Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proactive Management of Intraoperative Hypotension Reduces Biomarkers of Organ Injury and Oxidative Stress during Elective Non-Cardiac Surgery: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Intraoperative hypotension is associated with increased postoperative morbidity and mortality. Methods: We randomly assigned patients undergoing major general surgery to early warning system (EWS) and hemodynamic algorithm (intervention group, n = 20) or standard care (n = 20). The primary outcome was the difference in hypotension (defined as mean arterial pressure < 65 mmHg) and as secondary outcome surrogate markers of organ injury and oxidative stress. Results: The median number of hypotensive episodes was lower in the intervention group (−5.0 (95% CI: −9.0, −0.5); p < 0.001), with lower time spent in hypotension (−12.8 min (95% CI: −38.0, −2.3 min); p = 0.048), correspondent to −4.8% of total surgery time (95% CI: −12.7, 0.01%; p = 0.048). The median time-weighted average of hypotension was 0.12 mmHg (0.35) in the intervention group and 0.37 mmHg (1.11) in the control group, with a median difference of −0.25 mmHg (95% CI: −0.85, −0.01; p = 0.025). Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) correlated with time-weighted average of hypotension (R = 0.32; p = 0.038) and S100B with number of hypotensive episodes, absolute time of hypotension, relative time of hypotension and time-weighted average of hypotension (p < 0.001 for all). The intervention group showed lower Neuronal Specific Enolase (NSE) and higher reduced glutathione when compared to the control group. Conclusions: The use of an EWS coupled with a hemodynamic algorithm resulted in reduced intraoperative hypotension, reduced NSE and oxidative stress.
Does International Fragmentation of Production and Global Value Chains Participation Affect the Long-run Economic Growth?

This article aims to investigate whether the international fragmentation of production and the global value chains (hereafter GVCs) participation affects the economic growth for a set of 40 advanced and emerging economies. It considers four aspects related to the type of participation and position in GVCs captured by different value-added measures: (a) vertical specialisation index; (b) GVC participation index; (c) GVC position index in low-tech sectors; and (d) GVC position index in high-tech sectors. A panel autoregressive distributed lag (PARDL) model is pioneeringly employed to capture the long-term relationship between economic growth and our four measures for annual value-added data from 1995 to 2011, provided by the World Input–Output Tables (WIOT). The main long-run results indicate that (a) higher levels of international fragmentation of production and GVCs’ participation ensure higher GDP per capita growth rates; (b) the fragmentation and GVCs’ participation are more important to GDP growth than the gross exports as a percentage of GDP; (c) GVCs’ participation index, which considers both the ‘forward’ and ‘backward’ participation, is less important than the vertical specialisation, measured by the foreign intermediate imports; and (d the countries engaged in upstream positions in low-technology GVCs were positively and significantly benefitted in terms of growth. JEL Codes: F14, F43
Reply to Comment on “190Pt-186Os geochronometer reveals open system behaviour of 190Pt-4He isotope system” by Yakubovich et al. (2022)

Luguet et al. (2019) applied the Re-Os and Pt-Os chronometers to date the Pt mineralisation of the Kondyor Zoned Ultramafic Complex (ZUC) and suggested this to be ∼250-240 Ma and related to the subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk (MO) ocean seafloor under the Siberian craton. The discrepancy with the Early Cretaceous 190Pt-4He isochronal ages of Mochalov et al. (2016) led Luguet et al. (2019) to conclude that the 190Pt-4He chronometer was not robust due to the complex history of the Kondyor Pt mineralisation, thus not providing a meaningful insight into themineralisation age. Yakubovich et al. (2022) challenge these interpretations. There is however little controversy when the current Pt-Os (Luguet et al., 2019) and Pt-He (Mochalov et al., 2016) isotopic systems are considered together with regional geological history.
Mental, Physical and Socio-Economic Status of Adults Living in Spain during the Late Stages of the State of Emergency Caused by COVID-19

