Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COMPARISON OF FOUR MOLECULAR TYPING METHODS FOR RIEMERELLA ANATIPESTIFER

The pathogen causing septicaemiae and infectious serositis in waterfowl, Riemerella anatipestifer has been categorized as a member of Flavobacteriaceae by 16S rDNA sequence analysis and at least 21 serotypes have been characterized through serum agglutination test. So far, the molecular determinants for R. anatipestifer serotyping are not clear; moreover, serotype analysis is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To find a better molecular typing method for R. anatipestifer, 58 field isolates collected from sick birds in central Taiwan from 2006 to 2008 were investigated by molecular methods to determine serotype-associated genetic variations. Genetic variations were determined by the methods of ITS nucleotide sequence, OmpA amino acid sequence, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and repetitive-sequence PCR (Rep-PCR). The phylogenetic trees constructed by the ITS region showed nine clusters, while the amino acid sequence of OmpA clustered into seven clusters. OmpA sequence correlated much better with serotyping than ITS, PFGE, and Rep-PCR. Meanwhile, the biofilm formation activity was also tested for serotypes 2 and 8, which were the two largest groups in the study. Serotype 2 isolates showed a higher degree of biofilm formation than serotype 8 isolates. In conclusion, we demonstrated that phylogenetic analysis with OmpA amino acid sequence is an effective tool in epidemiology and may be a candidate method substituting serotyping for R. anatipestifer. Moreover, the biofilm forming activity may play an important role in field transmission of R. anatipestifer.
Oestradiol affects skeletal muscle mass, strength and satellite cells following repeated injuries

What is the central question of this study? Oestradiol (E2) plays an important role in regulating skeletal muscle strength in females. To what extent does E2 deficiency affect recovery of strength and satellite cell number when muscle is challenged by multiple injuries? What is the main finding and its importance? E2 deficiency impairs the adaptive potential of skeletal muscle following repeated injuries, as measured by muscle mass and strength. The impairment is likely multifactorial with our data indicating that one mechanism is reduction in satellite cell number. Our findings have implications for ageing, hormone replacement and regenerative medicine in regards to maintaining satellite cell number and ultimately the preservation of skeletal muscle's adaptive potential.
Reply to the Letter to the Editor Entitled “Prognostic Value of Elevated Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure on Short Term in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction”

We appreciate the comments of Pamukcu and Acikel about our paper entitled “Effect of Elevated Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure on Short-Term Prognosis in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction. ” We would like to state that this was a retrospective study, which mainly reflected the independent effect of pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) on shortterm death, without further subgroup analysis, such as the analysis of association between PASP and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) site, revascularization time, or diuretics. “PASP was associated with AMI site” was reported by Mutlak et al, and one guideline also pointed out that pulmonary hypertension can occur due to acquired left ventricular disease. The investigation of the association between PASP and AMI site will be the subject of our further study. The association between prognosis, AMI size, and systolic function of the left ventricle is known. However, not all patients with elevated PASP had a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI) patients accounted for a larger part of our study. So we focused on the clinical characteristics and short-term mortality of patients with elevated PASP, rather than AMI region and type. Pamukcu and Acikel in their letter to the Editor comment on the “lower PCI rate in the high PASP group. ” We agree that the mortality is expected to be lower after successful revascularization. There were 69.5% of patients with Killip classification II to IV in the high PASP group, and it was very difficult to implement percutaneous coronary intervention successfully in these critically ill patients. We can also say that PASP increased because these patients failed to be revascularized successfully, and eventually the mortality rate increased. More detailed analysis and evaluation of PASP are essential in future research. We also look forward to better documenting the association between PASP and prognosis.
African Americans now Outpace Whites in Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths: A Comparison of Temporal Trends from 1999-2018.

