Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weight management strategies for patients with PCOS: current perspectives

ABSTRACT Introduction Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder of reproductive-aged women. Overweight and obesity commonly accompany the syndrome at the clinic and are significant concerns for women with PCOS. Areas covered Herein, we provide an overview of the relevant literature on weight management strategies in women with PCOS. We performed an electronic-based search using PubMed until February 2021. We aimed to summarize available evidence of different weight-reducing interventions in PCOS and outline the gaps in our current knowledge and recommend areas for further research. Expert opinion PCOS is closely linked to obesity and increased adiposity enhances severity and expression of PCOS phenotype. Current data suggest that weight loss is associated with improved metabolic, endocrine, reproductive, cardiovascular and psychological features in overweight and obese women with PCOS. Lifestyle interventions including diet and exercise, anti-obesity medications and bariatric surgery have been used as therapeutic approaches for short-term management of obesity in PCOS with varying success rates. Large and sufficiently powered studies are required in order to determine long-term effects of weight management strategies and potential benefits beyond weight loss in the syndrome. This would allow informing the guidelines to make PCOS specific evidence-based recommendations.
Base transit time of shallow-base bipolar transistors considering velocity saturation at base-collector junction

The authors studied the influence of the velocity saturation in the base-collector depletion layer and compared the injected electron concentration profile, collector current density, and base transit time with velocity saturation to those without. The collector current with velocity saturation is only a little smaller than the current without saturation, but the injection electron concentration profile changes substantially when comparing currents with and without velocity saturation. The base transit time is increased by velocity saturation, and the ratio of base transit time with velocity saturation to that without velocity saturation increases as the base width decreases. Thus, velocity saturation must be considered in order to evaluate the base transit time of shallow-base bipolar transistors. The dependence of the base transit time on the doping profile was also analyzed, revealing that the base transit time of a box doping profile is increased more than that of a Gaussian doping profile. >
Optically Detected Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Nuclei within a Quantum Well

Despite the fact that spectra of nuclear resonances provide a powerful microscopic probe of condensed matter, NMR techniques have not hitherto been applied to the study of semiconductor heterostructures. The reason is that only a tiny fraction of the nuclei of the sample lie in the portion of interest and are not distinguishable in conventional NMR. We have demonstrated that the problem can be solved by using optical pumping and detection techniques, and have obtained NMR spectra of spatially selected lattice nuclei in a 200Å GaAs quantum well.
In situ controllable assembly of layered-double-hydroxide-based nickel nanocatalysts for carbon dioxide reforming of methane

Producing loaded metal nano-cluster catalysts possessing at the same time enhanced reactivity and durability has become increasingly important, but still remains a tremendous challenge in nanoparticle hetero-catalysis. In our current study, Mg-functionalized Ni-based nanohybrids with both a large dispersion and small size of nickel particles as well as excellent anti-sintering imbedded in a hierarchical mesostructured γ-Al2O3 substrate were successfully developed using an easy and reproducible procedure. This procedure involved an in situ growth mechanism of Ni-containing layered double hydroxides (LDHs) that used alumina substrates as the sole Al3+ source. The developed nanohybrid shows both exceptional reactivity and durability for carbon dioxide reforming of methane. A combination of techniques, including XRD, N2 adsorption and desorption, FT-IR, TGA, SEM, ICP-AES, XPS, H2-TPR, CO2-TPD, TEM, and in situ CH4/CO2-TPSR, was used to determine a strong structure–function relationship for the catalyst. The highly reducible and dispersed active surface Ni species greatly enhanced the activation of methane, while fine tuning the acidity/basicity of the surface supplied sufficient reactive centers for the adsorption/activation of CO2. In addition, the reciprocally strengthened dual confinement effects imparted by both the mesoporous γ-Al2O3 matrix and the in situ-grown LDH precursors resulted in the extraordinary catalytic stability, without pronounced sintering and/or agglomeration of reactive phases in the demanding working conditions.
Dissolution and regeneration of cellulose in NaOH/thiourea aqueous solution

