Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Potential Benefits of the Influenza Vaccination on COVID-19 Mortality Rate—A Retrospective Analysis of Patients in Poland

In this study, we used publicly available data from the Centrum e-Zdrowia (CeZ) Polish Databank proposing a possible correlation between influenza vaccination and mortality due to COVID-19. We limited our search to the patients with positive COVID-19 laboratory tests from 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2021 and who filled a prescription for any influenza vaccine during the 2019–2020 influenza season. In total, we included 116,277 patients and used a generalized linear model to analyze the data. We found out that patients aged 60+ who received an influenza vaccination have a lower probability of death caused by COVID-19 in comparison to unvaccinated, and the magnitude of this difference grows with age. For people below 60 years old, we did not observe an influence of the vaccination. Our results suggest a potential protective effect of the influenza vaccine on COVID-19 mortality of the elderly. Administration of the influenza vaccine before the influenza season would reduce the burden of increased influenza incidence, the risk of influenza and COVID-19 coinfection and render the essential medical resources accessible to cope with another wave of COVID-19. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing a correlation between influenza vaccination and the COVID-19 mortality rate in Poland.
Factors associated with limitation of care after fatal injury

BACKGROUND There is variability in end-of-life care of trauma patients. Many survive resuscitation but die after limitation of care (LoC). This study investigated LoC at a level I center. METHODS Adult trauma deaths between January 2016 and June 2020 were reviewed. Patients were stratified into “full code” versus any LoC (i.e., do not resuscitate, no escalation, or withdrawal of care) and by timing to LoC. Emergency department and “brain” deaths were excluded. Unadjusted logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards were used for analyses. Results include n (%) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with α = 0.05. RESULTS A total of 173 patients were included; 15 patients (8%) died full code and 158 (91%) died after LoC. Seventy-seven patients (48%) underwent incremental LoC. Age (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02–1.08; p = 0.0010) and female sex (OR, 3.71; 95% CI, 1.01–13.64; p = 0.0487) increased the odds of LoC; number of anatomic injuries (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85–0.98; p = 0.0146), chest injuries (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] score chest, >3) (OR, 0.02; 95% CI, 0.01–0.26; p = 0.0021), extremity injury (AIS score, >3) (OR, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01–0.64; p = 0.0170), and hospital complications equal to 1 (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.06–0.78; p = 0.0201) or ≥2 (OR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04–0.87; p = 0.0319) decreased the odds of LoC. For those having LoC, final limitations were implemented in <14 days for 83% of patients; markers of injury severity (e.g., Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and AIS score) increased the odds of early LoC implementation. CONCLUSION Most patients died after LoC was implemented in a timely fashion. Significant head injury increased the odds of LoC. The number of injuries, severe chest and extremity injuries, and increasing number of complications decreased the odds of LoC, presumably because patients died before LoCs were initiated. Understanding factors contributing to end-of-life care could help guide discussions regarding LoCs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic and Epidemiologic; Level III.
Comparison of susceptibility weighted imaging with conventional MRI sequences in multiple sclerosis plaque assessment: A cross-sectional study

Background: The current study was performed to compare susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods of T2-weighted (T2W) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging in multiple sclerosis (MS) plaque assessment Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 MS patients referred to Shafa Imaging Center, Isfahan, Iran. Patients who fulfilled McDonald criteria and were diagnosed with MS by a professional neurologist at least 1 year before the study initiation were included in the study. Eligible patients underwent brain scans using SWI, T2W imaging, and FLAIR. Plaques’ number and volume were detected separately for each imaging sequence. Moreover, identified lesions in SWI sequence were evaluated in terms of iron deposition and central veins Results: Totally 50 patients (10 males and 40 females) with a mean age of 28.48 ± 5.25 years were included in the current study. Majority of patients (60%) had a disease duration of >5 years, and mean expanded disability status score was 2.56 ± 1.32. There was no significant difference between different imaging modalities in terms of plaques’ number and volume (P > 0.05). It was also found that there was a high correlation between SWI and conventional imaging techniques of T2W (r = 0.97, 0.91, P < 0.001) and FLAIR (r = 0.99, 0.99, P < 0.001) in the estimation of both the number and volume of plaques (P < 0.001) Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that SWI and conventional MRI sequences have similar efficiency for plaque assessment in MS patients.
Participation in active sport tourism: impact assessment of destination involvement and perceived risk

