Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Six-Month Outcomes of Clinically Relevant Meniscal Injury in a Large-Animal Model

Background: The corrective procedures for meniscal injury are dependent on tear type, severity, and location. Vertical longitudinal tears are common in young and active individuals, but their natural progression and impact on osteoarthritis (OA) development are not known. Root tears are challenging and they often indicate poor outcomes, although the timing and mechanisms of initiation of joint dysfunction are poorly understood, particularly in large-animal and human models. Purpose/Hypothesis: In this study, vertical longitudinal and root tears were made in a large-animal model to determine the progression of joint-wide dysfunction. We hypothesized that OA onset and progression would depend on the extent of injury-based load disruption in the tissue, such that root tears would cause earlier and more severe changes to the joint. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Sham surgeries and procedures to create either vertical longitudinal or root tears were performed in juvenile Yucatan mini pigs through randomized and bilateral arthroscopic procedures. Animals were sacrificed at 1, 3, or 6 months after injury and assessed at the joint and tissue level for evidence of OA. Functional measures of joint load transfer, cartilage indentation mechanics, and meniscal tensile properties were performed, as well as histological evaluation of the cartilage, meniscus, and synovium. Results: Outcomes suggested a progressive and sustained degeneration of the knee joint and meniscus after root tear, as evidenced by histological analysis of the cartilage and meniscus. This occurred in spite of spontaneous reattachment of the root, suggesting that this reattachment did not fully restore the function of the native attachment. In contrast, the vertical longitudinal tear did not cause significant changes to the joint, with only mild differences compared with sham surgery at the 6-month time point. Conclusion: Given that the root tear, which severs circumferential connectivity and load transfer, caused more intense OA compared with the circumferentially stable vertical longitudinal tear, our findings suggest that without timely and mechanically competent fixation, root tears may cause irreversible joint damage. Clinical Relevance: More generally, this new model can serve as a test bed for experimental surgical, scaffold-based, and small molecule–driven interventions after injury to prevent OA progression.
Risky Behaviours of Spanish University Students: Association with Mediterranean Diet, Sexual Attitude and Chronotype

The most common drugs that are consumed by young people are alcohol and tobacco, which are especially prevalent in universities. These risk behaviours can be determined by a series of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the consumption of alcohol and tobacco by Spanish university students and the relationship between the Mediterranean diet, sexual attitudes and opinions, and chronotype. A multicentre observational study enrolled 457 students from two public universities in Spain. The study period was from December 2017 to January 2018. The majority of the participants consumed alcohol (90.2%), tobacco consumption was low (27.2%), with a high percentage of students (78.6%) having a low dependence on nicotine. The surveyed students demonstrated a high adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which was shown to be associated with less risky alcohol consumption. The Mediterranean diet is a part of healthy lifestyle, and avoiding heavy drinking results in the intention to maintain such a lifestyle. In addition, unhealthy eating habits (skipping breakfast, eating sweets and pastries daily, and fast-food consumption) had a tendency to induce risky alcohol consumption. Therefore, to promote healthy lifestyle habits, it is considered important to establish programs that promote healthy diets in university settings and to evaluate them periodically.
Pitch control system design to improve frequency response capability of fixed-speed wind turbine systems

This paper describes a pitch control design method to deal with grid frequency deviations. The method is based on reserving a percentage of power extracted from the wind turbine. In order to validate the control method, simulations in a full power system have been carried out. The results show that the proposed pitch control can contribute to power stabilization. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Situation of menstrual management facilities in schools of peri-urban areas of Nepal: WASH, privacy, and healthcare

Menstrual management (MM) facilities in schools are neglected in low- and middle-income countries. We examined the existing MM facilities, identified the deficient, and collected students' ideas in peri-urban schools of Nepal. The schools had basic MM facilities including water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructures, gender-segregated toilet facilities with taps, dustbins and running water, provision of emergency sanitary pads, etc. Out of 71 students who reported soiling of dresses with menstrual blood as a common problem, 27% went home and did not return in such situation instead of washing off at school. Forty-six per cent of students used washable absorbents, but washing and drying facilities were lacking, and students adapted by using disposable pads at school and washable at home. Out of 126 students, 106 took days off during menstruation in the past three months with an average of 2.6 days by one student. Sixty-one per cent gave the reason as pain and 39% tiredness for taking days off. Healthcare facilities were lacking in schools, hence, lack of these facilities in schools might be contributing to absenteeism. The traditionally advocated list of MM facilities for schools, largely involving WASH facilities, should be updated, including newly identified factors which were also suggested by students.
Revisiting the Potential Functionality of the MagR Protein

