Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The long-awaited ‘pseudo-DFS pattern’

The recent article by Mahler et al [1] providing a comprehensive overview about the current evidence on anti-dense fine speckles 70 (DFS70) antibodies and their clinical association, clearly pointed out to the heterogeneity of the morphological aspect of the dense fine speckled anti-nuclear (ANA) pattern on HEp-2 cells in indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) images. Recognizing the DFS pattern by conventional HEp-2 IIF method is still problematic and prone to frequent false positives. An international survey [2] showed the low level (about 50%) of DFS pattern recognition compared to other classical patterns. Hence, the importance to use specific immunoassays to confirm anti-DFS 70 antibodies and to ascertain their possible mono-positive reaction so as to differentiate ANA-associated rheumatic diseases (AARD) from non-AARD conditions. With great interest, we read the proposal to better define the AC-02 pattern in the International Consensus on ANA Patterns (ICAP) classification algorithm [3] including a new pattern called ‘pseudo-DFS’ referring to the nuclear speckled pattern with clear staining of themetaphase plate, butwithout the typical features of theDFS (AC-02) pattern (i.e. amore homogeneous distribution and more uniformbrightness of the nuclear speckles than in the typical DFS pattern). Indeed, the pseudo-DFS pattern may be caused by autoantibodies other than anti-DFS70 andmight explain negative results by anti-DFS-specific tests. This pattern, defined in the past with several names (i.e. homogenous/speckled, speckled with positive metaphases, quasi-homogeneous), has been finally considered worthy of its own classification. Distinguishing it from the classical DFS pattern would be very important to increase the accuracy in the interpretation of the ANA IIF test. Since our own experience shows how pseudo-DFS is a common finding among ANA positive IIF patterns in routine diagnostic work up, we welcome its possible inclusion in the ICAP classification. However, as this might generate confusion and misinterpretation by clinicians, providing a report with a specific pattern comment may make clinicians aware of the new pseudo-DFS pattern and of its difference from the DFS pattern without being deceived by the content of the DFS term. We thank the authors for having suggested the upgrade of the ICAP nomenclature and classification tree which is in sync with real life laboratory diagnostics, and hope that future studies will help to find the clinical association (if any) to the newborn pseudo-DFS70 pattern and its still unknown associated autoantibody specificities.
Negative Experiences in Childhood, Parental Style, and Resilience Among People Reporting Paranormal Experiences

Abstract There are relatively few studies examining the parental style, childhood trauma, and paranormal experiences/beliefs; therefore, the aim of this study is to measure the dominant parental style of those who have experienced paranormal events and their correlation with negative events in childhood and resilience. Four questionnaires were administered to 644 participants. The results showed high frequency of experiences such as sense of presence, premonitory dreams, telepathy, mystical experiences, apparitions, and out-of-body experiences, among others. The results confirmed three hypotheses that predict a positive and significant correlation between the paranormal experiences in adult life and negative experiences in childhood, such as abuse and neglect. One possible interpretation is that “flexible” parental style is the more permissive ones (greater openness and sensitivity to capture alternative realities), in contrast to “rigid” parental style (whose perspectives generate restrictions to capitalize on the unconventional experiences of their children).
Dyadic Coping Across the Lifespan: A Comparison Between Younger and Middle-Aged Couples With Breast Cancer

