Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for low back pain outcome: Does it matter when they are measured?

The early identification of factors that increase risk of poor recovery from acute low back pain (LBP) is critical to prevent the transition to chronicity. Although most studies of risk factors for poor outcome in LBP tend to investigate the condition once it is already persistent, there is evidence to suggest that this differs from risk factors measured during the early‐acute stage. This study aimed to identify early risk factors for poor outcome in the short‐ and long‐term in individuals with acute LBP, and to compare this with factors identified at 3 months in the same cohort.
Species‐specific variation of photosynthesis and mesophyll conductance to ozone and drought in three Mediterranean oaks

Abstract Mesophyll conductance (g mCO2) is one of the most important components in plant photosynthesis. Tropospheric ozone (O3) and drought impair physiological processes, causing damage to photosynthetic systems. However, the combined effects of O3 and drought on g mCO2 are still largely unclear. We investigated leaf gas exchange during mid‐summer in three Mediterranean oaks exposed to O3 (ambient [35.2 nmol mol−1 as daily mean]; 1.4 × ambient) and water treatments (WW [well‐watered] and WD [water‐deficit]). We also examined if leaf traits (leaf mass per area [LMA], foliar abscisic acid concentration [ABA]) could influence the diffusion of CO2 inside a leaf. The combination of O3 and WD significantly decreased net photosynthetic rate (P N) regardless of the species. The reduction of photosynthesis was associated with a decrease in g mCO2 and stomatal conductance (g sCO2) in evergreen Quercus ilex, while the two deciduous oaks (Q. pubescens, Q. robur) also showed a reduction of the maximum rate of carboxylation (V cmax) and maximum electron transport rate (J max) with decreased diffusive conductance parameters. The reduction of g mCO2 was correlated with increased [ABA] in the three oaks, whereas there was a negative correlation between g mCO2 with LMA in Q. pubescens. Interestingly, two deciduous oaks showed a weak or no significant correlation between g sCO2 and ABA under high O3 and WD due to impaired stomatal physiological behaviour, indicating that the reduction of P N was related to g mCO2 rather than g sCO2. The results suggest that g mCO2 plays an important role in plant carbon gain under concurrent increases in the severity of drought and O3 pollution.
Controlled decoration of nanoceria on the surface of MoS2 nanoflowers to improve the biodegradability and biocompatibility in Drosophila melanogaster model

In recent years, nanozymes based on two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have been receiving great interest for cancer photothermal therapy. 2D materials decorated with nanoparticles (NPs) on their surface are advantageous over conventional NPs and 2D material based systems because of their ability to synergistically improve the unique properties of both NPs and 2D materials. In this work, we report a nanozyme based on flower-like MoS2 nanoflakes (NFs) by decorating their flower petals with NCeO2 using polyethylenimine (PEI) as a linker molecule. A detailed investigation on toxicity, biocompatibility and degradation behavior of fabricated nanozymes in wild-type Drosophila melanogaster model revealed that there were no significant effects on the larval size, morphology, larval length, breadth and no time delay in changing larvae to the third instar stage at 7–10 d for MoS2 NFs before and after NCeO2 decoration. The muscle contraction and locomotion behavior of third instar larvae exhibited high distance coverage for NCeO2 decorated MoS2 NFs when compared to bare MoS2 NFs and control groups. Notably, the MoS2 and NCeO2-PEI-MoS2 NFs treated groups at 100 μg ml−1 covered a distance of 38.2 mm (19.4% increase when compared with control) and 49.88 mm (no change when compared with control), respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy investigations on the new born fly gut showed that the NCeO2 decoration improved the degradation rate of MoS2 NFs. Hence, nanozymes reported here have huge potential in various fields ranging from biosensing, cancer therapy and theranostics to tissue engineering and the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and retinal therapy.
Blood Pressure Variability in Liver Transplant Recipients: The Who, What, When, and How

