Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of life after elective cardiac surgery in elderly patients.

OBJECTIVES Cardiac surgery has little effect on life expectancy in elderly patients. Thus, improving the quality of life should be the main factor affecting therapeutic decisions. Most studies on quality of life in elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery report improvement but have limitations. Consequently, we assessed improvements in the quality of life of elderly patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery, identified influencing variables and established patterns of mental and physical health variations in the first year postoperatively. METHODS We conducted a prospective study of patients aged 65 or older who underwent elective cardiac surgery between September 2011 and August 2013. The 36-item Short Form (SF-36) surveys were obtained preoperatively and at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS The 430 preoperative patients with a mean age of 74 years (SD 5.5 years) comprised 220 men. Most physical health improvements occurred within 3 months and continued to improve significantly until 12 months. Predictive variables for patients showing less improvement were poor preoperative physical health, female sex, older age and longer length of hospital stay. Mental health improved significantly through the third postoperative month. The negative predictive variables were poor preoperative mental health and longer intensive care unit stay. CONCLUSIONS Most patients improved both physically and mentally after surgery, and most of the improvement occurred within 3 months post-surgery. These improvement patterns should be taken into account when creating rehabilitation programmes, and patients should be counselled on what improvements can be expected during the first 12 months after surgery.
Progressive adaptation of whole-limb kinematics after peripheral nerve injury

ABSTRACT The ability to recover purposeful movement soon after debilitating neuromuscular injury is essential to animal survival. Various neural and mechanical mechanisms exist to preserve whole-limb kinematics despite exhibiting long-term deficits of individual joints following peripheral nerve injury. However, it is unclear whether functionally relevant whole-limb movement is acutely conserved following injury. Therefore, the objective of this longitudinal study of the injury response from four individual cats was to test the hypothesis that whole-limb length is conserved following localized nerve injury of ankle extensors in cats with intact nervous systems. The primary finding of our study was that whole-limb kinematics during walking was not immediately preserved following peripheral nerve injuries that paralyzed subsets of ankle extensor muscles. Instead, whole-limb kinematics recovered gradually over multiple weeks, despite having the mechanical capacity of injury-spared muscles across all joints to achieve immediate functional recovery. The time taken to achieve complete recovery of whole-limb kinematics is consistent with an underlying process that relies on neuromuscular adaptation. Importantly, the gradual recovery of ankle joint kinematics remained incomplete, discontinuing once whole-limb kinematics had fully recovered. These findings support the hypothesis that a whole-limb representation of healthy limb function guides a locomotor compensation strategy after neuromuscular injury that arrests progressive changes in the joint kinematics once whole-limb kinematics is regained. Summary: Longitudinal study of four cats documented recovery of locomotor kinematics in one hindlimb following nerve injury and muscle paralysis focused at the ankle joint. Whole-limb length was not conserved immediately, but recovered pre-injury levels gradually through kinematic adjustments distributed across joints.
SGLT-2 Inhibitors in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGTL-2) inhibitors are a new class of antidiabetics, which have been approved for the treatment of patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Besides their beneficial metabolic effects, they exert favourable results in cardiovascular events and risk factors along with renoprotection. However, SGLT-2 inhibitors have not been yet approved as an adjunct therapy to insulin in patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). This review aims at presenting both clinical and experimental data that reinforce the role of SGLT-2 inhibitors as adjunctive treatment in patients with T1DM along with the main restrictions of their use, namely Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). METHODS We conducted a comprehensive research of the relevant literature regarding the off-label use of SGLT-2 inhibitors in clinical practice, presenting the major benefits and the potential risks. RESULTS SGLT-2 inhibitors are associated with improved glycemic control, reduction in body weight, and decrease in insulin dosage, along with their beneficial cardiovascular and renal effects. However, we cannot overlook the association with increased incidence of DKA events, in the presence of well known predisposing factors. Further investigation is required, in order to establish them as adjunctive treatment in those patients. CONCLUSION This novel class of antidiabetics seems to be a very attractive treatment option in patients with T1DM, due to their multiple beneficial effects, but the increased risk of DKA should be taken into account.
Development of a core outcome set for immunomodulation in pregnancy (COSIMPREG): a protocol for a systematic review and Delphi study

