Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The growing lung: normal development, and the long-term effects of pre- and postnatal insults

At first sight, adult physicians may feel that intra-uterine lung development is of little interest and importance to them. Paradoxically however, the developing lung impacts more directly on adult practice during foetal life than at any time until the foetus becomes an adult; this is truly an area of interface between adult and paediatric pulmonologists. The lung develops within a foetus which is (usually) within the uterus of an adult, who may be a smoker, or a substance abuser, or may also be receiving treatment for a respiratory condition such as asthma or cystic fibrosis (CF). Some legitimate drug treatment of the mother may adversely impact on foetal lung development. Events around birth and early childhood may also leave a permanent legacy, the fruits of which may appear only in middle age. An appreciation of normal development is fundamental to understanding the effects of the diseases which are described elsewhere in this monograph. The study of events during development may allow new insights into pathophysiological processes in later life, such as foetal ion transport and CF. This chapter therefore emphasizes themes where pathophysiology and disease states are linked. The aim of this chapter is to describe how the lung develops, with a particular emphasis on conditions relevant to adult physicians, rather than trying to give a
Anti-HCV positivity in sexual partners and offspring of patient with chronic hepatitis C

We investigated the seroprevalence of HCV in stable sexual partners and offspring of chronic hepatitis C patients, and aimed to determine the risk factors involved. 191 anti-HCV and HCV RNA positive subjects who coinhabited with their spouse and/or offspring were included. Risk factors of index cases for disease transmission, liver biopsy results, anti-HCV and HCV-RNA in spouses and/or offspring were evaluated. Together with index cases, a total of 404 family members including 174 stable sexual partners and 230 offspring were included. The most common risk factors among index cases were dental procedures (73.8%), history of surgery (64.9%), and blood transfusions (24.1%). Anti-HCV positivity was established in 11 (2.7%) of the total 404 family contacts – 6 sexual partners and 5 offspring. HCV seropositivity was significantly higher in the spouses of index cases with severe hepatitis C compared to those with mild to moderate hepatitis C (p = 0.008), but there was no statistically significant correlation between the severity of liver disease in index cases and anti-HCV positivity in their offspring. In conclusion, anti-HCV seropositivity in the spouses and children of patients who are HCV-RNA positive HCV carriers does not appear to be higher than the HCV seroprevalence in our country.
Prenatal androgen exposure causes hypertension and gut microbiota dysbiosis

ABSTRACT Background: Conditions of excess androgen in women, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), often exhibit intergenerational transmission. One way in which the risk for PCOS may be increased in daughters of affected women is through exposure to elevated androgens in utero. Hyperandrogenemic conditions have serious health consequences, including increased risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Recently, gut dysbiosis has been found to induce hypertension in rats, such that blood pressure can be normalized through fecal microbial transplant. Therefore, we hypothesized that the hypertension seen in PCOS has early origins in gut dysbiosis caused by in utero exposure to excess androgen. We investigated this hypothesis with a model of prenatal androgen (PNA) exposure and maternal hyperandrogenemia by single-injection of testosterone cypionate or sesame oil vehicle (VEH) to pregnant dams in late gestation. We then completed a gut microbiota and cardiometabolic profile of the adult female offspring. Results: The metabolic assessment revealed that adult PNA rats had increased body weight and increased mRNA expression of adipokines: adipocyte binding protein 2, adiponectin, and leptin in inguinal white adipose tissue. Radiotelemetry analysis revealed hypertension with decreased heart rate in PNA animals. The fecal microbiota profile of PNA animals contained higher relative abundance of bacteria associated with steroid hormone synthesis, Nocardiaceae and Clostridiaceae, and lower abundance of Akkermansia, Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Clostridium. The PNA animals also had an increased relative abundance of bacteria associated with biosynthesis and elongation of unsaturated short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Conclusions: We found that prenatal exposure to excess androgen negatively impacted cardiovascular function by increasing systolic and diastolic blood pressure and decreasing heart rate. Prenatal androgen was also associated with gut microbial dysbiosis and altered abundance of bacteria involved in metabolite production of short chain fatty acids. These results suggest that early-life exposure to hyperandrogenemia in daughters of women with PCOS may lead to long-term alterations in gut microbiota and cardiometabolic function.
Weakly supervised multiscale-inception learning for web-scale face recognition

