Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mirror Therapy and Action Observation Therapy to Increase the Affected Upper Limb Functionality in Children with Hemiplegia: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol

The movements of the affected upper limb in infantile hemiplegia are slower and clumsy. This leads to a decrease in the use of the affected hand. The visual effect obtained using the mirror box and the observation of actions in another individual can activate the same structural neuronal cells responsible for the execution of these actions. This research will study the affected upper limb functionality in hemiplegia infantile from 6 to 12 years old after the application of two intervention protocols: observation action therapy and mirror therapy combined with observation action therapy. Children with a diagnose of congenital infantile hemiplegia will be recruited to participate in a randomized controlled trial with two intervention protocols during four weeks (1 h per/day; 5 sessions per/week): Mirror Therapy Action Observation (MTAO) or Action Observation Therapy (AOT). The study variables will be: spontaneous use, measured with the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA); manual ability measured with the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT); surface electromyography of the flexors and extensors muscles of the wrist and grasp strength through a grip dynamometer. Four assessments will be performed: At baseline situation, at the end of treatment, 3 and 6 months after treatment (follow-up assessments). This study will study the effects of these therapies on the use of the affected upper limb in children with hemiplegia.
Seasonal Activity, Spatial Distribution, and Physiological Limits of Subterranean Termites (Reticulitermes Species) in an East Texas Forest

Simple Summary For species with similar resource requirements to inhabit the same location, they must somehow divide or share resources. In subterranean termites, multiple species often co-occur where they consume decomposing wood. How these species partition wood resources within an environment is poorly understood. We characterized the foraging activity of three species of Reticulitermes subterranean termites in a single site for 28 months to investigate the means by which resources are partitioned. We tested if species utilize resources under different climatic conditions by comparing the termite activity in wooden monitors to measurements of soil temperature and moisture. Generally, Reticulitermes termites foraged more during warmer, dryer months but each species responded differently to soil temperature and moisture. We found that R. flavipes was able to forage for longer durations and continued foraging during periods of high soil moisture, R. hageni increased foraging under higher soil moisture, and R. virginicus increased foraging under lower soil temperature. These results suggest that resources may be partitioned through differential foraging activity in response to different environmental conditions. Abstract One of the major goals of ecology is to understand how co-habiting species partition limited resources. In the eastern U.S., at least three species of Reticulitermes subterranean termites often occur in sympatry; however, little is known about how these species divide food resources. In this study, we characterized the foraging activity of Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), R. hageni Banks, and R. virginicus (Banks) across seasons to assess the impact of environmental conditions on resource partitioning. A field site consisting of two grids of wooden monitors was sampled monthly for 28 months. Foraging activity in all three species was correlated with the interaction of temperature and moisture. This correlation was influenced by temperature and moisture approximately equally in R. flavipes, whereas temperature contributed more to the correlation in R. hageni, and moisture contributed more in R. virginicus. These differences caused each species to preferentially forage during specific environmental conditions: R. flavipes continued foraging after high moisture events, R. hageni increased foraging under higher soil moisture, and R. virginicus increased foraging under lower soil temperatures. We attempted to explain these patterns by the species’ physiological limits; however, we found no differences in upper lethal limit, desiccation, or submersion limits across species. These results add to the overall understanding of resource partitioning by emphasizing the ability of multiple species to utilize the same resource under different environmental conditions and raise questions regarding the physiological and/or behavioral mechanisms involved.
Komplexone XVIII. Die Eisen(II)- und Eisen(III)-komplexe der Äthylendiamin-tetraessigsäure und ihr Redoxgleichgewicht

Im pH-Gebiet 2 bis 10 wurde das Redoxpotential Ferro/Ferri bei Anwesenheit verschiedener Mengen Athylendiamin-tetraacetat gemessen. Um die Resultate zu verstehen, wurde auch das Verhalten des reinen Ferrokomplexes und dasjenige des reinen Ferrikomplexes bei Zugabe von HCl bzw. KOH untersucht. Dabei gelangten wir zur Kenntnis der formalen Gleichgewichtskonstanten der folgenden Reaktionen: Y4− steht fur das Anion der Athylendiamin-tetraessigsaure. Samtliche Gleichgewichtskonstanten sind Konzentrationskonstanten und gelten fur ein Losungsmittel der ionalen Starke 0,1 (KCl) und eine Temperatur von 20°C.
Interaction between physical activity and polygenic score on type 2 diabetes mellitus in older Black and White participants from the Health and Retirement Study.

