Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Tubulin Colchicine Domain: a Molecular Modeling Perspective

Computational approaches have been increasingly applied to drug design over the past three decades and have already provided some useful results in the discovery of anticancer drugs. Given the increased availability of crystal structures in recent years, a growing number of molecular modeling studies on tubulin have been reported. Herein we present a brief overview of the role played by computational methods in anti‐tubulin research, specifically in the context of colchicine binding agent research. An overview of current structures is reported, along with a brief discussion on the issues associated with the various tubulin isotypes. Finally, a summary of the most recent and relevant results is presented, highlighting the challenges and opportunities faced by researchers in this field.
Antibodies against synthetic deamidated gliadin peptides as predictors of celiac disease: prospective assessment in an adult population with a high pretest probability of disease.

BACKGROUND Noninvasive serologic tests have shown high diagnostic accuracy for celiac disease (CD) in selected populations. Our aim was to determine prospectively the performance of CD-related serology in individuals undergoing intestinal biopsy because of clinical suspicion of small-bowel disorders. METHODS We enrolled 141 unselected consecutive adult patients attending a small-bowel disease clinic. Patients underwent endoscopy and biopsy; serum samples were obtained at that time for measurements of anti-tissue transglutaminase (a-tTG), IgA and IgG anti-deamidated gliadin-related peptide (a-DGP), and IgA antiactin antibodies (AAAs). Characterization of patients was based on histological criteria (Marsh type II lesion or greater). RESULTS The prevalence of CD was 42.5%. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were >90% for most assays. Diagnostic accuracy based on ROC curve analysis was similar for all assays [area under the curve (95% CI): 0.996 (0.967-0.998) for a-tTG, 0.995 (0.964-0.998) for IgA a-DGP, 0.989 (0.954-0.999) for IgG a-DGP, 0.996 (0.966-0.998) for blended conjugated of IgA + IgG a-DGP in a single assay, and 0.967 (0.922-0.990) for AAA]. The combinations of 2 tests, IgG a-DGP plus IgA a-tTG or the single blended conjugate detecting IgA + IgG a-DGP plus IgA a-tTG had 100% positive and negative predictive values if concentrations of both tests in either combination were above or below the cutoff. CONCLUSIONS In a population with high pretest probability, the newly developed a-DGP tests have diagnostic accuracy that is at least equivalent to that of established assays.
Effect of vaccination with a modified live porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus vaccine on growth performance in fattening pigs under field conditions

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has caused significant economic losses to the global swine industry. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a commercial PRRSV modified live virus (MLV) vaccine in conventionally reared growing/finishing pigs. Four barns were designated for groups A, B, C and D in the growing-to-finishing site. All pigs of the A barn were vaccinated with a commercial PRRSV MLV vaccine, whereas pigs of the B, C or D barn as control groups were unvaccinated. Twenty pigs randomly selected and tagged from each barn were serially bled at 0, 20, 40 and 60 day-post-vaccination, and tested for serological response with a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Body weights were measured to calculate the average-daily-weight gain (ADG). Serological assays indicated that the seropositivity of the PRRSV-vaccinated group was higher than that of the unvaccinated groups at 40 day-post-vaccination. ADG of group A was significantly higher than that of groups B and C, and the mean weights of groups A, B, C and D were 0.82 ± 0.017, 0.76 ± 0.016, 0.74 ± 0.019 and 0.81 ± 0.018 kg, respectively. In conclusion, the present study reports the serological responses and growth performance parameters by the PRRSV MLV vaccine in growing/finishing pigs under field conditions.
Analytical model for TDDB-based performance degradation in combinational logic

