Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may explain poor mental health in patients with fibromyalgia

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are common in fibromyalgia patients. This study compared post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls and determined whether patient-control differences in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms mediated differences in mental health. In all, 30 patients and 30 healthy controls completed questionnaires assessing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health. Fibromyalgia patients had greater symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health than controls. Patient-control differences in mental health symptoms were fully or partially mediated by differences in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Healthcare providers should understand the role of trauma as management of trauma symptoms may be one strategy for improving mental health.
So Near and Yet So Far: Harmonic Radar Reveals Reduced Homing Ability of Nosema Infected Honeybees

Pathogens may gain a fitness advantage through manipulation of the behaviour of their hosts. Likewise, host behavioural changes can be a defence mechanism, counteracting the impact of pathogens on host fitness. We apply harmonic radar technology to characterize the impact of an emerging pathogen - Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) - on honeybee (Apis mellifera) flight and orientation performance in the field. Honeybees are the most important commercial pollinators. Emerging diseases have been proposed to play a prominent role in colony decline, partly through sub-lethal behavioural manipulation of their hosts. We found that homing success was significantly reduced in diseased (65.8%) versus healthy foragers (92.5%). Although lost bees had significantly reduced continuous flight times and prolonged resting times, other flight characteristics and navigational abilities showed no significant difference between infected and non-infected bees. Our results suggest that infected bees express normal flight characteristics but are constrained in their homing ability, potentially compromising the colony by reducing its resource inputs, but also counteracting the intra-colony spread of infection. We provide the first high-resolution analysis of sub-lethal effects of an emerging disease on insect flight behaviour. The potential causes and the implications for both host and parasite are discussed.
Therapeutic exploitation of IPSE, a urogenital parasite-derived host modulatory protein, for chemotherapy-induced hemorrhagic cystitis

Chemotherapy‐induced hemorrhagic cystitis (CHC) can be difficult to manage. Prior work suggests that IL‐4 alleviates ifosfamide‐induced hemorrhagic cystitis (IHC), but systemically administered IL‐4 causes significant side effects. We hypothesized that the Schistosoma hematobium homolog of IL‐4‐inducing principle from Schistosoma mansoni eggs (H‐IPSE), would reduce IHC and associated bladder pathology. IPSE binds IgE on basophils and mast cells, triggering IL‐4 secretion by these cells. IPSE is also an “infiltrin,” translocating into the host nucleus to modulate gene transcription. Mice were administered IL‐4, H‐IPSE protein or its nuclear localization sequence (NLS) mutant, with or without neutralizing anti‐IL‐4 antibody, or 2‐mercaptoethane sulfonate sodium (MESNA; a drug used to prevent IHC), followed by ifosfamide. Bladder tissue damage and hemoglobin content were measured. Spontaneous and evoked pain, urinary frequency, and bladdergene expression analysis were assessed. Pain behaviors were interpreted in a blinded fashion. One dose of H‐IPSE was superior to MESNA and IL‐4 in suppressing bladder hemorrhage in an IL‐4‐dependent fashion and comparable with MESNA in dampening ifosfamide‐triggered pain behaviors in an NLS‐dependent manner. H‐IPSE also accelerated urothelial repair following IHC. Our work represents the first therapeutic exploitation of a uropathogen‐derived host modulatory molecule in a clinically relevant bladder disease model and indicates that IPSE may be an alternative to MESNA for mitigating CHC. —Mbanefo, E. C. , Le, L. , Pennington, L. F. , Odegaard, J. I. , Jardetzky, T. S. , Alouffi, A. , Falcone, F. H. , Hsieh, M. H. Therapeutic exploitation of IPSE, a urogenital parasite‐derived host modulatory protein, for chemotherapy‐induced hemorrhagic cystitis. FASEB J. 32, 4408–4419 (2018). www.fasebj. org
Small molecules that inhibit the late stage of Munc13-4–dependent secretory granule exocytosis in mast cells

