Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MASS MEDIA IN DISSEMINATING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

Developments in the field of science and technology while paving way for too many revolutions on the one hand had resulted in serious environmental problems on the other. At this juncture, the role of mass media becomes pertinent in spreading environmental awareness. The approach to entertainment- education can be a very promising one in creating environmental awareness via the usage of media such as, newspapers and magazines, radio, television and Internet.
Epithelial response to vocal fold microflap injury in a preclinical model

Functional outcomes following microflap surgery for vocal fold pathology are favorable. Although the stratified squamous epithelium appears to heal rapidly, persistent physiologic tissue alterations are likely. We sought to elucidate key biochemical processes including recruitment of immune cells, regulation of cellular junction proteins, and long‐term alterations to epithelial tissue permeability following microflap with an eye toward enhanced clinical outcomes.
Acquisition of demonstratives in cross-linguistic perspective

Abstract This paper examines the acquisition of demonstratives (e.g., that, there) from a cross-linguistic perspective. Although demonstratives are often said to play a crucial role in L1 acquisition, there is little systematic research on this topic. Using extensive corpus data of spontaneous child speech, the paper investigates the emergence and development of demonstratives in three European (English, French, Spanish) and four non-European languages (Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Indonesian) between age 1;0 and 6;0. The data show that, across languages, demonstratives are among the earliest and most frequent child words, but their frequency decreases with age and MLU. As children grow older, they tend to use other types of referring terms (e.g., anaphoric pronouns) and other types of spatial expressions (e.g., adpositions). Considering these results, we hypothesize that children shift from using a body-oriented strategy of deictic communication to more abstract and disembodied strategies of encoding reference and space during the preschool years.
Comparing the Effects of Long-Term vs. Periodic Inclusion of Isometric Strength Training on Strength and Dynamic Performances

Abstract Lum, D, Joseph, R, Ong, KY, Tang, JM, and Suchomel, TJ. Comparing the effects of long-term vs. periodic inclusion of isometric strength training on strength and dynamic performances. J Strength Cond Res 37(2): 305–314, 2023—This study compared the effects of including isometric strength training (IST) for consecutive 24 weeks (CIST) against a periodic inclusion (PIST) of this mode of training on strength and dynamic performances. Twenty-four floorball athletes (age: 23 ± 2.7 years, stature: 1.74 ± 2.08 m, and body mass: 72.7 ± 14.4 kg) were randomly assigned to the control (CON), CIST, or PIST group. Athletes completed 20-m sprint, countermovement jump (CMJ), and isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) during pre-test and were tested on weeks 6, 12, 18, and 24. All groups performed a similar strength training program twice per week. However, 2 sets of squats were replaced with isometric squat in CIST for all 24 weeks but only on weeks 1–6 and 13–18 for PIST. A significant main effect for time was observed for 5-, 10-, and 20-m sprint time, CMJ height, peak force, peak power, time to take-off, modified reactive strength index, IMTP peak force, relative peak force, and force at 200 milliseconds (p = <0.001–0.037). Isometric strength training for 24 consecutive weeks resulted in greater improvement in 5-m sprint time than CON at week 24 (p = 0.024, g = 1.17). Both CIST and PIST resulted in greater improvements in 10-m sprint time than CON at various time points (p = 0.007–0.038 and 0.038, g = 1.07–1.44 and 1.18, respectively). Isometric strength training for 24 consecutive weeks and PIST resulted in greater improvements in 20-m sprint time than CON at week 6 (p = 0.007 and 0.025, g = 1.65 and 1.40, respectively). The results showed that the inclusion of IST resulted in greater improvements in sprint performance than CON but no significant difference in all measured variables with PIST.
Seven years since the launch of the Matchmaker Exchange: The evolution of genomic matchmaking