With aggressive gate oxide scaling, latent defects in the gate oxide manifest as traps that, in time, lead to gate oxide breakdown. Progressive gate oxide breakdown, also referred to as time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), is emerging as one of the most important sources of performance degradation in nanoscale CMOS devices. This paper describes an accurate analytical model to predict the delay of combinational logic gates subject to TDDB. The analytical model can be seamlessly integrated into a static timing analysis tool to analyze TDDB effects in large combinational logic circuits across a range of supply voltages and severity of oxide breakdown. Simulation results for an early version of an industrial 32nm library show that the model is accurate to within 3% of SPICE with orders of magnitude improvement in runtime.
Health Literacy and Environmental Risks Focusing Air Pollution: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study in Germany

(1) Background: Environmental risks such as air pollutants pose a threat to human health and must be communicated to the affected population to create awareness, such as via health literacy (HL); (2) Methods: We analyzed HL in the context of environmental health risks, including sources of information and prior knowledge, in a sample from the German general population using Kendall’s rank correlations, regression analyses, and explorative parallel mediation analysis; (3) Results: The survey included 412 German participants aged between 18 and 77. HL was found to be problematic to inadequate. The internet, family and friends, and newspapers were the most frequently cited sources of information. Mobile apps were mostly unknown but were requested by sample subjects. Although subjects expressed environmental concerns and exhibited rather good levels of knowledge, the majority perceived no risk to human health and rated air quality quite positively. Knowledge on particulate matter, the term “ultrafine particles”, and protective measures was found to be rather low. HL was associated with the use of newspapers and commercials as sources of information. The relationship between age and HL is fully mediated by the use of newspapers and information from TV commercials; (4) Conclusions: HL should be promoted by raising awareness of the health effects of environmental pollutants. In particular, the information channels preferred by the affected population should be used and further information opportunities such as apps should be publicized, e.g., through campaigns. An improved HL can assist policy makers in creating a healthier environment by empowering individuals to become more environmentally aware and protect their own health. This, in turn, has the potential to reduce health-related costs.
Impact of fatigue on the quality of life of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

OBJECTIVE:Fatigue is a frustrating symptom frequently reported by patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), but it is still poorly understood and not well evaluated. Our aim was to determine its importance and its impact on the quality of life and mental health status of patients with PBC.METHODS:Patients with PBC (103 women and 13 men with a mean age of 52.6 yr) completed self-report questionnaires to evaluate the impact of fatigue on their quality of life (Fatigue Impact Scale, FIS), the perception of their own mental health (Symptom Check list-90-R, SCL), and depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI). A cohort of age-matched healthy blood donors served as controls.RESULTS:Fatigue was present in 99 patients (85.3%) and was the worst or one of the worst symptoms in about half of them. In PBC patients, the mean FIS and SCL indexes were significantly increased, compared to healthy controls (1.49 ± 1.11 vs 0.6 ± 0.6 and 0.72 ± 0.55 vs 0.36 ± 0.35, respectively). Unexpectedly, 52 patients (44.8%) could be classified as having depression (BDI score >10). Significant correlations were found between the FIS and SCL indexes, between the FIS index and the BDI score, as well as between the BDI score and the SCL index. Finally, fatigue was not related to the disease severity parameters, that is, clinical, biochemical, metabolic, and pathological.CONCLUSIONS:Fatigue is a frequent and disabling complaint that impairs the quality of life of PBC patients and their perception of their own mental health, which may be associated with an unexpected depressive condition. In addition, the FIS questionnaire can be considered as a useful tool to assess fatigue in PBC patients and may be used in the evaluation of specific treatments aimed at reducing this complaint in such patients.
What QLQ-C15-PAL Symptoms Matter Most for Overall Quality of Life in Patients With Advanced Cancer?

