Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk variant in miR-544a binding site in CCDC170 is associated with osteoporosis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in regulating bone formation and homeostasis. Genomic variations within miRNA target sites may therefore be important sources of genetic differences in osteoporosis risk. To investigate this possibility, we searched for miRNA recognition sites within genes using the TargetScan, miRNASNP and miRbase databases. In this study, we showed that miR-544a differentially regulated the allele variants of rs6932603 in the CCDC170 3 ′ untranslated (3′-UTR). We also showed that miR-544a suppressed osteogenesis and promoted osteoclastogenesis by regulating the expressions of Runx2, Osterix, Alp, Col1a1, Osteopontin (OPN) ,Osteocalcin (OCN) and Osteoprotegerin (OPG). Our results suggest that allele-specific regulation of CCDC170 by miR-544a explains the observed disease risk, and provides a potential therapeutic target for osteoporosis therapy.
Prevalence and Associations of Epiretinal Membranes in an Elderly English Population: The Bridlington Eye Assessment Project

Purpose: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of epiretinal membranes (ERMs) in an adult English population. Methods: The Bridlington Eye Assessment Project is a population-based study of eye disease among residents aged 65 years or older. Comprehensive interviews and ophthalmic examinations were conducted to assess potential risk factors. Digital mydriatic nonstereoscopic 30° colour fundus photography (CFP) was performed. ERMs were classified as primary/idiopathic or secondary on the basis of findings from the ocular examination and the structured questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to determine the independence of potential risk factors for idiopathic ERMs. Results: In a comprehensive screening of 3588 patients aged over 65, we identified an eye-based prevalence of ERMs of 4.26% and a subject-based prevalence of ERMs of 6.88%. The majority of these cases were idiopathic in nature (90.7%), while 9.3% were secondary ERMs; predominantly, there was a history of cataract surgery (43.5%). No significant correlation between idiopathic ERMs and factors such as age, gender, diabetes, hypertension, a history of stroke, or the presence of AMD was found. Conclusions: The prevalence of ERMs in an elderly English population and the proportion of idiopathic and secondary ERMs are similar to previous reports. However, in elderly patients aged over 65 years, age is not a risk factor for the presence of idiopathic ERMs. The presence of diabetes, hypertension, a history of stroke, and AMD of any grade was not associated with ERMs.
Comparative analyses of seismic site conditions and microzonation of the major cities in Gangwon Province, Korea

To determine the seismic site conditions and microzonation of Chuncheon, Wonju and Gangneung cities in the Gangwon Province, Korea, the dispersion curves of Rayleigh waves were derived at 313 sites by the extended spatial autocorrelation (ESPAC) method. Using the shear-wave velocities (Vs) determined from dispersion curves, average depth to the bedrock (Db) and Vs at the top of the bedrock (Vsb), the overburden layer (Vso) and the top 30 m depth layer (Vs30) were determined. The resonance frequencies (fr) were then computed using both Db and Vso. The estimated averages of the three cities were 13 ± 7 m for Db, 472 ± 109 m/s for Vsb, 248 ± 44 m/s for Vso, 411 ± 157 m/s for Vs30 and 5.8 ± 2.8 Hz for fr. Microzonation maps based on the proxy-based Vs30 indicated that the three cities were mainly categorised into National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) classes B, C and D, with a minor proportion of A. Although no area was estimated to be in class E using the proxy-based Vs30, the Vs30 values derived from the recorded Rayleigh waves at 13 sites in Gangneung were less than 180 m/s. This indicates a greater vulnerability to seismic amplification during large earthquakes in this city, which had the smallest Vso, Vs30 and fr, and the greatest Db of the three cities. Microzonation maps, together with information for fr, can be effectively used for seismic risk assessments, urban planning, and disaster management. To determine the seismic site conditions and microzonation of Chuncheon, Wonju, and Gangneung in Korea, shear-wave velocities were derived at 313 sites by the ESPAC method. The proxy-based Vs30 indicated that these cities were mainly categorised into NEHRP classes B, C, and D, with a minor proportion of A.
Cittaslow - Germany: dove i piccoli centri urbani si rappresentano.

