Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mortality and Years of Life Lost due to Burn Injury Among Older Iranian People; a Cross-Sectional study

Introduction: The mortality of burn injury is a serious health problem among older people. The present study aimed to determine the epidemiological characteristics of burn mortality and Years of Life Lost (YLLs) among people aged ≥ 60. Methods: The National and Subnational Burden of Disease (NASBOD) study includes population-based cross-sectional data from the death registration system of Iran and those recorded by the cemeteries of Tehran and Esfahan were used in this study. Spatio-temporal and Gaussian process regression models were applied to estimate rates and trends of mortality and cause-specific mortality fractions. YLLs were calculated using Iranian life expectancy and the number of deaths. Results: The mortality rate for 1990 and 2015 was 17.4 and 4.5 per 100,000, respectively. From 1990 through 2015, the annual percentage of change in burn mortality rate was -6.1% in females and -4.4% in males. During 2015, there were 326 deaths following burns in people aged 60+ with 4586 person YLLs, and in 1990 there were 523 deaths with 4862 person-YLLs. The male-female ratio for 1990 and 2015 were 0.80 and 0.88, respectively. The age-standardized mortality rate was higher than 8.5 per 100,000 in border provinces in 2015. The provinces with better socioeconomic situations, such as Tehran, had a lower mortality rate than poor provinces, such as Sistan va Baluchistan. Conclusion: Although burn mortality in old people decreased in those 26 years, it is still high compared to high-income countries. Continued efforts to increase preventive measures and adequate access to quality care, especially in border provinces, is suggested.
Assessing Crop Production Technologies Adoption by Women Farmers: Some Empirical Evidence

The study assessed the determinants of women’s adoption of crop production technologies under Women in Agriculture (WIA) programme in the southeastern zone of Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to select the sample for the study. Three out of six agricultural zones were randomly selected. Then five blocks were randomly selected from each of the 5 zones making 15 blocks and finally, 10 women farmers were randomly selected from each of the 15 blocks making a total of 150 respondents that took part in the study. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Probit regression was used to analyse the data. The probit regression analysis showed that years of farming, years of formal education, household size, farm size and membership of social organizations and land acquisition were significant factors influencing women’s adoption of crop production technologies. The most adopted technologies were dry season vegetable production, Gnetum africanum, improved cassava and maize varieties cultivation. The study recommends that the programmes of the WIA arm of the extension service should be integrated into a more decisive national action plan.
Validation of patient‐reported vaso‐occlusive crisis day as an endpoint in sickle cell disease studies

Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience vaso‐occlusive crises (VOC). Historically, VOC episodes have been assessed through medical utilization, thereby excluding events managed at home. In order to validate a daily patient‐reported outcome for patients with SCD to accurately report their VOC status and experience of a pain crisis, a SCD Diary was included in Evaluation of Longitudinal Pain Study in Sickle Cell Disease (ELIPSIS), a longitudinal, six‐month, non‐interventional study. The daily patient‐completed diary included a description of SCD pain crisis, followed by questions on: pain crisis in the past 24 h (VOC Day question; respective response yes or no), worst pain, tiredness, and functioning. Thirty‐five patients with SCD participated in ELIPSIS. Analyses were performed to validate the patient‐reported VOC Day. Mean symptoms and functioning scores on the first or last VOC Day of a VOC Event were compared using t‐tests with the mean of the three non‐VOC Days before and after the event. Mean severity of symptoms and functioning scores on all VOC Days compared to all non‐VOC Days were higher, with statistically significant mean differences between first/last VOC Days and respective three non‐VOC Days (p's < .01). A subset of patients (n = 15) and caregivers (n = 9) were interviewed to evaluate their understanding of the SCD Diary questions. Nearly all confirmed that the pain crisis description accurately described the VOC experience, and participants expressed confidence differentiating SCD crisis pain from everyday pain. These results demonstrate patients can reliably report their experiences with VOC‐related pain crises using the SCD Diary.
Glucagon, cyclic AMP, and hepatic glucose mobilization: A half‐century of uncertainty

