Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secondhand smoking, knowledge/attitudes and socioeconomic status among married Bangladeshi women: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of research on knowledge/attitudes regarding the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoking (SHS) among women. The relationship between exposure to SHS, socioeconomic status (SES) and knowledge/attitudes regarding the risks of SHS has often been ignored. We therefore aimed to examine (1) whether SES and exposure to SHS were independently associated with knowledge/attitudes regarding the risks of SHS; and (2) whether women with low SES and exposure to SHS were uniquely disadvantaged in terms of deficient knowledge and more dismissive attitudes towards the risks of SHS. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study in the Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. METHODS: A total of 541 women were interviewed. Knowledge of and attitudes towards the risks of SHS were the outcomes of interest. RESULTS: A majority of the respondents were exposed to SHS at home (49.0%). Only 20.1% had higher levels of knowledge, and only 37.3% had non-dismissive attitudes towards the risks of SHS. Participants in the low SES group and those exposed to SHS had lower odds of higher knowledge and their attitudes towards the risks of SHS were more dismissive. Regarding deficient levels of knowledge and scores indicating more dismissive attitudes, women in the low SES group and who were exposed to SHS were not uniquely disadvantaged. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to SHS and low SES were independently associated with deficient knowledge and scores indicating more dismissive attitudes. Regarding knowledge/attitudes, the negative effect of exposure to SHS extended across all socioeconomic backgrounds and was not limited to women in either the low or the high SES group.
Hypoxia-inducible factors and RAB22A mediate formation of microvesicles that stimulate breast cancer invasion and metastasis

Significance Cancer cells release from their cell surface membrane-lined microvesicles (MVs), which contain proteins, mRNAs, and microRNAs that can be taken up by other cells. We report that breast cancer cells exposed to decreased oxygen availability (hypoxia) increase their production of MVs, which stimulate invasion and metastasis by recipient breast cancer cells. Increased MV shedding by hypoxic cells requires expression of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), which activate transcription of the RAB22A gene, and expression of the small GTPase RAB22A, which is a protein that localizes to budding MVs. Our results delineate a molecular mechanism by which hypoxia increases invasion and metastasis by stimulating MV shedding and provide further evidence that addition of HIF inhibitors to current treatment regimens may improve clinical outcome. Extracellular vesicles such as exosomes and microvesicles (MVs) are shed by cancer cells, are detected in the plasma of cancer patients, and promote cancer progression, but the molecular mechanisms regulating their production are not well understood. Intratumoral hypoxia is common in advanced breast cancers and is associated with an increased risk of metastasis and patient mortality that is mediated in part by the activation of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). In this paper, we report that exposure of human breast cancer cells to hypoxia augments MV shedding that is mediated by the HIF-dependent expression of the small GTPase RAB22A, which colocalizes with budding MVs at the cell surface. Incubation of naïve breast cancer cells with MVs shed by hypoxic breast cancer cells promotes focal adhesion formation, invasion, and metastasis. In breast cancer patients, RAB22A mRNA overexpression in the primary tumor is associated with decreased overall and metastasis-free survival and, in an orthotopic mouse model, RAB22A knockdown impairs breast cancer metastasis.
Focal skeletal FDG uptake indicates poor prognosis in cHL regardless of extent and first‐line chemotherapy

18F‐fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG‐PET/CT) is used for staging classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) with high sensitivity for skeletal involvement. However, it is unclear whether a single bone lesion carries the same adverse prognosis as multifocal lesions and if this is affected by type of chemotherapy [ABVD (adriamycin, bleomycin, vincristine, dacarbazine) versus BEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone)]. We reviewed the clinico‐pathological and outcome data from 209 patients with newly diagnosed cHL staged by FDG‐PET/CT. Patterns of skeletal/bone marrow uptake (BMU) were divided into ‘low’ and ‘high’ diffuse BMU (i.e. without focal lesions), and unifocal or multifocal lesions. Additional separate survival analysis was performed, taking type of chemotherapy into account. Forty patients (19·2%) had skeletal lesions (20 unifocal, 20 multifocal). The 3‐year progression‐free‐survival (PFS) was 80% for patients with ‘low BMU’, 87% for ‘high BMU’, 69% for ‘unifocal’ and 51% for ‘multifocal’ lesions; median follow‐up was 38 months. The presence of bone lesions, both uni‐ and multifocal, was associated with significantly inferior PFS (log rank P = 0·0001), independent of chemotherapy type. Thus, increased diffuse BMU should not be considered as a risk factor in cHL, whereas unifocal or multifocal bone lesions should be regarded as important predictors of adverse outcome, irrespective of the chemotherapy regimen used.
A MPPT-based ANN controller applied to PV pumping system

