Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disparities of infant and neonatal mortality trends in Greece during the years of economic crisis by ethnicity, place of residence and human development index: a nationwide population study

Objective To study trends of infant mortality rate (IMR) and neonatal mortality rate in Greece during the period 2004–2016 and explore the role of sociodemographic factors in the years of crisis. Design Nationwide individual data for live births and infant (0–11 months) deaths provided by the Hellenic Statistical Authority were examined using Poisson, joinpoint regression and interrupted time series (ITS) analyses. Setting Greece. Participants All infant deaths (n=4862) over the 13-year period, of which 87.2% were born to Greek mothers, and respective live births. Main outcome measures Evolution of IMR (0–364 days), early (<7 days) neonatal mortality rate (ENMR), late (7–27 days) neonatal mortality rate (LNMR) and post neonatal (28–364 days) mortality rate (PNMR) trends, by maternal nationality, place of residence and Human Development Index (HDI). Results By Poisson regression, overall, during the study period, among infants of Greek mothers, IMR and PNMR declined significantly (−0.9%; 95% CI −1.7% to −0.1% and −1.6%; −3.0% to −0.2% annually, respectively), although differentially by place of residence (IMRurban: −2.1%; −2.9% to −1.3%, IMRrural: +10.6%; 7.6% to 13.6%). By contrast, among infants of non-Greek mothers, the low starting IMR/ENMR/LNMR/PNMR increased significantly (max ENMR:+12.5%; 8.6% to 16.5%) leading to a non-significant time–trend pattern overall in Greece. The inverse associations of HDI with IMR, ENMR and PNMR were restricted to Greek mothers’ infants. Joinpoint regression analyses among Greek mothers’ infants indicated non-significant increasing trends of IMR and ENMR following the crisis (+9.3%, 2012–2016, p=0.07 and +10.2%, 2011–2016, p=0.06, respectively). By contrast, the high (+17.1%; 8.1% to 26.9%, p=0.002) IMR increases among non-Greek infants were restricted to 2004–2011 and equalised to those of Greek mothers’ infants thereafter. ITS analyses in preset years (2008, 2010, 2012) identified significantly increasing trends in IMR, LNMR and PNMR after 2012, and in ENMR after 2010, among Greek mothers’ infants. Conclusions HDI and rural residence were significantly associated with IMR. The strongly decreasing IMR trends among Greek-mothers’ infants were stagnated after a lag time of ~4 years of crisis approximating the previously sharply increasing trends among non-Greeks.
Factors associated with accelerometer measured movement behaviours among White British and South Asian children aged 6–8 years during school terms and school holidays

Objectives To investigate factors associated with movement behaviours among White British (WB) and South Asian (SA) children aged 6–8 years during school terms and holidays. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Three primary schools from the Bradford area, UK. Participants One hundred and sixty WB and SA children aged 6–8 years. Primary and secondary outcomes Sedentary behaviour (SB), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measured by accelerometry during summer, winter and spring and during school terms and school holidays. Data were analysed using multivariate mixed-effects multilevel modelling with robust SEs. Factors of interest were ethnicity, holiday/term, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), weight status, weekend/weekday and season. Results One hundred and eight children (67.5%) provided 1157 valid days of data. Fifty-nine per cent of children were WB (n=64) and 41% (n=44) were SA. Boys spent more time in MVPA (11 min/day, p=0.013) compared with girls and SA children spent more time in SB (39 min, p=0.017) compared with WB children in adjusted models. Children living in higher SES areas were more sedentary (43 min, p=0.006) than children living in low SES areas. Children were more active during summer (15 min MVPA, p<0.001; 27 LPA, p<0.001) and spring (15 min MVPA, p=0.005; 38 min LPA, p<0.001) and less sedentary (−42 min and −53 min, p<0.001) compared with winter. Less time (8 min, p=0.012) was spent in LPA during school terms compared with school holidays. Children spent more time in MVPA (5 min, p=0.036) during weekend compared with weekdays. Overweight and obese children spent more time in LPA (21 min, p=0.021) than normal-weight children. Conclusion The results of our study suggest that significant child level factors associated with movement behaviours are ethnicity, sex, weight-status and area SES. Significant temporal factors are weekends, school holidays and seasonality. Interventions to support health enhancing movement behaviours may need to be tailored around these factors.
The Effect of Acceptor Structure on Emission Color Tuning in Organic Semiconductors with D–π–A–π–D Structures

