Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The longitudinal association between changes in lung function and changes in abdominal visceral obesity in Korean non-smokers

Obesity, particularly abdominal obesity, might be related to decreased lung function. We aimed to investigate whether obesity indices are associated with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) in asymptomatic non-smokers through a longitudinal cohort study. The clinical records of 1,145 subjects (428 males, mean age 52.3 years) who underwent a comprehensive health evaluation, including spirometry and abdominal fat computed tomography, at least twice between 2007 and 2014 were retrospectively reviewed and analysed. The mean follow-up period was 1,105 days (over 3.0 years). The baseline total adipose tissue (TAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were inversely associated with both FEV1 and FVC (P < 0.05). The longitudinal study found that increasing TAT and VAT were significantly related to decreasing FEV1 and FVC, whereas decreasing TAT and VAT were related to increasing FEV1 and FVC in both males and females (P < 0.05). The strength and consistency of these associations were clearer in males than in females. However, no significant relationship was found between changes in subcutaneous adipose tissue and changes in lung function. In Korean non-smokers, longitudinal changes in abdominal visceral fat were found to be inversely related to changes in lung function over a mean period of three years. These results suggest that decreasing abdominal visceral obesity could increase lung function despite ageing.
Evaluation of Prediction of Polymorphisms of DNA Repair Genes on the Efficacy of Platinum‐Based Chemotherapy in Patients With Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Network Meta‐Analysis

This network meta‐analysis (NMA) was conducted to compare the predictive value of 14 SNPs in eight DNA repair genes on the efficacy of platinum‐based chemotherapy in patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These included ERCC1 (rs11615, rs3212986, rs3212948), XRCC1 (rs25487, rs25489, rs1799782), XPD (rs13181, rs1799793), XPG (rs1047768, rs17655), XPA (rs1800975), XRCC3 (rs861539), APE1 (rs3136820), and RRM1 (rs1042858). The PubMed and Cochrane library databases were reviewed from their inception to February 2017 and studies which met our inclusion criteria were included in our investigation. This network meta‐analysis combines direct and indirect evidence to assess the predictive value of 14 SNPs in eight DNA repair genes on the efficacy of platinum‐based chemotherapy in NSCLC. We evaluated the predictive value through the use of the odd ratios (OR) and drawing surface under the cumulative ranking curves (SUCRA). A total of 26 eligible cohort studies were enrolled in this NMA. The pairwise meta‐analysis indicated that in terms of overall response ratio (ORR), ERCC1 (rs11615), XRCC1 (rs25487, rs1799782), and XPD (rs13181) polymorphisms are associated with the efficacy of platinum‐based chemotherapy in NSCLC. The result of this NMA suggests that there is no significant difference in predictive value of 8 DNA repair genes on the efficacy of platinum‐based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients. The rank of SUCRA values of the 14 SNPs in the eight DNA repair genes were: XPD (rs1799793)→ERCC1 (rs3212986)→XPA(rs1800975)→ERCC1(rs3212948)→XRCC1(rs25487)→XRCC3(rs861539)→APE1(rs3136820)→ERCC1(rs11615)→XRCC1(rs1799782)→RRM1(rs1042858)→XPD(rs13181)→XPG (rs1047768)→XPG(rs17655)→XRCC1(rs25489). ERCC1(rs11615), XRCC1(rs25487, rs1799782) and XPD(rs13181) polymorphisms were better predictors in evaluating the efficacy of platinum‐based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 4782–4791, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A PHYLOGENETIC PERSPECTIVE ON ELEVATIONAL SPECIES RICHNESS PATTERNS IN MIDDLE AMERICAN TREEFROGS: WHY SO FEW SPECIES IN LOWLAND TROPICAL RAINFORESTS?