Introduction To establish pregnancy, the maternal immune system must adapt to tolerate the semiallogenic fetus. Less than optimal adaptation of the maternal immune system during (early) pregnancy is implicated in several complications of pregnancy. The development of effective immune modulation interventions as preventive or therapeutic strategies for pregnancy complications holds promise. Several studies sought to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of various approaches. However, a limitation is the high variability in clinical and immune outcomes that are reported. We, therefore, aim to develop a core outcome set for application to studies of immune modulation in pregnancy (COSIMPREG). Methods and analysis We will use a stepwise approach to develop a COSIMPREG. First, we will perform a systematic review to identify reported outcomes. For this review, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines will be followed. Second, we will use the Delphi method to develop a preliminary COSIMPREG. In three rounds, the outcomes of the systematic review will be scored. A panel comprising experts from relevant disciplines and diverse geographical locations will be assembled until a sufficient quality of the panel is reached. We will use predefined decision rules for outcomes. After each round outcomes, including scores, will be returned to the panel for further refinement. The outcomes not excluded after the third round will be taken to a consensus meeting. In this meeting, experts from all relevant disciplines will discuss and finalise the COSIMPREG. Ethics and dissemination For this study ethical approval is not required. The systematic review will be published in an appropriate open access reproductive immunology journal. Once the COSIMPREG is finalised, it will be published in an open access reproductive immunology journal, and disseminated at appropriate international meetings, as well as through relevant research and scientific societies. Experts involved in the Delphi study will be asked to give informed consent.
HUS-Graph: I/O-Efficient Out-of-Core Graph Processing with Hybrid Update Strategy

In recent years, a number of out-of-core graph processing systems have been proposed to process graphs with billions of edges on just one commodity computer, due to their high cost efficiency. To obtain the better performance, these systems adopt a full I/O model that accesses all edges during the computation to avoid the ineffectiveness of random I/Os. Although this model ensures good I/O access locality, it loads a large number of useless edges when running graph algorithms that only require a small portion of edges in each iteration. A natural method to solve this problem is the on-demand I/O model that only accesses the active edges. However, this method only works well for the graph algorithms with very few active edges, since the I/O cost will grow rapidly as the number of active edges increases due to larger amount of random I/Os. In this paper, we present HUS-Graph, an efficient out-of-core graph processing system to address the above I/O issues and achieve a good balance between I/O amount and I/O access locality. HUS-Graph first adopts a hybrid update strategy including two update models, Row-oriented Push (ROP) and Column-oriented Pull (COP). It can adaptively select the optimal update model for the graph algorithms that have different computation and I/O features, based on an I/O-based performance prediction method. Furthermore, HUS-Graph proposes a dual-block representation to organize graph data, which ensures good access locality. Extensive experimental results show that HUS-Graph outperforms existing out-of-core systems by 1.4x-23.1x.
Micro-ethics for participatory design with marginalised children

Marginalised children are uniquely vulnerable within western societies. Conducting participatory design research with them comes with particular ethical challenges, some of which we illustrate in this paper. Through several examples across two different participatory design projects (one with autistic children, another with visually impaired children), we reflect on the often overlooked tensions on the level of micro-ethics. We argue we are often required to rely on multiple moral frames of references. We discuss issues that the immediate interaction between researchers and marginalised children in participatory projects can bring and offer an understanding of how micro-ethics manifest in these collaborations. We contribute to a theoretical exploration of ethical encounters based on empirical grounds, which can guide other researchers in their participatory endeavours.
Home Enteral Nutrition: Towards a Standard of Care

The purpose of this overview is to make the case for the establishment and publication of standards for home enteral nutrition (HEN) therapy in adult patients who require a long-term alternative to oral feeding. Overviews can provide a broad and often comprehensive summation of a topic area and, as such, have value for those coming to a subject for the first time. It will provide a broad summation, background and rationale, review specific considerations unique to HEN (tubes, products and supplies) and we describe a recent audit of seven HEN programs which highlights tube and process related challenges. Based on the overview of the literature and our experience with the audit we propose a way forward for best home enteral nutrition care.
Eccentric Training Improves Body Composition by Inducing Mechanical and Metabolic Adaptations: A Promising Approach for Overweight and Obese Individuals

Skeletal muscle generates force by either shortening (concentrically) or lengthening (eccentrically). Eccentric (ECC) exercise is characterized by a lower metabolic demand and requires less muscle activity than concentric (CON) exercise at the same level of exerted force. However, the specific effect of ECC training vs. CON training on lean and fat mass remains underexplored. The first aim of this paper was to review the available evidence regarding the effects of ECC training on whole body and segmental lean and fat mass and, when possible, compare these with the effects of CON training. The second aim was to provide some insights into the main mechanical, physiological, and metabolic adaptations of ECC training that contribute to its effects on body composition. The third aim was to determine the beneficial effects of ECC exercise on health-related parameters in overweight and obese patients. ECC training is an effective modality to improve lean mass, but when matched for load or work, the difference between ECC and CON trainings seems unclear. A few studies reported that ECC training is also efficient at reducing fat mass. By increasing post-exercise resting energy expenditure, modifying metabolic substrate, and improving both blood lipid profile and insulin resistance, ECC training is a potential exercise modality for individuals with chronic conditions such as those who are overweight and obese. Further investigations using standardized experimental conditions, examining not only segmental but also whole body composition, are required to compare ECC and CON trainings.
Low Doses of Ochratoxin-A Decrease IgY and IgA Production in Broiler Chicks

