Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SGLT2 Inhibitors: A Review of Their Antidiabetic and Cardioprotective Effects

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease associated with high cardiovascular (CV) risk. Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are the latest class of antidiabetic medication that inhibit the absorption of glucose from the proximal tubule of the kidney and hence cause glycosuria. Four SGLT2i are currently commercially available in many countries: canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, and ertugliflozin. SGLT2i reduce glycated hemoglobin by 0.5%–1.0% and have shown favorable effects on body weight, blood pressure, lipid profile, arterial stiffness and endothelial function. More importantly, SGLT2i have demonstrated impressive cardioprotective and renoprotective effects. The main mechanisms underlying their cardioprotective effects have been attributed to improvement in cardiac cell metabolism, improvement in ventricular loading conditions, inhibition of the Na+/H+ exchange in the myocardial cells, alteration in adipokines and cytokines production, as well as reduction of cardiac cells necrosis and cardiac fibrosis. The main adverse events of SGLT2i include urinary tract and genital infections, as well as euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis. Concerns have also been raised about the association of SGLT2i with lower limb amputations, Fournier gangrene, risk of bone fractures, female breast cancer, male bladder cancer, orthostatic hypotension, and acute kidney injury.
Impact of chronic wounds of various etiology on systemic profiles of key inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors and their interplay.

BACKGROUND Non-healing wounds are becoming a growing concern for public health as a result of their increasing prevalence in progressively aging societies. OBJECTIVES The aim of this article is to evaluate the effects of wound etiology on a panel of circulating cytokines in patients with non-healing wounds of the lower extremities. MATERIAL AND METHODS This prospective case-control study involved 104 individuals: healthy elderly people (n = 46) and patients with diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease (n = 58; among them 38 with chronic wounds of venous, ischemic or neurotrophic etiology). Selected serum cytokines - i.e. IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, FGF-2, G-CSF, GM-CSF, MCP-1, MIP-1α, TNF-α, VEGF-A, and PDGF-BB - were measured using the Luminex platform. RESULTS Compared to healthy elderly people, presence of diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease was associated with elevated IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1 and G-CSF while non-healing wounds coexisted with the increase in the levels of all examined cytokines/growth factors except for G-CSF and GM-CSF. Among diseased elderly people, having wounds was associated with increased levels of IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, FGF-2, MIP-1α, PDGF-BB, and VEGF-A. Interleukin 1β elevation was a sole independent predictor of chronic wounds with an odds ratio (OR) of 6.3. Cytokines in healthy seniors were loosely interrelated, while the levels of cytokines in diseased patients with wounds displayed a tight pattern of association. When stratified by their etiology, the association pattern for IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and VEGF-A was disrupted in neurotrophic wounds. CONCLUSIONS The results presented herein may improve our understanding of the pathomechanisms which lead to chronic wounds and of the effects they exert on a systemic level, as well as providing potential targets for more effective therapies.
Effective Data-Aware Covariance Estimator From Compressed Data

Estimating covariance matrix from massive high-dimensional and distributed data is significant for various real-world applications. In this paper, we propose a data-aware weighted sampling-based covariance matrix estimator, namely DACE, which can provide an unbiased covariance matrix estimation and attain more accurate estimation under the same compression ratio. Moreover, we extend our proposed DACE to tackle multiclass classification problems with theoretical justification and conduct extensive experiments on both synthetic and real-world data sets to demonstrate the superior performance of our DACE.
HEMIGEN: Human Embryo Image Generator Based on Generative Adversarial Networks

We propose a method for generating the synthetic images of human embryo cells that could later be used for classification, analysis, and training, thus resulting in the creation of new synthetic image datasets for research areas lacking real-world data. Our focus was not only to generate the generic image of a cell such, but to make sure that it has all necessary attributes of a real cell image to provide a fully realistic synthetic version. We use human embryo images obtained during cell development processes for training a deep neural network (DNN). The proposed algorithm used generative adversarial network (GAN) to generate one-, two-, and four-cell stage images. We achieved a misclassification rate of 12.3% for the generated images, while the expert evaluation showed the true recognition rate (TRR) of 80.00% (for four-cell images), 86.8% (for two-cell images), and 96.2% (for one-cell images). Texture-based comparison using the Haralick features showed that there is no statistically (using the Student’s t-test) significant (p < 0.01) differences between the real and synthetic embryo images except for the sum of variance (for one-cell and four-cell images), and variance and sum of average (for two-cell images) features. The obtained synthetic images can be later adapted to facilitate the development, training, and evaluation of new algorithms for embryo image processing tasks.
Multi-Scale Topological Analysis of Asymmetric Tensor Fields on Surfaces

