Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of postoperative refractive error correction after cataract surgery

Suboptimal cataract surgery outcomes remain a challenge in most developing countries. In Ghana, about 2 million people have been reported to be blind due to cataract with about 20% new cases being recorded yearly. The aim of this study was to evaluate postoperative correction of refractive errors after cataract surgery in a selected eye hospital in Ashanti Region, Ghana. This was a retrospective study where medical records of patients (aged 40–100) who reported to an eye hospital in Ghana from 2013–2018 were reviewed. Included in the study were patients aged ≥40 years and patients with complete records. Data on patient demographics, type of surgery, intra-ocular lens (PCIOL) power, availability of biometry, postoperative refraction outcomes, pre- and postoperative visual acuity were analyzed. Data of two hundred and thirteen eyes of 190 patients who met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Descriptive analysis and Chi-square test were carried out to determine the mean, median, standard deviation and relevant associations. The mean ± SD age was 67.21±12.2 years (51.2% were females). Small Incision Cataract Surgery (99.5%) with 100% IOL implants was the main cataract surgery procedure in this study. Pre-operative biometry was performed for 38.9% of all patients on their first eye surgery and 41.5% for second eye surgeries. About 71% eyes in this study were blind (presenting VA<3/60) before surgery; 40.4% had post-operative VA <3/60. Pre-existing ocular comorbidities discovered post- surgery, attributed to suboptimal visual outcomes. More than half (55.3%) of patients did not undergo postoperative refraction due to loss to follow-up. Year of surgery (p = .017), follow up visits< 2months (p < .0001) and discovered comorbidity post-surgery (p = .035) were the factors significantly associated with postoperative refraction. Myopia and compound myopic astigmatism were the dominant refractive error outcomes. The timing of post-operative refraction had a significant effect on postoperative refraction done. These findings indicate a clinically meaningful significance between completion of postoperative care and postoperative refraction done. Consequently, with settings in most developing countries, where less biometry is done, it is appropriate that post-operative refractive services are encouraged and done earlier to enhance the patients’ expectations while increasing cataract surgery patronage.
Comparing Alternative Corrections for Bias in the Bias-Corrected Bootstrap Test of Mediation

Although the bias-corrected (BC) bootstrap is an often-recommended method for testing mediation due to its higher statistical power relative to other tests, it has also been found to have elevated Type I error rates with small sample sizes. Under limitations for participant recruitment, obtaining a larger sample size is not always feasible. Thus, this study examines whether using alternative corrections for bias in the BC bootstrap test of mediation for small sample sizes can achieve equal levels of statistical power without the associated increase in Type I error. A simulation study was conducted to compare Efron and Tibshirani’s original correction for bias, z 0, to six alternative corrections for bias: (a) mean, (b–e) Winsorized mean with 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% trimming in each tail, and (f) medcouple (robust skewness measure). Most variation in Type I error (given a medium effect size of one regression slope and zero for the other slope) and power (small effect size in both regression slopes) was found with small sample sizes. Recommendations for applied researchers are made based on the results. An empirical example using data from the ATLAS drug prevention intervention study is presented to illustrate these results. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Evidence of False Positivity for Vibrio Species Tested by Gastrointestinal Multiplex PCR Panels, Minnesota, 2016-2018.

