Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Predispositions Between COVID-19 and Three Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases

Aims: This study was aimed to apply a Mendelian randomization design to explore the causal association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and three cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, including atrial fibrillation, ischemic stroke, and coronary artery disease. Methods: Two-sample Mendelian randomization was used to determine the following: 1) the causal effect of COVID-19 on atrial fibrillation (55,114 case participants vs 482,295 control participants), coronary artery disease (34,541 case participants vs 261,984 control participants), and ischemic stroke (34,217 case participants vs 40,611 control participants), which were obtained from the European Bioinformatics Institute, and 2) the causal effect of three cardio-cerebrovascular diseases on COVID-19. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of COVID-19 were selected from the summary-level genome-wide association study data of COVID-19-hg genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analyses (round 5) based on the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative for participants with European ancestry. The random-effects inverse-variance weighted method was conducted for the main analyses, with a complementary analysis of the weighted median and Mendelian randomization (MR)-Egger approaches. Results: Genetically predicted hospitalized COVID-19 was suggestively associated with ischemic stroke, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.049 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.003–1.098; p = 0.037] in the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative GWAS. When excluding the UK Biobank (UKBB) data, our analysis revealed a similar odds ratio of 1.041 (95% CI 1.001–1.082; p = 0.044). Genetically predicted coronary artery disease was associated with critical COVID-19, with an OR of 0.860 (95% CI 0.760–0.973; p = 0.017) in the GWAS meta-analysis and an OR of 0.820 (95% CI 0.722–0.931; p = 0.002) when excluding the UKBB data, separately. Limited evidence of causal associations was observed between critical or hospitalized COVID-19 and other cardio-cerebrovascular diseases included in our study. Conclusion: Our findings provide suggestive evidence about the causal association between hospitalized COVID-19 and an increased risk of ischemic stroke. Besides, other factors potentially contribute to the risk of coronary artery disease in patients with COVID-19, but not genetics.
Measurement Invariance and Construct Validity of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) in Community Volunteers in Vietnam

Worldwide, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) has become the most widely used measure of life satisfaction. Recently, an authorized Vietnamese-language version has been introduced. Using a convenience sample comprising community volunteers from Ho Chi Minh City (N = 1073), confirmatory support was found for the cross-national constancy of the one-dimensional structure underlying the SWLS. Corrected item–total polyserial correlations and Omega coefficient were satisfactory. Using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the SWLS factorial structure were tested by gender, age, marital status, income, and educational level. Strong evidence of scalar invariance was found for gender and education, on which relevant subgroups did not differ in terms of latent means. Partial scalar invariance was found for marital status (item 4 and 5) and income (item 4). Being involved in an intimate relationship or having a higher income were associated with higher latent means. Scalar invariance in relation to age was very poor. Accordingly, caution must be exerted when comparing age groups. A high SWLS score was predictive of good self-rated health. Implications of the findings are briefly discussed.
Could the Optiplex Borrelia assay replace the traditional, two-step method of diagnosing Lyme disease?

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE Serological assays for Lyme disease (LD) routinely performed in laboratories often give inconclusive results, thereby making correct diagnosis difficult and delaying treatment. The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of a commercial Optiplex Borrelia (OB) assay in the serological diagnostics of LD. Based on the results obtained in a previous study on the seroreactivity of the sera of patients with LD to Borrelia spp. antigens using enzyme immunoassays (ELISA) and immunoblotting (IB), the same sera were re-analyzed using the OB assay. RESULTS The assays carried out with the use of OB method showed a statistically significant lower number of positive/borderline results for the presence of IgM antibodies, compared to the ELISA assay. Moreover, statistically lower positive/borderline results were obtained for antibodies in the IgG class with use of the OB method, compared to the IB assay and a two-stage diagnostic protocol (ELISA with IB). The specificity analysis showed that in both the IB and OB assays, anti-OspC IgM and anti-p41 antibodies were detected. Additionally, high positive/borderline values were found in the OB assay for native antigens derived from B. afzelii lysate. The IB assay most frequently detected antibodies against OspC, p39 (BmpA) and VlsE proteins in the IgG class. There were fewer positives/borderlines for anti-p41-I B. afzelii antibodies in the OB assay and a higher number for antigens: VlsE-C6, p18 B. afzelii (DbpA), and p39 B. afzelii (BmpA). CONCLUSIONS Answering the question whether the OB assay could replace the traditional, two-step method of LD diagnostics, it can be concluded that it could not. It can be used to diagnose LD only as a complementary assay and not as an optimal and dedicated method of Borrelia spp. infection detection.
DIP-QL: A Novel Reinforcement Learning Method for Constrained Industrial Systems

