Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis differences and similarities between hepatitis E virus infection and autoimmune hepatitis, with phylogenetic analysis of hepatitis E virus in humans and wild boars

Background Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection incidence is increasing in Europe, accounting for the majority of acute hepatitis cases. We investigated the prevalence and clinical characteristics of acute hepatitis E (AHE) in patients with acute non-A/B/C hepatitis from central Greece, their differences from acute autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) patients and the molecular similarity of human strains to local HEV strains in wild boars. Methods Sera from 20 patients with non-A/B/C acute hepatitis (2015-2017) were tested prospectively for anti-HEV IgM, IgG antibodies and HEV-RNA. Sera from patients diagnosed with acute AIH (2000-2015; n=56) were tested retrospectively. Liver tissue samples from 40 wild boars were tested for HEV-RNA. Positive wild boar and patients’ samples were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. Results Twelve of the 76 (16%) patients were diagnosed with AHE: HEV-RNA 11.5x104 (38.7-39.7x106) IU/mL; 11/20 (55%) acute non-A/B/C hepatitis and 1/56 (2%) AIH patients. Patients with AHE were older than those without, predominately men, with higher alanine aminotransferase but lower IgG levels (P=0.005 and P=0.002, respectively), and had high titers of smooth muscle antibodies. Liver biopsies, performed in 6/12 patients with HEV infection, revealed histology compatible with AIH. HEV strains from both patients and wild boars belonged to genotype 3. Conclusions Approximately one sixth of patients with acute non-A/B/C hepatitis had autochthonous HEV infection with AIH features. Therefore, a careful workup to exclude HEV should be carried out in all acute hepatitis cases before a definite diagnosis of AIH is established. Wild boars seem to be an important reservoir of HEV in Greece.
Evaluating the Relationship of Airflow Obstruction in COPD with Severity of OSA Among Patients with Overlap Syndrome

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are common diseases affecting millions worldwide. These two diseases have a complex relationship that is not well understood. Previous small studies suggest an inverse relationship of disease severity of OSA with COPD airflow obstruction. Objective The aim of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between severity of airflow obstruction in COPD and severity of OSA via apnea hypopnea index obtained during an in-lab baseline polysomnogram using a large quaternary care center cohort. Methods From November 2015 through December 2018, 273 patients with confirmed COPD via spirometry and OSA via in-lab baseline polysomnogram were included. Conclusion No associations were noted between severity of airflow obstruction in COPD and disease severity of OSA. Given the heterogeneity of these diseases, further exploration of a relationship within disease subtypes is warranted.
Nanoparticles and Plant By-Products for Edible Coatings Production: A Case Study with Zinc, Titanium, and Silver

For the development of functional edible packaging that will not lead to rejection by the consumer, it is needed to analyze the interactions between ingredients in the packaging matrix. The aim of this study was to develop edible chitosan-based coatings that have been enriched with red grape extracts, zinc, silver, and titanium nanoparticles. The organoleptic properties of the produced edible packaging were described by quantitative descriptive analysis and consumer acceptability was verified by hedonic analysis. By image analysis, color parameters in the CIELab system, opacity, Whiteness and Yellowness Index were described. The microstructure was described by scanning electron microscopy. The hedonic evaluation revealed that the addition of nanometals and their increasing concentration caused a deterioration in sample acceptability. The overall evaluation was higher than 5 in 50% of the samples containing nanometals. The addition of nanometals also caused statistically significant changes in L*, a*, and b* values. The sample transparency generally decreased with the increasing concentration of nanoparticle addition. Scanning electron microscopy showed, that the addition of nanometals does not disrupt the protective function of the packaging. From a sensory point of view, the addition of ZnO nanoparticles in concentrations of 0.05 and 0.2% appeared to be the most favorable of all nanometals.
Electoral Success of ĽSNS: The Role of Education in the Spatial Context

In this article, we examine the relationship between educational attainment and electoral success of populist radical right party in Slovakia – Ľudová Strana Naše Slovensko. We extend our estimation by taking into account the spatial context of the empirical data, suggesting that political and educational choices are formed early in life in families and communities. Therefore, to estimate how neighborhood influences its residents we are adding in our model spatially lagged explanatory variable referring to higher educational attainment, which represents the weighted average of the neighboring values for this variable. For the purpose of this estimation on the link between educational attainment and voting support for ĽSNS, we use the results of parliamentary elections held in 2020 on the level of LAU 2. Along with our main explanatory variable relating to university educational attainment, we also include socio-economic and demographic factors as control variables, which were previously empirically proven as statistically significant for the electoral performance of populist radical right parties. Our findings imply that a higher share of residents with university education attainment in neighboring municipalities has an influence on the election results for ĽSNS in the observed municipality. Residents with university educational attainment are less likely to vote for ĽSNS.
Objective and subjective assessment of mammographic positioning quality