Cardiovascular events significantly contribute to longterm outcomes after liver transplantation. (1) Successful identification of liver transplant recipients (LTRs) at highest risk for posttransplant cardiovascular complications and death is important for early risk diminution. Published risk factors for cardiovascular events and mortality after liver transplantation traditionally focus on baseline pretransplant patient characteristics, such as age, sex, and preexisting cardiovascular disease. (1) However, intervention necessitates the identification of trackable and modifiable posttransplant markers of future cardiovascular risk to facilitate the implementation of targeted treatments. In this issue of Liver Transplantation, Truitt et al. investigate the potential of blood pressure variability measurements to serve as a prognosticator for cardiovascular morbidity and overall mortality. (2) Blood Pressure Variability, Cardiovascular Vascular Events, and Mortality
Caring Needs of Cancer Patients from the Perspective of Home Care Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Objective: Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Iran. Todays, caregiving to patients with cancer is shifting towards home based care, and home care needs from a caregiver’s perspective can help improve the patient care. This qualitative study aimed to examine the home care needs of cancer patients from the perspective of home care nurses. Methods: This is a qualitative descriptive study carried out at home care centers in the northwest of Iran. A total of 15 participants were recruited through purposive sampling and underwent face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed through Conventional content analysis method in MAXQDA software. Measures of trustworthiness were established throughout the study using Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) criteria (dependability, credibility, transferability, and confirmability). Results: Data analysis resulted in the extraction of four main categories including physical needs (pain relief, gastrointestinal problems including nausea and anorexia and nutritional problems, lethargy, wound care), psychological support (need for hope and emotional support), educational needs (need for information and self-care) and financial support (service insurance coverage, charity support). To promote these patients home care, insurance coverage of nursing home care services was emphasized by the participants. Conclusion: Various aspects of cancer patients home care needs were identified. Interdisciplinary home-based palliative care collaboration is needed to address their physical, psychological, and moral needs.
PARN Knockdown in Cell Lines Results in Differential and Cell-Specific Alterations in the Expression of Cancer-Associated mRNAs

Ribonucleases (RNases) is the collective term used for the group of enzymes that are involved in mRNA degradation. The shortening of the poly (A) tail through deadenylation is the preferred mechanism of degradation of most eukaryotic mRNAs and poly (A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) is the most important player in deadenylation. Besides its primarily role in mRNA stability, PARN is also involved in several non-conventional functions. It is conceivable that a decreased RNase activity can alter the stability of cancer-associated mRNAs and this alteration may be differential in cells of different origin. Methods: The effects of siRNA-mediated knockdown of PARN on the post-transcriptional expression of 16 oncogenes and 18 tumor suppressor genes in cells derived from different lineages (NCI-H460 and NCI-H522; lung cancer) and (HEK-293; kidney) were investigated. Further, the effects of PARN depletion on proliferation and death of the lung cancer cells were investigated. Results: Quantitative real time PCR analysis revealed an cell-specific alteration in the expression of the target onco and tumor suppressor genes upon PARN depletion, differently, for cells derived from different lineages. The tumor suppressor genes showed a consistent pattern of down regulation upon PARN depletion in all the three cell types tested. In contrast, the expression of oncogenes was not consistent; while some oncogenes showed overexpression in HEK 293 cells, the majority of them were downregulated in the lung cancer cells. Further, PARN depletion did not alter the proliferation of lung cancer cells, which was in contrast to previous reports. Conclusion: The results of this study reveal that PARN deficiency leads to an altered stability of cancer-associated mRNA, distinctly, in cells of different lineages. Despite previous reports suggesting a potential therapeutic role of PARN in cancer, our results suggest that PARN may not be an important biomarker, particularly in lung cancer.
Modeling the temporal dynamics of master regulators and CtrA proteolysis in Caulobacter crescentus cell cycle

The cell cycle of Caulobacter crescentus involves the polar morphogenesis and an asymmetric cell division driven by precise interactions and regulations of proteins, which makes Caulobacter an ideal model organism for investigating bacterial cell development and differentiation. The abundance of molecular data accumulated on Caulobacter motivates system biologists to analyze the complex regulatory network of cell cycle via quantitative modeling. In this paper, We propose a comprehensive model to accurately characterize the underlying mechanisms of cell cycle regulation based on the study of: a) chromosome replication and methylation; b) interactive pathways of five master regulatory proteins including DnaA, GcrA, CcrM, CtrA, and SciP, as well as novel consideration of their corresponding mRNAs; c) cell cycle-dependent proteolysis of CtrA through hierarchical protease complexes. The temporal dynamics of our simulation results are able to closely replicate an extensive set of experimental observations and capture the main phenotype of seven mutant strains of Caulobacter crescentus. Collectively, the proposed model can be used to predict phenotypes of other mutant cases, especially for nonviable strains which are hard to cultivate and observe. Moreover, the module of cyclic proteolysis is an efficient tool to study the metabolism of proteins with similar mechanisms.
Evolution of the lipid, glycemic and blood pressure profile of premature infants: a longitudinal study

RESUMO Objetivo: Relacionar a evolução do perfil lipídico, glicêmico e pressórico de prematuro do nascimento aos 2 anos de idade corrigida com a classificação de peso ao nascer e sexo. Metodologia: Estudo longitudinal, amostra inicial de 71 prematuros, destes, 31 completaram o acompanhamento ambulatorial. Avaliados ao nascer, alta, 6 meses e 2 anos de idade corrigida (peso, idade gestacional, perfil lipídico, glicêmico, pressão arterial). Resultados: Glicemia, colesterol total, pressão arterial e triglicerídeos, não foram estatisticamente significantes em relação ao peso ao nascer e ao longo do seguimento. Colesterol total (p=0,18) e glicemia sofreram efeito de interação com o sexo. Pressão arterial acima do esperado aos 2 anos. Crescimento foi uniforme independente do sexo. Conclusão: O perfil lipídico, glicêmico e pressórico dos prematuros ao longo do acompanhamento não foi influenciado pela classificação de peso ao nascer. O sexo influenciou as concentrações de colesterol e a glicemia.
Across-channel processing of amplitude modulation

