Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of post-operative ultrasound-guided transmuscular quadratus lumborum block on post-operative analgesia after hip arthroplasty in elderly patients: A randomised controlled double-blind study

Background and Aim: The best analgesic technique after hip surgeries is a matter of debate. This clinical trial aimed to assess the effect of transmuscular ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum (QL) block on post-operative analgesic consumption after hip arthroplasty in elderly patients. Methods: This prospective randomised double-blind study was carried out on 60 patients aged 60–80 years presented for total hip replacement under unilateral spinal anaesthesia. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two groups: A control group, receiving sham transmuscular QL block (QLB) (1 ml of normal saline), and a QL group, receiving real transmuscular QLB (30 ml of plain bupivacaine 0.25%). Post-operative morphine consumption (primary outcome), post-operative pain score (secondary outcome), time to the first request of rescue analgesia, patient's satisfaction and the occurrence of post-operative complications were measured. Results: Compared to the control group, the use of QLB in the second group significantly decreased intravenous morphine consumption postoperatively from 8.50 ± 3.06 mg to 5.60 ± 3.22 mg (P = 0.0007) with a significant prolongation of the time to the first call for analgesia (P < 0.0001). It also decreased the post-operative visual analogue score 4 h, 6 h and 8 h postoperatively (P < 0.05). However, there was no difference between both the groups regarding patient's satisfaction and the occurrence of complications (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The use of transmuscular QLB in patients undergoing total hip replacement decreased post-operative analgesic consumption and post-operative pain score and prolonged post-operative analgesia. It did not affect patients' satisfaction and occurrence of post-operative complications.
The prevalence of foot pain and its associated factors among Saudi school teachers in Abha sector, Saudi Arabia

Background: The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Foot pain is not rare finding in the general population, particularly in older adults. The prevalence in adults ages ≥18 year's ranges from 17 to 24%. Heel pain is a general term used to describe pain and discomfort felt anywhere in or around the rear of the foot. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of heel and foot pain and their determinants among teachers in Abha sector. Methodology: A deceptive cross-sectional approach was applied for the current research. All accessible teachers working in governmental and private schools in Abha sector. To be included, teachers should be teaching but not in administrative positions, free of musculoskeletal disorders due to causes other than teaching. Teachers with foot congenital anomalies, newly employed teachers. A self-administered questionnaire was personally distributed to included school teachers in Abha sector. Questionnaires were distributed and collected on second day after being filled by teachers. Posterior HP health Survey questionnaire was used to assess foot and foot pain. Results: The study included 1,439 teachers from different districts of Abha sector with their ages ranged from 24 to 60 years old with mean age of 41 ± 9 years. Female teachers constituted 72.8% of the sample and teachers' weight ranged from 45 to 185 kg with mean weight of 76.6 ± 18.2 kg. Exact of 85.5% of the teachers had foot pain during the last 12 months. Foot pain was mild among 17.3% of the teachers with foot pain and severe among 25.5% of them. Low back pain was recorded among 81% of the teachers followed with knee pain (62%), neck pain (58%), shoulder pain (55%), and wrist pain (28%). Conclusions and Recommendations: In conclusion, the study revealed that majority of teachers complained of foot pain. The pain was moderate especially after long standing. The pain was more among old aged teachers with high load of teaching sessions. The pain altered the traditional daily activities among majority of teachers but very few number who asked for medical consultation.
Combining Ability Analysis of Seed Yield and its Components in Indian Mustard ( Brassica juncea L. )

Combining ability analysis in 9 x 9 half-diallel set of Indian mustard studied for nine traits revealed the pre-ponderance of additive gene effects for seed yield, secondary branches per plant, siliquae on main stem, siliqua length, seeds per siliqua and 1000-seed weight. Pusa Bahar was the best general combiner for seed yield and yield components except clays to maturity. Majority of crosses showing high per se performance involved parents of high x high or high x low gca effects. Pusa bold x Pusa Bahar, BM 20-12-3 x JC 26 and Pusa Bahar x JC 26 were promising cross combinations which exhibited high sea effects and high mean performance.
Statistical analysis of unidirectional and reciprocal chemical connections in the C. elegans connectome