This paper introduces a maximum power point method (MPPT) based on an artificial neural network (ANN) and a scanning algorithm. The proposed MPPT is applied to pumping system. The system is composed of solar generator, boost converter and centrifugal pump load driven by a DC motor. A complete simulation of the system is developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK under different weather conditions. The results obtained verify that the ANN controller shows a significant improvement in the power extraction performance especially in terms of tracking efficiency, when compared with modified Perturb and observe controller, and consequently the quantity of the pumped water gained by the ANN method is higher.
The effects of research resources on international collaboration in the astronomy community

This study examines whether an institution's research resources affect its centrality and relationships in international collaboration among 606 astronomical institutions worldwide. The findings support our theoretical hypotheses that an institution's research resources are positively related to its central position in the network. Astronomical institutions with superior resources, such as being equipped with international observational facilities and having substantial research manpower, tend to have more foreign partners (high degree centrality) and play an influential role (high betweenness centrality) in the international collaboration network. An institution becomes more and more active in international collaborations as its research population expands. In terms of the relationship, which is captured by an actor institution's co‐authorship preference for each partner in the network, the effect of research resources is not as significant as expected. We found that astronomical institutions are not necessarily preferentially co‐authoring with partners that have better research resources. In addition, this study indicates that geographic closeness (or “geographic proximity”) largely affects the occurrence of international collaboration. The investigated institutions apparently prefer partners from neighboring countries. This finding gives an indication of the phenomenon of “regional homophily” in the international collaboration network.
A new saliency measure for inputs selection and node pruning in neural network

This paper deals with a new saliency measure for ranking and removing the less important inputs and hidden nodes. This new metric is the result of a global sensitivity analysis, EFAST, performed on the neural network. EFAST is model independent, does not interact with the training stage and does not rely on any assumption regards to local minima for instance, contrary to a wide range of local sensitivity-based saliency measure. EFAST apportions the output variance among all the units, and hence, allows their quantitative ranking. New input selection and node pruning algorithms have been derived and are presented here. Some experimental results are provided and show with a good agreement the efficiency of the approach for inputs selection, system identification and node pruning applications.
Solitary ecology as a phenomenon extending beyond insular systems: exaptive evolution in Anolis lizards

The mechanisms driving phenotypic evolution have been of interest to biologists since Darwin. Ecological release—wherein adaptive evolution occurs following relaxation of constraining selective pressures—and environmental filtering—wherein exaptive traits allow colonization of a new area—have been studied in several insular cases. Anolis lizards, which may exist in solitude or sympatry with multiple congeners, are an excellent system for evaluating whether ecological release and environmental filtering are associated with phenotypic shifts across phylogenetic and geographical scales. Insular solitary Anolis exhibit phenotypic differentiation in body size and sexual size dimorphism—SSD—through exaptive and adaptive evolution, respectively. But, the generality of these effects has not yet been addressed. Here, we analyse the evolution of body size and SSD relative to sympatry in mainland Anolis. We found that mainland species co-occurring with few congeners exhibit uniform body size and greater SSD relative to other random mainland assemblages, consistent with the insular solitary pattern. The locations of evolutionary shifts for both traits do not coincide with evolutionary transitions to decreased levels of sympatry. These results are consistent with exaptive environmental filtering but not adaptive ecological release. Future studies should be conducted at local scales to evaluate the role of these factors in the evolution of solitary existence in mainland and island species.
CRAC channels regulate astrocyte Ca2+ signaling and gliotransmitter release to modulate hippocampal GABAergic transmission

Astrocyte store-operated Ca2+ entry controls gliotransmitter release to alter hippocampal excitability. A CRAC team for astrocytes Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cell type in the brain and release small molecules in a Ca2+-dependent fashion, such as ATP, that regulate neuronal excitability. Toth et al. found that Ca2+ release–activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels comprising the Ca2+ sensor STIM1 and the Ca2+ channel Orai1 were a major route of Ca2+ entry into hippocampal astrocytes. Genetic ablation of either STIM1 or Orai1 in astrocytes decreased intracellular Ca2+ increases in response to the purinergic receptor agonists ATP or UTP or the protease-activated receptor agonist thrombin. Furthermore, astrocytes deficient in Orai1 showed reduced vesicle exocytosis and ATP release, as well as an inability to stimulate the excitability of hippocampal interneurons. These results suggest that enhancing CRAC channel activity in astrocytes could be a strategy to suppress neuronal excitability. Astrocytes are the major glial subtype in the brain and mediate numerous functions ranging from metabolic support to gliotransmitter release through signaling mechanisms controlled by Ca2+. Despite intense interest, the Ca2+ influx pathways in astrocytes remain obscure, hindering mechanistic insights into how Ca2+ signaling is coupled to downstream astrocyte-mediated effector functions. Here, we identified store-operated Ca2+ release–activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels encoded by Orai1 and STIM1 as a major route of Ca2+ entry for driving sustained and oscillatory Ca2+ signals in astrocytes after stimulation of metabotropic purinergic and protease-activated receptors. Using synaptopHluorin as an optical reporter, we showed that the opening of astrocyte CRAC channels stimulated vesicular exocytosis to mediate the release of gliotransmitters, including ATP. Furthermore, slice electrophysiological recordings showed that activation of astrocytes by protease-activated receptors stimulated interneurons in the CA1 hippocampus to increase inhibitory postsynaptic currents on CA1 pyramidal cells. These results reveal a central role for CRAC channels as regulators of astrocyte Ca2+ signaling, gliotransmitter release, and astrocyte-mediated tonic inhibition of CA1 pyramidal neurons.
Systematic review with meta-analyses: does the pathogen matter in post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome?

