Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The dimensionality of morphological awareness in reading comprehension among Chinese early adolescent readers

Recent research has included multiple measures of morphological awareness to address the dimensionality of morphological construct in the context of modeling skilled reading. However, a majority of studies have an Anglocentric focus. The current study aims to extend the previous studies to logographic learners by evaluating the dimensionality of morphological awareness in higher-order reading comprehension among Chinese adolescent readers. A total of 686 early adolescent students (339 fifth-grade students and 347 sixth-grade students) participated in the study. They completed a series of morphological awareness measurements (morpheme recognition, morpheme discrimination, and compound structure awareness), vocabulary knowledge, lexical inference and reading comprehension. By testing three alternative path models, the study showed that morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge were best represented as parallel covariates in predicting Chinese reading comprehension. More important, the study highlighted the mediator of lexical inference in associating morphological awareness, vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension among Chinese readers. Empirical findings suggest that morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge seem to be under a unitary construct in logographic reading acquisition and that word-meaning inference ability connects the path between morphological awareness and reading comprehension. These findings contribute to the complexity in the conceptualization of Chinese morphological awareness and reading instruction by examining the ways in which the morphological construct supports higher-order reading development.
Psychometric and biomedical outcomes of glycated haemoglobin target-setting in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: Protocol for a mixed-methods parallel-group randomised feasibility study

Background The disease burden of diabetes can have wide-ranging implications on patients’ psychological well-being and health-related quality of life. Glycated haemoglobin targets are commonly used to guide patient management in diabetes to reduce the future risk of developing diabetes complications, but little is known of the psychological impact of glycated haemoglobin target-setting. This protocol describes a study to determine the feasibility of evaluating psychological outcomes when setting explicit glycated haemoglobin targets in people with diabetes. Methods This single-centre randomised feasibility study will follow a mixed-methods approach across four sub-studies. In sub-study A, eligible adults (aged 18 and over) with type 1 or type 2 diabetes will complete baseline validated psychometric questionnaires evaluating health-related quality of life (EuroQoL-5D-5L), diabetes-related distress (Problem Areas In Diabetes), self-care (Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities), well-being (Well-Being Quetionnaire-12) and diabetes-related psychosocial self-efficacy (Diabetes Empowerment Scale-Long Form). Participants will be randomised to receive explicit glycated haemoglobin intervention targets 5mmol/mol above or below current glycated haemoglobin readings. Rates of eligibility, recruitment, retention and questionnaire response rate will be measured. Psychometric outcomes will be re-evaluated 3-months post-intervention. Sub-studies B and C will use qualitative semi-structured interviews to evaluate experiences, views and opinions of diabetes patients and healthcare professionals in relation to the acceptability of study processes, the use of glycated haemoglobin targets, the impact of diabetes on psychological well-being and, in sub-study D, barriers to participation in diabetes research. Discussion This mixed-methods study aims to provide a novel insight into the psychological implications of glycated haemoglobin target-setting for people with diabetes in secondary care, alongside testing the feasibility of undertaking a larger project of this nature. Trial registration The study is registered with the ISRCTN (registration number: 12461724; date registered: 11th June 2021). Protocol version: 2.0. 5, 26th February 2021.
Percutaneous transhepatic or endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage in malignant distal bile duct obstruction using a self-expanding metal stent: Study protocol for a prospective European multicenter trial (PUMa trial)

Background Endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) was associated with better clinical success and a lower rate of adverse events (AEs) than fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in recent single center studies with mainly retrospective design and small case numbers (< 50). The aim of this prospective European multicenter study is to compare both drainage procedures using ultrasound-guidance and primary metal stent implantation in patients with malignant distal bile duct obstruction (PUMa Trial). Methods The study is designed as a non-randomized, controlled, parallel group, non-inferiority trial. Each of the 16 study centers performs the procedure with the best local expertise (PTBD or EUS-BD). In PTBD, bile duct access is performed by ultrasound guidance. EUS-BD is performed as an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS), EUS-guided choledochoduodenostomy (EUS-CDS) or EUS-guided antegrade stenting (EUS-AGS). Insertion of a metal stent is intended in both procedures in the first session. Primary end point is technical success. Secondary end points are clinical success, duration pf procedure, AEs graded by severity, length of hospital stay, re-intervention rate and survival within 6 months. The target case number is 212 patients (12 calculated dropouts included). Discussion This study might help to clarify whether PTBD is non-inferior to EUS-BD concerning technical success, and whether one of both interventions is superior in terms of efficacy and safety in one or more secondary endpoints. Randomization is not provided as both procedures are rarely used after failed endoscopic biliary drainage and study centers usually prefer one of both procedures that they can perform best. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03546049 (22.05.2018).
3913 - UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS OF FAILURE PROBABILITY PREDICTIONS FOR BRITTLE FRACTURE