Early detection of breast cancer through mammographic screening can only be achieved with high quality mammograms. In this study an experienced radiologist and radiographer scored 127 mammographic screening exams with MLO and CC views of left and right breasts using 18 different positioning quality criteria. This subjective evaluation of the positioning quality was compared to the objective and automatic assessment by Volpara TruPGMI (Volpara Health, New Zealand). The quality criteria on missed tissue at medial or lateral side of the breast were in agreement with the software for the radiographer but was scored differently by the radiologist. The criterion on the nipple in profile showed good agreement between the readers and the software. The important criterion on the number of images that had to be repeated showed that even though the same amount of cases was rated to be repeated, the majority of the cases were discordant between radiologist and software, the agreement with the radiographer was better. The presence of folds in the pectoral muscle, the adequate depiction of the pectoral muscle and inframammary angle on MLO view showed an acceptable agreement between the readers and software. Finally, the overall positioning quality was rated as Perfect, Good, Moderate or Inadequate. The extreme ratings of Perfect and Inadequate showed high agreement between readers and software. However the number of intermediate ratings “Moderate” and “Good” were very different. For the readers the majority of the images was “Good” whereas the software scored most often “Moderate”. Subjective positioning quality monitoring is prone to high reader variability; this can be overcome via the use of automatic measurements with software. Nevertheless, prior to the use of automatic quality monitoring software in clinical practice, a careful evaluation and validation is needed.
Of Mouse and Man: Cross-Species Characterization of Hypertensive Cardiac Remodeling

Hypertension is a major public health concern and poses a significant risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, the characterisation of human tissues tends to be macroscopic, with little appreciation for the quantification of the pathological remodelling responsible for the advancement of the disease. While the components of hypertensive remodelling are well established, the timeline and comparative quantification of pathological changes in hypertension have not been shown before. Here, we sought to identify the phasing of cardiac remodelling with hypertension using post-mortem tissue from SCD patients with early and advanced hypertensive heart disease (HHD). In order to study and quantify the progression of phenotypic changes, human specimens were contrasted to a well-described angiotensin-II-mediated hypertensive mouse model. While cardiomyocyte hypertrophy is an early adaptive response in the mouse that stabilises in established hypertension and declines as the disease progresses, this finding did not translate to the human setting. In contrast, optimising fibrosis quantification methods and applying them to each setting identified perivascular fibrosis as the prevailing possible cause for overall disease progression. Indeed, assessing myocardial inflammation highlights CD45+ inflammatory cell infiltration that precedes fibrosis and is an early-phase event in response to elevated arterial pressures that may underscore perivascular remodelling. Along with aetiology insight, we highlight cross-species comparison for quantification of cardiac remodelling in human hypertension. As such, this platform could assist with the development of therapies specific to the disease phase rather than targeting global components of hypertension, such as blood pressure lowering.
Logistics resources, capabilities and operational performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different logistics resources and resource patterns, such as logistics infrastructure, logistics location, logistics knowledge and logistics information, affect logistics capabilities and operational performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on data collected from 273 companies in China, this study examines impacts of individual logistics resource dimensions on resource integration capability, customer service capability and operational performance through contingency approach. Furthermore, three logistics resource patterns are identified and linked with resource integration capability and operational performance through configuration approach. Findings Contingency results show that different logistics resources have different impacts on resource integration capability and operational performance. Configuration results reveal that companies’ capabilities and operational performance vary for different logistics resource patterns: the high-uniform pattern has a better resource integration capability and operational performance than other patterns, while all logistics resource patterns have similar customer service capability levels. Research limitations/implications Future studies should examine other resource capabilities and performance indicators of companies and extend this study to other countries and regions. Originality/value This study contributes to the logistics resource literature through empirically investigating relationships among logistics resources, resource integration capability and operational performance using contingency approach, and through identifying different logistics resource patterns based on configuration approach. The findings extend the logistics resource literature, particularly on research of logistics parks in China.
A selected international appraisal of the role of the non-medical surgical assistant

