Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Swine model of in-stent stenosis in the iliac artery evaluating the serial time course

The aim of this study was to propose a new animal model evaluating the serial time course of in-stent stenosis by repeated carotid artery catheterization in the same animal. 16 bare-metal stents were implanted in the normal external and internal iliac artery of 8 miniature pigs. Repeated measurements were performed in the same animal every 2 weeks for 12 weeks through carotid artery catheterization. The time course and peak neointimal proliferation were evaluated by intravascular ultrasound. Health of all animals was assessed by clinical and hematological examinations. As a result, 7 times of carotid artery catheterization was performed per pig, but all animals remained healthy without both any complications and hematological inflammatory abnormalities. The time course of neointimal proliferation of each stent was observed from the stage of hyperplasia to partial regression. The peak neointimal proliferation varied from 6 to 12 weeks despite implantation of identical stents using the same deployment method. In conclusion, repeated carotid artery catheterization to the same animal is feasible without animal health deterioration. This model should be useful to evaluate the time course of neointimal proliferation after stent deployment in preclinical study.
[Roles of Donor/Recipient Body Surface Area Ratio and Donor Kidney Glomerular Filtration Rate in Kidney Selection for Living Transplantation from Family Members].

Background Accurate assessing donor renal function is crucial to the success of living kidney transplants. We studied the roles of donor kidney glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and donor/recipient body surface area (BSA) ratio in kidney selection for living transplantation from family members. Methods We included 204 recipients who were subjected to living kidney transplantation from family members in our hospital from February 2011 to February 2015 and followed up for over 2 years. Recipients were divided into six groups according to donor GFR and donor/recipient BSA ratio. The effects of donor GFR or donor/recipient BSA ratio on the recovery of renal graft functions were evaluated. Results The post-operative serum creatinine (SCr) reduction rate, steady-state SCr level, and estimated GFR (eGFR) of the group with donor GFR ≥ 40 ml/min were slightly higher to those of the group with donor GFR < 40 ml/min (p > 0.05). The renal function recovery of the group with donor/recipient BSA ratio ≤ 0.8 was significantly lower than that of the group with donor/recipient BSA ratio ≥ 1.2 (p < 0.05). The post-operative SCr reduction rate, steady-state SCr level, and eGFR of the group with GFR < 40 ml/min and donor/recipient BSA ratio ≤ 0.8 were all significantly lower than those of the other five groups (P < 0.05). Such values of the two groups with donor/recipient BSA ratio >1.2 were significantly higher than those of the other four groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions The selection of donor kidneys from relatives for living kidney transplantation should also consider donor/recipient BSA ratio in addition to donor GFR.
Small molecule–based targeting of TTD-A dimerization to control TFIIH transcriptional activity represents a potential strategy for anticancer therapy

The human transcription factor TFIIH is a large complex composed of 10 subunits that form an intricate network of protein–protein interactions critical for regulating its transcriptional and DNA repair activities. The trichothiodystrophy group A protein (TTD-A or p8) is the smallest TFIIH subunit, shuttling between a free and a TFIIH-bound state. Its dimerization properties allow it to shift from a homodimeric state, in the absence of a functional partner, to a heterodimeric structure, enabling dynamic binding to TFIIH. Recruitment of p8 at TFIIH stabilizes the overall architecture of the complex, whereas p8's absence reduces its cellular steady-state concentration and consequently decreases basal transcription, highlighting that p8 dimerization may be an attractive target for down-regulating transcription in cancer cells. Here, using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations to study p8 conformational stability and a >3000-member library of chemical fragments, we identified small-molecule compounds that bind to the dimerization interface of p8 and provoke its destabilization, as assessed by biophysical studies. Using quantitative imaging of TFIIH in living mouse cells, we found that these molecules reduce the intracellular concentration of TFIIH and its transcriptional activity to levels similar to that observed in individuals with trichothiodystrophy owing to mutated TTD-A. Our results provide a proof of concept of fragment-based drug discovery, demonstrating the utility of small molecules for targeting p8 dimerization to modulate the transcriptional machinery, an approach that may help inform further development in anticancer therapies.
How to sample connected K-partitions of a graph

