Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Laryngeal cancers in paediatric and young adult patients: epidemiology, biology and treatment

Purpose of review The aim of thi study was to review the recent literature on epidemiology, biology and treatment of laryngeal cancer in paediatric and young adult patients. Recent findings Epidemiological studies reported that 2–10% of patients with laryngeal cancer are younger than 40-year-old, while the prevalence of laryngeal cancer remains unknown in the paediatric population. The development of laryngeal cancer in young adults is multifactorial and may be linked to common carcinogens (tobacco and alcohol), occupational factors, laryngopharyngeal reflux, immunosuppression, human papillomavirus infection and genetic polymorphism. A substantial number of cohort studies reported a significant lower proportion of drinkers and smokers in young populations with laryngeal cancer, supporting the higher prevalence of chromosomal losses or abnormalities predisposing to cancer in this group. The development of laryngeal cancer in paediatric patients is strongly associated with genetic syndromes with DNA repair abnormalities. The pathological, clinical and survival outcome differences between young and old patient groups vary significantly between studies, depending on epidemiological, genetic features and therapeutic strategies used. Summary Paediatric and adult populations with laryngeal cancer present different clinical, pathological and survival outcomes. In the adult population, the patient age at the time of disease development underlies genetic and etiological differences with different mutation patterns between young and old patients, the latter being more frequently individuals with a history of tobacco and alcohol abuse. The differences between age groups regarding stage of cancer at initial presentation, as well as clinical and survival outcomes, are unclear, which may be due to demographic, ethnicity and population genetic differences.
Activation of Akt–mTORC1 signalling reverts cancer‐dependent muscle wasting

Cancer‐related muscle wasting occurs in most cancer patients. An important regulator of adult muscle mass and function is the Akt–mTORC1 pathway. While Akt–mTORC1 signalling is important for adult muscle homeostasis, it is also a major target of numerous cancer treatments. Which role Akt–mTORC1 signalling plays during cancer cachexia in muscle is currently not known. Here, we aimed to determine how activation or inactivation of the pathway affects skeletal muscle during cancer cachexia.
Plasma Glucosylsphingosine in GBA1 Mutation Carriers with and without Parkinson's Disease

Biallelic mutations in the GBA1 gene encoding glucocerebrosidase cause Gaucher's disease, whereas heterozygous carriers are at risk for Parkinson's disease (PD). Glucosylsphingosine is a clinically meaningful biomarker of Gaucher's disease but could not be assayed previously in heterozygous GBA1 carriers.
Emotional Correlates of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Individuals With and Without Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To compare the mental health experiences associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults with and without diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Between 29 May 2020 and 30 June 2020, 2,176 U.S. adults completed an online survey including demographics, COVID-19 experiences, depression (eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire) and anxiety (seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder) symptoms, perceived stress (17-item Diabetes Distress Scale), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale), and diabetes-related distress (in participants with diabetes). RESULTS Mean age was 49.6 years (SD 16.9); participants were primarily women (80.0%) and White (88.3%), with an annual household income of ≥$60,000 (57.6%). One hundred reported a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (4.6%), 304 type 2 diabetes (13.9%), and 145 prediabetes (6.6%). Nearly one-third (29.7%) indicated decreases in income attributable to the pandemic. Participants with type 1 diabetes had higher levels of diabetes distress than participants with type 2 diabetes (P < 0.05), with moderate severity in both groups. Participants with type 2 diabetes had significantly more comorbidities and COVID-19 risk factors than all other groups (all P < 0.01). After controlling for covariates, participants with type 2 diabetes reported significantly more depressive symptoms than those without diabetes (P < 0.05) and lower levels of resilience (P < 0.05). Subgroup analyses by sex and age indicated that women and younger adults, particularly those age 18-34 years, reported significantly more depression and anxiety symptoms, stress, and diabetes-related distress and lower levels of resilience than men and adults age ≥51 years. CONCLUSIONS In this naturalistic observational study, participants with type 2 diabetes reported more depression, lower resilience, and significantly more COVID-19 risk factors and medical comorbidities than participants without diabetes. Overall, our participants demonstrated worse depression and anxiety symptoms during compared with before the pandemic.
Angiotensin 1–7 prevents the excessive force loss resulting from 14- and 28-day denervation in mouse EDL and soleus muscle

Albadrani et al. studied the potential of angiotensin 1–7 to prevent the atrophy that normally ensues muscle denervation. Increasing angiotensin 1–7 levels do not prevent muscle mass loss in denervated muscles but maintain normalized tetanic force to cross-sectional area and membrane excitability for up to 28 d.
Intermittent Leucine Deprivation Produces Long-Lasting Improvement in Insulin Sensitivity by Increasing Hepatic Gcn2 Expression.