AIMS To estimate racial differences in rates of opioid-involved overdose deaths (OOD) between Whites and African Americans in the U.S. from 1999 to 2018 to (1) identify racial variation in the temporal trends of OOD over the 20-year period and (2) compare trends in OOD rates between Whites and African Americans using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) three defined OOD epidemic periods. METHODS Data were obtained from the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research which combines OOD data from the National Vital Statistics System and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Joinpoint regression models were used to estimate age-adjusted annual percent change (APC) in OOD by race from 1999 to 2018. RESULTS The temporal trends of OOD varied by race. African Americans had a persistently low rate of OOD and statistically non-significant rate of change in OOD from 1999 to 2012 (APC = 0.47; p > 0.05), with a statistically significant and rapid acceleration in OOD rates in 2012 that persisted through 2018 (APC = 26.16; p < 0.01). Whites had 3 statistically significant periods of acceleration in OOD rate from 1999 to 2006 (APC =12.43; p<0.01), 2006-2013 (APC = 4.34, p<0.01) and the greatest increase from 2013 to 2016 (APC = 18.96; p < 0.01). Whites had a statistically non-significant decrease in OOD from 2016 to 2018 (p = 0.16). The trend for Whites more closely aligned with the CDC-defined epidemic periods than for African Americans. During wave 1 (1999-2010), the average annual percentage change (AAPC) for African Americans was significantly lower than Whites (0.47 versus 9.42, p<0.01); however, by wave 3 (2013-current; defined by the introduction of illicitly-manufactured fentanyl), the AAPC was significantly higher in African Americans (26.16 versus 13.19, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Despite historically lower rates of opioid misuse and opioid-involved overdose deaths among African Americans compared with Whites, the growth in opioid-involved overdose deaths among African Americans now outpaces that of Whites in the United States.
The prediction potential of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio for the therapeutic outcomes of programmed death receptor-1/programmed death ligand 1 inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer patients

Abstract Background: Programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors have been demonstrated to improve the prognosis of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with chemotherapy. However, there were still some non-responders. Thus, how to effectively screen the responder may be an important issue. Recent studies revealed the immune-related indicator, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), may predict the therapeutic effects of anti-PD1/PD-L1 antibodies; however, the results were controversial. This study was to re-evaluate the prognostic potential of NLR for NSCLC patients receiving PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors by performing a meta-analysis. Methods: Eligible studies were identified by searching online databases of PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. The predictive values of NLR for overall survival, (OS), progression free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR) were estimated by hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Twenty-four studies involving 2196 patients were included. The pooled analysis demonstrated that elevated NLR before PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor treatment was a predictor of poor OS (HR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.64 – 2.87, P < .001), PFS (HR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.34 – 1.78, P < .001) and low ORR (HR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44 – 0.95, P = .027) in NSCLC patients. Subgroup analysis revealed the predictive ability of NLR for OS and PFS was not changed by ethnicity, sample size, cut-off, HR source, study design or inhibitor type (except the combined anti-PD-L1 group); while its association with ORR was only significant when the cut-off value was less than 5 and the studies were prospectively designed. Conclusion: Our findings suggest patients with lower NLR may benefit from the use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors to prolong their survival period.
The Gut Microbiome Associates with Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Outcomes in Patients with Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

The gut microbiome influences the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). In non–small cell lung carcinoma patients, antibiotics have a negative impact on ICI efficacy, correlating to enrichment of Ruminococcaceae UCG 13 and Agathobacter in the gut. The gut microbiome (GM) plays an important role in shaping systemic immune responses and influences immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) efficacy. Antibiotics worsen clinical outcomes in patients receiving ICI. However, whether GM profiling and baseline antibiotic can be a biomarker of ICI efficacy in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unknown. We prospectively collected baseline (pre-ICI) fecal samples and clinical data of 70 Japanese patients suffering from advanced NSCLC and treated them with anti–PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies as a first-line or treatment-refractory therapy. We performed 16S rRNA V3–V4 sequencing of gene amplicons of fecal samples, and bacteria diversity and differential abundance analysis was performed. The clinical endpoints were objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and immune-related adverse events (irAE). ORR was 34%, and median PFS and OS were 5.2 and 16.2 months, respectively. Patients who received pre-ICI antibiotic had lower alpha diversity at baseline and underrepresentation of Ruminococcaceae UCG 13 and Agathobacter. When analyzing antibiotic-free patients, alpha diversity correlated with OS. In addition, Ruminococcaceae UCG 13 and Agathobacter were enriched in patients with favorable ORR and PFS >6 months. Ruminococcaceae UCG 13 was enriched in patients with OS >12 months. GM differences were observed between patients who experienced low- versus high-grade irAE. We demonstrated the negative influence of antibiotic on the GM composition and identified the bacteria repertoire in patients experiencing favorable responses to ICI. See articles by Tomita et al., p. 1236, and Peng et al., p. 1251
Mismatch between poor fetal growth and rapid postnatal weight gain in the first 2 years of life is associated with higher blood pressure and insulin resistance without increased adiposity in childhood: the GUSTO cohort study.

