Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of atrial fibrillation detection in embolic stroke of undetermined source patients with implantable loop recorder

Background Covert atrial fibrillation (AF) is a predominant aetiology of embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). Evidence suggested that AF is more frequently detected by implantable loop recorder (ILR) than by conventional monitoring. However, the predictive factors associated with occult AF detected using ILRs are not well established yet. In this study we aim to investigate the predictors of AF detection in patients with ESUS undergoing an ILR. Methods This observational multi-centre study included consecutive ESUS patients who underwent ILR implantation. The infarcts were divided in deep, cortical infarcts or both. The infarction sites were categorized as anterior and middle cerebral artery, posterior cerebral artery with and without brainstem/cerebellum involvement. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate variables associated with AF detection. Results Overall, 3,000 patients were initially identified. However, in total, 127 patients who consecutively underwent ILR implantation were included in our analysis. AF was detected in 33 (26%) out of 127 patients. The median follow-up was 411 days. There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics and comorbidities between patients with and without AF detected. AF was detected more often after posterior cerebral artery infarct with brainstem/cerebellum involvement (p < 0.001) whereas less often after infarction in the anterior and middle cerebral artery (p = 0.021). Multivariable regression analysis demonstrated that posterior cerebral artery infarct with brainstem/cerebellum involvement was an independent predictor of AF detection. Conclusion Our study showed that posterior circulation infarcts with brainstem/cerebellum involvement are associated with AF detection in ESUS patients undergoing ILR. Larger prospective studies are needed to validate our findings.
Missing Black males among preterm births in the US, 1995 to 2019

Background In the US, non-Hispanic (NH) Black birthing persons show a two-fold greater risk of fetal death relative to NH white birthing persons. Since males more than females show a greater risk of fetal death, such loss in utero may affect the sex composition of live births born preterm (PTB; <37 weeks gestational age). We examine US birth data from 1995 to 2019 to determine whether the ratio of male to female preterm (i.e., PTB sex ratios) among NH Black births falls below that of NH whites and Hispanics. Methods We acquired data on all live births in the US from January 1995 to December 2019. We arrayed 63 million live births into 293 “conception cohort” months of which 2,475,928 NH Black, 5,746,953 NH white, and 2,511,450 Hispanic infants were PTB. We used linear regression methods to identify trend and seasonal patterns in PTB sex ratios. We also examined subgroup differences in PTB sex ratios (e.g., advanced maternal ages, twin gestations, and narrower gestational age ranges). Results The mean PTB sex ratio for NH Black births over the entire test period (1.06, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.05, 1.07) is much lower than that for NH white births (1.18, 95% CI: 1.17, 1.19). NH Black PTB sex ratios are especially low for twins and for births to mothers 35 years or older. Only NH white PTB sex ratios show a trend over the test period. Conclusions Analysis of over 10 million PTBs reveals a persistently low male PTB frequency among NH Black conception cohorts relative to NH white cohorts. Low PTB sex ratios among NH Black births concentrate among subgroups that show an elevated risk of fetal death. PTB sex ratios may serve as an indicator of racial/ethnic and subgroup differences in fetal death, especially among male gestations.
SARS-CoV-2 presence in recreational seawater and evaluation of intestine permeability: experimental evidence of low impact on public health

Introduction Coastal seawater pollution poses a public health risk due to the potential ingestion of contaminated water during recreational activities. Wastewater-based epidemiology has revealed the abundant presence of SARS-CoV-2 in seawater emitted from wastewater outlets. The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of seawater on SARS-CoV-2 infectivity to assess the safety of recreational activities in seawater. Methods Wild SARS-CoV-2 was collected from oral swabs of COVID-19 affected patients and incubated for up to 90 min using the following solutions: (a) standard physiological solution (control), (b) reconstructed seawater (3.5% NaCl), and (c) authentic seawater (3.8%). Samples were then exposed to two different host systems: (a) Vero E6 cells expressing the ACE2 SARS-CoV-2 receptor and (b) 3D multi-tissue organoids reconstructing the human intestine. The presence of intracellular virus inside the host systems was determined using plaque assay, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), and transmission electron microscopy. Results Ultrastructural examination of Vero E6 cells revealed the presence of virus particles at the cell surface and in replicative compartments inside cells treated with seawater and/or reconstituted water only for samples incubated up to 2 min. After a 90-min incubation, the presence of the virus and its infectivity in Vero E6 cells was reduced by 90%. Ultrastructural analysis performed in 3D epi-intestinal tissue did not reveal intact viral particles or infection signs, despite the presence of viral nucleic acid detected by qPCR. Indeed, viral genes (Orf1ab and N) were found in the intestinal luminal epithelium but not in the enteric capillaries. These findings suggest that the intestinal tissue is not a preferential entry site for SARS-CoV-2 in the human body. Additionally, the presence of hypertonic saline solution did not increase the susceptibility of the intestinal epithelium to virus penetration; rather, it neutralized its infectivity. Conclusion Our results indicate that engaging in recreational activities in a seawater environment does not pose a significant risk for COVID-19 infection, despite the possible presence of viral nucleic acid deriving from degraded and fragmented viruses.
Age‐wise examination of the association of obesity based on body mass index and waist circumference with metabolic diseases in comprehensive health checkup participants

