Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prenatal and postnatal challenges affect the hypothalamic molecular pathways that regulate hormonal levels

This study aimed to improve our understanding of how the hypothalamus mediates the effects of prenatal and postnatal challenges on behavior and sensitivity to stimuli. A pig model of virally initiated maternal immune activation (MIA) was used to investigate potential interactions of the prenatal challenge both with sex and with postnatal nursing withdrawal. The hypothalami of 72 females and males were profiled for the effects of MIA and nursing withdrawal using RNA-sequencing. Significant differential expression (FDR-adjusted p value < 0.05) was detected in the profile of 222 genes. Genes involved in the Gene Ontology biological process of regulation of hormone levels tended to be over-expressed in individuals exposed to both challenges relative to individuals exposed to either one challenge, and most of these genes were over-expressed in MIA females relative to males across nursing levels. Differentially expressed genes included Fshb, Ttr, Agrp, Gata3, Foxa2, Tfap2b, Gh1, En2, Cga, Msx1, and Npy. The study also found that prenatal and postnatal challenges, as well as sex, impacted the regulation of neurotransmitter activity and immune effector processes in the hypothalamus. In particular, the olfactory transduction pathway genes were over-expressed in weaned MIA males, and several transcription factors were potentially found to target the differentially expressed genes. Overall, these results highlight how multiple environmental challenges can interact and affect the molecular mechanisms of the hypothalamus, including hormonal, immune response, and neurotransmitter processes.
Circulation patterns and molecular epidemiology of human respiratory syncytial virus over five consecutive seasons in Morocco

Respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the leading cause of respiratory tract infections in infants and young children. we investigated the prevalence and characteristics of HRSV in Morocco and explored trends in circulating genotypes through partial G gene analysis of HRSV strains prevalent from 2012 to 2017.
Combining the dynamic model and deep neural networks to identify the intensity of interventions during COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, control measures, especially massive contact tracing following prompt quarantine and isolation, play an important role in mitigating the disease spread, and quantifying the dynamic contact rate and quarantine rate and estimate their impacts remain challenging. To precisely quantify the intensity of interventions, we develop the mechanism of physics-informed neural network (PINN) to propose the extended transmission-dynamics-informed neural network (TDINN) algorithm by combining scattered observational data with deep learning and epidemic models. The TDINN algorithm can not only avoid assuming the specific rate functions in advance but also make neural networks follow the rules of epidemic systems in the process of learning. We show that the proposed algorithm can fit the multi-source epidemic data in Xi’an, Guangzhou and Yangzhou cities well, and moreover reconstruct the epidemic development trend in Hainan and Xinjiang with incomplete reported data. We inferred the temporal evolution patterns of contact/quarantine rates, selected the best combination from the family of functions to accurately simulate the contact/quarantine time series learned by TDINN algorithm, and consequently reconstructed the epidemic process. The selected rate functions based on the time series inferred by deep learning have epidemiologically reasonable meanings. In addition, the proposed TDINN algorithm has also been verified by COVID-19 epidemic data with multiple waves in Liaoning province and shows good performance. We find the significant fluctuations in estimated contact/quarantine rates, and a feedback loop between the strengthening/relaxation of intervention strategies and the recurrence of the outbreaks. Moreover, the findings show that there is diversity in the shape of the temporal evolution curves of the inferred contact/quarantine rates in the considered regions, which indicates variation in the intensity of control strategies adopted in various regions.
Early Light Sedation Increased the Duration of Mechanical Ventilation in Patients With Severe Lung Injury

Introduction The international guidelines recommend light sedation management for patients receiving mechanical ventilation. One of the benefits of light sedation management during mechanical ventilation is the preservation of spontaneous breathing, which leads to improved gas-exchange and patient outcomes. Conversely, recent experimental animal studies have suggested that strong spontaneous breathing effort may cause worsening of lung injury, especially in severe lung injury cases. The association between depth of sedation and patient outcomes may depend on the severity of lung injury. Objective This study aimed to describe the patients’ clinical outcomes under deep or light sedation during the first 48 h of mechanical ventilation and investigate the association of light sedation on patient outcomes for each severity of lung injury. Methods The researchers performed a retrospective observational study at a university hospital in Japan. Patients aged ≥20 years, who received mechanical ventilation for at least 48 h were enrolled. Results A total of 413 patient cases were analyzed. Light sedation was associated with significantly shorter 28-day ventilator-free days compared with deep sedation in patients with severe lung injury (0 [IQR 0–5] days vs. 16 [0–19] days, P = .038). In the groups of patients with moderate and mild lung injury, the sedation depth was not associated with ventilator-free days. After adjusting for the positive end-expiratory pressure and APACHE II score, it was found that light sedation decreased the number of ventilator-free days in patients with severe lung injury (−10.8 days, 95% CI −19.2 to −2.5, P = .012). Conclusion Early light sedation for severe lung injury may be associated with fewer ventilator-free days.
Clay mineralogy and rock strength of a mid-German diabase: implications for improved quality control

