Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short-Term Effects of Gaseous Pollutants and Particulate Matter on Daily Hospital Admissions for Cardio-Cerebrovascular Disease in Lanzhou: Evidence from a Heavily Polluted City in China

Panel studies show a consistent association between increase in the cardiovascular hospitalizations with air pollutants in economically developed regions, but little evidence in less developed inland areas. In this study, a time-series analysis was used to examine the specific effects of major air pollutants [particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxides (NO2)] on daily hospital admissions for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases in Lanzhou, a heavily polluted city in China. We examined the effects of air pollutants for stratified groups by age and gender, and conducted the modifying effect of seasons on air pollutants to test the possible interaction. The significant associations were found between PM10, SO2 and NO2 and cardiac disease admissions, SO2 and NO2 were found to be associated with the cerebrovascular disease admissions. The elderly was associated more strongly with gaseous pollutants than younger. The modifying effect of seasons on air pollutants also existed. The significant effect of gaseous pollutants (SO2 and NO2) was found on daily hospital admissions even after adjustment for other pollutants except for SO2 on cardiac diseases. In a word, this study provides the evidence for the detrimental short-term health effects of urban gaseous pollutants on cardio-cerebrovascular diseases in Lanzhou.
Emerging roles of Jab1/CSN5 in DNA damage response, DNA repair, and cancer

Jab1/CSN5 is a multifunctional protein that plays an important role in integrin signaling, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and the regulation of genomic instability and DNA repair. Dysregulation of Jab1/CSN5 activity has been shown to contribute to oncogenesis by functionally inactivating several key negative regulatory proteins and tumor suppressors. In this review, we discuss our current understanding of the relationship between Jab1/CSN5 and DNA damage and summarize recent findings regarding opportunities for and challenges to therapeutic intervention.
High Risk of Depressive Disorders in Patients With Gout

AbstractMetabolic abnormalities are common in patients with depressive disorders. However, the relationship between gout and depression is unclear. We explored the causal relationship among gout, antigout medication, and the associated risk of incidental depressive disorders.In this nationwide cohort study, we sampled data from the National Health Insurance Research Database to recruit 34,050 patients with gout as the gout cohort and 68,100 controls (without gout) as the nongout cohort. Our primary endpoint was the diagnosis of depressive disorders during follow-up. The overall study population was followed up until depression diagnosis, withdrawal from the NHI program, or the end of the study. The differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between both cohorts were determined using the Chi-square test for categorical variables and the t-test for continuous variables. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the effect of gout on the risk of depression, represented using the hazard ratio with the 95% confidence interval.Patients with gout exhibited a higher risk of depressive disorders than controls did. The risk of depressive disorders increased with age and was higher in female patients and those with hypertension, stroke, and coronary artery disease. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug and prednisolone use was associated with a reduced risk of depression. Patients with gout who had received antigout medication exhibited a reduced risk of depressive disorders compared with nongout patients.Our findings support that gout increases the risk of depressive disorders, and that antigout medication use reduces the risk.
Detection of Microcystin-Producing Cyanobacteria in Missisquoi Bay, Quebec, Canada, Using Quantitative PCR

