Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical Performance of Two Automated Immunoassays, EliA CTD Screen and QUANTA Flash CTD Screen Plus, for Antinuclear Antibody Screening

Background Recently, two fully automated immunoassays for antinuclear antibody (ANA) screening were introduced EliA CTD Screen (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Freiburg, Germany) and QUANTA Flash CTD Screen Plus (Inova Diagnostics, San Diego, USA). We evaluated their clinical performance in comparison with the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) and analyzed samples with discrepant results. Methods In total, 406 serum samples (206 from patients undergoing routine checkups and 200 from rheumatology clinic patients) were assayed using EliA, QUANTA Flash, and IIFA. We evaluated assay concordance and agreement and confirmed the presence of anti-extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) antibodies in samples with discrepant automated immunoassay and IIFA results. Additionally, we compared the clinical performance of each assay in diagnosing ANA-associated rheumatic disease (AARD) and adjusted the cut-off values. Results In rheumatology clinic samples, the concordance and agreement were 91.5% and strong between EliA and QUANTA Flash, 79.0% and weak between EliA and IIFA, and 80.5% and moderate between QUANTA Flash and IIFA, respectively. In automated immunoassay-positive, IIFA-negative samples (N=15), all anti-ENA antibodies detected (6/15) were anti-Sjögren’s syndrome antigen A/Ro (Ro60) antibodies. The automated immunoassays and IIFA showed high accuracy for diagnosing AARD, and adjusted cut-off values improved their sensitivities (EliA with 0.56 ratio, 82.9% sensitivity; QUANTA Flash with 9.7 chemiluminescent units, 87.8% sensitivity). Conclusions The two automated immunoassays showed reliable performance compared with IIFA and can be efficiently used with the IIFA in clinical immunology laboratories. Clinical cut-off values can be adjusted according to the workflow in each laboratory.
The prognostic significance of microRNA-221 in hepatocellular carcinoma: An updated meta-analysis

Background Recently, microRNA-221 has been found to be abnormally expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma; however, its clinical value has not been summarised. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the prognostic significance of miR-221 in hepatocellular carcinoma. Material and Methods PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, EMbase, Google Scholar, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, CBM, VIP and Wanfang databases were searched for eligible articles. The endpoints included overall survival, progression-free survival, recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival, disease-free survival. Hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to explore the relationship between miR-221 expression and clinical survival results of liver cancer patients. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed. Begg’s test and Egger’s test were conducted to evaluate publication bias. Results A total of nine studies including 607 patients were recruited for this meta-analysis. The pooled hazard ratios displayed that high miR-221 expression was remarkably associated with poorer overall survival (hazard ratio = 1.91, 95% confidence interval: 1.53–2.38, p ＜ 0.01) and unfavourable progression-free survival/recurrence-free survival/metastasis-free survival/disease-free survival (hazard ratio = 2.02, 95% confidence interval: 1.58–2.57, p ＜ 0.01). The results of Begg’s test and Egger’s test did not exhibit obvious publication bias. Conclusions High expression of miR-221 can predict poor outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma. miR-221 can be used as a promising prognostic biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Introducing patient and public involvement practices to healthcare research in Austria: strategies to promote change at multiple levels

Background Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research is well-established in the UK. However, it can be challenging to introduce PPI to research communities where there is limited prior knowledge, experience or appreciation of PPI. We aimed to explore current PPI practices, experiences and ethical and operational challenges with PPI within our own research community in Austria, to inform strategies for supporting PPI in Austria going forward. Methods We surveyed scientists at 21 research institutes of the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft (LBG) and representatives of 32 medical and university research ethics committees in Austria using online questionnaires. We analysed quantitative data using descriptive statistics, and we collated textual responses to open questions. We combined survey data with anecdotal evidence from our personal experience to summarise current challenges around implementing PPI in Austria. Results Nineteen scientists from nine research institutes indicated generally positive attitudes towards PPI. However, the majority reported they rarely or never involved patients and members of the public in roles of consultation, collaboration or control in research. Six of eight ethics committees were unfamiliar with PPI. We discern five current challenges to implementing PPI in Austria: lack of knowledge and skills for PPI among scientists, scepticism about the usefulness of PPI, conflation of PPI with qualitative research, uncertainty about ethical requirements for PPI and uncertainty about publishing PPI activities. Discussion We suggest that the provision of guidance about ethical requirements of PPI is a strategic priority. To address this, and following on from a recently introduced PPI training and grant scheme by the LBG, our surveys have initiated a dialogue with ethics committees and have informed the development of a checklist for ethical aspects of PPI. Conclusion Our experiences may provide useful examples to others who seek to introduce or strengthen PPI practices within their own research communities.
Left-right side-specific endocrine signaling complements neural pathways to mediate acute asymmetric effects of brain injury