The mycotoxin, ochratoxin-A (OTA), produced by some fungi, and is a natural contaminant of many foods and animal feeds worldwide. Due to its toxic effects, the recommended maximum daily intake of OTA for poultry feeds is 0.1 mg OTA/kg (ECR2006/575/EC); this dose does not induce changes in hepatic/renal parameters, but decreases thymus size and serum globulin concentrations. Accordingly, in this study, we assessed quantitatively the total circulating IgY and IgA serum levels, in chicks consuming a 0.1 mg OTA/kg diet (limit) and higher doses (0.3–1.1 mg OTA/kg diet) for 14 or 21 days. We also evaluated other immunological parameters (thymus, bursa of Fabricius, and spleen weights and leukocyte profiles) at day 21. Decreased IgY serum levels were observed in all OTA-treated groups (p < 0.05). In the low-dose group, IgA levels were decreased on day 21, but not on day 14. The size of the thymus and the bursa of Fabricius was decreased in all OTA-treated groups (p < 0.05), whereas reduced spleen size and altered leukocyte profiles were detected only in the high-dose group (p < 0.05). We concluded that chronic exposure to OTA, even at the recommended highest dose, affected IgY and IgA production in chicks.
Work, labour and action: the role of participatory design in (re)activating the political dimension of work

This article discusses the difficult task of Participatory Design (PD) to design for/with the political dimension of work, such as the work environments' care for inclusion of different groups. It first describes PD's role through time in giving form to this political dimension after the crisis of Fordism and detects some challenges PD is confronted with in addressing this task today. It then explores how Hannah Arendt's reflections on the political dimension of work can contribute to addressing these challenges, researching how her definitions of 'work', 'labour', 'action', 'agorà', 'heroes' and 'interests' can be used as steering concepts that support the (re)activation of this political dimension. We describe how we used Arendt's concepts to steer a PD case in urban design with a group of architects, companies and citizens on how to reintegrate work into the city space of Antwerp. This paper ends with a discussion on the implications of using Arendt's concepts in PD for work.
Radial Compressive Property and the Proof-of-Concept Study for Realizing Self-expansion of 3D Printing Polylactic Acid Vascular Stents with Negative Poisson’s Ratio Structure

Biodegradable stents offer the potential to reduce the in-stent restenosis by providing support long enough for the vessel to heal. The polylactic acid (PLA) vascular stents with negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) structure were manufactured by fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing in this study. The effects of stent diameter, wall thickness and geometric parameters of arrowhead NPR structure on radial compressive property of 3D-printed PLA vascular stent were studied. The results showed that the decrease of stent diameter, the increase of wall thickness and the increase of the surface coverage could enhance the radial force (per unit length) of PLA stent. The radial and longitudinal size of PLA stent with NPR structure decreased simultaneously when the stent was crimped under deformation temperature. The PLA stent could expand in both radial and longitudinal direction under recovery temperature. When the deformation temperature and recovery temperature were both 65 °C, the diameter recovery ratio of stent was more than 95% and the maximum could reach 98%. The length recovery ratio was above 97%. This indicated the feasibility of utilizing the shape memory effect (SME) of PLA to realize the expansion of 3D-printed PLA vascular stent under temperature excitation.
Behavior and Electrophysiological Response of Gravid and Non-Gravid Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to Carrion-Associated Compounds

