Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Personal and external determinants of medical bloggers' knowledge sharing behavior

This paper investigates the factors affecting medical bloggers' knowledge sharing behavior from both personal and external aspects. We develop a model based on the social cognitive theory and augment it with the social capital theory. The model is empirically examined based on the survey data collected from 75 bloggers writing on medical issues, and evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Among the personal factors, we examined outcome expectations including reputation and enjoyment in helping others. Encouragement by others, identification and interaction ties were investigated as external factors. Enjoyment in helping others and reputation were found to have significant direct affect on medical bloggers' knowledge sharing behavior, while encouragement by others, identification, and interaction ties showed no significant direct affect. However, encouragement by others exhibited significant impact on reputation and enjoyment in helping others. The implications for theory and practice, and future possible research are discussed.
Stimuli Responsive Polymeric Systems for Cancer Therapy

Nanoscale polymers systems have dominated the revolution of drug delivery advancement. Their potential in the fight against cancer is unrivalled with other technologies. Their functionality increase, targeting ability and stimuli responsive nature have led to a major boom in research focus. This review article concentrates on the use of these smart polymers in cancer therapy. Nanotechnologies have shown potential as drug carriers leading to increased drug efficacy and penetration. Multifunctional smart carriers which can release their payload upon an external or internal trigger such as pH or temperature are proving to be major frontrunners in the development of effective strategies to overcome this disease with minimal patient side effects.
Antitumor activity of cell‐penetrant kinin B1 receptor antagonists in human triple‐negative breast cancer cells

High nuclear expression of G protein‐coupled receptors, including kinin B1 receptors (B1R), has been observed in several human cancers, but the clinical significance of this is unknown. We put forward the hypothesis that these “nuclearized” kinin B1R contribute to tumorigenicity and can be a new target in anticancer strategies. Our initial immunostaining and ultrastructural electron microscopy analyses demonstrated high B1R expression predominantly located at internal/nuclear compartments in the MDA‐MB‐231 triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line as well as in clinical samples of patients with TNBC. On the basis of these findings, in the present study, we evaluated the anticancer therapeutic potential of newly identified, cell‐permeable B1R antagonists in MDA‐MB‐231 cells (ligand–receptor binding/activity assays and LC‐MS/MS analyses). We found that these compounds (SSR240612, NG67, and N2000) were more toxic to MDA‐MB‐231 cells in comparison with low‐ or non‐B1R expressing MCF‐10A normal human mammary epithelial cells and COS‐1 cells, respectively (clonogenic, MTT proliferative/cytocidal assays, and fluorescence‐activated cell‐sorting (FACS)‐based apoptosis analyses). By comparison, the peptide B1R antagonist R954 unable to cross cell membrane failed to produce anticancer effects. Furthermore, the putative mechanisms underlying the anticancer activities of cell‐penetrant B1R antagonists were assessed by analyzing cell cycle regulation and signaling molecules related to cell survival and apoptosis (FACS and western blot). Finally, drug combination experiments showed that cell‐penetrant B1R antagonists can cooperate with suboptimal doses of chemotherapeutic agents (doxorubicin and paclitaxel) to promote TNBC death. This study provides evidence on the potential value of internally acting kinin B1R antagonists in averting growth of breast cancer.
Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Kidney Transplantation: The Role of Dietary Fructose and Systemic Endotoxemia

Background The concepts that obesity is merely a consequence of overeating, and that metabolic health then reflects obesity, may be insufficient and potentially flawed. The role of fructose intake and metabolic endotoxemia has gained attention recently, but data in kidney transplantation are lacking. This study evaluated the risk factors for metabolic syndrome (MS), its components, and other associated markers in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs), focusing particularly on fructose intake and systemic endotoxemia. Methods This cross-sectional observational study enrolled 128 KTRs longer than 1 year posttransplantation. Clinical, biochemical, anthropometric, and questionnaire assessments were undertaken. Results Obesity (body mass index, ≥30 kg/m2) and MS (International Diabetes Federation Definition) were found in 36.7% and 50% of KTRs, respectively. Both increased fructose intake (P = 0.01) and endotoxin level (P = 0.02) were independently associated with MS; and higher fructose intake was independently associated with obesity (P < 0.001). Specifically, increased fructose intake was associated with the central obesity (P = 0.01) and hyperglycemia (P < 0.001) criteria of MS, whereas higher endotoxin level was associated with the hypertriglyceridemia (P = 0.003) and low HDL cholesterol concentration (P = 0.002) criteria of MS. Neither saturated fat nor total caloric intakes were independently associated with obesity and MS; and neither obesity nor central obesity were independently associated with the dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia criteria of MS. Principal component analysis demonstrated relationships between higher levels of endotoxin, soluble endothelial selectin, triglycerides, and insulin resistance (r > 0.6), as well as relationships between increased fructose intake, inflammation, and blood glucose (r > 0.6). Conclusions Dietary modifications through decreasing fructose intake and addressing systemic endotoxemia are plausible targets for improving metabolic health of KTRs.
Comparison of Prolonged Rowing on Fixed and Free-floating Ergometers in Competitive Rowers

