Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dark or Bright Half of the Moon: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experience of Iranian Heart Failure Patients Regarding their Quality of Life

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem in different societies and has numerous impacts on quality of life (QOL). AIM: The present study was carried out with the aim to explore the experience of HF patients regarding the negative effects of the disease on their QOL. METHODS: In this qualitative exploratory study data collection was performed through face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 19 patients with HF, who were selected through purposive sampling method from April to September 2017. Data analysis was carried out based on the framework analysis method. RESULTS: The negative consequences of HF on QOL emerged in the form of 6 main themes including symptoms, disease complications, cognitive impairment, psychological distress, functional limitations and economic problems. Most of the participants (14 out of 19) assessed their QOL as well or very well. CONCLUSION: The majority of the patients in this study, despite the many negative impacts of HF, had a high QOL that could indicate their satisfaction and effective coping with HF by creating a positive outlook and the perceived positive effects of the disease.
Modelling human papillomavirus biology in oropharyngeal keratinocytes

Most human papillomavirus (HPV) positive head and neck cancers arise in the tonsil crypts; deep invaginations at the tonsil surface that are lined with reticulated epithelium infiltrated by immune cells. As in cervical HPV infections, HPV16 is the most prevalent high-risk type in the oropharyngeal cancers, and a genital-oral route of infection is most likely. However, the natural history of HPV-driven oropharyngeal pathogenesis is an enigma, although there is evidence that it is different to that of cervical disease. It is not known if the virus establishes a productive or abortive infection in keratinocytes of the tonsil crypt, or if viral infections progress to cancer via a neoplastic phase, as in cervical HPV infection. The HPV DNA is more frequently found unintegrated in the cancers of the oropharynx compared to those that arise in the cervix, and may include novel HPV-human DNA hybrids episomes. Here, we review current understanding of HPV biology in the oropharynx and discuss the cell-based systems being used to model the HPV life cycle in tonsil keratinocytes and how they can be used to inform on HPV-driven neoplastic progression in the oropharynx. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Silent cancer agents: multi-disciplinary modelling of human DNA oncoviruses’.
Big data for loyalty program management in hypermarket

Loyalty programs lead to a natural split of a firm's customer base into members and nonmembers. To manage both groups effectively, it is essential to know how they concern about, such as services or promotions. This article, set in context of the second hypermarket density in Asia, examines the impact of satisfaction on store patronage and explores moderator roles of employee interaction and price sensitivity between members and nonmembers. Therefore, a survey was performed among 317 hypermarket members and nonmembers from top three settings in Taiwan. The study demonstrates that the satisfaction and store patronage behavior relationship of members stronger than nonmembers. And moderator of employee interaction and price sensitivity of members has stronger effect between satisfaction and store patronage than nonmembers. According to inconsistent relation between satisfaction and store patronage in past studies, the study extend existing theories of retention to incorporate contingency relationships, especially among members and nonmembers to manage retailer-both customer relationship better.
Representations of Political Leadership Qualities in News Coverage of Australian and Canadian Government Leaders

ABSTRACT How do the media depict the leadership abilities of government leaders, and in what ways are these depictions gendered? Does the focus of leadership evaluations change over time, reflecting the increased presence of women in top leadership roles? To answer these questions, we examined news coverage of 22 subnational government leaders in Australia and Canada, countries in which a significant number of women have achieved the premiership at the state or provincial level since 2007. Analysis demonstrates that newly elected women and men leaders receive approximately the same number of leadership evaluations. Women are assessed based on the same criteria as men. All subnational political leaders are expected to be competent, intelligent, and levelheaded. That journalists prioritize experience and strength while downplaying honesty and compassion indicates a continued emphasis on “masculine” leadership norms in politics. Yet evaluations of new premiers have emphasized the traditionally “feminine” trait of collaboration as key to effective leadership and, over time, have given more attention to likability and emotions when covering male premiers. As our analysis reveals, media conceptualizations of political leadership competencies are slowly expanding in ways that make it easier for women to be seen as effective political leaders.
Altered expression of norepinephrine transporter participate in hypertension and depression through regulated TNF-α and IL-6

