Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
24-hour Intraocular pressure monitoring: the way ahead

Aim: Large diurnal intraocular pressure (IOP) fluctuation is a single most independent risk factor for glaucoma progression besides raised IOP. The major limitation of Goldman applanation tonometer (GAT) is its inability to measure night IOP without disturbing the patient’s sleep. We discussed the methods available for the 24-hour IOP monitoring and its relevance in glaucoma. Methods: A PUBMED search was performed using the 24 Hour tonometry, newer tonometry devices, contact lens sensors, as keywords and all relevant articles were studied. Results and Conclusion: A number of methods are available for the 24 hour IOP monitoring. These devices allow home monitoring of IOP without affecting the daily routine. These devices, like Rebound tonometry, Contact lens sensor (CLS), etc., were briefly discussed. Triggerfish is one CLS device that has the capability to measure IOP without affecting the patient’s sleep. Besides being safe and easily tolerable, it has shown reproducible results with other tonometry methods. Triggerfish has also been proven the device of choice in measuring IOP in different glaucoma subtypes and determining the efficacy of treatment in them, the only challenge being that it presently provides data on relative IOP rather than absolute IOP. With future research, triggerfish CLS can become an important device to measure the 24 hour IOP values especially in patients whose office measured IOPs seemingly fit in patient’s target range but still the patients’ disease shows glaucomatous progression. The utility of this device in relation to progressive vision loss is a matter of future study. Abbreviations: CCT = Central Corneal Thickness; CLS = Contact lens sensor; GAT = Goldmann Applanation Tonometer; IOP = Intraocular Pressure; NTG = Normal Tension Glaucoma; PACG = Primary angle closure glaucoma; POAG = Primary open angle glaucoma; VAS = Visual Analogue Score
Effect of Cognitive Disability and Ambulation Status on Functioning in Moderate-to-Advanced Parkinson Disease

Background: As the disease progresses to moderate to advanced stages, people with Parkinson's disease (PwP) are likely to have various degrees of disability due to the motor and non-motor symptoms, such as ambulatory difficulty and cognitive impairment. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of cognition and ambulation status on the functioning and disability of PwP using the World Health Orgnaization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0). Materials and Methods: A group of 10,581 PwP with Hoehn and Yahr Staging 3 and above were collected from a database of disability evaluation and functional assessment using the Taiwan Data Bank of Persons with Disability between July 2012 and October 2018. WHODAS 2.0 was administered and all PwP were grouped based on their ambulatory status, which was assessed by 3-m back and forth walk and cognitive ability, assessed by WHODAS 2.0 first domain with cut-off level at 58. Results: Non-ambulation and cognitive disability contributed independently to disability in all aspects of WHODAS 2.0 survey, including self-care, getting along with others, performing life activities and participation in society. Compared to ambulation status, cognitive disability had a greater negative impact on functioning in all aspects. Conclusion: Cognitive disability was associated with greater disability in moderate to advanced PwP than non-ambulatory status. The results of this study may indicate that cognition preservation is essential to ameliorate functional impairment and disability in moderate to advanced PwP.
Effect of SNPs in HSP Family Genes, Variation in the mRNA and Intracellular Hsp Levels in COPD Secondary to Tobacco Smoking and Biomass-Burning Smoke