Asymmetric tensor fields have found applications in many science and engineering domains, such as fluid dynamics. Recent advances in the visualization and analysis of 2D asymmetric tensor fields focus on pointwise analysis of the tensor field and effective visualization metaphors such as colors, glyphs, and hyperstreamlines. In this paper, we provide a novel multi-scale topological analysis framework for asymmetric tensor fields on surfaces. Our multi-scale framework is based on the notions of eigenvalue and eigenvector graphs. At the core of our framework are the identification of atomic operations that modify the graphs and the scale definition that guides the order in which the graphs are simplified to enable clarity and focus for the visualization of topological analysis on data of different sizes. We also provide efficient algorithms to realize these operations. Furthermore, we provide physical interpretation of these graphs. To demonstrate the utility of our system, we apply our multi-scale analysis to data in computational fluid dynamics.
The Relationships Among School Nurse to Student Ratios, Self-Efficacy, and Glycemic Control in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) experience unique self-management challenges, which can lead to poor glycemic control and sequelae. School nurses may impact student self-efficacy behaviors for T1D management in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among school nurse staffing patterns, measured by school nurse to student ratios, self-efficacy, and glycemic control in adolescents with T1D. The sample consisted of 89 parent–adolescent dyads. Adolescents aged 10–16 years old with T1D completed the Self-Efficacy for Diabetes Self-Management (SEDM) Scale. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Higher school nurse to student ratios correlated with better glycemic control and older age. Higher SEDM scores correlated with older age, and females scored significantly higher. Findings contribute new knowledge to the paucity of literature on school nursing and adolescents with T1D, with implications for nursing practice, education, research, and policy.
Exposure to Non-Native Tropical Milkweed Promotes Reproductive Development in Migratory Monarch Butterflies

Background: North American monarchs (Danaus plexippus) are well-known for their long-distance migrations; however, some monarchs within the migratory range have adopted a resident lifestyle and breed year-round at sites where tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is planted in the southern coastal United States. An important question is whether exposure to exotic milkweed alters monarch migratory physiology, particularly the ability to enter and remain in the hormonally-induced state of reproductive diapause, whereby adults delay reproductive maturity. Cued by cooler temperatures and shorter photoperiods, diapause is a component of the monarch’s migratory syndrome that includes directional flight behavior, lipid accumulation, and the exceptional longevity of the migratory generation. Methods: Here, we experimentally test how exposure to tropical milkweed during the larval and adult stages influences monarch reproductive status during fall migration. Caterpillars reared under fall-like conditions were fed tropical versus native milkweed diets, and wild adult migrants were placed in outdoor flight cages with tropical milkweed, native milkweed, or no milkweed. Results: We found that monarchs exposed to tropical milkweed as larvae were more likely to be reproductively active (exhibit mating behavior in males and develop mature eggs in females) compared to monarchs exposed to native milkweed. Among wild-caught fall migrants, females exposed to tropical milkweed showed greater egg development than females exposed to native or no milkweed, although a similar response was not observed for males. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that exposure to tropical milkweed can increase monarch reproductive activity, which could promote continued residency at year-round breeding sites and decrease monarch migratory propensity.
Cochrane corner: increasing patient utilisation of cardiac rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an outpatient chronic disease management programme to optimise patient recovery and prevent further cardiac events. Programmes offer core components to optimise cardiovascular risk reduction, foster healthy behaviours (eg, exercise, healthy eating, tobacco cessation), increase patients’ understanding of their disease and improve psychosocial well-being. CR has been shown to improve health-related quality of life, as well as decrease subsequent morbidity and cardiovascular mortality by approximately 20%. 1 As a result, CR is an integral recommendation in many clinical guidelines for secondary prevention in cardiac patients.2 However, CR utilisation remains suboptimal. Such underutilisation can be attributed in part to low referral by healthcare providers. However, even among patients referred, few enrol in CR, and many of those who do drop out.3 Factors impacting utilisation of CR include distance, financial resources, work and other time constraints, gender, age, social support, illness perceptions, and depression.4 Here we highlight the updated systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to increase patient utilisation of CR.5 Utilisation was operationalised as enrolment (ie, patient attendance at a first visit), adherence (ie, percentage of prescribed sessions completed) and completion (ie, patients attended at least some of the programme and had a formal reassessment by staff at the end of the programme) of CR.6 Harms, costs and equity were also considered (secondary outcomes). A search was performed through July 2018 to identify trials published since the previous systematic review. The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EBSCOhost and Conference Proceedings Citation Index, among other databases, were searched. The reference lists of relevant systematic reviews were hand-searched for additional trials, and two clinical trial registers were also searched. Randomised controlled trials in adults with myocardial infarction, angina, undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention, …
Roles of Direct Photoreception and the Internal Circadian Oscillator in the Regulation of Melatonin Secretion in the Pineal Organ of the Domestic Turkey: A Novel In Vitro Clock and Calendar Model

