Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcatheter arterial embolization for gastrointestinal bleeding: Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors predicting mortality

We evaluated clinical outcome and prognostic factors predicting mortality of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Fifty-nine patients (42 men, 17 women; mean age 66.1 ± 17.0) who underwent 59 TAE procedures for GI bleeding during 2013–2018 were retrospectively evaluated. Clinical outcomes included technical success, adverse events, and rebleeding and mortality rate within 30 days. The technical success rate was 100%. Angiography showed contrast extravasation in 41 (69.5%) patients and indirect signs of bleeding in 16 (27.1%) patients. Two (3.4%) patients underwent prophylactic embolization. TAE-related adverse events occurred in 7 (11.9%) patients; adverse events were more common for mid GI or lower GI bleeding than for upper GI bleeding (22.6% vs 0%, P = 0.007). Rebleeding within 30 days was observed in 22 (37.3%) patients after TAE. Coagulopathy was a prognostic factor for rebleeding (odds ratio [OR] = 3.53, 95% confidence interval 1.07–11.67, P = .038). Mortality within 30 days occurred in 11 (18.6%) patients. Coagulopathy (OR = 24, 95% confidence interval 2.56–225.32, P = .005) was an independent prognostic factor for mortality within 30 days. TAE is an effective, safe, and potentially lifesaving procedure for GI bleeding. If possible, coagulopathy should be corrected before TAE as it may reduce rebleeding and mortality.
Diabetic Ketoacidosis and COVID-19: A Case Series From an Inner-City Community Teaching Hospital in New York

Introduction: Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, studies have repeatedly shown that COVID-19 outcomes are more severe in the elderly and those with comorbidities, with diabetes being a significant risk factor associated with more severe infection. Here, we present the clinical characteristics of 25 patients with pre-existing type 2 diabetes mellitus who presented with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and COVID-19 in a community hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and identify possible predictors of mortality. Methods: This retrospective case series recruited patients from March 1st to April 9th, 2020, with lab-confirmed COVID-19 and met DKA criteria on admission (based on American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria for DKA). Results: Of the 25 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 22 were African American and three were Hispanic. Common comorbidities in addition to diabetes were hypertension, obesity, coronary artery disease, and dyslipidemia. Fever, cough, myalgias, and shortness of breath were common presenting symptoms. Most patients had elevated inflammatory markers erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and ferritin, but higher values increased the odds of mortality. The overall survival was 64%, with those recovering having more extended hospital stays but requiring less time in the intensive care unit. At the same time, those who died were more likely to require mechanical ventilation, have an acute cardiac injury, and/or be obese. Despite numerous studies on COVID and diabetes, only a few studies described DKA. Conclusion: This observational retrospective study illustrated that patients with diabetes are at risk of developing DKA with COVID-19 and identified some predictors of mortality. However, further studies with larger sample sizes and a control group are necessary to understand better the effects of COVID-19 on DKA and their clinical outcomes.
The correlation of BTLA rs1982809 polymorphism with cancer susceptibility: A meta-analysis of 8634 participators