The association between dyadic coping and adjustment to cancer has been well-established. However, a significant gap in the literature is the understanding of how the life stage of couples may influence their dyadic coping and the accompanying quality of life. Although younger couples have been identified at higher risk for poor coping because of less collaborative behaviors and higher vulnerability to stress, only a limited number of studies have addressed younger women's coping with breast cancer in the context of close relationships. The present study addressed the differential impact of the illness on the quality of life and dyadic coping behaviors of younger and middle-aged dyads and the influence of relational mutuality on couples' coping in the two groups. A sample of 86 couples participated in a cross-sectional study; 35 younger couples were compared to 51 middle-aged dyads. Patients and partners completed measures of quality of life, dyadic coping, and mutuality. Independent-samples t-tests were used to examine differences in the two groups, while the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) identified actor and partner effects of relational mutuality on dyadic coping. Younger women and their partners reported statistically significant worse quality of life and dyadic coping scores than the middle-age group. For younger couples, positive and negative coping styles were the result of both actor and partner effects of mutuality. The study highlighted the more negative impact of breast cancer on the quality of life of younger patients and partners. It also revealed a stronger influence of each partner's relational mutuality compared to the middle-age group in predicting both adaptive and maladaptive coping behavior. Future studies should continue to examine the developmental trajectory of dyadic coping across the lifespan in order to develop psychosocial interventions to promote younger dyads' coping efforts.
Impact of small group discussions on knowledge and attitudes of resident clinicians towards adverse drug reaction reporting in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Introduction: Adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting is largely dependent on spontaneous reporting by clinicians and health care teams. This in turn depends on their knowledge and attitudes. There is a need to develop sustainable, feasible and effective educational methods in order to improve ADR reporting rates. Aim: To obtain baseline information regarding knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) of resident clinicians working in a tertiary care teaching hospital in respect to Pharmacovigilance activity and to demonstrate the effects of an educational intervention on knowledge and attitude components. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective questionairre based interventional study. Two questionnaires were given before and after the intervention to 43 doctors across different levels of residency. Educational intervention had comprised of a 20-30 minute small group discussion on Pharmacovigilance. The questionnaire was structured to address the core objectives through 10 questions related to knowledge, 16 questions related to attitude and 2 questions related to practice. Descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages were used to analyze data. Statistical tests like t-test and Chi2 tests were used to examine group differences. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The small group discussion brought about a significant change in response from before intervention to after intervention in 80% “knowledge” questions, and 46.15% “attitude” questions. The change in response to “knowledge” questions was highly significant, very significant, significant and not significant in 6 (60%), 1 (10%), 1 (10%), and 2 (20%) questions respectively. The change in response to “attitude” questions was highly significant, very significant, significant and not significant in 1 (7.69%), 2 (15.38%), 3 (23.08%), and 7 (53.85%) questions respectively. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the need for and establish the effectiveness of educational interventions like small group discussions in improving knowledge and attitudes of resident clinicians in regards to adverse drug reaction reporting.
Fast adaptive comparator offset calibration in pipeline ADC with self‐repairing thermometer to binary encoder

This paper presents a fast background calibration method for comparator offsets in pipeline ADCs and analyzes the practical considerations in a 1.8 V 0.18 μm 100Msps pipeline ADC with 15‐bit resolution (74 dB‐Signal‐to‐noise plus Distortion Ratio [SNDR]). A self‐repairing (SR) thermometer‐to‐binary encoder is developed to deal with malfunctioning in presence of high comparator offsets greater than one‐half least‐significant bit (LSB). In this situation, the effective thresholds between two adjacent comparators could be inverted leading to a faulty behavior with conventional architectures. The proposed solution allows a dynamic assignment of the calibration code associated to each comparator improving convergence speed. As demonstrator, its application to a 15‐bit pipeline ADC using a novel calibrated dynamic‐latch comparator (DLC) with internal threshold reference generation and no preamplifier is presented, showing a reduction on the total power consumption of 22% with respect to a design without calibration targeting the same specifications.
Effects of State-Level Earned Income Tax Credit Laws on Birth Outcomes by Race and Ethnicity

Abstract Purpose: Health disparities persist in birth outcomes by mother's income, education, and race in the United States. Disadvantaged mothers may experience benefit from supplements to family income, such as the earned income tax credit (EITC). We examined the effects of state-level EITCs on birth outcomes among women with a high school education or less, stratified by race and ethnicity. Methods: A quasi-experimental multistate and multiyear difference-in-differences design is used to assess effects of the presence and generosity of 23 state-level EITC laws on birth outcomes from 1994 to 2013. The methods utilized the U.S. National Vital Statistics System birth data for the outcomes: birth weight, probability of low birth weight (LBW; <2500 g), and gestation weeks. Results: Across all subgroups, any level of state EITC is associated with better birth outcomes with the largest effects seen among states with more generous EITCs. Black mothers experience larger percentage point reductions in the probability of LBW and increases in gestation duration. Among mothers with a high school education or less, results translate into 3760 fewer LBW babies with black mothers and 8364 fewer LBW babies with white mothers per year at the most generous state EITC level (i.e., 10% or more of federal and refundable). Hispanic and non-Hispanic mothers display relatively similar effects. Conclusions: The EITC at the federal and state level is an effective policy tool to reduce poverty and improve birth outcomes across racial and ethnic subgroups. Given the historically higher risk among black mothers, state-level EITC expansions offer one policy option to address this persistent health disparity.
Visual speech enhancement and its application in speech perception training

