Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Named Entity Recognition and Relation Detection for Biomedical Information Extraction

The number of scientific publications in the literature is steadily growing, containing our knowledge in the biomedical, health, and clinical sciences. Since there is currently no automatic archiving of the obtained results, much of this information remains buried in textual details not readily available for further usage or analysis. For this reason, natural language processing (NLP) and text mining methods are used for information extraction from such publications. In this paper, we review practices for Named Entity Recognition (NER) and Relation Detection (RD), allowing, e.g., to identify interactions between proteins and drugs or genes and diseases. This information can be integrated into networks to summarize large-scale details on a particular biomedical or clinical problem, which is then amenable for easy data management and further analysis. Furthermore, we survey novel deep learning methods that have recently been introduced for such tasks.
Research Progress in Atopic March

The incidence of allergic diseases continues to rise. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have indicated that allergic diseases occur in a time-based order: from atopic dermatitis and food allergy in infancy to gradual development into allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis in childhood. This phenomenon is defined as the “atopic march”. Some scholars have suggested that the atopic march does not progress completely in a temporal pattern with genetic and environmental factors. Also, the mechanisms underlying the atopic march are incompletely understood. Nevertheless, the concept of the atopic march provides a new perspective for the mechanistic research, prediction, prevention, and treatment of atopic diseases. Here, we review the epidemiology, related diseases, mechanistic studies, and treatment strategies for the atopic march.
Ninety Minutes to Reduce One's Intention to Eat Meat: A Preliminary Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Watching the Cowspiracy Documentary on Intention to Reduce Meat Consumption

Whereas, past research has shown that using environmental arguments to reduce meat intake are unsuccessful in awareness campaigns, popular documentaries might have the potential to successfully change the public awareness of the environmental implications of meat consumption today. This preliminary study aimed to provide first empirical evidence of the potential effects of watching a popular documentary on a less-known environmental topic among a population that are habitual performers of the behavior under discussion. More precisely, the effects of watching “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret” on the awareness of the environmental implications of meat consumption, the attitude toward eating less meat, and the intention to eat less meat in young adults who consume meat on an (almost) daily basis was studied. The potential impact of Cowspiracy was investigated from the Integrated Change Model perspective. Paper-and-pencil questionnaires were administered to N = 47 participants aged between 19 and 32 before and after watching either Cowspiracy (experimental group, n = 26) or Planet Earth (control group, n = 21). Controlling for the influence of predisposing factors (sociodemographic characteristics gender, age, and socioeconomic status), the results show that watching a popular documentary about the environmental impact of meat production (Cowspiracy) can have a significant effect on the awareness of the environmental consequences of meat consumption, the attitude toward eating less meat, and the intention to reduce meat consumption of young (almost) daily meat eaters. However, results should be interpreted with caution, given the preliminary nature of our study.
Prevalence of Hepatitis B, C, and D in Germany: Results From a Scoping Review

Background: One of the five strategic directions in the World Health Organization global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis 2016–2021 is to generate strong strategic information for focused action to understand the viral hepatitis epidemic and focus the response. Knowledge of national prevalence is a cornerstone of strategic information. Germany is considered to be a low prevalence country for viral hepatitis B, C, and D, however the prevalence is likely to be higher among at-risk groups. Methods: The aim of this work was to give a detailed overview of the prevalence of viral hepatitis B (HBsAg, anti-HBc), C (anti-HCV, HCV RNA), and D (anti-HDV, HDV RNA) in different population groups in Germany. Therefore, we analyzed the results of a comprehensive literature search on various aspects of the epidemiological situation of hepatitis B, C, and D in Germany. Eligible publications including information on hepatitis B, C, and D prevalence were extracted from the overall spreadsheet table and summarized and analyzed based on virus and different population groups. A quality appraisal was performed using a checklist developed by Hoy et al. to assess risk of bias in prevalence studies. Results: Overall, 51 publications were identified through the literature search. The overall prevalence of HBsAg in the general (and proxy) population ranged from 0.3 to 1.6%. Among at-risk groups, including clinical populations and health care workers, the HBsAg prevalence ranged from 0.2% (among rheumatic patients) to 4.5% among HIV positive patients. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV in the general (and proxy) population ranged from 0.2 to 1.9%. Among at-risk groups, including clinical populations and health care workers, the anti-HCV prevalence ranged from 0.04% (among health care workers) to 68.0% among people who inject drugs. Conclusions: The hepatitis B and C prevalence in the general population in Germany is low. Prevalence is high to very high among at-risk populations, however for some groups evidence was incomplete or missing completely. To reach the elimination goals in Germany and implement a targeted response, more research among at-risk groups is needed.
The Association Between Breast Cancer and Blood-Based Methylation of S100P and HYAL2 in the Chinese Population