We analyze unidirectional and reciprocally connected pairs of neurons in the chemical connectomes of the male and hermaphrodite Caenorhabditis elegans, using recently published data. Our analysis reveals that reciprocal connections provide communication between most neurons with chemical synapses, and comprise on average more synapses than both unidirectional connections and the entire connectome. We further reveal that the C. elegans connectome is wired so that afferent connections onto neurons with large numbers of presynaptic neighbors (in‐degree) comprise an above‐average number of synapses (synaptic multiplicity). Notably, the larger the in‐degree of a neuron the larger the synaptic multiplicity of its afferent connections. Finally, we show that the male forms two times fewer reciprocal connections between sex‐shared neurons than the hermaphrodite, but a large number of reciprocal connections with male‐specific neurons. These observations provide evidence for Hebbian structural plasticity in the C. elegans.
Long-Term Follow-Up of Anti-CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy.

PURPOSE Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are artificial fusion proteins that cause CD19-specific T-cell activation. Durability of remissions and incidence of long-term adverse events are critical factors determining the utility of anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, but long-term follow-up of patients treated with anti-CD19 CAR T cells is limited. This work provides the longest follow-up of patients in remission after anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy. METHODS Between 2009 and 2015, we administered 46 CAR T-cell treatments to 43 patients (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00924326). Patients had relapsed B-cell malignancies of the following types: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL/PMBCL; n = 28), low-grade B-cell lymphoma (n = 8), or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; n = 7). This report focuses on long-term outcomes of these patients. The CAR used was FMC63-28Z; axicabtagene ciloleucel uses the same CAR. Cyclophosphamide plus fludarabine conditioning chemotherapy was administered before CAR T cells. RESULTS The percentages of CAR T-cell treatments resulting in a > 3-year duration of response (DOR) were 51% (95% CI, 35% to 67%) for all evaluable treatments, 48% (95% CI, 28% to 69%) for DLBCL/PMBCL, 63% (95% CI, 25% to 92%) for low-grade lymphoma, and 50% (95% CI, 16% to 84%) for CLL. The median event-free survival of all 45 evaluable treatments was 55 months. Long-term adverse effects were rare, except for B-cell depletion and hypogammaglobulinemia. Median peak blood CAR-positive cell levels were higher among patients with a DOR of > 3 years (98/µL; range, 9-1,217/µL) than among patients with a DOR of < 3 years (18/µL; range, 0-308/μL, P = .0051). CONCLUSION Complete remissions of a variety of B-cell malignancies lasting ≥ 3 years occurred after 51% of evaluable anti-CD19 CAR T-cell treatments. Remissions of up to 9 years are ongoing. Late adverse events were rare.
Food Hygienic Studies on Anisakis Larva-III

Anisakiasis in man is caused by the penetration of Anisakis worms into the walls of gastro-intestinal tracts. These Anisakis worms are parasitic in the muscle and viscera of sea-fish. The disease may become prevalent among people who often take these fish as raw steak or through other forms of raw dishes. For prevention against the disease, it is necessary to kill the worms or avoid eating raw fish. In this investigation, four numerical detective methods of Anisakis larvae were tested from the view point of prevention against the disease, Since it is presumed that Anisakiasis can be prevented only by the avoidance of taking raw fish that carries these parasitic worms seven kinds of sea-animals, i.e. mackerel, jack-mackerel, flatfish, squid, prawn, short-necked clams and surf-clams were used as test animals. The following test methods were applied, i.e., 1) glass pressure method, 2) preservation at fixed temperatures (autolysis including putrefactive decomposition), 3) enzymatic digestion by using some commercial preparations on the market, 4) digestion by bacterial protease secreted for 5 to 6 days at 37°C. The results investigated are summarized as follows: The worms were easily detected by the glass pressure method in the case of ordinary muscles. When the dark muscle was used, detection of the worms by this method was difficult, it being that the worms were not transparent and not reflective under sun light. For the viscera, especially the digestive tracts, the same difficulty was found by this method. Autolysis including bacterial decay was preferable for the estimation of worms from the viscera. Both enzymatic digestions by commercial preparations on the market and bacterial decomposition were not useful for worm detection in the sample meats used.
CHD1 and SPOP synergistically protect prostate epithelial cells from DNA damage

Recent genomic profiling has identified a subtype of prostate cancer (PCa) characterized by two key genetic alterations: missense mutation of speckle‐type POZ protein (SPOP) and homozygous deletion of chromodomain helicase DNA‐binding protein 1 (CHD1). Mutually exclusive with E26 transformation‐specific (ETS) rearrangements, this subtype displays high genomic instability. Previous studies indicate that deficient SPOP or CHD1 alone leads to feeble prostate abnormalities and each protein is involved in DNA damage response (DDR). It remains to be determined whether CHD1 and SPOP cooperate to suppress prostate tumorigenesis and DDR.
Neurofilament Light Chain as A Biomarker for Brain Metastases