Research has shown that the confinement measures implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 can have negative effects on people’s lives at multiple levels. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to better understand the mental, physical, and socio-economic status of adults living in Spain during the late stages of the state of emergency caused by COVID-19. Five hundred and forty-four individuals responded to an online survey between 3 June and 30 July 2020. They were asked to report data about their mental and physical health, financial situation, and satisfaction with the information received about the pandemic. Means, percentages, t-test, ANOVAs, and logistic regressions were computed. A third of the participants reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, and worries about their health and the future. Participants also described mild levels of fatigue and pain during lockdown (66%), and a reduction in household income (39%). Respondents that were female, younger, single, and with lower levels of education reported experiencing a greater impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data showed that the negative effects of lockdown were present in the late stages of the state of emergency. The findings can be used to contribute to the development of programs to prevent or mitigate the negative impact of confinement measures.
Modelling Gait Attributes Using Single and Multiple Viewpoints for Human Identification

Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of this thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from their thesis.
Orion advanced precision airborne delivery system

Orion is a precision guided parafoil delivery system which uses G.P.S. position data. The ORION system development commenced in September 1990, initially as an upgrade to the ParaPoint System, and subsequently as a new system. The development has included 300 completely autonomous flights with parafoils from 288 W to 7360 ft2, with suspended payloads 200 lb to 28,000 Ib.
Assessing the Carbon Impact of ICT Measures: A Case Study Investigation Using Latis1 Model

ABSTRACT Fostering co-modality and consequently reducing carbon emissions is a leading objective of the Scottish and UK governments and the wider EU and worldwide community. The achievement of such goals can be facilitated by the adoption of ICT measures within the transport systems. Over recent years, many online and mobile applications have emerged which improve the usability and attractiveness of more sustainable transport modes (such as public transport, taxis, and cycling) and can help to utilise private cars more effectively by promoting and enabling car-sharing and car-pooling. The recently completed FP7 funded EU project COMPASS has investigated the impact of a range of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools which have the potential to improve co-modality. This paper discusses the results of Scotland specific modelling which demonstrates and quantifies the relative carbon/congestion reductions feasible from ICT measures to improve bus journey times and ICT measures to improve car-sharing. It may be seen that measures which act to decrease overall car usage have more impact on reduction of carbon emissions than measures to improve public transport travel-times.
Pericoronary Fat Attenuation Index Is Associated With Vulnerable Plaque Components and Local Immune‐Inflammatory Activation in Patients With Non‐ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background The pericoronary fat attenuation index (FAI) is assessed using standard coronary computed tomography angiography, and it has emerged as a novel imaging biomarker of coronary inflammation. The present study assessed whether increased pericoronary FAI values on coronary computed tomography angiography were associated with vulnerable plaque components and their intracellular cytokine levels in patients with non‐ST elevation acute coronary syndrome. Methods and Results A total of 195 lesions in 130 patients with non‐ST elevation acute coronary syndrome were prospectively included. Lesion‐specific pericoronary FAI, plaque components and other plaque features were evaluated by coronary computed tomography angiography. Local T cell subsets and their intracellular cytokine levels were detected by flow cytometry. Lesions with pericoronary FAI values >−70.1 Hounsfield units exhibited spotty calcification (43.1% versus 25.0%, P=0.015) and low‐attenuation plaques (17.6% versus 4.2%, P=0.016) more frequently than lesions with lower pericoronary FAI values. Further quantitative plaque compositional analysis showed that increased necrotic core volume (Pearson’s r=0.324, P<0.001) and fibrofatty volume (Pearson’s r=0.270, P<0.001) were positively associated with the pericoronary FAI, and fibrous volume (Pearson’s r=−0.333, P<0.001) showed a negative association. An increasing proinflammatory intracellular cytokine profile was found in lesions with higher pericoronary FAI values. Conclusions The pericoronary FAI may be a reliable indicator of local immune‐inflammatory response activation, which is closely related to plaque vulnerability. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials. gov; Unique identifier: NCT04792047.
Generation and characterisation of P. falciparum parasites with a G358S mutation in the PfATP4 Na+ pump and clinically relevant levels of resistance to some PfATP4 inhibitors