Leucine deprivation improves insulin sensitivity; however, whether and how this effect can be extended is unknown. We hypothesized that intermittent leucine deprivation (ILD) might produce a long-term effect on improved insulin sensitivity via the formation of metabolic memory. Consistently, seven ILD cycles treatment (1-day leucine-deficient diet, 3-day control diet) in mice produced a long-lasting (after resuming a control diet for 49 days) effect on improved whole-body and hepatic insulin sensitivity in mice, indicating the potential formation of metabolic memory. Furthermore, the effects of ILD depended on hepatic general control nondepressible 2 (GCN2) expression as verified by gain-and loss-of-function experiments. Moreover, ILD increased Gcn2 expression by reducing its DNA methylation at two CpG promoter sites controlled by demethylase growth arrest and DNA damage inducible b. Finally, ILD also improved insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant mice. Thus, ILD induces long-lasting improvements in insulin sensitivity by increasing hepatic Gcn2 expression via a reduction in its DNA methylation. These results provide novel insights into understanding the link between leucine deprivation and insulin sensitivity, as well as potential nutritional intervention strategies for treating insulin resistance and related diseases. We also provide evidence for liver-specific metabolic memory after ILD and novel epigenetic mechanisms for Gcn2 regulation.
Cribra orbitalia is correlated with the meningo‐orbital foramen and is vascular and developmental in nature

Cribra orbitalia is a phenomenon with interdisciplinary interest. However, the etiology of cribra orbitalia remains unclear. Recently, the appearance of cribra orbitalia was identified as vascular in nature. This study assessed the relationship between anatomical variation of vasculature, as determined by the presence of meningo‐orbital foramina, and the presence of cribra orbitalia in 178 orbits. Cribra orbitalia was identified in 27.5% (49:178) of orbits (22.7%, 35:154 adult orbits and 58.3%, 14:24 subadult orbits) and meningo‐orbital foramina were identified in 65.8% (100:152) of orbits. Among the 150 total intact adult orbits (i.e., orbital roof and posterior orbits both intact), cribra orbitalia was found in 35 (23.3%). Of these 35 occurrences of cribra orbitalia, 32 (91.4%) had the concurrent finding of a meningo‐orbital foramen. However, in the absence of the meningo‐orbital foramen, cribra orbitalia was only found in three sides out of the total sample of intact orbits (3:150; 2.0%). Fisher's exact test revealed that the presence of cribra orbitalia and the meningo‐orbital foramen were statistically dependent variables (p = .0002). Visual evidence corroborated statistical findings—vascular impressions joined cribra orbitalia to meningo‐orbital foramina. This study identifies that individuals who possess a meningo‐orbital foramen are anatomically predisposed to developing cribra orbitalia. Conversely, cribra orbitalia is unlikely to occur in an individual who does not possess a meningo‐orbital foramen. Thus, the antecedent of cribra orbitalia is both vascular and developmental in nature. This report represents an important advancement in the understanding of cribra orbitalia—there is an anatomical predisposition to the development of cribra orbitalia.
Novel technique for maintaining balanced internal DC link voltages in diode clamped five-level inverters

The paper considers the problem of providing four regulated DC sources for use in a diode clamped five-level inverter. The preferred approach is to provide a single DC link supply and subdivide this into five levels using four series connected capacitor banks which have equally balanced voltages. The paper first considers the use of modified output switching strategies to redistribute energy through the DC link capacitors and maintain correct voltage balance, but concludes that this technique is restricted to outputs with a low modulation. The paper then presents a new technique whereby the voltage across each of these capacitors is maintained constant using a switching circuit: the balancer circuit. The design and control of the balancer circuit is described and its operation is validated on an 11 kW prototype vector controlled induction motor drive. Full four-quadrant operation is demonstrated. This arrangement eliminates the need for complex isolated supply arrangements typically found in multilevel drives. The balancer circuit takes the form of a fourth output leg with the addition of two inductors. This circuit is certainly viable for medium voltage drive applications.
Substrate, temperature, and geographical patterns among nearly 2,000 natural yeast isolates

