Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonmedical Factors and Health-Related Quality of Life in CKD in India.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Patient-reported outcomes have gained prominence in the management of chronic noncommunicable diseases. Measurement of health-related quality of life is being increasingly incorporated into medical decision making and health care delivery processes. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS The Indian Chronic Kidney Disease Study is a prospective cohort of participants with mild to moderate CKD. Baseline health-related quality of life scores, determined by the standardized Kidney Disease Quality of Life 36 item instrument, are presented for the inception cohort (n=2919). Scores are presented on five subscales: mental component summary, physical component summary, burden, effect of kidney disease, and symptom and problems; each is scored 0-100. The associations of socioeconomic and clinical parameters with the five subscale scores and lower quality of life (defined as subscale score <1 SD of the sample mean) were examined. The main socioeconomic factors studied were sex, education, occupation, and income. The key medical factors studied were age, eGFR, diabetes, hypertension, and albuminuria. RESULTS The mean (SD) subscale scores were physical component summary score, 43±9; mental component summary score, 48±10; burden, 61±33; effects, 87±13; and symptoms, 90±20. Among the socioeconomic variables, women, lower education, and lower income were negatively associated with reduced scores across all subscales. For instance, the respective β-coefficients (SD) for association with the physical component summary subscale were -2.6 (-3.4 to -1.8), -1.5 (-2.2 to -0.7), and -1.6 (-2.7 to -0.5). Medical factors had inconsistent or no association with subscale scores. The quality of life scores also displayed regional variations. CONCLUSIONS In this first of its kind analysis from India, predominantly socioeconomic factors were associated with quality of life scores in patients with CKD.
Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with HBV/HCV infection and advanced-stage cancer

Abstract Background: Cancer patients with hepatitis B or C virus (HBV/HCV) infection are commonly seen in clinical practice, however, the data of safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) among them are sparse, because active HBV/HCV infected patients were generally excluded by clinical trials and the correlation between previous infection and treatment-related adverse events was rarely reported. This review is the first to summarize the results on the safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in HBV/HCV infected cancer patients. Method: We searched literature and conference abstracts in PubMed and Embase followed the PRISMA guideline, using the keywords hepatitis B, hepatitis C, immune checkpoint inhibitor, ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, durvalumab, avelumab, tremelimumab. Studies described patients with HBV/HCV infection treated with ICIs for advanced stage cancer were included. Findings: One hundred eighty six patients were identified from 14 articles (8 case reports, 4 case series, 2 trials). Eighty nine patients had HBV infection and 98 had HCV infection (1 both had HBV and HCV). The majority of patients were treated with PD-1 inhibitor monotherapy (140 of 186, 75.3%) and anti-CTLA-4 monotherapy (36 of 186, 19.4%). No treatment-related death was reported. The incidence of grade 3 or 4 hepatic transaminase elevating (HTE) in HBV and HCV infected patients were 3.4% (3/89) and 17.3% (17/98), respectively. 2.8% patients without antivirus therapy experienced virus load increasing, and 1.9% presented virus-related hepatitis. In terms of efficacy, 22 of 118 (18.6%) patients with liver cancer, 11 of 34 (32.4%) with melanoma, 1 of 6 (16.7%) with NSCLC showed objective responses (CR and PR) to ICIs in spite of lines of therapies. Conclusion: ICIs is considered to be safe and effective in advanced cancer patients with hepatitis B or C infection, but still has possibilities to reactive hepatitis virus due to uncertain mechanisms. We recommend that those with viral hepatitis be monitored closely and treated with antiviral therapy if indicated before or during ICIs treatment.
Association of Sleep Trajectory in Adulthood With Risk of Hypertension and its Related Risk Factors: The China Health and Nutrition Survey.

