Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Processes toward the end of life and dialysis withdrawal Physicians’ and nurses’ perspectives

Background: Nurses and physicians in nephrology settings provide care for patients with end-stage kidney disease receiving hemodialysis treatment along a complex illness trajectory. Aim: The aim was to explore physicians’ and nurses’ perspectives on the trajectories toward the end of life involving decisions regarding hemodialysis withdrawal for patients with end-stage kidney disease. Research design and participants: A qualitative research approach was used. Four mixed focus group interviews were conducted with renal physicians (5) and nurses (17) in Sweden. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse data. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained (Dnr 2014/304-31). Findings and discussion: Findings illuminated multi-faceted, intertwined processes encompassing healthcare professionals, patients, and family members. The analysis resulted in four themes: Complexities of initiating end-of-life conversations, Genuine attentiveness to the patient’s decision-making process, The challenge awaiting the family members’ processes, and Negotiating different professional responsibilities. Findings showed complexities and challenges when striving to provide good, ethical care which are related to beneficence, nonmaleficence, and self-determination, and which can give rise to moral distress. Conclusion: There are ethical challenges and strains in the dialysis context that healthcare professionals may not always be prepared for. Supporting healthcare professionals in not allowing complexities to hinder the patient’s possibilities for shared decision-making seems important. An open and continual communication, including family meetings, from dialysis initiation could serve to make conversations involving decisions about hemodialysis withdrawal a more natural routine, as well as build up a relationship of trust necessary for the advance care planning about the end of life. Healthcare professionals should also receive support in ethical reasoning to meet these challenges and handle potential moral distress in the dialysis context.
Minimal Residual Disease Monitoring with Next-Generation Sequencing Methodologies in Hematological Malignancies

Ultra-deep next-generation sequencing has emerged in recent years as an important diagnostic tool for the detection and follow-up of tumor burden in most of the known hematopoietic malignancies. Meticulous and high-throughput methods for the lowest possible quantified disease are needed to address the deficiencies of more classical techniques. Precision-based approaches will allow us to correctly stratify each patient based on the minimal residual disease (MRD) after a treatment cycle. In this review, we consider the most prominent ways to approach next-generation sequencing methodologies to follow-up MRD in hematological neoplasms.
A formalism is proposed to parameterize the gravity waves due to convection in general circulation models with a stratosphere

[1] A formalism is proposed to parameterize the gravity waves due to convection in general circulation models with a stratosphere. It is based on a stochastic approach, where a large ensemble of monochromatic gravity waves is built up by launching a few waves at each time step, and by adding the effect of these waves, to that of the waves launched before, during the same day. The frequency and horizontal wave numbers of each wave are chosen randomly with fixed probability distribution, but the wave amplitude is directly related to precipitation, which is converted into heating rate. Linear theory is then used to predict the gravity wave generated by the heating rate. Off-line tests are carried out using reanalysis and global precipitation data. These tests demonstrate that the scheme launches gravity wave momentum fluxes that are much more erratic in amplitude than when uniform sources are considered. Consequently, the scheme tends to produce momentum flux deposition at lower levels than for the case when uniform sources are considered. We verify that the parameterization, when included in a general circulation model with vertical resolution in the stratosphere ız 500m, is able to produce a quasi-biennial oscillation, without being detrimental to other aspects of the model climatology, like the semiannual oscillation and the behavior of the extratropics.
Role of ploidy in colonization of alpine habitats in natural populations of Arabidopsis arenosa.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Polyploidy is an important driver of plant diversification and adaptation to novel environments. As a consequence of genome doubling, polyploids often exhibit greater colonizing ability or occupy a wider ecological niche than diploids. Although elevation has been traditionally considered as a key driver structuring ploidy variation, we do not know if environmental and phenotypic differentiation among ploidy cytotypes varies along an elevational gradient. Here, we tested for the consequences of genome duplication on genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and habitat preferences on closely related diploid and tetraploid populations that coexist along approx. 2300 m of varying elevation. METHODS We sampled and phenotyped 45 natural diploid and tetraploid populations of Arabidopsis arenosa in one mountain range in Central Europe (Western Carpathians) and recorded abiotic and biotic variables at each collection site. We inferred genetic variation, population structure and demographic history in a sub-set of 29 populations genotyped for approx. 36 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms. KEY RESULTS We found minor effects of polyploidy on colonization of alpine stands and low genetic differentiation between the two cytotypes, mirroring recent divergence of the polyploids from the local diploid lineage and repeated reticulation events among the cytotypes. This pattern was corroborated by the absence of ecological niche differentiation between the two cytotypes and overall phenotypic similarity at a given elevation. CONCLUSIONS The case of A. arenosa contrasts with previous studies that frequently showed clear niche differentiation between cytotypes. Our work stresses the importance of considering genetic structure and past demographic processes when interpreting the patterns of ploidy distributions, especially in species that underwent recent polyploidization events.
Longitudinal associations between white matter maturation and cognitive development across early childhood