The regulation of melatonin secretion in the avian pineal organ is highly complex and shows prominent interspecies differences. The aim of this study was to determine the roles of direct photoreception and the internal oscillator in the regulation of melatonin secretion in the pineal organ of the domestic turkey. The pineal organs were collected from 12-, 13- and 14-week-old female turkeys reared under a 12 L:12 D cycle with the photophase from 07.00 to 19.00, and were incubated in superfusion culture for 3–6 days. The cultures were subjected to different light conditions including 12 L:12 D cycles with photophases between 07.00 and 19.00, 13.00 and 01.00 or 01.00 and 13.00, a reversed cycle 12 D:12 L, cycles with long (16 L:8 D) and short (8 L:16 D) photophases, and continuous darkness or illumination. The pineal organs were also exposed to light pulses of variable duration during incubation in darkness or to periods of darkness during the photophase. The secretion of melatonin was determined by direct radioimmunoassay. The turkey pineal organs secreted melatonin in a well-entrained diurnal rhythm with a very high amplitude. Direct photoreception as an independently acting mechanism was able to ensure quick and precise adaptation of the melatonin secretion rhythm to changes in light-dark conditions. The pineal organs secreted melatonin in circadian rhythms during incubation in continuous darkness or illumination. The endogenous oscillator of turkey pinealocytes was able to acquire and store information about the light-dark cycle and then to generate the circadian rhythm of melatonin secretion in continuous darkness according to the stored data. The obtained data suggest that the turkey pineal gland is highly autonomous in the generation and regulation of the melatonin secretion rhythm. They also demonstrate that the turkey pineal organ in superfusion culture is a valuable model for chronobiological studies, providing a highly precise clock and calendar. This system has several features which make it an attractive alternative to other avian pineal glands for circadian studies.
Instabilities and Transition to Chaos in Flows between Concentric Cylinders

How does turbulence rise? For a long time, a century, the Taylor-Couette system was a paradigm for the researchers who tried to get answers to this question. Fascinating structures and patterns observed in the flow have attracted the interest of many researchers, both experimentalists and theorists. During the last century, many works were done on the closed Taylor-Couette systems. At the end of the seventies, after thousands of contributions, experiments performed in the Taylor-Couette system confirmed a theoretical analysis which concluded that a finite number of instabilities, two or three, are sufficient to lead to chaos or weak turbulence. Our own experiments were conducted at that time on a TaylorCouette system with a moderate aspect ratio. They were analyzed from visual observation and fine local measurement with an electrochemical method. Scalar time series and data pointed out the frequencies characteristic of the flow. Many geometrical effects are considered by researchers. When the gap is horizontal and not completely filled, the flow obtained is called Taylor-Dean flow. We obtained similar flow in an azimuthally open Taylor-Couette system where a combination of the inner cylinder rotation and external fluid pumping, the Dean flow, produces the so called Taylor-Dean flow. Measurements and analysis were carried out by visualization and Laser Doppler Velocimetry. In addition to the experimental approach, we used Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis to complete the flow study. Numerical and experimental investigations reveal a class of instabilities of the Taylor-Dean flow not previously observed in the Taylor-Couette flow due to the cylinder rotation neither in the Dean flow due to the external pumping fluid.
Brentuximab vedotin as consolidation after hematopoietic cell transplant for relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma in pediatric patients

To the Editor: Pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) affects approximately 1100 children and adolescents <20 years of age in the United States each year with anestimated5-year overall survival of>90%. 1 However, theoverall survival falls to 70% for a small percentage of patients who relapse, and down to 50% for those requiring hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). 2 A trial conducted in adult patients, AETHERA, assessed theuse of brentuximab vedotin (Bv) as consolidation therapy after autologous HCT in patientswithHL at risk of relapse or progression.3 Bv is an antibody-drug conjugate containing an anti-CD30murine/human chimeric monoclonal antibody (cAC10; brentuximab) linked to monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE). After binding to CD30, a transmembrane receptor highly expressed on the malignant Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg cells, Bv is internalized andMMAE is released. Like vincristine,MMAEexerts antineoplastic effect by inhibiting tubulin polymerization, leading to M-phase arrest and apoptosis.
Inhibitory interneurons mediate autism-associated behaviors via 4E-BP2