Abstract This study aimed to compare the effect of a 40-min submaximal rowing exercise performed on ergometers with fixed and free-floating designs. Heart rate, blood lactate concentration, force and rate of force development (RFD) at the handle, stroke rate, duty factor, movement kinematics of upper and lower limbs, and muscle activity of lumbar spine muscles iliocostalis and erector spinae (IC and ESL) were measured at the beginning and at the end of a 40-min rowing exercise at ~60% of peak power output, in eleven competitive rowers. Force of lumbar extension decreased, and blood lactate increased following submaximal exercise on both ergometers. No changes in RFD, duty factor, and muscle activity of IC occurred in response to submaximal exercise. Rowing on DYN elicited higher heart rate and modified rowing kinematics (stroke rate, acceleration of the lower limbs) without changes in temporal or force application patterns compared to rowing on STAT at the same power output. Rowing on DYN was also associated with increased activity of the lumbar spine muscle ESL, which could originate from a greater range of motion, or from an increased lumbar spine muscle activity, at the same overall power.
Inter- and intra-rater reliability of a technique assessing the length of the Latissimus Dorsi muscle

Background Evidence-based practice requires the use of objective, valid and reliable tests for measuring the length of a muscle. Latissimus Dorsi is a muscle which undergoes length changes (loss of extensibility) and this muscle has a functional role in many aspects of sport and rehabilitation. The loss of extensibility may result in a decreased range of motion at the glenohumeral joint leading to dysfunction. Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of a technique adapted by Comerford and Mottram in 2012 for assessing the length of Latissimus Dorsi (LD) muscle. Method Fifty-six students from a university’s physiotherapy department participated in this study. Four physiotherapists with clinical experience varying between 10 and 30 years independently performed the test for assessing the length of LD. The test was performed twice by each physiotherapist on every participant during two reading sessions. Results The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) as determined in a mixed-effects, generalised least squares regression analysis was used to assess inter- and intra-rater reliability of the LD length test. A 0.05 level of significance was employed. A sample of 56 participants provided an ICC that varied between 0.76 and 0.55, which is regarded as moderate to poor reliability. The ICC between the experienced raters was found to be 0.48, with a novice rater having an ICC of 0.48 as well. The ICC between all the raters was 0.33, which constituted poor reliability. Conclusion The poor to moderate reliability of the technique testing the length of LD test is not suitable for application in a research setting. Clinical implications The small differences noted between Reading 1 and Reading 2 regarding the standard deviation of all the raters combined suggests that the LD length test may still prove to be useful in quantifying dysfunction in a clinical setting.
Herpes zoster vaccination in systemic lupus erythematosus: the current status

ABSTRACT Among the inflammatory rheumatic diseases, SLE is associated with the highest risk of herpes zoster reactivation relative to age. The reported incidence of herpes zoster infection in SLE ranges from 6.4 to 91.4/1000 patient-years, with main risk factors being major organ disease, immunosuppressive and biological therapies. Although herpes zoster in SLE is manageable with anti-viral treatment, complications such as superimposed bacterial infection, post-herpetic neuralgia may ensue. The low rate of herpes zoster vaccination in SLE is related to the lack of awareness, fear of the risk of vaccine-induced infection and disease flare, cost, as well as the lack of explicit recommendations of vaccine use for the paucity of data in immunocompromised and younger subjects. The recent availability of the non-live subunit and inactivated herpes zoster vaccines has provided more opportunities for SLE patients to be protected against this viral infection. More clinical trials are clearly needed in SLE to confirm safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of the herpes zoster vaccines.
Factor structure and internal consistency of a Swedish version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale

Pain catastrophizing is highly relevant to assess in the context of long‐standing pain. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) is a well‐established questionnaire used to measure catastrophizing in individuals with long‐standing pain. So far, no Swedish translation has been evaluated in regard to validity and reliability. The aims of this study were to translate the PCS questionnaire from English to Swedish, and to investigate its construct validity (face, content, and structural validity) and reliability (internal consistency).
Insulin promotes macrophage phenotype transition through PI3K/Akt and PPAR‐γ signaling during diabetic wound healing

