Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advances in Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoarthritis: From Preclinical and Clinical Perspectives

The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative disorder of joints, has substantially increased in recent years. Its key pathogenic hallmarks include articular cartilage destruction, synovium inflammation, and bone remodeling. However, treatment outcomes are unsatisfactory. Until recently, common therapy methods, such as analgesic and anti-inflammatory treatments, were aimed to treat symptoms that cannot be radically cured. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), i.e., mesoderm non-hematopoietic cells separated from bone marrow, adipose tissue, umbilical cord blood, etc., have been intensively explored as an emerging technique for the treatment of OA over the last few decades. According to existing research, MSCs may limit cartilage degradation in OA by interfering with cellular immunity and secreting a number of active chemicals. This study aimed to examine the potential mechanism of MSCs in the treatment of OA and conduct a thorough review of both preclinical and clinical data.
Approximating the Moments and Distribution of the Likelihood Ratio Statistic for Multinomial Goodness of Fit

Abstract Approximations were derived for the mean and variance of G 2, the likelihood ratio statistic for testing goodness of fit in a k cell multinomial distribution. These approximate moments, accurate to O(N -3), may be used in fitting the distribution of G 2. Extensive numerical studies of the exact and approximate distributions were performed in the special case of equiprobability. The asymptotic chi-squared distribution was found to fit poorly for k ≥ 4. Satisfactory results were obtained using a multiplicative correction to the chi-squared fit. More sophisticated procedures using the beta distribution produced increased accuracy, but at the cost of excessive computational labor.
A method for improving YOLOv5s-based plant leaf cells recognition rate using transfer learning

In view of the small sample set of plant cell images, unclear cell boundaries and artifacts, the deep learning model has a low recognition rate. In this study, a yolov5s parameter transfer method is used to improve the recognition accuracy of plant cells. First, perform data enhancement operations such as denoising, rotation, translation and scaling on the plant cell training samples; then, pre-train the yolov5s network on the BCCD Dataset, transfer the model parameters to the network, and then carry out model parameter update training on the plant cell data set. The experimental results showed that the transfer learning method was faster than the original yolov5s network on the model training and validation set in terms of algorithm convergence, with a smaller loss function value. This method can provide a precise cell positioning solution to measure the plant cell geometric parameters.
Probing Near-Field Thermal Emission of Localized Surface Phonons from Silicon Carbide Nanopillars

Thermal emission of localized surface phonons (LSPhs) from nanostructures of polaritonic materials is a promising mechanism for tuning the spectrum of near-field thermal radiation. Previous studies have theoretically shown that thermal emission of LSPhs results in narrow-band peaks in the near-field spectra, whose spectral locations can be modulated by changing the dimensions of the nanostructure. However, near-field thermal emission of LSPhs has not been experimentally explored yet. In this study, we measure the spectrum of near-field thermal radiation from arrays of 6H-silicon carbide (6H-SiC) nanopillars using an internal-reflection-element based spectroscopy technique. We present an experimental demonstration of thermal emission of the transverse dipole, quadrupole, and octupole, as well as longitudinal monopole from 6H-SiC nanopillars at a near-field distance from the array. We show that the spectral location of the longitudinal monopole and transverse dipole are significantly affected by the near-field coupling between neighboring nanopillars as well as the intercoupling of the nanopillars and the substrate. We also experimentally demonstrate that the spectrum of near-field thermal radiation from 6H-SiC nanopillar arrays can be tuned by varying the dimensions of the nanopillars, providing an opportunity for designing emitters with tailored near-field thermal radiation.
Impact of Persistent Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteremia on Clinical Outcome and Mortality

The clinical aspects of persistent bacteremia (PB) caused by gram-negative rods (GNRs) in terms of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and PB clearance status are unclear. This secondary analysis of a retrospective cohort study investigated differences in PB caused by Enterobacterales and glucose non-fermentative GNRs (NF-GNRs) based on AMR and PB clearance. We retrospectively surveyed medical records at Tohoku University Hospital. Patients for whom blood cultures were performed between January 2012 and December 2021 were recruited. PB cases were grouped based on AMR and PB clearance; the characteristics of PB due to each bacterial pathogen were examined. The main outcome variable was mortality. The late (30–90-day) mortality rate was significantly higher in the multidrug-resistant (MDR) group than in the non-MDR group for Enterobacterales. However, no significant difference was noted in mortality rates between NF-GNRs with and without AMR. Mortality rates tended to be higher in the non-PB-clearance group than in the clearance group for both Enterobacterales and NF-GNRs. Since the mortality rate was higher in the MDR group in the case of Enterobacterales PB, more careful management is necessary for this condition. Follow-up blood cultures and confirming the clearance of PB are useful for improving the survival rate.
Perceived social support and chronic inflammation: The moderating role of self-esteem.