Significance Disrupting cellular mechanisms that control protein synthesis can lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in humans. Repetitive motions, impaired social interaction, and altered vocal communication are core symptoms of ASD and can be mimicked in mice. Deletion of the protein synthesis inhibitor, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 2 (4E-BP2), causes autistic behaviors in mice. Using a variety of conditional knockout mouse models, we found that loss of 4E-BP2 in inhibitory neurons in the brain, but not in excitatory neurons or astrocytes, causes autistic behaviors. Translational control plays a key role in regulation of neuronal activity and behavior. Deletion of the translational repressor 4E-BP2 in mice alters excitatory and inhibitory synaptic functions, engendering autistic-like behaviors. The contribution of 4E-BP2-dependent translational control in excitatory and inhibitory neurons and astrocytic cells to these behaviors remains unknown. To investigate this, we generated cell-type-specific conditional 4E-BP2 knockout mice and tested them for the salient features of autism, including repetitive stereotyped behaviors (self-grooming and marble burying), sociability (3-chamber social and direct social interaction tests), and communication (ultrasonic vocalizations in pups). We found that deletion of 4E-BP2 in GABAergic inhibitory neurons, defined by Gad2, resulted in impairments in social interaction and vocal communication. In contrast, deletion of 4E-BP2 in forebrain glutamatergic excitatory neurons, defined by Camk2a, or in astrocytes, defined by Gfap, failed to cause autistic-like behavioral abnormalities. Taken together, we provide evidence for an inhibitory-cell-specific role of 4E-BP2 in engendering autism-related behaviors.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids in Poultry Nutrition: Effect on Production Performance and Health

Simple Summary In this review, we discuss previous studies, state-of-the-art technology, and the potential implications of utilizing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in poultry diets, as well as the application of these fatty acids in the poultry industry for improving poultry production and health. Essential roles are played by these fatty acids in development and metabolism, growth and productive performance, immune response and anti-oxidative properties, improving meat quality, bone growth and development, and improving fertility rates and semen quality. Abstract Omega-3 (ω-3) and omega-6 (ω-6) fatty acids are important components of cell membranes. They are essential for health and normal physiological functioning of humans. Not all fatty acids can be produced endogenously owing to the absence of certain desaturases; however, they are required in a ratio that is not naturally achieved by the standard diet of industrialized nations. Poultry products have become the primary source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), with one of the most effective solutions being to increase the accretion of PUFAs in chicken products via the adjustment of fatty acids in poultry diets. Several studies have reported the favorable effects of ω-3 PUFA on bone strength, bone mineral content and density, and semen quality. However, other studies concluded negative effects of LC-PUFA on meat quality and palatability, and acceptability by consumers. The present review discussed the practical application of ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids in poultry diets, and studied the critical effects of these fatty acids on productive performance, blood biochemistry, immunity, carcass traits, bone traits, egg and meat quality, and semen quality in poultry. Future studies are required to determine how poultry products can be produced with higher contents of PUFAs and favorable fatty acid composition, at low cost and without negative effects on palatability and quality.
ESKNet-An enhanced adaptive selection kernel convolution for breast tumors segmentation

—Breast cancer is one of the common cancers that endanger the health of women globally. Accurate target lesion segmentation is essential for early clinical intervention and postoperative follow-up. Recently, many convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been proposed to segment breast tumors from ultrasound images. However, the complex ultrasound pattern and the variable tumor shape and size bring challenges to the accurate segmentation of the breast lesion. Motivated by the selective kernel convolution, we introduce an enhanced selective kernel convolution for breast tumor segmentation, which integrates multiple feature map region representations and adaptively recalibrates the weights of these feature map regions from the channel and spatial dimensions. This region recalibration strategy enables the network to focus more on high-contributing region features and mitigate the perturbation of less useful regions. Finally, the enhanced selective kernel convolution is integrated into U-net with deep supervision constraints to adaptively capture the robust representation of breast tumors. Extensive experiments with twelve state-of-the-art deep learning segmentation methods on three public breast ultrasound datasets demonstrate that our method has a more competitive segmentation performance in breast ultrasound images. The source code is publicly available at: https://github.com/CGPxy/ESKNet.
Neue Möglichkeiten zur Nutzung vertraulicher amtlicher Personen- und Firmendaten

"Researchers in Germany have nowadays access to confidential micro data compiled from official statistics in a way that could not have been dreamt of just a few years ago. This paper describes the new institutions that grant data access - most importantly the research data centers located inside the data producing agencies - and how to access the micro data, and presents information about selected recently released data sets with a high potential for scientific research and policy evaluation. Furthermore, we contrast the German situation with the Danish way of handling research access to confidential micro data. Finally, we take a look at ongoing projects that will further improve data access in Germany. " (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Adolescence and the use of herbs

The use of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies is increasing in the pediatric and adolescent population, especially the use of herbs and supplements. Herbal therapies are commonly used by adolescents to improve sports performance, lose weight and prevent illness. It is important for doctors to ask adolescents and their families about herbal and supplement use not only to prevent side effects and herb/drug interactions, but also to provide a pathway for more preventive health discussions, which may lead to reduced high risk behavior.