Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) might be a standard care in radical prostatectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Several enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols for radical prostatectomy (RP) have been reported in recent years. Nonetheless, there is no sufficient evidence to support the implementation of ERAS as a standard of care modality. METHODS A search was done in the PubMed, Embase, Clinical Trials.gov, Cochrane Library, CNKI Library databases and reference lists to identify relevant studies from inception until May 2019 to be included in the study. A systematic review of five randomized controlled trials (RCTs), one prospective cohort study and four retrospective studies covering 3,803 patients, comparing ERAS with conventional care was performed. Outcomes of interest for the study were intraoperative outcomes (operation time and blood loss), postoperative outcomes (hospital stay, catheter stay, first defecation and first anal exhaust) and postoperative complications. Random events meta-analyses were performed. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to determine whether the results of the meta-analysis were robust. RESULTS Notably, ERAS group had significantly shorter hospital stay [overall standardized mean difference (SMD) =-1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): -2.53, -0.76, P<0.001], shorter time to first defecation (overall SMD =-1.56, 95% CI: -2.71, -0.42, P=0.008), shorter time to first anal exhaust (overall SMD =-1.23, 95% CI: -1.97, -0.50, P=0.001) and lower incidence of nausea [overall risk ratio (RR) =0.62, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.94, P=0.024] compared to the conventional group. There was no statistical difference in intraoperative outcomes, catheter stay and other postoperative complications between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The data presented so far consistently show that ERAS may be utilized as a standard of care in RP treatment.
Crustacean zooplankton communities in lakes recovering from acidification

Large reductions in sulphur emissions at the Sudbury, Ont. , Canada, smelters in recent decades have resulted in decreased lake acidity, and biological improvements have followed. Lakes in the Sudbury area offer a very unique opportunity to develop our understanding of the processes regulating biological restructuring in aquatic ecosystems recovering from acidification. Here, we examine changes in crustacean zooplankton communities that have accompanied the chemical recovery of Whitepine and Sans Chambre lakes, near Sudbury, over the last two decades. In both these formerly acidic lakes, pH has increased to ~6.0, and some zooplankton community recovery has occurred. However, zooplankton communities have not completely recovered based on multivariate comparisons with the community composition of reference lakes. Although a number of acid-sensitive species have appeared, many did not persist, or did not achieve abundances typical of the reference lakes. This indicates that zooplankton community recovery will.
CompoundDB4j: Integrated Drug Resource of Heterogeneous Chemical Databases

Computational approaches to analyze various drug/ compound centered analysis often present a need to map attributes from multiple drug databases. In this study, we provide a Neo4j repository that integrates two of the most prominent open source drug databases, DrugBank and ChEMBL, with a goal of establishing an integrated data visualization and analysis tool for drug discovery studies. The drugs present in DrugBank are mapped to their counterparts in ChEMBL. The integration of these resources and the harmonization using knowledge graph serialization using Neo4j lead to identification of relationships between drugs and other related features that are otherwise spread across two different resources. A common data format, a prerequisite to populate the Neo4j database, enables users to identify new relationships central to drug discovery research, like Drug Target Interactions (DTI). The resource is freely available at: https://github.com/ambf0632/CompoundDB4j
A Micro-Thermal Sensor for Cryoablation Balloons.