Reliability analysis of ceramic components under stationary or transient loading is generally performed on the basis of a Finite Element stress analysis from which the failure probability according to the multi-axial Weakest Link theory is calculated with the help of a suitable post-processing routine. We use the STAU postprocessing routine and the general purpose Finite Element code ABAQUS. Due to scatter in the material parameters, the resulting failure probability is also prone to statistical uncertainties. We present a method of assessing this scatter using so-called resampling simulation methods. We obtain confidence intervals for the failure probability. In a toy example using a four-point bend specimen, the effect of pooling (i.e. grouping of results from different experiments by suitable scaling procedures) on numerical result and scatter of failure probability is demonstrated. Here, pooling is done using results of inert strength measurements at various temperatures and scaling to room temperature values. While the confidence interval of the failure probability for the pooled data set gets smaller as expected from the increased sample size, its upper bound remains stable which is a surprising result. A more realistic example deals with a ceramic component in a model clutch under thermo-mechanical frictional loading. It is investigated, if the results of the toy example can be reproduced in this more complicated case. As a first step, the local risk of rupture is calculated which leads to the identification of the most critical regions of the component. As a second step, resampling confidence intervals for the failure probability are determined. As resampling data base, we use inert strength values at different temperatures as well as material data for sub-critical crack propagation.
Nosocomial outbreak by NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae highly resistant to cefiderocol, Florence, Italy, August 2021 to June 2022

A nosocomial outbreak by cefiderocol (FDC)-resistant NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (NDM-Kp) occurred in a large tertiary care hospital from August 2021–June 2022 in Florence, Italy, an area where NDM-Kp strains have become endemic. Retrospective analysis of NDM-Kp from cases observed in January 2021–June 2022 revealed that 21/52 were FDC-resistant. The outbreak was mostly sustained by clonal expansion of a mutant with inactivated cirA siderophore receptor gene, which exhibited high-level resistance to FDC (MIC ≥ 32 mg/L) and spread independently of FDC exposure.
Maximizing Realism: Mapping Plastic Particles at the Ocean Surface Using Mixtures of Normal Distributions

Current methods of characterizing plastic debris use arbitrary, predetermined categorizations and assume that the properties of particles are independent. Here we introduce Gaussian mixture models (GMM), a technique suitable for describing non-normal multivariate distributions, as a method to identify mutually exclusive subsets of floating macroplastic and microplastic particles (latent class analysis) based on statistically defensible categories. Length, width, height and polymer type of 6,942 particles and items from the Atlantic Ocean were measured using infrared spectroscopy and image analysis. GMM revealed six underlying normal distributions based on length and width; two within each of the lines, films, and fragments categories. These classes differed significantly in polymer types. The results further showed that smaller films and fragments had a higher correlation between length and width, indicating that they were about the same size in two dimensions. In contrast, larger films and fragments showed low correlations of height with length and width. This demonstrates that larger particles show greater variability in shape and thus plastic fragmentation is associated with particle rounding. These results offer important opportunities for refinement of risk assessment and for modeling the fragmentation and distribution of plastic in the ocean. They further illustrate that GMM is a useful method to map ocean plastics, with advantages over approaches that use arbitrary categorizations and assume size independence or normal distributions.
Listeriosis outbreak caused by contaminated stuffed pork, Andalusia, Spain, July to October 2019

Between 1 July and 26 October 2019 in Andalusia, Spain, a large outbreak with 207 confirmed cases of listeriosis was identified. Confirmed cases had a median age of 44 years (range: 0–94) and 114 were women (55.1%). Most cases (n = 154) had mild gastroenteritis, 141 (68.1%) required hospitalisation and three died; five of 34 pregnant women had a miscarriage. The median incubation period was 1 day (range: 0–30), and was significantly shorter in cases presenting with gastroenteritis compared to those presenting without gastroenteritis (1 day vs. 3 days, respectively, p value < 0.001). Stuffed pork, a ready-to-eat product consumed unheated, from a single producer contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes ST388 was identified as the source of infection. The outbreak strain was identified in 189 human samples and 87 non-human (82 food and 5 environmental) samples. Notification of new cases declined abruptly after control measures were implemented. These included contaminated food recall, protocols for clinical management of suspected cases and for post-exposure prophylaxis in pregnant women and communication campaigns with concise messages to the population through social media. Given that there were 3,059 probable cases, this was the largest L. monocytogenes outbreak ever reported in Europe.
Synchrotron Radiation from Relativistic Winds, with an Application to the Compact Radio Source at the Galactic Center

