Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hypothermia Plus Melatonin in Asphyctic Newborns: A Randomized-Controlled Pilot Study

Objectives: To investigate the effect of adding melatonin to hypothermia treatment on neurodevelopmental outcomes in asphyctic newborns. Design: Pilot multicenter, randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial. Statistical comparison of results obtained in two intervention arms: hypothermia plus placebo and hypothermia plus melatonin. Setting: Level 3 neonatal ICU. Patients: Twenty-five newborns were recruited. Interventions: The hypothermia plus melatonin patients received a daily dose of IV melatonin, 5 mg per kg body weight, for 3 days. General laboratory variables were measured both at neonatal ICU admission and after intervention. All infants were studied with amplitude-integrated electroencephalography and brain MRI within the first week of life. The neurodevelopmental Bayley III test, the Gross Motor Function Classification System, and the Tardieu scale were applied at the ages of 6 and 18 months. Measurements and Main Results: Clinical characteristics, laboratory evaluations, MRI findings, and amplitude-integrated electroencephalography background did not differ between the treatment groups. The newborns in the hypothermia plus melatonin group achieved a significantly higher composite score for the cognitive section of the Bayley III test at 18 months old, with respect to the hypothermia plus placebo group (p = 0.05). There were no differences between the groups according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System and Tardieu motor assessment scales. Conclusions: The early addition of IV melatonin to asphyctic neonates is feasible and may improve long-term neurodevelopment. To our knowledge, this is the first clinical trial to analyze the administration of IV melatonin as an adjuvant therapy to therapeutic hypothermia.
Fabrication of Microfluidic Chips Based on an EHD-Assisted Direct Printing Method

Microfluidic chips have been widely used in many areas such as biology, environmental monitoring, and micromixing. With the increasing popularity and complexity of microfluidic systems, rapid and convenient approaches for fabricating microfluidic chips are necessary. In this study, a method based on EHD (electrohydrodynamic)-assisted direct printing is proposed. Firstly, the principle of EHD-assisted direct printing was analyzed. The influence of the operating voltage and moving speed of the work table on the width of a paraffin wax model was studied. Then, two kinds of paraffin wax molds for micromixing with channel widths of 120 μm were prepared. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micromixer was fabricated by replicating the paraffin wax mold, and the micromixing of blue and yellow dye was realized. The results show that EHD-assisted direct printing can be used to make complex microscale structures, which has the potential to greatly simplify the manufacturing process.
Complex Field Network Coding for Multi-Source Multi-Relay Single-Destination UAV Cooperative Surveillance Networks

Relay-based cooperative communication for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) networks can obtain spatial diversity gains, expand coverage, and potentially increase the network capacity. A multi-source multi-relay single-destination structure is the main topology structure for UAV cooperative surveillance networks, which is similar to the structure of network coding (NC). Compared with conventional NC schemes, complex field network coding (CFNC) can achieve a higher throughput and is introduced to surveillance networks in this paper. According to whether there is a direct communication link between any source drone and the destination, the information transfer mechanism at the downlink is set to one of two modes, either mixed or relay transmission, and two corresponding irregular topology structures for CFNC-based networks are proposed. Theoretical analysis and simulation results with an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel show that the CFNC obtains a throughput as high as 1/2 symbol per source per channel use. Moreover, the CFNC applied to the proposed irregular structures under the two transmission modes can achieve better reliability due to full diversity gain as compared to that based on the regular structure. Moreover, the reliability of the CFNC scheme can continue to be improved by combining channel coding and modulation techniques at the expense of rate loss.
Height Shrinkage, Health and Mortality Among Older Adults: Evidence from Indonesia

