Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systematic evaluation of written health information on PSA based screening in Germany

Background Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) based screening for early detection of prostate cancer is common although it is associated with both benefits and potential harms (e.g., the risk of overdiagnosis). Evidence-based health information could help individuals make informed decisions about whether to undergo PSA testing or not. This evaluation aimed to determine whether the written health information materials available in Germany provide appropriate information for informed decision-making on PSA based screening. Methods A list of criteria was developed and used to systematically assess the quality of information on the benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening included in written health information materials. Fourteen information materials identified by information requests and online searches were evaluated independently by two of three reviewers. Consensus was achieved with a third reviewer. Results Of the 14 information materials evaluated, 10 (71%) list the ability to reduce the absolute risk of death from prostate cancer as a benefit of PSA testing, 9 (64%) point out the risks of follow-up diagnostics, 13 (93%) describe the risks of the available prostate cancer treatments, and all 14 specify the risk of overdiagnosis. The minority provide numerical data on benefits and risks. Partially mismatched framing was identified in four cases: two information materials report only the relative frequencies of benefits, and two report only the absolute frequencies of harms. Half of the materials encouraged participation using downplaying or frightening language. Conclusions The majority of health information materials in Germany describe the benefits and harms of PSA based screening, including overdiagnosis, but often lack adequate balance, neutrality and numbers.
Screening for postpartum depression: What influences participation?

Abstract Routine screening for postpartum depression (PPD) is widespread; however not all women comply. In this prospective study, women who participated in a screening initiative in Israel were compared to those who did not, and factors associated with participation were examined. One-to-two days postpartum women completed a socio-demographic survey, and at 6-weeks postpartum 76% participated in a screening initiative. Having at least three children, a family history of depression, and more positive attitudes toward seeking help were associated with participation in the screening initiative. PPD screening procedures should be optimized to offer the most suitable and acceptable screening program to women from various socio-demographic backgrounds.
Antithrombotic Therapy and Major Adverse Limb Events in Patients With Chronic Lower Extremity Arterial Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis from the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy in Collaboration with the European Society of Cardiology Working

INTRODUCTION The role and selection of antithrombotic therapy to improve limb outcomes in chronic lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) is still debated. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the efficacy and safety of anti-thrombotic and more intense antithrombotic therapy on limb outcomes and limb salvage in patients with chronic LEAD. METHODS Study inclusion criteria were: enrollment of patients with LEAD, randomized allocation to more vs. less intense antithrombotic therapy [more vs. less intense single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT); dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) vs. SAPT; dual antithrombotic therapy vs. SAPT or oral anticoagulant]; enrolment of ≥ 200 patients; reporting of at least one of following outcomes: limb amputation or revascularization. Seven randomized studies enrolling 30'447 patients were included. RESULTS Over a median follow-up of 24 months, more vs. less intense antithrombotic therapy or placebo significantly reduced the risk of limb revascularization (relative risk [RR]: 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83 - 0.94) and limb amputation (RR: 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.46-0.86), as well as stroke (RR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.70-0.97). There was no statistically significant effect on the risk of myocardial infarction (RR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.87-1.11), all-cause (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86-1.01) and cardiovascular death (RR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.86-1.08). Risk of major bleeding increased (RR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.04-1.44). CONCLUSION In patients with LEAD, more intense antithrombotic therapy reduces risk of limb amputation and revascularization as well as stroke, with an increase in the risk of bleeding events.
Spotlight on Histomonosis (blackhead disease): a re-emerging disease in turkeys and chickens

ABSTRACT Histomonosis, or blackhead disease, is a well-known disease in turkeys that can cause high mortality, but outbreaks with lower losses are also observed. The disease is less fatal in chickens but is economically important due to reduced performance and its co-appearance with colibacillosis. The lack of specific prophylactic and therapeutic interventions has led to a re-emergence of the disease in recent years, mainly in turkeys, free-range layers and chicken parent stock.
Complete Genome Sequence of Nissabacter sp. Strain SGAir0207, Isolated from an Air Sample Collected in Singapore

