Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lasting Symptoms After Esophageal Resection (LASER)

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Objective: To identify the most prevalent symptoms and those with greatest impact upon health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among esophageal cancer survivors. Background: Long-term symptom burden after esophagectomy, and associations with HRQOL, are poorly understood. Patients and Methods: Between 2010 and 2016, patients from 20 European Centers who underwent esophageal cancer surgery, and were disease-free at least 1 year postoperatively were asked to complete LASER, EORTC-QLQ-C30, and QLQ-OG25 questionnaires. Specific symptom questionnaire items that were associated with poor HRQOL as identified by EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-OG25 were identified by multivariable regression analysis and combined to form a tool. Results: A total of 876 of 1081 invited patients responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 81%. Of these, 66.9% stated in the last 6 months they had symptoms associated with their esophagectomy. Ongoing weight loss was reported by 10.4% of patients, and only 13.8% returned to work with the same activities. Three LASER symptoms were correlated with poor HRQOL on multivariable analysis; pain on scars on chest (odds ratio (OR) 1.27; 95% CI 0.97–1.65), low mood (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.15–1.77) and reduced energy or activity tolerance (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.18–1.59). The areas under the curves for the development and validation datasets were 0.81 ± 0.02 and 0.82 ± 0.09 respectively. Conclusion: Two-thirds of patients experience significant symptoms more than 1 year after surgery. The 3 key symptoms associated with poor HRQOL identified in this study should be further validated, and could be used in clinical practice to identify patients who require increased support.
Evaluation of residue management practices on barley residue decomposition

Optimizing barley (hordeum vulgare L.) production in Idaho and other parts of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) should focus on farm resource management. The effect of post-harvest residue management on barley residue decomposition has not been adequately studied. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of residue placement (surface vs. incorporated), residue size (chopped vs. ground-sieved) and soil type (sand and sandy loam) on barley residue decomposition. A 50-day(d) laboratory incubation experiment was conducted at a temperature of 25°C at the Aberdeen Research and Extension Center, Aberdeen, Idaho, USA. Following the study, a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) modeling approach was applied to investigate the first-order decay kinetics of barley residue. An accelerated initial flush of residue carbon(C)-mineralization was measured for the sieved (Day 1) compared to chopped (Day 3 to 5) residues for both surface incorporated applications. The highest evolution of carbon dioxide (CO2)-C of 8.3 g kg-1 dry residue was observed on Day 1 from the incorporated-sieved application for both soils. The highest and lowest amount of cumulative CO2-C released and percentage residue decomposed over 50-d was observed for surface-chopped (107 g kg-1 dry residue and 27%, respectively) and incorporated-sieved (69 g kg-1 dry residue and 18%, respectively) residues, respectively. There were no significant differences in C-mineralization from barley residue based on soil type or its interactions with residue placement and size (p >0.05). The largest decay constant k of 0.0083 d-1 was calculated for surface-chopped residue where the predicted half-life was 80 d, which did not differ from surface sieved or incorporated chopped. In contrast, incorporated-sieved treatments only resulted in a k of 0.0054 d-1 and would need an additional 48 d to decompose 50% of the residue. Future residue decomposition studies under field conditions are warranted to verify the residue C-mineralization and its impact on residue management.
Challenges Associated with Byproducts Valorization—Comparison Study of Safety Parameters of Ultrasonicated and Fermented Plant-Based Byproducts