A connected undirected graph $G=(V,E)$ is given. This paper presents an algorithm that samples (non-uniformly) a $K$ partition $U_1,\ldots U_K$ of the graph nodes $V$, such that the subgraph induced by each $U_k$, with $k=1:K$, is connected. Moreover, the probability induced by the algorithm over the set ${\mathcal C}_K$ of all such partitions is obtained in closed form.
The significance of patient participation in nursing care – a concept analysis

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to report on a concept analysis of the meaning of patients' participation. Participation is commonplace in many areas of health care and has become an important issue in healthcare services. Participation is essential when giving nursing care. Challenges exist throughout clinical practice to make the patient a participant in their own care. The study had a caring science perspective. METHOD A literature study based on Walker and Avant's method was used with eight steps. Data were collected using several databases covering the years 1995-2017. The analysis covered fifteen articles, dissertations, reports and textbooks. FINDINGS Patients' participation may be defined as a concept that relates to and includes the three caring science concepts: learning, caring relationship and reciprocity (defining attributes). CONCLUSION Participation is a concept with vague meaning that is prevalent in nursing practice. Patients' participation is a complex concept. By using the attributes, it could be more visible in nursing care. The next question for research in this area is how these three attributes can best practically be achieved in a clinical context.
Nucleotide receptor P2RY4 is required for head formation via induction and maintenance of head organizer in Xenopus laevis

Vertebrates have unique head structures that are mainly composed of the central nervous system, the neural crest, and placode cells. These head structures are brought about initially by the neural induction between the organizer and the prospective neuroectoderm at early gastrula stage. Purinergic receptors are activated by nucleotides released from cells and influence intracellular signaling pathways, such as phospholipase C and adenylate cyclase signaling pathways. As P2Y receptor is vertebrate‐specific and involved in head formation, we expect that its emergence may be related to the acquisition of vertebrate head during evolution. Here, we focused on the role of p2ry4 in early development in Xenopus laevis and found that p2ry4 was required for the establishment of the head organizer during neural induction and contributed to head formation. We showed that p2ry4 was expressed in the head organizer region and the prospective neuroectoderm at early gastrula stage, and was enriched in the head components. Disruption of p2ry4 function resulted in the small head phenotype and the reduced expression of marker genes specific for neuroectoderm and neural border at an early neurula stage. Furthermore, we examined the effect of p2ry4 disruption on the establishment of the head organizer and found that a reduction in the expression of head organizer genes, such as dkk1 and cerberus, and p2ry4 could also induce the ectopic expression of these marker genes. These results suggested that p2ry4 plays a key role in head organizer formation. Our study demonstrated a novel role of p2ry4 in early head development.
Towards Machine Learning on data from Professional Cyclists

Professional sports are developing towards increasingly scientific training methods with increasing amounts of data being collected from laboratory tests, training sessions and competitions. In cycling, it is standard to equip bicycles with small computers recording data from sensors such as power-meters, in addition to heart-rate, speed, altitude etc. Recently, machine learning techniques have provided huge success in a wide variety of areas where large amounts of data (big data) is available. In this paper, we perform a pilot experiment on machine learning to model physical response in elite cyclists. As a first experiment, we show that it is possible to train a LSTM machine learning algorithm to predict the heart-rate response of a cyclist during a training session. This work is a promising first step towards developing more elaborate models based on big data and machine learning to capture performance aspects of athletes.
Understanding Animal Evolution: The Added Value of Sponge Transcriptomics and Genomics

