Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Confirming a beneficial effect of the six-minute walk test on exercise confidence in patients with heart failure

Background: Low confidence to exercise is a barrier to engaging in exercise in heart failure patients. Participating in low to moderate intensity exercise, such as the six-minute walk test, may increase exercise confidence. Aim: To compare the effects of a six-minute walk test with an educational control condition on exercise confidence in heart failure patients. Methods: This was a prospective, quasi-experimental design whereby consecutive adult patients attending an out-patient heart failure clinic completed the Exercise Confidence Scale prior to and following involvement in the six-minute walk test or an educational control condition. Results: Using a matched pairs, mixed model design (n=60; 87% male; Mage=58.87±13.16), we identified a significantly greater improvement in Total exercise confidence (F(1,54)=4.63, p=0.036, partial η2=0.079) and Running confidence (F(1,57)=4.21, p=0. 045, partial η2=0.069) following the six-minute walk test compared to the educational control condition. These benefits were also observed after adjustment for age, gender, functional class and depression. Conclusion: Heart failure patients who completed a six-minute walk test reported greater improvement in exercise confidence than those who read an educational booklet for 10 min. The findings suggest that the six-minute walk test may be used as a clinical tool to improve exercise confidence. Future research should test these results under randomized conditions and examine whether improvements in exercise confidence translate to greater engagement in exercise behavior.
Food Components and Dietary Habits: Keys for a Healthy Gut Microbiota Composition

The gut microbiota is a changing ecosystem, containing trillions of bacteria, continuously shaped by many factors, such as dietary habits, seasonality, lifestyle, stress, antibiotics use, or diseases. A healthy host–microorganisms balance must be respected in order to optimally maintain the intestinal barrier and immune system functions and, consequently, prevent disease development. In the past several decades, the adoption of modern dietary habits has become a growing health concern, as it is strongly associated with obesity and related metabolic diseases, promoting inflammation and both structural and behavioral changes in gut microbiota. In this context, novel dietary strategies are emerging to prevent diseases and maintain health. However, the consequences of these different diets on gut microbiota modulation are still largely unknown, and could potentially lead to alterations of gut microbiota, intestinal barrier, and the immune system. The present review aimed to focus on the impact of single food components (macronutrients and micronutrients), salt, food additives, and different dietary habits (i.e., vegan and vegetarian, gluten-free, ketogenic, high sugar, low FODMAP, Western-type, and Mediterranean diets) on gut microbiota composition in order to define the optimal diet for a healthy modulation of gut microbiota.
Vascular endothelium damage from catheter-induced mechanical stimulation causes catheter sleeve formation in a rabbit model

Background: Intravenous catheters are widely used but are often removed due to complications associated with catheter sleeve formation. A catheter sleeve can develop from a thrombus, and catheter-induced vascular endothelium damage may be a critical factor for thrombus formation. We investigated the effect of catheter-induced mechanical stimulation on venous endothelial cells and catheter sleeve formation and the efficacy of anti-thrombogenic technology for preventing catheter sleeve formation in vivo. Methods: We surgically implanted poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate)-coated and uncoated catheters with and without a stylet into the right external jugular vein of a rabbit model for 14 days. Catheter sleeve formation and the ratio of residual venous endothelial cells were compared using histological examination and immunostaining with an anti-CD31 antibody, respectively. Results: Stiffening an uncoated catheter with a stylet induced catheter sleeve formation along more than two-thirds of the length of the catheter. The ratios of residual venous endothelial cells at the tip of uncoated catheters with and without a stylet were 3% and 36%, respectively. While poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) coating also reduced the ratio of venous endothelial cells at the tip of the stiffened catheter (12%), it prevented external thrombus and catheter sleeve formation. Conclusion: High levels of mechanical stimulation can affect catheter-related thrombosis and promote catheter sleeve formation, and anti-thrombogenic technology such as a poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) coating reduces thrombus formation and can prevent catheter sleeve formation on stiffened catheters. Further studies are required to determine the maximum degree of venous endothelial cell damage before catheter sleeve formation and to compare other anti-thrombogenic technologies with poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) for preventing catheter sleeve formation.
Relation of Fruits and Vegetables with Major Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Markers of Oxidation, and Inflammation

