Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discordant Liver Fibrosis Predictors in Virologically Suppressed People Living with HIV without Hepatitis Virus Infection

Severe liver fibrosis (LF) is associated with poor long-term liver-related outcomes in people living with HIV (PLWH). The study aimed to explore the prevalence and predictors of LF and the concordance between different non-invasive methods for the estimation of LF in HIV-infected individuals without hepatitis virus infection. We enrolled PLWH with HIV-1-RNA <50 copies/mL for >12 months, excluding individuals with viral hepatitis. LF was assessed by transient elastography (TE) (significant >6.65 kPa), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) (significant >2.67), and AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) (significant >1.5). We included 234 individuals (67% males, median age 49 years, median time from HIV diagnosis 11 years, 38% treated with integrase strand transfer inhibitors). In terms of the TE, 13% had ≥F2 stage; FIB-4 score was >1.5 in 7%; and APRI > 0.5 in 4%. Higher body mass index, diabetes mellitus, detectable baseline HIV-1 RNA and longer atazanavir exposure were associated with higher liver stiffness as per TE. Predictors of higher APRI score were CDC C stage and longer exposure to tenofovir alafenamide, while HBcAb positivity and longer exposure to tenofovir alafenamide were associated to higher FIB-4 scores. Qualitative agreement was poor between FIB-4/TE and between APRI/TE by non-parametric Spearman correlation and kappa statistic. In our study, in the group of PLWH without viral hepatitis, different non-invasive methods were discordant in predicting liver fibrosis.
Protective Effects of Meldonium in Experimental Models of Cardiovascular Complications with a Potential Application in COVID-19

Right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is common in a significant number of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. This study was conducted to assess whether the improved mitochondrial bioenergetics by cardiometabolic drug meldonium can attenuate the development of ventricular dysfunction in experimental RV and LV dysfunction models, which resemble ventricular dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. Effects of meldonium were assessed in rats with pulmonary hypertension-induced RV failure and in mice with inflammation-induced LV dysfunction. Rats with RV failure showed decreased RV fractional area change (RVFAC) and hypertrophy. Treatment with meldonium attenuated the development of RV hypertrophy and increased RVFAC by 50%. Mice with inflammation-induced LV dysfunction had decreased LV ejection fraction (LVEF) by 30%. Treatment with meldonium prevented the decrease in LVEF. A decrease in the mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation with a concomitant increase in pyruvate metabolism was noted in the cardiac fibers of the rats and mice with RV and LV failure, respectively. Meldonium treatment in both models restored mitochondrial bioenergetics. The results show that meldonium treatment prevents the development of RV and LV systolic dysfunction by enhancing mitochondrial function in experimental models of ventricular dysfunction that resembles cardiovascular complications in COVID-19 patients.
Cognitive Training with Neurofeedback Using NIRS Improved Cognitive Functions in Young Adults: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

(1) Background: A previous study has shown that cognitive training with neurofeedback (CT-NF) using down-regulation improves cognitive functions in young adults. Neurofeedback has two strategies for manipulating brain activity (down-regulation and upregulation). However, the benefit of CT-NF with the upregulation of cognitive functions is still unknown. In this study, we investigated whether the upregulation of CT-NF improves a wide range of cognitive functions compared to cognitive training alone. (2) Methods: In this double-blinded randomized control trial (RCT), 60 young adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups: CT-NF group, CT alone group, and an active control (ACT) group who played a puzzle game. Participants in the three groups used the same device (tablet PC and 2ch NIRS (near-infrared spectroscopy)) and performed the training game for 20 min every day for four weeks. We measured brain activity during training in all groups, but only CT-NFs received NF. We also measured a wide range of cognitive functions before and after the intervention period. (3) Results: The CT-NF groups showed superior beneficial effects on episodic memory, working memory, and attention compared to the CT alone and ACT groups. In addition, the CT-NF group showed an increase in brain activity during CT, which was associated with improvements in cognitive function. (4) Discussion: This study first demonstrated that the CT-NF using the upregulation strategy has beneficial effects on cognitive functions compared to the CT alone. Our results suggest that greater brain activities during CT would enhance a benefit from CT.
Output Reliability as Guide for Selection of Rainfall-Runoff Models

Selection of rainfall‐runoff models is dependent on the modeling objectives and the simulation accuracy required. Output reliability is proposed as a measure to help in choosing the appropriate model for a given rainfall‐runoff model use. Output reliability can be expressed by the output variable cumulative distribution function, probability density function, confidence limits, standard deviation, or probability of acceptable percent deviation from the predicted value. Approximations of these reliability measures could be established by methods such as first‐order second‐moment reliability analysis. To demonstrate the approach, an example is given of estimating peak discharge for a watershed in central Illinois using both the HEC‐1 and RORB rainfall‐runoff models.
FINE MOTOR SKILLS AND ACCIDENT PRONENESS OF GARMENT WORKERS IN BANGLADESH

