Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Designing for Patient Safety and Efficiency: Simulation-Based Hospital Design Testing

Objective: In the schematic design phase of a new freestanding children’s hospital, Simulation-based Hospital Design Testing (SbHDT) was used to evaluate the proposed design of 11 clinical areas. The purpose of this article is to describe the SbHDT process and how it can help identify and mitigate safety concerns during the facility design process. Background: In the design of new healthcare facilities, the ability to mitigate risk in the preconstruction period is imperative. SbHDT in a full-scale cardboard mock-up can be used to proactively test the complex interface between people and the built environment. Method: This study was a prospective investigation of SbHDT in the schematic design planning phase for a 400-bed freestanding children’s hospital where frontline staff simulated episodes of care. Latent conditions related to design were identified through structured debriefing. Failure mode and effect analysis was used to categorize and prioritize simulation findings and was used by the architect team to inform design solutions. A second round of testing was conducted in order to validate design changes. Results: A statistically significant reduction in criticality scores between Round 1 (n = 201, median = 16.14, SD = 5.8) and Round 2 (n = 201, median score of 7.68, SD = 5.26, p < .001) was identified. Bivariate analysis also demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in very high/high criticality scores between Round 1 and Round 2. Conclusions: SbHDT in the schematic phase of design planning was effective in mitigating risk related to design prototypes through effective identification of latent conditions and validation of design changes.
Which Anesthesia Regimen Is Best to Reduce Pulmonary Complications After Head and Neck Surgery?

The differences between intravenous and inhalation anesthesia in clinical postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) have been studied in cardiac and lung resection surgery. Clinical evidence for the effects of these two anesthetics on PPCs in other types of surgery is still missing. We aimed to assess the impact of sevoflurane and propofol on the incidence of PPCs in patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer.
Osseodensification drilling vs conventional manual instrumentation technique for posterior lumbar fixation: Ex‐vivo mechanical and histomorphological analysis in an ovine model

Lumbar fusion is a procedure associated with several indications, but screw failure remains a major complication, with an incidence ranging 10% to 50%. Several solutions have been proposed, ranging from more efficient screw geometry to enhance bone quality, conversely, drilling instrumentation have not been thoroughly explored. The conventional instrumentation (regular [R]) techniques render the bony spicules excavated impractical, while additive techniques (osseodensification [OD]) compact them against the osteotomy walls and predispose them as nucleating surfaces/sites for new bone. This work presents a case‐controlled split model for in vivo/ex vivo comparison of R vs OD osteotomy instrumentation in posterior lumbar fixation in an ovine model to determine feasibility and potential advantages of the OD drilling technique in terms of mechanical and histomorphology outcomes. Eight pedicle screws measuring 4.5 mm × 45 mm were installed in each lumbar spine of eight adult sheep (four per side). The left side underwent R instrumentation, while the right underwent OD drilling. The animals were killed at 6‐ and 12‐week and the vertebrae removed. Pullout strength and non‐decalcified histologic analysis were performed. Significant mechanical stability differences were observed between OD and R groups at 6‐ (387 N vs 292 N) and 12‐week (312 N vs 212 N) time points. Morphometric analysis did not detect significant differences in bone area fraction occupancy between R and OD groups, while it is to note that OD showed increased presence of bone spiculae. Mechanical pullout testing demonstrated that OD drilling provided higher degrees of implant anchoring as a function of time, whereas a significant reduction was observed for the R group.
Staphylococcus aureus-induced proteomic changes in the mammary tissue of rats: A TMT-based study

