Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness Oral Theophylline, Piracetam, and Iron Treatments in Children With Simple Breath-Holding Spells

Breath-holding spells (BHS) are common nonepileptic paroxysmal events in children. This is a retrospective study to compare the effectiveness of oral theophylline, piracetam, and iron treatments in children with simple BHS. A total of 146 children (75 girls and 71 boys) with simple BHS were included to this retrospective study. Children were divided into 4 groups: nontreated (no anemia and no treatment), oral theophylline (10 mg/kg/d as a single daily dose), piracetam (40 mg/kg/d in 2 divided doses), and elementary iron (3 mg/kg/d as a single daily dose) treatments. Iron therapy had been given only in children with iron deficiency anemia. Neurologic, cardiologic, and biochemical evaluations were performed for all children. The majority of the patients had cyanotic spells (83.6%). The frequency of attacks/month was markedly decreased with iron (58.8%) and theophylline (82.9%) treatments, but not with piracetam therapy (8.8%) and nontreated group (4.7%). Satisfaction of the parents/caregivers was found to be high in the theophylline group (P < .001). Our results showed that theophylline was the most effective therapy to decrease the frequency of simple BHS in children.
Association between epicardial adipose tissue and embolic stroke after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation

Risk factors of embolic stroke (ES) after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation have not been fully elucidated especially among the Asian subjects, particularly regarding epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) in cardiac imaging. We aimed to assess the incidence of ES during a long‐term follow‐up period after AF ablation and to identify the risk factors associated with postablation ES, specifically focusing on EAT.
Gene Expression Profiles and microRNA Regulation Networks in Tiller Primordia, Stem Tips, and Young Spikes of Wheat Guomai 301

Tillering and spike differentiation are two key events for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). A study on the transcriptomes and microRNA group profiles of wheat at the two key developmental stages will bring insight into the molecular regulation mechanisms. Guomai 301 is a representative excellent new high yield wheat cultivar in the Henan province in China. The transcriptomes and microRNA (miRNA) groups of tiller primordia (TPs), stem tips (STs), and young spikes (YSs) in Guomai 301 were compared to each other. A total of 1741 tillering specifically expressed and 281 early spikes differentiating specifically expressed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Six major expression profile clusters of tissue-specific DEGs for the three tissues were classified by gene co-expression analysis using K-means cluster. The ribosome (ko03010), photosynthesis-antenna proteins (ko00196), and plant hormone signal transduction (ko04075) were the main metabolic pathways in TPs, STs, and YSs, respectively. Similarly, 67 TP specifically expressed and 19 YS specifically expressed differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, 65 of them were novel. The roles of 3 well known miRNAs, tae-miR156, tae-miR164, and tae-miR167a, in post-transcriptional regulation were similar to that of other researches. There were 651 significant negative miRNA–mRNA interaction pairs in TPs and YSs, involving 63 differentially expressed miRNAs (fold change > 4) and 416 differentially expressed mRNAs. Among them 12 key known miRNAs and 16 novel miRNAs were further analyzed, and miRNA–mRNA regulatory networks during tillering and early spike differentiating were established.
Correlation of plasma kisspeptin with total testosterone levels in smokeless tobacco and smoking tobacco users in a healthy cohort: A cross‐sectional study

Human infertility is a worldwide health issue and is the inability to conceive following twelve months of unprotected sexual intercourse. Consistent studies reiterated tobacco abuse to be an important risk factor which adversely effects male fertility. This study aims to determine the correlation of kisspeptin and total testosterone levels in smokeless tobacco, smoking tobacco users and healthy controls. A total of 180 subjects were selected using random sampling technique. Non‐fasting blood samples (5 ml) were drawn, and ELISA technique was used for the evaluation of plasma levels of kisspeptin and total testosterone. Total testosterone was found to be significantly high in smokers and smokeless tobacco users, while the level of kisspeptin was found to be significantly high in smokeless tobacco users only as compared to control group. Furthermore, the level of cholesterol was found to be significantly low, whereas HDL and triglycerides were found to be significantly high in smokeless tobacco users relative to control subjects. Findings of this study suggest that tobacco use has impact on HPG axis by affecting kisspeptin level. The increase in kisspeptin level can affect hypothalamic function leading to pituitary and gonadal dysfunction along with impairment of reproduction. The finding that smokeless tobacco significantly raises kisspeptin strengthens the idea that smokeless tobacco use has more potent effects centrally compared to smoking.
Effects of gamma-irradiation on antibiotic resistance and diagnostic molecular markers of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Egyptian cancer patients

