Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long noncoding RNA LINC‐PINT regulates laryngeal carcinoma cell stemness and chemoresistance through miR‐425‐5p/PTCH1/SHH axis

Functional, noncoding RNA of about 200 nucleotides in length are known as long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). Advances in ‐omics have revolutionized the information with respect to the coding and noncoding regions of the genome. Several studies have illustrated the role of lncRNA in cell growth and cancer. Profiling and bioinformatic studies of laryngeal cancer has identified LINC‐PINT as one of the lncRNA. However, the functional aspects of the deregulation have not been studied in laryngeal tumors. In this study, LINC‐PINT expression in normal and tumor tissues were studied. Using a bioinformatic approach, microRNA (miRNA) targets of LINC‐PINT and gene targets of the miRNA were determined. The impact of LINC‐PINT on cell proliferation and chemoresistance was determined. Further through a set of silencing and re‐expression studies phenotype rescue was studied. LINC‐PINT expression was downregulated in laryngeal tumors. LINC‐PINT targeted miR‐425‐5p by three sites. miR‐425‐5p also targeted PTCH1 a protein of the Hedgehog pathway. Downregulation of LINC‐PINT was associated with increased cancer stemness and chemoresistance to cisplatin. Our results indicate a probable role of LINC‐PINT in the pathology of laryngeal tumors. LINC‐PINT re‐expression in laryngeal tumors may be explored for reversion of cancer cell stemness and also for rescue of drug resistance phenotype.
Good Premises Retrieval via a Two-Stage Argument Retrieval Model

Computational argumentation is an emerging research area. An argument consists of a claim that is supported or attacked by at least one premise. Its intention is the persuasion of others to a certain standpoint. An important problem in this field is the retrieval of good premises for a given claim from a corpus of arguments. Given a claim, a first step of existing approaches is often to find other claims that are textually similar. Then, the similar claim’s premises can be retrieved. This paper presents a research plan for an implementation of a two-stage argument retrieval model that first finds similar claims for a given query claim and then in the next step retrieves clusters of similar premises in a ranked order.
A band selection technique for spectral classification

In hyperspectral remote sensing, sensors acquire reflectance values at many different wavelength bands, to cover a complete spectral interval. These measurements are strongly correlated, and no new information might be added when increasing the spectral resolution. Moreover, the higher number of spectral bands increases the complexity of a classification task. Therefore, feature reduction is a crucial step. An alternative would be to choose the required sensor bands settings a priori. In this letter, we introduce a statistical procedure to provide band settings for a specific classification task. The proposed procedure selects wavelength band settings which optimize the separation between the different spectral classes. The method is applicable as a band reduction technique, but it can as well serve the purpose of data interpretation or be an aid in sensor design. Results on a vegetation classification task show an improvement in classification performance over feature selection and other band selection techniques.
ClpP‐dependent degradation of PopR allows tightly regulated expression of the clpP3 clpP4 operon in Streptomyces lividans

Five clpP genes have been identified in Streptomyces coelicolor. The clpP1 and clpP2 genes form one operon, the clpP3 and clpP4 genes form another, and clpP5 is monocistronic. Previous studies in Streptomyces lividans have shown that the first operon (clpP1 clpP2) is required for a normal cell cycle. Expression of the second operon (clpP3 clpP4) is activated by PopR if the first operon is nonfunctional. We show here that PopR degradation is primarily dependent on ClpP1 and ClpP2, but can also be achieved by ClpP3 and ClpP4. The carboxy‐terminus of PopR plays an essential part in the degradation process. Indeed, replacement of the last two alanine residues by aspartate residues greatly increased PopR stability. These substitutions did not impair PopR activity and, as expected, accumulation of the mutant form of PopR led to very strong expression of the clpP3 clpP4 operon. Increased PopR levels led to delayed sporulation. The results obtained in this study support the notion of cross‐processing between ClpP1 and ClpP2.
External validation of a data‐driven algorithm for muscular activity identification during sleep

Several automated methods for scoring periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep without atonia (RSWA) have been proposed, but most of them were developed and validated on data recorded in the same clinic, thus they may be biased. This work aims to validate our data‐driven algorithm for muscular activity detection during sleep, originally developed based on data recorded and manually scored at the Danish Center for Sleep Medicine. The validation was carried out on a cohort of 240 participants, including de novo Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and neurologically healthy controls, whose sleep data were recorded and manually evaluated at Paracelsus‐Elena Klinik, Kassel, Germany. In the German cohort, the algorithm showed generally good agreement between manual and automated PLMS indices, and identified with 88.75% accuracy participants with PLMS index above 15 PLMS per hour of sleep, and with 84.17% accuracy patients suffering from REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) showing RSWA. By comparing the algorithm performances in the Danish and German cohorts, we hypothesized that inter‐clinical differences may exist in the way limb movements are manually scored and how healthy controls are defined. Finally, the algorithm performed worse in PD patients, probably as a result of increased artefacts caused by abnormal motor events related to neurodegeneration. Our algorithm can identify, with reasonable performance, participants with RBD and increased PLMS index from data recorded in different centres, and its application may reveal inter clinical differences, which can be overcome in the future by applying automated methods.
Home-based respiratory rehabilitation in adult patients with moderate or severe persistent asthma