Small-molecule inhibitors of PfATP4, a Plasmodium falciparum protein that is believed to pump Na+ out of the parasite while importing H+, are on track to become much-needed new antimalarial drugs. The spiroindolone cipargamin is poised to become the first PfATP4 inhibitor to reach the field, having performed strongly in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. Previous attempts to generate cipargamin-resistant parasites in the laboratory have yielded parasites with reduced susceptibility to the drug; however, the highest 50% inhibitory concentration reported to date is 24 nM. Here, we show that P. falciparum parasites can acquire a clinically-significant level of resistance to cipargamin that enables them to withstand micromolar concentrations of the drug. Independent experiments to generate high-level cipargamin resistance using different protocols and strains led to the same change each time – a G358S mutation in PfATP4. Parasites with this mutation showed high-level resistance not only to cipargamin, but also to the dihydroisoquinolone (+)-SJ733. However, for certain other (less clinically advanced) PfATP4-associated compounds the G358S mutation in PfATP4 conferred only moderate resistance or no resistance. The G358S mutation in PfATP4 did not affect parasite susceptibility to antimalarials that do not target PfATP4. The G358S mutation in PfATP4, and the equivalent mutation in the Toxoplasma gondii ATP4 homologue (G419S), decreased the sensitivity of the Na+-ATPase activity of ATP4 to inhibition by cipargamin and (+)-SJ733, and decreased the sensitivity of parasites expressing these ATP4 mutations to disruption of parasite Na+ regulation by cipargamin- and (+)-SJ733. The G358S mutation in PfATP4 reduced the affinity of the protein for Na+ and was associated with an increase in the parasite’s resting cytosolic Na+ concentration; however, no significant defect in parasite growth rate was observed. Our findings suggest that codon 358 in pfatp4 should be monitored closely in the field as a molecular marker for cipargamin resistance, and that PfATP4 inhibitors in clinical development should be tested for their activity against PfATP4G358S parasites.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Poultry Farmers on Antimicrobial Use, Resistance and Farm Hygiene Management in Bangladesh

The poultry farming is considered one of the hotspots for the use of antimicrobials. The knowledge, attitude and practices of poultry farmers are closely associated with the prudent use of antimicrobials in poultry farm practices. A cross sectional study was conducted among seventy-four commercial poultry farms using a pretested structured questionnaire survey to assess knowledge, attitude and practices of the poultry farmers regarding antimicrobial use, resistance and farm hygiene management. According to demographics, more farmers were secondary holders (29.72%), followed by higher secondary (22.97%) and illiterate (12.16%) with least number (13.51%) had training on antibiotics but no one had training on AMR. Farmers had sufficient knowledge about antibiotics (86.49%) but inadequate knowledge about antimicrobials (14.86%), AMR (51.35%), and animal and fish feed act (20.27%). The majority of farmers strongly agreed that AMR had a negative impact on production (40.54%), human health (36.49%), environment (33.78%) and economy (52.7%). Farm hygiene management revealed that most of them (90.54%) thrown the expired and leftover antibiotics in the open environments. Furthermore, the farm litter was managed diversely with 39.19% kept in open pit; 33.78% used in fish farm and 5.41% used for agricultural land. It was observed that the dead birds were disposed in a variety of ways, buried into ground (58.10%), thrown into field (9.45%), thrown into bush (6.75%), thrown into garbage (9.45%) and thrown in the water (13.51%). A significant higher association was found between the level of education and knowledge; level of education with farm practices such as choice of antibiotics, determining doses and duration of antibiotics, disposal of farm wastages, disposal of dead birds, farm biosecurity and vaccination coverage (p<0.05). Continuous education, hands-on training, awareness, and motivation of farmers along with good biosecurity, mass vaccination and proper hygienic measures can minimize the uses of antimicrobials in farm operations.
Binary Graph Descriptor for Robust Relocalization on Heterogeneous Data