Background Syndromic gastrointestinal multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panels (GMPPs) are used by an increasing number of clinical laboratories to identify enteric pathogens. Vibrio species are included on GMPPs, but because of the low prevalence of vibriosis, performance characteristics for these panels have been difficult to measure. Methods All Vibrio spp. cases identified by GMPPs in Minnesota during 2016-2018 (n = 100) were assessed to identify differences between culture-confirmed cases and those that were PCR-positive only. Results Overall, 47% of cases had Vibrio species recovered by culture. Two GMPPs were used in Minnesota, Verigene EPT and FilmArray GIP, and the recovery rate of Vibrio spp. was significantly different between these platforms (Verigene EPT 63%, compared with FilmArray GIP 28%). No distinct seasonality was identified among GMPP-positive, culture-negative cases, whereas culture-confirmed case incidence peaked during July and August. Among cases with no other pathogen detected by the GMPP, confirmed cases reported a lower rate of bloody diarrhea (odds ratio [OR], 0.7; P = .004) and were less likely to have a symptom duration >14 days (OR, 0.3; P = .04). Confirmed cases were also more likely to include reports of consuming food items typically associated with Vibrio spp. infection or to have another likely source of infection (eg, international travel or contact with an untreated body of fresh or salt water or marine life; OR, 9.6; P = .001). Conclusions The combined findings indicate that cases identified by GMPP that did not have culture confirmation were less likely to include symptoms or exposures consistent with vibriosis. These findings emphasize the need for improvements to testing platform specificity and the importance of combining clinical and exposure information when diagnosing an infection. This study underscores the importance of maintaining the ability to culture Vibrio species to aid in accurate diagnoses.
Time to regain lost ground: Tuberculosis in the COVID-19 era

For 18 months, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the rapid global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2), has led to well over 3.5 million recorded deaths worldwide [1] in addition to substantial short and longterm morbidity. Its highly efficient transmission, mostly via the respiratory route, and the consequently high reproduction number has made epidemic control a formidable challenge, with widespread impact on health systems and societies. Comprehensive social and public health measures including movement restrictions have been implemented in most European countries. Often accompanied by restructuring and reprioritisations in healthcare systems, these measures have also had a documented impact on a wide range of nonCOVID-19-related aspects of health, including noncommunicable diseases or maternal and child health [2,3]. Reasonable and justifiable emergency measures may initially be necessary to curb the pandemic. However, it is also important to uphold services for other infectious and non-infectious diseases in order to maintain achievements and to continue progress to “significantly improve the health and well-being of populations” [4].
miR-1-3p/CELSR3 participates in regulating malignant phenotypes of lung adenocarcinoma cells.

OBJECTIVES This study discussed the mechanism affecting the malignant progression of LUAD and the potential therapeutic targets to provide more effective therapeutic strategies for LUAD patients. METHODS Expression data from TCGA-LUAD were extracted to identify target miRNA, with its downstream target mRNA predicted using bioinformatics analysis. Gene expression in transcript level and protein level were separately examined by qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. Cell malignant phenotypes were assessed via MTT and Transwell assays. Luciferase reporter plasmids carrying target gene sequences were constructed to verify the targeting association between the target miRNA and its downstream mRNA. RESULTS miR-1-3p showed decreased expression in LUAD. Over-expressing miR-1-3p suppressed cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and invade. CELSR3, directly regulated by miR-1-3p, presented significantly elevated expression in LUAD and could foster LUAD cells to proliferate, migrate and invade. The rescue experiment identified that miR-1-3p-induced inhibition on LUAD cell malignant phenotypes could be reversed by over-expressing CELSR3. CONCLUSION This study uncovered that miR-1-3p could suppress the malignant phenotypes of LUAD cells by targeting CELSR3, which will help provide novel therapeutic strategies for LUAD sufferers and new references for the targeted therapy of LUAD.
Transcriptomic analysis of zebrafish prion protein mutants supports conserved cross-species function of the cellular prion protein

ABSTRACT Cellular Prion Protein (PrPC) is a well-studied protein as the substrate for various progressive untreatable neurodegenerative diseases. Normal functions of PrPC are poorly understood, though recent proteomic and transcriptomic approaches have begun to reveal common themes. We use our compound prp1 and prp2 knockout mutant zebrafish at three days post fertilization to take a transcriptomic approach to investigating potentially conserved PrPC functions during development. Gene ontology analysis shows the biological processes with the largest changes in gene expression include redox processing, transport and cell adhesion. Within these categories several different gene families were prevalent including the solute carrier proteins, cytochrome p450 enzymes and protocadherins. Continuing from previous studies identifying cell adhesion as an important function of PrPC we found that in addition to the protocadherins there was a significant reduction in transcript abundance of both ncam1a and st8sia2. These two genes are involved in the early development of vertebrates. The alterations in cell adhesion transcripts were consistent with past findings in zebrafish and mouse prion protein mutants; however E-cadherin processing after prion protein knockdown failed to reveal any differences compared with wild type in either our double prp1/prp2 mutant fish or after prp1 morpholino knockdown. Our data supports a cross species conserved role for PrPC in the development and maintenance of the central nervous system, particularly by regulating various and important cell adhesion processes.
Increased transmissibility and global spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern as at June 2021

