Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Household SARS-CoV-2 transmission and children: a network prospective study

Abstract Background The role of children in household transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains uncertain. Here, we describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children with COVID-19 in Catalonia (Spain) and investigate the dynamics of household transmission. Methods Prospective, observational, multicenter study performed during summer and school periods (1 July-31 October, 2020), in which epidemiological and clinical features, and viral transmission dynamics were analyzed in COVID-19 patients <16 years. A pediatric index case was established when a child was the first individual infected within a household. Secondary cases were defined when another household member tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 before the child. The secondary attack rate (SAR) was calculated, and logistic regression was used to assess associations between transmission risk factors and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Results The study included 1040 COVID-19 patients <16 years. Almost half (47.2%) were asymptomatic, 10.8% had comorbidities, and 2.6% required hospitalization. No deaths were reported. Viral transmission was common among household members (62.3%). More than 70% (756/1040) of pediatric cases were secondary to an adult, whereas 7.7% (80/1040) were index cases. The SAR was significantly lower in households with COVID-19 pediatric index cases during the school period relative to summer (p=0.02), and when compared to adults (p=0.006). No individual or environmental risk factors associated with the SAR were identified. Conclusions Children are unlikely to cause household COVID-19 clusters or be major drivers of the pandemic even if attending school. Interventions aimed at children are expected to have a small impact on reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Sex difference for the risk of amputation in diabetic patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The risk of amputation is a sequelae of diabetic foot ulceration, which are significantly increased in diabetic patients and caused huge morbidly and mortality. However, whether the risk amputation in diabetic patients are differing in male and female remains inconclusive. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the sex difference for the risk of amputation in diabetic patients. We systematically searched PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane library to identify eligible study from their inception up to November 2020. The diagnostic value of male patients on subsequent amputation risk were assessed by using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (PLR and NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Twenty-two studies recruited a total of 33,686,171 diabetic patients were selected for quantitative analysis. The risk of amputation in male diabetic patients was greater than female diabetic patients (DOR: 1.38; 95%CI: 1.13–1.70; P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity for male diabetic patients on the risk of amputation were 0.72 (95%CI: 0.72–0.73), and 0.51 (95%CI: 0.51–0.51), respectively. Moreover, the PLR and NLR of male diabetic patients for predicting amputation were 1.13 (95%CI: 1.05–1.22), and 0.82 (0.72–0.94), respectively. Furthermore, the AUC for male diabetic patients on amputation risk was 0.56 (95%CI: 0.48–0.63). This study found male diabetic patients was associated with an increased risk of amputation than female diabetic patients, and the predictive value of sex difference on amputation risk in diabetic patients was mild.
Production of Tomato Powder by Refractance Window Drying

The aims of this work were to investigate the drying of tomato pulp by refractance window (RW) and the effects of process conditions on the drying rates and characteristics of the dry powder. Different heating water temperatures (65, 75, 85, and 95°C) and pulp thickness (2 and 3 mm) were studied for drying 4.8–5.2 °Brix pulps. The powder characteristics were assessed from its solubility, dispersion time, water sorption isotherm, and color. Shorter drying time (17 minutes) was observed to the lower pulp thickness and higher drying temperature. The solubility of tomato powders was approximately 80%, and the dispersion time was lower than one minute. The color change (ΔE) of rehydrated powder showed an increase with increasing process temperature. These results indicate that RW is an adequate procedure for the production of tomato powder.
Comorbid Psychopathology, Challenging Behavior, Sensory Issues, Adaptive Behavior and Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT Aim: Comorbid psychopathology refers to having a diagnosis of two or more co-occurring psychological disorders. The current study investigated the differences between children and adolescents with no-mild, moderate and severe comorbid psychopathology in children and adolescents with ASD. Method: Parents of 133 children completed the Autism Spectrum Disorder-Comorbid for Children, Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Social Communication Questionnaire, Short Sensory Profile, and Behavioral/Educational Interventions and Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) Interventions of the Autism Treatment Network Registry Parent Baseline Assessment. Results: A significant difference was found between severity of comorbid psychopathology and all types of challenging behavior and all sensory issues except movement. A small effect size was also found between comorbid psychopathology and quality of life. Conclusion: The findings from this study show significant difficulties associated with those with comorbid psychopathology in ASD in challenging behavior, sensory issues and quality of life.
Clinical outcomes following surgical mitral valve repair or replacement in patients with rheumatic heart disease: a meta-analysis