In this paper, we analyze the correlates of height shrinkage and the association of height shrinkage and late-life health among mid-aged and older adults from the Indonesian Family Life Survey. We first document the extent of height shrinkage based on measured height over 17 years. Height shrinkage is higher among older age groups, taller individuals, and women. Socioeconomic and initial health correlates of shrinkage are found to be different for men and women. Higher education, marital status, household consumption, urban birth and poor self-reported health in adulthood and childhood are found to be significant correlates for men. Ethnicity, working in the agricultural sector and availability of local health infrastructure are key correlates of height shrinkage for women. Height shrinkage of 1 cm is associated with a 0.02 s.d. decrease in cognition scores for Indonesian men and a 0.01 s.d. decrease for women, and 4% increase in index of mobility difficulties for both men and women. Extreme height loss, defined as height loss greater than 3 cm is associated with 8-10 percent lower lung function and grip strength among both men and women. Extreme height loss among Indonesian older women is also associated with a 7-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of death in the most recent wave. Our results emphasize the importance of taking into account age related height loss as a significant covariate for health and mortality of older adults, independent of baseline height and health.
Rapid diagnosis of periodontitis, a feasibility study using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Aim The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility and diagnostic contribution of protein profiling using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry applied to saliva, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and dental plaque from periodontitis and healthy subjects. We hypothesized that rapid routine and blinded MALDI-TOF analysis could accurately classify these three types of samples according to periodontal state. Materials and methods Unstimulated saliva, GCF and dental plaque, collected from periodontitis subjects and healthy controls, were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS. Based on the differentially expressed peaks between the two groups, diagnostic decision trees were built for each sample. Results Among 141 patients (67 periodontitis and 74 healthy controls), the decision trees diagnosed periodontitis with a sensitivity = 70.3% (± 0.211) and a specificity = 77.8% (± 0.165) for saliva, a sensitivity = 79.6% (± 0.188) and a specificity = 75.7% (± 0.195) for GCF, and a sensitivity = 72.1% (± 0.202) and a specificity = 72.2% (± 0.195) for dental plaque. The sensitivity and specificity of the tests were improved to 100% (CI 95% = [0.91;1]) and 100% (CI 95% = [0.92;1]), respectively, when two samples were tested. Conclusion We developed, for the first time, diagnostic tests based on protein profiles of saliva, GCF and dental plaque between periodontitis patients and healthy subjects. When at least 2 of these samples were tested, the best results were obtained.
The relationship between the index of nutritional quality and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma : a case-control study

Objective: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, whereas dietary factors are its most modifiable risk factors. The index of nutritional quality is considered as a general overview of the nutrient content of diet. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the index of nutritional quality and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenomas. Methods: Overall, 129 colorectal cancer and 130 colorectal adenoma cases and 240 healthy controls were studied in three major general hospitals in Tehran province, Iran. Index of nutritional quality scores were calculated based on information on the usual diet that was assessed by a valid and reliable Food Frequency Questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the relationship between the index of nutritional quality scores and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma. Results: After controlling for several confounding factors, the index of nutritional quality of calcium, vitamin C, riboflavin, folate and fiber were associated with decreased risk of colorectal cancer [ORcalcium: 0.21 (0.08–0.52), ORvitC: 0.16 (0.09–0.28), ORvitB2: 0.35 (0.18–0.65), ORfolate: 0.33 (0.16–0.65), ORfiber: 0.35 (0.21–0.58)]. Also, the inverse association were observed between risk of CRA and the index of nutritional quality of calcium, vitamin C, riboflavin, folate and fiber [OR calcium: 0.32 (0.14–0.74), ORvitC: 0.51 (0.34–0.73), ORvitB2: 0.48 (0.28–0.82), OR folate: 0.44 (0.23–0.81), OR fiber: 0.62 (0.42–0.92)]. Conclusion: This study showed that individuals who have a healthier diet, high in calcium, vitamin C, riboflavin, folate and fiber and food groups like fruits, vegetables and whole-grain and less in sweets and red or process meats are at a lower risk of colorectal cancer and CRA than those with unhealthy and poor diet.
Effect of Jasmonic Acid, Yeast Extract Elicitation, and Drying Methods on the Main Bioactive Compounds and Consumer Quality of Lovage (Levisticum officinale Koch)