Abstract Differences in species richness at different elevations are widespread and important for conservation, but the causes of these patterns remain poorly understood. Here, we use a phylogenetic perspective to address the evolutionary and biogeographic processes that underlie elevational diversity patterns within a region. We focus on a diverse but well-studied fauna of tropical amphibians, the hylid frogs of Middle America. Middle American treefrogs show a “hump-shaped” pattern of species richness (common in many organisms and regions), with the highest regional diversity at intermediate elevations. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among 138 species by combining new and published sequence data from 10 genes and then used this phylogeny to infer evolutionary rates and patterns. The high species richness of intermediate elevations seems to result from two factors. First, a tendency for montane clades to have higher rates of diversification. Second, the early colonization of montane regions, leaving less time for speciation to build up species richness in lowland regions (including tropical rainforests) that have been colonized more recently. This “time-for-speciation” effect may explain many diversity patterns and has important implications for conservation. The results also imply that local-scale environmental factors alone may be insufficient to explain the high species richness of lowland tropical rainforests, and that diversification rates are lower in earth's most species-rich biome.
Circulating microparticles are prognostic biomarkers in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients

We investigated whether circulating microparticles (MPs) could serve as prognostic biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We enrolled 25 control subjects and 136 NSCLC patients categorized into disease-progression (DP, n=42) and disease-control (DC, n=94) groups. Flow cytometric analysis showed that levels of four types of circulating microparticles (EDAc-MPs, EDAp-MPs, PDAc-MPs and PDAp-MPs) were higher in the study patients than the control subjects (P < 0.04). DP patients showed poor initially performance status and more non-adenocarcinomas than DC patients. DC patients showed more EGFR mutations and poorer performance to targeted therapy than DP patients (P < 0.01). Three months after therapy, the levels of all four types of circulating MPs were lower in DC than DP patients (P < 0.02), and were comparable to the levels in control subjects. In addition, the levels of circulating MPs after 3 months accurately predicted one-year prognostic outcomes (P < 0.05). This study showed that circulating MPs are valuable prognostic biomarkers in advanced NSCLC patients.
A Survey on Network Embedding

Network embedding assigns nodes in a network to low-dimensional representations and effectively preserves the network structure. Recently, a significant amount of progresses have been made toward this emerging network analysis paradigm. In this survey, we focus on categorizing and then reviewing the current development on network embedding methods, and point out its future research directions. We first summarize the motivation of network embedding. We discuss the classical graph embedding algorithms and their relationship with network embedding. Afterwards and primarily, we provide a comprehensive overview of a large number of network embedding methods in a systematic manner, covering the structure- and property-preserving network embedding methods, the network embedding methods with side information, and the advanced information preserving network embedding methods. Moreover, several evaluation approaches for network embedding and some useful online resources, including the network data sets and softwares, are reviewed, too. Finally, we discuss the framework of exploiting these network embedding methods to build an effective system and point out some potential future directions.
Distribution of Glyphosate in Chicken Organs and its Reduction by Humic Acid Supplementation

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine) is a most popular herbicide in agricultural practices throughout the world. It is possible that glyphosate spread in the ecosystems can reach plants, animals. The present work was directed to investigate the glyphosate residue in different organs of broiler chickens using ELISA and to study the possibility of its neutralisation using humic acid, Chlorella vulgaris and Saccharomyces boulardii. Results showed that glyphosate residues could be detected in the animal feed and different organs as liver, spleen, lung, intestine, heart, muscles and kidney. Humic acid, Chlorella vulgaris and Saccharomyces boulardii showed neutralization of the antimicrobial effect of glyphosate in vitro. Also, feed supplementation of commercial broiler with humic acid (0.2%) leads to a significant decrease in the glyphosate content, i.e. by 53%, 28%, 44%, 50%, 56%, 16%, 63% and 0% in serum, liver, spleen, lung, gastro-intestinal tract, heart, muscles and kidney, respectively. There were no significant effects of humic acid on the production parameters. This enlightenment will help to overcome the negative effect of glyphosate residues on gastrointestinal microbiota and protect consumers from glyphosate residues in chicken meat.
FARMER KNOWLEDGE AS AN EARLY INDICATOR OF IPM ADOPTION: A CASE STUDY FROM COCOA FARMER FIELD SCHOOLS IN GHANA

