Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical activity patterns of patients immediately after lumbar surgery

Abstract Purpose: To describe the physical activity patterns of patients in the first week after lumbar surgery, and to investigate factors that potentially limit walking time early after surgery. Materials and methods: Adults undergoing lumbar decompression, discectomy and/or fusion surgery (N = 216, mean age 62 years, SD 13.9) were invited to participate. Walking time and step count were recorded for the first seven post-operative days, using an ActivPAL accelerometer. Participants recorded daily pain scores, supervision requirements while walking, and any complications that prevented walking. Results: On the first post-operative day, participants spent an average of 17 min (SD 20) walking, by Day 6, participants spent an average of 53 min (SD 38) walking. Participants who reported minor post-operative complications had a significantly lower step count than those without complications (p < 0.01). A lower step count was associated with a longer time to achieve independent mobility (r= −0.60, 95% CI −0.68 to −0.50), and a longer hospital admission (r= −0.70, 95% CI −0.76 to −0.63). Conclusions: This study found that patients walk for less than an hour a day over the week after lumbar surgery. Further research is required to investigate whether intervention designed to increase walking time improves post-operative activity and longer-term patient outcome. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION While resuming walking after lumbar surgery is a common focus of early rehabilitation, little is known about how much walking patients do, or how walking impacts recovery. The findings from this study describe activity patterns early after lumbar surgery, which may be used to inform patients about normal post-operative recovery. A lower post-operative step count was associated with several patient factors, including a fusion procedure and more severe post-operative pain, which may be used to guide peri-operative care and rehabilitation protocols.
Dalbavancin Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling and Target Attainment Analysis

Dalbavancin is indicated for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections caused by susceptible gram‐positive microorganisms. This analysis represents the update of the population pharmacokinetics (popPK) modeling and target attainment simulations performed with data from the single‐dose safety and efficacy study and an unrelated but substantial revision of the preclinical pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic target (fAUC/MIC, free area under concentration‐time curve/minimum inhibitory concentration ratio). A 3‐compartment distribution model with first‐order elimination provided an appropriate fit, with typical dalbavancin clearance of 0.05 L/h and total volume of distribution of ∼15 L. Impact of intrinsic factors was modest, although statistically significant (P < .05) relationships with total clearance were found for the following covariates: creatinine clearance, weight, and albumin — dose adjustment was only indicated for severe renal impairment. Under the new nonclinical target, simulations of the popPK model projected that >99% of subjects would achieve the nonclinical target at MIC values up to and including 2 mg/L.
Spillover of Workplace Bullying Into Family Incivility: Testing a Mediated Moderation Model in a Time-Lagged Study

Utilizing temporally segregated field data from a sample of nurses (n = 251), the present study examined the relationship between workplace bullying and family incivility. We drew on spillover theory and the emotions literature to answer our research questions. We hypothesized that emotions would serve as an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between workplace bullying and family incivility. We further tested the moderating role of neuroticism on the relationship between emotions and family incivility. Our results indicated that workplace bullying triggered negative emotions, which in turn caused family incivility. Moreover, neuroticism moderated the positive relationship between emotions and family incivility.
‘Active & Safe Central’: development of an online resource for the prevention of injury in sport and recreational activity

Background Sport and recreation related injuries exert a significant cost on the healthcare system. As prevention researchers and practitioners, we have a responsibility to provide guidance towards prevention to those who participate in sport and recreation, and those that coach, treat and parent children that participate. The objective of this project was to use an integrated knowledge translation approach to develop an end user-driven digital platform that provides injury prevention information and resources across 51 sport and recreational activities. Design We used an integrated knowledge translation approach to scope and develop an online sport and recreational injury prevention resource. A project team was formed that included end users—coaches, parents and athletes, injury researchers and practitioners, as well as members of a digital design team. All members of the project team informed the development process, including a review of literature and existing resources, the translation of evidence and development of the platform. At all stages of development, members of the project team cocreated knowledge for the tool, including forming the research questions, the approach, feasibility and development of outcomes. Conclusion The ‘Active & Safe Central’ (https://activesafe.ca/) platform provides web-based sport injury and prevention information. This user-friendly, web and mobile accessible platform can increase the reach, awareness and implementation of prevention programming in sport and recreational activity.
Calcium-Binding Proteins in the Nervous System during Hibernation: Neuroprotective Strategies in Hypometabolic Conditions?