We present a global analysis of the spread of recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 variants and estimate changes in effective reproduction numbers at country-specific level using sequence data from GISAID. Nearly all investigated countries demonstrated rapid replacement of previously circulating lineages by the World Health Organization-designated variants of concern, with estimated transmissibility increases of 29% (95% CI: 24–33), 25% (95% CI: 20–30), 38% (95% CI: 29–48) and 97% (95% CI: 76–117), respectively, for B.1. 1.7, B.1. 351, P.1 and B.1. 617.2.
Perception of Tactile Distance on the Back

The perceived distance between two touches is anisotropic on many parts of the body. Generally, tactile distances oriented across body width are perceived as larger than distances oriented along body length, though the magnitude of such biases differs substantially across the body. In this study, we investigated tactile distance perception on the back. Participants made verbal estimates of the perceived distance between pairs of touches oriented either across body width or along body length on (a) the left hand, (b) the left upper back, and (c) the left lower back. There were clear tactile distance anisotropies on the hand and upper back, with distances oriented across body width overestimated relative to those along body length/height, consistent with previous results. On the lower back, however, an anisotropy in exactly the opposite direction was found. These results provide further evidence that tactile distance anisotropies vary systematically across the body and suggest that the spatial representation of touch on the lower back may differ qualitatively from that on other regions of the body.
Effects of Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure on Birth Outcomes, Brain Structure, and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes

This study reviews the findings from previous research on the effects of prenatal methamphetamine (MA) exposure on birth outcomes, brain structure, and neurodevelopmental outcomes of the offspring. These findings indicate that prenatal MA exposure may lead to shorter gestational age, lower birth weight, lower head circumference, and shorter body length of neonatal, structural brain changes, and impairment in cognitive development, motor development, inhibitory control, and attention of children from 1 to 15 years. Based on these findings of the previous cohort studies on the effect of prenatal MA exposure on the birth outcomes and childhood outcomes of the offspring, we conclude by discussing the shortcomings and inconsistencies of previous studies in each section. A multicenter, large-scale population-based prospective cohort study is needed to establish and seek the differences and similarities of the pathological changes in different systems among offspring prenatally exposed to MA in different periods. And the pathophysiology mechanism underlying these changes should be studied by the method of omics technology in future. These efforts are of great significance to address the adverse health outcomes caused by prenatal MA exposure.
COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Intent Among Emergency Healthcare Workers

Objective: Vaccine hesitancy limits population protection from SARS-CoV (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]). Vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers (HCW) could put patients and coworkers at risk. Methods: We surveyed 475 emergency department and emergency medical service workers from January to February 2021 to determine vaccine intent/uptake, perceived COVID-19 vulnerability, and factors associated with vaccine intent/uptake. Results: Although 79% of HCWs received or had plans to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, 21% had no intent/were unvaccinated; intent/uptake was lower among females (odds ratio [OR] = 0.34) and those with a history of COVID-19 infection (OR = 0.55), and higher among those with advanced degrees (OR = 3.53) and high perceived COVID-19 vulnerability (OR = 1.99). Conclusions: This study provides a timely assessment of vaccination status among frontline HCWs and highlights subgroups who may be at high risk of exposure and transmission.
Decreased pain sensitivity and alterations of cerebrospinal fluid and plasma inflammatory mediators after total hip arthroplasty in patients with disabling osteoarthritis