Nissabacter sp. strain SGAir0207 was isolated from a tropical air sample collected in Singapore. Its genome was assembled using a hybrid approach with long and short reads, resulting in one chromosome of 3.9 Mb and 7 plasmids. The complete genome consists of 4,403 protein-coding, 84 tRNA, and 22 rRNA genes. ABSTRACT Nissabacter sp. strain SGAir0207 was isolated from a tropical air sample collected in Singapore. Its genome was assembled using a hybrid approach with long and short reads, resulting in one chromosome of 3.9 Mb and 7 plasmids. The complete genome consists of 4,403 protein-coding, 84 tRNA, and 22 rRNA genes.
A Mutation in ZNF143 as a Novel Candidate Gene for Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

Corneal dystrophies (CDs) are a diverse group of inherited disorders with a heterogeneous genetic background. Here, we report the identification of a novel ZNF143 heterozygous missense mutation in three individuals of the same family with clinical and pathological features that are consistent with endothelial CD. Ophthalmologic examination revealed diffuse corneal clouding and edema with decreased endothelial cell density. Pathological findings showed increased corneal thickness due to edema of basal epithelial cells and stroma, and abnormal metaplastic endothelium with stratified epithelium-like changes. Patients’ metaplastic corneal endothelial cells expressed predominantly cytokerain 7, cytokeratin 19, and E-cadherin. Although Sanger sequencing did not detect any mutation associated with endothelial CDs, whole exome sequencing identified the ZNF143 c.937G>C p.(Asp313His) mutation as a candidate gene for our patients’ endothelial CD. In-vitro functional studies demonstrated that mutant ZNF143 promoted the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition; it upregulated the expression of genes associated with epithelialization in human corneal endothelial cells. Additionally, proinflammatory cytokine responsive genes were significantly enriched after mutant ZNF143 transfection, which may contribute to the severe phenotype of the three patients. These findings link a mutation in ZNF143 with endothelial CD for the first time.
Efficient way to compute the vector addition theorem

Two efficient ways of calculating the vector addition theorem are presented. One is obtained by relating the coefficients of the vector addition theorem to that of the scalar addition theorem for which an efficient recurrence relation exists. The second way is to derive recurrence relations directly for the coefficients of the vector addition theorem. These new ways of calculating the coefficients are of reduced computational complexity. Hence, when the number of coefficients required is large, the present methods are many times faster than the traditional method using Gaunt coefficients and Wigner 3j symbols.
Non-uniform sampling based ADC architecture using an adaptive level-crossing technique

This paper presents a non-uniform sampling analog-to-digital converter (ADC) architecture using an adaptive level-crossing technique. The architecture can be dynamically configured through three parameters that allow the user to match the ADC to the signal to be acquired or to application constraints. When applied to sparse signals, this architecture outperforms uniform sampling architectures. In the case of an Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, our architecture showed gains of up to 10 dB of signal to noise ratio (SNR) when considering the same number of samples of uniform sampling. When the same SNR is considered, our architecture allows reductions in excess of 50%. The architecture was implemented with FPGA and general purpose components, and showed a response time of about 200 μs, which could be further reduced in an integrated implementation.
BRAFV600E mutation analysis in fine‐needle aspiration cytology specimens for diagnosis of thyroid nodules: The influence of false‐positive and false‐negative results

The accurate evaluation of BRAFV600E mutation in preoperative fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) specimens is important for making management decisions in thyroid nodules (TNs). The aim of this study was to assess the false‐positive and false‐negative BRAFV600E mutations in thyroid FNAC specimens and their influence on diagnosis of TN.
"Progress in Medicine Is Slower To Happen": Qualitative Insights Into How Trans and Gender Nonconforming Medical Students Navigate Cisnormative Medical Cultures at Canadian Training Programs.