In this letter, we propose a novelbinary graph descriptor to improve loop detection for visual SLAM systems. Our contribution is twofold: i) a graph embedding technique for generating binary descriptors which conserve both spatial and histogram information extracted from images; ii) a generic mean of combining multiple layers of heterogeneous data into the proposed binary graph descriptor, coupled with a matching and geometric checking method. We also introduce an implementation of our descriptor into an incremental Bag-of-Words (iBoW) structure that improves efficiency and scalability, and propose a method to interpret Deep Neural Network (DNN) results. We evaluate our system on synthetic and real datasets across different lighting and seasonal conditions. The proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art loop detection frameworks in terms of relocalization precision and computational performance, as well as displays high robustness against cross-condition datasets.
A Systematic Review of Behavior-Outcome Psychological Assessments as Correlates of Suicidality

Abstract Aim Identifying correlates of suicidality is an important goal for suicide researchers because these correlates may predict suicidal behaviors. Psychological tasks that assess sensitivity to the outcomes of actions (i.e., consequence-based learning) have been commonly used by researchers seeking to identify correlates of suicidality. This is likely due to the straightforward integration of the tasks within most theoretical frameworks for understanding suicidality. Contextual factors have been shown to have a substantial effect on responding in behavior-outcome tasks. However, the direct relevance of these factors as determinants of behavior in suicide research is not clear. Thus, the purpose of this review was to assess the role of context in tasks involving behavior-outcome relations in suicide research. Methods Four databases were searched using terms from general learning theory. Articles that featured evaluation of tasks with hypothetical or real outcomes to differentiate suicidality were included. Results Eighty-two studies met inclusion criteria. Across studies there were 27 different tasks. Most instances of tasks across studies involved rewards (76.9%), while others emphasized punishment (15.7%), social (5.6%), or virtual suicide (1.8%) outcomes. Differentiation of suicidality was detected by 43.4%, 64.7%, 83.3%, and 50% of tasks featuring reward, punishment, social contexts, and virtual suicide respectively. All but five studies were retrospective. Conclusion Tasks that more closely mimic contexts and outcomes related to suicide appear to produce more pronounced differentiation of people with suicidality from people without suicidality. The lack of prospective designs is an important limitation of the literature. HIGHLIGHTS Tasks that involve punishment or social outcomes better discriminate suicidality. Reward-based tasks are overused in suicide research. The conditioning hypothesis of suicidality is closely aligned with the literature. Only 5 of 82 studies incorporated prospective measures.
Thinking through the s(k)in

ABSTRACT Indonesian male-bodied and feminine identified subjects, locally and internationally known as waria, commonly claim to have the heart and soul of a woman. While waria form a visible social category, they suffer from various prevailing stigmas, of which a significant share is tied to some cultural assumptions embedded in the mainstream understanding of Islamic morality. While most waria do not feel comfortable practising their religion in public, many describe their subjectivity along the distinction between their bodies and their inner sense of gender as God’s will. Consequently, permanent bodily modifications are associated with the notion of sin. These conceptions have enabled a specific form of Indonesian transgender embodiment. This article addresses the bodily negotiations of waria against the background of their religious sensitivities and aspirations for belonging. The spiritually grounded sentiments in relation to their bodies and the sense of gender on one hand, and the signs of increased focus on embodied expression of religiosity among waria on the other, signal the desire for reimagining belonging to Indonesian (Muslim) society. Religious sensitivity, while being the major cause of anxieties on both personal and societal levels, has provided waria with important frameworks which enhance their own relative acceptance of their embodied subjectivity.
Identification of Therapeutic Targets and Prognostic Biomarkers among Genes from the Mediator Complex Family in the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tumour-Immune Microenvironment