Heat shock proteins (HSP) genes are a superfamily responsible for encoding highly conserved proteins that are important for antigen presentation, immune response regulation, and cellular housekeeping processes. These proteins can be increased by cellular stress related to pollution, for example, smoke from biomass burning and/or tobacco smoking. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these genes could affect the levels of their proteins, as well as the susceptibility to developing lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), related to the exposure to environmental factors. Methods: The subjects included were organized into two comparison groups: 1,103 smokers (COPD patients, COPD-S = 360; smokers without COPD, SWOC = 743) and 442 never-smokers who were chronically exposed to biomass smoke (COPD patients, COPD-BS = 244; exposed without COPD, BBES = 198). Eight SNPs in three HSP genes were selected and genotyped: four in HSPA1A, two in HSPA1B, and two in HSPA1L. Sputum expectoration was induced to obtain pulmonary cells and relative quantification of mRNA expression. Subsequently, the intracellular protein levels of total Hsp27, phosphorylated Hsp27 (Hsp27p), Hsp60, and Hsp70 were measured in a sample of 148 individuals selected based on genotypes. Results: In the smokers’ group, by a dominant model analysis, we found associations between rs1008438 (CA+AA; p = 0.006, OR = 1.52), rs6457452 (CT+TT; p = 0.000015, OR = 1.99), and rs2763979 (CT+TT; p = 0.007, OR = 1.60) and the risk to COPD. Among those exposed to biomass-burning smoke, only rs1008438 (CA+AA; p < 0.01, OR = 2.84) was associated. Additionally, rs1008438 was associated with disease severity in the COPD-S group (AA; p = 0.02, OR = 2.09). An increase in the relative expression level of HSPA1A was found (12-fold change) in the COPD-BS over the BBES group. Differences in Hsp27 and Hsp60 proteins levels were found (p < 0.05) in the comparison of COPD-S vs. SWOC. Among biomass-burning smoke-exposed subjects, differences in the levels of all proteins (p < 0.05) were detected. Conclusion: SNPs in HSP genes are associated with the risk of COPD and severe forms of the disease. Differences in the intracellular Hsp levels are altered depending on the exposition source.
Glycyrrhizic Acid-Induced Differentiation Repressed Stemness in Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Targeting c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase 1

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant cancers with poor prognosis and high incidence. Cancer stem cells play a vital role in tumor initiation and malignancy. The degree of differentiation of HCC is closely related to its stemness. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) plays a critical role in inhibiting the degree of malignancy of HCC. At present, the effect of GA on the differentiation and stemness of HCC has not been reported, and its pharmacological mechanism remains to be elucidated. This study evaluated the effect of GA on the stemness of HCC and investigated its targets through proteomics and chemical biology. Results showed that GA can repress stemness and induce differentiation in HCC in vitro. GEO analysis revealed that cell differentiation and stem cell pluripotency were up-regulated and down-regulated after GA administration, respectively. Virtual screening was used to predict the c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) as a direct target of GA. Moreover, chemical biology was used to verify the interaction of JNK1 and GA. Experimental data further indicated that JNK1 inhibits stemness and induces differentiation of HCC. GA exerts its function by targeting JNK1. Clinical data analysis from The Cancer Genome Atlas also revealed that JNK1 can aggravate the degree of malignancy of HCC. The results indicated that, by targeting JNK1, GA can inhibit tumor growth through inducing differentiation and repressing stemness. Furthermore, GA enhanced the anti-tumor effects of sorafenib in HCC treatment. These results broadened our insight into the pharmacological mechanism of GA and the importance of JNK1 as a therapeutic target for HCC treatment.
Association of TNFRSF12A Methylation With Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma With History of Alcohol Consumption

