Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nurses’ involvement in end-of-life discussions with incurable cancer patients and family caregivers: An integrative review

Abstract Aim To review current evidence of nurses’ involvement in end-of-life discussions with incurable cancer patients and their family caregivers. Design We conducted a systematic integrative review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines: PROSPERO, registration number: CRD42020186204. Data sources CINAHL, Medline, PsycInfo, Embase. We searched for primary research between 2010 and 2020. Results Of 3,271 references, we found 15 eligible articles: qualitative (n = 12) and quantitative (n = 3). The studies focused on oncology nurses' perspective of involvement in end-of-life discussions. The data analysis resulted in four overall themes: (1) Nursing roles; the advocating, supporting, and reframing roles, and an undefined task, for example in medical consultations, (2) Trust building, (3) Nurse competences, and (4) Medical issues. Significance of results The nurses have several roles in end-of-life discussions, but insufficient competencies to be involved in that kind of discussions, for example to involve and communicate with families. The findings implicate an educational need among the nurses. However, it also points toward an organizational change in the outpatient clinics, for example that end-of-life discussions follow a more structured approach, are offered in a scheduled manner, and that nurses invite the family caregivers to attend.
Bioassay-guided isolation of vilasinin–type limonoids and phenyl alkene from the leaves of Trichilia gilgiana and their antiplasmodial activities

Abstract Bioassay-guided fractionation of the CH2Cl2-MeOH (1:1) leaves extract of Trichilia gilgiana, yielded two new vilasinin-type limonoids named gilgianin A (1) and gilgianin B (2), one new phenyl alkene derivative designated as gilgialkene A (3), along with six known compounds: rubescin H (4), TS3 (5), trichirubine A (6), sitosteryl-6′-O-undecanoate-β-D-glucoside (7), scopoletin (8), and octadecane-2-one (9). Their structures were elucidated based on spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. Compounds 5 and 6 exhibited the highest antiplasmodial activity with IC50 values of 1.14 and 1.32 μM respectively. Moreover, compound 5 was very cytotoxic with CC50 value of 0.88 µM, compared to compound 6, which was not cytotoxic (CC50 > 10 µg/mL). Compounds 1 (IC50 = 9.84 µM), 2 (IC50 = 11.04 µM) and 4 (IC50 = 10.71 µM) presented good antiplasmodial activity while also exhibiting significant cytotoxicity, with CC50 values ranging from of 14.45 to 29.7 µM.
Risk factors associated with the need for oxygen therapy in patients with COVID-19

Abstract Respiratory failure is the major cause of death in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Data on factors affecting the need for oxygen therapy in early-stage COVID-19 are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with the need for oxygen therapy in patients with COVID-19. This is a retrospective study of consecutive COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized between February 27 and June 28, 2020, in South Korea. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with the need for oxygen therapy. Of the 265 patients included in the study, 26 (9.8%) received oxygen therapy, and 7 of these patients (29.2%) were transferred to a step-up facility, and 3 (11.5%) died. The median age of all patients was 46 years (IQR, 30–60 years), and the median modified early warning score at admission was 1 (IQR, 1–2). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, being a current smoker (odds ratio [OR] 7.641, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.686–34.630, P = .008), heart rate (OR 1.053, 95% CI 1.010–1.097, P = .014), aspartate aminotransferase values (OR 1.049, 95% CI 1.008–1.092, P = .020), blood urea nitrogen levels (OR 1.171, 95% CI 1.073–1.278, P < .001), and chest radiographic findings (OR 3.173, 95% CI 1.870–5.382, P < .001) were associated with oxygen therapy. In patients with less severe COVID-19, the need for oxygen therapy is affected by smoking and elevated values of aspartate aminotransferase and blood urea nitrogen. Further research is warranted on the risk factors for deterioration in COVID-19 to efficiently allocate medical resources.
A Human Endogenous Bornavirus-Like Nucleoprotein Encodes a Mitochondrial Protein Associated with Cell Viability