Supervised deep learning models like convolutional neural network (CNN) have shown very promising results for the face recognition problem, which often require a huge number of labeled face images. Since manually labeling a large training set is a very difficult and time-consuming task, it is very beneficial if the deep model can be trained from face samples with only weak annotations. In this paper, we propose a general framework to train a deep CNN model with weakly labeled facial images that are available on the Internet. Specifically, we first design a deep Multiscale-Inception CNN (MICNN) architecture to exploit the multi-scale information for face recognition. Then, we train an initial MICNN model with only a limited number of labeled samples. After that, we propose a dual-level sample selection strategy to further fine-tune the MICNN model with the weakly labeled samples from both the sample level and class level, which aims to skip outliers and select more samples from confusing class pairs during training. Extensive experimental results on the LFW and YTF benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Antiplasmodial activity of extracts and quassinoids isolated from seedlings of Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae)

Extracts and isolated compounds from seedlings of Ailanthus altissima, were assessed for antiplasmodial activity in vitro. Two quassinoids, ailanthone and 6α‐tigloyloxychaparrinone, isolated from the active extracts showed activity against both chloroquine‐resistant and chloroquine‐sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. Only ailanthone demonstrated low toxicity against the Vero cell line (kidney cells from the African green monkey). This is the first report of the isolation and antiplasmodial activity of 6α‐tigloyloxychaparrinone from this species. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quasi-static characterisation and impact testing of auxetic foam for sports safety applications

This study compared low strain rate material properties and impact force attenuation of auxetic foam and the conventional open-cell polyurethane counterpart. This furthers our knowledge with regards to how best to apply these highly conformable and breathable auxetic foams to protective sports equipment. Cubes of auxetic foam measuring 150 × 150 × 150 mm were fabricated using a thermo–mechanical conversion process. Quasi-static compression confirmed the converted foam to be auxetic, prior to being sliced into 20 mm thick cuboid samples for further testing. Density, Poisson’s ratio and the stress–strain curve were all found to be dependent on the position of each cuboid from within the cube. Impact tests with a hemispherical drop hammer were performed for energies up to 6 J, on foams covered with a polypropylene sheet between 1 and 2 mm thick. Auxetic samples reduced peak force by ∼10 times in comparison to the conventional foam. This work has shown further potential for auxetic foam to be applied to protective equipment, while identifying that improved fabrication methods are required.
Self-care in rural residents with heart failure: What we are missing

Background: As heart failure (HF) is a progressive, debilitating condition, life-long self-care is required to achieve good outcomes. Rural residents with HF encounter more challenges with adherence to self-care than their urban counterparts because of rural–urban inequalities related to socioeconomic resources and access to health care. To date, investigators have focused on self-care in HF patients in urban settings, although factors related to self-care may be different between rural and urban residents. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the variables related to self-care in HF patients living in rural areas. Methods: A total of 580 patients in the USA were included in this analysis. We included 12 variables reflecting four aspects that affect patients’ decisions to perform self-care: health literacy, psychosocial status, current symptom status, and aging status. We measured self-care using the European Heart Failure Self-Care Scale-9. Results: Depressive symptoms (β = 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16 to 0.45), lower perceived control (β = −0.15, 95% CI: −0.32 to −0.08), better symptom status (β = −0.11, 95% CI: −0.13 to −0.003), and annual income of <$20,000 (β = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.38–2.97) were negatively associated with self-care in rural residents with HF. The model with 12 variables explained 7.1% of the variance in self-care. Conclusions: The variables included in the model did not sufficiently explain self-care among rural dwellers with HF. Given that all variables in the model were intrapersonal-level factors, more investigations that incorporate interpersonal factors (e.g. cultural beliefs and access to care) are needed in order to improve our understanding of self-care in HF patients living in rural areas.
Effect of transfer of donor corneal tissue from McCarey–Kaufmann medium to Optisol-GS on corneal endothelium

