Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Myogenic differentiation of human amniotic mesenchymal cells and its tissue repair capacity on volumetric muscle loss

Stem cell–based tissue engineering therapy is the most promising method for treating volumetric muscle loss. Human amniotic mesenchymal cells possess characteristics similar to those of embryonic stem cells. In this study, we verified the stem cell characteristics of human amniotic mesenchymal cells by the flow cytometry analysis, and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Through induction with the DNA demethylating agent 5-azacytidine, human amniotic mesenchymal cells can undergo myogenic differentiation and express skeletal muscle cell–specific markers such as desmin and MyoD. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway also plays an important role. After 5-azacytidine-induced human amniotic mesenchymal cells were implanted into rat tibialis anterior muscle with volumetric muscle loss, we observed increased angiogenesis and improved local tissue repair. We believe that human amniotic mesenchymal cells can serve as a potential source of cells for skeletal muscle tissue engineering.
Exploring Racial Disparities in Mental Health Diagnoses and Neighborhood Disorganization Among an Urban Cohort of Children and Adolescents with Chronic Medical Conditions

Abstract Objective: This article describes the demographic distribution of, and association between, neighborhood disorganization and mental health diagnosis by race in a large cohort of urban children with chronic medical conditions. Methods: Data for this study were from Coordinated Healthcare for Complex Kids (CHECK), a health care demonstration project funded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. We conducted regression analyses to examine the relationship between neighborhood disorganization and mental health diagnosis among 6,458 children enrolled in CHECK. Results: The most common mental health diagnoses were mood disorders (8.6%), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (7.4%), conduct disorders (6.1%), and anxiety disorders (4.8%). Black children had the highest neighborhood disorganization scores compared with other racial/ethnic categories. However, Black children had the lowest proportion of mental health diagnoses. Lower neighborhood disorganization was associated with having a mental health diagnosis; however, when adding race/ethnicity to the model, neighborhood disorganization no longer was significant. Conclusions: Level of neighborhood disorganization was highly correlated with racial/ethnic composition of the neighborhoods, and Black children disproportionately resided in highly disorganized neighborhoods compared with other groups. Neighborhood disorganization may not have sufficient variability within the racial/ethnic categories, which may explain the absence of an interaction between race/ethnicity and mental health diagnosis.
Effects of microwave blanching conditions on the quality of green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) butt segment

Abstract Blanching is a pretreatment method that is often applied in fruit and vegetable processing to inhibit enzyme activity and reduce loss of food quality. It was recently discovered that well‐controlled microwave volumetric heating could improve the blanching efficiency and retain nutritional and sensorial values of product. This study was conducted to investigate effects of microwave blanching conditions on the quality of green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) butt segments, a rich source of fiber and antioxidants but are often discarded during processing. The experiments were designed by one‐factor‐at‐a‐time method with two varying factors including blanching time (2, 4, 6, and 8 min) and microwave power output (150, 300, 450, and 600 W). Quality of product was evaluated by sensory, retention of phenolics, and free‐radical scavenging activity retention. The results showed that longer blanching time or higher microwave power was associated with reduced quality of green asparagus butt segment. Besides, the appropriate parameters for microwave blanching of the green asparagus butt segment was found at 300 W for 4 min.
The level of knowledge and associated socio-demographic factors on cervical cancer among women: a cross-sectional study at Kenyase Bosore community, Ghana

Introduction Cervical cancer is a major cause of death amongst women around the world. In Ghana, it accounts for over 2,119 female deaths and about 3,151 new diagnoses of the disease. It is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, making it difficult to treat. This study aims at assessing the knowledge on risk factors, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer among women in Kenyase Bosore, Ghana. Methods This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among women in Bosore Kenyase, Ghana. A total of 200 women were selected for the studies using the convenience sampling technique. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection and statistical package for social sciences application was also used to analyse the data. Pearson chi-square test was used to find associations between knowledge and awareness level and socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. Results Overall, 9.7% of the respondents had high knowledge on cervical cancer, 20.6% had moderate knowledge and 69.7% had low knowledge on cervical cancer. There was a significant association between educational background (p=0.000) and awareness level of the respondents. There was also a significant association between the occupation (p=0.003), educational background (p=0.000) and knowledge level of the respondents. Conclusion The knowledge level of the respondents was very low. Specifically, the respondents had inadequate knowledge on risk factors, signs and symptoms, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. The authors recommend the intensification of cervical cancer education in Kenyase Bosore, and Ghana as a whole.
Effect of Ruellia tuberosa L. on aorta endothelial damage‐associated factors in high‐fat diet and streptozotocin‐induced type 2 diabetic rats