A novel cellulose solvent, 1.5 M NaOH/0.65 M thiourea aqueous solution, was used to dissolve cotton linters having a molecular weight of 10.1 × 104 to prepare cellulose solution. Regenerated cellulose (RC) films were obtained from the cellulose solution by coagulating with sulfuric acid (H2SO4) aqueous solution with a concentration from 2 to 30 wt %. Solubility of cellulose, structure, and mechanical properties of the RC films were examined by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, 13C NMR, and tensile tests. 13C NMR analysis indicated that the novel solvent of cellulose is a nonderivative aqueous solution system. The presence of thiourea enhanced significantly the solubility of cellulose in NaOH aqueous solution and reduced the formation of cellulose gel; as a result, thiourea prevented the association between cellulose molecules, leading to the solvation of cellulose. The RC film obtained by coagulating with 5 wt % H2SO4 aqueous solution for 5 min exhibited higher mechanical properties than that with other H2SO4 concentrations and a homogenous porous structure with a mean pore size of 186 nm for free surface in the wet state. The RC film plasticized with 10% glycerin for 5 min had a tensile strength of 107 MPa and breaking elongation of 10%, and about 1% glycerin in the RC film plays an important role in the enhancement of the mechanical properties. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 1521–1529, 2002
Efferent projections of CGRP/Calca‐expressing parabrachial neurons in mice

The parabrachial nucleus (PB) is composed of glutamatergic neurons at the midbrain–hindbrain junction. These neurons form many subpopulations, one of which expresses Calca, which encodes the neuropeptide calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP). This Calca‐expressing subpopulation has been implicated in a variety of homeostatic functions, but the overall distribution of Calca‐expressing neurons in this region remains unclear. Also, while previous studies in rats and mice have identified output projections from CGRP‐immunoreactive or Calca‐expressing neurons, we lack a comprehensive understanding of their efferent projections. We began by identifying neurons with Calca mRNA and CGRP immunoreactivity in and around the PB, including populations in the locus coeruleus and motor trigeminal nucleus. Calca‐expressing neurons in the PB prominently express the mu opioid receptor (Oprm1) and are distinct from neighboring neurons that express Foxp2 and Pdyn. Next, we used Cre‐dependent anterograde tracing with synaptophysin‐mCherry to map the efferent projections of these neurons. Calca‐expressing PB neurons heavily target subregions of the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, basal forebrain, thalamic intralaminar and ventral posterior parvicellular nuclei, and hindbrain, in different patterns depending on the injection site location within the PB region. Retrograde axonal tracing revealed that the previously unreported hindbrain projections arise from a rostral‐ventral subset of CGRP/Calca neurons. Finally, we show that these efferent projections of Calca‐expressing neurons are distinct from those of neighboring PB neurons that express Pdyn. This information provides a detailed neuroanatomical framework for interpreting experimental work involving CGRP/Calca‐expressing neurons and opioid action in the PB region.
Role of E148Q in familial Mediterranean fever with an exon 10 mutation in MEFV.

BACKGROUND Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in MEFV. Mutations in exon 10 are associated with typical FMF. Most Japanese patients with typical FMF are compound heterozygotes of M694I in exon 10 and E148Q in exon 2. However, the pathogenic role of E148Q remains controversial. METHODS We assessed symptoms and serum cytokines among patients with FMF and their family members. They were divided into three subgroups, based on MEFV mutations: individuals carrying M694I and E148Q (group A, n=14), individuals carrying M694I but not E148Q (group B, n=10), and individuals carrying E148Q but not M694I (group C, n=11). RESULTS All but one individual in group A had the typical FMF phenotypes, whereas no individual in groups B and C exhibited any episodes of fever and serositis. The serum levels of interleukin-18 during the afebrile phase were significantly elevated in group A (2806 ± 2107 pg/mL), compared to those in groups B (499 ± 369 pg/mL) and C (427 ± 410 pg/mL). No difference in interleukin-6 levels was observed among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicated that E148Q may contribute to disease development of FMF in Japanese patients carrying the heterozygous M694I mutation in MEFV, and that genetic testing of both parents would lead to better counseling for their children.
Training flexible conceptual retrieval in stroke aphasia

ABSTRACT Semantic therapy in post-stroke aphasia typically focusses on strengthening links between conceptual representations and their lexical-articulatory forms to aid word retrieval. However, research has shown that semantic deficits in this group can affect both verbal and non-verbal tasks, particularly in patients with deregulated retrieval as opposed to degraded knowledge. This study, therefore, aimed to facilitate semantic cognition in a sample of such patients with post-stroke semantic aphasia (SA) by training the identification of both strong and weak semantic associations and providing explicit pictorial feedback that demonstrated both common and more unusual ways of linking concepts together. We assessed the effects of this training on (i) trained and untrained items; and (ii) trained and untrained tasks in eleven individuals with SA. In the training task, the SA group showed improvement with practice, particularly for trained items. A similar untrained task using pictorial stimuli (Camel and Cactus Test) also improved. Together, these results suggest that semantic training can be beneficial in patients with SA and may show some degree of generalization to untrained situations. Future research should seek to understand which patients are most likely to benefit from this type of training.
Segmental resection is associated with decreased survival in patients with stage IA non-small cell lung cancer with a tumor size of 21–30 mm