We show that it is unlikely that the compact nonthermal radio source at the galactic center is confined, and consider models involving relativistic outflow, spherically or in jets. We show that several dynamically self-consistent models can reproduce the observations, requiring no more total power than the Crab pulsar. We discuss observable characteristics of these models and how future observations may distinguish among them.
Dyonic wormholes in five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory

New spherically symmetric dyonic solutions, describing a wormhole-like class of spacetime configurations in five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory, are given in an explicit form. For this type of solution the electric and magnetic fields cause a significantly different global structure. For the electric-dominated case, the solution is regular everywhere but, when the magnetic strength overcomes the electric contribution, the mouths of the wormhole become singular points. When the electric and magnetic charge parameters are identical, the throats `degenerate' and the solution reduces to the trivial embedding of the four-dimensional massless Reissner-Nordstrom black hole solution. In addition, their counterparts in 11-dimensional supergravity are constructed by a non-trivial uplifting.
Psychological Symptoms as Mediators in the Association between Discrimination and Health among South Asian Americans.

Objective To examine psychological symptoms (symptoms of depression, anger, anxiety) as potential mediators between discrimination and health outcomes among South Asian Americans. We hypothesized that psychological symptoms would be significant mediators in the pathways between discrimination and health. Research Design and Methods The Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study examines risk factors for heart disease among South Asian Americans using self-reported and medical data collected from participants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago regions of the U.S. (N=1164). For this study we assessed the associations among the everyday discrimination scale, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger, and health outcomes using structural equation modeling. Results We found significant positive associations between discrimination and symptoms of depression (ß .69, p<.0001), anger (ß .38, p<.0001), and anxiety (ß .64, p<.0001). Exposure to discrimination had a direct negative association with HDL level (ß -.37, p=.01). Indirect associations between discrimination and health outcomes were seen via depression (tobacco use: ß 1.08, p=.007), via anger (triglyceride level: 11.88, p=.03; alcohol consumption: ß 1.66, p=.002; calories consumed per day: ß 108.04, p=.02), and via anxiety (tobacco use: ß -1.05, p=.004; alcohol consumption: ß -1.88, p=.03). Conclusion Our hypothesis was partially confirmed with proximate health indicators (tobacco use, alcohol consumption, caloric intake) and triglyceride levels. These results suggest that psychological symptoms mediate the association between discrimination and adverse health risk behaviors among South Asian Americans.
Phlebotomine Fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae) and Infection by Leishmania spp. in Forest Fragments of a University Campus, Western Amazon

Abstract Forest fragments consist of important ecosystems for the maintenance of sand fly populations and Leishmania hosts. This study sought to identify the phlebotomine fauna and its infection by Leishmania spp. in forest fragments on the campus of the Federal University of Acre (UFAC), Western Amazon. Monthly collections with CDC traps were carried out from March 2020 to June 2021, in four forest fragments of UFAC. Male and female insects were processed and identified at species level. A sample of females was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to verify the presence Leishmania DNA. In total, 465 specimens were collected, of which 238 were males and 227 were females. The most frequent species were Nyssomyia antunesi (Coutinho, 1939) (47.3%), Trichophoromyia sp. (Mangabeira, 1942) (18.70%), and Ny. whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho, 1939) (8.81%). Molecular analysis detected the presence of Leishmania (Ross, 1903) DNA in a specimen of Ny. antunesi, and another one of Evandromyia walker (Newstead, 1914). The forest fragments of the university campus harbor a diverse sand fly fauna with the presence of Leishmania DNA in these insects, in addition to the presence of other species considered incriminated vectors of Leishmania parasites.
Experiences of COVID-19-Related Stigma: A Qualitative Study on Nurses Caring for Patients With COVID-19

