Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of convalescent plasma therapy in severe COVID-19 patients

Significance COVID-19 is currently a big threat to global health. However, no specific antiviral agents are available for its treatment. In this work, we explore the feasibility of convalescent plasma (CP) transfusion to rescue severe patients. The results from 10 severe adult cases showed that one dose (200 mL) of CP was well tolerated and could significantly increase or maintain the neutralizing antibodies at a high level, leading to disappearance of viremia in 7 d. Meanwhile, clinical symptoms and paraclinical criteria rapidly improved within 3 d. Radiological examination showed varying degrees of absorption of lung lesions within 7 d. These results indicate that CP can serve as a promising rescue option for severe COVID-19, while the randomized trial is warranted. Currently, there are no approved specific antiviral agents for novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, 10 severe patients confirmed by real-time viral RNA test were enrolled prospectively. One dose of 200 mL of convalescent plasma (CP) derived from recently recovered donors with the neutralizing antibody titers above 1:640 was transfused to the patients as an addition to maximal supportive care and antiviral agents. The primary endpoint was the safety of CP transfusion. The second endpoints were the improvement of clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters within 3 d after CP transfusion. The median time from onset of illness to CP transfusion was 16.5 d. After CP transfusion, the level of neutralizing antibody increased rapidly up to 1:640 in five cases, while that of the other four cases maintained at a high level (1:640). The clinical symptoms were significantly improved along with increase of oxyhemoglobin saturation within 3 d. Several parameters tended to improve as compared to pretransfusion, including increased lymphocyte counts (0.65 × 109/L vs. 0.76 × 109/L) and decreased C-reactive protein (55.98 mg/L vs. 18.13 mg/L). Radiological examinations showed varying degrees of absorption of lung lesions within 7 d. The viral load was undetectable after transfusion in seven patients who had previous viremia. No severe adverse effects were observed. This study showed CP therapy was well tolerated and could potentially improve the clinical outcomes through neutralizing viremia in severe COVID-19 cases. The optimal dose and time point, as well as the clinical benefit of CP therapy, needs further investigation in larger well-controlled trials.
Effect of Xylitol on the Growth and Survival of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Background: Xylitol has been applied in dentistry to prevent dental caries for many years. However, it’s anti-Streptococcus pneumoniae effects are unclear. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the anti-Streptococcus pneumoniae activity of xylitol. Methods: In this study, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of xylitol were determined by microdilution method and tetrazolium salt-based colorimetric (MTT) assay. The effective concentrations of xylitol in the presence and absence of fructose against growth and survival of S. pneumoniae were measured. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The results showed that 5% to 7.5% concentrations of xylitol were associated with reduced number of S. pneumoniae cells. About 80% to 100% of S. pneumoniae cells were killed under laboratory conditions after 3 to 7 hours, respectively. MIC and MBC of xylitol against S. pneumoniae were 2.5% and 7.5% after 4 hours, respectively. We found significant changes in the number of viable cells (P ≤ 0.002). Conclusions: The results showed that the 5% and 7.5% concentrations of xylitol inhibit S. pneumoniae growth. However, the emergence of multi-drug resistance inS. pneumoniaehas become a global concern and the S. pneumoniae 23-valent vaccine may not be able to protect against S. pneumoniae human pathogenic strains. Finding a non-related antibiotic agent may be useful for controlling S. pneumoniae infections.
Optimizing Connectivity-Driven Brain Parcellation Using Ensemble Clustering