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is predominant among all types of primary liver cancers characterised by high morbidity and mortality. Genes in the mediator complex (MED) family are engaged in the tumour-immune microenvironment and function as regulatory hubs mediating carcinogenesis and progression across diverse cancer types. Whereas research studies have been conducted to examine the mechanisms in several cancers, studies that systematically focused on the therapeutic and prognostic values of MED in patients with HCC are limited. Methods The online databases ONCOMINE, GEPIA, UALCAN, GeneMANIA, cBioPortal, OmicStudio, STING, Metascape, and TIMER were used in this study. Results The transcriptional levels of all members of the MED family in HCC presented an aberrant high expression pattern. Significant correlations were found between the MED1, MED6, MED8, MED10, MED12, MED15, MED17, MED19, MED20, MED21, MED22, MED23, MED24, MED25, MED26, and MED27 expression levels and the pathological stage in the patients with HCC. The patients with high expression levels of MED6, MED8, MED10, MED17, MED19, MED20, MED21, MED22, MED24, and MED25 were significantly associated with poor prognosis. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the members of the MED family were mainly enriched in the nucleobase-containing compound catabolic process, regulation of chromosome organisation, and transcriptional regulation by TP53. Significant correlations were found between the MED6, MED8, MED10, MED17, MED19, MED20, MED21, MED22, MED24, and MED25 expression levels and all types of immune cells (B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells). B cells and MED8 were independent predictors of overall survival. We found significant correlations between the somatic copy number alterations of the MED6, MED8, MED10, MED20, MED21, MED22, MED24, and MED25 molecules and the abundance of immune infiltrates. Conclusions Our study delineated a thorough landscape to investigate the therapeutic and prognostic potentials of the MED family for HCC cases, which yielded promising results for the development of immunotherapeutic drugs and construction of a prognostic stratification model.
Vitamin D Inhibits IL-6 Pro-Atherothrombotic Effects in Human Endothelial Cells: A Potential Mechanism for Protection against COVID-19 Infection?

Background: Thrombosis with cardiovascular involvement is a crucial complication in COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 infects the host by the angiotensin converting enzyme-2 receptor (ACE2r), which is expressed in endothelial cells too. Thus, COVID-related thrombotic events might be due to endothelial dysfunction. IL-6 is one of the main cytokines involved in the COVID-19 inflammatory storm. Some evidence indicates that Vitamin D (VitD) has a protective role in COVID-19 patients, but the molecular mechanisms involved are still debated. Thus, we investigated the effect of VitD on Tissue Factor and adhesion molecules (CAMs) in IL-6-stimulated endothelial cells (HUVEC). Moreover, we evaluated levels of the ACE2r gene and proteins. Finally, we studied the modulation of NF-kB and STAT3 pathways. Methods: HUVEC cultivated in VitD-enriched medium were stimulated with IL-6 (0.5 ng/mL). The TF gene (RT-PCR), protein (Western blot), surface expression (FACS) and procoagulant activity (FXa generation assay) were measured. Similarly, CAMs soluble values (ELISA) and ACE2r (RT-PCR and Western blot) levels were assessed. NF-kB and STAT3 modulation (Western blot) were also investigated. Results: VitD significantly reduced TF expression at both gene and protein levels as well as TF-procoagulant activity in IL-6-treated HUVEC. Similar effects were observed for CAMs and ACE2r expression. IL-6 modulates these effects by regulating NF-κB and STAT3 pathways. Conclusions: IL-6 induces endothelial dysfunction with TF and CAMs expression via upregulation of ACE2r. VitD prevented these IL-6 deleterious effects. Thus, it might be speculated that this is one of the hypothetical mechanism(s) by which VitD exerts its beneficial effects in COVID-19 infection.