Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cholinesterase alterations in delirium after cardiosurgery: a German monocentric prospective study

Objectives Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common complication after elective cardiac surgery. Recent evidence indicates that a disruption in the normal activity of the cholinergic system may be associated with delirium. Design Prospective observational study. Setting Single-centre at a European academic hospital. Primary and secondary outcome measures In our study the enzyme activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) were determined preoperatively as well as on the first and second postoperative day. The confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit was used to screen patients for the presence of POD. Results A total of 114 patients were included in the study. POD was associated with a decrease in BChE activity on postoperative day 1 (p=0.03). In addition, patients who developed POD, had significantly lower preoperative AChE activity than patients without POD (p<0.01). Multivariate analysis identified a preoperatively decreased AChE activity (OR 3.1; 95% CI 1.14 to 8.46), anticholinergic treatment (OR 5.09; 95% CI 1.51 to 17.23), elevated European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (OR 3.68; 95% CI 1.04 to 12.99) and age (OR 3.02; 95% CI 1.06 to 8.62) to be independently associated with the development of POD. Conclusions We conclude that a reduction in the acetylcholine hydrolysing enzyme activity in patients undergoing cardiac surgery may correlate with the development of POD.
Cutaneous “fibroma‐like” perivascular epithelioid cell tumor: A case report and review of literature

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are a group of lesions sharing the common features of co‐expression of melanocytic and myogenic markers, with focal association of the cells with vascular walls. The PEComa group exhibits a wide range of morphologies. A “fibroma‐like” variant of PEComa has been recently described. The case reported herein is that of an infant with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) presenting with a lip mass. Excisional biopsy showed a moderately cellular tumor composed of spindled to stellate cells embedded within a collagenized stroma. The cells showed focal perivascular accumulation and positivity for both melanocytic (HMB‐45) and myogenic (desmin) markers. This is the fifth reported case of “fibroma‐like” PEComa in literature and the youngest patient to date. All of the “fibroma‐like” PEComas were found in patients with tuberous sclerosis—hence, the diagnosis of this entity should prompt a workup for TSC; conversely, a fibroma‐like lesion in a patient with TSC or with TSC‐related conditions should be evaluated using melanocytic and myogenic markers. Melanocytic and myogenic markers are also useful in differentiating “fibroma‐like” PEComa from other differential diagnoses such as fibroma and benign fibrous histiocytoma.
Gum feeder as environmental enrichment for zoo marmosets and tamarins.

Tamarins and marmosets are small-bodied social callitrichines. Wild callitrichines feed on exudates, such as sap and gum; particularly, marmosets are mainly gummivores, while tamarins consume gums only occasionally and opportunistically. Zoo marmosets and tamarins are usually provided with gum arabic as an alternative to the exudates normally found in the wild. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a gum feeder on the behavior and well-being of four zoo-managed callitrichines. We studied four cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus), four red-handed tamarins (S. midas), two pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea), and three Geoffroy's marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi) housed at Parco Natura Viva (Italy). We conducted the study over two different periods, a baseline (control, without the gum feeder) and then a gum feeder (when the gum feeder was provided) period. We used continuous focal animal sampling to collect behavioral data, including durations of social and individual behaviors. We collected 240 min of observations per period per study subject, with a total of 3,120 min for all the subjects in the same period and of 6,240 min in both periods. We analyzed data by using nonparametric statistical tests. First, we found that the gum feeder promoted species-specific behaviors, such as exploration, and diminished self-directed behaviors, suggesting an enriching effect on tamarin and marmoset behavior. Moreover, in red-handed tamarins, the provision of the gum feeder reduced the performance of self-directed and abnormal behavior, specifically coprophagy. These results confirm that gum feeders are effective foraging enrichment tools for zoo marmosets and tamarins.
Modelling the impact of migrants on the success of the HIV care and treatment program in Botswana