Researchers assessing post-training adoption of integrated crop and pest management (ICPM) practices in perennial crops face methodological challenges in measuring yield, an expected outcome of improving farmers’ knowledge and decisionmaking capacity. This paper proposes using post-training farmer knowledge as an early indicator of ICPM adoption. Based on knowledge test scores from Ghanaian farmers who graduated from farmer field schools (FFS) on cocoa ICPM, the study show that the training exposed participants to agro-ecological principles and knowledge about biological processes (e.g. what causes black pod disease and how it spreads) not known by most Ghanaian cocoa farmers and suggests that improved knowledge is likely to translate to improved practice. The paper calls for additional research to confirm these findings with field-based data on how effectively farmers apply ICPM practices and discusses some of the circumstances and conditions
Fermented Wheat Germ Extract Induced Cell Death and Enhanced Cytotoxicity of Cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil on Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Due to the difficulties of early diagnosis, curative treatments are not available for most patients. Palliative treatments such as chemotherapy are often associated with low response rate, strong adverse effects and limited clinical benefits for patients. The alternative approaches such as fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE) with anti-tumor efficacy may provide improvements in the clinical outcome of current therapy for HCC. This study aimed to clarify antitumor efficacy of FWGE and the combination drug effect of FWGE with chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) in human HCC cells, HepG2, Hep3B, and HepJ5. The present study indicated that FWGE exhibited potential to suppress HepG2, Hep3B, and HepJ5 cells, with the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of FWGE were 0.494, 0.371 and 1.524 mg/mL, respectively. FWGE also induced Poly (Adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP) associated cell death in Hep3B cells. Moreover, the FWGE treatment further enhanced the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in all tested HCC cells, and cytotoxicity of 5-Fu in a synergistic manner in HepJ5 cells. Collectively, the results identified the anti-tumor efficacy of FWGE in HCC cells and suggested that FWGE can be used as a supplement to effectively improve the tumor suppression efficiency of cisplatin and 5-Fu in HCC cells.
A Presenilin-2–ARF4 trafficking axis modulates Notch signaling during epidermal differentiation

Ciliogenesis in differentiating epidermal cells correlates with activation of Notch signaling, which requires Presenilin-2 targeting to basal bodies/cilia. Ezratty et al. show that the GTPase ARF4 regulates Presenilin-2 localization and subsequent Notch-dependent differentiation, suggesting that polarized exocytosis to basal bodies spatially regulates Notch signaling during skin development.
Timing of routine infant vaccinations and risk of food allergy and eczema at one year of age

Epidemiological evidence suggests that routine vaccinations can have nontargeted effects on susceptibility to infections and allergic disease. Such effects may depend on age at vaccination, and a delay in pertussis vaccination has been linked to reduced risk of allergic disease. We aimed to test the hypothesis that delay in vaccines containing diphtheria–tetanus–acellular pertussis (DTaP) is associated with reduced risk of food allergy and other allergic diseases.
Outdoor activities and depressive symptoms in displaced older adults following natural disaster: community cohesion as mediator and moderator

Objectives: This investigation examined whether community cohesion mediates or moderates the relationship between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms in older adults displaced by Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. Method: This cross-sectional study included 292 adults aged 65 years or older who were relocated to permanent houses after Typhoon Morakot damaged their homes on 8th August 2009. Multiple regression analysis was applied to test the role of community cohesion on the association between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. Results: The sample of displaced older adults displayed higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than the average for community dwelling older people in Taiwan. Community cohesion fully mediated the relationship between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. Community cohesion also moderated the relationship between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Community cohesion occupies a key role on the link between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. Participation in outdoor activities was associated positively with community cohesion, while high community cohesion was related negatively to depressive symptoms. Additionally, the benefit of outdoor activities to fewer depressive symptoms only manifested in older adults with high community cohesion. Programs and services should be designed to enhance community cohesion in order to maximize the benefit of outdoor activities to the mental health of displaced older adults after natural disasters.
Posttraumatic stress disorder, hostility, and health in women: A review of current research