Previous work has shown that DNA methylation in peripheral blood may be associated with malignancy; however, these studies have mainly been conducted within Caucasian populations. Here, we investigated the association between blood-based methylation of S100 calcium-binding protein P gene (S100P) and hyaluronoglucosaminidase 2 gene (HYAL2) and breast cancer (BC) via mass spectrometry in two independent case-control studies of the Chinese population with a total of 351 BC cases and 427 cancer-free female controls. In Study I, in which subjects had an average of 45 years, hypomethylation of S100P showed a protective effect for women ≤45 years (six out of nine CpG sites, p < 0.05) but not for women >45 years. In contrast, hypomethylation of HAYL2 was not correlated with BC in women ≤45 years but was a risk factor for women >45 years (three out of four CpG sites, p < 0.05). We proposed an age-dependent correlation between BC and methylation of S100P and HYAL2 and performed further validation in Study II with older subjects (average age = 52.5 years), where hypomethylation of both S100P and HYAL2 was a risk factor for BC (p < 0.05 for 10 CpG sites) as reported in Caucasians who develop BC around 55 years old. Together with the observation that Chinese cancer-free females having variant basal methylation levels comparing to Caucasians, we assumed that blood-based methylation might be modified by ethnic background, hormone status, and lifestyle. Here, we highlighted that the epigenetic biomarkers warrant validations when its application in variant ethnic groups is considered.
Germline PALB2 Mutations in Cancers and Its Distinction From Somatic PALB2 Mutations in Breast Cancers

PALB2 is an important BRCAx candidate for familial breast cancers (FBC). PALB2 pathogenic variants (PVs) may not to conform to “two hit” paradigm. However, a recent study demonstrates that in the majority PALB2 germline mutant breast cancers, the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and somatic point mutations are the “second hit. ” This study aimed to investigate the second hits in germline PALB2 mutations in breast cancers. We screened out 28 germline PALB2-mutation carriers among 480 familial cancer patients (including 143 FBC patients) in Geneplus database pool. Of the 143 patients with FBC, 10 had mono-allelic PALB2 germline mutations. All these germline PALB2 mutations were high-risk stop-gain, frameshift, or splicing mutations that concentrated in EX5–EX9 and might led to truncated proteins, severe functional defects and malignant phenotype. The hotspots were c.1057A[3 > 2] and c.3114-1G > A. Other mutations included c.389delA, c.2068C > T, c. 2167_2168delAT, c.2629delT and c.2968G > T. Only one FBC patient has PALB2 somatic mutation and two patients had LOH of PALB2. All germline PALB2 mutations were high-risk mutations, whereas the somatic PALB2 mutations were moderate-risk missense mutations. We also distinguished PALB2 “novel mutations” from “reported mutations. ” In conclusion, germline PALB2 mutation should be put into the context of future screening.
The Effect of Static and Dynamic Visual Stimulations on Error Detection Based on Error-Evoked Brain Responses

Error-related potentials (ErrPs) have provided technical support for the brain-computer interface. However, different visual stimulations may affect the ErrPs, and furthermore, affect the error recognition based on ErrPs. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate how people respond to different visual stimulations (static and dynamic) and find the best time window for different stimulation. Nineteen participants were recruited in the ErrPs-based tasks with static and dynamic visual stimulations. Five ErrPs were statistically compared, and the classification accuracies were obtained through linear discriminant analysis (LDA) with nine different time windows. The results showed that the P3, N6, and P8 with correctness were significantly different from those with error in both stimulations, while N1 only existed in static. The differences between dynamic and static errors existed in N1 and P2. The highest accuracy was obtained in the time window related to N1, P3, N6, and P8 for the static condition, and in the time window related to P3, N6, and P8 for the dynamic. In conclusion, the early components of ErrPs may be affected by stimulation modes, and the late components are more sensitive to errors. The error recognition with static stimulation requires information from the entire epoch, while the late windows should be focused more within the dynamic case.
Measuring the Normal Stress Distribution Acting on a Locked-Wheel of Push–Pull Locomotion Rovers via a Wheel Sensor System