The Matchmaker Exchange (MME) was launched in 2015 to provide a robust mechanism to discover novel disease‐gene relationships. It operates as a federated network connecting databases holding relevant data using a common application programming interface, where two or more users are looking for a match for the same gene (two‐sided matchmaking). Seven years from its launch, it is clear that the MME is making outstanding contributions to understanding the morbid anatomy of the genome. The number of unique genes present across the MME has steadily increased over time; there are currently >13,520 unique genes (~68% of all protein‐coding genes) connected across the MME's eight genomic matchmaking nodes, GeneMatcher, DECIPHER, PhenomeCentral, MyGene2, seqr, Initiative on Rare and Undiagnosed Disease, PatientMatcher, and the RD‐Connect Genome‐Phenome Analysis Platform. The collective data set accessible across the MME currently includes more than 120,000 cases from over 12,000 contributors in 98 countries. The discovery of potential new disease‐gene relationships is happening daily and international collaborative teams are moving these advances forward to publication, now numbering well over 500. Expansion of data sharing into routine clinical practice by clinicians, genetic counselors, and clinical laboratories has ensured access to discovery for even more individuals with undiagnosed rare genetic diseases. Tens of thousands of patients and their family members have been directly or indirectly impacted by the discoveries facilitated by two‐sided genomic matchmaking. MME supports further connections to the literature (PubCaseFinder) and to human and model organism resources (Monarch Initiative) and scientists (ModelMatcher). Efforts are now underway to explore additional approaches to matchmaking at the gene or variant level where there is only one querier (one‐sided matchmaking). Genomic matchmaking has proven its utility over the past 7 years and will continue to facilitate discoveries in the years to come.
Identification of Prognostic Biomarkers for Glioblastoma Based on Transcriptome and Proteome Association Analysis

Objective: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant primary brain tumor in adults. This study aimed to identify significant prognostic biomarkers related to GBM. Methods: We collected 3 GBM and 3 healthy human brain samples for transcriptome and proteomic sequencing analysis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between GBM and control samples were identified using the edge R package in R. Functional enrichment analyses, prediction of long noncoding RNA target genes, and protein-protein interaction network analyses were performed. Subsequently, transcriptomic and proteomic association analyses, validation using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and survival and prognostic analyses were conducted. Then the hub genes directly related to GBM were screened. Finally, the expression of key genes was verified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results: Totally, 1140 transcripts and 503 proteins were significantly up- or down-regulated. A total of 25 genes were upregulated and 62 were downregulated at both the transcriptome and proteome levels. Results from TCGA database showed that 84 of these 87 genes matched with transcriptome sequencing results. A Cox regression analysis suggested that Fibronectin 1(FN1) was a prognostic risk factor. The qPCR results showed that FN1 was significantly upregulated in GBM samples. Conclusions: FN1 may play a role in GBM progression through ECM-receptor interaction and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. FN1 may be considered as a prognostic biomarkers related to GBM.
Lexical competition influences correct and incorrect visual word recognition

A growing body of research suggests that visual word recognition is error-prone, and that errors may contribute to inhibitory neighbour frequency effects in word identification and reading. The present study used the neighbourhood frequency effect to examine the relationship between lexical competition and error making during visual word recognition. A novel adaptation of the visual world paradigm (VWP) was used, in which participants selected a briefly presented printed target word from an array containing the target, its higher- or lower-frequency neighbour, an orthographic onset competitor, and an orthographically unrelated distractor word. Analyses of the visual inspection of the arrays suggested that lexical competition occurred when words were correctly identified, as competitors were preferentially viewed as a function of their orthographic similarity with the target, and higher-frequency neighbours were preferentially viewed over lower-frequency neighbours. Orthographic similarity and neighbour frequency also influenced error making. Targets were often mistaken for their neighbours, and these errors were more common for targets with higher-frequency neighbours. The time course of target and neighbour viewing for error trials also provided preliminary evidence for two kinds of errors: early-occurring, perceptual errors and later-occurring selection errors that resulted from unsuccessfully resolved lexical competition. Together, these findings suggest that neighbour frequency effects reflect the contribution of both general lexical competition and occasional errors.
Laparoscopic adipose‐derived stem cell harvest technique with bipolar sealing device: Outcome in 12 dogs

