Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
No relationship between individual genetic diversity and prevalence of avian malaria in a migratory kestrel

Insight into the genetic basis of malaria resistance is crucial for understanding the consequences of this parasite group on animal populations. Here, we analyse the relationship between genotypic variation at 11 highly variable microsatellite loci and prevalence of three different lineages of avian malaria, two Plasmodium (RTSR1, LK6) and one Haemoproteus (LK2), in a wild population of the endangered lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). Although we used a large sample size (584 typed individuals), we did not find any significant association between the prevalence of the studied parasite lineages and individual genetic diversity. Although our data set is large, the 11 neutral markers typed may have had low power to detect such association, in part because of the low parasite prevalence observed (less than 5% of infected birds). However, the fact that we have detected previous correlations between genetic diversity and other traits (ectoparasitism risk, fecundity) in the study population using the same panel of neutral markers and lower sample sizes suggests that other factors could underlie the absence of such a similar correlation with avian malaria. Differences in the genetics of the studied traits and in their particular basis of inbreeding depression (dominance vs. overdominance) may have led to malaria prevalence, but not other traits, being uncoupled with individual genetic diversity. Also, we cannot discard the possibility that the absence of association was a consequence of a low pathogenic effect of these particular malaria lineages on our lesser kestrel population, and thus we should not expect the evolution of genetic resistance against these parasites.
The Role of Expectancies in Accepting Task-Related Diversity: Do Disappointment and Lack of Commitment Stem From Actual Differences or Violated Expectations?

Two studies show that initial expectancies influence the way people respond toward task-related differences (i.e., in work goals or work styles) between the self and a collaboration partner. When no advance information is available, participants expect their partner to be similar to themselves in task-related aspects. However, when people expect their partner to have a different work goal (Study 1) or work style (Study 2), and this actually is the case, disappointment is reduced and commitment toward future collaboration is increased. Initial expectations are important because these help people develop a clear picture of their partner. When initial expectations are violated, people conceive the other less clearly and this is part of the reason they report lower levels of commitment.
Duodenal jejunal bypass attenuates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in western diet-obese rats.

PURPOSE To evaluate the effects of duodenal-jejunal bypass (DJB) on serum and hepatic profiles of obese rats fed on a western diet (WD). METHODS Twenty eight male Wistar rats were fed a standard rodent chow diet (CTL group) or WD ad libitum. After 10 weeks, WD rats were submitted to sham (WD SHAM) or duodenal-jejunal bypass (WD DJB). Body weight, fat pad depots, glycemia, insulinemia, HOMA-IR, TyG, lipids profile and hepatic analyses were evaluated two months after surgery. RESULTS The WD SHAM group presented greater obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia and hepatic steatosis than the CTL group. WD DJB rats presented decreased serum glucose and insulin resistance, when compared to WD SHAM animals, without changes in insulinemia. In addition, DJB surgery normalized serum TG and attenuated TG accumulation and steatosis in the liver of the WD DJB group. Hepatic ACC and FAS protein expressions were similar in all groups. CONCLUSION Duodenal-jejunal bypass attenuates hepatic parameters of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese rats fed on a western diet.
Will the Real Benefits of Single-Shot Interscalene Block Please Stand Up? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND:Interscalene block (ISB) can provide pain relief after shoulder surgery, but a reliable quantification of its analgesic benefits is lacking. This meta-analysis examines the effect of single-shot ISB on analgesic outcomes during the first 48 hours after shoulder surgery. METHODS:We retrieved randomized and quasirandomized controlled trials examining the analgesic benefits of ISB compared with none in shoulder surgery. Severity of postoperative pain measured on a visual analog scale (10 cm scale, 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain) at rest at 24 hours was the designated primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included pain severity at rest and with motion at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 32, 36, 40, and 48 hours postoperatively. Opioid consumption, postoperative nausea and vomiting, patient satisfaction with pain relief, and postanesthesia care unit and hospital discharge time were also assessed. RESULTS:A total of 23 randomized controlled trials, including 1090 patients, were analyzed. Patients in the ISB group had more severe postoperative pain at rest by a weighed mean difference (95% confidence interval) of 0.96 cm (0.08–1.83; P = 0.03) at 24 hours compared with no ISB, but there was no difference in pain severity beyond that point. The duration of pain relief at rest and with motion after ISB were 8 and 6 hours, respectively, with a corresponding weighed mean difference in visual analog scale pain scores (99% confidence interval) of −1.59 cm (−2.60 to −0.58) and −2.20 cm (−4.34 to −0.06), respectively, with no additional pain relief benefits beyond these points. ISB reduced postoperative opioid consumption up to 12 hours, decreased postoperative nausea and vomiting at 24 hours, and expedited postanesthesia care unit and hospital discharge. The type, dose, and volume of local anesthetic used did not affect the results. CONCLUSIONS:ISB can provide effective analgesia up to 6 hours with motion and 8 hours at rest after shoulder surgery, with no demonstrable benefits thereafter. Patients who receive an ISB can suffer rebound pain at 24 hours but later experience similar pain severity compared with those who do not receive an ISB. ISB can also provide an opioid-sparing effect and reduce opioid-related side effects in the first 12 and 24 hours postoperatively, respectively. These findings are useful to inform preoperative risk-benefit discussions regarding ISB for shoulder surgery.
Perimenopausal women in estrogen vasomotor trials: contribution to placebo effect and efficacy outcome