For at least 50 years, the prevailing view has been that the adenylate cyclase (AC)/cyclic AMP (cAMP)/protein kinase A pathway is the predominant signal mediating the hepatic glucose‐mobilizing actions of glucagon. A wealth of evidence, however, supports the alternative, that the operative signal most of the time is the phospholipase C (PLC)/inositol‐phosphate (IP3)/calcium/calmodulin pathway. The evidence can be summarized as follows: (1) The consensus threshold glucagon concentration for activating AC ex vivo is 100 pM, but the statistical hepatic portal plasma glucagon concentration range, measured by RIA, is between 28 and 60 pM; (2) Within that physiological concentration range, glucagon stimulates the PLC/IP3 pathway and robustly increases glucose output without affecting the AC/cAMP pathway; (3) Activation of a latent, amplified AC/cAMP pathway at concentrations below 60 pM is very unlikely; and (4) Activation of the PLC/IP3 pathway at physiological concentrations produces intracellular effects that are similar to those produced by activation of the AC/cAMP pathway at concentrations above 100 pM, including elevated intracellular calcium and altered activities and expressions of key enzymes involved in glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, and glycogen synthesis. Under metabolically stressful conditions, as in the early neonate or exercising adult, plasma glucagon concentrations often exceed 100 pM, recruiting the AC/cAMP pathway and enhancing the activation of PLC/IP3 pathway to boost glucose output, adaptively meeting the elevated systemic glucose demand. Whether the AC/cAMP pathway is consistently activated in starvation or diabetes is not clear. Because the importance of glucagon in the pathogenesis of diabetes is becoming increasingly evident, it is even more urgent now to resolve lingering uncertainties and definitively establish glucagon’s true mechanism of glycemia regulation in health and disease.
Sleep and circadian phenotypes: risk factors for COVID-19 severity?

Emerging evidence has implicated specific sleep phenotypes such as excessive daytime sleepiness and napping as independent risk factors for hospitalization or mortality after COVID-19 [1]. This is biologically plausible given that disrupted sleep is known to affect many physiological functions, including the immune system [2] and clotting function [3], two suspected etiologies in COVID-19 outcomes [4]. However, whether common sleep phenotypes are causally linked to COVID-19 susceptibility and severity, e.g. need for hospitalization, critical care support, or death remains unclear. In SLEEP , Zheran Liu et al. [5] address this issue by analyzing epidemiological and genetic data from the community-based UK Biobank and the COVID-19 Host Genetic Initiative using Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. This study is notable given the large number of participants enrolled (>500 000) with both phenotypic and genotypic data acquired at baseline between 2006 and 2010. COVID-19
Effect of Chronic Kidney Disease on the Renal Secretion via Organic Anion Transporters 1/3: Implications for Physiologically‐Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling and Dose Adjustment

There is growing evidence that active tubular secretory clearance (CLs) may not decline proportionally with the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in chronic kidney disease (CKD), leading to the overestimation of renal clearance (CLr) when using solely GFR to approximate disease effect on renal elimination. The clinical pharmacokinetic data of 33 renally secreted OAT1/3 substrates were collated to investigate the impact of mild, moderate, and severe CKD on CLr, tubular secretion and protein binding (fu,p). The fu,p of the collated substrates ranged from 0.0026 to 1.0 in healthy populations; observed CKD‐related increase in the fu,p (up to 2.7‐fold) of 8 highly bound substrates (fu,p ≤ 0.2) was accounted for in the analysis. Use of prediction equation based on disease‐related changes in albumin resulted in underprediction of the CKD‐related increase in fu,p of highly bound substrates, highlighting the necessity to measure protein binding in severe CKD. The critical analysis of clinical data for 33 OAT1/3 probes established that decrease in OAT1/3 activity proportional to the changes in GFR was insufficient to recapitulate effects of severe CKD on unbound tubular secretion clearance. OAT1/3‐mediated CLs was estimated to decline by an additional 50% relative to the GFR decline in severe CKD, whereas change in active secretion in mild and moderate CKD was proportional to GFR. Consideration of this additional 50% decline in OAT1/3‐mediated CLs is recommended for physiologically‐based pharmacokinetic models and dose adjustment of OAT1/3 substrates in severe CKD, especially for substrates with high contribution of the active secretion to CLr.
Faktor-Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Pengungkapan Tanggung Jawab Sosial

