Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prolonged Cannabidiol Treatment Effects on Hippocampal Subfield Volumes in Current Cannabis Users

Abstract Introduction: Chronic cannabis use is associated with neuroanatomical alterations in the hippocampus. While adverse impacts of cannabis use are generally attributed to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, emerging naturalistic evidence suggests cannabidiol (CBD) is neuroprotective and may ameliorate brain harms associated with cannabis use, including protection from hippocampal volume loss. This study examined whether prolonged administration of CBD to regular cannabis users within the community could reverse or reduce the characteristic hippocampal harms associated with chronic cannabis use. Materials and Methods: Eighteen regular cannabis users participated in an ∼10-week open-label pragmatic trial involving daily oral administration of 200 mg CBD, with no change to their ongoing cannabis use requested. Participants were assessed at baseline and post-CBD treatment using structural magnetic resonance imaging. Automated longitudinal hippocampal segmentation was performed to assess volumetric change over the whole hippocampus and within 12 subfields. Results: No change was observed in left or right hippocampus as a whole. However, left subicular complex (parasubiculum, presubiculum, and subiculum) volume significantly increased from baseline to post-treatment (p=0.017 uncorrected) by 1.58% (Cohen's d=0.63; 2.83% in parasubiculum). Heavy cannabis users demonstrated marked growth in the left subicular complex, predominantly within the presubiculum, and right cornu ammonis (CA)1 compared to lighter users. Associations between greater right subicular complex and total hippocampal volume and higher plasma CBD concentration were evident, particularly in heavy users. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a restorative effect of CBD on the subicular and CA1 subfields in current cannabis users, especially those with greater lifetime exposure to cannabis. While replication is required in a larger, placebo-controlled trial, these findings support a protective role of CBD against brain structural harms conferred by chronic cannabis use. Furthermore, these outcomes suggest that CBD may be a useful adjunct in treatments for cannabis dependence and may be therapeutic for a range of clinical disorders characterized by hippocampal pathology (e.g., schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and major depressive disorder).
Electro-rheological fluid lubricated textured multi-lobe hole-entry hybrid journal bearing system

Lubrication of fluid film bearings with smart lubricants provides better dynamic behavior. The behavior of these smart lubricants is described by Bingham model of non-Newtonian fluid flow. In the recent years, surface texturing has open up enormous possibilities for enhancing the performance of tribo-components and is being successfully applied in fluid film bearing applications. This article deals with the theoretical investigation pertaining to the influence of electro-rheological fluid lubrication with textured bearing on the performance of multi-lobe (three-lobe) hole-entry hybrid journal bearing. For numerical analysis, the continuous Bingham model has been used to derive the modified Reynold’s equation and solved using the finite element method numerical technique in order to get the static and dynamic characteristics of the electro-rheological lubricated textured three-lobe hybrid journal bearing. The results obtained from the present numerical model are compared with the published results of previous investigations. In this work, the effects of electric field and Sommerfeld number on the performance of multi-lobe (three-lobe) textured/non-textured journal bearings have been comprehensively studied. It has been observed that electro-rheological fluid lubrication in the three-lobe textured journal bearing significantly improves the performance characteristics vis-à-vis non-textured circular journal bearing lubricated with Newtonian lubricant.
The effect of a plasma needle on bacteria in planktonic samples and on peripheral blood mesenchymal stem cells

In this paper, we study the application of a plasma needle to induce necrosis in planktonic samples containing a single breed of bacteria. Two different types of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), were covered in this study. In all experiments with bacteria, the samples were liquid suspensions of several different concentrations of bacteria prepared according to the McFarland standard. The second system studied in this paper was human peripheral blood mesenchymal stem cells (hPB-MSC). In the case of hPB-MSC, two sets of experiments were performed: when cells were covered with a certain amount of liquid (indirect) and when the cell sample was in direct contact with the plasma. Most importantly, the study is made with the aim to see the effects when the living cells are in a liquid medium, which normally acts as protection against the many agents that may be released by plasmas. It was found that a good effect may be expected for a wide range of initial cell densities and operating conditions causing destruction of several orders of magnitude even under the protection of a liquid. It was established independently that a temperature increase could not affect the cells under the conditions of our experiment, so the effect could originate only from the active species produced by the plasma. In the case of those hPB-MSC that were not protected by a liquid, gas flow proved to produce a considerable effect, presumably due to poor adhesion of the cells, but in a liquid the effect was only due to the plasma. Further optimization of the operation may be attempted, opening up the possibility of localized in vivo sterilization.
Activation of ER Stress-Dependent miR-216b Has a Critical Role in Salvia miltiorrhiza Ethanol-Extract-Induced Apoptosis in U266 and U937 Cells