The resistance force generated when the locked-wheel acts on the soil is critical for deciding the traveling performance of push–pull locomotion. The resistance force depends on the tangential force of the sliding soil wedge beneath the wheel, and the tangential force depends on the forces of the soil and the wheel perpendicular to the tangential direction. Hence, the normal stress distribution of the locked-wheel can affect the resistance force. Previous studies indicated different insights that describe either a uniform or non-uniform shape of the normal stress distribution. The distribution of the locked-wheel still needs to be examined experimentally. This study measured the normal stress distribution using the wheel sensor system, and the variation of the contact area and slip surface beneath the wheel were also observed in PIV analysis. Those results showed that the normal stress distribution was non-uniform along the wheel contact area, and the change of the distribution was confirmed with the change of the contact area and slip surface. Then, the resistance force calculated by a preliminary model based on the measured data was compared with the total resistance force of the wheel measured by a separate sensor. This comparison provided a theoretical consideration for the measured data.
Phytochemical studies and in vitro Anti-inflammatory activity of Melia azedarach (L) flower

Physiochemical parameters such as colour, taste, odour, ash values, moisture content were determined. Carbohydrate and protein content were also determined. Various colour change were observed when treated with different chemical reagents and Preliminary phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, anthraquinonens, tannins, saponins and cardic glycosides. The aqueous extracts of the flower of Melia azedarach (L) were studied for in vitro anti-inflammatory activity by HRBC membrane stabilization method. The flower extract exhibited membrane stabilization effect by inhibiting hypotonicity induced lysis of erythrocyte membrane. The aqueous extract shows significant anti inflammatory activity at the concentration of 800 μg/ml which is comparable to the standard drug (Diclofenac sodium 200μg/ml) The anti inflammatory activity of the extracts were concentration dependent, with the increasing concentration the activity is also increased.
A General Approach to Derive Uncontrolled Reversible Semantics

Reversible computing is a paradigm where programs can execute backward as well as in the usual forward direction. Reversible computing is attracting interest due to its applications in areas as different as biochemical modelling, simulation, robotics and debugging, among others. In concurrent systems the main notion of reversible computing is called causal-consistent reversibility, and it allows one to undo an action if and only if its consequences, if any, have already been undone. This paper presents a general and automatic technique to define a causal-consistent reversible extension for given forward models. We support models defined using a reduction semantics in a specific format and consider a causality relation based on resources consumed and produced. The considered format is general enough to fit many formalisms studied in the literature on causal-consistent reversibility, notably Higher-Order π-calculus and Core Erlang, an intermediate language in the Erlang compilation. Reversible extensions of these models in the literature are ad hoc, while we build them using the same general technique. This also allows us to show in a uniform way that a number of relevant properties, causal-consistency in particular, hold in the reversible extensions we build. Our technique also allows us to go beyond the reversible models in the literature: we cover a larger fragment of Core Erlang, including remote error handling based on links, which has never been considered in the reversibility literature.
Physico-chemical Characterization of Unexploited Mango Diversity in Sub-mountane Zone of Northern India

In Punjab province of India, area under mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit plantation in the state has declined drastically due to deforestation, population pressure, shifting to high remunerative cropping systems, reoccurrence of cold waves, developmental works, higher incidence of pests and diseases, etc. Hence, a survey was conducted for documentation about the extent of diversity found in the native landraces/strains of mango. Twenty eight elite strains enjoying local patronage were evaluated for table and sucking purposes, preparation of pickle/canning/beverages/amb leather on the basis of physical appearance and chemical attributes. Physico-chemical analysis of fruit samples revealed that variability found in indigenous mango population in various qualitative and quantitative attributes not only contributes to biological diversity, nutritional security and livelihood but can also be used for crop improvement. The present study highlights that it is the need and demand of Punjabi folklore to conserve and protect such biologically rich areas for the benefit of posterity.
Fluorescence Microscopy of Superplasticizers in Cementitious Systems: Applications and Challenges

In addition to the desired plasticizing effect, superplasticizers used in high and ultra-high performance concretes (UHPC) influence the chemical system of the pastes and for example retardation of the cement hydration occurs. Thus, superplasticizers have to be chosen wisely for every material composition and application. To investigate the essential adsorption of these polymers to particle surfaces in-situ to overcome several practical challenges of superplasticizer research, fluorescence microscopy is useful. In order to make the superplasticizer polymers visible for this microscopic approach, they are stained with fluorescence dyes prior the experiment. In this work, the application of this method in terms of retardation and rheological properties of sample systems is presented. The hydration of tricalcium oxy silicate (C3S) in combination with different polycarboxylate ether superplasticizers is observed by fluorescence microscopy and calorimetry. Both methods can identify the retarding effect, depending on the superplasticizer’s chemical composition. On the other hand, the influence of the superplasticizers on the slump of a ground granulated blast furnace slag/cement paste is correlated to fluorescence microscopic adsorption results. The prediction of the efficiency by microscopic adsorption analysis succeeds roughly. At last, the possibility of high-resolution imaging via confocal laser scanning microscopy is presented, which enables the detection of early hydrates and their interaction with the superplasticizers.
Patient and Visit Characteristics Associated With Use of Direct Scheduling in Primary Care Practices

