Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rural patients’ experience of education, surveillance, and self-care support after heart disease related hospitalisation: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT People living in rural Iceland have a higher rate of cardiovascular risk factors and healthcare utilisation compared to people in urban areas. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of people with coronary heart disease, living in rural Iceland regarding patient education, surveillance, and self-care support. The participants (N = 14, age 52‒79 years, 8 male), were interviewed 6 to 12 months after hospital discharge following a cardiac event (in 2018‒2019). Systematic text-condensation was used for analysis. The findings were categorised into three main themes: Education and support describes inadequate patient education and support from health-care professionals after discharge from hospitaland how the internet was the main information source supplemented with spouse’s and family support. Local healthcare services describe thelack of and importance of access to health-care professionals, stable services, and underutilisation of telemedicine and primary healthcare in the local area, and Self-care behaviour describes the lack of professional support with lifestyle changes and how the participants manage self-care as well as their attitudes towards the disease. The results indicate that access to continuous healthcare services and person-centred support focusing on prevention strategies are widely impaired in rural areas in Iceland.
The role of parental advocacy in addressing service disparities for transition-aged youth on the autism spectrum

Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face challenges accessing needed services as they transition to adulthood. Correlates of service access identified in the literature—such as family resources, race/ethnicity, or youth functioning—can be difficult to change and may not be feasible targets for intervention. This study focused on a potential contributor to service access that is malleable: parental advocacy. Specifically, we examined the association between parental advocacy activities and number of services among transition-aged youth with ASD, after accounting for indicators of youth functioning and family demographic variables (high school exit, co-occurring intellectual disability, social impairments, adaptive behaviors, race/ethnicity, state of residence, family income, and parental depression). Participants included 185 families of youth with ASD who are part of an ongoing randomized controlled trial. Data were collected at baseline (prior to intervention) via parental questionnaire and structured interview. Using hierarchical regression analyses, we found that parental advocacy activities were significantly and strongly associated with service receipt after controlling for youth functioning and family demographic factors. Youth whose parents are less involved in advocacy activities might be at-risk for service disparities. To close the gaps for service disparities, future interventions may target parental advocacy skills. Lay abstract It can be difficult for youth on the autism spectrum to get the services they need after they leave high school. Because of this, many studies have examined the different factors that are related to service access. These studies have shown that youth on the autism spectrum who belong to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group or whose families have lower incomes are less likely to receive the services that they need. However, it is difficult or impossible to change things like race/ethnicity or family income. It is important to also identify factors that might improve service access that we can change. One potential factor that fits into this category is parental advocacy activities. Using data collected from 185 parents of youth on the autism spectrum, we found that more parental advocacy activities were related to youth receiving more services, even after accounting for variables related to the functioning of the youth (e.g. whether they have an intellectual disability, their autism symptom severity) and demographic information about the family (e.g. state in which they live, parental race/ethnicity, and family income). Our findings suggest that building parental advocacy skills may be one important way to increase the number of services that youth on the autism spectrum receive as they transition to adulthood.
A Competitive Sprinter’s Resting Blood Lactate Levels Fluctuate with a One-Year Training Cycle: Case Reports

It has been reported that the variability of resting blood lactate concentration (BLa) is related to metabolic capacity. However, it is unclear whether the resting BLa of athletes can be utilized as a metabolic biomarker. This longitudinal case study tested the hypothesis that resting BLa levels in the morning fluctuate with a 1-year training cycle. The subject was an adult male sprinter, and BLa and blood glucose at the time of waking were measured every day for 1 year. The training cycles were divided into five phases: 1. Basic training: high-intensity and high-volume load; 2. Condition and speed training: high-intensity and low-volume load; 3. Competition training I: track race and high-intensity load; 4. Conditioning for injury; 5. Competition training II. The mean BLa levels in the basic training (1.10 ± 0.32 mmol/L and competition training I (1.06 ± 0.28 mmol/L) phases were significantly lower than in the condition and speed training (1.26 ± 0.40 mmol/L) and conditioning injury (1.37 ± 0.34 mmol/L) phases. The clarified training cycle dependence of resting BLa is suggested to be related to the ability to utilize lactate as an energy substrate with fluctuations in oxidative metabolic capacity. This case report supports the tentative hypothesis that resting BLa may be a biomarker index linked to the metabolic capacity according to the training cycle.
ABO Blood Group Differentials on Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Treated with Chemoembolization