Abstract Aim Body mass index and waist circumference are used for obesity diagnosis and screening of visceral fat; however, their evidence in older adults is insufficient. This study investigated the age‐specific association of body mass index and waist circumference with metabolic diseases, assessing their applicability as diagnostic criteria for individuals aged ≥65 years. Methods Analysis included 46,324 individuals aged ≥18 years, categorized into five age groups: 18–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, and ≥75 years. Logistic regression analyses identified associations between obesity and metabolic diseases, stratified by age and sex. Results Men with obesity based on body mass index had a significantly high risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia across all age groups (all, p < 0.05). Obesity based on waist circumference was significantly positively associated with all metabolic diseases (all, p < 0.05). Women with obesity based on body mass index and waist circumference had a significantly high risk of all metabolic diseases across all age groups (all, p < 0.05), except for diabetes mellitus in individuals aged ≥75 years. Conclusions Participants with obesity based on body mass index and waist circumference exhibited a high risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia among those aged 18–74 years and men aged ≥75 years. This study contributes to the early prevention and control of metabolic diseases.
Prevalence and association between objective signs and subjective symptoms of vaginal atrophy: the AGATA study

Objective:The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and association of subjective symptoms and objective signs of vaginal atrophy (VA). Methods:A cross-sectional multicenter study was performed on 913 postmenopausal women consulting 22 gynecological outpatient services. The prevalence of subjective symptoms and objective signs of VA was stratified by years since menopause and related to each other. Results:In women a year after menopause the prevalence of vaginal dryness was 62% to 67%, of dyspareunia 67.5%, of itching 40%, of burning 48%, and of dysuria 15%. In women years after menopause the prevalence of vaginal dryness and dysuria was higher (85% and 30%, respectively) and that of itching and burning did not exceed 50% and 52%, respectively. The prevalence of dyspareunia was 75% in postmenopausal women after 6 years, but the rate decreased to about 41% years later. The prevalence of objective signs was also different. In women 1 year after menopause the prevalence of basic pH was 78%; of mucosal pallor, rugae thinning, and objective vaginal dryness about 60% to 62%; of mucosal fragility 35%; and of the presence of petechiae 15% to 20%. The prevalence of all objective signs was progressively higher with time since menopause reaching a value of 90% for pH > 5, mucosal pallor, and rugae thinning; of 80% for mucosal fragility; and of 51% for petechiae. There was no strict association between signs and symptoms, apart from subjective and objective vaginal dryness (k index = 0.820; sensitivity 0.96; specificity 0.82). Conclusions:The results show that objective signs and subjective symptoms of VA have a different prevalence distribution in the years after menopause and are not strictly associated.
Basic Principles of MPC for Power Converters: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice

This article presents the basic principles of operation for model predictive control (MPC), a control methodology that opens a new world of opportunities. MPC is a powerful technique that can fulfill the increased performance and higher efficiency demands of power converters today. The main features of this technique are presented as well as the MPC strategy and basic elements. The two main MPC methods for power converters [continuous-control-set MPC (CCS-MPC) and finite-control-set MPC (FCS-MPC)] are described, and their application to a voltage-source inverter (VSI) is shown to illustrate their capabilities. This article tries to bridge the gap between the powerful but sometimes abstract techniques developed by researchers in the control community and the empirical approach of power electronics practitioners.
Incidence and persistence of carcinogenic genital human papillomavirus infections in young women with or without Chlamydia trachomatis co-infection