Abstract: Purpose: This in-vitro study aimed to assess in 120 [40 community-acquired (CA-MRSA) & 80 hospital-acquired (HA-MRSA)] isolates from cancer patients whether the transmissible staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, and the Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL) virulence genes detection could be employed as tools for molecular diagnostic purposes to distinguish both methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) categories in radiotherapy treated cancer patients. Materials and methods: SCCmec typing was determined by the combination of the type of the cassette chromosome recombinase genes (ccr) gene complex and the class of the methicillin resistance (mec) gene complex. Besides, a rapid slide latex agglutination test (LAT) and antibiotic resistance spectrum determination before and after irradiation were performed. Results: In the strict sense, with the effect of irradiation; the presence of SCCmec subtypes IVa (22.5% vs. 10.0%), b (47.5% vs. 25.0%), & d (7.5 vs. 2.5%) or type V (15.0% vs. 7.5%) genetic elements and PVL genes (p < .001) were not proved as a signature for CA-MRSA. While, the larger SCCmec types II, and III elements were not detected in 14, and 19 from the 38, and 36 typed HA-MRSA isolates (p < .001), respectively. Remarkable effects on class A & class B mec gene complex and type2, type 3 & type 5 ccr gene complex and an increase in agglutination reaction strength in response to gamma irradiation external stimulus were observed. Conclusions: Different heterogeneous genetic composition with upregulation mecA gene expression was detected after irradiation in the HA- MRSA studied population. CA-MRSA showed remarkable ability to acquire multi-antibiotic resistance after irradiation and propose a novel paradigm for future chemotherapy against the multi-resistant pathogens whose proliferation especially among immunocompromised cancer patients is on the increase.
CSB interacts with BRCA1 in late S/G2 to promote MRN- and CtIP-mediated DNA end resection

Abstract CSB, a member of the SWI2/SNF2 superfamily, has been implicated in evicting histones to promote the DSB pathway choice towards homologous recombination (HR) repair. However, how CSB promotes HR repair remains poorly characterized. Here we demonstrate that CSB interacts with both MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 (MRN) and BRCA1 in a cell cycle regulated manner, with the former requiring its WHD and occurring predominantly in early S phase. CSB interacts with the BRCT domain of BRCA1 and this interaction is regulated by CDK-dependent phosphorylation of CSB on S1276. The CSB–BRCA1 interaction, which peaks in late S/G2 phase, is responsible for mediating the interaction of CSB with the BRCA1-C complex consisting of BRCA1, MRN and CtIP. While dispensable for histone eviction at DSBs, CSB phosphorylation on S1276 is necessary to promote efficient MRN- and CtIP-mediated DNA end resection, thereby restricting NHEJ and enforcing the DSB repair pathway choice to HR. CSB phosphorylation on S1276 is also necessary to support cell survival in response to DNA damage-inducing agents. These results altogether suggest that CSB interacts with BRCA1 to promote DNA end resection for HR repair and that although prerequisite, CSB-mediated histone eviction alone is insufficient to promote the pathway choice towards HR.
Effects of Ethanol Concentration on Oral Aroma Release After Wine Consumption

