Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Universal latent axes capturing Parkinson’s patient deep phenotypic variation reveals patients with a high genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease are more likely to develop a more aggressive form of Parkinson’s

The generation of deeply phenotyped patient cohorts offers an enormous potential to identify disease subtypes but are currently limited by the cohort size and the heterogeneity of the clinical assessments collected across different cohorts. Identifying the universal axes of clinal severity and progression is key to accelerating our understanding of how disease manifests and progresses. These universal axes would accelerate our understanding of how Parkinson’s disease (PD) manifests and progresses through which patients may be appropriately compared appropriately stratified, and personalised therapeutic strategies and treatments can be developed and targeted. We developed a Bayesian multiple phenotype mixed model incorporating the genetic relationships between individuals which is able to reduce a wide-array of different clinical measurements into a smaller number of continuous underlying factors named phenotypic axis. We identify three principal axes of PD patient phenotypic variation which are reproducibly found across three independent, deeply and diversely phenotyped cohorts. Together they explain over 75% of the observed clinical variation and remain robustly captured with a fraction of the clinically-recorded features. The most influential axis was associated with the genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and involves genetic pathways associated with neuroinflammation. Our results suggest PD patients with a high genetic risk for AD are more likely to develop a more aggressive form of PD including, but not limited to, dementia.
Dietary β-mannanase decreases cloacal temperature of broiler chickens under hot conditions without affecting growth performance

Background: High amounts of nonstarch polysaccharides in the diet may increase the amounts of fermentative materials in the hindgut, leading to an increase in fermentative heat production. Dietary β-mannanase is reported to decrease antinutritional effects of β-mannans, such as the potential increase of body heat; however, its efficacy on broiler chickens raised under hot climatic conditions has not been investigated. Objective: To investigate the effects of dietary β-mannanase on growth performance, cloacal temperature, relative lymphoid organ weight, and blood characteristics of broiler chickens raised under hot climatic conditions. Methods: A total of 1,701 1-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly allotted to one of three dietary treatments with nine replicates. A basal diet was prepared and added with β-mannanase at 0.05 or 0.10% inclusion levels. The experiment was conducted for 30 days. Average room temperature was 28.8 ± 1.74 C and average relative humidity (RH) was 76.1 ± 11.49% during the experiment. Results: Growth performance of broiler chickens raised under hot climatic conditions was not affected by β-mannanase inclusion. Cloacal temperature decreased at the end of experiment (linear, p<0.05) with increasing inclusion levels of dietary β-mannanase. Increasing inclusion levels of β-mannanase tended to increase (linear, p=0.076) the relative weight of thymus, but had no effects on the relative weight of spleen and bursa of Fabricius. Blood characteristics were not influenced by dietary β-mannanase. Conclusion: Increasing inclusion levels of β-mannanase decrease cloacal temperature; however, it does not directly influence growth performance nor alleviates the heat stress of broiler chickens raised under hot climatic conditions.
Early clearance of plasma EGFR mutations as a predictor of response to osimertinib and comparator EGFR-TKIs in the FLAURA trial.

9020 Background: In the Phase III FLAURA trial (NCT02296125), osimertinib, a third generation EGFR-TKI, showed superior efficacy to comparator EGFR-TKIs as first line treatment for EGFR mutation-positive (EGFRm) advanced NSCLC. In an exploratory analysis, we investigated clinical outcomes associated with detection of plasma EGFRm at 3 or 6 weeks (wks) after start of treatment. Methods: Treatment-naïve patients (pts) with EGFRm (ex19del or L858R) locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC were randomized 1:1 to receive osimertinib 80 mg once daily (QD) or comparator EGFR-TKIs (gefitinib 250 mg QD or erlotinib 150 mg QD). Plasma EGFR mutation analysis was conducted at baseline (BL), wks 3 and 6 by droplet digital PCR. Clearance was defined as undetectable levels of EGFRm in ctDNA at wks 3/6, where they were detectable at BL. Progression-free survival (PFS) was investigated based on early clearance of EGFRm. Results: In total 489/556 (88%) pts (osimertinib: 244/279; comparator: 245/277) had evaluable ctDNA at BL and wks 3/6. Of these, 342/489 (70%; osimertinib: 168/244; comparator: 174/245) had detectable BL EGFRm and were included in this analysis. See table. Conclusions: Clearance of plasma EGFRm after 3/6 wks of EGFR-TKI therapy was associated with a numerical improvement in PFS. The efficacy of osimertinib was superior to comparator EGFR-TKIs regardless of clearance status. Clinical trial information: NCT02296125. [Table: see text]
Effects of Light Quality on Vegetative Cutting and In Vitro Propagation of Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides)

Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) is an attractive and popular ornamental plant with propagation mainly achieved through vegetative cuttings. For commercial purposes, it is of interest to enhance the speed of establishment while maintaining high quality. Light quality has been shown to influence adventitious root development, so these experiments examined the effect of narrow-bandwidth light treatments on root growth and overall plant quality for seven coleus cultivars with vegetative cuttings in potting soil and one cultivar with shoot tip in vitro cultures onto Murashige and Skoog (MS) agar medium. During the 28 days of the propagation period, the cuttings grown under narrow-bandwidth red light (R; 663.4 nm at peak) more than doubled in the adventitious root number compared with those under blue light (B; 445.7 nm at peak) and green light (G; 530.0 nm at peak) in five cultivars. R light also increased fresh weight of the cuttings by 55.6% more than G light. In comparison, the cuttings grown under G light yielded significantly lower root and shoot dry mass than other light treatments. R light cuttings showed more dry mass content (9.63%) than those under white light (W; 437.4 nm and 559.5 nm at peak) and G light (7.85% and 5.86%, respectively). A positive correlation (R2 = 0.598, P < 0.001) was found between the formation of adventitious roots and gained fresh weight of cuttings. R light made the reddish color of leaves significantly stronger in most cultivars, whereas the cuttings exposed to G light became less vivid compared with other light conditions. When the shoot tips were propagated in vitro onto MS medium, R light treatment initiated the root development more rapidly than other lights, with significantly greater rooting rate (20.0% and 63.6%, respectively) at day 5 and 10. The shoot tips under R light also formed significantly more roots (12.3 per cutting) than those grown under narrow-bandwidth B light (5.8 per cutting). The shoot tips showed browning at an early stage and newly emerged leaves grew very compactly under B light. The combination of red and green light (R+G) increased more than twice as much roots and dry mass compared with W light. In addition, the R+G light led to morphological changes, including larger leaves and longer petioles and internodes than those in other light treatments. The exposure to R+G+B and B light made the shoots very compact for the 28 days of in vitro culture period and significantly increased the chlorophyll contents resulting in dark green leaves.
Redundancy, Modality, and Priority in Dual Task Interference

This study examined the effects of several properties of a simulated in-vehicle-task (IVT) on interference with a concurrent tracking task, which simulated vehicle control. We compared auditory, visual and redundant delivery of IVT information, under conditions when the visual display was close and separated from the tracking task. In the first experiment we varied whether the tracking or the IVT was emphasized, and in the second experiment we added instruction in the use of redundant displays. IVT messages varied in length. The results from 20 participants in each experiment revealed (a) an effect of priority on the tracking task only, suggesting that separate resources were used for each task, (b) an advantage for auditory over visual delivery only when the visual display was separated, suggesting that visual costs relate to peripheral, not central resources, (c) no benefit and sometimes noticeable costs for the redundant display, compared to the single modality displays in experiment 1, and (d) an improvement in performance with redundant displays when training was given in experiment 2. The results have a positive bearing on the use of head-up (adjacent) displays for complex information.
The use of probiotics as a supplementary therapy in the treatment of patients with asthma: a pilot study and implications