Cittaslow-Germany: where small cities represent themselves. In 1999 the International Association of Livable Cities, “Cittaslow: Rete internazionale delle citta del buon vivere”, was founded in Italy. To date, there are 182 member cities in 28 countries around the world, all of them smaller cities of less than 50,000 inhabitants. Twelve German cities are now members in the network. Based on an examination of the member cities of Cittaslow Germany, insight was gained into the system of requirements for excellence that is binding for Cittaslow cities, into its implementation in participating cities as well as into the viability and transferability of the overall concept. Small cities are ideally equipped to achieve an orientation towards a comprehensive sustainability approach, while in the process emphasizing categories of quality over quantity. These cities assume important roles as anchor points for regional development. Not only do they provide technological as well as social infrastructure, they also carry out private supply services for rural, often sparsely populated areas. At stake is more than just the preservation of quantifiable standards of living, but rather the overall improvement of the quality of life. As explained in the article, Cittaslow provides new stimuli, against the background of debates on shrinking processes, for further reflection on the functions and viability of small cities. At the same time Cittaslow became a brand standing for high quality of life in smaller cities.
Perioperative Management of a Frail Patient With Bernard-Soulier Syndrome

Bernard-Soulier syndrome (BSS) is an autosomal recessive inherited bleeding disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time, thrombocytopenia, and giant platelets. Patients with BSS are at an increased risk of bleeding, especially during traumatic injury and surgical procedures. The literature on the anesthetic management of patients with BSS is limited. In this report, we detail the successful management of a frail patient with BSS who underwent a major surgical procedure. Despite comprehensive clinical monitoring and an extended pharmacological strategy, a hemorrhagic complication occurred in the later postoperative phase, emphasizing the necessity for continued support and vigilant clinical monitoring due to the ongoing bleeding risk associated with these patients. In this case, a combined strategy involving antifibrinolytics, recombinant factor VII, and platelet transfusions proved effective.
All-Cause Death and Major Adverse Events in Atrial Fibrillation with Frailty: Observations from the Korea National Health Insurance Service Data

Background : Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an indicator of frailty in old patients. This study aimed to investigate the effect of frailty on the use of oral anticoagulants (OAC) and clinical outcomes in a nationwide cohort of patients with new-onset AF. Methods : This study included 451,368 participants without AF from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening cohort between 2002 and 2009. The Hospital Frailty Risk Score was retrospectively calculated for each patient using all available International Classification of Disease 10th revision diagnostic codes. According to the aggregate score, patients were divided into two groups: the participants without frailty ( < 5 points) and the participants with frailty ( ≥ 5 points). The primary outcome was death from any cause, and the secondary outcomes were cardiovascular death, ischemic stroke, major bleeding, and heart failure admission. Results : With up to 7.2 ± 1.5 years of follow-up, 11,953 participants (median age, 67 [interquartile range, 59.5–74.5] years; 7200 [60.2%] males) developed new-onset AF. Among the patients with AF, 3224 (26.9%) had frailty. Frailty was significantly associated with old age, female sex, polypharmacy, and other comorbidities. In patients with AF, frailty was negatively associated with OAC prescription after new-onset AF ( p < 0.001). Compared to patients without frailty, patients with frailty had a significantly higher incidence and risk of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR] 2.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.65–3.14), cardiovascular death (HR 2.42, 95% CI 2.10–2.80), ischemic stroke (HR 2.25, 95% CI 2.02–2.51), major bleeding (HR 2.44, 95% CI 2.17–2.73), and heart failure admission (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.09–1.52). In subgroup analysis, when compared to the non-OAC group, the risks associated with frailty were significantly lower in the OAC group for all-cause death, cardiovascular death, ischemic stroke, and heart failure admission. Conclusions : Frailty was negatively associated with the use of OAC and was a predictor of poor prognosis owing to the association of frailty with death, thromboembolic events, bleeding, and heart failure admission. However, OAC use was associated with lower risks related to frailty for all-cause death and major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with AF.
Tenure Security and Women Right Over Land

Land tenure system is the relationship between land and people, as individuals or groups, legally or customarily. Tenural security of land has far reaching implication; in one hand it reduce disputes, conflicts and uncertainty and vulnerability of poor and promote sustainable development, on the other it makes easy for transfer of land for more efficient use. Even after creation of numbers of acts, the tenural right is a matter of concern in Bihar. The situation is worse for sharecropper and women. This article analyses the status of land tenure security and available legal framework to ensure women right over land. It is found that there is hardly any record and recorded right to ensure right of sharecroppers. Although the law confers the equal right to women in their paternal property, but in practice this is not very common in India including Bihar. There hardly exists legal provision to ensure right of women over land and even if it is there, it is not implemented properly. Except some recent initiative, through which transfer of land to weaker section recorded in name of female member of family, there is no such legal provision to ensure women right over land.
The Impact of Climate Change and Extreme Weather Conditions on Cardiovascular Health and Acute Cardiovascular Diseases