A large body of evidence indicates that hostility is related to increased morbidity and mortality and evidence is growing that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with poorer health outcomes. The majority of this research, however, has been conducted in male samples. As a result, the connections between PTSD and hostility and the ramifications of these variables on health in women are less clear. We review the current literature examining PTSD, hostility, and health in women and discuss possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between PTSD and hostility on health outcomes in the context of a proposed theoretical model. Although the current literature suggests that hostility and PTSD are related to health in women, more rigorous, focused research is lacking. A number of suggestions for future research are provided.
The Influence of Branch Order on Optimal Leaf Vein Geometries: Murray’s Law and Area Preserving Branching

Models that predict the form of hierarchical branching networks typically invoke optimization based on biomechanical similitude, the minimization of impedance to fluid flow, or construction costs. Unfortunately, due to the small size and high number of vein segments found in real biological networks, complete descriptions of networks needed to evaluate such models are rare. To help address this we report results from the analysis of the branching geometry of 349 leaf vein networks comprising over 1.5 million individual vein segments. In addition to measuring the diameters of individual veins before and after vein bifurcations, we also assign vein orders using the Horton-Strahler ordering algorithm adopted from the study of river networks. Our results demonstrate that across all leaves, both radius tapering and the ratio of daughter to parent branch areas for leaf veins are in strong agreement with the expectation from Murray’s law. However, as veins become larger, area ratios shift systematically toward values expected under area-preserving branching. Our work supports the idea that leaf vein networks differentiate roles of leaf support and hydraulic supply between hierarchical orders.
of solar photovoltaic levelized cost of electricity

As the solar photovoltaic (PV) matures, the economic feasibility of PV projects is increasingly being evaluated using the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) generation in order to be compared to other electricity generation technologies. Unfortunately, there is lack of clarity of reporting assumptions, justifications and degree of completeness in LCOE calculations, which produces widely varying and contradictory results. This paper reviews the methodology of properly calculating the LCOE for solar PV, correcting the misconceptions made in the assumptions found throughout the literature. Then a template is provided for better reporting of LCOE results for PV needed to influence policy mandates or make invest decisions. A numerical example is provided with variable ranges to test sensitivity, allowing for conclusions to be
Pulmonary valve and right ventricular outflow tract surgery in adults: 23-year experience.

BACKGROUND Surgery of the pulmonary valve, right ventricular outflow tract, and pulmonary artery falls under the domain of paediatric cardiac surgery. However, 97 adult patients underwent such operations in our institution from 1993 to 2016. AIM This study aims to analyse preoperative risk factors, intraoperative data, postoperative outcomes, and long-term survival to identify the potential predictors of mortality and high-risk patients. METHODS We divided our patient cohort into three groups in accordance with surgical indications: 17 patients with pulmonary valve endocarditis (group A), 70 patients with congenital defects involving the pulmonary valve (group B), and 10 patients who underwent pulmonary valve surgery for other indications, such as tumour or other acquired valvular disease (group C). RESULTS Gender distribution was comparable in all the three groups, with about 40% of the total number of patients being female. The mean age was 35.9 ± 15.7 years. Sixty (61.9%) patients had a history of cardiac surgery. Various concomitant cardiac surgical procedures were necessary in 49 (50.5%) cases. There were two (11.8%) in-hospital deaths in group A, two (2.9%) in group B, and none in group C. Within the mean follow-up time of 6.6 ±7.2 years, three (17.7%) patients in group A, two (2.9%) in group B, and four (40%) in group C died. CONCLUSIONS Adult patients with pulmonary valve disease are often previously heart-operated and often need concomitant procedures. The operative risk in patients with pulmonary valve endocarditis is high. Surgery of congenital defects of the pulmonary valve is safe and can be performed with excellent outcomes.
Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Bacterial Pathogens Isolated From Wound Infections in a Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan

Background: The resistance profile of bacteria causing wound infections may vary from time to time in a given geographical location. The key objective of this study was to determine the prevalent aerobic and or facultative anaerobic bacterial types and their antibiogram to commonly prescribed antibiotics. Methods: Pus, drainage or wound swabs from various body parts of 200 patients were aseptically collected from Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and processed by standard microbiological techniques for identification of bacterial isolates and later antimicrobial susceptibility profile was determined as per Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines by using Kirby-Bauer method. Results: Out of 200 clinical wound specimens processed, Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacterial pathogen isolated (n=100, 50%), followed by Escherichia coli (n=45, 22.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=35, 17.5%), Enterobacter species (n=14, 7%), Proteus species (n=5, 2.5%) and Morganella species (n=1, 0.5%). Staphylococcus aureus (n=100) showed highest resistance to amoxicillin (82%), followed by ofloxacin (80%), sparfloxacin (78%), ciprofloxacin (71%), levofloxacin (46%) and Gentamicin (34%). Out of 100 S. aureus isolates methicillin and vancomycin resistance was found to be in 1.5 and 2% of the isolates, respectively. Among Gram negative isolates (n=100) the vast majority were resistant to augmentin, followed by cephalosporins, quinolones and almost fairly susceptible to carbapenems, cefoperazone + sulbactam and aminoglycosides. Conclusion: There is a need for judicious use of antibiotics in clinical setup. The periodic monitoring of bacterial pathogens and their susceptibility profile is very helpful in understanding the resistance phenotypes in a given area which ultimately help physicians in selecting suitable empirical therapy.
DNA barcoding of Neotropical bats: species identification and discovery within Guyana

Sequence diversity in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene has been shown to be an effective tool for species identification and discovery in various groups of animals, but has not been extensively tested in mammals. We address this gap by examining the performance of DNA barcodes in the discrimination of 87 species of bats from Guyana. Eighty-one of these species showed both low intraspecific variation (mean = 0.60%), and clear sequence divergence from their congeners (mean = 7.80%), while the other six showed deeply divergent intraspecific lineages suggesting that they represent species complexes. Although further work is needed to examine patterns of sequence diversity at a broader geographical scale, the present study validates the effectiveness of barcoding for the identification of regional bat assemblages, even highly diverse tropical faunas.
Evaluation of community pharmacists’ roles in screening and communication of risks about non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in Thailand

Abstract Aim This study aimed to explore community pharmacists’ roles on screening for risk factors, providing safety information-related non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to patients. Background NSAIDs are widely dispensed without a prescription from pharmacies in Thailand, while they are frequently reported as causing adverse events. Methods Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all accredited pharmacies in Thailand, inviting the main pharmacist in each pharmacy to participate in this study. Findings Out of 406 questionnaires distributed, 159 were returned (39.2%). Almost all pharmacists claimed to engage in NSAID dispensing practice, but not all of them provided relevant good practice, such as, screening for risk factors (56.3–95.5%), communication on adverse drug reactions (ADRs) (36.9–63.2%) and ADR management (58.9–79.7%), history of gastrointestinal (GI) problems was frequently mentioned for screening, but many pharmacists did not screen for history of NSAID use (24.7–35.5%), older age (45.2–48.9%), concomitant drug (63.7%), and problems of cardiovascular (24.1%), renal (34.9–43.3%), and liver systems (60.3–61.0%). Male pharmacists were significantly less likely to inform users of non-selective NSAIDs about ADRs [odds ratio (OR) 0.44], while provision of information about selective NSAID ADRs was higher among pharmacy owners (OR 2.28), pharmacies with more pharmacists (OR 3.18), and lower in pharmacies with assistants (OR 0.41). Screening for risk factors, and risk communication about NSAIDs were not generally conducted in Thai accredited community pharmacists, nor were NSAID complications fully communicated. Promoting of community pharmacists’ roles in NSAID dispensing should give priority to improving, especially in high-risk patients for taking NSAIDs.