Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tilting the Scale: Current Provider Perspectives and Practices on Breastfeeding with HIV in the United States

The risk of vertical transmission from breastfeeding with HIV (BFHIV) has been found to be very low in optimal scenarios with sustained maternal viral suppression during pregnancy and postpartum. Medical providers must account for the risk of this serious adverse event alongside parental autonomy, breastfeeding benefits, and patient values. To assess provider practices, comfort, and challenges with BFHIV, an online mixed-method survey was sent to breastfeeding and HIV provider listservs from June to July 2021. The target population was US medical professionals from diverse practice settings with experience in clinical issues associated with BFHIV, including physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and lactation consultants. Data analysis utilized nonparametric hypothesis testing, ordinal regression, and reflexive thematic analysis. Most providers reported counseling pregnant people with HIV on infant feeding choices, but fewer specifically endorsed counseling about breastfeeding. Of 84 unique institutions identified by 100 included respondents, 10% had an institutional protocol supporting BFHIV. Institutional protocols were associated with higher degrees of provider comfort with BFHIV in optimal scenario clinical vignettes. Providers perceived that White patients faced fewer BFHIV barriers than patients with other racial identities. Discomfort balancing the goals to protect infants from infection risk and support the parent's role in infant feeding decisions was a key theme in free text responses; this manifested in a spectrum of management styles ranging from patient's informed choice to paternalism. This study highlights the tension providers navigate regarding BFHIV discussions, calling for patient care guidelines and protocols grounded in risk reduction and respect of patient autonomy.
Structural insights into actin isoforms

Actin isoforms organize into distinct networks that are essential for the normal function of eukaryotic cells. Despite a high level of sequence and structure conservation, subtle differences in their design principles determine the interaction with myosin motors and actin-binding proteins. Therefore, identifying how the structure of actin isoforms relates to function is important for our understanding of normal cytoskeletal physiology. Here, we report the high-resolution structures of filamentous skeletal muscle α-actin (3.37 Å), cardiac muscle α-actin (3.07 Å), ß-actin (2.99 Å), and γ-actin (3.38 Å) in the Mg2+·ADP state with their native post-translational modifications. The structures revealed isoform-specific conformations of the N-terminus that shift closer to the filament surface upon myosin binding, thereby establishing isoform-specific interfaces. Collectively, the structures of single-isotype, post-translationally modified bare skeletal muscle α-actin, cardiac muscle α-actin, ß-actin, and γ-actin reveal general principles, similarities, and differences between isoforms. They complement the repertoire of known actin structures and allow for a comprehensive understanding of in vitro and in vivo functions of actin isoforms.
Dynamics of Plasma Refill Rate and Intradialytic Hypotension During Hemodialysis: Retrospective Cohort Study With Causal Methodology

Key Points Directly studying plasma refill rate (PRR) during hemodialysis (HD) can offer insight into physiologic mechanisms that change throughout HD. PRR at the start and during HD is associated with intradialytic hypotension, independent of ultrafiltration rate. A rising PRR during HD may be an early indicator of compensatory mechanisms for impending circulatory instability. Background Attaining the optimal balance between achieving adequate volume removal while preserving organ perfusion is a challenge for patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD). Current strategies to guide ultrafiltration are inadequate. Methods We developed an approach to calculate the plasma refill rate (PRR) throughout HD using hematocrit and ultrafiltration data in a retrospective cohort of patients receiving maintenance HD at 17 dialysis units from January 2017 to October 2019. We studied whether (1) PRR is associated with traditional risk factors for hemodynamic instability using logistic regression, (2) low starting PRR is associated with intradialytic hypotension (IDH) using Cox proportional hazard regression, and (3) time-varying PRR throughout HD is associated with hypotension using marginal structural modeling. Results During 180,319 HD sessions among 2554 patients, PRR had high within-patient and between-patient variability. Female sex and hypoalbuminemia were associated with low PRR at multiple time points during the first hour of HD. Low starting PRR has a higher hazard of IDH, whereas high starting PRR was protective (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18 to 1.35 versus HR, 0.79, 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.85, respectively). However, when accounting for time-varying PRR and time-varying confounders, compared with a moderate PRR, while a consistently low PRR was associated with increased risk of hypotension (odds ratio [OR], 1.09, 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.16), a consistently high PRR had a stronger association with hypotension within the next 15 minutes (OR, 1.38, 95% CI, 1.30 to 1.45). Conclusions We present a straightforward technique to quantify plasma refill that could easily integrate with devices that monitor hematocrit during HD. Our study highlights how examining patterns of plasma refill may enhance our understanding of circulatory changes during HD, an important step to understand how current technology might be used to improve hemodynamic instability.
Exact Ray Theory and its Application to the Reflection of Elastic Waves from Vertically Inhomogeneous Media