The term Non-Medical Surgical Assistant (NMSA) is not widely acknowledged in Australia but is used to describe the role of clinicians without a medical degree or qualification who provide clinical services during the perioperative phase of a patient's journey. The role of NMSA has many configurations internationally and not all NMSA roles arise from a nursing platform. To date, the implementation of many Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) roles have lacked educational support or professional direction. The literature supports the standardisation of APN roles where they are regulated by the profession and attained through an appropriate tertiary level qualification. In this paper, we review characteristics of the roles of the NMSAs in the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, countries that have similar standards for practice to Australia and provide a similar standard of health care. We will discuss implications for perioperative nurses and make recommendations for a future approach which formalises the role of the NMSA for the Australian context.
The Wako-Saitô-Muñoz-Eaton Model for Predicting Protein Folding and Dynamics

Despite the recent advances in the prediction of protein structures by deep neutral networks, the elucidation of protein-folding mechanisms remains challenging. A promising theory for describing protein folding is a coarse-grained statistical mechanical model called the Wako-Saitô-Muñoz-Eaton (WSME) model. The model can calculate the free-energy landscapes of proteins based on a three-dimensional structure with low computational complexity, thereby providing a comprehensive understanding of the folding pathways and the structure and stability of the intermediates and transition states involved in the folding reaction. In this review, we summarize previous and recent studies on protein folding and dynamics performed using the WSME model and discuss future challenges and prospects. The WSME model successfully predicted the folding mechanisms of small single-domain proteins and the effects of amino-acid substitutions on protein stability and folding in a manner that was consistent with experimental results. Furthermore, extended versions of the WSME model were applied to predict the folding mechanisms of multi-domain proteins and the conformational changes associated with protein function. Thus, the WSME model may contribute significantly to solving the protein-folding problem and is expected to be useful for predicting protein folding, stability, and dynamics in basic research and in industrial and medical applications.
CNN-Based Hyperparameter Optimization Approach for Road Pothole and Crack Detection Systems

Poorly maintained roads contribute to the number of fatal auto accidents that occur each year. The condition of damaged roads in Indonesia reached around 2500 miles or more than 8% of the total national roads. The higher the number of road damages, the probability of a traffic accident due to road damage also rises. In order to avoid this, the roads need to be repaired in a comprehensive and long-term way. However, the way to check for road damage is still based on inefficient methods. In this paper, we propose the optimization of the detection of potholes and cracks using a deep learning convolutional neural network with a pre-trained SSD MobileNet V2 model by adjusting the hyperparameter. The optimization was carried out on our previous mobile road inspection system. The effectiveness is confirmed through experiments with the optimal mAP and loss values determined by the model parameter testing process.
Effects of Toxic AGEs (TAGE) on Human Health

The habitual and excessive consumption of sugar (i.e., sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, HFCS) is associated with the onset and progression of lifestyle-related diseases (LSRD). Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) have recently been the focus of research on the factors contributing to LSRD. Approaches that inhibit the effects of AGEs may be used to prevent and/or treat LSRD; however, since the structures of AGEs vary depending on the type of reducing sugars or carbonyl compounds to which they respond, difficulties are associated with verifying that AGEs are an etiological factor. Cytotoxic AGEs derived from glyceraldehyde, a triose intermediate in the metabolism of glucose and fructose, have been implicated in LSRD and are called toxic AGEs (TAGE). A dietary imbalance (the habitual and excessive intake of sucrose, HFCS, or dietary AGEs) promotes the generation/accumulation of TAGE in vivo. Elevated circulating levels of TAGE have been detected in non-diabetics and diabetics, indicating a strong relationship between the generation/accumulation of TAGE in vivo and the onset and progression of LSRD. We herein outline current findings on “TAGE as a new target” for human health.
Hispanic Caregivers of the Money Follows the Person Program in Connecticut: Satisfaction, Familism, and Burden

Hispanic caregivers provide more assistance than the U.S. average, but underutilize support services and report low levels of program satisfaction. A possible exception is the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program. Using an ordered logit statistical approach, we studied program satisfaction of all Hispanic caregivers assisting Connecticut MFP participants from 2014 to 2019, examining the effects of caregiver familism, burden, and personal characteristics including self-reported health and perceived financial situation. Healthier caregivers with positive perceptions of MFP’s usefulness and lower subjective burden reported higher program satisfaction. In ordered logits for separate blocks, familism elements (finding caregiving worthwhile, feeling well-supported as a caregiver, and having a good relationship with the care recipient) were statistically significant and associated with higher satisfaction. Our exclusive focus on Hispanic caregivers highlights the role of familism in satisfaction, and demonstrates that programs with a supportive caregiver component can supplement familism ties and overcome barriers to service usage.
A novel suspended stripline‐fed printed square slot array antenna with high‐gain

