Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A mortality review of tuberculosis and HIV co-infected patients in Mahalapye, Botswana: Does cotrimoxazole preventive therapy and/or antiretroviral therapy protect against death?

Background The World Health Organization aims to reduce tuberculosis (TB) mortality rate from 15% in 2015 to 6.5% by 2025. Aim This study determined the profile of TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infected patients who died in Mahalapye District, Botswana, while on anti-TB medication and the factors that contributed to such outcome. Setting The study was conducted in the Mahalapye Health District in Botswana. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that reviewed patient records from the Mahalapye District Health Management Team Electronic Tuberculosis Register from January 2013 to December 2015. Results The majority of the TB and HIV co-infected patients were on antiretroviral therapy (ART) (486 [81.63%]) or were initiated cotrimoxazole preventive therapy (CPT) (518 [87.2%]) while taking anti-TB treatment. Seventy-three (13.6%) TB and HIV co-infected patients died before completing anti-TB treatment. Three-quarters (54 [74.4%]) of patients who died before completing anti-TB treatment were on ART, among them two patients who were on ART at least 3 months prior to commencing anti-TB. Also, the majority (64 [87.7%]) of TB and HIV co-infected patients were commenced on CPT prior to death. There was a bimodal density curve of death occurrence in those who did not commence ART and in those who did not commence CPT. Conclusion This study established that TB and HIV co-infected patients had a TB mortality of 13.6%. A high mortality rate was observed during the first 3 months in those who did not take ART and during the second and the fifth month in those who did not commence CPT. Further study is needed to clarify this matter.
A New Measure for Assessing the Intensity of Addiction Memory in Illicit Drug Users: The Addiction Memory Intensity Scale

Disrupting the process of memory reconsolidation could be a promising treatment for addiction. However, its application may be constrained by the intensity of addiction memory. This study aimed to develop and initially validate a new measure, the Addiction Memory Intensity Scale (AMIS), for assessing the intensity of addiction memory in illicit drug users. Two studies were conducted in China for item analysis (n = 345) and initial validation (n = 1550) of the AMIS. The nine-item AMIS was found to have two factors (labelled Visual Clarity and Other Sensory Intensity), which accounted for 64.11% of the total variance. The two-factor structure provided a reasonable fit for sample data and was invariant across groups of different genders and different primary drugs of use. Significant correlations were found between scores on the AMIS and the measures of craving. The AMIS and its factors showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α: 0.72–0.89) and test-retest reliability (r: 0.72–0.80). These results suggest that the AMIS, which demonstrates an advantage as it is brief and easy to administer, is a reliable and valid tool for measuring the intensity of addiction memory in illicit drug users, and has the potential to be useful in future clinical research.
The crystal structure of Staufen1 in complex with a physiological RNA sheds light on substrate selectivity

Combination of in vitro and in vivo data show that RNA sequence influences Staufen target recognition and that protein–RNA base contacts are required for Staufen function in Drosophila. During mRNA localization, RNA-binding proteins interact with specific structured mRNA localization motifs. Although several such motifs have been identified, we have limited structural information on how these interact with RNA-binding proteins. Staufen proteins bind structured mRNA motifs through dsRNA-binding domains (dsRBD) and are involved in mRNA localization in Drosophila and mammals. We solved the structure of two dsRBDs of human Staufen1 in complex with a physiological dsRNA sequence. We identified interactions between the dsRBDs and the RNA sugar–phosphate backbone and direct contacts of conserved Staufen residues to RNA bases. Mutating residues mediating nonspecific backbone interactions only affected Staufen function in Drosophila when in vitro binding was severely reduced. Conversely, residues involved in base-directed interactions were required in vivo even when they minimally affected in vitro binding. Our work revealed that Staufen can read sequence features in the minor groove of dsRNA and suggests that these influence target selection in vivo.
A translational case study of empowerment into practice: A realist evaluation of a member-led dementia empowerment service