Abstract Objective: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a risk factor for post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS). This systematic review evaluates the prevalence and risk-factors of PI-IBS after AGE by specific pathogens. Materials and methods: Medline (1966–2019) and Embase (1974–2019) were searched for studies evaluating PI-IBS minimum 3 months after AGE with Campylobacter spp. , Salmonella spp. , Shigella spp. , Escherischia coli, Clostridium difficile, norovirus, rotavirus, Cryptosporidium spp. or Giardia intestinalis using validated criteria for IBS. Pooled prevalence (PP), odds ratios (OR) and risk factors were determined for single pathogens, groups of bacteria, viruses and parasites, and overall for AGE caused by any pathogen. Random-effect models were used for meta-analyses. Results: A total of 34 articles were included. PP of PI-IBS after Campylobacter spp. was 12% (confidence interval 95% [CI]: 10–15%), Salmonellosis 12% (CI: 9–15%), Shigellosis 11% (CI: 8–15%), C. difficile 14% (CI: 4–29%) and E. coli spp. 12% (CI: 5–20%). OR of PI-IBS after salmonellosis was 5.5 (CI: 2.3–12.8) and after shigellosis 13.8 (CI: 4.2–45.4). Bacterial AGE overall showed OR 5.8 (CI: 4.0–8.3) and AGE caused by any pathogen OR 4.9 (CI: 3.9–6.1). Few studies exist on viral and parasitic gastroenteritis. Conclusions: Current literature show similar risks for bacterial pathogens. Studies are limited for viral and parasitic pathogens. The evaluated risk-factors for PI-IBS varied among the included studies and the existing evidence is insufficient to identify pathogen-specific risk factors.
From multi-RAT cooperation energy-saving system to big data

To cope with the severe energy challenges caused by incessant mobile network expansion, the multi-RAT cooperation energy-saving system (MCES) was developed to effectively improve the energy efficiency of mobile networks. MCES interacts with the radio access network in a real-time manner and can support multiple vendors' 2G/3G/4G RAN equipment. Therefore, amount of data have ushered in the application of big data. MCES identifies and coordinates cells with overlapping coverage to achieve network energy-savings. Through big data analytics of massive MR data and traffic profiles, MCES can find the energy-saving cells and their compensating cell, and predict their traffic load trends. When the traffic load meets the criteria, 9for example, falling below some pre-defined threshold for some time, MCES will migrate its traffic to the compensating cell and place the energy-saving cell into a sleep state. With a real-time monitoring function, MCES can also turn on the sleeping cell before high-volume traffic arrives abruptly. MCES has been deployed in some cities and the field tests so far-achieved 10% energy saving per cell per day. Decades of exponential growth in commercial data services have ushered in the so-called big data era, to which the expansive mobile wireless network is a critical data contributor.
Low-Power CMOS Super-Regenerative Receiver With a Digitally Self-Quenching Loop

A 500 MHz super-regenerative receiver (SRR) with a digitally self-quenching loop (DSQL) is designed for low-power/high-data-rate applications. The DSQL replaces the envelope detector used in a conventional SRR and minimizes the overall power consumption by generating a self-quench signal digitally for a super-regenerative oscillator. The receiver is fabricated using a 0.13 μm CMOS process. The chip size is 0.7 mm2 and the minimum energy usage is 0.09 nJ/b with a supply voltage of 1 V at a data rate of 10 Mbps. The measured sensitivity is - 76 dBm.
Risk of Measles and Diphtheria Introduction and Transmission on Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands, 2018

Abstract. Endemic transmission of measles has been reestablished in Venezuela, and outbreaks of diphtheria remain ongoing across Latin America (LA). Hence, a large cross-sectional population-based serosurveillance study was conducted on Bonaire, one of the Dutch Leeward Antilles, to assess specific age and population groups at risk. Participants (aged 0–90 years) donated a blood sample and completed a questionnaire (n = 1,129). Antibodies against measles and diphtheria were tested using bead-based multiplex immunoassays. Our data revealed that immunity against measles is suboptimal, especially for those aged less than 5 years from Suriname, Aruba, and former Dutch Antilles (SADA), and adolescents from LA; and against diphtheria for persons aged more than 30 years, particularly among females and residents from SADA and LA. As refugees arrive persistently, health authorities on the Dutch Leeward Antilles should be on alert to detect early cases and prevent subsequent transmission. Ultimately, there is an urgent need for serosurveillance studies in the Caribbean region.
Promotion of ovarian cancer cell invasion, migration and colony formation by the miR-21/Wnt/CD44v6 pathway