Treatment of atrial fibrillation by cryoablation of the pulmonary vein (PV) suffers from an inability to assess probe contact, tissue thickness, and freeze completion through the wall. Unfortunately, clinical imaging cannot be used for this purpose as these techniques have resolutions similar in scale (~ 1 - 2 mm) to PV thickness and therefore are unable to resolve changes within the PV during treatment. Here, a micro-thermal sensor based on the "3? " technique which has been used for thin biological systems is proposed as a potential solution and tested for a cryoablation scenario. First, the sensor was modified from a linear format to a serpentine format for integration onto a flexible balloon. Next, using numerical analyses, the ability of the modified sensor on a flat substrate was studied to differentiate measurements in limiting cases of ice, water and fat. These numerical results were then complemented by experimentation by micro-patterning the serpentine sensor onto a flat substrate and onto a flexible balloon. In both formats (flat and balloon) the serpentine sensor was experimentally shown to: (1) identify tissue contact vs. fluid, (2) distinguish tissue thickness in the 0.5 to 2 mm range, and (3) measure the initiation and completion of freezing as previously reported for a linear sensor. This study demonstrates proof of principle that a serpentine 3? sensor on a balloon can monitor tissue contact, thickness and phase change which is relevant for cryo and other focal thermal treatments of PV to treat atrial fibrillation.
Studies of α-granule proteins in cultured human megakaryocytes

Summary α-Granule protein storage is important for producing platelets with normal haemostatic function. The low to undetectable levels of several megakaryocyte-synthesized α-granule proteins in normal plasma suggest megakaryocytes are important to sequester these proteins in vivo. α-Granule protein storage in vitrohas been studied using other cell types, with differences observed in how some proteins are processed compared to platelets. Human megakaryocytes, cultured from cord blood CD34+cells and grown in serum-free media containing thrombopoietin, were investigated to determine if they could be used as a model for studying normal α-granule protein processing and storage. ELISA indicated that cultured megakaryocytes contained the α-granule proteins multimerin, von Willebrand factor, thrombospondin-1, β-thromboglobulin and platelet factor 4, but no detectable fibrinogen and factor V. A significant proportion of the α-granule protein in megakaryocyte cultures was contained within the cells (averages: 41 – 71 %), consistent with storage. Detailed analyses of multimerin and von Willebrand factor confirmed that α-granule proteins were processed to mature forms and were predominantly located in the α-granules of cultured megakaryocytes. Thrombopoietin-stimulated cultured megakaryocytes provide a useful model for studying α-granule protein processing and storage.
Effects of auricular acupuncture on appetite in patients with advanced cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background: Over half of patients with advanced cancer report appetite loss or anorexia. Previous studies have shown the benefit of acupuncture for cancer-related nausea and vomiting, but limited evidence exists for its role in appetite improvement. Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of auricular acupuncture to improve appetite for cancer patients with advanced disease. Methods: We performed a two-arm parallel, pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of auricular acupuncture versus usual care control in patients with stage III or IV cancer who experienced appetite loss. The primary outcome was changed in the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ; score range, 4–20) between two groups from baseline to weeks 2 and 4, with secondary outcomes including change in weight, as well as an additional evaluation at week 8 for durability of treatment effects. We used independent two-sample t-test for the change in mean score for each outcome during or after treatment. We assessed the interaction between time and treatment from baseline to weeks 2, 4, and 8 using mixed-effects models by ANOVA test. Results: We randomized 55 patients to auricular acupuncture (N=27) or control group (N=28). By week 4, the auricular acupuncture group had a significantly higher escalation in the SNAQ score than the control group compared with baseline [mean difference 3.69; 95% confidential interval (95% CI): 2.5, 4.8; P<0.001] and experienced a 51.4% improvement in appetite. From baseline to weeks 2 and 4, patients lost a little weight in the control group but gained weight in the auricular acupuncture group. Between baseline and week 4, change in the SNAQ score was significantly associated with change in weight (P=0.001). No adverse events (AEs) were reported during the study. Conclusions: Compared to usual care, auricular acupuncture is feasible and safe to improve appetite and help patients with advanced cancer gain weight.
Performance of a surface bypass structure to enhance juvenile steelhead passage and survival at Lower Granite Dam, Washington

