Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vascular and extracellular matrix remodeling by physical approaches to improve drug delivery at the tumor site

ABSTRACT Introduction Modern comprehensive studies of tumor microenvironment changes allowed scientists to develop new and more efficient strategies that will improve anticancer drug delivery on site. The tumor microenvironment, especially the dense extracellular matrix, has a recognized capability to hamper the penetration of conventional drugs. Development and co-applications of strategies aiming at remodeling the tumor microenvironment are highly demanded to improve drug delivery at the tumor site in a therapeutic prospect. Areas covered Increasing indications suggest that classical physical approaches such as exposure to ionizing radiations, hyperthermia or light irradiation, and emerging ones as sonoporation, electric field or cold plasma technology can be applied as standalone or associated strategies to remodel the tumor microenvironment. The impacts on vasculature and extracellular matrix remodeling of these physical approaches will be discussed with the goal to improve nanotherapeutics delivery at the tumor site. Expert opinion Physical approaches to modulate vascular properties and remodel the extracellular matrix are of particular interest to locally control and improve drug delivery and thus increase its therapeutic index. They are particularly powerful as adjuvant to nanomedicine delivery; the development of these technologies could have extremely widespread implications for cancer treatment.
A Case of Severe QTc Prolongation During Targeted Temperature Management– What Can We Learn?

Patient: Female, 57-year-old Final Diagnosis: Stroke Symptoms: Aphasia • facial droop • weaknes of lower limbs Medication:— Clinical Procedure: Targeted temperature management Specialty: Cardiology • Critical Care Medicine Objective: Unusual or unexpected effect of treatment Background: QTc prolongation during targeted temperature management (TTM) post cardiac arrest is a known effect of hypothermia, but its significance is unclear. Several studies suggest that temporary prolongation during TTM is not prognostic and does not potentiate fatal arrhythmias; however, there are limited cases of patients presenting with QTc intervals >700 milliseconds. Case Report: We describe a case in which a 57-year-old woman with diabetes, hypertension, and atrial fibrillation presented with concern for stroke. The hospital course was complicated by cardiac arrest requiring TTM, which was stopped early due to significant QTc prolongation of 746 milliseconds. Conclusions: TTM is beneficial post resuscitation for good neurological outcomes, but it also has known adverse cardiac effects such as QTc prolongation. The significance of QTc prolongation during TTM is unclear as several studies have shown no increased incidence of malignant arrhythmias. One case report in the literature describes the incidence of torsades de pointes due to QTc prolongation during TTM. Further study and guidelines regarding electrocardiogram monitoring are needed to determine the importance of QTc prolongation during TTM.
Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion Versus Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Liver Transplantation From Controlled Donation After Circulatory Death: First International Comparative Study.

OBJECTIVE To compare HOPE and NRP in liver transplantation from cDCD. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Liver transplantation after cDCD is associated with higher rates of graft loss. Dynamic preservation strategies such as NRP and HOPE may offer safer use of cDCD grafts. METHODS Retrospective comparative cohort study assessing outcomes after cDCD liver transplantation in 1 Swiss (HOPE) and 6 French (NRP) centers. The primary endpoint was 1-year tumor-death censored graft and patient survival. RESULTS A total of 132 and 93 liver grafts were transplanted after NRP and HOPE, respectively. NRP grafts were procured from younger donors (50 vs 61 years, P < 0.001), with shorter functional donor warm ischemia (22 vs 31 minutes, P < 0.001) and a lower overall predicted risk for graft loss (UK-DCD-risk score 6 vs 9 points, P < 0.001). One-year tumor-death censored graft and patient survival was 93% versus 86% (P = 0.125) and 95% versus 93% (P = 0.482) after NRP and HOPE, respectively. No differences in non-anastomotic biliary strictures, primary nonfunction and hepatic artery thrombosis were observed in the total cohort and in 32 vs. 32 propensity score-matched recipients CONCLUSION:: NRP and HOPE in cDCD achieved similar post-transplant recipient and graft survival rates exceeding 85% and comparable to the benchmark values observed in standard DBD liver transplantation. Grafts in the HOPE cohort were procured from older donors and had longer warm ischemia times, and consequently achieved higher utilization rates. Therefore, randomized controlled trials with intention-to-treat analysis are needed to further compare both preservation strategies, especially for high-risk donor-recipient combinations.
Complications from percutaneous-left ventricular assist devices versus intra-aortic balloon pump in acute myocardial infarction-cardiogenic shock