Climate change is widely recognized as one of the most significant challenges facing our planet and human civilization. Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, leading to a warming of the Earth’s climate. The relationship between climate change and cardiovascular (CV) health, mediated by air pollution and increased ambient temperatures, is complex and very heterogeneous. The main mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of CV disease at extreme temperatures involve several regulatory pathways, including temperature-sympathetic reactivity, the cold-activated renin-angiotensin system, dehydration, extreme temperature-induced electrolyte imbalances, and heat stroke-induced systemic inflammatory responses. The interplay of these mechanisms may vary based on individual factors, environmental conditions, and an overall health background. The net outcome is a significant increase in CV mortality and a higher incidence of hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias. Patients with pre-existing CV disorders may be more vulnerable to the effects of global warming and extreme temperatures. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive intervention that spans from the individual level to a systemic or global approach to effectively address this existential problem. Future programs aimed at reducing CV and environmental burdens should require cross-disciplinary collaboration involving physicians, researchers, public health workers, political scientists, legislators, and national leaders to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Resolution enhancement of tri-stereo remote sensing images by super resolution methods

Super resolution (SR) refers to generation of a High Resolution (HR) image from a decimated, blurred, low-resolution (LR) image set, which can be either a single frame or multi-frame that contains a collection of several images acquired from slightly different views of the same observation area. In this study, we propose a novel application of tri-stereo Remote Sensing (RS) satellite images to the super resolution problem. Since the tri-stereo RS images of the same observation area are acquired from three different viewing angles along the flight path of the satellite, these RS images are properly suited to a SR application. We first estimate registration between the chosen reference LR image and other LR images to calculate the sub pixel shifts among the LR images. Then, the warping, blurring and down sampling matrix operators are created as sparse matrices to avoid high memory and computational requirements, which would otherwise make the RS-SR solution impractical. Finally, the overall system matrix, which is constructed based on the obtained operator matrices is used to obtain the estimate HR image in one step in each iteration of the SR algorithm. Both the Laplacian and total variation regularizers are incorporated separately into our algorithm and the results are presented to demonstrate an improved quantitative performance against the standard interpolation method as well as improved qualitative results due expert evaluations.
Impacts of DNAPL Source Treatment: Experimental and Modeling Assessment of the Benefits of Partial DNAPL Source Removal

Abstract : Once released into the subsurface environment, dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) serve as long term sources of groundwater contamination, and are a significant risk to water resources. Containment or removal are the two basic strategies that can be used in the management or restoration. Restoration can be pursued either through in-situ destruction or extraction, and a number of aggressive DNAPL remediation techniques have been developed for these purposes. Complete DNAPL removal may be possible at some sites, but because of technology limitations and financial restrictions, partial mass depletion may be the most likely end result of aggressive source treatment at most DNAPL contaminated sites. When it is not practical or economically feasible to achieve complete DNAPL mass depletion, it must be determined if the aggregate benefits of partial DNAPL mass depletion are sufficient to reduce risks to an acceptable level, and if the costs associated with this partial depletion are justified by the benefits received. This report summarizes research conducted to address these issues with the primary objective of the research being the development of a scientifically defensible approach for assessing the long-term environmental impacts (benefits) of DNAPL removal from source zones. The technical approach used to achieve this objective was to (1) characterize the relationships between DNAPL mass reduction, contaminant mass flux, and plume behavior, and (2) to use this information to develop a strategy for assessing the benefits of DNAPL source remediation. As discussed in Section 3, three lines of investigation were employed in our technical approach: field site demonstrations (Section 3.1), laboratory experiments (Section 3.2), and numerical and analytical modeling (Section 3.3). Using a combination of these applications allowed evaluation of varied hydrogeological settings and remediation scenarios.
Impact of the Timing of Umbilical Cord Clamping on Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: The optimal time for umbilical cord clamping after delivery has been under debate for several decades. This study aimed to assess the time-dependent effects of umbilical cord clamping on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Methods: An observational correlational design was used to recruit 161 pregnant women conveniently. Outcomes were observed and recorded using a structured checklist developed by the authors. Pregnant females aged ≥18 years, with uncomplicated delivery, and who were willing to participate were recruited. Exclusion criteria included stillbirths, newborns with congenital anomalies, newborns too small for their gestational age, intra-uterine growth restriction, nuchal cord, and meconium-stained liquor. Results: The mean age of the participants was 29.93 ± 6 years. Early clamping (<1 minute) was performed for 93.8% of the participants with a mean of 29.58 ± 18 seconds. Delayed clamping was associated with a decrease in blood loss and the length of hospital stay in addition to an increase in first-minute APGAR score and neonatal temperature (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Delayed cord clamping was associated with improved maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Design of Compact, Broadband, 2-D Wide-Angle Scanning and Low-RCS Phased Array Using Split Ring Structures