This study investigated the association of lifestyle factors and polygenic risk scores (PGS), and their interaction, on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). We examined data from the United States Health and Retirement Study, a prospective longitudinal cohort of ≥50-year-old adults containing nationally representative samples of Black and White Americans with pre-calculated PGS for T2D (N=14,001). Predicted prevalence and incidence of T2D were calculated with logistic regression models. We calculated differences in T2D prevalence and incidence by PGS percentiles and for interaction variables using nonparametric bootstrap method. Black participants had approximately twice the prevalence of Whites (26.2% vs. 14.2%), with a larger difference between the 90 th and 10 th PGS percentile from age 50-80 years. Significant interaction (Pinteraction=0.0096) was detected between PGS and physical activity among Whites. Among Whites in the 90 th PGS percentile, T2D prevalence for moderate physical activity was 17.0% (95%CI:14.8,19.6), 6.8% lower compared to no/some physical activity (23.8%, 95%CI:20.4,27.5). T2D prevalence was similar (~10%) for both groups in the 10 th PGS percentile. Incident T2D in Whites followed a similar pattern (Pinteraction=0.0325). No significant interactions with PGS were detected among Black participants. Interaction of different genetic risk profiles with lifestyle factors may inform understanding of varying inventions' efficacy for different groups of people, potentially improving clinical and prevention interventions.
Fabrication and Characterization of Diclofenac Sodium Loaded Hydrogels of Sodium Alginate as Sustained Release Carrier

The aim of the current study was to fabricate naturally derived polymer based hydrogels for controlled release of diclofenac sodium (DS) for a long duration of time. In this research work, sodium alginate-co-poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulphonic acid) (SA-co-poly(AMPS)) hydrogels were prepared by the free radical polymerization technique, where sodium alginate (SA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulphonic acid (AMPS) were used as the polymer and monomer while ammonium peroxodisulfate (APS) and N,N′-Methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) were used as the initiator and cross-linker, respectively. A swelling study was performed to determine the swelling index of developed hydrogels in both acidic (pH 1.2) and basic (pH 7.4) media and pH-independent swelling was observed due to the presence of AMPS. An in vitro release study was conducted to evaluate the percentage of drug released, and a high release of the drug was found at the higher pH of 7.4. Sol–gel analysis was performed to analyze the crosslinked and uncrosslinked part of the hydrogels, and results showed a rise in gel fraction as the composition of SA, AMPS and MBA increased while the sol fraction decreased and vice versa. This work demonstrated a potential for sustained delivery of diclofenac sodium by employing various concentration of SA, AMPS and MBA.
A numerical study on the effects of spatial and temporal discretization in cardiac electrophysiology

Millions of degrees of freedom are often required to accurately represent the electrophysiology of the myocardium due to the presence of discretization effects. This study seeks to explore the influence of temporal and spatial discretization on the simulation of cardiac electrophysiology in conjunction with changes in modeling choices. Several finite element analyses are performed to examine how discretization affects solution time, conduction velocity and electrical excitation. Discretization effects are considered along with changes in the electrophysiology model and solution approach. Two action potential models are considered: the Aliev‐Panfilov model and the ten Tusscher‐Noble‐Noble‐Panfilov model. The solution approaches consist of two time integration schemes and different treatments for solving the local system of ordinary differential equations. The efficiency and stability of the calculation approaches are demonstrated to be dependent on the action potential model. The dependency of the conduction velocity on the element size and time step is shown to be different for changes in material parameters. Finally, the discrepancies between the wave propagation in coarse and fine meshes are analyzed based on the temporal evolution of the transmembrane potential at a node and its neighboring Gauss points. Insight obtained from this study can be used to suggest new methods to improve the efficiency of simulations in cardiac electrophysiology.
Increased prevalence of insecticide resistance in Anopheles coluzzii populations in the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon and influence on pyrethroid-only treated bed net efficacy