This work addresses the problem of constructing a unified, topologically optimal connectivity-based brain atlas. The proposed approach aggregates an ensemble partition from individual parcellations without label agreement, providing a balance between sufficiently flexible individual parcellations and intuitive representation of the average topological structure of the connectome. The methods exploit a previously proposed dense connectivity representation, first performing graph-based hierarchical parcellation of individual brains, and subsequently aggregating the individual parcellations into a consensus parcellation. The search for consensus—based on the hard ensemble (HE) algorithm—approximately minimizes the sum of cluster membership distances, effectively estimating a pseudo-Karcher mean of individual parcellations. Computational stability, graph structure preservation, and biological relevance of the simplified representation resulting from the proposed parcellation are assessed on the Human Connectome Project data set. These aspects are assessed using (1) edge weight distribution divergence with respect to the dense connectome representation, (2) interhemispheric symmetry, (3) network characteristics' stability and agreement with respect to individually and anatomically parcellated networks, and (4) performance of the simplified connectome in a biological sex classification task. Ensemble parcellation was found to be highly stable with respect to subject sampling, outperforming anatomical atlases and other connectome-based parcellations in classification as well as preserving global connectome properties. The HE-based parcellation also showed a degree of symmetry comparable with anatomical atlases and a high degree of spatial contiguity without using explicit priors.
Biological clocks and incremental growth line formation in dentine

Dentine‐ and enamel‐forming cells secrete matrix in consistent rhythmic phases, resulting in the formation of successive microscopic growth lines inside tooth crowns and roots. Experimental studies of various mammals have proven that these lines are laid down in subdaily, daily (circadian), and multidaily rhythms, but it is less clear how these rhythms are initiated and maintained. In 2001, researchers reported that lesioning the so‐called master biological clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), halted daily line formation in rat dentine, whereas subdaily lines persisted. More recently, a key clock gene (Bmal1) expressed in the SCN in a circadian manner was also found to be active in dentine‐ and enamel‐ secretory cells. To probe these potential neurological and local mechanisms for the production of rhythmic lines in teeth, we reexamined the role of the SCN in growth line formation in Wistar rats and investigated the presence of daily lines in Bmal1 knockout mice (Bmal1−/−). In contrast to the results of the 2001 study, we found that both daily and subdaily growth lines persisted in rat dentine after complete or partial SCN lesion in the majority of individuals. In mice, after transfer into constant darkness, daily rhythms continued to manifest as incremental lines in the dentine of each Bmal1 genotype (wild‐type, Bmal+/–, and Bmal1−/−). These results affirm that the manifestation of biological rhythms in teeth is a robust phenomenon, imply a more autonomous role of local biological clocks in tooth growth than previously suggested, and underscore the need further to elucidate tissue‐specific circadian biology and its role in incremental line formation. Investigations of this nature will strengthen an invaluable system for determining growth rates and calendar ages from mammalian hard tissues, as well as documenting the early lives of fossil hominins and other primates.
Decreasing Unplanned Extubation in the Neonatal ICU With a Focus on Endotracheal Tube Tip Position

