Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediagnostic selenium status and hepatobiliary cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort.

BACKGROUND Selenium status is suboptimal in many Europeans and may be a risk factor for the development of various cancers, including those of the liver and biliary tract. OBJECTIVE We wished to examine whether selenium status in advance of cancer onset is associated with hepatobiliary cancers in the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. DESIGN We assessed prediagnostic selenium status by measuring serum concentrations of selenium and selenoprotein P (SePP; the major circulating selenium transfer protein) and examined the association with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; n = 121), gallbladder and biliary tract cancers (GBTCs; n = 100), and intrahepatic bile duct cancer (IHBC; n = 40) risk in a nested case-control design within the EPIC study. Selenium was measured by total reflection X-ray fluorescence, and SePP was determined by a colorimetric sandwich ELISA. Multivariable ORs and 95% CIs were calculated by using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS HCC and GBTC cases, but not IHBC cases, showed significantly lower circulating selenium and SePP concentrations than their matched controls. Higher circulating selenium was associated with a significantly lower HCC risk (OR per 20-μg/L increase: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.72) but not with the risk of GBTC or IHBC. Similarly, higher SePP concentrations were associated with lowered HCC risk only in both the categorical and continuous analyses (HCC: P-trend ≤ 0.0001; OR per 1.5-mg/L increase: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.63). CONCLUSION These findings from a large prospective cohort provide evidence that suboptimal selenium status in Europeans may be associated with an appreciably increased risk of HCC development.
Direct sequencing is a reliable assay with good clinical applicability for KRAS mutation testing in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND The analysis of KRAS mutations in colorectal cancer (CRC) has made the need urgent for a reliable and easy to implement assay in daily practice. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to compare the different assays for KRAS testing and elucidate its mutation status in Chinese CRC patients. METHODS Direct sequencing was conducted to detect mutations in KRAS codons 12, 13 and 61 using 574 colorectal paraffin embedded clinical samples. And a subset of 66 samples was further detected independently by a commercial kit for comparison of different assays. RESULTS KRAS codons 12 and 13 mutations were detected in 40.9 and 42.4% of 66 CRC samples using the kit and direct sequencing methods, respectively. The concordance between two methods reached 95.5% (Kappa=0.907, P < 0.001). Workload and time to results were comparable for both. Moreover, KRAS mutations were detected in the total 574 CRC tumors by direct sequencing as followed: 25.3% in codon 12, 6.8% in codon 13, and 2.1% in codon 61. Notably, the mutations were more frequent in females than males, and patients older than 60 years exhibited higher rates of mutation (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Direct sequencing showed similar mutation rate as the detection kit and hence can be used effectively and reliably for clinical screening of somatic tumor gene mutations.
Effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban for the prevention of thrombosis following total hip or knee replacement

Background: Prophylactic anticoagulant therapy is recommended to reduce the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total hip or knee arthroplasty, and has become the standard of care. Rivaroxaban is a novel oral medication that directly inhibits factor Xa for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic conditions. Method: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed to determine the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery. We reviewed several databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase and the US trial registry to detect appropriate RCTs for our meta-analysis. The primary efficacy outcome of this meta-analysis was the combination of any deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), non-fatal pulmonary embolism (PE), and death from any cause. The main safety outcome was bleeding events which included significant bleeding events, clinically relevant insignificant bleeding events, or minor events. Other end points were the number of patients who received blood transfusion the volume of transfused whole blood or red blood cells, and the volume of postoperative drainage. Result: Thirteen RCTs were included in this meta-analysis. This meta-analysis showed that the overall rate of VTE events, DVT, PE, and death were 1%, 6%, < 1% and < 1%, respectively, for patients receiving treatment with rivaroxaban after THA and TKA surgery. The subgroup analysis demonstrated rivaroxaban had more superior effects in THA patients. The pooled analysis of bleeding events showed that the overall rate of major bleeding events, overt bleeding events associated with fall in Hb of > 2 g/DL, clinically overt bleeding events leading to transfusion of > 2 units of blood, clinically overt bleeding events leading to further surgeries, and non-major bleeding events were < 1%, < 1%, < 1%, < 1%, and 3%, respectively. Conclusion: This is the first systematic review of the literature providing incidence of efficacy and safety outcomes for thromboprophylaxis in THA and TKA patients. Moreover, this meta-analysis showed that rivaroxaban had more superior effect in THA patients.
Retracted: Indirect Interactions Shape Selection in a Multispecies Food Web

