Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impaired adipocyte glucose transport regulators in morbid obesity - Possible mechanisms contributing to metabolic dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE Obesity is characterized by hypertrophy and pathological expansion of adipocytes with impaired insulin signaling causing insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic dysfunction. We recently reported decreased expression of glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) in cultured adipocytes from visceral and abdominal subcutaneous fat depots from patients with morbid obesity and hyperinsulinemia (MOW) and with Type 2 diabetes (MODM). Subsequently, we wanted to study the molecular mechanisms of the glucose transport regulators, p85PI3K, Rab5 and Gapex5 in morbid obesity. PATIENTS AND METHODS Primary in vitro adipocyte cultures were developed from surgical biopsies from visceral (Visc) and abdominal (Sub) and gluteal subcutaneous (Glut) fat depots from 20 lean adults and 36 adults with morbid obesity divided into two groups: 20 with MOW and 16 MODM). mRNA and protein expression (P) of p85PI3K, Rab5 and Gapex5 were studied with RT-PCR and Western Immunoblotting (WI), respectively. RESULTS In Sub, the P of (1) p85PI3K and Gapex5 were increased in MODM and (2) Rab5 was decreased in MOW and MODM compared to the lean. In Glut, the P of p85PI3K, Rab5 and Gapex5 showed no difference between the lean and MODM. CONCLUSIONS In Sub of MODM (1) reduced RAB5 may possibly contribute to IR and glucose transport dysfunction, (2) increased Gapex5 may be a response to decreased Rab5 in an attempt to increase glucose transport and (3) increased p85PI3K may enhance IR mediating lipid accumulation in MODM. In Glut of MODM, though, the expression of p85PI3K, Rab5 and Gapex5 seems to be similar to that found in lean individuals.
Incidence and Clinical Features of Pneumomediastinum and Pneumothorax in COVID-19 Pneumonia

Background Pneumothorax (PTX) and pneumomediastinum (PM), collectively termed here “air leak”, are now well described complications of severe COVID-19 pneumonia across several case series. The incidence is thought to be approximately 1% but is not definitively known. Objectives To report the incidence and describe the demographic features, risk factors and outcomes of patients with air leak as a complication of COVID-19. Methods A retrospective observational study on all adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to Watford General Hospital, West Hertfordshire NHS Trust between March 1st 2020 and Feb 28th 2021. Patients with air leak were identified after reviewing both chest radiographs (CXRs) and axial imaging (CT Thorax) with confirmatory radiology reports inclusive of the terms PTX and/or PM. Results Air leak occurred with an incidence of 0.56%. Patients with air leak were younger and had evidence of more severe disease at presentation, including a higher median CRP and number of abnormal zones affected on chest radiograph. Asthma was a significant risk factor in the development of air leak (OR 13.4 [4.7-36.4]), both spontaneously and following positive pressure ventilation. CPAP and IMV were also associated with a greater than six fold increase in the risk of air leak (OR 6.4 [2.5-16.6] and 9.8 [3.7-27.8] respectively). PTX, with or without PM, in the context of COVID-19 pneumonia was almost universally fatal whereas those with alone PM had a lower risk of death. Conclusion Despite the global vaccination programme, patients continue to develop severe COVID-19 disease and may require respiratory support. This study demonstrates the importance of identifying that deterioration in such patients may be resultant from PTX or PM, particularly in asthmatics and those managed with positive pressure ventilation.
Firm's characteristics and sustainability in the TCL industry

The Textile, Clothing and Leather (TCL) sector is one of the world's largest industries, while also one of the most polluting, being a huge consumer of water, electricity and chemicals, and discharging massive quantities of waste to land. During the last decade, stakeholders' pressure on sustainability has challenged TCL companies to transform general environmental sustainability concepts into business practices, from the definition of a sustainability strategy to the implementation of coherent practices and operative actions. TCL companies reacted differently to this challenge, from a passive to a more proactive and committed approach. In such context, the goal of this paper is to analyse which are firm's characteristics that discriminate between different corporate environmental sustainability approaches in terms of: 1) importance of stakeholders involved in the sustainable strategy; 2) implementation level of different sustainable practices; and 3) competitiveness factors achieved through the implementation of a sustainable strategy. Results show that clothing and leather companies have a higher commitment to sustainability in all the corporate environmental management areas, while mixed findings can be drawn from the analysis of firm's size. No significant differences have been found in terms of competitive advantage strategies.
The relationship of serum asprosin level with diabetic and non-diabetic retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE This study was aimed at investigating the role of serum asprosin level in diabetic retinopathy pathogenesis and differential diagnosis diabetic and non-diabetic retinopathy. PATIENTS AND METHODS The cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2021 and August 2021. A total of 21 subjects with diabetic retinopathy, 21 subjects with non-diabetic retinopathy, 21 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without retinopathy and 21 healthy controls were included in the study. Biochemical parameters, serum asprosin, serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels were measured in all participants. RESULTS Fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, HOMA-IR and LDL levels were higher in diabetic patients than non-diabetic. The blood asprosin levels were higher in the diabetic retinopathy group compared to the healthy control group (p=0.001), T2DM without diabetic retinopathy (p=0.010), and non-diabetic retinopathy group (p=0.043). There is a significant positive relationship between asprosin level and high FBG, HbA1c and HOMA-IR scores. CONCLUSIONS Serum asprosin level is significantly increased in DRP group than others. A high asprosin level might be a risk factor for the development of diabetic complications, such as diabetic retinopathy. These findings suggest that the measurement of serum asprosin level may support clinicians in determining the risk of DRP development.
Sociospatial understanding of water politics: Tracing the multidimensionality of water reuse