We assessed whether infection with chlamydia increases the incidence of carcinogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and if HPV persistence is affected by chlamydia co‐infection. For 1982 women (16–29 years‐old) participating in two consecutive rounds of a chlamydia screening implementation trial, swabs were polymerase chain reaction tested to detect chlamydia and 14 carcinogenic HPV genotypes. HPV type‐specific incidence and persistence rates were stratified for chlamydia positivity at follow‐up. Associations were assessed by multilevel logistic regression analyses with correction for sexual risk factors. HPV type‐specific incidence ranged from 1.4% to 8.9% and persistence from 22.7% to 59.4% after a median follow‐up of 11 months (interquartile range: 11–12). Differences in 1‐year HPV persistence rates between chlamydia ‐infected and noninfected women were less distinct than differences in HPV incidence rates (pooled adjusted odds ratios of 1.17 [95% CI: 0.69–1.96] and 1.84 [95% CI: 1.36–2.47], respectively). The effect of chlamydia co‐infection on HPV‐infection risk did not significantly differ by HPV genotype. In conclusion, infection with chlamydia increases the risk of infection by carcinogenic HPV types and may enhance persistence of some HPV types. Although these findings could reflect residual confounding through unobserved risk factors, our results do give reason to explore more fully the association between chlamydia and HPV type‐specific acquisition and persistence.
A low-overhead high-performance unified buffer management scheme that exploits sequential and looping references

In traditional file system implementations, the Least Recently Used (LRU) block replacement scheme is widely used to manage the buffer cache due to its simplicity and adaptability. However, the LRU scheme exhibits performance degradations because it does not make use of reference regularities such as sequential and looping references. In this paper, we present a Unified Buffer Management (UBM) scheme that exploits these regularities and yet, is simple to deploy. The UBM scheme automatically detects sequential and looping references and stores the detected blocks in separate partitions of the buffer cache. These partitions are managed by appropriate replacement schemes based on their detected patterns. The allocation problem among the divided partitions is also tackled with the use of the notion of marginal gains. In both trace-driven simulation experiments and experimental studies using an actual implementation in the FreeBSD operating system, the performance gains obtained through the use of this scheme are substantial. The results show that the hit ratios improve by as much as 57.7% (with an average of 29.2%) and the elapsed times are reduced by as much as 67.2% (with an average of 28.7%) compared to the LRU scheme for the workloads we used.
Angiographic progression in patients with angina pectoris and normal or near normal coronary angiograms who are restudied due to unstable symptoms.

BACKGROUND Syndrome X patients commonly remain symptomatic during follow-up and may be readmitted with unstable anginal symptoms. Angiographic disease progression must be considered as a possible mechanism for instability, particularly where multiple coronary risk factors are present and an interval of several years has elapsed since previous angiography. METHODS AND RESULTS We reviewed data from 139 consecutive patients with chest pain and normal or near normal coronary angiograms (101 patients with completely normal angiograms and 38 patients with minimal lumenal irregularities). During a 5-year period, 24 patients (19 women, median age 56 years) underwent repeat angiography due to primary unstable angina (median interval between angiograms 58 months (range 8-130 months)). This group included three patients with minimal lumenal irregularities and four patients with left bundle branch block. Only two patients had progression to significant angiographic stenosis (> 30% diameter reduction); both were male patients with minimal irregularities at baseline angiography, left bundle branch block and multiple coronary risk factors. However, overall only two of 18 (11%) patients with one or more conventional coronary risk factors had angiographic progression. CONCLUSIONS Unstable symptoms in patients with chest pain and previously normal or near normal coronary arteriograms are rarely due to angiographic disease progression. However, the presence of minimal lumenal irregularities at baseline angiography and LBBB may identify a sub-group at increased risk.
Nationwide Study of the Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis in Korea

Background Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a condition with an uncertain global incidence, and information on its diagnosis and management is limited. This study aimed to address these knowledge gaps. Methods This study utilized customized claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in South Korea from January 2010, to December 2021. Patients with HP were identified based on the diagnosis code (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, J67) between 2011 and 2020. Incident HP cases were defined as new HP claims, excluding those with claims in the previous year. The study examined various factors such as age, sex, comorbidities, diagnostic methods, and treatment patterns. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with treatment initiation. Results A total of 8,678 HP incident cases were confirmed, with age- and sex-adjusted annual incidence rates ranging from 1.14/100,000 in 2020 to 2.16/100,000 in 2012. The mean age of patients with incident HP was 52 years, with a higher incidence observed among males. Additionally, the most common comorbidity was asthma. Bronchoscopy was performed on 16.9% of patients, and 25.4% of patients did not receive treatment within 1 year of diagnosis. Among those who received treatment, prednisone was the most used systemic steroid, and azathioprine was the most commonly used second-line immunosuppressant. Factors associated with treatment initiation included the female sex, having asthma or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and undergoing bronchoscopy. Conclusion This study provides valuable insights into the incidence, diagnosis, and treatment patterns of HP in South Korea using nationwide medical claims data.
Standardising bee sampling: A systematic review of pan trapping and associated floral surveys