A novel suspended stripline‐fed square slot array antenna with high gain is presented. Its basic structure is a suspended stripline comprising of three layers. On the top layer, 4 × 4 square slots are etched and act as radiation elements. The middle layer consists of a suspended stripline power divider, and the bottom layer is a metal ground. After optimization by a parallel Genetic Algorithm (GA) on a cluster system, a prototype antenna is fabricated and tested. The measured results agree well with the simulated data, and show a high gain of 18.7 dBi and an impedance bandwidth of 5.7% for S11<‐10 dB are obtained. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2009.
The Macroeconomic Impact on Bank’s Portfolio Credit Risk: The Colombian Case

ABSTRACT This paper explores the determinants of credit risk for the Colombian economy, a small emerging economy in Latin American. Using a sample of 28 large banks over the 2009–2019 period and the dynamic data panel approach, we find that the macroeconomic environment’s deterioration affects the credit risk perception held by banks as measured through non-performing loans and loan loss provisions. On the other hand, a better political environment brought about by peace accords smoothed such an impact. Estimates indicate different reactions when distinguishing by loan type. Business credit depends heavily on unemployment, while consumer credit risk is more sensitive to the interest rate. In the case of mortgage loans, economic growth and the unemployment rate are the most critical variables to mitigate risk. These results shed light on the impact of the economic environment on credit lines with different features.
Wind Turbulence Intensity at La Ventosa, Mexico: A Comparative Study with the IEC61400 Standards

Wind speed turbulence intensity is a crucial parameter in designing the structure of wind turbines. The IEC61400 considers the Normal Turbulence Model (NTM) as a reference for fatigue load calculations for small and large wind turbines. La Ventosa is a relevant region for the development of the wind power sector in Mexico. However, in the literature, there are no studies on this important parameter in this zone. Therefore, we present an analysis of the turbulence intensity to improve the understanding of local winds and contribute to the development of reliable technical solutions. In this work, we experimentally estimate the turbulence intensity of the region and the wind shear exponent in terms of atmospheric stability to analyze the relation of these design parameters with the recommended standard for large and small wind turbines. The results showed that the atmosphere is strongly convective and stable in most of the eleven months studied. The turbulence intensity analysis showed that for a range of wind speeds between 2 and 24 m/s, some values of the variable measured were greater than those recommended by the standard, which corresponds to 388 hours of turbulence intensity being underestimated. This may lead to fatigue loads and cause structural damage to the technologies installed in the zone if they were not designed to operate in these wind speed conditions.
MALARIA INCIDENCE IN EAST KUTAI, EAST KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA 2016: AN EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDY

Highlights: 1. Most malaria infections found in East Kutai Regency were found within the male group and had high contact with forest areas.2. Malaria infections were found predominantly in the male group aged 25 to 34 years old.3. Most of the malaria infections found were caused by Plasmodium vivax. Abstract: Background: Malaria is endemic in Indonesia and knowing the factors that are involved in malaria infection will help the development of surveillance, prevention, and disease control. Objective: This study aimed to identify the profile of malaria infection and the vectors known in East Kutai Regency, Indonesia, in 2016. Material and Method: This research was a descriptive observational study with a cross-sectional design. The sample used was taken from the 2016 annual report of The Health Office, East Kutai Regency. We evaluated malaria indicators, disease distribution, incidence (age, sex, and occupation), plasmodium species found and known vectors. Result: In 2016, there were 55 confirmed cases of malaria infection in East Kutai. The Annual Parasite Index was 0.16 per 1,000. Malaria patients were dominated by males (85.5%), aged between 25-34 years old with a mean age of 29.56 years. Most of the patients lived in Rantau Pulung (41.8%). Most of the patients had work that had high contact with forest areas (70.9%). Most of the patients were infected with Plasmodium vivax (58.2%). Identified vectors were Anopheles balabacensis which was found in Kaliorang District. Conclusion: The East Kutai Regency was classified as Low Case Incidence Area with most cases found in males of 24 to 34 years old whose work had high contact with forest areas. The identified plasmodium species were Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum while the identified vector was Anopheles balabacensis.