OBJECTIVE Few studies have examined association between sleep duration trajectories and hypertension. This study aims to examine association of sleep duration trajectories with risk of hypertension and its related factors. METHODS This study used weight longitudinal data for 7,397 adults who provided valid responses in questionnaire with regard to information of sleep and hypertension from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (2004-2011). Subgroup analyses were included 5,532 participants who measured hypertension-related factors using blood samples. Latent class trajectory analysis was used to identify different sleep duration trajectories. Multivariate cox regression models and General linear regression models were used to assess association of trajectories with hypertension and its related factors. RESULTS Compared to stable sleep duration around 8 hours, the trajectory showing persist decrease as aging was significantly associated with increased risk of hypertension (HR:1.12, 95%CI: 1.01-1.24), while no significant association between trajectory showing increase to 9 hours as aging and risk of hypertension was observed (HR:1.05, 95%CI: 0.93-1.19). Further, uric acid levels, fasting glucose levels, TC levels and Apo-B levels were significantly higher in the trajectory showing persist decrease as aging than the other two trajectories (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Decreasing sleep duration as aging is significantly associated with increased risk of hypertension and higher levels of its biomarkers throughout adulthood.
Germline biallelic PIK3CG mutations in a multifaceted immunodeficiency with immune dysregulation.

Citation: Marini Thian, Birgit Hoeger, Anton Kamnev, Fiona Poyer, Sevgi Köstel Bal, Michael Caldera, Raúl Jiménez-Heredia, Jakob Huemer, Winfried F. Pickl, Miriam Groß, Stephan Ehl, Carrie L. Lucas, Jörg Menche, Caroline Hutter, Andishe Attarbaschi, Loïc Dupré, and Kaan Boztug. Germline biallelic PIK3CG mutations in a multifaceted immunodeficiency with immune dysregulation. Haematologica. 2020; 105:xxx doi:10.3324/haematol.2019. 231399
Deregulation of cell adhesion molecules is associated with progression and poor outcomes in endometrial cancer: Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas data

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) determine the behavior of cancer cells during metastasis. Although some CAMs are dysregulated in certain types of cancer and are associated with cancer progression, to the best of our knowledge, a comprehensive study of CAMs has not been undertaken, particularly in endometrial cancer (EC). In the present study the expression of 225 CAMs in EC patients with various clinicopathological phenotypes were evaluated by statistical analysis using publicly available data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The Kaplan-Meier method, and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used for survival analyses. Among the differentially expressed CAMs that were associated with aggressive clinicopathological phenotypes, 10 CAM genes were independent prognostic factors compared with other clinicopathological prognostic factors, including stage, grade, age, lymph node status, peritoneal cytology and histological subtype. A total of six genes (L1 cell adhesion molecule, mucin 15, cell surface associated, cell adhesion associated, oncogene regulated, immunoglobulin superfamily member 9B, protocadherin 9 and protocadherin β1) were selected for integrative analysis. The six-gene signature was demonstrated to be an independent prognostic factor and could effectively stratify patients with different risks. Patients with more high-expression CAMs had a higher risk of poor overall survival (OS) rate. The mortality risk for patients with elevation of >4 CAMs was 11 times of that in those without elevation of these 6 CAMs. Similar results were obtained when relapse-free survival (RFS) time was used during the analysis. Prognostic reliability of the six-gene model was validated using data of an independent cohort from the International Cancer Genome Consortium. In conclusion, a combination of CAM alterations contributed to progression and aggressiveness of EC. The six-gene signature was effective for predicting worse OS and RFS in patients with EC and could be complementary to the present clinical prognostic criteria.
Stakeholders and Long-Term Sustainability of SMEs. Who Really Matters in Crisis Contexts, and When