Abstract The Australian blow fly, Lucilia cuprina Wiedmann (Diptera: Calliphoridae), is a major cause of myiasis (flystrike) in Merino sheep in Australia and New Zealand and, as a primary colonizer of fresh carrion, also an important species in forensic investigations. Olfaction is considered the most important cue for insects to rapidly locate carrion over long distances, so the first carrion visitors are predicted to be very sensitive to carrion-related volatile compounds. We studied the responses of the Australian blow fly, Lucilia cuprina, to the carrion-associated compounds dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), butyric acid, 1-octen-3-ol and indole. We also tested 2-mercaptoethanol, a compound commonly used in fly traps in Australia. We investigated whether responses of the flies are affected by their ovarian status by comparing responses of gravid and non-gravid L. cuprina in electroantennography (EAG) and two-choice laboratory bioassays. All four compounds evoked an EAG response, while only DMTS evoked responses in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry electroantennographic detection (GCMS-EAD) analyses and two-choice bioassays. Gravid flies detected lower doses of the test compounds than non-gravid flies. Our results indicate that DMTS is an important semiochemical for L. cuprina to locate carrion resources, and has potential for use in fly traps for flystrike control. Our observations also suggest that the greater sensitivity of gravid L. cuprina allows them to find fresh carrion quickly to maximize reproductive success by avoiding unsuitable degraded carrion.
SAL1-PAP retrograde signalling extends circadian period by reproducing the loss of exoribonuclease (XRN) activity

ABSTRACT Plants have developed an internal timing mechanism, the circadian system, that serves to synchronise physiological and metabolic functions with daily cues such as dawn and dusk, and provides plants with an advantage in adapting to changing and challenging conditions. We have recently shown that the SAL1-PAP-XRN retrograde signalling pathway, which is proposed to regulate plant responses under stress conditions, also acts within the circadian system. Here we provide further evidence of circadian regulation by SAL1-PAP-XRN signalling, thereby affirming a link between molecular timekeeping and abiotic stress response mechanisms.
A Visually Apparent and Quantifiable CT Imaging Feature Identifies Biophysical Subtypes of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Purpose: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a heterogeneous disease with variable presentations and natural histories of disease. We hypothesized that different morphologic characteristics of PDAC tumors on diagnostic computed tomography (CT) scans would reflect their underlying biology. Experimental Design: We developed a quantitative method to categorize the PDAC morphology on pretherapy CT scans from multiple datasets of patients with resectable and metastatic disease and correlated these patterns with clinical/pathologic measurements. We modeled macroscopic lesion growth computationally to test the effects of stroma on morphologic patterns, hypothesizing that the balance of proliferation and local migration rates of the cancer cells would determine tumor morphology. Results: In localized and metastatic PDAC, quantifying the change in enhancement on CT scans at the interface between tumor and parenchyma (delta) demonstrated that patients with conspicuous (high-delta) tumors had significantly less stroma, higher likelihood of multiple common pathway mutations, more mesenchymal features, higher likelihood of early distant metastasis, and shorter survival times compared with those with inconspicuous (low-delta) tumors. Pathologic measurements of stromal and mesenchymal features of the tumors supported the mathematical model's underlying theory for PDAC growth. Conclusions: At baseline diagnosis, a visually striking and quantifiable CT imaging feature reflects the molecular and pathological heterogeneity of PDAC, and may be used to stratify patients into distinct subtypes. Moreover, growth patterns of PDAC may be described using physical principles, enabling new insights into diagnosis and treatment of this deadly disease.
An appearance uniformity metric for 3D printing

A method is presented for perceptually characterizing appearance non-uniformities that result from 3D printing. In contrast to physical measurements, the model is designed to take into account the human visual system and variations in observer conditions such as lighting, point of view, and shape. Additionally, it is capable of handling spatial reflectance variations over a material's surface. Motivated by Schrödinger's line element approach to studying color differences, an image-based psychophysical experiment that explores paths between materials in appearance space is conducted. The line element concept is extended from color to spatially-varying appearances-including color, roughness and gloss-which enables the measurement of fine differences between appearances along a path. We define two path functions, one interpolating reflectance parameters and the other interpolating the final imagery. An image-based uniformity model is developed, applying a trained neural network to color differences calculated from rendered images of the printed non-uniformities. The final model is shown to perform better than commonly used image comparison algorithms, including spatial pattern classes that were not used in training.
New literacy theories for participatory design: lessons from three design cases with Australian Aboriginal communities

Literacy and power are closely entwined, and not all literacy practices are equally supported and recognised within dominant discourses and political structures. Technology design offers new possibilities for supporting culturally-diverse literacy practices, including the preservation and maintenance of endangered languages. While literacy is an inherent aspect of design work, theories of literacy as a social practice encompassing a variety of different senses and modes of expression are under-utilised within the design community. We survey the current landscape on literacy and design, and illustrate how six lenses of new literacy theory articulated by Kathy Mills [1] can support us to be more attentive to the literacy practices enacted in design through their application to three design cases with Australian Aboriginal communities. Finally, we reflect on our own Digital Community Noticeboard project to contribute four ways that new literacy theory can inform participatory design.