A series of novel donor–acceptor D–π–A–π–D compounds were synthesized and characterized in order to determine the influence of different acceptor units on their properties. The introduction of acceptor moieties had a direct impact on the HOMO and LUMO energy levels. Fluorescence spectra of compounds can be changed by the choice of an appropriate acceptor and were shifted from the green to the near-infrared part of spectra. Due to observed concentration induced emission quenching, the green exciplex type host was used to evaluate the potential of synthesized molecules as emitters in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).
Heat shock during in vitro maturation induces chromatin modifications in the bovine embryo.

Heat stress compromises bovine oocyte developmental competence but the effects of high temperature during oocyte maturation on embryo chromatin organization is unknown. In this study bovine oocytes were exposed to heat shock (41°C) for 12h during in vitro maturation and then submitted to in vitro fertilization. The heat shock did not affect (P>0.05) the cleavage but reduced (P<0.01) the blastocyst rate on Day 7 and Day 8. No effect (P>0.05) on total cell number was found but the heat shock increased (P<0.05) the proportion of apoptotic cells in blastocysts at Day 8. Immunofluorescence analysis of H3K9me3 and HP1 was performed in embryos at 52 h post in vitro fertilization. An accumulation of H3K9me3 in the nuclei of embryos derived from heat-shocked oocytes at 4-cell and 8-cell stages was found. Also, a non-expected higher proportion (P<0.05) of 4-cell stage embryos displaying nuclei with increased HP1 fluorescence was observed, suggesting an abnormal chromatin compaction in embryos from heat-shocked oocytes. Embryos at 8-cell stage derived from heat-shocked oocytes displayed lower (P<0.05) relative amount of HSP40 transcripts than control ones. In conclusion, heat shock before fertilization has an effect on embryo chromatin, influencing the accumulation of H3K9me3 and HP1 in early embryos as well as further development.
Molecular Imaging Probes Based on Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors (MMPIs)

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc- and calcium-dependent endopeptidases which are secreted or anchored in the cell membrane and are capable of degrading the multiple components of the extracellular matrix (ECM). MMPs are frequently overexpressed or highly activated in numerous human diseases. Owing to the important role of MMPs in human diseases, many MMP inhibitors (MMPIs) have been developed as novel therapeutics, and some of them have entered clinical trials. However, so far, only one MMPI (doxycycline) has been approved by the FDA. Therefore, the evaluation of the activity of a specific subset of MMPs in human diseases using clinically relevant imaging techniques would be a powerful tool for the early diagnosis and assessment of the efficacy of therapy. In recent years, numerous MMPIs labeled imaging agents have emerged. This article begins by providing an overview of the MMP subfamily and its structure and function. The latest advances in the design of subtype selective MMPIs and their biological evaluation are then summarized. Subsequently, the potential use of MMPI-labeled diagnostic agents in clinical imaging techniques are discussed, including positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and optical imaging (OI). Finally, this article concludes with future perspectives and clinical utility.
Calibration Meets Explanation: A Simple and Effective Approach for Model Confidence Estimates