From birth to 5 years of age, brain structure matures and evolves alongside emerging cognitive and behavioral abilities. In relating concurrent cognitive functioning and measures of brain structure, a major challenge that has impeded prior investigation of their time‐dynamic relationships is the sparse and irregular nature of most longitudinal neuroimaging data. We demonstrate how this problem can be addressed by applying functional concurrent regression models (FCRMs) to longitudinal cognitive and neuroimaging data. The application of FCRM in neuroimaging is illustrated with longitudinal neuroimaging and cognitive data acquired from a large cohort (n = 210) of healthy children, 2–48 months of age. Quantifying white matter myelination by using myelin water fraction (MWF) as imaging metric derived from MRI scans, application of this methodology reveals an early period (200–500 days) during which whole brain and regional white matter structure, as quantified by MWF, is positively associated with cognitive ability, while we found no such association for whole brain white matter volume. Adjusting for baseline covariates including socioeconomic status as measured by maternal education (SES‐ME), infant feeding practice, gender, and birth weight further reveals an increasing association between SES‐ME and cognitive development with child age. These results shed new light on the emerging patterns of brain and cognitive development, indicating that FCRM provides a useful tool for investigating these evolving relationships.
Comparative performance of microbial lipases immobilized on magnetic polysiloxane polyvinyl alcohol particles

Lipases microbianas de Mucor miehei e Candida rugosa foram imobilizadas por ligacao covalente em particulas magnetizadas de polisiloxano-alcool polivinilico (POS-PVA). Os derivados imobilizados resultantes foram avaliados em solucao aquosa (hidrolise de azeite de oliva) e em solvente orgânico (sintese de butirato de butila). As maiores atividades cataliticas foram encontradas quando o procedimento de ligacao foi realizado com lipase de M. miehei. O derivado imobilizado de lipase de M. miehei tambem apresentou melhores resultados de estabilidade operacional e tempo de meia-vida do que o de lipase de C. rugosa, apos sucessivas bateladas de esterificacao. O desempenho do derivado imobilizado de C. rugosa foi restringido pelo baixo carregamento de lipase usado na etapa de imobilizacao. Informacoes adicionais a respeito de ambos derivados imobilizados tambem foram obtidas atraves da composicao quimica (FTIR).
Impact of Online Computer Assisted Learning on Education: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in China

