Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polymorphisms in Cytokine Receptor and Regulator Genes are Associated with Levels of Exercise in Women Prior to Breast Cancer Surgery

Background: Little is known about the genetic characteristics associated with exercise in women undergoing breast cancer surgery. Purpose: In a sample of women who were evaluated prior to breast cancer surgery (n = 310), we evaluated for differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between patients who did and did not exercise on a regular basis and evaluated for associations between polymorphisms in genes for pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, their receptors, and their transcriptional regulators. Methods: Patients completed an investigator-developed exercise questionnaire. Based on the recommended level of exercise (≥150 minutes/week), survivors were classified into no exercise (NoEx), less exercise (LessEx), or recommended exercise (RecEx) groups. Candidate gene analyses were done to identify relationships between polymorphisms and exercise group membership (i.e., NoEx vs. RecEx). Only 23.5% of the total sample met the recommendations for regular exercise. Results: Compared to the RecEx group (n = 78), patients in the NoEx group (n = 120) had less education; were less likely to report being White or Asia/Pacific Islander; more likely to report a lower household income; had a higher body mass index (BMI), had a poorer functional status; had a higher comorbidity burden; were more likely to self-report high blood pressure; and were more likely to have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Polymorphisms in IFNGR1 and NFKB1 were associated with membership in the NoEx group. Conclusions: While they warrant replication, our findings suggest that variations in cytokine-related genes may play a role in exercise behavior, and that clinicians need to assess for barriers to regular exercise and educate patients on its benefits.
Self-Interaction Attention Mechanism-Based Text Representation for Document Classification

Document classification has a broad application in the field of sentiment classification, document ranking and topic labeling, etc. Previous neural network-based work has mainly focused on investigating a so-called forward implication, i.e., the preceding text segments are taken as the context of the following text segments when generating the text representation. Such a scenario typically ignores the fact that the semantics of a document are a product of the mutual implication of all text segments in a document. Thus, in this paper, we introduce a concept of interaction and propose a text representation model with Self-interaction Attention Mechanism (TextSAM) for document classification. In particular, we design three aggregated strategies to integrate the interaction into a hierarchical architecture for document classification, i.e., averaging the interaction, maximizing the interaction and adding one more attention layer on the interaction, which leads to three models, i.e., TextSAMAVE, TextSAMMAX and TextSAMATT, respectively. Our comprehensive experimental results on two public datasets, i.e., Yelp 2016 and Amazon Reviews (Electronics), show that our proposals can significantly outperform the state-of-the-art neural-based baselines for document classification, presenting a general improvement in terms of accuracy ranging from 5.97% to 14.05% against the best baseline. Furthermore, we find that our proposals with a self-interaction attention mechanism can obviously alleviate the impact brought by the increase of sentence number as the relative improvement of our proposals against the baselines are enlarged when the sentence number increases.
Evaluation of Disaster Resilience Preparation in the Construction Education Curriculum

The paper examines student perceptions for the resilience of the built environment towards natural disasters and the information sources to determine how teaching and assessment may be adapted to promote resilience within the curriculum. Resilience is related to construction as it is considered vital in the built environment. The research addresses wide-ranging definitions of resilience, encompassing endurance and adaptability, and seeks to understand how these definitions impact the learning experiences of students. The survey questions are used to determine how the students perceive natural disasters such as Avalanches, Landslides, Earthquakes, Floods, Hurricanes, Winter Storms, Sinkholes, Tornadoes, Tsunami, Volcanic eruptions, Tropical Storms, and Droughts. An online survey instrument was created to circulate among construction industry students to a) evaluate their experience of natural disasters, b) examine the source of knowledge of resilience on natural disasters, c) measure knowledge of post-disaster evacuation, and d) evaluate disaster preparation from university education. The study found that the population of the student body existed that had not experienced a natural disaster and were unaware of its impacts either on a personal or familial basis. Further, the majority of the responding students felt that their major(s) and universities did not prepare them in terms of handling natural disasters and extreme weather events. Finally, a correlation was found between the location students live and a desire for knowledge about extreme weather events at the college level.
Quality of life and Its Determinants among Cervical Cancer Patients in South India