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of transfer of donor corneal tissue from McCarey–Kaufmann (MK) medium to Optisol-GS on corneal endothelium. Methods: This was a prospective, randomized comparative study. Twenty paired human donor corneal tissues of optical quality were retrieved. One tissue of the pair was preserved in Optisol-GS preservative medium (Group A) and other tissue of the pair in MK medium (Group B) at the time of corneoscleral disc excision. Within 12 h of retrieval, each cornea was evaluated using slit-lamp biomicroscopic examination and specular microscopic analysis. Group B corneas were transferred to Optisol-GS medium within 48–53 h of retrieval. Specular analysis of the paired corneas was repeated 3 h after transferring to Optisol-GS. On day 7 of storage, specular analysis of both the tissues was repeated. Results: The average age of the donor at the time of death was 29 years (16–68 years). The reduction in endothelial cell count, from baseline, in Groups A and B was 5.5% and 5.8% (P = 0.938) on the 3rd day and 8.2% and 12.6% (P = 0.025) on the 7th day, respectively, postretrieval. The coefficient of variation (CV) increased by 36% (P = 0.021) and hexagonality reduced by 19% (P = 0.007) on day 7. All tissues retained an endothelial cell density higher than the accepted critical level for penetrating keratoplasty. Conclusion: Significant endothelial cell loss was noted while transferring tissues from one medium to another, necessitating the need for reevaluation of transferred tissues before utilization.
Evaluation of resistance to Sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps Put.) in wheat and triticale genotypes

Najafi-Mirak, T. 2012. Evaluation of resistance to Sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps Put.) in wheat and triticale genotypes. Crop Breeding Journal 2(1):43-48. Sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps Put.) is one of the major pests of wheat in Iran. Identification of resistant cultivars is an effective integrated pest management (IPM) strategy. To identify the genetic response of wheat and triticale to Sunn pest, and determine the relationship between resistance and morpho-physiological traits, eight bread wheat breeding lines/cultivars, four durum wheat lines, three triticale lines and five synthetic wheat lines were evaluated for resistance to Sunn pest. The response of these genotypes to Sunn pest was evaluated in the field under artificial infestation in cages using a randomized complete block design with three replications. At heading, eight adult insects were released into each cage (30×40×120 cm) and 30 nymphs were released at the grain-filling stage. Spike damage (%) and grain damage (%) were recorded. An analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for spike injuries caused by adult insects. Cultivar Falat (1.8% spike damage) showed the least damage and is considered the most resistant genotype. Durum line D-81-15 and Triticale-1, each with 2% spike damage, were more resistant than the other genotypes. Based on grain damage caused by nymphs of Sunn pest, Shiraz, with 13% damage, was the most susceptible genotype. In this study, no significant correlation was observed between resistance to Sunn pest and the measured morpho-physiological traits. Nymph feeding on grain reduced grain protein content, Zeleny sedimentation volume, bread volume, flour water absorption rate, gluten index and grain gluten elasticity.
Taxonomic Status of a Salamander Species Allied to Hynobius naevius and a Reevaluation of Hynobius naevius yatsui Oyama, 1947 (Amphibia, Caudata)

Abstract A Japanese small salamander, Hynobius naevius (Temminck and Schlegel, 1838), has recently proven to include two species (larger [A] and smaller [B]) that are reproductively isolated and are genetically and morphologically distinct from each other. Of these two species, Species A is considered to correspond to true H. naevius. To determine the name of Species B, we investigated five specimens stored at Kyushu University and concluded from the locality and date of collection that they represent syntypes of H. n. yatsui Oyama, 1947. Results of morphological comparisons indicated that the syntypes are identical with Species B. Because this species is distinct from Hynobius naevius at the species level, subspecies H. n. yatsui is elevated to full species rank as H. yatsui. To avoid taxonomic confusion, we designated one male among the syntypes as the lectotype and redescribed the species.
Disruption of the ciliary GTPase Arl13b suppresses Sonic hedgehog overactivation and inhibits medulloblastoma formation

