Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caregiving-Related Sleep Problems and Their Relationship to Mental Health and Daytime Function in Female Veterans

ABSTRACT Objective/Background: To identify caregiving-related sleep problems and their relationship to mental health and daytime function in female Veterans. Participants: Female Veterans (N = 1,477) from cross-sectional, nationwide, postal survey data. Methods: The survey respondent characteristics included demographics, comorbidity, physical activity, health, use of sleep medications, and history of sleep apnea. They self-identified caregiving- related sleep problems (i.e., those who had trouble sleeping because of caring for a sick adult, an infant/child, or other respondents). Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) was used to assess mental health, and daytime function was measured using 11 items of International Classification of Sleep Disorders-2 (ICSD-2). Results: Female Veterans with self-identified sleep problems due to caring for a sick adult (n = 59) experienced significantly more symptoms of depression and anxiety (p < 0.001) and impairment in daytime function (e.g., fatigue, daytime sleepiness, loss of concentration, p < 0.001) than those with self-identified sleep problems due to caring for an infant or child (n = 95) or all other respondents (n = 1,323) after controlling for the respondent characteristics. Conclusions: Healthcare providers should pay attention to assessing sleep characteristics of female Veterans with caregiving responsibilities, particularly those caregiving for a sick adult.
Venomics-Accelerated Cone Snail Venom Peptide Discovery

Cone snail venoms are considered a treasure trove of bioactive peptides. Despite over 800 species of cone snails being known, each producing over 1000 venom peptides, only about 150 unique venom peptides are structurally and functionally characterized. To overcome the limitations of the traditional low-throughput bio-discovery approaches, multi-omics systems approaches have been introduced to accelerate venom peptide discovery and characterisation. This “venomic” approach is starting to unravel the full complexity of cone snail venoms and to provide new insights into their biology and evolution. The main challenge for venomics is the effective integration of transcriptomics, proteomics, and pharmacological data and the efficient analysis of big datasets. Novel database search tools and visualisation techniques are now being introduced that facilitate data exploration, with ongoing advances in related omics fields being expected to further enhance venomics studies. Despite these challenges and future opportunities, cone snail venomics has already exponentially expanded the number of novel venom peptide sequences identified from the species investigated, although most novel conotoxins remain to be pharmacologically characterised. Therefore, efficient high-throughput peptide production systems and/or banks of miniaturized discovery assays are required to overcome this bottleneck and thus enhance cone snail venom bioprospecting and accelerate the identification of novel drug leads.
A Wideband Differentially Fed Dual-Polarized Stacked Patch Antenna With Tuned Slot Excitations

In this communication, a novel wideband differentially fed dual-polarized stacked patch antenna with tuned slot excitations for base station application is proposed. The antenna is composed of a driven patch excited by tuned slot excitations, a parasitic patch to enhance the impedance bandwidth, and a ground plane to obtain unidirectional radiation. Two pairs of the slot excitations etched on the opposite edges of the driven patch are used to obtain dual polarizations. Each tuned slot excitation has an open-ended slot and a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Gamma $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-shaped feeding line. To connect to the differential circuit easily, a rotated feeding mechanism is adopted. A prototype of the proposed antenna is fabricated and tested. Measured results show that the antenna has a wide differential impedance bandwidth of 49.4% (1.66 to 2.75 GHz) for <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\vert \text{S}_{\mathrm{ dd11}}\vert ~f-15 $ </tex-math></inline-formula> dB. In addition, a high differential port isolation of more than 37 dB, a stable radiation pattern with a 3 dB beamwidth of 61°±5°, and a stable gain around 8.7 dBi are obtained within the operational band. The proposed antenna features wideband, high port isolation, and stable gains, and it is a promising candidate for base station systems using differential signals.
Early Recurrence and Major Bleeding in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation Treated With Non–Vitamin‐K Oral Anticoagulants (RAF‐NOACs) Study

Background The optimal timing to administer non–vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation is unclear. This prospective observational multicenter study evaluated the rates of early recurrence and major bleeding (within 90 days) and their timing in patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation who received NOACs for secondary prevention. Methods and Results Recurrence was defined as the composite of ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, and symptomatic systemic embolism, and major bleeding was defined as symptomatic cerebral and major extracranial bleeding. For the analysis, 1127 patients were eligible: 381 (33.8%) were treated with dabigatran, 366 (32.5%) with rivaroxaban, and 380 (33.7%) with apixaban. Patients who received dabigatran were younger and had lower admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score and less commonly had a CHA 2 DS 2‐VASc score >4 and less reduced renal function. Thirty‐two patients (2.8%) had early recurrence, and 27 (2.4%) had major bleeding. The rates of early recurrence and major bleeding were, respectively, 1.8% and 0.5% in patients receiving dabigatran, 1.6% and 2.5% in those receiving rivaroxaban, and 4.0% and 2.9% in those receiving apixaban. Patients who initiated NOACs within 2 days after acute stroke had a composite rate of recurrence and major bleeding of 12.4%; composite rates were 2.1% for those who initiated NOACs between 3 and 14 days and 9.1% for those who initiated >14 days after acute stroke. Conclusions In patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation, treatment with NOACs was associated with a combined 5% rate of ischemic embolic recurrence and severe bleeding within 90 days.
Progestogenic Effects in Ovariectomized Rats