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the use of probiotics as an additional therapy in the treatment of children and adolescents with asthma in Belo Horizonte, MG-Brazil. METHODS: A pilot longitudinal, experimental and nonrandomized study with 30 patients from six to 17 years old from Belo Horizonte. In the baseline appointment, all patients received beclomethasone, and one group also received a probiotic containing Lactobacillus reuteri (n=14). The patients were reassessed after at least 60 days with the Asthma Control Test, spirometry and self-report of the symptoms they experienced associated with asthma. RESULTS: A predominance of male patients (56.7%) and a mean age of 10.6 years were observed. The groups using probiotics did not differ in terms of sex, age or atopy. In the longitudinal evaluation, an increase in the Asthma Control Test scores and a reduction in the number of symptoms were observed in the probiotic group. There was an increase in the peak expiratory flow among those who used probiotics. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study supports the hypothesis that the administration of probiotics as a supplementary therapy for the treatment of children and adolescents with asthma improves the clinical condition of the patients. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of probiotics in asthma treatment.
Diagnostic Laparoscopy as a Gold Standard Investigation in Sub-Fertility

Objective: Diagnostic Laproscopy as a Gold standard investigation in patients with sub-fertility. Study Design: Retrospective descriptive study. Place and duration: Health Care Centre (Pvt.) Ltd. Peshawar from 2nd May 2012-15th August 2012. Material and Methods: We reviewed case records of all the patients who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for their sub-fertility. Data was collected from patients case records between 2 May 2012 to 15 August 2012 in department of obstetrics and gynaecology Health Care Centre (Pvt.) Ltd. Peshawar. Results: 132 cases were reviewed out of which 32.92% had primary sub-fertility and 22.08% had secondary sub-fertility. The mean age of the patients in the primary sub-fertility group was 21.6years and 33.3years in the secondary sub-fertility group. Majority of our patients in the primary sub-fertility group had weight gain of 6.6% and hirsutism was seen in 5.42% followed by irregular cycles in 5.0% of the patients. No symptoms were observed in 12.08% patients, so probably the primary sub-fertility group had polycystic ovarian disease syndrome. However the number of patients with hirsutism was 6.25% in the secondary sub-fertility group as well. In the secondary sub-fertility group 4.17% of patients had weight gain, and irregular cycles were seen in 4.58% of the patients. Some of the patients approximately 4.58% had no complaints. The duration of the problem in the primary sub-fertility group was more seen between 2-5years duration. 29 patients 12.08% were in this time period and more than 5years duration was noticed in 48 patients 20%. The duration of the problem in secondary sub-fertility group for more than 5 years was noted in 32 patients 13.3%. We did a hysterosalpingogram in about 27% of our patients as a diagnostic tool for tubal patency. However in 7.92% of patients hysterosalpingogram could not be performed due to technical difficulties. Post operative pain was the first complaint observed in 10.42% of the patients followed by backache in 5.82%. However 12.08% had no complaints in the primary infertility group. In the secondary sub-fertility group pain was observed in 7.08% followed by backache in 4.58% of patients. No complaints were observed in 3.75% of patients. In our study four cases of genital tuberculosis were diagnosed and one case was complicated with peritionitis due to rupture of transverse colon and proceeded to laprotomoy. Conclusion: Laparoscopy is a gold standard tool for females presenting with sub-fertility. The benefits of laparoscopy are that there is less pain, minimal scars, less hospital stay with early recovery and less resources consumed. It is also a better modality of investigation or a better diagnostic tool in the hands of skilled operator. However it is a skilled procedure which requires expertise of a trained surgeon.
Role of pH on Metribuzin Dissipation in Field Soils

