Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Artificial Intelligence in Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography: From Anatomy to Prognosis

Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is widely used as a diagnostic tool for evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD). Despite the excellent capability to rule-out CAD, CCTA may overestimate the degree of stenosis; furthermore, CCTA analysis can be time consuming, often requiring advanced postprocessing techniques. In consideration of the most recent ESC guidelines on CAD management, which will likely increase CCTA volume over the next years, new tools are necessary to shorten reporting time and improve the accuracy for the detection of ischemia-inducing coronary lesions. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) may provide a helpful tool in CCTA, improving the evaluation and quantification of coronary stenosis, plaque characterization, and assessment of myocardial ischemia. Furthermore, in comparison with existing risk scores, machine-learning algorithms can better predict the outcome utilizing both imaging findings and clinical parameters. Medical AI is moving from the research field to daily clinical practice, and with the increasing number of CCTA examinations, AI will be extensively utilized in cardiac imaging. This review is aimed at illustrating the state of the art in AI-based CCTA applications and future clinical scenarios.
Multiple Intravenous Injections of Valproic Acid-Induced Mesenchymal Stem Cell from Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Improved Cardiac Function in an Acute Myocardial Infarction Rat Model

Mounting evidence indicates that the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) injection is safe and efficacious for treating cardiomyopathy; however, there is limited information relating to multiple intravenous injections of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cell (hiPSC-MSC) and long-term evaluation of the cardiac function. In the current study, MSC-like cells were derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells through valproic acid (VPA) induction and continuous cell passages. The derived spindle-like cells expressed MSC-related markers, secreted angiogenic and immune-regulatory factors, and could be induced to experience chondrogenic and adipogenic differentiation. During the induction process, expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition- (EMT-) related gene N-cadherin and vimentin was upregulated to a very high level, and the expression of pluripotency-related genes Sox2 and Oct4 was downregulated or remained unchanged, indicating that VPA initiated EMT by upregulating the expression of EMT promoting genes and downregulating that of pluripotency-related genes. Two and four intravenous hiPSC-MSC injections (106 cells/per injections) were provided, respectively, to model rats one week after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Cardiac function parameters were dynamically monitored during a 12-week period. Two and four cell injections significantly the improved left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening; four-injection markedly stimulated angiogenesis reduced the scar size and cell apoptosis number in the scar area in comparison with that of the untreated control model rats. Although the difference was insignificant, the hiPSC-MSC administration delayed the increase of left ventricular end-diastolic dimension to different extents compared with that of the PBS-injection control. No perceptible immune reaction symptom or hiPSC-MSC-induced tumour formation was found over 12 weeks. Compared with the PBS-injection control, four injections produced better outcome than two injections; as a result, at least four rounds of MSC injections were suggested for AMI treatment.
Longitudinal Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy in a Nationwide Screening Program: Comparing Deep Learning and Human Graders

Objective To evaluate diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening via deep learning (DL) and trained human graders (HG) in a longitudinal cohort, as case spectrum shifts based on treatment referral and new-onset DR. Methods We randomly selected patients with diabetes screened twice, two years apart within a nationwide screening program. The reference standard was established via adjudication by retina specialists. Each patient's color fundus photographs were graded, and a patient was considered as having sight-threatening DR (STDR) if the worse eye had severe nonproliferative DR, proliferative DR, or diabetic macular edema. We compared DR screening via two modalities: DL and HG. For each modality, we simulated treatment referral by excluding patients with detected STDR from the second screening using that modality. Results There were 5,738 patients (12.3% STDR) in the first screening. DL and HG captured different numbers of STDR cases, and after simulated referral and excluding ungradable cases, 4,148 and 4,263 patients remained in the second screening, respectively. The STDR prevalence at the second screening was 5.1% and 6.8% for DL- and HG-based screening, respectively. Along with the prevalence decrease, the sensitivity for both modalities decreased from the first to the second screening (DL: from 95% to 90%, p = 0.008; HG: from 74% to 57%, p < 0.001). At both the first and second screenings, the rate of false negatives for the DL was a fifth that of HG (0.5-0.6% vs. 2.9-3.2%). Conclusion On 2-year longitudinal follow-up of a DR screening cohort, STDR prevalence decreased for both DL- and HG-based screening. Follow-up screenings in longitudinal DR screening can be more difficult and induce lower sensitivity for both DL and HG, though the false negative rate was substantially lower for DL. Our data may be useful for health-economics analyses of longitudinal screening settings.
Deficits in growth, muscle mass, and body composition following placental insufficiency-induced intrauterine growth restriction persisted in lambs at 60 d of age but were improved by daily clenbuterol supplementation