Introduction: Cervical Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India. It affects the patient’s, physical and psychological state which results in lower quality of life (QoL). Women with cervical cancer may require counselling and time to enable them to deal with the disease and its treatment. The present study aimed to determine the quality of life and its determinants among cervical cancer patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken from April 2017 to September 2017 in a regional cancer centre in South India. Cervical cancer patients (N= 210) with histological confirmation were interviewed at the hospital. European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) questionnaire core module, QLQ-C30 Version 3.0, and recommended scoring algorithm were used to measure and analyse QoL. The Association of socio-economic determinants on quality of life was evaluated using multiple logistic regression. Results: Among 210 cervical cancer patients enrolled, the majority 106 (50.5%) of women were between the age group 46 to 59 years and most, i.e. 167(63.0%) were not literate. The median score in the global health status was 50.0[IQR 33.3 – 66.7], 66.7[IQR 60.0 – 80.0] in physical functioning, and 83.3[IQR 66.7 – 83.3] in pain symptoms respectively which were poor compared to reference score of EORTC for all normal females and those with any cancer. The factors which were significantly associated with the GHS QoL score were the advanced stage of disease (OR:2.1, 95%CI: 1.1 – 3.9) and the age of the patients ≥60 years compared with ≤ 45 years (OR:18.4, 95%CI: 6.8 – 50.1). Conclusion: Cervical cancer patients had poor global health status compared to the reference score for all females with any cancer and the normal females. Advanced stage of cancer and older age have a significant association with QoL.
Diagnostic Value of Claudin-4 and EZH2 Immunohistochemistry in Effusion Cytology

Background: Metastatic adenocarcinoma (MAC) accounts for most cases of malignant effusions. Sometimes, it can be difficult to distinguish MAC from reactive mesothelial cells (RMC) in cytologic specimens. Our aim was to assess the diagnostic performance of a novel immunohistochemical panel composed of claudin-4 and EZH2 in differentiating MAC from RMC in effusion cytology. Methods: A total of 80 cases of serous effusions (48 MAC and 32 RMC) were included. Immunohistochemistry using claudin-4 and EZH2 was performed on cell block sections of these cases. Assessment of staining patterns, intensity and percentage of target cells stained was done. Results: Claudin-4 showed membranous staining in 46/48 of MAC and 1/32 of RMC. High EZH2 (≥ 50% of target cells) was detected in 42/48 MAC and 2/32 RMC. For the discrimination between MAC and RMC, claudin-4 exhibited 95.8% sensitivity and 96.9% specificity, high-EZH2 exhibited 87.5% sensitivity and 93.8% specificity, while the combination of both claudin-4 and high EZH2 showed 100% sensitivity and 90.6% specificity. Conclusion: Claudin-4 shows high sensitivity and specificity in differentiation between MAC and RMC in effusion cytology, and might be useful as a solitary marker for MAC. Adding EZH2 to claudin-4 increases the sensitivity to 100%. However, the interpretation of EZH2 results can be challenging due to its focal expression in RMC and inflammatory cells.
Improving protection system for wheelchair-seated occupants in vehicle side impacts

Abstract Objective: Previous research on occupant protection systems for wheelchair-seated occupants focused on frontal impacts, while similar studies on side impacts are very limited. The objective of this study was to identify the major injury concerns for wheelchair-seated occupants in side impacts and develop restraint systems to mitigate such injury concerns. Methods: Seven sled tests in side impact conditions were first conducted at 30 km/h with a 24 g peak deceleration. An ES2-RE ATD and surrogate wheelchair base (SWCB) were used in all tests, which varied armrest design, width of the SWCB, and wheelchair tiedown conditions. These sled tests set up the baseline performance and provided validation data for computational models. A set of validated MADYMO models were then used to investigate the safety concerns and potential restraint solutions for wheelchair-seated occupants in side impacts. Simulations covered nearside and farside impacts, inboard or outboard D-ring locations, varied wheelchair locations relative to the side door, varied seatbelt anchorage locations, and a few Center Airbag To Contain Humans (CATCH) designs. Finally, another set of sled tests were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of varied CATCH designs for protecting wheelchair-seated occupants in farside impacts. Results: Simulations suggested that wheelchair-seated occupants might fall from the wheelchair in farside impacts, while in nearside impacts the seatbelt and curtain airbag can provide reasonable protection to occupants using wheelchairs. The CATCH design, a curtain airbag mounted to the roof centerline with tethers attached outboard of the wheelchair station, was effective at preventing the ATD from falling off the wheelchair. Results from sled tests to iterate CATCH parameters confirmed that the concept was effective at retaining occupants seated in wheelchairs under farside impact loading. Conclusions: This study is the first to investigate wheelchair-seated occupant protection in both nearside and farside impacts. The injury concerns identified in farside impacts and the CATCH design can potentially help improve the protection of wheelchair-seated occupants in side impacts in the future. The CATCH design has potential to improve farside protection for occupants in traditional seating.
An Improved 1.5-Gigabase Draft Assembly of Massospora cicadina (Zoopagomycota), an Obligate Fungal Parasite of 13- and 17-Year Cicadas