Background The clinical outcome of mitral valve repair (MVP) is considerably more favorable than that of mitral valve replacement (MVR) in patients with degenerative mitral disease. However, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is still the predominant cause of mitral valve surgery in developing countries and the advantages of MVP in RHD have still not been definitely proven. The aim of this meta-analysis was thus to evaluate the suitability of MVP in patients with RHD. Considering the difference between mechanical and biological valves, we distinguished them from each other and compared them with MVP individually. Methods A comparison of clinical outcomes of MVP and MVR in patients with RHD was performed based on clinical trial data. Relevant articles published from January 1, 1990 until March 1, 2020 were identified in Pubmed, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database (CNKI). Studies that lacked direct comparisons between MVP and MVR were excluded. Results A total of 16 studies with 8659 patients were included in the analysis. The MVP group displayed lower early and long-term mortality, and fewer valve-related events and major adverse events. However, this patient group required more reoperations compared with the MVR group. Similar results were observed after distinguishing between mechanical and bioprosthetic valves to compare MVP with MVR (mech-valves), but no statistically significant difference was identified in the reoperation rate between MVP and MVR (bio-valves). MVP was further associated with increased risk of mitral reoperation in patients undergoing concomitant aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery but without any improved early and long-term survival. Conclusions MVP and MVR are beneficial for patients with RHD. For skilled surgeons, MVP can be performed for some suitable patients with RHD and is preferred for elderly patients or patients with contraindications of anticoagulation. However, MVR is more appropriate when concomitant AVR is needed.
Effect of cellulose and glucose on the proliferation of PCP (pentachlorophenol)-degrading microorganisms in soil suspension

Abstract The pesticide pentachlorophenol (PCP) of which application to rice fields was prohibited in Japan after the 1970s is still used as a fungicide for upland crops or timber. In many cases the pesticide dropped into soil is microbially degraded, and microbial degradation of PCP in soil was studied by many authors (Watanabe and Hayashi 1972; Kuwatsuka and Igarashi 1975; Watanabe 1977). The PCP-degrading microorganisms so far isolated are common ones which are not nutritionally fastidious (Watanabe 1973; Suzuki 1983a, b). It is, therefore, plausible that PCP-degradability of the microorganisms is influenced by the presence of some nutrients because, in general, the microorganisms may preferentially use nutrients to pesticides which are biostatic or biocidal to the microorganisms.
Nurses' voice behavior: the influence of humble leadership, affective commitment, and job embeddedness in China.

AIM To test the influence of humble leadership, job embeddedness, and affective commitment on the voice behavior of nurses. BACKGROUND A nurse's voice behavior is regarded as an important measure to identify and solve problems in medical institutions, and improve patients satisfaction. It is urgent to pay sufficient attention to nurses' advice to determine which factors can stimulate enthusiasm in this area. METHODS This study is a cross-sectional study involving 598 nurses. RESULTS The results showed that humble leadership, job embeddedness, affective commitment, and voice behavior were significantly positively correlated. Job embeddedness played a partial mediating role in humble leadership and affective commitment; meanwhile, affective commitment also partially mediated the influence of job embeddedness on voice behavior. CONCLUSIONS Humble leadership was the key to improve the voice behavior of nurses; as a mediating mechanism, job embeddedness and affective commitment further explained how humble leadership promoted the voice behavior of nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT The effects of humble leadership, job embeddedness, and affective commitment to voice behavior could be used to guide the management of clinical nurses. In particular, the humble leadership style perceived by nurses and the enhanced emotional connection with the organization would contribute to the generation of voice behavior.
Development and Validation of Novel Nomograms for Predicting Specific Distant Metastatic Sites and Overall Survival of Patients With Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Purpose: The goal of this study is to construct nomograms to effectively predict the distant metastatic sites and overall survival (OS) of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients. Methods: STS case data between 2010 and 2015 for retrospective study were gathered from public databases. According to the chi-square and multivariate logistic regression analysis determined independent predictive factors of specific metastatic sites, the nomograms based on these factors were consturced. Subsequently, combined metastatic information a nomogram to predict 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS of STS patients was developed. The performance of models was validated by the area under the curve (AUC), calibration plots, and decision curve analyses (DCA). Results: A total of 7001 STS patients were included in this retrospective study, including 4901 cases in the training group and the remaining 2,100 patients in the validation group. Three nomograms were established to predict lung, liver and bone metastasis, and satisfactory results have been obtained by internal and external validation. The AUCs for predicting lung, liver, and bone metastases in the training cohort were 0.796, 0.799, and 0.766, respectively, and in the validation cohort were 0.807, 0.787, and 0.775, respectively, which means that the nomograms have good discrimination. The calibration curves showed that the models have high precision, and the DCA manifested that the nomograms have great clinical application prospects. Through univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses, 8 independent prognosis factors of age, grade, histological type, tumor size, surgery, chemotherapy, radiatiotherapy and lung metastasis were determined. A nomogram was then constructed to predict the 1-, 2-, and 3-years OS, which has a good performance in both internal and external validations. Conclusion: The nomograms for predicting specific metastatic sites and OS have good discrimination, accuracy and clinical applicability. The models could accurately predict the metastatic risk and survival information, and help clinical decision-making.
Identification of differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways in papillary thyroid cancer: a study based on integrated microarray and bioinformatics analysis.

