Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Aims The aim of this review was to assess the effect of concomitant surgical atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation on postoperative freedom from AF and patient-important outcomes. Methods and results We searched Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases from inception to May 2016 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating surgical AF ablation using any lesion set vs. no surgical AF ablation in adults with AF undergoing cardiac surgery. We performed screening, risk-of-bias evaluation, and data collection independently and in duplicate. We evaluated risk of bias with the modified Cochrane tool, quality of evidence using GRADE framework, and pooled data with a random-effects model. Of the 23 included studies, only one was considered at low risk of bias. Surgical AF ablation was associated with more freedom from AF at 12 months [relative risk (RR) = 2.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.92-2.80; P < 0.001, low quality]. However, no significant difference was seen in mortality (RR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.72-1.52; P = 0.41, moderate quality), stroke (RR = 1.19, 95% CI 0.59-2.39; P = 0.63, moderate quality), or pacemaker implantation (RR = 1.28, 95% CI 0.85-1.95; P = 0.24, high quality). Comparing biatrial and left-sided lesion sets showed no difference in mortality (P-interaction = 0.60) or stroke (P-interaction = 0.12). At 12 months, biatrial procedures led to more freedom from AF (RR = 2.80, 95% CI 2.13-3.68; P < 0.0001) when compared with left-sided ablation (RR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.68-2.39; P < 0.0001) (P-interaction = 0.04) Biatrial procedures appear to increase the risk for pacemaker (RR = 2.68, 95% CI 1.41-5.11; P = 0.002) compared with no ablation while left-sided ablation does not (RR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.67-1.74; P = 0.76) (P-interaction = 0.03). Conclusion Surgical AF ablation during cardiac surgery improves freedom from AF. However, impact on patient-important outcomes including mortality and stroke has not shown statistical significance in current RCT evidence. Biatrial compared with left-sided lesion sets showed no difference in mortality or stroke but were associated with significantly increased freedom from AF and risk for pacemaker requirement.
Characteristic polynomials of sample covariance matrices: The non-square case

We consider the sample covariance matrices of large data matrices which have i.i. d. complex matrix entries and which are non-square in the sense that the difference between the number of rows and the number of columns tends to infinity. We show that the second-order correlation function of the characteristic polynomial of the sample covariance matrix is asymptotically given by the sine kernel in the bulk of the spectrum and by the Airy kernel at the edge of the spectrum. Similar results are given for real sample covariance matrices.
Design principles for engaging and retaining virtual citizen scientists

Citizen science initiatives encourage volunteer participants to collect and interpret data and contribute to formal scientific projects. The growth of virtual citizen science (VCS), facilitated through websites and mobile applications since the mid‐2000s, has been driven by a combination of software innovations and mobile technologies, growing scientific data flows without commensurate increases in resources to handle them, and the desire of internet‐connected participants to contribute to collective outputs. However, the increasing availability of internet‐based activities requires individual VCS projects to compete for the attention of volunteers and promote their long‐term retention. We examined program and platform design principles that might allow VCS initiatives to compete more effectively for volunteers, increase productivity of project participants, and retain contributors over time. We surveyed key personnel engaged in managing a sample of VCS projects to identify the principles and practices they pursued for these purposes and led a team in a heuristic evaluation of volunteer engagement, website or application usability, and participant retention. We received 40 completed survey responses (33% response rate) and completed a heuristic evaluation of 20 VCS program sites. The majority of the VCS programs focused on scientific outcomes, whereas the educational and social benefits of program participation, variables that are consistently ranked as important for volunteer engagement and retention, were incidental. Evaluators indicated usability, across most of the VCS program sites, was higher and less variable than the ratings for participant engagement and retention. In the context of growing competition for the attention of internet volunteers, increased attention to the motivations of virtual citizen scientists may help VCS programs sustain the necessary engagement and retention of their volunteers.
Prenatal Attachment Inventory: expanding the reliability and validity evidence using a sample of Italian women

Abstract Background: The Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) is a widely used questionnaire to measure prenatal attachment. However, its internal structure is controversial. None of the previous studies have investigated the dimensions of the Italian version of the scale using both an exploratory and a confirmatory approach. There is also a need to explore extensively the external validity of the Italian PAI. Objective: We designed a study aimed at shedding further light on the dimensionality of the questionnaire and expanding the evidence of its reliability and validity. Method: Five-hundred and thirty-five Italian expectant mothers participated in the prenatal phase; a subsample of 100 women participated in the postnatal phase of the study. The PAI was administered together with other scales measuring maternal–fetal attachment, psychological wellbeing and relational variables. Results: The hypothesised relationships with external criteria were substantiated overall. The five dimensions described in the Italian study by Barone, Lionetti, and Dellagiulia also emerged from our factor analyses, with the exception of two items. Internal consistency was adequate for the total scale and for four of the five subscales. Conclusion: As the Fantasy subscale showed poor internal consistency, we advise against its use as an independent measure. However, when used as a global score, the PAI is a reliable and valid measure of prenatal attachment in Italian women. Thus, it can be used for research purposes. The use of the PAI could also be very helpful in clinical settings, in order to identify expectant mothers who have difficulty in establishing an affective bond with their unborn infants. To this end, further research should study the characteristics of the PAI on high-risk groups and clinical samples in order to obtain clinical cut-offs.
Within-group competition reduces cooperation and payoffs in human groups

