Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exosomes from human urine‐derived stem cells enhanced neurogenesis via miR‐26a/HDAC6 axis after ischaemic stroke

Endogenous neurogenesis holds promise for brain repair and long‐term functional recovery after ischaemic stroke. However, the effects of exosomes from human urine‐derived stem cells (USC‐Exos) in neurogenesis remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether USC‐Exos enhanced neurogenesis and promoted functional recovery in brain ischaemia. By using an experimental stroke rat model, we found that intravenous injection of USC‐Exos enhanced neurogenesis and alleviated neurological deficits in post‐ischaemic stroke rats. We used neural stem cells (NSCs) subjected to oxygen‐glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) as an in vitro model of ischaemic stroke. The in vitro results suggested that USC‐Exos promoted both proliferation and neuronal differentiation of NSCs after OGD/R. Notably, a further mechanism study revealed that the pro‐neurogenesis effects of USC‐Exos may be partially attributed to histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) inhibition via the transfer of exosomal microRNA‐26a (miR‐26a). Taken together, this study indicates that USC‐Exos can be used as a novel promising strategy for brain ischaemia, which highlights the application of USC‐Exos.
Do you have a "moment" to text? Symptom evaluation using ecological momentary assessment and text messaging in women with HIV.

challenge for symptom evaluation in midlife WWH: S ymptoms are a subjective experience influenced by personal, environmental, and health/illness-related variables. Indeed, symptoms provide a window into underlying clinical, psychological, and social health in individuals and often represent a shift in health and wellbeing. Symptoms convey change, signifying something is different and for many, trigger engagement in healthcare. For clinicians and researchers alike, the subjective nature of symptoms can, however, make it challenging to determine symptom etiology, biology, severity, and implications, especially in patients with multiple comorbid conditions. This challenge is further confounded by potential social and environmental influences on symptom experiences, and the paucity of assessment strategies that can most accurately evaluate or measure symptoms in complex patient populations for research purposes or clinical care. Symptom assessment of midlife women with HIV (WWH) has garnered increased attention as more WWH encounter menopause. Studies using reproductive health questionnaires, surveys, and interview assessment of menopause symptoms have nicely described the prevalence, extent, and burden of these symptoms in WWH exclusively and compared to women without HIV. Many of these studies have, however, identified limitations including methodological challenges inherent to survey studies, and importantly, have brought to light the potential for overlap of menopause symptoms and HIV symptoms in WWH at midlife. This finding of coexisting symptoms helped to raise another methodological
Fast Single Image Dehazing Using Saturation Based Transmission Map Estimation

Single image dehazing has been a challenging problem because of its ill-posed nature. For this reason, numerous efforts have been made in the field of haze removal. This paper proposes a simple, fast, and powerful algorithm for haze removal. The medium transmission is derived as a function of the saturation of the scene radiance only, and the saturation of scene radiance is estimated using a simple stretching method. A different medium transmission can be estimated for each pixel because this method does not assume that transmission is constant in a small patch. Furthermore, this paper presents a color veil removing algorithm, which is useful for an image with fine or yellow dust, using the white balance technique. The proposed algorithm requires no training, prior, and refinement process. The simulation results show that the proposed dehazing scheme outperforms state-of-the-art dehazing approaches in terms of both computational complexity and dehazing efficiency.
The Influence of Malignant Cells upon the Growth of Fibroblasts in Vitro

The stroma reaction induced by the transplantation of carcinoma cells indicates that they stimulate the growth of connective tissue cells in vivo. Interaction between the two kinds of cells in tissue cultures has been most extensively studied by Fischer and his collaborators (2, 3). They have demonstrated that the growth of carcinoma is stimulated by contact with fibroblasts, and that the growth stimulus decreases in inverse proportion to the time elapsing since contact was established between the two tissues. The stimulation is said to occur in two stages. First, at the approach of the carcinoma to the normal cells, and second, during their infiltration. The first stimulation is assumed to be induced by relatively stable substances occurring in the immediate vicinity of the fibroblasts, while the second is attributed to "desmones," substances that are unstable extracellularly and can be transmitted only by direct contact between cells. The figures and graphs published by Fischer and his collaborators show that the growth of the Ehrlich mouse adenocarcinoma was increased approximately four times after contact with fibroblasts. No quantitative data were published concerning the stimulation of fibroblastic growth by carcinomas. Fischer (3) remarked that normal mouse tissues grew rather badly, under the conditions employed, in a mixture of rat and fowl plasma. " O n the contrary it is a fact, constantly observed, that the same normal mouse tissue cells proliferate vigorously as soon as they are grown with a carcinoma and come in contact with it. " Then, after the two have grown together for a time, the proliferative power of the normal cells declines and finally they are no longer distinguishable amongst the carcinoma cells. Fischer adds that one also notices in cultures in which the growth zones of the carcinoma and fibroblasts have not yet come in contact, when the distance between the two cultures is relatively small, that the connective tissue cells lying
Ribosome assembly factor Adenylate Kinase 6 maintains cell proliferation and cell size homeostasis during root growth