Overactivation and persistent chronic inflammation are the major pathogenic characteristics of diabetic‐impaired healing, and diabetic wound healing can be promoted by stimulating the transition of macrophage phenotype from pro‐inflammatory (M1) to anti‐inflammatory (M2). Our previous studies found that the application of insulin induced an advanced initiation and resolution of inflammatory response. To further explore the mechanism, we have investigated the effect of insulin on macrophage phenotype switch utilizing a diabetic rat model and a human monocytic THP‐1 cell. We have utilized the high glucose (HG) and HG plus insulin to stimulate the M1 macrophages derived from lipopolysaccharide‐treated THP‐1 cells. We studied the secretion of inflammatory mediator and related signaling pathways by using western blot test, immunofluorescence, and Rac1 pull‐down assay. We have found that the production of pro‐inflammatory mediators, which thereafter induced macrophage polarization toward M1 phenotype, has been elevated due to consistent HG exposure. HG plus insulin stimulation, on the other hand, promoted anti‐inflammatory effects. Experiments performed on diabetic burn wounds indicated that the insulin modulated macrophages transition from M1 to M2 phenotype. We found that PI3K/Akt/Rac‐1 and PPAR‐γ signaling pathways are involved in the anti‐inflammatory effect of insulin. Insulin inhibited HG‐induced activation of p38, NF‐κB, and STAT1 transcriptional activity by activating Akt‐Rac‐1 signaling. Moreover, insulin performs anti‐inflammatory effects through upregulation of PPAR‐γ expression and induced P38‐mediated dephosphorylation of PPAR‐γ (Ser112). In conclusion, insulin downregulates inflammatory response, regulates M1 macrophage transition in response to HG, and thus improves chronic wound healing.
Has Machine Translation Achieved Human Parity? A Case for Document-level Evaluation

Recent research suggests that neural machine translation achieves parity with professional human translation on the WMT Chinese–English news translation task. We empirically test this claim with alternative evaluation protocols, contrasting the evaluation of single sentences and entire documents. In a pairwise ranking experiment, human raters assessing adequacy and fluency show a stronger preference for human over machine translation when evaluating documents as compared to isolated sentences. Our findings emphasise the need to shift towards document-level evaluation as machine translation improves to the degree that errors which are hard or impossible to spot at the sentence-level become decisive in discriminating quality of different translation outputs.
DTN-Knca: A High Throughput Routing Based on Contact Pattern Detection in DTNs

In current routing algorithms based on encounter history in Delay-Tolerant Networks (DTNs), packets are always forwarded to nodes with highest probability to reach destination node. However, to the best of our knowledge, no analytical node transient contact pattern detection to achieve high performance, is reported in the literature. In this letter, DTN-Knca – a novel routing which detects frequently encountered nodes' transient contact patterns by correlation analysis is proposed. The trace-driven simulations demonstrate the higher throughput of DTN-Knca in comparison to the state-of-the-art DTN typical routing algorithms based on the encounter history knowledge.
A Lightweight Program Dependence Based Approach to Concurrent Mutation Analysis

Mutation analysis is a classical software testing approach which attempts to imitate faults using a set of mutants. It has been advocated to be an appropriate technique for evaluating the quality of test suites as well as the effectiveness of a testing method. However, the applicability of mutation analysis, especially in many practical situations, has been hindered due to the high computation cost and the long execution time, which are mainly caused by the large number of mutants. Numerous studies, particularly those based on parallel computing, have been conducted to reduce the overhead of mutation analysis. In this paper, we aim to improve the efficiency of mutation analysis from a different perspective. We make use of lightweight program analysis techniques to identify a group of mutants that share the common execution traces before the mutation location, and then merge them into a synthesized program with the concurrent mechanism, on which mutation analysis can be efficiently executed without the duplicate execution of common traces. Our empirical study demonstrates that our approach can significantly decrease the computation overhead as well as shorten the execution time of mutation analysis, without jeopardizingitseffectiveness. Thein-depthanalysisfurthershows thattheeffectivenessofourapproachispositivelycorrelatedwith thenumberofbranchesintheprogramundertest. Ourapproach makes it possible to efficiently execute mutation analysis even without the need of advanced computer architectures.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Severe Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Preterm Infants: Phase I Dose‐Escalation Clinical Trial

We previously demonstrated that transplanting mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) improved recovery from brain injury induced by severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in newborn rats. To assess the safety and feasibility of MSCs in preterm infants with severe IVH, we performed a phase I dose‐escalation clinical trial. The first three patients received a low dose of MSCs (5 × 106 cells/kg), and the next six received a high dose (1 × 107 cells/kg). We assessed adverse outcomes, including mortality and the progress of posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Intraventricular transplantation of MSCs was performed in nine premature infants with mean gestational age of 26.1 ± 0.7 weeks and birth weight of 808 ± 85 g at 11.6 ± 0.9 postnatal days. Treatment with MSCs was well tolerated, and no patients showed serious adverse effects or dose‐limiting toxicities attributable to MSC transplantation. There was no mortality in IVH patients receiving MSCs. Infants who underwent shunt surgery showed a higher level of interleukin (IL)‐6 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained before MSC transplantation in comparison with infants who did not receive a shunt. Levels of IL‐6 and tumor necrosis factor‐α in initially obtained CSF correlated significantly with baseline ventricular index. Intraventricular transplantation of allogeneic human UCB‐derived MSCs into preterm infants with severe IVH is safe and feasible, and warrants a larger, and controlled, phase II study. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2018;7:847–856
A Comparison of the Quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment Score and the National Early Warning Score in Non-ICU Patients With/Without Infection