Abstract Education of poor and disadvantaged populations has been a long-standing challenge for education systems in both developed and developing countries. In China, millions of students in rural areas and migrant communities lag far behind their urban counterparts in terms of academic achievement. When they fall behind, they often have no way to catch up. Many of their parents have neither the skills nor the money to provide remedial tutoring; rural teachers often do not have time to give students the individual attention they need. Given this, there is growing interest by both educators and policymakers in helping underperforming students catch up using computer assisted learning (CAL). While CAL interventions have been shown to be effective internationally and elsewhere in China, traditional software-based CAL programs are difficult and costly to implement. An online version of CAL (OCAL), however, may be able to bypass many of offline CAL’s implementation problems and enhance the remedial tutoring experience. Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence on whether OCAL programs can be effective in improving the quality of rural primary school education in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of an OCAL intervention on the academic and non-academic performance of students and to explore the mechanism behind OCAL’s impact. Importantly, we also aim to assess the cost effectiveness of the new OCAL program versus traditional CAL interventions. To achieve these objectives, we carried out a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving over 1650 fifth grade students in 44 schools in rural areas and migrant communities across China. Students in the 22 treatment schools attended two 40minute OCAL sessions during their computer class each week for one semester; the students in the other 22 schools were in the control group and did not receive any intervention. According to our findings, OCAL improved overall English scores of students in the treatment group relative to the control group by 0.56 standard deviations. This impact is large when compared with offline CAL programs. We found that OCAL also led to a positive change in the attitudes of students towards English learning and towards student aspirations for their future education level. We found three possible explanations for OCAL’s impact. After rejecting the possibility of the Hawthorne Effect or self-efficacy-induced changes, we believe interest-oriented stimulation is the main source of improvement among students. The chance for comparison and competition with peers, as well as customized remedial question banks tailored to each student’s individual needs, likely contributed to the measured increases in academic performance among students in our sample. Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the OCAL program is more cost-effective than traditional offline CAL, a comparison which is significant for policymakers as it indicates high potential for OCAL program expansion.
Object-oriented unsteady vortex lattice method for flapping flight

The unsteady vortex lattice method is used to model the oscillating plunging, pitching, twisting, and flapping motions of a finite-aspect-ratio wing. Its potential applications include design and analysis of small unmanned air vehicles and in the study of the high-frequency flapping flight of birds and other small flyers. The results are verified by theory and, in the plunging and pitching cases, by experimental data. The model includes free-wake relaxation, vortex stretching, and vortex dissipation effects and is implemented using object-oriented computing techniques
Latinos’ connections to immigrants: how knowing a deportee impacts Latino health

ABSTRACT This manuscript examines how personally knowing a deportee and/or undocumented immigrant affects the mental health of Latina/o adults. Utilising a new survey sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico (n = 1493), we estimate a series of logistic regressions to understand how personal connections to immigrants are affecting the mental health of Latinos using stress process theory. Our modelling approach takes into consideration the sociopolitical, familial, cultural, and personal contexts that make up the Latina/o experience, which is widely overlooked in datasets that treat Latinos as a homogeneous ethnic group. Our findings suggest that knowing a deportee increases the odds of having to seek help for mental health problems. The significance of this work has tremendous implications for policy makers, health service providers, and researchers interested in reducing health disparities among minority populations especially under a new administration, which has adopted more punitive immigration policies and enforcement.
Endothelial Function, Insulin Resistance, Serum Adiponectin Level in Rheumatoid Arthritis Females with Renal Dysfunction and Its Dynamics with L-Arginine Aspartate Supplementation

Purpose: To evaluate endothelial function, insulin resistance, serum adiponectin level in rheumatoid arthritis females with renal dysfunction and its dynamics with the L-Arginine aspartate supplementation Materials and methods: 69 females with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and renal dysfunction were enrolled. Patients were divided into group received L-Arginine aspartate and placebo group. Serum insulin, adiponectin were measured at the baseline and after 4 weeks. The level of insulin resistance, GFR was calculated. Determination of flow mediated vasodilation was performed at the baseline and after 4 weeks. Results: EDVD was significantly lower among the RA females with renal dysfunction (p<0.05), serum adiponectin, IR level - significantly higher (p<0.05). It was estimated increased mean EDVD by 24.5% (p<0.001) with L-Arginine treatment. The level of insulin to the end of the study was lower on 20.3 % (p=0.002), insulin resistance – on 11.9 % (p=0.001) matched by НОМА1- IR and on 29.4 % (p=0.002) - by НОМА2-IR among patients received L-Arginine aspartate. The level GFR to the end of the study increased by 11.9 % (p=0.02). Conclusions: Females with rheumatoid arthritis and renal dysfunction are characterized by high frequency endothelial dysfunction, adiponectin level changes, insulin resistance. Endothelial dysfunction correction in RA females with renal dysfunction with L-Arginine aspartate
Percepção da fala em presença de ruído competitivo: o efeito da taxa de modulação do ruído mascarante Effect of modulation rate on masking release for speech

ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the effect of modulation rate on masking release for speech. Methods: Fifteen normal hearing subjects participated in the study. They were tested on speech perception in noise using the senten-ces of the HINT-Brazil. Speech recognition thresholds were obtained in the presence of steady masking and amplitude modulated masking at rates of 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 Hz. The magnitude of masking release was obtained for each modulation rate, and results were compared. Results: Data showed significantly lower speech thresholds when the masking noise was amplitude modulated at rates of 4, 8, 16 and 32 Hz, when compared to thresholds obtained in steady noise or noise modulated at 64 Hz. Speech-to-masker ratios (SMR) were higher in steady masking noise, followed by modulated noise at 64 Hz, and lower for modulated rates of 32, 16, 8 and 4 Hz, respectively. Conclusion: The magnitude of masking release for speech does not seem to differ significantly among modulation rates of 4 to 32 Hz. However, for a modulation rate of 64 Hz the magnitude of masking release is significantly reduced.
Precise Ego-Motion Estimation with Millimeter-Wave Radar Under Diverse and Challenging Conditions

In contrast to cameras, lidars, GPS, and proprioceptive sensors, radars are affordable and efficient systems that operate well under variable weather and lighting conditions, require no external infrastructure, and detect long-range objects. In this paper, we present a reliable and accurate radar-only motion estimation algorithm for mobile autonomous systems. Using a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) scanning radar, we first extract landmarks with an algorithm that accounts for unwanted effects in radar returns. To estimate relative motion, we then perform scan matching by greedily adding point correspondences based on unary descriptors and pairwise compatibility scores. Our radar odometry results are robust under a variety of conditions, including those under which visual odometry and GPS/INS fail.
Necroptotic cell binding of β2‐glycoprotein I provides a potential autoantigenic stimulus in systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by the development of autoantibodies against diverse self‐antigens with damage to multiple organs. Immunization with the SLE autoantigen β2‐glycoprotein I (β2GPI) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a known trigger of necroptosis, induces a murine model of SLE. We hypothesized that necroptotic cells, like apoptotic cells, provide a “scaffold” of cellular self‐antigens, but, unlike apoptotic cells, necroptotic cells do so in a proinflammatory and immunogenic context. We demonstrate that β2GPI indeed binds to necroptotic cells and serves as a target for anti‐β2GPI autoantibodies. We further demonstrate that necroptotic, but not apoptotic, cells promote antigenic presentation of β2GPI to CD4 T cells by dendritic cells. Finally, we show that β2GPI/LPS‐immunized mice deficient in RIPK3 (receptor‐interacting serine/threonine‐protein kinase 3) or MLKL (mixed lineage kinase domain like), and consequently unable to undergo necroptosis, have reduced SLE autoantibody production and pathology. RIPK3−/− mice had low levels of SLE autoantibodies and no renal pathology, while MLKL−/− mice produced low levels of SLE autoantibodies initially, but later developed levels comparable with wild type (WT) mice and pathology intermediate to that of WT and RIPK3−/− mice. Serum cytokine levels induced by LPS tended to be lower in RIPK3−/− and MLKL−/− mice than in WT mice, suggesting that impaired proinflammatory cytokine production may impact the initiation of autoantibody production in both strains. Our data suggest that self‐antigen (i.e. β2GPI) presented in the context of necroptosis and proinflammatory signals may be sufficient to overcome immune tolerance and induce SLE.
OPTIMAL TRADE EXECUTION AND PRICE MANIPULATION IN ORDER BOOKS WITH TIME‐VARYING LIQUIDITY