PURPOSE Trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people face significant health disparities compared to their cisgender (non-trans) counterparts. Physician-level factors play a role in these disparities, and increasing the participation of individuals from sexuality and gender minority (SGM) communities in medical training has been proposed as one way of addressing this issue, however very little is known about the experiences of current TGNC medical students. This study aimed to understand the experiences of TGNC medical students in Canada. METHOD Between April 2017 and April 2018, seven TGNC participants either currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a Canadian medical school completed audio-recorded semi-structured interviews. Interviewers asked about experiences with admissions; academic, clinical, and social environments; and interactions with administration. The authors analyzed interviews using a constructivist grounded theory approach. RESULTS The authors developed five overarching themes: navigating cisnormative medical culture; balancing authenticity, professionalism, and safety; negotiating privilege and power differentials; advocating for patients and curricular change; and seeking mentorship in improving access and quality of care to TGNC patients. This article focuses on the first theme, with associated subthemes of culture and context, interactions with classmates, curriculum, policy and administration, and gendered spaces. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study delineate heterogeneous experiences of medical cultures with a shared underlying pattern of erasure of TGNC people as both patients and clinicians. Findings were largely consistent with previously published recommendations for improving academic medical institutional climates for SGM people, though the need for access to appropriate gendered spaces beyond washrooms was highlighted.
Draft Genome Sequence of Duganella sp. Strain DN04, Isolated from Cultivated Soil

Here, we sequenced Duganella sp. strain DN04, a novel species within the genus Duganella that was isolated from a maize field in North Carolina. The assembled draft genome size is 6,562,230 bp, with a total of 6,039 protein coding sequences and 3,889 functionally assigned genes, including genes putatively involved in the colonization of plants. ABSTRACT Here, we sequenced Duganella sp. strain DN04, a novel species within the genus Duganella that was isolated from a maize field in North Carolina. The assembled draft genome size is 6,562,230 bp, with a total of 6,039 protein coding sequences and 3,889 functionally assigned genes, including genes putatively involved in the colonization of plants.
Health effects of particulate matter in major Indian cities

ABSTRACT Background: Particulate matter (PM) is one among the crucial air pollutants and has the potential to cause a wide range of health effects. Indian cities ranked top places in the World Health Organization list of most polluted cities by PM. Objectives: Present study aims to assess the trends, short- and long-term health effects of PM in major Indian cities. Methods: PM-induced hospital admissions and mortality are quantified using AirQ+ software. Results: Annual PM concentration in most of the cities is higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards of India. Trend analysis showed peak PM concentration during post-monsoon and winter seasons. The respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions in the male (female) population are estimated to be 31,307 (28,009) and 5460 (4882) cases, respectively. PM2.5 has accounted for a total of 1,27,014 deaths in 2017. Conclusion: Cities with high PM concentration and exposed population are more susceptible to mortality and hospital admissions.
A cross-sectional study

We explored the effects of smoking and exercise on pulmonary function (PF) in young adults. This was a 2-year, prospective cross-sectional study on university students. We recorded age, gender, weight, height, pulmonary symptoms, smoking status, and sports habits. Spirometry was used to evaluate lung function; we recorded the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), the forced vital capacity (FVC), and the FEV1/FVC ratio. A total of 1014 (552 female, 464 male) subjects were included. Smokers reported significantly more wheezing and sputum production than nonsmokers, but exhibited better FVC and FEV1 values. Those who smoked less than half a pack/d had significantly poorer FVC and FEV1 levels than nonsmokers. Smokers exhibited significantly lower FEV1/FVC ratios than nonsmokers. Overall, those who exercised exhibited better FEV1 and FVC levels, but this was attributable entirely to females. The spirometric percentile data were adjusted for gender, age, and height, and used as indicators of health status (good: >90: average: 25–90, poor <25). ln males, PF was associated with regular exercise (good: 7.8, average: 6.5, poor: 14.2, P= .02). The smoking rate was higher in the “good” group (males: good: 31.3, average: 30, poor: 17.9, P= .02/females: good: 22.4, average: 17.9, poor: 10.4, P= .02). On multivariate regression analysis, above-average PF test results were associated with age (1.32 [1.04–1.69]) and exercising at least once per week (4.06 [1.16–14.20]) in males. In females, above-average results were associated with irregular exercise (2.88 [1.36–6.09]), age (1.85 [1.44–2.37]), and exercising until palpitations developed (0.18 [0.04–0.88]). Smoking improves lung function in young adults; these are “healthy smokers. ” Physical activity did not improve lung function, but the absence of physical activity significantly worsened lung function. Abbreviations: FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in 1 second, FVC = the forced vital capacity, PF = pulmonary function, PFT = pulmonary function test.
MiR223-3p promotes synthetic lethality in BRCA1-deficient cancers