Objective: Progesterone (P4) plays a central role in women's health. Synthetic progestins are used clinically in hormone replacement therapy (HRT), oral contraceptives, and for the treatment of endometriosis and infertility. Unfortunately, synthetic progestins are associated with side effects, including cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. Botanical dietary supplements are widely consumed for the alleviation of a variety of gynecological issues, but very few studies have characterized natural compounds in terms of their ability to bind to and activate progesterone receptors (PR). Kaempferol is a flavonoid that functions as a non-steroidal selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM) in vitro. This study investigated the molecular and physiological effects of kaempferol in the ovariectomized rat uteri. Methods: Since genistein is a phytoestrogen that was previously demonstrated to increase uterine weight and proliferation, the ability of kaempferol to block genistein action in the uterus was investigated. Analyses of proliferation, steroid receptor expression, and induction of well-established PR-regulated targets Areg and Hand2 were completed using histological analysis and qPCR gene induction experiments. In addition, kaempferol in silico binding analysis was completed for PR. The activation of estrogen and androgen receptor signalling was determined in vitro. Results: Molecular docking analysis confirmed that kaempferol adopts poses that are consistent with occupying the ligand-binding pocket of PRA. Kaempferol induced expression of PR regulated transcriptional targets in the ovariectomized rat uteri, including Hand2 and Areg. Consistent with progesterone-like activity, kaempferol attenuated genistein-induced uterine luminal epithelial proliferation without increasing uterine weight. Kaempferol signalled without down regulating PR expression in vitro and in vivo and without activating estrogen and androgen receptors. Conclusion: Taken together, these data suggest that kaempferol is a unique natural PR modulator that activates PR signaling in vitro and in vivo without triggering PR degradation.
Effect of Particle Size of Nano-aluminum Powder on Oxide Film Thickness and Active Aluminum Content

The nano-aluminum with the particle size from 25 nm to 600 nm was characterized by TEM,ESEM and elemental analyses.The TEM photographs was processed and a formula for calculating the oxide film thickness of nano-aluminum powder was presented.Combined with experimental conditions,the rationality and commonality of the formula were analyzed.The results show that there is a lower limit on the thickness of nano-aluminum oxide film,and the increase of oxide film thickness and particle size is two exponential relationship when the particle size is not less than 70 nm.
Spot weldability of δ-TRIP steel containing 0·4 wt-%C

Strong steels are usually difficult to resistance spot weld because of the tendency to form hard phases. This applies particularly to the transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) assisted steels with relatively high carbon equivalents. A new development in this context is the δ-TRIP steel, designed to retain δ-ferrite as a stable phase at all temperatures below melting. Fully martensitic regions are therefore avoided, making it possible to weld in spite of the high carbon concentration. The authors present here the first spot welding tests on the novel alloy system.
Immune consequences of anti-angiogenic therapyin renal cell carcinoma

Current therapies of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a highly vascularised tumour, mostly rely on anti-angiogenic treatment options. These include tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and anti-VEGF monoclonal antibodies. Although these strategies aim at restraining vascularisation to control tumour growth, the effects of such therapies are much wider, as affecting the vessel structure deeply modifies the microenvironment of the tumour mass. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of current knowledge on the global effects of anti-angiogenic treatment, mostly TKIs, on the shaping of the immune component of the RCC microenvironment. The data supporting the modification of immunity by anti-angiogenic therapies are collected to reveal the potential of angiogenesis modulation as a strategy for the adjuvant anti-cancer approach in immunotherapy.
Rothmund-Thomson Syndrome: Insights from New Patients on the Genetic Variability Underpinning Clinical Presentation and Cancer Outcome

