Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physicochemical properties of TiO 2 nanoparticle loaded APTES-functionalized MWCNTs 1 composites and their photocatalytic activity with kinetic study 2 3

15 In this study, functionalized-MWCNTs with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) loaded 16 titania nanoparticles (MWCNTs-APTES-TiO2) were prepared to investigate their physicochemical 17 properties and photocatalytic activity for methyl orange (MO) degradation. The TiO2 18 nanoparticles, functionalized-MNCNT and composite powders were characterized by XRD, 19 raman, and TEM. The results obtained proved that titania (TiO2) nanoparticles was successfully 20 loaded on APTES-MWCNTs. The best photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange solution under 21 UV light irradiation was recorded over MWCNTs-APTES-TiO2 (1:2), with 87% after 180 min. 22 Kinetic analysis indicated that photocatalytic degradation of MO solution by MWCNTs-APTES23 TiO2 obeyed second-order kinetic model (R2 > 0.95), supported by half-life equations and graph. 24 The presence of carbon nanotubes accelerated the degradation of methyl orange due to inhibition 25 of electron-hole recombination, the formation of additional hydroxyl radicals and functional 26 groups of the latter had an inhibitory effect on the degradation of methyl orange. This study shows 27 Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 14 March 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201803.0099. v1 © 2018 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license. 2 that the MWCNTs-APTES-TiO2 nanocomposites exhibit promising photocatalytic degradation 28 against methyl orange. 29
The Knowledge and Awareness for Radiocesium Food Monitoring after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture

On 11 March 2011, Japan experienced a massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, resulting in the release of large amounts of cesium-134 and -137 into the atmosphere. In addition to the food radioactivity control in the markets throughout the country, radiocesium concentrations in locally grown foods were voluntarily inspected and the results were shown to the residents by the local government to raise their awareness of the internal radiation contamination risk from low knowledge in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture. In this longitudinal study, local food products for in-home consumption were evaluated by seven different food radioactivity measuring devices in Nihonmatsu City from 2011–2017. Radiocesium was detected in local foods in Nihonmatsu City even six years after the FDNPP accident. The highest number of products tested was in 2012, with the number steadily decreasing thereafter. Most foods had contamination levels that were within the provisional regulation limits. As edible wild plants and mushrooms continue to possess high radiocesium concentrations, new trends in radioactivity in foods like seeds were discovered. This study highlights that the increased risk of radiation exposure could possibly be due to declining radiation awareness among citizens and food distributors. We recommend the continuation of food monitoring procedures at various points in the food processing line under the responsibility of the government to raise awareness for the reduction of future risks of internal exposure.
The intimate relationship between gut microbiota and cancer immunotherapy

ABSTRACT Immunotherapy is widely used to treat a large variety of malignancies and has revolutionized the therapeutic approach to cancer. Major efforts are ongoing to identify biomarkers that predict response to immunotherapy as well as new strategies to improve ICI efficacy and clinical outcomes. Studies have shown that the gut microbiome determines the extent to which ICIs may invigorate the anticancer immune response. Here, the authors review recent studies that have described the effects of the gut microbiota on the efficacy of CTLA-4 and PD-1 inhibitors and outline potential future clinical directions of these findings.
Prognostic utility of the combination of monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with NSTEMI after primary percutaneous coronary intervention: a retrospective cohort study

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate prognostic value of the combination of monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for predicting long-term major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients with non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Civil Aviation General Hospital, Beijing, China. Participants 678 patients with NSTEMI undergoing primary PCI between July 2010 and July 2015 were enrolled. Main outcome measures The main outcomes were MACE. The cumulative MACE-free survival rates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and the independent predictors of MACE were assessed by Cox regression analysis. Results According to the cut-off values of MLR 0.36 and NLR 2.15, the study population was classified into four groups: low MLR + low NLR group (n=319), low MLR + high NLR group (n=126), high MLR + low NLR group (n=102) and high MLR + high NLR group (n=131). The high MLR + high NLR group had a lower MACE-free survival rate than the other three groups (p logrank <0.001). Both MLR (HR 2.128, 95% CI 1.458 to 3.105) and NLR (HR 1.925, 95% CI 1.385 to 2.676) were independent predictors of long-term MACE. Moreover, the patients in the high MLR + high NLR group had an HR of 4.055 (95% CI 2.550 to 6.448) for long-term MACE, with the low-MLR + low NLR group as reference. Comparisons of receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that the combination of MLR with NLR achieved better performance in differentiating long-term MACE, compared with MLR, NLR, high-sensitivity C reactive protein and brain natriuretic peptide alone, and had similar performance to all other pairwise combinations of the four biomarkers. Conclusions Elevated levels of MLR and NLR were independent predictors of long-term MACE in patients with NSTEMI. Moreover, the combination of MLR and NLR could improve the prognostic value in predicting long-term MACE.
Neurons with diverse phenotypes project from the caudal to the rostral nucleus of the solitary tract