Calcium-binding proteins (CBPs) can influence and react to Ca2+ transients and modulate the activity of proteins involved in both maintaining homeostatic conditions and protecting cells in harsh environmental conditions. Hibernation is a strategy that evolved in vertebrate and invertebrate species to survive in cold environments; it relies on molecular, cellular, and behavioral adaptations guided by the neuroendocrine system that together ensure unmatched tolerance to hypothermia, hypometabolism, and hypoxia. Therefore, hibernation is a useful model to study molecular neuroprotective adaptations to extreme conditions, and can reveal useful applications to human pathological conditions. In this review, we describe the known changes in Ca2+-signaling and the detection and activity of CBPs in the nervous system of vertebrate and invertebrate models during hibernation, focusing on cytosolic Ca2+ buffers and calmodulin. Then, we discuss these findings in the context of the neuroprotective and neural plasticity mechanisms in the central nervous system: in particular, those associated with cytoskeletal proteins. Finally, we compare the expression of CBPs in the hibernating nervous system with two different conditions of neurodegeneration, i.e., platinum-induced neurotoxicity and Alzheimer’s disease, to highlight the similarities and differences and demonstrate the potential of hibernation to shed light into part of the molecular mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases.
Preliminary evidence of low cortical GABA levels in localized 1H-MR spectra of alcohol-dependent and hepatic encephalopathy patients.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to compare levels of neuroactive amino acids in the cerebral cortex of healthy subjects, recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients, and patients with hepatic encephalopathy. METHOD Metabolite levels were measured in the occipital cortex by using spatially localized 1H-MRS. Five recently detoxified alcohol-dependent and five hepatic encephalopathy patients with alcohol and non-alcohol-related disease were compared with 10 healthy subjects. RESULTS The combined level of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plus homocarnosine was lower in the alcohol-dependent and hepatic encephalopathy patients than in the healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that GABA-ergic systems are altered in both alcohol-dependent and hepatic encephalopathy patients.
Development of application-based mobile-service trust and online trust transfer: an elaboration likelihood model perspective

ABSTRACT Many firms are developing application-based mobile services (ABMS) as a complementary channel to their online service. Although perceptions of the ABMS determine trust in the ABMS, trust transfer from the online channel plays a role in the formation of ABMS trust. Applying the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to the study, two objectives were pursued: (1) to investigate the role different influence processes play in the formation of ABMS trust and (2) to assess whether the effects of these influences vary across users, and if so, how. Data collected from 344 users of the online services of a price-comparison service also offering an ABMS were analysed. Based on the ELM, central and peripheral routes of information processing were identified in the formation of ABMS trust. The central routes of information processing that play a role are the influence of online-service trust and ABMS perceived usefulness on ABMS trust, while the influence of ABMS perceived ease-of-use on ABMS trust emerged as a peripheral cue. Furthermore, online-service trust is also a peripheral cue for ABMS perceived ease-of-use. Other theoretical contributions offered by this study are findings that show that ABMS self-efficacy and online-service use influence information processing, but use different ELM routes.
A nutrition education programme improves quality of life but not anthropometric status of adults living with HIV in Abeokuta, Nigeria

Abstract Objective: The focus of interventions for adults living with HIV (ALH) in Nigeria has been mostly on prevention and provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) with little consideration to nutrition-related matters. Therefore, the present study aimed to improve the quality of life (QoL) and anthropometric status of ALH in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Design: A quasi-experimental design where 200 conveniently selected participants were stratified by gender and duration on ART. The intervention group (n 100) received the nutrition education programme (NEP) for 12 weeks. The control group received a brochure on nutrition guidelines for ALH. Socio-biographical information, QoL and anthropometric status were assessed using previously validated questionnaires and standard techniques at baseline, week 12 and week 24. Generalised least squares (GLS) regression analysis was used for group comparisons. Anthropometric status was summarised by gender. Setting: Two tertiary hospitals in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Participants: ALH. Results: The NEP led to significant improvement in the physical functioning (week 12 and 24: P < 0·01), role limitation due to physical health (week 12: P = 0·01; week 24: P = 0·002) and pain (week 12: P = 0·01) constructs of the QoL of the intervention group compared with the control group. There was no significant difference (P = 0·07) between the mean weights of the two groups at baseline. Conclusions: There was a significant improvement at week 12 and week 24 in the QoL of the intervention participants. The results indicated that a tailored NEP could make a positive contribution to the management of ALH.
Direct Anterior Fixation of Dens Fractures with a Cannulated Screw System

