Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Panel Study on Lung Function and Bronchial Inflammation among Children Exposed to Ambient SO2 from an Oil Refinery

To determine the acute effects on respiratory function of children exposed to sulphur dioxide (SO2), we conducted two population-based longitudinal investigations near a major oil refinery. We enrolled 233 children, age 8–14, in Sarroch (Italy). The first study entailed five monthly spirometric visits (Panel 5). In a subgroup, children positive for history of respiratory symptoms were tested weekly (20 times) with spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement (Panel 20). Baseline questionnaires and daily diaries were recorded. SO2, NO2, PM10 and O3 were measured by monitoring stations. Multiple regression models were fitted. Using a multipollutant model, we found that a 10 µg/m3 SO2 increase at lag0–2 days determined a percent variation (PV) of −3.37 (90% confidence interval, CI: −5.39; −1.30) for forced expiratory volume after one second (FEV1) in Panel 5 and a PV = −3.51 (90% CI: −4.77; −2.23) in Panel 20. We found a strong dose-response relation: 1-h SO2 peaks >200 µg/m3 at lag2 days = FEV1 PV −2.49. For FeNO, we found a PV = 38.12 (90% CI: 12.88; 69.01) for each 10 µg/m3 SO2 increase at 8-h time lag and a strong dose-response relation. Exposure to SO2 is strongly associated with reduction of lung function and an increase in airway inflammation. This new evidence of harmful effects of SO2 peaks should induce regulatory intervention.
Tailoring Ovarian Cancer Treatment: Implications of BRCA1/2 Mutations

High grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the most common epithelial ovarian cancer, harbouring more than 20% germline or somatic mutations in the tumour suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. These genes are involved in both DNA damage repair process via homologous recombination (HR) and transcriptional regulation. BRCA mutation confers distinct characteristics, including an increased response to DNA-damaging agents, such us platinum chemotherapy and poly-ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi). However, several mechanisms of resistance to these agents have been described, including increased HR capacity through reverse BRCA mutations, non-homologous end-joint (NHEJ) repair alterations and drug efflux pumps. Current treatments of ovarian cancer including surgery, chemotherapy, targeted treatment and maintenance strategies, as well as resistance mechanisms will be reviewed, focusing on future trends with respect to BRCA mutation carriers.
Understanding vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and decision-making through college student interviews

Abstract Objective: We aimed to explore knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about vaccines required for college-entry and vaccine-related behaviors among college students. Participants: Thirty-three full-time undergraduate students, ≥ 18 years old, enrolled at public (2) and private (3) colleges and universities in metropolitan Philadelphia in fall 2016. Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews, which were double-coded with 5,015 comments overall and 99.3% intercoder reliability (κ = 0.779) using NVivo 11 software. Results: Six key themes emerged: (1) low knowledge about vaccines and requirements; (2) mixed attitudes about required vs. recommended vaccines; (3) high trust in medical professionals; (4) low perceived risk for vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks; (5) substantial parental influence on students’ decision-making; and (6) low utilization of Student Health Services. Conclusions: This study revealed lack of knowledge about and low prioritization of vaccination despite overall positive attitudes towards vaccines. Prematriculation education of college students is critical to increasing vaccine knowledge and use.
Characteristics of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infections at a Midwestern Tertiary Hospital: A Retrospective Study of 365 Patients

Abstract Background The prevalence of infections due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is increasing worldwide, yet little is known about the epidemiology and pathophysiology of these ubiquitous environmental organisms. Pulmonary disease due to Mycobacterium avium complex is most prevalent, but many other NTM species can cause disease in virtually any organ system. As NTM becomes an increasingly common cause of morbidity and mortality, more information is needed about the epidemiology of NTM disease. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients with cultures that grew NTM at a Midwestern tertiary hospital from 1996 to 2017. Information on demographics, medical history, clinical findings, treatment, and outcome was obtained from medical records of all NTM isolates. American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America criteria were used to define pulmonary NTM infections. Results We identified 1064 NTM isolates, 365 of which met criteria for NTM infection. Pulmonary cases predominated (185 of 365; 50.7%), followed by skin/soft tissue (56 of 365; 15.3%), disseminated (40 of 365; 11%), and lymphatic (28 of 365; 7.7%) disease. Mycobacterium avium complex was the most common species (184 of 365; 50.4%). Individuals aged >50 years were most affected (207 of 365; 56.7%). Common comorbidities included structural lung disease (116 of 365; 31.8%), use of immunosuppressive medications (78 of 365; 21.4%), malignancy (59 of 365; 16.2%), and human immunodeficiency virus (42 of 365; 11.5%). Conclusions This large cohort provides information on the demographics, risk factors, and disease course of patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary NTM infections. Most patients had medical comorbidities that resulted in anatomic, genetic, or immunologic risk factors for NTM infection. Further population-based studies and increased disease surveillance are warranted to further characterize NTM infection prevalence and trends.
Why can some implicit Theory of Mind tasks be replicated and others cannot? A test of mentalizing versus submentalizing accounts

