Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Predictive Scoring Model for Postoperative Tracheostomy in Patients Who Underwent Cardiac Surgery

Background A subset of patients require a tracheostomy as respiratory support in a severe state after cardiac surgery. There are limited data to assess the predictors for requiring postoperative tracheostomy (POT) in cardiac surgical patients. Methods The records of adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery from 2016 to 2019 at our institution were reviewed. Univariable analysis was used to assess the possible risk factors for POT. Then multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors. A predictive scoring model was established with predictor assigned scores derived from each regression coefficient divided by the smallest one. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test were used to evaluate the discrimination and calibration of the risk score, respectively. Results A total of 5,323 cardiac surgical patients were included, with 128 (2.4%) patients treated with tracheostomy after cardiac surgery. Patients with POT had a higher frequency of readmission to the intensive care unit (ICU), longer stay, and higher mortality (p < 0.001). Mixed valve surgery and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), aortic surgery, renal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary edema, age >60 years, and emergent surgery were independent predictors. A 9-point risk score was generated based on the multivariable model, showing good discrimination [the concordance index (c-index): 0.837] and was well-calibrated. Conclusions We established and verified a predictive scoring model for POT in patients who underwent cardiac surgery. The scoring model was conducive to risk stratification and may provide meaningful information for clinical decision-making.
Identification of Alternative Polyadenylation in Cyanidioschyzon merolae Through Long-Read Sequencing of mRNA

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is widespread among metazoans and has been shown to have important impacts on mRNA stability and protein expression. Beyond a handful of well-studied organisms, however, its existence and consequences have not been well investigated. We therefore turned to the deep-branching red alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae, to study the biology of polyadenylation in an organism highly diverged from humans and yeast. C. merolae is an acidothermophilic alga that lives in volcanic hot springs. It has a highly reduced genome (16.5 Mbp) and has lost all but 27 of its introns and much of its splicing machinery, suggesting that it has been under substantial pressure to simplify its RNA processing pathways. We used long-read sequencing to assess the key features of C. merolae mRNAs, including splicing status and polyadenylation cleavage site (PAS) usage. Splicing appears to be less efficient in C. merolae compared with yeast, flies, and mammalian cells. A high proportion of transcripts (63%) have at least two distinct PAS’s, and 34% appear to utilize three or more sites. The apparent polyadenylation signal UAAA is used in more than 90% of cases, in cells grown in both rich media or limiting nitrogen. Our documentation of APA for the first time in this non-model organism highlights its conservation and likely biological importance of this regulatory step in gene expression.
Deep Phenotypic Analysis of Blood and Lymphoid T and NK Cells From HIV+ Controllers and ART-Suppressed Individuals

T and natural killer (NK) cells are effector cells with key roles in anti-HIV immunity, including in lymphoid tissues, the major site of HIV persistence. However, little is known about the features of these effector cells from people living with HIV (PLWH), particularly from those who initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) during acute infection. Our study design was to use 42-parameter CyTOF to conduct deep phenotyping of paired blood- and lymph node (LN)-derived T and NK cells from three groups of HIV+ aviremic individuals: elite controllers (N = 5), and ART-suppressed individuals who had started therapy during chronic (N = 6) vs. acute infection (N = 8), the latter of which is associated with better outcomes. We found that acute-treated individuals are enriched for specific subsets of T and NK cells, including blood-derived CD56-CD16+ NK cells previously associated with HIV control, and LN-derived CD4+ T follicular helper cells with heightened expansion potential. An in-depth comparison of the features of the cells from blood vs. LNs of individuals from our cohort revealed that T cells from blood were more activated than those from LNs. By contrast, LNs were enriched for follicle-homing CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells, which expressed increased levels of inhibitory receptors and markers of survival and proliferation as compared to their CXCR5- counterparts. In addition, a subset of memory-like CD56brightTCF1+ NK cells was enriched in LNs relative to blood. These results together suggest unique T and NK cell features in acute-treated individuals, and highlight the importance of examining effector cells not only in blood but also the lymphoid tissue compartment, where the reservoir mostly persists, and where these cells take on distinct phenotypic features.
Trends and Disparities in Quality of Life Among Older Adults From 1998 to 2018 in China: A National Observational Study