ABSTRACT Toxic cyanobacterial blooms, as well as their increasing global occurrence, pose a serious threat to public health, domestic animals, and livestock. In Missisquoi Bay, Lake Champlain, public health advisories have been issued from 2001 to 2009, and local microcystin concentrations found in the lake water regularly exceeded the Canadian drinking water guideline of 1.5 μg liter−1. A quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) approach was developed for the detection of blooms formed by microcystin-producing cyanobacteria. Primers were designed for the β-ketoacyl synthase (mcyDKS) and the first dehydratase domain (mcyDDH) of the mcyD gene, involved in microcystin synthesis. The Q-PCR method was used to track the toxigenic cyanobacteria in Missisquoi Bay during the summers of 2006 and 2007. Two toxic bloom events were detected in 2006: more than 6.5 × 104 copies of the mcyDKS gene ml−1 were detected in August, and an average of 4.0 × 104 copies ml−1 were detected in September, when microcystin concentrations were more than 4 μg liter−1 and approximately 2 μg liter−1, respectively. Gene copy numbers and total microcystin concentrations (determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) were highly correlated in the littoral (r = 0.93, P < 0.001) and the pelagic station (r = 0.87, P < 0.001) in 2006. In contrast to the situation in 2006, a cyanobacterial bloom occurred only in late summer-early fall of 2007, reaching only 3 × 102mcyDKS copies ml−1, while the microcystin concentration was barely detectable. The Q-PCR method allowed the detection of microcystin-producing cyanobacteria when toxins and toxigenic cyanobacterial abundance were still below the limit of detection by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and microscopy. Toxin gene copy numbers grew exponentially at a steady rate over a period of 7 weeks. Onshore winds selected for cells with a higher cell quota of microcystin. This technique could be an effective approach for the routine monitoring of the most at-risk water bodies.
Does site of cord insertion increase risk of adverse outcome, twin‐to‐twin transfusion syndrome and discordant growth in monochorionic twin pregnancy?

It is not currently well known to what extent the sites of cord insertion influence the risk of complicated outcome in monochorionic twin pregnancy. The objectives of this study were to examine whether the sites of cord insertion, as determined on prenatal ultrasound examination, affect the risks of adverse outcome, twin‐to‐twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and discordant growth, and whether discordance in insertion sites or velamentous insertion in one or both twins best predicts risk.
The Common Physical Origin of the Gravitational, Strong and Weak Forces

Particles moving within the flux of micro-quanta filling the space have been shown to obey the Relativistic Mechanics and to undergo a gravitational �pushing� force with G depending locally on the quantum flux constants. Due to the very little quantum energy Eo , the ratio Eo/mc2 equals about 10-50 so the collisions with particles follow the optical reflection accurately. The simultaneous micro-quanta hitting upon a nucleon are about 1050, a high number due to the small wavelength which results close to Planck�s length. Along the joining line between two particles there is a lack of incident quanta (missing beam) which determines unbalanced collisions generating drawing forces between particles by mutual screening. These forces increment the particle energy, as shown for instance by the heating during the gravitational contraction of the galactic gas globules leading to protostars. This mechanism allows to predict that observations of the thermal emission from major solar planets may exceed the power received from solar light. When two particles are very close, the mutual screening highly increments the missing beam, giving rise to a short-range strong force which is of the right strength to hold protons and neutrons within the atomic nuclei. The belief that nuclear forces are �self-produced� by nucleons is disproved. Proof is given for the structure of the simple Deuterium nucleus. The same process originates also a short-range �weak� force on the electron closely orbiting a proton, giving rise to the neutron structure which undergoes β- decay. The mutual strong forces on a nucleon pair are equal, but the weak force on the bound electron differs largely from the force on the proton (breakdown of Newton�s action and reaction symmetry).
Arabitol provided by lichenous fungi enhances ability to dissipate excess light energy in a symbiotic green alga under desiccation.

Lichens are drought-resistant symbiotic organisms of mycobiont fungi and photobiont green algae or cyanobacteria, and have an efficient mechanism to dissipate excess captured light energy into heat in a picosecond time range to avoid photoinhibition. This mechanism can be assessed as drought-induced non-photochemical quenching (d-NPQ) using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. A green alga Trebouxia sp. , which lives within a lichen Ramalina yasudae, is one of the most common green algal photobionts. This alga showed very efficient d-NPQ under desiccation within the lichen thallus, whereas it lost d-NPQ ability when isolated from R. yasudae, indicating the importance of the interaction with the mycobiont for d-NPQ ability. We analyzed the water extracts from lichen thalli that enhanced d-NPQ in Trebouxia. Of several sugar compounds identified in the water extracts by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) and gas chromatography (GC) analyses, only d-arabitol recovered d-NPQ in isolated Trebouxia to a level similar to that detected for R. yasudae thallus. Other sugar compounds did not help the expression of d-NPQ at the same concentrations. Thus, arabitol is essential for the expression of d-NPQ to dissipate excess captured light energy into heat, protecting the photobiont from photoinhibition. The relationship between mycobionts and photobionts is, therefore, not commensalism, but mutualism with each other, as shown by d-NPQ expression.
Dietary resistant maltodextrin ameliorates testicular function and spermatogenesis in streptozotocin–nicotinamide‐induced diabetic rats

