Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Combined Remote Ischemic Pre-and Post-Conditioning on Neurologic Complications in Moyamoya Disease Patients Undergoing Superficial Temporal Artery-Middle Cerebral Artery Anastomosis

Superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis is the most commonly used treatment for Moyamoya disease. During the perioperative period, however, these patients are vulnerable to ischemic injury or hyperperfusion syndrome. This study investigated the ability of combined remote ischemic pre-conditioning (RIPC) and remote ischemic post-conditioning (RIPostC) to reduce the occurrence of major neurologic complications in Moyamoya patients undergoing STA-MCA anastomosis. The 108 patients were randomly assigned to a RIPC with RIPostC group (n = 54) or a control group (n = 54). Patients in the RIPC with RIPostC group were treated with four cycles of 5-min ischemia and 5-min reperfusion before craniotomy and after STA-MCA anastomosis (RIPostC). The incidence of postoperative neurologic complications and the duration of hospital stay were determined. The overall incidence of neurologic complication was significantly higher in the control group than in the RIPC with RIPostC group (13 vs. 3, p = 0.013). The duration of hospital stay was significantly longer in the control group than in the RIPC with RIPostC group (17.8 (11.3) vs. 13.8 (5.9) days, p = 0.023). Combined remote ischemic pre- and post-conditioning can be effective in reducing neurologic complications and the duration of hospitalization in Moyamoya patients undergoing STA-MCA anastomosis.
In Sickness and in Health The story of health as told by an augmented Solow model and cross-country dynamic panel data

This paper tests whether the Solow model augmented with multiple forms of human capital can explain cross-country difference in growth and investigates the effect of health on the growth of per capita income. Following Knowles and Owen (1995), we introduce both education human capital and health human capital into the textbook Solow model and extend their cross-section analysis to a dynamic panel data analysis to control for omitted variable and endogeneity bias, using a robust and consistent system GMM estimator. By adopting the latest available data for a sample of 111 developed and developing countries over 1960-2004 and various health indicators, as well as splitting our data into sub-samples, We find firstly, the GMM estimators provide relatively more consistent results. The augmented MRW model provides a fairly good account of international variation in economic growth. Conditional convergence, with a speed of around 2 percent per annum, has been found in either the full sample or sub-samples. Secondly, the role of education capital measured as average years of schooling has been partially identified in the extended Solow model, rather than the original MRW model. Finally, both the stock of health, and the investment or accumulation of health capital appears strongly associated with the output growth, particularly for low income countries. The effects of health on economic growth largely vary with different samples of countries.
DWV-A Lethal to Honey Bees (Apis mellifera): A Colony Level Survey of DWV Variants (A, B, and C) in England, Wales, and 32 States across the US

The strong association between Varroa destructor, deformed wing virus (DWV), and high overwintering colony losses (OCL) of honey bees is well established. Three DWV master variants (DWV-A, -B, and -C) have been described, and their role in colony mortality remains an open question. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal prevalence, viral load, and changing distribution of the three DWV master variants within honey bee colonies from England, Wales, and 32 states across the United States. Here, we report that in 2016, DWV-B was prevalent (100%, n = 249) and dominant (95%) in England and Wales, compared to the US. (56%, n = 217 and 23%, respectively), where DWV-A was prevalent (83%, n = 217) and dominant (63%). DWV-C was regularly detected in low viral loads (<1 × 107 genome equivalents per bee) and at lower prevalence (58% in England and Wales, n = 203, and 14% across the United States, n = 124) compared to DWV-A and -B. DWV-B prevalence and dominance in England and Wales coincided with low OCL (6%). Meanwhile, a 60% loss was reported by participating U.S. beekeepers. In the United States, DWV-A prevalence (89%, n = 18) and viral load were significantly (p = 0.002) higher (1 × 10 8–1 × 1011) in colonies that died when compared to the surviving colonies (49% (n = 27), 1 × 106–1 × 1010). DWV-B had low prevalence (56%, n = 18) in the colonies that died with viral loads of <1 × 1010. However, DWV-B was routinely detected in high viral loads (>1 × 1010) in surviving colonies from all sample locations, providing further supporting evidence of DWV-A exhibiting increased virulence over DWV-B at the colony level.
Lethal Interaction of Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genotypes in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster, like most animal species, displays considerable genetic variation in both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here we tested whether any of four natural mtDNA variants was able to modify the effect of the phenotypically mild, nuclear tko25t mutation, affecting mitochondrial protein synthesis. When combined with tko25t, the mtDNA from wild strain KSA2 produced pupal lethality, accompanied by the presence of melanotic nodules in L3 larvae. KSA2 mtDNA, which carries a substitution at a conserved residue of cytochrome b that is predicted to be involved in subunit interactions within respiratory complex III, conferred drastically decreased respiratory capacity and complex III activity in the tko25t but not a wild-type nuclear background. The complex III inhibitor antimycin A was able to phenocopy effects of the tko25t mutation in the KSA2 mtDNA background. This is the first report of a lethal, nuclear-mitochondrial interaction within a metazoan species, representing a paradigm for understanding genetic interactions between nuclear and mitochondrial genotype relevant to human health and disease.
Clinical Approach to the Standardization of Oriental Medical Diagnostic Pattern Identification in Stroke Patients

