Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanical and geometrical determinants of wall stress in abdominal aortic aneurysms: A computational study

An aortic aneurysm (AA) is a focal dilatation of the aortic wall. Occurrence of AA rupture is an all too common event that is associated with high levels of patient morbidity and mortality. The decision to surgically intervene prior to AA rupture is made with recognition of significant procedural risks, and is primarily based on the maximal diameter and/or growth rate of the AA. Despite established thresholds for intervention, rupture occurs in a notable subset of patients exhibiting sub-critical maximal diameters and/or growth rates. Therefore, a pressing need remains to identify better predictors of rupture risk and ultimately integrate their measurement into clinical decision making. In this study, we use a series of finite element-based computational models that represent a range of plausible AA scenarios, and evaluate the relative sensitivity of wall stress to geometrical and mechanical properties of the aneurysmal tissue. Taken together, our findings encourage an expansion of geometrical parameters considered for rupture risk assessment, and provide perspective on the degree to which tissue mechanical properties may modulate peak stress values within aneurysmal tissue.
Efficacy of CD46-targeting chimeric Ad5/35 adenoviral gene therapy for colorectal cancers

CD46 is a complement inhibitor membrane cofactor which also acts as a receptor for various microbes, including species B adenoviruses (Ads). While most Ad gene therapy vectors are derived from species C and infect cells through coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (CAR), CAR expression is downregulated in many cancer cells, resulting inefficient Ad-based therapeutics. Despite a limited knowledge on the expression status of many cancer cells, an increasing number of cancer gene therapy studies include fiber-modified Ad vectors redirected to the more ubiquitously expressed CD46. Since our finding from tumor microarray indicate that CD46 was overexpressed in cancers of the prostate and colon, fiber chimeric Ad5/35 vectors that have infection tropism for CD46 were employed to demonstrate its efficacy in colorectal cancers (CRC). CD46-overexpressed cells showed a significantly higher response to Ad5/35-GFP and to Ad5/35-tk/GCV. While CRC cells express variable levels of CD46, CD46 expression was positively correlated with Ad5/35-mediated GFP fluorescence and accordingly its cell killing. Injection of Ad5/35-tk/GCV caused much greater tumor-suppression in mice bearing CD46-overexpressed cancer xenograft compared to mock group. Analysis of CRC samples revealed that patients with positive CD46 expression had a higher survival rate (p=0.031), carried tumors that were well-differentiated, but less invasive and metastatic, and with a low T stage (all p<0.05). Taken together, our study demonstrated that species B-based adenoviral gene therapy is a suitable approach for generally CD46-overexpressed CRC but would require careful consideration preceding CD46 analysis and categorizing CRC patients.
Concurrent antibacterial finishing and transfer printing of different types of fabrics

The growth of microbes on textiles inflicts a range of unpleasant effects not only on thetextile itself but also on the wearer. The detrimental effects can be controlled by antimicrobial finishing of textile using Sanitized T99-19 in the finishing formulation andsimulated curing/transfer printing in one step for different types of fabrics. Improvements of multifunctional property vary, to some extent with the nature of fibrous substrates, resin concentration, simultaneous curing/transfer printing, temperature employed, and various additives in the finishing formulation used to affect the polymerization of the reactant. Optimized resin concentrations as well as transfer printing temperatures to enhance the properties of the finished fabrics were reported. Quantitative analysis was carried out to measure antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results showed that printed fabrics inhibited the growth of both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) bacteria compared with control samples (without Sanitized T99-19). Improvement of color strength as well crease recovery angle was obtained. Antibacterial activity was retained up to 20 cycles. Scanning electron microscopy of finished fabrics was performed.
Radio-Frequency-Based NH3-Selective Catalytic Reduction Catalyst Control: Studies on Temperature Dependency and Humidity Influences

The upcoming more stringent automotive emission legislations and current developments have promoted new technologies for more precise and reliable catalyst control. For this purpose, radio-frequency-based (RF) catalyst state determination offers the only approach for directly measuring the NH3 loading on selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts and the state of other catalysts and filter systems. Recently, the ability of this technique to directly control the urea dosing on a current NH3 storing zeolite catalyst has been demonstrated on an engine dynamometer for the first time and this paper continues that work. Therefore, a well-known serial-type and zeolite-based SCR catalyst (Cu-SSZ-13) was investigated under deliberately chosen high space velocities. At first, the full functionality of the RF system with Cu-SSZ-13 as sample was tested successfully. By direct RF-based NH3 storage control, the influence of the storage degree on the catalyst performance, i.e., on NOx conversion and NH3 slip, was investigated in a temperature range between 250 and 400 °C. For each operation point, an ideal and a critical NH3 storage degree was found and analyzed in the whole temperature range. Based on the data of all experimental runs, temperature dependent calibration functions were developed as a basis for upcoming tests under transient conditions. Additionally, the influence of exhaust humidity was observed with special focus on cold start water and its effects to the RF signals.
Association Between Frailty and Components of the Frailty Phenotype With Modifiable Risk Factors and Antiretroviral Therapy

The impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on frailty among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults has not been well described. HIV-infected participants aged ≥40 years with initial ART receipt through a randomized, controlled AIDS Clinical Trials Group trial completed a frailty assessment. Ordinal logistic regression models examined factors associated with frailty. Of 1016 participants, 6% were frail, and 38% were prefrail. Frailty was associated with lower education, older age, Medicare/Medicaid, initial efavirenz, smoking, obesity, and neurocognitive impairment; physical activity and alcohol use were protective. The associations with ART require further investigation, and associations between frailty and modifiable factors provide targets for future interventions.
Clinical Value of Long Noncoding RNA HOTAIR as a Novel Biomarker in Digestive Cancers: A Meta-Analysis

HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA has been reported to serve as an important prognostic biomarker in several types of cancers. However, the clinical value of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA in digestive cancers remains unclear. Therefore, we tried to investigate the clinical role of expression of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA as a prognostic indicator in digestive cancers by a meta-analysis. Literature collection was performed by searching the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases (up to October 7, 2017). A quantitative meta-analysis was conducted to assess the eligible articles on the prognostic value of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA in digestive cancers. The pooled hazard ratios or odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate the association between expression of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA and clinical outcomes. A total of 1844 patients from 22 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results found a significant association between expression of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA and poor overall survival in digestive cancers (pooled hazard ratio = 2.19, 95% confidence interval, 1.86-2.57, P < .001). Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed that tumor type, region, Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and sample size did not alter the predictive value of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA as an independent factor for patients’ survival. In addition, we also revealed that the clinicopathological characteristics such as differentiation, lymph node metastasis, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, and distant metastasis were positively related to expression of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA digestive cancers. In conclusion, our results suggested high expression of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA was correlated with poor clinical outcomes and may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for patients with digestive cancers.
Influence of Football on Physiological Cardiac Indexes in Professional and Young Athletes

Background: After long-term intensive training, considerable morphological and functional heart changes occur in professional athletes. Such changes arise progressively and regress upon interruption of the physical activity. Morphological and functional alterations on heart are known as “Athlete's heart” condition. Objective: This study aims to compare echocardiographic parameters in two different groups of professional athletes. Furthermore, a prospective study is performed analyzing the echocardiographic changes occurring in 12 professional players in 3 years of follow-up. Materials and Methods: 78 football players were examined from July 2011 to May 2016 (40 enrolled in Group A and 38 in Group B). Twelve players of GROUP A were followed for 3 consecutive seasons. The general clinical examination, the cardiopulmonary evaluation, the ECG, the ergometer stress test, the spirometric examination and the standard cardiac eco color doppler test were recorded. Results: Left ventricle dimensions, left atrium dimensions, and interventricular septum dimensions were higher in A players than in B players. Moreover, following up 12 players for 3 years, a statistically significant increase of such values was observed. Discussion: In A players, higher dimensions of the left chambers and the interventricular septum were observed, compared to B players. No statistically significant difference was found regarding the ejection fraction. The 3 years follow-up showed a statistically significant increase of both left chambers and interventricular septum dimensions, particularly in the second and third year. Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that A players have higher echocardiographic parameters respect to B players. The results of this study support the scientific theory that long-term intensive training influences heart function, inducing “athlete's heart” with morphological adaptations. No significant echocardiographic variation within the examined sample was observed for different roles (goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, or attacker) or skills of individual players.
Falls prevention in community care: 10 years on