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Transl. Anim. Sci. 2020.4:S53–S57 doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa097
TRIB3 Promotes Lung Adenocarcinoma Progression via an Enhanced Warburg Effect

Background The pseudokinase Tribbles 3 (TRIB3) is involved in many cellular processes and various cancers. In recent years, the importance of metabolic transformation in the maintenance of malignant tumors has become increasingly prominent. Abnormal metabolism of cancer cells is considered a hallmark of cancer. However, the exact role and molecular mechanism of TRIB3 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cell reprogramming is largely unknown. Methods The oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) of cells were examined with a Seahorse XF Extracellular Flux Analyzer. In vitro and in vivo RT-qPCR, Western blotting, and functional assays were performed to explore the functional roles of TRIB3 in LUAD. Results In the present study, we demonstrated that TRIB3 is remarkably upregulated in LUAD cell lines as well as tissues. TRIB3 knockdown significantly inhibited LUAD cell growth and suppressed LUAD cell invasion, while TRIB3 overexpression conferred the opposite effects. Moreover, silencing TRIB3 suppressed the tumorigenesis and metastatic ability of LUAD cells. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that silencing TRIB3 significantly impaired aerobic glycolysis ability in LUAD cells. Furthermore, our data indicated that TRIB3 knockdown decreased hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)1α levels and targeted the glycolytic genes regulated by HIF1α. Conclusion Together, our findings revealed a previously unappreciated function of TRIB3 in cancer cell metabolism and tumor progression, illustrating that TRIB3 could be considered a valuable therapeutic target for LUAD patients.
The Paracrine Effect of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Orchestrates Competition between Different Damaged Dermal Fibroblasts to Repair UVB-Induced Skin Aging

Background Human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) are the primary cells in skin and are associated with UVB-induced skin photoaging. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been proposed as a treatment for skin aging. The goal of this study was to investigate paracrine mechanisms by which ASCs repair HDFs damage from UVB exposure. Methods ASCs were cocultured with UVB-irradiated and nonirradiated HDFs. We compared HDF senescence, proliferation, migration, oxidative stress, and cytokine expression. In a nude mouse UVB-induced photoaging model, ASCs were injected subcutaneously, and skin samples were collected weekly between postoperative weeks 3 through 7. Histological analysis, PCR, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze the effect of ASCs. Results Compared with UVB-irradiated HDFs, nonirradiated HDFs showed higher proliferation and migration, reduced apoptosis, and fewer senescent cells when cocultured with ASCs. The expression of extracellular matrix-related cytokines was also regulated by ASCs. In addition, ASCs effectively reversed UVB-induced skin photoaging in vivo. We propose that ASCs more robustly coordinate healthy HDFs than UVB-damaged HDFs to repair aging skin. Conclusions ASCs improved the function of both UVB-damaged and healthy HDFs through paracrine effects. However, the impact of ASCs on healthy HDFs was greater than UVB-damaged HDFs. These findings help to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the skin rejuvenation effect of ASCs.
Single- versus Multiple-Tract Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in the Surgical Management of Staghorn Stones or Complex Caliceal Calculi: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective To assess current evidence on the effectiveness and safety of single- versus multiple-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the surgical management of complex caliceal calculi or staghorn stones through a comprehensive literature review. Methods A comprehensive literature review of articles investigating the clinical efficacy and safety of single- versus multiple-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy was performed. Relevant literature was obtained by systematically searching PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library through May 2020. We followed the search strategy based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. The primary outcomes, including the stone-free rate (SFR), and secondary outcomes (peri- and postoperative complications and operative data) were evaluated using RevMan 5.3 statistical software. Results Ten studies involving 1844 patients with complex caliceal calculi or staghorn stones met the inclusion criteria. Single-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy (STPCNL) had noninferior clinical efficacy with respect to the immediate SFR (odds ratio (OR) = 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.46 to 1.38), p = 0.42) and 3-month SFR (OR = 1.22, 95% CI (0.38 to 3.92), p = 0.74) compared with multiple-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MTPCNL). In addition, pooled analyses showed that STPCNL resulted in significantly lower hemoglobin decreases (MD = −0.46, 95% CI (-0.68 to -0.25), p < 0.0001), fewer blood transfusions (OR = 0.48, 95% CI (0.34 to 0.67), p < 0.0001), and fewer pulmonary complications (OR = 0.28, 95% CI (0.09 to 0.83), p = 0.02) than MTPCNL. However, the overall evidence was insufficient to suggest a statistically significant difference for other adverse events. Conclusion This meta-analysis indicated that STPCNL is an effective method for treating complex caliceal calculi or staghorn stones. Compared with MTPCNL, STPCNL not only yields similarly high SFRs but also is associated with many advantages, less blood loss, fewer blood transfusions, and fewer pulmonary complications without an increase in other complications. However, the findings of this study should be further confirmed by well-designed prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a larger patient series.
The Long Noncoding RNA LOXL1-AS1 Promotes the Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression of long noncoding RNA lysyl oxidase-like 1-antisense 1 (LOXL1-AS1) in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and its effect on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Methods Quantitative real-time PCR was used to analyze the expression of LOXL1-AS1 RNA in tumor tissues, adjacent normal tissues, and cell lines. MTT assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry analysis, transwell assays, and lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) technology were used to evaluate cell proliferation and migration. Results In the present study, we observed that the expression level of LOXL1-AS1 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissue was significantly higher than that in adjacent nontumor tissues, and its expression in three hepatic carcinoma cell lines was obviously higher than that in a normal cell line. In addition, in the Hep-G2 cell line, LOXL1-AS1 downregulation significantly inhibited cell proliferation in the light of the MTT and colony formation assays in vitro, which was consistent with animal experiment in vivo. What is more, cell migration was also inhibited in vitro in Matrigel Transwell Assay by LOXL1-AS1 knockdown, which might be partly attributed to the reduction of MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein expressions. Finally, cell cycle analysis revealed that knockdown of LOXL1-AS1 induced significantly a G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest, which might be partly attributed to the downregulation of Cdc2, Cdc25A, and cyclin B1 protein expression. Conclusion In conclusion, we demonstrated that reduced LOXL1-AS1 expression could inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The application of RNAi targeting LOXL1-AS1 might be a potential treatment strategy in advanced cases.
Gengnianchun Recipe Protects Ovarian Reserve of Rats Treated by 4-Vinylcyclohexene Diepoxide via the AKT Pathway

Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) refers to a decrease in the number and quality of oocytes. Western treatment of DOR does not improve the ovarian reserve fundamentally, and the effect is limited. Gengnianchun recipe (GNC) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula originally applied to treat menopausal syndrome but is also found to be effective in treating clinical DOR patients. Here we aim to examine the effect of GNC in a DOR rat model induced by 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD), a chemical that selectively destroys ovarian small preantral follicles, and further investigate the possible mechanisms. Female SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (C), model group (M), high-dose GNC group (H), and low-dose GNC group (L). Rats in M, H, and L were administered with VCD and normal saline, high-dose GNC, and low-dose GNC separately. Rat ovaries were harvested either to conduct HE staining for follicle count, immunohistochemistry, or western blot. We found that high dose of GNC significantly increased the ovarian index and sustained the number of primordial follicles and primary follicles in VCD treated rats. Moreover, high dose of GNC significantly increased the ovarian protein expression of mouse vasa homologue (MVH), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), and estrogen receptor β (ERβ) compared with that in the model group. Besides, high-dose GNC significantly increased ovarian AKT phosphorylation and the expression of downstream forkhead box O3 (FOXO3a). Proapoptosis proteins of Bax, cleaved caspase-3, and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) were significantly decreased after high-dose GNC treatment compared with those in the model group. Taken together, these findings suggest that high-dose GNC could protect ovarian reserve against VCD-induced toxicity via the activation of the AKT signaling pathway and reduced cell apoptosis in SD Rats. This effect could either be induced by the increased FSHR signaling or by the nontranscriptional activation of ERβ, which requires further investigation.
A Follow-Up Study of Motor Skill Development and Its Determinants in Preschool Children from Middle-Income Family

We tracked the motor skill development of young children aged 3–6 years and investigated the influence of middle-income home environment on the development of motor skill. 268 children were selected from kindergartens in Beijing. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) tool was used to test the development of locomotor and object-control skills (LS and OS), and a survey of children's behaviour and home environment was conducted. During the follow-up, the LS and OS of children aged 3–6 years continued to grow, with an annual growth rate of 20% and 30%. Five LS indicators and two OS indicators were significantly higher in the 3–4-year group than in the 4–5 and 5–6-year groups (p < 0.01). The age-sex trend model showed that girls' locomotor skill developed at a significantly higher rate than that of boys (β = 6.3004 and 4.6782, p < 0.001). Three-year-old boys performed significantly better than girls on object-control motor skill (p < 0.05). Factors affecting the rate of children's motor skill development in middle-income families included the frequency of playing with friends (β = 0.133, p = 0.032) and the frequency of bicycling, skateboarding, dancing, running, and jumping (β = 0.041, p = 0.042). Family income, parents' education level, and family activity area did not significantly affect the growth rate of motor skills. For middle-income families, the improvement of material environment at home like more playing spaces and toys did not speed up the motor development, while more opportunities to play with friends and engage in a variety of sports activities could promote children's motor skill development.
Technical Efficiency of Maternal Health Services Provision in Public Hospitals of Northwest Ethiopia: A Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis

Introduction Ethiopian health expenditure as a share of total government expenditure increased from 7.6% in 2013/14 to 8.1% in 2016/17. But it remained low even for the low-income country average expected share of 8.7%. It signifies the efficient use of scarce resources in the health sector is still critical to achieving sustainable development goals. But little evidence is available about public hospitals’ technical efficiency in providing maternal health services. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the technical efficiency of maternal health services provision of public hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among twelve randomly selected public hospitals. Input data (salary expenditure, non-salary expenditure, and the number of beds) and maternal health services output data (antenatal care, skilled delivery, and postnatal care) for a 2011 Ethiopian fiscal year (July 2018 to June 2019) were collected and entered into Epi-Data 3.1. We used both primary and secondary data collection procedures to determine independent variables and the dependent variable, respectively. We also used a two-stage input-oriented data envelopment analysis with variable returns to scale assumption. Results The study showed that hospitals included in this study wasted US$ 6833.50 for salary and US$ 3886.8 for non-salary expenditures. The study also revealed that the mean pure technical efficiency of public hospitals for maternal health service provision was 0.92±0.142, and their scale efficiency was 0.795±0.24. The hospital manager’s experience year, the educational level of the manager, and the hospital service year associated positively with the technical efficiency. However, the catchment population and distance of another health facility associated negatively with technical efficiency. Conclusion The public hospitals’ pure technical efficiency in the provision of maternal health services in Northwest Ethiopia was high. More than half of the public hospitals were technically efficient. The wasted amount of expenditures could be used for satisfying the unmet health services need of the population. Therefore, it is better to monitor the health facilities for the wise use of the existing resources for their best performance.
The Added Value of a Behavioral Medicine Intervention in Physiotherapy on Adherence and Physical Fitness in Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation (ECRA): A Randomised, Controlled Trial

Purpose Despite beneficial effects, adherence to exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (exCR) is low in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this study was to investigate adherence to and the effects of a behavioral medicine intervention in physiotherapy (BMIP) added to routine exCR care on the primary outcome of physical fitness compared with routine exCR care. Patients and Methods In a randomized, controlled trial, 170 patients with CAD (136 men), mean age 62.3 (7.9) years, were included at a Swedish university hospital. Patients were randomized 1:1 to routine exCR care (RC) or to a BMIP added to routine exCR care for four months, with a long-term follow-up at 12 months. The outcome assessment included submaximal aerobic exercise capacity, muscle endurance and self-reported physical activity and physical capacity. Results The four-month follow-up showed improvements in all outcomes for both groups, but changes did not differ significantly between the groups. Patients in the BMIP group were more adherent to exCR recommendations compared with the RC group (31% vs 19%) and a non-significant tendency towards the maintenance of submaximal aerobic exercise capacity over time was seen in the BMIP group, whereas patients in the RC group appeared to deteriorate. Conclusion Both groups improved significantly at the four-month follow-up, while the 12-month follow-up showed a non-significant tendency towards better long-term effects on submaximal aerobic exercise capacity and exercise adherence for a BMIP compared with RC. In spite of this, a better understanding of the role of a BMIP in enhancing adherence is needed.
A Mechanics Study on the Self-Righting of Abalone from the Substrate

In this study, we aim to probe the self-righting behavior of abalone on a substrate based on experiments and mechanistic analyses. A successful self-righting process of abalone is observed, and its critical condition in theory can be given in terms of the rotation angle. Then, according to the moment balance and potential energy minimization, the required tension force of the abalone foot for self-righting is derived with respect to the rotation angle. The experimental result also shows that in many cases the abalone cannot finish this self-righting process. Then, measurements on the tolerant strength of abalone muscle and tolerant adhesion strength of the foot on substrate are both conducted. It is judged that the abalone muscle is strong enough, which can provide enough tension force, and thus, the self-righting mainly depends on the adhesion area of the foot on substrate. These findings cast new light on engineering new types of biomaterials and devices, such as marine equipment and soft robotics.