Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validity, Reliability, and Responsiveness of the Banff Patellar Instability Instrument (BPII) in a Adolescent Population

Background: Health-related quality of life measures for the adolescent patellar instability population are limited. The Banff Patella Instability Instrument (BPII) is a disease-specific health-related quality of life that has been tested on a mixed adult and adolescent population but has not been exclusively tested with an adolescent population. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity, reliability, and responsiveness of the BPII within an adolescent population. Methods: Content validation was tested with 3 measures: floor and ceiling effects; the Cronbach alpha; readability grade level. Reliability was measured with an intraclass correlation coefficient (2, k) and the SEM. Responsiveness was measured using a 1-way analysis of variance comparing preoperative BPII scores to postoperative BPII scores at 6, 12, and 24 months. Eta squared was calculated to measure effect size. Results: The BPII demonstrated no floor or ceiling effects. The Cronbach alpha for the BPII ranged from 0.97 to 0.98 for the preoperative and postoperative time periods. The readability index was a mean grade level of 8.9. Test-retest reliability assessment demonstrated an intraclass correlation coefficient (2, k) of 0.99 indicating strong reliability. The SEM was 1.3. There was a statistically significant difference in BPII scores for the 4 different time interval measures (F3, 176=50.04; P<0.001). Eta squared was 0.46 demonstrating a moderate to large effect. Conclusions: The BPII demonstrated validity, reliability, and responsiveness in an adolescent population. Furthermore, it has demonstrated an appropriate cognitive reading grade level of 8.9, commensurate with the mean age (16.08 y) of the population tested. Level of Evidence: Level III.
A New Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of the Chiral Key Intermediate of the Antiepileptic Brivaracetam

Brivaracetam is a new anticonvulsant compound, recently approved as an antiepileptic drug. This drug substance presents a 4-substituted pyrrolidone structure: the (4R)-configuration of the stereocenter present on the heterocyclic ring is the main target of the synthesis. The described method allows to prepare the suitable optically pure 2-substituted primary alcohol by means of a Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase-catalyzed transesterification. The obtained (2R)-alcohol was easily transformed into the (3R)-3-propylbutyrolactone, an advanced intermediate of brivaracetam. The described synthetic pathway is completed with the chromatographic methods and the NMR analyses necessary to establish the chemical and the optical purity of the intermediates and of the final lactone.
A delta-driven execution model for semantic computing

We describe (and demonstrate) the execution model of a computing platform where computation is both incremental and data-driven. We call such an approach delta-driven. The platform is intended as a delivery vehicle for semantically integrated software, and thus lends itself to the semantic web, domain-driven development, and next-generation software development environments. Execution is transparent, versioned, and persistent. This technology - still at an early stage - is called domain/object.
Molecular detection of equine trypanosomiasis in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia

We conducted a cross-sectional study to detect trypanosome infections of horses and donkeys in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia. DNA was extracted from blood samples collected from 368 horses and 142 donkeys, and subjected to universal first ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1)-PCR followed by Trypanosoma evansi species–specific RoTat1.2-PCR. The universal ITS1-PCR revealed T. evansi infection in horses (n = 12; 3.3%) and donkeys (n = 4; 2.8%). There was no significant effect of sex or age on the prevalence of trypanosomiasis in horses or donkeys. Application of the RoTat1.2-PCR revealed that the RoTat1.2 VSG gene was absent from the positive ITS1-PCR samples of 3 horses and 1 donkey. This discrepancy could be explained by the circulation of T. evansi type B in Saudi Arabia; however, this suspicion requires confirmation.
Targeted Temperature Management and Multimodality Monitoring of Comatose Patients After Cardiac Arrest

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (CA) remains a leading cause of sudden morbidity and mortality; however, outcomes have continued to improve in the era of targeted temperature management (TTM). In this review, we highlight the clinical use of TTM, and provide an updated summary of multimodality monitoring possible in a modern ICU. TTM is neuroprotective for survivors of CA by inhibiting multiple pathophysiologic processes caused by anoxic brain injury, with a final common pathway of neuronal death. Current guidelines recommend the use of TTM for out-of-hospital CA survivors who present with a shockable rhythm. Further studies are being completed to determine the optimal timing, depth and duration of hypothermia to optimize patient outcomes. Although a multidisciplinary approach is necessary in the CA population, neurologists and neurointensivists are central in selecting TTM candidates and guiding patient care and prognostic evaluation. Established prognostic tools include clinal exam, SSEP, EEG and MR imaging, while functional MRI and invasive monitoring is not validated to improve outcomes in CA or aid in prognosis. We recommend that an evidence-based TTM and prognostication algorithm be locally implemented, based on each institution's resources and limitations. Given the high incidence of CA and difficulty in predicting outcomes, further study is urgently needed to determine the utility of more recent multimodality devices and studies.
Does Long-term Soft Contact Lens Wear Affect Corneal and Anterior Chamber Parameters?