Abstract Basalts and related magmatic rocks such as diabase are frequently used as raw materials in the building and construction industry as dimension stones or as aggregates, where they may form the sub-bases of roads or railway embankments. A major characteristic controlling the quality of the raw materials is the rock strength, which can be affected by the presence of swellable clay minerals (smectites). Increasing smectite content is generally considered to increasingly affect rock integrity. Industrial practice, in which the smectite content is monitored via cation exchange capacity (CEC) methods, on the other hand, showed that both mechanically stable smectite-rich and unstable smectite-poor materials exist. We therefore studied the CEC−strength relation based on twelve samples from a German diabase quarry. As could be expected, the sample with the highest CEC was the least stable. However, the comparison of the rock strength with the CEC of the other samples was less clear. Comparing the CEC of powders and of the 1−2 mm fraction of the same sample provided additional information. In the case of samples which are relatively stable (in spite of high CEC values), the CEC values of the powders were significantly higher than those of the 1−2 mm fraction. Samples with less rock strength, on the other hand, showed equal CEC values of the powder and the 1−2 mm fraction. This difference may be explained by different accessibilities of the smectites for CEC exchange solutions during typical experiments. In conclusion, the application of the CEC method for quality control considering both powdered and 1−2 mm samples allows a more precise estimation of the rock strength to be made, particularly for the comparison of different materials. Although measurement of two CEC values (after both sieving and grinding) would complicate quality control, the present study indicates that valuable additional information, i.e. semi-quantitative information on the accessibility of smectites, is gained.
Speech errors in consecutive interpreting: Effects of language proficiency, working memory, and anxiety

Interpreting can be seen as a form of language production, where interpreters extract conceptual information from the source language and express it in the target language. Hence, like language production, interpreting contains speech errors at various (e.g., conceptual, syntactic, lexical and phonological) levels. The current study delved into the impact of language proficiency, working memory, and anxiety on the occurrence of speech errors across these linguistic strata during consecutive interpreting from English (a second language) into Chinese (a first language) by student interpreters. We showed that speech errors in general decreased as a function of the interpreter’s proficiency in the source (second) language and increased as a function of the interpreter’s anxiety. Conceptual errors, which result from mistaken comprehension of the source language, decreased as a function of language proficiency and working memory. Lexical errors increased as a function of the interpreter’s tendency of anxiety. Syntactic errors also decreased as a function of language proficiency and increased as a function of anxiety. Phonological errors were not sensitive to any of the three cognitive traits. We discussed implications for the cognitive processes underlying interpreting and for interpreting training.
Prevalence and correlates of excessive fatigue among Moroccan school adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Excessive fatigue in adolescents is a growing concern as it impacts various aspects of their lives. Research on its prevalence and contributing factors in specific populations, especially in developing countries, is scarce. This study examines the prevalence of excessive fatigue among Moroccan adolescents and its association with demographic characteristics, parasomnias, depressive symptoms, and academic performance. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed excessive fatigue among 800 Moroccan adolescents (aged 12-20 years) in Settat province, using a comprehensive questionnaire including Pichot's Fatigue Scale (PFS), Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), parasomnia questionnaire, and demographic questionnaire. The primary outcome was excessive fatigue, while covariates included demographic factors, physical health, regular exercise, depressive symptoms, and specific parasomnias. Associations were analyzed using cross-tabulation analysis, chi-squared tests, and correlation analysis. Excessive fatigue was prevalent in 8.4% of participants. Female adolescents had significantly higher adjusted odds of experiencing excessive fatigue than male adolescents, with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 3.07 [95% CI (1.48, 6.37), P=0.003]. Excessive fatigue was significantly associated with nightmares, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. A strong positive linear correlation was observed between fatigue and depressive symptoms (r=0.746, P#x003C;0.001). This study highlights the prevalence of excessive fatigue among Moroccan adolescents, emphasizing the importance of addressing gender-specific issues, sleep habits, and mental health support. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and explore the role of lifestyle and socio-cultural contexts.
Comparison of Injury Severity Score, New Injury Severity Score, Revised Trauma Score and Trauma and Injury Severity Score for Mortality Prediction in Elderly Trauma Patients