Significance One origin of cancer arises from defects in the homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway, which results in oncogenic genomic instability. Normal cells prefer HR for repair of stressed replication forks because it is highly conservative. The back-up pathway for repair of stressed replication forks, alternative non-homologous end-joining (aNHEJ), can result in chromosomal instability. Normal cells use microRNA (miR) 223-3p to down-regulate aNHEJ and thus promote HR, which protects genomic stability. However, those cancers that arise from inherited or acquired defects in HR components, such as the BRCA1 breast and ovarian cancers, silence miR223-3p to enhance aNHEJ repair of stressed replication forks. Reconstituting expression of miR223-3p in these cancers causes synthetic lethality, and is a potential therapeutic modality. Defects in DNA repair give rise to genomic instability, leading to neoplasia. Cancer cells defective in one DNA repair pathway can become reliant on remaining repair pathways for survival and proliferation. This attribute of cancer cells can be exploited therapeutically, by inhibiting the remaining repair pathway, a process termed synthetic lethality. This process underlies the mechanism of the Poly-ADP ribose polymerase-1 (PARP1) inhibitors in clinical use, which target BRCA1 deficient cancers, which is indispensable for homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair. HR is the major repair pathway for stressed replication forks, but when BRCA1 is deficient, stressed forks are repaired by back-up pathways such as alternative nonhomologous end-joining (aNHEJ). Unlike HR, aNHEJ is nonconservative, and can mediate chromosomal translocations. In this study we have found that miR223-3p decreases expression of PARP1, CtIP, and Pso4, each of which are aNHEJ components. In most cells, high levels of microRNA (miR) 223–3p repress aNHEJ, decreasing the risk of chromosomal translocations. Deletion of the miR223 locus in mice increases PARP1 levels in hematopoietic cells and enhances their risk of unprovoked chromosomal translocations. We also discovered that cancer cells deficient in BRCA1 or its obligate partner BRCA1-Associated Protein-1 (BAP1) routinely repress miR223-3p to permit repair of stressed replication forks via aNHEJ. Reconstituting the expression of miR223-3p in BRCA1- and BAP1-deficient cancer cells results in reduced repair of stressed replication forks and synthetic lethality. Thus, miR223-3p is a negative regulator of the aNHEJ DNA repair and represents a therapeutic pathway for BRCA1- or BAP1-deficient cancers.
Multiplex CRISPR Mutagenesis of the Serine/Arginine-Rich (SR) Gene Family in Rice

Plant growth responds to various environmental and developmental cues via signaling cascades that influence gene expression at the level of transcription and pre-mRNA splicing. Alternative splicing of pre-mRNA increases the coding potential of the genome from multiexon genes and regulates gene expression through multiple mechanisms. Serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins, a conserved family of splicing factors, are the key players of alternative splicing and regulate pre-mRNA splicing under stress conditions. The rice (Oryza sativa) genome encodes 22 SR proteins categorized into six subfamilies. Three of the subfamilies are plant-specific with no mammalian orthologues, and the functions of these SR proteins are not well known. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system is a genome engineering tool that cleaves the target DNA at specific locations directed by a guide RNA (gRNA). Recent advances in CRISPR/Cas9-mediated plant genome engineering make it possible to generate single and multiple functional knockout mutants in diverse plant species. In this study, we targeted each rice SR locus and produced single knockouts. To overcome the functional redundancy within each subfamily of SR genes, we utilized a polycistronic tRNA-gRNA multiplex targeting system and targeted all loci of each subfamily. Sanger sequencing results indicated that most of the targeted loci had knockout mutations. This study provides useful resource materials for understanding the molecular role of SR proteins in plant development and biotic and abiotic stress responses.
Twitter as a Tool in Crisis Communication in the European Union Area

In this study we built understanding on how the social media and especially Twitter can be used in crisis communication in the EU. We conducted a case analysis about how the Munich Police Department did their crisis communication via Twitter during the Munich shooting crisis. The use of social media in crisis communication is increasing as well as the available mobile phone environment for the people in the EU area. EU projects have increased knowledge about the possible crises situations in the EU by analyzing the crises events which happened in the EU. Moving people are more often connected to social media and the services in that environment give new possibilities to the authorities. EU projects are delivering directions to the EU authorities for social media. The EU authorities have a lack of common guidelines for the social media environment which could unify their actions. The analyzed Twitter case concluded in the understanding that Twitter can be used as one tool in crisis communication. It is impossible to manage all the portals on Twitter during a crisis - the effective way to tackle threats in crisis communication with that tool is to concentrate mainly on own portal and on common ones. The Twitter service could be developed for crisis communication by adding a couple of information windows for authorities to the main window.
Driving Profile using Evolutionary Computation

Road injuries are among the top ten causes of death worldwide. It has been shown that providing feedback to drivers decreases the likeliness of having them engaging into dangerous manoeuvres, such as speeding. It also contributes to reduce the amount of life-threatening incidents related with braking. Due to its ubiquity, smartphones are a great resource for assessing driving behaviour. Several mobile applications have been created with this purpose, but there is no concrete evidence that these approaches offer consistent results over distinct platforms (Operating Systems) and hardware. Providing a model for assessing driver behaviour across distinct devices represents a major challenge, due to the increasing differentiation between platforms and mobile devices’ internal sensors (gyroscope, accelerometer, GPS, and magnetometer.) In this study we propose the application of Evolutionary Computation techniques to create models for driving behaviour characterisation over data acquired from mobile devices with distinct sensors. Our experiments show that we are able to evolve models that are robust and can accurately identify the legs of a car journey that have abnormal events. In concrete we are able to evolve predictive models that can successfully create a profile about the driving behaviour of a person.
Nearly Optimal Restricted Isometry Condition for Rank Aware Order Recursive Matching Pursuit

In this paper, we analyze the performance guarantee of the rank aware order recursive matching pursuit (RA-ORMP) algorithm in recovering a group of jointly sparse vectors. Specifically, we show that RA-ORMP accurately reconstructs any group of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$r$</tex-math></inline-formula> linearly independent jointly <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula>-sparse vectors, provided that the sampling matrix has unit <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{2}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-norm columns and satisfies the restricted isometry property (RIP) of order <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K+1$</tex-math></inline-formula> with <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\delta _{K+1} < {\sqrt{r}} /\left({\sqrt{K+\frac{r}{4}}+\sqrt{\frac{r}{4}}}\right)$</tex-math></inline-formula>. We show the near-optimality of the proposed guarantee by providing a group of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$r$</tex-math></inline-formula> jointly <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula>-sparse vectors that cannot be recovered by RA-ORMP under <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\delta _{K+1} \geq \sqrt{\frac{r}{K}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>. We also present a condition of RA-ORMP in the more realistic scenarios where a sampling matrix might not have unit <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{2}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-norm columns and the measurements are contaminated with noise.