Background The techniques of DNA microarray and bioinformatic analysis have exhibited efficiency in identifying dysregulated gene expression in human cancers. In this study, we used integrated bioinformatics analysis to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Methods In this study, we integrated four Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets, GSE33630, GSE35570, GSE60542 and GSE29265, including 136 normal samples and 157 PTC specimens. The contents of the four datasets are based on GPL570, an Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 array. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was used to identify characteristic the biological attributes of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PTC and normal samples. GO annotation was performed on the DEGs obtained, and the process relied on the DAVID online tool. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) approach enrichment analyses were adopted to obtain the basic functions of the DEGs. The KOBAS online analysis database was used to complete DEG KEGG pathway comparison and analysis. The search tool (STRING) database was mainly used to search for interacting genes and complete the construction of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Results Five hundred-ninety DEGs were consistently expressed in the four datasets; 327 of them were upregulated, while 263 were downregulated. Ten DEGs, including five upregulated (ENTPD1, THRSP, KLK10, ADAMTS9, MIR31HG) and five downregulated (SCARA5, EPHB1, CHRDL1, LOC440934, FOXP2) genes, were randomly selected for q-PCR in our own tissue samples to validate the integrated data. The most highly enriched GO terms were extracellular exosome (GO:0070062), cell adhesion (GO:0070062), positive regulation of gene expression (GO:0010628), and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization (GO:0030198). KEGG pathway analysis was performed, and it was found that abnormally expressed genes effectively participated in pathways such as tyrosine metabolism, complement and coagulation cascades, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), transcriptional misregulation and ECM-receptor interaction pathways. Conclusions Five hundred-ninety DEGs were identified in PTC by integrated microarray analysis. The GO and KEGG analyses presented here suggest that the DEGs were enriched in extracellular exosome, tyrosine metabolism, CAMs, complement and coagulation cascades, transcriptional misregulation and ECM-receptor interaction pathways. Functional studies of PTC should focus on these pathways.
Base rates of invalidity when patients undergoing routine clinical evaluations have social security disability as an external incentive

Abstract Objective: Social Security Disability is a common external incentive in neuropsychological evaluations. This study determined base rates of invalidity when patients referred for routine clinical evaluations have Social Security Disability as an external incentive. Method: Patients (n = 242) were grouped as validly or invalidly performing based on the use of multiple performance validity tests. Frequency analyses were then conducted. Results: As a whole, 46.0% of clinically referred patients with Social Security Disability as an external incentive produced invalid data. When divided by disability pursuit status, 58.6% of individuals already receiving Social Security Disability, 44.6% of individuals actively seeking Social Security Disability, and 39.3% of individuals considering seeking Social Security Disability produced invalid data. By comparison, only 8.5% of clinically referred patients without known external incentives produced invalid data. Conclusions: Beyond establishing base rates, these data indicate that the external incentive, not necessarily the evaluation setting, increases the rate of invalidity, as obtained base rates mirror those observed in independent medical examinations. In addition, this study highlights that even patients who report that they are considering but have not committed themselves to pursuing an external incentive frequently invalidate testing.
The comparison of teaching efficiency between virtual reality and traditional education in medical education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Virtual reality (VR) technology has developed rapidly in recent years and has been applied in many fields, including medical education. A meta-analysis was performed to compare the examination pass rate of medical students educated using VR and those receiving traditional education to evaluate the teaching effect of VR in medical education. Methods The PubMed, Springer Link, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library were searched from inception to May 2020. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were then evaluated, relevant information extracted and a meta-analysis conducted. Students were allocated to a VR group, those trained using VR technology, and a traditional education group, those who received a traditional medical education. Results Six studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicate a significant difference between the pass rate of students educated using VR and those receiving traditional medical education. The odds ratios and confidence intervals of individual studies and our meta-analysis are illustrated with a forest plot. Conclusions Students in the VR group performed better than those in the traditional education group. Teaching with VR may enhance student learning in medical education. Medical schools should consider making greater use of VR when educating students.
Amino acid digestibility in diets containing copra meal with β-mannanase fed to growing pigs