Recent findings have sparked great interest in the putative magnetic receptor protein MagR. However, in vivo experiments have revealed no magnetic moment of MagR at room temperature. Nevertheless, the interaction of MagR and MagR fusion proteins with silica-coated magnetite beads have proven useful for protein purification. In this study, we recombinantly produced two different MagR proteins in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) to (1) expand earlier protein purification studies, (2) test if MagR can magnetize whole E. coli cells once it is expressed to a high cytosolic, soluble titer, and (3) investigate the MagR-expressing E. coli cells’ magnetic properties at low temperatures. Our results show that MagR induces no measurable, permanent magnetic moment in cells at low temperatures, indicating no usability for cell magnetization. Furthermore, we show the limited usability for magnetic bead-based protein purification, thus closing the current knowledge gap between theoretical considerations and empirical data on the MagR protein.
Remote Limb Ischemic Postconditioning Ameliorated Microglia-Mediated Inflammation Against Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion through Modulating Microglial Activation and Polarization via TLR4 Pathway

Accumulating researches have indicated that remote limb ischemic postconditioning (RIPC) mediates neuroprotection by inhibition inflammatory response against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), which is proved to correlated with microglial activation and polarization. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, middle cerebral artery occlusion /reperfusion model in Sprague-Dawley rats were conducted and treated with vehicle or RIPC immediately after reperfusion. Infarct size, and neurological scores were performed to asses stroke outcomes for 7 days. Brain damage and neuronal survival were detected using HE and Nissl staining. ELISA, western blotting and immunohistochemistry staining were utilized to evaluate inflammatory response, neuronal apoptosis, and microglial activation and polarization to M1- or M2-subtypes respectively. Results showed that RIPC significantly attenuated infarct size at 3d and alleviated the neurological deficits of rats at 3d and 7d post-ischemia. Furthermore, RIPC decreased expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-β, TNF-α and neuronal loss, and increased expression of cytokines IL-10 and Bcl-2. In addition, RIPC suppressed microglial activation and promoted microglial polarization to M2 type along with downregulation of TLR4 expression. These results suggested that RIPC was neuroprotective against ischemic stroke by modulating the activation of microglia/macrophages and encouraging polarization to M2 phenotype possibly through TLR4 signaling pathway.
Industrial and knowledge relocation strategies under the challenges of globalization and digitalization: the move of small and medium enterprises among territorial systems

Owing to globalization and digitalization, small and medium firms adopt relocation strategies to transfer their activities (and implicitly also knowledge) among territorial systems, inducing transformations into both source and destination areas. Cognitive proximity and knowledge creation/transfer play a crucial role, especially critical when concerning tacit knowledge, which can be transferred only by moving people. In each industrial cluster or industrial district it is possible to identify a kernel of critical activities, which requests complex competencies and has high added value, and a kernel of tacit knowledge, which is based on repeated face-to-face interactions. The former resists globalization and the latter prevents digitalization, which impacts heavily on territorial systems lacking trust, cooperative attitude, and other socio-cognitive factors. Relocation strategies are divided into selective and replicative alternatives, depending on the ability to preserve large kernels. When replicative strategies are followed by many firms, the socio-cognitive integrity and the economic competitiveness of the territorial system are severely damaged. Thus, in order to prevent the ruinous consequences of massive replicative relocation, local and regional governments should steer territorial systems towards selective relocation strategies supporting innovation and improving human capital, paying attention and developing socio-cognitive factors too. In the final part of the paper, case studies of industrial and knowledge relocation at intra-European level are discussed, and a general model is proposed.
The Effects of Varying Schedules of Incentive Delivery on Technical Training.

Abstract : The study assesses the impact of various schedules of incentive delivery (Schedules of reinforcement) on performance and attitudes in an Air Force-related setting. Civilian subjects matching the characteristics of Air Force trainees were hired to work for four weeks, one week under each of four schedules of reinforcement: salary, fixed ratio, variable ratio, and variable ratio-variable amount. The author concludes that instituting cost-effective procedures in computer managed Air Force training.
An Emerging Role for Epigenetics in Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a set of common, severe, motor disabilities categorized by a static, nondegenerative encephalopathy arising in the developing brain and associated with deficits in movement, posture, and activity. Spastic CP, which is the most common type, involves high muscle tone and is associated with altered muscle function including poor muscle growth and contracture, increased extracellular matrix deposition, microanatomic disruption, musculoskeletal deformities, weakness, and difficult movement control. These muscle-related manifestations of CP are major causes of progressive debilitation and frequently require intensive surgical and therapeutic intervention to control. Current clinical approaches involve sophisticated consideration of biomechanics, radiologic assessments, and movement analyses, but outcomes remain difficult to predict. There is a need for more precise and personalized approaches involving omics technologies, data science, and advanced analytics. An improved understanding of muscle involvement in spastic CP is needed. Unfortunately, the fundamental mechanisms and molecular pathways contributing to altered muscle function in spastic CP are only partially understood. In this review, we outline evidence supporting the emerging hypothesis that epigenetic phenomena play significant roles in musculoskeletal manifestations of CP.
Effects of Light Conditions and Falls Concerns on Older Adults’ Gait Characteristics: A Preliminary Study