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens causing mastitis in dairy cows. The objective of this study was to establish a rat model of mastitis induced by S. aureus infection and to explore changes in the proteomes of mammary tissue in different udder states, providing a better understanding of the host immune response to S. aureus mastitis. On day 3 post-partum, 6 rats were randomly divided into two groups (n = 3), with either 100 μL of PBS (blank group) or a S. aureus suspension containing 2×107 CFU·mL−1 (challenge group) infused into the mammary gland duct. After 24 h of infection, the rats were sacrificed, and mammary gland tissue was collected. Tandem mass tag (TMT)-based technology was applied to compare the proteomes of healthy and mastitic mammary tissues. Compared with the control group, the challenge group had 555 proteins with significant differences in expression, of which 428 were significantly upregulated (FC>1.2 and p<0.05) and 127 were downregulated (FC>0.83 and p<0.05 or p<0.01). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses revealed that upregulated differentially significant expressed proteins (DSEPs) were associated with mainly immune responses, including integrin alpha M, inter-α-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain 4, and alpha-2-macroglobulin. This study is the first in which a rat model of S. aureus-induced mastitis was used to explore the proteins related to mastitis in dairy cows by TMT technology, providing a model for replication of dairy cow S. aureus-induced mastitis experiments.
Age-related Changes in Motor Function (I). Mechanical and Neuromuscular Factors

Abstract This two-part narrative review aims to provide an insight into the age-related mechanical and neuromuscular factors contributing to: (1) decreased maximal muscle strength and power; (2) decreased force control; and (3) increased fatigability. Structural and functional changes from the macro-level of the muscle-tendon unit to the micro-level of the single muscle fibre have been reviewed and are described. At the muscle-tendon unit level, muscle volume, thickness and cross-sectional area, as well as pennation angle and fascicle length all decrease as part of the natural ageing process. These changes negatively affect muscle quality, muscle and tendon stiffness and Young’s modulus and account for impairment in motor performance. A progressive age-related alteration in neuromuscular function is also well-established, with reduction in number and firing rate of the motor unit, contractile velocity and specific tension of muscle fibres, and stability of neuromuscular junction. These could be the result of structural alterations in the: (i) motor neuron, with number reduced, size and collateral sprouting increased; (ii) neuromuscular junction, with decreased post-synaptic junctional fold and density of active zones and increased pre-synaptic branching and post-synaptic area; and (iii) muscle fibre, with decreased number and size and increased type I and co-expression of myosin heavy chain.
Effects of temperature on the fast‐start swimming performance of an Australian freshwater fish

– The fast-start swimming performance of juveniles of an Australian freshwater (warm-water) fish, golden perch, was examined in the laboratory at six water temperatures ranging between 10 and 25 °C. Fast-start swimming performance of fish was considerably reduced at temperatures less than 15.5 °C. Temperatures of less than 15 °C are typical of the thermal regime downstream of large dams in south-eastern Australia, where conditions are more suited to introduced cold-water fish species. We conclude that the swimming performance of native warm-water fish such as golden perch is likely to be negatively affected by cold-water releases from deep outlets in thermally stratified dams.
Variation in the copy number of tandem repeats of mitochondrial DNA in the North-East Atlantic cod populations

Abstract The variation in copy number of short tandem repeats located within the control region of mitochondrial DNA and heteroplasmy is characterised in four populations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the North-eastern Atlantic. Populations of cod from three geographic areas (the Barents Sea, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea) were sampled. Published data on Icelandic cod were included for comparison. Nineteen length heteroplasmy patterns were found. Individuals carried up to five distinct size variants. Size variants 465 bp and 505 bp were most common (frequency 0.269 and 0.301, respectively). The 425 bp size variant in a few heteroplasmy patterns was present more frequently in the population from the Barents Sea than from other areas. Widespread heteroplasmy displays geographical variation in the Atlantic. The L pattern of heteroplasmy seems to be characteristic of the Baltic population.
Quantitative Assessment of Contrast Enhancement on Contrast Enhancement Spectral Mammography (CESM) and Comparison With Qualitative Assessment