Species do not live, interact, or evolve in isolation but are instead members of complex ecological communities. In ecological terms, complex multispecies interactions can be understood by considering indirect effects that are mediated by changes in traits and abundances of intermediate species. Interestingly, traits and abundances are also central to our understanding of phenotypic selection, suggesting that indirect effects may be extended to understand evolution in complex communities. Here we explore indirect ecological effects and their evolutionary corollary in a well-understood food web comprising a plant, its herbivores, and enemies that select for opposite defensive phenotypes in one of the herbivores. We show that ecological indirect interactions are mediated by changes to both the traits and the abundances of intermediate species and that these changes ultimately reduce enemy attack and weaken selection. We discuss the generality of the link between indirect effects and selection. We go on to argue that local adaptation and eco-evolutionary feedback may be less likely in complex multispecies food webs than in simpler food chains (e.g., coevolution). Overall, considering selection in complex interaction networks can facilitate the rapprochement of community ecology and evolution.
Derivation and Validation of a Major Toxicity Risk Score Among Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drug Users Based on Data From a Randomized Controlled Trial

While nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used in rheumatology, they can cause major toxicity. Improving the risk/benefit ratio requires a more precise understanding of risk. This study was undertaken to derive and validate a risk score for major toxicity among NSAID users enrolled in a randomized controlled trial.
Targeted Workup after Initial Febrile Urinary Tract Infection: Using a Novel Machine Learning Model to Identify Children Most Likely to Benefit from Voiding Cystourethrogram.

PURPOSE Significant debate persists regarding the appropriate workup in children with an initial urinary tract infection. Greatly preferable to all or none approaches in the current guideline would be a model to identify children at highest risk for a recurrent urinary tract infection plus vesicoureteral reflux to allow for targeted voiding cystourethrogram while children at low risk could be observed. We sought to develop a model to predict the probability of recurrent urinary tract infection associated vesicoureteral reflux in children after an initial urinary tract infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS We included subjects from the RIVUR (Randomized Intervention for Children with Vesico-Ureteral Reflux) and CUTIE (Careful Urinary Tract Infection Evaluation) trials in our study, excluding the prophylaxis treatment arm of the RIVUR. The main outcome was defined as recurrent urinary tract infection associated vesicoureteral reflux. Missing data were imputed using optimal tree imputation. Data were split into training, validation and testing sets. Machine learning algorithm hyperparameters were tuned by the validation set with fivefold cross-validation. RESULTS A total of 500 subjects, including 305 from the RIVUR and 195 from the CUTIE trials, were included in study. Of the subjects 90% were female and mean ± SD age was 21 ± 19 months. A recurrent urinary tract infection developed in 72 patients, of whom 53 also had vesicoureteral reflux (10.6% of the total). The final model included age, sex, race, weight, the systolic blood pressure percentile, dysuria, the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, prior antibiotic exposure and current medication. The model predicted recurrent urinary tract infection associated vesicoureteral reflux with an AUC of 0.761 (95% CI 0.714-0.808) in the testing set. CONCLUSIONS Our predictive model using a novel machine learning algorithm provided promising performance to facilitate individualized treatment of children with an initial urinary tract infection and identify those most likely to benefit from voiding cystourethrogram after the initial urinary tract infection. This would allow for more selective application of this test, increasing the yield while also minimizing overuse.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose: a Review of Recent Alcohol Policy Developments in Europe.

AIM This paper briefly reviews the history of alcohol policy development in Europe leading to the current consensus in the health field on strategic priorities. There is a review of recent policy developments in selected European countries, both EU and non-EU members. METHODS Narrative review of published journal articles, publications from WHO, and other health organisations and government publications. RESULTS The implementation of the WHO policy priorities has been variable across Europe. At EU level, there has been a recent pattern of trade considerations taking priority over health and a disinvestment in alcohol research and advocacy. Among EU member states new implementation of WHO strategies have been limited to a few smaller countries and regions. In Russia, there have been considerable falls in mortality following the introduction of controls on price, availability and marketing. CONCLUSION The implementation of WHO strategy at national level in Europe is highly dependent on the local political circumstances. Where there is concern about alcohol harm and political will, the WHO strategic priorities have been highly influential.In order to build public and political support for prevention, alcohol policy advocates should ensure that there is good data on trends within age, gender, and income groups and develops policies to respond to these trends. The concept of proportionate universalism, where interventions are understood to have a broad population effect but the effect is greater on the groups most in need, may be more useful than the traditional alcohol policy field conceptualisations of whole population and targeted measures.
Multi-Channel Convolutional Neural Network Based 3D Object Detection for Indoor Robot Environmental Perception

