Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maintenance of pulmonary rehabilitation benefits in patients with COPD: is a structured 5-year follow-up program helpful?

Background/aim Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has proven useful in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the benefits decrease over time. We evaluated the effects of a structured follow-up program after PR on patient pulmonary function, dyspnea, body composition, exercise capacity, quality of life, psychological status, i-BODE index, hospitalization status, 5-year survival rate. We explored whether this follow-up program could serve as a maintenance program. Materials and methods COPD patients who completed PR attended follow-up visits over 5 years. We administered incremental (ISWT), endurance shuttle walk tests (ESWT), measured body (BMI), fat-free mass indices (FFMI), recorded modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), St. George’s respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), anxiety-depression scores. We also noted the forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), the forced vital capacity (FVC), the forced midexpiratory flow (FEF25–75), hospitalization, survival rates before, after PR, and in years 1, 2, 3, 5. This was a retrospective observational study. Results Thirty-three COPD patients with a mean age of 58 ± 8 years were enrolled. Twenty-seven (82%) were male. The mean FEV1 was 47 ± 16% of the predicted. After PR, the mMRC scale, SGRQ, anxiety, depression scores; i-BODE index; ISWT, ESWT results improved (all p < 0.001), with the improvements persisting through the first year. Patient body composition, pulmonary function did not differ from the baseline over the 5 years (except for a decrease in the FEF25–75 value in year 5; p = 0.003). The hospitalization rate, i-BODE index did not change significantly over the 5 years, the improvements in the ISWT, ESWT outcomes were preserved for 3 years (p = 0.013/0.005, respectively). The quality-of-life, anxiety scores deteriorated in year 1 (both p < 0.001) and year 3 (p = 0.005/0.010, respectively). The dyspnea, depression scores increased progressively over the 5 years. Conclusion Structured follow-up programs with visits at 6-month intervals may effectively maintain improvements in COPD. Long-term randomized controlled studies are needed to verify these results.
Distinct forms of synaptic plasticity during ascending vs descending control of medial olivocochlear efferent neurons

Activity in each brain region is shaped by the convergence of ascending and descending axonal pathways, and the balance and characteristics of these determine the neural output. The medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent system is part of a reflex arc that critically controls auditory sensitivity. Multiple central pathways contact MOC neurons, raising the question of how a reflex arc could be engaged by diverse inputs. We examined functional properties of synapses onto brainstem MOC neurons from ascending (ventral cochlear nucleus, VCN) and descending (inferior colliculus, IC) sources in mice using an optogenetic approach. We found that these pathways exhibited opposing forms of short-term plasticity, with the VCN input showing depression and the IC input showing marked facilitation. By using a conductance-clamp approach, we found that combinations of facilitating and depressing inputs enabled firing of MOC neurons over a surprisingly wide dynamic range, suggesting an essential role for descending signaling to a brainstem nucleus.
Engineering microenvironments for manufacturing therapeutic cells

There are a growing number of globally approved products and clinical trials utilizing autologous and allogeneic therapeutic cells for applications in regenerative medicine and immunotherapies. However, there is a need to develop rapid and cost-effective methods for manufacturing therapeutically effective cells. Furthermore, the resulting manufactured cells may exhibit heterogeneities that result in mixed therapeutic outcomes. Engineering approaches that can provide distinct microenvironmental cues to these cells may be able to enhance the growth and characterization of these cell products. This mini-review describes strategies to potentially enhance the expansion of therapeutic cells with biomaterials and bioreactors, as well as to characterize the cell products with microphysiological systems. These systems can provide distinct cues to maintain the quality attributes of the cells and evaluate their function in physiologically relevant conditions.
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Self-Change in Close Relationships: Evidence From Hong Kong Chinese and European Americans