Our genomes contain molecular fossils of ancient viruses, called endogenous virus elements (EVEs). Mounting evidence suggests that EVEs derived from nonretroviral RNA viruses have acquired functions in host cells during evolution. ABSTRACT Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are sequences in animal genomes that originated from ancient retrovirus infections; they provide genetic novelty in hosts by being coopted as functional genes or elements during evolution. Recently, we demonstrated that endogenous elements from not only from retroviruses but also nonretroviral RNA viruses are a possible source of functional genes in host animals. The remnants of ancient bornavirus infections, called endogenous bornavirus-like elements (EBLs), are present in the genomes of a wide variety of vertebrate species, and some express functional products in host cells. Previous studies have predicted that the human EBL locus derived from bornavirus nucleoprotein, termed hsEBLN-2, expresses mRNA encoding a protein, suggesting that hsEBLN-2 has acquired a cellular function during evolution. However, the detailed function of the hsEBLN-2-derived product remains to be elucidated. In this study, we show that the hsEBLN-2-derived protein E2 acts as a mitochondrial protein that interacts with mitochondrial host factors associated with apoptosis, such as HAX-1. We also demonstrate that knockdown of hsEBLN-2-derived RNA increased the levels of PARP and caspase-3 cleavage and markedly decreased cell viability. In contrast, overexpression of E2 enhanced cell viability, as well as the intracellular stability of HAX-1, under stress conditions. Our results suggest that hsEBLN-2 has been coopted as a host gene, the product of which is involved in cell viability by interacting with mitochondrial proteins. IMPORTANCE Our genomes contain molecular fossils of ancient viruses, called endogenous virus elements (EVEs). Mounting evidence suggests that EVEs derived from nonretroviral RNA viruses have acquired functions in host cells during evolution. Previous studies have revealed that a locus encoding a bornavirus-derived EVE, hsEBLN-2, which was generated approximately 43 million years ago in a human ancestor, may be linked to the development of some tumors. However, the function of hsEBLN-2 has not been determined. In this study, we found that the E2 protein, an expression product of hsEBLN-2, interacts with apoptosis-related host proteins as a mitochondrial protein and affects cell viability. This study suggests that nonretroviral RNA viral EVEs have been coopted by hosts with more diverse functions than previously thought, showing a pivotal role for RNA virus infection in evolution.
Chemical characterisation and source apportionment of PM1 during massive loading at an urban location in Indo-Gangetic Plain: impact of local sources and long-range transport

This study assesses temporal variability and source contributions of PM1 (particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 1.0 µm) samples (n=51; November 2009–February 2010) from an urban location at Kanpur (26.30°N; 80.13°E; 142 m above mean sea-level) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). A study period from November to February is preferred owing to massive loading of particulate matter in entire IGP. PM1 varies from 18 to 348 (Avg±SD: 113±72) µg m−3 in this study. A total of 11 trace metals, five major elements and four water-soluble inorganic species (WSIS) have been measured. Mass fraction of total metals (∑metals=trace+major) centres at 18±14 %, of which nearly 15 % is contributed by major elements. Furthermore, ∑WSIS contributes about 26 % to PM1 mass concentration. Abundance pattern among assessed WSIS in this study follows the order: ≈ > > Cl−. The K-to-PM1 mass fraction (Avg: 2 %) in conjunction with air-mass back trajectories (AMBT) indicates that the prevailing north-westerly winds transport biomass burning derived pollutants from upwind IGP. A recent version of positive matrix factorisation (PMF 5.0) has been utilised to quantify the contribution of fine-mode aerosols from various sources. The contribution from each source is highly variable and shows a strong dependence on AMBT. Events with predominant contribution from biomass burning emission (>70 %) indicate origin of air-masses from source region upwind in IGP. One of the most interesting features of our study relates to the observation that secondary aerosols (contributing as high as ~60 % to PM1 loading) are predominantly derived from stationary combustion sources ( / ratio: 0.30±0.23). Thus, our study highlights a high concentration of PM1 loading and atmospheric fog prevalent during wintertime can have a severe impact on atmospheric chemistry in the air-shed of IGP.
Prospective estimation of the age of initiation of cigarettes among young adults (18–24 years old): Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) waves 1–4 (2013–2017)