Objective: To determine the difference, if any, in the placebo response when both perimenopausal and postmenopausal women are enrolled, compared with postmenopausal women alone, in a study assessing the efficacy of synthetic conjugated estrogen tablets on moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms (MSVS). Methods: A total of 120 healthy women (72 active; 48 placebo) complaining of moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial. In all, 109 patients completed treatment to week 12. Women were enrolled using minimal inclusion and exclusion criteria, and included perimenopausal women (n = 34; 0 to 6 months since last menses) as well as menopausal women (n = 79; > 12 months since last menses). Results: Changes in MSVS in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population showed differences between the active and placebo treatments at weeks 4 (p < 0.022), 8 (p < 0.010) and 12 (p < 0.010). At week 12, the mean percentage reduction in MSVS was 81% for the active treatment group and 58% in the placebo treatment group. To examine the placebo response, the ITT population was broken down into groups defined by the time since their last menses. The perimenopausal group (0 to 6 months since last menses) demonstrated a consistently higher placebo response than that of the postmenopausal groups (> 12 months since last menses). Conclusions: Perimenopausal women contributed to a higher placebo response, compared with the rate of response previously reported in clinical studies of estrogen replacement in postmenopausal women. Including perimenopausal women in future vasomotor symptom trials will require study populations of sufficient size to maintain the statistical power to demonstrate a difference between therapeutic response to active or placebo treatment.
Exploring analytical proteomics platforms toward the definition of human cardiac stem cells receptome

Human cardiac stem cells (hCSC) express a portfolio of plasma membrane receptors that are involved in the regulatory auto/paracrine feedback loop mechanism of activation of these cells, and consequently contribute to myocardial regeneration. In order to attain a comprehensive description of hCSC receptome and overcoming the inability demonstrated by other technologies applied in receptor identification, mainly due to the transmembrane nature, high hydrophobic character and relative low concentration of these proteins, we have exploited and improved a proteomics workflow. This approach was based on the enrichment of hCSC plasma membrane fraction and addition of prefractionation steps prior to MS analysis. More than 100 plasma membrane receptors were identified. The data reported herein constitute a valuable source of information to further understand cardiac stem cells activation mechanisms and the subsequent cardiac repair process. All MS data have been deposited in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001117 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD001117).
Bringing the bedside to the bench, and then to the community: a prospectus for intervention research in late‐life anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in elderly persons, and they are associated with functional impairment, poorer quality of life, and adverse long‐term consequences such as cognitive decline. Intervention research in late‐life anxiety disorders (LLAD) lags behind where it ought to be. Research in cognitive neuroscience, aging, and stress intersects in LLAD and provides the opportunity to develop innovative interventions to prevent chronic anxiety and its consequences in this age group.
Underestimate Sequences via Quadratic Averaging

In this work we introduce the concept of an Underestimate Sequence (UES), which is a natural extension of Nesterov's estimate sequence. Our definition of a UES utilizes three sequences, one of which is a lower bound (or under-estimator) of the objective function. The question of how to construct an appropriate sequence of lower bounds is also addressed, and we present lower bounds for strongly convex smooth functions and for strongly convex composite functions, which adhere to the UES framework. Further, we propose several first order methods for minimizing strongly convex functions in both the smooth and composite cases. The algorithms, based on efficiently updating lower bounds on the objective functions, have natural stopping conditions, which provides the user with a certificate of optimality. Convergence of all algorithms is guaranteed through the UES framework, and we show that all presented algorithms converge linearly, with the accelerated variants enjoying the optimal linear rate of convergence.
Optimal scheduling with vehicle-to-grid ancillary services