Much social science literature on water reuse focuses on the problems of acceptance and economic problems, while the spatial and political dimensions remain under-researched. This paper addresses this deficit by reformulating the issue in terms of sociospatial politics of water reuse. It does this by drawing on the work of Mollinga (2008) and the ‘Territory Place Scale Network’ (TPSN) framework (Jessop et al., 2008) to develop an analytical approach to the sociospatial politics of water in general, and water reuse in particular. The paper argues that Mollinga’s understanding of water politics as contested – technical/physical, organisational/managerial and regulatory/socioeconomic – planes of human interventions can be deepened through further reflection on their implications for the four sociospatial dimensions of the TPSN framework. Such a comprehensive, multidimensional approach re-imagines the politics of water reuse, providing researchers with a heuristic device to trace the interventions through which water reuse plans disrupt existing arrangements, and avoid a concern for individual preferences and simplified notions of barriers and enablers. The potential of the analytical framework is explored using an empirical illustration of water reuse politics in the Berlin–Brandenburg region in Germany.
Arthritis & Rheumatology: “Mid‐Term” Report

As the current Arthritis & Rheumatology ( A&R ) editorial team approaches halfway into our 5-year term, we took stock of what is working and where we can make improvements. COVID-19 and COVID-19 manuscripts dominated the lives of our authors, reviewers, and editors for much of year 1 of the term. With many investigators out of the research setting, articles were ﬁ nished and submitted, leading to a 50% increase in submissions for the ﬁ rst 6 months of our term. An amazing editorial team, staff, and academic editors handled the “ surge ” with characteristic grace. We balanced the need to publish COVID-19 work quickly with the requirement for scienti ﬁ c rigor, and only time will tell if A&R succeeded in achieving balance.
A Risk-based Evaluation of the Long-term Performance of Stormwater Infiltration Facilities

Sykes, Caitlin, E. , 2009. A Risk-Based Evaluation of the Long-Term Performance of Stormwater Infiltration Facilities. Master of Applied Science, Graduate Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto. Infiltration facilities are source control mechanisms that are implemented in urban developments with reduced natural permeable surfaces. Despite the development of design criteria for infiltration facilities, these systems continue to fail due to headloss development, overflow, or chemical breakthrough. The limited research on the long-term performance of these systems has emphasized the role of physical filtration mechanisms within porous media filters to address concerns surrounding system failure, namely filter clogging. A continuous macroscopic depth filtration model was developed to investigate the clogging potential of the underlying sand filter. This continuous model furthers the understanding of temporal and spatial changes in system performance for the development of more appropriate design criteria and more suitable maintenance regimes. The characterization of long-term system performance by defining three different failure modes and a probabilistic approach comprises a comprehensive methodology by considering several performance criteria rather than assuming that one criterion dictates the overall system performance.
Two‐Pronged Intracellular Co‐Delivery of Antigen and Adjuvant for Synergistic Cancer Immunotherapy