Abstract Objective: We assessed retrospectively the feasibility of a home-based respiratory rehabilitation (RR) program for asthmatics under optimal pharmacological treatment, as this type of care can reduce costs and offer a more patient-friendly approach for subjects with persistent asthma. Methods: Fifty-two patients with persistent asthma were recruited to the RR program (20 males, 32 females, 54 ± 11 (SD) years, forced expiratory volume in one second 71 ± 33% of predicted mean value, BMI 29.9 ± 7.9 kg/m2). This two-month protocol comprised education sessions, respiratory physiotherapy and an exercise training program at home and in groups supervised by an adapted physical activity instructor. Results: Thirty-nine patients completed the whole RR program, i.e. 25% dropout. The dropout rate was significantly higher with respect to younger patients in employment. The number of exacerbations decreased significantly during the year following the program, regardless of whether the patients had dropped out (p < 0.02) or not (p < 0.001). The distance walked during a 6-min walking test increased by 33 m (p < 0.001). Several indices measured during a cycle ergometer test increased significantly after RR: peak oxygen uptake (10%), oxygen uptake at ventilatory threshold (12%) and maximum load (19%), all at a similar maximum heart rate. Concerning quality of life assessment, the Short-Form-36 Item Health Survey revealed a non-significant improvement in the “health change” item after RR (p < 0.07). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential of a home-based program in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with asthma. Both functional and physiologic indices improved during the follow-up period.
Transcriptional Repression of CYP3A4 by Increased miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p Promotes Steatosis in vitro

Hepatic cytochrome P450 enzyme activities correlate with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hepatic steatosis. The decreased activity of CYP3A4, an important drug-metabolizing enzyme, is associated with the progression of NAFLD. CYP3A4 is predicted as a target gene of miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p by MicroInspector and TargetScan algorithms analyses. Here, we found decreased CYP3A4 and increased miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p in LO2 cells with free fatty acid (FFA)-induced steatosis. Dual-luciferase assay confirmed that both miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p targeted the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of CYP3A4 and that such interaction was abolished by miRNA binding site mutations in 3′-UTR of CYP3A4. Using miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p mimics and inhibitors, we further confirmed that endogenous CYP3A4 was regulated posttranscriptionally by miR-200a-3p or miR-150-5p. Moreover, miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p inhibitors attenuated FFA-induced steatosis in LO2 cells, and such effect was dependent on CYP3Y4 expression. These results suggest that miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p, through directly targeting 3′-UTR of CYP3A4, contribute to the development of FFA-induced steatosis.
Role of Mast Cells in Appendicitis

Aim and objective1) To identify and quantify the mast cells in surgically resected inflamed appendices. 2) To assess the role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of acute appendicitis. 3) To evaluate the extent of mast cell involvement in appendicitis IntroductionAcute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency. Appendix continues to be the major chunk of surgical specimens received in Pathology laboratory. However, pathogenesis of appendicitis remains poorly understood. Mast cells play an important role in various inflammatory and immune reactions. Mast cells could be one of the important cell populations responsible for nerve proliferation and hypertrophy in cases with clinically and histopathologically diagnosed appendicitis. Materials and MethodsOne fifty appendicitis cases were analyzed with routine hematoxylin and eosine staining and other special stains like toluidine blue. The number of mast cells present in ten consecutive high power fields was counted by randomly in all the sections with one percent toluidine blue and graded the mast cells. Results: Among one fifty cases , the acute appendicitis were fifty five cases (55), with higher mast cell count, acute eosinophilic appendicitis cases were eleven (11) and chronic appendicitis were eighty four cases(84), with highest mast cell count. Conclusion: We concluded that mast cell count was higher in acute appendicitis indicating immunological and non immunological injury and was highest in chronic appendicitis, indicating growth interaction between mast cells, nerves and fibrosis. Our observations support the allergic theory of appendicitis rather than the obstructive theory.
Whole-body fluxes and partitioning of amino acids to the mammary gland of cows fed fresh pasture at two levels of intake during early lactation