Yeasts have broad importance as industrially and clinically relevant microbes and as powerful models for fundamental research, but we are only beginning to understand the roles yeasts play in natural ecosystems. Yeast ecology is often more difficult to study compared to other, more abundant microbes, but growing collections of natural yeast isolates are beginning to shed light on fundamental ecological questions. Here we used environmental sampling and isolation to assemble a dataset of 1,962 isolates collected from throughout the contiguous United States of America (USA) and Alaska, which were then used to uncover geographic patterns, along with substrate and temperature associations among yeast taxa. We found some taxa, including the common yeasts Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces paradoxus, to be repeatedly isolated from multiple sampled regions of the US, and we classify these as broadly distributed cosmopolitan yeasts. A number of yeast taxon - substrate associations were identified, some of which were novel and some of which support previously reported associations. Further, we found a strong effect of isolation temperature on the phyla of yeasts recovered, as well as for many species. We speculate that substrate and isolation temperature associations reflect the ecological diversity of and niche partitioning by yeast taxa. Take Away Analysis of environmental metadata of nearly 2,000 yeast isolates. Individual yeast taxa associate with specific substrates and plant genera. Optimal yeast isolation temperature differs depending on taxonomic rank. Substrate type and isolation temperatures affect isolated yeast diversity.
Safety, Efficacy, and Biomarker Analysis of Toripalimab in Patients with Previously Treated Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma: Results from a Multicenter Phase II Trial POLARIS-03

Purpose: Immunotherapy offers a second-line option for patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who failed standard therapy, but the biomarkers for predicting response remain to be explored. This study aims to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and correlative biomarker of toripalimab in patients with previously treated mUC. Patients and Methods: Patients with mUC received toripalimab 3 mg/kg Q2W. Clinical response was assessed every 8 weeks by an independent review committee per RECIST v1.1. Tumor PD-L1 expression, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and other biomarkers were evaluated. Results: Among the intention-to-treat population (n = 151), 85% of the patients experienced treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) and 20% experienced grade 3 and above TRAE. The objective response rate (ORR) was 26% with a disease control rate (DCR) of 45%. The median duration of response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were 19.7 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 13.9–not estimable], 2.3 months (95% CI, 1.8–3.6), and 14.4 months (95% CI, 9.3–23.1), respectively. Both PD-L1+ and TMB-high (10 mutations/Mb as the cutoff) patients had better ORR than PD-L1− patients (42% vs. 17%, P = 0.002) and TMB-low patients (48% vs. 22%, P = 0.014), respectively. The TMB-high group also showed better PFS (12.9 vs. 1.8 months, P < 0.001) and OS (not reached versus 10.0 months, P = 0.018) than the TMB-low group. Conclusions: Toripalimab has demonstrated encouraging clinical activity in the second-line treatment of mUC with a manageable safety profile. PD-L1 expression and TMB were two independent biomarkers in the study.
Nurses' attitudes and emotions toward caring for adults with intellectual disability: An international replication study.

PURPOSE Negative nurse attitudes and emotions toward caring for adults with intellectual disability have been implicated as a contributing factor to the cascade of health disparities faced by this population. The purpose of this study was to identify influencing factors of nurses' attitudes and emotions toward caring for adults with intellectual disability that transcend national borders and differing systems of care. METHODS This cross-sectional correlational predictive replication study used an online electronic survey with a snowball sample of 115 Australian nurses, from March to August 2020. RESULTS Nurses' attitudes toward adults with intellectual disability were significantly less positive compared to adults without intellectual disability, and nurses' beliefs about the quality of life of adults with intellectual disability predicted nurses' attitudes, replicating findings of the USA study. The frequency of both the professional and personal contact was associated with positive and negative emotions in both countries, however no consistent predictive pattern was evident. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that worldwide, there is room for improvement in nurses' attitudes and emotions toward this underserved group. Future research should investigate the role of nurses' beliefs about quality of life of adults with intellectual disability for potential interventions to improve nurses' attitudes toward care. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Assisting nurses to identify misconceptions about the quality of life of adults with intellectual disability is suggested as an intervention to improve nurses' attitudes toward caring for adults with intellectual disability.
The effect of the method and time of seedling production on red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. ssp. oleracea convar. capitata (L) Alef. var. capitata L. f. rubra DC.) yield

This study, conducted in the period 2006-2008, involved an evaluation of yield and commercially useful traits of red cabbage grown from seedlings produced from seeds sown at three different times (the second decade of April, the third decade of April, and the first decade of May). Seedlings were produced in multicell trays in an unheated greenhouse and in a nursery bed from seeds sown at the same time. The experiment included 6 red cabbage cultivars (‘Huzaro F 1 ’, ‘Kalibos’, ‘Langedijker Polana’, ‘Rodeo F 1 ’, ‘Roxy F 1 ’, ‘Zelox F 1 ’). After cabbage heads were harvested in the second decade of October (in each year), total and marketable yield as well as head weight and the head shape index were determined. Red cabbage yield was shown to be significantly dependent on the cultivar, time of sowing, and method of seedling production. Among the cultivars studied, the following proved to be the most productive, irrespective of the other experimental factors: ‘Zelox F 1 ’ (marketable yield averaged 398.11 kg×100 m -2 ), ‘Roxy F 1 ’ (marketable yield averaged 368.82 kg×100 m -2 ), and ‘Rodeo F 1 ’ (marketable yield averaged 331.59 kg×100 m -2 ). The cultivar ‘Kalibos’ was characterized by the lowest marketable yield (on average 257.09 kg×100 m -2 ). Delayed sowing (to produce seedlings) by 10 and 20 days, compared to the earliest sowing time, had a significant effect on the reduction in total and marketable yield. Irrespective of the time of sowing, the production of seedlings in multicell trays did not have a significant effect on higher head weight. But the influence of the cultivar was significant - heads of the highest weight were found in the yield of the cultivar ‘Zelox F 1 ’ (head weight was on average 1.71 kg). The head shape index was more than 1 and on average it did not exceed 1.35. The cultivar ‘Kalibos’ had the most elongated heads (with a conical shape), while cabbage heads in the cultivar ‘Langedijker Polana’ were closest to the spherical shape.
Characteristics and risk factors of isolated and quarantined children and adolescents during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A cross-sectional study in Modena, Northern Italy