Summary The possibilities and limitations of the theoretical investigation of elastic waves in horizontally layered media with the aid of the exact ray theory are studied. In order to simplify the problem as far as possible, it is restricted to the propagation of sound waves from a line source in a layered-liquid medium. Three different types of the transition between two homogeneous liquids are investigated: a first-order discontinuity, a transition consisting of a prescribed number of homogeneous layers, and a transition layer with linear variation of sound velocity and density with depth. Theoretical seismograms are computed by exact formulas and by wave front approximations for the reflected waves in these models. From these results, the main conclusions about the applicability of the exact ray theory to studies of wave propagation in more complicated media are as follows: (1) The exact ray theory is applicable to the investigation of vertical and near-vertical reflections from inhomogeneous media without difficulties; and (2) continuously refracted waves in such media can be investigated by an approximation which is sufficient for many practical cases. The final aim of this study was to test whether the exact ray theory can be used to compute theoretical seismograms for seismological applications. Therefore, some approximations were developed which are useful for computations for realistic models of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. An Earth-flattening approximation is given which accounts for the influence of the Earth's curvature on the propagation of body waves, and the approximate computation of point source seismograms from line source seismograms is described. An example of theoretical seismograms is presented for an upper mantle model, published by Julian & Anderson (1968).
Tracking stolen bikes in Amsterdam

Crime has major influences in urban life, from migration and mobility patterns, to housing prices and neighborhood liveability. However, urban crime studies still largely rely on static data reported by the various institutions and organizations dedicated to urban safety. In this paper, we demonstrate how the use of digital technologies enables the fine-grained analysis of specific crimes over time and space. This paper leverages the rise of ubiquitous sensing to investigate the issue of bike theft in Amsterdam—a city with a dominant cycling culture, where reportedly more than 80,000 bikes are stolen every year. We use active location tracking to unveil where stolen bikes travel to and what their temporal patterns are. This is the first study using tracking technologies to focus on two critical aspects of contemporary cities: active mobility and urban crime.
Psychometric Evaluation of GHQ-12 as a Screening Tool for Psychological Impairment of Healthcare Workers Facing COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) is a widely used tool in clinical and research settings due to its brevity and easy administration. Researchers often adopt a dichotomous measurement method, considering a total score above or below a certain threshold, leading to an extreme simplification of the gathered data and, therefore, the loss of clinical details. In a multistep evaluation study aimed at assessing health care workers’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, GHQ-12 proved to be the most effective tool to detect psychological distress compared to other scales. These results deepened the understanding of GHQ-12 properties through a statistical study focusing on items’ properties and characteristics. Methods: GHQ-12 responses were analyzed using Item Response Theory (IRT), a suitable method for scale assessment. Instead of considering the single overall score, in which each item accounts equally, it focuses on individual items’ characteristics. Moreover, IRT models were applied combined with the latent class (LC) analysis, aiming to determine subgroups of individuals according to their level of psychological distress. Results: GHQ-12 was administered to 990 healthcare workers, and responses were scored using the binary method (0-0-1-1). We applied the two-parameter logistic (2-PL) model, finding that the items showed different ways of responses and features. The latent class analysis classified subjects into three sub-groups according to their responses to GHQ-12 only: 47% of individuals with general well-being, 38% expressing signs of discomfort without severity, and 15% of subjects with a high level of impairment. This result almost reproduces the subjects’ classification obtained after administering the six questionnaires of the study protocol. Conclusions: Accurate statistical techniques and a deep understanding of the latent factors underlying the GHQ-12 resulted in more effective usage of such a psychometric questionnaire – i.e., a more refined gathering of data and significant time and resource efficiency. We underlined the need to maximize the extraction of data from questionnaires and the necessity of them being less lengthy and repetitive.
Cav1.3‐selective inhibitors of voltage‐gated L‐type Ca2+ channels: Fact or (still) fiction?