In the last 15 years, Theory of Mind research has been revolutionized by the development of new implicit tasks. Such tasks aim at tapping children’s and adults’ uninstructed, largely automatic mental state ascription, indicated in spontaneous looking behavior when observing agents who act on the basis of false beliefs. Studies with anticipatory looking, in particular, have suggested that basic ToM capacities operate from very early in life and remain in unconscious operation throughout the lifespan. Recently, however, systematic replication attempts of anticipatory looking measures have yielded a complex and puzzling mixture of successful, partial and non-replications. The present study aimed at shedding light on the question whether there is a system to this pattern. More specifically, in a set of three preregistered experiments, it was tested whether those conditions that could previously be replicated and those that could not differ in crucial conceptual respects such that the former do not strictly require ToM whereas the latter do. This was tested by the implementation of novel control conditions. The results were complex. There was generally no unambiguous evidence for reliable spontaneous ToM and no effect of the number of passed familiarization trials. Neither was there any unambiguous evidence that the previous mixed patterns of (non-)replications could be explained (away) by the sub-mentalizing account tested in the new control conditions. The empirical situation remains puzzling, and the question whether there is some such thing as implicit and spontaneous ToM remains to be clarified.
Explaining variations in hospitals' use of strategic human resource management: How environmental and organizational factors matter.

BACKGROUND Against the background of increasing workforce-related challenges such as staff shortages, strategic human resource management (SHRM) has gained importance in hospitals. Although the positive implications of SHRM for hospital performance are well known and commonly accepted in research and practice, hospitals still vary in its use. However, the sources of variations in hospitals' use of SHRM are largely unknown. PURPOSE Various organizational and environmental factors were used in this study to explain the variations in hospitals' use of SHRM for physicians and nurses. METHODOLOGY Data were obtained from a hospital survey (n = 172) on topics related to human resource management in hospitals and linked to different secondary data sets. We apply multiple linear regression modeling to investigate the association between organizational and environmental characteristics and hospitals' use of SHRM for nurses and physicians. FINDINGS Our results suggest that organizational factors such as private for-profit and nonprofit ownership (compared to public ownership), academic teaching status, and the strategic involvement of the human resource administration are positively associated with hospitals' use of SHRM. None of the environmental factors investigated in this study was significantly related to hospitals' use of SHRM. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The study results increase our understanding of variations in hospitals' use of SHRM. Although organizational characteristics were found to explain variations in SHRM, environmental factors seem unrelated with hospitals' use of SHRM. Our results inform both hospital managers and policy makers about possible approaches to enhance SHRM use in hospitals. Furthermore, profound knowledge about factors associated with SHRM will help to enhance our understanding of anticipating changes in hospitals' use of SHRM through organizational- and environmental-oriented interventions.
Overexpression of annexin A5 might guide the gemtuzumab ozogamicin treatment choice in patients with pediatric acute myeloid leukemia

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a common hematological malignancy. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO), a humanized anti-CD33 antibody conjugated with the potent anti-tumor antibiotic calicheamicin, represents a promising targeted therapy for AML. Annexin A5 (ANXA5) is a proposed marker for the clinical prognosis of AML to guide treatment choice. Methods: In total, 253 patients with pediatric AML were enrolled and divided into two treatment groups: conventional chemotherapy alone and conventional chemotherapy in combination with GO. Univariate, multivariate, and Kaplan–Meier survival analyses were conducted to assess risk factors and clinical outcomes, and to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence interval. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: In the GO treatment group, high ANXA5 expression was considered a favorable prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS). Multivariate analysis showed that high ANXA5 expression was an independent favorable factor for OS (HR = 0.629, p = 0.084) and EFS (HR = 0.544, p = 0.024) distinct from the curative effect of GO treatment. When all patients were again divided into two groups, this time based on the median expression of ANXA5, patients undergoing chemotherapy combined with GO had significantly better OS (p = 0.0012) and EFS (p = 0.0003) in the ANXA5 high-expression group. Gene set enrichment analysis identified a relevant series of pathways associated with glutathione metabolism, leukocyte transendothelial migration, and hematopoietic cell lineage. Conclusion: The expression level of ANXA5 can help optimize the treatment regimen for individual patients, and patients with overexpression of ANXA5 may circumvent poor outcomes from chemotherapy combined with GO.
HDAC2 Inhibitor Valproic Acid Increases Radiation Sensitivity of Drug-Resistant Melanoma Cells