Involving people with dementia in decision-making is widely accepted as a means of empowering them to lead more independent lives and have more meaningful roles in shaping their care. However, there is a need to conduct rigorous evaluations of empowerment-driven services and policies in order to develop a deeper understanding about how to optimise successful implementation. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of Dementia Northern Ireland, an organisation initiated and led by people with dementia. We used a realist evaluation approach that comprised interviews with 15 people with dementia, three staff and two board members, ethnographic observations, along with documentary analysis to identify ‘what works, for whom, under what circumstances’. The analysis used realist logic to build up context-mechanism-outcome configurations. The Dementia Northern Ireland service model of empowerment revolved around the formation and maintenance of social groups of people with dementia. Facilitators, recruited and selected by people with dementia, supported six groups, consisting of one to four members with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Facilitators helped expand empowerment groups, facilitate decision-making, awareness raising and consultation opportunities with group members. The ‘Empowerment Groups’ appeared to lead to the development of a shared social identity and a sense of collective strength as indicated by interview and observational data demonstrating an activist mentality among group members to challenge the stigma surrounding dementia. Group members also reported improved quality of life. Widespread implementation of the empowerment model has the potential to lead to reduced stigma and greater social inclusion, increased involvement of people with dementia as active co-producers of policy and service development, better services and support. This case study of Dementia Northern Ireland illustrates that there are boundaries and challenges to empowerment in terms of requiring additional support from staff without dementia. However, despite these challenges, empowerment-driven organisations can and should be committed to involving members in lead roles and key decision-making.
Increasing Passersby Engagement with Public Large Interactive Displays: A Study of Proxemics and Conation

Prior research has shown that large interactive displays deployed in public spaces are often underutilized, or even un- noticed, phenomena connected to 'interaction' and 'display blindness', respectively. To better understand how designers can mitigate these issues, we conducted a field experiment that compared how different visual cues impacted engagement with a public display. The deployed interfaces were designed to progressively reveal more information about the display and entice interaction through the use of visual content designed to evoke direct or indirect conation (the mental faculty related to purpose or will to perform an action), and different animation triggers (random or proxemic). Our results show that random triggers were more effective than proxemic triggers at overcoming display and interaction blindness. Our study of conation - the first we are aware of - found that "conceptual" visuals designed to evoke indirect conation were also useful in attracting people's attention.
Non-eosinophilic asthma: current perspectives

Although non-eosinophilic asthma (NEA) is not the best known and most prevalent asthma phenotype, its importance cannot be underestimated. NEA is characterized by airway inflammation with the absence of eosinophils, subsequent to activation of non-predominant type 2 immunologic pathways. This phenotype, which possibly includes several not well-defined subphenotypes, is defined by an eosinophil count <2% in sputum. NEA has been associated with environmental and/or host factors, such as smoking cigarettes, pollution, work-related agents, infections, and obesity. These risk factors, alone or in conjunction, can activate specific cellular and molecular pathways leading to non-type 2 inflammation. The most relevant clinical trait of NEA is its poor response to standard asthma treatments, especially to inhaled corticosteroids, leading to a higher severity of disease and to difficult-to-control asthma. Indeed, NEA constitutes about 50% of severe asthma cases. Since most current and forthcoming biologic therapies specifically target type 2 asthma phenotypes, such as uncontrolled severe eosinophilic or allergic asthma, there is a dramatic lack of effective treatments for uncontrolled non-type 2 asthma. Research efforts are now focusing on elucidating the phenotypes underlying the non-type 2 asthma, and several studies are being conducted with new drugs and biologics aiming to develop effective strategies for this type of asthma, and various immunologic pathways are being scrutinized to optimize efficacy and to abolish possible adverse effects.
Glycolytic Response to Inflammation Over Time: Role of Myeloid HIF-1alpha

