Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A single measurement of fecal hemoglobin concentration outperforms polygenic risk score in colorectal cancer risk assessment

BACKGROUND: Polygenic risk scores (PRS) have been proposed and are increasingly used for risk assessment in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) are widely recommended and used as dichotomous tests for annual or biennial CRC screening, ignoring the quantitative information on fecal hemoglobin concentration above or below the positivity threshold. METHODS: We aimed to assess and compare the ability of a single quantitative FIT and PRS to predict presence of advanced colorectal neoplasms (preclinical CRC or advanced adenoma) as a key indicator of CRC risk. A quantitative FIT (FOB Gold, Sentinel Diagnostics) was employed and a weighted PRS based on 140 common risk variants was determined among participants of screening colonoscopy in Germany. We compared areas under the curves (AUCs) of FIT and PRS for predicting presence of advanced colorectal neoplasm in the entire study population, and in subgroups defined by age, sex, family history of CRC, and history of colonoscopy. RESULTS: A total of 3,025 participants aged 50-79 years were included, thereof 523 with advanced colorectal neoplasm and 2,502 participants without neoplasm. FIT clearly outperformed PRS in predicting presence of any advanced neoplasm in the entire study population (AUC 0.721, 95%CI 0.693-0.749 versus 0.591, 95%CI 0.564-0.617, p<0.0001), in younger (50-59 years) and older (60-79 years) participants, both sexes, those with and without a family history of CRC, and those with and without a previous colonoscopy (differences in AUC between 0.110 and 0.186, p=0.03 for those with previous colonoscopy and [≤]0.005 for all other subgroups). CONCLUSION: A single quantitative FIT, a low cost, easy-to-administer and universally available test, is more informative for CRC risk assessment than so far established PRS, irrespective of age, sex, family history, or history of colonoscopy.
Forms of Support and Experiencing Maltreatment and Disrespect During Childbirth at a Health Facility: A Self-Reported Cross-Sectional Study in Ghana

Providing support to women and encouraging women to deliver in health facility settings (skilled delivery) is one strategy to improve maternal health outcomes in developing countries. However, fear of maltreatment and disrespect during labour and delivery, have been reported as barriers to facility delivery. This study was therefore conducted to assess postnatal womens self-reported experience and type of maltreatment and disrespect during delivery. Using a cross sectional study design, 313 women were randomly selected from the three health facilities located in the La-Nkwantenang-Madina Municipality in the Greater Accra region. The data was analysed using STATA 15. Bivariable data analysis using Pearsons Chi-square was used to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive history and experience of maltreatment. Logistic regression analysis was done to determine the strengths of association. More than half (54.3%) of the postnatal women were encouraged to have support persons during labour and delivery. About 75.7% reported experiencing some form of maltreatment and disrespect. About a fifth (19.8%, n=62) of the women experienced physical abuse, 9.3% (n=29) experienced undignified care, 7.7% (n=24) of the women were detained or confined against their will, and 60.4% (n=189) indicated they did not receive consented care. The study concludes that maltreatment and disrespect during labour is widespread. Expanding health facilities may not achieve desired skilled or facility-based delivery without improving the birth experience of women.
The expression levels of NOS2, HMOX1 and VEGFC in cumulus cells are markers of oocyte maturation and fertilization rate