This thesis investigates methods for visual speech enhancement to support auditory and audiovisual speech perception. Normal-hearing non-native listeners receiving cochlear implant (CI) simulated speech are used as ‘proxy’ listeners for CI users, a proposed user group who could benefit from such enhancement methods in speech perception training. Both CI users and non-native listeners share similarities with regards to audiovisual speech perception, including increased sensitivity to visual speech cues. Two enhancement methods are proposed: (i) an appearance based method, which modifies the appearance of a talker’s lips using colour and luminance blending to apply a ‘lipstick effect’ to increase the saliency of mouth shapes; and (ii) a kinematics based method, which amplifies the kinematics of the talker’s mouth to create the effect of more pronounced speech (an ‘exaggeration effect’). The application that is used to test the enhancements is speech perception training, or audiovisual training, which can be used to improve listening skills. An audiovisual training framework is presented which structures the evaluation of the effectiveness of these methods. It is used in two studies. The first study, which evaluates the effectiveness of the lipstick effect, found a significant improvement in audiovisual and auditory perception. The second study, which evaluates the effectiveness of the exaggeration effect, found improvement in the audiovisual perception of a number of phoneme classes; no evidence was found of improvements in the subsequent auditory perception, as audiovisual recalibration to visually exaggerated speech may have impeded learning when used in the audiovisual training. The thesis also investigates an example of kinematics based enhancement which is observed in Lombard speech, by studying the behaviour of visual Lombard phonemes in different contexts. Due to the lack of suitable datasets for this analysis, the thesis presents a novel audiovisual Lombard speech dataset recorded under high SNR, which offers two, fixed head-pose, synchronised views of each talker in the dataset.
Effectiveness of peer pressure on computed tomography use for dizziness/vertigo patients

Abstract Dizziness/vertigo is a common complaint in the emergency department (ED). We aimed to evaluate the effect of peer pressure on decision making in emergency physicians (EPs) to use computed tomography (CT) for patients with dizziness/vertigo. We conducted a before-and-after retrospective case review of patients who visited the ED with dizziness/vertigo. EPs were categorized into 3 groups according to seniority (in years of experience: >12, 7–12, and <7). The rate of CT use for EPs, patient number, and CT use were e-mailed monthly to update the EP team on the benchmark rate and shape of the behavior. Among the 1657 (preintervention) and 1508 (postintervention) patients with dizziness/vertigo, 320 (19.3%) and 230 (15.3%), respectively, underwent brain CT. A decrease in the rate of CT use was observed in the postintervention group (odds ratio [OR] = 0.743, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.615–0.897), especially in junior EPs (years of experience, <7; OR = 0.667, 95% CI: 0.474–0.933) and younger patients (age, <60) (OR = 0.625, 95% CI: 0.453–0.857). The intervention strategy created peer pressure through e-mail reminders and decreased the rate of CT use for patients with isolated dizziness/vertigo, especially in junior EPs and younger patients.
Thermogravitational Convection of Hybrid Nanofluid in a Porous Chamber with a Central Heat-Conducting Body

A problem with the thermogravitational energy transference of a hybrid nanofluid (Al2O3-SiO2/H2O) in a porous space with a central heat-conducting body has been presented and numerical analysis has been performed. Governing equations, transformed in terms of non-dimensional parameters, have been solved by a developed numerical algorithm based on the finite difference technique. The behavior of streamlines and isotherms was investigated, and the impact of various important characteristics is discussed. The variation in the average and local Nusselt numbers was studied; by selecting various appropriate nano-sized particle combinations in hybrid nanosuspension, the desired energy transport strength could be obtained. The results were compared and successfully validated with previous reported numerical and experimental data from the literature.
Non-Newtonian channel flow—exact solutions

In this short communication, exact solutions are obtained for a range of non-Newtonian flows between stationary parallel plates. The pressure-driven flow of fluids with a variational viscosity that adheres to the Carreau governing relationship are considered. Solutions are obtained for both shear-thinning (viscosity decreasing with increasing shear-rate) and shear-thickening (viscosity increasing with increasing shear-rate) flows. A discussion is presented regarding the requirements for such analytical solutions to exist. The dependence of the flow rate on the channel half width and the governing non-Newtonian parameters is also considered.
Differences in Neuropathogenesis of Encephalitic California Serogroup Viruses