In typical modulation detection experiments, a sinusoidal signal modulation is applied to broadband noise as the carrier. In such conditions, the carrier’s envelope at the outputs of di(cid:11)erent peripheral auditory channels can be considered as being almost uncorrelated while the signal modulation is coherent across auditory channels. Models of auditory processing often combine the information about the signal modulation optimally in terms of signal detection theory, assuming independent \observations" in di(cid:11)erent auditory channels. However, various experiments demonstrate that modulations imposed on spectrally separated carriers can interfere, indicating that (prior to the decision stage) amplitude modulation appears to be processed not independently across frequency. The present study examines sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM) detection on multiple carriers and as a function of carrier bandwidth. In addition, modulation detection interference (MDI) with variable carrier bandwidth is explored. Simulations obtained with the envelope power spectrum model (EPSM) (Ewert and Dau, 2000) are presented and compared to the data. Strategies of across-frequency combination of the envelope information extracted in di(cid:11)erent peripheral channels are discussed.
Diabetic Retinopathy: From Animal Models to Cellular Signaling

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an ocular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), a metabolic disorder characterized by elevation in blood glucose level. The pathogenesis of DR includes vascular, neuronal, and inflammatory components leading to activation of complex cellular molecular signaling. If untreated, the disease can culminate in vision loss that eventually leads to blindness. Animal models mimicking different aspects of DM complications have been developed to study the development and progression of DR. Despite the significant contribution of the developed DR models to discovering the mechanisms of DR and the recent achievements in the research field, the sequence of cellular events in diabetic retinas is still under investigation. Partially, this is due to the complexity of molecular mechanisms, although the lack of availability of models that adequately mimic all the neurovascular pathobiological features observed in patients has also contributed to the delay in determining a precise molecular trigger. In this review, we provide an update on the status of animal models of DR to help investigators choose an appropriate system to validate their hypothesis. We also discuss the key cellular and physiological events of DR in these models.
Nonparametric tests for detection of high dimensional outliers

Based on the ordered values of the total dissimilarity of each observation from all the others, we present a nonparametric method for detection of high dimensional outliers. We provide algorithms to obtain the distribution of the test statistic based on the percentile bootstrap and offer an outlier visualisation plot as a nonparametric graphical tool for detecting outliers in a data set. We compare the interpoint distance outlier test (IDOT) with five competing methods under four distributions, and using a real data set. IDOT shows the best performance for outlier detection in terms of the average number of the outliers detected and the probability of the correct identification.
Improving discrimination between clouds and optically thick aerosol plumes in geostationary satellite data

Abstract. Cloud masking is a key initial step in the retrieval of geophysical properties from satellite data. Despite decades of research problems still exists of over or under detection of cloud. High aerosol loadings, in particular from dust storms or fires, are often classified as cloud and vice versa. In this paper we present a cloud mask created using machine learning for the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) on board Himawari-8. In order to train the algorithm a parallax-corrected collocated data set was created from AHI and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) lidar data. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were trained on the collocated data to identify clouds in AHI scenes. The resulting NN cloud masks are validated and compared to cloud masks produced by the Japanese Meteorological Association (JMA) and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) for a number of different solar and viewing geometries, surface types and airmasses. 5 case studies covering a range of challenging scenarios for cloud masks are also presented to demonstrate the performance of the masking algorithm. The NN mask shows a lower false positive rate (FPR) for an equivalent true positive rate (TPR) across all categories, with FPRs of 0.106 and 0.198 for the NN and JMA masks respectively and 0.314 and 0.464 for the NN and BoM masks respectively at equivalent TPR values. This indicates the NN mask accurately identifies 1.11 and 1.28 times as many non-cloud pixels, for the equivalent hit rate when compared to the JMA and BoM masks respectively. The NN mask was shown to be particularly effective in distinguishing thick aerosol plumes from cloud, most likely due to the inclusion of the 0.47 μm and 0.51 μm bands. The NN cloud mask shows an improvement over current operational cloud masks in most scenario and it is suggested that improvements to current operational cloud masks could be made by including the 0.47 μm and 0.51 μm bands. The collocated data are made available to facilitate future research.
Effect of Body Mass Index in Coronary CT Angiography Performed on a 256-Slice Multi-Detector CT Scanner