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer related death worldwide with a poor prognosis. Alcoholic liver disease accounts for approximately one-third of all HCC cases. Current evidence proved that aberrant over-expression of TNFRSF12A correlates with the severity of disease, making it a likely indicator of disease a more aggressive and worse prognosis outcome. Emerging studies have confirmed that epigenetic changes are critical events in the development and progression of liver cancer. The study to investigate the mechanisms by which alcohol abuse mediated changes in the methylation level of TNFRSF12A affect the occurrence, development and prognosis of HCC were under warranted. Thus, in this study we mined two publicly available datasets to detect the association between DNA methylation level of CpG sites in gene TNFRSF12A and the development of HCC in those with alcohol abuse history. Finally, we discovered that the hypomethylation of two methylation sites—cg00510447 and cg26808293—could identify HCC from other non-HCC liver diseases. Also, hypomethylation of these two sites could identify alcoholic cirrhosis from other non-hepatocellular carcinoma liver diseases. Most important, the prognostic analysis revealed that the hypomethylation of cg00510447 and cg26808293 in HCC patients with alcohol abuse history could predict poor prognosis. Further stratified analyses by gender discovered that in male HCC patients with alcohol abuse history, hypomethylation of cg26808293 signified poor prognosis. The further mechanism analysis revealed that the DNA methyltransferases DNMT3L might regulate TNFRSF12A methylation and affect the occurrence, development and prognosis of HCC, especially in patients with a history of alcohol abuse. These findings provide new insights into the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the transformation of alcoholic liver disease into HCC.
Simulation and Analysis of a Turbulent Flow Around a Three-Dimensional Obstacle

Abstract The study of flow around obstacles is devised into three different positions: above the obstacle, upstream of the obstacle, and downstream of the latter. The behaviour of the fluid downstream of the obstacle is less known, and the physical and numerical modelling is being given the existence of recirculation zones with their complex behaviour. The purpose of the work presented below is to study the influence of the inclined form of the two upper peaks of a rectangular cube. A three-dimensional study was carried out using the ANSYS CFX calculation code. Turbulence models have been used to study the flow characteristics around the inclined obstacle. The time-averaged results of contours of velocity vectors , cross-stream and stream wise velocity and streamlines were obtained by using K-ω shear -stress transport (SST), RANG K-ε and K-ε to model the turbulence, and the governing equations were solved using the finite volume method. The turbulence model K-ω SST has presented the best prediction of the flow characteristics for the obstacle among the investigated turbulence models in this work.
Quality of Life in End-Stage Renal Disease

Survival in end-stage renal disease seems to depend more on age and associated diseases than on the form of treatment. Previously published comments on the quality of life experienced by patients treated by hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and transplantation were based on subjective estimates or on the use of unvalidated instruments. We have used a modified form of a “time trade-off” technique to estimate the patient's perception of the utility or worth of their ESRD health state. It was used successfully in 42 of 50 stable chronic hemodialysis patients. The correlation between paired observations six weeks apart (a test of temporal stability) was 0.80. Evidence for the validity of this instrument was obtained by comparing it with the physicians’ assessment of the patient's health state. Health was scored on a scale from 0 for death to 1 for perfect health. The mean values for hospital-based hemodialysis, CAPD and transplantation were 0.57, 0.57 and 0.80 respectively. For each form of treatment the distribution of scores was wide suggesting that factors other than form of treatment are important determinants of the per ceived quality of life for these patients.
Habits Do Not Die Easily: The Economics of Table Soccer

Abstract We attempt to test the importance of rules and cultural sedimentation on performance by analyzing what occurs in a niche sport, table soccer and inferring by extension the weight of habit formation in a more general productivity setting. This matters since firms increasingly employ workers of different cultural backgrounds, whose interplay may have an impact on performance. Our idea is to examine the differences that exist between local and international rules in a country such as Italy and find out whether athletes’ performance is affected when they compete at international level. Adapting models adopted by the literature to forecast the success in soccer and Olympic games, we study the performances of Italians and Non-Italians athletes in the International Table Soccer World Cup. We also apply an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to account for explained and un-explained gaps in mean values. The results seem to confirm that globalization does not affect cultural sedimentation: local habits persist and hamper the performance of top players. Local habits matter, and habits do not die easily, even in the twenty-first century.
Migration and wintering of Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) in southeastern Hungary