Objectives: To assess the long-term effects of soft contact lenses (SCL) on the cornea and anterior chamber by topography. Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine eyes of 22 healthy patients were included in this prospective study. Changes in corneal and anterior chamber parameters before and after 12 months of daily SCL use (Air Optix Aqua, Air Optix Aqua for Astigmatism, Acuvue Oasys and Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism) were evaluated with Pentacam (Oculus, Germany). Results: Best corrected visual acuity with toric SCL was significantly better compared to spectacles in the toric SCL group (0.98±0.34 vs 0.94±0.72, p=0.004). None of the corneal (horizontal and vertical keratometry, corneal volume, anterior and posterior corneal astigmatism, corneal pachymetry of apex and thinnest location) and anterior chamber (anterior chamber depth, volume and angle) parameters showed a statistically significant change after long-term daily wear of SCLs. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that long-term wear of current high oxygen permeable and relatively low modulus silicone hydrogel SCLs does not impact cornea and anterior chamber morphology or volumetric parameters. Furthermore, toric silicone hydrogel SCLs can provide better visual performance than spectacles.
Clival chordoma: long-term clinical outcome in a single center

Abstract The treatment of clival chordoma remains highly challenging. This difficulty is enhanced by the very small likelihood of a successful complete surgical resection or nonsurgical treatment of chordoma. Additionally, no effective means of interdisciplinary treatment for chordoma have been identified. With this background, we analyzed data of patients who underwent multidisciplinary treatment for clival chordoma at our institution during the last 25 years. This retrospective study evaluated patients treated at a single center from 1992 to 2017. During the study period, 24 patients underwent 24 surgeries. Twenty-two surgical resections (including 1 initial surgery and 1 surgery for recurrence) were deemed maximally safe cyto-reductive resections (92%); the remaining 2 surgeries were deemed incomplete (8%), which were histologically confirmed in all but in 1 case (which involved radionecrosis). The complications were divided into endocrinologic, neurologic, and other complications. In 1 case (4%), surgery led to immediate dyspnea followed by death on the following day; in another case (4%), ischemic infarction led to sudden death. In 3 cases (13%), patients exhibited improvements of neurologic (visual or oculomotor) deficits that had been observed prior to surgery. The following new postoperative neurologic deficits were observed: oculomotor deficits in 4 cases, dizziness in 2 cases, and cranial nerve-attributed dysphagia in 3 cases. About 19 patients underwent adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy following the initial surgery (dose: 54.5 Gy in all cases). The mean and median follow-up durations were 50 ± 53 and 48.5 months, respectively. A Kaplan–Meier analysis estimated a median survival duration of 50.2 months (95% confidence interval 27.9–72.4 months). These findings highlight the importance of interdisciplinary treatment strategies, particularly those combining maximally safe cyto-reductive tumor resection and adjusted radiotherapy and other treatment options, for patients with relatively good conditions.
High AMY1 copy number protects against obesity in Portuguese young adults