Proinflammatory mechanisms are implicated in pain states. Recent research indicates that patients with osteoarthritis (OA) with signs of central sensitization exhibit elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of interferon gamma‐induced protein 10 (IP‐10), Fms‐related tyrosine kinase 1 (Flt‐1), and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP‐1).
Dietary adherence and program attrition during a severely energy-restricted diet among people with complex class III obesity: A qualitative exploration

Meal replacement Severely Energy-Restricted Diets (SERDs) produce ≥ 10% loss of body mass when followed for 6 weeks or longer in people with class III obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2). The efficacy of SERDs continues to be questioned by healthcare professionals, with concerns about poor dietary adherence. This study explored facilitators and barriers to dietary adherence and program attrition among people with class III obesity who had attempted or completed a SERD in a specialised weight loss clinic. Participants who commenced a SERD between January 2016 to May 2018 were invited to participate. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted from September to October 2018 with 20 participants (12 women and 8 men). Weight change and recounted events were validated using the participants’ medical records. Data were analysed by thematic analysis using line-by-line inductive coding. The mean age ± SD of participants was 51.2 ± 11.3 years, with mean ± SD BMI at baseline 63.7 ± 12.6 kg/m2. Five themes emerged from participants’ recounts that were perceived to facilitate dietary adherence: (1.1) SERD program group counselling and psychoeducation sessions, (1.2) emotionally supportive clinical staff and social networks that accommodated and championed change in dietary behaviours, (1.3) awareness of eating behaviours and the relationship between these and progression of disease, (1.4) a resilient mindset, and (1.5) dietary simplicity, planning and self-monitoring. There were five themes on factors perceived to be barriers to adherence, namely: (2.1) product unpalatability, (2.2) unrealistic weight loss expectations, (2.3) poor program accessibility, (2.4) unforeseeable circumstances and (2.5) externalised weight-related stigma. This study highlights opportunities where SERD programs can be optimised to facilitate dietary adherence and reduce barriers, thus potentially improving weight loss outcomes with such programs. Prior to the commencement of a SERD program, healthcare professionals facilitating such programs could benefit from reviewing participants to identify common barriers. This includes identifying the presence of product palatability issues, unrealistic weight loss expectations, socio-economic disadvantage, and behaviour impacting experiences of externalised weight-related stigma.
Hand preference in referential gestures: Relationships to accessing words for speaking in monolingual and bilingual children

Infants’ right‐hand preference for pointing is associated with higher vocabulary. It is not clear whether the link between right‐hand preference for gesturing and language persists into the preschool years. The primary purpose of the present study was to test whether preschool children's hand preference for referential gestures was associated with their language abilities. Secondarily, we predicted that the children's right‐hand preference would be negatively associated with their visuospatial abilities. We also predicted that monolingual children would show a strong right‐hand preference while bilinguals might show a reduced right‐hand preference.
Volume of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma is associated with intraoperative hypocalcaemia during large volume intraoperative transfusion

Severe hypocalcaemia is associated with increased transfusion in the trauma population. Furthermore, trauma patients developing severe hypocalcaemia have higher mortality and coagulopathy. Electrolyte abnormalities associated with massive transfusion have been less studied in the surgical population. Here, we tested the primary hypothesis that volume of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma transfused intraoperatively is associated with lower nadir ionised calcium in the surgical population receiving massive resuscitation.
Expert Versus Novice: Criminal Expertise in Sexual Burglary and Sexual Robbery

Although there has been considerable variation in the application of expertise to offending populations, one aspect that is widely agreed upon is that expertise is best represented on a continuum from novice to expert. The present study, therefore, investigated criminal expertise in 877 hybrid offenses that involve sexual assault and robbery (i.e., sexual robbery) or burglary (i.e., sexual burglary). Specifically, we analyzed the crime-commission processes of both these offenses using latent class analyses to determine the heterogeneity of criminal expertise among each domain. Results showed an expert to novice continuum in both domains, including a “domain-specific” expert sexual burglary subgroup who was characterized by a high degree of offense-related competencies relevant to sexual burglary. We also found an expert subgroup in sexual robbery who had more general skills (i.e., overlapping expertise) relevant to violent offending. Implications for offender decision-making, treatment, and practice are discussed.
Interleukin 8, a Biomarker to Differentiate Guillain-Barré Syndrome From CIDP