Social organisms in many taxa cooperate to produce resources that are shared among group members. Some cooperatively produced resources may be monopolized by individuals who invest in within-group competition, but these have largely been overlooked in empirical and theoretical research on human cooperation, which has focused on noncontestable public goods. In this study, we allow for the potential of within-group competition over cooperatively produced resources and use a game theoretic "tug-of-war" model and empirical test to show that such competition decreases the degree of cooperation within human groups and hence decreases group members' payoffs. Our study thus sheds light on how cooperative production and equal division of shared resources may have evolved, expands on current models of human cooperation to reflect the many natural conditions with opportunities for within-group competition, and demonstrates unifying principles in cooperation and competition across the animal kingdom.
Lay perspectives on the social and psychological functions of heroes

Declaring and thinking about heroes are common human preoccupations but surprisingly aspects of heroism that reinforce these behaviors are not well-understood. In four thematically consistent studies, we attempt to identify lay perspectives about the psychological functions served by heroes. In Study 1, participants (n = 189) freely generated open-ended descriptions of hero functions, which were then sorted by independent coders into 14 categories (e.g., instill hope, guide others). In Study 2, in an attempt to identify the most important functions associated with heroes, participants (n = 249) rated how each function corresponded with their personal views about heroes. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a three-factor model of hero functions fit the data well: participants thought that heroes enhanced the lives of others, promoted morals, and protected individuals from threats. In Study 3 (n = 242), participants rated heroes as more likely to fulfill a protecting function than either leaders or role models. In Studies 4A (n = 38) and 4B (n = 102), participants indicated that thinking about a hero (relative to a leader or an acquaintance) during psychological threat fulfilled personal enhancement, moral modeling, and protection needs. In all, these findings provide an empirical basis to spur additional research about the social and psychological functions that heroes offer.
Comparison of serum folate, 25-OH vitamin D, and calcium levels between pregnants with and without fetal anomaly of neural tube origin

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to compare serum folate, vitamin B12, 25-OH vitamin D, and calcium levels between pregnants with and without fetal anomaly of neural tube origin. Methods: One hundred seventy-eight pregnants were recruited for this study. Pregnants with and without sonographically detected fetal anomaly of neural tube origin were compared in terms of serum folate, vitamin B12, 25-OH vitamin D, and calcium levels. Results: There were significant differences between groups with regard to age, serum 25 OH vitamin D, 1,25 OH vitamin D, folate, calcium, and B 12 levels. Multivariate regression analyses revealed significant associations between the serum 25 OH vitamin D level, age, and the neural tube defect (NTD). Conclusions: Vitamin D and the age of pregnants were significantly associated with the NTDs.
REAL-TIME PHYSICAL MODEL FOR SYNTHESIS OF SWORD SWING SOUNDS

Sword sounds are synthesised by physical models in realtime. A number of compact sound sources are used along the length of the sword which replicate the swoosh sound when swung through the air. Listening tests are carried out which reveal a model with reduced physics is perceived as more authentic. The model is further developed to be controlled by a Wii Controller and successfully extended to include sounds of a baseball bat and golf club.
Clues to Evolution of the SERA Multigene Family in 18 Plasmodium Species

SERA gene sequences were newly determined from 11 primate Plasmodium species including two human parasites, P. ovale and P. malariae, and the evolutionary history of SERA genes was analyzed together with 7 known species. All have one each of Group I to III cysteine-type SERA genes and varying number of Group IV serine-type SERA genes in tandem cluster. Notably, Group IV SERA genes were ascertained in all mammalian parasite lineages; and in two primate parasite lineages gene events such as duplication, truncation, fragmentation and gene loss occurred at high frequency in a manner that mimics the birth-and-death evolution model. Transcription profile of individual SERA genes varied greatly among rodent and monkey parasites. Results support the lineage-specific evolution of the Plasmodium SERA gene family. These findings provide further impetus for studies that could clarify/provide proof-of-concept that duplications of SERA genes were associated with the parasites' expansion of host range and the evolutionary conundrums of multigene families in Plasmodium.
Role of CD56 in Normal Kidney Development and Wilms Tumorigenesis