Brain injuries can interrupt descending neural pathways that convey motor commands from the cortex to spinal motoneurons. Here, we demonstrate that a unilateral injury of the hindlimb sensorimotor cortex of rats with completely transected thoracic spinal cord produces hindlimb postural asymmetry with contralateral flexion and asymmetric hindlimb withdrawal reflexes within 3 hr, as well as asymmetry in gene expression patterns in the lumbar spinal cord. The injury-induced postural effects were abolished by hypophysectomy and were mimicked by transfusion of serum from animals with brain injury. Administration of the pituitary neurohormones β-endorphin or Arg-vasopressin-induced side-specific hindlimb responses in naive animals, while antagonists of the opioid and vasopressin receptors blocked hindlimb postural asymmetry in rats with brain injury. Thus, in addition to the well-established involvement of motor pathways descending from the brain to spinal circuits, the side-specific humoral signaling may also add to postural and reflex asymmetries seen after brain injury.
Recognizing normal reproductive biology: A comparative analysis of variability in menstrual cycle biomarkers in German and Bolivian women

The idealized “normal” menstrual cycle typically comprises a coordinated ebb and flow of hormones over a 28‐day span with ovulation invariably shown at the midpoint. It's a pretty picture—but rare. Systematic studies have debunked the myth that cycles occur regularly about every 28 days. However, assumptions persist regarding the extent and normalcy of variation in other cycle biomarkers. The processes of judging which phenotypic variants are “normal” is context dependent. In everyday life, normal is that which is most commonly seen. In biomedicine normal is often defined as an arbitrarily bounded portion of the phenotype's distribution about its statistical mean. Standards thus defined in one population are problematic when applied to other populations; population specific standards may also be suspect. Rather, recognizing normal female reproductive biology in diverse human populations requires specific knowledge of proximate mechanisms and functional context. Such efforts should be grounded in an empirical assessment of phenotypic variability. We tested hypotheses regarding cycle biomarker variability in women from a wealthy industrialized population (Germany) and a resource‐limited rural agropastoral population (Bolivia). Ovulatory cycles in both samples displayed marked but nonetheless comparable variability in all cycle biomarkers and similar means/medians for cycle and phase lengths. Notably, cycle and phase lengths are poor predictors of mid‐luteal progesterone concentrations. These patterns suggest that global and local statistical criteria for “normal” cycles would be difficult to define. A more productive approach involves elucidating the causes of natural variation in ovarian cycling and its consequences for reproductive success and women's health.
The Anxiety Factor: Moral Traditionalism, Interpersonal Contact Diversity and Support for Transgender Candidates and Rights

ABSTRACT Given the prejudice against transgender people and the setbacks faced by transgender political candidates, an online survey was conducted (among a convenience sample of American adults recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk) to investigate what influence public support for transgender candidates and rights and how to increase such support. The study found that moral traditionalism was negatively associated with support for transgender candidates and rights. The diversity of interpersonal contact with transgender individuals not only was positively related to the support but undermined the negative relationships between moral traditionalism and the support. More importantly, the study showed that anxiety toward transgender people mediated all the relationships observed here. These findings not only indicate how and why moral traditionalism and interpersonal contact diversity may affect public opinion toward transgender candidates and rights but also suggest ways to increase public support for transgender candidates and rights.
More Than 50 Long-Term Effects of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, can involve sequelae and other medical complications that last weeks to months after initial recovery, which has come to be called Long-COVID or COVID long-haulers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify studies assessing long-term effects of COVID-19 and estimates the prevalence of each symptom, sign, or laboratory parameter of patients at a post-COVID-19 stage. Methods. LitCOVID (PubMed and Medline) and Embase were searched by two independent researchers. All articles with original data for detecting long-term COVID-19 published before 1st of January 2021 and with a minimum of 100 patients were included. For effects reported in two or more studies, meta-analyses using a random-effects model were performed using the MetaXL software to estimate the pooled prevalence with 95% CI. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistics. This systematic review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviewers and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, although the study protocol was not registered. Results. A total of 18,251 publications were identified, of which 15 met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of 55 long-term effects was estimated, 21 meta-analyses were performed, and 47,910 patients were included. The follow-up time ranged from 14 to 110 days post-viral infection. The age of the study participants ranged between 17 and 87 years. It was estimated that 80% (95% CI 65–92) of the patients that were infected with SARS-CoV-2 developed one or more long-term symptoms. The five most common symptoms were fatigue (58%), headache (44%), attention disorder (27%), hair loss (25%), and dyspnea (24%). All meta-analyses showed medium (n=2) to high heterogeneity (n=13). Conclusions. In order to have a better understanding, future studies need to stratify by sex, age, previous comorbidities, the severity of COVID-19 (ranging from asymptomatic to severe), and duration of each symptom. From the clinical perspective, multi-disciplinary teams are crucial to developing preventive measures, rehabilitation techniques, and clinical management strategies with whole-patient perspectives designed to address long COVID-19 care.
Towards understanding the salt-intercalation exfoliation of graphite into graphene