Environmental perception is a vital feature for service robots when working in an indoor environment for a long time. The general 3D reconstruction is a low-level geometric information description that cannot convey semantics. In contrast, higher level perception similar to humans requires more abstract concepts, such as objects and scenes. Moreover, the 2D object detection based on images always fails to provide the actual position and size of an object, which is quite important for a robot’s operation. In this paper, we focus on the 3D object detection to regress the object’s category, 3D size, and spatial position through a convolutional neural network (CNN). We propose a multi-channel CNN for 3D object detection, which fuses three input channels including RGB, depth, and bird’s eye view (BEV) images. We also propose a method to generate 3D proposals based on 2D ones in the RGB image and semantic prior. Training and test are conducted on the modified NYU V2 dataset and SUN RGB-D dataset in order to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. We also carry out the actual experiments in a service robot to utilize the proposed 3D object detection method to enhance the environmental perception of the robot.
Indications for a moonlighting function of translation factor aIF5A in the crenarchaeum Sulfolobus solfataricus

ABSTRACT Translation factor a/eIF5A is highly conserved in Eukarya and Archaea. The eukaryal eIF5A protein is required for transit of ribosomes across consecutive proline codons, whereas the function of the archaeal orthologue remains unknown. Here, we provide a first hint for an involvement of Sulfolobus solfataricus (Sso) aIF5A in translation. CRISPR-mediated knock down of the aif5A gene resulted in strong growth retardation, underlining a pivotal function. Moreover, in vitro studies revealed that Sso aIF5A is endowed with endoribonucleolytic activity. Thus, aIF5A appears to be a moonlighting protein that might be involved in protein synthesis as well as in RNA metabolism.
‘I dodged the stigma bullet’: Canadian sex workers’ situated responses to occupational stigma

Abstract Stigma attached to sex workers’ occupation, sometimes disparagingly referred to as ‘prostitution’ or ‘whore’ stigma, is a fundamental challenge for people in sex work. Yet sex workers are not powerless when confronting occupational stigma. We employed thematic analysis with data from in-person interviews conducted in 2012–13 with a diverse sample of 218 adult sex workers in Canada. Our participants perceived a high degree of occupational stigma, which they responded to and managed using four main strategies. First, some participants internalised negative discourses about their sex work and accepted their discredited status. Second, many controlled access to information about themselves, consciously keeping knowledge of their occupation from most people while sharing it with trusted others. Third, some participants rejected society’s negative view of their occupation. Finally, some attempted to reduce the personal impact of stigma by reframing sex work to emphasise its positive and empowering elements. Participants often strategically responded to stigma contingent on the situated contexts of their work and personal life. We discuss these findings in relation to the existing knowledge base about stigma attached to sex workers’ occupation as well as how these findings may direct future research on stigma strategies.
A clinical perspective on the relevance of research domain criteria in electronic health records.

OBJECTIVE The limitations of the DSM nosology for capturing dimensionality and overlap in psychiatric syndromes, and its poor correspondence to underlying neurobiology, have been well established. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), a proposed dimensional model of psychopathology, may offer new insights into psychiatric illness. For psychiatric clinicians, however, because tools for capturing these domains in clinical practice have not yet been established, the relevance and means of transition from the categorical system of DSM-5 to the dimensional models of RDoC remains unclear. The authors explored a method of extracting these dimensions from existing electronic health record (EHR) notes. METHOD The authors used information retrieval and natural language processing methods to extract estimates of the RDoC dimensions in the EHRs of a large health system. They parsed and scored EHR documentation for 2,484 admissions covering 2,010 patients admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit between 2011 and 2013. These domain scores were compared with DSM-IV-based ICD-9 codes to assess face validity. As a measure of predictive validity, these scores were examined for association with two outcomes: length of hospital stay and time to all-cause hospital readmission. Together, these analyses were intended to address the extent to which RDoC symptom domains might capture clinical features already available in narrative notes but not reflected in DSM diagnoses. RESULTS In mixed-effects models, loadings for the RDoC cognitive and arousal domains were associated with length of hospital stay, while the negative valence and social domains were associated with hazard of all-cause hospital readmission. CONCLUSIONS These findings show that a computationally derived tool based on RDoC workgroup reports identifies symptom distributions in clinician notes beyond those captured by ICD-9 codes, and these domains have significant predictive validity. More generally, they point to the possibility that clinicians already document RDoC-relevant symptoms, albeit not in a quantified form.
Preoperative fasting durations for adult elective surgical patients: Convenient for the professional, but detrimental to the patient? A narrative review