Background/Aim: Contrast enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) is a novel method of breast cancer diagnosis. Benign lesions are enhanced after contrast injection on both CESM and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Kinetic curves on breast MRI facilitate differentiation between benign and malignant lesions, while on CESM there is no such possibility and we need to asses lesions based only on their level of enhancement and its patterns. The aim of this study was to compare two subjective assessments of enhancement level on CESM with numerical values measured using the region of interests (ROIs) and to categorize obtained enhancement level values. Patients and Methods: Patients with suspicious findings on previously performed examinations were qualified for CESM. The qualitative assessment was based on the subjective classification of visible contrast enhancement as weak, medium or strong. The quantitative assessment was obtained by measurements of an average enhancement value and sigma value within the ellipsoidal shape ROI, inserted into the evaluated contrast enhancing lesion. Results: The study group included 151 patients with total of 195 lesions diagnosed. It was verified how the classification based on the threshold values of %RS (percentage signal difference between enhancing lesion and background) and SDNR (signal-difference-to-noise Ratio) corresponds to a subjective assessment. Conclusion: Quantitative assessment of contrast enhancement on CESM is helpful in making decisions whether a lesion requires a biopsy. This can reduce the number of unnecessary biopsy procedures and reduce the cost of diagnostics.
Sleep-dependent consolidation in children with comprehension and vocabulary weaknesses: it'll be alright on the night?

BACKGROUND Vocabulary is crucial for an array of life outcomes and is frequently impaired in developmental disorders. Notably, 'poor comprehenders' (children with reading comprehension deficits but intact word reading) often have vocabulary deficits, but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Prior research suggests intact encoding but difficulties consolidating new word knowledge. We test the hypothesis that poor comprehenders' sleep-associated vocabulary consolidation is compromised by their impoverished lexical-semantic knowledge. METHODS Memory for new words was tracked across wake and sleep to assess encoding and consolidation in 8-to-12-year-old good and poor comprehenders. Each child participated in two sets of sessions, one beginning in the morning (AM-encoding) and the other in the evening (PM-encoding). In each case, they were taught 12 words and were trained on a spatial memory task. Memory was assessed immediately, 12- and 24-hr later via stem-completion, picture-naming, and definition tasks to probe different aspects of word knowledge. Long-term retention was assessed 1-2 months later. RESULTS Recall of word-forms improved over sleep and postsleep wake, as measured in both stem-completion and picture-naming tasks. Counter to hypotheses, deficits for poor comprehenders were not observed in consolidation but instead were seen across measures and throughout testing, suggesting a deficit from encoding. Variability in vocabulary knowledge across the whole sample predicted sleep-associated consolidation, but only when words were learned early in the day and not when sleep followed soon after learning. CONCLUSIONS Poor comprehenders showed weaker memory for new words than good comprehenders, but sleep-associated consolidation benefits were comparable between groups. Sleeping soon after learning had long-lasting benefits for memory and may be especially beneficial for children with weaker vocabulary. These results provide new insights into the breadth of poor comprehenders' vocabulary weaknesses, and ways in which learning might be better timed to remediate vocabulary difficulties.
Effect of soy isoflavones on implantation losses in Wistar rat: implication of progesterone receptors, vascular endothelial growth factor and estradiol receptors alpha.

Background Implantation is a crucial period determining the success of a full pregnancy. Endocrine disruptors such as phytoestrogens (PEs) were thought to adversely influence embryonic implantations. However, the mechanism by which they upset implantation was not fully elucidated. Aims The effect of administering soy isoflavones on the implantation of Wistar rats was studied through the detection of progesterone receptors (PR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and estradiol receptor alpha (ER-α) protein expression at gestation day 6 (GD6). Methods Eighteen cyclic female Wistar rats were distributed into two groups, group A: control (n=9) were fed with a casein based diet, and group B (n=9) were fed with a casein diet and gavaged 50 mg/kg/day soy isoflavones' extract 40% starting from gestation day zero (GD0) to GD6. Feed intake, body weight (BW), body gain, and uterine weights were recorded. At the end of GD6 the number of corpora lutae (CLs) and implantation rates were recorded. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for PR, VEGF, and ER-α protein expression in implanted uteri were performed. Results Soy isoflavones significantly reduced feed intake, weight gain, uterine weights CL numbers, and implantation rates of the treated pregnant dams. The endometrium of the soy treated dams showed less proliferation than that of the control. Immunostaining percentage of PR and VEGF proteins significantly reduced in soy treated dams compared to the control. However, the mean expression percentage of ER-α exhibited significant elevation in the soy treated dams in comparison to the control group. Conclusion Implantation losses caused by soy isoflavones seemed to be due to the down regulation of PR that failed to down regulate ER-α action and decreased VEGF production.
Long Non-Coding RNA HAND2-AS1 Inhibits Growth and Migration of Gastric Cancer Cells Through Regulating the miR-590-3p/KCNT2 Axis