Resistance to anticancer drugs limits the effectiveness of chemotherapy in cancers. Melanoma cell lines B16F10C and A375C (parental) and B16F10R and A375R (drug-resistant sublines) were used to test radiation sensitization potential of valproic acid (VPA), an inhibitor of Histone deacetylase2 (HDAC2) and LDN193189 (BMP inhibitor). Inhibitors of other signaling pathways were tested for cross-resistance with the resistant cell lines. Cells were pretreated with low concentrations of VPA/ LDN193189 and exposed to 2 Gy radiation for radiation sensitization experiments. Assays-3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT), live/dead, clonogenic, and melanin estimation were performed to test the effects of radiation sensitization. Interactions of VPA and HDAC2 were studied in silico. Dose-dependent growth inhibition was observed with all tested drugs. Radiation sensitization of melanoma cells with low dose of VPA induced synergistic cell death, decreased clonogenicity, and decreased melanin content. In silico docking showed two stable interactions between Arg39 of HDAC2 and VPA. In conclusion, pretreatment with low doses of VPA has a potential for sensitizing melanoma cells to low doses of radiation. The binding of VPA to HDAC2 reverses the drug resistance in melanoma and induces the cell death. Sensitization effects of VPA can be used for targeting drug-resistant cancers.
‘Overworked and underappreciated’: special education teachers describe stress and attrition

ABSTRACT Rising attrition rates and the shortage of highly qualified special education teachers have a negative impact on students and school districts. This study explores the open-ended questions that were part of a larger mixed-method analysis to uncover the voices of current special education teachers (n = 366) from across the United States. Using their own words, teachers identify work-related stressors and express their reasonings behind leaving the field of special education. Overall, results indicate that teachers did not feel supported by their administrators and that their profession had an adverse effect on their overall quality of life, thereby contributing to feelings of burnout. Recommendations for future research and the need for professional development are discussed.
Spatial organization of the transcriptional regulatory network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Transcriptional regulatory network (TRN) is a directed complex network composed of all regulatory interactions between transcription factors and corresponding target genes. Recently, the three-dimensional (3D) genomics studies have shown that the 3D structure of the genome makes a difference to the regulation of gene transcription, which provides us with a novel perspective. In this study, we constructed the TRN of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and placed it in the context of 3D genome model. We analyzed the spatial organization of the yeast TRN on four levels: global feature, central nodes, hierarchical structure and network motifs. Our results suggested that the TRN of S. cerevisiae presents an optimized structure in space to adapt to functional requirement.
Integrating Germline and Somatic Mutation Information for the Discovery of Biomarkers in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Recent advances in high-throughput genotyping and the recent surge of next generation sequencing of the cancer genomes have enabled discovery of germline mutations associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer and acquired somatic mutations driving the disease. Emerging evidence indicates that germline mutations may interact with somatic mutations to drive carcinogenesis. However, the possible oncogenic interactions and cooperation between germline and somatic alterations in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have not been characterized. The objective of this study was to investigate the possible oncogenic interactions and cooperation between genes containing germline and somatic mutations in TNBC. Our working hypothesis was that genes containing germline mutations associated with an increased risk developing breast cancer also harbor somatic mutations acquired during tumorigenesis, and that these genes are functionally related. We further hypothesized that TNBC originates from a complex interplay among and between genes containing germline and somatic mutations, and that these complex array of interacting genetic factors affect entire molecular networks and biological pathways which in turn drive the disease. We tested this hypothesis by integrating germline mutation information from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with somatic mutation information on TNBC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) using gene expression data from 110 patients with TNBC and 113 controls. We discovered a signature of 237 functionally related genes containing both germline and somatic mutations. We discovered molecular networks and biological pathways enriched for germline and somatic mutations. The top pathways included the hereditary breast cancer and role of BRCA1 in DNA damage response signaling pathways. In conclusion, this is the first large-scale and comprehensive analysis delineating possible oncogenic interactions and cooperation among and between genes containing germline and somatic mutations in TNBC. Genetic and somatic mutations, along with the genes discovered in this study, will require experimental functional validation in different ethnic populations. Functionally validated genetic and somatic variants will have important implications for the development of novel precision prevention strategies and discovery of prognostic markers in TNBC.
Observer-based finite-time robust control of nonlinear time-delay systems via Hamiltonian function method

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the observer-based finite-time robust control problem of a general class of nonlinear time-delay systems via Hamiltonian function method, and proposes some new finite-time robust stabilisation results. First, by applying Hamiltonian realisation method, the paper develops an equivalent Hamiltonian form of original system. Then, based on the equivalent Hamiltonian form, we design the corresponding observer system, study the observer-based finite-time robust stabilisation problem and present some new observer-based robust stabilisation results by constructing some suitable Lyapunov functionals. Finally, the study of an illustrative example shows that the results obtained of the paper work well in the observer-based finite-time robust stabilisation the system.
Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: The Use of Leukocyte-Platelet-Rich Fibrin as an Adjunct in the Treatment.