Abstract Hyperglycemia plays crucial roles in vascular disease development, including macrovascular and microvascular diseases from diabetes mellitus (DM). Our previous study demonstrated that Ruellia tuberosa L. (RTL) aqueous and ethanol extracts alleviate hyperglycemia and inhibit insulin resistance in diabetic rats. This study investigated the protective effect of RTL ethanol extract against aorta dysfunction in high‐fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced type 2 DM (T2DM) rats. Results showed that RTL ethanol extract (100 and 400 mg/kg BW/day) ameliorated serum lipid profiles, including triglyceride, free fatty acid, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. It also significantly reduced the level of serum cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐6 in T2DM rats. Additionally, RTL extract decreased endothelin‐1 and endothelial nitric oxide contents, reduced the level of cell adhesion factors, including monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 and cell adhesion factor vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1, while decreasing content of damage factors, namely tissue factor and von Willebrand factor in aortic tissues of diabetic rats. Equally noteworthy is that RTL extract enhanced the activity of aorta antioxidative enzymes, including superoxidase dismutase and catalase in diabetic rats, suggesting that RTL ethanol extract may ameliorate aorta dysfunction via enhancing aortic antioxidative enzyme activity, which subsequently suppresses aorta endothelial damage‐associated factors in HFD with STZ‐induced T2DM rats.
Considerations regarding treatment efficiency, dissociative parts and dissociative amnesia for Huntjens et al.’s Schema Therapy for Dissociative Identity Disorder

Citation for published version (APA): Nijenhuis, E. R. S. , van der Hart, O. , R. Schlumpf, Y. , Vissia, E. M. , & Reinders, A. A. T. S. (2019). Considerations regarding treatment efficiency, dissociative parts and dissociative amnesia for Huntjens et al.’s schema therapy for dissociative identity disorder. European journal of psychotraumatology, 10(1), [1687081]. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019. 1687081
From guidelines to clinical practice: a roadmap for oncologists for nutrition therapy for cancer patients

Tackling malnutrition in cancer patients remains one of the most challenging tasks in clinical practice. Even though robust evidence exists stressing the role of nutritional status in relation to treatment outcome, its appropriate consideration in clinical practice is often lacking. In this review, we discuss the significance of nutritional status and of malnutrition for the cancer patient. Drawn from experience and from current recommendations of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), we propose concrete and manageable steps to routinely incorporate nutritional aspects in today’s oncological clinical practice.
Tumor mutational burden in lung cancer: a systematic literature review

Purpose: To assess the association of tumor mutational burden (TMB) with clinical outcomes, other biomarkers and patient/disease characteristics in patients receiving therapy for lung cancer. Results: In total, 4,303 publications were identified; 81 publications were included. The majority of publications assessing clinical efficacy of immunotherapy reported an association with high TMB, particularly when assessing progression-free survival and objective response rate. High TMB was consistently associated with TP53 alterations, and negatively associated with EGFR mutations. High TMB was also associated with smoking, squamous cell non-small cell lung carcinoma, and being male. Methods: A systematic literature review based upon an a priori protocol was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Cochrane methodologies. Searches were conducted in EMBASE, SCOPUS, Ovid MEDLINE®, and Emcare (from January 2012 until April 2018) and in two clinical trial registries. Conference abstracts were identified in EMBASE, and in targeted searches of recent major conference proceedings (from January 2016 until April 2018). Publications reporting data in patients receiving therapy for lung cancer that reported TMB and its association with clinical efficacy, or with other biomarkers or patient/disease characteristics, were included. Results are presented descriptively. Conclusion: This systematic literature review identified several clinical outcomes, biomarkers, and patient/disease characteristics associated with high TMB, and highlights the need for standardized definitions and testing practices. Further studies using standardized methodology are required to inform treatment decisions.
Controlled Release of Naringin in GelMA-Incorporated Rutile Nanorod Films to Regulate Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Naringin, a Chinese herbal medicine, has been demonstrated to concentration-dependently promote osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, it remains a challenge to load naringin on coatings for osteogenesis and further control the release kinetics. Here, we demonstrated that the release behavior of naringin on rutile nanorod films could be controlled by either mixing naringin with gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) before spinning onto the films or soaking the obtained GelMA-incorporated films with the naringin solution to achieve the distinct degradation-type release and diffusion-type release, respectively. We further revealed that the naringin-loaded coatings facilitated adhesion, proliferation and late differentiation, and mineralization of MSCs. Our findings provided a novel strategy to engineer the coatings with controlled release of naringin and emphasized the bioactivity of naringin for the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs.
Developing Land Surface Directional Reflectance and Albedo Products from Geostationary GOES-R and Himawari Data: Theoretical Basis, Operational Implementation, and Validation