Existing reinforcement learning (RL) methods have limited applicability to real-world industrial control problems because of their various constraints. To overcome this challenge, in this article, we devise a novel RL method to enable the optimization of a policy while strictly satisfying the system constraints. By leveraging a value-based RL approach, our proposed method is not limited by the challenges faced when searching a constrained policy. Our method has two main features. First, we devise two distance-based Q-value update schemes, incentive and penalty updates, which enable the agent to decide on controls in the feasible region by replacing an infeasible control with the nearest feasible continuous control. The proposed update schemes can adjust the values of both continuous and original infeasible controls. Second, we define the penalty cost as a shadow price-weighted penalty to achieve efficient, constrained policy learning. We apply our method to the microgrid control, and the case study demonstrates its superiority.
Algae: Study of Edible and Biologically Active Fractions, Their Properties and Applications

The beneficial properties of algae make them perfect functional ingredients for food products. Algae have a high energy value and are a source of biologically active substances, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and macro- and microelements. They are also rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, mycosporine-like amino acids, polysaccharides, polyphenols, carotenoids, sterols, steroids, lectins, halogenated compounds, polyketides, alkaloids, and carrageenans. Different extraction parameters are used depending on the purpose and the substances to be isolated. In this study, the following parameters were used: hydromodule 1:10 and an extraction duration of 1–2 h at the extraction temperature of 25–40 °C. A 30–50% solution of ethanol in water was used as an extractant. Algae extracts can be considered as potential natural sources of biologically active compounds with antimicrobial activity and antiviral properties. The content of crude protein, crude fat, and carbohydrates in U. Prolifera, C. racemosa var. peltata (Chlorophyta), S. oligocystum and S. fusiforme (SF-1) was studied. It was found that C. muelleri (Bacillariophyta), I. galbana (Haptophyta), and T. weissflogii (Bacillariophyta) contain about 1.9 times more omega-3 than omega-6 fatty acids. N. gaditana (Ochrophyta), D. salina (Chlorophyta), P. tricornutum (Bacillaryophyta) and I. galbana (Haptophyta) extracts showed inhibitory activity of varying intensities against E. coli or P. aeruginosa. In addition, algae and algae-derived compounds have been proposed to offer attractive possibilities in the food industry, especially in the meat sector, to evolve functional foods with myriad functionalities. Algae can increase the biological activity of food products, while the further study of the structure of compounds found in algae can broaden their future application possibilities.
The mediating effect of IT governance between corporate governance mechanisms, business continuity, and transparency & disclosure: An empirical study of Covid-19 Pandemic in Jordan

ABSTRACT The present study aims to assess the mediating role of IT governance between corporate governance mechanisms and business continuity, and transparency & disclosure during the pandemic of Covid-19 in Jordan. The study uses a sample of 232 questionnaires retrieved from different firms of different sectors. The sample includes a survey response from board members, senior executives, auditors, IT experts, and other practitioners. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted to estimate the results. The results indicate that IT governance exhibits a statistically significant positive effect on business continuity and transparency & disclosure. Further, the results reveal that corporate governance mechanisms are less efficient in their influence on business continuity and transparency & disclosure in the absence of the mediating effect of IT governance during the pandemic. The current study’s findings provide insight and empirical evidence to the importance of IT governance and its role in business continuity and transparency & disclosure in constraining the negative effects during any crisis. The current study provides a novel contribution as it links corporate governance, transparency, and IT governance in the context of Covid-19 in an emerging country.
PPCA - Privacy-Preserving Collision Avoidance for Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Current collision avoidance techniques deployed on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) rely on short-range sensors, such as proximity sensors, cameras, and microphones. Unfortunately, their efficiency is significantly limited in several situations; for instance, when a remote UAV approaches at high velocity, or when the surrounding environment is impaired (e.g., fog, noise). In the cited cases, to avoid collisions and maintain self-separation, UAVs often rely on the indiscriminate broadcast of their location. Therefore, an adversary could easily identify the location of the UAV and attack it, e.g., by physically shutting it down, launching wireless jamming attacks, or continuing tracking its movements. To address the above-introduced threats, in this article we present PPCA, a lightweight, distributed, and privacy-preserving scheme to avoid collisions among UAVs. Our solution, based on an ingenious tessellation of the space, is accompanied by a thorough analytical model and is supported by an extensive experimental campaign performed on a real 3DR-Solo drone. The achieved results are striking: PPCA can efficiently and effectively avoid collisions among UAVs, by requiring a limited bandwidth and computational overhead (84.85% less than traditional privacy-preserving proximity testing approaches), while providing unique benefits in terms of privacy of the participating UAVs.
Getting out the vote in different electoral contexts: the effect of impersonal voter mobilization techniques in middle and high salience Norwegian elections