Calibration strengthens the trustworthiness of black-box models by producing better accurate confidence estimates on given examples. However, little is known about if model explanations can help confidence calibration. Intuitively, humans look at important features attributions and decide whether the model is trustworthy. Similarly, the explanations may tell us when the model might know and when it does not. Inspired by this, we propose a method named CME that leverages model explanations to make the model less confident with non-inductive attributions. The idea is that when the model is not highly confident, it is difficult to identify strong indications of any class, and the tokens accordingly do not have high attribution scores for any class and vice versa. We conduct extensive experiments on six datasets with two popular pre-trained language models in the in-domain and out-of-domain settings. The results show that CME improves calibration performance in all settings. The expected calibration errors are further reduced when combined with temperature scaling. Our findings highlight that model explanations can help calibrate posterior estimates.
Effects of misoprostol treatment on doxorubicin induced renal injury in rats

ABSTRACT We investigated the potential nephroprotective effects of misoprostol (MP) on doxorubicin (DOX) induced renal injury using histologic and biochemical assessment of rat kidneys. We used 21 male rats divided into three groups: group 1, control; group 2, DOX; group 3, DOX + MP. The control group was given 0.5 ml 0.9% NaCl and 1 ml 0.9% NaCl orally for 6 days. DOX was administered as a single dose of 20 mg/kg on day 3. MP was administered orally for 6 days. We found that treatment with MP decreased serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels significantly. DOX increased the malondialdehyde level and decreased catalase, superoxide dismutase activities and glutathione level. These alterations were prevented in renal tissues by MP. MP also decreased NADPH oxidase-4 and caspase-3 levels. In the DOX + MP group, oxidative stress was decreased, antioxidant activity was increased and histopathological changes were reduced compared to the DOX group. Renal injury caused by DOX was attenuated by MP treatment owing to the antioxidative and anti-apoptotic effects of MP.
Magneto-Electroluminescence in ITO/MEH-PPV:PEO:LiCF3SO3/Al Polymer Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells

Magnetic field effects (MFE) have been extensively studied in organic light emitting diodes because of their potential application in organic spintronics devices. However, only a few studies on MFE in organic light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEC) have been reported. In this paper, magnetic field effects on the electroluminescence of an LEC device with the structure of ITO/MEH-PPV:PEO:LiCF3SO3/Al were studied at various temperatures. The luminance–current–voltage curves of the device shows the typical bi-polar characteristics of LECs; positive magnetic electroluminescence (MEL) was observed with a value of about 2.5% (B = 42 mT, 250 K), showing a Lorentzian line shape. With a decrease in temperature, the MEL value and the threshold voltage increased accordingly, below the possible mechanism is discussed.
Enhanced immunological detection of epigenetic modifications of DNA in healthy and cancerous cells by fluorescence microscopy