Metribuzin [4-amino-6-tert-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazine-5(4H)one] residue analysis of soil samples showed greater amounts of residue extractable at soil pH 6.7 than 4.6. Metribuzin leaching increased with increasing soil pH. Metribuzin disappearance from soil followed pseudo first-order kinetics. The half-life of metribuzin decreased as soil pH increased and increased at all soil pH levels as depth of sampling increased. The decreased activity and decreased rate of metribuzin dissipation at lower soil pH is apparently due to protonation and increased adsorption.
Ambulatory blood pressure pattern in overweight and obese subjects: a prospective, cross-sectional study

Background: Obesity is widely described as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and is a known risk factor of many cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern of ambulatory blood pressure in overweight and obese subjects.Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study performed over a period of 1 year in 95 subjects attending the Department of Medicine of tertiary care teaching institute. Anthropometric measures such as weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) were recorded. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring over a period of 24-hrs was performed in each individual and values were recorded. Comparison between normal subjects and overweight and/or obese subjects was done in terms of various ambulatory BP parameters.Results: Based on BMI, significantly higher proportion of females were obese (p-value = 0.020), as compared to males. Based on both BMI and WC, significant proportion of overweight and obese subjects had higher 24-hr SBP (p-value < 0.001) and 24-hr DBP (p-value = 0.001); higher day-time SBP (p-value < 0.001); higher night-time SBP (p-value < 0.001); and widening of 24-hr pulse pressure (> 50 mmHg) (p-value < 0.001) as compared to normal subjects. However, among various abnormal ABPM parameters, majority of the parameters revealed more incidence of BP abnormalities with increased BMI than with increased WC. Thus, BMI appeared to be a better anthropometric parameter than WC.Conclusions: The findings of the present study confirm that obesity in apparently non-hypertensive subjects leads to rise in both SBP and DBP. Moreover, it is the systolic part of ABPM which probably predicts the cardiovascular morbidity in overweight and obese subjects.
Antitumor effects of conditioned media of human fetal dermal mesenchymal stem cells on melanoma cells

Background: Malignant melanoma is the most lethal form of cutaneous tumor and has a high metastatic rate and motility capacity. Owing to the poor prognosis, it is urgent to seek an effective therapeutic regimen. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can home to tumor cells and have been shown to play important roles in both promoting and inhibiting tumor development. Fetal dermal MSCs (FDMSCs), derived from fetal skin are a novel source of MSCs. Nevertheless, the antitumor capacity of FDMSCs on malignant melanoma is not clearly understood. Materials and methods: FDMSCs were extracted from the dorsal skin of fetal tissues. A375 melanoma cells lines were obtained from American Type Culture Collection. The effects of conditioned media from FDMSCs (CM-FDMSC) on A375 melanoma cells were tested in vivo using tumor formation assay and in vitro using cell viability, 5-ethynyl-2ʹ-deoxyuridine incorporation, flow cytometry, TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL), wound healing, transwell invasion, and Western blotting. Results: CM-FDMSC inhibited A375 tumor formation in vivo. In vitro, CM-FDMSC inhibited the tumor-related activities of A375 melanoma cells, as evidenced reductions in viability, migration, and invasion. CM-FDMSC-treated A375 cells showed decreased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, and up-regulation of Bcl-2-Associated X (BAX) and down-regulation of B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) expression. Conclusion: CM-FDMSC can inhibit the tumor-forming behaviors of A375 melanoma cells and inhibit PI3K/AKT and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling to shift their BCL-2/BAX ratio toward a proapoptotic state. Identification of the bioactive components in CM-FDMSC will be important for translating these findings into novel therapies for malignant melanoma.
How a measure of tree structural complexity relates to architectural benefit‐to‐cost ratio, light availability, and growth of trees

