Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Epidemic Characteristics and Genetic Evolution of Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) in Swine Herds of Shanghai, China

Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) is a crucial swine pathogen and considered a primary causative agent of porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVADs), posing a serious economic threat to the swine industry across globe. The world’s biggest agricultural conglomerates have teamed up to create giant commercial pig farms across Shanghai due to the proximity of this region to more affluent lean-pork markets. Since its discovery, PCV2 has displayed extraordinary genetic diversity, and its genome is swiftly evolving through a series of mutations and recombinations. However, limited information on epidemiology, molecular characteristics, vaccine cross-protection, and the co-infection rate of PCV2 with other lethal swine diseases can adversely impact the pig production in the region. To investigate the molecular epidemic characteristics and genetic evolution of PCV2, pigs with doubtful symptoms of PCVADs were sampled from various commercial pig farms with a history of PWMS and/or PDNS across Shanghai from 2014 to 2018. Our results revealed the coexistence of multiple PCV2 genotypes (PCV2b, PCV2e, and PCV2d) among Shanghai pig herds and dominance of PCV2d among them. We also found critical amino acid substitutions in epitope regions of important capsid proteins in PCV2 isolates involved in viral replication and host immune escape. Spotted mutations may favor the prevalence and survival of various PCV2 genotypes despite availability of commercial vaccines. This study also provides insight into the co-infection status of PCV2 with major lethal swine viral diseases such as PPV and PPRSV. Collectively, these investigations will contribute to understanding the molecular epidemiology and evolution of PCV2 across the region.
Impact of Adalimumab Treatment on Interleukin-17 and Interleukin-17 Receptor Expression in Skin and Synovium of Psoriatic Arthritis Patients with Mild Psoriasis

Interleukin (IL)-17 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF)-α are key players in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) pathogenesis. While both cytokines can be therapeutically targeted with beneficial clinical outcome, it is unclear whether inhibiting one cytokine will affect the other at sites of inflammation. If both act independently, this might provide a rationale for dual or combined inhibition of both cytokines. Here, we evaluated the effect of TNF blockade in PsA patients on IL-17 levels in both skin and synovial tissue biopsies. PsA patients with mild psoriatic skin lesions were randomized to receive either adalimumab or placebo for four weeks. Synovial and skin biopsies were obtained at weeks zero and four. Skin from healthy donors (HDs) was used for comparison. Expression of IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-17RA and IL-17RC was assessed by immunohistochemistry and analyzed with digital image analysis. We found relatively low levels of IL-17 and its receptors in the skin of PsA patients compared to HD, and only IL-17F in the dermis of lesional psoriatic skin was significantly higher compared to HD skin (p = 0.0002). Histologically IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-17RA and IL-17RC in skin and synovial tissue were not downregulated by adalimumab treatment. Thus, in this cohort of PsA patients with mild psoriasis, TNF blockade did not affect the protein levels of IL-17 cytokines and its receptors in skin and synovium, despite reduced cellular inflammation and improved clinical outcome for joint involvement.
Changes in Exercise Capacity of Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Following Treatment With Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

Introduction: Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) frequently complain of fatigue during exercise. Treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ameliorates OSA-related symptoms and may reduce the burden of OSA on coexistent diseases. However, the role of CPAP on exercise capacity in OSA has not been fully investigated. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess exercise capacity in a group of newly diagnosed OSA patients, without known comorbidities, following treatment with CPAP. Methods: Consecutively diagnosed OSA patients by polysomnography completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and pulmonary function testing at baseline of OSA diagnosis three months after adherence to CPAP treatment. Results: A total of 40 OSA patients (Apnea-Hypopnea Index (ΑΗΙ)>15 events/hour) of whom 29 (72.5%) males with an average age of 42±2.5 years were enrolled in the study. OSA patients had a mean peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2) value of 40.3 ±8.4 ml/kg/min (77.7±15%), which was improved after three months on CPAP treatment, 47.6±7.9 ml/kg/min (92.9±10.5%). (p=0.002). In addition, patients’ mean work (W) value increased significantly from baseline to three months of treatment with CPAP (101.5±30 watts vs 78.6±18.5 watts. p=0.015, respectively). There were no significant differences in terms of physical activity, as noted in IPAQ, before and after OSA therapy (p=0.075). Conclusions: In the present study, OSA is associated with impaired exercise capacity, which seems to be improved after short-term treatment with PAP. Further evidence is warranted to elucidate whether CPET could be routinely used to monitor treatment responses of OSA with CPAP.
An Online Course Registration and Advisory Systems based on Students’ Personal and Social Constraints