OBJECTIVE Social support is one of the strongest psychosocial predictors of physical health. However, is this the case for everyone? On the basis of recent research suggesting that self-esteem can moderate the psychological effects of social support, the present research investigated whether self-esteem would moderate the health benefits of social support. METHOD A national sample of middle-aged adults (N = 949) completed self-report questionnaires on perceived social support, self-esteem, sociodemographic information, and health related behaviors. Two years later, they provided a blood sample that was analyzed for C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation. RESULTS The effect of perceived social support on inflammation was moderated by self-esteem. Specifically, perceived social support predicted lower CRP for people with high self-esteem, whereas it was not significantly associated with CRP for those with low self-esteem. These results held even after controlling for sociodemographic information, health related behaviors, and medication usage. CONCLUSION Self-esteem is a key variable that may modulate the link between social support and inflammation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Expression Patterns of Serotonin Receptors 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT3A during Human Fetal Lung Development

We analyzed the expression of the serotonin receptors 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT3A at four different stages of fetal lung development from 12 to 40 weeks of gestation, divided into four groups: the pseudoglandular stage (12–16th week of development; n = 8), the canalicular stage (16th–26th week of development; n = 7), the saccular stage (26th-36th week of development; n = 5), and the alveolar stage (36th–40th week of development; n = 5). The strongest expression of all three receptor types was found in the epithelium of the proximal airways during the pseudoglandular, canalicular, and saccular stages and in a vascular wall. 5-HT1A was also strongly expressed in the smooth muscle cells of the proximal airway. Vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelium occasionally showed a strong expression of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A. In the alveolar stage, the expression of 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT3A was detected in both type I (p1) and type II (p2) pneumocytes, with a stronger expression in p2. A significant decrease in percent the 5-HT2A area and in the integrated density was observed at the alveolar stage. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the percentage area but an increase in the integrated density was observed for 5-HT3A toward the alveolar stage, suggesting that a smaller number of cells expressed 5-HT3A but that they (p1 and p2) significantly increased their 5-HT3A expression at the alveolar stage. The results presented provided us with new data on the development and function of the serotonin system in the human fetal lung and gave us insight into their possible involvement in the pathogenesis of lung pathology, particularly that characteristic of the neonatal period.
A novel technique for the measurement of the acoustic properties of a thin linear-viscoelastic layer using a planar ultrasonic transducer

Thin linear-viscoelastic layers such as films and coatings have many applications. Simultaneous measurement of the multiple acoustic properties of a thin layer is of great importance in ensuring its quality. In this paper, a novel technique is proposed for the simultaneous determination of the three acoustic properties of a thin linear-viscoelastic layer, namely the acoustic impedance Z2, the time-of-flight Δt2 and the attenuation coefficient α2. A planar ultrasonic transducer, at normal incidence, is used to interrogate the thin layer, and all the reflections are received by the same transducer. Firstly, an optimal estimate of Z2 is obtained by subtracting the echo from the front surface of the thin layer from all the received echoes. After this determination of the acoustic impedance, optimal estimates for Δt2 and α2 can be found if the echo from the back surface of the thin layer is subtracted without any remainder. This technique avoids the convergence problem that is frequently encountered in the traditional measurement techniques based mainly on fitting the experimental reflection spectrum to a theoretical model. The effectiveness of the new technique is firstly confirmed by numerical simulation and then by experimental application to four thin linear-viscoelastic layers. Experimental results show that Z2 and Δt2 can be obtained accurately while the error in determining of α2 is relatively large due to the insensitivity of the ultrasonic echoes to that property. The relative uncertainties in determining the three acoustic properties Z2, Δt2 and α2 in our experiments are around 1.2%, 1.5%, 5%, respectively, mainly arising from the principle of this measurement technique.
IMPACTO-MR: a Brazilian nationwide platform study to assess infections and multidrug resistance in intensive care units

Objective To describe the IMPACTO-MR, a Brazilian nationwide intensive care unit platform study focused on the impact of health care-associated infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria. Methods We described the IMPACTO-MR platform, its development, criteria for intensive care unit selection, characterization of core data collection, objectives, and future research projects to be held within the platform. Results The core data were collected using the Epimed Monitor System® and consisted of demographic data, comorbidity data, functional status, clinical scores, admission diagnosis and secondary diagnoses, laboratory, clinical, and microbiological data, and organ support during intensive care unit stay, among others. From October 2019 to December 2020, 33,983 patients from 51 intensive care units were included in the core database. Conclusion The IMPACTO-MR platform is a nationwide Brazilian intensive care unit clinical database focused on researching the impact of health care-associated infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria. This platform provides data for individual intensive care unit development and research and multicenter observational and prospective trials.
COVID-19 Vaccination Attitude and Behavior among Nurses at a West Texas Regional Hospital

