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Background: The Inuit people residing in Nunavik, Quebec, are vulnerable to major trauma owing to environmental and social factors; however, there is no systematic data collection for trauma in Nunavik, and, apart from data regarding patients who are transferred to tertiary care centres, no data enter the Quebec trauma registry directly from Nunavik. We performed a study to characterize the epidemiologic features of trauma in Nunavik, and describe indications for transfer and outcomes of patients referred to the tertiary trauma centre. Methods: We collected data retrospectively for all patients with trauma admitted to the Centre de sante Tulattavik de l'Ungava in Kuujjuaq from 2005 to 2014. Sociodemographic, injury and health services data were extracted. The data were analyzed in conjunction with coroners' reports on death from trauma in Nunavik Results: A total of 797 trauma cases were identified. The most common causes of injury were motor vehicle collisions (258 cases [32.4%]), falls (137 [17.2%]) and blunt assault (95 [11.9%]). One-third of patients (262 [32.9%]) were transferred to the tertiary care centre in Montreal. The incidence rate of major trauma (Injury Severity Score > 12) was 18.1 and 21.7 per 10 000 person-years in the Kuujjuaq region and the Puvirnituq region, respectively, which translates to a relative risk (RR) of 4 compared to the Quebec population. The disparity observed in trauma mortality rate was even greater, with an RR of 47.6 compared to the Quebec population. Conclusion: The study showed major disparity in trauma incidence and mortality rate between Nunavik and the province of Quebec. Our findings allow for a better understanding of the burden of injury and regional trauma mortality in Nunavik, and recommendations for optimization of the trauma system in this unique setting. Contexte : Le peuple Inuit du Nunavik, au Quebec, est sujet a des traumatismes majeurs en raison de facteurs environnementaux et sociaux; or, on ne dispose d'aucun systeme de collecte des donnees concernant les traumatismes au Nunavik, et outre les donnees relatives aux patients transferes dans des etablissements de soins tertiaires, aucun renseignement n'est consigne au Registre des traumatismes du Quebec directement en provenance du Nunavik. Nous avons procede a une etude pour cerner les caracteristiques epidemiologiques des traumatismes au Nunavik et decrire les indications de transfert et l'issue des traumatismes subis par les patients adresses vers des centres tertiaires de traumatologie. Methodes : Nous avons recueilli les donnees de maniere retrospective pour tous les patients victimes de traumatismes admis au Centre de sante Tulattavik de l'Ungava, a Kuujjuaq, de 2005 a 2014. Nous avons extrait les donnees sociodemographiques, ainsi que les donnees sur les blessures et les services de sante utilises. Nous avons analyse les donnees en parallele avec les rapports des coroners sur les deces des suites de traumatismes au Nunavik Resultats : En tout, 797 cas de traumatisme ont ete recenses. Les causes les plus frequentes de blessures etaient les accidents impliquant des vehicules motorises (258 cas [32,4 %]), les chutes (137 [17,2 %]) et les agressions (95 [11,9 %]). Le tiers des patients (262 [32,9 %]) ont ete transferes vers le centre de soins tertiaires a Montreal. Le taux d'incidence des traumatismes majeurs (indice de gravite des blessures > 12) etait de 18,1 et de 21,7 par 10 000 annees-personnes dans les regions de Kuujjuaq et de Puvirnituq, respectivement, ce qui se traduit par un risque relatif (RR) de 4 par rapport a la population du Quebec. La disparite observee au plan du taux de mortalite par traumatisme etait encore plus grande, avec un RR de 47,6 comparativement a la population du Quebec. Conclusion : L'etude a revele une disparite majeure quant a l'incidence des traumatismes et quant au taux de mortalite qui y sont associes entre le Nunavik et la province de Quebec. Nos observations permettent de mieux comprendre le fardeau des traumatismes et la mortalite qu'ils causent dans la region du Nunavik, et de formuler des recommandations pour ameliorer la traumatologie dans ce contexte particulier., Trauma care in northern Quebec, Canada, which covers a large area with a rugged geography and severe climate, is highly challenging. Northern Quebec is geographically the largest of the 17 [...]

