Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are all patients with cancer at heightened risk for severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)?

Cancer patients are traditionally considered at high-risk for complicated respiratory viral infections, due to their underlying immunosuppression. In line with this notion, early case series reported high mortality rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with malignancy. However, subsequent large prospective epidemiological surveys indicate that the risk for severe COVID-19 may be largely attributed to the multiple confounders operating in this highly heterogeneous population of patients rather than the cancer or its treatment per se. In this viewpoint, we critically discuss the conundrums of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer patients and underscore mechanistic insights on the outcome of COVID-19 as it relates to cancer therapy and the type and status of the underlying malignancy. We emphasize the concept that not all cancer patients are at similarly high-risk for a complicated COVID-19 course and the need to develop a roadmap of translational and clinical research on COVID-19 in this challenging group of patients.
Telemedicine in orthopaedics during COVID-19 and beyond: A systematic review

Introduction Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare across a distance using some form of communication technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased adoption of telemedicine with national orthopaedic governing bodies advocating its use, as evidence suggests that social distancing maybe necessary until 2022. This systematic review aims to explore evidence for telemedicine in orthopaedics to determine its advantages, validity, effectiveness and utilisation. Methods Databases of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL were systematically searched and articles were included if they involved any form of telephone or video consultation in an orthopaedic population. Findings were synthesised into four themes: patient/clinician satisfaction, accuracy and validity of examination, safety and patient outcomes and cost effectiveness. Quality assessment was undertaken using Cochrane and Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal tools. Results Twenty-one studies were included consisting of nine randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Studies revealed high patient satisfaction with telemedicine for convenience, less waiting and travelling time. Telemedicine was cost effective particularly if patients had to travel long distances, required hospital transport or time off work. No clinically significant differences were found in patient examination nor measurement of patient-reported outcome measures. Telemedicine was reported to be a safe method of consultation. Discussion Evidence suggests that telemedicine in orthopaedics can be safe, cost effective, valid in clinical assessment and with high patient/clinician satisfaction. However, more high-quality RCTs are required to elucidate long-term outcomes. This systematic review presents up-to-date evidence on the use of telemedicine and provides data for organisations considering its use during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
A Typology Analysis of Agricultural Empowerment Profiles in Rural Egypt with a Particular Focus on Women

The current study examines the extent of empowerment for different types of women in Egypt’s Old and New Lands (Noubariya and Kafr Shiekh). Empowerment in this study is multidimensional and is referring to access and management of capital, time and assets, with a particular focus on land. Research conducted in the past three decades in Latin America, India, and sub-Saharan Africa shows that land access empowers women in their ability to produce food, to participate in public life, as well as in household decision-making. However, relatively little is known about the relations between women, land and empowerment in the Middle East. Some 402 farmers (200 men and 202 women) were surveyed in both locations in Egypt, focusing on tasks within the farm, in addition to ownership and control over the main resources including land and livestock. A set of data including variables reflecting different empowerment dimensions of the surveyed farmers was collected in the study areas, and used for clustering homogeneous groups (men and women) with similar empowerment profiles. Characteristics of these men and women groups were then reported in order to provide better insights regarding empowerment gaps which might be used to develop targeted policy intervention strengthening certain empowerment aspects for these groups.
Assessment of cardiac and liver iron overload by magnetic resonance imaging in patients with thalassemia major: short-term follow-up

Objective This study was performed to assess cardiac and hepatic iron overload in young patients with thalassemia. Methods We reviewed the medical records of patients with thalassemia at a pediatric hematology clinic who had recently undergone cardiac and hepatic magnetic resonance imaging. Results Eleven patients underwent cardiac and hepatic T2* imaging at a mean age of 13.9 ± 4.48 (range, 9–21) years. Three patients had cardiac iron overload and all patients had hepatic iron overload according to the magnetic resonance imaging scan. Ten patients underwent control imaging approximately 1 year later. The mean serum ferritin level at the initial imaging examination was 1820.87 ± 1275.22 (range, 634.04–4221.03) ng/mL. There was a strong negative correlation between the ferritin level and cardiac T2* time and between the blood hemoglobin level and hepatic T2* time. Among the 10 patients who underwent control imaging, the average hemoglobin and ferritin levels significantly decreased from the initial to control imaging examinations, but there was no significant increase in the cardiac and hepatic T2*times. Conclusions Cardiac and hepatic T2* imaging is a feasible method of assessing cardiac and hepatic iron overload even before complications and clinical signs of iron overload appear.
Trends and forecasts of leprosy for a hyperendemic city from Brazil’s northeast: Evidence from an eleven-year time-series analysis