Background: The association between ABO blood group and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. We investigated the impact of ABO blood groups as a prognostic factor in HCC patients treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Materials and methods: We revisited records of all HCC patients who underwent TACE between January 2007 and December 2019 at a tertiary care hospital. The inclusion criteria were HCC patients, Child-Pugh score A5-B7, and treated with TACE monotherapy. The baseline characteristics of each patient were compared against their blood group and the survival analysis was carried out using Cox’s regression. With Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons, P-values <. 0125 were considered statistically significant. Results: Of 211 eligible patients, the frequencies of blood groups O, A, B, and AB were 89, 54, 56, and 12, respectively. Their respective months of median survival were 41, 20, 21, and 42. After adjustments in the six-and-twelve criteria and Child-Pugh scores, and using blood group O as the referent group, the coefficients (SE) of groups A, B, and AB were 0.69 (0.24), 0.47 (0.23), and 0.49 (0.49), respectively. A significant difference in survival was found only between patients with blood group O vs A (hazard ratio, 2.00; confidence interval, 1.25-3.21). Conclusions: ABO blood group is associated with the prognosis of HCC patients treated with TACE monotherapy. In our data, patients with blood group O tended to have the best survival. However, only blood group A patients had a significantly shorter survival rate comparing to blood group O.
Software engineering across boundaries: student project in distributed collaboration

Geographically distributed software development projects have been made possible by rapid developments primarily within the data communication area. A number of companies recognize that distributed collaboration has great potential for the near future. The article describes the empirical study of a cooperative student project located at two different geographical sites. The project was carried out at two universities: one in Sweden and one in Finland. The initial goals were to give the students the opportunity to learn about the practical aspects of cooperation between two geographically separate institutions and to study specific problems anticipated by the teachers with regard to communication, coordination, language, culture, requirements' handling, testing, and bug fixing. The article focuses on communication and coordination within the cooperative project, as these were identified as the most significant problem areas. We also thought that these areas were the most interesting and the ones most likely to lead to improvements. The article not only describes our findings but also gives hints about what to think about when running similar projects, both with respect to project related issues and teaching issues.
The current understanding and future directions for sputum microbiome profiling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Purpose of review Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has deepened our understanding of the respiratory microbiome in health and disease. The number of microbiome studies employing sputum as an airway surrogate has continued to increase over the past decade to include multiple large multicentre and longitudinal studies of the microbiome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this review, we summarize the recent advances to our understanding of the bacteriome, virome and mycobiome in COPD. Recent findings Diverse microbiome profiles are reported in COPD. The neutrophilic Haemophilus-predominant bacteriome remains a prominent COPD phenotype, relatively stable over time and during exacerbations. Studies of the virome remain limited but reveal a potential involvement of viruses and bacteriophages particularly during COPD exacerbations and advancing disease severity. Mycobiome signatures, even in stable COPD are associated with poorer clinical outcomes including mortality. Summary The sputum microbiome in COPD is being increasingly recognized for its clinical relevance, even in the stable state. Future studies integrating microbial kingdoms holistically (i.e. bacterial, viral and fungal) will provide deeper insight into its functionality including the relevance of microbial interactions and effect of treatment on microbiome-associated clinical outcomes.
Six Sigma project selection: an analysis of responsible factors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the Six Sigma project selection approach and the factors responsible in the Indian manufacturing industry with foreign technical collaboration.Design/methodology/approach – First, an extensive overview and literature review of the Six Sigma project selection process is done resulting into identification of 17 key project selection variables. This is followed by an empirical descriptive statistical analysis of the select variables on 13 Indian manufacturing organizations with foreign technical collaboration. Finally, an objective factor analysis has been used to extract six key factors that affect the project selection process.Findings – Management commitment alone cannot ensure success of the Six Sigma projects unless supported by a good communication system, process and workflow management and availability of good metrics and measurement information systems and resources within the organization, in that order. The identification of critical to quality chara.
Automatic braking apparatus with ultrasonic detector

An automatic braking apparatus includes: an ultrasonic wave emitter provided in a front portion of an automatic braking car producing and emitting ultrasonic waves frontwardly in a predetermined distance in front of the car, an ultrasonic receiver also formed in a front portion of the car operatively receiving a reflective ultrasonic wave signal as reflected by another car positioned within the pre-determined distance in front of the automatic braking car for actuating a driving motor to intermittently drive a brake master cylinder to boost brake oil towards two wheel cylinders of front and rear wheels to brake the car intermittently for automatically braking the car for a safe braking purpose.
Fuel cell systems: efficient, flexible energy conversion for the 21st century

