Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Newly Diagnosed Multifocal GBM: A Monocentric Experience and Literature Review

Simple Summary Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor with a dismal prognosis. In a minority of cases, it presents with multiple lesions already at the time of diagnosis, affecting patients’ survival and treatment. Our retrospective study aims to increase the current understanding and define a treatment for this sub-entity, to improve patient survival. Chemoradiotherapy is a also safe and efficacy treatment in patients with multiple lesions. Survival advantages from extensive resection remain unclear. Abstract Glioblastomas with multiple foci at presentation (mGBMs) account for 2–35% of all GBMs. mGBMs have limited existing data and no standardized treatment. This study aims to determine their incidence, demographic and clinical features, outcome, and prognostic factors in terms of overall survival. We performed a monocentric retrospective study, reviewing patients treated at the Istituto Oncologico Veneto. Inclusion criteria were: new diagnosis of GBM and presence of multiple lesions on pre-treatment MRI. ECOG PS was used to evaluate clinical condition, RANO criteria for radiological assessment, and CTCAE v5.0 for treatment-related adverse events. The incidence of newly diagnosed mGBM was 7.2% and the study population consisted of 98 patients. Median age was 63 years, M:F ratio of 1.8:1, and a surgical approach was undertaken in 73 patients (mostly partial resection). MGMT was methylated in 47.5%, and 82 patients received active oncological treatment (65.9% radiotherapy plus temozolomide (RT + TMZ)). The disease control rate with RT + TMZ was 63%. Median OS of the entire study population was 10.2 months (95% CI 6.6–13.8), and median PFS was 4.2 months (95% CI 3.2–5.2). The ECOG PS, the extent of resection, and the RT + TMZ were significant prognostic factors in the univariate analysis for OS, but only the RT + TMZ was a significant independent OS predictor in the multivariate analysis (HR = 3.1, 95% IC 1.3–7.7, p = 0.014). The incidence of mGBM is not rare. RT + TMZ is confirmed to be an independent prognostic factor for survival and a safe and effective treatment. When feasible, RT + TMZ should be considered as a possible first-line treatment. The role of the extent of resection is still unclear.
Elastic Properties of Poly(ethylene glycol) Nanomembranes and Respective Implications

Free-standing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) membranes were prepared from amine- and epoxy-terminated four-arm STAR-PEG precursors in a thickness range of 40–320 nm. The membranes feature high stability and an extreme elasticity, as emphasized by the very low values of Young’s modulus, varying from 2.08 MPa to 2.6 MPa over the studied thickness range. The extreme elasticity of the membranes stems from the elastomer-like character of the PEG network, consisting of the STAR-PEG cores interconnected by crosslinked PEG chains. This elasticity is only slightly affected by a moderate reduction in the interconnections at a deviation from the standard 1:1 composition of the precursors. However, both the elasticity and stability of the membranes are strongly deteriorated by a strong distortion of the network imposed by electron irradiation of the membranes. In contrast, exposure of the membranes to ultraviolet (UV) light (254 nm) does not affect their elastic properties, supporting the assumption that the only effect of such treatment is the decomposition of the PEG material with subsequent desorption of the released fragments. An analysis of the data allowed for the exclusion of so called “hot electrons” as a possible mechanism behind the modification of the PEG membranes by UV light.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERCEPTION OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG GENERAL NURSING STUDENTS IN SELECTED INSTITUTES OF HEALTH SCIENCES, BOTSWANA

Objective : The study sought to determine the relationship between the students’ perception of the learning environment and their academic performance using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). Methodology : Deploying a cross-sectional design, quantitative data were collected using a self-administered DREEM questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse univariate data, while the Chi-square test was deployed to analyse bivariate data. Findings : Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents had a GPA ranging between 3.1 and 4.0, while two in every 10 (22%) had a GPA greater than 4.0, and 14% had a GPA of between 2.1-and 3.0. The relationship between the learning environment and performance at 95% CI had p=0.903, with student perception of the setting and course organisers scoring the lowest, p=0.639 and P=0.626, respectively. Conclusion and Recommendation : Based on the key findings, the perception of the learning environment does not influence the academic performance of the general nursing students. Further research on the influence of the learning environment on student performance is recommended. perception of the learning environment was better compared to the lower achievers or performers. The association was also different at different subscales of the DREEM tool. The association of high academic performance was higher in high DREEM scores in perception of the academic self. This implies that although there is an association of perception of learning environment and academic performance, the association also varies at different DREEM subscales. This was confirmed in a study conducted in Pakistan by Nouh et al (2016) which identified that there was a low but yet positive significance relationship between the learning environment and the GPA. However, on further analysis of the subscales it was found that the correlation coefficient of DREEM with GPA was higher in high score of perception of atmosphere, social –self-perception. This shows that all the subscales of the DREEM are very important and that different components of the learning contribute differently to the learning outcome of the students. self-administered questionnaire was used to link the academic performances of the students. These results were used as the measure for the dependent variable (GPA). Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. DREEM scores against academic performance were compared using chi-square test.
Mycorrhizal fungi isolated from Chilean orchids as biocontrollers of the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani

Phytopatogenic fungi cause severe economic losses worldwide. Rhizoctonia solani Kühn is a pathogenic fungi affecting several crops, controlled mainly by agrochemicals. Biological control has arisen as another option for managing this pathogen. In this study, we evaluated the biocontroller potential of five orchid mycorrhizal fungi (OMF) isolated from terrestrial Chilean orchids on R. solani . We compared the biocontroller effect of these OMFs with that of Trichoderma harzianum Rifai in an in vitro dual culture experiment. We found that R. solani can be controlled in vitro by OMF isolated from native orchids. The OMF isolated from Chloraea virescens and C. lamellata showed the best biocontroller results, which were similar, or even higher, than with T. harzianum . Thus, OMFs could become a relevant alternative for the integral control of R. solani, contributing to the reduction in the use of agrochemicals in crops.
VLDB 2021 Crowd Science Challenge on Aggregating Crowdsourced Audio Transcriptions

The growing interest in automatic speech recognition methods urges new high-quality datasets and benchmarks for reproducible and reliable evaluation. Crowdsourcing has become an efficient way for audio transcriptions in real-world applications, such as call centers and voice assistants. However, as the recordings’ difficulty and the expertise of the crowd workers vary, each recording is usually transcribed by multiple workers, raising the need for principled aggregation methods for word sequences from multiple noisy inputs. This paper reviews the crowdsourced audio transcription shared task devoted to this problem and co-organized with the Crowd Science Workshop at VLDB 2021; the competition attracted 18 participants, 8 of them have successfully beaten our non-trivial baselines. We describe the task dataset, evaluation criterion, competition timeline, as well as the proposed baselines and participating systems. The winning systems treated the difficult crowdsourced sequence aggregation task as the better-studied text summarization task, enabling fine-tuned large-scale language models to establish the new state-of-the-art in this problem.
Medication Adherence Among Patients with Multimorbidity in the United Arab Emirates

Background: Multimorbidity, defined as having two or more chronic diseases, has a major impact on public health and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This study aims to assess the prevalence of medication adherence and associated factors among patients with multimorbidity. Methods: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted by a trained interviewer across patients with multimorbidity attending outpatient clinics in two tertiary referral hospitals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Demographic and social variables and the outcome (self-reported adherence to long-term medication) were measured using the General Medication Adherence Scale (GMAS). Multiple logistic regression was used to assess medication adherence and associated factors. Results: From a total of 630 participants included in this study, the estimated prevalence of high medication adherence is 78.57% (±1.63478) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) [75.19, 81.61]. The odds of high medication adherence increased with age. The odds of high medication adherence for patients aged 66 years and older than those aged 19–35 years is adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.880, with a 95% CI [1.124, 13.390]. Patients with income more than 50,000 had the odds, AOR = 5.169 with a 95% CI [1.282, 20.843], compared to those earning less than 10,000 Dirhams (AED). Patients aged 36–65 with health insurance coverage had higher medication adherence than groups on the other end. The number of current medications is significantly (p-value = 0.027) associated with high medication adherence with the odds of high medication adherence, AOR = 4.529 with a 95% CI [1.184, 17.326], the highest for those currently taking four medications. Conclusion: This study highlights younger population having multimorbidity in the context of an increasing life expectancy and suboptimal therapeutic outcomes. Furthermore, the study highlights multimorbidity is associated with low medication adherence and out-of-pocket payment, and non-availability of insurance is a major hindrance to medication adherence. differing determinants
Three-Dimensional DV-Hop Localization Algorithm Based on Hop Size Correction and Improved Sparrow Search