This paper evaluates, for the first time, the effects of ethanol concentration on the dynamics of oral (immediate and prolonged) aroma release after wine consumption. To do this, the intraoral aroma release of 10 panelists was monitored at two sampling points (0 and 4 min) after they rinsed their mouths with three rosé wines with different ethanol content (0.5% v/v, 5% v/v and 10% v/v) that were aromatized with six fruity esters (ethyl butanoate, isoamyl acetate, ethyl pentanoate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate and ethyl decanoate). Overall, the results indicated that the extent of the effects of ethanol content on the oral aroma release were influenced by the subject, the ethanolconcentration and the type of aroma compound. This effect was also different in the immediate than in the prolonged aroma release. In the first in-mouth aroma monitoring, an increase in the ethanol content provoked a higher release of the more polar and volatile esters (ethyl butanoate, ethyl pentanoate), but a lower release for the more apolar and less volatile esters (ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate). Regarding the prolonged oral aroma release, an increase of ethanol content in wine increased the oral aroma release of the six esters, which might also increase the fruity aroma persistence in the wines. Future works with a higher number of individuals will be needed to understand the mechanisms behind this phenomenon.
Percentage low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol response to a given statin dose is not fixed across the pre-treatment range: Real world evidence from clinical practice: Data from the ESC-EORP EUROASPIRE V Study

Aims Recent European guidelines recommend in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease to achieve a reduction of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol of at least 50% if the baseline low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level is between 1.8 and 3.5 mmol/L. Systematic reviews have associated a given statin/dose combination with a fixed percentage low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol response. Algorithms for detecting cases and estimating the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolaemia often rely on such fixed percentage reductions. Methods and results We used data from 915 coronary patients participating in the EUROASPIRE V study in whom atorvastatin or rosuvastatin therapy was initiated at hospital discharge and who were still using these drugs at the same dose at a follow-up visit 6 or more months later. Pre and on-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels were compared across the full low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol range. The prevalence of FH was estimated using the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria, once using observed pre-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and once using imputed pre-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by following the common strategy of applying fixed correction factors to on-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Inter-individual variation in the low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol response to a fixed statin and dose was considerable, with a strong inverse relation of percentage reductions to pre-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. The percentage low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol response was markedly lower at the left end of the pre-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol range especially for levels less than 3 mmol/L. The estimated prevalence of familial hypercholesterolaemia was 2% if using observed pre-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and 10% when using imputed low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Conclusion The inter-individual variation in the percentage low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol response to a given dose of a statin is largely dependent on the pre-treatment level: the lower the pre-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level the smaller the percentage low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol reduction. The use of uniform correction factors to estimate pre-treatment low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol is not justified.
Increased Expression of miR‐155p5 in Amygdala of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

MiR‐155p5 is a pro‐inflammatory microRNA reported to be involved in several neurol‐inflammatory diseases. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impaired social interactions and communication, as well as stereotypic movements. Inflammation of the brain due to activation of microglia has been reported in ASD. We investigated miR‐155p5 gene expression in postmortem human brain tissues [amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex regions (DLPFC)]. There was significant increase of miR‐155p5 in amygdala (P ≤ 0.0001), but not in DLFC, in ASD children (n = 8) compared to non‐ASD (n = 7) controls. The increased gene expression of miR‐155p5 in amygdala of children of ASD support the presence of localized inflammation in the brain and indicates miR‐155p5 may be targeted for therapy of ASD. Autism Res 2020, 13: 18–23. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Hematologic toxicity in radioimmunotherapy: An evaluation of different predictive measures