The new generation of geostationary satellite sensors is producing an unprecedented amount of Earth observations with high temporal, spatial and spectral resolutions, which enable us to detect and assess abrupt surface changes. In this study, we developed the land surface directional reflectance and albedo products from Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite-R (GOES-R) Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) data using a method that was prototyped with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in a previous study, and was also tested with data from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) onboard Himawari-8. Surface reflectance is usually retrieved through atmospheric correction that requires the input of aerosol optical depth (AOD). We first estimated AOD and the surface bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) model parameters simultaneously based on an atmospheric radiative transfer formulation with surface anisotropy, and then calculated the “blue-sky” surface broadband albedo and directional reflectance. This algorithm was implemented operationally by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to generate the GOES-R land surface albedo product suite with a daily updated clear-sky satellite observation database. The “operational” land surface albedo estimation from ABI and AHI data was validated against ground measurements at the SURFRAD sites and OzFlux sites and compared with the existing satellite products, including MODIS, Visible infrared Imaging Radiometer (VIIRS), and Global Land Surface Satellites (GLASS) albedo products, where good agreement was found with bias values of −0.001 (ABI) and 0.020 (AHI) and root-mean-square-errors (RMSEs) less than 0.065 for the hourly albedo estimation. Directional surface reflectance estimation, evaluated at more than 74 sites from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), was proven to be reliable as well, with an overall bias very close to zero and RMSEs within 0.042 (ABI) and 0.039 (AHI). Results show that the albedo and reflectance estimation can satisfy the NOAA accuracy requirements for operational climate and meteorological applications.
On the Interest of Optical Remote Sensing for Seasonal Snowmelt Parameterization, Applied to the Everest Region (Nepal)

In the central part of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, snowmelt is one of the main inputs that ensures the availability of surface water outside the monsoon period. A common approach for snowpack modeling is based on the degree day factor (DDF) method to represent the snowmelt rate. However, the important seasonal variability of the snow processes is usually not represented when using a DDF method, which can lead to large uncertainties for snowpack simulation. The SPOT-VGT and the MODIS-Terra sensors provide valuable information for snow detection over several years. The aim of this work was to use those data to parametrize the seasonal variability of the snow processes in the hydrological distributed snow model (HDSM), based on a DDF method. The satellite products were corrected and combined in order to implement a database of 8 day snow cover area (SCA) maps over the northern part of the Dudh Koshi watershed (Nepal) for the period 1998–2017. A revisited version of the snow module of the HDSM model was implemented so as to split it into two parameterizations depending on the seasonality. Corrected 8 day SCA maps retrieved from MODIS-Terra were used to calibrate the seasonal parameterization, through a stochastic method, over the period of study (2013–2016). The results demonstrate that the seasonal parameterization reduces the error in the simulated SCA and increases the correlation with the MODIS SCA. The two-set version of the model improved the yearly RMSE from 5.9% to 7.7% depending on the basin, compared to the one-set version. The correlation between the model and MODIS passes from 0.73 to 0.79 in winter for the larger basin, Phakding. This study shows that the use of a remote sensing product can improve the parameterization of the seasonal dynamics of snow processes in a model based on a DDF method.
Spectral Diversity Metrics for Detecting Oil Pollution Effect on Biodiversity in the Niger Delta