The initial clinical manifestation of acute mesenteric ischemia poses a diagnostic challenge, often leading to delays in identification and subsequent surgical intervention, contributing to adverse outcomes. Serum biomarkers, offering insights into the underlying pathophysiology, hold promise as prognostic indicators for acute mesenteric ischemia. This systematic review comprehensively explores the role of blood biomarkers in predicting clinical outcomes during follow-up for patients with mesenteric ischemia. A thorough literature search across the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases yielded 33 relevant publications investigating the efficacy of serum biomarkers in predicting outcomes for mesenteric ischemia. Numerous studies underscore the utility of blood biomarkers in swiftly and accurately differentiating between causes of mesenteric ischemia, facilitating a prompt diagnosis. Elevated levels of specific biomarkers, particularly D-dimers, consistently correlate with heightened mortality risk and poorer clinical outcomes. While certain serum indicators exhibit substantial potential in associating with mesenteric ischemia, further research through rigorous human trials is imperative to enhance their consistent predictive ability during the follow-up period. This study underscores the diagnostic and prognostic significance of specific biomarkers for mesenteric ischemia, emphasizing the necessity for standardized procedures in future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing concern for students with learning difficulties and teachers are responsible for identifying and helping these students. The present study aims to explore the teachers' knowledge of manifestations, causes and types of learning difficulties, necessary to diagnose, prevent or remedy learning difficulties. The participants involved in the research were 63 teachers from six counties of Romania. Their answers to the questionnaire items show that teachers are competent to identify their students with learning difficulties. At the same time, the respondents underline that they feel the need to be supported in order to provide the adequate assistance to this category of students. The main areas where they think they need help are: the elaboration of adapted requirements suitable for students with learning difficulties and the readjustment of the school curriculum.

Ribosome profiling data report on the distribution of translating ribosomes, at steady-state, with codon-level resolution. We present a robust method to extract codon translation rates and protein synthesis rates from these data, and identify causal features associated with elongation and translation efficiency in physiological conditions in yeast. We show that neither elongation rate nor translational efficiency is improved by experimental manipulation of the abundance or body sequence of the rare AGG tRNA. Deletion of three of the four copies of the heavily used ACA tRNA shows a modest efficiency decrease that could be explained by other rate-reducing signals at gene start. This suggests that correlation between codon bias and efficiency arises as selection for codons to utilize translation machinery efficiently in highly translated genes. We also show a correlation between efficiency and RNA structure calculated both computationally and from recent structure probing data, as well as the Kozak initiation motif, which may comprise a mechanism to regulate initiation.

To determine the breadth and underpinning of changes in immunocyte gene expression due to genetic variation in mice, we performed, as part of the Immunological Genome Project, gene expression profiling for CD4(+) T cells and neutrophils purified from 39 inbred strains of the Mouse Phenome Database. Considering both cell types, a large number of transcripts showed significant variation across the inbred strains, with 22% of the transcriptome varying by 2-fold or more. These included 119 loci with apparent complete loss of function, where the corresponding transcript was not expressed in some of the strains, representing a useful resource of "natural knockouts." We identified 1222 cis-expression quantitative trait loci (cis-eQTL) that control some of this variation. Most (60%) cis-eQTLs were shared between T cells and neutrophils, but a significant portion uniquely impacted one of the cell types, suggesting cell type-specific regulatory mechanisms. Using a conditional regression algorithm, we predicted regulatory interactions between transcription factors and potential targets, and we demonstrated that these predictions overlap with regulatory interactions inferred from transcriptional changes during immunocyte differentiation. Finally, comparison of these and parallel data from CD4(+) T cells of healthy humans demonstrated intriguing similarities in variability of a gene's expression: the most variable genes tended to be the same in both species, and there was an overlap in genes subject to strong cis-acting genetic variants. We speculate that this "conservation of variation" reflects a differential constraint on intraspecies variation in expression levels of different genes, either through lower pressure for some genes, or by favoring variability for others.