Accident in an organization is one of the most undesirable phenomenons all over the world. The consequences of accidents in workplace are numerous which include damages of resources and cost of lives of many workers. For example, in 1991 a major disaster occurred in U.S. at triangle Shirtwaist factory, which cost the life of 100 garments workers ( Greenwald & Richard, 2005). In Bangladesh accidents in workplace are more frequent and devastating, for which Bangladesh has been criticized severely worldwide. Recently one of those unfortunate phenomenons in Bangladesh was fire at Nimtoli of old Dhaka which cost 117 people burnt alive in June 2010. Another accident took place in Tazreen Fashion , Dhaka in 2012 which caused at least 112 workers either burnt to death or died while trying to escape the blaze. These are the short picture of loss of lives. Yet the losses of resources are not few. Sometimes accidents create threats for human and animal kingdom also by large rate of environmental pollution. For Example, in 2005 devastating Texas City Refinery explosion cost lives of many workers as well as light hydrocarbons concentrated at ground level throughout a large surrounding area which caused long lasting environmental pollution (Baldwin & Lisa, 2008). Furthermore, economic loss cannot also be over looked. A little mistake costs huge loss in assembly line of work. Thus accidents reduce production rate, lessen the quality of product and the reputation of industry also.
Thermal Mass Availability for Cooling Data Centers during Power Shutdown

During power outage servers in the data centers are powered by uninterrupted power supply (UPS). At the same time, the cooling system components such as CRACs, AHUs, and chillers stop operating for a short period until powered by alternate power sources. During this period servers continue generating heat in the data center room without active cooling. It is common notion that data centers contain large thermal mass, and hence, large heat capacity in the steel rack enclosures to protect servers from the thermal shock due to rising room air temperatures. However, the rate of air temperature rise and the availability of rack thermal mass depend on several factors including the height of the data center room, number of rack enclosures and their size, number of rack rows and their layout, and heat load density of a data center. It is crucial for design engineers and facility managers to know how much time can be available for restarting the active cooling systems before servers reach automatic shutoff temperatures. With the help of a heat transfer model this paper systematically analyzes the effect of various parameters and the impact of rack thermal mass on the time that air requires to reach the thermal shutoff threshold temperature.
Metabolic Influences Modulating Erythrocyte Deformability and Eryptosis

Many factors in the surrounding environment have been reported to influence erythrocyte deformability. It is likely that some influences represent reversible changes in erythrocyte rigidity that may be involved in physiological regulation, while others represent the early stages of eryptosis, i.e., the red cell self-programmed death. For example, erythrocyte rigidification during exercise is probably a reversible physiological mechanism, while the alterations of red blood cells (RBCs) observed in pathological conditions (inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and sickle-cell disease) are more likely to lead to eryptosis. The splenic clearance of rigid erythrocytes is the major regulator of RBC deformability. The physicochemical characteristics of the surrounding environment (thermal injury, pH, osmolality, oxidative stress, and plasma protein profile) also play a major role. However, there are many other factors that influence RBC deformability and eryptosis. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the various elements and circulating molecules that might influence RBCs and modify their deformability: purinergic signaling, gasotransmitters such as nitric oxide (NO), divalent cations (magnesium, zinc, and Fe2+), lactate, ketone bodies, blood lipids, and several circulating hormones. Meal composition (caloric and carbohydrate intake) also modifies RBC deformability. Therefore, RBC deformability appears to be under the influence of many factors. This suggests that several homeostatic regulatory loops adapt the red cell rigidity to the physiological conditions in order to cope with the need for oxygen or fuel delivery to tissues. Furthermore, many conditions appear to irreversibly damage red cells, resulting in their destruction and removal from the blood. These two categories of modifications to erythrocyte deformability should thus be differentiated.
Demographic Theory and Population Ethics – Relationships between Population Size and Population Growth