ABSTRACT Sport tourism has been gaining importance in recent times, and its impact on destinations is significant. This study measures the main motivations to participate in active sport tourism in Poland. It focuses on mediating and moderating the relationship between travel motives and destination involvement, coupled with perceived risk and intention to participate. It conceptualizes a comprehensive model of motivational factors, vis a vis their relationship with participation intention. Data were collected from a sample of young adults aged 18–35, using a self-administered questionnaire survey. The results show that active sport tourists are likely to modify their intention to participate based on a chosen destination. Moreover, the results also help in identifying the mediating role of destination involvement, along with the moderating impact of perceived risk. Notably, the perceived risk does tend to have a negative effect on the relationship between destination involvement and participation intention.
Severity Distribution Functions for Freeway Segments

To date, the focus of modeling efforts for freeway safety has been on developing safety prediction functions and crash modification factors, with only limited consideration for crash severity distributions. As a result, relatively little is known about the safety effects of design elements such as lane width, rumble strips, and longitudinal barriers on crash severity. In some cases, countermeasures are implemented with the intent to reduce fatal crashes, but the effect of these treatments on less severe crashes is not well understood. Research was conducted to develop severity distribution functions (SDFs) to predict the proportion of crashes in each severity category as a function of roadway geometric design elements and traffic control features. The SDFs were calibrated with freeway segment data from California, Maine, and Washington State. The findings from this research show that barrier presence, increased traffic volume, increased lane width, and urban area type reduce the proportion of high-severity crashes. At the same time, the presence of rumble strips and horizontal curvature increases the proportion of high-severity crashes. These SDFs can be applied along with safety prediction functions and crash modification factors to obtain more precise estimates of the safety effects of design decisions.
Factors Associated With the Quality of the Patient-Doctor Relationship

Background The patient-doctor relationship (PDR) is a complex phenomenon with strong cultural determinants, which impacts health-related outcomes and, accordingly, does have ethical implications. The study objective was to describe the PDR from medical encounters between 600 Mexican outpatients with rheumatic diseases and their attending rheumatologists, and to identify factors associated with a good PDR. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed. Patients completed the PDRQ-9 (Patient-Doctor Relationship Questionnaire, 9 items), the HAQ-DI (Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index), the Short-Form 36 items (SF-36), a pain–visual analog scale, and the Ideal Patient Autonomy Scale. Relevant sociodemographic, disease-related, and treatment-related variables were obtained. Patients assigned a PDRQ-9 score to each patient-doctor encounter. Regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with a good PDR, which was defined based on a cutoff point established using the borderline performance method. Results Patients were primarily middle-aged female subjects (86%), with substantial disease duration (median, 11.1 years), without disability (HAQ-DI within reference range, 55.3%), and with deteriorated quality of life (SF-36 out of reference range, 73.7%–78.6%). Among them, 36.5% had systemic lupus erythematosus and 31.8% had rheumatoid arthritis. There were 422 patients (70.3%) with a good PDR and 523 medical encounters (87.2%) involved certified rheumatologists. Patient paternalistic ideal of autonomy (odds ratio [OR], 3.029; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.793–5.113), SF-36 score (OR, 1.014; 95% CI, 1.003–1.025), female sex (OR, 0.460; 95% CI, 0.233–0.010), and being certified rheumatologist (OR, 1.526; 95% CI, 1.059–2.200) were associated with a good PDR. Conclusions Patient-related factors and the degree of experience of the attending physician impact the quality of the PDR, in Mexican outpatients with rheumatic diseases.
Comparative steady-state performance of crossbonded cable systems

