Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of lamin A/C protein in degenerated human intervertebral disc.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the expression characteristics of lamin A/C proteins in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVD) specimens from patients with different degeneration grades. Lamin A/C proteins have been shown to result in age-related changes in the osteoarticular system. However, the expression characteristics of these nuclear proteins in degenerated human IVD tissues have not been explored previously. PATIENTS AND METHODS Degenerated human IVD tissues were obtained during spinal surgery. Articular cartilage samples after total knee replacement surgery were used as controls. Sections of these tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Masson, safranin O, and immunostained using lamin A/C antibody. Western blot was performed to evaluate lamin A/C expression in IVD tissues. Lamin A/C expression was analyzed based on different degeneration grades. RESULTS In patients with IVD degeneration, mild or moderate degenerative discs contained high amounts of lamin A/C proteins. Lamin A/C expression was primarily localized in the nuclear envelope of IVD cells, and associated with apoptosis in cell nuclei, as determined by immunostaining and TUNEL assay. CONCLUSIONS This paper is the first to report that lamin A/C proteins are present in IVD tissues and its expression may be related to disc degeneration.
Arrhythmia Classification of ECG Signals Using Hybrid Features

Automatic detection and classification of life-threatening arrhythmia plays an important part in dealing with various cardiac conditions. In this paper, a novel method for classification of various types of arrhythmia using morphological and dynamic features is presented. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is applied on each heart beat to obtain the morphological features. It provides better time and frequency resolution of the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, which helps in decoding important information of a quasiperiodic ECG using variable window sizes. RR interval information is used as a dynamic feature. The nonlinear dynamics of RR interval are captured using Teager energy operator, which improves the arrhythmia classification. Moreover, to remove redundancy, DWT subbands are subjected to dimensionality reduction using independent component analysis, and a total of twelve coefficients are selected as morphological features. These hybrid features are combined and fed to a neural network to classify arrhythmia. The proposed algorithm has been tested over MIT-BIH arrhythmia database using 13724 beats and MIT-BIH supraventricular arrhythmia database using 22151 beats. The proposed methodology resulted in an improved average accuracy of 99.75% and 99.84% for class- and subject-oriented scheme, respectively, using three-fold cross validation.
Recent advances in ultrasound-based transdermal drug delivery

The transdermal transport of pharmaceuticals possesses various advantageous properties over conventional drug administration techniques such as oral delivery and hypodermic injections. However, the stratum corneum persists as the main barrier, which impedes percutaneous transport. The ultrasound-based transdermal delivery of therapeutics is one of the techniques that are being investigated to overcome this obstacle. This review outlines the background information pertaining to sonophoresis and then discusses the individual sections of sonophoretic research. These areas include the sonophoretic application of various drugs, dual-frequency sonophoresis, synergistic combinations of transdermal drug delivery techniques, and the use of nanosized carriers in ultrasound-based transdermal delivery. The various challenges associated with sonophoretic drug delivery and trends of future research are also highlighted.
Overview of antibody‐mediated immunity to S. pneumoniae: pneumococcal infections, pneumococcal immunity assessment, and recommendations for IG product evaluation

Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) strains colonize the nasopharynx and can cause mucosal infections in the upper airway and middle ear, pneumonias, and invasive infections like bacteremia, sepsis, and meningitis. Over 90 serotypes, defined by the structure of their capsular polysaccharides, are known. Twenty‐three of these serotypes cause most infections and several of these serotypes can develop antibiotic resistance.
Current challenges in health information technology–related patient safety