Although Salvia miltiorrhiza has been reported to have anti-cancer mechanisms, such as caspase activation, cell cycle arrest, an anti-angiogenesis effect, and Bcl-2 family regulation, its underlying mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis has never been demonstrated. Thus, in this current study, ER stress-related apoptosis via miR-216b of the ethanol extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) is elucidated for the first time. SM treatment inhibited the viability of U266 and U937 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. However, SM-exposed Raw264.7 cells were intact compared to U266 or U937 cells. Treatment with SM significantly elevated the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The anti-proliferative effect of SM was reversed by pretreatment with the ROS scavenger, N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), compared to cells treated only with SM. Also, SM treatment increased the ER stress by elevation of phosphorylated activating transcription factor 4 (p-ATF4), phosphorylated eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2 (p-eIF2), and phosphorylated protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (p-PERK) expression. Caspase-3 and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were cleaved and CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP) was activated by SM treatment. PARP cleavage and CHOP activation were attenuated by NAC pretreatment. Furthermore, SM increased the tumor suppressor, miR-216b, and suppressed its target, c-Jun. miR-216b inhibitor attenuated the apoptotic effect of SM. Taken together, SM treatment induced apoptosis through regulation of miR-216b and ROS/ER stress pathways. SM could be a potential drug for treatment of multiple myeloma and myeloid leukemia.
Use of a novel fractional CO2 laser for the treatment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause: 1-year outcomes

Objectives: To assess safety and efficacy of a fractional CO2 laser therapy for the treatment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) with follow-up to 1 year posttreatment. Methods: Women presenting with GSM and meeting inclusion criterion were enrolled. Visual Analog Scales were used to grade vaginal pain, burning, itching, dryness, dyspareunia, and dysuria. Dilators were used to rate vaginal elasticity at baseline and at each follow-up visit. Before each treatment and at follow-up, Vaginal Health Index scoring and Female Sexual Function Index questionnaires were completed. Women received three vaginal laser treatments spaced 6 weeks apart. Participant satisfaction was measured on 5-point Likert scales (1 = very dissatisfied, 5 = very satisfied). Results: Of 30 women (mean age 58.6 ± 8.8 years), three were lost to follow-up at 3 months and six at 1 year. None were discontinued or withdrew due to an adverse event. Average improvement in Visual Analog Scale scores for all symptom categories was statistically significant at 3 months and remained so through 1 year, except dysuria. Differences between data at 3 months and 1 year were not statistically significant, indicating persistence of positive outcomes. Average overall improvement in pain was 1.9 (±3.4), burning 1.9 (±3.1), itching 1.4 (±1.9), dryness 5.9 (±2.8), dyspareunia 4.9 (±3.3), and dysuria 0.9 (±3.1). Improvement in average Vaginal Health Index and Female Sexual Function Index scores was also statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Of 19 women undergoing dilator examination at 1 year, 18 (94.8%) were comfortable with the same or larger dilator size. Twenty-two of 24 women (92%) were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the treatment at 1 year. Conclusions: Based on study data up to 1 year, the fractional CO2 laser may be an effective and safe treatment for women suffering from symptoms of GSM, although additional studies with larger populations and placebo control is needed to confirm these results.
Low-Power 19-Transistor True Single-Phase Clocking Flip-Flop Design Based on Logic Structure Reduction Schemes

In this paper, an ultralow-power true single-phase clocking flip-flop (FF) design achieved using only 19 transistors is proposed. The design follows a master–slave-type logic structure and features a hybrid logic design comprising both static-CMOS logic and complementary pass-transistor logic. In the design, a logic structure reduction scheme is employed to reduce the number of transistors for achieving high power and delay performance. Despite its circuit simplicity, no internal nodes are left floating during the operation to avoid leakage power consumption. In this design, a virtual $V_{{\mathrm{DD}}}$ design technique, which facilitates a faster state transition in the slave latch, is devised to enhance time performance. In circuit implementation, transistor sizes are optimized with respect to the power-delay product (PDP). A TSMC 90-nm CMOS process was selected as the implementation technology. In this paper, the performance levels of seven FF designs were compared. The timing parameters of each FF were first characterized. Post-layout simulation results indicated that the proposed design excelled in various performance indices such as PDP, clock-to-Q delay, average power consumption, and leakage power consumption. Moreover, the design was determined to have the smallest layout area. Compared with the conventional transmission-gate-based FF design, the PDP improvement in the proposed design was up to 63.5% (at 12.5% switching activity) and the area saving was approximately 10%. Further simulations on process corners, supply voltage settings, and working frequencies were conducted to study the design reliability.
An examination of compaction meter value for asphalt pavement compaction evaluation