Objective To investigate 20-year trends and disparities in quality of life among older adults in China from 1998 to 2018. Methods Our study was based on eight representative nationwide health surveys among older adults conducted in China from 1998 to 2018. Quality of life data were obtained from 91,993 individuals aged 65 years or above. All surveys included identical indicators of self-reported quality of life, demographic factors, socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits, and health status. The trends in the standardized prevalence of poor quality of life from 1998 to 2018 were examined by locally weighted scatterplot smoothing regression (LOWESS) analysis. We assessed the prevalence of poor quality of life and its related factors by logistic regression models after adjusting for potential confounders. Results The prevalence of poor quality of life was 38.2% (95% CI: 37.9–38.5%). The trends of poor quality of life showed an inverted “U” shape, that the prevalence increased from 27.8% in 1998 to 43.6% in 2008, and then decreased from 39.2% in 2011 to 32.1% in 2018. Disparities in the prevalence of poor quality of life were exacerbating among participants with low or moderate household income per capita and participants with high household income per capita from 1998 to 2018. After controlling potential confounders, living in rural areas, aged below 80 years, unmarried, living alone, low household income, current smoker, poor dietary diversity, never participating in organized social activities, with chronic diseases, functional disability, poor self-reported health, and unhealthy psychological status were risk factors related with poor quality of life in the multivariate model (all p < 0.05). Conclusion During the past two decades, poor quality of life in Chinese older adults showed an inverted “U” trend from 1998 to 2018 that the prevalence of poor quality of life peaked in 2008 and declined since China's deepening health system reform in 2009. However, disparities in the poor quality of life were exacerbating among participants with different socioeconomic statuses. Strengthening the health system is of great importance in improving the quality of life. More efforts are needed to reduce the disparities in the quality of life among the population at the different socioeconomic levels.
Cold Acclimation for Enhancing the Cold Tolerance of Zebrafish Cells

Cold stress is an important threat in the life history of fish. However, current research on the tolerance mechanisms of fish to cold stress is incomplete. To explore the relevant molecular mechanisms enabling cold stress tolerance in fish, here we studied ZF4 cells subjected to short-term (4 days) low temperature stress and long-term (3 months) low temperature acclimation. The results showed that cell viability decreased and the cytoskeleton shrank under short-term (4 days) low temperature stress, while the cell viability and the cytoskeleton became normal after cold acclimation at 18°C for 3 months. Further, when the cells were transferred to the lower temperature (13°C), the survival rate was higher in the acclimated than non-acclimated group. By investigating the oxidative stress pathway, we found that the ROS (reactive oxygen species) content increased under short-term (4 days) cold stress, coupled with changes in glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activity levels. In addition, overproduction of ROS disrupted physiological cellular homeostasis that generated apoptosis via the activation of the mitochondrial pathway. However, when compared with the non-domesticated group, both ROS levels and apoptosis were lowered in the long-term (3 months) domesticated cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that cold acclimation can improve the low temperature tolerance of the cells. This exploration of the mechanism by which zebrafish cells tolerate cold stress, thus contributes to laying the foundation for future study of the molecular mechanism of cold adaptation in fish.
Water for Domestic Ducks: The Benefits and Challenges in Commercial Production