We identify and describe nine key, short-term, challenges to help healthcare organizations, health information technology developers, researchers, policymakers, and funders focus their efforts on health information technology–related patient safety. Categorized according to the stage of the health information technology lifecycle where they appear, these challenges relate to (1) developing models, methods, and tools to enable risk assessment; (2) developing standard user interface design features and functions; (3) ensuring the safety of software in an interfaced, network-enabled clinical environment; (4) implementing a method for unambiguous patient identification (1–4 Design and Development stage); (5) developing and implementing decision support which improves safety; (6) identifying practices to safely manage information technology system transitions (5 and 6 Implementation and Use stage); (7) developing real-time methods to enable automated surveillance and monitoring of system performance and safety; (8) establishing the cultural and legal framework/safe harbor to allow sharing information about hazards and adverse events; and (9) developing models and methods for consumers/patients to improve health information technology safety (7–9 Monitoring, Evaluation, and Optimization stage). These challenges represent key “to-do’s” that must be completed before we can expect to have safe, reliable, and efficient health information technology–based systems required to care for patients.
Objective Versus Self-Reported Adherence to Airway Clearance Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Historically, studies of adherence to airway clearance therapy in cystic fibrosis (CF) have relied on self-reporting. We compared self-reported airway clearance therapy adherence to actual usage data from home high-frequency chest wall compressions (HFCWC) vests and identified factors associated with overestimation of adherence in self-reports. METHODS: Pediatric patients who perform airway clearance therapy with a HFCWC vest were eligible to participate. Objective adherence data were obtained from the HFCWC device, which records cumulative utilization time. Two readings at least 5 weeks apart were collected. Objective adherence was recorded as a ratio of mean-to-prescribed daily use (%). Self-reported adherence data were collected with a caregiver survey at enrollment. Adherence rates were categorized as low (< 35% of prescribed), moderate (36–79% of prescribed), and high (≥ 80% of prescribed). An overestimation was present when self-reported adherence was at least one category higher than objective adherence. RESULTS: In the final sample (N = 110), mean adherence by usage data was 61%. Only 35% of subjects (n = 38) were highly adherent, and 28% (n = 31) were low adherent. In contrast, 65% of subjects (n = 72) reported high adherence and only 8% (n = 9) reported low adherence (P < .001). Nearly half of self-reports (46%) overestimated adherence. In a multiple regression analysis, overestimation was associated with multiple airway clearance therapy locations (odds ratio 7.13, 95% CI 1.16–43.72, P = .034) and prescribed daily use ≥ 60 min (odds ratio 3.85, 95% CI 1.08–13.76, P < .038). Among subjects with prescribed daily airway clearance therapy ≥ 60 min, the odds of overestimating adherence increased 3-fold (odds ratio 3.04, 95% CI 1.17–7.87, P = .02) in a lower-income (< $50,000/y) environment. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reports overestimated actual adherence to airway clearance therapy, and the overestimation increased with treatment occurring in multiple households and prescribed therapy duration. Among participants with prescribed airway clearance therapy ≥ 60 min, overestimation increased with lower income. Objective measures of adherence are needed, particularly for lower-income children and those receiving treatments in multiple locations.
Cis‐trans proline isomers in the catalytic domain of calcineurin

Calcineurin is an essential calcium‐activated serine/threonine phosphatase. The six NMR‐observable methionine methyl groups in the catalytic domain of human calcineurin Aα (CNA) were assigned and used as reporters of the presence of potential cis‐trans isomers in solution. Proline 84 is found in the cis conformation in most calcineurin X‐ray structures, and proline 309, which is part of a highly conserved motif in phosphoprotein phosphatases, was modeled with a cis peptide bond in one of the two molecules present in the asymmetric unit of CNA. We mutated each of the two prolines to alanine to force the trans conformation. Solution NMR shows that the P84A CNA mutant exists in two forms, compatible with cis‐trans isomers, while the P309A mutant is predominantly in the trans conformation.
The relationship between patients’ illness beliefs and recovery after stroke

ABSTRACT The Common Sense Model (CSM) is a useful framework for understanding mood and treatment adherence amongst survivors in the acute phase of stroke. CSM stroke studies have thus far focused on the single outcomes, mood and medication adherence, neglecting other aspects of post-stroke recovery (i.e., Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) and disability). The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between baseline illness beliefs and three-month post-stroke HRQL, mood and disability. A longitudinal observational design was adopted, involving 50 survivors (mean age = 66.9 years, 68% male). The primary outcome, HRQL, was measured using EQ-5D-5L. The secondary outcome, mood was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9; and disability, using the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale. The Stroke Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised measured illness beliefs. Spearman’s correlations showed that beliefs about the fluctuating effects of stroke (ρ = 0.50, p < 0.001) and considerable distress at baseline were significantly associated with worse mood three-months post-stroke (ρ = 0.41, p < 0.001). Baseline illness beliefs were not significantly related to three-month post-stroke HRQL or disability. Despite being limited by a modest sample size, the findings reiterated the need for routine clinical assessment of mood immediately after stroke, and indicated that simultaneous measurement of illness beliefs may also be beneficial.
Computer-Aided Telephone Support for Primary Care Patients with Common Mental Health Conditions: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Depression, anxiety, and at-risk drinking are highly prevalent in primary care settings. Many jurisdictions experience geographical barriers to accessing mental health services, necessitating the development and validation of alternative models of care delivery. Existing evidence supports the acceptability and effectiveness of providing mental health care by telephone. Objective This analysis assesses patient’s acceptability of computer-aided telephone support delivered by lay providers to primary care patients with depression, anxiety, or at-risk drinking. Methods The Primary care Assessment and Research of a Telephone intervention for Neuropsychiatric conditions with Education and Resources study is a randomized controlled trial comparing a computer-aided telephone-based intervention to usual care enhanced by periodic assessments in adult primary care patients referred for the treatment of depression, anxiety, or at-risk drinking; no part of the study involves in-person contact. For this analysis, the following data were obtained: reasons provided for declining consent; reasons provided for withdrawing from the study; study retention rate; and a thematic analysis of a satisfaction survey upon study completion. Results During the consent process, 17.1% (114/667) patients referred to the study declined to participate and 57.0% of them (65/114) attributed their refusal to research-related factors (ie, randomization and time commitment); a further 16.7% (19/114) declined owing to the telephone delivery of the intervention. Among the 377 participants who were randomized to the 1-year intervention, the overall retention rate was 82.8% (312/377). Almost no participants who withdrew from the study identified the telephone components of the study as their reason for withdrawal. Analysis of a qualitative satisfaction survey revealed that 97% (38/39) of comments related to the telephone components were positive with key reported positive attributes being accessibility, convenience, and privacy. Conclusions Our results suggest that a computer-aided telephone support is highly acceptable to primary care patients with depression, anxiety, or at-risk drinking. In particular, these patients appreciate its accessibility, flexibility, and privacy. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02345122; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02345122 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/73R9Q2cle)
The importance and adaptive value of life history evolution for metapopulation dynamics