Epigenetic modifications of DNA, including methylation, hydroxymethylation, formylation, and carboxylation of cytosines, are proposed to function in gene regulation during reproduction and development. Changes in cytosine methylation are associated with a range of diseases, such as cancer. Immunofluorescence uses specific antibodies to quantitatively detect the global amount of cytosine modifications by fluorescence microscopy. The most critical stage of immunofluorescence is the antigen retrieval to remove the protein content around the DNA, allowing specific antibodies to bind to DNA epitopes. Acid treatments have commonly been used for antigen retrieval. Previously, trypsin was added after acid in the protocol, which increased the amount of detectable DNA methylation. In this study, the protocol was further enhanced by the addition of pepsin, which is able to target charged hydrophobic amino acids in proteins, unlike trypsin, which breaks positive hydrophilic amino acids. The global levels of cytosine modifications in CF‐1, HeLa, and AR42J cells were compared using this protocol. In all cells, the sequential treatment of trypsin and pepsin increased the specificity of the staining. With the synergistic effect of the two enzymes, it is possible to target different protein groups packaging DNA molecules and removing them effectively. The findings suggest that this revised protocol can be conveniently used for each cytosine modification in the cells examined, and should be optimized for other cells. These new antigen retrieval conditions may more accurately detect the changes in cytosine modifications during development and in diseases.
Ketamine Infusion for Pain Control in Elderly Patients with Multiple Rib Fractures: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION Rib fractures are associated with increased mortality, particularly in the elderly. While opiate-based pain regimens remain the cornerstone of rib fracture management, issues related to opioids have driven research into alternative analgesics. Adjunctive ketamine use in lieu of opioids continues to increase but little evidence exists to support its efficacy or safety within the elderly trauma population. METHODS A prospective, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of elderly patients (age ≥65) with ≥3 rib fractures admitted to a Level 1 trauma center was conducted. Exclusion criteria included GCS <14, and chronic opiate use. Groups were randomized to either low dose ketamine (LDK) at 2 mcg/kg/min or an equivalent rate of 0.9% normal saline. The primary outcome was reduction in numeric pain scores (NPS). Secondary outcomes included oral morphine equivalent (OME) utilization, epidural rates, pulmonary complications, and adverse events. RESULTS Thirty of 59 (50.8%) were randomized to the experimental arm. Groups were similar in makeup. LDK failed to reduce 24-hour NPS or OME totals. Subgroup analysis of 24 patients with ISS >15 demonstrated that LDK was associated with a reduction in OME utilization the first 24-hours (25.6 vs. 42.6mg, p=0.04) but at no other time points. No difference in other secondary outcomes or adverse events was noted.ConclusionLDK failed to affect NPS or OME within the overall cohort, but a decrease in OME was observed in those with an ISS >15. Additional studies are necessary to confirm whether LDK benefits severely injured elderly patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level I. RCT with no negative criteria.
Long time interface dynamics for gravity Stokes flow

We study the dynamics of the interface given by two incompressible viscous ﬂuids in the Stokes regime ﬁlling a 2D horizontally periodic strip. The ﬂuids are subject to the gravity force and the density diﬀerence induces the dynamics of the interface. We derive the contour dynamics formulation for this problem through a x 1 -periodic version of the Stokeslet. Using this new system, we show local-in-time well-posedness when the initial interface is described by a curve with no self-intersections and C 1+ γ H¨older regularity, 0 < γ < 1. This well-posedness result holds regardless of the Rayleigh-Taylor stability of the physical system. In addition, global-in-time existence and decay to the ﬂat stationary state is proved in the Rayleigh-Taylor stable regime for small initial data. Finally, in the Rayleigh-Taylor unstable regime, we construct a wide family of smooth solutions with exponential in time growth for an arbitrary large interval of existence. Remarkably, the initial data leading to this exponential growth possibly lack any symmetry.
The Representation of Semantic Information Across Human Cerebral Cortex During Listening Versus Reading Is Invariant to Stimulus Modality

An integral part of human language is the capacity to extract meaning from spoken and written words, but the precise relationship between brain representations of information perceived by listening versus reading is unclear. Prior neuroimaging studies have shown that semantic information in spoken language is represented in multiple regions in the human cerebral cortex, while amodal semantic information appears to be represented in a few broad brain regions. However, previous studies were too insensitive to determine whether semantic representations were shared at a fine level of detail rather than merely at a coarse scale. We used fMRI to record brain activity in two separate experiments while participants listened to or read several hours of the same narrative stories, and then created voxelwise encoding models to characterize semantic selectivity in each voxel and in each individual participant. We find that semantic tuning during listening and reading are highly correlated in most semantically selective regions of cortex, and models estimated using one modality accurately predict voxel responses in the other modality. These results suggest that the representation of language semantics is independent of the sensory modality through which the semantic information is received. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans can comprehend the meaning of words from both spoken and written language. It is therefore important to understand the relationship between the brain representations of spoken or written text. Here, we show that although the representation of semantic information in the human brain is quite complex, the semantic representations evoked by listening versus reading are almost identical. These results suggest that the representation of language semantics is independent of the sensory modality through which the semantic information is received.
Discharge properties of human diaphragm motor units with ageing