We propose a compact wideband phased array with 2-D wide-angle scanning and low radar-cross Section (RCS) performance. The antenna elements comprise two pairs of split-ring (SR) particles and U/E-slot microstrip antennas. Specifically, the SR particles are equivalent to an antiphase metal-plate monopole array in the band to broaden the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of the microstrip antenna. Meanwhile, the microstrip antenna functions as part of the absorbing structure out of the band to improve the absorption performance. The proposed design provides a simple and universal method to simultaneously manipulate the radiation and scattering characteristics of the microstrip antenna. In particular, an expanded checkerboard $4\times4$ array is presented and investigated using the proposed elements. Precisely, the array examination is conducted to demonstrate the good performance of a wide operating band from 6.9 to 9.3 GHz (29.6%) and wide-angle scanning up to ±60° in the E-/H-plane, and up to ±65° in the D-plane with a gain fluctuation of less than 3.5 dB. The array also achieves ultra-wideband monostatic RCS reductions in the band from 6.5 to 15 GHz (79%) for the co-polarization, and in the band from 6 to 15 GHz (85.7%) for the cross-polarization of incident waves.
G Protein-Coupled Receptors and Ion Channels Involvement in Cisplatin-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Review of Preclinical Studies

Simple Summary Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug extensively used to treat cancer, improving the survival of cancer patients. Although effective for this purpose, its use is accompanied by notorious severe adverse effects that significantly reduce patient’s quality of life. This review will discuss the main impact of chemotherapy on the peripheral nervous system, a clinical condition known as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, with emphasis on cisplatin. Furthermore, the review encompasses an analysis of the role played by G protein-coupled receptors and ion channels in cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy, extracting insights from preclinical experimental studies. Abstract Cisplatin is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug widely used to treat various solid tumours. Although it is effective in anti-cancer therapy, many patients develop peripheral neuropathy during and after cisplatin treatment. Peripheral neuropathy results from lesions or diseases in the peripheral somatosensory nervous system and is a significant cause of debilitation and suffering in patients. In recent years, preclinical studies have been conducted to elucidate the mechanisms involved in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathic pain, as well as to promote new therapeutic targets since current treatments are ineffective and are associated with adverse effects. G-protein coupled receptors and ion channels play a significant role in pain processing and may represent promising targets for improving the management of cisplatin-induced neuropathic pain. This review describes the role of G protein-coupled receptors and ion channels in cisplatin-induced pain, analysing preclinical experimental studies that investigated the role of each receptor subtype in the modulation of cisplatin-induced pain.
The concept of carrying capacity for tourism destinations: dead or merely buried?

Tourism inevitably impacts upon destinations. One of the central concepts in the management of such impacts is that of carrying capacity. However, this paper argues that destinations have been poorly served by the development of the concept of carrying capacity into growth management techniques such as limits of acceptable change and opportunity spectrums. This is particularly the case for destinations dependent upon natural characteristics for their appeal. The paper argues that adoption of such techniques leads to creeping incremental development and changes the profile of the visitor towards those more tolerant of higher use. The paper argues for a return to the idea of identifying maximum appropriate numbers of users.
The Optical Characteristics of Cloud-to-ground Lightning Flashes in Pingliang of China ∗

For the large positive charge region under the thundercloud base, we conducted the experiments during the summer of 2012 and 2013 in Pingliang, Gansu province, China, to invest the characteristics of lightning processes. The characteristics of CG flash have been analyzed based on both the images from high-speed video camera and electric field changes from fast and slow antennas. The luminescence of the leader which contacted with the ground was weaker than that of flash in other region of China. In the CG lightning flashes, four out of them had more than one contact on the ground and the most was three. The luminescence time of leader lasted time were about 3-25 ms. And the most return stroke order was nine.
Rateless Protograph LDPC Codes for Quantum Key Distribution

Information reconciliation (IR) is a key step in quantum key distribution (QKD). In recent years, blind reconciliation based on low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes has replaced Cascade as a standard de facto since it guarantees efficient IR without a priori quantum bit error rate estimation and with limited interactivity between the parties, which is essential in high key-rate and long-distance QKD links. In this article, a novel blind reconciliation scheme based on rateless protograph LDPC codes is proposed. The rate adaptivity, essential for blind reconciliation, is obtained by progressively splitting LDPC check nodes, which ensures a number of degrees of freedom larger than puncturing in code design. The protograph nature of the LDPC codes allows us to use the same designed codes with a large variety of sifted-key lengths, enabling block length flexibility, which is important in largely varying key-rate link conditions. The code design is based on a new protograph discretized density evolution tool.