Abstract The potential of using compaction meter value (CMV) for evaluating the compaction of asphalt pavements has been hindered by the fact that the value of CMV can be affected by many factors, which include not only roller operation parameters, but also the temperature of asphalt layer and the underlying support. However, the conventional data processing of CMV usually ignores these factors. The study proposed a new approach to thoroughly examine the relationships between CMV and other factors. Using a field project in Tennessee, USA, the intelligent compaction data were examined to establish the relationships between CMV and other operation parameters such as roller frequency and amplitude first, then the effects of asphalt temperature and underlying support were analysed further utilising the original Witczak model and Abaqus software. After eliminating the influence of other factors, the proposed method could improve the correlation between the asphalt mixture density and CMV.
Nanoparticle amount, and not size, determines chain alignment and nonlinear hardening in polymer nanocomposites

Significance When straining materials (e.g., pulling a rubber band), they initially deform with a certain stiffness; if one pulls harder, some materials strengthen. This phenomenon, known as nonlinear strain hardening, is a critical feature of composite polymer materials—polymers with reinforcing filler particles—used in, e.g., car tires. Engineering properties such as modulus, toughness, and strength of nanocomposites have been traditionally optimized through trial and error by changing the size and amount of fillers. Our work elucidates the molecular origin of strain hardening in polymer nanocomposites, showing that filler amount, but not size, sets the strain-hardening properties based on interfiller chain elongation. The insensitivity to filler size provides a facile concept to independently tune linear and nonlinear mechanics in composites. Polymer nanocomposites—materials in which a polymer matrix is blended with nanoparticles (or fillers)—strengthen under sufficiently large strains. Such strain hardening is critical to their function, especially for materials that bear large cyclic loads such as car tires or bearing sealants. Although the reinforcement (i.e., the increase in the linear elasticity) by the addition of filler particles is phenomenologically understood, considerably less is known about strain hardening (the nonlinear elasticity). Here, we elucidate the molecular origin of strain hardening using uniaxial tensile loading, microspectroscopy of polymer chain alignment, and theory. The strain-hardening behavior and chain alignment are found to depend on the volume fraction, but not on the size of nanofillers. This contrasts with reinforcement, which depends on both volume fraction and size of nanofillers, potentially allowing linear and nonlinear elasticity of nanocomposites to be tuned independently.
Attenuation of Simian Varicella Virus Infection by Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein in Rhesus Macaques