Simple Summary Early detection of brain metastases is warranted to allow timely intervention that can improve local control and survival time. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a neuron-specific protein released after neuronal decay, and we evaluated blood-borne NfL as a biomarker in 43 lung cancer patients with brain metastases and 25 without brain metastasis. NfL was elevated in patients with brain metastasis and serial measurements uncovered increasing NfL levels with a median of three months before a brain metastasis was found on a brain scan. Our findings imply that measuring chances of NfL in the blood could be a potential biomarker for early detection of brain metastases. Abstract Background: Brain metastases are feared complications in cancer. Treatment by neurosurgical resection and stereotactic radiosurgery are only available when metastatic lesions are limited and early detection is warranted. The neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a sensitive neuron-specific biomarker released following neuronal decay. We explored serum NfL as a biomarker of brain metastases. Methods: Serum was collected from 43 stage IV lung cancer patients with brain metastases and 25 stage I lung cancer patients. Serum was collected at time of cancer diagnosis and at time of brain metastasis diagnosis. In nine patients with brain metastases, additional samples were available between the two time points. NfL was quantified by Single Molecule Array (Simoa)™. Results: The median NfL level was significantly higher in patients with brain metastases than in patients without (35 versus 16 pg/mL, p = 0.001) and separated patients with an area under the curve of 0.77 (0.66–0.89). An increase in NfL could be measured median 3 months (range: 1–5) before the brain metastasis diagnosis. Further, a high level of NfL at time of brain metastasis diagnosis correlated with an inferior survival (hazard ratio: 2.10 (95% confidence interval: 1.11–3.98)). Conclusions: This study implies that NfL could be a potential biomarker of brain metastases.
SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, COVID‐19 pathogenesis, and exposure to air pollution: What is the connection?

Exposure to air pollutants has been previously associated with respiratory viral infections, including influenza, measles, mumps, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus. Epidemiological studies have also suggested that air pollution exposure is associated with increased cases of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and COVID‐19–associated mortality, although the molecular mechanisms by which pollutant exposure affects viral infection and pathogenesis of COVID‐19 remain unknown. In this review, we suggest potential molecular mechanisms that could account for this association. We have focused on the potential effect of exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and particulate matter (PM) since there are studies investigating how exposure to these pollutants affects the life cycle of other viruses. We have concluded that pollutant exposure may affect different stages of the viral life cycle, including inhibition of mucociliary clearance, alteration of viral receptors and proteases required for entry, changes to antiviral interferon production and viral replication, changes in viral assembly mediated by autophagy, prevention of uptake by macrophages, and promotion of viral spread by increasing epithelial permeability. We believe that exposure to pollutants skews adaptive immune responses toward bacterial/allergic immune responses, as opposed to antiviral responses. Exposure to air pollutants could also predispose exposed populations toward developing COIVD‐19–associated immunopathology, enhancing virus‐induced tissue inflammation and damage.
Asynchronous Hatching, Growth and Survival of Chicks of the Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

(1) Asynchronous hatching, growth and survival of chicks in the Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis were studied at a heronry in central Japan in 1978 and 1982. (2) The average clutch size was 4.34 in 35 marked nests (studied only in 1978). Eggs were laid in the early morning at an interval of two days (70.3%) or more, averaging 2.27 days. (3) Incubation behavior by both sexes started gradually a few days before first egg-laying. The average hatching interval was 1.88 days in 1978 and 1.93 in 1982. (4) Both laying and hatching intervals tended to be prolonged in the latter half of the laying and hatching periods, respectively. (5) The average hatching spread (data combined from the two years) was 6.3 days (N=72) with a maximum of 16 days (three instances). (6) The first and intermediate chicks grew equally irrespective of their own brood size. Growth rates of the youngest chicks in B/4 and B/5 in 1978, as well as in B/3 and B/4 in 1982, were lower than older siblings. (7) More deaths were recorded amongst d- and e-chicks in B/4 and B/5 than amongst a-, b- and c-chicks. It was likely that the former died of starvation or siblicide, whereas the latter died of various accidents.
Nonenzymatic Spontaneous Oxidative Transformation of 5,6-Dihydroxyindole