The preparation of graphene from graphite is critical for both theoretical studies and real-world applications. Herein, we present a systematic study to explore the fundamental factors that control the exfoliation of graphite into graphene in a salt-intercalation exfoliation system, using various inorganic salts as intercalators. The yields of the thin graphene sheets obtained, measured via UV-vis absorption spectrophotometry, suggest that both cations and anions significantly influence the exfoliation yields. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis showed that both anions and cations become inserted into the space between conjugated graphite layers during the intercalation process. X-ray diffraction spectra revealed that the anion can enhance the salt-intercalation exfoliation by expanding the interlayer spacing. Compared to lithium chloride, both potassium chloride and lithium sulfate can significantly enhance the exfoliation yields of graphene. Optimizing the cation and anion species can improve the yield of graphene, because co-intercalation with both anions and cations occurs during the intercalation process in the solution of inorganic salts. Our work provides a guide for rationally designing the salt-intercalation exfoliation procedure to obtain higher yields of exfoliated 2D materials.
Idiosyncratic Firm Risk , Cash Holdings and Lumpy Investment ∗

In this work I explore the hypothesis that the trend increase in firm-level risk, measured as the volatility of cash-flow growth rate, is a main driver of the long-run increase in cash holdings by firms over the last decades. I document a novel stylized fact: the impact of firm level uncertainty on cash holdings is stronger for firms that belong to sectors with greater skewness and kurtosis in investment rates. To rationalize this empirical finding I build a dynamic model in which financially constrained firms face uncertainty about future revenues and are subject to fixed adjustment costs of investment. In the model the degree of investment lumpiness is key to amplify the effects of volatility on cash holdings. The model is estimated on the Compustat data and used in a number of counterfactual experiments. I find that the increase in firm level volatility can explain almost 90% of the observed increase in cash holdings in the period 19802010. Furthermore, if non-convex investment frictions are absent, the increase in cash generated by higher uncertainty is reduced by half. JEL Classification: E22, D22, E32, G31.
Jinhong Yuan Hybrid Beamforming for Terahertz Wireless Communications : Challenges , Architectures , and Open Problems

Terahertz (THz) communications are regarded as a pillar technology for 6G wireless systems, by offering multi-ten-GHz bandwidth. To overcome the short transmission distance and huge propagation loss, ultra-massive (UM) MIMO systems that employ sub-millimeter wavelength antenna arrays are proposed to enable an enticingly high array gain. In UM-MIMO systems, hybrid beamforming stands out for its great potential in promisingly high data rate and reduced power consumption. In this article, challenges and features of the THz hybrid beamforming design are investigated, in light of the distinctive THz peculiarities. Specifically, we investigate that the spatial degree-of-freedom is poor, which is caused by the extreme sparsity of the THz channel. The blockage problem caused by the huge reflection and scattering losses is studied. We analyze the challenges led by the array containing 1024 or more antennas, including the requirement for dynamic subarray architecture, strict energy efficiency, and propagation characterization based on spherical-wave propagation mechanisms. Owning to multi-ten-GHz bandwidth, beam squint effect could cause tens of dB array gain loss. Inspired by these facts, three novel THz-specific hybrid beamforming architectures are presented, including widely-spaced multi-subarray, dynamic array-of-subarrays, and dynamic-subarray with fixed-true-time-delay architectures. We also demonstrate the potential data rate, power consumption, and array gain capabilities for THz communications. As a roadmap of THz hybrid beamforming design, multiple open problems and potential research directions are elaborated.
Inhibition of growth of S. epidermidis by hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanoplates

The antibacterial effect of zinc oxide (ZnO#1) as prepared and annealed (ZnO#2) at 400 °C, Cu doped ZnO (CuZnO), and Ag doped ZnO (AgZnO) nanoplates on Staphylococcus epidermidis was investigated for the inhibition and inactivation of cell growth. The results shows that pure ZnO and doped ZnO samples exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) as compared to tryptic soy broth (TSB). Also it is observed that S. epidermidis was extremely sensitive to treatment with ZnO nanoplates and it is clear that the effect is not purely depend on Cu/Ag. Phase identification of a crystalline material and unit cell dimensions were studied by x-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides information on sample’s surface topography and the EDX confirms the presence of Zn, O, Cu and Ag. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to analyze the elemental composition and electronic state of the elements that exist within the samples. These studies confirms the formation of nanoplates and the presence of Zn, O, Ag, Cu with the oxidation states +2, −2, 0 and +2 respectively. These results indicates promising antibacterial applications of these ZnO-based nanoparticles synthesized with low-cost hydrothermal methods.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Child Cognitive Development: Initial Findings in a Longitudinal Observational Study of Child Health

Since the first reports of novel coronavirus in the 2020, public health organizations have advocated preventative policies to limit virus, including stay-at-home orders that closed businesses, daycares, schools, playgrounds, and limited child learning and typical activities. Fear of infection and possible employment loss has placed stress on parents; while parents who could work from home faced chal-lenges in both working and providing full-time attentive childcare. For pregnant individuals, fear of at-tending prenatal visits also increased maternal stress, anxiety, and depression. Not surprising, there has been concern over how these factors, as well as missed educational opportunities and reduced interaction, stimulation, and creative play with other children might impact child neurodevelopment. Lev-eraging a large on-going longitudinal study of child neurodevelopment, we examined general childhood cognitive scores in 2020 and 2021 vs. the preceding decade, 2011-2019. We find that children born during the pandemic have significantly reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance com-pared to children born pre-pandemic. Moreover, we find that males and children in lower socioeconom-ic families have been most affected. Results highlight that even in the absence of direct SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 illness, the environmental changes associated COVID-19 pandemic is signifi-cantly and negatively affecting infant and child development.
Black families’ resistance to deficit positioning: addressing the paradox of black parent involvement

ABSTRACT Traditional conceptualizations of parent involvement are applied in paradoxical ways to Black families – schools ostensibly seek families’ participation in schooling, while positioning multiply-marginalized Black families as deficient and disregarding their contributions. This article explores the experiences of Black families of Black girls using a Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) framing. Our exploration reveals how Black families experience and resist racism and ableism imbued in traditional conceptualizations of parent involvement grounded in white, middle-class families' norms. We describe ways Black families (1) relocated the problem from Black girls’ behavior to schools’ expectations and actions; (2) shifted schools’ priorities from a focus on disciplining dis/abled Black girls to a focus on their support needs; (3) initiated dialogue to support Black girls; and, (4) assisted Black girls in recognizing, processing, and responding to racism and ableism. Through this discussion, we address ways to reconceptualize parent involvement to center multiply-marginalized Black families’ priorities and contributions.
Youth, migration and community forestry in the Global South

ABSTRACT Forming 16 percent of the global population and growing, the large numbers of youth particularly in the developing world presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Although better educated than their parents, young men and women are chronically unemployed or in vulnerable work positions. While the majority of young people live in rural areas, these issues have sometimes resulted in large scale migration from rural to urban areas. In forested areas, those who remain are often highly dependent on forests for goods and services for their livelihood. Community forestry has been shown to be an effective strategy for sustainable forest management and livelihoods. Unfortunately, youth have often been marginalized in benefiting from or participating in decision-making about community forests. This is frequently attributed to local, cultural, and traditional norms that give priority to older generations in decision-making. Given their stake in sustainable forest management in a post-pandemic world, as well as their large numbers, it is important to utilize new approaches to bring young men and women together with older generations to address challenges and foster opportunities. This will then capitalize on the knowledge, energy, enthusiasm, innovative ideas, leadership ability, technological literacy, and resilience that youth can contribute to community forest management and rural communities.