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are considered to be the leading cause of death worldwide. Inadequate fruit and vegetable intake have been recognized as a risk factor for almost all NCDs (type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases). The main aim of this review is to examine the possible protective effect that fruit and vegetable consumption or their bioactive compounds may have on the development of NCDs such as atherosclerosis. The accumulated evidence on the protective effects of adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables in some cases, or the lack of evidence in others, are summarized in the present review. The main conclusion of this review is that well-designed, large-scale, long-term studies are needed to truly understand the role fruit and vegetable consumption or their bioactive compounds have in atherosclerosis.
Monitoring of Fiber-Reinforced Composite Single-Lap Joint with Electromechanical Impedance of Piezoelectric Transducer

The single-lap joint of fiber-reinforced composites is a common structure in the field of structure repair, which has excellent mechanical properties. To study and monitor its quasi-static response behavior under external load, two methodologies called effective structural mechanical impedance (ESMI) and reduced-ESMI (R-ESMI) are presented in this article. A two-dimensional electromechanical impedance (EMI) model for a surface-bonded square piezoelectric transducer (PZT) is adopted to extract more sensitive signatures from the measured raw signatures. There are two major advantages of the monitoring scheme based on ESMI and R-ESMI signatures: (1) excellent monitoring results with less signatures to process, (2) the ability to monitor the quasi-static behavior of a single-lap joint with previously ignored susceptance signatures. Combining the extracted ESMI signatures with the index of root-mean-square deviation, the quasi-static behavior of single-lap joints can be effectively quantified. To test the effectiveness of ESMI methodology, verifying experiments were conducted. The experimental results convincingly demonstrated that the presented ESMI and R-ESMI methodologies have good feasibility in monitoring the quasi-static behavior of a fiber-reinforced composite single-lap joint. The proposed method has potential application in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM).
A step closer to nationwide electronic health record-based chronic disease surveillance: characterizing asthma prevalence and emergency department utilization from 100 million patient records through a novel multisite collaboration

OBJECTIVE The study sought to assess the feasibility of nationwide chronic disease surveillance using data aggregated through a multisite collaboration of customers of the same electronic health record (EHR) platform across the United States. MATERIALS AND METHODS An independent confederation of customers of the same EHR platform proposed and guided the development of a program that leverages native EHR features to allow customers to securely contribute de-identified data regarding the prevalence of asthma and rate of asthma-associated emergency department visits to a vendor-managed repository. Data were stratified by state, age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Results were qualitatively compared with national survey-based estimates. RESULTS The program accumulated information from 100 million health records from over 130 healthcare systems in the United States over its first 14 months. All states were represented, with a median coverage of 22.88% of an estimated state's population (interquartile range, 12.05%-42.24%). The mean monthly prevalence of asthma was 5.27 ± 0.11%. The rate of asthma-associated emergency department visits was 1.39 ± 0.08%. Both measures mirrored national survey-based estimates. DISCUSSION By organizing the program around native features of a shared EHR platform, we were able to rapidly accumulate population level measures from a sizeable cohort of health records, with representation from every state. The resulting data allowed estimates of asthma prevalence that were comparable to data from traditional epidemiologic surveys at both geographic and demographic levels. CONCLUSIONS Our initiative demonstrates the potential of intravendor customer collaboration and highlights an organizational approach that complements other data aggregation efforts seeking to achieve nationwide EHR-based chronic disease surveillance.
Identifying genetic lineages through shape: An example in a cosmopolitan marine turtle species using geometric morphometrics

The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a globally distributed marine species whose evolutionary history has been molded by geological events and oceanographic and climate changes. Divergence between Atlantic and Pacific clades has been associated with the uplift of the Panama Isthmus, and inside the Pacific region, a biogeographic barrier located west of Hawaii has restricted the gene flow between Central/Eastern and Western Pacific populations. We investigated the carapace shape of C. mydas from individuals of Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Western Pacific genetic lineages using geometric morphometrics to evaluate congruence between external morphology and species’ phylogeography. Furthermore, we assessed the variation of carapace shape according to foraging grounds. Three morphologically distinctive groups were observed which aligned with predictions based on the species’ lineages, suggesting a substantial genetic influence on carapace shape. Based on the relationship between this trait and genetic lineages, we propose the existence of at least three distinct morphotypes of C. mydas. Well-defined groups in some foraging grounds (Galapagos, Costa Rica and New Zealand) may suggest that ecological or environmental conditions in these sites could also be influencing carapace shape in C. mydas. Geometric morphometrics is a suitable tool to differentiate genetic lineages in this cosmopolitan marine species. Consequently, this study opens new possibilities to explore and test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses in species with wide morphological variation and broad geographic distribution range.
SWARAM