Demographic theory aims at explaining how population systems regulate themselves given available resources. Population ethics is concerned with demography in the sense that the analytical objects of interest are births, deaths, and populations. However, demographic theory which explores theoretically when, how and why populations grow, based on empirically observed patterns, has up until now played a minor role in population ethics. Similarly, debates about population dynamics among demographers have seldom been concerned with ideas and concepts in population ethics. In this manuscript, I will give a brief outline of how population size, population growth, and welfare mutually affect each other. Theories on the endogeneity between population size, population growth, and welfare will be referred to as demographic theory. I will give a particular focus on how population growth responds with respect to welfare, as welfare, utility, well-being, and happiness are important concepts in population ethics. A key concept in demographic theory is population homeostasis (the dynamics of a system which maintains a population at a steady population size, or growth rate), in particular resource dependent homeostasis. I will also discuss demographic theory in relation to historical and future demographic change. This working paper was later published in Oxford Handbook of Population Ethics, and is available at https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/at5pj/
Primary Cilia Directionality Reveals a Slow Reverse Migration of Principal Neurons for Postnatal Positioning and Lamination in the Cerebral Cortex

Primary Cilia Directionality Reveals a Slow Reverse Migration of Principal Neurons for Postnatal Positioning and Lamination in the Cerebral Cortex Juan Yang1,2, Soheila Mirhosseiniardakani1,3, Liyan Qiu1, Kostandina Bicja1,3, Kevin Jungkai Lin1,4, and Xuanmao Chen1, * Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences1; the Graduate Programs in Biochemistry2 or Genetics 3; the Undergraduate Programs in Neuroscience and Behaviors3 or Biomedical Sciences 4, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824 * Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Xuanmao Chen: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Rudman Hall Rm 389, 46 College Road, Durham, NH 03824. Phone: 603 862 4542, Fax: 603 862 4013, Email: Xuanmao.Chen@unh.edu.
Reducing opinion polarization: Effects of exposure to similar people with differing political views

Significance Informal political discussions with peers can increase trust in democracy and improve understanding of self and others. However, these benefits do not often materialize because people tend to shy away from political discussions and because friendship networks rarely expose highly divergent political views. In a large-scale experiment, we overcome these limitations by matching participants to peers selected for sharing common interests and demographics and exposing them to a personal message about a divisive political topic: wealth redistribution. As a result, support for redistributive policies increased and polarization decreased. Furthermore, feeling close to a peer greatly increased the assimilation of a political message. Our results suggest that incidental similarities may cold-start cross-cutting political arguments and increase consensus on divisive topics. In a large-scale, preregistered experiment on informal political communication, we algorithmically matched participants, varying two dimensions: 1) the degree of incidental similarity on nonpolitical features; and 2) their stance agreement on a contentious political topic. Matched participants were first shown a computer-generated social media profile of their match highlighting all the shared nonpolitical features; then, they read a short, personal, but argumentative, essay written by their match about the reduction of inequality via redistribution of wealth by the government. We show that support for redistribution increased and polarization decreased for participants with both mild and strong views, regardless of their political leaning. We further show that feeling close to the match is associated with an 86% increase in the probability of assimilation of political views. Our analysis also uncovers an asymmetry: Interacting with someone with opposite views greatly reduced feelings of closeness; however, interacting with someone with consistent views only moderately increased them. By extending previous work about the effects of incidental similarity and shared identity on affect into the domain of political opinion change, our results bear real-world implications for the (re)-design of social media platforms. Because many people prefer to keep politics outside of their social networks, encouraging cross-cutting political communication based on nonpolitical commonalities is a potential solution for fostering consensus on potentially divisive and partisan topics.
Structure and Peptidomes of Swine MHC Class I with Long Peptides Reveal the Cross-Species Characteristics of the Novel N-Terminal Extension Presentation Mode

Key Points There are cross-species features of the N-terminal extension of peptides bound by MHC class I. The polymorphic A pocket residues have pros and cons to the peptide extension. The N-terminal extension of the peptide does not exceed three residues. Visual Abstract Antigenic peptide presentation by the MHC is essential for activating T cells. The current view is that the peptide termini are tethered within the closed Ag-binding groove of MHC class I (MHC-I). Recently, the N-terminal extension mode of peptide presentation has been observed in human MHC-I (HLA-I). In this study, we found that the N terminus of the long peptide can extend beyond the groove of swine MHC-I (SLA-1*0401), confirming that this phenomenon can occur across species. Removal of the N-terminal extra (P-1) residue of the RW12 peptide significantly reduced the folding efficiency of the complex, but truncation of the second half of the peptide did not. Consistent with previous reports, the second (P1) residue of the peptide is twisted, and its side chain is inserted into the A pocket to form two hydrogen bonds with polymorphic E63 and conserved Y159. Mutations of E63 disrupt the binding of the peptide, indicating that E63 is necessary for this peptide-binding mode. Compared with W167, which exists in most MHC-Is, SLA-I–specific S167 ensures an open N-terminal groove of SLA-1*0401, enabling the P-1 residue to extend from the groove. In this MHC class II–like peptide-binding mode, the A pocket is restrictive to the P1 residue and is affected by the polymorphic residues. The peptidomes and refolding data indicated that the open N-terminal groove of SLA-1*0401 allows one to three residues to extend out of the Ag-binding groove. These cross-species comparisons can help us better understand the characteristics of this N-terminal extension presentation mode.
Swirling mean flow effect on fan-trailing edge broadband noise in a lined annular duct