This study investigated the effect of resistant maltodextrin (RMD) on reproduction in streptozotocin (STZ)–nicotinamide‐induced type 2 diabetic male rats. Forty male rats were induced with diabetes by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (50 mg kg−1) and nicotinamide (100 mg kg−1). Five groups were analysed in total: normal, diabetic rats without RMD, diabetic rats with RMD 1.2 g per 100 g diet (1×), with RMD 2.4 g per 100 g (2×), and with RMD 6.0 g per 100 g (5×). The groups of diabetic rats with the RMD supplement, compared to those without supplement, showed improved plasma glucose control, attenuated insulin resistance and recovery of testosterone level and spermatogenesis stage. The STZ–nicotinamide‐induced diabetes mellitus (DM) caused a significant reduction in serum testosterone, testis androgen receptor (AR), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β‐HSD) protein, but a statistical recovery in each of these was observed in the 5× group. TUNEL‐positive cells were observed in the diabetic without RMD group, and RMD treatment reduced apoptotic germ cells. The expression of Bax/Bcl2 was induced in the diabetic group and also significantly reduced in the 5× group. Dietary RMD may improve metabolic control in STZ–nicotinamide‐induced diabetic rats and attenuate hyperglycaemia‐related impaired male reproduction and testicular function.
Obstetric brachial plexus palsy: A birth injury not explained by the known risk factors

Objective. To determine the incidence and prognosis of obstetric brachial plexus injuries and analyze associated risk factors. Design. Analysis of prospectively collected information comprising all births from 1991 to 2000, with complete follow‐up of affected children. Setting. St Olav's University Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in the middle part of Norway. Population. Thirty thousand five hundred and seventy‐four children; all were examined within 24 hours of birth and 91 were diagnosed with brachial plexus injury. Methods. We reviewed the hospital records and analyzed the data submitted from our hospital to the Medical Birth Register of Norway. Result. Risk factors are shoulder dystocia, macrosomy, diabetes, vacuum extraction and forceps delivery. The predictive power of these variables is poor. Almost half of the plexus injuries followed spontaneous vaginal deliveries with second stage of 30 minutes or less. Two newborns were delivered by cesarean section and two were vaginal breech deliveries. In 15 children (0.5/1,000) a permanent plexus injury has been diagnosed. Compared with transient plexus impairment, risk factors for a permanent injury were high maternal body mass index, shoulder dystocia, fractured humerus and fetal asphyxia. Fracture of the clavicle was significantly more frequent when the injury was transient, possibly reflecting a protective effect. Conclusion. The incidence of obstetric brachial plexus injury is 0.3% and the recovery rate is 84%, resulting in 0.5 permanent injuries per 1,000 births. Plexus injury is not well predicted by known risk factors. Other etiological factors should be sought.
Compositional safety of event DAS-40278-9 (AAD-1) herbicide-tolerant maize

Event DAS-40278-9 maize expresses the aryloxyalkanoate dioxygenase-1 enzyme, which was originally identified in the soil bacterium Sphingobium herbicidovorans. This enzymedegrades 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and aryloxyphenoxypropionate herbicides (e.g., haloxyfop, cyhalofop, quizalofop, etc.); therefore, plants that contain this enzyme are tolerant to these herbicides. We employed the substantial equivalence approach to investigate the compositional safety of event DAS-40278-9 maize. A total of 82 different compositional analyses were conducted to evaluate the equivalence of event DAS-40278-9 and conventional maize. Analyte levels within the transgenic entries were either within literature ranges for non-transgenic maize or statistically indistinguishable from the non-transgenic near-isogenic hybrid, thus indicating substantial equivalence between event DAS-40278-9 and its conventional counterpart. These results agree with dozens of published studies for other transgenic events where input traits were found to have a negligible effect on crop composition compared with traditional breeding methods.
Improved Compact Polarimetric SAR Quad-Pol Reconstruction Algorithm for Oil Spill Detection