Vaccinations against COVID-19 infection have become a contentious issue in the United States. Multiple segments of society, including healthcare workers, have expressed concerns regarding the need for vaccination and the safety of current vaccines. Many hospital-based nurses have helped care for patients with severe COVID-19 infections. An anonymous online survey was sent to the nursing staff at University Medical Center in Lubbock, TX, USA, through a hospital-based email system to determine vaccination status and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine and other routine vaccines. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with vaccination. A total of 251 nurses responded to this survey; 211 nurses (83.7%) had received the vaccine. Almost all nurses (242, 96%) had received all childhood vaccinations, and 231 (91.7%) had received an influenza vaccination in the prior year. A minority of nurses (75, 29.8%) supported mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers. The reasons for declining vaccination included the possibility that diet and alternative medications provided better protection against COVID-19. This survey demonstrates that over 80% of nurses working in a hospital managing very sick patients with COVID-19 infection had been vaccinated. However, nurses who did not take the annual influenza vaccine and did not consider other protective measures useful (such as mask-wearing) were significantly less likely to vaccinate. Nurses can provide an important resource for conversations with the public and patients about vaccine initiatives.
Structured coronae of accretion disks

A model for the fluctuating hard component of intense cosmic X-ray sources (such as Cyg X-1) is developed, based upon the amplification of magnetic fields by convective motions and differential rotation within a hot (T> or approx. =10/sup 6/K) accretion disk. Field reconnection within the inner portion of the disk is shown to be ineffective in limiting field amplification; magnetic fields may therefore attain strengths comparable to the equipartition value, leading to their emergence via buoyancy in the form of looplike structures and resulting in a very hot (T>10/sup 8/K) magnetically confined, structured corona analogous to the observed structure of the solar corona. The energy balance of these loop structures is examined, and it is shown that the disk soft X-ray luminosity determines the predominant energy loss mechanism in loops: at low disk luminosities, thermal bremstrahlung from these loops dominates and contributes a steady, shot-noise--like hard X-ray component. At high disk luminosities the emerging loops are Compton-cooled; the soft X-ray flux from the disk is Comptonized by the emerged loops, forming a transient, flarelike hard X-ray component.
A Limited-Use Asset Management System on the Blockchain Platform with an Extended Open Assets Protocol

Currency payment platforms on blockchains have widely spread through the e-commerce market all over the world. Colored Coins are ones of the platforms that can add information which expresses issuers and purposes of the coins. The purposes written in the information can express the usage such as coupons, but cannot prevent the coins from being paid for other purposes. First, in this paper, we propose an extended open assets protocol for limited-use assets. This protocol prevents the assets from being used for other purposes than the issuer's intended purposes. Second, we construct a limited-use asset management system on the blockchain platform with our proposed open assets protocol. Finally, we indicate the effects and use cases of our proposed system.
The role of invariant surface glycoprotein 75 in xenobiotic acquisition by African trypanosomes

The surface proteins of parasitic protozoa mediate functions essential to survival within a host, including nutrient accumulation, environmental sensing and immune evasion. Several receptors involved in nutrient uptake and defence from the innate immune response have been described in African trypanosomes and, together with antigenic variation, contribute towards persistence within vertebrate hosts. Significantly, a superfamily of invariant surface glycoproteins (ISGs) populates the trypanosome surface, one of which, ISG75, is implicated in uptake of the century-old drug suramin. By CRISPR/Cas9 knockout and biophysical analysis, we show here that ISG75 directly binds suramin and mediates uptake of additional naphthol-related compounds, making ISG75 a conduit for entry of at least one structural class of trypanocidal compounds. However, ISG75 null cells present only modest attenuation of suramin sensitivity, have unaltered viability in vivo and in vitro and no alteration to suramin-invoked proteome responses. While ISG75 is demonstrated as a valid suramin cell entry pathway, we suggest the presence of additional mechanisms for suramin accumulation, further demonstrating the complexity of trypanosomatid drug interactions and potential for evolution of resistance.
Comparative Research: Regulatory Mechanisms of Ribosomal Gene Transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Restricting ribosome biosynthesis and assembly in response to nutrient starvation is a universal phenomenon that enables cells to survive with limited intracellular resources. When cells experience starvation, nutrient signaling pathways, such as the target of rapamycin (TOR) and protein kinase A (PKA), become quiescent, leading to several transcription factors and histone modification enzymes cooperatively and rapidly repressing ribosomal genes. Fission yeast has factors for heterochromatin formation similar to mammalian cells, such as H3K9 methyltransferase and HP1 protein, which are absent in budding yeast. However, limited studies on heterochromatinization in ribosomal genes have been conducted on fission yeast. Herein, we shed light on and compare the regulatory mechanisms of ribosomal gene transcription in two species with the latest insights.
Visualization of atherosclerotic plaque mechanical properties using model based intravascular ultrasound elastography.