The nucleus of the solitary tract is a potential site for taste–visceral interactions. Connections from the caudal, visceral area of the nucleus (cNST) to the rostral, gustatory zone (rNST) have been described, but the phenotype of cells giving rise to the projection(s) and their distribution among rNST subdivisions are unknown. To determine these characteristics of the intrasolitary pathway, we injected pan‐neuronal and floxed AAV viruses into the cNST of mice expressing cre in glutamatergic, GABAergic, or catecholaminergic neurons. Particular attention was paid to the terminal field distribution in rNST subdivisions by simultaneously visualizing P2X2 localized to gustatory afferent terminals. All three phenotypically identified pathways terminated in rNST, with the density greatest for glutamatergic and sparsest for catecholaminergic projections, observations supported by retrograde tracing. Interestingly, cNST neurons had more prominent projections to rNST regions medial and ventral to P2X2 staining, i.e., the medial and ventral subdivisions. In addition, GABAergic neurons projected robustly to the lateral subdivision and adjacent parts of the reticular formation and spinal trigeminal nucleus. Although cNST neurons also projected to the P2X2‐rich central subdivision, such projections were sparser. These findings suggest that cNST visceral signals exert stronger excitatory and inhibitory influences on local autonomic and reflex pathways associated with the medial and ventral subdivisions compared to weaker modulation of ascending pathways arising from the central subdivision and ultimately destined for the forebrain.
Evaluating the effects of community treatment orders (CTOs) in England using the Mental Health Services Dataset (MHSDS): protocol for a national, population-based study

Introduction Supervised community treatment (SCT) for people with serious mental disorders has become accepted practice in many countries around the world. In England, SCT was adopted in 2008 in the form of community treatment orders (CTOs). CTOs have been used more than expected, with significant variations between people and places. There is conflicting evidence about the effectiveness of SCT; studies based on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have suggested few positive impacts, while those employing observational designs have been more favourable. Robust population-based studies are needed, because of the ethical challenges of undertaking further RCTs and because variation across previous studies may reflect the effects of sociospatial context on SCT outcomes. We aim to examine spatial and temporal variation in the use, effectiveness and cost of CTOs in England through the analysis of routine administrative data. Methods and analysis Four years of data from the Mental Health Services Dataset (MHSDS) will be analysed using multilevel models. Models based on all patients eligible for CTOs will be used to explore variation in their use. A subset of CTO-eligible patients comprising a treatment group (CTO patients) and a matched control group (non-CTO patients) will be used to examine variation in the association between CTO use and study outcomes. Primary outcome will be total time in hospital. Secondary outcomes will include time to first readmission and mortality. Outputs from these models will be used to populate predictive models of healthcare resource use. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been granted by the National Health Service Data Access and Advisory Group and Warwick University. To ensure patient confidentiality and to meet data governance requirements, analyses will be carried out in a secure microdata laboratory using de-identified data. Study findings will be disseminated through academic channels and shared with mental health policy-makers and other stakeholders.
Pervasive tertiary structure in the dengue virus RNA genome

Significance RNA viruses usurp and reprogram host cells using short RNA genomes. RNA viruses encode the information required for their replication in both their primary sequences and higher-order structures formed when the RNA genome strand folds back on itself, but the extent of higher-order structure has remained unclear. We use a new high-throughput RNA structure probing technology to identify RNA regions with tertiary folds and discover that roughly one-third of the dengue virus RNA genome forms higher-order interactions, many in regions functionally important for replication. This work suggests that tertiary structure elements might be common in large RNAs, and that these regions might contain pockets targetable by small molecules in the design of antiviral therapeutics. RNA virus genomes are efficient and compact carriers of biological information, encoding information required for replication both in their primary sequences and in higher-order RNA structures. However, the ubiquity of RNA elements with higher-order folds—in which helices pack together to form complex 3D structures—and the extent to which these elements affect viral fitness are largely unknown. Here we used single-molecule correlated chemical probing to define secondary and tertiary structures across the RNA genome of dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2). Higher-order RNA structures are pervasive and involve more than one-third of nucleotides in the DENV2 genomic RNA. These 3D structures promote a compact overall architecture and contribute to viral fitness. Disrupting RNA regions with higher-order structures leads to stable, nonreverting mutants and could guide the development of vaccines based on attenuated RNA viruses. The existence of extensive regions of functional RNA elements with tertiary folds in viral RNAs, and likely many other messenger and noncoding RNAs, means that there are significant regions with pocket-containing surfaces that may serve as novel RNA-directed drug targets.
How much evidence is there that political factors are related to population health outcomes? An internationally comparative systematic review