Treatment of patients using high-quality precision medicine requires a thorough understanding of the genetic composition of a patient. Ideally, the identification of unique variations in an individual’s genome is needed for specifying the necessary treatment. Variant calling workflow is a pipeline of tools, integrating state of the art software systems aimed at alignment, sorting and variant calling for the whole genome sequencing (WGS) data. This pipeline is utilized for identifying unique variations in an individual’s genome (compared to a reference genome). Currently, such a workflow is implemented on high-performance computers (with additional GPUs or FPGAs) or in cloud computers. Such systems are large, have a high cost, and rely on the internet for genome data transfer which makes the system unusable in remote locations unequipped with internet connectivity. It further raises privacy concerns due to processing being carried out in a different facility. To overcome such limitations, in this paper, for the first time, we present a cost-efficient, offline, scalable, portable, and energy-efficient computing system named SWARAM for variant calling workflow processing. The system uses novel architecture and algorithms to match against partial reference genomes to exploit smaller memory sizes which are typically available in tiny processing systems. Extensive tests on a standard benchmark data-set (NA12878 Illumina platinum genome) confirm that the time consumed for the data transfer and completing variant calling workflow on SWARAM was competitive to that of a 32-core Intel Xeon server with similar accuracy, but costs less than a fifth, and consumes less than 40% of the energy of the server system. The original scripts and code we developed for executing the variant calling workflow on SWARAM are available in the associated Github repository https://github.com/Rammohanty/swaram.
Exercise and microstructural changes in the motor cortex of older adults

Exercise has been shown to counteract age‐related volume decreases in the human brain, and in this imaging study, we ask whether the same holds true for the microstructure of the cortex. Healthy older adults (n = 47, 65–90 years old) either exercised three times a week on a stationary bike or maintained their usual physical routine over a 12‐week period. Quantitative longitudinal relaxation rate (R1) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) maps were made at baseline and after the 12‐week intervention. R1 is commonly taken to reflect cortical myelin density. The change in R1 (ΔR1) was significantly increased in a region of interest (ROI) in the primary motor cortex containing motor outputs to the leg musculature in the exercise group relative to the control group (p = .04). The change in R1 in this ROI correlated with an increase in oxygen consumption at the first ventilatory threshold (VT1) (p = .04), a marker of improvement in submaximal aerobic performance. An exploratory analysis across the cortex suggested that the correlation was predominately confined to the leg representation in the motor cortex. This study suggests that microstructural declines in the cortex of older adults may be staved off by exercise.
Highly esteemed science: An analysis of attitudes towards and perceived attributes of science in letters to the editor in two Dutch newspapers

Understanding attitudes towards science is crucial to safeguard the future of science, the application of its results and the inclusivity of decision-making processes related to science and technology. Most studies focus on attributes of social groups to explain attitudes towards science. In this study, we aim to move the discussion forward by focusing on perceived attributes of science itself by analysing over 300 letters to the editor in two Dutch national newspapers. The authors of these letters express a large degree of trust in science as a source of societal progress, if research is conducted according to a specific set of rules. Yet, they believe that these rules are under attack. The interests of universities as organizations and individual academics as well as the involvement of industry and government in research are perceived as conflicting with these rules. We conclude with recommendations for further research and practice.
Advanced Proteomics as a Powerful Tool for Studying Toxins of Human Bacterial Pathogens

Exotoxins contribute to the infectious processes of many bacterial pathogens, mainly by causing host tissue damages. The production of exotoxins varies according to the bacterial species. Recent advances in proteomics revealed that pathogenic bacteria are capable of simultaneously producing more than a dozen exotoxins. Interestingly, these toxins may be subject to post-transcriptional modifications in response to environmental conditions. In this review, we give an outline of different bacterial exotoxins and their mechanism of action. We also report how proteomics contributed to immense progress in the study of toxinogenic potential of pathogenic bacteria over the last two decades.
Causality analysis between collaboration profiles and musical success