Cardiovascular disease related deaths occur primarily from fatty plaques inside an artery that rupture and cause clots that disrupt blood flow. The study of arterial plaque mechanics is essential to the monitoring of atherosclerosis and the detection of vulnerable plaques or the likelihood of their rupture. The aim of this work is to measure and image the mechanical behavior of plaques using a clinically available intravascular ultrasound system (IVUS). To test the methods, radial displacements were measured from simulated images and phantom data within two dimensional IVUS rf images using standard elastography techniques. Simulations and phantom experiments were designed to mimic arterial geometries and deformations, which include plaque regions of varying stiffnesses. In addition, an optimization inversion algorithm was used to infer the elastic modulus of the underlying material. This algorithm utilizes a finite element based model and assumes that the deformation is quasi‐static, plane strain and that.
Shortening Veselago lenses using variable photonic crystals

A photonic crystal can behave like a medium with a negative effective refractive index within certain frequency ranges. As a result, under these conditions, a photonic crystal slab acts as a Veselago lens, which produces images via inverse propagation. To have low reflection the effective index is usually designed to be −1. However, this implies that the lens is half as thick as the distance between the object and its image. We investigate the possibility of varying the refractive index along the propagation direction from −1 at the interfaces to an effective index with a smaller magnitude in the bulk of the medium in order to shorten the Veselago lens while keeping the reflections from the interfaces low. The hole radius in the photonic crystal is varied over the photonic crystal to produce a varying effective refractive index. We present finite-difference time-domain simulations of a Veselago lens with a varying index, demonstrating that Veselago lenses can be shortened in this way.
Linear electro-optic effect in cubic silicon carbide

We report the first observation of the electro‐optic effect of cubic silicon carbide (β‐SiC) grown by a low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition reactor using the hydrogen, silane, and propane gas system. At a wavelength of 633 nm, the value of the electro‐optic coefficient r41 in β‐SiC is determined to be 2.7±0.5×10−12 m/V, which is 1.7 times larger than that in gallium arsenide measured at 10.6 μm. Also a half‐wave voltage of 6.4 kV for β‐SiC is obtained. Because of this favorable value of electro‐optic coefficient we believe that silicon carbide may be a promising candidate in electro‐optic applications for high optical intensity in the visible region.
The status and outcomes of interprofessional health education in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review

ABSTRACT The increasing burden of chronic diseases, and shortage of health care workers especially in Low and Middle Income countries (LMICs) requires greater collaborative working between health professions. There is a growing body of evidence that interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional continuous education (IPCE) can improve collaborative practice thus strengthening health care delivery in low resource settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes this educational strategy in these regions as part of wider programs to improve health care. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize IPE and IPCE activities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and its outcomes; including practice, service and patient outcomes. Standard guidelines for conducting and reporting systematic reviews were followed. The online databases searched included MEDLINE, Embase, Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC), the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Science Direct. The Kirkpatrick model was used to classify IPE outcomes reported from literature. Following full text screening, 41 articles were selected for data extraction. It was found that IPE/IPCE is still a relatively new concept in SSA with 93% of studies published after 2012. Furthermore, IPE is concentrated predominantly in undergraduate institutions and mainly implemented to improve collaborative practice and address important public health concerns. Positive reaction and outcomes of IPE/IPCE were reported in terms of change of attitude and perception toward collaborative practice as well as knowledge and skills acquisition. Few studies in SSA sought to understand and measure the outcomes of IPE/IPCE relating to health care practice. More work in this important potential outcome of IPE/IPCE is recommended.
A Note on Generating Sets for Semiflows

In this short note, we are interested in discussing characteristics of finite generating sets for $\mathcal{F}$, the set of all semiflows with non negative coefficients of a Petri Net. By systematically positioning these results over semi rings such as $\mathbb{N}$ or $\mathbb{Q^+}$ then over a field such as $\mathbb{Q}$, we were able to discover a handful of new results