BACKGROUND: Unplanned extubation (UE) is an important quality metric in the neonatal ICU that is associated with hypoxia, bradycardia, and risk for airway trauma with emergent re-intubation. Initial efforts to reduce UE in our level 4 neonatal ICU included standardized securement of the endotracheal tube (ETT) and requiring multiple providers to be present for ETT adjustments and patient positioning as phase 1 interventions. After an initial decline, the UE rate plateaued; an internal retrospective review revealed that the odds of UE were 2.9 times higher in the setting of an ETT tip at or above T1 (high ETT) on chest radiograph just prior to UE. The team hypothesized that advancing ETT tips to below T1 would reduce UE risk in infants of all gestational ages. METHODS: Over a period of 32 months, we compared pre-intervention and post-intervention UE rates in our neonatal ICU after a 2-step initiative that focused initially on ETT securement and assessment, with a subsequent addition of a single intervention to advance ETT tips below T1. To determine if the decrease in UE rate could be secondary to our intervention, data were analyzed from 3 cohorts: a control group of 40 infants with 185 chest radiographs and no UEs, 46 infants with chest radiographs prior to 58 UE events before the intervention, and 37 infants with chest radiographs prior to 48 UE events following the intervention. RESULTS: Advancing ETT tips below T1, in addition to the use of a standard UE-prevention bundle, led to a significant decrease in the UE rate from 1.23 to 0.91 UEs per 100 ventilator days, with 14% of postintervention UEs attributed to ETT advancement. CONCLUSIONS: High ETTs are significantly associated with UEs in the neonatal ICU. Optimizing ETT position may be an underrecognized driver in the provider’s toolbox to reduce UEs. Because ETT repositioning carries risk of UE, extra caution should be taken during advancement.
Impact of health warning labels communicating the risk of cancer on alcohol selection: An online experimental study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Evidence from tobacco research suggests that health warning labels (HWLs) depicting the adverse consequences of consumption change smoking behaviours, with image-and-text (also known as 'pictorial' or 'graphic') HWLs most effective. There is an absence of evidence concerning the potential impact of HWLs placed on alcohol products on selection of those products. This study aimed to obtain a preliminary assessment of the possible impact of (a) image-and-text (b) text-only and (c) image-only HWLs on selection of alcoholic versus non-alcoholic drinks. DESIGN A between-subjects randomised experiment with a 2 (image: present vs absent) x 2 (text: present vs absent) factorial design. SETTING The study was conducted on the online survey platform Qualtrics. PARTICIPANTS Participants (n=6024) were adults over the age of 18 who consumed beer or wine regularly (i.e., at least once a week), recruited through a market research agency. INTERVENTIONS Participants were randomised to one of four groups varying in the HWL displayed on the packaging of alcoholic drinks: i. image-and-text HWL; ii. text-only HWL; iii. image-only HWL; iv. no HWL. HWLs depicted bowel cancer, breast cancer and liver cancer, which were each displayed twice across six alcoholic drinks. Each group viewed six alcoholic and six non-alcoholic drinks and selected one drink that they would like to consume. MEASUREMENTS The primary outcome was the proportion of participants selecting an alcoholic versus a non-alcoholic drink. FINDINGS Alcoholic drink selection was lower for all HWL types compared with no HWL (image-and-text: 56%; image-only: 49%; text-only: 61%; no HWL: 77%), with selection lowest for HWLs that included an image. Image-and-text HWLs reduced the odds of selecting an alcoholic drink compared with text-only HWLs (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.92), but increased the odds of selecting an alcoholic drink compared with image-only HWLs (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.55). CONCLUSIONS Health warning labels communicating the increased risk of cancers associated with alcohol consumption reduced selection of alcoholic versus non-alcoholic drinks in a hypothetical choice task in an online setting; labels displaying images had the largest effect. Their impact in laboratory and real-world field settings using physical products awaits investigation.
The Effect of Inhalation Smoking by Narghile on Some Parameters Biochemistry

The present study included 50 sample collected different of Iraq.25 sample narghile smoker men group and 25 control men group show the results increase significant in MDA, ALT, AST and LDH in narghile smoker men group when compared with control men group , while decrease significant in C.K and ACHE in narghile smoker men group when compared with control men group Keywords: Nargile, Oxidative stress, MDA, LDH , CK , ACHE , ALP , ALT and AST.
Mass Spectrometry Imaging Reveals Neutrophil Defensins as Additional Biomarkers for Anti-PD-(L)1 Immunotherapy Response in NSCLC Patients