Background There are limited data on the complications with a percutaneous left ventricular assist device (pLVAD) vs. intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in acute myocardial infarction-cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS). Objective To assess the trends, rates and predictors of complications. Methods Using a 17-year AMI-CS population from the National Inpatient Sample, AMI-CS admissions receiving pLVAD and IABP support were evaluated for vascular, lower limb amputation, hematologic, neurologic and acute kidney injury (AKI) complications. In-hospital mortality, hospitalization costs and length of stay in pLVAD and IABP cohorts with complications was studied. Results Of 168,645 admissions, 7,855 (4.7%) receiving pLVAD support. The pLVAD cohort had higher comorbidity, cardiac arrest (36.1% vs. 29.7%) and non-cardiac organ failure (74.7% vs. 56.9%) rates. Complications were higher in pLVAD compared to IABP cohort–overall 69.0% vs. 54.7%; vascular 3.8% vs. 2.1%; lower limb amputation 0.3% vs. 0.3%; hematologic 36.0% vs. 27.7%; neurologic 4.9% vs. 3.5% and AKI 55.4% vs. 39.1% (all p<0.001 except for amputation). Non-White race, higher comorbidity, organ failure, and extracorporeal membrane oxygen use were predictors of complications for both cohorts. The pLVAD cohort with complications had higher in-hospital mortality (45.5% vs. 33.1%; adjusted odds ratio 1.65 [95% confidence interval 1.55–1.75]), shorter duration of hospital stay, and higher hospitalization costs compared to the IABP cohort with complications (all p<0.001). These results were consistent in propensity-matched pairs. Conclusions AMI-CS admissions receiving pLVAD had higher rates of complications compared to the IABP, with worse in-hospital outcomes in the cohort with complications.
Knowledge of dental faculty in gulf cooperation council states of multiple-choice questions’ item writing flaws

ABSTRACT Multiple-Choice Questions provide an objective cost/time effective assessment. Deviation from appropriate question writing structural guidelines will most probably result in commonly ignored multiple-choice questions writing flaws, influencing the ability of the assessment to measure students’ cognitive levels thereby seriously affecting students’ academic performance outcome measures. To gauge the knowledge of multiple-choice question items writing flaws in dental faculty working at colleges in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. A cross-sectional short online Survey MonkeyTM multiple-choice questions-based questionnaire was disseminated to dental faculty working in GCC countries during the academic year 2018/2019. The questionnaire included five test incorrect (flawed) multiple-choice questions and one correct control question. The participants were asked to identify flawed multiple-choice question items from the known 14 items writing flaws. Out of a total of 460 faculty, 216 respondents completed the questionnaires, 132 (61.1%) were from Saudi Arabia, while numbers of participants from United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman were 59 (27.3), 14 (6.5%) and 11 (5.1%) respectively. Majority of participants were male (n = 141, 65.9%) compared to 73 females (34.1%). Eighty percent of the participants possessed more than five years of teaching experience. Assistant professors constituted the majority (43.3%) of the academic positions participating in this study. The overall fail rate ranged from 76.3% to 98.1% and almost 2/3rds of the participants were unable to identify one or more of the flawed item(s). No significant association was observed between the demographics (age, region, academic position and specialty) and knowledge except that of participant’s gender (p < 0.009). GCC dental faculty demonstrated below average knowledge of multiple-choice question items writing flaws. Training and workshops are needed to ensure substantial exposure to proper multiple-choice question items construction standards.
Tumor associated neutrophils promote the metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the role of tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in the metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), to explore the regulation of TANs, and to determine the mechanisms governing the metastasis of PDAC. The correlation between neutrophils and the patient’s clinical pathological data was first evaluated. Then, the effects of neutrophils on the invasion of PDAC were analyzed using a combination of conditioned media, direct and indirect coculture of human peripheral blood neutrophils, and PDAC cell lines (Panc-1, MiaPaCa-2 and AsPC-1). The cytokines secreted by neutrophils were detected through ELISA. TAN density was significantly correlated with poor metastasis-free survival (P < .05). Through coculture, it was found that the effect of neutrophils on pancreatic cancer cells was dependent on concentration, and a high concentration of neutrophils showed a lethal effect, while a low concentration of neutrophils primarily promoted the migration ability of cancer cells. The results of the wound-healing assay, the Transwell invasion assay, and laser confocal microscopy confirmed the promoting effect and indicated that the effect of neutrophils toward cancer cells may function indirectly by releasing a series of cytokines. The results of ELISA show that this effect may be achieved through the secretion of a large amount of TNF-α and TGF-β1 by neutrophils. Our study indicated that neutrophils may increase the metastasis of PDAC by releasing a series of cell cytokines, such as TNF-α and TGF-β1.
A robust phase-coordinates frequency-dependent underground cable model (zCable) for the EMTP