Objective To determine whether CSF interleukin 8 (IL-8) concentration can help to distinguish Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) at the initial stage of the disease. Methods We performed retrospective immunoassay of IL-8 in CSF, collected at the University Hospitals of Geneva between 2010 and 2018, from patients diagnosed with GBS (n = 45) and with CIDP (n = 30) according to the Brighton and European Federation of Neurological Societies/Peripheral Nerve Society criteria by a physician blinded to biological results. Results CSF IL-8 was higher in GBS (median: 83.9 pg/mL) than in CIDP (41.0 pg/mL) (p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analyses indicated that the optimal IL-8 cutoff was 70 pg/mL. Above this value, patients were more likely to present GBS than CIDP (specificity 96.7%, sensitivity 64.4%, positive predictive value [PPV] 96.7%, and negative predictive value [NPV] 64.4%). Among GBS subcategories, IL-8 was higher in acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP, median: 101.8 pg/mL) than in other GBS variants (median: 53.7 pg/mL). In addition, with CSF IL-8 above 70 pg/mL, patients were more likely to present AIDP than acute-onset CIDP (p < 0.001; specificity 100%, sensitivity 78.8%, PPV 100%, and NPV 46.2%) or other CIDP with nonacute presentation (p < 0.0001; specificity 95.8%, sensitivity 78.8%, PPV 96.3%, and NPV 76.7%). Conclusion CSF IL-8 levels can help to differentiate AIDP variant of GBS from CIDP, including acute-onset CIDP, with high specificity and PPV. This may improve early and appropriate treatment. Classification of Evidence This study provides Class II evidence that CSF IL-8 levels accurately distinguish patients with GBS from those with CIDP.
Line‐by‐line visual acuity scoring equivalence with letter‐by‐letter visual acuity scoring

ABSTRACT Clinical relevance A scoring criterion of three-or-more letters correct on a line results in the most equivalent visual acuity score to letter-by-letter scoring. Background Using the criterion of three-or-more letters correct on a line of five letters to measure a line visual acuity is common. In this study, different line acuity criteria are compared to letter-by-letter visual acuity scoring to determine which criterion is the most accurate as well as least variable. Methods One eye each of 32 subjects was tested with high-contrast visual acuity charts at 4.88 m. Subjects had 16 acuities measured: 8 under normal conditions and 8 under a + 1.50D blur condition. For each set of 8, logMAR visual acuity results were obtained by retrospectively applying each of four scoring criteria twice: letter-by-letter acuity and three line acuities (three-or-more, four-or-more, or five correct on a line). Differences in means were analysed using repeated measures ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey testing. Test-retest variability was analysed via Bland-Altman analysis Results The mean visual acuities (in logMAR) were −0.10, −0.11, −0.07, and −0.01 for letter-by-letter, three-or-more correct, four-or-more correct, and all five correct, respectively. With blur, the mean visual acuities were 0.41, 0.39, 0.45, and 0.53 for the respective criteria. Under both normal and blur conditions, the different acuity scoring criteria resulted in significant differences (p < 0.001), except for the letter-by-letter and three-or-more criteria (p ≥ 0.18). Whereas the criteria resulted in similar test-retest variability under blur, the line acuity using a criterion of three-or-more letters correct resulted in the lowest test-retest variability under best-corrected conditions. Conclusion A line visual acuity scoring criterion of three-or-more letters correct on a line, whether with good visual acuity or poorer visual acuity due to defocus, provides the most similar acuity and test-retest variability compared to letter-by-letter visual acuity.