AbstractAn integral part of efforts to recover stocks of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and steelhead O. mykiss in Pacific Northwest rivers is to increase passage efficacy and survival of juveniles past hydroelectric dams. As part of this effort, we evaluated the efficacy of a prototype surface bypass structure, the removable spillway weir (RSW), installed in a spillbay at Lower Granite Dam, Washington, on the Snake River during 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Radio-tagged juvenile steelhead were released upstream from the dam and their route of passage through the turbines, juvenile bypass, spillway, or RSW was recorded. The RSW was operated in an on-or-off condition and passed 3–13% of the total discharge at the dam when it was on. Poisson rate models were fit to the passage counts of hatchery- and natural-origin juvenile steelhead to predict the probability of fish passing the dam. Main-effect predictor variables were RSW operation, diel period, day of the year, proportion of flow passed by the spillway,.
Association of SNPs from iNOS and TLR-4 Genes with Economic Trait in Chicken

Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, KoreaABSTRACT iNOS (Inducible nitric oxide synthase) and TLR-4 (Toll-like Receptor-4) play crucial roles in innate immunity of poultry. iNOS has been mapped to chicken chromosome 14 and implicated in a variety of chicken diseases. iNOS possesses potent antimicrobial activity, including the inhibition of microbes replication in vitro. TLR-4 is a pathogen associated molecular- pattern receptor for bacterial product, such as LPS (lipopolysaccharides) found in Gram negative bacteria, that triggers pro-inflammatory cytokine expression after engagement with ligands. In the previous studies, genetic analysis of iNOS and TLR-4 revealed the possible association of mutation in these genes with the intestinal microflora of cecum when infected with Salmonella spp. This study was aimed to augment previous findings, which show the association of iNOS (C14513T) and TLR-4 (G4409T) polymorphisms with economic traits in Korean Native Black (KNB), Rhode Island Red (RIR) and Cornish chickens. Investigation in the effect of SNPs on economic traits (layday, layw, layno, bw150, bw270, layw270) was conducted. iNOS (C14513T) had a significant effect on the average body weight at 270 days of age (p 0.05). The results obtained from using the candidate genes can be useful for the genetic improvement of body weight in both KNB and RIR breeds. (Key words : chicken, Korea Native Chicken, Cornish, Rhode Island Red, iNOS, TLR-4)
Lipid Transfer Proteinに対するモノクローナル抗体を用いた発酵食品中の小麦使用量の評価

本研究は発酵食品における小麦使用量の評価系を開発することを目的として行った．ウエスタン解析において，小麦Lipid Transfer Protein（LTP）は食物アレルギー患者血清中のIgEと結合することから，アレルゲンタンパク質であることが示唆された．小麦粉から純化したLTPを抗原としてモノクローナル抗体を作製し，小麦LTP特異的サンドイッチELISAを構築した．本定量系のLTP定量範囲は3∼500pg/mLであり，ライ麦に対しては若干交差したが（0.2％），大麦，はと麦，えん麦には交差しなかった．市販小麦グリアジンELISA定量系はライ麦にも強く交差する上，発酵食品のような加水分解を受けた食品の定量に使えないという欠点がある．これに対して，本ELISA系を用いると，小麦添加ビール，醤油，味噌のような発酵食品中にもLTPの存在が確認できた．したがって，本小麦LTP定量系は発酵食品中の小麦使用量を評価する方法として有用であることが示された．
Effectiveness of an oral health education programme for older adults using a workbook.

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the effects of an oral health education programme utilising a workbook for people aged 65 years or older. MATERIALS AND METHODS A pre-post quasi-experimental design was used to verify the effectiveness of an oral health education programme using a workbook. Oral health education was provided once a week for 5 weeks from May to June 2019. Intervention group I only received lectures on oral health education, while intervention group II reviewed the content using the workbook immediately after the lecture. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to compare differences among the three groups; a paired t test was also carried out to identify the changes before and after the programme. RESULTS Intervention group I showed a significant increase of 3.52 on oral health knowledge and 3.47 on oral health recognition, while exhibiting a significant decrease of 0.21 on the O'Leary index and 0.69 on the tongue coating index. Intervention group II depicted a significant increase of 4.48 on oral health knowledge and 3.97 on oral health recognition and a significant decrease of 0.32 on the O'Leary index and 2.10 on the tongue coating index. CONCLUSIONS The oral health education programme using the workbook increased knowledge and recognition of oral health and lowered the O'Leary and tongue coating indexes. Hence, the use of a workbook may facilitate the effectiveness of oral health education for older people.
Visserij in cijfers 2008