In essentially all cases of intravenously administered administered radiolabeled antibody, hematologic toxicity has limited the amount of radioactivity that may be administered. In this study 4 potential predictors of hematologic toxicity are evaluated: red marrow dose (RMD), whole-body dose (WBD), administered activity (AA), and administered activity per unit surface area (AASA). These were evaluated against 8 measures of hematologic toxicity: grade (G), time-to-nadir (TTN), and absolute and per cent drop in counts (ADC, %DC) for platelets (P) and white blood cells (W). Data from a phase I study of 29 patients with metastatic colon carcinoma and a total of 35 different antibody administrations of {sup 131}I-CC49 antibody were used in the analysis. Serum clearance kinetics were used to estimate RMD. A remainder-of-body term representing activity not in the red marrow was included in the RMD calculations. The whole-body dose was estimated as the product of whole-body cumulated activity, derived form survey meter measurements, and the whole-body to whole-body S-factor. All S-factors were obtained from MIRD Pamphlet 11. Patient surface area was estimated form each patient`s height and weight. Patients exhibiting accelerated clearance kinetics due to an immunologic response against the antibody (HAMA) were included in the analysis. The correlation coefficients,more » r, are listed in the table. All patients had been treated with 5-FU and leucovorin previously. When patients that has also been treated with mitomycin and/or alkylating agents were excluded from the analysis, the r values shown on the last line of the table were obtained for platelet toxicity grade. These results suggest that, although still poor, RMD may be a slightly better predictor of toxicity than other measures. « less
Therapeutic Effects of STAT3 Inhibition on Experimental Murine Dry Eye.

Purpose To investigate the therapeutic effects of targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) activation on the ocular surface damage of dry eye in mice. Methods Adult Balb/C and C57BL/6 mice with benzalkonium chloride (BAC) treatment, lacrimal gland excision, and meibomian gland dysfunction were used as dry eye models. The levels of phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) were detected with immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting. STAT3 inhibition was performed by topical application of STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201. Corneal epithelial barrier function, tear production, and conjunctival goblet cell density were quantified with fluorescein sodium staining, phenol red cotton test, and histochemical staining. The expressions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3/9, TUNEL, and inflammation cytokines were assessed with immunofluorescence staining, qPCR, and ELISA assays. The therapeutic effect of S3I-201 was further compared with the Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib and ruxolitinib. Results Elevated levels of nuclear p-STAT3 were detected in the corneal and conjunctival epithelium of three dry eye models. Topical application of S3I-201 improved corneal epithelial barrier function, increased tear production and conjunctival goblet cell density in BAC-induced dry eye mice. Moreover, S3I-201 decreased the expression of MMP-3/9, suppressed the apoptosis of corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells, and reduced the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17A, and IFN-γ. Compared with tofacitinib and ruxolitinib, the STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201 showed superior improvement of tear production and inflammatory cytokine expression in lacrimal gland. Conclusions Elevated STAT3 activation is involved in the pathogenesis of dry eye, while targeting STAT3 effectively alleviates BAC-induced ocular surface damage.
Effect of CeO2 on Impact Toughness and Corrosion Resistance of WC Reinforced Al-Based Coating by Laser Cladding

WC reinforced Al-based coating with added CeO2 was prepared on the surface of S420 steel by laser cladding. The microstructure and structure of the coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer and optical profiler. The mechanical properties and corrosion properties of the coatings were studied by microhardness tester, friction and wear tester, Charpy impact tester, and electrochemical workstation. The results show that the coating is mainly composed of Al-phase, continuous-phase, and hard reinforced-phase WC, and the coating and substrate show good metallurgical bonding. When the content of CeO2 is 1%, the fine grain strengthening effect is obvious, and the impact toughness of the coating is obviously improved. Appropriate amount of rare earth CeO2 can significantly improve the hardness of the coating. When the content of CeO2 is more than 1%, the wear resistance of the coating decreases. The coating prepared with different CeO2 content has higher impedance and corrosion resistance than that of the substrate. At 1% CeO2 content, the coating has the best corrosion resistance.
NSs Filament Formation Is Important but Not Sufficient for RVFV Virulence In Vivo