Current research in music collaboration networks has established that social interaction can impact the music industry's trajectory. In a previous study, we found that the way artists connect professionally may affect their musical success. Subsequently, our goal is to deepen such analyses by using time series and Granger causality test for assessing whether there is a causal relationship between collaboration profiles and artist's popularity. Our experimental evaluation reveals varied relationships linking collaboration profiles and musical success, indicating a direct connection between these two factors analyzed.
Providing Pre-exposure Prophylaxis in Family Planning Centers: A Survey of Provider Knowledge and Attitudes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) has estimated that 19% of HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2017 were in women, and these infections were primarily transmitted through heterosexual contact. Fifty-nine percent of women diagnosed with HIV were Black, and approximately one in two Black transgender women were living with HIV, demonstrating that Black women bear a disproportionate burden of disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada®, a single daily pill to prevent HIV as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), but PrEP uptake in the United States remains low, with differences in use by race, ethnicity, and gender. Among PrEP users nationally, only 5% are women (Huang, Zhu, Smith, Harris, & Hoover, 2018). Despite research suggesting a high interest in and acceptability of PrEP by women who are informed about PrEP, awareness among women and their health care providers remains low and uptake may be further hindered by structural barriers and stigma (Calabrese et al., 2018; Collier, Colarossi, & Sanders, 2017; Garfinkel, Alexander, McDonald-Mosley, Willie, & Decker, 2017). Family planning providers may be well-situated to providePrEP, and theCenters forDiseaseControl and Prevention and the Office of Population Affairs have recommended that HIV prevention, screening, and treatment be integrated into family planning care (Gavin et al., 2014). Reproductive health care providers are also accustomed to discussing sexual activity andmedication adherence and using shared decision-making strategies, making them ideal providers to offer HIV prevention services aligned with patient preferences (Pollock & Levison, 2018; Seidman, Weber, Carlson, & Witt, 2018). Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in partnership with the Black AIDS Institute, developed staff training and patient education resources for affiliates to enhance their capacity to provide HIV prevention education and services tailored to the unique needs of their health centers and communities. The objective of our study was to understand provider knowledge of, attitudes toward, and comfort with delivering PrEP at Planned Parenthood health centers providing PrEP services.
The successful use of extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation as rescue therapy for unilateral pulmonary edema following minimally invasive mitral valve surgery

Unilateral right pulmonary edema has been reported as a potential life-threatening complication after minimally invasive mitral valve surgery. Nearly 2% of these cases in the immediate postoperative period have been reported to require extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation support as a rescue therapy for severe hypoxia. The exact pathophysiology of this condition remains unclear, but has been assumed to be related to ischemia–reperfusion injury and re-expansion pulmonary edema. We present in this report the successful use of extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation to manage two cases of severe hypoxia and multiorgan dysfunction secondary to unilateral right pulmonary edema.
Elastic Mechanical Properties of 45S5-Based Bioactive Glass–Ceramic Scaffolds †

Porosity is recognized to play a key role in dictating the functional properties of bioactive scaffolds, especially the mechanical performance of the material. The mechanical suitability of brittle ceramic and glass scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications is usually evaluated on the basis of the compressive strength alone, which is relatively easy to assess. This work aims to investigate the porosity dependence of the elastic properties of silicate scaffolds based on the 45S5 composition. Highly porous glass–ceramic foams were fabricated by the sponge replica method and their elastic modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio were experimentally determined by the impulse excitation technique; furthermore, the failure strength was quantified by compressive tests. As the total fractional porosity increased from 0.52 to 0.86, the elastic and shear moduli decreased from 16.5 to 1.2 GPa and from 6.5 to 0.43 GPa, respectively; the compressive strength was also found to decrease from 3.4 to 0.58 MPa, whereas the Poisson’s ratio increased from 0.2692 to 0.3953. The porosity dependences of elastic modulus, shear modulus and compressive strength obeys power-law models, whereas the relationship between Poisson’s ratio and porosity can be described by a linear approximation. These relations can be useful to optimize the design and fabrication of porous biomaterials as well as to predict the mechanical properties of the scaffolds.
Broadcast Audio Transmission for Bluetooth LE on an Interfered ISM Band

The isochronous channel is a new feature of the next version of Bluetooth 5.0 and has been developed to enable audio transmission using Bluetooth low energy. This feature will include a scheme for audio broadcasting in public areas and in homes and office environments. However, this technology has only employed an <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-repetition scheme for the broadcast method. In this scheme, the energy efficiency of the master device, which generally broadcasts audio data in cycles, can be increasingly aggravated owing to unnecessary retransmissions, even if the radio channel is not congested. To provide a solution, in this paper, an energy detection-based broadcast scheme is proposed using an appropriate analysis model based on a stochastic method to find the optimal retransmission number, where heterogeneous Wi-Fi communications coexist on the same 2.4-GHz band. The evaluation is also presented, wherein the experimental results are compared to the standard <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-repetition scheme in the same environment.