This study’s objective was to estimate the temporal trends of leprosy according to sex and age groups, as well as to estimate and predict the progression of the disease in a hyperendemic city located in the northeast of Brazil. This ecological time-series study was conducted in Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil. Leprosy cases diagnosed between 2006 and 2016 were included. Detection rates stratified by sex and age groups were estimated. The study of temporal trends was accomplished using the Seasonal-Trend Decomposition method and temporal modeling of detection rates using linear seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model according to Box and Jenkins method. Trend forecasts were performed for the 2017–2020 period. A total of 3,212 cases of leprosy were identified, the average incidence among men aged between 30 and 59 years old was 201.55/100,000 inhabitants and among women in the same age group was 135.28/100,000 inhabitants. Detection rates in total and by sex presented a downward trend, though rates stratified according to sex and age presented a growing trend among men aged less than 15 years old and among women aged 60 years old or over. The final models selected in the time-series analysis show the forecasts of total detection rates and rates for men and women presented a downward trend for the 2017–2020 period. Even though the forecasts show a downward trend in Imperatriz, the city is unlikely to meet a significant decrease of the disease burden by 2020.
Title Transcreation : an implementation science framework for community-engaged behavioral interventions to reduce health disparities Permalink

Background: Methods for translating evidence-based behavioral interventions into real-world settings seldom account for the special issues in reaching health disparity populations. Main text: The objective of this article is to describe an innovative “transcreational” framework for designing and delivering interventions in communities to reduce health disparities. We define transcreation as the process of planning, delivering, and evaluating interventions so that they resonate with the community experiencing health disparities, while achieving intended health outcomes. The Transcreation Framework for Community-engaged Behavioral Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities comprises seven steps: 1) identify community infrastructure and engage partners; 2) specify theory; 3) identify multiple inputs for new program; 4) design intervention prototype; 5) design study, methods, and measures for community setting; 6) build community capacity for delivery; and 7) deliver transcreated intervention and evaluate implementation processes. Communities are engaged from the start and interventions are delivered by community-based interventionists and tested in community settings. The framework applies rigorous scientific methods for evaluating program effectiveness and implementation processes. It incorporates training and ongoing technical assistance to assure treatment fidelity and build community capacity. Conclusions: This framework expands the types of scientific evidence used and balances fidelity to evidence and fit to the community setting. It can guide researchers and communities in developing and testing behavioral interventions to reduce health disparities that are likely to be sustained because infrastructure development is embedded in the research.
Machine Learning-Based IoT-Botnet Attack Detection with Sequential Architecture †

With the rapid development and popularization of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, an increasing number of cyber-attacks are targeting such devices. It was said that most of the attacks in IoT environments are botnet-based attacks. Many security weaknesses still exist on the IoT devices because most of them have not enough memory and computational resource for robust security mechanisms. Moreover, many existing rule-based detection systems can be circumvented by attackers. In this study, we proposed a machine learning (ML)-based botnet attack detection framework with sequential detection architecture. An efficient feature selection approach is adopted to implement a lightweight detection system with a high performance. The overall detection performance achieves around 99% for the botnet attack detection using three different ML algorithms, including artificial neural network (ANN), J48 decision tree, and Naïve Bayes. The experiment result indicates that the proposed architecture can effectively detect botnet-based attacks, and also can be extended with corresponding sub-engines for new kinds of attacks.
Practical implications of suckling systems for dairy calves in organic production systems – a review

The growing public awareness of practices in livestock production systems leads to an increased doubt on the existing methods and emphasizes a demand to be closer to nature in livestock production. In most dairy production systems cow and calf are separated immediately after birth discouraging all aspects of maternal behavior. In suckling systems cow and young are allowed to spend time together, so the calf is able to suck on its dam and species-specific behavior can be displayed. This article focuses on the different suckling systems established in organic dairy systems and their effects on cow and calf. The beneficial effect on calf growth and the decrease in the occurrence of abnormal behavior (cross-sucking on other calves) when calves are reared with the dam, are scientifically reported, whereas the improved health status, which farmers give as main reason for introducing dam rearing, could not be verified yet. Concerns arise in regard to cow health and milk yield, since milk ejection can be impaired and therefore less milk is obtained at milking. Also the process of weaning poses more difficulties in dam rearing due to breaking the strong bond between mother and young. Based on the current state of scientific research, foster cow systems with additional milking might be a promising alternative: calves can satisfy their sucking motivation and have social contact to mothers/adult cows; on the other hand, weaning stress might be reduced and milking the cows when suckling calves could lead to an increased total milk production. However, a comparison between dam rearing and foster cow systems, also including economical traits, is still missing, and recommendations have to be made with care. Further research is needed to reconcile consumers’ demands and the possibilities of farmers using such systems.
Bioactivity and antibacterial activity of strontium and silver ion releasing titanium.