In financial markets, liquidity is not constant over time but exhibits strong seasonal patterns. In this paper, we consider a limit order book model that allows for time‐dependent, deterministic depth and resilience of the book and determine optimal portfolio liquidation strategies. In a first model variant, we propose a trading‐dependent spread that increases when market orders are matched against the order book. In this model, no price manipulation occurs and the optimal strategy is of the wait region/buy region type often encountered in singular control problems. In a second model, we assume that there is no spread in the order book. Under this assumption, we find that price manipulation can occur, depending on the model parameters. Even in the absence of classical price manipulation, there may be transaction triggered price manipulation. In specific cases, we can state the optimal strategy in closed form.
Characterizing environmental asthma triggers and healthcare use patterns in Puerto Rico

Abstract Objective: Asthma carries a high burden of disease for residents of Puerto Rico. We conducted this study to better understand asthma-related healthcare use and to examine potential asthma triggers. Methods: We characterized asthma-related healthcare use in 2013 by demographics, region, and date using outpatient, hospital, and emergency department (ED) insurance claims with a primary diagnostic ICD-9-CM code of 493.XX. We examined environmental asthma triggers, including outdoor allergens (i.e., mold and pollen), particulate pollution, and influenza-like illness. Analyses included descriptive statistics and Poisson time-series regression. Results: During 2013, there were 550,655 medical asthma claims reported to the Puerto Rico Healthcare Utilization database, representing 148 asthma claims/1,000 persons; 71% of asthma claims were outpatient visits, 19% were hospitalizations, and 10% were ED visits. Females (63%), children aged ≤9 years (77% among children), and adults aged ≥45 years (80% among adults) had the majority of asthma claims. Among health regions, Caguas had the highest asthma claim-rate at 142/1,000 persons (overall health region claim-rate = 108). Environmental exposures varied across the year and demonstrated seasonal patterns. Metro health region regression models showed positive associations between increases in mold and particulate matter <10 microns in diameter (PM10) and outpatient asthma claims. Conclusions: This study provides information about patterns of asthma-related healthcare use across Puerto Rico. Increases in mold and PM10 were associated with increases in asthma claims. Targeting educational interventions on exposure awareness and reduction techniques, especially to persons with higher asthma-related healthcare use, can support asthma control activities in public health and clinical settings.
Polyphenol-Protein-Polysaccharide Interactions in the Presence of Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) in Wine-like Model Systems.

Protein-polyphenol interactions play a very important role in wine stability assessment, especially in red varieties. Different polysaccharides can influence these interactions by protecting or disrupting charges and are even used as additives to stabilize colloidal solutions. The most common examples are mannoproteins and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). In some cases, the mechanisms that are involved in these reactions are not thoroughly understood and can lead to unexpected problems and delayed haze formation after CMC addition to red wines. Small scale bench-trials were conducted in model systems under different pH-conditions to monitor the formation of turbidity and protection mechanisms during the interaction of proteins, polyphenols, and polysaccharides. Egg-white protein was chosen as a protein model due to its complex composition, a commercial grape tannin extract was used as polyphenol source, and pectin, glucomannan, mannoprotein, alginate, and CMC were applied as polysaccharides to model various wine conditions. Reactions were monitored in duplicate on a 50 mL scale by spectrophotometry at 860 nm over at least 30 days. Some of the polysaccharides interacted directly with proteins or polyphenols causing precipitation. Other polysaccharides delayed the reaction between proteins and other macromolecules depending on their concentration. The results of these experiments provide important insight into reaction dynamics between macromolecules that are involved in the physical stability of wine.