Nanovaccines have emerged as promising alternatives or complements to conventional cancer treatments. Despite the progresses, specific co‐delivery of antigen and adjuvant to their corresponding intracellular destinations for maximizing the activation of antitumor immune responses remains a challenge. Herein, a lipid‐coated iron oxide nanoparticle is delivered as nanovaccine (IONP‐C/O@LP) that can co‐deliver peptide antigen and adjuvant (CpG DNA) into cytosol and lysosomes of dendritic cells (DCs) through both membrane fusion and endosome‐mediated endocytosis. Such two‐pronged cellular uptake pattern enables IONP‐C/O@LP to synergistically activate immature DCs. Iron oxide nanoparticle also exhibits adjuvant effects by generating intracellular reactive oxygen species, which further promotes DC maturation. IONP‐C/O@LP accumulated in the DCs of draining lymph nodes effectively increases the antigen‐specific T cells in both tumor and spleen, inhibits tumor growth, and improves animal survival. Moreover, it is demonstrated that this nanovaccine is a general platform of delivering clinically relevant peptide antigens derived from human papilloma virus 16 to trigger antigen‐specific immune responses in vivo.
Role of radium-223 discontinuation due to adverse events in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients. A retrospective monocentric analysis

Background: Radium 223 (Ra-223) was approved for the treatment of metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with bone-only disease, following demonstration of significant improvement in overall survival (OS). To date, there are no validated prognostic factors useful in predicting outcome of mCRPC patients treated with Ra-223. Our retrospective study aims to evaluate the prognostic role of treatment discontinuation due to adverse events in mCRPC patients treated with Ra-223, and to identify which factors correlate with the toxicity onset. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all consecutive mCRPC patients treated with Ra-223 from September 2013 to December 2019 at our institute. Patients were divided in 2 groups according to the reason of Ra-223 therapy discontinuation: toxicity versus other causes. Outcome measures were progression-free survival (PFS) and OS. Results: In the overall population (75 patients) median PFS and OS were 5.46 months and 11.15 months respectively. Patients who discontinued treatment due to toxicity had a lower median PFS (3.49 vs 5.89 months, HR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.14-3.12, p = 0.014) and OS (8.59 vs 14.7 months HR: 3.33, 95% CI: 1.85-6.01, p < 0.001) than patients who discontinued therapy due to other causes. The risk of Ra-223 discontinuation due to toxicity correlates with the number of previous treatments (p = 0.002), previous chemotherapy treatment (p = 0.039), baseline LDH (p = 0.012), Hb (p = 0.021) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (p = 0.024). Conclusions: Discontinuation due to toxicity is associated with worse outcomes in mCRPC patients treated with Ra-223. To reduce the risk of developing toxicities that may compromise treatment efficacy, Ra-223 should be used early in mCRPC patients.
Hyperleukocytosis and leukostasis in acute and chronic leukemias

Abstract Leukostasis is a life-threatening complication of high concentrations of circulating leukemic cells, most often myeloblasts. Effective care of patients with leukostasis involves early recognition and treatment, and aggressive management of concurrent complications of the underlying leukemia. The relatively poor prognosis in patients with leukostasis underscores the importance of the timely and effective care of this hematologic emergency. While cytoreductive measures such as hydroxyurea, corticosteroids, intravenous chemotherapy, and leukapheresis are available to urgently reduce high cell counts, characterization of the leukemia and initiation of tailored, definitive treatment is a parallel priority. However, data supporting any specific cytoreductive approach are limited, making clinical practice guided primarily by expert opinion. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and management of leukemic hyperleukocytosis and leukostasis, with an emphasis on how to acutely manage this oncologic emergency in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, which is the most common cause of symptomatic leukostasis.
Activation and On-Scene Intervals for Severe Trauma EMS Interventions: An Analysis of the NEMSIS Database

Abstract Objective : Time to care is a determinant of trauma patient outcomes, and timely delivery of trauma care to severely injured patients is critical in reducing mortality. Numerous studies have analyzed access to care using prehospital intervals from a Carr et al. meta-analysis of studies from 1975 to 2005. Carr et al.’s research sought to determine national mean activation and on-scene intervals for trauma patients using contemporary emergency medical services (EMS) records. Since the Carr et al. meta-analysis was published, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created and refined the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) database. We sought to perform a modern analysis of prehospital intervals to establish current standards and temporal patterns. Methods: We utilized NEMSIS to analyze EMS data of trauma patients from 2016 to 2019. The dataset comprises more than 94 million EMS records, which we filtered to select for severe trauma and stratified by type of transport and rurality to calculate mean activation and on-scene intervals. Furthermore, we explored the impact of basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS) of ground units on activation and on-scene time intervals. Results: Mean activation and on-scene intervals for ground transport were statistically different when stratified by rurality. Urban, suburban, and rural ground activation intervals were 2.60 ± 3.94, 2.88 ± 3.89, and 3.33 ± 4.58 minutes, respectively. On-scene intervals were 15.50 ± 10.46, 17.56 ± 11.27, and 18.07 ± 16.13 minutes, respectively. Mean helicopter transport activation time was 13.75 ± 7.44 minutes and on-scene time was 19.42 ± 16.09 minutes. This analysis provides an empirically defined mean for activation and on-scene times for trauma patients based on transport type and rurality. Results from this analysis proved to be significantly longer than the previous analysis, except for helicopter transport on-scene time. Shorter mean intervals were seen in ALS compared to BLS for activation intervals, however ALS on-scene intervals were marginally longer than BLS. Conclusions: With the increasing sophistication of geospatial technologies employed to analyze access to care, these intervals are the most accurate and up-to-date and should be included in access to care models.
The potential effect of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) roll-out on sexual-risk behaviour among adolescents and young people in East and southern Africa

