Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effectiveness of digital health technologies for patients with diabetes mellitus: A systematic review

Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. At the same time, digital health technologies (DHTs), which include mobile health apps (mHealth) have been rapidly gaining popularity in the self-management of chronic diseases, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while a great variety of DM-specific mHealth apps exist on the market, the evidence supporting their clinical effectiveness is still limited. Methods A systematic review was performed. A systematic search was conducted in a major electronic database to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mHealth interventions in DM published between June 2010 and June 2020. The studies were categorized by the type of DM and impact of DM-specific mHealth apps on the management of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was analysed. Results In total, 25 studies comprising 3,360 patients were included. The methodological quality of included trials was mixed. Overall, participants diagnosed with T1DM, T2DM and Prediabetes all demonstrated greater improvements in HbA1c as a result of using a DHT compared with those who experienced usual care. The analysis revealed an overall improvement in HbA1c compared with usual care, with a mean difference of –0.56% for T1DM, –0.90% for T2DM and –0.26% for Prediabetes. Conclusion DM-specific mHealth apps may reduce HbA1c levels in patients with T1DM, T2DM and Prediabetes. The review highlights a need for further research on the wider clinical effectiveness of diabetes-specific mHealth specifically within T1DM and Prediabetes. These should include measures which go beyond HbA1c, capturing outcomes including short-term glycemic variability or hypoglycemic events.
Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs improve the cardiovascular profile in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting about 0. 5–1% of the adult population and manifesting as persistent synovitis, systemic inflammation and production of autoantibodies. Patients affected by RA not only experience chronic disease progression, but are also burdened by a 1.5-fold increased cardiovascular (CV) risk, which is comparable to the risk experienced by patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. RA patients also have a higher incidence and prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Although RA patients frequently present traditional CV risk factors such as insulin resistance and active smoking, previous studies have clarified the pivotal role of chronic inflammation–driven by proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha)–in accelerating the process of atherosclerosis and impairing the coagulation system. Over the last years, a number of studies have shown that disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) reducing the inflammatory state in general improve the CV risk, however some drugs may carry some apparent negative effects. Thus, RA is a model of disease in which targeting inflammation may counteract the progression of atherosclerosis and reduce CV risk. Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that the management of RA patients should be tailored based on the positive and negative effects of DMARDs on CV risk together with the individual traditional CV risk profile. The identification of genetic, biochemical and clinical biomarkers, predictive of evolution and response to treatment, will be the next challenge for a precision approach to reduce the burden of the disease.
Awareness of prostate cancer and its associated factors among men 40 years of age and older in Mizan Aman town, Bench Sheko zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region, South West Ethiopia, 2019

Background Prostate cancer is a common cause of morbidity and mortality among men aged 40 years and older. Evidence has shown that awareness of prostate cancer plays a greater role in the early detection of prostate cancer. However, there is a paucity of information regarding prostate cancer awareness levels in Ethiopia in general and in Mizan Aman town in particular. Objectives To assess the awareness of prostate cancer and its associated factors among men aged 40 years and older in Mizan Aman, Bench Sheko zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region, South West Ethiopia, 2019. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 to 30 April 2021 in Mizan Aman town. A total of 322 study subjects were selected from a total population of 1,242 in Mizan Aman town by using the simple random sampling method. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Science version 20. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize sociodemographic characteristics and personal history. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to explore further variables that were associated with the level of awareness. Significant associations were declared at a p-value of <0.05. The results were presented in text, tables, and charts. Results The magnitude of prostate cancer awareness was 64%. Participants who were between 40 and 55 years of age (adjusted odd ratio = 6.16, 95% confidence interval = 2.62–14.47), who were government employees (adjusted odd ratio = 4.684, 95% confidence interval = 1.56–13.97), and whose monthly income level is greater than 5,000 birr (adjusted odd ratio = 12.45, 95% confidence interval = 3.2–47.77) were significantly associated with the level of awareness. Conclusion and recommendation This study revealed that more than half of the men residing in Mizan Aman town had a high level of prostate cancer awareness. First-category age, better economic status, and employment were significantly associated with awareness of prostate cancer. This indicates the need for a collective effort to enhance the awareness of men regarding prostate cancer.
Biomass energy consumption and carbon neutrality in OECD countries: Testing pollution haven hypothesis and environmental Kuznets curve