Acquiring precise localization information of sensor nodes is very important in wireless sensor networks. The 3DDV-hop localization algorithm suffers from large localization errors and high energy consumption. In order to improve positioning accuracy and reduce energy consumption, a 3DDV-hop node localization algorithm (3D-HCSSA) based on hop size correction and improved sparrow search optimization is proposed. The algorithm redefines the amendment factor and reduces the cumulative error caused by the hop counts in the traditional algorithm. A maximum distance similar link method based on a similar path search is proposed to find the most similar known node path pair from the target node to the noncoplanar known node link and correct the hop size between multihop counts. The sparrow search algorithm is improved by using the k -means clustering and sine cosine search strategy, which solves the problem that the traditional sparrow algorithm is easy to fall into the local optimum, accelerates the convergence speed, corrects the position deviation of the target node, and improves the positioning accuracy. Experiments demonstrate that the 3D-HCSSA algorithm can improve positioning accuracy and reduce energy consumption. Compared with the 3DDV-hop algorithm, 3D-GAIDV-hop algorithm, and HCLSO-3D algorithm, the 3D-HCSSA positioning accuracy is significantly improved.
Steroid-responsive nephrotic

The large and detailed survey by Meadow et al.1 2 on the incidence of allergic features in steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) differs in some ways from our recent findings.3 In 42 SRNS children associated with minimal glomerular changes we could not find a statistically significant difference between the frequency of allergic disorders, the serum levels of total IgE, and the incidence of allergen specific IgE antibodies in serum as detected by RAST,* and furthermore there were fewer positive skin prick tests. Our data do not support the hypothesis that IgE mediated hypersensitivity plays a general role in the pathogenesis of SRNS, but they strengthen the view that in a small group of children with SRNS who are characterised by the coincidence of a clear history of allergy, a positive skin prick test, and high specific IgE antibodies to certain allergens, this pathogenesis must be considered. Some discrepancies between the results of Meadow et al. and our own study must be owing to differences in the selection of patients and control subjects as well as to the interpretation of skin tests and laboratory data. As in other investigations4 the great majority of children in the Leeds study had a SRNS characterised by frequent relapses, whereas 26% of our patients were non-relapsers or ones who seldom relapsed in whom the proportion of positive atopic histories or abnormal allergic tests was low. Of 16 cases in our steroid-dependent group (which had the highest number of relapses) five were labelled as atopic, a proportion similar to that in the whole British series.1 The control population studied by Meadow et al. may be biased by the exclusion of children with primary atopy, in contrast to our own controls. Our criteria for accepting a skin test or RAST as pathological were stricter; a weal of 2 mm diameter regarded by Meadow et al. as a positive skin test was classified as 1+ (negative) by us. Results of RASTs were graded in our study, and classified as pathological only if
The Influence of Pathological Situations on Churches’ Functionality: An Approach Based on Historical Records

ABSTRACT This study identifies the main anomalies that may occur in historical buildings, analyzing their related causes, and estimating the influence of pathological situations on the buildings’ functionality. This information is essential to support qualified, conscientious, and sustainable rehabilitation interventions on sets of heritage buildings with homogeneous constructive characteristics. A fuzzy expert system was used to estimate the serviceability of buildings, performed based on historical records, over a long period of time, evaluating the influence of the pathological situations to establish the rehabilitation actions. The methodology includes 17 variables, (vulnerabilities and external risks damages), which determine a functionality index of the constructions analyzed. The application of historical data allows knowing the past behavior and performance of the buildings. These data can provide useful information for the definition of preventive maintenance plans, considering financial, social, and environmental requirements and their more frequent anomalies. A total of 390 records in a sample of 20 parish churches located in southwestern Spain were gathered. This study discussed the effects of the most common anomalies observed in these buildings, concluding that controlling moisture and timber-related anomalies is crucial to ensure the building’s serviceability over time.
The Health-Sustaining, Moderating, and Mediating Roles of Sense of Coherence in the Relationship between Fear of COVID-19 and Burnout among South African Teachers

The current study focuses on the interrelationship between fear of COVID-19, sense of coherence, and burnout. Participants (n = 355) were school teachers from across all provinces in South Africa who completed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. It was hypothesized that the dimensions of sense of coherence would be directly associated with burnout and would also mediate or moderate the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and burnout. The results of the path and moderation analyses conducted confirmed this hypothesis. In particular, the health-sustaining role of sense of coherence was demonstrated through the significant direct associations between comprehensibility and manageability on one hand and emotional exhaustion, as well as depersonalization, on the other hand. In addition, meaningfulness had significant direct associations with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Meaningfulness mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and all burnout subscales, while comprehensibility and manageability only mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and both emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. However, comprehensibility and manageability played a moderating role in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and personal accomplishment. These findings confirm the crucial role of protective factors, such as sense of coherence, and highlights the need for interventions that could strengthen these resources within teachers.
TITLE: Older Adults’ Perceptions of Early Rehabilitation and Recovery after Hip Fracture Surgery-A UK Qualitative Study RUNNING HEAD: Perceptions of Rehabilitation after Hip Fracture