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an HIV-prevention strategy recommended for those at high-risk of infection, including adolescents and young people (AYP). We explored how PrEP roll-out could influence sexual risk behaviour among AYP in East and southern Africa. Twenty-four group discussions and 60 in-depth interviews were conducted with AYP between 13 and 24 years old, recruited from community settings in Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa, from September 2018 to January 2019. Participants perceived that PrEP availability could change sexual behaviour among AYP, influencing: (1) condom use (increased preference for condomless sex, reduced need and decrease in use of condoms, relief from condom use discomfort, consistent condom use to curb sexually transmitted infections and pregnancies); (2) sexual activities (increase in sexual partners and sexual encounters, early sexual debut, sexual experimentation and peace of mind during risky sex, sexual violence and perversion); (3) HIV risk perception (neglect of other HIV prevention strategies, unknown sexual partner HIV status, adoption of PrEP). PrEP initiation may be associated with increased interest in sexual activities and risky sexual behaviour among AYP. PrEP should be included as part of a combination package of HIV prevention strategies for AYP with methods to prevent other sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.
Neuropathology of α‐synuclein in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive movement disability accompanied by non‐motor symptoms. The neuropathology hallmark of PD is the loss of dopaminergic neurons predominantly in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the presence of intracellular inclusions termed Lewy bodies (LBs), which are mainly composed of α‐synuclein (αSyn). Detailed staging based on the distribution and progression pattern of αSyn pathology in the postmortem brains of PD patients revealed correlation with the clinical phenotypes but not invariably. Cumulative evidence from cell and animal studies has implied that αSyn propagation contributes to the anatomical spread of αSyn pathology in the brain. Here, we recount the studies over the past two centuries on the anatomopathological foundations of PD documented. We also review studies on the structural analysis of αSyn and LBs, Braak staging of αSyn pathology, the cell‐to‐cell propagation of αSyn as well as αSyn fibril polymorphisms, which underlie the phenotypic differences in synucleinopathies.
Optimal scheduling of the plug‐in electric vehicles aggregator energy and regulation services based on grid to vehicle

Summary The advantage of grid-to-vehicle power over vehicle to grid is that the existing power grid infrastructure and technology are able to support its operation. In this paper, a regulation operation framework for grid-to-vehicle–based plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) aggregator is proposed. Based on that, PEVs can provide regulation services during charging. The objective function consider the influence of regulation services on the energy of battery charging for PEVs and the constraint of systems for battery charging power of PEVs, achieving the maximum aggregator earnings. A regulation algorithm is proposed for the aggregator to schedule PEVs. The algorithm considers the constraint of PEVs battery capacity and reduces the communication traffic between the aggregator and the PEVs. Simulation results indicate that the optimal scheduling can not only increase the earnings of the aggregator but also reduce the charging cost of PEV owners on the basis of meeting the charging requirements of PEVs.
Contextualising facial expressions: The effect of temporal context and individual differences on classification

The influence of context on facial expression classification is most often investigated using simple cues in static faces portraying basic expressions with a fixed emotional intensity. We examined (1) whether a perceptually rich, dynamic audiovisual context, presented in the form of movie clips (to achieve closer resemblance to real life), affected the subsequent classification of dynamic basic (happy) and non-basic (sarcastic) facial expressions and (2) whether people’s susceptibility to contextual cues was related to their ability to classify facial expressions viewed in isolation. Participants classified facial expressions—gradually progressing from neutral to happy/sarcastic in increasing intensity—that followed movie clips. Classification was relatively more accurate and faster when the preceding context predicted the upcoming expression, compared with when the context did not. Speeded classifications suggested that predictive contexts reduced the emotional intensity required to be accurately classified. More importantly, we show for the first time that participants’ accuracy in classifying expressions without an informative context correlated with the magnitude of the contextual effects experienced by them—poor classifiers of isolated expressions were more susceptible to a predictive context. Our findings support the emerging view that contextual cues and individual differences must be considered when explaining mechanisms underlying facial expression classification.