The California serogroup of orthobunyaviruses comprises a group of mosquitoborne viruses, including La Crosse (LACV), snowshoe hare (SSHV), Tahyna (TAHV), Jamestown Canyon (JCV), and Inkoo (INKV) viruses, that cause neurologic disease in humans of differing ages with varying incidences. To determine how the pathogenesis of these viruses differs, we compared their ability to induce disease in mice and replicate and induce cell death in vitro. In mice, LACV, TAHV, and SSHV induced neurologic disease after intraperitoneal and intranasal inoculation, and JCV induced disease only after intranasal inoculation. INKV rarely induced disease, which correlated with less viral antigen in the brain than the other viruses. In vitro, all viruses replicated to high titers; however, LACV, SSHV, and TAHV induced high cell death, whereas JCV and INKV did not. Results demonstrated that CSG viruses differ in neuropathogenesis in vitro and in vivo, which correlates with the differences in pathogenesis reported in humans.
Qualitative study of return to work following breast cancer treatment.

BACKGROUND After 5 years' sick leave in Brazil, employees must retire due to disability. The duration from breast cancer surgery to the end of treatment should be ~9 months. However, diagnosis alone can take 6 months. Surveys administered soon after returning to work have highlighted problems regarding the slow speed of the treatment process and lack of protective legislation. AIMS To assess the barriers and facilitators experienced and the coping strategies adopted by Brazilian women 30 days after return to work following breast cancer treatment. METHODS A qualitative study of 12 women treated for breast cancer. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and independently analysed by two researchers using a standardized method of analysis. RESULTS Women took an average of 583 days to return to work following breast cancer treatment. The return-to-work experience was considered good, with the physical barriers being fatigue and problems with the arms, and the work environmental barriers being related to discrimination from employers and overprotection from colleagues. Facilitators included social and emotional support given by colleagues/relatives/employers and jobs requiring more cognitive effort than physical exertion. Coping strategies were related to job role adjustments and reduction in tasks and working hours. CONCLUSIONS Results were similar to those reported by previous studies, with the exception of the facilitators. Cognitive effort is commonly considered a barrier. However, the present study had an unusually long duration before return to work, possibly reducing the acute effects of chemotherapy on cognition.
Individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status in the prediction of liver transplantation among patients with liver disease

Abstract Given the fact that >80% of liver transplantations (LTs) were living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in Taiwan, we conducted this study to assess whether patients with lower socioeconomic status are subject to a lower chance of receiving hepatic transplantation. This was a cohort study including 197,082 liver disease patients admitted in 1997 to 2013, who were at higher risk of LT. Personal monthly income and median family income of living areas were used to indicate individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status, respectively. Cox proportional hazard model that considered death as a competing risk event was used to estimate subdistribution hazard ratio (sHR) of LT in association with socioeconomic status. Totally 2204 patients received LT during follow-up, representing a cumulative incidence of 1.12% and an incidence rate of 20.54 per 104 person-years. After adjusting for potential confounders, including age, sex, co-morbidity, location/urbanization level of residential areas, we found that patients with < median monthly income experienced significantly lower incidence of LT (aHR = 0.802, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.717–0.898), but those with >- median monthly income had significantly elevated incidence of LT (aHR = 1.679, 95% CI = 1.482–1.903), as compared to those who were not actively employed. Additionally, compared to areas with the lowest quartile of median family income, the highest quartile of median family income was also associated with significantly higher incidence rate of LT (aHR = 1.248, 95% CI = 1.055–1.478). Higher individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status were significantly associated with higher incidence of LT among patients with higher risk of LT.
A methodology to analyze sustainable development index: evidence from emerging markets and developed economies

The paper proposes a new approach for dealing with uncertainties in determining the level of sustainability at the national scale. Composite Sustainable Development Index (SDI) is a tool designed to assess comprehensively the progress made by 15 advanced economies and 15 emerging economies since 2004–2018 towards achieving sustainable development goals.The proposed composite index aims to measure and monitor a sustainable development at the national level, and to increase the understanding of sustainability.This method also sheds light on main problems of different economies at the current stage of their development: the methodology considers a set of indicators and arranged into four categories of sustainable development: economy, society, governance, and environment.The present study shows that during the analyzed period, advanced economies had a satisfactory level of sustainability, while the level of SDI of the emerging markets was lower. Also, the obtained results reveal that since the adoption of Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015 developed countries have been showing better performance.Moreover, the paper presents the research design of an optimization model for sustainable development with CO2 emissions consideration.