ABSTRACT The cell-surface glycoprotein CD56 has three major isoforms that play important roles in cell adhesion and signaling, which may promote cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, or migration. It is an important molecule in normal kidney development and acts as a key marker in Wilms tumor stem and progenitor cells. Here, we review the structural and genetic features of the CD56 glycoprotein, and summarize its roles in the normal versus diseased metanephric blastema. We discuss areas of CD56-related research that may complement or improve existing Wilms tumor treatment strategies, including the antibody-drug conjugate lorvotuzumab mertansine that binds to CD56.
Oxidative Stress in HIV Infection and Alcohol Use: Role of Redox Signals in Modulation of Lipid Rafts and ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters.

AIMS Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection induces oxidative stress and alcohol use accelerates disease progression, subsequently causing immune dysfunction. However, HIV and alcohol impact on lipid rafts-mediated immune dysfunction remains unknown. In this study, we investigate the modulation by which oxidative stress induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) affecting redox expression, lipid rafts caveiloin-1, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, and transcriptional sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) gene and protein modification and how these mechanisms are associated with arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites in HIV positive alcohol users, and how they escalate immune dysfunction. RESULTS In both alcohol using HIV-positive human subjects and in vitro studies of alcohol with HIV-1 gp120 protein in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, increased ROS production significantly affected redox expression in glutathione synthetase (GSS), super oxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and subsequently impacted lipid rafts Cav-1, ABC transporters ABCA1, ABCG1, ABCB1, and ABCG4, and SREBP transcription. The increased level of rate-limiting enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), subsequently, inhibited 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR-7). Moreover, the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and lipoxygenase-5 (5-LOX) mRNA and protein modification tentatively increased the levels of prostaglandin E2 synthases (PGE2) in plasma when compared with either HIV or alcohol alone. INNOVATION This article suggests for the first time that the redox inhibition affects lipid rafts, ABC-transporter, and SREBP transcription and modulates AA metabolites, serving as an important intermediate signaling network during immune cell dysfunction in HIV-positive alcohol users. CONCLUSION These findings indicate that HIV infection induces oxidative stress and redox inhibition, affecting lipid rafts and ABC transports, subsequently upregulating AA metabolites and leading to immune toxicity, and further exacerbation with alcohol use. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 28, 324-337.
The posterior nasoseptal flap: A novel technique for closure after endoscopic transsphenoidal resection of pituitary adenomas

Background: While effective for the repair of large skull base defects, the Hadad-Bassagasteguy nasoseptal flap increases operative time and can result in a several-week period of postoperative crusting during re-mucosalization of the denuded nasal septum. Endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma resection is generally not associated with large dural defects and high-flow cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks requiring extensive reconstruction. Here, we present the posterior nasoseptal flap as a novel technique for closure of skull defects following endoscopic resection of pituitary adenomas. This flap is raised in all surgeries during the transnasal exposure using septal mucoperiosteum that would otherwise be discarded during the posterior septectomy performed in binostril approaches. Methods: We present a retrospective, consecutive case series of 43 patients undergoing endoscopic transsphenoidal resection of a pituitary adenoma followed by posterior nasoseptal flap placement and closure. Main outcome measures were extent of resection and postoperative CSF leak. Results: The mean extent of resection was 97.16 ± 1.03%. Radiographic measurement showed flap length to be adequate. While a defect in the diaphragma sellae and CSF leak were identified in 21 patients during surgery, postoperative CSF leak occurred in only one patient. Conclusions: The posterior nasoseptal flap provides adequate coverage of the surgical defect and is nearly always successful in preventing postoperative CSF leak following endoscopic transsphenoidal resection of pituitary adenomas. The flap is raised from mucoperiosteum lining the posterior nasal septum, which is otherwise resected during posterior septectomy. Because the anterior septal cartilage is not denuded, raising such flaps avoids the postoperative morbidity associated with the larger Hadad-Bassagasteguy nasoseptal flap.
Oral administration of ginger-derived nanolipids loaded with siRNA as a novel approach for efficient siRNA drug delivery to treat ulcerative colitis.