Although we have been farming ducks for at least 4,000 years, with some accounts suggesting domestication having begun more than 38,000 years ago, there are still many unknowns for optimizing domestic duck welfare in a commercial setting. Ducks being waterfowl, are semi-aquatic and have unique behavioral needs when compared to other commonly farmed poultry species. Providing ducks with open water which allows for full body immersion so that they may perform their full repertoire of water-related behaviors is important for their health and welfare. However, in a commercial setting this remains challenging due to biosecurity, contamination, health, and management concerns. An important question is therefore how best to provide ducks with a commercially feasible and safe water source in which they can derive maximum welfare and health benefits with no adverse consequences to health or global water resources. This review considers the amount of water provision necessary to satisfy duck's water-related needs to enhance yet not compromise their welfare in a commercial setting based on current knowledge, as well as identifies the outstanding questions for future research to address.
Loss of SMAD4 Is Associated With Poor Tumor Immunogenicity and Reduced PD-L1 Expression in Pancreatic Cancer

Transforming Growth Factor β (TGFβ) is a key mediator of immune evasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and the addition of TGFβ inhibitors in select immunotherapy regimens shows early promise. Though the TGFβ target SMAD4 is deleted in approximately 55% of PDAC tumors, the effects of SMAD4 loss on tumor immunity have yet to be fully explored. Using a combination of genomic databases and PDAC specimens, we found that tumors with loss of SMAD4 have a comparatively poor T-cell infiltrate. SMAD4 loss was also associated with a reduction in several chemokines with known roles in T-cell recruitment, which was recapitulated using knockdown of SMAD4 in PDAC cell lines. Accordingly, JURKAT T-cells were poorly attracted to conditioned media from PDAC cells with knockdown of SMAD4 and lost their ability to produce IFNγ. However, while exogenous TGFβ modestly reduced PD-L1 expression in SMAD4-intact cell lines, SMAD4 and PD-L1 positively correlated in human PDAC samples. PD-L1 status was closely related to tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, particularly IFNγ-producing T-cells, which were more abundant in SMAD4-expressing tumors. Low concentrations of IFNγ upregulated PD-L1 in tumor cells in vitro, even when administered alongside high concentrations of TGFβ. Hence, while SMAD4 may have a modest inhibitory effect on PD-L1 in tumor cells, SMAD4 indirectly promotes PD-L1 expression in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment by enhancing T-cell infiltration and IFNγ biosynthesis. These data suggest that pancreatic cancers with loss of SMAD4 represent a poorly immunogenic disease subtype, and SMAD4 status warrants further exploration as a predictive biomarker for cancer immunotherapy.
Barriers and Enablers for Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among People Living With HIV/AIDS in the Era of COVID-19: A Qualitative Study From Pakistan

Background: With the increased availability of safe antiretroviral therapy (ART) in recent years, achieving optimal adherence and patient retention is becoming the biggest challenge for people living with HIV (PLWH). Care retention is influenced by several socioeconomic, socio-cultural, and government policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we aim to explore barriers and facilitators to adherence to ART among PLWH in Pakistan in general and COVID-19 pandemic related in particular. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 25 PLWH from December 2020 to April 2021 in the local language (Urdu) at the ART centre of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. Interviews were audio-recorded in the local Urdu language, and bilingual expert (English, Urdu) transcribed verbatim, coded for themes and sub-themes, and analyzed using a phenomenological approach for thematic content analysis. Results: Stigma and discrimination, fear of HIV disclosure, economic constraints, forgetfulness, religion (Ramadan, spiritual healing), adverse drug reactions, lack of social support, alternative therapies, and COVID-19-related lock-down and fear of lesser COVID-19 care due to HIV associated stigma were identified as barriers affecting the retention in HIV care. At the same time, positive social support, family responsibilities, use of reminders, the beneficial impact of ART, and initiation of telephone consultations, courier delivery, and long-term delivery of antiretrovirals during COVID-19 were identified as facilitators of HIV retention. Conclusion: Improving adherence and retention is even more challenging due to COVID-19; therefore, it requires the integration of enhanced access to treatment with improved employment and social support. HIV care providers must understand these reported factors comprehensively and treat patients accordingly to ensure the continuum of HIV care. A coordinated approach including different stakeholders is required to facilitate patient retention in HIV care and consequently improve the clinical outcomes of PLWH.
Rhabdomyolysis: an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee Clinical Consensus Document