Komar University of Science and Technology (KUST) is among very few universities in Iraq that follows the prerequisite system which is very common in the tertiary level institutions around the world. In such kinds of systems, the prerequisites represent a one or set of courses a student must have completed in order to be able to enrol on a specific course. Although these kinds of systems give total freedom to students on when and how they are going to take courses, deciding which course to take that serves in the best interest of the student is very challenging and sometimes time consuming.This paper presents a web based system developed and implemented by KUST facilitating course registration for the students and administrative staff such that the best possible schedule and course/section combination is presented to the students considering their personal constraints and course requirements. To assist students to make proper decisions the system provides them with collected and analyzed historical data about each offered course such as passing rate of the course, the number of selected friends who registered for and marked the course as favorite and how many courses the selected course is prerequisite of. The collected data is gathered from the currently in place database containing course registration data since spring 2016 which is believed to be adequate to produce accurate results.The system also has the role of academic advisor, which plays an important role in the students’ academic life. Since traditional advising requires extra effort, times and sometimes the suggestion that comes from an academic advisor might not be in the best interest of students due to the lack of information about the student’s academic background or not having sufficient time advising a large number of students in a short window of registration period.
Improving the Accuracy of Predictive Models for Outcomes of Antidepressants by Using an Ontological Adjustment Approach

For patients with rare comorbidities, there are insufficient observations to accurately estimate the effectiveness of treatment. At the same time, all diagnosis, including rare diagnosis, are part of the International Classification of Disease (ICD). Grouping ICD into broader concepts (i.e., ontology adjustment) can not only increase accuracy of estimating antidepressant effectiveness for patients with rare conditions but also prevent overfitting in big data analysis. In this study, 3,678,082 depressed patients treated with antidepressants were obtained from OptumLabs® Data Warehouse (OLDW). For rare diagnoses, adjustments were made by using the likelihood ratio of the immediate broader concept in the ICD hierarchies. The accuracy of models in training (90%) and test (10%) sets was examined using the area under the receiver operating curves (AROC). The gap in training and test AROC shows how much random noise was modeled. If the gap is large, then the parameters of the model, including the reported effectiveness of the antidepressant for patients with rare conditions, are suspect. There was, on average, a 9.0% reduction in the AROC gap after using the ontological adjustment. Therefore, ontology adjustment can reduce model overfitting, leading to better parameter estimates from the training set.
Effective practices and technologies for online behavior management of school-aged students

Abstract Managing student behavior is an essential component to creating positive and productive learning environments for school-aged children. As more teachers shift to synchronous online teaching, they face managing student behavior in a new learning environment that can pose distinctive challenges. Fortunately, teachers can bring to their online teaching many of the practices they use when teaching face to face. Teachers can use some practices the same way, and others may need minor modifications. Likewise, teachers have a variety of technologies at their disposal to assist them in facilitating online behavior management practices. This article recommends several online behavior management practices, suggests modifications for their use, and presents several technologies teachers can use to manage their students’ online behavior.
Which emotions mediate the relationship between type of water recycling projects and likelihood of using green airports

Previous literature has shown that the level of contact with recycled water has a significant impact on users' attitude and perceptions toward its use. Sustainability is a key concept that needs to be implemented at airports to continue the necessary growth of the air transportation system at its current rate. The current study aims to determine whether affect mediates the relationship between the type of water recycling projects and a person's preference toward the use of that airport. More specifically, it investigates which emotions mediate this relationship. Two studies were implemented wherein the participants were presented with a scenario of an airport that uses recycled water for their sprinkler system or for their drinking fountains. Both studies found that affect was a significant mediator, and that happiness and disgust were the primary emotions that mediated the relationship between type of water recycling project and a person's preference towards using that airport. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this data.
Whole Body MRI in the Detection of Lymph Node Metastases in Patients with Testicular Germ Cell Cancer

Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (WB-MRI) is increasingly used for metastatic screening in oncology. This prospective single center study assesses the diagnostic value of WB-MRI including diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and identifies the sufficient protocol for metastatic lymph node detection in patients with testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC). Forty-three patients underwent contrast enhanced thoraco-abdominopelvic CT (TAP-CT) and WB-MRI with DWI for metastatic lymph node screening. Two independent readers reviewed CTs and WB-MRIs. The diagnostic performance of different imaging protocols (CT, complete WB-MRI, T1W + DWI, T2W + DWI), the agreement between these protocols and the reference standard, the reproducibility of findings and the image quality (Signal and contrast to Noise Ratios, Likert scale) were studied. Reproducibility was very good regardless of both lesion locations (retroperitoneal vs distant lymph nodes, other lesions) and the reader. Diagnostic accuracy of MRI was ≥95% (regardless of the locations and imaging protocol); accuracy of CT was ≥93%. There was a strict overlap of 95% CIs associated with this accuracy between complete WB-MRI, T1W + DWI and T2W + DWI, regardless of the reader. Higher Likert score and SNR were observed for DWI, followed by T2W and T1W sequences. In conclusion, a fast WB-MRI protocol including T2W and DWI is a sufficient, accurate, non-irradiating alternative to TAP-CT for metastatic lymph node screening in TGCC.
The Unaccompanied Child’s Right to Legal Assistance and Representation in Asylum Procedures under EU Law

The independent migration of children today is a global phenomenon present in many regions worldwide, where unaccompanied minors seeking asylum do not enjoy full protection of their rights. Among their procedural safeguards, the right to legal assistance and representation is a fundamental right strictly related to the realization of other rights contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nevertheless, despite the fundamental role that guardians and legal advisors play in the wellbeing of unaccompanied children seeking asylum, many issues are currently affecting the exercise and implementation of this fundamental right in several European Union Member States. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the content and scope of protection of this right under EU law, while highlighting the existence of possible ambiguities or gaps in current legal standards. Which EU law rules currently protect unaccompanied minors’ access to legal assistance? What changes are necessary in order to strengthen that protection for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum? These are some of the questions that this paper addresses in order to critically analyze the level of protection that Europe has provided to unaccompanied children’s right to legal assistance.
Coumarin-Resveratrol-Inspired Hybrids as Monoamine Oxidase B Inhibitors: 3-Phenylcoumarin versus trans-6-Styrylcoumarin

Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are attractive targets in drug design. The inhibition of one of the isoforms (A or B) is responsible for modulating the levels of different neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, as well as the production of reactive oxygen species. Molecules that act selectively on one of the MAO isoforms have been studied deeply, and coumarin has been described as a promising scaffold. In the current manuscript we describe a comparative study between 3-phenylcoumarin (endo coumarin-resveratrol-inspired hybrid) and trans-6-styrylcoumarin (exo coumarin-resveratrol-inspired hybrid). Crystallographic structures of both compounds were obtained and analyzed. 3D-QSAR models, in particular CoMFA and CoMSIA, docking simulations and molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to support and better understand the interaction of these molecules with both MAO isoforms. Both molecules proved to inhibit MAO-B, with trans-6-styrylcoumarin being 107 times more active than 3-phenylcoumarin, and 267 times more active than trans-resveratrol.
Railway Overhead Wiring Structures in Australia: Review and Structural Assessment

Overhead wiring structures (OWS) provide physical support to overhead electrical wires that power trains. They are typically spaced at 50 to 70 m. In a rail network, tens of thousands of these structures are required. Although they are simple structures, due to their numbers; design, construction and maintenance often involve large capital investments. Their reliability is also crucial to a safe operating rail network. This paper presents a review of OWS in Australia. Electrification of train services began in the 1910s, making some of the OWS over 100 years old. Descriptions in this article include their structural forms, design, construction, assessment and maintenance. It follows with a structural assessment carried out on a century-old riveted OWS built in the 1910s. This OWS was decommissioned in a recent railway renewal project which allowed the assessments to carry out. The assessment provides insights into hundreds of similar aged OWS still being used today. Assessments carried out consisted of tensile tests, corrosion depth measurements, radiographic imaging, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX). Crevice corrosion is common in locations where moisture accumulated. Material properties were similar to modern-day Grade 250 steel with satisfactory ductility. Corrosion depths were less than those predicted. Samples of riveted connection showed no sign of deterioration within connected plates. This study may provide insights into structural design, construction and maintenance of similar structures in Australia and abroad.
BRCA1/2 Mutations in Vietnamese Patients with Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome

(1) Background: Individuals with BRCA1/2 gene mutations are at increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations varies by race and ethnicity, and the prevalence and the risks associated with most BRCA1/2 mutations has not been unknown in the Vietnamese population. We herein screen the entire BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes for breast and ovarian cancer patients with a family history of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, thereby, suggesting a risk score associated with carrier status and history for aiding personalized treatment; (2) Methods: Between December 2017 and December 2019, Vietnamese patients who had a pathological diagnosis of breast and epithelial ovarian cancer were followed up, prospectively, after treatment from two large institutions in Vietnam. Blood samples from 33 Vietnamese patients with hereditary breast and ovarian cancers (HBOC) syndrome were collected and analyzed using Next Generation Sequencing; (3) Results: Eleven types of mutations in both BRCA1 (in nine patients) and BRCA2 (in three patients) were detected, two of which (BRCA1:p.Tyr1666Ter and BRCA2:p.Ser1341Ter) have not been previously documented in the literature. Seven out of 19 patient’s relatives had BRCA1/2 gene mutations. All selected patients were counselled about the likelihood of cancer rising and prophylactic screening and procedures. The study established a risk score associated with the cohorts based on carrier status and family history; (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggested the implications for the planning of a screening programme for BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes testing in breast and ovarian cancer patients and genetic screening in their relatives. BRCA1/2 mutation carriers without cancer should have early and regular cancer screening, and prophylactic measures. This study could be beneficial for a diverse group in a large population-specific cohort, related to HBOC Syndrome.
Sequencing Analysis of cvaC Gene in Acinetobacter Baumannii That Isolates from Different Infections

*Corresponding Author: Rana M. Abdullah dr.rana_alshwaikh@yahoo.com Abstract Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the opportunistic nurses responsible for many acquired infections in hospitals due to its ability to resist many antibiotics. This is one of the problems facing hospitals in the world. Identification of the cvaC gene and sequence analysis in Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from various infections, and mutation detection in this gene. From 1 of September to 30 of November, 2016, 200 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were obtained from various clinical samples. Follow fifty isolates from blood, twenty isolates from urinary tract infections, thirty isolates from wound infections, forty isolates from burn infections and twenty-five isolates from stool samples from various hospitals (Central Children's Hospital, Al Karama Hospital, Karkh General Hospital, Al-Ameen Medical City Hospital, Educational Labs, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Child Protection Hospital, Burns and Wounds Hospital) in Baghdad city. Identification forty isolates confirmed that they belong to Acinetobacter baumannii, including fourteen isolates from a stool sample, nine isolates from blood, eight isolates from burns, four isolates from wound infections, and Respiratory tract infection, , and only one isolate from urinary tract infections sample. Genotypic detection of the cvaC gene of Acinetobacter baumannii showed the presence of this gene in 16 isolates (40%) and Sequencing analysis of cvaC has shown seven genetic mutations and only one mutation has been converted amino acid Alanine to Valine. The amino acid Alanine was changed to Valine in Position 656 at Subject 678, resulting in silent mutations that did not affect protein translation and other mutations that resulted in a change in the amino acid arrangement and protein translation.
An explicit and absolutely stable FDTD method for electromagnetic analysis

In this letter, an explicit and absolutely stable finite- difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm is designed for electromagnetic analysis. The algorithm works through a structure composed of several vectors and matrices acting on these vectors. Excitation source is linearly approximated in a time interval, fields in the computation domain are expressed by a vector, and these matrices are derived based on the FDTD method. The proposed algorithm solves electromagnetic problems in an explicit way, its time step size is beyond the Courant-Friedrich-Levy (CFL) stability condition and the computation efficiency of the proposed method is also higher than the conventional FDTD method. Two numerical examples are tested and validate that the proposed algorithm can solve electromagnetic problems correctly and also improves calculation efficiency.
DES Investigation of the Effect of Pier Streamlining on Coherent Dynamics of the Turbulence Structure Around Piers

The effect of pier geometry on scour potential has been widely studied and recognized. In a previous study by the authors, pier streamlining was demonstrated to help reduce local scour tendency based on the excess shear stress theory, and thus can potentially serve as an alternative scour countermeasure. However, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) numerical method the authors previously employed inherently fails to capture the coherent dynamics of turbulence around pier, which also plays an important role in scour mechanism. In order to compensate the limitations of the previous study and also to investigate the effect of pier streamlining on coherent dynamics of turbulence, this paper employs the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) method to simulate the flow physics around piers with different extents of streamlining efforts. A total of four test cases were simulated in this study. Systematical comparison of the simulation results among different cases reveals significant variation of the flow physics with different extent of pier streamlining effort in terms of coherent structure dynamics, turbulence statistics, and bed shear stress distribution. Distribution and fluctuation of the pressure acting on channel bed, as well as its indication to scour extent, are also discussed. Findings in this study confirm that pier streamlining helps reduce the local turbulence intensity and therefore can serve as a scour countermeasure alternative.