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi luasnya tingkat pengungkapan tanggung jawab sosial perusahaan ( Corporate Social Responsibility ) dengan menguji pengaruh ukuran perusahaan, profitabilitas, leverage , kepemilikan insti­tusional, ukuran dewan komisaris, ukuran dewan direksi, dan ukuran komite audit. Sampel yang digunakan adalah perusahaan sektor pertambangan terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia selama 2010-2012. Data diperoleh dari laporan keuangan auditan dan laporan tahunan serta laporan keberlanjutan ( sustainability report ) jika ada. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan analisis regresi linear berganda. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ukuran perusahaan dan komite audit memiliki pengaruh positif terhadap peng­ungkapan tanggung jawab sosial. Tidak ditemukan bukti pengaruh profitabilitas, leverage , kepemilikan institusional, ukuran dewan komisaris, dan ukuran dewan direksi terhadap terhadap pengungkapan tanggung jawab sosial.
Leading Modern Learning: A Blueprint for Vision-Driven Schools

This guide is arranged by chapter, enabling readers to either work their way through the entire book or focus on the specific topics addressed in a particular chapter. It can be used by individuals, small groups, or an entire team to identify key points, raise questions for consideration, assess conditions in a particular school or district, and suggest steps that might be taken to promote a strong futures-oriented vision and mission.
WHITE-COLLAR CRIME WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

Lawyers have never been immune from criminal prosecution. Like almost any vocation, the law can attract its fair share of crooks, whose bag of tricks includes fraud, embezzlement, and worse. The image of William Hurt’s character in the 1981 movie Body Heat jumps to mind: a sleazy, small-time, small-town hack with limited ability and even less in the way of scruples. Recently, however, that image has changed dramatically. Lawyers charged with crimes are as likely now to show up for their arraignment wearing Saville Row suits, their Ivy League pedigrees and lofty corporate titles trailing behind them. Enough of these cases have now been brought that it is possible to discern some recurring patterns and themes. This article highlights a few of those themes and suggests lessons that can be learned from them.
EFFECT OF WEB ARRANGEMENT ON THIN-RIM GEAR TOOTH CONTACT STRESS

Thin-rim gears are often used in applications where light weight and compact design are demanded. Since the gear rim is more rigid in the area of the gear web, this influences the load as well as the contact stress distribution along the tooth face width. Conventional standard procedures for gear design assume uniform rigidity along the face width and therefore are not fully applicable to the thinrim gears tooth contact stress calculation. The objective of this paper is to evaluate effect of web arrangement on a thin-rim gear tooth contact stresses using advanced engineering tools for a numeric analysis. Three-dimensional parametric finite element model of thin-rim gear engaged with a solid gear is created. The gear pair contact position is chosen to load the thin-rim gear (the wheel) at the highest point of single tooth contact assuming small sliding and dry frictionless contact. Commercial finite element package Abaqus/Standard is used to determine contact stresses assuming small displacement hypothesis. The material is considered homogenous and isotropic with a linear elastic behavior. Obtained tooth contact stress contour lines as well as the maximum tooth contact stress values for various thin-rim gear web arrangements are presented.
Surface waves in a streaming plasma propagating in a duct: kinetic theory

The dispersion relation of a surface wave generated by a drifting plasma in an infinite duct surrounded by vacuum is derived non-relativistically by means of the Vlasov equation. The kinematic boundary condition imposed on the distribution function, the specular reflection conditions on the four sides of duct, can be satisfied by placing an infinite number of fictitious surface charge sheets spaced by the duct widths. The surface wave mode is specifically the transverse magnetic mode, often called the surface polariton, which propagates with phasor $\exp ({{\rm i}k_zz-{\rm i}\omega t})$. The method of placing appropriate fictitious surface charge sheets enables one to treat the surface waves in semi-infinite, slab and duct plasmas simultaneously on an equal footing, kinetically. The streaming effect manifests itself through the Doppler-shifted frequency and a correction-like term ${u^2}/{c^2}$, where u is the streaming velocity and c is the speed of light.
Characterization of Two Key Flavonoid 3-O-Glycosyltransferases Involved in the Formation of Flower Color in Rhododendron Delavayi