Purpose We aim to study whether the expression of genes related to hypoxia and ageing in cumulus cells (CC) is associated to reproductive results in in vitro fertilization cycles. Methods Cumulus cells (CC) were collected after ovum pick-up (OPU) from 94 women recruited undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation from 2018 to 2021; total RNA was extracted and reverse transcribed to cDNA using random hexamers. 14 genes affected by ageing in humans, and expressed in CC, were selected for testing. Expression levels of these genes were detected by qPCR and normalized against TATA-box binding protein (TBP) in CC. Expression levels were plotted against woman age, AFC, MII rate at OPU (MR), and fertilization rates (FR) and non-parametric Spearman correlation was applied. Results From the initial list of 423 candidate genes, we tested 14 genes related to hypoxia response via HIF1alpha activation, oxidative stress response, and angiogenic response. The expression of CLU, NOS2 and TXNIP had a positive correlation with age (rs=0.25, p=0.014; rs=0.31, p=0.0027; and rs=0.24, p=0.03; respectively). Additionally, NOS2 and HMOX1 expression correlated positively with the retrieval of immature oocytes (rs = 0.23228, p = 0.03242; rs = 0.38827, p = 0.01212; respectively). Moreover, VEGFC levels decreased overall with increasing fertilization rate, independently of age (rs=-0.29, p=0.026). Conclusion We found that the fertilization potential of a cohort of oocytes is related to the ability of CC to respond to oxidative stress and hypoxia, pointing at NOS2, HMOX1 and VEGFC expression as markers for oocyte maturation and fertilization success.
OPERANT CONDITIONING OF RECTUS FEMORIS H-REFLEXES: A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR POST-STROKE QUADRICEPS HYPERREFLEXIA

Hyperreflexia is common after neurological injury such as stroke, yet clinical interventions have had mixed success. Our previous research has shown that hyperreflexia of the rectus femoris (RF) during pre-swing is closely associated with reduced swing phase knee flexion in those with post-stroke Stiff-Knee gait (SKG). Thus, reduction of RF hyperreflexia may improve walking function in those with SKG after stroke. A non-pharmacological and non-surgical procedure for reducing hyperreflexia has emerged based on operant conditioning of spinal reflexes elicited using electrical stimulation of the peripheral nerve, known as an H-reflex. Operant H-reflex conditioning training of the soleus has improved clinical gait function in those with spinal cord injury. It is currently unknown whether operant conditioning can be applied to the RF or those after stroke. This feasibility study trained 7 participants (5 neurologically intact, 2 post-stroke) over a period of 3 months, up to 3 times per week, to down-condition the RF H-reflex using visual feedback. We found an overall decrease in average RF H-reflex amplitude among 7 participants (44% drop, p<0.001, paired t-test), of which the post-stroke individuals contributed (49% drop). We observed a generalized training effect across quadriceps muscles. Post-stroke individuals exhibited improvements in peak knee-flexion velocity, reflex excitability during walking, and clinical measures of spasticity. These aforementioned neuromuscular outcomes provide promising initial results that operant RF H-reflex conditioning is feasible both in healthy and post-stroke individuals. This procedure could provide a targeted alternative to spasticity management and avoid the drawbacks of drugs and surgery.
INSULIN ACTIONS ON HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS

OF DISSERTATION INSULIN ACTIONS ON HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS Aging is the main risk factor for cognitive decline. The hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning and memory formation, is especially vulnerable to normal and pathological age-related cognitive decline. Dysregulation of both insulin and intracellular Ca2+ signaling appear to coexist and their compromised actions may synergistically contribute to neuronal dysfunction with aging. This dissertation focused on the interaction between insulin, Ca2+ dysregulation, and cognition in hippocampal neurons by examining the contributions of insulin to Ca2+ signaling events that influence memory formation. I tested the hypothesis that insulin would increase cognition in aged animals by altering Ca2+dependent physiological mechanisms involved in learning. The possible effects of insulin on learning and memory in young and aged rats were studied. In addition, the effects of insulin on the Ca2+-dependent afterhyperpolarization in CA1 pyramidal hippocampal neurons from young and aged animals were compared. Further, primary hippocampal cultures were used to examine the possible effects of insulin on voltage-gated Ca2+ channel activity and Ca2+induced Ca2+-release; mechanisms known to influence the AHP. We found that intranasal insulin improved memory in aged F344 rats. Young and aged F344 rats were treated with Humalog®, a short-acting insulin analog, or Levemir®, a long-acting insulin analog. The aged rats performed similar to young rats in the Morris Water Maze, a hippocampal dependent spatial learning and memory task. Electrophysiological recordings from CA1 hippocampal neurons revealed that insulin reduced the age-related increase in the Ca2+-dependent afterhyperpolarization, a prominent biomarker of brain aging that is associated with cognitive decline. Patch clamping recording from hippocampal cultured neurons showed that insulin reduced Ca2+ channel currents. Intracellular Ca2+ levels were also monitored using Fura-2 in response to cellular depolarization. Results indicated that a reduction in Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release from intracellular stores occurred in the presence of insulin. These results suggest that increasing brain insulin levels in aged rats may have improved memory by reducing the AHP and intracellular Ca2+concentrations. This study indicates a possible mechanism responsible for the beneficial effects of intranasal insulin on cognitive function absorbed in selective Alzheimer’s patients. Thus, insulin therapy may reduce or prevent age-related compromises to Ca2+ regulatory pathways typically associated with cognitive decline.
CSF metabolites associated with biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology

INTRODUCTION: Metabolomics technology facilitates studying associations between small molecules and disease processes. Correlating metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with Alzheimer's disease (AD) CSF biomarkers may elucidate additional changes that are associated with early AD pathology and enhance our knowledge of the disease. METHODS: The relative abundance of untargeted metabolites was assessed in 161 individuals. A metabolome-wide association study (MWAS) was conducted between 269 CSF metabolites and protein biomarkers reflecting brain amyloidosis, tau pathology, neuronal and synaptic degeneration, and astrocyte or microglial activation and neuroinflammation. Linear mixed-effects regression analyses were performed with random intercepts for sample relatedness and repeated measurements and fixed effects for age, sex, and years of education. The metabolome-wide significance was determined by a false discovery rate threshold of 0.05. The significant metabolites were replicated in 154 independent individuals. Mendelian randomization was performed using genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms from a CSF metabolites genome-wide association study. RESULTS: MWAS results showed several significantly associated metabolites for all the biomarkers except A{beta}42/40 and IL-6. Genetic variants associated with metabolites and Mendelian randomization analysis provided evidence for a causal association of metabolites for soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2), amyloid {beta} (A{beta}40), -synuclein, total tau, phosphorylated tau, and neurogranin, for example, palmitoyl sphingomyelin (d18:1/16:0) for sTREM2, and erythritol for A{beta}40 and -synuclein. DISCUSSION: This study provides evidence that CSF metabolites are associated with AD-related pathology, and many of these associations may be causal.
Performance evaluation of the LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test in diagnosing COVID-19 and influenza in patients with respiratory symptoms

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza share similar symptoms, which hampers diagnosis. Given that they require different containment and treatment strategies, fast and accurate distinction between the two infections is needed. This study evaluates the sensitivity and specificity of the LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test for simultaneous detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza A/B from a single nasal swab. Methods Nasal samples were collected from patients as part of the ASPIRE (NCT04557046) and INSPIRE (NCT04288921) studies at point-of-care testing sites in the USA. ASPIRE study participants were included after developing COVID-19 symptoms in the last 14 days or following a positive SARS-CoV-2 test in the last 48 hours. INSPIRE study participants were included after developing influenza symptoms in the last 4 days. Samples were extracted into proprietary buffer and analysed using the LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test. A reference sample was taken from each subject, placed into universal transport medium and tested using reference SARS-CoV-2 and influenza reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. The test and reference samples were compared using the positive percent agreement (PPA) and negative percent agreement (NPA), together with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Analysis of the data from the ASPIRE (N=124) and INSPIRE (N=159) studies revealed high levels of agreement between the LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test and the reference tests in detecting SARS-CoV-2 (PPA=95.5% [95% CI: 84.9%, 98.7%]; NPA=96.0% [95% CI: 90.9%, 98.3%]), influenza A (PPA=83.3% [95% CI: 66.4%, 92.7%]; NPA=97.7% [95% CI: 93.4%, 99.2%]) and influenza B (PPA=80.0% [95% CI: 62.7%, 90.5%]; NPA=95.3% [95% CI: 90.2%, 97.9%]). Conclusions The LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test shows a high agreement with the reference RT-PCR tests while simultaneously detecting and differentiating between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B.
Wifi fingerprinting based room level classification: combining short term fourier transform and imbalanced learning method