Voltage‐gated L‐type Ca2+‐channels (LTCCs) are the target of Ca2+‐channel blockers (CCBs), which are in clinical use for the evidence‐based treatment of hypertension and angina. Their cardiovascular effects are largely mediated by the Cav1.2‐subtype. However, based on our current understanding of their physiological and pathophysiological roles, Cav1.3 LTCCs also appear as attractive drug targets for the therapy of various diseases, including treatment‐resistant hypertension, spasticity after spinal cord injury and neuroprotection in Parkinson's disease. Since CCBs inhibit both Cav1.2 and Cav1.3, Cav1.3‐selective inhibitors would be valuable tools to validate the therapeutic potential of Cav1.3 channel inhibition in preclinical models. Despite a number of publications reporting the discovery of Cav1.3‐selective blockers, their selectivity remains controversial. We conclude that at present no pharmacological tools exist that are suitable to confirm or refute a role of Cav1.3 channels in cellular responses. We also suggest essential criteria for a small molecule to be considered Cav1.3‐selective.
The research of plane link complex-structure mechanisms by vector algebra methods

В работе выполнено аналитическое исследование кинематики плоского восьмизвенного механизма. Причем в кинематической цепи механизма имеются звенья, образующие пару кулиса – камень. Предложен аналитический метод кинематического анализа плоских рычажных механизмов произвольной структуры, базирующийся на векторном представлении звеньев, что позволяет применить аппарат векторной алгебры пакета Mathcad.
Preconditioning the modified conjugate gradient method

In this paper, the convergence analysis of the conventional conjugate Gradient method was reviewed. And the convergence analysis of the modified conjugate Gradient method was analysed with our extension on preconditioning the algorithm. Convergence of the algorithm is a function of the condition number of M-1A. Again, this work broadens our understanding that the modified CGM yields the exacts result after n-iterations, and further proves that the CGM algorithm is quicker if there are duplicated eigenvalues. Given infinite floating point precision, the number of iterations required to compute an exact solution is at most the number of distinct eigenvalues. It was discovered that the modified CGM algorithm converges more quickly when eigenvalues are clustered together than when they are irregularly distributed between a given interval. The effectiveness of a preconditioner is determined by the condition number of the matrix and occasionally by its clustering of eigenvalues. For large scale application, CGM should always be used with a pre-conditioner to improve convergence. KEYWORDS: Convergence, Conjugate Gradient, eigenvalue, preconditioning.
Seasonal effects on cancer incidence and prognosis