Objectives To provide a 7-year update of the most recent systematic review about the relationships between political features and population health outcomes. Setting Internationally comparative scholarly literature. Data sources Ten scholarly bibliographic databases plus supplementary searches in bibliographies and Google Scholar were used to update a previous systematic review. The final search was conducted in November 2017. Primary and secondary outcome measures Any population health outcome measure, apart from healthcare spending. Results 73 unique publications were identified from the previous systematic review. The database searches to update the literature identified 45 356 raw records with 35 207 remaining following de-duplication. 55 publications were identified from supplementary searches. In total, 258 publications proceeded to full-text review and 176 were included in narrative synthesis. 85 studies were assessed at low risk of bias, 89 at moderate risk of bias and none at high risk of bias. Assessment could not be conducted for two studies that had only book chapters. No meta-analysis was conducted. 102 studies assessed welfare state generosity and 79 found a positive association. Of the 17 studies that assessed political tradition, 15 were found to show a positive association with the left-of-centre tradition. 44 studies assessed democracy and 34 found a positive association. 28 studies assessed globalisation and 14 found a negative association, while seven were positive and seven inconclusive. Conclusions This review concludes that welfare state generosity, left-of-centre democratic political tradition and democracy are generally positively associated with population health. Globalisation may be negatively associated with population health, but the results are less conclusive. It is important for the academic public health community to engage with the political evidence base in its research as well as in stakeholder engagement, in order to facilitate positive outcomes for population health.
The Relationship Between Bone Mineral Density and Type 2 Diabetes in Obese Children and Adolescents at the Time of Initial Diagnosis

Abstract Long-term effects of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) on bone health remain unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the possible association of bone mineral density (BMD) at multiple sites with T2D after correcting for several potential confounders such as age, sex, Tanner stage, and BMI known to affect BMD in adolescents with newly developed T2D. In this cross-sectional study, 17 children and adolescents with T2D and 59 age, sex, and BMI-matched controls were included. All subjects underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure regional and whole-body composition with Lunar Prodigy at the time of initial diagnosis. A BMD Z-score was calculated using data from healthy Korean children and adolescents after adjusting for height-for-age. The mean age of all subjects was 12.9±2.4 years (range, 8.3–18.3 years). BMDht Z-scores for lumbar spine and total body after adjusted for age, sex, BMI SDS, and Tanner stage were not significantly different between patients and controls. However, BMDht Z-scores for femur neck and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) Z-scores of lumbar spine were significantly lower in T2D patients than those in healthy controls. HOMA-IR or HbA1c was not associated with BMDht Z-scores at multiple sites. BMDht Z-scores at multiple sites except femur neck in adolescents with newly developed T2D were similar to those in obese controls after adjustment for potential confounders.
Variations in the inhibin gene in Kashmiri women with primary ovarian insufficiency

Abstract Inhibin is a glycoprotein produced by granulosa cells and its main function is the negative feedback control of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) which has an important role in folliculogenesis. Mutation in the INHα gene leading to decreased bioactive inhibin has been associated with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of variations in the INHα gene in increasing the susceptibility to POI in Kashmiri women. INHα c.769G > A mutation was analysed in 100 POI cases and 100 controls using PCR-RFLP and agarose gel electrophoresis. The INHα c.769G > A mutation was found in 10% of POI cases with 8% having heterozygous mutation and 2% having a homozygous mutation. The frequency of mutation in healthy controls was zero. Statistically, a very significant association was found between INHα c.769G > A mutation and the occurrence of POI (p = 0.0015). Moreover, the mutation was also significantly associated with high levels of FSH in POI patients (p < 0.0001). Given the significant association of INHα c.769G > A mutation with the increased FSH levels and POI in Kashmiri population, we suggest this mutation can be used to identify POI variants for screening of women susceptible to POI before the disease onset and can further facilitate putative therapy for such patients.
Immobilization on octyl‐agarose beads and some catalytic features of commercial preparations of lipase a from Candida antarctica (Novocor ADL): Comparison with immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica

Lipase A from Candida antarctica (CALA, commercialized as Novocor ADL) was immobilized on octyl‐agarose, which is a very useful support for lipase immobilization, and coated with polyethylenimine to improve the stability. The performance was compared to that of the form B of the enzyme (CALB) immobilized on the same support, as both enzymes are among the most popular ones used in biocatalysis. CALA immobilization produced a significant increase in enzyme activity vs. p‐nitrophenyl butyrate (pNPB) (by a factor of seven), and the coating with PEI did not have a significant effect on enzyme activity. CALB reduced its activity slightly after enzyme immobilization. Octyl‐CALA was less stable than octyl‐CALB at pH 9 and more stable at pH 5 and, more clearly, at pH 7. PEI coating only increased octyl‐CALA stability at pH 9. In organic solvents, CALB had much better stability in methanol and was similarly stable in acetonitrile or dioxane. In these systems, the PEI coating of octyl‐CALA permitted some stabilization. While octyl‐CALA was more active vs. pNPB, octyl‐CALB was much more active vs. mandelic esters or triacetin. Thus, depending on the specific reaction and the conditions, CALA or CALB may offer different advantages and drawbacks. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 35: e2735, 2019
The long and winding road towards epitope matching in clinical transplantation

Recent data suggest that HLA epitope matching is beneficial for the prevention of de novo donor specific antibody (DSA) formation after transplantation. In this review, different approaches to predict the immunogenicity of an HLA mismatch will be discussed. The parameters used in these models are often called epitopes but the actual antibody epitope is far more complex. Exact knowledge of the antibody epitope is crucial if epitope matching is also used as a tool to select compatible donors for (highly) sensitized patients. Evidence is provided that it is not always possible to give an exact definition of an antibody epitope. We conclude that HLA “epitope” matching is superior over HLA antigen matching with respect to the prevention of de novo DSA formation and will enhance the prediction of acceptable HLA mismatches for sensitized patients. However, epitope matching at our current level of knowledge will not solve all histocompatibility problems as unexpected antibody reactivity still may occur.
Enantioseparation, Stereochemical Assignment and Chiral Recognition Mechanism of Sulfoxide-Containing Drugs

The distinct pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of enantiopure sulfoxide drugs have stimulated us to systematically investigate their chiral separation, stereochemical assignment, and chiral recognition mechanism. Herein, four clinically widely-used sulfoxide drugs were chosen and optically resolved on various chiral stationary phases (CSPs). Theoretical simulations including electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation and molecular docking were adopted to assign the stereochemistry and reveal the underlying chiral recognition mechanism. Our results showed that the sequence of calculated mean binding energies between each pair of enantiomers and CSP matched exactly with experimentally observed enantiomeric elution order (EEO). It was also found that the length of hydrogen bond might contribute dominantly the interaction between two enantiomers and CSP. We hope our study could provide a fresh perspective to explore the stereochemistry and chiral recognition mechanism of chiral drugs.
LGALS3 Promotes Treatment Resistance in Glioblastoma and Is Associated with Tumor Risk and Prognosis

Background: LGALS3 promotes tumor progression in diverse cancers. However, the involvement of LGALS3 in glioblastoma has not yet been broadly illuminated. Methods: Microarray was performed to detect the gene expression profiles of radioresistance in T98G cells and identified a universally upregulated gene, LGALS3. The impact of LGALS3 on the survival of glioblastoma cells facing ionizing irradiation or temozolomide was investigated by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). A total of 120 glioblastoma cases were collected to analyze the relationship between LGALS3 expression and patient prognosis. Another 961 patients with glioma and 1,351 healthy controls were recruited to study the association of SNPs across the LGALS3 gene with glioblastoma susceptibility. The functional SNP sites were also studied in cellular experiments. Results: An effective protection of LGALS3 from ionizing irradiation or temozolomide-induced cell death in T98G and U251 cells was found. In addition, high expression of LGALS3 could work as an independent risk factor for survival of patients with glioblastoma. Two SNP sites (rs4644 and rs4652) across the LGALS3 gene were associated with increased risk for glioblastoma, and the C allele of rs4652 and the A allele of rs4644 could enhance glioblastoma resistance to radio-chemotherapy, but not cell proliferation. Conclusions: Our results suggest that LGALS3 is an important biomarker influencing glioblastoma risk and prognosis and a potential target for treating the malignancy, especially ones with resistance against the standard therapy. Impact: LGALS3 promotes glioblastoma cells' resistance to ionizing irradiation and temozolomide and predicts poor prognosis. Targeting LGALS3 may limit the therapeutic resistance in glioblastoma and increase patient survival.
Microbial and Nutritional Programming—The Importance of the Microbiome and Early Exposure to Potential Food Allergens in the Development of Allergies

The “microbiota hypothesis” ties the increase in allergy rates observed in highly developed countries over the last decades to disturbances in the gut microbiota. Gut microbiota formation depends on a number of factors and occurs over approximately 1000 days of life, including the prenatal period. During this period the microbiota helps establish the functional immune phenotype, including immune tolerance. The development of immune tolerance depends also on early exposure to potential food allergens, a process referred to as nutritional programming. This article elaborates on the concepts of microbial and nutritional programming and their role in the primary prevention of allergy.