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Primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis, pregnancy morbidity, and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Anticoagulants form the mainstay of treatment in PAPS. A growing number of studies suggest a previously underappreciated role of the immune system in the pathophysiology of PAPS. Although B-cells are strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of other autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), little is known about the role of B-cells in PAPS. Shifts in B-cell subsets including increases in plasmablasts and higher levels of BAFF are present in patients with PAPS. However, while treatment with rituximab and belimumab may ameliorate thrombotic and non-thrombotic manifestations of PAPS, these treatments do not reduce aPL serum levels, suggesting that B-cells contribute to the pathophysiology of APS beyond the production of autoantibodies.

This folder contains all the codes needed to replicate the results of the article FdeSolver: A Julia Package for Solving Fractional Differential Equations Link to the preprint: XXX [the final URL will be added here during the formal publication] The code is available with MIT License. Correspondence: moein.khalighi@utu.fi and leo.lahti@utu.fi

Background: Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is a leading public health tool to reduce consumption and associated health outcomes. Compared to other racial/ethnic groups in Canada, off-reserve Indigenous populations consume SSB at higher frequencies and quantities. Indigenous populations are also disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes and food insecurity, which are attributable to colonial policies. Governments have been called to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to close gaps in these health disparities. Given the regressive nature of a tax on SSB, we need to hear the voices of Indigenous people who are targeted by such a policy. Objectives: The objectives of this thesis were to examine (1) experiences and determinants of purchasing SSB, and (2) the acceptability and anticipated impact of the proposed SSB tax among urban Indigenous adults. Methods: In partnership with the National Indigenous Diabetes Association and Fearless R2W, we conducted 20 semi-structured interviews (Nov 2019-Aug 2020) with Indigenous adults residing in Winnipeg’s NE neighborhood. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, organized in NVivo-12-Pro, and thematically analyzed. Results: All 20 participants (Female=12; Male=8; Two-Spirit=2) consumed SSB on a regular, daily basis at the time of the interview or prior at some point in their lives; three-quarters were unemployed. Objective 1: Participants’ experiences of shopping for SSB were characterized by the overarching theme of balancing on the redline, specifically (1) balancing SSB purchasing constraints and facilitators with savvy shopping approaches and (2) balancing (stereo)typical reactions with resilient coping approaches. Objective 2: Overall, most participants were strongly opposed to a SSB tax because of inter-related themes of (1) government not trustworthy, (2) taxes are ineffective and lead to inequitable outcomes, and (3) Indigenous self-determination critical. Conclusions: Results indicate that SSB represent a considerable expense to urban low-income, Indigenous residents. Finding also reveal that SSB is a source of judgment in predominantly non-Indigenous food-carrying establishments, intersecting racial prejudice and weight stigma. Low support for the tax among urban Indigenous people is characterized by concerns regarding the tax, as well as the policy makers themselves. Findings underscore the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination in informing and designing health policies that are equitable and non-stigmatizing.

Rock successions in Britain and Ireland, and more especially those in North Wales, were instrumental in the founding and naming of the Ordovician System, and the Anglo-Welsh series established both initially and subsequently were used widely as a standard for Ordovician chronostratigraphy. Although now largely superseded in the global scheme of series and stages, they retain their local and regional importance. The Ordovician System in Britain and Ireland documents the history of a segment of the Earth's crust that incorporated opposing peri-Gondwanan and peri-Laurentian/Laurentian margins of the Iapetus Ocean during its closure, and is accordingly complex. The complexity arises from the volcanic and tectonic processes that accompanied oceanic closure coupled with the effects of eustatic sea-level changes, including the far-field effects of the Late Ordovician glaciation. For the past three decades, Ordovician successions in Britain and Ireland have been discussed in terms of terranes. Here we review Ordovician successions in each terrane, incorporating the results of recent research and correlating those successions via biostratigraphical schemes and radiometric dates to the global Ordovician series and stages.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which serve as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity, may be viable treatment targets. TLRs are the first line of defense against microbes and activate signaling cascades that induce immune and inflammatory responses. Patients with “hot” versus “cold” tumors may respond more favorably to immune checkpoint inhibition, and through their downstream effects, TLR agonists have the potential to convert “cold tumors” into “hot tumors” making TLRs in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, potential targets for cancer therapies. Imiquimod is a topical TLR7 agonist, approved by the FDA for antiviral and skin cancer treatments. Other TLR adjuvants are used in several vaccines including Nu Thrax, Heplisav, T-VEC, and Cervarix. Many TLR agonists are currently in development as both monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we describe the TLR agonists that are being evaluated clinically as new therapies for solid tumors.

