Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after living donor liver transplantation: The role of the Milan criteria.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Milan criteria on the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence in patients who underwent living donor liver transplantation due to HBV-induced cirrhosis and HCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated a total of 142 patients, 88 who underwent transplantation due to HBV-induced cirrhosis and 54 due to HCC, between 2009 and 2014. In the posttranplant period, after the HBsAg seroconversion, 400 IU of hepatitis B immunoglobulin were applied intramuscularly every 2 weeks, and daily nucleos(t)ide analogs were continued as prophylaxis. The HBV recurrence was defined as the presence of HBsAg in serum. Patients were screened for alpha-fetoprotein levels and imaging for evaluation of HCC recurrence. RESULTS The average follow-up period was 26 (2-65) months. Fifty-four patients had HCC. The HCC recurrence was observed in 12 patients during the follow-up period. The HBV recurrence was observed in four patients. Three of the patients who developed HBV recurrence had liver transplantation due to HCC. Tumor recurrence was observed 1.4-12 months following the HBV recurrence. The HCC recurrence within the Milan criteria and beyond the Milan criteria was 0% vs. 28.4 % in the first year and 3.4% vs. 47.5% in the third year. The cumulative incidence of the HBV recurrence was 2.8% and 3.7% for the first year and 3.7% for the third year. The HBV recurrence was more frequently detected in patients with HCC (p=0.048), especially with HCC beyond the Milan criteria (p=0.044). CONCLUSION The HBV recurrence should be evaluated as a predictor of the HCC recurrence in patients who underwent liver transplantation due to HCC with exceeding Milan criteria.
Indications for thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke from emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO): report of the SNIS Standards and Guidelines Committee

This document aims to provide an update on indications for mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) from emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) in the anterior circulation. This reflects new evidence building on the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) recommendations published in 2015.1 Recommendations herein supersede those of previous SNIS guidelines where overlap exists. Previous publications included an overview of prehospital care, a summary of the role of intravenous (IV) and intra-arterial (IA) therapies, a review of technical aspects of thrombectomy, and initial hospital management.1–3 This guideline focuses on updated indications for thrombectomy of anterior circulation AIS. Evaluation and management of posterior circulation ELVO will be summarized in separate recommendations. The Standards and Guidelines Committee of the SNIS, a multidisciplinary society representing the leaders in the field of endovascular therapy for neurovascular disease, prepared this document based on a comprehensive review of the available English language literature relating to the topic. Recommendations follow the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) classification of recommendation/level of evidence and definition of classes and levels of evidence used in American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) recommendations.4 Throughout this document, we will refer to the specific selection criteria from the recent randomized trials and registries of modern thrombectomy approaches, which are summarized in table 1. View this table: Table 1 Randomized trials and registries of modern approaches to thrombectomy Defining the criteria to evaluate and select patients with ELVO for endovascular treatment is critically important, since between 3% and 22% of patients with AIS are potentially eligible for mechanical thrombectomy, depending on the specific selection criteria used.5–7 Time of symptom onset (or last known well, magnitude of early ischemic change on initial imaging, clinical severity of stroke symptoms, pre-stroke level of functioning and anatomic location of the ELVO are the most important determinants of …
Title of the article: Development and evaluation of online menopause awareness training for line managers in UK organizations

Objectives: To develop and evaluate a 30-minute online training for managers, in order to improve menopause-related knowledge, attitudes and confidence in having supportive discussions with women experiencing menopausal symptoms at work. The study also explored intentions and behaviour in terms of having conversations. Study design: A prospective, pre-post design involved collecting data at three time points: pre-training, immediately after training, and four weeks post-training. Three UK organizations (one public, two private sector) participated. On-line questionnaires collected sociodemographic and background data. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation data were collected in post-intervention questionnaires. Paired t-tests and McNemar tests examined statistical differences preand post-training; thematic content analysis was performed on qualitative data. Main outcome measures: Menopause knowledge, attitudes and confidence in talking about the menopause at work, intentions, and actual behaviour.
Molecular evidence for the role of inflammation in dry eye disease

Ocular surface inflammation is propagated by a complex series of molecular processes and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of dry eye disease (DED), either as a causal or a downstream effect of ocular surface disease. A state of hyperosmolarity elicits an acute immune response in DED, leading to subsequent activation of the adaptive immune response. This cascade incites dysregulation of the immune system, triggering a vicious cycle of events that causes damage to the ocular surface. Symptoms associated with these events include burning, irritation, redness, photophobia and blurred vision. The chronic nature of the disease process can cause permanent alterations to the ocular surface and adnexa. An increasing investment in treatment options, and positive outcomes with novel therapies that have received subsequent regulatory approval, lends further support to the role of inflammation in DED. This review highlights the nature and function of a range of fundamental inflammatory molecules in DED to provide the clinician with an appreciation for the ways in which these factors might be manipulated in DED management.
Physical Therapy Management of Adults with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract Rehabilitation for individuals after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion requires emphasis on both cognitive and physical rest, with a gradual return to activity including sports. As the client becomes more active, the rehabilitation professional should pay close attention to symptoms associated with mTBI, such as headache, dizziness, nausea, and difficulty concentrating. The systematic approach to return to play provided by the Berlin Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport can apply to adults with mTBI. This protocol calls for gradually increasing the intensity of physical activity while attending to postconcussion symptoms. During the incident that led to an mTBI, the injured individual may incur injuries to the vestibular and balance system that are best addressed by professionals with specific training in vestibular rehabilitation, most commonly physical therapists. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is a condition in which otoconia particles in the inner ear dislodge into the semicircular canals, resulting in severe vertigo and imbalance. This condition frequently resolves in a few sessions with a vestibular physical therapist. In conditions such as gaze instability, motion sensitivity, impaired postural control, and cervicogenic dizziness, improvement is more gradual and requires longer follow-up with a physical therapist and a home exercise program. In all of the above-stated conditions, it is essential to consider that a patient with protracted symptoms of mTBI or postconcussion syndrome will recover more slowly than others and should be monitored for symptoms throughout the intervention.
CCAT1 lncRNA Promotes Inflammatory Bowel Disease Malignancy by Destroying Intestinal Barrier via Downregulating miR-185-3p.

BACKGROUND The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) colon cancer-associated transcript-1 (CCAT1) has been reported to play a vital role in the development of cancer. Although the link between inflammation and cancer initiation is well established, whether CCAT1 is involved in inflammation and promotes inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) malignancy remains undetermined. We aimed to investigate the expression of CCAT1 in IBD and the effect of CCAT1 overexpression on intestinal epithelial barrier function. METHODS The relationship between CCAT1 and the inflammation-related pathway was analyzed in both colorectal cancer (CRC) and IBD patients. Gene expression was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and FD-4 flux measurement were used to test the effect of CCAT1 and miR-185-3p on intestinal epithelial barrier function. Luciferase assay was performed to validate the target site of miR-185-3p on 3'-UTR of MLCK mRNA. RESULTS Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that several inflammation-related genes were enriched in the CCAT1 high-expressed group of CRC patients. The relationship between CCAT1 and inflammation activation in IBD patients was further confirmed. CCAT1 expression positively correlated with MLCK, which acts as a protein kinase to phosphorylate myosin light chain and induces tight junction protein distribution, whereas it was negatively correlated with miR-185-3p in IBD tissues. We also determined that CCAT1 overexpression increased Caco-2 monolayer permeability and upregulated MLCK. Furthermore, CCAT1-induced MLCK overexpression and IBD disease progression were significantly attenuated by miR-185-3p. CONCLUSIONS The CCAT1/miR-185-3p/MLCK signaling pathway is strongly activated to destroy barrier function and promotes the pathogenesis of IBD.
The use of readability formulas in health care

Abstract Abstract Readability formulas are being increasingly used to measure the understandability of written information in clinical and health settings. This paper examines the most commonly used formulas (Dale-Chall Formula, Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Formula, Fog Index, Fry Readability Graph, and SMOG Grading). Their reliability and validity when used in health-related areas are discussed, and findings resulting from their use are described. These findings show that much of the material written for patients and clients, in the areas of informed consent, illnesses and their investigation and treatment, and lifestyle advice, is too difficult for many of them to understand. It is also concluded that increasing readability usually leads to improvement in understanding and occasionally in co-operation with treatment. Finally, methods for supplementing the information gained from readability formulas are described.
Prejudice, Integrativeness, and Motivation to Learn a Second Language: A Mediation Analysis

The role of prejudice in second-language acquisition has received little attention but may be related to an individual’s motivation to learn another language. For instance, learners who express high Social Dominance Orientation or Right-Wing Authoritarianism, constructs reflective of prejudice and worldviews that endorse hostility towards or fear of outgroup members, may be less motivated to learn a second language. Moreover, increased Social Dominance Orientation and/or Right-Wing Authoritarianism scores may be associated with reduced motivation to learn a second language due to the impact of prejudice on Integrativeness, which is the extent to which a person has an interest in learning a second language and in interacting with members who speak that second language. The current study sought to test these associations with a sample of 110 college participants learning French as a second language in a bilingual institution. Integrativeness was found to fully mediate the relations between Social Dominance Orientation, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and Motivation to learn a second language. Results suggest the importance of examining the role of prejudice in second-language acquisition.
Inductive determination of allele frequency spectrum probabilities in structured populations

We present a method for inductively determining exact allele frequency spectrum (AFS) probabilities for samples derived from a population comprising two demes under the infinite-allele model of mutation. This method builds on a labeled coalescent argument to extend the Ewens sampling formula (ESF) to structured populations. A key departure from the panmictic case is that the AFS conditioned on the number of alleles in the sample is no longer independent of the scaled mutation rate (θ). In particular, biallelic site frequency spectra, widely-used in explorations of genome-wide patterns of variation, depend on the mutation rate in structured populations. Variation in the rate of substitution across loci and through time may contribute to apparent distortions of site frequency spectra exhibited by samples derived from structured populations.
Rare copy number variants contribute pathogenic alleles in patients with intestinal malrotation

Intestinal malrotation is a potentially life‐threatening congenital anomaly due to the risk of developing midgut volvulus. The reported incidence is 0.2%–1% and both apparently hereditary and sporadic cases have been reported. Intestinal malrotation is associated with a few syndromes with known genotype but the genetic contribution in isolated intestinal malrotation has not yet been reported. Rare copy number variants (CNVs) have been implicated in many congenital anomalies, and hence we sought to investigate the potential contribution of rare CNVs in intestinal malrotation.
Students’ Attention Assessment in eLearning based on Machine Learning

Multimedia-based Electronic learning (eLearning) is an effective method of knowledge transfer. It provides the opportunity that students can use the videos or other materials at any time after they are delivered. Multimedia applications provide convenience, but there also exist challenges. One of the challenges is to measure and assess students’ attention when they are studying online. This paper presents a framework based on machine learning methods for the measurement of students’ attention. The framework employs a Gabor wavelet to extract the eye state features and train the model using support vector machines (SVM) to complete automatic classification on students’ eye states. Experiments over thousands of facial photos show that the proposed system reaches a good performance, which has a significant value in real applications.
The dependence of brain mitochondria reactive oxygen species production on oxygen level is linear, except when inhibited by antimycin A

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are by‐products of physiological mitochondrial metabolism that are involved in several cellular signaling pathways as well as tissue injury and pathophysiological processes, including brain ischemia/reperfusion injury. The mitochondrial respiratory chain is considered a major source of ROS; however, there is little agreement on how ROS release depends on oxygen concentration. The rate of H2O2 release by intact brain mitochondria was measured with an Amplex UltraRed assay using a high‐resolution respirometer (Oroboros) equipped with a fluorescent optical module and a system of controlled gas flow for varying the oxygen concentration. Three types of substrates were used: malate and pyruvate, succinate and glutamate, succinate alone or glycerol 3‐phosphate. For the first time we determined that, with any substrate used in the absence of inhibitors, H2O2 release by respiring brain mitochondria is linearly dependent on the oxygen concentration. We found that the highest rate of H2O2 release occurs in conditions of reverse electron transfer when mitochondria oxidize succinate or glycerol 3‐phosphate. H2O2 production by complex III is significant only in the presence of antimycin A and, in this case, the oxygen dependence manifested mixed (linear and hyperbolic) kinetics. We also demonstrated that complex II in brain mitochondria could contribute to ROS generation even in the absence of its substrate succinate when the quinone pool is reduced by glycerol 3‐phosphate. Our results underscore the critical importance of reverse electron transfer in the brain, where a significant amount of succinate can be accumulated during ischemia providing a backflow of electrons to complex I at the early stages of reperfusion. Our study also demonstrates that ROS generation in brain mitochondria is lower under hypoxic conditions than in normoxia.
Active boost converter a study on the characteristics of power factor correction circuits with input active boost converter