Objectives To prospectively estimate the age of cigarette initiation among young adults (18–24 years old) who were never cigarette users at their first wave of adult study participation overall, by sex, and by race/ethnicity given recent increases in cigarette initiation occurring in young adulthood. Methods Secondary analyses were conducted using the PATH restricted-use adult datasets among young adult never users of cigarettes in waves 1–3 (2013–2016) with outcomes followed-up in waves 2–4 (2014–2017). Interval censoring survival methods were used to estimate the age of initiation of (i) ever, (ii) past 30-day, and (iii) fairly regular cigarette use. Among never cigarette users when they first entered the adult study, interval censoring Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore differences in the estimated age of initiation of the three cigarette use outcomes by sex and by race/ethnicity, controlling for the effect of previous e-cigarette use and the total number of other tobacco products ever used (0–5 products) before cigarette initiation outcomes. Results Among the young adults who were never cigarette users at their first wave of adult participation, the highest increase in cigarette initiation occurred between 18 and 19 years old. By age 21, 10.6% (95% CI: 9.5–11.7) initiated ever cigarette use, 7.7% (95% CI: 6.1–8.1) initiated past 30-day of cigarette use, and 1.9% (95% CI: 1.4–2.5) initiated fairly regular cigarette use. After controlling for other tobacco products: (a) males were 83% more likely to initiate past 30-day cigarette use at earlier ages than females; (b) Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black young adults had increased risk to initiate past 30-day cigarette use at earlier ages than Non-Hispanic White young adults (62% and 34%, respectively). Conclusions The substantial amount of cigarette initiation among young adults reinforces the need for prevention strategies among this population. Although, interventions are needed for all young adult populations, strategies should target 18-21-year-olds, with potentially differential prevention targets by sex and by race/ethnicity.
Follow-up services for delirium after COVID-19—where now?

Abstract Delirium is a common presentation in older inpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and a risk factor for cognitive decline at discharge. The glaring gaps in the service provision in delirium care, regardless of aetiology, after a hospital admission pre-existed the pandemic, but the pandemic arguably offers an opportunity now to address them. Whilst a delirium episode in itself is not a long-term condition, the context of it may well be, and therefore patients might benefit from personalised care and support planning. There is no reason to believe that the delirium following COVID-19 is fundamentally different from any other delirium. We propose that the needs of older patients who have experienced delirium including from COVID-19 could be addressed through a new model of post-acute delirium care that combines early supported discharge, including discharge-to-assess, with community-based follow-up to assess for persistent delirium and early new long-term cognitive impairment. Such a drive could be structurally integrated with existing memory clinic services. To succeed, such an ambition has to be flexible, adaptable and person-centred. To understand the impact on resource and service utilisation, techniques of quality improvement should be implemented, and appropriate metrics reflecting both process and outcome will be essential to underpin robust and sustainable business cases to support implementation of delirium care as a long-term solution.
Advance care planning by proxy in German nursing homes: Descriptive analysis and policy implications

Legally recognized advance directives (ADs) have to be signed by the person to whom the decisions apply. In practice, however, there are also ADs written and signed by legal proxies (surrogates) on behalf of patients who lack decision‐making capacity. Given their practical relevance and substantial ethical and legal implications, ADs by proxy (AD‐Ps) have received surprisingly little scientific attention so far.
Plasma membrane nano-organization specifies phosphoinositide effects on Rho-GTPases and actin dynamics in tobacco pollen tubes