Rhabdomyolysis is a clinical condition characterized by destruction of skeletal muscle with release of intracellular contents into the bloodstream. Intracellular contents released include electrolytes, enzymes, and myoglobin, resulting in systemic complications. Muscle necrosis is the common factor for traumatic and non-traumatic rhabdomyolysis. The systemic impact of rhabdomyolysis ranges from asymptomatic elevations in bloodstream muscle enzymes to life-threatening acute kidney injury and electrolyte abnormalities. The purpose of this clinical consensus statement is to review the present-day diagnosis, management, and prognosis of patients who develop rhabdomyolysis.
Cognitive decline and diabetes: a systematic review of the neuropathological correlates accounting for cognition at death

Given conflicting findings in epidemiologic studies, we determined the relative contributions of different neuropathologies to the excess risk of cognitive decline in diabetes mellitus (DM) through a systematic review of the literature. Included studies compared subjects with and without DM and reported neuropathological outcomes accounting for cognition at death. Data on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology, cerebrovascular disease and non-vascular, non-AD pathology were extracted from each study. Eleven studies (n=6 prospective cohorts, n=5 retrospective post-mortem series, total n=6330) met inclusion criteria. All 11 studies quantified AD changes and 10/11 measured cerebrovascular disease: macroscopic lesions (n=9), microinfarcts (n=8), cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA, n=7), lacunes (n=6), white matter disease (n=5), haemorrhages (n=4), microbleeds (n=1), hippocampal microvasculature (n=1). Other pathology was infrequently examined. No study reported increased AD pathology in DM, three studies showed a decrease (n=872) and four (n= 4018) showed no difference, after adjustment for cognition at death. No study reported reduced cerebrovascular pathology in DM. Three studies (n=2345) reported an increase in large infarcts, lacunes and microinfarcts. One study found lower cognitive scores in DM compared to non-DM subjects despite similar cerebrovascular and AD-pathology load suggesting contributions from other neuropathological processes. In conclusion, lack of an association between DM and AD-related neuropathology was consistent across studies, irrespective of methodology. In contrast to AD, DM was associated with increased large and small vessel disease. Data on other pathologies such as non-AD neurodegeneration, and blood-brain-barrier breakdown were lacking. Further studies evaluating relative contributions of different neuropathologies to the excess risk of DM are needed.
S136672892100047Xjra 13..28

Much research has been dedicated to the effects of bilingualism on executive control (EC). For bilinguals with APHASIA, the interplay with EC is complex. In this systematic review, we synthesize research on this topic and provide an overview of the current state of the field. First, we examine the evidence for EC deficits in bilingual persons with aphasia (bPWA). We then discuss the domain generality of bilingual language control impairments. Finally, we evaluate the bilingual advantage hypothesis in bPWA. We conclude that (1) EC impairments in bPWA are frequently observed, (2) experimental results on the relationship between linguistic and domain-general control are mixed, (3) bPWA with language control problems in everyday communication have domain-general EC problems, and (4) there are indications for EC advantages in bPWA. We end with directions for experimental work that could provide better insight into the intricate relationship between EC and bilingual aphasia.
S1366728921000389jra 163..180

This study investigated how natural language use influences inhibition in language-unbalanced bilinguals. We experimentally induced natural patterns of language use (as proposed by the Adaptive Control Hypothesis) and assessed their cognitive after-effects in a group of 32 Polish–English bilinguals. Each participant took part in a series of three language games involving real conversation. Each game was followed by two inhibition tasks (stop-signal task and Stroop task). The manipulation of language use in the form of language games did not affect the behavioural measures, but it did affect ERPs. Performance of the inhibition tasks was accompanied by a reduction of P3 and the N450 amplitude differences after games involving the use of L2. The ERP modulations suggest that for bilinguals living in an L1 context the use of L2 enhances neural mechanisms related to inhibition. The study provides the first evidence for a direct influence of natural language use on inhibition.
Simplification of the Shift/Clutch Operations for the Formula SAE Vehicles