Anterior screw fixation of dens fractures appears to be an optimal method of treatment for these injuries. Anatomic dens fracture reduction with stable internal screw fixation satisfies the established principles of the AO/ASIF. Iatrogenic trauma is minimized by the use of an anterior surgical approach, and no supplemental bone grafting is required. This procedure is quite prone to complications when performed improperly or in contraindicated situations. The use of meticulous surgical technique along with a newly designed cannulated screw system has evolved this procedure into an established form of treatment at our department. Since 1982, 23 patients were treated with direct screw fixation of dens fractures. The overall rate of fracture union was 92.3%, and fracture resolution averaged 5.5 months. The major complication rate of 17% (4/23) resulted from inappropriate use of this technique. The 11 most recent cases, all of which involved stabilization with cannulated screws, resulted in only a single complication (9%) and an average fracture healing time of 3.5 months. A recommended operative technique for anterior screw fixation of dens fractures will be presented along with a discussion of potential sources of difficulty or failures.
Advancing Metabolism Research to Overcome Low Litter Survival in Metabolically Stressed Mice.

Elucidating the mechanism underlying the transmission of metabolic disease to subsequent generations requires robust pre-clinical mouse breeding strategies. Western diets rich in fat and carbohydrates are contributing factors in the rise of diabetes and obesity rates worldwide. Therefore, determining the impact of Western diets consumed by parents on offspring and future generations is critical for understanding the perpetuation of these diseases. Specifically, epigenetic regulation and transgenerational inheritance of metabolic disease is an emerging field of study requiring robust murine models. However, a major challenge to transgenerational studies is offspring mortality, exacerbated by maternal stress during pregnancy. Here we describe a challenge experienced in our metabolic research in Western diet-fed female mice leading to the loss of litters via pup mortality and cannibalism by the mother. Further, our study evaluates various breeding schemes with pregnancy efficiency and refined husbandry techniques to overcome pup mortality, infanticide, charecterize dams' and pups' metabolic characteristics, and to determine the impact on physiology of dams under detailed breeding schemes.
Association of Hair Cortisol Concentration with Prevalence of Major Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Allostatic Load

Background The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases cannot be explained completely by conventional risk factors such as older age, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Results of recent studies indicate that chronic stress may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the associations between the hair cortisol concentration (HCC), which is considered as a potential biomarker of long-term psychosocial stress, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. Material/Methods Fasting blood samples and anthropometric and lifestyle data were collected from 163 apparently healthy men. HCC was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Allostatic load (AL) index, defined as an integrated score of multiple interacting systems involved in the adaptation to adverse physical or psychosocial situations, was also calculated. Results We found that many prevalent cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, smoking, higher than recommended waist circumference (WC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) median values, are associated with higher HCC. Hair cortisol level was also positively associated with the manifestation of individual cardiovascular risk factors such as higher-than-recommended total cholesterol, LDL-C, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, and WC median values. Moreover, a significant positive relationship between HCC and AL index was observed. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that increased prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors is associated with higher HCC. Also, both HCC and AL index might be appropriate markers for the evaluation of chronic stress level.
High molecular weight amyloid β1‐42 oligomers induce neurotoxicity via plasma membrane damage

Amyloid β‐protein (Aβ) molecules tend to aggregate and subsequently form low MW (LMW) oligomers, high MW (HMW) aggregates such as protofibrils, and ultimately fibrils. These Aβ species can generally form amyloid plaques implicated in the neurodegeneration of Alzheimer disease (AD), but therapies designed to reduce plaque load have not demonstrated clinical efficacy. Recent evidence implicates amyloid oligomers in AD neuropathology, but the precise mechanisms are uncertain. We examined the mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction from HMW‐Aβ1‐42 exposure by measuring membrane integrity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, membrane lipid peroxidation, membrane fluidity, intracellular calcium regulation, passive membrane electrophysiological properties, and long‐term potentiation (LTP). HMW‐Aβ1‐42 disturbed membrane integrity by inducing ROS generation and lipid peroxidation, resulting in decreased membrane fluidity, intracellular calcium dysregulation, depolarization, and impaired LTP. The damaging effects of HMW‐Aβ1‐42 were significantly greater than those of LMW‐Aβ1‐42 Therapeutic reduction of HMW‐Aβ1‐42 may prevent AD progression by ameliorating direct neuronal membrane damage. —Yasumoto, T. , Takamura, Y. , Tsuji, M. , Watanabe‐Nakayama, T. , Imamura, K. , Inoue, H. , Nakamura, S. , Inoue, T. , Kimura, A. , Yano, S. , Nishijo, H. , Kiuchi, Y. , Teplow, D. B. , Ono, K. High molecular weight amyloid β1‐42 oligomers induce neurotoxicity via plasma membrane damage. FASEB J. 33, 9220–9234 (2019). www.fasebj. org
Widespread and lateralized social brain activity for processing dynamic facial expressions