A major difficulty in multiphase cable modeling with traditional electromagnetic transient program like the EMTP is the synthesis of the frequency-dependent transformation matrix which relates modal and phase domain variables. This paper presents a new model (zCable) to represent the frequency-dependence of cable parameters directly in phase coordinates thus avoiding the problems related to frequency-dependent transformation matrices. The cable model is split into two parts: a constant ideal line section and a frequency-dependent loss section. A pi-correction is proposed to solve the problem of different traveling times in the ideal line section. The main advantage of the proposed model as compared to existing frequency-dependent transformation matrix models is the model's absolute numerical stability for strongly asymmetrical cable configurations and for arbitrary fault conditions. In addition, the model parameters are easy to obtain with robust algorithms and the model can be efficiently implemented in the context of a real-time PC-cluster simulator.
Associations Among Perceived Parent and Peer Support, Self-Esteem, and Cancer-Related Worry in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors.

Purpose: Cancer-related worry is common among adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors, and is associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes. Thus, it is crucial to identify possible modifiable covariates of cancer-related worry to aid in developing targeted interventions. This study aimed to explore the cross-sectional associations between cancer-related worry and potential covariates (i.e., perceived parental support, perceived peer support, self-esteem). Methods: One hundred fifty-two survivors between the ages of 15 and 25 who had been diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 14 and 21 completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, and a measure of cancer-related worry. Relationships among variables were assessed through structural equation modeling. Results: The model showed good fit [χ2(13) = 13.26, p = 0.43; comparative fit index = 0.997; root mean square error of approximation = 0.01 (90% confidence interval = 0.00-0.08); standardized root mean square residual = 0.04]; however, not all associations were in expected directions. Higher perceived parent and peer support were each significantly associated with lower self-esteem, which, in turn, was significantly associated with higher cancer-related worry. There was no direct association between support variables and cancer-related worry. Conclusion: These findings, which contradict existing theory about self-esteem development in healthy AYAs and prior research about the association between support and self-esteem in children and adolescents with cancer, suggest complex, and likely reciprocal, relationships among perceived support, cancer-related worry, and self-esteem in AYA cancer survivors. Support interventions involving peers with cancer and cognitive behavioral interventions targeting parent and peer relationships, self-esteem, and cancer-related worry may be beneficial in fostering AYA cancer survivors' psychosocial development.
Fostering Self-Control Development With a Designed Intervention in Physical Education: A Two-Year Class-Randomized Trial.

