Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Auricular Acupuncture for the Treatment of Pediatric Migraines in the Emergency Department

Objectives Headache remains a frequent complaint for children presenting to a pediatric emergency department (ED). Typical treatments include oral or intravenous medications, but do not always relieve pain. An alternative intervention is auricular acupuncture. It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of migraines in adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility and adverse effects of auricular acupuncture in the treatment of pediatric migraines in the ED. Methods This was a prospective, interventional, cohort study of patients 8 to 18 years of age. Efficacious ear points were located by needle contact or electrical point finder with attention to 2 migraine lines on the ear. ASP gold semipermanent ear needles were placed in the efficacious points and patients were monitored for 15 minutes. The primary outcome was the change in preintervention and postintervention pain scores using a numerical self-reported pain visual analog scale (VAS). Results Nineteen patients elected to enroll in the study. The mean change in the VAS scores was both clinically and statistically significant at 7.03 (interquartile range, 6–8.5) with a P value of less than 0.001. Two patients elected to withdraw from the study secondary to incomplete resolution of migraine pain despite improvement in VAS scores. There were no known adverse events. Conclusions With all subjects showing improvement or resolution of migraine headache, this pilot study introduces an alternative intervention to pediatric migraine management. Further studies are needed to evaluate the duration of symptom resolution and comparative effectiveness; auricular acupuncture seems to be a valid alternative.
Body mass index, height, weight, arm circumference, and mortality in rural Bangladeshi women: a 19-y longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND Studies in Western populations report a J- or U-shaped relation between body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) and mortality, in which persons with extremes of BMI experience increased mortality. In contrast, little is known about populations in developing countries, where nutritional status is lower. OBJECTIVE The objective was to examine the association between BMI and mortality in Bangladeshi women. DESIGN A cohort of 1888 rural Bangladeshi women (mean age: 27.9 y) was followed over 19 y. Height, weight, arm circumference, fertility, and socioeconomic data were obtained between 1975 and 1979. Mortality, loss-to-follow-up, and additional socioeconomic data were identified by the demographic surveillance system of the International Centre for Health and Population Research, Bangladesh. Proportional hazards regression was used to examine the relation between BMI and all-cause mortality. RESULTS The association between BMI and mortality was reverse J-shaped. After adjustment for socioeconomic indicators, the risk of dying was highest in women with BMIs in the lowest 10% of the decile distribution (< 16.39) and lowest in women with intermediate (11-89% range of the decile distribution) BMIs (16.39-20.71). Women with BMIs in the highest 10% of the distribution (> 20.71) had slightly elevated mortality (NS) compared with those with intermediate BMIs. Age and education were strongly associated with mortality. Women without schooling had a risk of mortality 4 times that of women with > or = 1 y of schooling. CONCLUSIONS A woman's BMI relative to the BMI distribution in the local population may be a better predictor of mortality than is absolute BMI. The contribution of education in reducing mortality supports development programs aimed at increasing women's education.
Effect of bleaching on coir fibre pulp and paper properties.

The utilisation of coir fibre can create economic and environmental advantages. This study was carried out to investigate the influence of bleaching and pulping on the properties of coir fibre pulp and paper. The coir fibre pulp was chemically analysed; pulped by chemical-mechanical pulping (CMP) process and bleached by elementary chlorine free (ECF) process with four stages of chlorine dioxide (D) and alkali extraction (E). Sheets or paper were made from the unbleached and bleached coir fibre pulp. The results showed that in the paper making process, the coconut coir has chemical properties that can be successfully pulped by the CMP and bleached by the ECF processes. The DEDED sequences can be used in bleaching the coir pulps. The bleached pulp produced paper with better tensile index, burst index, tear index, folding endurance as well as brightness properties but has lower opacity compared to the unbleached pulp. The bleaching process also improved the bonding strength of the coir fibre in the paper due to removal of lignin.
Characterization of vascular dysregulation in meriones shawi after high-calorie diet feeding