Abstract Aboveground tree architecture is neither fully deterministic nor random. It is likely the result of mechanisms that balance static requirements and light‐capturing efficiency. Here, we used terrestrial laser scanning data to investigate the relationship between tree architecture, here addressed using the box‐dimension (D b), and the architectural benefit‐to‐cost ratio, the light availability, and the growth of trees. We detected a clear relationship between D b and the benefit‐to‐cost ratio for the tested three temperate forest tree species (Fagus sylvatica L., Fraxinus excelsior L., and Acer pseudoplatanus L.). In addition, we could also show that D b is positively related to the growth performance of several tropical tree species. Finally, we observed a negative relationship between the strength of competition enforced on red oak (Quercus rubra L.) trees and their D b. We therefore argue that D b is a meaningful and integrative measure that describes the structural complexity of the aboveground compartments of a plant as well as its relation to structural efficiency (benefit‐to‐cost ratio), productivity, and growing conditions (competition or availability of light).
The role of a point of care test for the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease is a systemic autoimmune disease associated with gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal symptoms, triggered by gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. It affects 1% of the general population (1, 2), although 75% remain undiagnosed (3). Delayed diagnosis can lead to a poor quality of life and complications (3). The under-detection could be due to non-specific symptoms and under-utilisation of serological testing (4). Several point of care tests for coeliac disease have been developed in the past decade, which may potentially help to improve case detection. A few recent studies have shown that Simtomax, a point of care test detecting IgA-/IgG-deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies (IgA/IgG-DGP), appeared to have comparable sensitivities to conventional serology. However, further studies are required to validate the diagnostic performance of Simtomax. The null hypothesis of my thesis is that a point of care test has no role in the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease. We aimed to evaluate the sensitivities, utility and cost effectiveness of the point of care test, Simtomax, in various domains: Study 1: To assess the role of Simtomax as a primary care case finding tool for coeliac disease in high risk individuals in community pharmacies. Study 2: To demonstrate the diagnostic accuracy of Simtomax in secondary care, in patients referred with gastrointestinal symptoms or self-reported gluten sensitivity. Study 3: To establish the diagnostic accuracy of Simtomax and its cost effectiveness of coeliac testing in patients with iron deficiency anaemia in the endoscopy setting. Study 4: To investigate whether Simtomax is a reliable surrogate marker for predicting histological remission in patients with known coeliac disease on a gluten free diet.
Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Young Female Students in association with BMI

The study is designed to obtain the occurrence of obesity among 180 young female students of university, age 19-23 years in association with body mass index (BMI) according to WHO classification. A Questionnaire was prepared to collect information, including age, height, body weight, and socioeconomic status. Among 180 girls 18.33% (33) of girls were under weight, 58.88 % (106) were normal, 16.66 % (30) were overweight and 6.11% (11) of girls were obese. Overweight was more common among female students than obesity. The dietary practices and choices of young female girls have been evaluated by using food frequency questionnaire and found majority of students were used to skipped breakfast and frequent consumption of fast food including burgers, pizzas and coca cola due to lack of knowledge on healthy balance diet and adverse effect of obesity. Healthy living, eating healthy balanced diet and regular exercise help to maintain standard body weight and health.
The Effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. against Downy Mildew Disease of Corn

Introduction: One of environmentally friendly method for controlling plant diseases is the use of Trichoderma spp. as a natural controlling agent. Objectives: The objective of this research was to find out the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. against downy mildew disease. Methodology: This research was conducted in the Plant Pest and Disease Laboratory in the Plant Protection Department of Faculty of Agriculture in Lampung University. This research used completely randomized design consisting without treatment (0), Trichoderma spp. Gading Rejo Region (GDR) isolate (1) Trichoderma spp. Nusantara Tropical Farm (NTF) isolate (2), and Trichoderma spp. Trimurjo (TRJ) isolate (3) treatments which were applied to the plant growing points as fungicide (B) and as inducer of plant resistance to be applied in the plant roots (P). Results: The research results showed that the Trichoderma spp. treatments could reduce the disease occurrence at 4 and 5 days after inoculation, but they could not reduce the disease severity and improve stover dry weight of corn plant. Conclusion: The Trichoderma spp. Treatment as biofungicide and plant resistance inducer are effective against the incubation period and suppress the disease occurrence of downy mildew disease significantly at the early course of the disease.