Falls are one of the main safety concerns for the aging population, possibly caused by the difficulty in maintaining the gait and balance during walking. Vision and psychological effects are reported to be major factors affecting human gait and balance. However, only a few studies have collectively investigated the effects of vision and psychological status on gait characteristics. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the gait characteristics of older adults with different falls concerns under usual ambient and visual-guided light conditions. Twelve community-dwelling adults (five males and seven females, seven with eye diseases, all over 75 years old, 164.5 ± 9.1 cm in stature) were recruited. Participants were instructed to walk from their bed to the bathroom with their normal walking speed four times (two light conditions x two repetitions). Participants’ gait characteristics, including the walking performance, posture, and stability measures, were compared using mixed analyses of variance with light conditions as the within-subject factor, and falls concerns as the between-subject factor. The study found: (1) When compared to the usual ambient night light condition, the lighting with a visual-based guiding prompted participants to have a lower maximum value of right hip flexion and a higher maximum value of trunk accelerometry. Higher confidence in walking and increased numbers of walking direction corrections might contribute to the changes under the visual-guided light conditions. (2) When compared to older adults with low fall concerns, those with high fall concerns demonstrated a slower walking speed as well as a reduction in motion smoothness.
Error recovery training literature review: Implications for emergency field medicine

Training focused on recognizing when a medical procedure has not been implemented effectively may reduce preventable battlefield deaths. Although important research has been conducted about a range of error recovery training strategies, few studies have been conducted in the context of training for high stakes, dynamic domains such as combat medic training. We conducted a literature review to examine how error recovery training has been designed in other contexts, with the intent of abstracting recommendations for designing error recovery training to support military personnel providing emergency field medicine. Implications for combat medic training include: 1) a focus on error management rather than error avoidance, 2) a didactic training component may support training engagement and mental model development, 3) an experiential component may be designed to support perceptual skill development and anomaly detection, and 4) feedback should focus on allowing learners to make errors and encouraging them to learn from errors.
Triterpenoid Saponins from the Cultivar “Green Elf” of Pittosporum tenuifolium

Four oleanane-type glycosides were isolated from a horticultural cultivar “Green Elf” of the endemic Pittosporum tenuifolium (Pittosporaceae) from New Zealand: three acylated barringtogenol C glycosides from the leaves, with two previously undescribed 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-[α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl-21-O-angeloyl-28-O-acetylbarringtogenol C, 3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)-[α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl-21-O-angeloyl-28-O-acetylbarringtogenol C, and the known 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-[α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl-21-O-angeloyl-28-O-acetylbarringtogenol C (Eryngioside L). From the roots, the known 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucuronopyranosyloleanolic acid (Sandrosaponin X) was identified. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments and mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). According to their structural similarities with gymnemic acids, the inhibitory activities on the sweet taste TAS1R2/TAS1R3 receptor of an aqueous ethanolic extract of the leaves and roots, a crude saponin mixture, 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-[α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl-21-O-angeloyl-28-O-acetylbarringtogenol C, and Eryngioside L were evaluated.
Ferroelectric and Dielectric Properties of Strontium Titanate Doped with Barium

Ferroelectric samples Sr1−xBaxTiO3 (BST), where x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1, were prepared using the tartrate precursor method and annealed at 1200 °C for 2 h. X-ray diffraction, “XRD”, pattern analysis verified the structure phase. The crystallite size of the SrTiO3 phase was calculated to be 83.6 nm, and for the TiO2 phase it was 72.25 nm. The TEM images showed that the crystallites were agglomerated, due to their nanosize nature. The AC resistivity was measured as temperature dependence with different frequencies 1 kHz and 10 kHz. The resistivity was decreased by raising the frequency. The dielectric properties were measured as the temperature dependence at two frequencies, 1 kHz and 10 kHz. The maximum amount of dielectric constant corresponded to the Curie temperature and the transformation from ferroelectric to paraelectric at 1 kHz was sharp at 10 kHz. Polarization–electric field hysteresis loops for BST samples were measured using a Sawer–Tawer modified circuit. It was shown that the polarization decreased with increasing temperature for all samples.
Mental Health Inequalities During COVID-19 Outbreak: The Role of Financial Insecurity and Attentional Control