Introduction Botswana offers publicly financed HIV treatment to citizens, but not migrants, who comprised about 7% of the population in 2016. However, HIV incidence is not declining in proportion to Botswana’s HIV response. In 2018, Botswana had 86% of citizens living with HIV diagnosed, 95% of people diagnosed on treatment, and 95% viral suppression among those on treatment. We hypothesised that continued exclusion of migrants is hampering reduction of HIV incidence in Botswana. Hence, we modelled the impact of including migrants in Botswana’s HIV response on achieving 90-90-90 and 95-95-95 Fast-Track targets by 2020 and 2030, respectively. Methods The Optima HIV model, with demographic, epidemiological, and behavioural inputs, was applied to citizens of and migrants to Botswana. Projections of new HIV infections and HIV-related deaths were compared for three scenarios to the end of 2030: (1) continued status quo for HIV testing and treatment coverage, and maintenance of levels of linkage to care, loss to follow-up, and viral suppression among citizens and migrants (baseline); (2) with scaled-up budget, optimised to achieve 90-90-90 and 95-95-95 Fast-Track targets by 2020 and 2030, respectively, for citizens only; and (3) scaled-up optimised budget to achieve these targets for both citizens and migrants. Results A baseline of 172,000 new HIV infections and 8,400 HIV-related deaths was projected over 2020–2030. Scaling up to achieve targets among citizens only averted an estimated 48,000 infections and 1,700 deaths. Achieving targets for both citizens and migrants averted 16,000 (34%) more infections and 442 (26%) more deaths. Scaling up for both populations reduced numbers of new HIV infections and deaths by 44% and 39% respectively compared with 2010 levels. Treating migrants when scaling up in both populations was estimated to cost USD 74 million over 2020–2030. Conclusions Providing HIV services to migrants in Botswana could lead to further reductions in HIV incidence and deaths. However, even with an increased, optimised budget that achieves 95-95-95 targets for both citizens and migrants by 2030, the 90% incidence reduction target for 2020 will be missed. Further efficiencies and innovations will be needed to meet HIV targets in Botswana.
Potential of Exosomal microRNA-200b as Liquid Biopsy Marker in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly malignant tumor entity, characterized by rapid disease progression, early metastatic dissemination, and late diagnosis at advanced tumor stages. Recently, we explored the clinical impact of several microRNAs (miR) associated with proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and chemoresistance in tissue and blood serum specimens of PDAC patients. Here, we evaluated the potential of these miRs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in PDAC in serum exosomes and their respective EpCAM-positive (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) subset. Expression analysis by RT-qRT-PCR (real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) revealed an overexpression of miR-200b and miR-200c in serum exosomes of PDAC patients as compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001; p = 0.024) and patients with chronic pancreatitis (p = 0.005; p = 0.19). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that a biomarker panel consisting of miR-200b and miR-200c from total and EpCAM-positive serum exosomes enhanced the diagnostic accuracy of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA.19-9) to 97% (p < 0.0001). Univariate survival analysis revealed a correlation between shorter overall survival (OS) and high expression of miR-200c in total serum exosomes (p = 0.038) and miR-200b in EpCAM-positive serum exosomes (p = 0.032), whereas EpCAM exosomal miR-200b was also indicative of shorter OS in the subgroup of patients treated with curative intent (p = 0.013). Multivariate survival analysis showed that miR-200b derived from EpCAM-positive serum exosomes might serve as an independent prognostic factor in PDAC (p = 0.044). Our findings indicate a potential role of exosomal miR-200 as diagnostic and prognostic liquid biopsy marker in PDAC and call for validation in a larger, multicenter setting.
Performance Validation of a Planar Hall Resistance Biosensor through Beta-Amyloid Biomarker

Magnetic sensors have great potential for biomedical applications, particularly, detection of magnetically-labeled biomolecules and cells. On the basis of the advantage of the planar Hall effect sensor, which consists of improved thermal stability as compared with other magnetic sensors, we have designed a portable biosensor platform that can detect magnetic labels without applying any external magnetic field. The trilayer sensor, with a composition of Ta (5 nm)/NiFe (10 nm)/Cu (x = 0 nm~1.2 nm)/IrMn (10 nm)/Ta (5 nm), was deposited on a silicon wafer using photolithography and a sputtering system, where the optimized sensor sensitivity was 6 μV/(Oe∙mA). The detection of the magnetic label was done by comparing the signals obtained in first harmonic AC mode (1f mode) using an external magnetic field and in the second harmonic AC mode (2f mode) with a self-field generated by current passing through the sensor. In addition, a technique for the β-amyloid biomarker-based antibody-antigen sandwich model was demonstrated for the detection of a series of concentrations of magnetic labels using the self-field mode method, where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was high. The generated self-field was enough to detect an immobilized magnetic tag without an additional external magnetic field. Hence, it could be possible to reduce the device size to use the point-of-care testing using a portable circuit system.
Temporal Invariance in SCA6 Is Related to Smaller Cerebellar Lobule VI and Greater Disease Severity