The impact of crises on the long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been attracting growing interest in the literature and from governments due to the significance of such companies with respect to economic growth, innovation, and employment. Although failure prediction models have been proposed based on accounting and other qualitative information, little is known regarding the influence of stakeholders on the failure process of SMEs. From the perspective of long-term sustainability, this article analyzes the role of the financial influence of stakeholders on the likelihood of business failure. An empirical study was carried out on a sample of 2352 Spanish SMEs, examining the differences between failed and non-failed SMEs and using a classification tree methodology to investigate the role played by each type of stakeholder in overcoming crisis events. The study provides empirical evidence regarding the relative importance of stakeholders to SMEs under conditions of financial distress, and proposes their categorization on the basis of their control over firms’ financial resources. Specifically, the analysis reveals that the capacity of the firm to generate sustainable wealth over time and to overcome critical situations is dependent on the most critical stakeholders. Workers, customers, and suppliers are the most important in ensuring the long-term sustainability of SMEs during the first stages of a crisis. Following the initial operational problems, other creditors (financial institutions) become relevant. In this sense, the results of this study encourage firms and governments to develop cooperation strategies with stakeholders (co-responsibility) in line with the proposed conceptual models of business sustainability.
Cohesion beyond EU territoriality ? Reflections from the ESPON project TERCO

With its European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument (ENPI CBC), the EU emphasises a strong policy commitment to promote cross-border co-operation as a vehicle for regional development and the advancement of cohesion goals. This policy operates from the assumption, furthermore, that the strategic development of urban networks across borders will be a central element in positively exploiting increasing interaction between the EU and its neighbours. However, to what extent do existing policy instruments actually facilitate such networking? Upon closer scrutiny, it becomes clear that territoriality principles regarding the use of EU funds could create a distinct policy gap between “internal” development and “external” networking. While Territorial Cooperation (TC) and the Europe-wide support of cross-border, interregional and transnational cooperation are now firmly embedded within the EU‟s Cohesion Policy, TC links to projects involving neighbouring states are as yet relatively weak. Our case study of Finnish-Russian co-operation – part of the larger ESPON project TERCO – indicates that simultaneous processes of inclusion and exclusion operate in terms of the interaction of governance mechanisms of Cohesion Policy and ENPI CBC. We argue that a too strict separation of EU internal and external policy activities would be counterproductive to pro-active strategies aimed at avoiding wider divisions between the EU and its neighbouring regions. For this reason, the issue of policy innovation, of combining internal consolidation of the EU with external engagement and co-operation, should be explored and will be taken up by this paper.
Combinatorial generation via permutation languages. I. Fundamentals

In this work we present a general and versatile algorithmic framework for exhaustively generating a large variety of different combinatorial objects, based on encoding them as permutations. This approach provides a unified view on many known results and allows us to prove many new ones. In particular, we obtain four classical Gray codes for permutations, bitstrings, binary trees and set partitions as special cases. We present two distinct applications for our new framework: The first main application is the generation of pattern-avoiding permutations, yielding new Gray codes for different families of permutations that are characterized by the avoidance of certain classical patterns, (bi)vincular patterns, barred patterns, boxed patterns, Bruhat-restricted patterns, mesh patterns, monotone and geometric grid classes, and many others. We also obtain new Gray codes for all the combinatorial objects that are in bijection to these permutations, in particular for five different types of geometric rectangulations, also known as floorplans, which are divisions of a square into $n$ rectangles subject to certain restrictions. The second main application of our framework are lattice congruences of the weak order on the symmetric group $S_n$. Recently, Pilaud and Santos realized all those lattice congruences as $(n-1)$-dimensional polytopes, called quotientopes, which generalize hypercubes, associahedra, permutahedra etc. Our algorithm generates the equivalence classes of each of those lattice congruences, by producing a Hamilton path on the skeleton of the corresponding quotientope, yielding a constructive proof that each of these highly symmetric graphs is Hamiltonian. We thus also obtain a provable notion of optimality for the Gray codes obtained from our framework: They translate into walks along the edges of a polytope.
Decentralized Attribute-Based Encryption and Signatures