We aimed to investigate the effect of a patient’s body mass index (BMI) on radiation dose and image quality in prospectively ECG-triggered coronary CT angiography (CCTA) performed on a 256-slice multi-detector CT scanner. In total, 87 consecutive patients receiving CCTA examinations acquired with tube current modulation (TCM) and iterative reconstruction (IR) were enrolled in this study. The dose report recorded from the CT scanner console was used to derive the effective dose for patients. Subjective image quality scoring and objective noise measurements were conducted to quantify the impact of BMI on the image quality of CCTA. Because of the TCM technique, we expected tube current and radiation dose to increase as BMI increased. However, using TCM did not always guarantee sufficient radiation exposure to achieve consistent image quality for overweight or obese patients since the maximum X-ray tube output in milliamperes and kilovoltage peak was reached. The impact of photon starvation noise on image quality was not significant until BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2; this result could be due to IR’s noise reduction capability. Our results also suggest that using TCM with a noise index of 25 HU can reduce radiation dose without compromising image quality compared to images obtained based on the manufacturer’s default settings.
On the Security of Bluetooth Low Energy in Two Consumer Wearable Heart Rate Monitors/Sensing Devices

Since its inception in 2013, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has become the standard for short-distance wireless communication in many consumer devices, as well as special-purpose devices. In this study, we analyze the security features available in Bluetooth LE standards and evaluate the features implemented in two BLE wearable devices (a Fitbit heart rate wristband and a Polar heart rate chest wearable) and a BLE keyboard to explore which security features in the BLE standards are implemented in the devices. In this study, we used the ComProbe Bluetooth Protocol Analyzer, along with the ComProbe software to capture the BLE traffic of these three devices. We found that even though the standards provide security mechanisms, because the Bluetooth Special Interest Group does not require that manufacturers fully comply with the standards, some manufacturers fail to implement proper security mechanisms. The circumvention of security in Bluetooth devices could leak private data that could be exploited by rogue actors/hackers, thus creating security, privacy, and, possibly, safety issues for consumers and the public. We propose the design of a Bluetooth Security Facts Label (BSFL) to be included on a Bluetooth/BLE enabled device’s commercial packaging and conclude that there should be better mechanisms for informing users about the security and privacy provisions of the devices they acquire and use and to educate the public on protection of their privacy when buying a connected device.
Mechanical condition monitoring for high voltage circuit breakers

This paper described a monitoring and analysis system for external vibration acceleration signals of circuit breaker during operation. This system cosists of a computer, vibration acceleration signal sensors, processing software system and etc. This system has the capability of data sampling, data processing and etc. Through the use of data processing techniques, this paper analyzed the time and frequency response characteristic of vibration signals and revealed the relationship between the external vibration during operation and the motion and impacts of circuit breaker's constituent parts. This paper takes the closing buffer of the test circuit breaker as an example and the condition of the closing buffer determined quantitatively by applying this system. This system obtains vibration signals from transducers placed along the external surfaces of a circuit breaker and no electrical link required. This detection method suited on line monitoring for high voltage circuit breaker.
Codon Usage Bias in Phytoplankton

Non-random usage of synonymous codons, known as “codon bias”, has been described in many organisms, from bacteria to Drosophila, but little is known about it in phytoplankton. This phenomenon is thought to be driven by selection for translational efficiency. As the efficacy of selection is proportional to the effective population size, species with large population sizes, such as phytoplankton, are expected to have strong codon bias. To test this, we measured codon bias in 215 strains from Haptophyta, Chlorophyta, Ochrophyta (except diatoms that were studied previously), Dinophyta, Cryptophyta, Ciliophora, unicellular Rhodophyta and Chlorarachniophyta. Codon bias is modest in most groups, despite the astronomically large population sizes of marine phytoplankton. The strength of the codon bias, measured with the effective number of codons, is the strongest in Haptophyta and the weakest in Chlorarachniophyta. The optimal codons are GC-ending in most cases, but several shifts to AT-ending codons were observed (mainly in Ochrophyta and Ciliophora). As it takes a long time to reach a new equilibrium after such shifts, species having AT-ending codons show a lower frequency of optimal codons compared to other species. Genetic diversity, calculated for species with more than three strains sequenced, is modest, indicating that the effective population sizes are many orders of magnitude lower than the astronomically large census population sizes, which helps to explain the modest codon bias in marine phytoplankton. This study represents the first comparative analysis of codon bias across multiple major phytoplankton groups.
Magnetoresistance and Electric Polarization in the LuxMn1–xS Compound

Using the Hall effect measurements, it is established that the sign of carriers in the LuxMn1–xS solid solutions changes upon temperature and concentration variations. The extrema in the temperature dependence of the electrical resistance and hysteresis of the electric polarization are found. The change in the sign of the exchange coupling between the nearest neighbors under electron doping is established. The magnetoresistance in the paramagnetic region is caused by the change in the induced electric polarization in a magnetic field.