Background A million older people living in Australia receive community care services each year due to experiencing functional or mental health difficulties. This group may be at greater risk of falling than similar-aged people not receiving services. However, there is limited falls prevention research for this population. Purpose The aim of this study was to identify the falls prevalence rates of older people from 10 Australian community care organizations and compare current falls prevention data to a study 10 years prior that utilized the same 10 organizations. This study also identified factors associated with falling for this population. Patients and methods This is a cross-sectional descriptive study, in which 5,338 questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of community care recipients aged ≥65 years. Results A total of 1,991 questionnaires were returned (37.3%), with 47.7% of respondents having fallen in the previous year, and 32.7% in the month prior to completing the questionnaire, similar to 10 years prior. Community care clients had a 50% higher falls rate than that reported for similar-aged people not receiving services, and this remained unchanged over the last 10 years. Eighty-six per cent of fallers had fallen once or twice, and 60% reported being injured. Thirty-six per cent of respondents reported not being able to get up independently, and only 27.4% of fallers were referred to a falls prevention program (significantly fewer than 10 years ago; 95% CI: 0.821–6.366, p=0.01). Balance issues (odds ratio [OR]: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.288–3.290, p=0.003) and perceived risk of falling in the future being “definite” (OR: 6.42, 95% CI: 1.890–21.808, p=0.003) or “unsure” (OR: 3.31, 95% CI: 1.144–9.544, p=0.027) were risk factors associated with falling. In contrast, individuals referred to a falls prevention intervention had a 47% reduced likelihood of having fallen (95% CI: 0.281–0.988, p=0.046). Conclusion Community care clients should have their falls risk routinely assessed, and at-risk individuals be offered falls prevention advice and referral to fall prevention programs.
Herbal medicine for depression and anxiety: A systematic review with assessment of potential psycho‐oncologic relevance

Anxiety and depression are prevalent among cancer patients, with significant negative impact. Many patients prefer herbs for symptom relief to conventional medications which have limited efficacy/side effects. We identified single‐herb medicines that may warrant further study in cancer patients. Our search included PubMed, Allied and Complementary Medicine, Embase, and Cochrane databases, selecting only single‐herb randomized controlled trials between 1996 and 2016 in any population for data extraction, excluding herbs with known potential for interactions with cancer treatments. One hundred articles involving 38 botanicals met our criteria. Among herbs most studied (≥6 randomized controlled trials each), lavender, passionflower, and saffron produced benefits comparable to standard anxiolytics and antidepressants. Black cohosh, chamomile, and chasteberry are also promising. Anxiety or depressive symptoms were measured in all studies, but not always as primary endpoints. Overall, 45% of studies reported positive findings with fewer adverse effects compared with conventional medications. Based on available data, black cohosh, chamomile, chasteberry, lavender, passionflower, and saffron appear useful in mitigating anxiety or depression with favorable risk–benefit profiles compared to standard treatments. These may benefit cancer patients by minimizing medication load and accompanying side effects. However, well‐designed larger clinical trials are needed before these herbs can be recommended and to further assess their psycho‐oncologic relevance.
Adherence to oral anticoagulant therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation

Summary Oral anticoagulation is pivotal in the management of thromboembolic risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients. Effective anticoagulation is important to avoid major adverse events and medication adherence is central to achieve good anticoagulation control. Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are as effective and safe as vitamin K antagonist (VKAs) in NVAF patients. Due to the absence of routine anticoagulation monitoring with NOACs treatment, concerns have been raised about patient’s adherence to NOACs and real-life data demonstrates variability in adherence and persistence. A multi-level approach, including patients’ preferences, factors determining physicians’ prescribing habits and healthcare system infrastructure and support, is warranted to improve initiation and adherence of anticoagulants. Adherence to NOACs is paramount to achieve a clinical benefit. Implementation of educational programs and easy-to-use tools to identify patients most likely to be non-adherent to NOACs, are central issues in improving the quality of NVAF anticoagulation management. Note: The review process for this manuscript was fully handled by C. Weber, Editor in Chief.
Diet quality as measured by the Diet Quality Index–International is associated with prospective changes in body fat among Canadian children

Abstract Objective To quantify the association of dietary quality with prospective changes in adiposity. Design Children participating in the QUALITY (QUebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth) study underwent examination at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. Dietary quality was assessed by the Diet Quality Index–International (DQII) using three non-consecutive 24 h diet recalls at baseline. The DQII has four main categories: dietary adequacy, variety, moderation and overall balance. Fat mass index (FMI; [fat mass (kg)]/[height (m)]2), central FMI (CFMI; [trunk fat mass (kg)]/[height (m)]2), percentage body fat (%BF; [total fat mass (kg)]/[total mass (kg)]) and percentage central BF (%CBF; [trunk fat mass (kg)]/[total mass (kg)]) were assessed through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Setting Children were selected from schools in the greater Montreal, Sherbrooke and Quebec City metropolitan areas between 2005 and 2008, Quebec, Canada. Subjects A total of 546 children aged 8–10 years, including 244 girls and 302 boys. Results Regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, energy intake, physical activity and Tanner stage revealed that every 10-unit improvement in overall DQII score was associated with lower gain in CFMI (β=−0·08; 95 % CI −0·17, −0·003) and %BF (β=−0·55; 95 % CI −1·08, −0·02). Each unit improvement in dietary adequacy score was associated with lower gain in FMI (β=−0·05; 95 % CI −0·08, −0·008), CFMI (β=−0·03; 95 % CI −0·05, −0·007), %BF (β=−0·15; 95 % CI −0·28, −0·03) and %CBF (β=−0·09; 95 % CI −0·15, −0·02). Conclusions Promotion of dietary quality and adequacy may reduce weight gain in childhood and prevent chronic diseases later in life.
Seasonal field efficacy of pyriproxyfen autodissemination stations against container-inhabiting mosquito Aedes albopictus under different habitat conditions.

