Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Thresholds for Blood Pressure Measured at Home in the Context of the 2017 Hypertension Guideline: Analysis From 2 US Cohorts

Most guidelines have recommended lower home blood pressure (BP) threshold when clinic BP threshold of 140/90 mm Hg is used for diagnosis of hypertension. However, home BP thresholds to define hypertension have never been determined in the general population in the United States. We identified home BP thresholds for stage 1 (BP ≥130/80 mm Hg) hypertension using a regression-based approach in the DHS (Dallas Heart Study; n=5768) and the NCMH study (North Carolina Masked Hypertension; n=420). Home BP thresholds were also assessed using outcome-derived approach based on the composite of all-cause mortality or cardiovascular events in the DHS cohort. For this approach, BP thresholds were identified only for systolic BP because diastolic BP was not associated with the outcome. Among untreated participants, the regression-derived thresholds for home BP corresponding to clinic BP for stage 1 hypertension were 129/80 mm Hg in blacks, 130/80 mm Hg in whites, and 126/78 mm Hg in Hispanics, respectively. The results are similar in the North Carolina cohort. The 11-year composite cardiovascular and mortality events corresponding to clinic systolic BP >130 mm Hg were higher in blacks than in whites and Hispanics (13.3% versus 5.98% versus 5.52%, respectively). Using a race/ethnicity-specific composite outcome in the untreated DHS participants, the outcome-derived home systolic BP thresholds corresponding to stage 1 hypertension were 130 mm Hg in blacks, 129 mm Hg in whites, and 131 mm Hg in Hispanics, respectively. Our data based on both regression-derived and outcome approach support home BP threshold of 130/80 mm Hg for diagnosis of hypertension in blacks, whites, and Hispanics.
Type I interferon response impairs differentiation potential of pluripotent stem cells

Significance Unlike all differentiated cells, pluripotent stem cells do not elicit a productive antiviral response when infected by a pathogen. This observation seems at odds with the importance of pluripotent stem cells given their absolute requirement for the development of life. Here we investigate why this antiviral response is not utilized in these unique cells. We find that the factors required to maintain pluripotency are incompatible with those involved in eliciting the canonical interferon-based response to virus infection. Upon virus infection, pluripotent stem cells neither induce nor respond to canonical type I interferons (IFN-I). To better understand this biology, we characterized induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as well as their differentiated parental or rederived counterparts. We confirmed that only iPSCs failed to respond to viral RNA, IFN-I, or viral infection. This lack of response could be phenocopied in fibroblasts with the expression of a reprogramming factor which repressed the capacity to induce canonical antiviral pathways. To ascertain the consequences of restoring the antiviral response in the context of pluripotency, we engineered a system to engage these defenses in iPSCs. Inducible expression of a recombinant virus-activated transcription factor resulted in the successful reconstitution of antiviral defenses through the direct up-regulation of IFN-I–stimulated genes. Induction of the antiviral signature in iPSCs, even for a short duration, resulted in the dysregulation of genes associated with all three germ layers despite maintaining pluripotency markers. Trilineage differentiation of these same cells showed that engagement of the antiviral defenses compromised ectoderm and endoderm formation and dysregulated the development of mesodermal sublineages. In all, these data suggest that the temporal induction of the antiviral response primes iPSCs away from pluripotency and induces numerous aberrant gene products upon differentiation. Together these results suggest that the IFN-I system and pluripotency may be incompatible with each other and thus explain why stem cells do not utilize the canonical antiviral system.
Genome‐wide analysis of ETV1 targets: Insights into the role of ETV1 in tumor progression