Abstract Background: The highly polymorphic copy number variation (CNV) in the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) has been associated with obesity in different populations. However, some authors have failed to reproduce these findings. Aim: To investigate the association between AMY1 CNV and obesity in young adults of Portuguese origin. Subjects and methods: This study evaluated AMY1 gene copy number (CN) in 262 individuals: 155 females and 107 males, aged 18–34 years-old (mean age = 21.08). The number of AMY1 copies was estimated in a QX100 droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) system (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). Results: Defining a case group with obese and overweight individuals, logistic regression did not show a significant association between AMY1 CNV and risk of overweight/obesity in the whole population (p = 0.489). However, after testing case-control data in the sub-set of samples above the third quartile (CN ≥10), a significant association was found between lower AMY1 copy number and risk of obesity (OR = 0.532; p = 0.034), even when adjusted for age and sex (OR = 0.527; p = 0.039). In concordance, all participants with >10 AMY1 copies were normal weight controls (n = 20) or overweight (n = 6). Conclusion: The results suggest that high AMY1 gene copy number protects against obesity in Portuguese young adults.
Aloe-Emodin Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Dependent Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Background Recently, colorectal cancer has become a more common type of tumor in the world. Research has reported that several kinds of single compounds of Chinese herbs have shown anti-tumor activity in colorectal cancer. Aloe-emodin (AE), a natural compound extract from Aloe Vera, has been discovered to suppress cell proliferation and accelerate apoptosis in a variety of tumor cells. Whether AE exerts an effect on colorectal cancer cells has not yet been investigated. Material/Methods In this study, we examined the impact of AE on SW620 and HT29 colorectal cancer cell lines. After treatment with various concentrations of AE (10, 20, and 40 μM), cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, cytosolic calcium level, and related gene expression were analyzed. Results Our results indicated that AE suppressed cell viability and induced cell apoptosis in SW620 and HT29 cell lines. Furthermore, both cell lines when exposed to AE generated ROS, which induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. We then detected the expression of ER stress-related proteins and cytosolic calcium levels. We found that cells exposure to AE had upregulation of unfolded protein response (UPR) proteins like glucose-related protein 78 (GRP78), phosphorylated protein kinase R (PKR)-like ER kinase (p-PERK), phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor-2α (p-eIF2α), and transcription factor C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). Meanwhile, we detected an increased cytosolic calcium content followed by the upregulation of the calpain-1, calpain-2 and caspase-12. CHOP and caspase-12 are important regulatory factors leading to cell apoptosis. Conclusions AE might serve as a candidate in the treatment of colorectal cancer through inducing ER stress-dependent apoptosis.
Identification of FDA-Approved Drugs as Antivirulence Agents Targeting the pqs Quorum-Sensing System of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The long-term use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. A promising strategy to combat bacterial infections aims at hampering their adaptability to the host environment without affecting growth. ABSTRACT The long-term use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. A promising strategy to combat bacterial infections aims at hampering their adaptability to the host environment without affecting growth. In this context, the intercellular communication system quorum sensing (QS), which controls virulence factor production and biofilm formation in diverse human pathogens, is considered an ideal target. Here, we describe the identification of new inhibitors of the pqs QS system of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa by screening a library of 1,600 U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs. Phenotypic characterization of ad hoc engineered strains and in silico molecular docking demonstrated that the antifungal drugs clotrimazole and miconazole, as well as an antibacterial compound active against Gram-positive pathogens, clofoctol, inhibit the pqs system, probably by targeting the transcriptional regulator PqsR. The most active inhibitor, clofoctol, specifically inhibited the expression of pqs-controlled virulence traits in P. aeruginosa, such as pyocyanin production, swarming motility, biofilm formation, and expression of genes involved in siderophore production. Moreover, clofoctol protected Galleria mellonella larvae from P. aeruginosa infection and inhibited the pqs QS system in P. aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patients. Notably, clofoctol is already approved for clinical treatment of pulmonary infections caused by Gram-positive bacterial pathogens; hence, this drug has considerable clinical potential as an antivirulence agent for the treatment of P. aeruginosa lung infections.
Critically fast pick-and-place with suction cups

Fast robotics pick-and-place with suction cups is a crucial component in the current development of automation in logistics (factory lines, e-commerce, etc.). By “critically fast” we mean the fastest possible movement for transporting an object such that it does not slip or fall from the suction cup. The main difficulties are: (i) handling the contact between the suction cup and the object, which fundamentally involves kinodynamic constraints; and (ii) doing so at a low computational cost, typically a few hundreds of milliseconds. To address these difficulties, we propose (a) a model for suction cup contacts, (b) a procedure to identify the contact stability constraint based on that model, and (c) a pipeline to parameterize, in a time-optimal manner, arbitrary geometric paths under the identified contact stability constraint. We experimentally validate the proposed pipeline on a physical robot system: the cycle time for a typical pick-and-place task was less than 5 seconds, planning and execution times included. The full pipeline is released as opensource for the robotics community.
NKG2D Ligands–Critical Targets for Cancer Immune Escape and Therapy

DNA damage, oncogene activation and excessive proliferation, chromatin modulations or oxidative stress are all important hallmarks of cancer. Interestingly, all of these abnormalities also induce a cellular stress response. By upregulating “stress-induced ligands,” damaged or transformed cells can be recognized by immune cells and cleared. The human genome encodes eight functional “stress-induced ligands”: MICA, MICB, and ULBP1-6. All of them are recognized by a single receptor, NKG2D, which is expressed on natural killer (NK) cells, cytotoxic T cells and other T cell subsets. The NKG2D ligand/NKG2D-axis is well-recognized as an important mediator of anti-tumor activity; however, patient data about the role of NKG2D ligands in immune surveillance and escape appears conflicting. As these ligands are often actively transcribed, tumor cells are urged to manipulate the expression of these ligands on post-transcriptional or post-translational level. Although our knowledge on the regulation of NKG2D ligand expression remains fragmentary, research of the past years revealed multiple cellular mechanisms that are adopted by tumor cells to reduce the expression of “stress-induced ligands” and therefore escape immune recognition. Here, we review the post-transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms by which NKG2D ligands are modulated in cancer cells and their impact on patient prognosis.We discuss controversies and approaches to apply our understanding of the NKG2D ligand/NKG2D-axis for cancer therapy.
Understanding Challenges in Prehabilitation for Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions

Little has been done to understand what challenges surgical patients face before surgery. Specifically, patients with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) often require prehabilitation--pre-surgery steps to improve baseline levels of health parameters required for surgery. Prehabilitation can improve health-care outcomes, reduce costs, and decrease readmissions. However, prehabilitation can be challenging for MCC patients since they need to balance chronic conditions with surgical preparation. Unsuccessful prehabilitation adherence can result in serious medical consequences including postponed surgeries and postoperative complications. In this work, we explore prehabiliation challenges faced by patients with MCC and identify opportunities for technological interventions by conducting a qualitative study of online health forum posts from 154 users. Using this data, we identified categories of patients' needs and challenges during prehabilitation.Based on our findings, we propose design recommendations to better support prehabilitation for patients with MCC.
Is There a Relationship Between Bone Quality and Hearing Level?

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the correlation between skull bone attenuation on temporal bone computed tomography (CT) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the central skeleton on dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and the correlation between bone quality and hearing level. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective observational. SETTING Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS/INTERVENTIONS One hundred and one ears of 101 patients who underwent temporal bone CT and DXA with pure tone audiometry within 3 months of CT. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Bone quality was measured by both bone attenuation of the clivus and petrous apex by setting a circular region of interest and by the cortical thickness of the occipital bone on CT. Partial correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between bone quality around the skull on CT and BMD in the central skeleton after adjusting for age and sex. Partial correlations between pure tone audiometry and CT/DXA results were sought. RESULTS There was no significant correlation between measurements on CT and BMD on DXA. The hearing level partially correlated with BMD on DXA. The average threshold of bone conduction showed a significant correlation with BMD at the femoral neck (correlation coefficient -0.241, p = 0.020) and trochanter (correlation coefficient -0.244, p = 0.018), but there was no significant correlation between the average threshold of bone conduction and BMD at the lumbar spine (p = 0.177-0.332). CONCLUSION We could not find a relationship between hearing loss and bone quality. Hearing levels can be affected by various factors, so further studies are needed to assess regional temporal bone quality.
Triplex Real-Time PCR without DNA Extraction for the Monitoring of Meningococcal Disease

Detection of Neisseria meningitidis has become less time- and resource-intensive with a monoplex direct real-time PCR (drt-PCR) to amplify genes from clinical specimens without DNA extraction. To further improve efficiency, we evaluated two triplex drt-PCR assays for the detection of meningococcal serogroups AWX and BCY. The sensitivity and specificity of the triplex assays were assessed using 228 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens from meningitis patients and compared to the monoplex for six serogroups. The lower limit of detection range for six serogroup-specific drt-PCR assays was 178–5264 CFU/mL by monoplex and 68–2221 CFU/mL by triplex. The triplex and monoplex showed 100% agreement for six serogroups and the triplex assays achieved similar sensitivity and specificity estimates as the monoplex drt-PCR assays. Our triplex method reduces the time and cost of processing CSF specimens by characterizing six serogroups with only two assays, which is particularly important for testing large numbers of specimens for N. meningitidis surveillance.
A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction:Acupoint embedment, amodified acupuncture technique, is gaining its popularity in weight control in adult obesity or overweight nowadays. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of acupoint embedment in weight control of adult obesity or overweight by systematically assess available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and analyze the integrated findings. A total of 529 literatures were initially searched from the databases. Five RCTs in assessing the effect of acupoint embedment versus sham control group were identified. Results: A total of 219 subjects in the intervention group and 206 subjects in the control group from 5 eligible studies were eventually included in this meta-analysis. Mean body mass index (BMI) decreased 0.94kg/m (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.56 to 0.32, P= .003) more in acupoint embedment group than the sham control group. Meanwhile, subjects received acupoint embedment had 2.97kg (95%CI: 4.44 to 1.49, P< .0001) decrease in mean body weight more than in sham control group. Both parameters were statistically significant. Adverse events including bruise, soreness and cramp, patchy skin induration, erythema were reported, yet none involved hospitalization or mortality. Interestingly, stomach meridian and spleen meridian involved in all 5 studies. Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that acupoint embedment was more effective in weight control than the sham control group. Together with its convenience and low cost, acupoint embedment may be considered as an alternative treatment in weight control. Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index, CV = conception vessel, EA = electroacupuncture, F% = percent body fat, GB = gallbladder meridian, PGLA = poly (glycolide-co-lactide), PPAR = peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, RCT = randomized controlled trial, SP = spleen meridian, ST = stomach meridian, TCM = traditional Chinese medicine, WHO = world heath organization.