Ca2+-dependent secretory granule fusion with the plasma membrane is the final step for the exocytic release of inflammatory mediators, neuropeptides, and peptide hormones. Secretory cells use a similar protein machinery at late steps in the regulated secretory pathway, employing protein isoforms from the Rab, Sec1/Munc18, Munc13/CAPS, SNARE, and synaptotagmin protein families. However, no small-molecule inhibitors of secretory granule exocytosis that target these proteins are currently available but could have clinical utility. Here we utilized a high-throughput screen of a 25,000-compound library that identified 129 small-molecule inhibitors of Ca2+-triggered secretory granule exocytosis in RBL-2H3 mast cells. These inhibitors broadly fell into six different chemical classes, and follow-up permeable cell and liposome fusion assays identified the target for one class of these inhibitors. A family of 2-aminobenzothiazoles (termed benzothiazole exocytosis inhibitors or bexins) was found to inhibit mast cell secretory granule fusion by acting on a Ca2+-dependent, C2 domain–containing priming factor, Munc13-4. Our findings further indicated that bexins interfere with Munc13-4–membrane interactions and thereby inhibit Munc13-4–dependent membrane fusion. We conclude that bexins represent a class of specific secretory pathway inhibitors with potential as therapeutic agents.
Mitigation of Train-Induced Floor Vibrations in Multi-Story Buildings Using a Blocking Floor

A new method is developed for reducing train–induced floor vibrations in buildings. Vibration transmitted through building columns to the upper floors can be mitigated by considerably increasing the thickness of a lower floor, which is named the “blocking floor”. This can be a desirable and inexpensive solution for vibration mitigation. The work presented by this paper shows the ability of an impedance-based wave propagation model to capture the blocking floor behavior by comparing the analytical predictions of the velocity rations with the measured velocity ratios in the frequency domain. A 4-story scale model building was designed and constructed for measuring floor vibrations induced by excitations at the base. The effectiveness of using different blocking floors with different thicknesses in the scale model to mitigate vibrations was examined. Additionally, a sandwich floor with an integral damping layer was added to the scale model building to examine the effect of enhanced energy dissipation in the blocking floor slab.
Cell Cycle Sensing of Oxidative Stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Oxidation of a Specific Cysteine Residue in the Transcription Factor Swi6p*

Yeast cells begin to bud and enter the S phase when growth conditions are favorable during the G1 phase. When subjected to some oxidative stresses, cells delay entry at G1, allowing repair of cellular damage. Hence, oxidative stress sensing is coordinated with the regulation of cell cycle. We identified a novel function of the cell cycle regulator of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Swi6p, as a redox sensor through its cysteine residue at position 404. When alanine was substituted at this position, the resultant mutant, C404A, was sensitive to several reactive oxygen species and oxidants including linoleic acid hydroperoxide, the superoxide anion, and diamide. This mutant lost the ability to arrest in G1 phase upon treatment with lipid hydroperoxide. The Cys-404 residue of Swi6p in wild-type cells was oxidized to a sulfenic acid when cells were subjected to linoleic acid hydroperoxide. Mutation of Cys-404 to Ala abolished the down-regulation of expression of the G1 cyclin genes CLN1, CLN2, PCL1, and PCL2 that occurred when cells of the wild type were exposed to the lipid hydroperoxide. In conclusion, oxidative stress signaling for cell cycle regulation occurs through oxidation of the G1/S-speicific transcription factor Swi6p and consequently leads to suppression of the expression of G1 cyclins and a delay in cells entering the cell cycle.
Ideal charge-density-wave order in the high-field state of superconducting YBCO

Significance Compelling evidence of various forms of nonsuperconducting electronic order in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors has fundamentally altered our understanding of the essential physics of these materials. However, it has been difficult to establish the nature of the quantum (zero-temperature) phases that compete and/or coexist with superconductivity. By studying high-quality crystals of YBCO using an X-ray laser and pulsed magnetic fields, we have established that the field induced charge-density-wave (CDW) order that arises when superconductivity is suppressed at low temperatures is incommensurate, unidirectional, and 3D-ordered. While disorder ultimately precludes true CDW long-range order, there does appear to be a sharply defined crossover field, which we associate with a transition to a nematic state with long-range orientational order. The existence of charge-density-wave (CDW) correlations in cuprate superconductors has now been established. However, the nature of the CDW ground state has remained uncertain because disorder and the presence of superconductivity typically limit the CDW correlation lengths to only a dozen unit cells or less. Here we explore the field-induced 3D CDW correlations in extremely pure detwinned crystals of YBa2Cu3O2 (YBCO) ortho-II and ortho-VIII at magnetic fields in excess of the resistive upper critical field (Hc2) where superconductivity is heavily suppressed. We observe that the 3D CDW is unidirectional and possesses a long in-plane correlation length as well as significant correlations between neighboring CuO2 planes. It is significant that we observe only a single sharply defined transition at a critical field proportional to Hc2, given that the field range used in this investigation overlaps with other high-field experiments including quantum oscillation measurements. The correlation volume is at least two to three orders of magnitude larger than that of the zero-field CDW. This is by far the largest CDW correlation volume observed in any cuprate crystal and so is presumably representative of the high-field ground state of an “ideal” disorder-free cuprate.
Why Are Losses Less Persistent Than Profits? Curtailments vs. Conservatism

