Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feasibility and Acceptability of Fear-Less: A Stepped-Care Program to Manage Fear of Cancer Recurrence in People with Metastatic Melanoma

Immunotherapies and targeted therapies have revolutionised treatment of metastatic melanoma and improved survival rates. However, survivors treated with novel therapies are vulnerable to high levels of fear of cancer recurrence or progression (FCR). Existing FCR interventions have rarely been trialled in people with advanced cancer. The current study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of Fear-Less: a stepped-care model to treat FCR in people with metastatic melanoma treated with immunotherapy or targeted therapy. Sixty-one outpatients with metastatic melanoma were screened using the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory Short Form (FCRI-SF) and Fear of Progression Questionnaire Short Form (FoP-Q-SF). Survivors with subthreshold FCR were stratified to a self-management intervention while those with clinical levels of FCR were provided with an individual therapy, Conquer Fear. Survivor experience surveys and rescreening were administered post-intervention completion. Results indicated that Fear-Less was an acceptable and feasible FCR intervention. Results provided preliminary support for the potential impact of Fear-Less in reducing FCR. Fear-Less is a promising first step in providing an acceptable and feasible stepped-care model to treat FCR in survivors with metastatic disease.
Climatic Gradients in Woody Plant Species Richness: Towards an Explanation Based on an Analysis of Southern Africa's Woody Flora

A vented battery cap is provided which is adapted to engage at least one of a plurality of fill holes in an automotive storage battery or similar lead acid battery and which has pressure release means for venting the combustible gases produced within that storage battery under conditions such as overcharge conditions into the atmosphere, said pressure release means comprising a plurality of extremely narrow slits having widths in the order of 0.003 to 0.005 of an inch. The remainder of the battery cap is tightly sealed to prevent any extraneous leaks of battery gases received from the automotive battery from leaking into the atmosphere. The slits are so constructed to facilitate the safe expulsion of any volume of gas normally produced by an automotive storage battery, while virtually eliminating the likelihood that ignition of gases within the atmosphere will result in explosive consequences either within the battery cap or within the battery itself.
Pulmonary disease is associated with human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1c infection: a cross-sectional survey in remote Aboriginal Australian communities.

BACKGROUND The human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) subtype c is endemic to central Australia. We report the first large-scale, community-based, health survey of HTLV-1 and its disease associations in this setting. METHODS Aboriginal community residents aged >2 years in seven remote communities were invited to do a health survey that included a questionnaire, spirometry and clinical examination by a physician blinded to HTLV-1 status, clinical records and spirometry results. Blood was drawn for HTLV-1 serology and proviral load (PVL). Pulmonary disease was assessed clinically and spirometrically and, where records were available, radiologically after the clinical assessment. Associations between specific diseases and HTLV-1 status were determined using logistic regression, adjusting for available confounders. RESULTS Overall, 579 residents (children aged 3-17, 164; adults, 415) were examined (37.7% of the estimated resident population). HTLV-1 prevalences for children and adults were 6.1% and 39.3%, respectively. No associations were found between HTLV-1 and any assessed clinical condition among children. Chronic pulmonary disease and gait abnormalities were more common among adults with HTLV-1 infection. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR)(95% CI) among participants with PVL ≥ 1000 per 10 5 PBL were 7.08 (2.67, 18.74; p<0.001), 9.81 (3.52, 27.35; p<0.001) and 14.4 (4.99, 41.69; p<0.001) for clinically defined chronic pulmonary disease, moderate-severe expiratory airflow limitation and radiologically determined bronchiectasis/bronchiolitis, respectively, and 5.21 (1.50, 18.07; p=0.009) for gait abnormalities. CONCLUSION In the first study of HTLV-1 disease associations based on community recruitment and blinded assessment, HTLV-1 infection was strongly associated with pulmonary disease and gait abnormalities.
Does Curved Walking Sharpen the Assessment of Gait Disorders? An Instrumented Approach Based on Wearable Inertial Sensors

Gait and balance assessment in the clinical context mainly focuses on straight walking. Despite that curved trajectories and turning are commonly faced in our everyday life and represent a challenge for people with gait disorders. The adoption of curvilinear trajectories in the rehabilitation practice could have important implications for the definition of protocols tailored on individual’s needs. The aim of this study was to contribute toward the quantitative characterization of straight versus curved walking using an ecological approach and focusing on healthy and neurological populations. Twenty healthy adults (control group (CG)) and 20 patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) (9 severe, sTBI-S, and 11 very severe, sTBI-VS) performed a 10 m and a Figure-of-8 Walk Test while wearing four inertial sensors that were located on both tibiae, sternum and pelvis. Spatiotemporal and gait quality indices that were related to locomotion stability, symmetry, and smoothness were obtained. The results show that spatiotemporal, stability, and symmetry-related gait patterns are challenged by curved walking both in healthy subjects and sTBI-S, whereas no difference was displayed for sTBI-VS. The use of straight walking alone to assess gait disorders is thus discouraged, particularly in patients with good walking abilities, in favor of the adoption of complementary tests that were also based on curved paths.
Highly Sensitive Localized Surface Plasmon Polariton Based D-Type Twin-Hole Photonic Crystal Fiber Microbiosensor: Enhanced Scheme for SERS Reinforcement