Objective The objective of this study was to estimate standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in growing pigs fed diets containing increasing levels of copra meal (CM) with β-mannanase supplementation. Methods Twenty barrows (initial body weight: 34.43±0.11 kg) surgically fitted with T-cannulas at the distal ileum were individually housed in metabolism crates. Pigs were allotted to 5 dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with 4 replicates per treatment. The dietary treatments were: i) NC, negative control, corn-soybean meal (SBM) based diet, ii) PC, positive control, basal diet + 0.10% β-mannanase supplementation (800 IU/kg), iii) CM6, PC diet with 6% CM supplementation, iv) CM12, PC diet with 12% CM supplementation, and v) CM18, PC diet with 18% CM supplementation. A nitrogen-free diet was used to estimate basal endogenous losses of AA for SID calculation. All experimental diets contained 0.5% chromic oxide as an indigestible marker. Each period consisted of a 4-d diet adaptation period and a 3-d ileal digesta collection period. Results There were no differences in apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and SID of all AA between the NC and PC treatments except that the PC treatment had lower AID and SID of glycine than the NC treatment (p<0.05). There were linear decreases in AID and SID of lysine (p<0.05) and aspartic acid (p = 0.06; tendency) with increasing levels of CM in the diets with β-mannanase. Conclusion The β-mannanase supplementation had no effect on AA digestibility in pigs fed the corn-SBM based diet but increasing levels of CM reduced SID of lysine and aspartic acid.
Metabolically healthy obesity and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

Background Metabolic healthy obesity (MHO) is a unique subgroup of overweight and obese individuals with normal metabolic characteristics. Its association with the risk of stroke remains unclear. We aimed to examine the risk of stroke in MHO individuals and the further associations between stroke and metabolic abnormalities under different bodyweight conditions. Methods We systematically searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library from December 1946 to January 2019, and only included prospective cohort studies. Random effects models were used to evaluate the pooled risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of incident stroke. Results A total of eight studies comprising 4,256,888 participants were included in the meta-analysis. MHO individuals had an increased risk of stroke compared with metabolically healthy normal weight (MH-NW) individuals (RR =1.17, 95% CI: 1.11–1.23). However, the stroke risk of metabolically healthy overweight individuals was the same (RR =1.02, 95% CI: 0.84–1.23). All groups with unhealthy metabolism had a similarly elevated risk: normal weight (RR =1.83, 95% CI: 1.57–2.14), overweight (RR =1.93, 95% CI: 1.44–2.58), and obesity (RR =2.00, 95% CI: 1.40–2.87). Conclusions The meta-analysis confirms a positive association between MHO phenotype and the risk of stroke. Individuals with metabolic abnormalities under different bodyweight conditions are at elevated risk.
Ethylene glycol butyl ether deteriorates oocyte quality via impairing mitochondrial function

Ethylene glycol butyl ether (EGBE) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant that is commonly used in maquillage, industrial, and household products. EGBE has been shown to cause blood toxicity, carcinogenicity, and organ malformations. However, little is known about the impact of EGBE on the female reproductive system, especially oocyte quality. Here, we reported that EGBE influenced oocyte quality by showing the disturbed oocyte meiotic capacity, fertilization potential, and early embryonic development competency. Specifically, EGBE exposure impaired spindle/chromosome structure, microtubule stability, and actin polymerization to result in the oocyte maturation arrest and aneuploidy. In addition, EGBE exposure compromised the dynamics of cortical granules and their component ovastacin, leading to the failure of sperm binding and fertilization. Last, single‐cell transcriptome analysis revealed that EGBE‐induced oocyte deterioration was caused by mitochondrial dysfunction, which led to the accumulation of ROS and occurrence of apoptosis. Altogether, our study illustrates that mitochondrial dysfunction and redox perturbation is the major cause of the poor quality of oocytes exposed to EGBE.