ABSTRACT Background Healthcare workers caring for patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been a primary target of stigmatization and discrimination during the COVID-19 outbreak. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a support system for Asian healthcare workers who care for patients with COVID-19. Purpose This study was designed to understand the characteristics of COVID-19-related stigma experienced by nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. Methods A qualitative content analysis methodology was used. This study was conducted between April 2020 and March 2021. The participants were 10 female registered nurses working at three medical facilities that accepted patients with COVID-19. The data included specific narratives on the instances of stigma experienced when caring for patients with COVID-19, including connected situations and ideas. The data were collected using focus group interviews with three or four participants in each group. Data analysis was conducted based on the inductive qualitative analysis approach of Krippendorff. Results The content analysis identified two categories and seven subcategories of stigma experienced by clinical nurses. The category “directly experienced prejudice and discrimination” included the subcategories “being avoided,” “being treated as dirty,” “discrimination toward family members,” and “others prying. ” The category “self-imposed coping behavior” included the subcategories “keeping oneself apart,” “feeling guilty,” and “nondisclosure. ” Conclusions/Implications for Practice The participants internalized their experiences of stigma, as Japanese culture emphasizes keeping such things to oneself. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen the support system for nurses who care for patients with COVID-19. This study addressed the problem of the stigmatization of these nurses and their families by others as well as their colleagues. The main findings were that stigma was directly experienced as discrimination and prejudice and often resulted in self-imposed coping behavior. The major implication of these findings is the need to establish systematic, active, and ongoing organizational support programs for nurses who are discriminated against because of COVID-19-related stigma.
Geometric approach to Hall algebra of representations of Quivers over local ring

By using perverse sheaves on representation spaces of quivers over $k[t]/(t^n)$ and jet schemes over flag varieties, we construct a geometric composition algebra $\mathbf K$ under Lusztig's framework on geometric realizations of the negative part of quantum algebras. Simple perverse sheaves in $\mathbf K$ form the canonical basis of $\mathbf K$. The relationships among the algebra $\mathbf K$, the composition algebra of locally projective representations of quivers over $k[t]/(t^n)$ and quantum generalized Kac-Moody algebra are provided.
Longitudinal Evaluation of Donor-Derived Cellfree DNA in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation

Visual Abstract Background and objectives Donor-derived cellfree DNA (cfDNA) is a less-invasive marker of allograft injury compared with kidney biopsy. However, donor-derived cfDNA has not yet been extensively tested in children, where the test may have different characteristics. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We assayed donor-derived cfDNA (AlloSure; CareDx) from 290 stored plasma samples from a prospective biobank at our center, collected from 57 children monthly in the first year postkidney transplant between January 2013 and December 2019. We assessed the kinetic changes in donor-derived cfDNA levels within the first year post-transplant. We analyzed donor-derived cfDNA levels for associations with biopsy-proven acute rejection using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to longitudinal plasma and urine BK viral loads using linear mixed models. We analyzed the prognostic effect of an elevated donor-derived cfDNA level on the eGFR 30 days after the assay via Kolmogorov–Smirnov two-sample tests or on measured GFR or interstitial fibrosis at 12 months post-transplant. Results The donor-derived cfDNA levels in children remained persistently elevated for at least 4 months post-transplant, more so if there is greater disparity in size between the donor and the recipient, before reaching a steady low level. A donor-derived cfDNA level of >1% discriminated between biopsy-proven acute rejection with a receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of 0.82 (95% confidence interval, 0.71 to 0.93). During BK viruria or viremia, patients had a significantly higher median donor-derived cfDNA than before or after and a significant rise within the same patient. A donor-derived cfDNA of >0.5% predicted a wider spread in the eGFR over the next 30 days but not the 12-month outcomes. Conclusions In children, donor-derived cfDNA is a valuable, less invasive biomarker for assessment of allograft rejection and injury. Podcast This article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2022_10_27_CJN03840322. mp3.
Genetic counselling and testing in pulmonary arterial hypertension: a consensus statement on behalf of the International Consortium for Genetic Studies in PAH

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease that can be caused by (likely) pathogenic germline genomic variants. In addition to the most prevalent disease gene, BMPR2 (bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2), several genes, some belonging to distinct functional classes, are also now known to predispose to the development of PAH. As a consequence, specialist and non-specialist clinicians and healthcare professionals are increasingly faced with a range of questions regarding the need for, approaches to and benefits/risks of genetic testing for PAH patients and/or related family members. We provide a consensus-based approach to recommendations for genetic counselling and assessment of current best practice for disease gene testing. We provide a framework and the type of information to be provided to patients and relatives through the process of genetic counselling, and describe the presently known disease causal genes to be analysed. Benefits of including molecular genetic testing within the management protocol of patients with PAH include the identification of individuals misclassified by other diagnostic approaches, the optimisation of phenotypic characterisation for aggregation of outcome data, including in clinical trials, and importantly through cascade screening, the detection of healthy causal variant carriers, to whom regular assessment should be offered. Idiopathic, anorexigen-induced, congenital heart disease-associated and heritable PAH, and pulmonary veno-occlusive disease patients should be offered genetic counselling and testing with a gene panel including all disease genes for the condition https://bit.ly/3ga3HEc