Significance Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor. Current therapies are associated with negative side effects, and one-fourth of patients are treatment-resistant or develop tumor progression. Since 30% of medulloblastomas exhibit activation of the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway, much research centers on identifying molecular targets that are able to reduce the high levels of Shh pathway activity that cause tumors. As cilia are required for Shh signaling, we provide evidence that inactivation of a ciliary protein called Arl13b reduces Shh-dependent transcription and proliferation, inhibiting tumor formation in a mouse model of medulloblastoma. Arl13b disruption moderately affects cilia, indicating that Arl13b is a potential candidate for therapeutic drug development. Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, and overactivation of the Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway, which requires the primary cilium, causes 30% of MBs. Current treatments have known negative side effects or resistance mechanisms, so new treatments are necessary. Shh signaling mutations, like those that remove Patched1 (Ptch1) or activate Smoothened (Smo), cause tumors dependent on the presence of cilia. Genetic ablation of cilia prevents these tumors by removing Gli activator, but cilia are a poor therapeutic target since they support many biological processes. A more appropriate strategy would be to identify a protein that functionally disentangles Gli activation and ciliogenesis. Our mechanistic understanding of the ciliary GTPase Arl13b predicts that it could be such a target. Arl13b mutants retain short cilia, and loss of Arl13b results in ligand-independent, constitutive, low-level pathway activation but prevents maximal signaling without disrupting Gli repressor. Here, we show that deletion of Arl13b reduced Shh signaling levels in the presence of oncogenic SmoA1, suggesting Arl13b acts downstream of known tumor resistance mechanisms. Knockdown of ARL13B in human MB cell lines and in primary mouse MB cell culture decreased proliferation. Importantly, loss of Arl13b in a Ptch1-deleted mouse model of MB inhibited tumor formation. Postnatal depletion of Arl13b does not lead to any overt phenotypes in the epidermis, liver, or cerebellum. Thus, our in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate that disruption of Arl13b inhibits cilia-dependent oncogenic Shh overactivation.
Title Derivatives of entropy rate in special families of hidden Markov chains

Consider a hidden Markov chain obtained as the observation process of an ordinary Markov chain corrupted by noise. Recently Zuk et al. showed how, in principle, one can explicitly compute the derivatives of the entropy rate of at extreme values of the noise. Namely, they showed that the derivatives of standard upper approximations to the entropy rate actually stabilize at an explicit finite time. We generalize this result to a natural class of hidden Markov chains called “Black Holes. ” We also discuss in depth special cases of binary Markov chains observed in binary-symmetric noise, and give an abstract formula for the first derivative in terms of a measure on the simplex due to Blackwell.
Within-person comparison of eating behaviors, time of eating, and dietary intake on days with and without breakfast: NHANES 2005-2010.

BACKGROUND Breakfast omission is known to be associated with lower 24-h energy intake. However, little is known about downstream eating behaviors subsequent to skipping breakfast in free-living individuals. OBJECTIVE We replicated the traditional crossover design of nutrition studies in a naturalistic setting to compare within-person differences in self-reported eating behaviors, energy intake, and other dietary characteristics of individuals on a day that included breakfast with a day that omitted breakfast. DESIGN We used cross-sectional dietary data for 2132 adult respondents who reported breakfast in only one of 2 dietary recalls in the NHANES 2005-2010. Dietary outcomes examined included meal- and snack-eating behaviors, clock time of eating episodes, and intakes of energy, macronutrients, and food groups. Regression methods accounted for replicate diet measurements, covariates, and survey-design characteristics. RESULTS The breakfast meal provided a mean of 508 kcal in men and 374 kcal in women, but differences in 24-h energy intakes between the breakfast and no-breakfast day were 247 and 187 kcal, respectively. Energy intakes at the lunch meal were higher on the no-breakfast day (202 kcal in men and 121 kcal in women), and the reported time of lunch was ∼35 min earlier. The energy contribution of dinner or its reported time did not differ. A higher number of energy-adjusted servings of fruit and whole grains were reported on the breakfast day, but the energy and macronutrient density of reported foods were not different. CONCLUSIONS In free-living American adults, the eating time for lunch was earlier, and the lunch meal provided more energy on the no-breakfast day than on the breakfast day. Although the quality of dietary selections reflected in the energy and macronutrient density of a day's intake did not differ between the breakfast and the no-breakfast day, breakfast skippers may need encouragement to consume fruit and whole grains at other eating episodes.
Skin conductance as a pain assessment tool during chest tube removal: An observational study