ABSTRACT This article reports on two sets of field experiments testing text messaging (SMS) among native Norwegian voters and live phone calls among young voters eligible to vote in their first election. The two sets of experiments are done in both local and national elections. Most previous studies of election salience and voter mobilization use data from countries with generally lower levels of turnout than in Northern Europe (including Norway). This article addresses how the effectiveness of voter mobilization varies by election salience, in a generally high-salience political context. We find the two experiments to be more effective in low/middle salience elections, with turnout around 60 percent, than in high salience elections with turnout higher than 75 percent.
Jiedu-Yizhi Formula Improves Cognitive Impairment in an Aβ25–35-Induced Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease by Inhibiting Pyroptosis

Jiedu-Yizhi formula (JDYZF) is prescribed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and was created by Jixue Ren, a master of traditional Chinese medicine, based on the “marrow deficiency and toxin damage” theory. In our clinic, this formula has been used for the treatment of AD for many years and has achieved good results. However, the mechanism by which JDYZF improves cognitive impairment has not been determined. In this study, we confirmed that orally administered JDYZF reversed the cognitive deficits in an Aβ25–35-induced rat model, increased the number of neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area, improved their structure, decreased the deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ), reduced the expression of proteins related to the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD and LPS/Caspase-11/GSDMD pyroptosis pathways, and reduced the levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-18, thereby inhibiting the inflammatory response. In addition, JDYZF exerted no hepatotoxicity in rats. In short, these results provide scientific support for the clinical use of JDYZF to improve the cognitive function of patients with AD.
Cross-Linking of Polypropylene via the Diels–Alder Reaction

In this work, the possibility of preparing cross-linked polypropylene (PP) via Diels–Alder (DA) chemistry is explored. The overall strategy involves reaction of maleated polypropylene (the starting material), furfuryl amine (FFA), and bismaleimide (BM) as the cross-linking agent. The occurrence of reversible cross-linking was studied by checking the presence of relevant peaks in FTIR spectra, i.e., CH out-of-plane bending vibrations of the furan ring’s peak (γCH) at an absorption band of 730–734 cm−1, CH=CH of the BM aromatic ring’s stretching vibrations (υCH=CH) at an absorption band of 1510 cm−1, and the DA adduct (C-O-C, δDAring) at an absorption band of 1186 cm−1. In agreement with the spectroscopic characterization, the presence of a cross-linked network is also confirmed by rheology, namely the higher storage modulus (G′) compared with loss modulus (G″) value (G′ >> G″), as obtained via temperature sweep. Both the maleic anhydride (MA) content as well as the annealing temperature (50 °C and 120 °C) favor the DA reaction, while only partial de-cross-linking (retro DA) is observed at the higher temperature range of 150–200 °C. In addition, the products show higher mechanical robustness and thermal stability compared to the starting material.
Open-Celled Foams of Polyethersulfone/Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) Blends for Ultrafiltration Applications

Since membranes made of open porous polymer foams can eliminate the use of organic solvents during their manufacturing, a series of previous studies have explored the foaming process of various polymers including polyethersulfone (PESU) using physical blowing agents but failed to produce ultrafiltration membranes. In this study, blends containing different ratios of PESU and poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) were used for preparation of open-celled polymer foams. In batch foaming experiments involving a combination of supercritical CO2 and superheated water as blowing agents, blends with low concentration of PVP delivered uniform open-celled foams that consisted of cells with average cell size less than 20 µm and cell walls containing open pores with average pore size less than 100 nm. A novel sample preparation method was developed to eliminate the non-foamed skin layer and to achieve a high porosity. Flat sheet membranes with an average cell size of 50 nm in the selective layer and average internal pore size of 200 nm were manufactured by batch foaming a PESU blend with higher concentration of PVP and post-treatment with an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite. These foams are associated with a water-flux up to 45 L/(h m2 bar). Retention tests confirmed their applicability as ultrafiltration membranes.
Consensus Control in Heterogeneous Nonlinear Multiagent Systems With Position Feedback and Switching Topologies

The primary challenge in designing a consensus algorithm under switching topologies is to deal with discontinuous interactive information. At present, most consensus control results are limited to either agents with mismatched uncertainties in a time-invariant interaction environment or integrator dynamics in a dynamically changing interaction environment. This work addresses consensus problems of heterogeneous nonlinear multiagent systems without these limitations. We propose a novel, simple, yet effective higher-order filter to yield differentiable control variables employing neighbor position information and discontinuous topology information. By applying this filter and defining a suitable auxiliary error, we develop distributed consensus controllers for second-order and uncertain higher-order systems. One of the salient attributes of the proposed methodology is to allow each agent to require minimal local feedback, i.e., only the position information of itself and its neighboring agents. Theoretical and simulation verifications of the scheme guaranteeing asymptotic convergence of consensus and the boundedness of each signal in the closed-loop system are carefully examined.
IGF-1 Signaling Regulates Mitochondrial Remodeling during Myogenic Differentiation