The emerging development of sensing technology initiates innovative sensors achieving low-cost to facilitate practical realization. An interesting crush of the work is to propose a simple structural sensor and to analyze the different schemes of the metal coating by stimulated emission of Raman scattering (SERS) intensification. For the first time, we propose a simple geometrical photonic crystal fiber refractive index based sensor (PCF-RIBS) with three different Schemes A, B, and C, i.e., gold (A) layer-coated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based D-type PCF-RIBS; Au with titanium-di-oxide (TiO2) layer-coated SPR D-type PCF-RIBS; and Au + TiO2 grating-coated localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) D-type PCF-RIBS. Characterizing the three different Schemes A, B, and C using finite element method simulation shows, a maximum wavelength sensitivity of 48,000 nm/RIU, 52,000 nm/RIU and 75,000 nm/RIU, respectively, for a wide range of analyte-refractive index from 1.33 to 1.45 and operates in the wavelength range from 500–2000 nm. Of all the Schemes, Scheme C is found to excite a relatively larger number of surface-plasmons. Eventually, it exhibits improved sensing performances compared to SPR based Schemes A and B. Consequently, it would turn out to be an appropriate candidate to detect a broad range of biological and chemical sample detection.
Targeting the BAF complex in advanced prostate cancer

ABSTRACT Introduction The BRG1/BRM associated factors (BAF) complex is a chromatin remodeling SWI/SNF which is mutated in 20% of cancers. This complex has many interchangeable subunits which may have oncogenic or tumor suppressor activity in a context-dependent manner. The BAF complex is mutated in 35–50% of metastatic prostate cancer (PC); however, its role in advanced disease is unclear. This review attempts to consolidate current knowledge of the BAF complex in PC and explore potential therapeutic approaches. Areas covered This review covers the known roles of some BAF subunits, their alterations, and the models which best explain their mechanisms in driving PC. Following this, the authors provide their expert perspective on how this complex could be targeted in the future with a personalized medicine approach. Expert opinion Personalized medicine would allow for patient stratification to exploit synthetic lethal strategies in targeting a mutated BAF complex as shown experimentally in other cancers. BAF dependency can also be targeted in patients stratified for other molecular markers such as BRG1 targeting in phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) deficient PC.
Precise Control of Perovskite Crystallization Kinetics via Sequential A‐Site Doping

Two‐step‐fabricated FAPbI3‐based perovskites have attracted increasing attention because of their excellent film quality and reproducibility. However, the underlying film formation mechanism remains mysterious. Here, the crystallization kinetics of a benchmark FAPbI3‐based perovskite film with sequential A‐site doping of Cs+ and GA+ is revealed by in situ X‐ray scattering and first‐principles calculations. Incorporating Cs+ in the first step induces an alternative pathway from δ‐CsPbI3 to perovskite α‐phase, which is energetically more favorable than the conventional pathways from PbI2. However, pinholes are formed due to the nonuniform nucleation with sparse δ‐CsPbI3 crystals. Fortunately, incorporating GA+ in the second step can not only promote the phase transition from δ‐CsPbI3 to the perovskite α‐phase, but also eliminate pinholes via Ostwald ripening and enhanced grain boundary migration, thus boosting efficiencies of perovskite solar cells over 23%. This work demonstrates the unprecedented advantage of the two‐step process over the one‐step process, allowing a precise control of the perovskite crystallization kinetics by decoupling the crystal nucleation and growth process.
An Evaluation of the Protein and Lysine Requirement for Broiler Breeder Hens

