Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the anti-correlation between COVID-19 infection rate and natural UV light in the UK

While it is well established that the rate of COVID-19 infections can be suppressed by social distancing, environmental effects may also affect the infection rate. Here we consider the hypothesis that natural Ultra-Violet (UV) light (UVA and UVB) is reducing COVID-19 infections by enhancing human immunity through vitamin-D and/or by suppressing the virus itself. We focus on the United Kingdom (UK), by examining daily COVID-19 infections (F) and UV Index (UVI) data over the period March to October 2020. We find an intriguing empirical anti-correlation between log10(F) and log10(UVI) with a correlation coefficient of -0.933 over the period from 11 May (when the first UK lockdown ended) to 28 October 2020. The anti-correlation may reflect causation with other factors which are correlated with the UVI. Either way, UVI should be included in modelling the pattern of COVID-19 infections and deaths. We started quantifying such correlations in other countries and regions.
Estimation and worldwide monitoring of the effective reproductive number of SARS-CoV-2

The effective reproductive number Re is a key indicator of the growth of an epidemic. Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started, many methods and online dashboards have sprung up to monitor this number. However, these methods are not always thoroughly tested or are applied only to a limited geographic range. Here, we present a method for near real time monitoring of Re, applied to epidemic data from 170 countries. We thoroughly validate the method on simulated data, and present an intuitive web interface for interactive data exploration. We show that in the majority of countries the estimated Re dropped below 1 only after the introduction of major non-pharmaceutical interventions. For Europe, Asia, and North America we found that the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions was associated with reductions in the effective reproductive number. Globally, we found that relaxing non-pharmaceutical interventions did not fully revert Re values to their original levels. Generally, our framework is useful both to inform governments and the general public on the status of the epidemic in their country, as well as a source for detailed comparison between countries and in relation to local public health policies and external covariates such as mobility, behavioural, or weather data.
Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns reveal clinically relevant predictive and prognostic subtypes in osteosarcoma.

Background: Osteosarcoma (OSA) is an aggressive malignancy predominantly affecting children and young-adults. Genetic analysis has characterized very few recurrent mutations in OSA, and an improved understanding of interpatient tumor heterogeneity is needed for clinical management. Methods: We analyzed genome-wide DNA methylation in primary OSA tumors from the NCI Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) program (n = 83) profiled using the Illumina 450K methylation array. We tested if broad genomic methylation predicted outcomes and defined supervised methylomic signatures predictive of Recurrence Free Survival (RFS), Chemotherapy Response (CR), and Metastatic disease at Diagnosis (MetDx). We assessed methylation pattern reproducibility in two independent clinical datasets (n = 28 and 34) and in an in vitro dataset (n = 11). Correlations between genomic methylation and transcription were tested using TARGET RNA-seq data. An in silico pharmacogenomic screen was performed to identify agents for future stratified application. Results: Genome-wide methylation defined two subgroups. Relatively hypomethylated tumors experienced better chemotherapy response (Odds Ratio = 6.429, Fisher's p = 0.007), longer RFS (metastatic, median 2.3 vs 26.7 months, localized, median 63.5 vs 104.7 months, stratified log-rank p = 0.006), and Overall Survival (p = 5x10-4) than hypermethylated tumors. Robust genomic methylation signatures predictive of RFS and CR were defined, and the signatures' methylation patterns were reproducible in the independent clinical and in vitro datasets. The RFS signature was enriched for intragenic sites, whereas the CR signature and clinically relevant genome-wide methylation patterns were enriched for intergenic sites. Normal-tissue-like methylation patterns were associated with poor prognosis and in vitro analysis suggested that the methylation signatures are associated with tumor aggressiveness. Downstream transcriptional analysis revealed that genes annotated to the RFS methylation signature were also predictive survival. The transcriptional program represented in the RFS signature included several critical cellular pathways, whereas the CR signature was associated with much fewer known pathways, possibly reflecting a much broader cellular ''methylation state'' related to chemoresponse. A pharmacogenomic screen identified potential therapies, including epigenomic modifiers, for future stratified clinical application. Conclusion: Genomic methylation offers insight into patient prognosis and could be a useful tool for developing alternate adjuvant therapeutic strategies.
Evaluation of four commercial, fully automated SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests suggests a revision of the Siemens SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay

Abstract Objectives Serological tests detect antibodies against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the ongoing coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Independent external clinical validation of performance characteristics is of paramount importance. Methods Four fully automated assays, Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2, Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG, Siemens SARS-CoV-2 total (COV2T) and SARS-CoV-2 IgG (COV2G) were evaluated using 350 pre-pandemic samples and 700 samples from 245 COVID-19 patients (158 hospitalized, 87 outpatients). Results All tests showed very high diagnostic specificity. Sensitivities in samples collected at least 14 days after disease onset were slightly lower than manufacturers’ claims for Roche (93.0%), Abbott (90.8%), and Siemens COV2T (90.3%), and distinctly lower for Siemens COV2G (78.8%). Concordantly negative results were enriched for immunocompromised patients. ROC curve analyses suggest a lowering of the cut-off index for the Siemens COV2G assay. Finally, the combination of two anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays is feasible when considering borderline reactive results. Conclusions Thorough on-site evaluation of commercially available serologic tests for detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 remains imperative for laboratories. The potentially impaired sensitivity of the Siemens COV2G necessitates a switch to the company’s newly filed SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay for follow-up studies. A combination of tests could be considered in clinical practice.
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Household Members and Other Close Contacts of COVID-19 Cases: A Serologic Study in Canton of Vaud, Switzerland

Background: Understanding community-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission is crucial to inform public health decisions. Research on SARS-CoV-2 transmission within households and other close settings using serological testing is scarce. Methods: We invited COVID-19 cases diagnosed between February 27 and April 1, 2020 in canton of Vaud, Switzerland, to participate, along with household members and other close contacts. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were measured using a Luminex immunoassay. We estimated factors associated with serological status using generalized estimating equations. Findings: Overall, 219 COVID-19 index cases, 302 household members, and 69 other close contacts participated between May 4 and June 27, 2020. More than half of household members (57.2%, 95%CI 49.7-64.3) had developed a serologic response to SARS-CoV-2, while 19.0% (95%CI 10.0-33.2) of other close contacts were seropositive. After adjusting for individual and household characteristics, infection risk was higher in household members aged 65 or more than in younger adults (aOR 3.63, 95%CI 1.05-12.60), and in those not strictly adhering to simple hygiene rules like hand washing (aOR 1.80, 95%CI 1.02-3.17). The risk was lower when more than 5 people outside home were met during the semi-confinement, compared to none (aOR 0.35, 95%CI 0.16-0.74). The individual risk of household members to be seropositive was lower in large households (22% less per each additional person). Interpretation: We find that, during semi-confinement, household members of a COVID-19 case were at very high risk of getting infected, 3 times more than close contacts outside home. This highlights the need to provide clear messages on specific protective measures applicable at home. For elderly couples, who were especially at risk, providing them external support for daily basic activities is essential.
Prevalence of low back pain among working Ethiopian population: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and objective Low back pain (LBP) as a musculoskeletal disorder remains a common health problem and is one of the most prevalent occupational injuries affecting adults living in both developed and developing countries. In order to increase the power and improve the estimates of the prevalence of LBP among working Ethiopian population, a comprehensive meta-analysis was carried out. Methods A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted in multiple international electronic bibliographic databases such as Web of Science, Pub Med, EMBASE, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Population-based Studies into the Prevalence of LBP among working population living in Ethiopia were included. Methodological quality for included studies was appraised using an adapted tool. Meta-analyses, Meta-regression, and sensitivity analysis were conducted. Funnel plot symmetry visualization followed by Beggs rank correlation and Eggers regression asymmetry test methods were performed to detect the existence of publication bias. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed by using the Cochrane Q and I2-statistics. Results In all 719 articles were identified and 13 articles with 6513 participants met the inclusion criteria for meta-analyses after filtering. The pooled point and twelve-month prevalence of LBP among working Ethiopian population was 49% (95% CI 40; 58) and 56% (95% CI 49; 62) respectively. Conclusion The results showed the high prevalence of LBP among working Ethiopian population, especially among Teachers. We believe that Prevention strategies addressing the early onset of LBP among working population would most likely be the answer to the burden of LBP on future economies in Ethiopia.
Timing of M. tuberculosis exposure explains variation in BCG effectiveness: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND The variable efficacy observed in studies of BCG vaccination is incompletely explained by currently accepted hypotheses, such as latitudinal gradient in non-tuberculous mycobacteria exposure. We considered heterogeneity in BCG vaccination in the context of participant demography, diagnostic approach and TB-related epidemiological context. METHODS We updated previous systematic reviews of the effectiveness of BCG vaccination to 31st December 2018. We employed an identical search strategy and inclusion/exclusion criteria to past reviews, but reclassified several studies and developed an alternative classification system. RESULTS Of 21 included trials, those recruiting neonates and children aged under five were consistent in demonstrating considerable protection for several years. Trials in high-burden settings with shorter follow-up also showed considerable protection, as did most trials in settings of declining burden with longer follow-up. However, the few trials performed in high-burden settings with longer follow-up showed no protection, sometimes with higher case rates in the vaccinated than the controls in the later follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS The most plausible explanatory hypothesis is that BCG protects against TB that results from exposure shortly after vaccination. However, risk is equivalent or increased when exposure occurs later from vaccination, a phenomenon which is predominantly observed in adults in high-burden settings with longer follow-up. In settings of declining burden, most exposure occurs shortly following vaccination and the sustained protection thereafter represents continued protection against this early exposure. By contrast, in settings of continued intense transmission, initial protection subsequently declines due to repeated exposure to M. tuberculosis or other pathogens.
Low blood pressure phenotype underpins the tendency to reflex syncope