This paper presents decentralized multi-authority attributebased encryption and signature (DMA-ABE and DMA-ABS) schemes, in which no central authority exists and no global coordination is required except for the setting of a parameter for a prime order bilinear group and a hash function, which can be available from public documents, e.g., ISO and FIPS official documents. In the proposed DMA-ABE and DMA-ABS schemes, every process can be executed in a fully decentralized manner; any party can become an authority and issue a piece for a secret key to a user without interacting with any other party, and each user obtains a piece of his/her secret key from the associated authority without interacting with any other party. While enjoying such fully decentralized processes, the proposed schemes are still secure against collusion attacks, i.e., multiple pieces issued to a user by different authorities can form a collusion resistant secret key, composed of these pieces, of the user. The proposed ABE scheme is the first DMA-ABE for non-monotone relations (and more general relations), which is adaptively secure under the decisional linear (DLIN) assumption in the random oracle model. This paper also proposes the first DMA-ABS scheme for non-monotone relations (and more general relations), which is fully secure, adaptive-predicate unforgeable and perfect private, under the DLIN assumption in the random oracle model. DMA-ABS is a generalized notion of ring signatures. The efficiency of the proposed DMA-ABE and DMA-ABS schemes is comparable to those of the existing practical ABE and ABS schemes with comparable relations and security. key words: attribute-based encryption, attribute-based signatures, decentralized multi-authority system, non-monotone predicates
Reconnaissance of species-rich coral reefs in a muddy, macro-tidal, enclosed embayment, – Talbot Bay, Kimberley, Western Australia

Preliminary observations are presented on species-rich coral reefs in a mud-dominated, macrotidal, virtually landlocked embayment on the Yampi Peninsula. The reef platforms stand 6–7 m above water level at extreme low spring tide. High lagoons on the top of the platforms, impounded by crustose algal terraces and banks of rhodoliths, provide habitat for a moderately diverse assemblage of scleractinian corals with up to 30% live cover. Reef flats in the lower-littoral zone around the periphery of the fringing reef platforms, and on small patch reefs scattered throughout the bay, support species-rich coral assemblages with live coral cover up to 90% even though heavily affected by mud. There is dynamic interaction between coral reef growth and the development of massive mud banks in the bay. Drilling will be required to determine the geological origins, age and composition of these massive reef structures. If they are entirely of Holocene construction they would represent a remarkably high rate of coral reef growth in such a mud-dominated environment.
Reducing Soil Erosion Offsite Benefits

Soil erosion is estimated to cause over $7 billion in damages which occur off the farm (offsite) each year to water-based recreation, navigation, water storage facilities, municipal and industrial water users, water conveyance systems, and from increased flooding. Soil conservation programs which reduce erosion also reduce these offsite damages. This report is the first kncwn attempt at estimating the national offsite benefits from soil conservation. This report examines the offsite damages from erosion at the national and regional levels, establishes a relationship between water-induced erosion and damages, and assesses the offsite benefits from reduced soil erosion.
Performance Evaluation of a Gravity-Assisted Heat Pipe-Based Indirect Evaporative Cooler

In the present work, the effects of different operating parameters on the performance of a gravity-assisted heat pipe-based indirect evaporative cooler (GAHP-based IEC) were investigated. The aim of the theoretical study is to evaluate accurately the cooling performance indicators, such as the coefficient of performance ( COP ), wet bulb effectiveness, and cooling capacity. To predict the effectiveness of the air cooler under a variety of conditions, the comprehensive calculation method was adopted. A mathematical model was developed to simulate numerically the heat and mass transfer processes. The mathematical model was validated adequately using experimental data from the literature. Based on the conducted numerical simulations, the most favorable ranges of operating conditions for the GAHP-based IEC were established. Moreover, the conducted studies could contribute to the further development of novel evaporative cooling systems employing gravity-assisted heat pipes as efficient equipment for transferring heat.
CHEMICAL WOOD PROTECTION AGAINST MOULD