This study evaluated whether a theory-based intervention in physical education (PE) designed to train self-control may positively impact children's quick-temperedness and disruptiveness and whether changes in executive functions (EFs) may be a correlate or antecedent of such effects. One hundred and sixteen children aged 8-9 years participated in a 2-year intervention and completed three assessments at baseline, 6- and 18-month follow-ups in quick-temperedness and disruptiveness, hot and cool EFs. After the intervention, children in the intervention group showed lower quick-temperedness and disruptiveness and improvement in hot EF. Changes over the intervention period were moderately associated and showed marginal evidence of causal ordering, suggesting that designed PE may benefit self-control through a possible linkage to hot EF improvement.
EFFECT OF BIO-FERTILIZERS ON PERFORMANCE OF DILL (ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS L.)

Biological fertilizers are compounds comprising various free living microorganisms that are able to change the basic nutrients into available form through biological procedures. Being an important source of nutrients in sustainable agriculture, these fertilizers lead to better seed germination and development of root system. In order to investigate the effect of biological fertilizers on the medicinal plant, dill (Anethum graveolens), an experiment was conducted in completely randomized blocks with 3 replications using 4 treatments in Lueen plains in Saveh, central Iran. Treatments included nitroxin (Azospirillum and Azotobacter), Pseudomonas florescence containing phosphate solubilizing bacteria, mixture of nitroxin and Pseudomonas florescence fertilizers, and control (no fertilizer). Findings suggested that application of biological fertilizers significantly increased seeds performance, biological yield per plant, plant height, number of spikes per plant, number of seeds per spike, number of seeds per plant, and the weight of 1000 seeds. Among the treated plants, mixed treatment of nitroxin and Pseudomonas florescence caused maximum increase in most of the parameters under study. This was followed by nitroxin treatment which resulted in the second most pronounced difference with the control. The minimum and maximum seed performances were observed in mixed treatment of nitroxin and Pseudomonas florescence (16.31 g per plant) and control plants (9.8 g per plant), respectively. In general, results of the present study revealed that application of biological fertilizers plays a remarkable role in improving growth characteristics and yield compounds of Anethum graveolens and they can be viewed as a suitable replacement for chemical fertilizers.
Prevalence of Bovine Tuberculosis in Slaughtered Cattle in Sicily, Southern Italy

Simple Summary Mycobacterium bovis is a Gram-positive, acid-fast bacterium responsible for disease in cattle and in several other domestic and wild animal species, also representing a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. In Italy, the incidence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle has been progressively reduced throughout the years; however, the disease still remains widespread in Southern Italy, with the highest prevalence rates recorded in Sicily. Specific eradication programs have been established, with herd testing and post-mortem inspection at the slaughterhouse used as diagnostic procedures to obtain epidemiological data on bTB prevalence. The concomitant use of these procedures is essential in epidemiological surveillance programs, and although data on disease prevalence at herd level are systematically collected and used for epidemiological surveillance in Sicily, data from post-mortem inspection are scant. Therefore, the current survey aimed to investigate the prevalence of bTB in cattle in Sicily during two different three-year periods, using data from meat inspections and histopathological methods. Results obtained show that even though bTB occurrence in cattle was well reduced over the years, the disease still remains widespread in this region, posing severe implications for public health and a prominent economic impact on the livestock industry. Abstract Post-mortem inspection in slaughterhouses plays a key role in the epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, including bTB. This study assessed the prevalence of bTB in cattle in Sicily during two different three-year periods (2010–2012; 2017–2019), using data from meat inspections and histopathological methods. Out of 100,196 cattle, 5221 (5.21%) were diagnosed with tuberculous lesions. Higher prevalence of bTB was recorded during the triennium 2010–2012 (6.74%; n = 3692) compared to the triennium 2017–2019 (3.36%; n = 1529), with a decreasing trend in annual occurrence throughout the study period and a heterogenous proportion of infected cattle among the Sicilian provinces (p < 0.01). Lower rates of infection were recorded in animals aged <12 months and >84 months (p < 0.0001). Pearson’s chi square analysis revealed a higher localization of lesions in the thoracic cavity (p < 0.0001). Gathered findings show that even though bTB occurrence in cattle was greatly reduced over the years, the disease still remains widespread in Sicily, also posing severe implications for public health.
Reevaluating the Economic Injury Level for Brown Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) at Various Growth Stages of Maize