ABSTRACT The present study was initiated to characterize vascular dysregulations (contraction and relaxation) associated with metabolic defects in Merions shawi, a rodent from the gerbillidae family, submitted to 12 weeks high-calorie diet. This diet induces a type 2 diabetes/metabolic syndrome phenotype with hypertension. In diabetic meriones, body weight increase was associated with hyperglycemia, increased insulinemia, and insulin resistance. Compared to lean meriones, diabetic meriones showed decreased aorta contraction to noradrenaline, which was normalized after NOS inhibition. Endothelium-dependent relaxation to carbachol was enhanced, while relaxing effects of the NO donor SNAP and of diazoxide were unchanged. Insulin-evoked relaxation was depressed in aorta from diabetic meriones, and L-arginine relaxed contracted arteries from diabetic meriones, but not from lean meriones. Urine NOX level and iNOS mRNA muscle expression were significantly higher in diabetic meriones compared to lean animals. These data strongly suggest that iNOS may have a pathogenic role in vascular dysfunction observed in diet-induced diabetic meriones.
The Interplay between Genes and Psychosocial Home Environment on Physical Activity

Introduction Genetic factors contribute to individual differences in physical activity, but it remains uncertain whether the magnitude of the genetic effects is modified by variations in home environments. We aimed to examine to what extent the psychosocial home environment in childhood and adolescence modifies the genetic influences on leisure time physical activity in young adulthood. Methods Participants were Finnish twins (N = 3305) who reported their leisure time physical activity at age 24 yr. The psychosocial home environment was assessed by twins at ages 12, 14, and 17 yr, as well as by their parents when the twins were age 12 yr. Gene–environment interaction modeling was performed with OpenMx software. Results Parental ratings of positive home atmosphere as well as the twins’ ratings of both positive home atmosphere at age 14 yr and lower relational tensions at ages 12 and 14 yr predicted higher leisure time physical activity levels in young adulthood (regression coefficients = 0.33–0.64). Parental perceptions as well as the twins’ perceptions of positive home atmosphere at ages 14 and 17 yr increased the additive genetic variation (moderation effects: 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.29–0.80; 0.60, 95% CI = 0.26–1.05; and 0.52, 95% CI = 0.19–0.87, respectively). The twins’ ratings of positive home atmosphere at age 12 yr and lower relational tensions at ages 12 and 14 yr increased the unique environmental variation of their subsequent physical activity (moderation effects: 0.46, 95% CI = 0.19–0.60; 0.48, 95% CI = 0.29–0.64; and 0.85, 95% CI = 0.12–0.95, respectively). Conclusions A psychosocial home environment that is warm and supportive in childhood and adolescence not only increases the mean level of subsequent leisure time physical activity in young adulthood but also modifies the genetic and environmental variances in leisure time physical activity.
Morphological variation in the genus Chlorocebus: Ecogeographic and anthropogenically mediated variation in body mass, postcranial morphology, and growth.

OBJECTIVES Direct comparative work in morphology and growth on widely dispersed wild primate taxa is rarely accomplished, yet critical to understanding ecogeographic variation, plastic local variation in response to human impacts, and variation in patterns of growth and sexual dimorphism. We investigated population variation in morphology and growth in response to geographic variables (i.e., latitude, altitude), climatic variables (i.e., temperature and rainfall), and human impacts in the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus spp.). METHODS We trapped over 1,600 wild vervets from across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, and compared measurements of body mass, body length, and relative thigh, leg, and foot length in four well-represented geographic samples: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and St. Kitts & Nevis. RESULTS We found significant variation in body mass and length consistent with Bergmann's Rule in adult females, and in adult males when excluding the St. Kitts & Nevis population, which was more sexually dimorphic. Contrary to Rensch's Rule, although the South African population had the largest average body size, it was the least dimorphic. There was significant, although very small, variation in all limb segments in support for Allen's Rule. Females in high human impact areas were heavier than those with moderate exposures, while those in low human impact areas were lighter; human impacts had no effect on males. CONCLUSIONS Vervet monkeys appear to have adapted to local climate as predicted by Bergmann's and, less consistently, Allen's Rule, while also responding in predicted ways to human impacts. To better understand deviations from predicted patterns will require further comparative work in vervets.
Myelin Basic Protein Regulates Primitive and Definitive Neural Stem Cell Proliferation from the Adult Spinal Cord