Sponges are important but often‐neglected organisms. The absence of classical animal traits (nerves, digestive tract, and muscles) makes sponges challenging for non‐specialists to work with and has delayed getting high quality genomic data compared to other invertebrates. Yet analyses of sponge genomes and transcriptomes currently available have radically changed our understanding of animal evolution. Sponges are of prime evolutionary importance as one of the best candidates to form the sister group of all other animals, and genomic data are essential to understand the mechanisms that control animal evolution and diversity. Here we review the most significant outcomes of current genomic and transcriptomic analyses of sponges, and discuss limitations and future directions of sponge transcriptomic and genomic studies.
Future Research Directions in the Design of Versatile Extracellular Matrix in Tissue Engineering

Native and artificial extracellular matrices (ECMs) have been widely applied in biomedical fields as one of the most effective components in tissue regeneration. In particular, ECM-based drugs are expected to be applied to treat diseases in organs relevant to urology, because tissue regeneration is particularly important for preventing the recurrence of these diseases. Native ECMs provide a complex in vivo architecture and native physical and mechanical properties that support high biocompatibility. However, the applications of native ECMs are limited due to their tissue-specificity and chemical complexity. Artificial ECMs have been fabricated in an attempt to create a broadly applicable scaffold by using controllable components and a uniform formulation. On the other hands, artificial ECMs fail to mimic the properties of a native ECM; consequently, their applications in tissues are also limited. For that reason, the design of a versatile, hybrid ECM that can be universally applied to various tissues is an emerging area of interest in the biomedical field.
Impact of the Treating Hospital on Care Outcomes for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Multidisciplinary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment is associated with optimal outcomes. There are few data analyzing the impact of treating hospitals' therapeutic offerings on survival. We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18‐70 years with HCC in the National Cancer Database (2004‐2012). Hospitals were categorized based on the level of treatment offered (Type I—nonsurgical; Type II—ablation; Type III—resection; Type IV—transplant). Associations between overall risk of death and hospital type were evaluated with multivariable Cox shared frailty modeling. Among 50,381 patients, 65% received care in Type IV hospitals, 26% in Type III, 3% in Type II, and 6% in Type I. Overall 5‐year survival across modalities was highest at Type IV hospitals (untreated: Type IV—13.1% versus Type I—5.7%, Type II—7.0%, Type III—7.4% [log‐rank, P < 0.001]; chemotherapy and/or radiation: Type IV—18.1% versus Type I—3.6%, Type II—4.6%, Type III—7.7% [log‐rank, P < 0.001]; ablation: Type IV—33.3% versus Type II—13.6%, Type III—23.6% [log‐rank, P < 0.001]; resection: Type IV—48.4% versus Type III—39.1% [log‐rank, P < 0.001]). Risk of death demonstrated a dose‐response relationship with the hospital type—Type I (ref); Type II (hazard ratio [HR] 0.81, 95% confidence interval [0.73‐0.90]); Type III (HR 0.67 [0.62‐0.72]); Type IV hospitals (HR 0.43 [0.39‐0.47]). Conclusion: Although care at hospitals offering the full complement of HCC treatments is associated with decreased risk of death, one third of patients are not treated at these hospitals. These data can inform the value of health policy initiatives regarding regionalization of HCC care.
Drone Detection Using Depth Maps

Obstacle avoidance is a key feature for safe Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) navigation. While solutions have been proposed for static obstacle avoidance, systems enabling avoidance of dynamic objects, such as drones, are hard to implement due to the detection range and field-of-view (FOV) requirements, as well as the constraints for integrating such systems on-board small UAVs. In this work, a dataset of 6k synthetic depth maps of drones has been generated and used to train a state-of-the-art deep learning-based drone detection model. While many sensing technologies can only provide relative altitude and azimuth of an obstacle, our depth map-based approach enables full 3D localization of the obstacle. This is extremely useful for collision avoidance, as 3D localization of detected drones is key to perform efficient collision-free path planning. The proposed detection technique has been validated in several real depth map sequences, with multiple types of drones flying at up to 2 m/s, achieving an average precision of 98.7 %, an average recall of 74.7 % and a record detection range of 9.5 meters.
A Review of Distribution of Atherosclerosis in the Lower Limb Arteries of Patients With Diabetes Mellitus and Peripheral Vascular Disease