Skeletal muscle is essential for locomotion, metabolism, and protein homeostasis in the body. Mitochondria have been considered as a key target to regulate metabolic switch during myo-genesis. The insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling through the AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway has a well-documented role in promoting muscle growth and regeneration, but whether it is involved in mitochondrial behavior and function remains un-examined. In this study, we investigated the effect of IGF-1 signaling on mitochondrial remodeling during myogenic differentiation. The results demonstrated that IGF-1 signaling stimulated mitochondrial biogenesis by increasing mitochondrial DNA copy number and expression of genes such as Cox7a1, Tfb1m, and Ppargc1a. Moreover, the level of mitophagy in differentiating myoblasts elevated significantly with IGF-1 treatment, which contributed to mitochondrial turnover. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) and BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa protein-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) were identified as two key mediators of IGF-1-induced mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy, respectively. In addition, IGF-1 supplementation could alleviate impaired myoblast differentiation caused by mitophagy deficiency, as evidenced by increased fusion index and myosin heavy chain expression. These findings provide new insights into the role of IGF-1 signaling and suggest that IGF-1 signaling can serve as a target for the research and development of drugs and nutrients that support muscle growth and regeneration.
SINGLE CHANNEL SPEECH ENHANCEMENT USING EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM WITH LOG-MMSE

Additive noise degrades speech quality and intelligibility. Speech enhancement reduces this noise to make speech more pleasant and intelligible. It plays a significant role in speech recognition or speech-operated systems. In this paper, we propose a single-channel speech enhancement method in which the log-minimum mean square error method (log-MMSE) and modified accelerated particle swarm optimization algorithm are used to design a filter for improving the quality and intelligibility of noisy speech. Accelerated particle swarm optimization (APSO) algorithm is modified in which a single dimension of particle position is changed in a single iteration while obtaining the particle’s new position. Using this algorithm, a filter is designed with multiple passbands and notches for speech enhancement. The modified algorithm converges faster compared with standard particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) and APSO giving optimum filter coefficients. The designed filter is used to enhance the speech. The proposed speech enhancement method improves the perceptual estimation of speech quality (PESQ) by 17.05% for 5dB babble noise, 33.92 % for 5dB car noise, 14.96 % for 5dB airport noise, and 39.13 % for 5dB exhibition noise. The average output PESQ for these four types of noise is improved compared to conventional methods of speech enhancement. There is an average of 7.58 dB improvement in segmental SNR for these noise types. The proposed method improves speech intelligibility with minimum speech distortion.
How did research article publications on the COVID-19 pandemic progress in the Q1 ranked SCImage index journals in 2020?

Aim : The aim of this paper is to survey the COVID-19 research articles in Q1 ranked high SJR index journals according to the SCImago journal rank indicator. Material and Method : The study was carried out on the website named "https://www.scimagojr. com". The search was conducted by selecting the criteria “medicine”, “pathology and forensic medicine”, “all regions/countries”, “journals”, and the “2020” as the year. Only 50 scientific journals met these criteria. COVID-19-related and unrelated research articles published in these journals were manually scanned. Review articles, book reviews, conferences, commentaries, case reports, mini reviews, short communications, letters to the editor were not included in the study. COVID-19 related research articles were divided into groups in terms of antemortem and postmortem type of the study by reviewing the abstract of the studies and also grouped according to the country of first author and countries of all authors. Results : A total of 3906 research articles published in 50 journals with Q1 SJR index over 0.887 were investigated. Of these 3906 research articles, 40 of them were related to COVID-19. 31 of these 40 COVID-19 related research articles were antemortem and 9 were postmortem studies. Among these 40 COVID-19 related scientific articles, the first author of publications belonged to 12 countries. United States, Australia, China, and Italy were found to be the most productive countries for published research articles on COVID-19 in selected high SJR index journals. The United States was the country with the highest number of first authors with 15 articles. China was the country with the highest number of multinational author list research articles. Conclusion : We believe that the number and content of studies conducted in these high-quality scientific journals on COVID-19 make important contributions and understanding in the fields of disease transmission, disease prevention, course and severity of symptoms, pathophysiology, molecular characteristics, and treatment approach processes.