The spatial configuration and size of patches influence metapopulation dynamics by altering colonisation-extinction dynamics and local density-dependency. This spatial forcing as determined by the metapopulation typology then imposes strong selection pressures on life history traits, which will in turn feedback on the ecological metapopulation dynamics. Given the relevance of metapopulation persistence for biological conservation, and the potential rescuing role of evolution, a firm understanding of the relevance of these eco-evolutionary processes is essential. We here follow a systems modelling approach to quantify the importance of spatial forcing and experimentally observed life history evolution for metapopulation demography as quantified by (meta)population size and variability. We therefore developed an individual based model matching an earlier experimental evolution with spider mites to perform virtual translocation and invasion experiments that would have been otherwise impossible to conduct. We show that (1) metapopulation demography is more affected by spatial forcing than by life history evolution, but that life history evolution contributes substantially to changes in local and especially metapopulation-level population sizes, (2) extinction rates are minimised by evolution in classical metapopulations, and (3) evolution is optimising individual performance in metapopulations when considering the importance of more cryptic stress resistance evolution. Ecological systems modelling opens up a promising avenue to quantify the importance of eco-evolutionary feedbacks for larger-scale population dynamics. Metapopulation sizes are especially impacted by evolution but its variability is mainly determined by the spatial forcing. Eco-evolutionary dynamics can increase the persistence of classical metapopulations. The maintenance of evolutionary dynamics in spatially structured populations is thus not only essential in the face of environmental change; it also generates feedbacks that impact metapopulation persistence. Data-archive Metadata population dynamics in artificial metapopulations data are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://dx.doi. org/10.5061/dryad.18r5f (De Roissart, Wang & Bonte 2015). Modeling code is available on: https://github.ugent. be/pages/dbonte/eco_evo-metapop/ (ODD protocol in supplementary material)
Functional and structural liver abnormalities in former PCB exposed workers – analyses from the HELPcB cohort

ABSTRACT The effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) on liver function and structure are still under debate. Although higher transaminase activity and tumor promoting potential of PCB reported for animal and human studies was suggested, these studies were not able to provide definitive evidence on the ability of these chemicals to affect liver function and contribution to tumor development. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of PCB on liver function and morphology in a cohort of former PCB exposed workers. Over 5 years, a longitudinal analysis of the association between PCB concentration and hepatic transaminases such as alanine transaminase (ALT) aspartate amino transaminase (AST) and gamma glutamyltransferase (γGT), as well as liver size and structure was undertaken. Data demonstrated a significant inverse association between PCB concentration and γGT activity levels but there was no marked relationship with AST and ALT activities. Regarding sonographic examination, a significant association was found between liver size and PCB concentration. This association remained, even after adjusting for alcohol consumption, liver affecting drugs, timespan of internal exposure, or age. No marked correlation was noted between PCB concentration and liver structure changes. In summary, an association was observed between PCB concentration and γGT activity levels as well as liver size in humans. The long-term health consequences attributed to PCB on liver and in particular in tumorigenesis are not foreseeable in our cohort thus far, but remain a focus in further ongoing surveillance.
Current Soccer Footwear, Its Role in Injuries and Potential for Improvement