An improved reconstruction algorithm is proposed for compact polarimetric (CP) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on oil spill detection. Based on the differences in statistical behavior between open and oil-covered sea surfaces, the proposed algorithm can iteratively reconstruct quad-pol SAR images from CP SAR data. During the experiment, it outperformed two existing compact SAR reconstruction algorithms in terms of both statistical and information theoretical analysis.
Mobile telephones and cancer: is there really no evidence of an association? (review).

Two Swedish epidemiological studies have shown an association between the use of mobile telephones, mainly of the analogue type, and brain tumours. These findings have been corroborated in a Finnish study. Supportive evidence has also come from studies in USA, but these investigations, as well as a Danish study, are inconclusive due to e.g., few exposed subjects, short latency periods and methodological shortcomings. The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI) engaged two epidemiologists from a private company to conduct a review of the literature. They claimed that use of mobile telephones is not associated with increased risk for brain tumours. Their conclusion was, however, based on an unbalanced view of current literature in favour of studies showing no association. These circumstances are further explored in this communication.
Multilevel Analysis of Trachomatous Trichiasis and Corneal Opacity in Nigeria: The Role of Environmental and Climatic Risk Factors on the Distribution of Disease

The distribution of trachoma in Nigeria is spatially heterogeneous, with large-scale trends observed across the country and more local variation within areas. Relative contributions of individual and cluster-level risk factors to the geographic distribution of disease remain largely unknown. The primary aim of this analysis is to assess the relationship between climatic factors and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) and/or corneal opacity (CO) due to trachoma in Nigeria, while accounting for the effects of individual risk factors and spatial correlation. In addition, we explore the relative importance of variation in the risk of trichiasis and/or corneal opacity (TT/CO) at different levels. Data from the 2007 National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey were used for this analysis, which included a nationally representative sample of adults aged 40 years and above. Complete data were available from 304 clusters selected using a multi-stage stratified cluster-random sampling strategy. All participants (13,543 individuals) were interviewed and examined by an ophthalmologist for the presence or absence of TT and CO. In addition to field-collected data, remotely sensed climatic data were extracted for each cluster and used to fit Bayesian hierarchical logistic models to disease outcome. The risk of TT/CO was associated with factors at both the individual and cluster levels, with approximately 14% of the total variation attributed to the cluster level. Beyond established individual risk factors (age, gender and occupation), there was strong evidence that environmental/climatic factors at the cluster-level (lower precipitation, higher land surface temperature, higher mean annual temperature and rural classification) were also associated with a greater risk of TT/CO. This study establishes the importance of large-scale risk factors in the geographical distribution of TT/CO in Nigeria, supporting anecdotal evidence that environmental conditions are associated with increased risk in this context and highlighting their potential use in improving estimates of disease burden at large scales.
A dually located multi‐HMG‐box protein of Aspergillus nidulans has a crucial role in conidial and ascospore germination

Seven HMG‐box proteins of Aspergillus nidulans have been identified in the genomic databases. Three of these have the characteristics of non‐specific DNA‐binding proteins. One of these, AN1267 (HmbB), comprises one canonical HMG‐box in its C‐terminus and upstream of the canonical box two structurally related boxes, to be called Shadow‐HMG‐boxes. This protein defines, together with the Podospora anserina mtHMG1, a clade of proteins present in the Pezizomycotina, with orthologues in some of the Taphrinomycotina. HmbB localizes primarily to the mitochondria but occasionally in nuclei. The deletion of the cognate gene results in a number of pleiotropic effects, including those on hyphal morphology, sensitivity to oxidative stress, absence of sterigmatocystin production and changes in the profile of conidial metabolites. The most striking phenotype of deletion strains is a dramatic decrease in conidial and ascospore viability. We show that this is most likely due to the protein being essential to maintain mitochondrial DNA in spores.
Can microlensing explain the long-term optical variability of quasars?