SYNOPSIS. The limit fungicidal value against moulds (Aspergillus niger van Tieghem, Chaetomium globusom Kunze, Penicillium cyclopium Westling, Penicillium funiculosum Thom, Paeciliomyces varioti Bainer, Trichoderma viride Pers. ex. S.F. Gray aggr) and C. puteana were determined. The 11 preservatives containing the following fungicides: 2-Octyl-3-2H-Isothiazolone, 5-Chloro-2-Methyl-2H-Isothiazol-3-one, 5-Chloro-2-Methyl-4-Isothiazol-3-one, 2-Methyl-4-Isothiazol-3-one, 2-Octyl-3-2H-Isothiazolone, 2-N-Octyl-4-Isothiazolin-3-on, IPBC, Benzalkonium Chloride, Methylene-Dithiocianate, Tetrakis hydroxymethyl phosphonium sulphate, Carbendazim, 2-Methyl-Thio-4-Tertbutylamino-6-Cyklopropyloamino-S-triazin, 1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one, Didecyldimethylammonium chloride, 2-Methyl-3-2H-Isothiazolone. The most effective fungicides were IPBC and the mixture of Methylene-Dithiocianate and Benzalkonium Chloride.
Exposure, health effects, immunological markers and biomarkers of susceptibility among Swedish rubber workers

Workers in the rubber industry have an increased risk of several diseases, such as airway disease, cancer and probably cardiovascular disease. The exposure is very complex; carbon disulfide (CS2) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) being two of the contaminants. The general aim of this thesis was to find exposure-response relationships usable for risk assessments in the rubber industry. Urinary levels of TTCA and 1-HP, metabolites of CS2 and one PAH, was measured in 166 workers from eight rubber industries in southern Sweden and in 117 controls. Airways symptoms were recorded by structured interviews and immunological markers in blood analysed by routine analysis. Genotypes were established using molecular biology methods. Compared to controls, exposed workers had in average 420% higher urinary TTCA level and 200% higher urinary 1-HP level. The levels of TTCA and 1-HP differed between different rubber companies and their subdivisions, as well as between different vulcanisation methods. Exposed workers had, compared to controls, increased risk of itching, running or burning eyes, nose bleeds, throat burning and dryness, hoarseness, severe dry cough, nausea and headache. Only a few exposure-response relationships with either TTCA or 1-HP and symptoms were found, when the workers were divided into three equally sized groups according to their exposure. Increased levels of total IgG were observed among exposed workers compared to controls. No exposure-response relationship with neither TTCA nor 1-HP and immunological markers was found. Exposed workers with the GSTM1*O genotype had lower levels of TTCA compared to exposed workers with GSTM1*1 while the opposite were found for GSTT1. The effects of polymorphism in GSTA1-52 (G/A+A/A) on symptoms in exposed workers showed a consistent pattern of a protective effect. The results indicate that workers in the contemporary rubber industry develop symptoms and thus, the work environment should be further improved. Moreover, better markers of exposure should be established in order to obtain better exposure-response relationships. In addition, adding information of different genotypes may sharpen the risk assessments.
Terrestrial small mammals of the Abydos Plain in the north-eastern Pilbara, Western Australia

Repeated surveys over three years of the 1500 km Abydos/Woodstock Reserve, in the Pilbara of Western Australia, recorded 14 species of small terrestrial mammals including four endemic to the broader Pilbara area. Five species were captured frequently throughout the study. Captures of the dasyurids Dasykaluta rosamondae and Ningaui timealeyi increased when juveniles entered the population following seasonal breeding. Captures of the saxicoline rodent, Zyzomys argurus, showed relatively small fluctuations whereas populations of two other rodents, Pseudomys hermannsburgensis and Mus musculus, had 40 to 50 fold increase in captures between troughs and peaks, with peaks for both species occurring 18 months after the first of two major rainfall events. Species showed marked differences in their response to capture in Elliott and pitfall trap types; consequently, assemblage composition was compared in only eight habitats where both types were employed. The small mammal assemblage adjacent to a rocky breakaway differed to that on alluvial soil adjacent to the major creek, and to those in several Triodia-dominated habitats on the Abydos sandplain. The number of small mammal species and individuals in Triodia-dominated habitats decreased markedly after fire while similar habitats that remained unburnt over the same period showed an increase in both species and capture rates of individuals.