Three studies examined cultural perceptions of self-change in romantic relationships. In Study 1 (N = 191), Chinese participants perceived hypothetical couples who changed for the sake of the relationship to have better relationship quality than couples who did not, compared to European American participants. In Study 2 (N = 396), Chinese individuals in a dating relationship were more likely to perceive that they had changed in the relationship, and self-change was a stronger predictor of relationship quality for them than for American dating individuals. In Study 3 (N = 115 dyads), Chinese married couples perceived greater self-change, and their perceived self-change was due in part to higher endorsement of dutiful adjustment beliefs than American couples. Self-change was a stronger predictor of relationship quality for Chinese married couples than American couples. Our studies provide support for cultural differences in the role of self-change in romantic relationships, which have implications for partner regulation and relationship counseling across cultures.
A predictive clinical-radiomics nomogram for diagnosing of axial spondyloarthritis using MRI and clinical risk factors.

OBJECTIVES Construct and validate a nomogram model integrating the radiomics features and the clinical risk factors to differentiating axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in low back pain patients undergone sacroiliac joint (SIJ)- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS 638 patients confirmed as axSpA (n= 424) or non-axSpA (n = 214) who were randomly divided into training (n = 447) and validation cohorts (n = 191). Optimal radiomics signatures were constructed from the 3.0T SIJ-MRI using maximum relevance-minimum redundancy (mRMR) and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm in the training cohort. We also included six clinical risk predictors to build clinical model. Incorporating the independent clinical factors and Rad-score, a nomogram model was constructed by multivariable logistic regression analysis. The performance of the clinical, Rad-score, and nomogram model were evaluated by ROC analysis, calibration curve and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS 1316 features were extracted and reduced to 15 features to build the Rad-score. The Rad-score allowed a good discrimination in the training (AUC, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.77-0.86) and the validation cohort (AUC, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.76-0.88). The clinical-radiomics nomogram model also showed favorable discrimination in the training (AUC, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.86-0.93) and the validation cohort (AUC, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85-0.94). Calibration curves (p > 0.05) and DCA demonstrated the nomogram was useful for axSpA diagnosis in the clinical environment. CONCLUSION The study proposed a radiomics model was able to separate axSpA and non-axSpA. The clinical-radiomics nomogram can increase the efficacy for differentiating axSpA, which might facilitate clinical decision-making process.
Safety and tolerability of Miltuximab® - a first in human study in patients with advanced solid cancers.

Objectives Miltuximab® is a chimeric antibody targeting Glypican-1 (GPC-1), a cell surface antigen which is overexpressed in solid cancers. Miltuximab® has shown promising safety and efficacy in radioimmunotherapy models of prostate cancer. This first in human study used Miltuximab® radiolabelled with Gallium-67 ([67Ga]Ga-DOTA-Miltuximab®). The primary study endpoint was to establish safety and tolerability of Miltuximab®. Secondary endpoints were biodistribution, tumour targeting and pharmacokinetic analysis. Methods Four cohorts of three patients (9 with advanced prostate cancer, 2 with pancreatic and 1 with bladder cancer) were dosed with 1 mg, ~250 MBq of [67Ga]Ga-DOTA-Miltuximab®. Cohort 1 received [67Ga]Ga-DOTA-Miltuximab® alone, while cohorts 2-4 were pre-infused with increasing doses (3.5, 11.5 and 24 mg, respectively) of unlabelled Miltuximab®-DOTA 1 hour prior to [67Ga]Ga-DOTA-Miltuximab®. Safety and tolerability were assessed by clinical and standard laboratory assessments. Patients underwent whole body gamma-camera scans and SPECT/CT scans up to 144 h post-infusion. Total organ radiation exposure was determined by dosimetry of whole-body gamma scans. Results The dosing regimen was well tolerated, with no drug-related adverse events observed. Liver and spleen uptake of [67Ga]Ga-DOTA-Miltuximab® was observed. Liver uptake was reduced by pre-infusion of unlabelled Miltuximab®-DOTA. Dosimetry analysis showed a favorable exposure profile. [67Ga]Ga-DOTA-Miltuximab® targeting to tumour sites was observed in two prostate cancer patients who had failed enzalutamide treatment. Higher doses of unlabelled antibody achieved lower liver uptake and increased antibody serum half life. Conclusions This study is the first in human for Miltuximab® a first in class antibody targeting GPC-1. The trial met its primary endpoint of safety, demonstrating its potential as a safe and tolerable monoclonal antibody. This safety data, together with targeting to tumour lesions and biodistribution information supports the further clinical development of Miltuximab® as a theranostic agent in a planned Phase I human trial.
Magnetic anisotropy of large floating‐zone‐grown single‐crystals of SrRuO3