Biodiversity monitoring in the Niger delta has become pertinent in view of the incessant spillages from oil production activities and the socio-economic impact of these spillages on the inhabitants who depend on the resources for their livelihood. Conventional methods of post-impact assessments are expensive, time consuming, and cause damage to the environment, as they often require the removal of affected samples/specimens for laboratory analysis. Remote sensing offers the opportunity to track biodiversity changes from space while using the spectral variability hypothesis (SVH). The SVH proposes that the species diversity of a sampled area is linearly correlated with the variability of spectral reflectance of the area. Several authors have tested the SVH on various land cover types and spatial scales; however, the present study evaluated the validity of the SVH against the backdrop of oil pollution impact on biodiversity while using vascular plant species as surrogates. Species richness and diversity indices were computed from vegetation data collected from polluted and non-polluted transects. Spectral metrics that were derived from Sentinel 2 bands and broadband vegetation indices (BVIs) using various algorithms, including averages, spread, dimension reduction, and so on, were assessed for their ability to estimate vascular plants species richness and diversity. The results showed significant differences in vegetation characteristics of polluted and control transects (H = 76.05, p-value = <0.05 for abundance and H = 170.03, p-value < 0.05 for richness). Spectral diversity metrics correlated negatively with species data on polluted transects and positively on control transects. The metrics computed using Sentinel 2A bands and vegetation indices proved to be sensitive to changes in vegetation characteristics following oil pollution. The most robust relationship was observed between the metrics and indices on control transects, whereas the weakest relationships were observed on polluted transects. Index-wise, the Simpson’s diversity index regressed better with spectral metrics (R2 > 0.5), whereas the Chao-1 richness index regressed the least (R2 < 0.5). The strength of the relationship resulted in successfully estimating species richness and diversity values of investigated transects, thereby enhancing biodiversity monitoring over time and space.
Assessing the Use of Sentinel-2 Time Series Data for Monitoring Cork Oak Decline in Portugal

In Portugal, cork oak (Quercus suber L.) stands cover 737 Mha, being the most predominant species of the montado agroforestry system, contributing to the economic, social and environmental development of the country. Cork oak decline is a known problem since the late years of the 19th century that has recently worsened. The causes of oak decline seem to be a result of slow and cumulative processes, although the role of each environmental factor is not yet established. The availability of Sentinel-2 high spatial and temporal resolution dense time series enables monitoring of gradual processes. These processes can be monitored using spectral vegetation indices (VI) as their temporal dynamics are expected to be related with green biomass and photosynthetic efficiency. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is sensitive to structural canopy changes, however it tends to saturate at moderate-to-dense canopies. Modified VI have been proposed to incorporate the reflectance in the red-edge spectral region, which is highly sensitive to chlorophyll content while largely unaffected by structural properties. In this research, in situ data on the location and vitality status of cork oak trees are used to assess the correlation between chlorophyll indices (CI) and NDVI time series trends and cork oak vitality at the tree level. Preliminary results seem to be promising since differences between healthy and unhealthy (diseased/dead) trees were observed.
Pattern of Substance Abuse among Undergraduate Medical Students in Central India: A Cross Sectional Institutional Study.

Introduction: Medical education has always been regarded as highly stressful. Although, only the academically-minded youth in the society tend to be selected for medical education, the stressful academic environment can exert a negative effect on the psychological and physical well-being of medical students. Methods: Cross-sectional institutional study conducted among undergraduate medical college students of S.S. Medical College Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India. Information collected with the semistructured oral questionnaire after obtaining informed verbal consent. Data pertaining to the general information of the student (sex, residence, academic year, type of family, influence and role of family members) details of substance abuse (type, age of initiation, frequency) and attitude towards substance abuse. Data was analyzed using graphpad software. Results: Out of total 267 students only 228 students (85.4%) responded. Out of total 228 students only 67 medical students were substances users. Male constituted 94.0%, whereas females were 6.0%. 28.3% substance abusers in interns. 88% were hostellers, 38.9% come from joint families, 29.9% having history of substance abuse in their siblings. Most common substances used were cigarettes (80.6%). 31.3% initiated substance used in school. 34.3% were Habitual user. In 58.2% perceived reason for substance use were celebrate some occasion.74. 6% did not feel any unwanted effects. 39 had made some attempts to quitting the substances, 61.5% knew ill effects on health. 41.1% had quitted by gradually decrease. 31 were failure to quit. 64.5% attributed their failures to lack of will power. Conclusions: Continuing use of these substances in spite of knowledge of hazards associated with them reflected lack of health consciousness and need of proper health education.