Dynamic facial expressions of emotions constitute natural and powerful means of social communication in daily life. A number of previous neuroimaging studies have explored the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of dynamic facial expressions, and indicated the activation of certain social brain regions (e.g., the amygdala) during such tasks. However, the activated brain regions were inconsistent across studies, and their laterality was rarely evaluated. To investigate these issues, we measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging in a relatively large sample (n = 51) during the observation of dynamic facial expressions of anger and happiness and their corresponding dynamic mosaic images. The observation of dynamic facial expressions, compared with dynamic mosaics, elicited stronger activity in the bilateral posterior cortices, including the inferior occipital gyri, fusiform gyri, and superior temporal sulci. The dynamic facial expressions also activated bilateral limbic regions, including the amygdalae and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, more strongly versus mosaics. In the same manner, activation was found in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left cerebellum. Laterality analyses comparing original and flipped images revealed right hemispheric dominance in the superior temporal sulcus and IFG and left hemispheric dominance in the cerebellum. These results indicated that the neural mechanisms underlying processing of dynamic facial expressions include widespread social brain regions associated with perceptual, emotional, and motor functions, and include a clearly lateralized (right cortical and left cerebellar) network like that involved in language processing.
Educational value of Internet videos in vascular access

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate individually uploaded Internet materials about catheter insertion and removal in terms of their educative value. Methods: YouTube videos for both catheter insertion and catheter removal were investigated. Rating, like, dislike, the position of a patient, maneuvers during removal, immediate coverage of removal site, and type of cover material were noted. A survey regarding daily practices for catheter interventions and approaches to educative social media platforms had been taken from medical professionals as well to determine the effect of social media on learning practices. Results: A total of 50 insertion and 35 removal videos were investigated. The popularity of insertion and removal videos was 4.7 (1.6–16.5) and 1.88 (0.66–4.54), respectively. (p = 0.011). The position of a patient during insertion was supine in 80%, Trendelenburg in 18%, and upright in 82.9% of the removal videos (p = 0.000). The survey showed that medical professionals watched insertion videos (66%) more than removal videos (11.7%) (p = 0.002). Catheter insertion positions were similar among participants (p = 0.553). Removal positions were different in specialties (p = 0.023) in which especially nephrologists tend to remove the catheter at the sitting position. Conclusion: Medical professionals think that removal is an easier procedure than insertion. They both search more for insertion videos and upload more insertion videos. Insertion practices are similar among different specialties. However, removal practices are more heterogeneous. Individually uploaded catheter videos at YouTube are not reliable educative materials. More free official work should be produced to maintain sufficient qualified online material on social media platforms.
Helicobacter pylori and idiopathic chronic urticaria

Background Different studies have shown a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection in patients with chronic urticaria (CU), and occasional remission of the skin lesions after eradication therapy. Recent investigations, however, have failed to find a significant relationship between the two conditions. We designed a case–control study to assess the prevalence of HP infection and the effect of bacterium eradication on the outcome of the skin disease in patients affected by CU. The literature is reviewed.
Auxin and Organogenesis: Initiation of Organs and Nurturing a Scientific Spirit[OPEN]

When I was in college, we were taught that auxin positions new organs at the shoot apex. My instructors at the University of Guelph were giving us cutting-edge information: this hypothesis was first reported by Reinhardt, Mandel, and Kuhlemeier in The Plant Cell in 2000 ( [ Reinhardt et al., 2000 ][
Platinum-based chemotherapy in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: the Institut Curie experience.

BACKGROUND Although recent experimental data strongly suggest that platinum-based chemotherapy (PBCT) could improve the outcome of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), clinical data are lacking. Here, the authors reviewed clinical outcome in patients with metastatic TNBC treated with PBCT. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients (N=143) treated for metastatic breast cancer with PBCT between 2000 and 2008, at Institut Curie, Paris, France. Ninety-three of them (63.7%) had TNBC. One-hundred twenty patients received cisplatin (CDDP). The main combination used was CDDP-ifosfamide, in 101 patients (70.2%). RESULTS Median follow-up was 44 months. For the overall population (N=143), median overall survival (OS) and median progression-free survival (PFS) were 11 and 5 months, respectively. Objective response rate was 33.3% in the TNBC group versus 22% in non-TNBC, P=0.1. We observed no difference of OS, PFS and response duration. Other prognostic factors for poor OS were visceral metastasis sites (P<0.001). One patient died from sepsis during aplasia, 15 had to switch from CDDP to carboplatin because of CDDP-related toxicity. CONCLUSIONS Metastatic TNBC patients treated with PBCT tended to have a higher response rate, without a significant improvement of PFS or OS, compared with other subtypes. Toxicity was acceptable. Longer observation and further analysis are warranted.