In this chapter, we propose a method for the utility grid operator and aggregators to coordinate multiple grid-connected electric vehicles (EVs) so as to provide electricpower ancillary services accounting for quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees for EV charging in a multilevel vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system. This method includes applying consensus-algorithm-based distributed control, designing the control objective functions and constraints for providing ancillary services, and designing the constraints for charging/discharging power schedules and the individual QoS requirements of EVs. The consensus-algorithm-based distributed control consists of operation protocols for control and communication among the utility grid operator, aggregators, and EVs, calculating the control signals in the utility grid operator and aggregators, determining the optimal charging/discharging power schedules of EVs so as to provide a required type of ancillary services as well as satisfy the QoS requirements of EVs.
Refine Item-Based Collaborative Filtering Algorithms with Skew Amplification

Case Amplification can improve the accuracy of a collaborative filtering (CF) algorithm with no extra space overhead by amplifying the effect of close candidates in the prediction. However, in a cold start scenario, the traditional Case Amplification on an item-based prediction can reduce accuracy. Given a small known set, Case Amplification can give a mediocre candidate an unsuitable amplification, by amplifying the numerator and the denominator in a predicting formula equally. We propose a skew amplification mechanism to address the problem: we amplify the numerator and the denominator differently. This reduces the effect of a mediocre but close item in the prediction. The balance between different amplifications is kept automatically by a controller, whose behavior depends on the size of the given set. Evaluation was carried out on four benchmarks, and results show that, in a cold-start scenario, skew amplification outperforms Case Amplification on boosting an item-based CF algorithm, especially when the given set becomes small.
Development of germinoma during the treatment of systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis with infliximab

We report a 19-year-old patient with systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who developed a mediastinal germinoma during treatment with infliximab. Although the cancer risk of infliximab is controversial, this agent may have accelerated the growth of the germinoma. We conclude that the indications for tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors should be strictly decided and that a nationwide cohort study is necessary to assess the risk of cancer in patients with JIA exposed to biologics.
Temporomandibular disorders do not correlate with detectable alterations in body posture.

AIM This study aimed to determine if temporomandibular disorders (TMD) correlate with alterations in body posture detectable through posturography. METHODS AND MATERIALS Thirty-five asymptomatic subjects and 35 TMD patients (34 males and 36 females; mean age, 27.7+/-8.6 years) constituted the matched control and TMD groups, respectively. Posturography was performed under four different experimental conditions: (a) eyes open with mandibular rest position (Eyes Open RP); (b) eyes open with dental occlusion (Eyes Open DO); (c) eyes closed with mandibular rest position (Eyes Closed RP); and (d) eyes closed with dental occlusion (Eyes Closed DO). The X, Y, and absolute centre of pressure displacements from the projection of a theoretical barycentre and the sway area, sway length, and sway velocity were recorded as static and dynamic posturographic parameters, respectively. RESULTS Generally, no differences were found in any of these parameters between the groups and between the RP and DO within either Eyes Open/Closed conditions. The only differences were found under Eyes Closed as compared to Eyes Open, irrespective of the RP/DO conditions for dynamic and not for static posturographic parameters. CONCLUSION This study failed to show detectable alterations in body posture in TMD patients.
Paraoxonase-1 is not affected in polycystic ovary syndrome without metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, but oxidative stress is altered

Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) activity is decreased in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) having metabolic syndrome (MetS) or insulin resistance (IR). We aimed to assess PON1 activity and oxidative stress in PCOS without MetS or IR. Metabolic and hormonal parameters, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), oxidative stress parameters (total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidative stress (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH), total free sulfhydryl (−SH) groups), PON and arylesterase were analyzed in 30 normal weighed patients with PCOS without MetS or IR and 20 normal controls. Hs-CRP, PON, arylesterase, and TAS levels of PCOS and control groups were similar. LOOH, TOS, and OSI of PCOS group were higher than in the controls (p < 0.05; p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). −SH group levels showed a positive correlation with free testosterone (fT). TOS positively correlated with free androgen index (FAI), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), LOOH, and OSI. This study showed that oxidative stress is increased in PCOS even in the absence of MetS or IR. PON1 activity appears not to be affected in PCOS without MetS and IR. Several metabolic and antropometric risk factors may aggravate this altered oxidative state in PCOS.
Driver-automation indirect shared control of highly automated vehicles with intention-aware authority transition

Shared control is an important approach to avoid the driver-out-of-the-loop problems brought by imperfect autonomous driving. Steer-by-wire technology allows the mechanical decoupling between the steering wheel and the road wheels. On steer-by-wire vehicles, the automation can join the control loop by correcting the driver steering input, which forms a new paradigm of shared control. The new framework, under which the driver indirectly controls the vehicle through the automation's input transformation, is called indirect shared control. This paper presents an indirect shared control system, which realizes the dynamic control authority allocation with respect to the driver's authority intention. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of the proposed control authority adaptation method.
Evaluation of topical n-acetylcysteine in diversion colitis