ABSTRACT: It is well documented that losses are less persistent than profits and that stock prices anticipate the lower persistence of losses. Yet the underlying explanation for these results is unclear. One explanation lies in the abandonment option, whereby firms with losses are more likely to curtail operations (e.g., Hayn 1995). Another explanation involves timely loss recognition stemming from conservative accounting (e.g., Basu 1997). We show that curtailments are an important factor contributing to the lower persistence of losses. An implication of our results is that popular measures of conservatism, such as the measure proposed by Basu (1997), also reflect curtailments.
Impact of valve type on outcomes after redo mitral valve replacement in patients aged 50 to 69 years.

OBJECTIVES Little data are available with regard to valve selections in redo valvular surgery. We investigated the impact of valve types on late outcomes after redo mitral valve replacement (MVR). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 66 patients aged 50-69 (mean age 62.2 ± 5.1) years who underwent redo MVR over the past 25 years. In redo MVR, 46 (69.7%) redo procedures were the 1st redo valvular surgeries, 16 (24.2%) were 2nd redos, 3 (4.5%) were 3rd redos and 1 was a 4th (1.5%) redo. We classified 66 patients into 2 groups: mechanical MVR group (M-MVR, n = 44) and biological MVR group (B-MVR, n = 22). The mean follow-up period was 8.2 ± 6.3 years. RESULTS Hospital mortality rates were 3.3% in M-MVR and 9.7% in B-MVR (P = 0.3328). Survival rates in M-MVR and B-MVR at 5 and 10 years were 93.0 ± 4.8% vs 76.0 ± 10.5% and 77.6 ± 9.1% vs 51.3 ± 13.7%, respectively (log-rank test, P = 0.0072). Late death occurred in 7 patients in M-MVR and 9 in B-MVR. Freedom rates from valve-related events in M-MVR and B-MVR at 5 and 10 years were 100.0 ± 0.0% vs 76.5 ± 10.3% and 93.3 ± 6.4% vs 52.4 ± 13.6%, respectively (log-rank test, P < 0.0001). No bleeding and thromboembolic events were observed in M-MVR, whereas gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 1), subarachnoid haemorrhage (n = 1) and cerebral infarction (n = 2) were observed in B-MVR. A predictor of late death was a biological valve in redo MVR (P = 0.0206, hazard ratio = 3.402, 95% confidence interval 1.207-9.591). CONCLUSIONS It would seem that redo MVR using a mechanical valve was associated with better early and late outcomes in this age group.
Prevalence and type of anaemia in female cotton mill workers in Beijing, China