BACKGROUND Using longitudinal ultrasounds as an improved fetal growth marker, we aimed to investigate if fetal growth deceleration followed by rapid postnatal weight gain is associated with childhood cardiometabolic risk biomarkers in a contemporary well-nourished population. METHODS We defined fetal growth deceleration (FGD) as ultrasound-measured 2nd-3rd-trimester abdominal circumference decrease by ≥0.67 standard deviation score (SDS) and rapid postnatal weight gain (RPWG) as 0-2-year-old weight increase by ≥0.67 SDS. In the GUSTO mother-offspring cohort, we grouped 797 children into four groups of FGD-only (14.2%), RPWG-only (23.3%), both (mismatch, 10.7%) or neither (reference, 51.8%). Adjusting for confounders and comparing with the reference group, we tested associations of these growth groups with childhood cardiometabolic biomarkers: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-measured abdominal fat (n = 262), liver fat (n = 216), intramyocellular lipids (n = 227), quantitative magnetic resonance-measured overall body fat % (BF%) (n = 310), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (n = 323), arterial wall thickness (n = 422) and stiffness (n = 443), and blood pressure trajectories (ages 3-6 years). RESULTS Mean±SD birthweights were: FGD-only (3.11 ± 0.38 kg), RPWG-only (3.03 ± 0.37 kg), mismatch (2.87 ± 0.31 kg), reference (3.30 ± 0.36 kg). FGD-only children had elevated blood pressure trajectories without correspondingly increased BF%. RPWG-only children had altered body fat partitioning, higher BF% [BF = 4.26%, 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.34, 6.19)], HOMA-IR 0.28 units (0.11, 0.45)] and elevated blood pressure trajectories. Mismatch children did not have increased adiposity, but had elevated ectopic fat, elevated HOMA-IR [0.29 units (0.04,0.55)] and the highest blood pressure trajectories. Associations remained even after excluding small-for-gestational-age infants from analyses. CONCLUSIONS Fetal growth deceleration coupled with rapid postnatal weight gain was associated with elevated childhood cardiometabolic risk biomarkers without correspondingly increased BF%.
Sex differences in child health and healthcare: A reappraisal for India

India has an unenviable reputation as one of the world’s most gender disparate countries. Previous studies of sex bias in childhood have shown large differences between Indian boys and girls in immunization and curative healthcare, but little difference in health status as indicated by anaemia and stunting. India has changed rapidly in past decades, hence we reappraise the situation with the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015–16). We found no evidence of sex differentials in immunization coverage but a small degree of discrimination in favour of boys in medical treatment for common symptoms of infection. This discrimination was no greater in the North and Central regions of India, where severe excess mortality among female children persists. Sex differences in anaemia and stunting were small, with no regional pattern. We found no evidence that healthcare or health status of girls was influenced by the presence of other daughters in the family.
Comparison of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Medical Therapy in Non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients With 3-Vessel Disease.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to compare the long-term prognosis of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients with 3-vessel disease (3VD) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or medical therapy (MT). Methods and Results:Overall, 3,928 NSTE-ACS patients with 3VD were consecutively enrolled from April 2004 to February 2011 at Fu Wai Hospital. Patients were followed up for a median of 7.5 years, and were divided into PCI, CABG or MT groups according to their treatment. Compared with patients undergoing PCI, CABG patients had lower rates of myocardial infarction (MI), unplanned revascularization, major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and a higher rate of stroke (all P<0.05). Compared with MT, PCI and CABG had lower incidences of all adverse outcomes (all P<0.05), except for a similar rate of stroke between PCI and MT. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed similar results. After adjusting for confounders, CABG was independently associated with a lower risk of cardiac death, revascularization and MACCE compared with PCI (all P<0.05). Compared with MT, PCI reduced long-term risk of death, whereas CABG reduced long-term risk of death, revascularization and MACCE events (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS In NSTE-ACS patients with 3VD, CABG is independently associated with a lower risk of long-term cardiac death, revascularization and MACCE compared with PCI. Patients who received MT alone had the highest risk of long-term MACCE.
Significant Differences in the Bacterial Microbiome of the Pharynx and Skin in Patients with Psoriasis Compared with Healthy Controls

Studies have shown differences in the skin and gut bacterial microbiomes in patients with psoriasis, but the pharyngeal microbiome has not been studied previously. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in the bacterial microbiome of the pharynx and skin of patients with psoriasis compared with healthy controls. Swabs were taken from the pharynx and elbow skin of 39 patients with psoriasis and 70 controls. Microbiomes were characterized by sequencing 16S rRNA genes on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Significant differences were found in alpha and beta diversity in the skin, but not in the pharynx. Significant differences were also found between several phyla and genera in both skin and pharynx. The severity of psoriasis did not correlate with any genera in the pharynx, but with Capnocytophaga, Leptotrichia, Abiotrophia and Tannerella in the skin. The composition of the pharyngeal and skin microbiome may be of importance in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.
Health impacts and environmental footprints of diets that meet the Eatwell Guide recommendations: analyses of multiple UK studies