Abstract The Fieldfare is a bird species widely distributed in the Palearctic region. In Hungary, the species is considered as a rare breeder and common, sometimes abundant migrant in autumn and spring, and also as winter visitor. It is prone to invasion, since northern breeding populations leave the breeding sites in large numbers only when the available food is inadequate or inaccessible to the birds. Most populations follow a southern-southwestern migration pattern, and in the course of their movement they also migrating through the Carpathian Basin. In this study, we examined the migration and wintering of the species in an area of southeast Hungary between 2004 and 2019. Data were collected between the beginning of October and the middle of April and during that period we saw Fieldfares a total of 416 times. In addition to the description of migration, the effect of weather on bird numbers was also investigated. According to our results, the species appears in the area in October and disappears in late March and the first half of April. The individuals that migrate in October are likely belonging to the Central European breeding population, while from November the Scandinavian birds can be seen. The maximum number of birds observed during the different years showed significant differences, as did the patterns of movements within the seasons. The relationship between the local weather and the number of birds has been demonstrated over several seasons, which is typical of species with an escape migration.
Screening and Identification of New Types of Exopolysaccharides-Producing Lactic Acid in the Inner Mongolia Dairy Products

Abstract Exopolysaccharides (EPS) is a type of polysaccharide produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that can be directly used in foods to make the products more excellent. Therefore, batch studies were performed to explore the effect of different LAB on the production of EPS and antioxidant activity. Five strains with high EPS yield and antioxidant activity were screened out from 66 strains isolated from Tibetan dairy products. The results show that EPS produntion of the five strains (B55, B62, B30, 7830 and K2) were 110.66, 145.48, 132.78, 122.11 and 111.72 mg·L−1, respectively, and they have a higher DPPH free radical scavenging activity (56.29, 66.43, 62.94, 68.71, 61.87%). Five LAB strains were identified and classified based on screening, purification and 16S rDNA sequences. Molecular characterization based on partial sequence 16S rDNA homology confirmed the initial identification as Lactobacillus fermentum (B55, B62), Lactobacillus plantarum (7830), Pediococcus acidilactici (B30) and Lactobacillus helveticus (K2).
Capability and Maturity. Characteristics Used in Software Reliability Engineering Modeling

Abstract This paper presents how to use the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) in software engineering modeling processes. Any variation of CMMI, depending on the scope of application, can also be used to assess the process maturity of an organization. Regarding the Software Reliability Engineering (SRE) process, the activities in the SRE process have been briefly described, noting that the application of SRE in all software-based products leads to good control over the development process.
Experimental investigation of Microcystis aeruginosa cyanobacteria thickening to obtain a biomass for the energy production

Abstract The purpose of the presented research is to analyse possible methods of thickening of the Microcystis aeruginosa (Kützing) Kützing cyanobacteria using the obtained concentrate as a biomass for the production of energy carriers and biologically valuable substances. Method of cyanobacteria thickening under the action of electric current and in the electric field, as well as the method of coagulation–flocculation and gravity thickening, was experimentally investigated in labscale conditions. Electrical methods didn't show positive results for the Microcystis aeruginosa thickening, despite the reports of their potential efficiency in a number of previous studies. The high efficiency of the method of coagulation– flocculation and gravity thickening of Microcystis aeruginosa suspensions was obtained. The optimum concentrations of industrial polymeric coagulants and flocculants for the thickening of Microcystis aeruginosa suspensions were defined in the range of about 10 ppm for the coagulants and about 1 ppm for the flocculants. Negative effect of the previous cavitational treatment of the diluted suspensions of Microcystis aeruginosa on the effectiveness of the coagulation–flocculation and gravitational thickening was confirmed experimentally. Hydrodynamic cavitation should be recommended to use after the thickening as the next step of processing of concentrated suspensions of Microcystis aeruginosa to achieve maximum extraction of energy carriers and biologically valuable substances.
The Boone Indicator as Determinant of Croatian Insurance Market Soundness