The in vivo response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) occurs rapidly and has profound physiological and metabolic effects. The hypoxia inducible (HIF) transcription factor is an intrinsic and essential part of inflammation, and is induced by LPS. To determine the importance of the HIF response in regulating metabolism following an LPS response, glucose uptake was quantified in a time dependent manner in mice lacking HIF-1α in myeloid cells. We found that deletion of HIF-1α has an acute protective effect on LPS-induced hypoglycemia. Furthermore, reduced glucose uptake was observed in the heart and brown fat, in a time dependent manner, following loss of HIF-1α. To determine the physiological significance of these findings, cardiovascular, body temperature, and blood pressure changes were subsequently quantified in real time using radiotelemetry measurements. These studies reveal the temporal aspects of HIF-1α as a regulator of the metabolic response to acute LPS-induced inflammation.
Antifungal Efficacy of Marine Macroalgae against Fungal Isolates from Bronchial Asthmatic Cases

Fungal sensitization is very common in bronchial asthmatic cases, and the connection with airway colonization by fungi remains uncertain. Antifungal therapy failure is a significant fraction of the cost and morbidity and mortality in the majority of the asthmatic cases. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity of five marine macroalgae—Acanthaophora specifera, Cladophoropsis sp. , Laurencia paniculata, Tydemania sp. , and Ulva prolifera—which were tested on selected fungal pathogens isolated from 15 sputum of 45 bronchial asthmatic patients. The highest antifungal activity was observed in ethanol fractions of L. paniculata followed by U. prolifera, Cladophoropsis sp. , A. specifera, and Tydemania sp. The minimum fungicidal concentration and minimum inhibitory concentration values of the ethanolic fractions of algal species were found to be 125–1000 µg/mL and 125–500 µg/mL, respectively. The algal extracts contained terpene alcohol, diterpene, steroids, sesquiterpene, and sesquiterpene alcohol, as determined by GC–MS/MS analyses. The present study shows that the marine macroalgae containing bioactive compounds had excellent inhibitory activity against a variety of fungal pathogens, which may be useful for combating fungal infections and recovering from chronic asthmatic states.
In vitro activity and post-antibiotic effects of linezolid in combination with fosfomycin against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

Objectives Linezolid combination therapy is recommended for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections. However, the optimal regimen of the combination therapy for S. aureus is unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the antibacterial activity, post-antibiotic effect (PAE), and post-antibiotic subminimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) effect (PA-SME) of linezolid alone and in combination with fosfomycin against eleven clinical isolates of S. aureus. Methods The synergistic effects and antibacterial activity of linezolid and fosfomycin were assessed by checkerboard and time-kill assays. To determine the PAE and PA-SME, S. aureus strains in the logarithmic phase of growth were exposed for 1, 2, and 3 hours to the antibiotics, alone and in combination. Recovery periods of test strains were evaluated using viable counting after dilution. Results Synergistic effects were observed for eight strains and no antagonism was found with any combination. Moreover, linezolid combined with fosfomycin at 4x MIC showed the best synergistic antibacterial effect, and this effect was retained after 24 hours. In addition, both the antibiotics alone and in combination showed increased PAE and PA-SME values in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Conclusion Linezolid combined with fosfomycin exerted a good antibacterial effect against S. aureus, and the combinations have significant PAE and PA-SME.
Enhanced Expressive Power and Fast Training of Neural Networks by Random Projections

Random projections are able to perform dimension reduction efficiently for datasets with nonlinear low-dimensional structures. One well-known example is that random matrices embed sparse vectors into a low-dimensional subspace nearly isometrically, known as the restricted isometric property in compressed sensing. In this paper, we explore some applications of random projections in deep neural networks. We provide the expressive power of fully connected neural networks when the input data are sparse vectors or form a low-dimensional smooth manifold. We prove that the number of neurons required for approximating a Lipschitz function with a prescribed precision depends on the sparsity or the dimension of the manifold and weakly on the dimension of the input vector. The key in our proof is that random projections embed stably the set of sparse vectors or a low-dimensional smooth manifold into a low-dimensional subspace. Based on this fact, we also propose some new neural network models, where at each layer the input is first projected onto a low-dimensional subspace by a random projection and then the standard linear connection and non-linear activation are applied. In this way, the number of parameters in neural networks is significantly reduced, and therefore the training of neural networks can be accelerated without too much performance loss.
Experience of Emergency Department Patients With Using the Talking Pole Device: Prospective Interventional Descriptive Study