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that cardiovascular physiology differs in reflex syncope patients compared with general population, predisposing such subjects to vasovagal reflex. METHODS: In this multicohort cross-sectional study, we compared resting systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure (PP) and heart rate (HR), collected from 6 community-based cohort studies (64,968 observations) with those from 6 databases of reflex syncope patients (6516 observations), subdivided by age decades and sex. RESULTS: Overall, in males with reflex syncope, SBP (-3.4 mmHg) and PP (-9.2 mmHg) were lower and DBP (+2.8 mmHg) and HR (+5.1 bpm) were higher than in the general population; the difference in SBP was higher at ages >60 years. In females, PP (-6.0 mmHg) was lower and DBP (+4.7 mmHg) and HR (+4.5 bpm) were higher than in the general population; differences in SBP were less pronounced, becoming evident only above 60 years. Compared with males, SBP in females exhibited slower increase until age 40, and then demonstrated steeper increase that continued throughout life. CONCLUSION: The patients prone to reflex syncope demonstrate a different resting cardiovascular hemodynamic profile characterized by reduced venous return and stroke volume, evidenced by lower SBP and PP, and compensatory increase in HR and vascular resistance, the latter expressed by elevated DBP. The data presented here contribute to our understanding why some subjects with similar demographic characteristics develop reflex syncope and others not.
Epidemiological and Economic Impact of COVID-19 in the US

This research measures the epidemiological and economic impact of COVID-19 spread in the US under different mitigation scenarios, comprising of non-pharmaceutical interventions. A detailed disease model of COVID-19 is combined with a model of the US economy to estimate the direct impact of labor supply shock to each sector arising from morbidity, mortality, and lock down, as well as the indirect impact caused by the interdependencies between sectors. During a lockdown, estimates of jobs that are workable from home in each sector are used to modify the shock to labor supply. Results show trade-offs between economic losses, and lives saved and infections averted are non-linear in compliance to social distancing and the duration of lockdown. Sectors that are worst hit are not the labor-intensive sectors such as Agriculture and Construction, but the ones with high valued jobs such as Professional Services, even after the teleworkability of jobs is accounted for. Additionally, the findings show that a low compliance to interventions can be overcome by a longer shutdown period and vice versa to arrive at similar epidemiological impact but their net effect on economic loss depends on the interplay between the marginal gains from averting infections and deaths, versus the marginal loss from having healthy workers stay at home during the shutdown.
The reversion variant (p.Arg90Leu) at the evolutionarily adaptive p.Arg90 site in CELA3B predisposes to chronic pancreatitis

A gain‐of‐function missense variant in the CELA3B gene, p.Arg90Cys (c.268C>T), has recently been reported to cause pancreatitis in an extended pedigree. Herein, we sequenced the CELA3B gene in 644 genetically unexplained French chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients (all unrelated) and 566 controls. No obvious loss‐of‐function variants were identified. None of the six low‐frequency or common missense variants detected showed significant association with CP. Nor did the aggregate rare/very rare missense variants (n = 14) show any significant association with CP. However, p.Arg90Leu (c.269G>T), which was found in four patients but no controls, and affects the same amino acid as p.Arg90Cys, serves to revert p.Arg90 to the human elastase ancestral allele. As p.Arg90Leu has previously been shown to exert a similar functional effect to that of p.Arg90Cys, our findings not only confirm the involvement of CELA3B in the etiology of CP but also pinpoint a new evolutionarily adaptive site in the human genome.
Effect of drop breakup on fuel sprays