Background Few studies have evaluated the QLQ-C15-PAL health-related quality of life (QOL) questionnaire, an abbreviated version of the QLQ-C30 questionnaire that was designed specifically for patients with advanced cancer. The present study assessed whether certain symptoms or functional domains from the QLQ-C15-PAL predicted overall QOL when rated prior to palliative radiation treatment (RT). Patients and Methods Patients attending an outpatient palliative radiotherapy clinic completed QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaires prior to palliative RT for bone, brain or lung disease. Pearson correlations were computed between the QLQ-C15-PAL functional/symptom scores and overall QOL scores. Multiple linear regressions were used to evaluate the relative importance of functional/symptom scales in association with overall QOL. Results Data from 369 patients were analyzed. The QLQ-C15-PAL domains of physical and emotional functioning, pain, and appetite loss were significant predictors of overall QOL in these patients with advanced cancer. Appetite loss was the only significant independent predictor of overall QOL in the subgroup of patients with advanced lung cancer (n = 29). Both appetite loss and emotional functioning were independently predictive of overall QOL in patients with bone metastases (n = 190). In patients with brain metastases (n = 150), independent predictors of overall QOL included physical and emotional functioning as well as fatigue. Conclusion The QLQ-C15-PAL domains of physical and emotional functioning, pain and appetite loss were significant predictors of overall QOL in this cohort of patients with advanced cancer. Different functional and symptom scales predicted overall QOL in patients with bone metastases, brain metastases or advanced lung cancer.
Optimal Selective Attention in Reactive Agents

In POMDPs, information about the hidden state, delivered through observations, is both valuable to the agent, allowing it to base its actions on better informed internal states, and a "curse", exploding the size and diversity of the internal state space. One attempt to deal with this is to focus on reactive policies, that only base their actions on the most recent observation. However, even reactive policies can be demanding on resources, and agents need to pay selective attention to only some of the information available to them in observations. In this report we present the minimum-information principle for selective attention in reactive agents. We further motivate this approach by reducing the general problem of optimal control in POMDPs, to reactive control with complex observations. Lastly, we explore a newly discovered phenomenon of this optimization process - period doubling bifurcations. This necessitates periodic policies, and raises many more questions regarding stability, periodicity and chaos in optimal control.
Sentinel-2 MSI and Sentinel-3 OLCI consistent ocean colour products using POLYMER

The Copernicus programme brings a wealth of ocean colour data at medium and high spatial resolution with a full, free and open data access policy, allowing for unprecedented monitoring capabilities of the open ocean and coastal and inland waters. The POLYMER atmospheric correction algorithm, with its genericity and robustness to most atmospheric and surface perturbations (aerosols, sun glint, thin clouds, adjacency effect), allows to maximize these observation capabilities, in particular for Sentinel-2 MSI and Sentinel-3 OLCI. The algorithm is fully consistent between these sensors, which gives access to a unique product in terms of potential applications. The evolution of the POLYMER algorithm will be presented, with examples of applications and validation results for Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3.
Effects of spaceflight and ground recovery on mesenteric artery and vein constrictor properties in mice

Following exposure to microgravity, there is a reduced ability of astronauts to augment peripheral vascular resistance, often resulting in orthostatic hypotension. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that mesenteric arteries and veins will exhibit diminished vasoconstrictor responses after spaceflight. Mesenteric arteries and veins from female mice flown on the Space Transportation System (STS)‐131 (n=11), STS‐133 (n=6), and STS‐135 (n=3) shuttle missions and respective ground‐based control mice (n=30) were isolated for in vitro experimentation. Vasoconstrictor responses were evoked in arteries via norepinephrine (NE), potassium chloride (KCl), and caffeine, and in veins through NE across a range of intraluminal pressures (2–12 cmH2O). Vasoconstriction to NE was also determined in mesenteric arteries at 1, 5, and 7 d postlanding. In arteries, maximal constriction to NE, KCl, and caffeine were reduced immediately following spaceflight and 1 d postflight. Spaceflight also reduced arterial ryanodine receptor‐3 mRNA levels. In mesenteric veins, there was diminished constriction to NE after flight. The results indicate that the impaired vasoconstriction following spaceflight occurs through the ryanodine receptor‐mediated intracellular Ca2+ release mechanism. Such vascular changes in astronauts could compromise the maintenance of arterial pressure during orthostatic stress. —Behnke, B. J., Stabley, J. N. , McCullough, D. J., Davis, R. T. , III, Dominguez, J. M. , II, Muller‐Delp, J. M. , Delp, M. D. Effects of spaceflight and ground recovery on mesenteric artery and vein constrictor properties in mice. FASEB J. 27, 399–409 (2013). www.fasebj. org
Influence of Indole-3-Acetic Acid and Gibberellic Acid on Phenylpropanoid Accumulation in Common Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) Sprouts