A 1.488-Gb draft genome sequence was assembled for the fungus Massospora cicadina, an obligate parasite of periodical cicadas. The M. cicadina genome has experienced massive expansion via transposable elements (TEs), which account for 92% of the genome. ABSTRACT A 1.488-Gb draft genome sequence was assembled for the fungus Massospora cicadina, an obligate parasite of periodical cicadas. The M. cicadina genome has experienced massive expansion via transposable elements (TEs), which account for 92% of the genome.
Making Bound Consistency as Effective as Arc Consistency

We study under what conditions bound consistency (BC) and arc consistency (AC), two forms of propagation used in constraint solvers, are equivalent to each other. We show that they prune exactly the same values when the propagated constraint is connected row convex / closed under median and its complement is row convex. This characterization is exact for binary constraints. Since row convexity depends on the order of the values in the domains, we give polynomial algorithms for computing orders under which BC and AC are equivalent, if any.
Engineering plant immune circuit: walking to the bright future with a novel toolbox

Summary Plant pathogens destroy crops and cause severe yield losses, leading to an insufficient food supply to sustain the human population. Apart from relying on natural plant immune systems to combat biological agents or waiting for the appropriate evolutionary steps to occur over time, researchers are currently seeking new breakthrough methods to boost disease resistance in plants through genetic engineering. Here, we summarize the past two decades of research in disease resistance engineering against an assortment of pathogens through modifying the plant immune components (internal and external) with several biotechnological techniques. We also discuss potential strategies and provide perspectives on engineering plant immune systems for enhanced pathogen resistance and plant fitness.
Economic Hardship and Violence: A Comparison of County-Level Economic Measures in the Prediction of Violence-Related Injury

Economic hardship may lead to a wide range of negative outcomes, including violence. However, existing literature on economic hardship and violence is limited by reliance on official reports of violence and conflation of different measures of economic hardship. The goals of this study are to measure how violence-related injuries are associated with five measures of county-level economic shocks: unemployment rate, male mass layoffs, female mass layoffs, foreclosure rate, and unemployment rate change, measured cross-sectionally and by a 1-year lag. This study measures three subtypes of violence outcomes (child abuse, elder abuse, and intimate partner violence). Yearly county-level data were obtained on violence-related injuries and economic measures from 2005 to 2012 for all 87 counties in Minnesota. Negative binomial models were run regressing the case counts of each violence outcome at the county-year level on each economic indicator modeled individually, with population denominator offsets to yield incidence rate ratios. Crude models were run first, then county-level socio-demographic variables and year were added to each model, and finally fully-adjusted models were run including all socio-demographic variables plus all economic indicators simultaneously. In the fully-adjusted models, a county’s higher foreclosure rate is the strongest and most consistently associated with an increase in all violence subtypes. Unemployment rate is the second strongest and most consistent economic risk factor for all violence subtypes. Lastly, there appears to be an impact of gender specific to economic impacts on child abuse; specifically, male mass-lay-offs were associated with increased rates while female mass-lay-offs were associated with decreased rates. Understanding the associations of different types of economic hardship with a range of violence outcomes can aid in developing more holistic prevention and intervention efforts.
The Optimal Cut-Off Point of the ADNEX Model for the Prediction of the Ovarian Cancer Risk