Rising pollution enhances the need for eco-friendly measures such as technological development and the enhancement of nonrenewable energy resources to achieve sustainable economic progress. Biomass energy consumption is an innovative form of renewable energy source which influences the environment positively. The current study explores the impact of biomass energy consumption and foreign direct investment on the environmental degradation of 32 OECD countries under the framework of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis from 1990 to 2018. The cross-sectional ARDL estimation method has been deployed to address slope heterogeneity and cross-section dependency. The long-run result shows that biomass energy consumption reduces environmental pollution, while foreign direct investment exerts pressure on environmental quality, endorsing the pollution heaven hypothesis. Moreover, the findings validate the EKC hypothesis in the long run. The error correction term is significantly negative, confirming the convergence towards long-run equilibrium with a 46% adjustment rate. The robustness of the estimated model is also verified using alternative estimators. The study’s outcome is encouraging the policymakers to devise policies for using biomass energy sources as an alternative clean energy source to ensure a sustainable environment.
A survey study of Chinese adolescents’ mental and interpersonal quality: Evidence from COVID-19 pandemic

Since 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic, as a global public health emergency, has led to stringency measures (such as lockdown) of various degrees worldwide. As these measures such as social distancing measures and mandatory lockdown are intended to minimize social mobility, they have exerted remarkable impact on individuals’ mental health, particularly, adolescents and children. The mental health problems caused include fear, anxiety, sense of isolation and development of more maladaptive behaviors due to prolonged lockdown and restricted interpersonal contact. However, well adaption status and stable interpersonal relationships play an important role in maintaining and promoting the mental health of adolescents and children. This study aims to gain a new sight of understanding of the mental health quality of Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic in terms of adaptation and interpersonal quality. The study is based on a survey on a total of 7,318 junior and senior high school students aged 12–18 years in various regions of China, and intended to examine the differences in adolescent mental health quality by sociodemographic variables such as gender, grade, urban and rural areas, only child, and parental education level. Our study finds that Chinese adolescents show an overall good adaptation and interpersonal quality during the lockdown. However there exists disparity across different categories in developmental patterns of adaptation and interpersonal quality. In addition, good family environment, moderate financial and emotional support, higher parental education level, etc. contribute to the cultivation and improvement of adolescents’ mental health quality. Finally, we suggest that the government and researchers should pay more attention to adolescents’ mental health issues in terms of adaption status and interpersonal relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for disadvantaged social groups such as girls, younger students, and low-income family students.
Prenatal methamphetamine exposure causes dysfunction in glucose metabolism and low birthweight

Methamphetamine (METH) is a psychostimulant drug that induces addiction. Previous epidemiological studies have demonstrated that maternal METH abuse during pregnancy causes low birthweight (LBW) in the offspring. As a source of essential nutrients, in particular glucose, the placenta plays a key role in fetal development. LBW leads to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). However, the detailed mechanism underlying offspring’s LBW and health hazards caused by METH are not fully understood. Therefore, we investigated the effects of prenatal METH exposure on LBW and fetal-placental relationship by focusing on metabolism. We found dysfunction of insulin production in the pancreas of fetuses exposed to METH. We also found a reduction of the glycogen cells (GCs) storing glycogens in the junctional zone of placenta, all of which suggest abnormal glucose metabolism affects the fetal development. These results suggest that dysfunction in fetal glucose metabolism may cause LBW and future health hazards. Our findings provide novel insights into the cause of LBW via the fetal-placental crosstalk.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cell mitochondrial copy number and adenosine triphosphate inhibition test in NAFLD

Background and aim Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. This study aims to develop biomarkers for assessing mitochondrial dysfunction in patients with NAFLD. Methods Mitochondrion-associated transcriptome analysis was performed. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from patients with NAFLD (69) and healthy controls (19) were used to determine the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number. A mitochondrial inhibition substrate test (ATP assay) was performed in HepG2 cells using the patient serum. Results Hepatic mRNA transcriptome analysis showed that the gene expression related to mitochondrial functions (mitochondrial fusion, apoptotic signal, and mitochondrial envelope) increased in patients with steatohepatitis, but not in those with NAFL. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the upregulated expression of genes is related to the pathways of the tricarboxylic (TCA) cycle and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication in patients with steatohepatitis, but not in healthy controls. The mtDNA copy number in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells was 1.28-fold lower in patients with NAFLD than that in healthy controls (P <.0001). The mitochondrial inhibition substrate test showed that the cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration was 1.2-fold times less in NAFLD patients than that in healthy controls (P <.0001). The mtDNA copy number and mitochondrial ATP inhibition substrate test demonstrated negative correlations with the degree of hepatic steatosis, whereas the ATP concentration showed a positive correlation with the mtDNA copy number. Conclusion The mitochondrial copy number of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and mitochondrial ATP inhibition substrate can be used as biomarkers for assessing the mitochondrial dysfunction in patients with NAFLD.
Novel strategy for reusing agricultural mulch film residual by iron modification for arsenic removal in gold-smelting wastewater