Pollen tube growth requires coordination of cytoskeletal dynamics and apical secretion. The regulatory phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P2) is enriched in the subapical plasma membrane of pollen tubes and can influence both actin dynamics and secretion. How alternative PtdIns(4,5)P2-effects are specified is unclear. Spinning disc microscopy (SD) reveals dual distribution of a fluorescent PtdIns(4,5)P2-reporter in dynamic plasma membrane nanodomains vs. apparent diffuse membrane labelling, consistent with spatially distinct coexisting pools of PtdIns(4,5)P2. Several PI4P 5-kinases (PIP5Ks) can generate PtdIns(4,5)P2 in pollen tubes. Despite localizing to one membrane region, AtPIP5K2 and NtPIP5K6 display distinctive overexpression effects on cell morphologies, respectively related to altered actin dynamics or membrane trafficking. When analyzed by SD, AtPIP5K2-EYFP associated with nanodomains, whereas NtPIP5K6-EYFP localized diffusely. Chimeric AtPIP5K2 and NtPIP5K6 variants with reciprocally swapped membrane-associating domains evoked reciprocally shifted effects on cell morphology upon overexpression. Overall, PI4P 5-kinase variants targeted to nanodomains stabilized actin, suggesting a specific function of PtdIns(4,5)P2-nanodomains. A distinct role of nanodomain-associated AtPIP5K2 in actin regulation is further supported by proximity to and interaction with the Rho-GTPase NtRac5, and by functional interplay with elements of ROP-signalling. Plasma membrane nano-organization may thus aid the specification of PtdIns(4,5)P2-functions to coordinate cytoskeletal dynamics and secretion in pollen tubes.
PANDA: Adapting Pretrained Features for Anomaly Detection and Segmentation

Anomaly detection methods require high-quality features. In recent years, the anomaly detection community has attempted to obtain better features using advances in deep self-supervised feature learning. Surprisingly, a very promising direction, using pre-trained deep features, has been mostly overlooked. In this paper, we first empirically establish the perhaps expected, but unreported result, that combining pre-trained features with simple anomaly detection and segmentation methods convincingly outperforms, much more complex, state-of-the-art methods.In order to obtain further performance gains in anomaly detection, we adapt pre-trained features to the target distribution. Although transfer learning methods are well established in multi-class classification problems, the one-class classification (OCC) setting is not as well explored. It turns out that naive adaptation methods, which typically work well in supervised learning, often result in catastrophic collapse (feature deterioration) and reduce performance in OCC settings. A popular OCC method, DeepSVDD, advocates using specialized architectures, but this limits the adaptation performance gain. We propose two methods for combating collapse: i) a variant of early stopping that dynamically learns the stopping iteration ii) elastic regularization inspired by continual learning. Our method, PANDA, outperforms the state-of-the-art in the OCC, outlier exposure and anomaly segmentation settings by large margins1.
Any star network of bipartite pure entangled states is genuine multipartite nonlocal

Quantum entanglement and nonlocality are inextricably linked. However, while entanglement is necessary for nonlocality, it is not always sufficient in the standard Bell scenario. We derive sufficient conditions for entanglement to give rise to genuine multipartite nonlocality in networks. We find that a star network where Alice shares a pure bipartite entangled state with every other party is genuine multipartite nonlocal, independently of the amount of entanglement in the shared states. We also show that all genuine multipartite entangled states are genuine multipartite nonlocal in the sense that measurements can be found on finitely many copies of any genuine multipartite entangled state to yield a genuine multipartite nonlocal behaviour. Our results pave the way towards feasible manners of generating genuine multipartite nonlocality based only on topological considerations.
Chemically Integrated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes/Zinc Manganate Nanocrystals as Ultralong-Life Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Hybrid nanostructures based on carbon nanotubes and mixed transition-metal oxides hold a great promise as high-performance electrode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. In this work, we report the synthesis of chemically integrated MWCNT/ZnMn2O4 (MZMO) hybrids via a polyol method and subsequent thermal annealing treatment. Benefiting from the larger specific surface area, strongly coupled interaction and synergic effect between ZnMn2O4 nanocrystals and MWCNT, the MZMO hybrids exhibit improved electrochemical performance, with a high reversible specific capacity, and excellent rate capability, as well as a superior cycle stability. After 100 cycles, the MZMO2 demonstrates a reversible capacity of 847 mA h g–1 at a current density of 400 mA g–1. Even at 1600 mA g–1 up to 1000 cycles, the reversible capacity still preserves 527 mAh g–1, which is much higher than the theoretical capacity of graphite.
The Science of $\Theta \Delta^{cs}$