Introduction Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are regarded as crucial regulators for cancer initiation and progression. Heart and Neural Crest Derivatives Expressed 2 antisense RNA 1 (HAND2-AS1) was recently proposed to function as tumor suppressor in several human cancers. However, its role in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Methods HAND2-AS1 expression in GC tissues and normal tissues was analyzed at GEPIA (a web server for gene expression profiling analysis). Moreover, RT-qPCR method was utilized to explore HAND2-AS1 expression in GC cells and normal cell. In vitro experiments were carried out using cell counting kit-8 assay, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase activity reporter assay were performed to identify the downstream targets of HAND2-AS1. Results We found HAND2-AS1 has decreased expression in both GC tissues and cells. Overexpression of HAND2-AS1 was able to inhibit GC cell proliferation, colony formation, but promote apoptosis. On the contrary, knockdown of HAND2-AS1 could cause the opposite effects on GC cells. Furthermore, HAND2-AS1 was shown to function as a competitive RNA that binds with microRNA-590-3p (miR-590-3p) to affect the expression of potassium sodium-activated channel subfamily T member 2 (KCNT2). Discussion Our results indicated the tumor suppressive role of HAND2-AS1 in GC. Also, the newly identified HAND2-AS1/miR-590-3p/KCNT2 axis will help us to understand the role of HAND2-AS1 in cancer.
Changes in Liver Transplant Center Practice in Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019: Unmasking Dramatic Center‐Level Variability

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been devastating to health care delivery in many parts of the US and has had a significant impact on organ transplantation. With shelter-in-place orders, outpatient clinics transitioned to telemedicine, and the threat of hospitals being overrun with COVID-19 patients, liver transplant programs have been faced with the challenge of balancing patient and staff safety while operating in a resource limited environment.
Sensorimotor Research Utilising Immersive Virtual Reality: A Pilot Study with Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

When learning and interacting with the world, people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) show compromised use of vision and enhanced reliance on body-based information. As this atypical profile is associated with motor and social difficulties, interventions could aim to reduce the potentially isolating reliance on the body and foster the use of visual information. To this end, head-mounted displays (HMDs) have unique features that enable the design of Immersive Virtual Realities (IVR) for manipulating and training sensorimotor processing. The present study assesses feasibility and offers some early insights from a new paradigm for exploring how children and adults with ASD interact with Reality and IVR when vision and proprioception are manipulated. Seven participants (five adults, two children) performed a self-turn task in two environments (Reality and IVR) for each of three sensory conditions (Only Proprioception, Only Vision, Vision + Proprioception) in a purpose-designed testing room and an HMD-simulated environment. The pilot indicates good feasibility of the paradigm. Preliminary data visualisation suggests the importance of considering inter-individual variability. The participants in this study who performed worse with Only Vision and better with Only Proprioception seemed to benefit from the use of IVR. Those who performed better with Only Vision and worse with Only Proprioception seemed to benefit from Reality. Therefore, we invite researchers and clinicians to consider that IVR may facilitate or impair individuals depending on their profiles.
Fishing strategies, fishery development and socioeconomics in traditionally managed Fijian fishing grounds