Abstract Objective This study aimed to describe the technique and clinical outcomes in dogs undergoing Laparoscopic Adipose‐Derived Stem Cell Harvest via bipolar sealing device (LADSCHB) for degenerative orthopaedic and neurologic disease. Study Design Descriptive retrospective case series. Animals Eleven dogs with orthopaedic disease and one dog with degenerative spinal disease were enrolled in the study. Methods Medical records of dogs undergoing LADSCHB were reviewed for signalment, weight, reason for the procedure, anaesthesia time, surgery time, other procedures performed, post‐operative pain protocols, incision size, amount of adipose tissue collected, number of viable cells collected, days to discharge, short‐term complications, and owner satisfaction. Results The median weight of the population was 34.2 kg (range 9.2–62 kg), the median surgery time was 39 min (range 15–45 min), mean incision length was 2.5 cm, the median amount of adipose collected was 60 g, and the median number of viable stem cells was 21 million cells. Conversion to open laparotomy was not needed. The most common reason for the harvest was osteoarthritis of the elbow (8/12 cases). Nine cases had other procedures performed at the same time as the harvest. No complications were noted during the procedure or within the post‐operative period. All owners surveyed were satisfied with the laparoscopic harvest procedure. Conclusions LADSCHB was technically feasible, productive, and not associated with any complications. This procedure was performed rapidly and was paired with other surgical procedures. Clinical Significance LADSCHB allows for stem cell harvest with commonly utilized laparoscopic equipment. This surgical technique could lead to the increased ability to treat patients with diseases that benefit from stem cell therapy.
Arterial pressure pulse wave separation analysis using a multi-Gaussian decomposition model

Objective. Methods for separating the forward–backward components from blood pulse waves rely on simultaneously measured pressure and flow velocity from a target artery site. Modelling approaches for flow velocity simplify the wave separation analysis (WSA), providing a methodological and instrumentational advantage over the former; however, current methods are limited to the aortic site. In this work, a multi-Gaussian decomposition (MGD) modelled WSA (MGDWSA) is developed for a non-aortic site such as the carotid artery. While the model is an adaptation of the existing wave separation theory, it does not rely on the information of measured or modelled flow velocity. Approach. The proposed model decomposes the arterial pressure waveform using weighted and shifted multi-Gaussians, which are then uniquely combined to yield the forward (P F(t)) and backward (P B(t)) pressure wave. A study using the database of healthy (virtual) subjects was used to evaluate the performance of MGDWSA at the carotid artery and was compared against reference flow-based WSA methods. Main results. The MGD modelled pressure waveform yielded a root-mean-square error (RMSE) < 0.35 mmHg. Reliable forward–backward components with a group average RMSE <2.5 mmHg for P F(t) and P B(t) were obtained. When compared with the reference counterparts, the pulse pressures (ΔP F and ΔP B), as well as reflection quantification indices, showed a statistically significant strong correlation (r > 0.96, p < 0.0001) and (r > 0.83, p < 0.0001) respectively, with an insignificant (p > 0.05) bias. Significance. This study reports WSA for carotid pressure waveforms without assumptions on flow conditions. The proposed method has the potential to adapt and widen the vascular health assessment techniques incorporating pulse wave dynamics.
Is it a Macho Thing? Older Adults’ Perceptions of Gender Differences inFall Prevention Class Participation