The utilisation of essential amino acids (EAA) by the mammary gland of lactating dairy cows fed fresh forages was studied to provide basic information useful in designing strategies to increase the production of milk protein from pasture-fed dairy cows. The relationship between the flux of EAA in the whole body and their uptake by the mammary gland was determined in four cows in early lactation (length of time in milk 44 (SD 14·5) d) producing 21 (SD 4·0) kg milk/d. The cows were maintained in metabolism stalls and fed fresh perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) pasture ad libitum or restricted to 75 % ad libitum intake. The whole-body fluxes of amino acids (AA) were measured using an arterio-venous infusion of universally 13C-labelled AA. Whole-body fluxes of fourteen AA were estimated. Isotope dilution indicated that mammary utilisation accounted for one-third of the whole-body flux of EAA, with individual AA ranging between 17 and 35 %. Isoleucine, leucine, valine and lysine were the EAA with the greatest partitioning towards the mammary gland (up to 36 % of the whole-body flux), which could reflect a potentially limiting effect on milk protein synthesis. In the case of AA with low partitioning to the mammary gland (for example, histidine), it is suggested that non-mammary tissues may have priority over the mammary gland and therefore the supply of this AA may also limit milk protein synthesis.
Genetic variability in the SNCA gene influences α‐synuclein levels in the blood and brain

Genetic variability in the promoter and 3′ region of the SNCA gene coding α‐synuclein modulates the risk to develop sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). Whether this is mediated by regulating a‐synuclein expression levels remains unknown. Therefore, we analyzed levels of α‐synuclein in blood and human post mortem brain tissue including the substantia nigra using quantitative real‐time reverse transcriptase‐ polymerase chain reaction and enzyme linked immu‐nosorbent assay in vivo. Single nucleotide polymor‐phism (SNP) rs356219, a tagging SNP for a disease‐ associated haplotype in the 3′ region of the SNCA gene, has a significant effect on SNCA mRNA levels in the substantia nigra and the cerebellum. Further, the “protective” genotype 259/259 of the PD‐associated promoter repeat NACP‐Repl is associated with lower protein levels in blood than genotypes 261/261, 259/261, and 259/263. In conclusion, we provide evidence that a‐synuclein levels are influenced by genetic variability in the promoter and 3′ region of the SNCA gene in vivo. —Fuchs, J., Tichopad, A. , Golub, Y. , Munz, M. , Schweitzer, K. J., Wolf, B. , Berg, D. , Mueller, J. C. , Gasser, T. Genetic variability in the SNCA gene influences α‐synuclein levels in the blood and brain. FASEB J. 22, 1327–1334 (2008)
A shared enhancer controls a temporal switch between promoters during Drosophila primary sex determination

Sex-lethal (Sxl), the master regulatory gene of Drosophila somatic sex determination, is stably maintained in an on or an off state by autoregulatory control of Sxl premRNA processing. Establishment of the correct Sxl splicing pattern requires the coordinate regulation of two Sxl promoters. The first of these promoters, SxlPe, responds to the female dose of two X chromosomes to produce a pulse of Sxl protein that acts on the premRNA products from the second promoter, SxlPm, to establish the splicing loop. SxlPm is active in both sexes throughout most of development, but nothing is known about how SxlPm is expressed during the transition from X signal assessment to maintenance splicing. We found that SxlPm is activated earlier in females than in males in a range of Drosophila species, and that its expression overlaps briefly with that of SxlPe during the syncytial blastoderm stage. Activation of SxlPm depends on the scute, daughterless, and runt transcription factors, which communicate X chromosome dose to SxlPe, but is independent of the X signal element sisA and the maternal co-repressor groucho. We show that DNA sequences regulating the response of SxlPe to the X chromosome dose also control the sex-differential response of SxlPm. We propose that co-expression of Sxl protein and its premRNA substrate facilitates the transition from transcriptional to splicing control, and that delayed activation of SxlPm in males buffers against the inappropriate activation of Sxl by fluctuations in the strength of the X chromosome signal.
Associations between Plasma Insulin-Like Growth Factor Proteins and C-Peptide and Quality of Life in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Objective: Predictors of quality of life (QOL) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer are lacking. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) family of proteins is associated with QOL in noncancer populations. We sought to study whether these proteins are associated with QOL in patients with colorectal cancer. Method: We used a cohort of 526 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with combination chemotherapy. Plasma samples of IGF-I, IGF-II, IGF binding protein-3, and C-peptide were collected before initiation of chemotherapy. QOL was measured by the uniscale instrument and the Symptom Distress Scale at baseline and throughout treatment. Results: Baseline plasma levels of IGF-I and IGF-II before initiation of chemotherapy were significantly associated with several important baseline QOL measures in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients with lower levels of IGF-I reported increased distress with regard to appearance, appetite, cough, and nausea intensity after adjustment for potential confounders. Similarly, decreased levels of IGF-II were predictive of worse quality related to appearance, appetite, fatigue, nausea frequency and intensity, pain frequency, and composite Symptom Distress Scale score. IGF binding protein-3 and C-peptide were not predictive of baseline QOL. Baseline biomarkers were not associated with subsequent changes in QOL during treatment. Higher body mass index was significantly associated with superior baseline QOL in several areas; nonetheless, the association of IGF-I and IGF-II with baseline QOL measures remained significant even after controlling for baseline body mass index. Conclusion: Baseline plasma IGF-I and IGF-II are significantly associated with symptom distress. Whether this association is simply reflective of patient nutritional status and/or disease burden or represents an independent biological effect of IGFs on QOL remains uncertain. Nonetheless, these data suggest that molecular biomarkers may be useful predictors of QOL in cancer patients.
Retrospective study of a first-episode psychosis service embedded within a home-based treatment team