Switching power supply is widely used in many industrial fields. Power factor correction (PFC) circuits have tendency to be applied in new power supply designs. The input active power factor correction (APFC) circuits can be implemented using either the two-stage approach or the single-stage approach. The single-stage PFC circuit has advantage to reduce the number of components. However, unlike in the two-stage approach, the dc voltage on the energy storage capacitor in a single-stage PFC circuit is not well regulated. As a result, in universal line application (90 - 265 Vac), the storage capacitor voltage varies with the load and line variation. In this paper, the performances of output voltage regulation and transient response are clarified. The validity of designed boost PFC circuit is confirmed by MATLAB simulation and experimental results.
"All In One Mesh Hernioplasty" device for inguinal hernia repair. Results of 400 cases.

BACKGROUND Our intention in this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new open mesh hernia repair procedure, the "All in One Mesh Hernioplasty", for the treatment of primary inguinal hernias in adults. METHODS Between February 2014 and February 2016, we performed the All In One Mesh Hernioplasty procedure on 400 patient suffering from primary unilateral inguinal hernia at our Institution. The prosthesis was placed on the floor of the inguinal canal, as described in the original technique, and later covered by the fibrocremasteric sheath. Followup visits with the evaluation of postoperative pain using Numerical Rating Scale, and of short and long-term complications were performed after 1, 6, and 24 months. RESULTS All patients were discharged within three hours after surgery. The majority of patients reported only slight pain at discharge and 31,7% of them were completely painless . One week after surgery 83% of patients reported no pain and no other symptoms. 91 % of patients returned to their normal daily activities within 2-3 days after surgery. We didn't record any case of postoperative neuralgia or recurrence after a 24 months follow up. KEY WORDS All In One Mesh Hernioplasty, Neuralgia post-hernioplasty, Tension free hernia repair.
The Relationship Between the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual and Model Misspecification in Factor Analysis Models

Abstract We argue that the definition of close fitting models should embody the notion of substantially ignorable misspecifications (SIM). A SIM model is a misspecified model that might be selected, based on parsimony, over the true model should knowledge of the true model be available. Because in applications the true model (i.e., the data generating mechanism) is unknown, we investigate the relationship between the population standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) values and various model misspecifications in factor analysis models to better understand the magnitudes of the SRMR. Summary effect sizes of misfit such as the SRMR are necessarily insensitive to some non-ignorable localized misspecifications (i.e., the presence of a few large residual correlations in large models). Localized misspecifications may be identified by examining the largest standardized residual covariance. Based on the findings, our population reference values for close fit are based on a two-index strategy: (1) largest absolute value of standardized residual covariance ≤0.10, and (2) SRMR ≤0.05× the average R2 of the manifest variables; for acceptable fit our values are 0.15 and 0.10×, respectively.
Experimental microdissection enables functional harmonisation of pancreatic cancer subtypes

Objective Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has among the highest stromal fractions of any cancer and this has complicated attempts at expression-based molecular classification. The goal of this work is to profile purified samples of human PDA epithelium and stroma and examine their respective contributions to gene expression in bulk PDA samples. Design We used laser capture microdissection (LCM) and RNA sequencing to profile the expression of 60 matched pairs of human PDA malignant epithelium and stroma samples. We then used these data to train a computational model that allowed us to infer tissue composition and generate virtual compartment-specific expression profiles from bulk gene expression cohorts. Results Our analysis found significant variation in the tissue composition of pancreatic tumours from different public cohorts. Computational removal of stromal gene expression resulted in the reclassification of some tumours, reconciling functional differences between different cohorts. Furthermore, we established a novel classification signature from a total of 110 purified human PDA stroma samples, finding two groups that differ in the extracellular matrix-associated and immune-associated processes. Lastly, a systematic evaluation of cross-compartment subtypes spanning four patient cohorts indicated partial dependence between epithelial and stromal molecular subtypes. Conclusion Our findings add clarity to the nature and number of molecular subtypes in PDA, expand our understanding of global transcriptional programmes in the stroma and harmonise the results of molecular subtyping efforts across independent cohorts.
Molecular Detection and Species Determination of Malaria Parasites, Venezuela

In southeastern Venezuela, malaria cases have increased since 2013. We found that 46% of 352 blood samples from symptomatic patients in 1 municipality tested positive for Plasmodium spp. In addition, the number of cases increased by 10 times in 4 years (2014–2017) and by 3 times in 1 year (2016–2017).