Regulating muscle force and timing are fundamental for accurate motor performance. In spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6), there is evidence that individuals have greater force dysmetria but display better temporal accuracy during fast goal directed contractions. Here, we test whether greater temporal accuracy occurs in all individuals with SCA6, and can be explained by lesser temporal variability. Regulating muscle force and timing are fundamental for accurate motor performance. In spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6), there is evidence that individuals have greater force dysmetria but display better temporal accuracy during fast goal directed contractions. Here, we test whether greater temporal accuracy occurs in all individuals with SCA6, and can be explained by lesser temporal variability. Further we examine whether it is linked to disease severity and specific degenerative changes in the cerebellum. Nineteen human participants with SCA6 (13 woman) and 18 healthy controls performed fast goal-directed ankle dorsiflexion contractions aiming at a spatiotemporal target. We quantified the endpoint control of these contractions, gray matter (GM) integrity of the cerebellum, and disease severity using the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS). SCA6 individuals exhibited lower temporal endpoint error and variability than the healthy controls (p = 0.008). Statistically, SCA6 clustered into two distinct groups for temporal variability. A group with low temporal variability ranging from 10 to 19% (SCA6a) and a group with temporal variability similar to healthy controls (SCA6b; 19–40%). SCA6a exhibited greater disease severity than SCA6b, as assessed with ICARS (p < 0.001). Lower temporal variability, which was not associated with disease duration (R2 = 0.1, p > 0.2), did correlate with both greater ICARS (R2 = 0.3) and reduced GM volume in cerebellar lobule VI (R2 = 0.35). Other cerebellar lobules did not relate to temporal variability. We provide new evidence that a subset of SCA6 with greater loss of GM in cerebellum lobule VI exhibit temporal invariance and more severe ataxia than other SCA6 individuals. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Variability is an inherent feature of voluntary movement, and traditionally more variability in the targeted output infers impaired performance. For example, cerebellar patients present exacerbated temporal variability during multijoint movements, which is thought to contribute to their motor deficits. In the current work, we show that in a subgroup of spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 individuals, temporal variability is lower than that of healthy controls when performing single-joint fast-goal directed movements. This invariance related to exacerbated atrophy of lobule VI of the cerebellum and exacerbated disease severity. The relation between invariance and disease severity suggests that pathological motor variability can manifest not only as an exacerbation but also as a reduction relative to healthy controls.
Age- and sex-specific changes in lower-limb muscle power throughout the lifespan.

BACKGROUND Our main goal was to evaluate the pattern and time course of changes in relative muscle power and its constituting components throughout the lifespan. METHODS A total of 1305 subjects (729 women and 576 men; aged 20-93 years) participating in the Copenhagen Sarcopenia Study took part. Body mass index (BMI), leg lean mass assessed by DXA, and leg extension muscle power (LEP) assessed by the Nottingham power rig were recorded. Relative muscle power (normalized to body mass) and specific muscle power (normalized to leg lean mass) were calculated. Segmented regression analyses were used to identify the onset and pattern of age-related changes in the recorded variables. RESULTS Relative muscle power began to decline above the age of 40 in both women and men, with women showing an attenuation of the decline above 75 years. Relative muscle power decreased with age due to i) the loss of absolute LEP after the fourth decade of life and ii) the increase in BMI up to the age of 75 years in women and 65 years in men. The decline in absolute LEP was caused by a decline in specific LEP up to the age of 75 in women and 65 in men, above which the loss in relative leg lean mass also contributed. CONCLUSIONS Relative power decreased i) above 40 years by the loss in absolute power (specific power only) and the increase in body mass, and ii) above ̴ 70 years by the loss in absolute power (both specific power and leg lean mass).
Early predictors of mental health in mid‐adulthood

Substantial research has focused on the examination of factors that contribute to the development of psychiatric problems. However, much less is known about factors early in life that may protect from poor mental health outcomes in midlife. This study aimed to identify the extent to which a set of key perinatal demographic variables and adolescent academic performance were associated with good mental health in mid‐adulthood.
Sodium/Potassium‐Ion Batteries: Boosting the Rate Capability and Cycle Life by Combining Morphology, Defect and Structure Engineering

Carbon‐based materials have been considered as the most promising anode materials for both sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium‐ion batteries (PIBs), owing to their good chemical stability, high electrical conductivity, and environmental benignity. However, due to the large sizes of sodium and potassium ions, it is a great challenge to realize a carbon anode with high reversible capacity, long cycle life, and high rate capability. Herein, by rational design, N‐doped 3D mesoporous carbon nanosheets (N‐CNS) are successfully synthesized, which can realize unprecedented electrochemical performance for both SIBs and PIBs. The N‐CNS possess an ultrathin nanosheet structure with hierarchical pores, ultrahigh level of pyridinic N/pyrrolic N, and an expanded interlayer distance. The beneficial features that can enhance the Na‐/K‐ion intercalation/deintercalation kinetic process, shorten the diffusion length for both ions and electrons, and accommodate the volume change are demonstrated. Hence, the N‐CNS‐based electrode delivers a high capacity of 239 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 after 10 000 cycles for SIBs and 321 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 after 5000 cycles for PIBs. First‐principles calculation shows that the ultrahigh doping level of pyridinic N/pyrrolic N contributes to the enhanced sodium and potassium storage performance by modulating the charge density distribution on the carbon surface.
Effects of pain catastrophizing and anxiety on analgesic use after surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars

Background In dentistry, pain is a factor that negatively affects treatments and drug use. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations of the postoperative analgesic use with pain catastrophizing and anxiety in patients who underwent removal of an impacted mandibular third molar. Methods We recruited 92 patients who underwent the extraction of impacted mandibular third molar. In this study, the Pederson index was used to preoperatively determine the difficulty of surgical extraction. Patients were asked to note the number of analgesics used for 7 postoperative days. Patients were divided into two groups based on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale: low and high score groups. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-trait and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-state questionnaires were used to determine the anxiety levels of the patients. The obtained data were examined to evaluate the correlations of pain catastrophizing and anxiety with the postoperative analgesic use. Results In this study, 92 patients, including 60 women and 32 men, were recruited. The analgesic use was higher in women than in men but with no significant difference (P > 0.05). Pain Catastrophizing Scale scores were higher in women than in men but with no significant difference (P > 0.05). The analgesic use was higher in patients with high pain catastrophizing than in those with low pain catastrophizing but with no significant difference (P > 0.05). State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-trait scores were higher in women than in men but with no significant difference. However, state-Trait Anxiety Inventory-state scores were significantly higher in women than in men (P < 0.05). Conclusion The postoperative analgesic use may be higher in patients who catastrophize pain than in others. Knowing the patient's catastrophic characteristics preoperatively would contribute to successful pain management and appropriate drug selection.
Antifungal activities of silver and selenium nanoparticles stabilized with different surface coating agents.

BACKGROUND Extensive and growing use of different chemical pesticides that affect both environment and human health raises need for new and more suitable methods to deal with plant pathogens. Nanotechnology has enabled the use of materials at the nanoscale with exceptional functionality in different economic domains including agricultural production. This study aimed to evaluate antifungal potential of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) stabilized with different surface coatings and characterized by different surface charge on plant pathogenic fungi Macrophomina phaseolina, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Diaporthe longicolla. RESULTS AgNPs were coated with three different stabilizing agents: mono citrate (MC-AgNPs), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB-AgNPs) and polyvinylpyrrolidon (PVP-AgNPs). SeNPs were coated with poly-L-lysine (PLL-SeNPs), polyacrylic acid (PAA-SeNPs), and polyvinylpyrrolidon (PVP-SeNPs). Seven different concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 mg L-1 ) of nanoparticles were applied. All AgNPs and SeNPs significantly inhibited the growth of the tested fungi. Among the tested NPs, PVP-AgNPs showed the best inhibitory effect on the tested plant pathogenic fungi, especially against S. sclerotiorum. The similar inhibition of the sclerotia formation was observed for S. sclerotiorum treated with PLL-SeNPs. CONCLUSION Obtained results provides new insights on fungicide effect of AgNPs and SeNPs stabilized with different coating agents on different plant pathogens. Further work should focus on detailed risk/benefit ratio assessment of using SeNPs or AgNPs in agriculture taking into account whole agroecosystem. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
An international multi-center serum protein electrophoresis accuracy and M-protein isotyping study. Part I: factors impacting limit of quantitation of serum protein electrophoresis

Abstract Background Serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) is used to quantify the serum monoclonal component or M-protein, for diagnosis and monitoring of monoclonal gammopathies. Significant imprecision and inaccuracy pose challenges in reporting small M-proteins. Using therapeutic monoclonal antibody-spiked sera and a pooled beta-migrating M-protein, we aimed to assess SPEP limitations and variability across 16 laboratories in three continents. Methods Sera with normal, hypo- or hypergammaglobulinemia were spiked with daratumumab, Dara (cathodal migrating), or elotuzumab, Elo (central-gamma migrating), with concentrations from 0.125 to 10 g/L (n = 62) along with a beta-migrating sample (n = 9). Provided with total protein (reverse biuret, Siemens), laboratories blindly analyzed samples according to their SPEP and immunofixation (IFE) or immunosubtraction (ISUB) standard operating procedures. Sixteen laboratories reported the perpendicular drop (PD) method of gating the M-protein, while 10 used tangent skimming (TS). A mean percent recovery range of 80%–120% was set as acceptable. The inter-laboratory %CV was calculated. Results Gamma globulin background, migration pattern and concentration all affect the precision and accuracy of quantifying M-proteins by SPEP. As the background increases, imprecision increases and accuracy decreases leading to overestimation of M-protein quantitation especially evident in hypergamma samples, and more prominent with PD. Cathodal migrating M-proteins were associated with less imprecision and higher accuracy compared to central-gamma migrating M-proteins, which is attributed to the increased gamma background contribution in M-proteins migrating in the middle of the gamma fraction. There is greater imprecision and loss of accuracy at lower M-protein concentrations. Conclusions This study suggests that quantifying exceedingly low concentrations of M-proteins, although possible, may not yield adequate accuracy and precision between laboratories.