Objective: There is a generally accepted hypothesis that patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a higher burden of atherosclerotic disease below the knee compared to patients without DM (NDM). The aim of this review was to summarize the evidence regarding this hypothesis. Methods: The literature was searched for papers that compared the anatomical distribution of atherosclerotic disease in patients with DM and those without using radiological imaging. Search terms used included “diabetes mellitus,” “peripheral vascular disease,” “distribution of disease,” “angiography,” “computed tomography angiography,” and “magnetic resonance angiography. ” Where possible, the number of patients with disease in each arterial segment was extracted and included in a forest plot. A descriptive approach was taken when this was not possible or a scoring system was used. Results: Fourteen studies were included in the review and it was possible to summarize data from 9 of these in a forest plot. Fifteen different arterial segments were described; however, the most commonly used segments that differentiated between proximal and distal disease were aortoiliac (A-I; DM = 466 patients, NDM = 458), femoropopliteal (F-P; DM = 568, NDM = 585), tibial (DM = 306, NDM = 417). The resulting forest plot showed that those with DM were significantly less likely to have disease in the A-I segment (odds ratio [OR]: 0.25 [0.15-0.42]) and significantly more likely to have disease in the tibial segment (OR 1.94 [1.27-2.96]). In the DM group, there was a trend toward relative sparing in the F-P segment, but this does not reach significance (0.66 [0.33-1.31]). Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis that patients with DM are more likely to have atherosclerotic disease in the tibial vessels than NDM. There is however limited information on how individual vessels are affected. Further information on this and a greater understanding of why the distal vessels are more affected are avenues for future research.
Fractal analysis of heart rate variability as a predictor of mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Previous studies have suggested benefits of applying fractal analysis to intervals between R waves in electrocardiography as an additional prognostic marker. The aim of this study was to investigate whether fractal analysis can provide an independent predictor of cardiac mortality or all-cause mortality. Prognostic cohort studies reporting fractal heart rate variability results from 24-h Holter monitor recordings were selected for comparison. Populations were subdivided into four groups-post-myocardial infarction, left ventricular dysfunction, other cardiac, and non-cardiac patients-and analysed using ANOVA, Forest plots (using pooled mean difference), and Funnel plots. The most significant mean differences were recorded in short-term fractal self-similarity (α1) (-0.17, 95% CI [-0.21, -0.13], p < 0.00001) and the traditional measure called standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN) (-13.31, 95% CI [-18.89, -7.73], p < 0.00001) between the deceased and survivor groups. Fractal measures of long-term fractal self-similarity (α2), 1/f scaling (β), and traditional heart rate variability measures of high frequency to low frequency ratio show promise. This review indicated that fractal measure α1 and traditional measure SDNN could be potential predictors of mortality, but require further assessment to determine appropriate thresholds for clinical significance and additional targeted prognostic studies to properly define their applicability as prognostic markers. Therefore, clinicians should interpret fractal and traditional measures with caution since such measures have yet to be fully described as biomarkers for clinical application.
TGF-β1 upregulates the expression of lncRNA UCA1 and its downstream HXK2 to promote the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE TGF-β1 plays pivotal roles in the development of various malignancies such as hepatocellular carcinoma, while the mechanism of the TGF-β1 function in hepatocellular carcinoma remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the TGF-β1 function in hepatocellular carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Tumor tissues and adjacent healthy tissues were collected from hepatocellular carcinoma. Blood samples were collected from both hepatocellular carcinoma patients and healthy controls. Expression of TGF-β1, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) UCA1 and hexokinase 2 (HXK2) in those tissues was detected by qRT-PCR. All patients were followed up for 5 years, and prognostic values of serum HOTAIR for hepatocellular carcinoma were investigated by survival curve analysis. TGF-β1, UCA1, and HXK2 overexpression hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines were established, and the effects on cell proliferation were detected by the CCK-8 assay. Interactions between TGF-β1, UCA1, and HXK2 were explored by Western blot. Effects of TGF-β1 on lactate production, glucose uptake, and ATP production were detected by lactate assay, glucose uptake assay, and ATP assay. RESULTS TGF-β1, UCA1, and HXK2 expression levels were upregulated in tumor tissues comparing with adjacent healthy tissues. Serum levels of TGF-β1, UCA1, and HXK2 increased with the increases of primary tumor stage. Patients that have high serum levels of TGF-β1, UCA1, and HXK2 showed lower overall survival rate compared with patients with low serum levels of TGF-β1, UCA1, and HXK2. TGF-β1, UCA1, and HXK2 overexpression promoted proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cell. TGF-β1 is a positive upstream regulator of UCA1, which is a positive upstream regulator of HXK2. TGF-β1 overexpression increased lactate production, glucose uptake and ATP production in hepatocellular carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS TGF-β1 may accelerate cancer cell energy metabolism to promote the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating UCA1 and its downstream HXK2.
Prenatal stress and models explaining risk for psychopathology revisited: Generic vulnerability and divergent pathways