Preoperative fasting is necessary in reducing the risk of aspiration of stomach contents when undergoing a procedure that requires anaesthesia. There are numerous guidelines based upon evidence-based practice that outline the safe duration of a fast prior to the induction of anaesthesia. Common practice however is to give advice that unnecessarily starves the patient leading to perioperative complications. There is a breadth of literature analysing the fasting durations of various institutions, with a consensus of fasting from midnight being the norm, and side effects of nausea and dehydration being unfortunate by-products of fasting. A review of the literature examines the continued poor compliance of evidenced-based practice.
Mental health training, attitudes toward support, and screening positive for mental disorders

ABSTRACT Public Safety Personnel (PSP; e.g. correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police) are frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs). Several mental health training program categories (e.g. critical incident stress management (CISM), debriefing, peer support, psychoeducation, mental health first aid, Road to Mental Readiness [R2MR]) exist as efforts to minimize the impact of exposures, often using cognitive behavioral therapy model content, but with limited effectiveness research. The current study assessed PSP perceptions of access to professional (i.e. physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, employee assistance programs, chaplains) and non-professional (i.e. spouse, friends, colleagues, leadership) support, and associations between training and mental health. Participants included 4,020 currently serving PSP participants. Data were analyzed using cross-tabulations and logistic regressions. Most PSP reported access to professional and non-professional support; nevertheless, most would first access a spouse (74%) and many would never, or only as a last resort, access professional support (43–60%) or PSP leaders (67%). Participation in any mental health training category was associated with lower (p < .01) rates for some, but not all, mental disorders, with no robust differences across categories. Revisions to training programs may improve willingness to access professional support; in the interim, training and support for PSP spouses and leaders may also be beneficial.
Dynamics of transcriptional enhancers and chromosome topology in gene regulation

Transcriptional enhancers are regulatory DNAs that instruct when and where genes should be transcribed in response to a variety of intrinsic and external signals. They contain a cluster of binding sites for sequence‐specific transcription factors and co‐activators to determine the spatiotemporal specificity of gene activities during development. Enhancers are often positioned in distal locations from their target promoters. In some cases, they work over a million base pairs or more. In the traditional view, enhancers have been thought to stably interact with promoters in a targeted manner. However, quantitative imaging studies provide a far more dynamic picture of enhancer action. Moreover, recent Hi‐C methods suggest that regulatory interactions are dynamically regulated by the higher‐order chromosome topology. In this review, we summarize the emerging findings in the field and propose that assembly of “transcription hubs” in the context of 3D genome structure plays an important role in transcriptional regulation.
Small-Animal PET/CT Imaging of Local and Systemic Immune Response Using 64Cu-αCD11b

Current noninvasive imaging methods for monitoring immune response were largely developed for interrogation of the local reaction. This study developed the radiotracer 64Cu-labeled anti-CD11b (64Cu-αCD11b) for longitudinal assessment of local and systemic immune response involving mobilization of CD11b+ myeloid cells by small-animal PET/CT. Methods: Acute or chronic inflammation in the ears of BALB/c mice was induced by 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Acute lung inflammation was induced by intratracheal lipopolysaccharide inoculation. αCD11b was conjugated with p-SCN-Bn-DOTA followed by labeling with 64Cu. PET/CT and biodistribution were evaluated at different times after intravenous injection of 64Cu-αCD11b. Cell populations from bone marrow (BM) and spleen were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: 64Cu-αCD11b was primarily taken up by BM and spleen in control mice. In comparison, 64Cu-αCD11b uptake was significantly reduced in the BM and spleen of CD11b-knockout mice, indicating that 64Cu-αCD11b selectively homed to CD11b+ myeloid cells in vivo. In mice with ear inflammation, for the local inflammatory response, 64Cu-αCD11b PET/CT revealed significantly higher 64Cu-αCD11b uptake in the inflamed ears in the acute inflammation phase than the chronic phase, consistent with markedly increased infiltration of CD11b+ cells into the inflammatory lesions at the acute phase. Moreover, imaging of 64Cu-αCD11b also showed the difference in mouse systemic response for different inflammatory stages. Compared with uptake in control mice, BM 64Cu-αCD11b uptake in mice with ear inflammation was significantly lower in the acute phase and higher in the chronic phase, reflecting an initial mobilization of CD11b+ cells from the BM to the inflammatory foci followed by a compensatory regeneration of CD11b+ myeloid cells in the BM. Similarly, in mice with lung inflammation, 64Cu-αCD11b PET/CT readily detected acute lung inflammation and recruitment of CD11b+ myeloid cells from the BM. Immunohistochemistry staining and flow cytometry results confirmed the noninvasive imaging of PET/CT. Conclusion: 64Cu-αCD11b PET/CT successfully tracked ear and pulmonary inflammation in mice and differentiated acute from chronic inflammation at the local and systemic levels. 64Cu-αCD11b PET/CT is a robust quantitative method for imaging of local and systemic immune responses.