Abstract The use of coloured pan traps (bee bowls, Moericke traps) for sampling bees (and other pollinators) has continuously increased over the last two decades. Although a number of methodological studies and conceptual frameworks offer guidance on standardised sampling, pan trap setups vary widely in characteristics even when optimised for capturing bees. Moreover, some uncertainty persists as to how local flower abundance and diversity influence sampling. We systematically reviewed peer‐reviewed studies that used pan traps for bee collection and that were listed in the Web of Science core collection. To gauge methodological variation, we identified a set of relevant methodological criteria and assessed the studies accordingly. For obtaining evidence that pan trap samples and floral environment around traps are correlated, we screened the relevant studies for such correlations. While some aspects of pan trapping (e.g., trap coloration and elevation) were similar in the majority of studies, other aspects varied considerably (e.g., trap volume/diameter and sampling duration). Few studies used floral abundance and/or diversity as an explanatory variable in their analyses of bee samples. Among these studies, we found a considerable variation in key aspects of floral survey methods, such as time and space between vegetation surveys and pan trap sampling, abundance measures (quantitative, semi‐quantitative and presence–absence), and processing of raw data prior to analysis. Often studies did not find any correlation between the floral environment and bee samples. Reported correlations varied markedly across studies, even within groups of studies applying a similar method or analysing a similar group of bees. Our synthesis helps to identify key issues of further standardisation of pan trap methodology and of associated floral surveys. In addition to the few aspects that have been standardised over the past decades, we suggest methodological direction for future research using pan traps as a better standardised method for the collection of wild bees. We encourage further studies to illuminate if and how varying floral resources around traps bias bee samples from pan traps. More generally, our synthesis shows that trapping methodologies should be reviewed regularly when their use increases to ensure standardisation.
Individual Differences in the Effects of Perceived Controllability on Pain Perception: Critical Role of the Prefrontal Cortex

The degree to which perceived controllability alters the way a stressor is experienced varies greatly among individuals. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural activation associated with individual differences in the impact of perceived controllability on self-reported pain perception. Subjects with greater activation in response to uncontrollable (UC) rather than controllable (C) pain in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC), periaqueductal gray (PAG), and posterior insula/SII reported higher levels of pain during the UC versus C conditions. Conversely, subjects with greater activation in the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) in anticipation of pain in the UC versus C conditions reported less pain in response to UC versus C pain. Activation in the VLPFC was significantly correlated with the acceptance and denial subscales of the COPE inventory [Carver, C. S. , Scheier, M. F. , & Weintraub, J. K. Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267283, 1989], supporting the interpretation that this anticipatory activation was associated with an attempt to cope with the emotional impact of uncontrollable pain. A regression model containing the two prefrontal clusters (VLPFC and pACC) predicted 64% of the variance in pain rating difference, with activation in the two additional regions (PAG and insula/SII) predicting almost no additional variance. In addition to supporting the conclusion that the impact of perceived controllability on pain perception varies highly between individuals, these findings suggest that these effects are primarily top-down, driven by processes in regions of the prefrontal cortex previously associated with cognitive modulation of pain and emotion regulation.
Experiences of teachers and students on school closures and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nyarugusu refugee camp, Tanzania

Tanzania has experienced several waves of COVID-19 since it was first detected in the country. During the first wave, Tanzania took several measures to prevent wider virus transmission with school closures being one of them. All areas and institutions were targeted, including the refugee camps in Kigoma region. Despite the abundant evidence generated in relation to the effects of the pandemic and associated school closures globally, there has been a paucity of literature exploring the experiences of teachers and students in humanitarian settings. We conducted a qualitative study to explore COVID-19 related school closures in Nyarugusu refugee camp. We aimed to describe teachers’ and students’ experiences and perceived consequences of school closures. In-depth interviews with teachers and students were conducted in September 2020 in Burundian and Congolese schools in the context of a cluster randomised trial of EmpaTeach, a school-based violence prevention intervention. A total of 44 individuals (29 teachers and 15 students) were interviewed. A phenomenological theoretical framework was used to guide the content analysis. Findings indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic was generally seen as frightening by refugees. Study participants understood the importance of school closures to prevent transmission of the virus, but various negative consequences were reported by both teachers and students. These included perceived mental health difficulties such as stress, depression and anxiety associated with the worry of infection, idleness, and disruption of education. Participants also perceived an increase in occurrences of early marriages and unplanned pregnancies, which they thought contributed to increased school dropout. Participants identified the main causes of such outcomes as a lack of parental supervision, children’s lack of restraint and poor character, and a lack of alternative teaching practices (such as online or remote learning) to keep the students busy while at home. Children were held accountable for their faults with little support from the adults. Our findings suggest that there is an urgent need to strengthen child protection programming to support children and their communities during emergencies and provides protective environments such as school and education. There is a critical need to develop preparedness plans for future pandemics to support child safety, academic development and wellbeing.