Objective: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and determine the optimal cut-off point of the ADNEX model in women presenting with a pelvic or adnexal tumor. Method: All women presented with adnexal mass and were scheduled for operation at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital and Hue Central Hospital, Vietnam during June 2019 – May 2021 were included and categorized according to their histopathologic reports into ovarian cancer groups and benign ovarian tumor groups. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore for potential predictors. The ADNEX model with and without CA125 was used to assess the risk of ovarian cancer preoperative. The goldden standard to evaluate the accuracy of ultrasonography using the ADNEX model was the pathological report. In addition, the accuracy as well as optimum cut-off point of the ADNEX model was estimated with and without CA125. Results: A total of 461 participants were included in analysis and predictive model development, 65 patients in ovarian cancer group and 361 in benign tumor group. The ADNEX model combined with CA125 proved to be a useful predictor with an area under ROC of 0.961 (0.940 – 0.977) with Youden’s index of 0.8395, p < 0.001. The ADNEX model without CA125 also had high predictive value between benign and malignant tumors, with an area under ROC of 0.956 (0.933 – 0.973) with Youden’s index of 0.8551, p < 0.001. Cut-off of the ADNEX with CA125 was 13.5 and without CA125 was 13.1 for sensitivities were 90.8 (81.0 – 96.5) and 93.9 (85.0 – 97.5), specificities 93.2 (90.2 – 95.5) and 91.67 (88.5 – 94.2). The difference in the predictive value of malignancy-risk between the ADNEX model with CA125, without CA125 was not statistically significant, p=0.4883. Conclusion: The ADNEX model, with or without the combining marker CA 125, provides a valuable predictive value for ovarian tumor malignancy preoperative.
Pf4 Phage Variant Infection Reduces Virulence-Associated Traits in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Filamentous bacteriophages can become superinfective and infect P. aeruginosa, even though they are inserted in the genome as lysogens. Despite this productive infection, growth of the host is only mildly affected, allowing the study of the interaction between the phage and the host, which is not possible in the case of lytic phages killing rapidly their host. ABSTRACT Pf4 is a filamentous bacteriophage integrated as a prophage into the genome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Pf4 virions can be produced without killing P. aeruginosa. However, cell lysis can occur during superinfection when Pf virions successfully infect a host lysogenized by a Pf superinfective variant. We have previously shown that infection of P. aeruginosa PAO1 with a superinfective Pf4 variant abolished twitching motility and altered biofilm architecture. More precisely, most of the cells embedded into the biofilm were showing a filamentous morphology, suggesting the activation of the cell envelope stress response involving both AlgU and SigX extracytoplasmic function sigma factors. Here, we show that Pf4 variant infection results in a drastic dysregulation of 3,360 genes representing about 58% of P. aeruginosa genome; of these, 70% of the virulence factors encoding genes show a dysregulation. Accordingly, Pf4 variant infection (termed Pf4*) causes in vivo reduction of P. aeruginosa virulence and decreased production of N-acyl-homoserine lactones and 2-alkyl-4-quinolones quorum-sensing molecules and related virulence factors, such as pyocyanin, elastase, and pyoverdine. In addition, the expression of genes involved in metabolism, including energy generation and iron homeostasis, was affected, suggesting further relationships between virulence and central metabolism. Altogether, these data show that Pf4 phage variant infection results in complex network dysregulation, leading to reducing acute virulence in P. aeruginosa. This study contributes to the comprehension of the bacterial response to filamentous phage infection. IMPORTANCE Filamentous bacteriophages can become superinfective and infect P. aeruginosa, even though they are inserted in the genome as lysogens. Despite this productive infection, growth of the host is only mildly affected, allowing the study of the interaction between the phage and the host, which is not possible in the case of lytic phages killing rapidly their host. Here, we demonstrate by transcriptome and phenotypic analysis that the infection by a superinfective filamentous phage variant causes a massive disruption in gene expression, including those coding for virulence factors and metabolic pathways.
Seasonal changes in rosemary species: A chemotaxonomic assessment of two varieties based on essential oil compounds, antioxidant and antibacterial activities

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a popular herb in cooking, traditional healing, and aromatherapy. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of meteorological conditions plant growth stage and genetic factors on the yield, quantitative and qualitative composition, on the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of rosemary essential oil from two Tunisian locations (El Fahs and Matmata) during two successive years. The composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistilation from rosemary plants were carried out annually using GC and GC/MS. Results showed the the main constituents were camphor (18.2–28.1%), 1,8-cineole (6.4–18.0%), α-pinene (9.7–13.5%), borneol (4.4–9.5%), and camphene (5.1–8.7%). The principal component and heatmapper analyses showed group segregation of the two studied varities based on major essential oil compounds. Additionally, in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities showed that rosemary essential oils had an important ability in scavenging DPPH, as well as a higher bactericidal effect. The seasonal variation, growth stage and genetic pools seemed to be a factors of significant variation of the composition, antimicrobial and the antioxidant activities of the rosemary essential oils. These finding would be taken to use the chemotaxonomy tools to develop a program for Rosmary protection conservation and identification based on essential oil composition.