The simplified shift/clutch operation system, KF-TOS-P, was driven by DC motors (DC12V driven) with a microprocessor. Two rotary sensors detected the positions of the shift lever and the clutch lever. In FSAE rules, the simple throttle-by-wire is prohibited and the engine speed was controlled by the drivers. The custom steering wheel, KF-SW07 as the human machine interface, was designed and manufactured with CFRP by VaRTM (Vacuum assisted Resin Transfer Modeling) method. The shift operation time of KF-TOS-P was half of the manual operation and the clutch engagement time of that was 25msec. KF-SW07 was 22.6% weight and 16.7% cost (calculated by FSAE rules) of the commercial steering wheel of the race use.
Effects of material of the 3D printed foot on ankle kinematics/kinetics and toe joint bending during prosthetic walking

Introduction Toe joint can impact a gait economy and performance while undergoing substantial flexion/extension during normal walking. To provide the benefits of a toe joint to the amputees, researchers have attempted to mimic human toe joint in their prostheses. [1] proposed a powered toe joint, and [2] applied interchangeable springs to mimic a human toe joint during prosthetic walking, which inevitably require additional parts, and thus more weight. We previously proposed the structural pattern and material of the 3D printed prosthetic foot in [3]. However, it is not known yet how the joint kinematics/kinetics and toe joint bending are affected by the new design. Thus, in this study, we investigate how the ankle/toe joint kinematics/kinetics vary in accordance with the 3D printed prosthetic foot characteristics while walking.
A muscle synergy approach in evaluation of the gait complexity following surgical alignment

Adult Degenerative Scoliosis (ADS) is a common musculoskeletal problem that commonly affects the elderly. ADS patients often suffer from low back pain and consequently have reduced mobility. Surgical alignment is one of the possible treatments in ADS patients. Due to the highly variant nature of the ADS, tracking and comparing the improvements following surgery can be challenging. Muscle synergy theory suggests that the central nervous system may use a few groups of coactive muscles (i.e., synergies) to achieve a motor task. In this study, we propose to use muscle synergy approach to determine the recovery from the ADS following surgery. More specifically, two metrics are proposed: i) the number of the required muscle synergies for a motor task and ii) Entropy. Entropy is a measure of uncertainty in the data and has been shown to be sensitive to detect functional enhancement. We hypothesize that the number of muscle synergies required for walking increases following surgery. We also hypothesize that entropy associated with the muscle synergies decreases following surgery. The results showed that the patients required a significantly higher number of walking muscle synergies following a surgery. Also, the entropy value decreased significantly in ADS patients following surgical procedures, showing a more deterministic control. A muscle synergy approach in tracking the improvements in motor skills could be advantageous as it considers all of the involved muscles together, bypassing the potential subject-dependent differences.
Breast Screening Using 3D Automated Breast Ultrasound in Addition toConventional B Mode Ultrasound

Background:Breast cancer is a major worldwide health problem. Many radiologists recognize that there are increasing incidence of breast cancer in the past decade.Automated threedimensional (3D) breast ultrasound (ABUS) was developed for better diagnosis of architectural distortions. Aim of work:evaluation of validity of ABUS in cancer breast detection in addition toHand Held Ultrasound (HHUS). Subjects and methods:This prospective cross-sectional study was done at radiology department of Al Sheikh Zayed Aal Nahyan hospital and included105 female patients, aged >18 years old, presented with breast complaint or screening, they were referred from general surgery Department of Al Sheikh Zayed Aal Nahyan Hospital. They were evaluated by HHUS and ABUS individually. Each lesion was assigned an independent BIRADS score for each modality.diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy (56cases). Results:HHUS and ABUS showed good substantial agreement regarding lesions classification (benign or malignant) with kappa (κ) 0. 789.with diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity of ABUS were higher than that of HHUS as for ABUS were 97.1% and 100% respectively, while for HHUS were 90.5% and 90.7 % respectively. Conclusion:From our results ABUS may serve as an effective new screening tool in addition to HHUS.