Summary From the cellular perspective, organ growth is determined by production and growth of cells. Uncovering how these two processes are coordinated is essential for understanding organogenesis and regulation of organ growth. We utilized phenotypic and genetic variation of 252 natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana to conduct genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) for identifying genes underlying root growth variation; using a T‐DNA line candidate approach, we identified one gene involved in root growth control and characterized its function using microscopy, root growth kinematics, G2/M phase cell count, ploidy levels and ribosome polysome profiles. We identified a factor contributing to root growth control: Arabidopsis Adenylate Kinase 6 (AAK6). AAK6 is required for normal cell production and normal cell elongation, and its natural genetic variation is involved in determining root growth differences between Arabidopsis accessions. A lack of AAK6 reduces cell production in the aak6 root apex, but this is partially compensated for by longer mature root cells. Thereby, aak6 mutants exhibit compensatory cell enlargement, a phenomenon unexpected in roots. Moreover, aak6 plants accumulate 80S ribosomes while the polysome profile remains unchanged, consistent with a phenotype of perturbed ribosome biogenesis. In conclusion, AAK6 impacts ribosome abundance, cell production and thereby root growth.
Bacteremia Among Febrile Patients Attending Selected Healthcare Facilities in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract Background The relative contribution of bacterial infections to febrile disease is poorly understood in many African countries due to diagnostic limitations. This study screened pediatric and adult patients attending 4 healthcare facilities in Ibadan, Nigeria, for bacteremia and malaria parasitemia. Methods Febrile patients underwent clinical diagnosis, malaria parasite testing, and blood culture. Bacteria from positive blood cultures were isolated and speciated using biochemical and serological methods, and Salmonella subtyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by disk diffusion. Results A total of 682 patients were recruited between 16 June and 16 October 2017; 467 (68.5%) were <18 years of age. Bacterial pathogens were cultured from the blood of 117 (17.2%) patients, with Staphylococcus aureus (69 [59.0%]) and Salmonella enterica (34 [29.1%]) being the most common species recovered. Twenty-seven (79.4%) of the Salmonella isolates were serovar Typhi and the other 7 belonged to nontyphoidal Salmonella serovarieties. Thirty-four individuals were found to be coinfected with Plasmodium falciparum and bacteria. Five (14.7%) of these coinfections were with Salmonella, all in children aged <5 years. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that most of the Salmonella and Staphylococcus isolates were multidrug resistant. Conclusions The study demonstrates that bacteria were commonly recovered from febrile patients with or without malaria in this location. Focused and extended epidemiological studies are needed for the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines that have the potential to prevent a major cause of severe community-acquired febrile diseases in our locality.
Short-term efficacy of ticagrelor in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing an emergency percutaneous coronary intervention

In total, 97 acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who received an emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled and divided into a ticagrelor group and a clopidogrel group. Thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) blood flow and the corrected TIMI frame count (CTFC) were used to assess the blood perfusion of culprit vessels. Thromboelastography (TEG) was used to evaluate the antiplatelet effect of drugs. The results showed that the incidence of TIMI grade III blood flow in the ticagrelor group was significantly higher than that in the clopidogrel group. The CTFC in the anterior descending, circumflex, and right coronary arteries was statistically significantly lower in the ticagrelor group as compared with that in the clopidogrel group. At 2 h and 7 d postdrug treatment, the adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet inhibition rate (ADP%) in the ticagrelor group increased significantly as compared with that in the clopidogrel group, and the platelet aggregation rate of the ADP pathway (MAADP) decreased significantly in the ticagrelor group versus that in the clopidogrel group. In conclusion, ticagrelor significantly improved TIMI blood flow and had a better antiplatelet effect than clopidogrel in STEMI patients undergoing an emergency PCI.
PROGNOSIS OF GLOMERULAR NEPHRITIS IN CHILDHOOD

A study of the outcome of glomerular nephritis in childhood, similar to that reported from the Stanford University Medical School, 1 was undertaken at the University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, N. Y. The earlier survey was based on 186 children seen in the children's service of the Stanford University Medical School from 1920 to 1936 and demonstrated a much higher percentage of cases of chronic and fatal glomerular nephritis than had previously been found by other observers. A similar study, done subsequently in Milwaukee, 2 demonstrated for the younger age groups a prognosis as serious as that found in the Stanford series. Several reasons have been advanced for these discrepancies in statistics, the chief one being lack of agreement in classification of the condition, failure of recognition of the latent stage of glomerular nephritis, failure to make quantitative urinalyses of concentrated urine and selection in sampling of the Stanford
Differences in muscle pain and plasma creatine kinase activity after \'up\' and \'down\' Comrades marathons