Objectives To evaluate if having an early intervention service (EIS), which is embedded within a home-based treatment team (HBTT), is associated with (1) shorter duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), (2) lower rates of hospital admissions at first presentation, (3) a lesser number of hospital admissions within 6 months of presentation and (4) a reduced mean bed usage for the first 6 months. Methods The files of those who presented with a first-episode psychosis (FEP) to the South Lee Mental Health Service from January 2016 to February 2017 were identified and a retrospective case review was carried out. The demographics, clinical characteristics and hospital admissions were compared for those admitted to either the EIS or community mental health teams. Results Forty patients were assessed. DUP was found to be longer for those who presented to the EIS (U = 121, p = 0.03). There were fewer admissions at first presentation (χ2 (1) = 6.51 p = 0.01), fewer admissions within the first 6 months of presentation (χ2 (1) = 5.56 p = 0.02) and less bed usage overall (U = 131, p = 0.047) for those who presented to the EIS. Conclusion The study provides a baseline clinical and demographic profile of patients with FEP in an Irish mental health service and demonstrates current pathways to care. EIS embedded within an HBTT was associated with fewer hospital admissions and less bed usage. It is unclear whether these findings may have occurred due to the EIS or due to the benefits provided by an HBTT.
RFID on the boundary between the public and private sectors: An ANT/Institutional Theory investigation

Radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled devices are becoming increasingly common in today’s world, facilitating many things from supply chain efficiencies to medical equipment tracking. The majority of studies into such systems centre on technical and engineering issues associated with their implementation and operation. Research outside of this scope generally focuses on RFID systems in isolated private sector supply chains. Less common is research on RFID systems within the public sector, and this research generally occurs within the health, defence, or agriculture areas. Using a combination of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Institutional Theory, this qualitative study examines how RFID is used within the public sector/private sector RFID network. Interactions across public and private sector RFID networks are examined in order to identify common themes within the network, and to determine where the needs of the two sectors diverge. Twelve themes were identified that acted as ANT mediators within the network, across three dimensions. These mediators differed in activity depending on where within the ANT translation they were strongest. A number of the mediators were also found to exert institutional pressures on organisations within the network, contributing to their strength during translation. The relationship between the two sectors was also examined. Findings indicated that some mediators were stronger within the public sector, particularly with respect to privacy and legislation. It was further found that the relationship between the two sectors was confused by the multiple different roles taken by the public sector within the translation. This multiplicity at times confused both public and private sector partners, leading to uncertainty within the network. This study contributes to research by addressing a gap in understanding of RFID systems in the public-private sector context. It also provides practitioners with a guideline as to which mediators should be addressed when contemplating an RFID system within this context, as well as indicating possible reasons the relationship between organisations in the two sectors may be challenging. In addition, the unusual combination of ANT and Institutional Theory contributes to theory by pointing towards a possible new way to investigate complex technology systems at the organisational level.
Statistical tools used for analyses of frequent users of emergency department: a scoping review

Objective Frequent users represent a small proportion of emergency department users, but they account for a disproportionately large number of visits. Their use of emergency departments is often considered suboptimal. It would be more efficient to identify and treat those patients earlier in their health problem trajectory. It is therefore essential to describe their characteristics and to predict their emergency department use. In order to do so, adequate statistical tools are needed. The objective of this study was to determine the statistical tools used in identifying variables associated with frequent use or predicting the risk of becoming a frequent user. Methods We performed a scoping review following an established 5-stage methodological framework. We searched PubMed, Scopus and CINAHL databases in February 2019 using search strategies defined with the help of an information specialist. Out of 4534 potential abstracts, we selected 114 articles based on defined criteria and presented in a content analysis. Results We identified four classes of statistical tools. Regression models were found to be the most common practice, followed by hypothesis testing. The logistic regression was found to be the most used statistical tool, followed by χ2 test and t-test of associations between variables. Other tools were marginally used. Conclusions This scoping review lists common statistical tools used for analysing frequent users in emergency departments. It highlights the fact that some are well established while others are much less so. More research is needed to apply appropriate techniques to health data or to diversify statistical point of views.