Objectives To assess the health impacts and environmental consequences of adherence to national dietary recommendations (the Eatwell Guide (EWG)) in the UK. Design and setting A secondary analysis of multiple observational studies in the UK. Participants Adults from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer - Oxford(EPIC-Oxford), UK Biobank and Million Women Study, and adults and children aged 5 and over from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Primary and secondary outcome measures risk of total mortality from Cox proportional hazards regression models, total greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) and blue water footprint (WF) associated with ‘very low’ (0–2 recommendations), ‘low’ (3–4 recommendations) or ‘intermediate-to-high’ (5–9 recommendations) adherence to EWG recommendations. Results Less than 0.1% of the NDNS sample adhere to all nine EWG recommendations and 30.6% adhere to at least five recommendations. Compared with ‘very low’ adherence to EWG recommendations, ‘intermediate-to-high adherence’ was associated with a reduced risk of mortality (risk ratio (RR): 0.93; 99% CI: 0.90 to 0.97) and −1.6 kg CO2eq/day (95% CI: −1.5 to −1.8), or 30% lower dietary GHGe. Dietary WFs were similar across EWG adherence groups. Of the individual Eatwell guidelines, adherence to the recommendation on fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with the largest reduction in total mortality risk: an RR of 0.90 (99% CI: 0.88 to 0.93). Increased adherence to the recommendation on red and processed meat consumption was associated with the largest decrease in environmental footprints (−1.48 kg CO2eq/day, 95% CI: −1.79 to 1.18 for GHGe and −22.5 L/day, 95% CI: −22.7 to 22.3 for blue WF). Conclusions The health and environmental benefits of greater adherence to EWG recommendations support increased government efforts to encourage improved diets in the UK that are essential for the health of people and the planet in the Anthropocene.
EEG-based emotion recognition with deep convolutional neural networks

Abstract The emotional state of people plays a key role in physiological and behavioral human interaction. Emotional state analysis entails many fields such as neuroscience, cognitive sciences, and biomedical engineering because the parameters of interest contain the complex neuronal activities of the brain. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are processed to communicate brain signals with external systems and make predictions over emotional states. This paper proposes a novel method for emotion recognition based on deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) that are used to classify Valence, Arousal, Dominance, and Liking emotional states. Hence, a novel approach is proposed for emotion recognition with time series of multi-channel EEG signals from a Database for Emotion Analysis and Using Physiological Signals (DEAP). We propose a new approach to emotional state estimation utilizing CNN-based classification of multi-spectral topology images obtained from EEG signals. In contrast to most of the EEG-based approaches that eliminate spatial information of EEG signals, converting EEG signals into a sequence of multi-spectral topology images, temporal, spectral, and spatial information of EEG signals are preserved. The deep recurrent convolutional network is trained to learn important representations from a sequence of three-channel topographical images. We have achieved test accuracy of 90.62% for negative and positive Valence, 86.13% for high and low Arousal, 88.48% for high and low Dominance, and finally 86.23% for like–unlike. The evaluations of this method on emotion recognition problem revealed significant improvements in the classification accuracy when compared with other studies using deep neural networks (DNNs) and one-dimensional CNNs.
A novel zipper device versus sutures for wound closure after surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

We performed an updated meta‐analysis to compare the efficacy of the zipper device and sutures for wound closure after surgery. A computerised literature search was performed for published trials in PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Two reviewers independently scrutinised the trials, extracted data, and assessed the quality of trials. The primary outcome was surgical site infections (SSI). The secondary outcomes were wound dehiscence, total wound complications, wound closure time, and scar score. Statistical analysis was performed in the Stata 12.0. Of the 130 citations, eight trials (1207 participants) met eligibility criteria and were included. The zipper device achieved a lower SSI rate (RR: 0.63, [95% CI: 0.41‐0.96, P = 0.032]), a shorter wound closure time (SMD: −8.53 [95% CI: −11.93 to −5.13, P = 0.000]) and a better scar score (SMD: 0.42 [95% CI: 0.22‐0.62, P = 0.000]) than sutures. No significant difference was shown in the incidence of wound dehiscence and total wound complications. Therefore, the zipper device provides the advantages of anti‐infection, time‐saving, and cosmesis for wound closure.
Posterior circulation ischemia due to carotid artery dissection with hyperhomocysteinemia in a 51-year-old man

To the Editor: Persistent trigeminal artery (PTA) is one of substitution ofC toT at nucleotide 677. The patient initially the most common remaining fetal anastomoses. During embroyotic development, the link between the carotid received intravenous argatroban and dual anti-platelet therapy (aspirin and clopidogrel) for first 7 days, highand vertebral basilar circulation would normally regress. Carotid artery dissection (CAD) is a common cause of cerebral ischemia in young people, which can be caused by hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) possibly due to gene mutation. We report a case of posterior circulation ischemia caused by CAD.