Despite the numerous advantages of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (allo-HSCT), there exists a notable association with risks, particularly during the preconditioning period and predominantly post-intervention, exemplified by the occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Risk stratification prior to symptom manifestation, along with precise diagnosis and prognosis, relies heavily on clinical features. A critical imperative is the development of tools capable of early identification and effective management of patients undergoing allo-HSCT. A promising avenue in this pursuit is the utilization of proteomics-based biomarkers obtained from non-invasive biospecimens. This review comprehensively outlines the application of proteomics and proteomics-based biomarkers in GVHD patients. It delves into both single protein markers and protein panels, offering insights into their relevance in acute and chronic GVHD. Furthermore, the review provides a detailed examination of the site-specific involvement of GVHD. In summary, this article explores the potential of proteomics as a tool for timely and accurate intervention in the context of GVHD following allo-HSCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipophilicity, a significant physicochemical parameter of bioactive molecules, along with absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion parameters and toxicity risk, was investigated for 32 thiazolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]triazole and imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole derivatives with anti-inflammatory potential. The experimental lipophilicity study was carried out by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography in a binary isopropanol-water mobile phase, and the obtained results were compared with the theoretical lipophilicity parameters estimated by various computational methods. Strong correlations were found between the experimental retention factors and calculated partition coefficients. A modified Petra/Osiris/Molinspiration analysis was performed on the previously synthesized compounds, using SwissADME, Osiris and Molinspiration web tools. The predicted in silico parameters highlighted the most promising compounds as potential drug candidates. The compounds showed good gastrointestinal absorption, moderate activity according to the bioactivity score (values situated between −1.25 and −0.06), and a safe toxicity profile. The results obtained in this study will contribute to lipophilicity studies and other future studies focused on modulating new drug candidates starting from thiazolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]triazole and imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole derivatives, which are important heterocycles in medicinal chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic and policy factors are driving the continuous increase in the adoption and usage of electrical vehicles (EVs). However, despite being a cleaner alternative to combustion engine vehicles, EVs have negative impacts on the lifespan of microgrid equipment and energy balance due to increased power demands and the timing of their usage. In our view, grid management should leverage on EV scheduling flexibility to support local network balancing through active participation in demand response programs. In this paper, we propose a model-free solution, leveraging deep Q-learning to schedule the charging and discharging activities of EVs within a microgrid to align with a target energy profile provided by the distribution system operator. We adapted the Bellman equation to assess the value of a state based on specific rewards for EV scheduling actions and used a neural network to estimate Q-values for available actions and the epsilon-greedy algorithm to balance exploitation and exploration to meet the target energy profile. The results are promising, showing the effectiveness of the proposed solution in scheduling the charging and discharging actions for a fleet of 30 EVs to align with the target energy profile in demand response programs, achieving a Pearson coefficient of 0.99. This solution also demonstrates a high degree of adaptability in effectively managing scheduling situations for EVs that involve dynamicity, influenced by various state-of-charge distributions and e-mobility features. Adaptability is achieved solely through learning from data without requiring prior knowledge, configurations, or fine-tuning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a fast-growing pathology around the world, being considered the most common chronic liver disease. It is diagnosed based on the presence of steatosis in more than 5% of hepatocytes without significant alcohol consumption. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of current studies of artificial intelligence (AI) applications that may help physicians in implementing a complete automated NAFLD diagnosis and staging. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and WILEY databases were screened for relevant publications in relation to AI applications in NAFLD. The search terms included: (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease OR NAFLD) AND (artificial intelligence OR machine learning OR neural networks OR deep learning OR automated diagnosis OR computer-aided diagnosis OR digital pathology OR automated ultrasound OR automated computer tomography OR automated magnetic imaging OR electronic health records). Results: Our search identified 37 articles about automated NAFLD diagnosis, out of which 15 articles analyzed imagistic techniques, 15 articles analyzed digital pathology, and 7 articles analyzed electronic health records (EHC). All studies included in this review show an accurate capacity of automated diagnosis and staging in NAFLD using AI-based software. Conclusions: We found significant evidence demonstrating that implementing a complete automated system for NAFLD diagnosis, staging, and risk stratification is currently possible, considering the accuracy, sensibility, and specificity of available AI-based tools.