AIM To develop novel siRNA delivery system overcoming the limitations of synthetic nanoparticles, such as potential side effects, nonspecificity and economic production for ulcerative colitis therapy. MATERIALS & METHODS Nanoparticles composed of edible ginger-derived lipid, termed ginger-derived lipid vehicles (GDLVs) were generated from ginger lipids through hydration of a lipid film, a commonly used method for a liposome fabrication. The morphology, biocompatibility and transfection efficiency of GDLVs loaded with siRNA-CD98 (siRNA-CD98/GDLVs) were characterized by standard methods. RESULTS Orally administered siRNA-CD98/GDLVs were effectively targeted specifically to colon tissues, resulting in reduced expression of CD98. CONCLUSION These GDLVs have great promise as efficient siRNA-delivery vehicles while potentially obviating issues related to the traditional synthetic nanoparticles. As such, they help shift the current paradigm of siRNA delivery away from artificially synthesized nanoparticles toward the use of naturally derived nanovehicles from edible plants.
Impact of educational interventions on adolescent attitudes and knowledge regarding vaccination: A pilot study

Background Current immunisation levels in England currently fall slightly below the threshold recommended by the World Health Organization, and the three-year trend for vaccination uptake is downwards. Attitudes towards vaccination can affect future decisions on whether or not to vaccinate, and this can have significant public health implications. Interventions can impact future vaccination decisions, and these interventions can take several forms. Relatively little work has been reported on the use of vaccination interventions in young people, who form the next generation of individuals likely to make vaccination decisions. Method We investigated the impact of two different types of educational intervention on attitudes towards vaccination in young people in England. A cohort of young people (n = 63) was recruited via a local school. This group was divided into three sub-groups; one (n = 21) received a presentation-based intervention, one (n = 26) received an interactive simulation-based intervention, and the third (n = 16) received no intervention. Participants supplied information on (1) their attitudes towards vaccination, and (2) their information needs and views on personal choice concerning vaccination, at three time points: immediately before and after the intervention, and after six months. Results Neither intervention had a significant effect on participants’ attitudes towards vaccination. However, the group receiving the presentation-based intervention saw a sustained uplift in confidence about information needs, which was not observed in the simulation-based intervention group. Discussion Our findings with young people are consistent with previous work on vaccination interventions aimed at adults, which have shown limited effectiveness, and which can actually reduce intention to vaccinate. Our findings on the most effective mode of delivery for the intervention should inform future discussion in the growing “games for health” domain, which proposes the use of interactive digital resources in healthcare education.
Signs and symptoms of Group A versus Non-Group A strep throat: A meta-analysis

Introduction Both non-Group A streptococcal (non-GAS) pharyngitis and Group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis are commonly found in patients with sore throat. It is not known whether or not they present with similar signs and symptoms compared to patients with non-streptococcal pharyngitis. Methods MEDLINE was searched for prospective studies that reported throat culture for both GAS and non-GAS as a reference standard, and reported at least one sign, symptom, or the Centor score. Summary estimates of sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-), and diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) were calculated using a bivariate random effects model. Summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created for key signs and symptoms. Results Eight studies met our inclusion criteria. Tonsillar exudate had the highest LR+ for both GAS and non-GAS pharyngitis (1.53 versus 1.71). The confidence intervals of sensitivity, LR+, LR-, and DOR for all signs, symptoms, and the Centor score between two groups overlapped, with the relative difference between sensitivities within 15% for arthralgia or myalgia, fever, injected throat, tonsillar enlargement, and tonsillar exudate. Larger differences in sensitivities were observed for sore throat, cervical adenopathy, and lack of a cough, although the difference for lack of a cough largely due to a single outlier. Discussion Signs and symptoms of patients with GAS and non-GAS pharyngitis are generally similar. No signs or symptoms clearly distinguish GAS from non-GAS infection. Further work is needed to determine whether Group C streptococcus is a pathogen that should be treated.
Cost-effectiveness of the LIFE Physical Activity Intervention for Older Adults at Increased Risk for Mobility Disability.

BACKGROUND Losing the ability to walk safely and independently is a major concern for many older adults. The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders study recently demonstrated that a physical activity (PA) intervention can delay the onset of major mobility disability. Our objective is to examine the resources required to deliver the PA intervention and calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness compared with a health education intervention. METHODS The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders study enrolled 1,635 older adults at risk for mobility disability. They were recruited at eight field centers and randomly assigned to either PA or health education. The PA program consisted of 50-minute center-based exercise 2× weekly, augmented with home-based activity to achieve a goal of 150 min/wk of PA. Health education consisted of weekly workshops for 26 weeks, and monthly sessions thereafter. Analyses were conducted from a health system perspective, with a 2.6-year time horizon. RESULTS The average cost per participant over 2.6 years was US$3,302 and US$1,001 for the PA and health education interventions, respectively. PA participants accrued 0.047 per person more Quality-Adjusted Life-Years (QALYs) than health education participants. PA interventions costs were slightly higher than other recent PA interventions. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were US$42,376/major mobility disability prevented and US$49,167/QALY. Sensitivity analyses indicated that results were relatively robust to varied assumptions. CONCLUSIONS The PA intervention costs and QALYs gained are comparable to those found in other studies. The ICERS are less than many commonly recommended medical treatments. Implementing the intervention in non-research settings may reduce costs further.