To overcome problems associated with loosening of orthopedic implants and surgical site infections, we developed a novel, titanium (Ti)-based material that releases both strontium and silver ions (CaSrAg-Ti) based on alkali-and-heat treatment. The results of commercially pure Ti (cp-Ti), Ti that releases Sr ions only (CaSr-Ti), and the novel CaSrAg-Ti material were compared. Mechanical tests were performed to evaluate the in vivo bonding properties of CaSrAg-Ti and the bone-implant contact (BIC) ratio in histological specimens was determined at 4 and 8 weeks after implantation in a rat femur. Also, the in vitro antibacterial activities of this material against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) were evaluated after a 24 h incubation period by assaying colony-forming units. In addition, antibacterial activities were evaluated in vivo at 7 days after implantation in a rat subcutaneous pocket model. There was direct contact between the bone and CaSrAg-Ti in histological specimens and no apparent signs of argyrosis in any rat. The bone-bonding strength and the BIC ratio were increased by 2.7- and 2.3-fold for CaSrAg-Ti vs. cp-Ti at 4 weeks and 2.2- and 2.0-fold at 8 weeks, respectively. As compared with cp-Ti, the number of viable MSSA remaining on CaSrAg-Ti was reduced by 100 ± 0% in vitro and 94.2 ± 6.9% in vivo. Ti that releases Sr and Ag ions is a promising material that exhibits both bone-bonding properties and anti-MSSA activities.
Is it time to ban sulfonylureas?

Sulfonylureas (SUs) are a class of agents that lower blood sugar through increasing release of insulin from the pancreas. The SUs are routinely prescribed for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as monotherapy or in combination with insulin or other oral hypoglycemic agents. However, the probable associations of SUs in various adverse effects hold a cause of serious concern. With the introduction of more and more new drugs, we would like to discuss whether it is time to ban SUs.
Working Paper Series WP 2017-02 Corporate Apology for Environmental Damage

Apologies are a powerful way to restore trust and reduce punishment costs in bilateral settings. But what do we know about public apologies for large scale man-made disasters? Herein we report on results from an experiment with apologies in a multilateral setting: a firm-caused environmental disaster. Subjects read about an oil spill scenario, and learned whether the oil firm made a full apology, a partial apology, or no apology, and whether the firm had a good, bad, or no environmental reputation. A partial apology is one that fails to accept full material responsibility for damages, such as by shifting the blame to another party. We find that full apologies and better reputation reduce the demand for punishment. However, full apologies and reputation are substitutes, with reputation being significantly more important. Additionally, apologies do not reduce the demand for compensation and may increase it if the firm is clearly a bad actor, or if admission of guilt is the only information subjects have. Our results help explain corporate social responsibility investments and greenwashing, and why many public apologies over an environmental disaster are only partial apologies.
Overcoming immune dysfunction in the elderly: trained immunity as a novel approach

Abstract People with advanced age have a higher susceptibility to infections and exhibit increased mortality and morbidity as the ability of the immune system to combat infections decreases with age. While innate immune cells display functional defects such as decreased phagocytosis, chemotaxis and cytokine production, adaptive immune cells exhibit reduced receptor diversity, defective antibody production and a sharp decline in naive cell populations. Successful responses to vaccination in the elderly are critical to prevent common infections such as influenza and pneumonia, but vaccine efficacy decreases in older individuals compared with young adults. Trained immunity is a newly emerging concept that showed that innate immune cells possess non-specific immunological memory established through epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming upon encountering certain pathogenic stimuli. Clinical studies suggest that trained immunity can be utilized to enhance immune responses against infections and improve the efficiency of vaccinations in adults; however, how trained immunity responses are shaped with advanced age is still an open question. In this review, we provide an overview of the age-related changes in the immune system with a focus on innate immunity, discuss current vaccination strategies for the elderly, present the concept of trained immunity and propose it as a novel approach to enhance responses against infections and vaccinations in the elderly population.
Role of tip shape in light emission from the scanning tunneling microscope