At the beginning of the 21st century, fuel cells appear poised to meet the power needs of a variety of applications. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy to electricity and thermal energy. Fuel cell systems are available to meet the needs of applications ranging from portable electronics to utility power plants. In addition to the fuel cell stack itself, a fuel cell system includes a fuel processor and subsystems to manage air, water thermal energy, and power. The overall system is efficient at full and part-load, scaleable to a wide range of sizes, environmentally friendly, and potentially competitive with conventional technology in first cost. Promising applications for fuel cells include portable power, transportation, building cogeneration, and distributed power for utilities. For portable power a fuel cell coupled with a fuel container can offer a higher energy storage density and more convenience than conventional battery systems. In transportation applications, fuel cells offer higher efficiency and better part-load performance than conventional engines. In stationary power applications, low emissions permit fuel cells to be located in high power density areas where they can supplement the existing utility grid. Furthermore, fuel cell systems can be directly connected to a building to provide both power and heat with cogeneration efficiencies as high as 80%.
Why and how high volume hemodiafiltration may reduce cardiovascular mortality in stage 5 chronic kidney disease dialysis patients? A comprehensive literature review on mechanisms involved

Online hemodiafiltration (HDF) is an established renal replacement modality for patients with end stage chronic kidney disease that is now gaining rapid clinical acceptance worldwide. Currently, there is a growing body of evidence indicating that treatment with HDF is associated with better outcomes and reduced cardiovascular mortality for dialysis patients. In this comprehensive review, we provide an update on the potential mechanisms which may improve survival in HDF treated patients. The strongest evidence is for better hemodynamic stability and reduced endothelial dysfunction associated with HDF treatments. Clinically, this is marked by a reduced incidence of intradialytic hypotensive episodes, with a better hemodynamic response to ultrafiltration, mediated by an increase in total peripheral vascular resistance and extra‐vascular fluid recruitment, most likely driven by the negative thermal balance associated with online HDF therapy. In addition, endothelial function appears to be improved due to a combination of a reduction of the inflammatory and oxidative stress complex syndrome and exposure to circulating cardiovascular uremic toxins. Reports of reversed cardiovascular remodeling effects with HDF may be confounded by volume and blood pressure management, which are strongly linked to center clinical practices. Currently, treatment with HDF appears to improve the survival of dialysis patients predominantly due to a reduction in their cardiovascular burden, and this reduction is linked to the sessional convection volume exchanged.
Nonlinear adaptive position tracking of an electro-hydraulic actuator

This paper deals with position tracking control of a single-rod electro-hydraulic actuator subject to external disturbances and parameter uncertainties. In previous disturbance observer design methodologies for electro-hydraulic actuators, parameter uncertainties have been commonly regarded as disturbances and lumped together with external perturbations. However, in practical electro-hydraulic systems, system parameters are unknown and varying. If considerable parameter uncertainties exist in the system or if the disturbance dynamics induced by parameter uncertainties exceed the bandwidth of the disturbance observer, estimation accuracy will degrade, which will significantly affect system performance. To solve this problem, an extended disturbance observer is proposed in this paper to estimate disturbances while dealing with parameter uncertainties. In addition, a nonlinear position tracking controller is designed for position tracking based on the proposed disturbance observer using a backstepping technique. The proof of the stability of the overall closed-loop system is based on Lyapunov theory. The performance of the proposed controller is verified through simulations and experiments using a shock absorber as a load force generator. A detailed nonlinear physical model of the load force is developed and implemented in the simulation. The results show that the proposed nonlinear position tracking controller, together with the extended disturbance observer, provide excellent tracking performance in the presence of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances.
Associations between alcohol demand and both the experience and subjective evaluation of positive and negative alcohol-related consequences.