Background: The connection between B and T lymphocyte attenuator rs1982809 polymorphism and cancer risk has been investigated by several studies and yielded different results. Therefore, we adopted the meta-analysis method to assess the association of rs1982809 polymorphism with the susceptibility of cancers synthetically. Methods: Eligible publications were gathered by retrieving PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Wan Fang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. We utilized odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) to assess correlation intensity and performed subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses, and publication bias assessments. Results: Six researches that encompassed 3678 cases and 4866 controls were incorporated into our meta-analysis. The rs1982809 polymorphism was proved to be connected with cancer risk by the meta-analysis in the additive model (G vs A: OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.04–1.19, Pheterogeneity = .096). Subgroup analyses revealed that this SNP is regarded as a susceptible factor for cancers in the dominant, heterozygous, and additive model (AG + GG vs AA: OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.19–1.80, Pheterogeneity = .592; AG vs AA: OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.19–1.82, Pheterogeneity = .536; G vs A: OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.12–1.55, Pheterogeneity = .745) in Caucasians; And this SNP may increase the susceptibility to lung cancer (GG vs AG+AA: OR = 1.20, CI = 1.01–1.44, Pheterogeneity = .854; G vs A: OR = 1.17, CI = 1.02–1.33, Pheterogeneity = .232). Conclusion: The paper concludes that B and T lymphocyte attenuator rs1982809 polymorphism may contribute to cancers, especially in Caucasians, and it may associate with lung cancer.
Detailed Transcriptional Landscape of Peripheral Blood Points to Increased Neutrophil Activation in Treatment-Naïve Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract Background and Aims Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] is a chronic relapsing disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, which generally manifests as Crohn’s disease [CD] or ulcerative colitis [UC]. These subtypes are heterogeneous in terms of disease location and histological features, while sharing common clinical presentation, genetic associations and, thus, common immune regulatory pathways. Methods Using miRNA and mRNA coupled transcriptome profiling and systems biology approaches, we report a comprehensive analysis of blood transcriptomes from treatment-naïve [n = 110] and treatment-exposed [n = 177] IBD patients as well as symptomatic [n = 65] and healthy controls [n = 95]. Results Broadly, the peripheral blood transcriptomes of CD and UC patients were similar. However, there was an extensive gene deregulation in the blood of IBD patients, while only a slight deregulation in symptomatic controls, when compared with healthy controls. The deregulated mRNAs and miRNAs are mainly involved in the innate immunity and are especially enriched in neutrophil activation-related pathways. Oxidative phosphorylation and neutrophil activation-related modules were found to be differentially co-expressed among treatment-naïve IBD as compared to healthy controls. In the deregulated neutrophil activation-related co-expression module, IL1B was identified as the central gene. Levels of co-expression among IL1B and chemosensing receptor [CXCR1/2 and FPR1/2] genes were reduced in the blood of IBD patients when compared with healthy controls. Conclusions Immune dysregulation seen in peripheral blood transcriptomes of treatment-naïve IBD patients is mainly driven by neutrophil activation.
Seroprevalence of anti‐myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies in adults with myelitis

Although myelitis is the second most common presentation in adults with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody‐associated disease (MOGAD), studies on MOG‐IgG seroprevalence in patients with myelitis episodes are sparse. Herein, we investigated MOG‐IgG seroprevalence in Korean adults who exhibited myelitis since 2017. Among 151 adults with acute myelitis, 11 (7.3%) tested positive for MOG‐IgG by the initial screening and 10 (6.6%) patients were finally diagnosed with MOGAD during the study period. This study is the first to provide data on MOG‐IgG seroprevalence in adults with myelitis and supports the clinical utility and importance of MOG‐IgG testing in myelitis episodes.
Lombard Effect in Individuals With Nonphonotraumatic Vocal Hyperfunction: Impact on Acoustic, Aerodynamic, and Vocal Fold Vibratory Parameters.

PURPOSE This exploratory study aims to investigate variations in voice production in the presence of background noise (Lombard effect) in individuals with nonphonotraumatic vocal hyperfunction (NPVH) and individuals with typical voices using acoustic, aerodynamic, and vocal fold vibratory measures of phonatory function. METHOD Nineteen participants with NPVH and 19 participants with typical voices produced simple vocal tasks in three sequential background conditions: baseline (in quiet), Lombard (in noise), and recovery (5 min after removing the noise). The Lombard condition consisted of speech-shaped noise at 80 dB SPL through audiometric headphones. Acoustic measures from a microphone, glottal aerodynamic parameters estimated from the oral airflow measured with a circumferentially vented pneumotachograph mask, and vocal fold vibratory parameters from high-speed videoendoscopy were analyzed. RESULTS During the Lombard condition, both groups exhibited a decrease in open quotient and increases in sound pressure level, peak-to-peak glottal airflow, maximum flow declination rate, and subglottal pressure. During the recovery condition, the acoustic and aerodynamic measures of individuals with typical voices returned to those of the baseline condition; however, recovery measures for individuals with NPVH did not return to baseline values. CONCLUSIONS As expected, individuals with NPVH and participants with typical voices exhibited a Lombard effect in the presence of elevated background noise levels. During the recovery condition, individuals with NPVH did not return to their baseline state, pointing to a persistence of the Lombard effect after noise removal. This behavior could be related to disruptions in laryngeal motor control and may play a role in the etiology of NPVH. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20415600.
Simultaneous Measurements of the Velocity and Vorticity Vector Fields in the Turbulent Near Wake of a Circular Cylinder