There is a long tradition of thinking of thermodynamics, not as a theory of fundamental physics (or even a candidate theory of fundamental physics), but as a theory of how manipulations of a physical system may be used to obtain desired effects, such as mechanical work. On this view, the basic concepts of thermodynamics, heat and work, and with them, the concept of entropy, are relative to a class of envisaged manipulations. This view has been dismissed by many philosophers of physics, in my opinion too hastily. This paper is a sketch and defense of a science of manipulations and their effects on physical systems. This is, I claim, the best way to make sense of thermodynamics as it is found in textbooks and as it is practiced. I call this science thermo-dynamics (with hyphen), or Θ∆, for short, to highlight that it may be different from the science of thermodynamics, as the reader conceives it. Even if one is not convinced that it is the best way to make sense of thermodynamics as it is practiced, it should be non-controversial that Θ∆ is a legitimate science. An upshot of the discussion is a clarification of the roles of the Gibbs and von Neumann entropies. Given the definition of statistical thermo-dynamic entropy, it can be proven that, under the assumption of availability of thermodynamically reversible processes, these functions are the unique (up to an additive constant) functions that represent thermo-dynamic entropy. Light is also shed on the use of coarse-grained entropies.
Understanding the Influence of Adsorption-Mediated Processes on Antibody Aggregation in Bioprocessing

Affinity chromatography is an indispensable method of protein purification used during the manufacture of many therapeutic antibodies. The protein A ligand is a popular choice for selective purification of immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecules. Aggregated product is often found in protein A elution pools; this is generally attributed to the effect of low pH (elution) on protein structure. However, there is evidence that other facets of the chromatography process influence aggregation phenomena. Physical and chemical transitions, such as concentration of protein on the adsorbent surface and change in buffer composition, may challenge the structural integrity of proteins, increasing their propensity for aggregation. The influence of elution from protein A on the aggregation rate of an IgG4 during a subsequent low pH hold was investigated. IgG4 was incubated in elution buffer after protein A chromatography and the monomer concentration in neutralised samples was quantified by size exclusion chromatography. Rate constants for monomer decay over time were determined by fitting exponential decay functions to the data. Similar low pH experiments were implemented in the absence of a chromatography step. The IgG4 demonstrated highly pH-dependent and apparently concentration-independent aggregation behaviour. The findings suggested that aggregation was governed predominantly by a pH-dependent unfolding/ re-folding equilibrium. Elution from protein A was found to increase aggregation rates by half an order of magnitude, while other aspects of the aggregation kinetics appeared un-affected. In order to advance understanding of how adsorption processes might impact antibody stability, neutron reflectivity was used to characterise the structure of adsorbed IgG on model surfaces. In the first model system IgG was adsorbed directly to silica and demonstrated a side-on orientation with high surface contact. A maximum dimension of 60A in the surface normal direction and high density surface coverage were observed under acidic pH conditions. In the second model system protein A was attached to a silica surface to produce a configuration representative of a glass chromatography resin. Interfacial structure was probed during sequential stages from ligand attachment, through IgG binding and elution. Adsorbed IgG structures extended up to 230A away from the surface and showed dependence on surface blocking strategies. The data was suggestive of two IgG molecules bound to protein A with a somewhat skewed orientation and close proximity to the silica surface. The findings provide insight into the orientation of adsorbed antibody structures under conditions encountered during chromatographic separations. The outcomes of this work provide a broad scope for future investigations. Based on preliminary work, using neutron measurement techniques to monitor aggregate formation inside glass chromatography resins is suggested as an interesting direction.