ABSTRACT Objectives This study tests the accuracy of the Injury Severity Score (ISS), New Injury Severity Score (NISS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS) and Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) in prediction of mortality in cases of geriatric trauma. Design Prospective observational study Materials and methods This was a prospective observational study on two hundred elderly trauma patients who were admitted to JSS Hospital, Mysuru over a consecutive period of 18 months between December 2016 to May 2018. On the day of admission, data were collected from each patient to compute the ISS, NISS, RTS, and TRISS. Results Mean age of patients was 66.35 years. Most common mechanism of injury was road traffic accident (94.0%) with mortality of 17.0%. The predictive accuracies of the ISS, NISS, RTS and the TRISS were compared using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves for the prediction of mortality. Best cutoff points for predicting mortality in elderly trauma patient using TRISS system was a score of 91.6 (sensitivity 97%, specificity of 88%, area under ROC curve 0.972), similarly cutoff point under the NISS was score of 17(91%, 93%, 0.970); for ISS best cutoff point was at 15(91%, 89%, 0.963) and for RTS it was 7.108(97%,80%,0.947). There were statistical differences among ISS, NISS, RTS and TRISS in terms of area under the ROC curve (p <0.0001). Conclusion TRISS was the strongest predictor of mortality in elderly trauma patients when compared to the ISS, NISS and RTS. How to cite this article Javali RH, Krishnamoorthy et al. Comparison of Injury Severity Score, New Injury Severity Score, Revised Trauma Score and Trauma and Injury Severity Score for Mortality Prediction in Elderly Trauma Patients. Indian J of Crit Care Med 2019;23(2):73-77.
Cardiac involvement in children with paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS): data from a prospective nationwide surveillance study.

BACKGROUND Paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) may occur 4 to 8 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The acute presentation of PIMS-TS has been well described, but data on longer-term outcomes, particularly cardiac, is scarce. METHODS This prospective nationwide surveillance study included children and adolescents less than 18 years of age who were hospitalised with PIMS-TS in Switzerland between March 2020 and March 2022. Data was collected from all 29 paediatric hospitals through the Swiss Paediatric Surveillance Unit (SPSU) during hospitalisation and approximately six weeks after discharge. The data was analysed after categorising the participants into three groups based on their admission status to the intensive care unit (ICU) (non-ICU, ICU-moderate) and the requirement for invasive ventilatory and/or inotropic support (ICU-severe). RESULTS Overall, 204 children were included of whom 194 (95.1%) had follow-up data recorded. Median age was 9.0 years (interquartile range [IQR] 6.0-11.5) and 142 (69.6%) were male. In total, 105/204 (51.5%) required ICU admission, of whom 55/105 (52.4%) received inotropic support and 14/105 (13.3%) mechanical ventilation (ICU-severe group). Echocardiography was performed in 201/204 (98.5%) children; 132 (64.7%) had a cardiac abnormality including left ventricular systolic dysfunction (73 [36.3%]), a coronary artery abnormality (45 [22.4%]), pericardial effusion (50 [24.9%]) and mitral valve regurgitation (60 [29.9%]). Left ventricular systolic dysfunction was present at admission in 62/201 (30.8%) children and appeared during hospitalisation in 11 (5.5%) children. A coronary artery abnormality was detected at admission in 29/201 (14.2%) children and developed during hospitalisation or at follow-up in 13 (6.5%) and 3 (1.5%) children, respectively. None of the children had left ventricular systolic dysfunction at follow-up, but a coronary abnormality and pericardial effusion were found in 12 (6.6%) and 3 (1.7%) children, respectively. School absenteeism at the time of follow-up was more frequent in children who had been admitted to the ICU (2.5% in the non-ICU group compared to 10.4% and 17.6% in the ICU-moderate and ICU-severe group, respectively) (p = 0.011). CONCLUSION Cardiac complications in children presenting with PIMS-TS are common and may worsen during the hospitalisation. Irrespective of initial severity, resolution of left ventricular systolic dysfunction is observed, often occurring rapidly during the hospitalisation. Most of the coronary artery abnormalities regress; however, some are still present at follow-up, emphasising the need for prolonged cardiac evaluation after PIMS-TS.
Success of high temperature geothermal wells in Iceland