The influence of tip shape on the light produced by scanning tunneling microscopy is analyzed theoretically for the case of nobel metals where collective modes enhance the photon emission. We investigate a hyperbolic tip geometry where the aperture of the tip and its apex curvature can be changed independently. The electromagnetic field in the tip-sample region is calculated with the use of the boundary charge method. The tunneling current is treated in a modified Tersoff-Hamann theory. The aperture of the tip is found to control the overall shape of the emission spectrum, while the radius of curvature of the apex is more important for the intensity. Experimentally observed variations of emission spectra may be understood in terms of different tip shapes. The lateral extent of the tip-induced charge density is strongly dependent on the tip shape, and may reach a near-atomic scale for sufficiently sharp tips. This spatial localization has direct implications for the resolution in photonic maps.
Constant Frequency Torque Controller for DTC with Multilevel Inverter of Induction Machines

Direct Torque Control using multilevel inverter (DTC-MLI) with hysteresis controller suffers from high torque and flux ripple and variable switching frequency. In this paper, a constant frequency torque controller is proposed to enhance the DTC-MLI performance. The operational concepts of the constant switching frequency torque controller of a DTC-MLI system followed by the simulation results and analysis are presented. The proposed system significantly improves the DTC drive in terms of dynamic performance, smaller torque and flux ripple, and retains a constant switching frequency.
Expressional analysis of p 16 and cytokeratin 19 protein in the genesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients

p16 is a cell cycle inhibitor that is frequently inactivated in various types of tumours. In spite of p16 importance and its association with clinical behaviour in the genesis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is not understood fully. The aim of study was to examine the impact of p16 and CK19 in the development and progression of tumour with other clinical behaviours. In the present study, expression profiles of p16 and Cytokeratin19 (CK19) protein were analysed through immunohistochemistry using anti-p16 and anti-CK19 antibody. Expressions pattern of p16 and CK19 were noticed 40% and 58% in the OSCC respectively. Whereas expressions pattern were different in control cases for both markers as p16 (70%) and CK19 (20%). There was progressive loss of p16 expression from oral inflammatory lesion to OSCC and this differences were statically significant (p<0.05). The positivity of p16 were observed in gender where its expression pattern did not reach statistical significance (p>0.05). Expression pattern of CK19 were observed and its expression increased according to the grade and stage of cancer. Furthermore, CK19 expression was seen to be significantly higher in male in the age group ≥50 years (p<0.05). This finding shows that p16 and CK19 may have potential as a prognostic marker in human OSCC and important molecular event in pathogenesis of oral carcinoma.
Effect of Sb thickness on the performance of bialkali-antimonide photocathodes

The alkali species Cs and K were codeposited using an effusion source, onto relatively thick layers of Sb (50 nm to ∼7 μm) grown on GaAs and Ta substrates inside a vacuum chamber that was baked and not-vented, and also baked and vented with clean dry nitrogen but not rebaked. The characteristics of the Sb films, including sticking probability, surface roughness, grain size, and crystal properties were very different for these conditions, yet comparable values of photocathode yield [or quantum efficiency (QE)] at 284 V were obtained following codeposition of the alkali materials. Photocathodes manufactured with comparatively thick Sb layers exhibited the highest QE and the best 1/e lifetime. The authors speculate that the alkali codeposition enabled optimized stoichiometry for photocathodes manufactured using thick Sb layers, which could serve as a reservoir for the alkali materials.
SPORT PSYCHOMETRY, PARTICIPANTS AND INVARIANCE: A CRITICAL REVIEW

Este artigo apresenta uma revisao critica de como as variaveis do contexto esportivo e dos participantes podem afetar a busca por evidencias de validade dos instrumentos de medida. Apesar da literatura apontar que fatores como sexo, idade, tempo de pratica, tempo de experiencia, experiencias esportivas, fases e regimes de treinamento e competicao, nivel socioeconomico e educacional, dentre outros tem um efeito importante nas variaveis psicologicas, pouco tem se explorado sobre tal efeito. Recorrentemente, os estudos tem reportado basicamente a idade, sexo e modalidade esportiva. A ausencia do controle dessas informacoes sobre o contexto e o participante pode provocar imprecisao das medidas, limitacao da aplicacao, erros de interpretacao e intervencoes inadequadas, perda da reprodutibilidade e limitacao de estudos comparativos. Alem disso, impossibilita a testagem da invariância. Desta forma, torna-se premente e mandatorio um rigor maior sobre a gama de indicadores que caracterizam os participantes e o contexto dos estudos no esporte