The paper gives a universal system of steady-state analysis for any crossbonded and/or transposed cable system with unequal lays. It first introduces a nomenclature which enables any conductor or sheath to be identified in geometric and/or longitudinal position in any lay and/or section both for the general case and for four specific cases of crossbonding. It is then shown that the effect of unequal lays on sheath voltages, currents and losses may always be analysed, provided that there is rigorous adherence to the system of nomenclature. The paper is restricted to cases of unbalanced conductor currents in the steady state and does not deal with the additional variables and complexities when the various crossbonded systems have multiple-earthed points and are under external or internal unbalanced fault conditions. A large selection of graphical results is presented for sheath currents, losses and longitudinal sheath voltages of the three main cases of crossbonding. In the particular case of trefoil spacing, taken as an example, the influence of variation of lay length between 0.6 and 1.4 p.u. on the sheath currents and longitudinal induced voltages is shown. The results are discussed in detail since comparative performances for these various systems have not previously been presented. The conclusions extend also the analytical methods, it being shown that all crossbonded systems of whatever complexity can be analysed by the use of rotation matrices and the notation for nonuniform lay length; it follows en passant that normal symmetrical-component methods do not yield a solution, owing to the crossbonded systems having multiple unbalances and six degrees of freedom.
Frontal crash severity in different road environments measured in real-world crashes

Crashes in Sweden taken from Folksam in-depth studies were used to show how crash severity depends on various road environments. Crash severity was shown for various speed limits, crash types and road surface friction. Data used were from 422 frontal vehicle crashes in Sweden with recorded crash pulses. The findings of the current study showed that the average change of velocity was 4.6 ± 4.1 km/h higher on roads with a 90 km/h speed limit than on roads with a 70 km/h speed limit. The corresponding difference between 90 km/h and 50 km/h speed limit was 7 ± 5.9 km/h. In single vehicle crashes into guardrails, average change of velocity was 6.6 ± 4.1 km/h lower than into ditches, stones and rocks. The corresponding difference for average mean acceleration was 1.2 ± 0.8g. Two vehicle crashes on rural and urban roads with oncoming vehicles, which had an average change of velocity of 31.8 km/h and an average mean acceleration of 8.6g, constituted the crash type with the highest crash severity. There was a significant increase in crash severity for single vehicle crashes with respect to increasing surface friction. This study shows that the average impact severity of crashes depends not only on the struck object itself, but also on the traffic environment in which the crash occurs. In the development of new safety technologies, real-world crash severity data are valuable as input in attempts to predict the safety effect of these systems in various road traffic designs.
Clinical and laboratory features of primary Sjögren’s syndrome complicated with mild to severe thrombocytopenia

Background Patients with thrombocytopenia accompanied by positive Ro/SS-A and/or La/SS-B autoantibodies have a possible diagnosis of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS). Owing to its low prevalence, large-sample controlled studies on thrombocytopenia in primary SS (pSS) are scarce. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of pSS complicated with mild to severe thrombocytopenia, and compared them with pSS patients without thrombocytopenia. Methods This medical records review study analyzed the demographic data, clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, and other results of 88 patients diagnosed with pSS between March 2007 and March 2018 in the Department of Rheumatology of The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. A platelet (PLT) count of peripheral blood below 50×109/L (≤50×109/L) was regarded as mild to severe thrombocytopenia. Results Of the 88 pSS patients, 43 developed mild to severe thrombocytopenia (thrombocytopenia group) and 45 had no thrombocytopenia (control group). No significant difference was found in the levels of autoantibodies and inflammatory markers between the thrombocytopenia group and the control group. Dry mouth (P<0.01) and dry eyes (P<0.01) were not frequently observed in the thrombocytopenia group, but the level of complement C4 dropped significantly (P<0.05). In contrast, the control group was more likely to have leukopenia (P=0.01) and interstitial lung disease (P<0.01). Conclusions In pSS patients with mild to severe thrombocytopenia, the incidence of xerostomia, xerophthalmia, and lung involvement was markedly reduced. Knowledge about the features of pSS associated with thrombocytopenia will lead to earlier and better diagnosis and treatment.
Response of Prestressed Concrete I-Girder Bridges to Live Load