Although controversial, the scenario of microlensing as the dominant mechanism for the long-term optical variability of quasars does provide a natural explanation for both the statistical symmetry, achromaticity and lack of cosmological time dilation in quasar light curves. Here, we investigate to what extent dark matter populations of compact objects allowed in the currently favored M = 0:3, = 0:7 cosmology really can explain the quantitative statistical features of the observed variability. We find that microlensing reasonably well reproduces the average structure function of quasars, but fails to explain both the high fraction of objects with amplitudes higher than 0.35 magnitudes and the mean amplitudes observed at redshifts below one. Even though microlensing may still contribute to the long-term optical variability at some level, another significant mechanism must also be involved. This severely complicates the task of using light-curve statistics from quasars which are not multiply imaged to isolate properties of any cosmologically significant population of compact objects which may in fact be present.
The dynamical disconnection of sunspots from their magnetic roots

After a dynamically active emergence phase, magnetic flux at the solar surface soon ceases to show strong signs of the subsurface dynamics of its parent magnetic structure. This indicates that some kind of disconnection of the emerged flux from its roots in the deep convection zone should take place. We propose a mechanism for the dynamical disconnection of the surface flux based upon the buoyant upflow of plasma along the field lines. Such flows arise in the upper part of a rising flux loop during the final phases of its buoyant ascent towards the surface. The combination of the pressure buildup by the upflow and the cooling of the upper layers of an emerged flux tube by radiative losses at the surface lead to a progressive weakening of the magnetic field in several Mm depth. When the field strength has become sufficiently low, convective motions and the fluting instability disrupt the flux tube into thin, passively advected flux fragments, thus providing a dynamical disconnection of the emerged part from its roots. We substantiate this scenario by considering the quasi-static evolution of a sunspot model under the effects of radiative cooling, convective energy transport, and pressure buildup by a prescribed inflow at the bottom of the model. For inflow speeds in the range shown by simulations of thin flux tubes, we find that the disconnection takes place in a depth between 2 and 6 Mm for disconnection times up to 3 days.
The exon-junction-complex-component metastatic lymph node 51 functions in stress-granule assembly

Metastatic lymph node 51 [MLN51 (also known as CASC3)] is a component of the exon junction complex (EJC), which is assembled on spliced mRNAs and plays important roles in post-splicing events. The four proteins of the EJC core, MLN51, MAGOH, Y14 and EIF4AIII shuttle between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. However, unlike the last three, MLN51 is mainly detected in the cytoplasm, suggesting that it plays an additional function in this compartment. In the present study, we show that MLN51 is recruited into cytoplasmic aggregates known as stress granules (SGs) together with the SG-resident proteins, fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), poly(A) binding protein (PABP) and poly(A)+ RNA. MLN51 specifically associates with SGs via its C-terminal region, which is dispensable for its incorporation in the EJC. MLN51 does not promote SG formation but its silencing, or the overexpression of a mutant lacking its C-terminal region, alters SG assembly. Finally, in human breast carcinomas, MLN51 is sometimes present in cytoplasmic foci also positive for FMRP and PABP, suggesting that SGs formation occurs in malignant tumours.
‘Strong is the new skinny’: A content analysis of #fitspiration images on Instagram

‘Fitspiration’ is an online trend designed to inspire viewers towards a healthier lifestyle by promoting exercise and healthy food. This study provides a content analysis of fitspiration imagery on the social networking site Instagram. A set of 600 images were coded for body type, activity, objectification and textual elements. Results showed that the majority of images of women contained only one body type: thin and toned. In addition, most images contained objectifying elements. Accordingly, while fitspiration images may be inspirational for viewers, they also contain a number of elements likely to have negative effects on the viewer’s body image.