We investigated the effects of natural plant hormones, indole-3-acetic (IAA) acid and gibberellic acid (GA), on the growth parameters and production of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds in common buckwheat sprouts. A total of 17 phenolic compounds were identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Among these, seven compounds (4-hydroxybenzoic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, epicatechin, rutin, and quercetin) were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after treating the common buckwheat sprouts with different concentrations of the hormones IAA and GA. At a concentration of 0.5 mg/L, both IAA and GA exhibited the highest levels of growth parameters (shoot length, root length, and fresh weight). The HPLC analysis showed that the treatment of sprouts with IAA at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 mg/L produced higher or comparable levels of the total phenolic compounds than the control sprout and enhanced the production of rutin. Similarly, the supplementation with 0.1 and 0.5 mg/L GA increased the content of rutin in buckwheat sprouts. Our results suggested that the treatment with optimal concentrations of IAA and GA enhanced the growth parameters and accumulation of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds in buckwheat sprouts.
Circadian variation of endothelial cell function, red blood cell deformability and dehydro‐thromboxane B2 in healthy volunteers

There is a circadian variation in the time of onset of thrombotic disorders. The thrombotic tendency of blood is influenced by many factors including complex interactions between endothelial cells, platelets and red blood cells. We studied the circadian variation of various indices of these cells' functions in 10 young healthy male volunteers. Six blood samples were collected at 4 h intervals from 12.00 until 08.00 the following morning. The volunteers carried out normal daily activities until 00.00 at which time they went to bed. They remained in bed until 08.00 the following morning. The following were measured on each sample: plasma factor VIII von Willebrand factor antigen (FVIII vWF Ag), tissue plasminogen activator activity (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), prostacyclin stimulating factor (PGI2 SF), fibrinopeptide A (FPA), 11 dehydro-thromboxane B2 (11-dehydro-TXB2) and red cell deformability (RCD). The following parameters demonstrated significant circadian variation: tPA P < 0.001, PAI P < 0.04 and 11-dehydro-TXB2 P < 0.005 (two-way analysis of variance). tPA was highest at 16.00 - 20.00 and lowest at 08.00; PAI was highest at 08.00 and lowest at 20.00; TXB2 had a peak at 16.00 and trough at 04.00. As the behaviour of endothelial cells and platelets influence the rheological properties of blood, circadian variations in their behaviour may contribute to the time of onset of thrombotic disorders.
Model-free Viewpoint Invariant Human Activity Recognition

Abstract —The viewpoint assumption is becoming an obstacle in human activity recognition systems. There is increasing interest in the problem of human activity recognition, motivated by promising applications in many domains. Since camera position is arbitrary in many domains, human activity recognition systems have to be viewpoint invariant. The viewpoint invariance aspect has been ignored by a vast majority of computer vision researchers owing to inherent difficulty to train systems to recognize activities across all possible viewpoints. Fixed viewpoint systems are impractical in real scenarios. Therefore, we attempt to relax the infamous fixed viewpoint assumption by presenting a framework to recognize human activities from monocular video source from arbitrary viewpoint. The proposed system makes use of invariant human pose recognition. An ensemble of pose models performs inference on each video frame. Each pose model employs an expectation-maximization algorithm to estimate the probability that the given frame contains the corresponding pose. Over a sequence of frames, all the pose models collectively produce a multivariate Viewpoint invariantime series. In the activity recognition stage, we use nearest neighbor, with dynamic time warping as a distance measure, to classify pose time series. We have performed some experiments on a publicly available dataset and the results are found to be promising.
Fibroblast dynamics as an in vitro screening platform for anti‐fibrotic drugs in primary myelofibrosis