Design and evaluation of prestressed concrete I-girder bridges is in large part dependent on the transverse load distribution characteristics and the dynamic load amplification, as well as service level, live load, and tensile stresses induced in the girders. This study presents the results of field tests conducted on three prestressed concrete I-girder bridges to obtain dynamic load allowance statistics, girder distribution factors (GDF), and service level stress statistics. The field-based data are also compared to approximate and numerical model results. Bridge response was measured at each girder for the passage of test trucks and normal truck traffic. The dynamic amplification is observed to be a strong function of peak static stress and a weak function of vehicle speed and is independent of span length, number of axles, and configuration. GDFs for one- and two-lanes are less than code specified GDFs. Results from the numerical grillage models agree closely with experimentally derived results for tra.
Implication of miR-155-5p and miR-143-3p in the Vascular Insulin Resistance and Instability of Human and Experimental Atherosclerotic Plaque

(1) Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of death in developed countries, being atherosclerosis, a recurring process underlying their apparition. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) modulate the expression of their targets and have emerged as key players in CVDs; (2) Methods: 18 miRNAs were selected (Pubmed and GEO database) for their possible role in promoting atherosclerosis and were analysed by RT-qPCR in the aorta from apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice. Afterwards, the altered miRNAs in the aorta from 18 weeks-ApoE−/− mice were studied in human aortic and carotid samples; (3) Results: miR-155-5p was overexpressed and miR-143-3p was downregulated in mouse and human atherosclerotic lesions. In addition, a significant decrease in protein kinase B (AKT), target of miR-155-5p, and an increase in insulin-like growth factor type II receptor (IGF-IIR), target of miR-143-3p, were noted in aortic roots from ApoE−/− mice and in carotid plaques from patients with advanced carotid atherosclerosis (ACA). Finally, the overexpression of miR-155-5p reduced AKT levels and its phosphorylation in vascular smooth muscle cells, while miR-143-3p overexpression decreased IGF-IIR reducing apoptosis in vascular cells; (4) Conclusions: Our results suggest that miR-155-5p and miR-143-3p may be implicated in insulin resistance and plaque instability by the modulation of their targets AKT and IGF-IIR, contributing to the progression of atherosclerosis.
Superconducting NbN thin films on various (X/Y/Z-cut) lithium niobate substrates

Lithium niobate (LN) exhibits outstanding properties in various application of photonics, electronics, and optoelectronics, showing potentials in integration. Due to the directional dependence of LN tensor properties, optical elements made up by LN favor the type of LN substrate. To introduce high-performance superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) to LN-integrated photonics chips, superconducting NbN thin films with thicknesses from 3 to 50 nm were deposited on X-cut, Y-cut, and Z-cut LN substrates using magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The different thickness dependencies of T c, δT c, and residual resistance ratios are observed in NbN thin films on different LN substrates. NbN thin films on X-cut and Y-cut LN substrates are polycrystalline with a transition temperature (T c) of ∼6 K for a 6 nm thick film. While NbN thin films are epitaxially textured on Z-cut LN substrates with T c of 11.5 K for a 6 nm thick film. NbN-SNSPD on X-cut LN substrates shows a weak saturation trend of its system detection efficiency; however, the performance of NbN-SNSPD on Z-cut LN substrates is limited. We evaluated the selection of cuts and concluded that X-cut and Y-cut LN are more suitable to be a platform of integrated LN photonic chips from the aspect of NbN-SNSPD. This study helps fabricate high-performance SNSPDs on fully integrated photonics chips on LN substrates.
Experimental comparison of dispersion-managed fiber types in a 16-channel 40 Gb/s 500 km (6 /spl times/ 84.5 km) Raman-assisted transmission link