SrRuO3 is a highly interesting material due to its anomalous‐metal properties related with ferromagnetism and its relevance as conductive perovskite layer or substrate in heterostructure devices. We have used optical floating zone technique in an infrared image furnace to grow large single crystals of SrRuO3 with volumes attaining several hundred mm3. Crystals obtained for optimized growth parameters exhibit a high ferromagnetic Curie temperature of 165 K and a low‐temperature magnetization of 1.6 μB at a magnetic field of 6 T. The high quality of the crystals is further documented by large residual resistance ratios of 75 and by crystal structure and chemical analyzes. With these crystals the magnetic anisotropy could be determined.
A Bayesian Model to Predict COVID-19 Severity in Children

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: We aimed to identify risk factors causing critical disease in hospitalized children with COVID-19 and to build a predictive model to anticipate the probability of need for critical care. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, prospective study of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection in 52 Spanish hospitals. The primary outcome was the need for critical care. We used a multivariable Bayesian model to estimate the probability of needing critical care. Results: The study enrolled 350 children from March 12, 2020, to July 1, 2020: 292 (83.4%) and 214 (73.7%) were considered to have relevant COVID-19, of whom 24.2% required critical care. Four major clinical syndromes of decreasing severity were identified: multi-inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) (17.3%), bronchopulmonary (51.4%), gastrointestinal (11.6%), and mild syndrome (19.6%). Main risk factors were high C-reactive protein and creatinine concentration, lymphopenia, low platelets, anemia, tachycardia, age, neutrophilia, leukocytosis, and low oxygen saturation. These risk factors increased the risk of critical disease depending on the syndrome: the more severe the syndrome, the more risk the factors conferred. Based on our findings, we developed an online risk prediction tool (https://rserver.h12o.es/pediatria/EPICOAPP/, username: user, password: 0000). Conclusions: Risk factors for severe COVID-19 include inflammation, cytopenia, age, comorbidities, and organ dysfunction. The more severe the syndrome, the more the risk factor increases the risk of critical illness. Risk of severe disease can be predicted with a Bayesian model.
Identification of 4 subgroups in juvenile dermatomyositis by principal component analysis-based cluster analysis.

OBJECTIVES Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is an autoimmune disease characterised by a great heterogeneity in its clinical manifestations. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between different clinical subtypes, laboratory data, and myositis antibodies of JDM. METHODS A total of 132 JDM patients were enrolled and their medical records were retrospectively reviewed and autoantibodies tested. Twenty-one variables, including clinical manifestations and laboratory findings, were selected for analysis. We selected principal component analysis (PCA) as a pre-processing method for cluster analysis to convert the 21 original variables into independent principal components. We then conducted a PCA-based cluster analysis in order to analyse the association between patient clusters and the clinical data, laboratory data, and myositis autoantibodies. RESULTS We identified 4 distinct JDM subgroups by PCA-based cluster analysis, namely: cluster A, JDM patients with arthralgia and intense inflammation; cluster B, JDM patients with clinical manifestations of vasculitis; cluster C, hypermyopathic JDM patients; and cluster D, JDM patients with skin involvement. There were significant differences between the 4 groups in serum alkaline phosphatase levels, usage of aggressive immunosuppressive therapy, and autoantibody expression of anti-mi2, anti-MDA5, anti-Jo1, and anti-PM-Scl100. CONCLUSIONS We conducted cluster analysis of a cohort of JDM patients and identified 4 subgroups that represented diverse characteristics in the distribution of laboratory data and myositis autoantibodies, indicating that multidimensional assessment of clinical manifestations is highly valuable and urgently needed in JDM patients. These subgroups may contribute to individualised treatments and improved JDM patient prognosis.
A DFT study on the effect of functional groups on the formation kinetics of 1,2,3-triazolo-1,4-benzoxazine via intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition

A theoretical study of the kinetics and mechanism of the intramolecular cycloaddition of 1,2,3-triazolo-1,4-benzoxazine was performed using DFT methods at the B3LYP level of theory with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set at 298.15 K and 310.15 K. Equilibrium molecular geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies of the reactant, transition state and product were calculated. The solvent effect on the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the reaction were investigated. The calculated rate constants and activation thermodynamic parameters showed good agreement with experimental results. These calculations indicated that the reaction proceeds through a synchronous concerted mechanism.
Compression mechanism in trioxane silica sodalite, [Si12O24] · 2 C3H6O3

Cubic silica sodalite with 1,3,5-trioxane template, [Si 12 O 24 ] . 2C 3 H 6 O 3 , a 0 = 8.8349(1) A, space group I43m, Z = 1, was studied at room temperature and at elevated pressures up to 1.28 GPa with neutron powder diffraction. No deviations from cubic symmetry could be observed with increasing pressure. The linear bulk modulus of the compound was determined to be 132(7) GPa. Rietveld profile refinements revealed that the volume reduction under pressure is correlated with an increase of the cooperative tilting of the relatively rigid framework SiO 4 -tetrahedra. This suggests that the tilting is the principal component of the compression mechanism
Effects of Sodium Chloride on Baking

パンからの食塩摂取量を減らす目的で, 無塩あるいは低塩のパンの調製に関する実験を行った。 食塩添加量の異なるパンを調製して, その焼成と内相の物性を調べた。 結果は以下のようであった。 1) パンの比容積は, 食塩添加量が多くなるに従ってわずかに大きくなるにすぎないが, 食塩を0. 5%以上添加したパンは食塩0%パンに比べてきめが細かくなった。 内相の物性には食塩添加による影響はほとんどみられず, 食塩無添加でも満足できるパンを作ることができた。 2) しかし, 冷凍製パン法においては, 食塩の影響は異なった。 2週間-20℃で貯蔵した生地で焼いた食塩0%パンでは, 比容積と内相の外観は食塩を加えたパンとほとんど同じであったが, 内相の物性には食塩の影響がみられた。 食塩添加量の増加に伴って内相は軟らかくなり, 圧縮した後の戻りが大きくなった。 食塩0%パンでは, 破断試験中に組織が壊れた。 冷凍製パン法の場合, 小麦粉に対して0. 5%の食塩量で適当な品質のパンが得られた。
Combinatorial assessment of the influence of composition and exposure time on the oxidation behavior and concurrent oxygeninduced phase transformations of binary Ti-x systems

The relatively low oxidation resistance and subsequent surface embrittlement have often limited the use of titanium alloys in elevated temperature structural applications. Although extensive effort is spent to investigate the high temperature oxidation performance of titanium alloys, the studies are often constrained to complex technical titanium alloys and neither the mechanisms associated with evolution of the oxide scale nor the effect of oxygen ingress on the microstructure of the base metal are well-understood. In addition lack of systematic oxidation studies across a wider domain of the alloy composition has complicated the determination of composition-mechanism-property relationships. Clearly, it would be ideal to assess the influence of composition and exposure time on the oxidation resistance, independent of experimental variabilities regarding time, temperature and atmosphere as the potential source of error. Such studies might also provide a series of metrics (e.g., hardness, scale, etc) that could be interpreted together and related to the alloy composition. In this thesis a novel combinatorial approach was adopted whereby a series of compositionally graded specimens, (Ti-xMo, Ti-xCr, Ti-xAl and Ti-xW) were prepared using Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS™) technology and exposed to still-air at 650 °C. A suite of the state-of-the-art characterization techniques were employed to assess several aspects of the oxidation reaction as a function of local average composition including: the operating oxidation mechanisms; the structure and composition of the oxides; the oxide adherence and porosity; the thickness of the oxide layers; the depth of oxygen ingress; and microstructural evolution of the base material just below the surface but within the oxygen-enriched region. The results showed that for the Ti-Mo, Ti-Al and Ti-W systems a parabolic oxidation rate law is obeyed in the studied composition-time domain while Ti-Cr system experiences a rapid breakaway oxidation regime at low solute concentrations. The only titanium oxide phase present in the scale for all the binary systems was identified as rutile (TiO2) and formation of multiphase oxide scales TiO2+Al2O3 in Ti-Al system and TiO2+TiCr2 in Ti-Cr system was observed. A thermodynamic framework has been used to rationalize the oxygen-induced subsurface microstructural transformations including: homogeneous precipitation of nano-scaled β particles and discontinuous precipitation of +β phases in Ti-Mo and Ti-W system, evolution of TiCr2 intermetallic phase in Ti-Cr system and ordering phase transformation in Ti-Al system.
Serum microRNA-185 Levels and Myocardial Injury in Patients with Acute ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Objective Human microRNA-185 (miR-185) has been reported to act as a regulator of fibrosis and angiogenesis in cancer. However, miR-185 has not been investigated in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We hypothesized that the changes in miR-185 levels in STEMI patients are related to the processes of myocardial healing and remodeling. Methods Between January 2011 and December 2013, 145 patients with STEMI (65.9±11.6 years old; 41 women) were enrolled. Initial and discharge serum samples collected from 20 patients with STEMI and mixed sera from 8 healthy controls were analyzed by a microarray. A quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis of miR-185 was performed in all 145 patients. The correlation between the miR-185 levels and the clinical, laboratory, angiographic, and echocardiographic parameters was analyzed. Results The microarray analysis revealed a biphasic pattern in miR-185 levels, with an initial decrease followed by an increase at discharge. The miR-185 levels at discharge were significantly correlated with the troponin-I, CK-MB, and area under the curve of CK-MB levels. There was a positive correlation between the transforming growth factor-β and miR-185 levels at discharge (ρ=0.242, p=0.026). A high wall motion score index and a low ejection fraction, as measured by echocardiography, and high B-type natriuretic peptide level at one month after STEMI were related to high miR-185 levels. Conclusion Our results showed that elevated miR-185 levels at the late stage of STEMI were related to a large amount of myocardial injury and adverse remodeling.
PROSPECT guidelines for total hip arthroplasty: a systematic review and procedure‐specific postoperative pain management recommendations

The PROSPECT working group has recently published an updated systematic review and procedure-specific pain management recommendations for hip arthroplasty [1]. While we are grateful for the update of the 2010 guidelines, we think some analgesic options recommended must be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, we think that promising regional anaesthesia techniques merit further discussion. Among the seven main recommendations, the review recommends considering intrathecal morphine if the patient receives spinal anaesthesia for surgery, despite significant disagreement among authors regarding intrathecal morphine. Even if its analgesic effect is welldocumented, intrathecal morphine is associated with significant adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, pruritus, delayed ambulation and, rarely, respiratory depression. Therefore, we do not think that intrathecal morphine is compatible with present-day early rehabilitation protocols of orthopaedic surgery, as recommended by many anaesthesia and surgical societies [2]. Moreover, intrathecal morphine is incompatible with same-day surgery protocols, as it requires monitoring for 24 h [3] and may prevent ambulation in the first few hours after surgery. We also believe that promising new regional anaesthesia techniques, such as the pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block, merit attention. The PENG block, first described in 2018 [4], targets sensory branches of the femoral, obturator and accessory obturator nerves, which innervate the anterior capsule of the hip joint. Since then, more than 50 articles have been published. Although most of the available literature has evaluated its use for hip fracture [5], a few publications have also assessed its potential benefits for hip replacement surgery. Although we do not yet have enough data to make a firm recommendation, we think that the PENG block deserved discussion in this systematic review and further randomised controlled trials, such as the one we are conducting (NCT04245280), are needed to evaluate its benefit after hip arthroplasty.