Biallelic mutations in RECQL4 gene, a caretaker of the genome, cause Rothmund-Thomson type-II syndrome (RTS-II) and confer increased cancer risk if they damage the helicase domain. We describe five families exemplifying clinical and allelic heterogeneity of RTS-II, and report the effect of pathogenic RECQL4 variants by in silico predictions and transcripts analyses. Complete phenotype of patients #39 and #42 whose affected siblings developed osteosarcoma correlates with their c. [1048_1049del], c. [1878+32_1878+55del] and c. [1568G>C;1573delT], c. [3021_3022del] variants which damage the helicase domain. Literature survey highlights enrichment of these variants affecting the helicase domain in patients with cancer outcome raising the issue of strict oncological surveillance. Conversely, patients #29 and #19 have a mild phenotype and carry, respectively, the unreported homozygous c.3265G>T and c.3054A>G variants, both sparing the helicase domain. Finally, despite matching several criteria for RTS clinical diagnosis, patient #38 is heterozygous for c. 2412_2414del; no pathogenic CNVs out of those evidenced by high-resolution CGH-array, emerged as contributors to her phenotype.
Predicting overlay performance for electron projection lithography masks

Minimizing mask-level distortions is critical to the success of Electron Projection Lithography (EPL) in the sub-100 nm regime. A number of possibilities exist to reduce mask fabrication and pattern transfer distortion including subfield correction, 'dummy' patterns, pattern splitting and film stress control. Finite element modeling was used to illustrate the advantages and capabilities of these correction schemes for a 100-mm stencil mask with 1 mm X 1 mm membrane windows. SRAM-type circuit features including both the interconnect and contact levels were used to simulate realistic circuit layouts with both cross-mask and intra-membrane pattern density gradients. With such correction techniques, it is possible to reduce the EPL mask-level distortions for 'worst-case' mixed pattern types to less than 1.0 nm.
Ethical behavior of nurses in decision-making in Iran

Background: Ethical caring is an essential in nursing practice. Nurses are confronted with complex situations in which they are expected to autonomously make decisions in delivering good care to patients. Although a wide range of studies have examined ethical behavior of nurses, there are still many issues requiring further investigation. The aim of this article is to describe the ethical behavior of nurses in decision-making in patients’ care in Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted through grounded theory method. Participants were 17 Iranian nurses, employed in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences hospitals. Unstructured, semi-structured, and in-depth interviews were used for data gathering. Interviews were transcribed and coded according to Strauss and Corbin method in open, axial, and selective coding. Results: Nurses showed three major approaches in ethical behavior: Beyond the legal duty and protection of the patients, which includes dedication and full availability to nurses’ job and the client, spending time for the patients and delayed exit from the workplace, and arbitrary practice; legal duty and the protection of patients and nurses, which includes caretaking for the patient, responding to the client, and implementing the physician's prescription; and below the legal duty and the protection of one's self, that is, finding evidence and having witness in case of false documentation, and shortcoming, negligence, and mistake. Conclusions: Because of the importance of the ethical behavior of nurses in decision-making, it is necessary to find ways to promote moral reasoning and moral development of nurses. Empowerment of nurses, nurse educators, and nursing students to acquire knowledge and develop ethical behavior skills is important.
Expression and Function of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) in Melioidosis

Background Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has emerged as a pivotal mediator of innate immunity and has been shown to be an important effector molecule in severe sepsis. Melioidosis, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is an important cause of community-acquired sepsis in Southeast-Asia. We aimed to characterize the expression and function of MIF in melioidosis. Methodology and Principal Findings MIF expression was determined in leukocytes and plasma from 34 melioidosis patients and 32 controls, and in mice infected with B. pseudomallei. MIF function was investigated in experimental murine melioidosis using anti-MIF antibodies and recombinant MIF. Patients demonstrated markedly increased MIF mRNA leukocyte and MIF plasma concentrations. Elevated MIF concentrations were associated with mortality. Mice inoculated intranasally with B. pseudomallei displayed a robust increase in pulmonary and systemic MIF expression. Anti-MIF treated mice showed lower bacterial loads in their lungs upon infection with a low inoculum. Conversely, mice treated with recombinant MIF displayed a modestly impaired clearance of B. pseudomallei. MIF exerted no direct effects on bacterial outgrowth or phagocytosis of B. pseudomallei. Conclusions MIF concentrations are markedly elevated during clinical melioidosis and correlate with patients' outcomes. In experimental melioidosis MIF impaired antibacterial defense.
Key Players of Cisplatin Resistance: Towards a Systems Pharmacology Approach

The major obstacle in the clinical use of the antitumor drug cisplatin is inherent and acquired resistance. Typically, cisplatin resistance is not restricted to a single mechanism demanding for a systems pharmacology approach to understand a whole cell’s reaction to the drug. In this study, the cellular transcriptome of untreated and cisplatin-treated A549 non-small cell lung cancer cells and their cisplatin-resistant sub-line A549rCDDP2000 was screened with a whole genome array for relevant gene candidates. By combining statistical methods with available gene annotations and without a previously defined hypothesis HRas, MAPK14 (p38), CCL2, DOK1 and PTK2B were identified as genes possibly relevant for cisplatin resistance. These and related genes were further validated on transcriptome (qRT-PCR) and proteome (Western blot) level to select candidates contributing to resistance. HRas, p38, CCL2, DOK1, PTK2B and JNK3 were integrated into a model of resistance-associated signalling alterations describing differential gene and protein expression between cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant cells in reaction to cisplatin exposure.
Evaluation of Recommender Systems Through Simulated Users