The present study investigates the prevalence and type of anaemia in Chinese female cotton mill workers. The prevalence of anaemia is reported in 447 non-pregnant female workers aged between 19 and 45 years. The mean value for haemoglobin (Hb) was 123 (SD 15) g/l and 150 of the total 447 subjects had Hb values below 120 g/l; thus 34% of the population was anaemic according to World Health Organization (WHO, 1975) criteria. The mean value for free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) was 419 (SD 215) μg/l; 55% of the total population had FEP values higher than 350 μg/l and 72% among the anaemic subjects. Serum ferritin (SF) was tested in all the women with a Hb value less than 120 g/l and 71 % of them had SF values below 12·0 μg/ls. Eighty women diagnosed as either Fe deficient or with Fe-deficient anaemia were selected for a diagnostic supplementation trial. They were randomly assigned to FeSO4 (60 or 120 mg Fe/d) or placebo treatment for 12 weeks. Fe supplementation increased mean Hb values from 114 to 127 g/l (P < 0·001) and SF levels from 9·7 to 30·0 μg/l (P < 0·001), and decreased mean FEP values from 570 to 277 μg/l (P < 0·001). The response rate of Hb in the whole Fe-treated group or Fe-treated subjects with an Hb level less than 120 g/1 was 90 % or 92 % respectively. These findings indicate that the type of anaemia in this population was mainly Fe deficiency. It was also found that in this population the severity of anaemia, not the prevalence, was significantly related to the use of intra-uterine devices (IUD).
Generation of procoagulant microparticles in cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood after traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can induce cell damage. Procoagulant microparticles (MPs) are reliable markers of cell stimulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the generation of procoagulant MPs in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of patients with severe TBI. MATERIAL CSF and plasma MPs of 16 patients with severe TBI were quantified by functional prothrombinase assay (i) on the day of the trauma, (ii) during a 10-day follow-up and compared with control samples. The cellular origin of MP was determined after capture with specific antibodies. RESULTS The CSF and plasma of patients with severe TBI revealed a significantly increased generation of MP compared with control samples on the day of the trauma (CSF: 4.5 +/- 1.8 vs. 0.83 +/- 0.28 nanomolar PhtdSer equivalent; p = 0.01 and plasma 4.1 +/- 3.7 vs. 2.3 +/- 0.19 nanomolar PhtdSer equivalent; p = 0.02). Procoagulant MPs were mainly of platelet and endothelial origin in CSF. MPs decreased significantly in the CSF 10 days after TBI. In CSF, a sustained generation of procoagulant MP was evidenced in two patients presenting a poor clinical outcome. In the blood flow, elevated amounts of procoagulant MPs were detected in three patients presenting disseminated intravascular coagulopathy during the follow-up. CONCLUSION Procoagulant MP testifying to platelet and endothelial activation are produced in the CSF and in the plasma after severe TBI. A sustained generation of procoagulant MP in the CSF could contribute to a poor clinical outcome.
Advertiser Prominence Effects in Search Advertising

Search advertising is the ordered list of advertisements that appears when a user searches for something in an online search engine. By construction, these ads differ in prominence: ads higher up the list are more prominent than ads lower down the list. However, search ads also differ in prominence in another way: prominence of advertiser. This paper examines how these two types of prominence interact in determining the click-through rate (CTR) of these ads. Using individual-level click-stream data from Microsoft’s Live Search platform and measures of advertiser prominence from Alexa.com, we find that ad position and advertiser prominence are substitutes. Specifically, in searches for camera brands, a retailer not in the top 100 of Alexa rankings has a 30%–50% higher CTR in position 1 than in position 2, whereas a retailer in the top 100 of Alexa rankings has only a 0%–13% higher CTR for the same position improvement. Qualitatively similar results are obtained for several other search strings. These findi.
Maternal and Child Health Among the Urban Poor in Nairobi, Kenya

This paper examines maternal and child health in the Nairobi slums using information on 1219 births which occurred in the past three years before the Nairobi Cross-sectional Slum Survey (NCSS) of 2000. The specific objectives are to compare maternal and child health indicators in the Nairobi slums with the rest of the Kenyan population, and to identify socio-economic and demographic factors associated with poor maternal and child health in the Nairobi slums. The results show that overall, the quality of antenatal care in the slums is comparable to the rest of the Kenyan population. With respect to professional delivery care, the Nairobi slums are worse off than the rest of Nairobi or other urban areas in Kenya, but seem better off compared to the rural communities. It is with respect to child health indicators that the slum residents in Nairobi show the greatest disadvantage, in comparison with the rest of the Kenyan population. Children in the slums are considerably less likely to be fully immunized and more likely to experience fever and diarrhea than their counterparts living elsewhere in Kenya. In general, lower educational attainment and belonging to the Luo ethnic group are consistently associated with poorer maternal and child health outcomes in the Nairobi slums.
Antifungal susceptibility pattern of Candida species isolated from suspected cases of tuberculosis