Background Patient engagement is important. However, it can be difficult in emergency departments (EDs). Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction of ED patients using a patient-friendly health information technology (HIT) device, the “Talking Pole,” and to assess the factors relevant to their satisfaction. Methods This study was conducted in May 2017 at the ED of a tertiary hospital. The “Talking Pole” is a smartphone-based device attached to a intravenous infusion pole with sensors. It is capable of sensing patient movement and fluid dynamics. In addition, it provides clinical information from electronic medical records to patients and serves as a wireless communication tool between patients and nurses. Patients and caregivers who entered the observation room of the ED were selected for the study. The “Talking Pole” devices were provided to all participants, regardless of their need for an intravenous pole upon admittance to the ED. After 2 hours, each participant was given an 18-item questionnaire created for this research, measured on a 5-point Likert scale, regarding their satisfaction with “Talking Pole. ” Results Among 52 participants recruited, 54% (28/52) were patients and the remaining were caregivers. In total, 38% (20/52) were male participants; the average age was 54.6 (SD 12.9) years, and 63% (33/52) of the participants were oncology patients and their caregivers. The overall satisfaction rate was 4.17 (SD 0.79 ) points. Spearman correlation coefficient showed a strong association of “overall satisfaction” with “comparison to the previous visit” (ρ=.73 ), “perceived benefit” (ρ=.73), “information satisfaction” (ρ=.70), and “efficiency” (ρ=.70). Conclusions In this study, we introduced a patient-friendly HIT device, the “Talking Pole. ” Its architecture focused on enhancing information delivery, which is regarded as a bottleneck toward achieving patient engagement in EDs. Patient and caregiver satisfaction with the “Talking Pole” was positive in the ED environment. In particular, correlation coefficient results improved our understanding about patients’ satisfaction, HIT devices, and services used in the ED.
Advanced Care Planning for Persons With Dementia in Primary Care: Attitudes and Barriers Among Health-Care Professionals

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) provides clarity on goals and preferences for future health-care decisions, the timeliness of which is critical for persons with dementia. Aim: This study assessed Primary Care Collaborative Memory Clinic (PCCMC) health-care practitioners’ desire for more education on ACP, capacity for and attitudes toward ACP, and current ACP practices in their regular family practice and in their PCCMC. Methods: Primary Care Collaborative Memory Clinic health-care professionals completed a questionnaire in which they rated their interest in learning various ACP-related topics (5-point scale: not at all to very much so), attitudes toward ACP, and the importance of and perceived degree of responsibility for ACP (5-point scale: not at all to extremely). Respondents estimated ACP completion in regular family practice and PCCMC. Results: Two hundred and sixty one surveys were completed. Mean knowledge ratings were moderate (M = 3.0) and mean ratings of interest in ACP topics were all high (median ≥ 4). Despite the perception that ACP is very important (M = 4.9) and the responsibility of PCCMCs (M = 3.7), the majority of respondents estimated that 40% or fewer patients have had ACP. Ratings of willingness to conduct ACP (M = 3.7) and comfort level (M = 3.4) were moderate but significantly exceeded ratings of ability (M = 2.9), comfort (M = 3.5), and confidence (M = 2.8). Conclusion: There was a striking disconnect between perceptions of the importance of completing ACP for persons with dementia and actual ACP completion rates. Primary Care Collaborative Memory Clinics may be in an ideal position to support ACP discussions; however, there is a need to improve health-care professionals’ knowledge and attitudes toward ACP.
Naturally occurring compounds as pancreatic cancer therapeutics