The present study aims at investigating the effect of a swirling mean flow and a lined annular duct on rotor trailing-edge noise. The objectives are to investigate these effects on the eigenvalues and a tailored Green's function on one hand and on the realistic case of the fan trailing-edge noise on the other hand. Indeed, the mean flow in between the rotor and the stator of the fan is highly swirling. Moreover, interstage liners are used to reduce the noise produced by the fan stage. The extension of Ffowcs-Williams & Hawkings' acoustic analogy in a medium at rest with moving surfaces, of Goldstein's acoustic analogy in a hardwall circular duct with uniform mean flow and of Rienstra & Tester's Green's function in an annular lined duct with uniform mean flow to a swirling mean flow in an annular duct with liner is introduced. First, the eigenvalues and the Green's function are investigated showing a strong effect of the swirl and of the liner. Second, a rotor trailing-edge noise model accounting for both the effects of the annular duct with lined walls and the swirling mean flow is developed and applied to a realistic fan rotor with different swirling mean flows (and as a result different associated blade stagger angles). The benchmark cases are built from the Boeing 18-inch Fan Rig Broadband Noise Test. In all cases the swirling mean flow has a strong effect on the absolute noise level. The overall liner insertion loss is little changed by the swirl in the studied cases.
Effects of active video games on physical function in independent community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM To analyse the effects of active video games on physical function in independent community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. DATA SOURCES The CINAHL, LILACS, Medline, Proquest and Scopus databases were consulted, with no restriction by year of publication. REVIEW METHODS Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan software. RESULTS The analysis included 22 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1208 participants (all ≥55 years old). In our meta-analyses, the effects produced by playing the active video games (mean differences) were statistically significant for the variables Gait speed and Timed up-and-go. The differences between the control and experimental groups were not significant in the following tests: 6-minute walk, 30-second chair stand, balance (measured with the Berg Balance Scale), cadence, grip strength, knee extension strength, 8-Foot Up-and-Go or velocity. CONCLUSIONS Physical exercise from participation in active video games has beneficial effects on two clinical parameters (Gait speed and Timed up-and-go) in independent community-dwelling older adults. However, the effects on other parameters do not differ from those obtained with conventional exercise training. Therefore, the clinical significance of these benefits is limited. IMPACT Older adults usually perform little physical activity. In consequence, researchers have increasingly considered alternatives to traditional forms of exercise. One such is that provided by active video games, which can be a source of stimulation, encouraging adherence and motivation in exercise programmes. Our review shows that active video games can improve gait speed and mobility, but in other respects obtain no differences from conventional exercises. Further tailored randomized clinical trials should be undertaken with diverse populations of older adults to evaluate different physical function variables to determine the most appropriate training approach and its optimal design and duration.
Cynanchum atratum Alleviates Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver by Balancing Lipogenesis and Fatty Acid Oxidation in a High-Fat, High-Fructose Diet Mice Model

Cynanchum atratum, a medicinal herb, is traditionally used as an antidote, diuretic, and antipyretic in eastern Asia. The current study aimed to investigate the anti-fatty liver capacity of the ethanol extract of Cynanchum atratum (CAE) using a 10-week high-fat, high-fructose diet mouse model. A six-week treatment of CAE (from the fifth week) significantly attenuated the weights of the body, liver, and mesenteric fat without a change in diet intake. CAE also considerably restored the alterations of serum aminotransferases and free fatty acid, fasting blood glucose, serum and hepatic triglyceride, and total cholesterol, as well as platelet and leukocyte counts. Meanwhile, CAE ameliorated hepatic injury and lipid accumulation, as evidenced by histopathological and immunofluorescence observations. Additionally, CAE significantly lowered the elevation of hepatic TNF-α, the TNF-α/IL-10 ratio, fecal endotoxins, and the abundance of Gram-negative bacteria. Hepatic lipogenesis and β-oxidation-related proteins and gene expression, including PPAR-α, SREBP-1, SIRT1, FAS, CTP1, etc., were normalized markedly by CAE. In particular, the AMPK, a central regulator of energy metabolism, was phosphorylated by CAE at an even higher rate than metformin. Overall, CAE exerts anti-hepatic steatosis effects by reducing lipogenesis and enhancing fatty acid oxidation. Consequently, Cynanchum atratum is expected to be a promising candidate for treating chronic metabolic diseases.