Objective. The aim of this study was to compare the acute changes in muscle pain and plasma creatine kinase (CK) activity following the ‘up’ and ‘down’ Comrades marathon. Design. This was a quasi-experimental design. Eleven male runners (39.7±9.3 years) completed the ‘up’ Comrades marathon, and 11 male runners (41.0±8.4 years) completed the ‘down’ Comrades marathon the following year. Maximum oxygen consumption and peak treadmill running speed were measured 2 weeks before the race. Daily measurements of muscle pain and plasma creatine kinase (CK) activity were recorded 1 day before, and for 7 days after the race. Results. Muscle pain remained significantly elevated for up to 7 days after the Comrades marathon, compared with pre-race values (p<0.0009). The pain scores following the ‘down’ run were significantly higher than the pain scores following the ‘up’ run for at least 7 days after the race (p<0.004). Plasma CK activity remained significantly elevated for up to 5 days after the Comrades marathon, compared with pre-race values (p<0.007). Plasma CK activity following the ‘down’ run was significantly higher than the plasma CK activity following the ‘up’ run for 5 days after the race (p<0.04). A high degree of intra-individual variability in plasma CK activity was observed. Conclusions. The ‘down’ Comrades marathon causes significantly more muscle pain and plasma CK activity compared with the ‘up’ Comrades marathon. Further studies are required to accurately define the regeneration of muscle following the Comrades marathon.
Isotopic Ecology and Human Diets in the Forest-Steppe Ecotone, Aisén Region, Central-Western Patagonia, Chile

This work aims to build a comprehensive isotopic ecology with the ultimate purpose of assessing long-term human diet decision-making by means of stable isotope analysis. We present a set of δ13Ccollagen and δ15Ncollagen isotopic values on the main faunal resources from the forest and steppe areas of the Aisen region (Central-Western Patagonia, Chile), in order to characterise their isotopic ranges and assess their consumption by past hunter–gatherer populations. Two sets of bioarchaeological remains are used for this comparison; a 10 200–9700 cal year bp assemblage from Bano Nuevo cave and a 1600–300 cal year bp assemblage gathered at different locations throughout Aisen. Isotopic signals from both assemblages indicate diets based on the consumption of protein provided by terrestrial mammals from steppe environments and no long-term signature of forest-resource consumption. On the other hand, the earlier group shows values that may indicate a wider dietary breadth, although this observation is preliminary. These results further suggest that the use of forests and the resources they provided, although visible through the zooarchaeological record (i.e. taxa represented at sites), must have been discontinuous and, perhaps, marginal in comparison with steppe regions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Communication Mode and Speech and Language Outcomes of Young Cochlear Implant Recipients: A Comparison of Auditory-Verbal, Oral Communication, and Total Communication.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of communication mode on the spoken language outcomes of children who received a cochlear implant. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective analysis of postoperative speech and language and reading scores for children who received a cochlear implant and used three different modes of communication: auditory-verbal (AV) (n = 39), oral communication (OC) (n = 107), and total communication (TC) (n = 57). SETTING A single tertiary cochlear implant clinic. PATIENTS All children received their cochlear implant before the age of 5 years, had no known cochlear anomaly or cognitive delay that would affect their outcome with the CI, and had established consistent use of their respective communication methodology. INTERVENTION Rehabilitation varied depending on the selected communication methodology. Data were collected during routine postoperative speech and language evaluations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Receptive and expressive language, reading comprehension, and speech intelligibility scores obtained up to 7 years post-activation of a cochlear implant. RESULTS All groups showed improvements over time. Linear mixed model analyses indicated scores obtained by children in the AV group were significantly higher than mean scores obtained by children in the other groups on most test measures at most post-implant intervals. Significantly greater numbers of children in the AV group obtained standard scores within normal limits than children in the OC and TC groups. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the use of the auditory-verbal communication approach to facilitate development of age-appropriate speech and language and literacy skills in profoundly deaf children.
Twelve weeks of resistance band exercise training improves age-associated hormonal decline, blood pressure, and body composition in postmenopausal women with stage 1 hypertension: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE Menopause is often accompanied by an age-associated hormonal decline, increased blood pressure (BP), and poor body composition, which may collectively increase risks for cardiovascular disease. It is important to combat the negative effects on age-associated hormonal decline, BP, and body composition by incorporating appropriate lifestyle interventions, such as exercise. We sought to examine the effects of a 12-week resistance band exercise training program on aging-related hormones including estradiol, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), BP, and body composition in postmenopausal women with stage 1 hypertension. METHODS Postmenopausal women with stage 1 hypertension (n = 20) were recruited and randomly assigned to a 12-week resistance band exercise training group (EX, n = 10) or control group (CON, n = 10). The EX group performed a total-body resistance band exercise training program. Levels of estradiol, GH, IGF-1, DHEA-S, as well as BP and body composition were assessed before and after 12 weeks. RESULTS There were significant group by time interactions (P < 0.05) for estradiol, GH, IGF-1, DHEA-S, and lean body mass, which significantly increased (P < 0.05), and systolic BP, total body mass, body mass index, and body fat percentage, which significantly decreased (P < 0.05) after EX compared to no changes in CON. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in diastolic BP after 12 weeks. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that 12 weeks of resistance band exercise may be an effective, easily accessible, and cost-efficient intervention for improving age-associated hormonal decline, high BP, and poor body composition in postmenopausal women with stage 1 hypertension. : Video Summary:http://links.lww. com/MENO/A494.
Incidence and Management Trends of Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures in South Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Study Design A nationwide population-based study. Purpose Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) is a major public health issue. This study examined the incidence and management trends of OVCF in South Korea. Overview of Literature The incidence rates, management trends, and patterns of OVCF differ in different parts of the world. The age-standardized OVCF incidence rate in 2015 was higher in the United States and Asia than in Europe. Methods A nationwide database (2012–2016) acquired from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service was analyzed. International disease categories in the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes, medical procedure codes, and examination codes were used to identify and sort OVCF patients aged >50 years. Results There were 644,500 OVCF cases from 2012 to 2016. OVCF was most common in patients in their seventies (45%) and the number of patients increased from 117,361 in 2012 to 139,889 in 2016 (p <0.001). During 2012–2016, 8.9% of patients visited the emergency department; of those, 54.3% were hospitalized and 35% underwent magnetic resonance imaging. In OVCF treatment, bone cement augmentation rates increased from 23.4% in 2012 to 25.2% in 2016 (p <0.001), while conservative treatment rates slightly decreased from 76.5% in 2012 to 74.7% in 2016 (p <0.001). The total health insurance cost was $193,210,353.55 in 2012 and $281,968,877.65 in 2016. Conclusions The 5-year incidence of OVCF per 100,000 persons was 852.24 cases, and 45% of OVCF in South Korea occurred in patients in their seventies. The bone cement augmentation rate and total cost of OVCF are continuously increasing.
Physical Mechanisms Providing Clinical Information From Ultrasound Lung Images: Hypotheses and Early Confirmations