Background and aim: In early 2020, SARS-CoV-2 was declared a pandemic by the WHO and Italy was one of the first and most severely affected country in Europe. Despite the global interest about COVID-19 pandemic, several aspects of this infection are still unclear, especially in pediatric population. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of the isolated or quarantined children and adolescents followed by the Public Health Department of the Italian province of Modena during the first wave of COVID-19. Methods: The study population included all non-adult subjects aged 0-18 years who underwent isolation or quarantine during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic from February 24 to June 18, 2020 in Modena province, Northern Italy. Results: In Modena province, 1230 children and adolescents were isolated in case of SARS-CoV-2 infection (6.3%), or quarantined due to close contact with confirmed cases (88.7%) or travelling from a high-risk area (5.0%). Among 349 individuals who underwent swab testing, 294 (84.2%) reported close contact with an infected cohabiting relative and 158 (45.3%) were symptomatic. Among all tested subjects, 78 (22.4%) resulted positive, with a higher proportion of symptomatic subjects compared with the SARS-CoV-2-negative (78.2% vs. 35.8%). Fever was mostly present in SARS-CoV-2-positive children (48.7% vs. 12.6%). Both anosmia (58.3% vs. 41.7%) and dysgeusia (54.5% vs. 45.5%) had only slightly higher frequency in SARS-CoV-2-positive. Conclusions: These findings allow to expand the knowledge regarding characteristics of non-adult subjects isolated or quarantined during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Disability scores rate changes and predictors among road traffic injury victims admitted at Gondar specialized comprehensive hospital northwest Ethiopia: A prospective follow-up study

Abstract Objective Measuring the level of disability following trauma is a key step for secondary and tertiary level trauma prevention. It can give important evidence for decision-makers and program implementers on the need for establishing rehabilitation centers. Methods This is a longitudinal follow-up study on 235 road traffic injury survivors. Patients were followed for 12 months, and the outcome was ascertained using the brief WHODAS-II 12-item instrument at 1, 3, 6, and 12-months post-injury. The level of disability was divided into five groups from no disability to very severe based on their disability scores. Work status was assessed at each survey using a single question “are you back to work? ” We employed a linear mixed model to identify disability scores changes over time and risk factors associated with disability. Statistically, a significant association was declared at p < 0.05. Results The overall mean disability score was 24.9 ± 11.3 at one month and 8.3 ± 6.4 after 12 months of injury. Disability score has decreased by 1.3 units over time during 12 months post-injury. Functional limitation persisted on 25–88% of participants at specific dimensions of disability at the end of the study. After a year of injury, 44% of participants didn’t return to work. Injury severity score (β = 0.47, p < 0.001, length of hospital stays (β = 0.88, p < 0.005) and discharge against medical advice (β = 2.18, p < 0.001) were found to be predictors of disability following road traffic injuries. Conclusion The current study demonstrated that, though there was a decrease in disability score over time, a significant number of participants were with some degree of limitation after one year of injury, and nearly half of them didn’t return to work. Shortening of long waiting times and counseling services need to be considered by the hospital. Community-based Rehabilitation centers (CBR) should be expanded. Further study should be conducted to uncover the reasons for preferring traditional bone fixers over medical management.
Roll damping decay of a FPSO with bilge keel

The roll damping decay is investigated for a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO). For this purpose, a roll decay test of a middle section of FPSO with bilge keel is simulated by means of the numerical solution of the incompressible two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations. The governing equations are solved using the finite volume method and the upwind Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) scheme of Roe–Sweby. The upwind TVD scheme resolves and captures the physics of the fluid dynamics without spurious oscillations in regions of the flow field with strong pressure gradients. The numerical results are compared with experimental data for validating the numerical scheme implemented. The simulations indicated the strong influence of the bilge radius in the damping coefficient of the FPSO section. Interesting results were obtained regarding the time series of the displacement of the body and vortex shedding around the bilge keel.