ABSTRACT Aim: We explored the role of histone modification in the association of depression-hypertension by comparing norepinephrine transporter (NET) gene levels in different depression-hypertensive patients. Then, we analyzed the expression of NET correlation with inflammatory cytokines to provide a new direction for detecting the association mechanism between depression and hypertension. Methods: NE expression levels in serum of diverse groups were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Then histone acetyltransferase (HAT), histone deacetylase (HDAC), H3K27ac, NET, TNF-α, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were detected by western blot in nine female subjects in different depression and hypertension groups, and Chromatin immunoprecipitation-polymerase chain reaction (Chip-PCR) were used to confirm the degree of acetylation affecting on the transcription level of NET gene. Meanwhile, correlation between NET with TNF/IL-6 was analyzed by SPSS19.0 software program. Finally, Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot were used to detect TNF-α and IL-6 expression levels after NET overexpression or interference treatment in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and Neuro-2a cells. Results: The expression of HAT and H3K27ac had lower levels in D-H and nonD-H group than nonD-nonH group. The results showed that higher acetylation could promote expression of NET genes. Meanwhile, the expression of NET had a significant negative correlation with IL-6 (R = −0.933, p < 0.01) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) (R = −0.817, p < 0.01) in subjects. In addition, the results confirmed that TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA and protein partial expressions could be inhibited by NET in both HUVECs and Neuronal cells (p < 0.01). Conclusion: In conclusion, differential expression of NET gene might function as an important factor in interaction between depression and hypertension by partially targeting TNF-α and IL-6.
School Bullying and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: The Role of Parental Bonding

Much research on school bullying and victimization have outlined several individual, family, and school parameters that function as risk factors for developing further psychosocial and psychopathological problems. Bullying and victimization are interrelated with symptoms of psychological trauma, as well as emotional/ behavioural reactions, which can destabilize psychosocial and scholastic pathways for children and adolescents. The current study explored the various dimensions of psychological trauma (depressive symptoms, somatization, dissociation, avoidance behaviours) associated with school bullying/victimization in relation to parental bonding among 433 students (8–16 years old) from representative large cities in Greece. The following scales were employed: (a) Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire, (b) Child Report of Post-traumatic Symptoms (CROPS), and (c) Parental Bonding Inventory instrument (PBI). Pathways analysis extracted a series of models which showed that maternal and paternal overprotection (anxious-controlling/aggressive) had positive association with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Specifically, the quality of parental bonding was related with children's bullying/victimization experiences and post-traumatic symptomology. Conversely, results indicated that maternal and paternal care can reduce the manifestation of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Implications for interventions are discussed.
A Convergent Study of Genetic Variants Associated With Crohn’s Disease: Evidence From GWAS, Gene Expression, Methylation, eQTL and TWAS

Crohn’s Disease (CD) is one of the predominant forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A combination of genetic and non-genetic risk factors have been reported to contribute to the development of CD. Many high-throughput omics studies have been conducted to identify disease associated risk variants that might contribute to CD, such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and next generation sequencing studies. A pressing need remains to prioritize and characterize candidate genes that underlie the etiology of CD. In this study, we collected a comprehensive multi-dimensional data from GWAS, gene expression, and methylation studies and generated transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) data to further interpret the GWAS association results. We applied our previously developed method called mega-analysis of Odds Ratio (MegaOR) to prioritize CD candidate genes (CDgenes). As a result, we identified consensus sets of CDgenes (62–235 genes) based on the evidence matrix. We demonstrated that these CDgenes were significantly more frequently interact with each other than randomly expected. Functional annotation of these genes highlighted critical immune-related processes such as immune response, MHC class II receptor activity, and immunological disorders. In particular, the constitutive photomorphogenesis 9 (COP9) signalosome related genes were found to be significantly enriched in CDgenes, implying a potential role of COP9 signalosome involved in the pathogenesis of CD. Finally, we found some of the CDgenes shared biological functions with known drug targets of CD, such as the regulation of inflammatory response and the leukocyte adhesion to vascular endothelial cell. In summary, we identified highly confident CDgenes from multi-dimensional evidence, providing insights for the understanding of CD etiology.
Exploring the association of riders’ physical attributes with comfortable riding posture and optimal riding position