Naturally occurring small molecule compounds have long been in the spotlight of pancreatic cancer research as potential therapeutics to prevent cancer progression and sensitize chemoresistant tumors. The hope is that terminal pancreatic cancer patients receiving aggressive chemotherapy can benefit from an increase in treatment efficacy without adding further toxicity by way of utilizing natural compounds. While preclinical studies on a number of natural compounds, such as resveratrol, curcumin, rapalogs and cannabinoids, show promising preclinical results, little has translated into clinical practice, though a number of other compounds hold clinical potential. Nevertheless, recent advances in compound formulation may increase the clinical utility of these compounds.
Reproducibility of Blood Lactate Concentration Rate under Isokinetic Force Loads

(1) Background: Maximum isokinetic force loads show strongly increased post-load lactate concentrations and an increase in the maximum blood lactate concentration rate (V˙Lamax), depending on load duration. The reproducibility of V˙Lamax must be known to be able to better assess training-related adjustments of anaerobic performance using isokinetic force tests. (2) Methods: 32 subjects were assigned to two groups and completed two unilateral isokinetic force tests (210° s−1, Range of Motion 90°) within seven days. Group 1 (n = 16; age 24.0 ± 2.8 years, BMI 23.5 ± 2.6 kg m−2, training duration: 4.5 ± 2.4 h week−1) completed eight repetitions and group 2 (n = 16; age 23.7 ± 1.9 years, BMI 24.6 ± 2.4 kg m−2, training duration: 5.5 ± 2.1 h week−1) completed 16 repetitions. To determine V˙Lamax, capillary blood (20 µL) was taken before and immediately after loading, and up to the 9th minute post-load. Reproducibility and variability was determined using Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses, and variability were determined using within-subject standard deviation (Sw) and Limits of Agreement (LoA) using Bland Altman plots. (3) Results: The correlation of V˙Lamax in group 1 was r = 0.721, and in group 2 r = 0.677. The Sw of V˙Lamax was 0.04 mmol L−1 s−1 in both groups. In group 1, V˙Lamax showed a systematic bias due to measurement repetition of 0.02 mmol L−1 s−1 in an interval (LoA) of ±0.11 mmol L−1 s−1. In group 2, a systematic bias of −0.008 mmol L−1 s−1 at an interval (LoA) of ±0.11 mmol L−1 s−1 was observed for repeated measurements of V˙Lamax. (4) Conclusions: Based on the existing variability, a reliable calculation of V˙Lamax seems to be possible with both short and longer isokinetic force loads. Changes in V˙Lamax above 0.11 mmol L−1 s−1 due to training can be described as a non-random increase or decrease in V˙Lamax.
Ergodicity analysis and antithetic integral control of a class of stochastic reaction networks with delays

Delays are an important phenomenon arising in a wide variety of real world systems. They occur in biological models because of diffusion effects or as simplifying modeling elements. We propose here to consider delayed stochastic reaction networks. The difficulty here lies in the fact that the state-space of a delayed reaction network is infinite-dimensional, which makes their analysis more involved. We demonstrate here that a particular class of stochastic time-varying delays, namely those that follow a phase-type distribution, can be exactly implemented in terms of a chemical reaction network. Hence, any delay-free network can be augmented to incorporate those delays through the addition of delay-species and delay-reactions. Hence, for this class of stochastic delays, which can be used to approximate any delay distribution arbitrarily accurately, the state-space remains finite-dimensional and, therefore, standard tools developed for standard reaction network still apply. In particular, we demonstrate that for unimolecular mass-action reaction networks that the delayed stochastic reaction network is ergodic if and only if the non-delayed network is ergodic as well. Bimolecular reactions are more difficult to consider but an analogous result is also obtained. These results tell us that delays that are phase-type distributed, regardless of their distribution, are not harmful to the ergodicity property of reaction networks. We also prove that the presence of those delays adds convolution terms in the moment equation but does not change the value of the stationary means compared to the delay-free case. Finally, the control of a certain class of delayed stochastic reaction network using a delayed antithetic integral controller is considered. It is proven that this controller achieves its goal provided that the delay-free network satisfy the conditions of ergodicity and output-controllability.