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns negatively impacted the mental health of populations. This impact is not equally distributed and increases existing mental health inequalities. Indeed, government restrictions and the economic consequences of the pandemic affect more the less educated and less wealthy people. However, psychological processes implicated in this increase of mental health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unexplored. The present study (N=591) tested the role of financial insecurity and attentional control in the relation between socioeconomic status and mental health, along with the influence of trait anxiety. Based on Structural Equation Modelling, findings showed a mediation effect of financial insecurity, but not of attentional control, in the relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health. In addition, exploratory analyses suggested that financial insecurity also mediated the effect of attentional control on mental health. Results of the present research point at the importance of understanding psychological processes implicated in the effect of economic crises on mental health inequalities.
Training of pharmacists in Zambia: Developments, curriculum structure and future perspectives

In Zambia, local training of pharmacists commenced in 2001. Development of pharmaceutical education in Zambia has been largely influenced by the national need for pharmacists in the healthcare sector. Training institutions offer the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) degree programme which follows a four-year curriculum structure. The B.Pharm. programme aims to produce pharmacists with requisite competences to practise pharmaceutical care and sustain the development of pharmacy in Zambia. Seventeen years down the line, Zambia continues to advance local pharmaceutical education programmes. Over 700 pharmacists have graduated from the national training programmes in Zambia which continue to address the pharmaceutical workforce needs. Pharmaceutical education in Zambia offers a number of career prospects in hospital, community, pharmaceutical manufacturing, medicine regulation, public health administration, and progression to academia. Positive transitions made to advance pharmacists’ training in Zambia give a positive outlook for the future.
Measures of states of consciousness during attentional and cognitive load

Background Developing and testing methods for reliably assessing states of consciousness in humans is important for both basic research and clinical purposes. Several potential measures, partly grounded in theoretical developments, have been proposed, and some of them seem to reliably distinguish between conscious and unconscious brain states. However, the degrees to which these measures may also be affected by changes in brain activity or conditions that can occur within conscious brain states have rarely been tested. In this study we test whether several of these measures are modulated by attentional load and related use of cognitive resources. Methods We recorded EEG from 12 participants while they passively received three types of stimuli: (1) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulses (for measuring perturbational complexity), (2) auditory stimuli (for detection of auditory pattern deviants), or (3) audible clicks from a clock (spontaneous EEG, for measures of signal diversity and functional connectivity). We investigated whether the measures significantly differed between the passive condition and a attentional and cognitively demanding working memory task. Results Our results showed that in the attention-based auditory P3b ERP measure (global auditory pattern deviant) was significantly affected by increased attentional and cognitive load, while the various measures based on spontaneous and perturbed EEG were not affected. Conclusion Measures of conscious state based on complexity, diversity, and effective connectivity, are not affected by attentional and cognitive load, suggesting that these measures can be used to test both for the presence and absence of consciousness.
Investigating the Effect of Nonrigid Connectors on the Success of Tooth-and-Implant-Supported Fixed Partial Prostheses in Maxillary Anterior Region: A Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Objective This study was designed to assess the effect of nonrigid connectors (NRCs) and their location in the success of tooth-and-implant-supported fixed prostheses in the maxillary anterior region by finite element analysis (FEA). Materials and Methods Three 3D FEA models were designed, presuming maxillary lateral incisor and canine to be extracted. Implant (replacing canine), abutment, bone (spongious and cortical), central incisor (containing dentin, root cement, gutta-percha, and casting post and core), periodontal ligament, and three three-unit cemented PFM prostheses (a rigid one and two nonrigid) were modeled. The NRC was once in the tooth side and once in the implant side. The prostheses were loaded twice: 250N to the incisal edges (0° to the long axis) and 200 N to the cingula (45° to the long axis). The von-Mises stress and vertical displacement were analyzed. Results Under both vertical and oblique loadings, the rigid model presented the highest stress. Under vertical loading, the NRC caused a significant decrease in the applied stress to the prosthesis, bone, implant, and tooth. Locating the NRC in the tooth side decreased the applied stress to the prosthesis and NRC. Under oblique loading, prosthesis and implant tolerated less stress in the presence of an NRC. Placing the NRC in the tooth side resulted in the least stress in all of the components except for porcelain and patrix. Vertical displacement of the tooth apex was approximately equal in all models. Conclusion Using an NRC on the tooth side is the most efficient method in reducing the applied stress to prosthesis, implant, tooth, and bone. The amount of intrusion is not dependent on using an NRC or not.