Objectives: The Sepsis-3 task force recommended the quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment score for identifying patients with suspected infection who are at greater risk of poor outcomes, but many hospitals already use the National Early Warning Score to identify high-risk patients, irrespective of diagnosis. We sought to compare the performance of quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment and National Early Warning Score in hospitalized, non-ICU patients with and without an infection. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Large U.K. General Hospital. Patients: Adults hospitalized between January 1, 2010, and February 1, 2016. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: We applied the quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment score and National Early Warning Score to 5,435,344 vital signs sets (241,996 hospital admissions). Patients were categorized as having no infection, primary infection, or secondary infection using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition codes. National Early Warning Score was significantly better at discriminating in-hospital mortality, irrespective of infection status (no infection, National Early Warning Score 0.831 [0.825–0.838] vs quick Sequential [Sepsis-Related] Organ Failure Assessment 0.688 [0.680–0.695]; primary infection, National Early Warning Score 0.805 [0.799–0.812] vs quick Sequential [Sepsis-Related] Organ Failure Assessment 0.677 [0.670–0.685]). Similarly, National Early Warning Score performed significantly better in all patient groups (all admissions, emergency medicine admissions, and emergency surgery admissions) for all outcomes studied. Overall, quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment performed no better, and often worse, in admissions with infection than without. Conclusions: The National Early Warning Score outperforms the quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment score, irrespective of infection status. These findings suggest that quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment should be reevaluated as the system of choice for identifying non-ICU patients with suspected infection who are at greater risk of poor outcome.
Adverse events and concurrent medications associated with parenteral nutrition use

In this study, clinical manifestations of adverse events and frequently used medications in patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) in Korea were evaluated using Korea Adverse Event Reporting System (KAERS) database records between 2011 and 2015. Amino acids, fat emulsions, carbohydrates, combinations and solutions for PN were identified as causative agents. Adverse events classified as “certain”, “probable” and “possible” based on the WHO‐Uppsala Monitoring Centre criteria were analysed. In total, 6439 adverse events from 4260 patients were included for analysis. Mean patient age was 54.4 ± 18.1 years and the mean number of adverse events per patient was 1.5 ± 1.1. Frequent adverse events were gastrointestinal (2159 events, 33.5%), skin/appendage (1344 events, 20.9%), general (846 events, 13.1%) and central/peripheral nervous system (716 events, 11.1%) disorders. Common clinical symptoms were nausea (1248 events, 19.4%), vomiting (558, 8.7%), pruritus (456 events, 7.1%), rash (386 events, 6.0%) and dizziness (329 events, 5.1%). The frequently reported concomitant agents were tramadol (n = 475, 3.1%), fentanyl (n = 405, 2.7%), paracetamol (n = 329, 2.2%), ketorolac (n = 322, 2.1%) and metoclopramide (n = 289 cases, 1.9%). The frequent adverse events remained consistent after accounting for concurrent medications. Our findings from a nationwide reporting system database found that gastrointestinal disorders (nausea and vomiting) were the leading adverse events, requiring further studies on their prevalence, mechanisms and therapeutic options.
Mucoadhesive chitosan-coated nanostructured lipid carriers for oral delivery of amphotericin B

Abstract This study describes the properties of an amphotericin B-containing mucoadhesive nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC), with the intent to maximize uptake within the gastrointestinal tract. We have reported previously that lipid nanoparticles can significantly improve the oral bioavailability of amphotericin B (AmpB). On the other hand, the aggregation state of AmpB within the NLC has been ascribed to some of the side effects resulting from IV administration. In the undissolved state, AmpB (UAmpB) exhibited the safer monomeric conformation in contrast to AmpB in the dissolved state (DAmpB), which was aggregated. Chitosan-coated NLC (ChiAmpB NLC) presented a slightly slower AmpB release profile as compared to the uncoated formulation, achieving 26.1% release in 5 hours. Furthermore, the ChiAmpB NLC formulation appeared to prevent the expulsion of AmpB upon exposure to simulated gastrointestinal pH media, whereby up to 63.9% of AmpB was retained in the NLC compared to 56.1% in the uncoated formulation. The ChiAmpB NLC demonstrated mucoadhesive properties in pH 5.8 and 6.8. Thus, the ChiAmpB NLC formulation is well-primed for pharmacokinetic studies to investigate whether delayed gastrointestinal transit may be exploited to improve the systemic bioavailability of AmpB, whilst simultaneously addressing the side-effect concerns of AmpB.