ETS variant 1 (ETV1) is a key player in metastatic progression in several types of human cancers, yet the direct target genes of ETV1 and the mechanisms by which ETV1 exerts its deleterious function remain largely elusive. Here, we performed large‐scale mapping and analysis of target loci of ETV1 in the prostate cancer cells LNCaP using the DNA adenine methyltransferase identification technique, we identified close to 800 direct targets for ETV1. Expression analysis using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed a positive regulation by ETV1 in most of the genes examined. Furthermore, gene and pathway analysis unraveled new signaling pathways and biological networks that interact with ETV1. Our findings cast light on genes and networks regulated by ETV1, it also opens new fronts for studying the role of ETV1 and its target genes in tumorigenesis.
Increasing water availability and facilitation weaken biodiversity–biomass relationships in shrublands

Abstract Positive biodiversity–ecosystem‐functioning (BEF) relationships are commonly found in experimental and observational studies, but how they vary in different environmental contexts and under the influence of coexisting life forms is still controversial. Investigating these variations is important for making predictions regarding the dynamics of plant communities and carbon pools under global change. We conducted this study across 433 shrubland sites in northern China. We fitted structural equation models (SEMs) to analyze the variation in the species‐richness–biomass relationships of shrubs and herbs along a wetness gradient and general liner models (GLMs) to analyze how shrub or herb biomass affected the species‐richness–biomass relationship of the other life form. We found that the positive species‐richness–biomass relationships for both shrubs and herbs became weaker or even negative with higher water availability, likely indicating stronger interspecific competition within life forms under more benign conditions. After accounting for variation in environmental contexts using residual regression, we found that the benign effect of greater facilitation by a larger shrub biomass reduced the positive species‐richness–biomass relationships of herbs, causing them to become nonsignificant. Different levels of herb biomass, however, did not change the species‐richness–biomass relationship of shrubs, possibly because greater herb biomass did not alter the stress level for shrubs. We conclude that biodiversity in the studied plant communities is particularly important for plant biomass production under arid conditions and that it might be possible to use shrubs as nurse plants to facilitate understory herb establishment in ecological restoration.
Preclinical evaluation of [18F]MA3: a CB2 receptor agonist radiotracer for PET

Non‐invasive in vivo imaging of cannabinoid CB2 receptors using PET is pursued to study neuroinflammation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the in vivo binding specificity of [18F]MA3, a CB2 receptor agonist, in a rat model with local overexpression of human (h) CB2 receptors.
Assessment of Toxigenic Fusarium Species and Their Mycotoxins in Brewing Barley Grains

Fusarium species threaten yield and quality of cereals worldwide due to their ability to produce mycotoxins and cause plant diseases. Trichothecenes and zearalenone are the most economically significant mycotoxins and are of particular concern in barley, maize and wheat. For this reason, the aim of this study was to characterize the Fusarium isolates from brewing barley and to assess deoxynivalenol and zearalenone contamination in grains. Characterization of the Fusarium strains was carried out by the phylogeny based on two loci (EF-1α and RPB2). Mycotoxin detection and quantification were performed by LC-MS. The results show that Fusarium was the predominant genus. Phylogenetic study demonstrated that the majority of the strains clustered within the Fusarium sambucinum species complex followed by the Fusarium tricinctum species complex. The results revealed high incidence of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) contamination (90.6% and 87.5%, respectively). It was observed that 86% of the samples contaminated with ZEA were above the limits set by the EU and Brazilian regulations. These results may highlight the importance of controlling Fusarium toxins in barley, mainly because of its use in the brewing industry and the resistance of various mycotoxins to food processing treatments.
Ship Classification in High-Resolution SAR Images via Transfer Learning with Small Training Dataset

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) as an all-weather method of the remote sensing, now it has been an important tool in oceanographic observations, object tracking, etc. Due to advances in neural networks (NN), researchers started to study SAR ship classification problems with deep learning (DL) in recent years. However, the limited labeled SAR ship data become a bottleneck to train a neural network. In this paper, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are applied to ship classification by using SAR images with the small datasets. To solve the problem of over-fitting which often appeared in training small dataset, we proposed a new method of data augmentation and combined it with transfer learning. Based on experiments and tests, the performance is evaluated. The results show that the types of the ships can be classified in high accuracies and reveal the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Sex-specific lung cancer risk among radiation workers in the million-person study and patients TB-Fluoroscopy