Abstract Economic yield loss and reduction in grain quality from brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), feeding injury in early and late stages of maize, Zea mays (Poales: Poaceae, Linnaeus), development was assessed in Virginia and North Carolina in 2018 and 2019. Varying levels of stink bug infestations were introduced to seedling maize (V2—early stage), and a range of late-stages of maize, including 1) the last stage of vegetative development (V12/V14), 2) prior to tasseling, 3) at tasseling (VT), and 4) across all tested late growth stages. Euschistus servus infestation levels included 33, 67, and 100% of maize seedlings, and 25, 50, 100, and 200% of plants during later stages. Infestations were maintained on seedling maize for 7 d, and 8 or 16 d in reproductive stages. Infestation level in seedling maize had an impact on grain yield. Infestation level and growth stage both had an impact on grain yield in reproductive maize. The percentage of discolored kernels was also affected by infestation level, but not growth stage. Regression analysis between grain yield and infestation level indicated that the average economic injury level is 7% in seedling maize (7 bugs/100 plants) and 12% (12 bugs/100 plants) from the last vegetative stages (V12/V14) through pollination (VT). The economic injury level in the late vegetative stages is only applicable when infestations are present for an extended period of time (16 d), emphasizing the need for continued scouting of maize throughout the season to make informed management decisions.
Meta‐analysis of genetic representativeness of plant populations under ex situ conservation in contrast to wild source populations

Ex situ conservation is widely used to protect wild plant species from extinction. However, it remains unclear how genetic variation of ex situ plant collections reflects diversity of wild source populations. We conducted a global meta‐analysis of the genetic representativeness of ex situ populations by comparing genetic diversity (i.e., AR, allelic richness; He, expected heterozygosity; PPB, percent polymorphic bands; and SWI, Shannon–Winner index), inbreeding coefficient (FIS), and genetic differentiation between ex situ plant collections and their wild source populations. Genetic diversity (i.e., He, PPB, and SWI) was significantly lower in ex situ populations than their wild source populations, whereas genetic differentiation between ex situ and wild populations (ex‐situ‐wild FST), but not that among ex situ populations, was significantly higher than among wild populations. Outcrossing species, but not those with mixed mating system, had significantly lower genetic diversity in ex situ populations and significantly higher ex‐situ‐wild FST. When the collection size for ex situ conservation was ≥30 or 50, PPB, He, and ex‐situ‐wild FST were not significantly different between ex situ and wild populations, indicating a relatively high genetic representativeness. Collecting from the entire natural distribution range and mixing collections from different sources could significantly increase the genetic representativeness of ex situ populations. Type of ex situ conservation (i.e., planting or seed bank) had no effect on genetic representativeness. The effect size of He decreased and the effect size of ex‐situ‐wild FST increased as the duration of ex situ conservation increased. Our results suggest that current ex situ plant collections do not effectively capture the genetic variation of wild populations. Low genetic representativeness of ex situ populations was caused by both initial incomplete sampling from wild populations and genetic erosion during ex situ conservation. We emphasize that it is necessary to employ more thorough sampling strategies in future collecting efforts and to add new individuals where needed.
L444P Gba1 mutation increases formation and spread of α-synuclein deposits in mice injected with mouse α-synuclein pre-formed fibrils

Parkinson disease is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, estimated to affect one in twenty-five individuals over the age of 80. Mutations in glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA1) represent the most common genetic risk factor for Parkinson disease. The link between GBA1 mutations and α-synuclein accumulation, a hallmark of Parkinson disease, is not fully understood. Following our recent finding that Gba1 mutations lead to increased α-synuclein accumulation in mice, we have studied the effects of a single injection of mouse α-synuclein pre-formed fibrils into the striatum of Gba1 mice that carry a L444P knock-in mutation. We found significantly greater formation and spread of α-synuclein inclusions in Gba1-transgenic mice compared to wild-type controls. This indicates that the Gba1 L444P mutation accelerates α-synuclein pathology and spread.