Background: When developing new lower limb prostheses, prototypes are tested to obtain insights into the performance. However, large variations between research protocols may complicate establishing the potential added value of newly developed prototypes over other prostheses. Objective: This review aims at identifying participant characteristics, research protocols, reference values, aims, and corresponding outcome measures used during prosthesis prototype testing on people with a transfemoral amputation. Methods: A systematic search was done on PubMed and Scopus from 2000 to December 2020. Articles were included if testing was done on adults with transfemoral or knee disarticulation amputation; testing involved walking with a non-commercially available prototype leg prosthesis consisting of at least a knee component; and included evaluations of the participants’ functioning with the prosthesis prototype. Results: From the initial search of 2027 articles, 48 articles were included in this review. 20 studies were single-subject studies and 4 studies included a cohort of 10 or more persons with a transfemoral amputation. Only 5 articles reported all the pre-defined participant characteristics that were deemed relevant. The familiarization time with the prosthesis prototype prior to testing ranged from 5 to 10 min to 3 months; in 25% of the articles did not mention the extent of the familiarization period. Mobility was most often mentioned as the development or testing aim. A total of 270 outcome measures were identified, kinetic/kinematic gait parameters were most often reported. The majority of outcome measures corresponded to the mobility aim. For 48% of the stated development aims and 4% of the testing aims, no corresponding outcome measure could be assigned. Results indicated large inconsistencies in research protocols and outcome measures used to validate pre-determined aims. Conclusions: The large variation in prosthesis prototype testing and reporting calls for the development of a core set of reported participant characteristics, testing protocols, and specific and well-founded outcome measures, tailored to the various aims and development phases. The use of such a core set can give greater insights into progress of developments and determine which developments have additional benefits over the state-of-the-art. This review may contribute as initial input towards the development of such a core set.

Овој концепт го карактеризира чувство за простор ,внатрешен и надворешен,врзан со архитектурата, монументалноста, чувството за детаљи и потреба од естетско и стилско обликување. Склопен е во дводимензионални слики од тродимензионални објекти и простор,видени од птичја песпектива.Техниката е ,,колажирање,, на простор и објекти со цел да се добие дводимензионална слика, која пак вратена во просторот, паралелно му дават карактер и стил и го издигнува погледот на нештата од горе. Со тоа е постигнато истовремено да се има фокус и на деталите и на широката перспектива,остварувајќи го чувството за контрола врз целиот креативен процес.

Awake craniotomy with direct electrical stimulation (DES) is the standard treatment for patients with eloquent area gliomas. DES detects speech and language errors, which indicate functional boundaries that must be maintained to preserve quality of life. During DES, traditional object naming or other linguistic tasks such as tasks from the Dutch Linguistic Intraoperative Protocol (DuLIP) can be used. It is not fully clear which speech and language errors occur in which brain locations. To provide an overview and to update DuLIP, a systematic review was conducted in which 102 studies were included, reporting on speech and language errors and the corresponding brain locations during awake craniotomy with DES in adult glioma patients up until 6 July 2020. The current findings provide a crude overview on language localization. Even though subcortical areas are in general less often investigated intraoperatively, still 40% out of all errors was reported at the subcortical level and almost 60% at the cortical level. Rudimentary localization patterns for different error types were observed and compared to the dual-stream model of language processing and the DuLIP model. While most patterns were similar compared to the models, additional locations were identified for articulation/motor speech, phonology, reading, and writing. Based on these patterns, we propose an updated DuLIP model. This model can be applied for a more adequate “location-to-function” language task selection to assess different linguistic functions during awake craniotomy, to possibly improve intraoperative language monitoring. This could result in a better postoperative language outcome in the future.

BACKGROUND: Existing research indicates that pregnant women who conceived through fertility treatment might experience more stress and anxiety compared to women who conceived spontaneously. Therefore, these women might have additional antenatal care needs. METHODS: A search for both quantitative and qualitative studies was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL and MEDLINE through May 2021, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. 21 articles met the inclusion criteria. After methodological quality appraisal using the Mixed Methods Appraising Tool, 15 studies were included in the review. RESULTS: Analysis of the studies identified behavioral, relational/social, emotional, and cognitive needs and women's preference about maternity care. Women who conceived through fertility treatment reported lower social and physical functioning scores and elevated levels of anxiety and depression compared to women who conceived spontaneously. They reported difficulties adjusting to pregnancy and experienced a care gap between discharge from the fertility clinic and going to local maternity care services for their first consultation, and a care gap postpartum. CONCLUSIONS: Women who conceived through fertility treatment have additional antenatal care needs. We recommend to offer these women more frequent check-ins, and to pay attention to the impact of their infertility and treatment on their pregnancy.