Ageing is associated with changes in the respiratory system including in the lungs, rib cage and muscles. Neural drive to the diaphragm, the principal inspiratory muscle, has been reported to increase during quiet breathing with ageing. We demonstrated that low‐threshold motor units of the human diaphragm recruited during quiet breathing have similar discharge frequencies across age groups and shorter discharge times in older age. With ageing, motor unit action potential area increased. We propose that there are minimal functionally significant changes in the discharge properties of diaphragm motor units with ageing despite remodelling of the motor unit in the periphery.
RNA degradomes reveal substrates and importance for dark and nitrogen stress responses of Arabidopsis XRN4

Abstract XRN4, the plant cytoplasmic homolog of yeast and metazoan XRN1, catalyzes exoribonucleolytic degradation of uncapped mRNAs from the 5′ end. Most studies of cytoplasmic XRN substrates have focused on polyadenylated transcripts, although many substrates are likely first deadenylated. Here, we report the global investigation of XRN4 substrates in both polyadenylated and nonpolyadenylated RNA to better understand the impact of the enzyme in Arabidopsis. RNA degradome analysis demonstrated that xrn4 mutants overaccumulate many more decapped deadenylated intermediates than those that are polyadenylated. Among these XRN4 substrates that have 5′ ends precisely at cap sites, those associated with photosynthesis, nitrogen responses and auxin responses were enriched. Moreover, xrn4 was found to be defective in the dark stress response and lateral root growth during N resupply, demonstrating that XRN4 is required during both processes. XRN4 also contributes to nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) and xrn4 accumulates 3′ fragments of select NMD targets, despite the lack of the metazoan endoribonuclease SMG6 in plants. Beyond demonstrating that XRN4 is a major player in multiple decay pathways, this study identified intriguing molecular impacts of the enzyme, including those that led to new insights about mRNA decay and discovery of functional contributions at the whole-plant level.
Multi-Omics Approach for Studying Tears in Treatment-Naïve Glaucoma Patients

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) represents the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and is a multifactorial, chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by retinal ganglion cell and visual field loss. There are many factors that are associated with the risk of developing POAG, with increased intraocular pressure being one of the most prevalent. Due to the asymptomatic nature of the disease, the diagnosis of POAG often occurs too late, which necessitates development of new effective screening strategies for early diagnosis of the disease. However, this task still remains unfulfilled. In order to provide further insights into the pathophysiology of POAG, we applied a targeted metabolomics strategy based on a high-throughput screening method for the determination of tear amino acids, free carnitine, acylcarnitines, succinylacetone, nucleosides, and lysophospholipids in naïve to therapy glaucomatous patients and normal controls. Also, we conducted proteomic analyses of the whole lacrimal fluid and purified extracellular vesicles obtained from POAG patients and healthy subjects. This multi-omics approach allowed us to conclude that POAG patients had lower levels of certain tear amino acids and lysophospholipids compared with controls. These targeted analyses also highlighted the low amount of acetylcarnitine (C2) in POAG patient which correlated well with proteomics data. Moreover, POAG tear proteins seemed to derive from extracellular vesicles, which carried a specific pro-inflammatory protein cargo.
Factors affecting sedimentational separation of bacteria from blood

Rapid diagnosis of blood infections requires fast and efficient separation of bacteria from blood. We have developed spinning hollow disks that separate bacteria from blood cells via the differences in sedimentation velocities of these particles. Factors affecting separation included the spinning speed and duration, and disk size. These factors were varied in dozens of experiments for which the volume of separated plasma, and the concentration of bacteria and red blood cells (RBCs) in separated plasma were measured. Data were correlated by a parameter of characteristic sedimentation length, which is the distance that an idealized RBC would travel during the entire spin. Results show that characteristic sedimentation length of 20 to 25 mm produces an optimal separation and collection of bacteria in plasma. This corresponds to spinning a 12‐cm‐diameter disk at 3,000 rpm for 13 s. Following the spin, a careful deceleration preserves the separation of cells from plasma and provides a bacterial recovery of about 61 ± 5%.