The aim of the study was to evaluate changes in the activities of some enzymes (polyphenol oxidase—PPO and peroxidase—POD), the content of some bioactive compounds, and the organoleptic quality and color parameters of fresh lovage and its herb dried with various methods and elicited with jasmonic acid (JA) and yeast extract (YE). Elicitation only slightly affected the sensory quality of the fresh herbs, but consumer responses in terms of acceptability of the dried lovage color showed that lovage from microwave drying was least acceptable. The largest increase in the value of parameter a* was observed in microwave dried samples. Elicitation positively influenced the content of bioactive compounds (especially chlorophylls, vitamin C, and phenolic compounds), but unfortunately drying caused significant loss of bioactive compounds (except phenolic compounds) in both control and elicited samples. Drying also resulted in a decrease in the activity of PPO and POD.
Immunoadjuvant Activity of Fucoidans from the Brown Alga Fucus evanescens

The study presents the results of a comparative evaluation of the effect of structural modifications of fucoidans from the brown alga Fucus evanescens (native, highly purified product of fucoidan enzymatic hydrolysis, a new regular 1→3;1→4-α-L-fucan, sulphated mainly at C2 and acetylated at C4 of the fucose residue) on the effector functions of innate and adaptive immunity cells in vitro and in vivo. Using flow cytometry, we found that all examined fucoidans induce the maturation of dendritic cells, enhance the ability of neutrophils to migrate and adhere, activate monocytes and enhance their antigen-presenting functions, and increase the cytotoxic potential of natural killers. Fucoidans increase the production of hepatitis B virus (HBs) specific IgG and cytokine Th1 (IFN-γ, TNF-α) and Th2 (IL-4) profiles in vivo. The data obtained suggest that in vitro and in vivo adjuvant effects of the products of fucoidan enzymatic hydrolysis with regular structural characteristics are comparable to those of the native fucoidan. Based on these data, the products of fucoidan enzymatic hydrolysis can be considered as an effective and safe candidate adjuvant to improve the efficacy of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.
Measuring Biomechanical Risk in Lifting Load Tasks Through Wearable System and Machine-Learning Approach

Ergonomics evaluation through measurements of biomechanical parameters in real time has a great potential in reducing non-fatal occupational injuries, such as work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Assuming a correct posture guarantees the avoidance of high stress on the back and on the lower extremities, while an incorrect posture increases spinal stress. Here, we propose a solution for the recognition of postural patterns through wearable sensors and machine-learning algorithms fed with kinematic data. Twenty-six healthy subjects equipped with eight wireless inertial measurement units (IMUs) performed manual material handling tasks, such as lifting and releasing small loads, with two postural patterns: correctly and incorrectly. Measurements of kinematic parameters, such as the range of motion of lower limb and lumbosacral joints, along with the displacement of the trunk with respect to the pelvis, were estimated from IMU measurements through a biomechanical model. Statistical differences were found for all kinematic parameters between the correct and the incorrect postures (p < 0.01). Moreover, with the weight increase of load in the lifting task, changes in hip and trunk kinematics were observed (p < 0.01). To automatically identify the two postures, a supervised machine-learning algorithm, a support vector machine, was trained, and an accuracy of 99.4% (specificity of 100%) was reached by using the measurements of all kinematic parameters as features. Meanwhile, an accuracy of 76.9% (specificity of 76.9%) was reached by using the measurements of kinematic parameters related to the trunk body segment.
Minocycline reduces experimental muscle hyperalgesia induced by repeated nerve growth factor injections in humans: A placebo‐controlled double‐blind drug‐crossover study