In Cameroon, pyrethroid-only long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are still largely used for malaria control. The present study assessed the efficacy of such LLINs against a multiple-resistant population of the major malaria vector, Anopheles coluzzii, in the city of Yaoundé via a cone bioassay and release-recapture experimental hut trial. Susceptibility of field mosquitoes in Yaoundé to pyrethroids, DDT, carbamates and organophosphate insecticides was investigated using World Health Organization (WHO) bioassay tube tests. Mechanisms of insecticide resistance were characterised molecularly. Efficacy of unwashed PermaNet® 2.0 was evaluated against untreated control nets using a resistant colonised strain of An. coluzzii. Mortality, exophily and blood feeding inhibition were estimated. Field collected An. coluzzii displayed high resistance with mortality rates of 3.5% for propoxur (0.1%), 4.16% for DDT (4%), 26.9% for permethrin (0.75%), 50.8% for deltamethrin (0.05%), and 80% for bendiocarb (0.1%). High frequency of the 1014F west-Africa kdr allele was recorded in addition to the overexpression of several detoxification genes, such as Cyp6P3, Cyp6M2, Cyp9K1, Cyp6P4 Cyp6Z1 and GSTe2. A low mortality rate (23.2%) and high blood feeding inhibition rate (65%) were observed when resistant An. coluzzii were exposed to unwashed PermaNet® 2.0 net compared to control untreated net (p < 0.001). Furthermore, low personal protection (52.4%) was observed with the resistant strain, indicating reduction of efficacy. The study highlights the loss of efficacy of pyrethroid-only nets against mosquitoes exhibiting high insecticide resistance and suggests a switch to new generation bed nets to improve control of malaria vector populations in Yaoundé.
The evolution from an "average" study patient to patient-specific characteristics to guide interventions in vascular medicine.

‐centered interventions 5 survivors are left with major mental and physi‐ cal disability. The consequences are detrimental not only for the patient but also for the families, the healthcare system, and society. Large ‐scale ef‐ forts are needed to maximize preventive rather than reactive treatment strategies. Atherosclerot‐ ic carotid disease is responsible for a much great‐ er proportion of strokes than just those present‐ ing with tandem occlusion of the intra‐ and ex‐ tracranial vessels (approximately 20%). It is also the underlying cause for hemodynamic strokes due to a high ‐grade carotid stenosis. In addition, showers of emboli from a “hot” carotid plaque can cause severe strokes, even in the absence of large vessel occlusion. After detection of a clinically “asymptomatic” carotid stenosis (that may in reality not be truly asymptomatic, as symptoms may not be appar‐ ent during clinical examinations while cerebral imaging may show signs of ipsilateral ischemic damage), clinicians have to answer the 2 funda‐ mental questions: 1) what is the risk of the par‐ ticular carotid lesion to cause stroke, distal em‐ boli, or underperfusion? and 2) what is the bal‐ ance of risks and benefits of an intervention in the context of the individual patient, taking into account clinical, physiological, imaging, and le‐ sion characteristics (FIguRE 1). Ideally, indicators that would put the indi‐ vidual at a greater risk for an impending stroke should be identified before the stroke disaster oc‐ curs. The treatment should be preventive rather than reactive and should be safe and long ‐term effective.2,4 It is clear today that optimized medical ther‐ apy, although it may reduce or delay stroke risk, It’s about integrating individual clinical expertise and the best external evidence
In vitro ameliorative effects of ellagic acid on vitality, motility and DNA quality in human spermatozoa