Abstract This paper deals with the influence of competition on soundness of Croatian insurers using the Boone indicator when measuring competition. The authors analyse Croatian insurers that operated over the pre-EU accession period 2008 – 2012 as well as in the period 2013 – 2017, i.e. after the accession to the EU. Several firm-level, industry-level and macroeconomic variables are used in the research. The findings of the analysis are twofold. Specifically, the Boone indicator reveals the impact of competition on the performance of efficient insurers in post-EU accession period only accounting for the reallocation effects proving that efficient insurers make higher profits. Regarding the determinants of the insurers’ soundness, premium to surplus ratio and inflation rate play significant role in pre - EU accession period whereas reinsurance and GDP growth rate are statistically significant after EU accession. Moreover, the competition increased in the years after the EU accession. Robustness check provides similar results.
Comparative Study of Stabilization Controls of a Forklift Vehicle

Abstract This paper presents the control designs for an autonomous forklift vehicle that drive the vehicle from an initial configuration to a final one. Three stabilization controls, which are chained-form time-varying control, sigma-transformed discontinuous control, and navigation-variables-based discontinuous control, for a forklift vehicle are compared by simulations. The sigma-transformed and navigation-variables-based discontinuous controls provide fast convergence motions from an initial to a final configuration, while the time-varying-based control provides oscillatory motion and slow convergence. The sigma-transformed discontinuous control has a set of discontinuous points in which, from a practical point of view, the control signals can blow up if a vehicle enters the set. The navigation-variables-based control, which also has a discontinuous point at the final configuration, does not produce blown up control signals since its boundedness nature. Discussion on the implementation of control algorithm is elucidated for the three stabilization controls for the forklift vehicle.
Hybrid Learning Spaces for Design Thinking

Abstract As design thinking becomes more and more important in higher education, we need to think about ways to enable educators and students to learn about the concepts and apply them to their own projects. One approach is to create hybrid learning spaces with tools that support design thinking and offer affordances for the various methods, ways of working and thinking. Hybridity dissolves existing dichotomies such as physical-digital, formal-informal, learning-teaching and individual-collective. This article introduces design principles and patterns to develop such spaces for university campuses. We will describe how we identified, applied and tested them. Based on these findings we can provide recommendations for planning new hybrid spaces for design thinking at other universities.
A note on the turning point for the quadratic trend

Abstract The quadratic trend is a statistical model described by the quadratic function. Finding its extremum (also called the vertex or the turning point) using differential calculus or completing the square method is very well known in the literature. In this paper, a new method for finding the extremum of the quadratic function, based on a simple mathematical inequality is proposed. In comparison with the other two known methods, our method does not require the differentiability assumption and it takes fewer steps than completing the square method. Also, it is shown how the turning point for the quadratic trend can be applied in forecasting the unemployment rate in Croatia in the first quarter of 2019. The obtained conclusions are equal to the conclusions obtained in the usual way by using forecasting software.
Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Chaenomeles Maulei Fruit Juice

Summary Chaenomeles maulei is the name of the cultivar of Chaenomeles japonica, which was introduced in Europe. The present study aimed to investigate the chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of Chaenomeles maulei fruit juice (CMFJ). The ingredients of the juice sample were measured by spectrophotometric, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gravimetric methods. The antioxidant activity was measured by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and hydroxyl radical averting capacity (HORAC) assays. The results showed that CMFJ was extremely rich in polyphenolic substances, amongst which the highest was the concentration of procyanidin oligomers, followed by phenolic acids (vanillic > caffeic > chlorogenic > neochlorogenic > p-coumaric > ellagic > ferulic > 4-dihydroxy-benzoic) and flavonoids (epicatechin > catechin > quercetin-3-β-glucoside > quercetin > rutin > naringin > kaempferol > myricetin). The sour taste of the juice and its low pH were due to the high content of organic acids (malic > quinic > citric > shikimic > ascorbic > oxalic). The carbohydrates were presented by glucose > fructose > galactose > xylose > rhamnose > arabinose. The antioxidant activity measured by ORAC and HORAC was very high. It could be attributed to the high content of polyphenolics in the juice.