Flower color, largely determined by anthocyanin, is one of the most important ornamental values of Rhododendron delavayi. However, scant information of anthocyanin biosynthesis has been reported in R. delavayi. We found that anthocyanidin 3-O-glycosides were the predominant anthocyanins detected in R. delavayi flowers accounting for 93.68–96.31% of the total anthocyanins during its development, which indicated the key role of flavonoid 3-O-glycosyltransferase (3GT) on R. delavayi flower color formation. Subsequently, based on correlation analysis between anthocyanins accumulation and Rd3GTs expressions during flower development, Rd3GT1 and Rd3GT6 were preliminarily identified as the pivotal 3GT genes involved in the formation of color of R. delavayi flower. Tissue-specific expressions of Rd3GT1 and Rd3GT6 were examined, and their function as 3GT in vivo was confirmed through introducing into Arabidopsis UGT78D2 mutant and Nicotiana tabacum plants. Furthermore, biochemical characterizations showed that both Rd3GT1 and Rd3GT6 could catalyze the addition of UDP-sugar to the 3-OH of anthocyanidin, and preferred UDP-Gal as their sugar donor and cyanidin as the most efficient substrate. This study not only provides insights into the biosynthesis of anthocyanin in R. delavayi, but also makes contribution to understand the mechanisms of its flower color formation.
A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parenting Intervention Offered to Women With Severe Mental Health Problems and Delivered in a Mother and Baby Unit Setting: The IMAgINE Study Outcomes

Background Approximately 1–2% of mothers may experience severe mental illness (SMI) requiring admission to an inpatient Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). MBUs aim to provide mental health assessment and treatment and strengthen the mother-infant relationship, essential for infant development. Whilst MBUs offer various interventions, they do not routinely offer structured parenting interventions. The Baby Triple P Positive Parenting Program (BTP) was developed to enhance parenting competence, psychological coping and the quality of partner and other social support. Guided by lived experience consultation, we aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of delivering BTP plus Treatment as Usual (TAU) in this setting. Method A multi-site, parallel-group, single-blind pilot randomized controlled trial (registration: ISRCTN12765736) comparing BTP+TAU to TAU in participants, recruited from two MBUs in England. The Baby Triple P intervention consisted of eight parenting sessions, with the final four being delivered over the telephone following MBU discharge. Feasibility outcomes were participant intervention engagement and study retention. Clinical outcomes including maternal parenting competence, bonding and mental health outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-baseline/intervention (10 weeks) and six-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression models. An economic feasibility analysis was also conducted. Results Thirty-seven of the 67 eligible participants consented; 34 were randomized (16 to BTP+TAU and 18 to TAU), of whom 20 were retained at post-intervention data collection and 21 at six-month follow-up. Twelve participants (75%) completed the intervention, which was rated as highly acceptable. Clinical outcomes signaled potential improvements in maternal parenting competence, bonding, mood and mental health symptomatology in participants who received the intervention. Healthcare resource use and EQ-5D-5L questionnaires were well-completed by participants. Delivering BTP in this setting is estimated to cost £443-822 per participant. Conclusions This is the first trial of a parenting intervention in a MBU setting. BTP is feasible and acceptable to mothers with SMI, with a promising signal for treatment efficacy. Although minor modifications may be required for the collection of observer-rated measures post-MBU discharge, the findings indicate that a larger, definitive trial could be conducted, especially if the setting is extended to include perinatal mental health community settings.
Wastewater Treatment Works: A Last Line of Defense for Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Entry Into the Environment

With their large, diverse microbial communities chronically exposed to sub-inhibitory antibiotic concentrations, wastewater treatment works (WWTW) have been deemed hotspots for the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance, with growing concern about the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) into receiving surface waters. This study explored (1) the prevalence of ARG and ARB in local WWTW, (2) the effect of sub-inhibitory antimicrobial exposure on ARG copy numbers in pure cultures from WWTW, and (3) two WWTW with different treatment configurations. For each WWTW, qPCR determined the prevalence of mcr3, sul1, sul2, and blaKPC during the treatment process, and culture methods were used to enumerate and identify ARB. Bacterial colonies isolated from effluent samples were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing and their respective minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined. These were compared to the MICs of whole community samples from the influent, return activated sludge, and effluent of each WWTW. Resistance genes were quantified in 11 isolated cultures before and after exposure to sub-MIC concentrations of target antibiotics. The numbers of ARG and ARB in both WWTW effluents were notably reduced compared to the influent. Sul1 and sul2 gene copies increased in cultures enriched in sub-MIC concentrations of sulfamethoxazole, while blaKPC decreased after exposure to amoxicillin. It was concluded, within the parameters of this study, that WWTW assist in reducing ARG and ARB, but that sub-inhibitory exposure to antimicrobials has a varied effect on ARG copy number in pure cultures.
Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register

Beta (β)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to β2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective β1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37–0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective β1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76–2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a β1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations.