Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Body mass index-dependent immunological profile changes after left ventricular assist device implantation

Purpose Infection is a common complication following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Patients with obesity are particularly at risk due to their high percentage of adipose tissue and the resulting chronic inflammatory state and resulting immunological changes. This study investigated changes of immunological parameters in relation to body mass index (BMI) during the first year after LVAD implantation. Methods Blood samples were obtained prior to LVAD implantation and at 3 (1st FU), 6 (2nd FU) and 12 mo (3rd FU) after LVAD implantation. Patients were divided into three groups (normal weight: BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2; n=12; pre-obesity: 25.0-29.9 kg/m2; n=15; obesity: ≥ 30.0 kg/m2; n=17) based on their BMI at the time of LVAD implantation. Flow cytometric analyses for CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), B cells as well as dendritic cells (DCs) were performed. Results After LVAD implantation, obese patients (0.51 ± 0.20%) showed a higher proportion of overall DCs than normal-weight (0.28 ± 0.10%) and pre-obese patients (0.32 ± 0.11%, p<0.01) at 3rd FU. The proportion of BDCA3+ myeloid DCs was lower in obese patients (64.3 ± 26.5%) compared to normal-weight patients (82.7 ± 10.0%, pnormal-weight vs. obesity=0.05) at 2nd FU after LVAD implantation. The analysis of BDCA4+ plasmacytoid DCs revealed a reduced proportion in pre-obese (21.1 ± 9.8%, pnormal-weight vs. pre-obesity=0.01) and obese patients (23.7 ± 10.6%, pnormal-weight vs. obesity=0.05) compared to normal-weight patients (33.1 ± 8.2%) in the 1st FU. T cell analysis showed that CD4+ T cells of obese patients (62.4 ± 9.0%) significantly increased in comparison to pre-obese patients (52.7 ± 10.0%, ppre-obesity vs. obesity=0.05) and CD8+ T cells were lower in obese patients (31.8 ± 8.5%) than in normal-weight patients (42.4 ± 14.2%; pnormal-weight vs. obesity=0.04) at the 3rd FU. Furthermore, we observed significantly reduced proportions of Tregs in pre-obese patients compared to normal-weight and obese patients at 2nd FU (p=0.02) and 3rd FU (p=0.01) after LVAD implantation. Conclusion This study reported changes of the innate and adaptive immune system of pre-obese and obese compared to normal-weight patients one year after LVAD implantation. DCs and their subsets, CD8+ T cells and Tregs were affected immune cell populations that indicate immunological changes which might increase the incidence of postoperative infection.
Perceptions of older adults and generativity among older citizens in Japan: a descriptive cross-sectional study

Objectives As the population ages worldwide, including in Japan, there is a growing expectation for older adults to remain active participants in society. The act of sharing one’s experiences and knowledge with younger generations through social engagement not only enriches the lives of older individuals, but also holds significant value for our society. In this study, we examined both positive and negative perceptions of older adults and investigated the correlation between these perceptions and generativity among older citizens. Additionally, we evaluated the impact of life satisfaction on these factors. Methods We conducted a survey of 100 older adults in Japan (mean age, 71.68 years) and utilized multiple regression analyses, using positive and negative perceptions of older adults, life satisfaction, and demographic factors as independent variables. The sub-categories of generativity—namely, generative action, concern, and accomplishment—were used as dependent variables. Results Participants who held a more positive perception of older adults demonstrated a higher level of generative actions and concerns. Additionally, participants who reported higher levels of life satisfaction also exhibited more generative actions, concerns, and accomplishments. Conversely, those who held a more negative perception of older adults were found to have higher levels of generative actions. Conclusion Enhancing positive perceptions of older adults among them can boost the sub-categories of generativity. This study, which was conducted from an exploratory perspective, has several limitations, including a potential sampling bias. A more comprehensive examination of the relationship between perceptions of older adults and generativity is anticipated in future research.
Nothing into Something and Vice Versa: A Cosmological Scenario

In the almost empty universe (with almost no matter in it), stochastic gravitational waves (SGW) of finite amplitude produce a de Sitter regime as a solution, which is invariant with respect to the Wick rotation. Asymptotically, super horizon SGWs do not “feel” difference between Lorentzian and Euclidean spacetime and belong simultaneously to both of them. The universe is finishing its evolution in Euclidean spacetime, i.e., it disappears into nothing. Quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field (gravitons) produce a de Sitter regime again in Euclidean spacetime where the current universe finished its existence, and due to the invariance of the de Sitter regime with respect to Wick rotation, the next universe starts its life with de Sitter inflation in Lorentzian spacetime. Such a scenario assumes that a permanent process of birth, death and rebirth of an infinite sequence of universes takes place on an infinite time axis.
A University Student Performance Prediction Model and Experiment Based on Multi-Feature Fusion and Attention Mechanism

Predicting student performance is a crucial research area in educational data mining. Student grades are influenced by various factors such as past academic performance, family background, and personal achievements. However, it is difficult to collect many relevant factors other than past academic performance, and it is not ideal to predict student performance using past academic records alone. Therefore, reducing the difficulty of data collection while maintaining timeliness and prediction accuracy remains a pressing issue. To address this challenge, this study proposes a novel model for predicting university student performance based on multi-feature fusion and attention mechanisms. The proposed model focuses on analyzing historical academic grades from multiple dimensions among university students to extract features that reveal relationships between courses and students, among different students themselves, or even between courses themselves. Additionally, an attention mechanism is introduced to explore the relationship between different dimensional features. This study collected a triplet set of related courses and students’ real historical grades, proved the correlation between courses through data analysis, and verified the effectiveness of different dimensional features. Experimental results show that, compared with traditional machine learning methods, our proposed method achieves better prediction accuracy with a precision rate of 72.5%.
Perceived Psychological Preparedness of the New Tertiary Curriculum Graduates in Taking the Professional Board Examination

This study was conducted to explore the perceived psychological preparedness of the selected graduates from the psychology department of the University of Cebu-Main Campus. It described the participants` preparedness in taking the psychometrician board examination. The way the participants adapt to the challenges experienced while reviewing, the experiences encountered by the participants through the factors, and the different coping strategies used to enhance and prepare for the upcoming board examination. The study utilized the qualitative method. There were sixteen (16) participants in this study, and they were selected through non-probability sampling, specifically purposive sampling. In data collection, an interview with a semi-structured interview guide has been used. In analyzing the qualitative data, thematic analysis by Boyatzis is being used. Codes, categories, and finding common themes were identified from the transcript of in-depth interviews. Eleven (11) emergent themes were created based on the participant's responses, which were classified under three (3) primary themes that provided answers to the sub-problems in this research. The emergent themes were extracted from the significant critical statements of the key participants. The description provided by the participants on their preparedness for taking the professional board examination, Factors that Influenced the Participants` Preparedness, has four (4) emergent themes categorized as: On Motivation; On Academic Factors; On Individual Factors; On Environmental Factors. For the challenges faced by the graduate participants about preparedness, the overarching theme is Challenges experienced by the Participants. The preparation has five (5) emergent themes: Lack of Academic Preparation, the Impact on Overall Health, High Expectations, Poor Study Habits, And Self-Confidence. The ways or strategies the participants used to cope with the difficulties faced in the examination preparation, the overarching theme is Participants’ Cope with the Challenges Met has two (2) emergent themes identified: By Ways of Addressing Challenges; By Seeking Social Support. The findings and recommendations derived from the study were used to improve the preparedness of the new tertiary curriculum graduates in taking the professional board examination.
Performance of Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations Versus 99Tc-DTPA-Renogram for Glomerular Filtration Rate

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation (MDRD 186 , MDRD 175 ), and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations in comparison to a gold standard method of Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) measurement ( 99 Tc-DTPA-renogram). Also, to correlate the three-equations in calculating estimated GFR, and their impacts on re-classifying CKD-stages in adult patients. Methods : This cross-sectional study recruited two-groups of patients during a period of January to October 2021. The proportional differences between the prevalence of different CKD-stages according to both MDRD and CKD-EPI equations was 27% and 36%, respectively. Hence, a sample of 64 pairs is required to achieve a study power of 80% and a two-sided significance of 5% for detecting a difference of 0.11 between marginal proportions. The first group included 48 patients who underwent 99 Tc-DTPA-renogram procedure for GFR measurement, and the second group included only data of serum creatinine obtained from 30,348 adult patients who did not undergo the same procedure, and eGFR was calculated using the three-equations. Results : The median of the reference GFR was 106.0(mL/min/1.73m2), whereas the median eGFR for the MDRD 175 , MDRD 186 , and CKD-EPI equations were 92.5, 98.3, and 102.1, respectively. All three-equations correlated moderately with the reference GFR (0.428, 0.428, 0.523), p< 0.01. The CKD-EPI showed lesser bias (3.7 vs 12.9 and 7.5 for MDRD 175 and MDRD 186 , respectively) and more accuracy (95.8% vs 91.7% and 93.8%), however, it was the least precise (25.1 vs 22.3 and 23.8). The MDRD 186 performed similarly to the CKD-EPI equation at CKD stages 3a-5, and differed significantly at stages 1-2. Whereas the MDRD 175 differed significantly with both equations at stages 1 – 3b, however was similar to them at stages 4 – 5. Conclusion : The CKD-EPI equation had the highest accuracy and the least bias and precision in the general population. The MDRD 186 CKD classification differed significantly from the CKD-EPI equation at CKD-stages 1 – 2 only. The CKD-EPI equation is preferred to MDRD for the detection and classification of early CKD-stages.
Geography as Human Ecology

[T]he contest between geographers and their adversaries is identical with the old controversy between historical and physical methods. One party claims that the ideal aim of science ought to be the discovery of general laws; the other maintains that it is the investigation of phenomena themselves. While physical science arises from the logical and aesthetic demands of the human mind, cosmography has its source in the personal feelings of man towards the world, towards the phe nomena surrounding him. We may call this an "affective" impulse in contrast to the aesthetic impulse. Goethe expressed this idea with admirable clearness: "It seems to me that every phenomenon, every fact, itself is the really interesting object. Whoever explains it, or connects it with other events, usually only amuses himself or makes sport of it, as, for instance, the naturalist or historian. But a single action or event is interesting, not because it is explainable, but because it is true. " -F. Boas, 1887
Multi-Omics Profiling of Human Endothelial Cells from the Coronary Artery and Internal Thoracic Artery Reveals Molecular but Not Functional Heterogeneity

Major adverse cardiovascular events occurring upon coronary artery bypass graft surgery are typically accompanied by endothelial dysfunction. Total arterial revascularisation, which employs both left and right internal thoracic arteries instead of the saphenous vein to create a bypass, is associated with better mid- and long-term outcomes. We suggested that molecular profiles of human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) and human internal mammary artery endothelial cells (HITAECs) are coherent in terms of transcriptomic and proteomic signatures, which were then investigated by RNA sequencing and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Both HCAECs and HITAECs overexpressed molecules responsible for the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, basement membrane assembly, cell-ECM adhesion, organisation of intercellular junctions, and secretion of extracellular vesicles. HCAECs were characterised by higher enrichment with molecular signatures of basement membrane construction, collagen biosynthesis and folding, and formation of intercellular junctions, whilst HITAECs were notable for augmented pro-inflammatory signaling, intensive synthesis of proteins and nitrogen compounds, and enhanced ribosome biogenesis. Despite HCAECs and HITAECs showing a certain degree of molecular heterogeneity, no specific markers at the protein level have been identified. Coherence of differentially expressed molecular categories in HCAECs and HITAECs suggests synergistic interactions between these ECs in a bypass surgery scenario.
Aboriginal peoples and sport in Canada: historical foundations and contemporary issues.

Introduction / Janice Forsyth and Audrey R. Giles Part 1: Historical Perspectives on Aboriginal Peoples in Sport and Recreation 1 Bodies of Meaning: Sports and Games at Canadian Residential Schools / Janice Forsyth 2 Indigenous Peoples and Canadian-Hosted Olympic Games / Christine M. O'Bonsawin 3 Toward a History of Aboriginal Women in Canadian Sport / M. Ann Hall Part 2: Contemporary Issues 4 Aboriginal Peoples and the Construction of Canadian Sport Policy / Victoria Paraschak 5 Canadian Elite Aboriginal Athletes, Their Challenges, and the Adaptation Process / Robert Schinke, Duke Peltier, and Hope Yungblut 6 Women's and Girls' Participation in Dene Games in the Northwest Territories / Audrey R. Giles 7 Performance Indicators: Aboriginal Games at the Arctic Winter Games / Michael Heine 8 The Quality and Cultural Relevance of Physical Education for Aboriginal Youth: Challenges and Opportunities / Joannie Halas, Heather McRae, and Amy Carpenter 9 Two-Eyed Seeing: Physical Activity, Sport, and Recreation Promotion in Indigenous Communities / Lynn Lavallee and Lucie Levesque Conclusion / Janice Forsyth and Audrey R. Giles
RESPONSES OF THE COPEPOD ACARTIA TONSA TO HYPOXIA IN CHESAPEAKE BAY

Title of thesis: RESPONSES OF THE COPEPOD ACARTIA TONSA TO HYPOXIA IN CHESAPEAKE BAY Allison P. Barba, Masters of Science, 2015 Thesis directed by: Professor Michael R. Roman University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory Chesapeake Bay experiences seasonal hypoxia each year and while studies have been done investigating how the copepod Acartia tonsa responds to hypoxia, few studies have focused on a comprehensive understanding of how its behavior and fitness are affected by low oxygen. The abundance, distribution, fitness and diel vertical migration patterns of A. tonsa were measured on series of six cruises in 2011 and 2012 in spring, summer and fall. I found that copepod abundance, distribution and vertical migration were significantly affected when hypoxic waters occurred below the pycnocline. I also found that males were less impacted by hypoxia than females, with a greater decrease in female abundance and vertical migration when there were hypoxic bottom waters.
Occurrence and distribution of the heterotrophic straminipiles from Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest areas

ABSTRACT We present herein the occurrence and distribution of the heterotrophic straminipiles collected from soil and water, submerged leaves and surface sediment from freshwater bodies at “Mosaico de Unidades de Conservação Juréia-Itatins”, a preserved conservation unit of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. From 180 collected samples, we isolated 41 taxa belonging to Hyphochytriomycota and Oomycota using the multiple baiting technique, with several new taxa to the science, new occurrences to São Paulo State or Brazil, and all new citation to the studied area. These taxa were identified based on morphological and/or molecular data, with several genic regions made available in GenBank. The calculated community structure of these zoosporic organisms showed a diverse community, with few dominant taxa, without significant differences (P≤0.05) among the different types of samples.
Application Procedures for the Electromagnetic Borehole Flowmeter in Shallow Unconfined Aquifers

It is increasingly common for the electromagnetic borehole flowmeter (EBF) to he used to measure hydraulic conductivity (K) distributions in subsurface flow systems. Past applications involving the EBF have been made mostly in confined aquifers (Kabala 1994; Boman et al. 1997; Podgorney and Ritzi 1997; Ruud and Kabala 1997a, 1997b; Flach et al. 2000), and it has been common to set up a flow field around a test well using a small pump that is located near the top of the well screen (Mob, and Young 1993). In thin, unconfined aquifers that exhibit ground water tables near the ground surface and that undergo drawdown during pumping, such a configuration can be problematical because pumping and associated drawdown may effectively isolate the upper portion of the aquifer from the flowmeter. In these instances, a steady‐state flow field in the vicinity of the test well may be created using injection rather than pumping, allowing for testing in the otherwise isolated upper portion of the aquifer located near the initial water table position. Using procedures developed by Molz and Young (1993), which were modified for an injection mode application, testing was conducted to determine whether or not the injection mode would provide useful information in a shallow, unconfined aquifer that required the collection of data near the initial water table position. Results indicated that the injection mode for the EBF was well suited for this objective.
Water‐soluble organic carbon aerosols during a full New Delhi winter: Isotope‐based source apportionment and optical properties

Water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC) is a major constituent (~ 20–80%) of the total organic carbon aerosol over the Indian subcontinent during the dry winter season. Due to its multiple primary and secondary formation pathways, the sources of WSOC are poorly characterized. In this study, we present radiocarbon constraints on the biomass versus fossil sources of WSOC in PM2.5 for the 2010/2011 winter period for the megacity Delhi, situated in the northern part of the heavily polluted Indo‐Gangetic Plain. The fossil fuel contribution to Delhi WSOC (21 ± 4%) is similar to that recently found at two South Asian background sites. In contrast, the stable carbon isotopic composition of Delhi WSOC is less enriched in 13C relative to that at the two receptor sites. Although potentially influenced also by source variability, this indicates that near‐source WSOC is less affected by atmospheric aging. In addition, the light absorptive properties of Delhi WSOC were studied. The mass absorption cross section at 365 nm (MAC365) was 1.1–2.7 m2/g with an Absorption Ångström Exponent ranging between 3.1 and 9.3. Using a simplistic model the relative absorptive forcing of the WSOC compared to elemental carbon in 2010/2011 wintertime Delhi was estimated to range between 3 and 11%. Taken together, this near‐source study shows that WSOC in urban Delhi comes mainly (79%) from biomass burning/biogenic sources. Furthermore, it is less influenced by photochemical aging compared to WSOC at South Asian regional receptor sites and contributes with a relatively small direct absorptive forcing effect.
Meteorological analysis of tropospheric ozone profiles at Bermuda

As part of the North Atlantic Regional Experiment (NARE) a number of ozonesonde profiles were obtained from Bermuda during the spring and summer of 1993. We present meteorological case studies of two instances of elevated O3 mixing ratio in the middle and upper troposphere which took place during the summer. The ozonesonde profile of July 9, 1993, indicated ozone mixing ratios exceeding 100 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) from ∼5 km to above 15 km above sea level. A series of profiles for August 2–4 indicated elevated ozone in a layer which initially extended from 8 to 9 km and thickened to cover the 8- to 14-km range. Isentropic trajectories lead back to potential source areas over North America 2 to 5 days prior to the events. Objective analyses based on radiosonde data demonstrate that the air masses, as indicated by the trajectories, pass through areas of elevated isentropic potential vorticity located in troughs in the tropopause-level geopotential height field. The conformation and temporal development suggest that active planetary wave breaking was responsible for stratosphere-troposphere exchange in these systems. These results suggest an important role for O3 of stratospheric origin in the western North Atlantic Ocean area, transported into the troposphere upstream over or near North America. It is notable that these events took place in the summer months of July and August, when such events had been considered unlikely.
Study on FSHD2 Myotube Nucleus Disease Based on Mononuclear RNA-seq Identification

Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) is a genetic disease that leads to progressively wasting of facial, shoulder, and upper arm musculature. We performed a PCA analysis on the bulk RNA-seq datasets to observe the variances in gene expression profiles that could distinguish the impacts of genotypes and myoblast differentiation. We found out that the variance of differentiation (51.9%) was much higher than the percentage of variance of genotype difference (5.9%). Corresponding to this, we also found that only a small portion of differentially expressed genes were driven by the FSHD effect only, and the vast rest were driven by differentiation effect. These results further confirmed the difficulties in detecting FSHD induced or DUX4 downstream genes from bulk RNA-seq datasets and highlighted our downstream analysis by using a single-nucleus RNA-seq dataset to dissect the pathology in disease-associated populations.