Oxidative stress (OS) plays a significant role in the etiology of male infertility, resulting in the impairment of male reproduction. This condition, characterized by an imbalance in the levels of oxidizing and antioxidant species in the seminal fluid, has a harmful impact on sperm functions and DNA integrity. The present study aimed to evaluate the anti‐genotoxic action of ellagic acid, a polyphenolic molecule of natural origin having a powerful antigenotoxic, anti‐inflammatory and antiproliferative role. An OS condition was induced in vitro by incubating normozoospermic human semen samples in benzene for 45, 60 and 90 min. DNA integrity was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay, RAPD‐PCR was performed to calculate the genome template stability, while the percentage of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assessed by the 2ʹ, 7ʹ‐dichlorofluorescein assay. Our results showed that ellagic acid has a consistent protective effect on DNA integrity, as well as on sperm vitality and motility, by counteracting generation of intracellular ROS. The results of this study suggest ellagic acid as a suitable molecule to protect sperm DNA from oxidative stress, with a potentially significant translational impact on the management of the male infertility.
National Institute on Aging Workshop Repurposing Drugs or Dietary Supplements for their Senolytic or Senomorphic Effects: Considerations for Clinical Trials.

BACKGROUND Cell senescence is implicated in numerous age-related conditions. Drugs and nutritional supplements developed for a variety of purposes kill senescent cells (senolytics) or suppress their secretions (senomorphics). There is interest in repurposing such drugs to treat or prevent age-related diseases. To date, only small-scale preliminary trials have been conducted. METHODS At a workshop convened by the National Institute on Aging in August 2019, academic, industry and government scientists reviewed issues for Phase II trials of potentially repurposable drugs, or dietary supplements, to assess benefits and risks of their senolytic (killing senescent cells) or senomorphic (altering senescent cells' phenotypes) effects in treating or preventing age-related conditions. RESULTS Participants reviewed mechanisms and effects of cellular senescence, senolytics and senomorphics of several classes and their potential role in treating or preventing disease, modulators of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), needs for senescence markers, data and specimen resources, infrastructure for planning trials, and potential effects on outcomes in older patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. CONCLUSIONS Participants noted the importance of considering potential effects of candidate drugs on multiple aging outcomes. It is important to assess drugs' specificity for killing senescent cells and the balance between senolytic and cytotoxic effects. Markers of specific senescent cell types are needed to assess intervention responses. There are potential interactions with coexisting diseases and their treatments in older persons. Standardized measures could enhance comparisons and pooling of data. Additional characterization of human cell senescent phenotypes is needed for developing better and more specific senolytics and senomorphics.
Acute HIV at the Time of Initiation of Pre-exposure or Post-exposure Prophylaxis: Impact on Drug Resistance and Clinical Outcomes

Background: Initiating pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP/PEP) in the setting of undiagnosed acute HIV (AHI) could cause antiretroviral resistance. We sought to characterize clinical outcomes and drug resistance mutations among individuals prescribed PrEP/PEP with undiagnosed AHI at a San Francisco sexually transmitted disease clinic. Setting: In our PrEP/PEP program, patients are tested for HIV using a point-of-care antibody test. If negative, patients are started on prophylaxis and screened for AHI using pooled HIV RNA (5–10 days turn-around). We used 2-drug PEP until 05/2016. Methods: We identified patients who had as-yet-undiagnosed AHI on the day of PrEP/PEP start between 2011 and 2018, then used our clinical record and surveillance data to describe HIV resistance and clinical outcomes. Results: Of 1758 PrEP and 2242 PEP starts, there were 7 AHI cases among PrEP users (0.40%) and 6 among PEP users (0.30%). Median times for linkage to HIV care, initiation of HIV treatment, and viral suppression were 7, 12, and 43 days. On initiation of HIV care, 3 patients (23%) were found to have an M184 mutation 7–12 days after starting PrEP/PEP. All 3 had genotyping performed on stored serum available from the date of PrEP/PEP start, each of which demonstrated wild-type virus. All 3 patients achieved durable viral suppression. Conclusions: Although rare (occurring <0.5% of the time), AHI in the setting of PrEP/2-drug PEP can result in an M184 within days. Even with M184, persons with AHI achieve viral suppression when rapidly linked to care and initiated on antiretroviral therapy. Providers should consider AHI screening when starting PrEP/PEP.
Indirect Somatic Embryogenesis and Cryopreservation of Agave tequilana Weber Cultivar ‘Chato’