Hyperalgesia is a heightened pain response to a noxious stimulus and is a hallmark of many common neuropathic and chronic pain conditions. In a double‐blind placebo‐controlled drug‐crossover trial, the effects of concomitant and delayed minocycline treatment on the initiation and resolution of muscle hyperalgesia were tested.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of CBT-I and PAP for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Comorbid Insomnia: Main Outcomes from the MATRICS Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To investigate treatment models using cognitive-behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and positive airway pressure (PAP) for people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and comorbid insomnia. METHODS 121 adults with OSA and comorbid insomnia were randomized to receive CBT-I followed by PAP, CBT-I concurrent with PAP, or PAP only. PAP was delivered following standard clinical procedures for in-lab titration and home set-up and CBT-I was delivered in four individual sessions. The primary outcome measure was PAP adherence across the first 90 days, with regular PAP use (≥4 hours on ≥70% of nights during a 30-day period) serving as the clinical endpoint. The secondary outcome measures were the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) with good sleeper (PSQI< 5), remission (ISI< 8), and response (ISI reduction from baseline > 7) serving as the clinical endpoints. RESULTS No significant differences were found between the concomitant treatment arms versus PAP only on PAP adherence measures, including the percentage of participants who met the clinical endpoint. Compared to PAP alone, the concomitant treatment arms reported a significantly greater reduction from baseline on the ISI (p=.0009) and had a greater percentage of participants who were good sleepers (p=.044) and remitters (p=.008). No significant differences were found between the sequential versus concurrent treatment models on any outcome measure. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study indicate that combining CBT-I with PAP is superior to PAP alone on insomnia outcomes but does not significantly improve adherence to PAP.
A novel class of polymorphic toxins in Bacteroidetes

Bacteria often use toxins to mediate their interaction with the environment. This study reveals a new class of polymorphic toxins, which contain an N-terminal TANFOR domain, in Bacteroidetes. Bacteroidetes are Gram-negative bacteria that are abundant in the environment as well as in the gut microbiota of animals. Many bacteroidetes encode large proteins containing an N-terminal domain of unknown function, named TANFOR. In this work, we show that TANFOR-containing proteins carry polymorphic C-terminal toxin domains with predicted antibacterial and anti-eukaryotic activities. We also show that a C-terminal domain that is prevalent in TANFOR-containing proteins represents a novel family of antibacterial DNase toxins, which we named BaCT (Bacteroidetes C-terminal Toxin). Finally, we discover that TANFOR-encoding gene neighborhoods are enriched with genes that encode substrates of the type IX secretion system (T9SS), which is involved in exporting proteins from the periplasm across the outer membrane. Based on these findings, we conclude that TANFOR-containing proteins are a new class of polymorphic toxins, and we hypothesize that they are T9SS substrates.
Low-Complexity Soft-Output Signal Detection Based on Improved Kaczmarz Iteration Algorithm for Uplink Massive MIMO System

For multi-user uplink massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems, minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion-based linear signal detection algorithm achieves nearly optimal performance, on condition that the number of antennas at the base station is asymptotically large. However, it involves prohibitively high complexity in matrix inversion when the number of users is getting large. A low-complexity soft-output signal detection algorithm based on improved Kaczmarz method is proposed in this paper, which circumvents the matrix inversion operation and thus reduces the complexity by an order of magnitude. Meanwhile, an optimal relaxation parameter is introduced to further accelerate the convergence speed of the proposed algorithm and two approximate methods of calculating the log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) for channel decoding are obtained as well. Analysis and simulations verify that the proposed algorithm outperforms various typical low-complexity signal detection algorithms. The proposed algorithm converges rapidly and achieves its performance quite close to that of the MMSE algorithm with only a small number of iterations.
Enhancement of Macarpine Production in Eschscholzia Californica Suspension Cultures under Salicylic Acid Elicitation and Precursor Supplementation