In recent years, there has been a keen interest in the design improvisation of motorcycles. However, the theoretical model of association between motorcycle design attributes (like frame size/riding position) and rider’s physical attributes (like anthropometry, range of motion (ROM), and comfort joint angles) are not well established. This study aims to estimate the relationship between rider’s physical attributes and motorcycle design attributes. During this experimental study, the data was collected from 120 motorcyclists (aged between 19 and 44 years) belonging to 20 major states of India. A test-rig was fabricated to obtain the perceived comfort posture and position data using image processing technique. The anthropometry and ROM were manually measured and verified by reliability testing. The principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression were used to reduce the set of variables and estimate the relationship between 10 comfortable riding position and joint angles (as dependent variables), and the reduced set of 29 anthropometry and 20 ROM measurements (as the independent variables). These results indicate that the comfort joint angles and riding position were significantly associated with the anthropometrics and ROM of the riders. Highly significant regression models were formulated to examine the relationship between the comfort joint angles/riding position and the anthropometrics and ROM of the riders. The findings may support the motorcycle designers to design a comfortable motorcycle complying with Indian anthropometry and ROM.
Novel nectar robbing negatively affects reproduction in Digitalis purpurea

Abstract With many plant–pollinator interactions undergoing change as species’ distributions shift, we require a better understanding of how the addition of new interacting partners can affect plant reproduction. One such group of floral visitors, nectar robbers, can deplete plants of nectar rewards without contributing to pollination. The addition of nectar robbing to the floral visitor assemblage could therefore have costs to the plant´s reproductive output. We focus on a recent plant colonist, Digitalis purpurea, a plant that in its native range is rarely robbed, but experiences intense nectar robbing in areas it has been introduced to. Here, we test the costs to reproduction following experimental nectar robbing. To identify any changes in the behavior of the principal pollinators in response to nectar robbing, we measured visitation rates, visit duration, proportion of flowers visited, and rate of rejection of inflorescences. To find the effects of robbing on fitness, we used proxies for female and male components of reproductive output, by measuring the seeds produced per fruit and the pollen export, respectively. Nectar robbing significantly reduced the rate of visitation and lengths of visits by bumblebees. Additionally, bumblebees visited a lower proportion of flowers on an inflorescence that had robbed flowers. We found that flowers in the robbed treatment produced significantly fewer seeds per fruit on average but did not export fewer pollen grains. Our finding that robbing leads to reduced seed production could be due to fewer and shorter visits to flowers leading to less effective pollination. We discuss the potential consequences of new pollinator environments, such as exposure to nectar robbing, for plant reproduction.
How citizenship norms predict participation in different political activities

ABSTRACT How young people become active citizens to sustain democracy is a crucial question for a modern democracy like Australia to pose in a context of youth political disillusionment with politics. The present research investigates this question in the context of young Australian adults’ norms of citizenship and intended political participation. The results show that encouraging young people to engage in decision-making processes in school or the community may cultivate active democrats, while law-abidingness works as a moderator of other citizenship norms. It remains a major challenge for democracies to promote engaged citizenship norms, prepare young people to be interested in civic issues, and facilitate skills that make politically self-efficacious young citizens.
Factors associated with quality of life early after ischemic stroke: the role of resilience

ABSTRACT Background and objectives: Stroke commonly results in physical dysfunction and seriously affects the quality of life. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and association of resilience with the quality of life among patients at hospitalization and whether the association was independent of physical function, anxiety, depression, and other population characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study at a tertiary hospital included 215 individuals. The Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was used to evaluate resilience. Stroke Scale Quality of life was used to measure the quality of life. Other validated questionnaires were used to assess physical function (Functional Independency Measure), anxiety, and depression (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Hierarchical regression analysis was applied to determine the association between psychological factors and quality of life. Multiple linear regression was also used to examine whether resilience independently affects the quality of life. Results: The mean score of 215 participants’ resilience was 62.36 ± 13.965. Resilience, anxiety, and depression were separately significantly associated with quality of life. Resilience was negatively associated with anxiety and depression. Subjects with high scores of resilience showed a higher quality of life at patients’ hospitalization (Standardized Coefficients = 0.275) independent of physical function, anxiety, depression, disease-related characteristics, and sociodemographic characteristics. Discussion: Resilience was an independent predictor of quality of life beyond anxiety and depression in patients with ischemic stroke. Interventions aimed at improving resilience at acute hospitalization might be a worthwhile addition to improve quality of life early after stroke.
Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in canine reproductive system – Part 2: use in the routine