Although the cause for bone marrow fibrosis in patients with myelofibrosis remains controversial, it has been hypothesized that it is caused by extensive fibroblast proliferation under the influence of cytokines generated by the malignant megakaryocytes. Moreover, there is no known drug therapy which could reverse the process. We studied the fibroblasts in a novel system using the hanging drop method, evaluated whether the fibroblasts obtain from patients are part of the malignant clone of not and, using this system, we screen a large library of FDA‐approved drugs to identify potential drugs candidates that might be useful in the treatment of this disease, specifically which would inhibit fibroblast proliferation and the development of bone marrow fibrosis. We have found that the BM fibroblasts are not part of the malignant clone, as previously suspected and two immunosuppressive medications—cyclosporine and mycophenolate mophetil, as most potent suppressors of the fibroblast collagen production thus potentially inhibitors of bone marrow fibrosis production in myelofibrosis.
Patterns of Care With Brachytherapy for Cervical Cancer

Objective Concurrent chemotherapy with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy (BT) is critical to the curative treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer. Patterns of care and the use of EBRT and BT for locally advanced cervical cancer in the United States were analyzed with an emphasis on regional variation across the United States. Methods/Materials A retrospective analysis was performed using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database from 1988 to 2010 to identify women with locally advanced cervical carcinoma treated with definitive radiotherapy. Results Twelve thousand three hundred women were identified who met the inclusion criteria. From 1988 to 2010, percent use of EBRT and BT decreased from 68% to 45%; specifically, between 1988 and 2000, there was a decrease of 12% (P = 0.0003), and between 2000 and 2010, there was another decrease of 11% (P < 0.0001). When examined individually, 15 of the 16 registries displayed a decline in use of EBRT and BT with a significant decrease in 11 of the registries. No registry displayed an increased use of EBRT and BT, but the use of EBRT alone increased from 1988 to 2000 by 8% (P = 0.0055) and from 2000 to 2010 by 6% (P = 0.0095). Conclusions Combination of EBRT and BT for locally advanced cervical cancer continues to decline, despite guidelines indicating the appropriateness of BT. This decline was seen for most regions across the United States, with a concomitant rise in the use of EBRT. EBRT alone is an inferior therapy and must be used in conjunction with BT to realize maximal patient benefit.
Neck Pain, Mental Status, and Associated Factors Among Hospital Secretaries: A Cross-Sectional Study From Turkey

Introduction Neck disorders occur in the presence of various risk factors. Determining the cause-effect relationship is highly important in treating existing health problems. Our study aimed to determine the relationship between neck pain and mental status and the factors affecting them in hospital secretaries. Materials and Methods The study was cross-sectional. A total of 427 people who had been working as hospital secretaries at Gazi University Medical Faculty Hospital for at least one year were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics, working conditions, psychopathology levels, and the presence of neck pain were questioned. The study was conducted with 354 (82.9%) people. Results 34.3% of the hospital secretaries had neck pain, and 26.3% required psychiatric evaluation. There was a statistically significant (p<0.001) difference in neck pain according to gender, adjustability of the chair, accessibility of the tools, and the need for psychiatric evaluation. Data was collected during November 2022. Those who did neck exercises during the study period had lower mean scores on the General Health Questionnaire-12 than those who did not, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). According to the General Health Questionnaire-12 scores and the Bournemouth Neck Pain Questionnaire Scale, there is a significant (p<0.001), positive, and moderate (r=0.481) correlation between the frequency of mental problems and neck pain disability levels. Conclusion The relationship between the need for psychiatric status evaluation and neck pain is striking. A significant proportion of hospital secretaries complain of neck pain, work in non-ergonomic conditions, and need psychiatric evaluation. The study’s results underline the necessity of targeted workplace interventions and wellness procedures, highlighting the need to implement ergonomic improvements, promote regular exercise regimes, and provide psychosocial support services to improve the general well-being of hospital secretaries and develop a better working environment.