Macarpine is a minor benzophenanthridine alkaloid with interesting biological activities, which is produced in only a few species of the Papaveraceae family, including Eschscholzia californica. Our present study was focused on the enhancement of macarpine production in E. californica suspension cultures using three elicitation models: salicylic acid (SA) (4; 6; 8 mg/L) elicitation, and simultaneous or sequential combinations of SA and L-tyrosine (1 mmol/L). Sanguinarine production was assessed along with macarpine formation in elicited suspension cultures. Alkaloid production was evaluated after 24, 48 and 72 h of elicitation. Among the tested elicitation models, the SA (4 mg/L), supported by L-tyrosine, stimulated sanguinarine and macarpine production the most efficiently. While sequential treatment led to a peak accumulation of sanguinarine at 24 h and macarpine at 48 h, simultaneous treatment resulted in maximum sanguinarine accumulation at 48 h and macarpine at 72 h. The effect of SA elicitation and precursor supplementation was evaluated also based on the gene expression of 4′-OMT, CYP719A2, and CYP719A3. The gene expression of investigated enzymes was increased at all used elicitation models and their changes correlated with sanguinarine but not macarpine accumulation.
The Impact of Oxytocin Vaginal Gel on Sexual Function in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Many postmenopausal women suffer from sexual dysfunction mostly due to the vulvovaginal atrophy. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of vaginal oxytocin gel on sexual function of postmenopausal women. This study was conducted on 96 postmenopausal women with symptoms of vaginal atrophy and sexual dysfunction who were randomly recruited into two groups of oxytocin vaginal gel (400 IU, n = 48) or placebo (n = 48). The PH, vaginal maturation index, and sexual function (using Female Sexual Function Index) of the participants were measured at the beginning of the study and eight weeks later. The vaginal maturation index and the PH of the vagina improved in the oxytocin group compared to those of the placebo. All domains of sexual function including desire, arousal, lubrication, pain, sexual satisfaction, and total score of sexual function improved significantly in the oxytocin gel compared to the control group (p < 0.0001). The results of this study showed that the administration of oxytocin vaginal gel could significantly improve vaginal atrophy as well as sexual function in postmenopausal women. Therefore, using vaginal oxytocin gel for sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women who are not interested in hormone therapy is recommended.
Technical Note: Effect of transducer position and ground plane configuration on image quality in MR-guided focused ultrasound therapies.

PURPOSE Evaluate the effect of a focused ultrasound transducer position and ground plane configuration on magnetic resonance image quality. METHODS The effect of transducer position with respect to the MRI B0 field and the radiofrequency receive coils was evaluated in a breast-specific MRgFUS system with an integrated RF phased array coil. Image signal to noise ratio was evaluated at different transducer locations. The effect of ultrasound transducer ground plane configuration was evaluated using a replica transducer with twelve ground plane configurations. All evaluations were performed at 3 Tesla. RESULTS Both transducer position and ground plane configuration were found to have a considerable effect on overall image SNR. A 67% increase in SNR was achieved by positioning the transducer face perpendicular to the B0 field. A 25% increase in SNR was achieved by segmenting the replica transducer ground plane from one continuous plane to 9 individual segments. CONCLUSIONS Advances in focused ultrasound hardware allow for integrated radiofrequency MRI coils as well as adjustable transducer positioning. The placement of the ultrasound transducer with respect to both the magnetic field and RF coils can have a considerable effect on image SNR and the resulting MR images that are used for MR guided focused ultrasound treatment planning, monitoring and assessment.
In‐vivo signatures of neurodegeneration in isolated rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder

Isolated rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD) is a parasomnia, recently recognized as a risk factor for progression to Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy body and multiple system atrophy. Biomarker studies in iRBD are relevant due to lack of evidence in this condition. The identification of biomarkers able to predict progression to synucleinopathy diseases is critical for iRBD. Fluorodeoxyglucose‐positron emission tomography (FDG‐PET) imaging might provide information about ongoing neurodegenerative processes. In the present study, we tested for presence of brain hypometabolism patterns as biomarkers of neurodegeneration in single iRBD individuals.