Purpose: To explore older adult’s perceptions of early rehabilitation and recovery after hip fracture, as a complement to the UK standards for acute physiotherapy after hip fracture. Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 adults aged 60 years or more in hospital after hip fracture surgery. A thematic analysis approach with interpretation informed by Bury’s Biographical Disruption theoretical framework. Results: Participants voiced the importance of self-determination, professional support, meaningful feedback, and social capital after hip fracture. Collaborative working with staff was required for meeting the UK standards. Participants voiced anxieties about their hip fracture when considered in conjunction with their age and co-existing conditions, anticipating a disruption to their previous
Religiosity, morality and hardworking: Relationship models on diversity of religion in Indonesia

This study aims to examine the model of religious relations, morality, and hard work among young people with the diversity of religions in Indonesia. Religion is valued by extrinsic and intrinsic religious orientations. This research was conducted using students at a private religious-based university in Yogyakarta. By using 991 students, it was found that on average young people use extrinsic religious orientation as a way to achieve their life goals. The results of this study also showed that the two religious orientations, morality, and hardworking were correlated. Both the religious orientation and morality of young people directly influence their hardworking behavior. However, the results of mediation model testing using structural equation modeling found that only intrinsic religious orientation has an effect on morality. Morality and extrinsic religious orientation have a direct effect on hardworking. In other words, morality mediates the influence of intrinsic religious orientation on hardworking behavior. An in-depth discussion of the results of this study is presented in the discussion section.
Application of Nanotechnology in Remediation of Heavy Metals Polluted Soils

: Nanotechnology offers a number of highly efficient and less costly techniques that could work to immobilize contaminants. Nano-particles; nano scale zero valent iron “nZVI”, nZVI-benton ite, nanoalginite, and nano carbon; are used as a potential sorbents to immobilize Cd and Pb in polluted soils. These nano-particles are prepared in lab either using top-down or bottom-up methods, then characterized using transmission electron microscope (TEM). The prepared nano-particles proved to have very small size (less than 70 nm), high surface area (194.2-259.7 m 2 /g) and cation exchange capacity (42.5-47.7 Cmolc/kg). Also, the prepared nano-particles proved high adsorption capacity for Pb and Cd, and high retention for the adsorbate metal. The maximum adsorption capacity of nano-particles ranged from 37450-93450 and 17850-25970 mg kg -1 for Pb and Cd, respectively. Moreover, except for nano carbon, only small quantities represent 10.8-33.4% and 13.7-35.6% of the previously adsorbed Cd and Pb, respectively, were desorbed. The tested nano particles proved high efficiency in immobilizing Cd and Pb in polluted soils. The plant available Pb and Cd as extracted using DTPA extract in polluted soils treated with nano particles decreased to levels lower than those (0.06 and 2.88 mg/kg, for Cd and Pb, respectively) reported for non-polluted soils of Egypt.
A Capital Asset Pricing Model with Idiosyncratic Risk and the A Capital Asset Pricing Model with Idiosyncratic Risk and the Sources of the Beta Anomaly Sources of the Beta Anomaly

We introduce a generalization of the classical capital asset pricing model in which market uncertainty, market sentiment, and forms of idiosyncratic volatility and idiosyncratic skewness are priced in equilibrium. We derive two versions of the model, one based on a representative agent who cares about three criteria (risk, robustness, and expected returns), and the other with a microfoundation based on three types of investors (speculators, hedgers, and arbitrageurs). We apply the resulting capital asset pricing model with idiosyncratic risk (IR-CAPM) to provide a new theoretical account of the beta anomaly, one of the most fundamental and widely studied empirical limitations of the CAPM. We show that the IR-CAPM explains the main conditional relationships involving the beta anomaly in the literature including the time variation of the beta anomaly across optimistic and pessimistic periods and across high and low uncertainty periods, the relationship between the beta anomaly and the correlation between a stock’s beta and its idiosyncratic volatility, and the concentration of the beta anomaly among stocks with high idiosyncratic maximum returns.