Deze jaarlijkse rapportage over de Nederlandse visserij bevat gegevens over de bedrijfsresultaten en financiele positie van de kottervisserij in 2007 met ramingen voor 2008, en met vergelijkende cijfers van voorgaande jaren. Naast de bedrijfseconomische gegevens van de kottervisserij, wordt ook ingegaan op re-sultaten van de grote zeevisserij, de mosselcultuur, de oestersector en daar-naast ook ontwikkelingen in de handel in visproducten met het buitenland. Over de visteeltsector wordt niet gerapporteerd vanwege gebrek aan actuele gege-vens. This annual report on Dutch fisheries contains data on the business results and the financial position of cutter fishing in 2007 and an outlook for 2008, with comparative figures from previous years. Alongside the economic data of cutter fishing, results of large-scale high sea fishing, mollusc culture, oyster culture and developments in foreign trade of fishery products are also examined. The aquaculture sector is not examined due to lack of information about the sector.
A new longjaw galaxias species (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from the Kauru River, North Otago, New Zealand

Abstract A population of “longjaw galaxias”, long known to be present in the Kauru River, a small tributary of the Kakanui River in North Otago, is shown to be a distinct species using both morphological and molecular characters. It is described here as Galaxias cobitinis n. sp. , which has: origin of anal fin anterior to that of dorsal fin, only 15 principal caudal fin rays, only 5 pelvic fin rays, and only 51–53 vertebrae. In these and other morphological characters it differs from G. prognathus Stokell. One specimen from the Hakataramea River, lower Waitaki River system appears to also be G. cobitinis. Molecular evidence suggests long isolation from the Kauru River of “true” longjaw galaxias G. prognathus and from rivers draining the high Southern Alps (type locality: Wilberforce River, tributary of the Rakaia River), perhaps dating back as long as 11–4 million years ago (late Miocene‐early Pliocene). This prolonged isolation contrasts with hypothesised more recent isolation of populations of the Galaxias vulgaris species group in the Kakanui River from other populations of that species group. Thus, sympatric species of Galaxias have contrasting biogeographic histories in the Kakanui River.
A long-known new species of gecko allied to Pachydactylus bicolor (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the central Namibian coast

Abstract A new species of the ‘northwestern clade’ of Pachydactylus is described from the coast of central Namibia. It has long been considered a population of the widespread species Pachydactylus bicolor, from which it differs in body proportions, in having at least six adhesive lamellae on some digits and in having juxtaposed to subimbricate, rather than strongly imbricate, scales on the original tail. Additionally, the new species is unique in maintaining, as an adult, a more-or-less uniform colour pattern of white flecks on a dark brown background, with no evident underlying banded pattern. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of all species of the ‘northwestern clade’ of Pachydactylus, using RAG1 and ND2 nucleotide sequences, confirm the placement of the new species as the closest relative of P. bicolor, with genetic distances between P. bicolor and the new species similar to those observed between other pairs of species in Pachydactylus. Phylogenetic relationships of the new species and P. bicolor to other members of the northwestern clade are discussed.
Modified thiobarbituric acid assay for measuring lipid oxidation in sugar-rich plant tissue extracts

Use of the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay for thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) of lipid oxidation in extracts of plant materials was examined. Sucrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, citrus pectin, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) interfered with the TBA assay reaction. To correct for the interference caused by sugars (the major interference), a modified procedure was developed using standard curves for both malondialdehyde (MDA) and sucrose. Molar absorbance (MA) of adducts from TBA-MDA and TBA-sucrose reactions increased when the acidity in the reaction mixture increased and the time of heating and the temperature of heating for the reaction increased
Phylogenetic origin of Beckmannia (Poaceae) inferred from molecular evidence