ABSTRACT Simian varicella virus (SVV), the primate counterpart of varicella-zoster virus, causes varicella (chickenpox), establishes latency in ganglia, and reactivates to produce zoster. We previously demonstrated that a recombinant SVV expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (rSVV.eGFP) is slightly attenuated both in culture and in infected monkeys. Here, we generated two additional recombinant SVVs to visualize infected cells in vitro and in vivo. One harbors eGFP fused to the N terminus of open reading frame 9 (ORF9) (rSVV.eGFP-2a-ORF9), and another harbors eGFP fused to the C terminus of ORF66 (rSVV.eGFP-ORF66). Both recombinant viruses efficiently expressed eGFP in cultured cells. Both recombinant SVV infections in culture were comparable to that of wild-type SVV (SVV.wt). Unlike SVV.wt, eGFP-tagged SVV did not replicate in rhesus cells in culture. Intratracheal (i.t.) or i.t. plus intravenous (i.v.) inoculation of rhesus macaques with these new eGFP-tagged viruses resulted in low viremia without varicella rash, although SVV DNA was abundant in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid at 10 days postinoculation (dpi). SVV DNA was also found in trigeminal ganglia of one monkey inoculated with rSVV.eGFP-ORF66. Intriguingly, a humoral response to both SVV and eGFP was observed. In addition, monkeys inoculated with the eGFP-expressing viruses were protected from superinfection with SVV.wt, suggesting that the monkeys had mounted an efficient immune response. Together, our results show that eGFP expression could be responsible for their reduced pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE SVV infection in nonhuman primates has served as an extremely useful animal model to study varicella-zoster virus (VZV) pathogenesis. eGFP-tagged viruses are a great tool to investigate their pathogenesis. We constructed and tested two new recombinant SVVs with eGFP inserted into two different locations in the SVV genome. Both recombinant SVVs showed robust replication in culture but reduced viremia compared to that with SVV.wt during primary infection in rhesus macaques. Our results indicate that conclusions on eGFP-tagged viruses based on in vitro results should be handled with care, since eGFP expression could result in attenuation of the virus.
Weaning of neurological early rehabilitation patients from mechanical ventilation: a retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND There is little known about the factors influencing the weaning process of long-term mechanically ventilated patients in the neurological early rehabilitation. AIM The aim of this study was to identify salient clinical and neurophysiological variables with impact upon weaning from mechanical ventilation during neurological and neurosurgical early rehabilitation. DESIGN Observational, retrospective data analysis. SETTING The BDH-Clinic Hessisch Oldendorf in Northern Germany. POPULATION A sample of 65 mechanically ventilated neurological and neurosurgical early rehabilitation patients. Most patients were suffering from brain disorders (stroke, brain hemorrhage, hypoxic brain damage). METHODS Clinical (ventilation hours, duration of daily therapy, Barthel Index [BI]) and neurophysiological data (evoked potentials) were analyzed retrospectively. The data was collected from the medical records of patients treated in our weaning facility. RESULTS Weaning was successful in 92.3% (60/65) of all cases after a mean of 341.1 (±423.9) hours of ventilation; 2 patients (3.1%) died during the course of weaning and 3 (4.6%) were discharged on home ventilation. There was no significant correlation between ventilation hours and the amount of daily physio-, occupational or speech therapy, but there was a tendency towards a negative correlation of cognitive therapy with ventilation hours (rs=-0.234, P=0.088). Longer periods of ventilation correlated with poorer outcomes as measured by improvements in the BI (rs=-0.259, P<0.05). The more secondary diagnoses - a surrogate indicator of the total burden of morbidity - the more ventilation hours were necessary to wean the patient (rs=0.268, P<0.05). Patients isolated due to colonization with multi-drug resistant bacteria tended to require longer periods of ventilation than non-isolated persons (413.2 [±463.7] vs. 158.8 [±221.6], P=0.068). Data of evoked potentials did not correlate with ventilation hours. CONCLUSIONS Most patients could be weaned from mechanical ventilation during early rehabilitation within approximately two weeks. Results from this study suggest that patients' morbidity (as indicated by the total number of secondary diagnoses) and isolation due to colonization with multi-drug resistant bacteria may be deleterious to the weaning process. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT In evaluation of the weaning prognosis of critically ill neurological and neurosurgical early rehabilitation patients, concomitant morbidity and colonization with multi-drug resistant bacteria should be taken into account.
Social media cultivating perceptions of privacy: A 5-year analysis of privacy attitudes and self-disclosure behaviors among Facebook users

In light of the omnipresence of personal information exchange in the virtual world, this study examines the effects of Facebook use on privacy perceptions and self-disclosure behaviors across a 5-year period from 2010 to 2015. Findings at the global level support the socializing role of Facebook in cultivating more relaxed privacy attitudes, subsequently increasing self-disclosure in both offline and online contexts. However, longitudinal trends indicate that while risk perceptions increased for heavy users, they remained stable for light users. Furthermore, the negative relationship between privacy concerns and self-disclosure weakened across time. Implications for the application of cultivation theory to a contemporary social media context and the year-to-year changes in the impact of Facebook use on privacy attitudes and self-disclosure are discussed.
Spatial Access to Emergency Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A GIS-Based Analysis

Injury is a leading cause of the global disease burden, accounting for 10 percent of all deaths worldwide. Despite 90 percent of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), the majority of trauma research and infrastructure development has taken place in high-income settings. Furthermore, although accessible services are of central importance to a mature trauma system, there remains a paucity of literature describing the spatial accessibility of emergency services in LMICs. Using data from the Service Provision Assessment component of the Demographic and Health Surveys of Namibia and Haiti we defined the capabilities of healthcare facilities in each country in terms of their preparedness to provide emergency services. A Geographic Information System-based network analysis method was used to define 5- 10- and 50-kilometer catchment areas for all facilities capable of providing 24-hour care, higher-level resuscitative services or tertiary care. The proportion of a country’s population with access to each level of service was obtained by amalgamating the catchment areas with a population layer. A significant proportion of the population of both countries had poor spatial access to lower level services with 25% of the population of Haiti and 51% of the population of Namibia living further than 50 kilometers from a facility capable of providing 24-hour care. Spatial access to tertiary care was considerably lower with 51% of Haitians and 72% of Namibians having no access to these higher-level services within 50 kilometers. These results demonstrate a significant disparity in potential spatial access to emergency services in two LMICs compared to analogous estimates from high-income settings, and suggest that strengthening the capabilities of existing facilities may improve the equity of emergency services in these countries. Routine collection of georeferenced patient and facility data in LMICs will be important to understanding how spatial access to services influences outcomes.