Key Points Question What characteristics are associated with the online portal–based scheduling of medical visits? Findings In this cross-sectional study of 62 080 patients and 134 225 completed visits at 17 primary care practices within a large academic medical center, early adopters of direct scheduling were more often young, White, and commercially insured. Compared with visits scheduled by speaking with clinic staff in person or by telephone, directly scheduled visits were more likely to be with one’s own primary care physician. Meaning These findings suggest that direct scheduling may contribute to primary care continuity and that if greater adoption by younger, White, commercially insured patients persists, this service may widen socioeconomic disparities in primary care access.
Pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Aim: Despite the similarities in the pathogenesis of the beta coronaviruses, the precise infective mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 remain unclear. Objective: In this review, we aim to focus on the proposed theories behind the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and highlight the clinical complications related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: We conducted a literature search in Pubmed, Scopus and Google Scholar for the relevant articles regarding clinical complications and pathogenesis of COVID-19. Results: Related articles were included and discussed. Conclusion: Respiratory system and the lungs are the most commonly involved sites of COVID-19 infection. Cardiovascular, liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems are involved with different frequencies and degrees of severity.
Trends and outcomes of non-primary PCI at sites without cardiac surgery on-site: The early Michigan experience

Introduction Non-primary percutaneous coronary intervention (non-PPCI) recently received certificate of need approval in the state of Michigan at sites without cardiac surgery on-site (cSoS). This requires quality oversight through participation in the BMC2 registry. While previous studies have indicated the safety of this practice, real-world comprehensive outcomes, case volume changes, economic impacts, and readmission rates at diverse healthcare centers with and without cSoS remain poorly understood. Methods Consecutive patients undergoing non-PPCI at 47 hospitals (33 cSoS and 14 non-cSoS) in Michigan from April 2016 to March 2018 were included. Using propensity-matching, patients were analyzed to assess outcomes and trends in non-PPCI performance at sites with and without cSOS. Results Of 61,864 PCI’s performed, 50,817 were non-PPCI, with 46,096 (90.7%) performed at sites with cSoS and 4,721 (9.3%) at sites without cSoS. From this cohort, 4,643 propensity-matched patients were analyzed. Rates of major adverse cardiac events (2.6% vs. 2.8%; p = 0.443), in-hospital mortality (0.6% vs. 0.5%; p = 0.465), and several secondary clinical and quality outcomes showed no clinically significant differences. Among a small subset with available post-discharge data, there were no differences in 90-day readmission rates, standardized episode costs, or post-discharge mortality. Overall PCI volume remained stable, with a near three-fold rise in non-PPCI at sites without cSoS. Conclusions Non-PPCI at centers without cardiac SoS was associated with similar comprehensive outcomes, quality of care, 90-day episode costs, and post-discharge mortality compared with surgical sites. Mandatory quality oversight serves to maintain appropriate equivalent outcomes and may be considered for other programs, including the performance of non-PPCI at ambulatory surgical centers in the near future.
Malignant Wounds in Hospitalized Oncology Patients: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Associated Factors

Epidemiological and descriptive research on malignant wounds (MWs) is scarce. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of MWs and analyze the characteristics and associated factors of MWs in hospitalized patients at an oncological institution. An epidemiological, cross-sectional, and descriptive study, which was derived from a larger study that collected data on the prevalence of different types of wounds in 341 adults hospitalized in a large oncological hospital, was conducted. The present study comprehensively analyzed data related to MWs. Information was obtained through participant interviews, physical examination, and medical record review. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the institution where the study was conducted. Fourteen MWs were identified in 13 patients, who were primarily married (58%) and men (75%), with a mean age of 60.5 ± 15.1 years. Malignant wounds were predominantly located in the head and neck region (43%) and classified as 1N (50%) according to the Staging of Malignant Cutaneous Wounds instrument. Malignant wounds were characterized as painful (83.3%), with significant pain present during dressing changes (93%). The presence of MWs was associated with the use of antidepressants (odds ratio [OR] = 4.95; p = .012), upper-limb edema (OR = 8.39; p = .003), and infection (OR = 12.16; p = .051). The prevalence of MWs in hospitalized patients was 3.8%. Associated clinical variables were related to the degree of disease progression. This information provides evidence of the need for research identifying and investigating nursing interventions for patients with MW to assist with pain control during dressing changes.