Abstract The phylogenetic origin of Beckmannia remains unknown. The genus has been placed within the Chlorideae, Aveneae (Agrostideae), Poeae, or treated as an isolate lineage, Beckmanniinae. In the present study, we used nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and chloroplast trnL‐F sequences to examine the phylogenetic relationship between Beckmannia and those genera that have assumed to be related. On the basis of the results of our studies, the following conclusions could be drawn: (i) Beckmannia and Alopecurus are sister groups with high support; and (ii) Beckmannia and Alopecurus are nested in the Poeae clade with high support. The results of our analysis suggest that Beckmannia should be placed in Poeae.
Changes in Primary Production in Onondaga Lake, NY: Magnitude, Metrics, and Drivers

Abstract Changes in phytoplankton primary production and common metrics and drivers of trophic state are documented and critically evaluated for a 35 year (1968–2002) period for polluted, culturally eutrophic Onondaga Lake, NY. The lake is presently the focus of an on-going rehabilitation program to abate its cultural eutrophication problems. The analysis is supported by measurements of primary production and long-term monitoring of trophic state metrics and other common limnological parameters. Measurements of primary production and community respiration were made in 1978, 2002, and portions of 2000 and 2001, utilizing dissolved oxygen-based isolated community (light/dark bottle) and non-isolated community (diel measurements) protocols. Limnological and discharge monitoring of the following metrics supported the analysis: epilimnetic total phosphorus, epilimnetic chlorophyll a (Chle), Secchi disc (SD), areal hypolimnetic oxygen deficit (AHOD), salinity (S), downward flux of particulate organic carbon (POCdf), and concentration of TP in the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant (TPMetro) that dominates loading. Direct measurements establish the areal daily average gross primary production has decreased ~ 30 to 40% since 1978. The magnitude of this decrease corresponds well with decreases observed in the surrogate metrics of primary production of POCdf (37%) and AHOD (49%). Detailed time series of POCdf and AHOD indicate the decrease occurred abruptly in the late 1980s. This decrease was primarily a result of the reduction in S that attended cessation of production by an industry, rather than a response to the 30-fold reduction in TPMetro achieved over the last 32 years. Magnitudes of Chle and SD are not presently reliable metrics of trophic state in this lake because of increases, and year-to-year variations, in top-down effects since closure of the industry.
Low‐threshold motor units can be a pain during experimental muscle pain

Neural control of muscle force while experiencing muscle pain is not fully understood yet. The idea of a differential modulation of the activity across the entire motor unit (MU) pool is highly attractive. However, while lower discharge rates of MUs during low-force contractions in the presence of pain have been previously observed, much uncertainty remains regarding alterations of the firing behaviour of higher-threshold MUs. There has been considerable progress in the decomposition of MUs from high-density surface electromyograms (HD-sEMG), allowing the simultaneous investigation of the activity of many MUs. These methods are proving instrumental for advancing our understanding of the motor commands during lowand high-force contractions. A good example of opening new perspectives is the work by Martinez-Valdes & colleagues (2020), recently published in the Journal of Physiology. For the first time, MU activity was concurrently analysed for both lowand high-threshold MUs during painful (intramuscular hypertonic saline injection) and non-painful contractions, providing novel mechanistic insight into the effect of muscle pain on the modulation of motor commands. Decomposition of HD-sEMG from both low(20% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)) and high-force (70% MVC) isometric ankle dorsiflexion contractions allowed the authors to observe that in the presence of muscle pain, firing rates of low-threshold MUs are decreased, whereas firing rates of high-threshold MUs are increased and recruitment and derecruitment thresholds are lowered. These novel findings show that firing frequency and recruitment strategies are adjusted differently across the motor pool in response to muscle pain.