In order to promote the efficient use of byproducts from the production of plant-based beverages, which still contain a large amount of nutritional and functional compounds, microbiological and chemical safety characteristics should be evaluated and, if needed, improved. Many challenges are associated with byproducts valorization, and the most important ones, which should be taken into account at the further steps of valorization, are biological and chemical safety. For safety improving, several technological treatments (biological, physical etc.) can be used. In this study, the influence of low-frequency ultrasonication (US) and fermentation with Lactobacillus casei LUHS210 strain, as physical and biotechnological treatments, on the safety characteristics of the byproducts (BYs) from the processing of rice, soy, almond, coconut, and oat drinks was compared. Ultrasonication, as well as fermentation, effectively improved the microbiological safety of BYs. Ultrasonication and fermentation reduced the concentration of deoxynivalenol, on average, by 24% only in soy BYs. After fermentation, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol was formed in all samples (<12 µg kg−1), except for soy BYs. The lowest total biogenic amines content was found in fermented rice BYs and ultrasonicated coconut BYs. When comparing untreated and fermented BYs, significant changes in macro- and micro-elements content were found. Ultrasonication at 37 kHz did not significantly influence the concentrations of macro- and micro-elements, while fermentation affected most of the essential micro-elements. Consequently, while ultrasonication and fermentation can enhance the safety of BYs, the specific effects must be taken into account on biogenic amines, mycotoxins, and micro and macro elements.
TNF-α Pretreatment Improves the Survival and Function of Transplanted Human Neural Progenitor Cells Following Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) therapy offers great promise in hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury. However, the poor survival of implanted NPCs in the HI host environment limits their therapeutic effects. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is a pleiotropic cytokine that is induced in response to a variety of pathological processes including inflammation and immunity. On the other hand, TNF-α has protective effects on cell apoptosis and death and affects the differentiation, proliferation, and survival of neural stem/progenitor cells in the brain. The present study investigated whether TNF-α pretreatment on human NPCs (hNPCs) enhances the effectiveness of cell transplantation therapy under ischemic brain. Fetal brain tissue-derived hNPCs were pretreated with TNF-α before being used in vitro experiments or transplantation. TNF-α significantly increased expression of cIAP2, and the use of short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown of cIAP2 demonstrated that cIAP2 protected hNPCs against HI-induced cytotoxicity. In addition, pretreatment of hNPCs with TNF-α mediated neuroprotection by altering microglia polarization via increased expression of CX3CL1 and by enhancing expression of neurotrophic factors. Furthermore, transplantation of TNF-α-treated hNPCs reduced infarct volume and improved neurological functions in comparison with non-pretreated hNPCs or vehicle. These findings show that TNF-α pretreatment, which protects hNPCs from HI-injured brain-induced apoptosis and increases neuroprotection, is a simple and safe approach to improve the survival of transplanted hNPCs and the therapeutic efficacy of hNPCs in HI brain injury.
Position Paper: Recommendations for the Investigation, Diagnosis, and Certification of Deaths Related to Opioid and Other Drugs.

The National Association of Medical Examiners convened an expert panel to update the association's evidence-based recommendations for investigating and certifying deaths associated with opioids and other misused substances to improve death certificate and mortality data for public health surveillance. The recommendations are as follows:1. Autopsy provides the best information on a decedent's medical condition for optimal interpretation of toxicology results, circumstances surrounding death, medical history, and scene findings. The panel considers autopsy an essential component of investigating apparent overdose deaths.2. Scene investigation includes reconciling prescription information and medication counts. Investigators should note drug paraphernalia or other evidence of using intoxicating substances.3. Retain blood, urine, and vitreous humor whenever available. Blood from the iliofemoral vein is preferable to blood from more central sites.4. A toxicological panel should be comprehensive, including potent depressant, stimulant, and antidepressant medications. Detecting novel substances present in the community may require special testing.5. When death is attributed to a drug or combination of drugs (as cause or contributing factor), the certifier should list the drugs by generic name in the autopsy report and death certificate.6. The best classification for manner of death in an overdose without any apparent intent of self-harm is "accident. "
Influence of Modified Titanium Abutment Surface on Peri-implant Soft Tissue Behavior: A Systematic Review of In Vitro Studies.