Perceptions that women are in greater need of fall prevention might impact their participation in programs. This study aimed to understand gender differences in motivating factors and experiences in a fall prevention program. Thirty-four adults (18 men and 16 women) aged 60 years or older participated in focus groups after 12 weeks of fall prevention exercises and education. Six main themes emerged. It might be a macho thing represented an overarching theme of why men might not participate in fall prevention as readily as women. Personal experience as a motivator, Get my balance back, and Challenges/Successes were common themes for men and women. Both genders realized the benefits of the program; however, men emphasized the importance of personal outcomes (Being part of something bigger), whereas women highlighted group outcomes (Socialization). These findings can guide the future messaging and marketing of fall prevention programs for older adults.
A critical review of entrepreneurial ecosystems: towards a future research agenda

The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (EE) literature has attracted much attention, especially in policy circles. However, the concept suffers from a number of shortcomings: (1) it lacks a clear analytical framework that makes explicit what is cause and what is effect in an entrepreneurial system; (2) while being a systemic concept, the EE has not yet fully exploited insights from network theory, and it is not always clear in what way the proposed elements are connected in an entrepreneurial system; (3) it remains a challenge what institutions (and at what spatial scale) impact on the structure and performance of EE; (4) studies have often focused on the EE in single regions or clusters, but lack a comparative and multi-scalar perspective; (5) the EE literature tends to provide a static framework taking a snapshot of EE without considering systematically their evolution over time. For each of these shortcomings, we make a number of suggestions to take up in future research on EE.
UXT attenuates the CGAS-STING1 signaling by targeting STING1 for autophagic degradation

ABSTRACT STING1 (stimulator of interferon response cGAMP interactor 1), the pivotal adaptor protein of CGAS (cyclic GMP-AMP synthase)-STING1 signaling, is critical for type I IFN production of innate immunity. However, excessive or prolonged activation of STING1 is associated with autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Thus, preventing STING1 from over-activation is important to maintain immune homeostasis. Here, we reported that UXT (ubiquitously expressed prefoldin like chaperone), a small chaperone-like protein, was essential to prevent the excessive activation of STING1-mediated type I IFN signaling through autophagic degradation of STING1 via SQSTM1 (sequestosome 1). Upon DNA mimics or cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) stimulation, UXT specifically interacted with STING1 and promoted STING1 degradation through selective macroautophagy/autophagy. Moreover, UXT was required for more efficient autophagic degradation of STING1 by facilitating the interaction of SQSTM1 and STING1. The in vivo role of UXT in attenuating the CGAS-STING1 signaling was further confirmed in the mouse model of DNA-virus infection and the TMPD (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane)-induced murine lupus model. Intriguingly, the expression of UXT was consistently impaired and exhibited a remarkable inverse correlation with type I IFN signature in the leukocytes and PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) of several large SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus) cohorts. Importantly, the replenishment of UXT effectively suppressed the production of IFNs and ISGs in the PBMCs of SLE patients. Taken together, our study reveals a novel regulatory role of UXT in autophagic degradation of STING1 to maintain immune homeostasis. UXT might be a potential therapeutic target for alleviating aberrant type I IFNs in autoimmune diseasesAbbreviations: 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; BMDMs: bone marrow-derived macrophages; cGAMP: cyclic GMP-AMP; CGAS: cyclic gmp-amp synthase; cKO: conditional knockout; CXCL10: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; HSV-1: herpes simplex virus type 1; HTDNA: herring testes DNA; IFIT1: interferon induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 1; IFNA4: interferon alpha 4; IFNB: interferon beta; IRF3: interferon regulatory factor 3; ISD: interferon stimulatory DNA; ISGs: IFN-stimulated genes; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; MEFs: mouse embryonic fibroblasts; RNA-seq: RNA sequencing; PBMCs: peripheral blood mononuclear cells; RSAD2: radical S-adenosyl methionine domain containing 2; SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus; SQSTM1: sequestosome 1; STING1: stimulator of interferon response cGAMP interactor 1; TBK1: TANK binding kinase 1; TMPD: 2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane; UXT: ubiquitously expressed prefoldin like chaperone.
Multi-inflammatory Index as a Novel Mortality Predictor in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients

Aim Systemic inflammation has a crucial role in the pathogenesis and mortality of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Multi-inflammatory index (MII) is a novel index related with systemic inflammation. In this study, we investigated the relationship between MII and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of COVID-19 patients followed-up in the ICU of our institution between 01.04. 2020 and 01.10. 2021. Patients were classified into two groups according to mortality status as survivors and non-survivors. Various inflammatory parameters of the groups were compared and their efficacy in predicting mortality was investigated. Results Out of 348 study patients, 86 cases (24.7%) were in the survived group and 262 cases (75.3%) were in the dead group. The median age of the mortal group was significantly higher than that of the survived group (65.5 vs 76, P < .001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that among all the included inflammatory parameters, MII showed the best efficacy for predicting mortality (OR: 0.999; 95% CI: 0.9991-0.9998; P = .003). Conclusion MII, a new combination of Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), is a simple and practical biomarker that can help us in the prediction of mortality in COVID-19 patients followed-up in the ICU.
An Update on Acute Mesenteric Ischemia

Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is an uncommon yet highly lethal cause of acute abdomen in the emergency setting. Computed tomography (CT) imaging, in particular a biphasic protocol consisting of angiographic and venous phase scans, is widely used to corroborate non-specific clinical findings when suspicions of AMI are high. Techniques such as low kilovoltage peak scanning, dual energy acquisition, or a combined arterial/enteric phase can improve iodine conspicuity and evaluation of bowel enhancement. Biphasic CT with CT angiography is mandatory to directly assess for the 3 primary etiologies of AMI—arterial, venous, and non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI), and the CT angiographic findings may be the first visible in the disease. In addition, numerous non-vascular CT findings have also been reported. Bowel wall thickening, mesenteric stranding, and ascites are common but non-specific findings that correlate poorly with disease severity. Pneumatosis intestinalis and portomesenteric venous gas, while not pathognomonic for ischemia, are highly specific in cases of high clinical suspicion. Bowel wall hypoenhancement is an early and specific sign but requires a protocol optimizing iodine conspicuity to confidently identify. Finally, intraperitoneal free air and solid organ infarcts are also highly specific ancillary findings in AMI. AMI occurs as a complication in 10% of small bowel obstruction (SBO) patients, and understanding imaging findings of ischemia in the context of SBO is necessary to aid in treatment planning and reduce over- and under-diagnosis of strangulation. Familiarity with the imaging features of ischemia by radiologists is vital to establish an early diagnosis before irreversible necrosis occurs.
Distributed Observer-Based Leader–Follower Consensus of Multiple Euler–Lagrange Systems

This article investigates the leader–follower consensus problem of multiple Euler–Lagrange (EL) systems, where each agent suffers uncertain external disturbances, and the communication links among agents experience faults. Besides, we consider a more general case that only a portion of followers can measure partial components of leader’s output and access the dynamic information of leader. The main idea of solving the consensus problem in this article is proceeded in two steps. First, we design an adaptive distributed observer to estimate the full state information of leader in real time with resilience to communication link faults. Second, based on the proposed distributed observer, we propose a proportional–integral (PI) control protocol for each agent to track the trajectory of leader, which is model-independent and robust to uncertain external disturbances. Distinct from the existing leader–follower consensus protocols of multiple EL systems, the proposed distributed observer-based PI consensus protocol in this article is model-independent, which is irrelevant to the structures or features of EL system model. Finally, we present a simulation example to show the resilience of the above adaptive distributed observer and the robustness of the distributed observer-based consensus protocol.
Comparative study of Rb1, cyclin D1 and p16 immunohistochemistry expression to distinguish lung small‐cell carcinoma and large‐cell neuroendocrine carcinoma

Large‐cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small‐cell carcinoma (SCLC) of lung encompass high‐grade neuroendocrine tumour category and share several fundamental features. As both tumours may respond to different treatment modalities and show unique molecular alterations distinction between the two is clinically relevant, but can be challenging due to sampling and fixation issues and shared morphological features.