Increasing urban drift of the Fijian population coupled with an increasing proportion of Fijians in full time employment has led to escalating demands for fish and an associated rise in fish prices. Traditionally-managed reef fisheries are now exploited to meet existing subsistence needs and to supply large urban markets. The fishing strategies employed by three fishing communities were compared at different stages of their development from primitive to market economies. It was suggested that the fishing-rights owners have expanded their fisheries for economic gain, but that such expansion has, to date, had minimal impact on favoured fishing tactics and management regimes. However, the socioeconomic impact of the transition to a market economy is profound, with increasing reliance upon income from the fishery.
Palladium(II)-η3-allyl complexes bearing N-trifluoromethyl N-heterocyclic carbenes:a new generation of anticancer agents which restrain the growth of high grade serous ovarian cancer tumoroids.

The first palladium organometallic compounds bearing N-trifluoromethyl N-heterocyclic carbenes have been synthesized. These η 3 -allyl complexes are potent antiproliferative agents against different cancer lines (the most part of IC 50 falls in the range of 0.02-0.5 μM) and by choosing PTA as co-ligand, we can improve the selectivity toward tumor cells, whereas the introduction of 2-methyl substituents generally slightly reduces the antitumor activity. A series of biochemical assays, aimed at defining the cellular targets of these palladium complexes, has shown that mitochondria are damaged before DNA, therefore revealing a behavior substantially different from that of cisplatin and derivatives. We assume that the specific mechanism of action of these organometallic compounds involves the nucleophilic attack on the η 3 -allyl fragment. The effectiveness of the representative complex 4c has been verified on ovarian cancer tumoroids derived from patients. The results are promising: contrary to carboplatin, our compound resulted very active and showed a low toxicity toward normal liver organoids.
Snoring is associated with obesity among middle aged Slum–dwelling women in Mysore, India

Background: Globally, rates of obesity have trebled in the past four decades. India has more than 9.8 million men and 20 million women classified as obese. While poor diet and sedentary lifestyles are major causes, growing evidence suggests other factors like sleep-disordered-breathing may also be contributors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out between October 2017 and May 2018 among a nonprobability sample of slum-dwelling women, 40–64 years of age, in government-designated slums in Mysore, India. After the informed consent process, data were collected on sociodemographics, tobacco and alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, sleep, quality of life, and personal and family history of diagnosed cardiometabolic disorders. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using anthropometry. The serum was tested for HbA1c and lipid profile. Results: In this sample of slum-dwelling women, snoring was associated with obesity. Habitual snorers had more than double the odds (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26–3.33;P < 0.004) of obesity I, and seven times the odds (aOR 7.71; CI: 3.58–16.62;P < 0.001) of being in the obesity II category compared to nonsnorers after adjustment for age, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and daytime sleepiness. There was no difference in obesity status among participants reporting abnormal sleep duration, napping, daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea, insomnia, or the use of sleep medication. Conclusion: The relationship between snoring and obesity has not been well explored. This study among slum-dwelling Indian women found a significant relationship between snoring and obesity. Future research should explore the underlying mechanisms connecting snoring to BMI.
Electron microscopic examination of antigen uptake by salmonid gill cells after bath immunization with a bacterin

Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, were given 2-min bath immunization with Yersinia ruckeri O-antigen bacterins at doses of 10, 100, and 1000 μg ml−1. The uptake of the antigen was followed by light and electron microscopy of samples taken immediately and periodically after immunization, and the immune response monitored by the passive haemolytic plaque assay. The particulate antigen was observed in the gill mucus, adhering to and within the pavement cells covering the gill filaments, and in mononuclear phagocytes below the epidermal gill cells. There was a direct doseresponse correlation in the observed immune response according to the numbers of splenic antibody-producing cells 14 days after immunization. The cells involved in the recognition and uptake of a bacterin are initial important steps in the immune response, and these studies may aid in the immunopotentiation of fish vaccines and bacterins.