Recommender systems have proved really useful in order to handle with the information overload on the Internet. However, it is very difficult to evaluate such a personalised systems since this involves purely subjective assessments. Actually, only very few recommender systems developed over the Internet evaluate and discuss their results scientifically. The contribution of this paper is a methodology for evaluating recommender systems: the ”profile discovering procedure”. Based on a list of item evaluations previously provided by a real user, this methodology simulates the recommendation process of a recommender system over time. Besides, an extension of this methodology has been designed in order to simulate the collaboration among users. At the end of the simulations, the desired evaluation measures (precision and recall among others) are presented. This methodology and its extensions have been successfully used in the evaluation of different parameters and algorithms of a restaurant recommender system.
A viscoplastic theory of shape memory polymer fibres with application to self-healing materials

The difficulty in healing structural damage is that most existing schemes need external help to bring the fractured surfaces in contact before healing can occur. To facilitate the existing schemes to heal macroscopic cracks, we envision that the cracked surfaces can be brought in contact through constrained shape recovery of a shape memory polymer (SMP) fibre-reinforced grid skeleton that is embedded in thermoset polymer matrix, similar to stitch a cut in the human skin by suture. In this study, we show that polyurethane SMP fibres can be hardened through cyclic cold-drawing programming, which makes them suitable for reinforcement and healing in thermoset polymer composites. We characterized the microstructure of the SMP fibres, which provides fundamental understanding of the effect of programming on the degree of crystallinity and molecular orientation. Then, a micromechanical multiscale viscoplastic theory is developed to predict the thermomechanical behaviours of the SMP fibres, including the cyclic hardening and stress recovery responses. The proposed theory takes into account the stress-induced crystallization process and the evolution of the morphological texture based on the applied stresses. The cyclic loading and the thermomechanical responses of the SMP fibres confirm the capabilities of the proposed model in capturing these phenomena.
Microneedles: An Emerging Approach for Active Transdermal Delivery ofInsulin

Since the discovery of insulin, ninety years ago, long term exogenous insulin replacement therapy has been the most effective treatment of type 1 and advanced type 2 diabetes. Because of its poor absorption, instability in the gastrointestinal tract and short half-life, insulin is conventionally administered by multiple injections, most commonly subcutaneously, to control the blood glucose level in diabetic patients. To date, a variety of injectable insulin products with varying onset and duration of action are used to meet the temporal requirements of an insulin therapy that mimics as close as possible natural production of insulin. However, pain, needle phobia and stress provoked by invasiveness and chronic parenteral therapy in addition to tissue trauma, allergic reactions and less than optimum pharmacodynamic response, have been the main limitations of subcutaneous insulin [1]. Other concerns include disposal and re-use of needles in certain communities, as a source of blood-borne pathogens. Despite improvement in needles and injection devices and infusion pumps [2], invasiveness and discomfort led in many instances to poor patient compliance and delayed insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes. Such inconveniences, on the other hand, directed developments in insulin therapy to alternative non-parenteral delivery strategies that are less invasive [3], a trend greatly enhanced by the availability of recombinant insulin on a commercial scale and a plethora of drug delivery strategies. Insulin delivery systems for oral, inhalation, intranasal, rectal or transdermal administration have been investigated with limited clinical applicability. Direct injection of insulin using a needle remains more effective and provides an avenue for effective development.
Gravitational microlensing of fractal sources

Gravitational microlensing has proven to be a powerful tool in the study of quasars, providing some of the strongest limits on the scales of structure in the central engine. Typically, sources are considered to be smoothly varying on some particular scale; such simple sources result in recognizable time-scales in microlensing light curves from which the size of the source can be determined. Various emission processes, however, result in sources with a fractal appearance, possessing structure on a range of scales. Here, the gravitational microlensing of such fractal sources at the heart of quasars is considered. It is shown that the resulting light curves reflect the fractal nature of the sources, possessing pronounced structure at various scales, markedly different to the case with the random distribution of emission clouds that are typically considered. Hence, the determination of a characteristic scale of variability in a microlensing light curve may not necessarily reveal the size of the individual emission clouds, the key value that is required to determine the physical state of the emission region, rather it may correspond to a particular hierarchy in a fractal structure. Current X-ray satellites can detect such fractal structure via the monitoring of gravitationally lensed quasars during a microlensing event, providing a test of high-energy emission processes in quasars.