Mobile devices have distinct RF fingerprints, which are reflected by changes in the frequency of transmitted signals. The Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) is a suitable technique for evaluating this frequency content and thus identifying them. In this paper, we take advantage of STFT processing and perform roomlevel location classification. The raw in-phase and quadrature (IQ) signals and channel state information (CSI) frames have been collected using seven different cell phones. The data collection process has been performed in eight different locations on the same floor of our engineering building, which contains indoor hallways and rooms of different sizes. Three software-defined radios (SDRs) are placed in three different locations to receive signals simultaneously but separately. The IQ and CSI frames have been concatenated together for training a neural network. A Multi-Layer Perception (MLP) network has been used to train the concatenated signals as input and their corresponding locations as labels. A challenging aspect is that our dataset does not contain the same number of samples per location. Moreover, several locations have insufficient training data due to signal attenuation. An imbalanced learning method has been implemented in this dataset to overcome this limitation and improve the classification accuracy. The classification strategy involves binary classification like individual location vs. other. Using this approach, we obtain a mean accuracy of around 95%.
J C A P 0 1 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 0 0 8 ournal of C osmology and A stroparticle P hysics

While a featureless, nearly scale invariant, primordial scalar power spectrum fits the most recent Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data rather well, certain features in the spectrum are known to lead to a better fit to the data (although, the statistical significance of such results remains an open issue). In the inflationary scenario, one or more periods of deviations from slow roll are necessary in order to generate features in the scalar perturbation spectrum. Over the last couple of years, it has been recognized that such deviations from slow roll inflation can also result in reasonably large non-Gaussianities. The Starobinsky model involves the canonical scalar field and consists of a linear inflaton potential with a sudden change in the slope. The change in the slope causes a brief period of departure from slow roll which, in turn, results in a sharp rise in power, along with a burst of oscillations in the scalar spectrum for modes that leave the Hubble radius just before and during the period of fast roll. The hallmark of the Starobinsky model is that it allows the scalar power spectrum to be evaluated analytically in terms of the three parameters that describe the model, viz. the two slopes that describe the potential on either side of the discontinuity and the Hubble scale at the time when the field crosses the discontinuity. In this work, we evaluate the bi-spectrum of the scalar perturbations in the Starobinsky model in the equilateral limit. Remarkably, we find that, just as the power spectrum, all the different contributions to the the bi-spectrum too can be evaluated completely analytically and expressed in terms of the three paramaters that describe the model. We show that the quantity fNL , which characterizes the extent of non-Gaussianity, can be expressed purely in terms of the ratio of the two slopes on either side of the discontinuity in the potential. Further, we find that, for certain values of the parameters, fNL in the Starobinsky model can be as large as the Current address: Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India. c © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2012/01/008 J C A P 0 1 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 0 0 8 mean value that has been arrived at from the analysis of the recent CMB data. We also demonstrate that the usual hierarchy of contributions to the bi-spectrum can be altered for certain values of the parameters. Altogether, we find that the Starobinsky model represents a unique scenario wherein, even when the slow roll conditions are violated, the background, the perturbations as well as the corresponding two and three point correlation functions can be evaluated completely analytically. As a consequence, the Starobinsky model can also be used to calibrate numerical codes aimed at computing the non-Gaussianities.
Response of GPS-Tracked Drifters to Wind and Water Currents in a Tidal Estuary