BACKGROUND Considerable variation exists in the extent to which alcohol-related consequences are evaluated as positive or negative. These evaluations, in turn, predict subsequent drinking behavior. Understanding the etiological pathways to positive and negative alcohol-related consequences is essential to the design of interventions aimed at reducing drinking consequences. Behavioral economic models posit that excessive alcohol valuation contributes to problematic use. Elevated alcohol demand (i.e., relative alcohol value) is associated with negative alcohol-related consequences; however, it is unclear whether demand is related to positive consequences or subjective consequence evaluations. METHODS College student drinkers (n = 114; 74.6% female) completed an online survey. Participants indicated whether they had ever experienced any of 24 negative and 14 positive consequences and subjectively evaluated their most recent experience of each consequence endorsed. An alcohol purchase task assessed hypothetical alcohol consumption across 14 prices and three observed demand indices were calculated: intensity (i.e., consumption at zero cost), Omax (i.e., maximum expenditure), and Pmax (i.e., price associated with maximum expenditure). Bivariate correlations and hierarchical regressions were used to test associations between observed demand indices and the number and subjective evaluations of positive and negative (researcher- and participant-defined) consequences. RESULTS Intensity and Omax , but not Pmax , were bivariately associated with researcher- and participant-defined negative and positive consequences. However, in hierarchical regression models that controlled for the maximum number of drinks consumed in a single day over the past month, only intensity was significantly associated with more negative and positive consequences. Intensity was associated with positive consequence evaluations in bivariate but not regression models. CONCLUSION Students with higher intensity reported more prior alcohol consequences (positive and negative), independent of drinking level. However, subjective evaluations of recent consequences did not vary as a function of demand. Results support using behavioral economic models to facilitate identifying etiologic pathways to alcohol consequences and suggest that novel interventions incorporating demand manipulation may reduce drinking consequences.
OmiTrans: Generative Adversarial Networks Based Omics-to-omics Translation Framework

With the significant development of high-throughput experimental technologies, different types of omics (e.g., genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) data are produced from clinical samples at an unprecedented speed. The correlations between different types of omics data attract enormous research interest. In contrast, the study on genome-wide omics-to-omics translation (i.e., generation and prediction of one type of omics data from another type of omics data) is almost blank. Generative adversarial networks and variants are among the most state-of-the-art deep learning technologies, which have shown great success in image-to-image translation, text-to-image translation, etc. Here we propose OmiTrans, a deep learning framework that adopted the idea of generative adversarial networks to achieve omics-to-omics translation with promising results. OmiTrans can faithfully reconstruct genome-wide gene expression profiles from DNA methylation data with high accuracy and excellent model generalisation, as demonstrated in the experiments.
Studies on the synergistic action of methylglyoxal and peroxynitrite on structure and function of human serum albumin

Abstract Albumin, an important serum protein, is continuously exposed to various oxidizing/nitrating and glycating agents. Depending upon the nature/concentration of reactive species present, the protein may be glycated, oxidized/nitroxidized or glyco-nitro-oxidized. Peroxynitrite is a powerful nitroxidant and has been reported to damage a wide array of macromolecules. On the other hand, methylglyoxal is a very strong reactive dicarbonyl and a potent precursor for the formation of advanced glycation end products under pathological conditions. In certain pathological conditions albumin may be modified by peroxynitrite and methylglyoxal simultaneously. There is dearth of literature suggests that structural/conformational and functional alteration in albumin upon glycation and oxidation/nitroxidation, however the alterations produced by glyco-nitro-oxidation has not yet been explored. Therefore, in this study, simultaneous effect of glycation and nitroxidation on the structure and conformation, vis-a-vis function of albumin was explored. Glyco-nitro-oxidized albumin showed decreased free amino acid content together with decreased affinity of albumin towards cobalt. Molecular docking model and molecular dynamic simulations showed close interaction and formation of stable complexes between methylglyoxal, peroxynitrite and albumin. Formation of carboxymethyl lysine and 3-nitrotyrosine in glyco-nitro-oxidized albumin were confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS and UP-LC MS. Aggregate formation in glyco-nitro-oxidized albumin was visualized by transmission electron microscopy. On the basis of these results, it may be speculated that, albumin modified with endogenously generated methylglyoxal and peroxynitrite might be a driving factor in the progression of heightened inflammatory autoimmune responses. The work presents a ground to study the role of glyco-nitro-oxidized albumin in the pathogenesis and progression of various autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Peak council organising at work: ACTU strategy 1994–2000

Abstract While our knowledge of the dimensions of the crisis facing Australian trade unions has grown substantially during the past decade, we still know surprisingly little about the union response to this situation. This is despite the significant developments in union organising strategy since the mid-1990s. This article attempts to begin to fill this void by presenting an analysis of the role of the ACTU as an organising agent during the period 1994–2000. The article sets out the ACTU's organising initiatives, analyses changes in the organisation's approach and, building upon research on union change, analyses the influences over the national peak council's organising strategy during this time.