Abstract An experiment was conducted to evaluate the protein and lysine (Lys) requirement of broiler breeder hens. Supplemental Lys was evaluated in deficient diets to determine its effect on performance. Seven experimental diets were used. Corn and soybean meal levels were varied to obtain daily Lys intakes of 938, 848, 804, 760, 715, 674, and 626 mg/hen/day with protein intakes of 20, 44, 19.16, 18.56, 17.95, 17.32, 16.72 and 16.09 g/day, respectively. Eight replicate pens of hens were fed a diet providing 626 mg of Lys/hen/day (control) and 12 replicate pens of hens were fed each of the other six diets. DL methionine was added to the diet to keep the daily intakes of methionine equal. Supplemental Lys was added to all diets at the beginning of week 9 to achieve a daily intake of approximately 848 mg/hen/day through week 13. The Lys requirement for egg production (EP), egg weight (EW), and egg mass (EM) were achieved with daily Lys intakes of 824, 806, and 819 mg/hen/day, respectively, when the daily protein intake was greater than 18.55 g. Body weight (BW) increased as the daily intake of protein and Lys increased. Maximum BW was accomplished with the highest daily intake of protein and Lys. EP returned to normal (i. e., equal to that of the controls) with all diets when supplemental Lys was added, except for EP of hens fed the diet containing the lowest level of protein. EW and EM returned to normal when Lys was added to the diets with the four highest levels of protein. Hens had satisfactory performance with daily intakes of 170, 921, 605, 778, and 625 mg/hen/day of Trp, Arg, Thr, Val, and Ile, respectively, with a daily protein intake of 16.72 g. However, EM, EW, and BW were equal to control with daily intakes of 192, 1,025, 655, 837, and 685 mg/hen/day of Trp, Arg, Thr, Val, and Ile, respectively, with a daily intake of 17.51 g of protein.
The Neural Bases of Tinnitus: Lessons from Deafness and Cochlear Implants

Subjective tinnitus is the conscious perception of sound in the absence of any acoustic source. The literature suggests various tinnitus mechanisms, most of which invoke changes in spontaneous firing rates of central auditory neurons resulting from modification of neural gain. Here, we present an alternative model based on evidence that tinnitus is: (1) rare in people who are congenitally deaf, (2) common in people with acquired deafness, and (3) potentially suppressed by active cochlear implants used for hearing restoration. We propose that tinnitus can only develop after fast auditory fiber activity has stimulated the synapse formation between fast-spiking parvalbumin positive (PV+) interneurons and projecting neurons in the ascending auditory path and coactivated frontostriatal networks after hearing onset. Thereafter, fast auditory fiber activity promotes feedforward and feedback inhibition mediated by PV+ interneuron activity in auditory-specific circuits. This inhibitory network enables enhanced stimulus resolution, attention-driven contrast improvement, and augmentation of auditory responses in central auditory pathways (neural gain) after damage of slow auditory fibers. When fast auditory fiber activity is lost, tonic PV+ interneuron activity is diminished, resulting in the prolonged response latencies, sudden hyperexcitability, enhanced cortical synchrony, elevated spontaneous γ oscillations, and impaired attention/stress-control that have been described in previous tinnitus models. Moreover, because fast processing is gained through sensory experience, tinnitus would not exist in congenital deafness. Electrical cochlear stimulation may have the potential to reestablish tonic inhibitory networks and thus suppress tinnitus. The proposed framework unites many ideas of tinnitus pathophysiology and may catalyze cooperative efforts to develop tinnitus therapies.
The use of mini-implants for provisional prosthetic rehabilitation in growing patients: a critical review.

PURPOSE To critically review the literature using mini-implants for prosthetic rehabilitation of growing patients and to analyze the survival rates and clinical behavior of mini-implants. STUDY SELECTION Controlled clinical trials and case reports published in English, from January 2006 to October 2018, in a peer-reviewed journal in PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, and Cochrane Library databases. Studies using mini-implants for prosthetic rehabilitation in growing patients were included. Articles reporting mini-implants with a diameter greater than 3 mm, recruitment of adult participants, use of implants with other purposes than prosthodontic rehabilitation, and with a follow-up period shorter than 1 year, were excluded from the analysis. The selection was performed independently by two reviewers. RESULTS The selection resulted in the inclusion of eight articles. Although the studies presented heterogeneous protocols and follow-ups (varying from 1 to 8 years), only one case of failure was reported, which corresponded to crown displacement. All rehabilitation procedures were performed in the anterior region using mini-implants with different diameters (1.3-2.9 mm) and lengths (9-14 mm). The prosthetic rehabilitation included individual crowns and/or overdentures. CONCLUSIONS Mini-implant prosthetic rehabilitation seems to be a viable and promising option for provisional rehabilitation of growing patients, since it seems to preserve the bone structure while restoring function and esthetics until growth ceases, when then mini-implants can be replaced by standard implants.
Oil field microorganisms cause highly localized corrosion on chemically inhibited carbon steel