Given the importance of the reproduction field combined with the use of the Pulsed-Wave (PW) ultrasound in the clinical routine, this study aims to review the application of this diagnostic method in the reproductive tract of females and males of the canine species. A narrative review was carried out by using scientific articles, monographs, dissertations and thesis published and available in online databases: Periodical Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel), SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) and Google Scholar, in addition to specific books on the topic. In female dogs, Doppler ultrasound can be used to evaluate hemodynamic conditions in the estrous cycle (e.g. estimating day of ovulation and fertility, diagnosing early pregnancy, abnormalities, and fetal stress, thus ensuring greater obstetric safety) and identification of diseases, thereby avoiding unnecessary surgical interventions. In male dogs, however, Doppler ultrasound is mainly used in vascular evaluations in order to identify hemodynamic changes due to occurrence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), most common disease of the prostate and in the assessment of testicular arteries to better understand spermatogenesis and diseases that affect the testicle. In this review, we demonstrate that the use of Doppler mode ultrasound, especially the PW, allows dynamic analysis in clinical examination and complements important information in the diagnosis and treatment of different reproductive disorders in dogs.
ctDNA Predicts Overall Survival in Patients With NSCLC Treated With PD-L1 Blockade or With Chemotherapy

PURPOSE Identification of predictors for overall survival (OS) allows timely detection of clinical efficacy signals and therefore facilitates treatment decisions. We assessed the association between circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) metrics and the primary end point of OS in a subset of previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer, who underwent atezolizumab or docetaxel treatment in the open-label randomized phase III OAK trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plasma from 94 patients at baseline and at subsequent cycles of therapy every 3 weeks was analyzed retrospectively for ctDNA. ctDNA was measured by allele frequency and mutant molecules per milliliter (MMPM). Concordance between various per-sample metrics and clinical outcome were assessed using C index. RESULTS Of all the ctDNA metrics tested, the association of median MMPM at 6 weeks with OS in patients treated with atezolizumab or docetaxel had a C index > 0.7. The OS hazard ratios relative to high ctDNA above median MMPM within each arm were 0.28 (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.75) for atezolizumab and 0.19 (95% CI, 0.08 to 0.48) for docetaxel. For patients who had ctDNA median MMPM levels of < 4.79, the median survival time was more than 17 months in docetaxel-treated patients and the median survival time was not reached in the atezolizumab-treated patients. CONCLUSION ctDNA MMPM levels measured at 6 weeks post-treatment are associated with OS in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer. Our results suggest that ctDNA has the potential for a noninvasive early liquid biopsy predictor for OS that warrants further studies to demonstrate its utility in clinical development.
SCRFD: Spatial Coherence Based Rib Fracture Detection

Rib fracture is a very common type of chest injury. Currently, the diagnosis of rib fracture is usually performed by chest CT. Due to the large number of chest CT slices, the diagnosis is very time- consuming. Especially for the detection of non-displaced fractures with very fine fracture locations and multiple fractures in the same patient's ribs, the missed diagnosis rate is still very high. To improve the detection precision, we propose a spatial coherence based rib fracture detection method, first we employ a novel feature extraction method to extract the rib region from CT slice, followed by a novel spatial coherence based convolutional neural network to recognize whether fracture occurs in the rib region. We have compared our method with currently popular object detection method. Experiment results show that our method has drastically improvements on precision and performance over previous methods.
Primed adaptation tolerates extensive structural and size variations of the CRISPR RNA guide in Haloarcula hispanica

Abstract Recent studies on CRISPR adaptation revealed that priming is a major pathway of spacer acquisition, at least for the most prevalent type I systems. Priming is guided by a CRISPR RNA which fully/partially matches the invader DNA, but the plasticity of this RNA guide has not yet been characterized. In this study, we extensively modified the two conserved handles of a priming crRNA in Haloarcula hispanica, and altered the size of its central spacer part. Interestingly, priming is insusceptible to the full deletion of 3′ handle, which seriously impaired crRNA stability and interference effects. With 3′ handle deletion, further truncation of 5′ handle revealed that its spacer-proximal 6 nucleotides could provide the least conserved sequence required for priming. Subsequent scanning mutation further identified critical nucleotides within 5′ handle. Besides, priming was also shown to tolerate a wider size variation of the spacer part, compared to interference. These data collectively illustrate the high tolerance of priming to extensive structural/size variations of the crRNA guide, which highlights the structural flexibility of the crRNA-effector ribonucleoprotein complex. The observed high priming effectiveness suggests that primed adaptation promotes clearance of the fast-replicating and ever-evolving viral DNA, by rapidly and persistently multiplexing the interference pathway.