Ovarian cancer (OC) has the highest mortality rate among female malignant tumors, and OC commonly relapses and metastasizes. The mechanisms underlying the occurrence and development of ovarian cancer are numerous and complicated. The aim of the present study was to explore an important molecular mechanism that may provide a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of ovarian cancer. In the present study, the expression level of miR-21 was analyzed in clinical specimens, normal ovarian epithelial cells and three different ovarian cancer epithelial cell lines. Then, in vitro experiments were performed following the transient transfection of miR-21 mimics and inhibitors into SKOV3 cells. RT-PCR, western blot analysis, colony formation assay, and Transwell migration and invasion assays were used to explore the role of miR-21 in ovarian cancer. In addition, Wnt signaling pathway inhibitors and activators were used to validate the hypothesis that the miR-21/Wnt/CD44v6 pathway plays an important role in OC. In ovarian cancer tissues and cells, miR-21 was highly expressed, and the high expression of miR-21 could activate the Wnt signaling pathway to regulate the expression of CD44v6 and affect the proliferation, invasion and migration of OC cells. miR-21 regulated the expression of CD44v6 by activating the Wnt signaling pathway, which plays an important role in the development of ovarian cancer. These findings provide a potential new therapeutic target for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.
Ultrasound‐Guided Hydrodissection Is a Safe and Effective Nonsurgical Treatment for Superficial Radial Sensory Neuropathy

We report a case of superficial radial sensory nerve (SRSN) entrapment that presented with chronic insidious onset of paresthesia in the dorsum of the left thumb and first web space. The patient was a 51-year-old man who had onset of pain during the previous 5 months without any clear history of trauma. He described the pain as a burning sensation, which was exacerbated by fast elbow extension of the left arm. The patient had previously been prescribed a nocturnal neutral wrist orthosis, which he believed provided minor relief. Clinical examination showed a positive Tinel sign at the distal third of the radial forearm, which reproduced dysesthesia localized to the area of reported pain. Otherwise, sensory and motor examination findings were normal in both extremities. Subsequent electrodiagnostic testing was consistent with superficial radial sensory neuropathy without evidence of cervical radiculopathy. This was based on the left radial sensory nerve action potential amplitude being less than 50% compared to the contralateral side, consistent with left superficial radial sensory axonal neuropathy. Also known as cheiralgia paresthetica, this neuropathy describes an entrapment of the superficial sensory branch of the radial nerve, commonly caused by external compression. Furthermore, ultrasound confirmed the positive Tinel sign, which was correlated with the location of the SRSN in the distal forearm. The sensory branch of the superficial radial nerve lies just below the skin at the wrist, thus making it susceptible to external compression. Historically, this has been known as Wartenberg syndrome, or “handcuff neuropathy,” describing both the site and common etiology. It can be distinguished from de Quervain tenosynovitis, a condition in which symptoms are present in the first dorsal compartment. Clinical signs of SRSN entrapment include dyesthesia and paresthesia, which are pronounced when performing forearm rotation and gripping motions. Standard treatments for cheiralgia paresthetica primarily consist of nonsurgical measures such as orthoses. Although these may prove successful in some patients, it may take months to achieve complete relief from symptoms, and in some patients, symptoms persist. When conservative measures have failed to alleviate irritation and pain, surgical decompression is often considered as the next option. Although it may provide relief from SRSN neuropathy, the literature regarding its success is limited, and there is a risk of scar formation, symptom recurrence, nerve injury, and increased pain. An optimal treatment might then combine the benefits of surgical decompression—
Fido-SNP: the first webserver for scoring the impact of single nucleotide variants in the dog genome

Abstract As the amount of genomic variation data increases, tools that are able to score the functional impact of single nucleotide variants become more and more necessary. While there are several prediction servers available for interpreting the effects of variants in the human genome, only few have been developed for other species, and none were specifically designed for species of veterinary interest such as the dog. Here, we present Fido-SNP the first predictor able to discriminate between Pathogenic and Benign single-nucleotide variants in the dog genome. Fido-SNP is a binary classifier based on the Gradient Boosting algorithm. It is able to classify and score the impact of variants in both coding and non-coding regions based on sequence features within seconds. When validated on a previously unseen set of annotated variants from the OMIA database, Fido-SNP reaches 88% overall accuracy, 0.77 Matthews correlation coefficient and 0.91 Area Under the ROC Curve.