This report presents data on 213 geothermal production wells and 21 injection wells drilled in seven high temperature fields in Iceland. The data was classified using the same criteria as in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) 2013 Report on the success of geothermal wells from 14 countries. A production well was deemed successful when it had sufficient capacity to be connected and utilized in the respective power plant. Injection wells that have shown a good injectivity or have been used for reinjection were deemed to be successful. Of the 213 production wells analyzed, 158 or 74% were deemed to be successful. None of the fields has a success rate below 50%. About 6% of the total wells failed because of drilling problems, 4% found inadequate temperatures, 10% could not be operated at high enough static pressure, 3% had too low permeability and 3% were so shallow that they did not reach the reservoir. The average success rate improves from 43% for the first well to 60% for the first five wells and reaches a plateau of 74% after well number 15. The first 5 wells drilled in a field are classified as Exploration Phase, the next 25 as Development Phase and wells drilled thereafter as Operation Phase. The Exploration Phase has the most variable well success rates, which has though improved in recent decades. The probability of successful wells in the Development Phase is nearly 80%. It increases until the year 2000 but declines after that. The same trend is observed for wells drilled during the Operation Phase. The reduction in the success rate may reflect step-out wells or rapid development where adequate results did not arrive in time to impact the drilling plan. The average capacity of all 213 drilled production wells is 4.9 MWe but 6.7 MWe for the 158 productive wells. The capacity has a lognormal distribution with a mean and most likely value of 4.8 MWe and a standard deviation of 2.3 MWe. The cumulative average capacity increases from 2.5 to 4.8 MWe during the Development Phase, and reaches 4.9 MWe during the Operation Phase. The five main operating geothermal power plants in Iceland have a ratio of installed capacity divided by number of drilled production wells ranging from 1.3 to 5.3 MWe/well and a weighted average of 3.5 MWe/well. Wells of 2,000‒2,500 m drilled depth have the highest average capacity of 5.8 MWe followed by wells of 1,500-2,000 m with an average capacity of 5.5 MWe. Wells with a regular production casing diameter of 200‒250 mm have an average capacity of 5.5 MWe whereas wells with a large casing diameter of 300–350 mm have a capacity of 8.9 MWe. The average capacity of directionally drilled wells is 6.1 MWe compared to 4.0 MWe in vertical wells. There is a clear increase in capacity with increased enthalpy. Wells drilled into steam caps above two-phase reservoirs at 230‒240°C have the highest capacity of 11.0 MWe and a 100% success rate. Wells in two phase reservoirs with T>300°C are with an average of 6.2 MWe and 86% success rate.
Earthquake in a Maze: Compressional Rupture Branching During the 2012 Mw 8.6 Sumatra Earthquake

Earthquake in a Maze The 11 April 2012 magnitude 8.6 earthquake offshore of Sumatra was the largest measured earthquake along a strike-slip boundary that modern seismological instruments have ever recorded. Despite its size and proximity to a large population, there was no subsequent tsunami and there were no reported fatalities. Meng et al. (p. 724, published online 19 July) used teleseismic data from seismological networks in Japan and Europe to image the source of high-frequency radiation generated by the earthquake to understand the mechanics of this unique event. The resultant back projections showed that the earthquake slowly ruptured along a complex series of faults. The deeper-than-usual rupture path and large stress drop are both features that may not be unique to this earthquake, suggesting that regions in a similar tectonic environment may have the potential for more complex—or larger—intraplate earthquakes than might have been expected. The mechanics of the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded give clues about how intraplate earthquakes rupture. Seismological observations of the 2012 moment magnitude 8.6 Sumatra earthquake reveal unprecedented complexity of dynamic rupture. The surprisingly large magnitude results from the combination of deep extent, high stress drop, and rupture of multiple faults. Back-projection source imaging indicates that the rupture occurred on distinct planes in an orthogonal conjugate fault system, with relatively slow rupture speed. The east-southeast–west-northwest ruptures add a new dimension to the seismotectonics of the Wharton Basin, which was previously thought to be controlled by north-south strike-slip faulting. The rupture turned twice into the compressive quadrant, against the preferred branching direction predicted by dynamic Coulomb stress calculations. Orthogonal faulting and compressional branching indicate that rupture was controlled by a pressure-insensitive strength of the deep oceanic lithosphere.
Reanalysis of EphA3 Knock-In Double Maps in Mouse Suggests That Stochasticity in Topographic Map Formation Acts at the Retina Rather than between Competing Mechanisms at the Colliculus

Abstract It has been suggested that stochasticity acts in the formation of topographically ordered maps in the visual system through the opposing chemoaffinity and neural activity forces acting on the innervating nerve fibers being held in an unstable equilibrium. Evidence comes from the Islet2-EphA3 knock-in mouse, in which ∼50% of the retinal ganglion cells, distributed across the retina, acquire the EphA3 receptor, thus having an enhanced density of EphA which specifies retinotopic order along the rostrocaudal (RC) axis of the colliculus. Sampling EphA3 knock-in maps in heterozygotes at different positions along the mediolateral (ML) extent of the colliculus had found single 1D maps [as in wild types (WTs)], double maps (as in homozygous knock-ins) or both single and double maps. We constructed full 2D maps from the same mouse dataset. We found either single maps or maps where the visual field projects rostrally, with a part-projection more caudally to form a double map, the extent and location of this duplication varying considerably. Contrary to previous analyses, there was no strict demarcation between heterozygous and homozygous maps. These maps were replicated in a computational model where, as the level of EphA3 was increased, there was a smooth transition from single to double maps. Our results suggest that the diversity in these retinotopic maps has its origin in a variability over the retina in the effective amount of EphA3, such as through variability in gene expression or the proportion of EphA3+ retinal ganglion cells, rather than the result of competing mechanisms acting at the colliculus.