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne phlebovirus that represents as a serious health threat to both domestic animals and humans. The viral protein NSs is the key virulence factor of RVFV, and has been proposed that NSs nuclear filament formation is critical for its virulence. However, the detailed mechanisms are currently unclear. Here, we generated a T7 RNA polymerase-driven RVFV reverse genetics system based on a strain imported into China (BJ01). Several NSs mutations (T1, T3 and T4) were introduced into the system for investigating the correlation between NSs filament formation and virulence in vivo. The NSs T1 mutant showed distinct NSs filament in the nuclei of infected cells, the T3 mutant diffusively localized in the cytoplasm and the T4 mutant showed fragmented nuclear filament formation. Infection of BALB/c mice with these NSs mutant viruses revealed that the in vivo virulence was severely compromised for all three NSs mutants, including the T1 mutant. This suggests that NSs filament formation is not directly correlated with RVFV virulence in vivo. Results from this study not only shed new light on the virulence mechanism of RVFV NSs but also provided tools for future in-depth investigations of RVFV pathogenesis and anti-RVFV drug screening.
Despite high objective numeracy, lower numeric confidence relates to worse financial and medical outcomes

Significance Greater objective ability is thought to lead to more confidence and success across domains. We investigated instead whether objective numeracy and numeric confidence might “mismatch” sometimes and, critically, interact in predicting financial and medical outcomes. The results of 2 studies (secondary analyses of a diverse internet panel and primary analysis of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus) revealed that being more objectively numerate benefits those who are more numerically confident, but not the less numerically confident. Enjoying good outcomes in finances and health appears to require the persistence of numeric confidence and also the human capital of objective numeracy. The patterns further suggest that improving 1 numerical competency without considering the other could cause harm. People often laugh about being “no good at math.” Unrecognized, however, is that about one-third of American adults are likely too innumerate to operate effectively in financial and health environments. Two numeric competencies conceivably matter—objective numeracy (ability to “run the numbers” correctly; like literacy but with numbers) and numeric self-efficacy (confidence that provides engagement and persistence in numeric tasks). We reasoned, however, that attaining objective numeracy’s benefits should depend on numeric confidence. Specifically, among the more objectively numerate, having more numeric confidence (vs. less) should lead to better outcomes because they persist in numeric tasks and have the skills to support numeric success. Among the less objectively numerate, however, having more (vs. less) numeric confidence should hurt outcomes, as they also persist, but make unrecognized mistakes. Two studies were designed to test the generalizability of this hypothesized interaction. We report secondary analysis of financial outcomes in a diverse US dataset and primary analysis of disease activity among systemic lupus erythematosus patients. In both domains, best outcomes appeared to require numeric calculation skills and the persistence of numeric confidence. “Mismatched” individuals (high ability/low confidence or low ability/high confidence) experienced the worst outcomes. For example, among the most numerate patients, only 7% of the more numerically confident had predicted disease activity indicative of needing further treatment compared with 31% of high-numeracy/low-confidence patients and 44% of low-numeracy/high-confidence patients. Our work underscores that having 1 of these competencies (objective numeracy or numeric self-efficacy) does not guarantee superior outcomes.
Correlation between malnutrition and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in elderly Iranian adults

Objectives We aimed to evaluate the association of nutritional status and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among elderly Iranian residents. Methods We used the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) to assess HRQOL among participants with normal nutrition status, at risk of malnutrition, and malnourished. Results Mean group scores for the Physical Component Summary (PCS) of the SF-36 were 44, 36.5, and 29.0 for normal, at-risk, and malnourished groups, respectively; for the Mental Component Summary (MCS), these were 47.1, 40.7, and 34.8, respectively. The PCS and MCS displayed significant positive correlation with malnutrition in three models: crude (I); age- and sex-adjusted (II); and adjusted for age, sex, education, occupation, marital status, and residence. Standardized beta coefficients of PCS in Models I–III were 1.35, 1.27, and 1.14, respectively; for MCS, these were 1.11 in all three models; all results were statistically significant. Estimated results of logistic regression were −6.023 for malnourished versus well-nourished and −2.652 for malnourished versus at risk of malnutrition. Conclusion Our analyses revealed the crucial impact of nutritional status on both mental and physical components of HRQOL.