PURPOSE Abutment soft tissue integration in the transmucosal area supports the peri-implant tissues, improves esthetics, ensures a soft tissue seal against microorganisms, and preserves crestal bone level. The aim of this systematic review was to systematically analyze the cellular response of fibroblasts on different abutment materials and surface modifications in in vitro studies with a score-based reliability evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS A protocol aiming to answer the following focused question was developed: "What is the effect of different abutment materials and different surface modifications on in vitro cellular response of fibroblasts? " A search through three electronic databases (Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science) was performed using the following search terms: fibroblast, implant, abutment used as the main keywords, with AND/OR as Boolean operators. Only in vitro studies using machined titanium as control surface were included. A quality assessment of the selected studies was performed following the SciRAP method. RESULTS Out of a preliminary pool of 97 articles, 21 relevant articles were identified for final evaluation. Cellular response evaluation was investigated as follows: 10 studies compared two or more different materials, 7 assessed mechanical surface modification, 14 weighed chemical or biochemical surface modification, and 3 evaluated surfaces modified by a biophysical procedure. Rather than abutment bulk material, external surface features (collagen coating, electropolishing, plasma cleaning, and laser dimpling) were demonstrated to positively affect cell response (cell attachment, morphology and proliferations, expression of adhesion-related proteins and cytokines), mostly at the early stage. While sandblasting, acid etching, composite coating, nitride coating, and vitamin D presented lower results compared with machined, controversial results were demonstrated by anodization. The mean reporting quality SciRAP score was 78.17 ± 11.89, while the mean methodologic quality SciRAP score was 84.13 ± 12.35. Intrastudy comparison highlighted that the time after seeding chosen to evaluate the fibroblast response varies significantly and seems to deeply influence the response. In fact, due to heterogeneity in the study designs, statistical methods, and reported results, meta-analysis of the data was not possible. CONCLUSION Within the limitation due to the design and heterogeneity of the included studies, it can be speculated that abutment material and its mechanical, physical, and chemical modification influence fibroblast response in vitro, especially in the earlier phases of contact with the abutment surface.
Efeito Agudo do Exercício Intervalado versus Contínuo sobre a Pressão Arterial: Revisão Sistemática e Metanálise

Resumo Fundamento O exercício aeróbio contínuo (EC) é uma das principais recomendações não farmacológicas para prevenção e tratamento da hipertensão arterial sistêmica. O EC é seguro e eficaz para reduzir a pressão arterial cronicamente, assim como nas primeiras horas após sua realização, fenômeno conhecido por hipotensão pós-exercício (HPE). O exercício intervalado (EI) também gera HPE. Objetivo Essa revisão sistemática e metanálise buscou comparar a magnitude da HPE entre o EC e EI em adultos. Métodos Realizou-se uma revisão sistemática de estudos publicados em revistas indexadas nas bases PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus e CENTRAL até março de 2020 que compararam a magnitude da HPE entre o EC versus EI. Foi definida HPE entre 45 e 60 minutos pós-exercício. As diferenças entre grupos sobre a pressão arterial foram analisadas por meio do modelo de efeito aleatório. Os dados foram reportados como diferença média ponderada (WMD) e 95% de intervalo de confiança (IC). Valor p menor que 0,05 foi considerado estatisticamente significativo. A escala TESTEX (0 a 15) foi usada para verificação da qualidade metodológica dos estudos. Resultados O EI apresentou HPE de maior magnitude sobre a pressão arterial sistólica (WMD: -2,93 mmHg [IC95%: -4,96, -0,90], p = 0,005, I2 = 50%) e pressão arterial diastólica (WMD: -1,73 mmHg [IC95%: -2,94, -0,51], p = 0,005, I2 = 0%) quando comparado ao EC (12 estudos; 196 participantes). A pontuação dos estudos na escala TEXTEX variou entre 10 e 11 pontos. Conclusões O EI gerou HPE de maior magnitude quando comparado ao EC entre 45 e 60 minutos pós-exercício. A ausência de dados sobre eventos adversos durante o EI e EC nos estudos impede comparações sobre a segurança dessas estratégias. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; 115(1):5-14)
In Vitro Lineage-Specific Differentiation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Response to SMAD3 Deficiency