In standard B mode imaging, a set of ultrasound pulses is used to reconstruct a 2-D image even though some of the assumptions needed to do this are not fully satisfied. For this reason, ultrasound medical images show numerous artifacts which physicians recognize and evaluate as part of their diagnosis since even one artifact can provide clinical information. Understanding the physical mechanisms at the basis of the formation of an artifact is important to identify the physiopathological state of the biological medium which generated the artifact. Ultrasound lung images are a significant example of this challenge since everything that is represented beyond the thickness of the chest wall ( $\approx ~2$ cm) is artifactual information. A convincing physical explanation of the genesis of important ultrasound lung artifacts does not exist yet. Physicians simply base their diagnosis on a correlation observed over the years between the manifestation of some artifacts and the occurrence of particular lung pathologies. In this article, a plausible genesis of some important lung artifacts is suggested.
Bystander Effects of Nitric Oxide in Cellular Models of Anti-Tumor Photodynamic Therapy

Tumor cells exposed to stress-inducing radiotherapy or chemotherapy can send signals to non- or minimally exposed bystander cells. Bystander effects of ionizing radiation are well established, but little is known about such effects in non-ionizing photodynamic therapy (PDT). Our previous studies revealed that several cancer cell types upregulate inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nitric oxide (NO) after a moderate 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-based PDT challenge. The NO signaled for cell resistance to photokilling as well as greater growth, migration and invasion of surviving cells. Based on this work, we hypothesized that diffusible NO produced by PDT-targeted cells in a tumor might elicit pro-growth/migration responses in non-targeted bystander cells. In the present study, we tested this using a novel approach, in which ALA-PDT-targeted human cancer cells on culture dishes (prostate PC3, breast MDA-MB-231, glioma U87, or melanoma BLM) were initially segregated from non-targeted bystanders via impermeable silicone-rimmed rings. Several hours after LED irradiation, rings were removed, and both cell populations analyzed for various post-hν responses. For a moderate and uniform level of targeted cell killing by PDT (~25%), bystander proliferation and migration were both enhanced. Enhancement correlated with iNOS/NO upregulation in surviving targeted cells in the following order: PC3 > MDA-MB-231 > U87 > BLM. If occurring in an actual tumor PDT setting and not suppressed (e.g., by iNOS activity or transcription inhibitors), then such effects could compromise treatment efficacy or even stimulate disease progression if PDT’s anti-tumor potency is not great enough.