BACKGROUND Control of the container-inhabiting mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is difficult using conventional methods due to its selection of cryptic peri-domestic habitats. We evaluated whether autodissemination stations can deliver sufficient pyriproxyfen to sentinel containers to produce significant pupal mortality in different habitats such as competing oviposition sites, peri-domestic habitats, junkyards and tire piles. We also tested how far the pesticide could be transferred over a 200-m range. RESULTS Autodissemination stations performed effectively for 8-12 weeks under field conditions. Pupal mortality was reduced in sentinel cups with high-competing oviposition habitats (5 versus 20) in isolated plots; however, similar results were not seen in residential areas. Increasing the number of stations per plot (from 1 to 4) enhanced the efficacy. Peri-domestic habitat trials showed the highest pupal mortality (50.4%) and site contamination with pyriproxyfen (82.2%) among the trials. Autodissemination stations were able to contaminate habitats in a junkyard (50.0%) and tire piles (40.2%). Pyriproxyfen was detected in sentinel cups up to 200 m from stations. Detection of pyriproxyfen by residue analysis (0.005-0.741 µg L-1 ) in field samples confirmed the transfer of the insect growth regulator. CONCLUSION Autodissemination stations have shown promising potential as a novel pest management tool against container mosquitoes in field trials in different habitats confronted by mosquito control personnel. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Perceptual Boundaries Cause Mnemonic Trade-Offs Between Local Boundary Processing and Across-Trial Associative Binding

Episodic memories are not veridical records of our lives, but rather are better described as organized summaries of experience. Theories and empirical research suggest that shifts in perceptual, temporal, and semantic information lead to a chunking of our continuous experiences into segments, or “events. ” However, the consequences of these contextual shifts on memory formation and organization remains unclear. In a series of 3 behavioral studies, we introduced context shifts (or “event boundaries”) between trains of stimuli and then examined the influence of the boundaries on several measures of associative memory. In Experiment 1, we found that perceptual event boundaries strengthened associative binding of item-context pairings present at event boundaries. In Experiment 2, we observed reduced temporal order memory for items encoded in distinct events relative to items encoded within the same event, and a trade-off between the speed of processing at boundaries, and temporal order memory for items that flanked those boundaries. Finally, in Experiment 3 we found that event organization imprinted structure on the order in which items were freely recalled. These results provide insight into how boundary- and event-related organizational processes during encoding shape subsequent representations of events in episodic memory.
Neurally Released GABA Acts via GABAC Receptors to Modulate Ca2+ Transients Evoked by Trains of Synaptic Inputs, but Not Responses Evoked by Single Stimuli, in Myenteric Neurons of Mouse Ileum

γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and its receptors, GABAA,B,C, are expressed in several locations along the gastrointestinal tract. Nevertheless, a role for GABA in enteric synaptic transmission remains elusive. In this study, we characterized the expression and function of GABA in the myenteric plexus of the mouse ileum. About 8% of all myenteric neurons were found to be GABA-immunoreactive (GABA+) including some Calretinin+ and some neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS+) neurons. We used Wnt1-Cre;R26R-GCaMP3 mice, which express a genetically encoded fluorescent calcium indicator in all enteric neurons and glia. Exogenous GABA increased the intracellular calcium concentration, [Ca2+]i of some myenteric neurons including many that did not express GABA or nNOS (the majority), some GABA+, Calretinin+ or Neurofilament-M (NFM)+ but rarely nNOS+ neurons. GABA+ terminals contacted a significantly larger proportion of the cell body surface area of Calretinin+ neurons than of nNOS+ neurons. Numbers of neurons with GABA-induced [Ca2+]i transients were reduced by GABAA,B,C and nicotinic receptor blockade. Electrical stimulation of interganglionic fiber tracts was used to examine possible effects of endogenous GABA release. [Ca2+]i transients evoked by single pulses were unaffected by specific antagonists for each of the 3 GABA receptor subtypes. [Ca2+]i transients evoked by 20 pulse trains were significantly amplified by GABAC receptor blockade. These data suggest that GABAA and GABAB receptors are not involved in synaptic transmission, but suggest a novel role for GABAC receptors in modulating slow synaptic transmission, as indicated by changes in [Ca2+]i transients, within the ENS.