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objective: SMAD3 pathogenic variants are associated with the development of thoracic aortic aneurysms. We sought to determine the role of SMAD3 in lineage-specific vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) differentiation and function. Approach and Results: SMAD3 c.652delA, a frameshift mutation and nonsense-mediated decay, was introduced in human-induced pluripotent stem cells using CRISPR-Cas9. The wild-type and SMAD3−/− (c.652delA) human-induced pluripotent stem cells were differentiated into cardiovascular progenitor cells or neural crest stem cells and then to lineage-specific VSMCs. Differentiation, contractility, extracellular matrix synthesis, and TGF-β (transforming growth factor-β) signaling of the differentiated VSMCs were analyzed. The homozygous frameshift mutation resulted in SMAD3 deficiency and was confirmed in human-induced pluripotent stem cells by Sanger sequencing and immunoblot analysis. In cardiovascular progenitor cell-VSMCs, SMAD3 deletion significantly disrupted canonical TGF-β signaling and decreased gene expression of VSMC markers, including SM α-actin, myosin heavy chain 11, calponin-1, SM22α, and key controlling factors, SRF and myocardin, but increased collagen expression. The loss of SMAD3 significantly decreased VSMC contractility. In neural crest stem cells-VSMCs, SMAD3 deficiency did not significantly affect the VSMC differentiation but decreased ELN (elastin) expression and increased phosphorylated SMAD2. Expression of mir-29 was increased in SMAD3−/− VSMCs, and inhibition of mir-29 partially rescued ELN expression. Conclusions: SMAD3-dependent TGF-β signaling was essential for the differentiation of cardiovascular progenitor cell-VSMCs but not for the differentiation of neural crest stem cell-VSMCs. The lineage-specific TGF-β responses in human VSMCs may potentially contribute to the development of aortic root aneurysms in patients with SMAD3 mutations.
Ecological Impacts of Nonnative Freshwater Fishes

Abstract There is a long history of introduction of non-native fishes in fresh waters and the introduction rate has accelerated greatly over time. Although not all introduced fishes have appreciable effects on their new ecosystems, many exert significant ecological, evolutionary, and economic impacts. For researchers, managers, and policy makers interested in conserving freshwater diversity, understanding the magnitude and array of potential impacts of non-native fish species is of utmost importance. The present study provides an illustrative conspectus of the most recent literature reporting ecological impacts of non-native freshwater fishes from a wide range of species and geographic locations and concludes with a prospectus of needed areas of scientific inquiry. Both directly and indirectly, invasive fishes affect a wide range of native organisms from zooplankton to mammals across multiple levels of biological organizations ranging from the genome to the ecosystem. Although a great deal of knowledge ha.
Screening Kentucky bluegrass for aluminum tolerance

Abstract Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a growth‐limiting factor in acid soils for many turfgrasses. The genetic diversity among turfgrass cultivars for Al tolerance is not well known. One hundred‐fifty Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) genotypes (cultivars, selections, and breeding lines) belonging to seven ecotypes were selected to screen for Al tolerance under greenhouse conditions using solution culture, sand culture, and an acid Tatum subsoil (Clayey, mixed, thermic, typic, Hapludult). This soil had 69% exchangeable Al and a pH of 4.4. An Al concentration of 320 μM and a pH of 4.0 in a modified 1/4 strength Hoagland nutrient solution was used in solution screening and sand screening. The grasses were seeded and grown four to five weeks before harvesting. Differences were identified among cultivars and the seven ecotypes by measuring relative growth. ‘Battan’, ‘Viva’, and ‘Nassau’ were the most Al‐tolerant cultivars based on the rank average of the three screening methods. Among the seven ecotypes, BVM.
Predicting future courses of psychotherapy within a grouped LASSO framework