The adult mammalian forebrain comprises two distinct populations of neural stem cells (NSCs): rare, Oct4 positive, primitive NSCs (pNSCs) and definitive NSC (dNSC) which are more abundant and express GFAP. The pNSCs are upstream of the dNSCs in the neural stem cell lineage. Herein we show that pNSC and dNSC populations can also be isolated from the developing and adult spinal cord. Spinal cord derived pNSCs are similarly rare, Oct4 expressing cells that are responsive to leukemia inhibitory factor and dNSCs are 4‐5X more abundant and express GFAP. We demonstrate that myelin basic protein (MBP) is inhibitory to both pNSC and dNSC derived colony formation. Similar to what is seen in the adult forebrain following injury, spinal cord injury results in a significant increase in the size of the dNSC and pNSC pools. Hence, both primitive and definitive neural stem cells can be isolated from along the embryonic and adult neuraxis in vivo and their behavior is regulated by MBP and injury. Stem Cells 2017;35:485–496
Abstract P306: Maternal High Fat Diet Acts on the Brain to Induce Baroreflex Dysfunction and Sensitization of Angiotensin II-induced Hypertension in Adult Offspring

Accumulating evidence indicates that maternal high fat diet (HFD) is associated with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in adult offspring. The present study tested the hypothesis that maternal HFD modulates the brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS), oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines that alters angiotensin II and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) actions to sensitize the angiotensin II-elicited hypertensive response in adult offspring. All offspring were cross-fostered by dams on the same or opposite diet to yield 4 groups: offspring from normal fat control diet (CD)-fed dams suckled by CD-fed dams (OCC) or by HFD-fed dams (OCH) and offspring from HFD-fed dams fed HFD suckled by CD-fed dams (OHC) or by HFD-fed dams (OHH). RT-PCR analyses of the lamina terminalis (LT) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN) indicated upregulation of mRNA expression of several RAS components, NADPH oxidase and proinflammatory cytokines in 10-week old male offspring of dams fed HFD during either pregnancy, lactation or both (OHC, OCH and OHH). These offspring also showed decreased baroreflex sensitivity and increased pressor responses to intracerebroventricular microinjection of either angiotensin II or TNF-α. Furthermore, chronic systemic infusion of angiotensin II resulted in enhanced upregulation of mRNA expression of RAS components, NADPH oxidase and proinflammatory cytokines in the LT and PVN and an augmented hypertensive response in the OHC, OCH and OHH groups when compared to the OCC. The results suggest that maternal HFD blunts baroreflex function and enhances pressor responses to angiotensin II or proinflammaroty cytokines through upregulation of the brain RAS, oxidative stress and inflammation.
Treatment of Severe Adult Traumatic Brain Injury Using Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells

Preclinical studies using bone marrow derived cells to treat traumatic brain injury have demonstrated efficacy in terms of blood–brain barrier preservation, neurogenesis, and functional outcomes. Phase 1 clinical trials using bone marrow mononuclear cells infused intravenously in children with severe traumatic brain injury demonstrated safety and potentially a central nervous system structural preservation treatment effect. This study sought to confirm the safety, logistic feasibility, and potential treatment effect size of structural preservation/inflammatory biomarker mitigation in adults to guide Phase 2 clinical trial design. Adults with severe traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Scale 5–8) and without signs of irreversible brain injury were evaluated for entry into the trial. A dose escalation format was performed in 25 patients: 5 controls, followed 5 patients in each dosing cohort (6, 9, 12 ×106 cells/kg body weight), then 5 more controls. Bone marrow harvest, cell processing to isolate the mononuclear fraction, and re‐infusion occurred within 48 hours after injury. Patients were monitored for harvest‐related hemodynamic changes, infusional toxicity, and adverse events. Outcome measures included magnetic resonance imaging‐based measurements of supratentorial and corpus callosal volumes as well as diffusion tensor imaging‐based measurements of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity of the corpus callosum and the corticospinal tract at the level of the brainstem at 1 month and 6 months postinjury. Functional and neurocognitive outcomes were measured and correlated with imaging data. Inflammatory cytokine arrays were measured in the plasma pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 1 and 6 month follow‐up. There were no serious adverse events. There was a mild pulmonary toxicity of the highest dose that was not clinically significant. Despite the treatment group having greater injury severity, there was structural preservation of critical regions of interest that correlated with functional outcomes. Key inflammatory cytokines were downregulated. Treatment of severe, adult traumatic brain injury using an intravenously delivered autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell infusion is safe and logistically feasible. There appears to be a treatment signal as evidenced by central nervous system structural preservation, consistent with previous pediatric trial data. Inflammatory biomarkers are downregulated after cell infusion. Stem Cells 2016
Keratin mediates the recognition of apoptotic and necrotic cells through dendritic cell receptor DEC205/CD205

Significance DEC205 (CD205) is an endocytotic receptor on dendritic cells that recognizes dead cells in a pH-dependent fashion and has been widely used for vaccine generation in immune therapies. However, the physiological ligand(s) of DEC205 has remained unknown for decades. Here we identify that keratins are the cellular ligands of human DEC205 and DEC205 recognizes keratins specifically at acidic pH. Keratins are structural proteins providing mechanical support for cells and tissues. Our results suggest that keratins act as markers of dead cells in acidic environments. Moreover, since keratins have been used as diagnostic markers for various tumors, the finding of DEC205 as a scavenging receptor of keratins may provide insights for the therapeutic strategies against tumors and other related diseases. Clearance of dead cells is critical for maintaining homeostasis and prevents autoimmunity and inflammation. When cells undergo apoptosis and necrosis, specific markers are exposed and recognized by the receptors on phagocytes. DEC205 (CD205) is an endocytotic receptor on dendritic cells with antigen presentation function and has been widely used in immune therapies for vaccine generation. It has been shown that human DEC205 recognizes apoptotic and necrotic cells in a pH-dependent fashion. However, the natural ligand(s) of DEC205 remains unknown. Here we find that keratins are the cellular ligands of human DEC205. DEC205 binds to keratins specifically at acidic, but not basic, pH through its N-terminal domains. Keratins form intermediate filaments and are important for maintaining the strength of cells and tissues. Our results suggest that keratins also function as cell markers of apoptotic and necrotic cells and mediate a pH-dependent pathway for the immune recognition of dead cells.
Gas Transport in Glassy Polymers: Prediction of Diffusional Time Lag

The transport of gases in glassy polymeric membranes has been analyzed by means of a fundamental approach based on the nonequilibrium thermodynamic model for glassy polymers (NET-GP) that considers the penetrant chemical potential gradient as the actual driving force of the diffusional process. The diffusivity of a penetrant is thus described as the product of a purely kinetic quantity, the penetrant mobility, and a thermodynamic factor, accounting for the chemical potential dependence on its concentration in the polymer. The NET-GP approach, and the nonequilibrium lattice fluid (NELF) model in particular, describes the thermodynamic behavior of penetrant/polymer mixtures in the glassy state, at each pressure or composition. Moreover, the mobility is considered to follow a simple exponential dependence on penetrant concentration, as typically observed experimentally, using only two adjustable parameters, the infinite dilution penetrant mobility L10 and the plasticization factor β, both determined from the analysis of the dependence of steady state permeability on upstream pressure. The available literature data of diffusional time lag as a function of penetrant upstream pressure has been reviewed and compared with model predictions, obtained after the values of the two model parameters (L10 and β), have been conveniently determined from steady state permeability data. The model is shown to be able to describe very accurately the experimental time lag behaviors for all penetrant/polymer pairs inspected, including those presenting an increasing permeability with increasing upstream pressure. The model is thus more appropriate than the one based on Dual Mode Sorption, which usually provides an unsatisfactory description of time lag and required an ad hoc modification.
22q11.2 deletion syndrome in diverse populations