Background: Candida species are emerging as a potentially pathogenic fungus in patients with broncho-pulmonary diseases. The synergistic growth promoting association of Candida and Mycobacterium tuberculosis has raised increased concern for studying the various Candida spp. and its significance in tuberculosis patients during current years. Aim: Aim of our study was isolation and identification of Candida spp from tuberculosis patients; as well as testing sensitivity of these clinical isolates to commonly prescribed antifungal drugs. Method: Totally 178 sputum specimens were screened by RNTCP Unit were included in the study. In vitro susceptibility testing of C. albicans isolated from pulmonary tuberculosis patients to five antifungal drugs was carried by direct susceptibility method using CHROM agar. Results: We could able to obtain 20.2% of Candida strains from 178 RNTCP clinic attendees and Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida dubliniensis and Candida krusei was identified. Overall based on our study report we could able to report 33.3%,19.4% and 8.3% antifungal resistance by Candida strains towards the antifungal drugs Itraconazole, Nystatin, and Amphotericin B, respectively. Conclusion: In this study we found a shifting pattern of epidemiology of Candida species from commensal to emerging pathogen. Therefore, screening of tuberculosis patients for Candida infection should be routinely practiced along with anti-fungal sensitivity testing for non-albicans Candida isolates.
Free-Floating Mesothelial Cells in Pleural Fluid After Lung Surgery

Objectives The mesothelium, the surface layer of the heart, lung, bowel, liver, and tunica vaginalis, is a complex tissue implicated in organ-specific diseases and regenerative biology; however, the mechanism of mesothelial repair after surgical injury is unknown. Previous observations indicated seeding of denuded mesothelium by free-floating mesothelial cells may contribute to mesothelial healing. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of mesothelial cells in pleural fluid during the 7 days following pulmonary surgery. Study design Flow cytometry was employed to study pleural fluid of 45 patients after lung resection or transplantation. We used histologically validated mesothelial markers (CD71 and WT1) to estimate the prevalence of mesothelial cells. Results The viability of pleural fluid cells approached 100%. Leukocytes and mesothelial cells were identified in the pleural fluid within the first week after surgery. The leukocyte concentration was relatively stable at all time points. In contrast, mesothelial cells, identified by CD71 and WT1 peaked on POD3. The broad expression of CD71 molecule in postoperative pleural fluid suggests that many of the free-floating non-leukocyte cells were activated or proliferative mesothelial cells. Conclusion We demonstrated that pleural fluid post lung surgery is a source of mesothelial cells; most of these cells appear to be viable and, as shown by CD71 staining, activated mesothelial cells. The observed peak of mesothelial cells on POD3 is consistent with a potential reparative role of free-floating mesothelial cells after pulmonary surgery.
Inner Segment Remodeling and Mitochondrial Translocation in Cone Photoreceptors in Age-Related Macular Degeneration With Outer Retinal Tubulation.

PURPOSE To quantify impressions of mitochondrial translocation in degenerating cones and to determine the nature of accumulated material in the subretinal space with apparent inner segment (IS)-like features by examining cone IS ultrastructure. METHODS Human donor eyes with advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were screened for outer retinal tubulation (ORT) in macula-wide, high-resolution digital sections. Degenerating cones inside ORT (ORT cones) and outside ORT (non-ORT cones) from AMD eyes and unaffected cones in age-matched control eyes were imaged using transmission electron microscopy. The distances of mitochondria to the external limiting membrane (ELM), cone IS length, and cone IS width at the ELM were measured. RESULTS Outer retinal tubulation and non-ORT cones lose outer segments (OS), followed by shortening of IS and mitochondria. In non-ORT cones, IS broaden. Outer retinal tubulation and non-ORT cone IS myoids become undetectable due to mitochondria redistribution toward the nucleus. Some ORT cones were found lacking IS and containing mitochondria in the outer fiber (between soma and ELM). Unlike long, thin IS mitochondria in control cones, ORT and non-ORT IS mitochondria are ovoid or reniform. Shed IS, some containing mitochondria, were found in the subretinal space. CONCLUSIONS In AMD, macula cones exhibit loss of detectable myoid due to IS shortening in addition to OS loss, as described. Mitochondria shrink and translocate toward the nucleus. As reflectivity sources, translocating mitochondria may be detectable using in vivo imaging to monitor photoreceptor degeneration in retinal disorders. These results improve the knowledge basis for interpreting high-resolution clinical retinal imaging.