In gold-smelting wastewater after the original treatment process of flocculation and precipitation using mainly lime, a mixture of As, Cu, Pb, Mn, Zn, Al, Ni, and Fe existed with an arsenic concentration of 813.07 mg/L and other ions’ concentration at ug/L levels. In this work, a new clean process of mainly adsorption with self-made adsorbent Fe-PE, which was synthesized by loading ferric lignin on agricultural mulch film residual, was investigated to purify and remove arsenic from gold-smelting wastewater. A batch of column experiments was investigated to explore the reaction behavior between wastewater and adsorbent Fe-PE. The results showed while operating the adsorption columns at a pilot scale for 68 days, the arsenic concentration in the effluent was below 0.5 mg/L, and there was no significant change in the concentration of co-existing metal ions, indicating that Fe-PE had a good selective adsorption performance for arsenic in wastewater. Furthermore, Fe-PE did not dissolve and release Fe ions in wastewater, and the whole process could not produce sludge. This work first suggested an efficient and potential application for the purification and removal of arsenic from gold-smelting wastewater with agricultural mulch film residual after chemical modification, which will provide a novel strategy for reusing the agricultural mulch film residual.
LHC and dark matter signals of Z ′ bosons

We customize the simulation code FEWZ (Fully Exclusive W, Z Production) to study Z' production at the LHC for both \sqrt{s}=8 TeV and 14 TeV. Using the results of our simulation for several standard benchmark Z' models, we derive a semi-empirical expression for the differential cross section, that permits the determination of Z' couplings in a model-independent manner. We evaluate cross sections and other observables for large classes of models, including the common E_6, left-right and B-L models, as a function of model parameters. We also consider a hidden sector Z' that couples to standard model fermions via kinetic and mass mixing and serves as a mediator of isospin-violating interactions with dark matter. We combine the results of LHC Z' searches and dark matter direct detection experiments with global electroweak data to obtain mass-dependent constraints on the model parameters.
A Causal AI Suite for Decision-Making

Critical data science and decision-making questions across a wide variety of domains are fundamentally causal questions. We present a suite of open-source causal tools and libraries that aims to simultaneously provide core causal AI functionality to practitioners and create a platform for research advances to be rapidly deployed. In this paper, we describe our contributions towards such a comprehensive causal AI suite of tools and libraries, its design, and lessons we are learning from its growing adoption. We hope that our work accelerates use-inspired basic research for improvement of causal AI.
Statistical mechanics of the mixed majority–minority game with random external information

We study the asymptotic macroscopic properties of the mixed majority–minority game, modelling a population in which two types of heterogeneous adaptive agents, namely 'fundamentalists' driven by differentiation and 'trend-followers' driven by imitation, interact. The presence of a fraction f of trend-followers is shown to induce (a) a significant loss of informational efficiency with respect to a pure minority game (in particular, an efficient, unpredictable phase exists only for f 1/2. We solve the model by means of an approximate static (replica) theory and by a direct dynamical (generating functional) technique. The two approaches coincide and match numerical results convincingly.
Revisiting organizational identity and social responsibility in professional football clubs: the case of Bayern Munich and the Qatar sponsorship Revisiting identity and image in football

Purpose – A perceived misalignment between socially responsible fans and football club management has recently led to a major crisis during the annual meeting in 2021 of Bayern Munich, one of the largest professional football teams in Europe. In an unprecedented scenario, Bayern Munich fans demanded that management drop one ofits largestsponsors duetoalleged violationofhumanrights.The goalof thispaperis to examine this particular phenomenon, as it not only demonstrates a discrepancy between the social organizationalidentityanditsimage,butmoreimportantly,howitimpactslegitimationstrategiesandthefans ’ loyalty attitudes towards the club. Design/methodology/approach – Using the underlying concepts of legitimacy and loyalty, this conceptual modelpaperproposestwoframeworksforsocialresponsibilityinprofessionalfootballclubs:(1)analyzinghowthe(mis-)alignmentbetweenorganizationalidentityandimageimpactsfanloyaltyand(2)depictingfourdifferenttypesofsocialresponsibilitystrategiestoalignorganizationalidentityandimage. Findings – Theauthors identifyvarioustheoretical conceptsthatinfluenceorganizational identityandimage inandforsocialresponsibilityandcombinethetwocriticalconceptsoflegitimacyandloyaltytocategorize the social responsibility strategies for professional football clubs. Originality/value – Both frameworks advance the understanding of the decision-making behind social responsibility strategies and also synthesize the current literature to offer conceptual clarity regarding the varied implications and outcomes linked to the misalignment between organizational identity and image.
Formation of the young compact cluster GM 24 triggered by a cloud-cloud collision