Abstract Background It is unknown if the reduction in the expected number of cancer cases diagnosed during Swedish holidays are due to diagnostic delays, how different cancers are affected, and if the season of diagnosis influences long-term cancer survival. We aimed to quantify seasonal trends in incidence and excess mortality for a wide range of malignancies, requiring more or less urgent clinical management. Material and methods This nationwide cohort study included all Swedish residents aged 20–84 in 1990–2019. Incidence and relative survival in pancreatic, colorectal, lung, urothelial, breast, and prostate cancer, together with malignant melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and acute leukemia diagnosed during holiday and post-holiday were compared to working (reference) season. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated using Poisson regression and excess (cancer) mortality rate ratios using flexible parametric models. Results We identified 882,980 cancer cases. Incidence declined during holiday season for all malignancies and the IRR ranged from 0.58 (95% CI 0.57–0.59 in breast to 0.92 (95% CI 0.89–0.94) in pancreatic cancer. A post-holiday increase was noted for acute leukemia, pancreatic, and lung cancer. For all malignancies except lung cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and acute leukemia, the excess mortality at 2 years from diagnosis was higher among those diagnosed during the holiday season. A tendency toward elevated short-term (0.5 years) excess mortality was noted in the post-holiday group, but long-term effects only persisted in breast cancer. Conclusion This study demonstrates lower holiday detection rates and higher mortality rates in various cancer types diagnosed during holiday season. Healthcare systems should offer a uniform level of cancer care independent of calendar season.
The spatial distribution and velocity field of the molecular hydrogen line emission from the centre of the Galaxy.

On a obtenu les premieres cartes detaillees de l'anneau entourant le noyau de la Galaxie. Elles montrent qu'il est incline de 20° environ sur le plan de la Galaxie, qu'il y a une apparence irreguliere, qu'il tourne a 100 kms −1 dans le sens de la rotation galactique et presente un mouvement radial a la vitesse de 50 kms −1
Use of double-bound three-body Coulomb distorted-wave-like basis sets for two-electron wave functions

The double-bound analog of the double-continuum three-body Coulomb C3 wave function, recently introduced by the authors, allows us to propose two different basis sets of correlated functions which can be used for describing double-bound states. The components of the two basis diagonalize the Coulomb interactions but differ in the definition of the distortion factor which depends only on the interelectronic coordinate. In the first set, this factor includes a nonlinear parameter, while the second set contains parameter-free functions. Through an angular correlated configuration interaction method it is possible to generate highly correlated wave functions for S bound states of heliumlike systems. By construction, these states form an orthogonal set, satisfy all two-body cusp conditions, and retain the C3 double-continuum character. Even when a limited number of configurations is included, rather good energy values for the ground and excited states are obtained. A systematic improvement by inclusion of more configurations can be easily achieved, in particular with the computationally efficient, parameter-free basis.
Suppression of MAPK/NF‐kB and activation of Nrf2 signaling by Ajugarin‐I in EAE model of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurodegenerative autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The current study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective properties of Ajugarin‐I (Aju‐I) against the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS and explored the underlying mechanism involved. The protective potential of Aju‐I was first confirmed against glutamate‐induced HT22 cells and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)‐induced BV2 cells. Next, an EAE model has been established to investigate the mechanisms of MS and identify potential candidates for MS treatment. The behavioral results demonstrated that Aju‐I post‐immunization treatment markedly reduced the EAE‐associated clinical score, motor impairment, and neuropathic pain. Evans blue and fluorescein isothiocyanate extravasation in the brain were markedly reduced by Aju‐I. It effectively restored the EAE‐associated histopathological changes in the brain and spinal cord. It markedly attenuated EAE‐induced inflammation in the CNS by reducing the expression levels of p‐38/JNK/NF‐κB but increased the expression of IkB‐α. It suppressed oxidative stress by increasing the expression of Nrf2 but decreasing the expression of keap‐1. It suppressed EAE‐induced apoptosis in the CNS by regulating Bax/Bcl‐2 and Caspase‐3 expression. Taken together, this study suggests that Aju‐I treatment exhibits neuroprotective properties in the EAE model of MS via regulation of MAPK/NF‐κB, Nrf2/Keap‐1, and Bcl2/Bax signaling.
Host heterogeneity and epistasis explain punctuated evolution of SARS-CoV-2

