $S$ with the simple exclusion interaction and one-particle motion determined by the stochastic transition matrix $p(x, y)$. In the past, the ergodic theory of this process has been treated successfully only when $p(x, y)$ is symmetric, in which case great simplifications occur. In this paper, coupling techniques are used to give a complete description of the set of invariant measures for the system in the following three cases: (a) $p(x, y)$ is translation invariant on the integers and has mean zero, (b) $p(x, y)$ corresponds to a birth and death chain on the nonnegative integers, and (c) $p(x, y)$ corresponds to the asymmetric simple random walk on the integers.
Efficient polygonal posture representation and action recognition

An approach to human action modelling and recognition in continuous action sequences is proposed. A star figure enclosed by a bounding convex polygon is used to effectively represent the extremities of the silhouette of a human body. Thus, human actions are recorded as a sequence of the star figure's parameters, which is then used for action modelling. To model human actions in a compact manner while characterising their spatiotemporal patterns, star figure parameters are represented by a 2D feature map, which is used and regarded as a spatiotemporal template. Experiments to evaluate the performance of the proposed framework show that it can recognise human actions in an efficient and effective manner.
Phase-laser microscope with the factor-of-ten enhanced resolution over classical limit

A factor-of-ten over classical diffraction limit enhancement was achieved with a computer-aided phase microscope 'Airyscan'. It also permits dynamic processes registration at any selected point of the image. The theoretical backgrounds of the new approach to the problem of super-resolution are discussed. 'Airyscan' may be useful in a wide range of scientific and industrial applications. Special attention is paid to biophysics and medicine.
Detection and imaging of arbitrarily moving targets with single-channel SAR

In synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, moving targets cause imaging errors like defocusing and/or displacement, depending on the direction of their motion. In order to get a correct and focused image of the moving targets, the knowledge of the target parameters position and velocity is necessary. Here, an algorithm for detection, parameter estimation, and imaging of ground-based targets, moving in arbitrary directions, is presented. The algorithm is based on evaluation of a sequence of single-look SAR images which is generated from conventional, single-channel SAR raw data. Position and velocity of the moving targets are estimated by applying two observation models, whereby aliasing due to a motion-induced Doppler shift is considered. In this way, the moving targets can be detected almost independent of their moving direction. The estimated parameters are used to compensate for the imaging errors in the SAR images. Finally, the real motion of the targets in the scene is visualised in a compensated image sequence.