Title of Dissertation: SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENTS OF THE VELOCITY AND VORTICITY VECTOR FIELDS IN THE TURBULENT NEAR WAKE OF A CIRCULAR CYLINDER Phuc Ng9c Nguy~n, Doctor of Philosophy, 1993 Dissertation co-directed by: Dr. Barsam Marasli, Assistant Professor Dr. James M. Wallace, Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering Hot-wire measurements of all components of the instantaneous velocity and vorti city vectors in the wake of a circular cylinder are presented. The experiments were performed at x / d = 20 and 30, at R ed = 2000, using a miniature 12-sensor probe for the simultaneous velocity-vorticity measurements and a 4-sensor probe for t he velocity-only measurements. A calibration and a data reduction method for multi-sensor hot-wire probes are introduced. The calibration technique is independent of the number of sensors and requires minimal information about probe geometry. The data reduction scheme involves the solution of an overdetermined nonlinear algebraic system of equations in a least-squares sense. The measurements indicate that the Karman vorti ces are accurately resolved . Statistical characteristics of the velocity aJ1 d vorticity fields in this flow, including moments, probabil ity distributions and one-dimensional spectra components are documented for the first time. Conditional analysis of t he measurements at x/ d = 30 with respect, to the passage of the Karman vortices are presented. The vortex center and the saddle regions are identified and characterized. The instanteaneous velocity and vort icity signals are decomposed into mean , coherent and incoherent parts using t he trip le decomposition technique. A significant percentage of the incoherent Buctua t ions are observed to be phase-locked to the Karman vortices. The enstropy balances are computed for three decomposed parts. The generation of incoherent enstrophy due to incoherent vortex stretching is detected to be the most dominant term and is balanced by the viscous dissipa t ion. SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENTS OF THE VELOCITY AND VORTICITY VECTOR FIELDS IN THE TURBULENT NEAR WAKE OF A CIRCULAR CYLINDER
Single-Dose Radiation Therapy Without Additional Surgery as a Treatment for Heterotopic Ossification Developing After Transfemoral Amputation

Abstract Heterotopic ossification is the development of mature lamellar bone in soft tissues. Heterotopic ossification can occur in up to 23% of patients after amputation. Heterotopic ossification is often painful, causing significant dysfunction. While radiotherapy is used to prevent heterotopic ossification before formation, there is a dearth of literature on using radiotherapy to treat existing heterotopic ossification. This case report describes the use of late radiotherapy for the management of existing heterotopic ossification that developed after a transfemoral amputation. A 61-yr-old woman with peripheral artery disease of her bilateral lower limbs status post stenting and ultimately left transfemoral amputation was diagnosed with symptomatic heterotopic ossification limiting her function. Another surgery was not felt to be warranted. She was not improving with medical therapy and was prescribed 800 cGy in one fraction. After treatment, she experienced significant relief in her pain, allowing her to resume physical therapy and use of her prosthesis. There are no other published examples of using radiation alone for treatment of heterotopic ossification formation after transfemoral amputation without surgical revision of the bone formation. Our case shows possible utility in single-dose radiation as a treatment to prevent progression of heterotopic ossification, especially when limiting functional progress.
An Overview of Monkeypox Virus and Its Neuroinvasive Potential