Agave tequilana Weber cultivar ‘Chato’ represents an important genetic supply of wild severely in decline populations of ‘Chato’ for breeding and transformation programs. In this work, the indirect somatic embryogenesis and cryopreservation of Somatic Embryos (SEs) were investigated using the ‘Chato’ cultivar as a study case. Methods: Embryogenic calli were induced by the cultivation of 1 cm of young leaves from in vitro plants on MS semisolid medium supplemented with 24.84, 33.13, 41.41, 49.69, and 57.98 μM 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2- pyridinecarboxylic acid (picloram) in combination with 2.21, 3.32, and 4.43 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). The origin and structure of formed SEs were verified by histological analysis. Cryopreservation studies of SEs were performed following the V-cryoplate technique and using for dehydration two vitrification solutions (PVS2 and PVS3). Results: The highest average (52.43 ± 5.74) of produced SEs and the Embryo Forming Capacity (estimated index 52.43) were obtained using 49.69 µM picloram and 3.32 µM BAP in the culture medium. The highest post-cryopreservation regrowth (83%) and plant conversion rate (around 70%) were achieved with PVS2 at 0 °C for 15 min. Conclusion: Our work provides new advances about somatic embryogenesis in Agave and reports the first results on cryopreservation of SEs of this species.
Life expectancy inequalities in Hungary over 25 years: The role of avoidable deaths

Using mortality registers and administrative data on income and population, we develop new evidence on the magnitude of life expectancy inequality in Hungary and the scope for health policy in mitigating this. We document considerable inequalities in life expectancy at age 45 across settlement-level income groups, and show that these inequalities have increased between 1991–96 and 2011–16 for both men and women. We show that avoidable deaths play a large role in life expectancy inequality. Income-related inequalities in health behaviours, access to care, and healthcare use are all closely linked to the inequality in life expectancy. Supplementary material for this article is available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2021. 1877332
The Neuroprotective properties, Functions and Roles of Cannabis sativa in selected diseases related to the Nervous System.

BACKGROUND Cannabis and its extracts are now being explored due to their huge health benefits. Although, the effect it elicits whether in humans or rodents may vary based on the age of the animal/subject and or the time in which the extract is administered. However, several debates exist concerning the various medical applications of these compounds. Nonetheless, their applicability as therapeutics should not be clouded based on their perceived negative biological actions. METHODOLOGY Articles from reliable databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Google scholar, Scopus and Ovid were searched. Specific search methods were employed using multiple keywords: ''Medicinal Cannabis; endocannabinoid system; cannabinoids receptors; cannabinoids and cognition; brain disorders; neurodegenerative diseases''. For the inclusion/exclusion criteria, only relevant articles related to medicinal cannabis and its various compounds were considered. RESULT AND CONCLUSION The current review highlights the role, effects and involvement of cannabis; cannabinoids and endocannabinoids in preventing selected neurodegenerative diseases and possible amelioration of cognitive impairments. Also, cannabis utilization in many disease conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease among others. In conclusion, the usage of cannabis should be further explored as accumulating evidence suggests that it could be effective and somewhat safe especially when recommended dosage is adhered to. Furthermore, an in-depth studies should be conducted in order to unravel the specific mechanism underpinning the involvement of cannabinoids at the cellular level and their therapeutic applications.