Lagrangian field data in tidal shallow waters are rare, but valuable for the understanding of the spatiotemporal structure of flow and particle transport. The response of drifters to the wind and water flow in tidal shallow water was examined using correlation, spectral, and coherence analyses. Under moderate wind conditions (0–4 m/s), floating drifter motions in bounded sheltered water are affected by wind through low-frequency induced wind current rather than direct wind drag, when only a small portion of the drifter is unsubmerged. The field validation of both high- and low-resolution drifters with surface measured velocity from a fixed acoustic Doppler current profiler is good in the streamwise direction. The correlation between the drifter and fixed instrument velocities is low in the cross-stream direction due to strong spatial variability of the flow field. The evaluation shows that drifters are applicable to studying the flow dynamics of tidal water bodies in relation to small-scale processes.
High order smoothness and asymptotic structure in banach spaces

In this paper we study the connections between moduli of asymptotic convexity and smoothness of a Banach space, and the existence of high order differentiable bump functions or equivalent norms on the space. The existence of a high order uniformly differentiable bump function is related to an asymptotically uniformly smooth renorming of power type. On the other hand, the asymptotic uniform convexity of power type is related to the existence of high order smoothness of Nakano sequence spaces.
J C A P 0 4 ( 2 0 1 5 ) 0 3 6 ournal of C osmology and A stroparticle P hysics

Interactions between dark matter and dark energy, allowing both conformal and and disformal couplings, are studied in detail. We discuss the background evolution, anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background and large scale structures. One of our main findings is that a large conformal coupling is not necessarily disallowed in the presence of a general disformal term. On the other hand, we find that negative disformal couplings very often lead to instabilities in the scalar field. Studying the background evolution and linear perturbations only, our results show that it is observationally challenging to disentangle disformal from purely conformal couplings.
Examining Technostress at Different Types of Data Scientists’ Examining Technostress at Different Types of Data Scientists’ Workplaces Workplaces

Data scientists represent a heterogeneous occupational group that has reached high relevance due to the wide-spread availability of quantitative data generated in the rapid progress of digital transformation. These employees play a crucial role in gaining competitive advantages for companies out of such big data. In this context, employees who frequently analyse data often occupy different job titles and, therefore, are difficult to detect. At the same time, a psychological downside of digitalization, which is called tech-nostress, has risen. However, these issues caused by the use of information and communication technologies are rarely examined in the context of specific occupational groups and workplace attributes. Considering these challenges, this article extends current tech-nostress research by focusing on technostress within the specific job class of data scientists. We classify different types of data scientists’ workplaces through performing latent
in People with 3-4 who (A randomized controlled trial)

: The current trial investigates the effect of renal diet therapy and nutritional education on the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), blood pressure, and depression among patients with CKD. A total of 120 CKD patients (stages 3-4) (15<eGFR<60) were randomized into an intensive nutrition intervention group (individualized renal diet therapy plus nutrition counseling: 0.75 g protein/kg/day and 30-35 kcal/kg/day with sodium restriction) and a control group (routine and standard care) for 24 weeks. The primary outcome was the change in the eGFR. Secondary outcomes included changes in anthropometric measures, biochemistry [serum creatinine (Cr), uric acid, albumin, electrolytes, calcium, vitamin D, ferritin, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), and hemoglobin], blood pressure, nutritional status, depression, and quality of life. The eGFR increased significantly in the intervention group compared with the control group (p<0.001). Moreover, serum levels of Cr and the systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased significantly in the intervention group relative to the control group (p<0.001, p<0.001, and p=0.020, respectively). The nutrition intervention also hindered the increase in the BUN level and the depression score (p=0.045 and p=0.028, respectively). Furthermore, the reduction in protein and sodium intake was greater in the intervention group (p=0.003 and p<0.001, respectively). Nutritional treatment along with supportive education and counseling, contributed to improvements in renal function, blood pressure control, and adherence to protein intake recommendations. A significant difference in the mean eGFR between the groups was also confirmed at the end of the study using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (Β=-5.06; 95% CI: -8.203, -2.999). D; TG, Triglycerides; TC, total cholesterol; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; PCS, Physical Component Summary; MCS, Mental Component Summary; SGA, subjective global assessment.