Monkeypox virus (MPV) is an orthopox virus in the Poxviridae family that is currently of international concern. It is endemic to Central and Western Africa with two known viral clades. Various African rodents and primates are likely the natural reservoirs. Zoonotic transmission occurs by direct contact with infected animals (e.g., bites, scratches, slaughtering). Human to human transmission occurs through close contact with infected persons (e.g., respiratory droplets, skin‐on‐skin, or sexual contact) or fomites. Classically, human MPV disease first has a febrile prodrome with lymphadenopathy followed by a diffuse maculopapular to vesiculopustular skin/mucosal lesion eruption. In the current 2022 outbreak, which is primarily affecting men who have sex with men (MSM) currently, the febrile prodrome may be absent and skin/mucosal lesions may be isolated to the genital and anal regions. Rarely, MPV likely has the potential to be neuroinvasive based on animal models, previous case series, and preliminary reports currently under investigation. Even though neurologic manifestations of human MPV infection are rare, given the sheer numbers of increasing cases throughout the world, neurologists should be prepared to recognize, diagnose, and treat potential neuroinvasive disease or other neurologic symptoms. ANN NEUROL 2022;92:527–531
Measurement Properties of Mean Length of Utterance in School-Age Children.

PURPOSE Mean length of utterance (MLU) is one of the most widely reported measures of syntactic development in the developmental literature, but its responsiveness in young school-age children's language has been questioned, and it has been shown to correlate with nonsyntactic measures. This study tested the extent to which MLU shows measurement properties of responsiveness and construct validity when applied to language elicited from elementary school children. METHOD Thirty-two typically developing children in two age groups (5 and 8 years) provided four short language samples each. Language samples were elicited in a question-answer context and a narrative context. MLU was calculated with both morpheme and word counts. Other established measures of syntactic complexity (clausal density [CD], developmental level [D-Level], mean length of clause [MLC]) and lexical diversity (lexical density, moving-average type-token ratio, number of different words) were also calculated. RESULTS Linear mixed-effects analyses revealed that MLU varied systematically with discourse context and children's age group. The syntactic measures, CD and MLC, were found to vary systematically with MLU. None of the lexical diversity measures varied systematically with MLU. CONCLUSION Results suggest that MLU is a responsive and valid measure of children's syntactic development across age and discourse context during the early school-age years.
Cryo-EM structures of human hepatitis B and woodchuck hepatitis virus small spherical subviral particles

The loss of detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is considered a functional cure in chronic hepatitis B. Naturally, HBsAg can be incorporated into the virion envelope or assembled into subviral particles (SVPs) with lipid from host cells. Until now, there has been no detailed structure of HBsAg, and the published SVP structures are controversial. Here, we report the first subnanometer-resolution structures of spherical SVP from hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the related woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) determined by cryo–electron microscopy in combination with AlphaFold2 prediction. Both structures showed unique rhombicuboctahedral symmetry with 24 protruding spikes comprising dimer of small HBsAg with four helical domains. The lipid moiety in the SVP is organized in a noncanonical lipid patch instead of a lipid bilayer, which can accommodate the exposed hydrophobic surface and modulate particle stability. Together, these findings advance our knowledge of viral membrane organization and the structures of HBV and WHV spherical SVPs.
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in Delay to Initiation of Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy

PURPOSE: Delays in initiation of radiotherapy may contribute to inferior oncologic outcomes that are more commonly observed in minoritized populations in the United States. We aimed to examine inequities associated with delayed initiation of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The National Cancer Database was queried to identify the 10 cancer sites most commonly treated with IMRT. Interval to initiation of treatment (IIT) was broken into quartiles for each disease site, with the 4th quartile classified as delayed. Multivariable logistic regression for delayed IIT was performed for each disease site using clinical and demographic covariates. Differences in magnitude of delay between subsets of patients stratified by race and insurance status were evaluated using two-sample t-tests. RESULTS: Among patients (n = 350,425) treated with IMRT between 2004 and 2017, non-Hispanic Black (NHB), Hispanic, and Asian patients were significantly more likely to have delayed IIT with IMRT for nearly all disease sites compared with non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients. NHB, Hispanic, and Asian patients had significantly longer median IIT than NHW patients (NHB 87 days, P < .01; Hispanic 76 days, P < .01; Asian 74 days, P < .01; and NHW 67 days). NHW, Hispanic, and Asian patients with private insurance had shorter median IIT than those with Medicare (P < .01); however, NHB patients with private insurance had longer IIT than those with Medicare (P < .01). CONCLUSION: Delays in initiation of IMRT in NHB, Hispanic, and Asian patients may contribute to the known differences in cancer outcomes and warrant further investigation, particularly to further clarify the role of different insurance policies in delays in advanced modality radiotherapy.
Presleep Heart-Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Mood and Sleep Quality in Chinese Winter Olympic Bobsleigh Athletes.