Recently developed computer models are being applied to calculate complex interactions between sprays and gas motions. The three-dimensional KIVA code was modified to address drop breakup and was used to study fuel sprays. The results show that drop breakup influences spray penetration, vaporization and mixing in high pressure sprays. The spray drop size is the outcome of a competition between drop breakup and drop coalescence phenomena, and the atomization details at the injector are lost during these size rearrangements. Drop breakup dominates in hollow-cone sprays because coalescence is minimized by the expanding spray geometry. The results imply that it may be possible to use a simple injector and still control spray drop size and vaporization if the flow details are modified so as to enhance drop breakup and coalescence.
Cardiac Troponin I in Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Measurement of plasma cardiac troponin I concentration ([cTnI]) is a sensitive and specific means for detecting myocardial damage in many mammalian species. Studies have shown that [cTnI] increases rapidly after cardiomyocyte injury. The molecular structure of cTnl is highly conserved across species, and current assays developed for its detection in humans have been validated in many species. In this study, [cTnI] was quantified using a 2-site sandwich assay in plasma of healthy control cats (n = 33) and cats with moderate to severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) (n = 20). [cTnI] was significantly higher in cats with HCM (median, 0.66 ng/mL; range, 0.05-10.93 ng/mL) as compared with normal cats (median, <0.03 ng/mL; range, <0.03-0.16 ng/mL) (P < .0001). An increase in [cTnI] was also highly sensitive (sensitivity = 85%) and specific (specificity = 97%) for differentiating cats with moderate to severe HCM from normal cats. [cTnI] was weakly correlated with diastolic thickness of the left ventricular free wall (r2 = .354; P = .009) but not with the diastolic thickness of the interventricular septum (P = .8467) or the left atrium: aorta ratio (P = .0652). Furthermore, cats with congestive heart failure at the time of cTnI analysis had a significantly higher [cTnI] than did cats that had never had heart failure and those whose heart failure was controlled at the time of analysis (P = .0095 and P = .0201, respectively). These data indicate that cats with HCM have ongoing myocardial damage. Although the origin of this damage is unknown, it most likely explains the replacement fibrosis that is consistently identified in cats with moderate to severe HCM.
Infrared spectra and density functional theory calculations of group 4 transition metal sulfides

Laser-ablated titanium, zirconium, and hafnium atoms react with discharged sulfur vapor during co-condensation in excess argon. The primary reaction product MS2 molecules are identified for the first time, and evidence for metal monosulfides is also presented. The ν1 and ν3 modes for TiS2, ZrS2, and HfS2 absorb at 533.5 and 577.8 cm-1, 502.9 and 504.6 cm-1, and 492.2 and 483.2 cm-1, respectively, in solid argon. On the basis of the isotopic frequencies for the ν3 modes, the bond angles of TiS2, ZrS2, and HfS2 are determined as 113 ± 4°, 107 ± 4°, and 108 ± 4°. DFT/B3LYP calculations predict 1A1 ground states and bond angles of 113.3°, 108.5°, and 109.5°, for the MS2 molecules, M = Ti, Zr, and Hf, respectively, and frequencies in excellent agreement with the observed values. The same calculation also predicts 3Δ ground states for TiS and ZrS, the 1Σ+ ground state for HfS, and frequencies in agreement with the observed values.
Expenditure Switching and Exchange Rate Policy

Nominal exchange rate changes can lead to 'expenditure switching' when they change relative international prices. A traditional argument for flexible nominal exchange rates posits that when prices are sticky in producers' currencies, nominal exchange rate movements can change relative prices between home and foreign goods. But if prices are fixed ex ante in consumers' currencies, nominal exchange rate flexibility cannot achieve any relative price adjustment. In that case nominal exchange rate fluctuations have the undesirable feature that they lead to deviations from the law of one price. The case for floating exchange rates is weakened if prices are sticky in this way. The empirical literature appears to support the notion that prices are sticky in consumers' currencies. Here, additional support for this conclusion is provided. We then review some new approaches in the theoretical literature that imply an important expenditure-switching role even when consumer prices are sticky in consumers' currencies. Further empirical research is needed to resolve the quantitative importance of the expenditure-switching role for nominal exchange rates.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through, Exchange Rate Volatility, and Exchange Rate Disconnect

This paper explores the hypothesis that high volatility of real and nominal exchange rates may be due to the fact that local currency pricing eliminates the pass-through from changes in exchange rates to consumer prices. Exchange rates may be highly volatile because in a sense they have little effect on macroeconomic variables. The paper shows the ingredients necessary to construct such an explanation for exchange rate volatility. In addition to the presence of local currency pricing, we need a) incomplete international financial markets, b) a structure of international pricing and product distribution such that wealth effects of exchange rate changes are minimized, and c) stochastic deviations from uncovered interest rate parity. Together, it is shown that these elements can produce exchange rate volatility that is much higher than shocks to economic fundamentals, and `disconnected' from the rest of the economy in the sense that the volatility of all other macroeconomic aggregates are of the same order as that of fundamentals.
A Comparative Study of Biopolymers from a Conventional and an Advanced Activated Sludge Treatment Plant

Biopolymer characteristics from a traditional and an advanced activated sludge treatment plant performing biological N and P removal were compared. The biopolymers were extracted using an ion exchange resin (DOWEX in Na-form). Differences between chemical compositions of the total sludges were observed by measuring protein, polysaccharide and uronic acids whereas differences in the same compounds were not found in the extracted biopolymers. High Pressure Size Exclusion Chromatography was performed on the two biopolymer matrixes and differences were found in the biopolymer matrixes. Biopolymers from the advanced treatment plant contained two fractions of large and hydrophobic compounds which contributed to a major fraction of the chromatogram area. These peaks could only to a minor extent be found in the extracted biopolymers from the traditional treatment plant.