Abstract Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and generates great financial revenue. It is also a sport whose practice has evolved considerably in terms of intensity and commitment, and in which the intrinsic risk of injury (not directly related to an interaction with the environment) is particularly high. In this context, the cleated shoe as a major component of soccer equipment may play a key role in the overexposure to injury. Soccer shoe evolution is all the more challenging, because design and mechanical structure differ in many points compared to other modern shoes developed for sports such as running, tennis and basketball. This critical review aims to elucidate the characteristics of modern soccer footwear and their possible link to soccer-specific injuries, focusing on the following areas: (1) ergonomics, comfort and proprioception; (2) shoe mechanical characteristics; (3) field surfaces and shoe design.
Prostaglandin E2 in NSAID-exacerbated respiratory disease: protection against cysteinyl leukotrienes and group 2 innate lymphoid cells

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to describe the recent advances that have been made in understanding the protective role of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), known in Europe as NSAID-exacerbated respiratory disease (N-ERD). Recent findings Decreased PGE2 signaling through the EP2 receptor in patients with AERD leads to an increase in leukotriene synthesis and signaling. Leukotriene signaling not only directly activates group 2 innate lymphoid cells and mast cells, but it also increases production of IL-33 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin. These cytokines drive Th2 inflammation in a suspected feed-forward mechanism in patients with AERD. Summary Recent discoveries concerning the role of PGE2 in leukotriene synthesis and signaling in AERD, as well as downstream effects on group 2 innate lymphoid cells and mast cells, allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. These discoveries also identify new paths of potential investigation and possible therapeutic targets for AERD.
Patient-ventilator asynchronies: types, outcomes and nursing detection skills

Background: Mechanical ventilation is often employed as partial ventilatory support where both the patient and the ventilator work together. The ventilator settings should be adjusted to maintain a harmonious patient–ventilator interaction. However, this balance is often altered by many factors able to generate a patient ventilator asynchrony (PVA). The aims of this review were: to identify PVAs, their typologies and classifications; to describe how and to what extent their occurrence can affect the patients’ outcomes; to investigate the levels of nursing skill in detecting PVAs. Methods: Literature review performed on Cochrane Library, Medline and CINAHL databases.Results:1610 records were identified;43 records were included after double blind screening. PVAs have been classified with respect to the phase of the respiratory cycle or based on the circumstance of occurrence. There is agreement on the existence of 7 types of PVAs: ineffective effort, double trigger, premature cycling, delayed cycling, reverse triggering, flow starvation and auto-cycling. PVAs can be identified through the ventilator graphics monitoring of pressure and flow waveforms. The influence on patient outcomes varies greatly among studies but PVAs are mostly associated with poorer outcomes. Adequately trained nurses can learn and retain how to correctly detect PVAs. Conclusions: Since its challenging interpretation and the potential advantages of its implementation, ventilator graphics monitoring can be classified as an advanced competence for ICU nurses. The knowledge and skills to adequately manage PVAs should be provided by specific post-graduate university courses.
CD38 affects the biological behavior and energy metabolism of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common malignant tumor type in Southern China and South-East Asia. Cluster of differentiation (CD)38 is highly expressed in the human immune system and participates in the activation of T, natural killer and plasma cells mediated by CD2 and CD3 through synergistic action. CD38 is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein, which was observed to mediate diverse activities, including signal transduction, cell adhesion and cyclic ADP-ribose synthesis. However, the significance of CD38 in NPC biological behavior and cellular energy metabolism has not been examined. In order to elucidate the effect of CD38 on the biological behavior of NPC cells, stable CD38-overexpressed NPC cell lines were established. It was demonstrated that CD38 promoted NPC cell proliferation with Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays. It was also indicated that CD38 inhibited cell senescence, and promoted cell metastasis. Furthermore, it was determined that CD38 promoted the conversion of cells to the S phase and decreased the content of reactive oxygen species and Ca2+. Additionally, cell metabolism assays demonstrated that CD38 increased the concentration of ATP, lactic acid, cyclic adenosine monophosphate and human ADP/acrp30 concentration in NPC cells. To investigate the possible mechanism, bioinformatics analysis and mass spectrometry technology was used to determine the most notably changing molecule and signaling pathways, and it was determined and verified that CD38 regulated the metabolic-associated signaling pathways associated with tumor protein 53, hypoxia inducible factor-1α and sirtuin 1. The present results indicated that CD38 may serve a carcinogenic role in NPC by regulating metabolic-associated signaling pathways.