Carbon steel pipelines, a means for crude oil transportation, occasionally experience highly localized perforation caused by microorganisms. While microorganisms grown in laboratory culture tend to corrode steel specimens unevenly, they rarely inflict a corrosion morphology consistent with that of pipelines, where centimetre‐sized corrosion features are randomly distributed within vast stretches of otherwise pristine metal surface. In this study, we observed that corrosion inhibitors (CIs), widely used for the control of acid gas (H2S, CO2) corrosion in oil fields, also affect microbial growth and activity. Inhibited carbon steel resisted biofilm formation and underwent negligible corrosion (< 0.002 mm Fe0 year−1), despite 15 months of exposure to oil field waters harbouring a diverse microbiome. In contrast, physical scavenging of CI in these waters led to severe and highly localized corrosion (up to 0.93 mm Fe0 year−1) underneath biofilms dominated by methanogenic archaea and sulfate‐reducing bacteria. A sharp decline in CI concentration, as well as its active components, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), correlated with microbial sulfidogenesis. CIs are ubiquitously present in oil field waters and play an underappreciated role in microbial corrosion mitigation. Physical and biological scavenging of CIs may create local differences in steel inhibition effectiveness and thus result in highly localized corrosion.
Determination of the pH Gradient in Hair Follicles of Human Volunteers Using pH-Sensitive Melamine Formaldehyde-Pyranine Nile Blue Microparticles

Nanoparticles can be applied to the hair follicles, which can serve as reservoirs for triggered drug release. A valid measurement method for the determination of the pH within the hair follicle in vivo has not been shown yet. Here, melamine formaldehyde particles up to 9 µm in size were applied on 40 freshly plucked scalp hairs of eight individuals to determine the pH along the hair shaft down to the root area of the hair. For fluorescent pH indicators, pyranine and Nile blue were incorporated into the particles. Measurements were conducted using confocal laser scanning microscopy. A pH decay gradient could be found from the hair sheath towards the external hair shaft (p = 0.012) with pH values at the hair sheath of 6.63 ± 0.09, at the hair sheath end at 6.33 ± 0.11, and at the external hair shaft at 6.17 ± 0.09 (mean ± SE). The pH difference between the hair sheath end and the external hair shaft was found to be significant (p = 0.036). The results might be comparable with the pH within the hair follicle in vivo indicating a pH increase towards the hair root.
Cancers from Novel Pole-Mutant Mouse Models Provide Insights into Polymerase-Mediated Hypermutagenesis and Immune Checkpoint Blockade

Two mouse models of polymerase exonuclease deficiency shed light on mechanisms of mutation accumulation and considerations for immunotherapy. POLE mutations are a major cause of hypermutant cancers, yet questions remain regarding mechanisms of tumorigenesis, genotype–phenotype correlation, and therapeutic considerations. In this study, we establish mouse models harboring cancer-associated POLE mutations P286R and S459F, which cause rapid albeit distinct time to cancer initiation in vivo, independent of their exonuclease activity. Mouse and human correlates enabled novel stratification of POLE mutations into three groups based on clinical phenotype and mutagenicity. Cancers driven by these mutations displayed striking resemblance to the human ultrahypermutation and specific signatures. Furthermore, Pole-driven cancers exhibited a continuous and stochastic mutagenesis mechanism, resulting in intertumoral and intratumoral heterogeneity. Checkpoint blockade did not prevent Pole lymphomas, but rather likely promoted lymphomagenesis as observed in humans. These observations provide insights into the carcinogenesis of POLE-driven tumors and valuable information for genetic counseling, surveillance, and immunotherapy for patients. Significance: Two mouse models of polymerase exonuclease deficiency shed light on mechanisms of mutation accumulation and considerations for immunotherapy. See related commentary by Wisdom and Kirsch p. 5459
Exercise barriers and facilitators during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a qualitative study

Objective Although exercise is beneficial in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), motivating patients to exercise is challenging. We aimed to understand exercise barriers and facilitators during HSCT treatment while participating in a daily unsupervised exercise programme. Participants Patients scheduled to have HSCT. Study design 6 participants were included in this descriptive qualitative study during HSCT treatment while participating in an exercise programme to identify perceived barriers and facilitators of the exercise. An average of three semi-structured interviews were conducted per patient. Setting Exercise during HSCT treatment in an isolated immune room. Intervention Daily unsupervised exercise. Results A total of six patients completed a 6-week exercise programme as well as all scheduled interviews, whose compliance to the exercise programme ranged from 12% to 79%. Based on interview results, three themes were identified as barriers to exercise and four themes were identified as facilitators to exercise. Patients experienced physical and psychological barriers such as nausea, vomiting, sore throat, reduced appetite, decreased willpower and anxiety due to feelings of isolation. Environmental factors included negative opinions about exercise programmes and lack of encouragement from the haematologist. Facilitators of exercise included willpower, easy and simple exercise, convincing explanations from haematologists and supervised support from exercise specialists. Conclusion Our study has identified potential barriers and facilitators associated with exercise participation during HSCT. Supervised exercise recommended by a haematologist, convincing explanation on the benefit of exercise by medical personnel, positive feedback from other HSCT survivors and supervision by exercise specialists may increase compliance to the exercise programme during HSCT. Trial registration number ISRCTN61498391.