PURPOSE To evaluate the effectiveness of heart-rate variability (HRV) biofeedback in improving autonomic function, mood, and sleep in elite bobsleigh athletes. METHODS Eight Chinese Winter Olympic bobsleigh athletes (age: 24 [2] y, body mass: 89 [15] kg, and height: 184 [5] cm) completed a randomized crossover study with and without HRV biofeedback before a single night's sleep. HRV biofeedback was provided 35 minutes prior to bedtime in the experimental condition. The assessment of HRV took place 45 and 10 minutes before bedtime. The Profile of Mood States questionnaire was completed 50 and 15 minutes prior to bedtime. Sleep duration and quality were measured through an air-mattress sleep-monitoring system. RESULTS Sleep efficiency (P = .020; F = 7.831; CI, 0.008 to 0.072) and the percentage of deep sleep duration increased (P = .013; F = 10.875; CI, 0.006 to 0.035), while the percentage of light sleep decreased (P = .034; F = 6.893; CI, -0.038 to -0.002). Presleep HRV biofeedback increased parasympathetic and decreased sympathetic activity. Mood states of anger (P = .006, F = 7.573), panic (P = .031, F = 4.288), tension (P = .011, F = 6.284), depression (P = .010, F = 6.016), fatigue (P = .000, F = 16.901), and total mood disturbance (P = .001, F = 11.225) were reduced before sleep. CONCLUSION Presleep HRV biofeedback improved some measures of autonomic function, mood, and sleep quality in Chinese Olympic bobsleigh athletes. Presleep HRV biofeedback provides a practical strategy that may help reduce sleep disturbances during periods of training and competition.
Seizure-induced strengthening of a recurrent excitatory circuit in the dentate gyrus is proconvulsant

Significance Better understanding of the initial molecular and cellular processes implicated in epileptogenesis is essential for early therapeutic intervention (i.e., before brain damage becomes irreversible). Uncontrolled activity of recurrent excitatory circuits is a common mechanism that promotes epileptic activity. In the dentate gyrus, mossy and granule cells form a recurrent excitatory circuit that can be strengthened upon activity and whose dysregulation has been implicated in temporal lobe epilepsy. Here, we found that acute induction of seizures triggers robust brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)–dependent strengthening of mossy cell–granule cell synapses that promotes further convulsive seizures. Moreover, blocking this synaptic strengthening prevents seizure activity. Together, our findings provide a potential mechanism for early epileptogenesis involving BDNF within a recurrent hippocampal excitatory network.
Musculoskeletal tissues-on-a-chip: role of natural polymers in reproducing tissue-specific microenvironments

Over the past years, 3D in vitro models have been widely employed in the regenerative medicine field. Among them, organ-on-a-chip technology has the potential to elucidate cellular mechanism exploiting multichannel microfluidic devices to establish 3D co-culture systems that offer control over the cellular, physico-chemical and biochemical microenvironments. To deliver the most relevant cues to cells, it is of paramount importance to select the most appropriate matrix for mimicking the extracellular matrix of the native tissue. Natural polymers-based hydrogels are the elected candidates for reproducing tissue-specific microenvironments in musculoskeletal tissue-on-a-chip models owning to their interesting and peculiar physico-chemical, mechanical and biological properties. Despite these advantages, there is still a gap between the biomaterials complexity in conventional tissue engineering and the application of these biomaterials in 3D in vitro microfluidic models. In this review, the aim is to suggest the adoption of more suitable biomaterials, alternative crosslinking strategies and tissue engineered-inspired approaches in organ-on-a-chip to better mimic the complexity of physiological musculoskeletal tissues. Accordingly, after giving an overview of the musculoskeletal tissue compositions, the properties of the main natural polymers employed in microfluidic systems are investigated, together with the main musculoskeletal tissues-on-a-chip devices.