Identifying drivers of viral diversity is key to understanding the evolutionary as well as epidemiological dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using rich viral genomic data sets, we show that periods of steadily rising diversity have been punctuated by sudden, enormous increases followed by similarly abrupt collapses of diversity. We introduce a mechanistic model of saltational evolution with epistasis and demonstrate that these features parsimoniously account for the observed temporal dynamics of inter-genomic diversity. Our results provide support for recent proposals that saltational evolution may be a signature feature of SARS-CoV-2, allowing the pathogen to more readily evolve highly transmissible variants. These findings lend theoretical support to a heightened awareness of biological contexts where increased diversification may occur. They also underline the power of pathogen genomics and other surveillance streams in clarifying the phylodynamics of emerging and endemic infections. In public health terms, our results further underline the importance of equitable distribution of up-to-date vaccines.
Delivery of a therapeutic antibody to the lower gastrointestinal tract for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)

Abstract The colonic delivery system of toxin neutralizing antibody is a promising method for treating Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and has some advantages over the parental administration of a neutralizing antibody. However, colonic delivery of biologics presents several challenges, including instability of biologics during encapsulation into the delivery system and harsh conditions in the upper GI tract. In this work, we described a multi-particulate delivery system encapsulating a tetra-valent antibody ABAB-IgG1 with the potential to treat CDI. This work first approved that the cecum injection of ABAB-IgG1 into the lower GI tract of mice could relieve the symptoms, enhance the clinical score, and improve the survival rate of mice during CDI. Then, the antibody was spray layered onto mannitol beads and then enteric coated with pH-sensitive polymers to achieve colon-targeting release. The in vitro release of antibody from the multi-particulate system and the pH-sensitive release of antibody was monitored. The in vivo efficacy of this system was further examined and confirmed in mice and hamsters. In summary, the findings of this study should provide practical information and potential treatment options for CDI through colonic delivery of antibody therapeutics to the lower GI tract using a multi-particulate delivery system.
α-α Scattering at Intermediate Energies Applicability of Orthogonality Condition Model and Upper Limit of Isoscalar Meson-Nucleon Coupling Constants Inferred from Potential Tail

Intermediate energy a-a scattering is studied by the resonating group method with the Coulomb exchange kernel, in order to resolve the discrepancy between the potential tail for the S, D and G waves and that for higher partial waves which was reported in a previous phenomenological analysis_ but hardly understandable from a microscopic point of view. It is shown that this discrepancy can be removed if we employ the new solution of the pha;;e shift analysis. Validity of the orthogonality condition model in the inelastic region is shown if a suitable imaginary potential ·is added to the direct potential. The real phase shifts of the ! -wave dominated by the direct potential tail restrict the coupling constants of isoscalar mesons with nucleon as g62/4n=3.5~6 and g. '/4n=8~11.
Greater accelerometer-measured physical activity is associated with better cognition and cerebrovascular health in older adults

Abstract Objectives: Physical activity (PA) may help maintain brain structure and function in aging. Since the intensity of PA needed to effect cognition and cerebrovascular health remains unknown, we examined associations between PA and cognition, regional white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in older adults. Method: Forty-three older adults without cognitive impairment underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Waist-worn accelerometers objectively measured PA for approximately one week. Results: Higher time spent in moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) was uniquely associated with better memory and executive functioning after adjusting for all light PA. Higher MVPA was also uniquely associated with lower frontal WMH volume although the finding was no longer significant after additionally adjusting for age and accelerometer wear time. MVPA was not associated with CBF. Higher time spent in all light PA was uniquely associated with higher CBF but not with cognitive performance or WMH volume. Conclusions: Engaging in PA may be beneficial for cerebrovascular health, and MVPA in particular may help preserve memory and executive function in otherwise cognitively healthy older adults. There may be differential effects of engaging in lighter PA and MVPA on MRI markers of cerebrovascular health although this needs to be confirmed in future studies with larger samples. Future randomized controlled trials that increase PA are needed to elucidate cause-effect associations between PA and cerebrovascular health.