Summary form only given. The concept of a dispersion-managed transmission span consisting of a positive (PDF) and a negative dispersion fiber (NDF) section offers the promise of highly accurate in-line chromatic dispersion control. Our experimental results confirmed that the composite PDF-NDF-PDF span configuration yielded superior Q performance and tolerance to nonlinearity over a broad range of signal launch power and Raman gain, compared to the simpler PDF-NDF arrangement. This enhanced span configuration, with the small area NDF inserted between two large area PDFs, is better suited for long haul applications where nonlinearity tolerance, dispersion management and reduced PMD are critical factors.
The Optimal Cultivar × Sowing Date × Plant Density for Grain Yield and Resource Use Efficiency of Summer Maize in the Northern Huang–Huai–Hai Plain of China

In order to explore the optimal cultivar × sowing date × plant density for summer maize (Zea mays L.) in the Northern Huang–Huai–Hai (HHH) Plain of China, field experiments were conducted over two consecutive years (2018–2019) on a loam soil in the Northern HHH Plain. A split–split plot design was employed in this study, and the main plots included three cultivars (HM1: early-maturing cultivar; ZD958: medium-maturing cultivar; DH605: late-maturing cultivar); subplots consisted of three sowing dates (SD1: June 10; SD2: June 17; SD3: June 24); sub-sub plots include two plant densities (PD1: 6.75 × 104 plants ha−1; PD2: 8.25 × 104 plants ha−1). The results showed that the effects of cultivar and plant density on grain yield of summer maize were not significant, and the sowing date was the major factor affecting the grain yield. Delayed sowing significantly decreased the grain yield of summer maize, this was due mainly to the reduced kernel weight, which is associated with the lower post-anthesis dry matter accumulation. Moreover, radiation use efficiency (RUE), temperature use efficiency (TUE), and water use efficiency (WUE) were significantly affected by cultivar, sowing date, and plant density. Selecting early- and medium-maturing cultivars was beneficial to the improvements in RUE and TUE, and plants grown at earlier sowing with higher plant density increased the RUE and TUE. The interactive analysis of cultivar × sowing date × plant density showed that the optimum grain yields of all tested cultivars were observed at SD1-PD2, and the optimum RUE and TUE for HM1, ZD958, and DH605 were observed at SD1-PD2, SD2-PD2, and SD2-PD2, respectively. The differences in the optimum grain yield, RUE, and TUE among the tested cultivars were not significant. These results suggested that plants grown at earlier sowing with reasonable dense planting had benefits of grain yield and resource use efficiency. In order to adapt to mechanized grain harvesting, early-maturing cultivar with lower grain moisture at harvest would be the better choice. Therefore, adopting early-maturing cultivars grown with earlier sowing with reasonably higher plant density would be the optimal planting pattern for summer maize production in the Northern HHH Plain of China in future.
Mitogenomics and Phylogeny of Seven African Saturniidae (Lepidoptera)

: African Saturniidae (Lepidoptera) have not been included in recent mitochondrial phylogenies except for two edible species of economic importance in Southern Africa. To bridge this gap, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes for seven additional species ( Epiphora bau-hinia, Heniocha dyops, Gonimbrasia tyrrhea, Bunaea alcinoe, Nudaurelia cytherea, Vegetia ducalis and Veg-etia grimmia ), including the first representatives of the tribe Micragonini for comparative mitoge-nomics and phylogenetic reconstruction of the family. The mitochondrial gene content and organization were conserved across Saturniidae. After testing for different datasets of genes, the only tree able to successfully recover the four tribes as monophyletic clades included the two rRNA gene sequences (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) in addition to the full complement of 13 protein-coding genes.