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2 DS) is the most common microdeletion syndrome and is underdiagnosed in diverse populations. This syndrome has a variable phenotype and affects multiple systems, making early recognition imperative. In this study, individuals from diverse populations with 22q11.2 DS were evaluated clinically and by facial analysis technology. Clinical information from 106 individuals and images from 101 were collected from individuals with 22q11.2 DS from 11 countries; average age was 11.7 and 47% were male. Individuals were grouped into categories of African descent (African), Asian, and Latin American. We found that the phenotype of 22q11.2 DS varied across population groups. Only two findings, congenital heart disease and learning problems, were found in greater than 50% of participants. When comparing the clinical features of 22q11.2 DS in each population, the proportion of individuals within each clinical category was statistically different except for learning problems and ear anomalies (P < 0.05). However, when Africans were removed from analysis, six additional clinical features were found to be independent of ethnicity (P ≥ 0.05). Using facial analysis technology, we compared 156 Caucasians, Africans, Asians, and Latin American individuals with 22q11.2 DS with 156 age and gender matched controls and found that sensitivity and specificity were greater than 96% for all populations. In summary, we present the varied findings from global populations with 22q11.2 DS and demonstrate how facial analysis technology can assist clinicians in making accurate 22q11.2 DS diagnoses. This work will assist in earlier detection and in increasing recognition of 22q11.2 DS throughout the world.
Phase I study of cord blood‐derived natural killer cells combined with autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a disease with known immune dysregulation. Natural killer (NK) cells have shown preclinical activity in MM. We conducted a first‐in‐human study of umbilical cord blood‐derived (CB) NK cells for MM patients undergoing high dose chemotherapy and autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto‐HCT). Patients received lenalidomide (10 mg) on days −8 to −2, melphalan 200 mg/m2 on day −7, CB‐NK cells on day −5 and auto‐HCT on day 0. Twelve patients were enrolled, three on each of four CB‐NK cell dose levels: 5 × 106, 1 × 107, 5 × 107 and 1 × 108 CB‐NK cells/kg. Ten patients had either high‐risk chromosomal changes or a history of relapsed/progressed disease. There were no infusional toxicities and no graft‐versus‐host disease. One patient failed to engraft due to poor autologous graft quality and was rescued with a back‐up autologous graft. Overall, 10 patients achieved at least a very good partial response as their best response, including eight with near complete response or better. With a median follow‐up of 21 months, four patients have progressed or relapsed, two of whom have died. CB‐NK cells were detected in vivo in six patients, with an activated phenotype (NKG2D+/NKp30+). These data warrant further development of this novel cellular therapy.
It Could Have Been True: How Counterfactual Thoughts Reduce Condemnation of Falsehoods and Increase Political Polarization

This research demonstrates how counterfactual thoughts can lead people to excuse others for telling falsehoods. When a falsehood aligned with participants’ political preferences, reflecting on how it could have been true led them to judge it as less unethical to tell, which in turn led them to judge a politician who told it as having a more moral character and deserving less punishment. When a falsehood did not align with political preferences, this effect was significantly smaller and less reliable, in part because people doubted the plausibility of the relevant counterfactual thoughts. These results emerged independently in three studies (two preregistered; total N = 2,783) and in meta- and Bayesian analyses, regardless of whether participants considered the same counterfactuals or generated their own. The results reveal how counterfactual thoughts can amplify partisan differences in judgments of alleged dishonesty. I discuss implications for theories of counterfactual thinking and motivated moral reasoning.