(1) Background: Therapeutic blocking of the interaction between programmed death-1 (PD-1) with its ligand PD-L1, an immune checkpoint, is a promising approach to restore the antitumor immune response. Improved clinical outcomes have been shown in different human cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, still a high number of NSCLC patients are treated with immunotherapy without obtaining any clinical benefit, due to the limitations of PD-L1 protein expression as the currently sole predictive biomarker for clinical use; (2) Methods: In this study, we applied mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to discover new protein biomarkers, and to assess the possible correlation between candidate biomarkers and a positive immunotherapy response by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) MSI in 25 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) pretreatment tumor biopsies (Biobank@UZA); (3) Results: Using MALDI MSI, we revealed that the addition of neutrophil defensin 1, 2 and 3 as pretreatment biomarkers may more accurately predict the outcome of immunotherapy treatment in NSCLC. These results were verified and confirmed with immunohistochemical analyses. In addition, we provide in-vitro evidence of the immune stimulatory effect of neutrophil defensins towards cancer cells; and (4) Conclusions: With proteomic approaches, we have discovered neutrophil defensins as additional prospective biomarkers for an anti-PD-(L)1 immunotherapy response. Thereby, we also demonstrated that the neutrophil defensins contribute in the activation of the immune response towards cancer cells, which could provide a new lead towards an anticancer therapy.
Effect of orthokeratology on axial length elongation in moderate myopic and fellow high myopic eyes of children.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE The effects of orthokeratology (Ortho-K) on myopic eyes was examined, providing confidence to optometrists applying Ortho-K to high myopic and anisometropic children. BACKGROUND Ortho-K slows the progression of low to moderate myopia. The effectiveness of Ortho-K in Chinese children with fellow moderate and high myopic eyes was determined. METHODS This retrospective study included female (n = 35) and male (n = 30) children with moderate myopia in one eye (spherical equivalent refractive (SER) error ≤ -3.00 D, but > -6.00 D) and high myopia in the contralateral eye (SER error ≤ -6.00 D). Three age groups were included: 7-10 years (n = 18), 11-12 years (n = 21), and 13-15 years (n = 26). Baseline refraction and axial lengths were measured before fitting Ortho-K lenses worn nightly for at least eight hours, and after one year. RESULTS Axial length increased 0.14 ± 0.13 mm (mean ± standard deviation) and 0.13 ± 0.16 mm in the moderate and high myopic groups respectively (p = 0.78). For females, axial elongation in the moderate and high myopic groups was 0.10 and 0.08 mm respectively. For males, it was 0.19 mm in both groups. Axial elongation in 7-10-year-old children with moderate and high myopic eyes was 0.24 ± 0.14 and 0.21 ± 0.15 mm respectively. In 11-12-year-old children, it was 0.12 mm in both myopic groups. In 13-15-year-old children, it was 0.09 mm in both groups. In moderate myopic eyes, axial elongation in the youngest group was greater than the other two age groups (p < 0.01). In high myopic eyes, there were no differences among the age groups (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS Ortho-K was equally effective in reducing myopic progression in moderate and in contralateral high myopic eyes. Axial elongation was greater for males than females. For both sexes, it decreased at the same rate with increasing age, regardless of difference in myopia.
Physical Activity for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain in Elderly Patients: A Systematic Review

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) affects nearly 20–25% of the population older than 65 years, and it is currently the main cause of disability both in the developed and developing countries. It is crucial to reach an optimal management of this condition in older patients to improve their quality of life. This review evaluates the effectiveness of physical activity (PA) to improve disability and pain in older people with non-specific CLBP. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to improve the reporting of the review. Individual risk of bias of single studies was assessed using Rob 2 tool and ROBINS-I tool. The quality of evidence assessment was performed using GRADE analysis only in articles that presents full data. The articles were searched in different web portals (Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, and CENTRAL). All the articles reported respect the following inclusion criteria: patients > 65 years old who underwent physical activities for the treatment of CLBP. A total of 12 studies were included: 7 randomized controlled trials (RCT), 3 non-randomized controlled trials (NRCT), 1 pre and post intervention study (PPIS), and 1 case series (CS). The studies showed high heterogeneity in terms of study design, interventions, and outcome variables. In general, post-treatment data showed a trend in the improvement for disability and pain. However, considering the low quality of evidence of the studies, the high risk of bias, the languages limitations, the lack of significant results of some studies, and the lack of literature on this argument, further studies are necessary to improve the evidences on the topic.
Association Between Knee Anatomic Metrics and Biomechanics for Male Soldiers Landing With Load