Abstract The present review revisits three hypothesized models that potentially could explain how prenatal maternal stress influences fetal development, birth outcomes, and subsequent developmental psychopathology. These models were mostly based on animal models, and new evidence for these models from human studies is evaluated. Furthermore, divergent trajectories from prenatal exposure to adversities to offspring affected outcomes are reviewed, including the comparison of studies on prenatal maternal stress with research on maternal substance use and maternal malnutrition during pregnancy. Finally, new directions in research on the mechanism underlying prenatal stress effects on human offspring is summarized. While it is concluded that there is abundant evidence for the negative associations between prenatal maternal stress and offspring behavioral, brain, and psychopathological outcomes in humans, there is no consistent evidence for specific mechanisms or specific outcomes in relation to stress exposure in utero. Rather, principles of multifinality and equifinality best describe the consequences for the offspring, suggesting a generic vulnerability and different pathways from prenatal adversities to developmental psychopathology, which complicates the search for underlying mechanisms. New and promising directions for research are provided to get a better understanding of how prenatal stress gets under the skin to affect fetal development.
A review of 571 radiographs on Tuffier's inter-cristal line and its' application in lumbar spinal surgery.

Background Tuffier's line (TL) is an anatomical landmark used to identify the L4/5 interspace by palpating inter-cristal level in lumbar spinal surgery. The routine use of pre-operative pre-incision radiographs for level check by spinal surgeons is variable due to reliance on this palpation. The anatomical violation of neighbouring normal levels in microscope assisted lumbar surgery is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of patient-related demographic factors and radiographic parameters on TL in a cohort of patients undergoing lumbar spinal procedures. Methods We retrospectively analysed 195 patients (571 radiographs) from a spinal database undergoing lumbar spinal procedures included nerve root injections, decompressions, micro-discectomies and instrumented fusions under a single surgeon. Radiographs were analysed with regard to age, gender, radiographic views (AP & lateral) and weight-bearing (wb) & non-weight bearing (non-wb). Results The mean age was 59.8 years (range, 24-88 years). The most common level of TL was L4 vertebra (40% <60; 44% >60 years). The most common level in females was L5, while in males L4 vertebra. In 186 radiographs, 68% displayed a difference of at least one vertebral level on AP versus lateral planes. In 11 patients, there was at least 1 level vertebral difference between weight bearing & non-weight bearing radiographs. Conclusions TL can be affected by age, gender, radiographic views and weight bearing status variably. We recommend employing pre-incision radiographs in all microscope assisted lumbar spinal procedures to eliminate the clinical variations in inter-cristal line and thereby avoiding anatomical violation of neighbouring normal levels in microscope-assisted lumbar surgery. We highlight such variations in inter-cristal line should be given enough consideration in order to avoid a wrong level surgery. Palpatory method for level check without performing pre-incision lateral X-ray should be discouraged.