In Korea, many stroke patients receive oriental medical care, in which pattern-identification plays a major role. Pattern-identification is Oriental Medicine's unique diagnostic system. This study attempted to standardize oriental medical pattern-identification for stroke patients. This was a community-based multicenter study that enrolled stroke patients within 30 days after their ictus. We assessed the patients' general characteristics and symptoms related to pattern-identification. Each patient's pattern was determined when two doctors had the same opinion. To determine which variables affect the pattern-identification, binary logistic regression analysis was used with the backward method. A total of 806 stroke patients were enrolled. Among 480 patients who were identified as having a certain pattern, 100 patients exhibited the Fire Heat Pattern, 210 patients the Phlegm Dampness Pattern, nine patients the Blood Stasis Pattern, 110 patients the Qi Deficiency Pattern, and 51 patients the Yin Deficiency Pattern. After the regression analysis, the predictive logistic equations for the Fire Heat, Phlegm Dampness, Qi Deficiency, and Yin Deficiency patterns were determined. The Blood Stasis Pattern was omitted because the sample size was too small. Predictive logistic equations were suggested for four of the patterns. These criteria would be useful in determining each stroke patient's pattern in clinics. However, further studies with large samples are necessary to validate and confirm these criteria.
Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption frequency in Korean adolescents: based on the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the present study was to investigate current sugar-sweetened beverage consumption habits in Korean adolescents in conjunction with their demo-socioeconomic characteristics, and to identify variables that affect such behaviours. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted via secondary analysis of data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (the 11th survey). The dependent variable in the current study was the combined consumption frequency of three types of sugar-sweetened beverages (carbonated beverages, highly-caffeinated beverages, sugary beverages), and demographic (gender, academic grade, residence), sociological (father's education level, mother's education level, having experienced depression within the last 12 months) and economic (subjective economic status, weekly allowance) factors constituted the independent variables. RESULTS Our results showed that the amount of weekly allowance had the greatest impact on adolescents' beverage consumption of more than seven times a week. Increases in experiencing a depressed mood and allowance were associated with an increased tendency to consume ≥ 7 sugar-sweetened beverages per week. CONCLUSION The results of the current study suggest that families and society should work collectively to motivate adolescents to consciously choose and buy healthy snacks. Furthermore, society should reach a consensus and invest effort to resolve this issue continuously and gradually, such as by presenting a standard for consumption of sugar-added drinks and implementing regulations to ban sales to adolescents.
Three-charge black holes on a circle

We study phases of five-dimensional three-charge black holes with a circle in their transverse space. In particular, when the black hole is localized on the circle we compute the corrections to the metric and corresponding thermodynamics in the limit of small mass. When taking the near-extremal limit, this gives the corrections to the finite entropy of the extremal three-charge black hole as a function of the energy above extremality. For the partial extremal limit with two charges sent to infinity and one finite we show that the first correction to the entropy is in agreement with the microscopic entropy by taking into account that the number of branes shift as a consequence of the interactions across the transverse circle. Beyond these analytical results, we also numerically obtain the entire phase of non- and near-extremal three- and two-charge black holes localized on a circle. More generally, we find in this paper a rich phase structure, including a new phase of three-charge black holes that are non-uniformly distributed on the circle. All these three-charge black hole phases are found via a map that relates them to the phases of five-dimensional neutral Kaluza-Klein black holes.
Determinants of Tetanus Vaccination among Adult Immigrants: Findings from the Portuguese National Health Survey 2014

Vaccination is an effective strategy to prevent tetanus, and in Portugal this service is provided free of charge. Despite this, immigrants reported lower tetanus vaccination coverage than did Portuguese natives. The objective of this study was to identify sociodemographic, migration-related, and access-to-care factors associated with tetanus vaccination coverage among adult immigrants, using data from the Portuguese National Health Survey 2014. For the sample of 1277 immigrants aged ≥18 years, we estimated self-reported tetanus vaccination within the preceding 10 years and its determinants using complex samples logistic regression. The overall self-reported tetanus vaccination coverage was 79.5% (95% CI: 75.8–82.8). Age (adjusted odd ratio (aOR) per 1 year age increase = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95–0.99), higher household income per adult (aOR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.19–0.96), having Portuguese citizenship (aOR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.25–4.24), having private health insurance (aOR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.06–3.71), and contact with family/general physician in the last 12 months (aOR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.01–2.51) were associated with self-reported tetanus vaccination coverage among adult immigrants. We also found significant disparities in coverage between regions of residence. This study identified several determinants associated with self-reported tetanus vaccination coverage among adult immigrants in Portugal. These findings may help policymakers to design specific interventions to increase tetanus vaccination coverage among this population.
Distinct roles of XRCC4 and Ku80 in non-homologous end-joining of endonuclease- and ionizing radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks

Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is mediated by two protein complexes comprising Ku80/Ku70/DNA-PKcs/Artemis and XRCC4/LigaseIV/XLF. Loss of Ku or XRCC4/LigaseIV function compromises the rejoining of radiation-induced DSBs and leads to defective V(D)J recombination. In this study, we sought to define how XRCC4 and Ku80 affect NHEJ of site-directed chromosomal DSBs in murine fibroblasts. We employed a recently developed reporter system based on the rejoining of I-SceI endonuclease-induced DSBs. We found that the frequency of NHEJ was reduced by more than 20-fold in XRCC4−/− compared to XRCC4+/+ cells, while a Ku80 knock-out reduced the rejoining efficiency by only 1.4-fold. In contrast, lack of either XRCC4 or Ku80 increased end degradation and shifted repair towards a mode that used longer terminal microhomologies for rejoining. However, both proteins proved to be essential for the repair of radiation-induced DSBs. The remarkably different phenotype of XRCC4- and Ku80-deficient cells with regard to the repair of enzyme-induced DSBs mirrors the embryonic lethality of XRCC4 knock-out mice as opposed to the viability of the Ku80 knock-out. Thus, I-SceI-induced breaks may resemble DSBs arising during normal DNA metabolism and mouse development. The removal of these breaks likely has different genetic requirements than the repair of radiation-induced DSBs.
β-estradiol effect on erythrocyte aggregation – A controlled in vitro study 1

The purpose of thisin vitro study was to assess the effect of 17 β-estradiol on hemorheologic parameters, namely on erythrocyte aggregation and deformability and membrane fluidity. Blood samples from 65 women (aged 57 ±4 years) undergoing postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy were obtained and were incubated for 5 min in absence and presence of 17 β-estradiol 10−5 M. The measured parameters were the erythrocyte aggregation (EAI) and deformability (EI), the acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE), the plasma pH and osmolality and the erythrocyte membrane fluidity assessed by fluorescence polarization with two probes 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and (1-(4-(trimethylamino)-phenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH). Data analysis was performed using t-Student and Pearson correlation analysis. A statistically significant decrease of the EAI (15 .8±3.02 vs 13.45±2.3; p < 0.001) and an increase of the EI (51 .39±5.64 vs 52.06± 5.36;p < 0.01) at shear stress of 30 Pa in presence of 17 β-estradiol 10−5 M was obtained. There was a decrease in membrane fluidity in 45 blood samples (DPH) and in the other 20 an increase, when β-estradiol 10−5 M was present. In vitro β-estradiol 10−5 M decreased erythrocyte aggregation in blood samples of postmenopausal women undergoing hormone therapy, which could prevent high blood viscosity and, consequently, cardiovascular events.
Cyclic AMP signalling controls key components of malaria parasite host cell invasion machinery

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is an important signalling molecule across evolution, but its role in malaria parasites is poorly understood. We have investigated the role of cAMP in asexual blood stage development of Plasmodium falciparum through conditional disruption of adenylyl cyclase beta (ACβ) and its downstream effector, cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). We show that both production of cAMP and activity of PKA are critical for erythrocyte invasion, whilst key developmental steps that precede invasion still take place in the absence of cAMP-dependent signalling. We also show that another parasite protein with putative cyclic nucleotide binding sites, Plasmodium falciparum EPAC (PfEpac), does not play an essential role in blood stages. We identify and quantify numerous sites, phosphorylation of which is dependent on cAMP signalling, and we provide mechanistic insight as to how cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic domain of the essential invasion adhesin apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) regulates erythrocyte invasion.
The exercise timing hypothesis: can exercise training compensate for the reduction in blood vessel function after menopause if timed right?