Abstract Objective: There is a paucity of studies examining the experience of clients who undergo multiple courses of psychotherapy. Conducted within a large practice research network, this study demonstrated that returning therapy clients comprise a considerable portion of the clinical population in university counseling settings, and identified variables associated with return to therapy. Method: Utilizing data spanning 2013 to 2017, statistical variable selection for predicting return to therapy was conducted via grouped least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (grouped LASSO) applied to logistic regression. The grouped LASSO approach is described in detail to facilitate learning and replication. The paper also addresses methodological considerations related to this approach, such as sample size, generalizability, as well as general strengths and limitations. Results: Attendance rate, duration of initial treatment course, social anxiety, perceived social support, academic distress, and alcohol use were identified as predictive of return to therapy. Conclusions: Findings could help inform more cost-effective policies for session limits (e.g., extending session limits for clients with social anxiety), referral decisions (e.g., for clients with alcohol use problems), and appointment reminders (based on the association between poor attendance rate and return to therapy). Taking into account the many reasons that can explain why clients do or do not return to therapy, these findings also could inform clinicians’ early case conceptualizations and treatment interventions.
The dynamics of the stool virome in very early onset inflammatory bowel disease.

Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota is a well-known correlate of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, few studies have examined the microbiome in very early onset (VEO) IBD, which is defined as onset of IBD before 6 years of age. Here we focus on the viral portion of the microbiome--the virome-- to assess possible viral associations with disease processes, reasoning that any viruses potentially associated with IBD might grow out more robustly in the younger subjects, and so be more detectable. Virus-like particles (VLPs) were purified from stool samples collected from patients with VEO-IBD (n = 54) and healthy controls (n = 23), and characterized by DNA and RNA sequencing and VLP particle counts. The total number of VLPs was not significantly different between VEO-IBD and healthy controls. For bacterial viruses, the VEO-IBD subjects were found to have a higher ratio of Caudovirales versus Microviridae compared to healthy controls. An increase in Caudovirales was also associated with immunosuppressive therapy. For viruses infecting human cells, Anelloviridae showed higher prevalence in VEO-IBD compared to healthy controls. Within the VEO-IBD group, higher levels of Anelloviridae DNA was also positively associated with immunosuppressive treatment. To search for new viruses, short sequences were identified enriched in VEO-IBD samples, and some could be validated in an independent cohort, though none were clearly viral; this provides sequence tags to interrogate in future studies. These data thus document perturbations to normal viral populations associated with VEO-IBD, and provide a biomarker--Anelloviridae DNA levels--potentially useful for reporting the effectiveness of immunosuppression.
Work-to-Family Conflict and its Associations With Workers' Burnout, Poor Self-Rated Health and Minor Mental Disorder: A Survey of General Employees in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES To examine the distribution of work-to-family conflict (W-FC) across socio-demographic groups and a wide spectrum of occupations, and its associations with workers' burnout, self-rated health and mental health status by gender. METHODS A cross-sectional household survey of representative employees was conducted in 2013. A standardized questionnaire was administered to collect information. RESULTS W-FC was high in employees aged 35-44 years old and in certain occupational groups. Long working hours, rotating work shift, high work demands, high job control, low workplace justice and family care burden were risk factors for W-FC, and high W-FC score was significantly associated with burnout, poor self-rated health and minor mental disorder. CONCLUSIONS To improve workers' health, it is essential to identify high risk groups and adopt measures to reduce conflicts between work and family life.
Can co-speech gestures alone carry the mental time line?

Time and space have been shown to be interlinked in people's minds. To what extent can co-speech gestures influence thinking about time, over and above spoken language? In this study, we use the ambiguous question "Next Wednesday's meeting has been moved forward two days, what day is it on now? " to show that people either respond "Monday" or "Friday," depending on gesture. We manipulated both language (using either the adverb "forward," or the adverb "backward") and gesture (forward and backward movement), thus creating matches and mismatches between speech and gesture. Results show that the speech manipulation exerts a stronger influence on people's temporal perspectives than gesture. Moreover, the effect of gesture disappears completely for certain hand shapes and if non-movement language is used ("changed by two days" as opposed to "moved by two days"). We additionally find that the strength of the gesture effect is moderated by likability: When people like the gesturer, they are more prone to assuming their perspective, which completely changes the meaning of forward and backward gestural movements. Altogether, our results suggest that gesture does play a role in thinking about time, but this role is auxiliary when compared with speech, and the degree to which gesture matters depends on one's social relation to the gesturer. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).