Skin conductance variability to assess pain has shown varying results. Skin conductance responses per second (SCR) during a standardized painful stimulus in awake adults may give further understanding of the method's validity. The purpose of this study was to validate the SCR with the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain (P‐VAS) and anxiety (A‐VAS) during chest tube removal (CTR).
Long-Term Survival after Gamma Knife Radiosurgery in a Case of Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

The management of recurrent glioblastoma is highly challenging, and treatment outcomes remain uniformly poor. Glioblastoma is a highly infiltrative tumor, and complete surgical resection of all microscopic extensions cannot be achieved at the time of initial diagnosis, and hence local recurrence is observed in most patients. Gamma Knife radiosurgery has been used to treat these tumor recurrences for select cases and has been successful in prolonging the median survival by 8–12 months on average for select cases. We present the unique case of a 63-year-old male with multiple sequential recurrences of glioblastoma after initial standard treatment with surgery followed by concomitant external beam radiation therapy and chemotherapy (temozolomide). The patient was followed clinically as well as with surveillance MRI scans at every 2-3-month intervals. The patient underwent Gamma Knife radiosurgery three times for 3 separate tumor recurrences, and the patient survived for seven years following the initial diagnosis with this aggressive treatment. The median survival in patients with recurrent glioblastoma is usually 8–12 months after recurrence, and this unique case illustrates that aggressive local therapy can lead to long-term survivors in select situations. We advocate that each patient treatment at the time of recurrence should be tailored to each clinical situation and desire for quality of life and improved longevity.
Follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) alternative skipping of exon 2 or 3 affects ovarian response to FSH.

Genes critical for fertility are highly conserved in mammals. Interspecies DNA sequence variation, resulting in amino acid substitutions and post-transcriptional modifications, including alternative splicing, are a result of evolution and speciation. The mammalian follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) gene encodes distinct species-specific forms by alternative splicing. Skipping of exon 2 of the human FSHR was reported in women of North American origin and correlated with low response to ovarian stimulation with exogenous follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). To determine whether this variant correlated with low response in women of different genetic backgrounds, we performed a blinded retrospective observational study in a Turkish cohort. Ovarian response was determined as low, intermediate or high according to retrieved oocyte numbers after classifying patients in four age groups (<35, 35-37, 38-40, >40). Cumulus cells collected from 96 women undergoing IVF/ICSI following controlled ovarian hyperstimulation revealed four alternatively spliced FSHR products in seven patients (8%): exon 2 deletion in four patients; exon 3 and exons 2 + 3 deletion in one patient each, and a retention of an intron 1 fragment in one patient. In all others (92%) splicing was intact. Alternative skipping of exons 2, 3 or 2 + 3 were exclusive to low responders and was independent of the use of agonist or antagonist. Interestingly, skipping of exon 3 occurs naturally in the ovaries of domestic cats--a good comparative model for human fertility. We tested the signaling potential of human and cat variants after transfection in HEK293 cells and FSH stimulation. None of the splicing variants initiated cAMP signaling despite high FSH doses, unlike full-length proteins. These data substantiate the occurrence of FSHR exon skipping in a subgroup of low responders and suggest that species-specific regulation of FSHR splicing plays diverse roles in mammalian ovarian function.