Melanin is an important phenolic skin pigment found throughout the animal kingdom. Tyrosine and its hydroxylated product dopa provide the starting material for melanin biosynthesis in all animals. Through a set of well-established reactions, they are converted to 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) and DHI-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA). Oxidative polymerization of these two indoles produces the brown to black eumelanin pigment. The steps associated with these transformations are complicated by the extreme instability of the starting materials and the transient and highly reactive nature of the intermediates. We have used mass spectral studies to explore the nonenzymatic mechanism of oxidative transformation of DHI in water. Our results indicate the facile production of not only dimeric and trimeric products but also higher oligomeric forms of DHI upon exposure to air in solution, even under nonenzymatic conditions. Such instantaneous polymerization of DHI avoids toxicity to self-matter and ensures the much-needed deposition of melanin at (a) the wound site and (b) the infection site in arthropods. The rapid deposition of DHI melanin is advantageous for arthropods given their open circulatory system; the process limits blood loss during wounding and prevents the spread of parasites by encapsulating them in melanin, limiting the damage.
Trochaic bias overrides stress typicality in English lexical development

Abstract This paper investigates whether typical stress patterns in English nouns and verbs are available as a prosodic cue for categorisation and accelerated word learning during first language acquisition. The stress typicality hypothesis states that left-stressed nouns and right-stressed verbs should be acquired earlier than the reverse configurations if stress effectively signals lexical class membership. In this view, class-typical stress patterns are expected to facilitate learning of novel items. A series of generalized additive models (GAMs) based on a comprehensive set of lexical data (CELEX) as well as a large set of age-of-acquisition (AoA) and concreteness ratings reveals that stress typicality plays a minor role in early acquisition, as it is generally superseded by a preference for left-hand (or ‘trochaic’) patterns in both nouns and verbs. This may be explained by general cognitive constraints (perceptual salience and recency) or exposure to the dominant pattern in the ambient language.
Effects of knowledge and emotion on support for novel synthetic biology applications

There is sometimes an inherent assumption that the logical head will overrule the emotional heart in matters of science and technology. However, the literature on decision making under risk and uncertainty suggests that emotional responses may be more potent. A representative sample of Australians participated in a large, national, online survey (n = 8037), in which we measured the influence of knowledge and emotion in predicting support for possible synthetic biology (synbio) solutions to conservation, environmental, and industrial problems. A hierarchical regression model was used to examine the relative influence of affect‐ and emotion‐related factors beyond the influence of knowledge factors in predicting support for synbio solutions. Subsequently, interaction analyses were conducted to examine the potentially moderating role of emotions in the knowledge–support relationship. There was 64% variance in overall support for synbio solutions (R2 = 0.64, p < 0.001). The most influential predictor of support in the model was positive emotion. Feeling hopeful, excited, and curious toward a synbio technology was related to greater overall support for the development of that technology. The second strongest set of predictors was affect‐related measures that evaluate the technology as bad or good, harmful or beneficial, and risky or safe. Positive emotion and an assessment that the technology was good significantly moderated the effect of knowledge on support. These findings suggest that, at least initially, people are more likely to be guided by their emotions when considering support for synbio technologies, which has implications for how researchers design and implement engagement and communication strategies more broadly.
Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks.
Participant engagement in a community based participatory research study to reduce alcohol use among Latino immigrant men.

Although Latino immigrant men experience many health disparities, they are underrepresented in research to understand and address disparities. Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) has been identified to encourage participant engagement and increase representation in health disparities research. The CBPR conceptual model describes how partnership processes and study design impact participant engagement in research. Using this model, we sought to describe how these domains influenced participant engagement in a pilot randomized controlled trial of brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use (n = 121) among Latino immigrant men. We conducted interviews with a sample of study participants (n = 25) and reviewed logs maintained by 'promotores'. We identified facilitators of participant engagement, including the relevance of the study topic, alignment with participants' goals to improve their lives, partnerships with study staff that treated participants respectfully and offered access to resources. Further, men reported that the study time and location were convenient and that they appreciated being compensated for their time. Barriers to participant engagement included survey questions that were difficult to understand and competing demands of work responsibilities. Findings suggest that engaging underserved communities requires culturally responsive and community engagement strategies that promote trust. Future studies should further investigate how CBPR partnership processes can inform intervention research.