As women enter menopause at mid‐life, oestrogen production ceases and its many beneficial effects on cardiovascular health are lost whereby the age‐related risk of cardiovascular disease is accelerated. Oestrogen acts via oestrogen receptors and can activate the oestrogen response element leading to upregulation of a number of proteins of importance for vascular health, including the vasodilator and anti‐atherogenic enzyme endothelial nitric oxide synthase and angiogenic factors. Hormone replacement therapy can to some extent counteract the loss of oestrogen although studies have shown that such treatment may only be effective if initiated soon after menopause, the so‐called timing hypothesis. An attractive alternative to hormone therapy is regular physical activity, as it is known that exercise induces many of the same cardiovascular health protective effects as oestrogen. Nevertheless, results from studies on the effect of physical activity on vascular function and cardiovascular health are inconsistent, with some studies showing a lack of effect of a physical activity programme and others showing a beneficial effect. The reason for this divergence is unclear but here we explore whether there may be a timing aspect also for exercise training, the exercise timing hypothesis, in which initiation of exercise interventions soon after menopause may be more effective than initiation many years after. The possibility that oestrogen‐related receptor‐α and oxidative stress may play a role in such a timing effect is discussed.
Delegation in Virtual Team: the Moderating Effects of Team Maturity and Team Distance

Virtual teams are becoming an important work structure in software development projects. However, a number of issues arise due to the complexity and newness of the virtual team context. One such issue relates to when and how team leaders should delegate authority and responsibility to the team. Previous studies have yielded conflicting results. This work aims to answer this question about delegation by investigating the moderating effects of team maturity and team distance on the relationship between leader delegation and team outcomes. A research model and specific propositions are presented. This paper provides useful insights for future virtual team leadership research and for organizations interested in developing virtual team leadership
Effect of mammography screening on surgical treatment for breast cancer in Norway: comparative analysis of cancer registry data

Objective To determine the effect of mammography screening on surgical treatment for breast cancer. Design Comparative analysis of data from Norwegian cancer registry. Setting Mammography screening, Norway (screening of women aged 50-69 was introduced sequentially from 1996 to 2004). Participants 35 408 women aged 40-79 with invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ treated surgically from 1993 to 2008. Main outcome measures Rates of breast surgery (mastectomy plus breast conserving treatment) and rates of mastectomy for three age groups of women: 40-49, 50-69, and 70-79. Changes in rates from pre-screening period (1993-5) to introduction of screening phase (1996-2004) and then to screening period (2005-8) are presented as hazard ratios in invited and non-invited women. Results The annual rate for breast surgery from the pre-screening period (1993-5) to screening period (2005-8) in Norway increased by 70% (hazard ratio 1.70, 95% confidence interval 1.62 to 1.78), from 180 to 305 per 100 000 women in the invited age group (50-69 years). In the younger, non-invited age group (40-49 years), however, the increase was only 8% (1.08, 1.00 to 1.16), from 133 to 144 per 100 000 women per year, whereas in the older, non-invited age group (70-79 years) the rate decreased by 8% (0.92, 0.86 to 1.00), from 227 to 214 per 100 000 women per year. The rates for mastectomy decreased similarly from the pre-screening period to screening period in invited and non-invited women. From the pre-screening period to the introduction phase of screening (1996-2004), however, the annual mastectomy rate in women aged 50-69 invited to screening increased by 9% (1.09, 1.03 to 1.14), from 156 to 167 per 100 000 women, and in the younger non-invited women declined by 17% (0.83, 0.78 to 0.90), from 109 to 91 per 100 000 women. In consequence, the mastectomy rate was 31% (1.31, 1.20 to 1.43) higher in the invited than in the non-invited younger age group. Conclusions Mammography screening in Norway was associated with a noticeable increase in rates for breast cancer surgery in women aged 50-69 (the age group invited to screening) and also an increase in mastectomy rates. Although over-diagnosis is likely to have caused the initial increase in mastectomy rates and the overall increase in surgery rates in the age group screened, the more recent decline in mastectomy rates has affected all age groups and is likely to have resulted from changes in surgical policy.
Natural Language Processing in Game Studies Research

Natural language processing (NLP) is a field of computer science and linguistics devoted to creating computer systems that use human (natural) language as input and/or output. The authors propose that NLP can also be used for game studies research. In this article, the authors provide an overview of NLP and describe some research possibilities that can be explored using NLP tools and techniques. The authors discuss these techniques by performing three different types of NLP analyses of a significant corpus of online videogame reviews: (a) By using techniques such as word and syllable counting, the authors analyze the readability of professionally written game reviews, finding that, across a variety of indicators, game reviews are written for a secondary education reading level; (b) the authors analyze hundreds of thousands of user-submitted game reviews using part-of-speech tagging, parsing, and clustering to examine how gameplay is described. The findings of this study in this area highlight the primary aesthetics elements of gameplay according to the general public of game players; and (c) the authors show how sentiment analysis, or the classification of opinions and feelings based on the words used in a text and the relationship between those words, can be used to explore the circumstances in which certain negatively charged words may be used positively and for what reasons in the domain of videogames. The authors conclude with ideas for future research, including how NLP can be used to complement other avenues of inquiry.