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is a military occupational hazard that may be attributed to an individual’s knee biomechanics and joint anatomy. This study sought to determine if greater flexion when landing with load resulted in knee biomechanics thought to decrease ACL injury risk and whether knee biomechanics during landing relate to knee anatomic metrics. Hypothesis: Anatomic metrics regarding the slope and concavity of the tibial plateau will exhibit a significant relation to the increased anterior shear force on the knee and decreased knee flexion posture during landing with body-borne load. Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: Twenty male military personnel completed a drop landing task with 3 load conditions: light (~6 kg), medium (15% body weight), and heavy (30% body weight). Participants were divided into groups based on knee flexion exhibited when landing with the heavy load (high- and low-Δflexion). Tibial slopes and depth were measured on weightbearing volumetric images of the knee obtained with a prototype cone beam computed tomography system. Knee biomechanics were submitted to a linear mixed model to evaluate the effect of landing group and load, with the anatomic metrics considered covariates. Results: Load increased peak proximal anterior tibial shear force (P = .034), knee flexion angle (P = .024), and moment (P = .001) during landing. Only the high flexion group increased knee flexion (P < .001) during weighted landings with medium and heavy loads. The low flexion group used greater knee abduction angle (P = .030) and peak proximal anterior tibial shear force (P = .034) when landing with load. Anatomic metrics did not differ between groups, but ratio of medial-to-lateral tibial slope and medial tibial depth predicted peak proximal anterior tibial shear force (P = .009) and knee flexion (P = .034) during landing, respectively. Conclusion: Increasing knee flexion is an attainable strategy to mitigate risk of ACL injury, but certain individuals may be predisposed to knee forces and biomechanics that load the ACL during weighted landings. Clinical Relevance: The ability to screen individuals for anatomic metrics that predict knee flexion may identify soldiers and athletes who require additional training to mitigate the risk of lower extremity injury.
Norfloxacin-Loaded Electrospun Scaffolds: Montmorillonite Nanocomposite vs. Free Drug

Infections in nonhealing wounds remain one of the major challenges. Recently, nanomedicine approach seems a valid option to overcome the antibiotic resistance mechanisms. The aim of this study was the development of three types of polysaccharide-based scaffolds (chitosan-based (CH), chitosan/chondroitin sulfate-based (CH/CS), chitosan/hyaluronic acid-based (CH/HA)), as dermal substitutes, to be loaded with norfloxacin, intended for the treatment of infected wounds. The scaffolds have been loaded with norfloxacin as a free drug (N scaffolds) or in montmorillonite nanocomposite (H—hybrid-scaffolds). Chitosan/glycosaminoglycan (chondroitin sulfate or hyaluronic acid) scaffolds were prepared by means of electrospinning with a simple, one-step process. The scaffolds were characterized by 500 nm diameter fibers with homogeneous structures when norfloxacin was loaded as a free drug. On the contrary, the presence of nanocomposite caused a certain degree of surface roughness, with fibers having 1000 nm diameters. The presence of norfloxacin–montmorillonite nanocomposite (1%) caused higher deformability (90–120%) and lower elasticity (5–10 mN/cm2), decreasing the mechanical resistance of the systems. All the scaffolds were proven to be degraded via lysozyme (this should ensure scaffold resorption) and this sustained the drug release (from 50% to 100% in 3 days, depending on system composition), especially when the drug was loaded in the scaffolds as a nanocomposite. Moreover, the scaffolds were able to decrease the bioburden at least 100-fold, proving that drug loading in the scaffolds did not impair the antimicrobial activity of norfloxacin. Chondroitin sulfate and montmorillonite in the scaffolds are proven to possess a synergic performance, enhancing the fibroblast proliferation without impairing norfloxacin’s antimicrobial properties. The scaffold based on chondroitin sulfate, containing 1% norfloxacin in the nanocomposite, demonstrated adequate stiffness to sustain fibroblast proliferation and the capability to sustain antimicrobial properties to prevent/treat nonhealing wound infection during the healing process.
Plant community composition steers grassland vegetation via soil legacy effects

Abstract Soil legacy effects are commonly highlighted as drivers of plant community dynamics and species co‐existence. However, experimental evidence for soil legacy effects of conditioning plant communities on responding plant communities under natural conditions is lacking. We conditioned 192 grassland plots using six different plant communities with different ratios of grasses and forbs and for different durations. Soil microbial legacies were evident for soil fungi, but not for soil bacteria, while soil abiotic parameters did not significantly change in response to conditioning. The soil legacies affected the composition of the succeeding vegetation. Plant communities with different ratios of grasses and forbs left soil legacies that negatively affected succeeding plants of the same functional type. We conclude that fungal‐mediated soil legacy effects play a significant role in vegetation assembly of natural plant communities.