Background The feasibility of segmental resection for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still controversial. This study aimed to compare survival outcomes following lobectomy and segmental resection in patients with pathological T1cN0M0 (tumor size 21–30 mm) NSCLC. Methods Patients diagnosed between 1998 and 2016 with pathological stage IA NSCLC and with tumors measuring 21–30 mm were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The observational outcomes were cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) at 5 years. Univariate survival analysis was carried out to identify potential prognostic factors of prolonged survival. Cox proportional hazards model was used to adjust for confounding factors. Additionally, pairwise comparisons were conducted between lobectomy and segmental resection for CSS and OS, and forest plots were drawn. Results Of the 9,580 patients analyzed, 400 patients (4.2%) underwent segmental resections. Patients with older age (P<0.001), smaller tumors (P<0.001), and left-sided tumors (P=0.002) were more likely to receive segmental resection. No difference was found in the operative mortality rates between the segmental resection group and the lobectomy group (1.0% vs. 1.2%, P=0.707). The CSS (HR, 1.429; 95% CI, 1.166–1.752; P=0.001) and OS (HR, 1.348; 95% CI, 1.176–1.544; P<0.001) in the segmental resection group were significantly worse than those in the lobectomy group. Subgroup analyses by age, year of diagnosis, sex, tumor size, histology, grade, and the number of dissected lymph nodes also confirmed that lobectomy was associated with improved CSS and OS. Conclusions Lobectomy and thorough removal of lymph nodes should continue to be the recommended standard of care for patients with surgically resectable stage IA NSCLC with tumor size of 21–30 mm.
Control yourself: ISPE‐endorsed guidance in the application of self‐controlled study designs in pharmacoepidemiology

Consensus is needed on conceptual foundations, terminology and relationships among the various self‐controlled “trigger” study designs that control for time‐invariant confounding factors and target the association between transient exposures (potential triggers) and abrupt outcomes. The International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) funded a working group of ISPE members to develop guidance material for the application and reporting of self‐controlled study designs, similar to Standards of Reporting Observational Epidemiology (STROBE). This first paper focuses on navigation between the types of self‐controlled designs to permit a foundational understanding with guiding principles.
Comparison of short-term clinical outcomes between robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy and video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Though robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) is demonstrated to offer a better visualization and provide a fine dissection of the mediastinal structures to facilitate the complex thoracoscopic operation, the superiorities of RAMIE over MIE have not been well verified. The aim of this study was to explore the actual superiorities through comparing short-term results of RAMIE with that of MIE. Methods PubMed, EMBASE and web of science databases were systematically searched up to September 1, 2020 for case-controlled studies that compared RAMIE with TLMIE. Results Fourteen studies were identified, with a total of 2,887 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer, including 1,435 patients subjected to RAMIE group and 1,452 patients subjected to MIE group. The operative time in RAMIE was still significantly longer than that in MIE group (OR =0.785; 95% CI, 0.618–0.952; P<0.001). The incidence of pneumonia was significantly lower in RAMIE group compared with MIE group (OR =0.677; 95% CI, 0.468–0.979; P=0.038). Conclusions RAMIE has the superiorities over MIE in short-term outcomes in terms of pneumonia and vocal cord palsy. Therefore, RAMIE could be considered as a standard treatment for patients with esophageal cancer.
CD70-specific CAR T-cells have potent activity against Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) without HSC toxicity.

The prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains dismal highlighting the need for novel innovative treatment strategies. The application of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to AML patients has been limited in particular by the lack of a tumor-specific target antigen. CD70 is a promising antigen to target AML as it is expressed on the majority of leukemic blasts, whereas little or no expression is detectable in normal bone marrow samples. To target CD70 on AML cells, we generated a panel of CD70-CARs that contained a common single chain variable fragment (scFv) for antigen detection but differed in size and flexibility of the extracellular spacer, and in the transmembrane and the co-stimulatory domains. These CD70scFv CARs were compared with a CAR construct that contained the human CD27, the ligand of CD70 fused to the CD3z chain (CD27z). The structural composition of the CAR strongly influenced expression levels, viability, expansion and cytotoxic capacities of CD70scFv CAR T-cells, but the CD27z-CAR T-cells demonstrated superior proliferation and anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo, compared to all CD70scFv-CARs. While CD70-CAR T-cells recognized activated virus-specific T-cells (VSTs) that expressed CD70, they did not prevent colony formation by normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Thus, CD70-targeted immunotherapy is a promising new treatment strategy for patients with CD70-positive AML that does not affect normal hematopoiesis but will require monitoring of virus-specific T-cell responses.
Associations of Relationship Experiences, Dating Violence, Sexual Harassment, and Assault With Alcohol Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents report higher rates of dating violence victimization compared with their heterosexual and cisgender peers. Research on dating violence often neglects diversity in sexual and gender identities and is limited to experiences in relationships. Further, given that dating violence and alcohol use are comorbid, research on experiences of dating violence could provide insights into alcohol use disparities among SGM adolescents. We aimed to map patterns of relationship experiences, sexual and physical dating violence, and sexual and physical assault and explored differences in these experiences among SGM adolescents. Further, we examined how these patterns explained alcohol use. We used a U.S. non-probability national web-based survey administered to 13–17-year-old SGM adolescents (N = 12,534). Using latent class analyses, four patterns were identified: low relationship experience, dating violence and harassment and assault (72.0%), intermediate dating experiences, sexual harassment, and assault and low levels of dating violence (13.1%), high dating experiences, dating violence, and sexual assault (8.6%), and high dating experiences, dating violence, and sexual harassment and assault (6.3%). Compared to lesbian and gay adolescents, bisexual adolescents reported more experiences with dating, dating violence, and sexual assault, whereas heterosexual adolescents reported fewer experiences with dating, dating violence, and sexual harassment and assault. Compared to cisgender boys, cisgender girls, transgender boys, and non-binary/assigned male at birth adolescents were more likely to experience dating violence inside and outside of relationship contexts. Experiences of dating, dating violence, and sexual harassment and assault were associated with both drinking frequency and heavy episodic drinking. Together, the findings emphasize the relevance of relationship experiences when studying dating violence and how dating violence and sexual harassment and assault might explain disparities in alcohol use.
Flashover of insulators in vacuum: review of the phenomena and techniques to improved holdoff voltage

Reviews surface flashover of insulator, primarily in vacuum, although some comments are made about the effect of ambient gases on surface flashover. It presents theoretical mechanisms of surface flashover and pertinent experimental results. The holdoff voltage of insulators depends upon many insulator parameters, such as material, geometry, surface finish, and attachments to electrodes, but also on the applied voltage waveform (duration, single pulse or repetitive), the process history of the insulator operating environment, and previous applications of voltage. Several suggestions are made regarding choice of the material, geometry, and processing when selecting an insulator for a particular application. Some specific techniques for improving the holdoff voltage of insulators are recommended. >
Arsenic Mobilization by the Dissimilatory Fe(III)-Reducing Bacterium Shewanella alga BrY

The mobility of arsenic commonly increases as reducing conditions are established within sediments or flooded soils. Although the reduction of arsenic increases its solubility at circumneutral pH, hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) strongly sorb both As(V) (arsenate) and As(III) (arsenite), the two primary inorganic species. Thus, in the presence of excess HFO, reductive dissolution of iron may be the dominant mechanism by which As is released into solution. In this paper, we report that the dissimilatory iron-reducing bacterium Shewanella alga strain BrY promoted As mobilization from a crystalline ferric arsenate as well as from sorption sites within whole sediments. S. alga cells released arsenate from the mineral scorodite (FeAsO4·2H2O) as a result of dissimilatory (i.e., respiratory) reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II). Solid-phase analysis with SEM-EDS and XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure) spectroscopy revealed that the valence states of Fe and As in the solid-phase product were identical to those in soluti.
Colour stability of 3D-printed resin orthodontic brackets

Objective: To evaluate the colour stability of polymeric resins that could be used to 3D-print orthodontic brackets. Design: In vitro, laboratory study Materials and Methods: Disc-shaped specimens were fabricated via 3D printing using three resins: Dental LT; Dental SG; and Clear. Five conditions were evaluated for each resin (n = 10 per treatment per resin) to assess its corresponding effect on colour and translucency: immersion in (1) red wine, (2) coffee, (3) tea and (4) distilled water (control), and (5) exposure to accelerated aging. Colour and translucency measurements were made before and after exposure using a spectrophotometer. Mean colour differences (ΔE00) and changes in translucency parameter (ΔTP00) were calculated for each sample using the CIEDE2000 colour difference formula. Results: Statistically significant effects of the resin material, the treatment condition and interactions effects of material and condition were observed for ΔE00 and ΔTP00 (P < 0.001). The most pronounced changes in colour (ΔE00) were a result of the staining effects of wine on all three resins, ranging from 14.5 ± 0.6 to 20.8 ± 1.2. Dental LT, Dental SG and Clear resins all showed changes in colour when exposed to certain staining agents. Dental SG and Clear resins exhibited changes in colour with aging, while the colour of Dental LT resin remained stable with aging. Conclusions: The colour changes of the resins investigated does not support their use in 3D-printed aesthetic bracket applications.