INTRODUCTION: Diversion colitis (DC) is a benign condition characterized by the appearance of inflammation in the mucosa of the colon or rectum devoid of fecal stream. Oxidative stress has been associated with the etiopathogenesis of the disease. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a substance with antioxidant properties, used in different treatments of inflammatory diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of topical applications of NAC in an experimental model of DC. METHODS: Thirty-six Wistar rats were submitted to deviation of fecal stream by proximal colostomy and a distal mucosal fistula. They were distributed into 3 experimental groups of 12 animals according to the daily application of enemas containing 0.9% saline or 2 doses of NAC, 25 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively. In each group, half of the animals were sacrificed after two weeks of irrigation and half after four weeks of irrigation. The diagnosis of colitis was assessed by histopathological analysis and the grade of inflammation by inflammatory grading scale. The results were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney test, adopting significance level of 5% (p<0.05). RESULTS: Daily enema of NAC improved the inflammatory alterations in colon without fecal stream. In colonic segments without fecal stream, the inflammatory score was significantly lower in the animals treated with 100mg/kg, compared with those treated with saline solution or 25 mg/kg of NAC, regardless of the duration of intervention (p<0.05). The inflammatory score in colon segments without fecal stream was significantly lower in the animals treated with both concentration of NAC, compared with those treated with saline, regardless of the concentration and duration of irrigation (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Enemas containing NAC improve the inflammatory process and constitute a beneficial tool in the treatment of DC.
Anti-Adhesion Activity of Lactic Acid BacteriaSupernatant against Human PathogenicCandida Species Biofilm

Background: Candida spp. have the ability to form biofilms. This study observed the anti-adhesion activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from honey against five pathogenic Candida spp. biofilm. Four from twenty five LAB isolates showed anti-adhesion activity and were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum2 HS isolated from Al-Sedar honey, Lactobacillus curvatus HH isolated from Al-Hanon honey, Pediococcus acidilactici HC isolated from Tualang honey and P. pentosaceus HM isolated from Al-Maray honey by the 16S rDNA sequence. Methods: The cell free supernatant (CFS) of these LAB isolates inhibited the adhesion of five Candida spp. biofilm in pre-coating and co-incubation experiments. Results: In pre-coating method, L. curvatus HH significantly (P 0.05) reduced the biofilm formation of C. glabrata and C. krusei. The anti-adhesion activity of CFS was stable after heat treatment (60, 80, 100°C) for 30 min and after autoclaving at 121°C for 15 min. The anti-adhesion activity of CFS was observed at pH 3 but, it was decreased at pH 6 and the activity was lost at pH 7. The CFS of L. curvatus HH was more effective at pH 7 especially against biofilm formation of C. glabrata ATCC 2001 and C. albicans ATCC 14053 with percentages 65.9 % and 58.6 %, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicates that supernatant produced by LAB can be used to decrease the biofilm formation by Candida spp.
Major concerns and issues in burn survivors in Australia

Burn injury significantly impacts the victim’s long-term quality of life, both physically and psychosocially. This prospective, observational study aimed to assess the physical and psychological health status in adult burn survivors in Sydney Australia using the Burns Specific Health Scale-Brief Version (BSHS-B) questionnaire, together with analysis of the baseline demographic data collected from medical records. A total of 24 adult acute burn victims admitted consecutively to the Burns Unit at Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, Australia between March 2007 and February 2009 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and participated in the study. The BSHS-B questionnaire (which includes nine domains or subscales) was administered to all 24 participants in person at time of discharge and by mail 6, 12, and 24 months post discharge. By 12 months, 11 participants dropped out and the final analysis was performed on the remaining 13 participants. The analyzed results showed that: 1) Perceived return to work was the only variable that continued to change with time at 12 months after discharge (P < 0.01); 2) At 12 months; return to work was significantly correlated with simple functional ability (P < 0.05), heat sensitivity (P < 0.01), and treatment regimes (P < 0.05), but no longer with affect and body image as demonstrated at 6 months. In summary, our findings have shown that the perception of returning to work changes significantly with time post discharge and this perception is affected by certain subscales of the BSHS-B. Given that return to work is one of the most important outcome concerns and issues of recovery for adult burn injury victims and families, it is essential that therapists be aware of the factors influencing return to work and address these factors through a comprehensive rehabilitation program.