High-mass star formation is an important step which controls galactic evolution. GM 24 is a heavily obscured star cluster including a single O9 star with more than ∼100 lower mass stars within a 0.3 pc radius toward (l, b) ∼ (350.5, 0.96), close to the Galactic min-starburst NGC 6334. We found two velocity components associated with the cluster by new observations of COJ=2–1 emission, whereas the cloud was previously considered to be single. We found the distribution of the two components of 5 km s separation shows complementary distribution; the two fit well with each other if a relative displacement of 3 pc is applied along the Galactic plane. A position-velocity diagram of the GM 24 cloud is explained by a model based on the numerical simulations of two colliding clouds, where an intermediate velocity component created by collision is taken into account. We estimate the collision time scale to be ∼Myr in projection of a relative motion titled to the line of sight by 45 degrees. The results lend further support for cloud-cloud collision as an important mechanism of high-mass star formation in the Carina-Sagittarius Arm.
Renewal 21.2-3.indd

Adair Turner, in his intriguing short book, Economics After the Crisis, based on his 2010 Lionel Robbins memorial lectures at the LSE, comes to bury the curiously undying ideology of market fundamentalism that has had such a profound presence in our recent history. Turner, a technocratic insider with a curriculum vitae that includes stints as a director at McKinsey, as an economist at Chase Manhattan, and as Director-General of the CBI, before his most recent incarnation as Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) until its abolition by the Coalition government earlier this year, sets himself up as an anti-neo-liberal Van Helsing, determined to hunt down, and then put down, the vampyric conventional wisdom in economics and fi nance. Specifi cally, Turner takes aim at these three central claims:
Bridging the Gap Between Coulomb GAN and Gradient-regularized WGAN

Generative adversarial networks (GANs) are essentially a min-max game between the discriminator and a generator. Coulomb GANs have a closely related formula-tion where the generator minimizes the potential difference between real (negative) and fake (positive) charge densities , wherein the discriminator approximates a low-dimensional Plummer kernel centered around the samples. Motivated by links between electrostatic potential theory and the Poisson partial differential equation (PDE), we consider the underlying functional optimization in Coulomb GAN and show that the associated discriminator is the optimum of a first-order gradient-regularized Wasserstein GAN (WGAN) cost. Subsequently, we show that, within the regularized WGAN setting, the optimal discriminator is Green’s function to the Poisson PDE, which corresponds to the Coulomb potential. As an alternative to training a discriminator in either WGAN or Coulomb GAN, we demonstrate, by means of synthetic data experiments, that the closed-form implementation of the optimal discriminator leads to a superior performance of the GAN generator.
Decoupled Sectors and Wolf-Rayet Galaxies

It has recently been proposed that gamma-ray burst (GRB) events may be modified by the presence of a dark matter sector subcomponent that is charged under an unbroken U(1). This proposal depends upon there being a non-trivial density of charged dark matter in star forming regions of galaxies which host GRBs. We discuss four Wolf-Rayet galaxies (NGC 1614, NGC 3367, NGC 4216 and NGC 5430) which should contain comparable amounts of dark matter gas and visible matter gas in the star forming regions. We show that the ratio of dark jet power to visible jet power depends only on the ratio of particle mass and charge when the densities are equal, allowing for these input parameters to be probed directly by future observations of GRBs.
A Note on ${\cal N}\ge 6$ Superconformal Quantum Field Theories in three dimensions

Based on the structure of the three-dimensional superconformal algebra we show that every irreducible ${\mathcal N}=6$ three-dimensional superconformal theory containes exactly one conserved U(1)-symmetry current in the stress tensor supermultiplet and that superconformal symmetry of every ${\mathcal N}=7$ superconformal theory is in fact enhanced to ${\mathcal N}=8$. Moreover, an irreducible ${\cal N}=8$ superconformal theory does not have any global symmetries. The first observation explains why all known examples of ${\mathcal N}=6$ superconformal theories have a global abelian symmetry.