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw are bone exposures in the maxillofacial region that does not heal after 8 weeks from the observation of a health care provider in patients with history of the intake of antiresorptive agents and no previous irradiation of the craniofacial region. Initially attributed only to the intake of bisphosphonates they have later been associated also with the intake of other classes of antiresorptive medications.This retrospective study analyzed records from patients with documented medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws treated in our unit. Clinical data, comorbidities and concurrent medications, treatment outcome information such us number of repeated treatments needed, antibiotic used, type of treatment adopted were recorded. Baseline demographics for the included records of 15 patients (mean age: 64 years) revealed a treatment success rate of 73.3% (mean observation period: 42.2 months), failure rate of 26.6%, dental extraction trigger rate of 33.3%, and a spontaneous trigger rate of 40%. Zolendronate and denosumav were the medications most frequently associated with the upset of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (60% of the sample). In 8 cases out of the 11 that were successful, the surgical treatment had to be repeated more than once. Leukocyte-platelet-rich fibrin led to the resolution of 11 of the 14 cases in which it was used.
THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA WHATSAPP AMONG ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS FOR SOLVING THESIS WRITING PROBLEMS

Purpose of the study: This study aimed to analyze the use of social media, WhatsApp, among the UIN (Universitas Islam Negeri) Ar-Raniry's English Language Education Program undergraduate students for solving their thesis writing problems, focusing on the effects of the WhatsApp use and to inquire whether WhatsApp communication helps them solve their thesis writing problems. Methodology: The design of this study is descriptive qualitative in nature. The researchers selected 30 English Language Education Program undergraduate students comprising 9 male and 21 female students who were writing theses as participants. This study used the semi-structured interview to collect detailed information needed for this research. The researchers used note-taking and recording device using Galaxy Note 8. Main Findings: Findings revealed that the use of social media, WhatsApp, among the undergraduate students of the UIN Ar-Raniry' English Language Education Program, shows a positive impact on solving the problems they face regarding their thesis writing. The findings also indicated that the use of social media, WhatsApp, has put students at ease in solving their various problems regarding thesis writing constraints. Application of the study: This study can be very useful for the students writing theses, and thesis supervisors. The findings of this research give insights and provide information and theories related to thesis writing issues. Studies on this issue lack in the field of education in general and thesis related problem sharing and supervisee-supervisor relationships in particular. Novelty/Originality of the study: The findings justify how the use of WhatsApp brings about positive effects and partly solve students' thesis writing problems. The findings revealed that these research benefits readers enhance existing knowledge and contributes to the construction of new knowledge in the field of education. Therefore, researchers recommend further research on the effects and benefits or other aspects of social media usage.
Pretreatment Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) as a Predictive Value of Hematological Markers in Cervical Cancer

Background: Inflammation represents a pivotal role in the progression of cervical cancer. The hematological markers of inflammation in complete blood count (CBC) panel are potentially useful in determining the prognosis of the disease. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate whether the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) could be used as in predicting the stage of cervical cancer. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study involving 282 patients with cervical cancer was enrolled at Sanglah General Hospital for five years (2013-2017). The histopathological records and complete blood counts (CBC) of the patients were collected and analyzed using SPSS ver. 16 software. FIGO stage I–II and III-IV were classified as early and advance stage respectively. Results: The median NLR and PLR were significantly higher in the advance stage compared with early stage (7.58 (1.36-33.20) and 247.89 (97.10-707.11); p-value = 0.001). A strong positive correlation was found between the staging of cervical cancer and NLR (r=0.638) and PLR (r=0.668). The AUC, sensitivity, and specificity value of NLR and PLR were 0.803 (82%; 71%) and 0.716 (72%; 70%). Advanced stage of cervical cancer was found in high NLR (adjusted OR: 9.02; 95%CI=2.42-33.64; p=0.001) and PLR (adjusted OR = 2.47; 95% CI = 1.45-4.85; p = 0.032). Conclusion: Increased pretreatment NLR and PLR values may provide a useful information in predicting the staging of cervical cancer.