Abstract Background The study of Japanese atomic bomb survivors, exposed briefly to radiation, finds the risk of radiation-induced lung cancer to be nearly three times greater for women than for men. Because protection standards for astronauts are based on individual lifetime risk projections, this sex-specific difference limits the time women can spend in space. Populations exposed to chronic or fractionated radiation were evaluated to learn whether similar differences exist when exposures occur gradually over years. Methods and materials Five occupational cohorts within the Million Person Study of Low-Dose Health Effects (MPS) and a Canadian Fluoroscopy Cohort Study (CFCS) of tuberculosis patients who underwent frequent chest fluoroscopic examinations are evaluated. Included are male and female workers at the Mound nuclear facility, nuclear power plants (NPP), and industrial radiographers (IR). Workers at the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works and military participants at aboveground nuclear weapons tests provide information on the risk among males. Cox proportional hazards and Poisson regression models were used to estimate sex-specific radiation risks for lung cancer and to compare any differences. Results Overall, 15,065 lung cancers occurred among the 443,684 subjects studied: 50,111 women and 395,573 men. The mean cumulative dose to the lung was 166.3 mGy (range 6 to 1,055 mGy) with the highest among the TB-fluoroscopy patients (mean 1,055 mGy). Mean lung dose for women in the worker cohorts was generally 4 times lower than for men. Of the 12 estimates of radiation-related risk, only one, for male IRs, showed a significant elevation (ERR 0.09; 95% CI 0.02–0.16, at 100 mGy). In contrast, the dose response for male NPP workers was negative (ERR −0.05; 95% CI −0.10, 0.01, at 100 mGy). Combined, these two cohorts provided little evidence for a radiation effect among males (ERR 0.01; 95% CI −0.04, 0.06, at 100 mGy). There was no significant dose-response among females within any cohort. There was no difference in the sex-specific estimates of lung cancer risk. Conclusions There was little evidence that chronic or fractionated exposures increased the risk of lung cancer. There were no differences in the risks of lung cancer between men and women. However, the sex-specific analyses are limited because of small numbers of women and relatively low doses. A more definitive study is ongoing of medical radiation workers which include 85,000 women and 85,000 men (overall mean dose 82 mGy, max 1,140 mGy). Additional understanding will come from the ongoing follow-up of the CFCS.
Effect of Planarity of Aromatic Rings Appended to o-Carborane on Photophysical Properties: A Series of o-Carboranyl Compounds Based on 2-Phenylpyridine- and 2-(Benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)pyridine

Herein, we investigated the effect of ring planarity by fully characterizing four pyridine-based o-carboranyl compounds. o-Carborane was introduced to the C4 position of the pyridine rings of 2-phenylpyridine and 2-(benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)pyridine (CB1 and CB2, respectively), and the compounds were subsequently borylated to obtain the corresponding C∧N-chelated compounds CB1B and CB2B. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the molecular structures of CB2 and CB2B confirmed that o-carborane is appended to the aryl moiety. In photoluminescence experiments, CB2, but not CB1, showed an intense emission, assignable to intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) transition between the aryl and o-carborane moieties, in both solution and film states. On the other hand, in both solution and film states, CB1B and CB2B demonstrated a strong emission, originating from π-π * transition in the aryl groups, that tailed off to 650 nm owing to the ICT transition. All intramolecular electronic transitions in these o-carboranyl compounds were verified by theoretical calculations. These results distinctly suggest that the planarity of the aryl groups have a decisive effect on the efficiency of the radiative decay due to the ICT transition.
The Circulating Transcriptome as a Source of Biomarkers for Melanoma

The circulating transcriptome is a valuable source of cancer biomarkers, which, with the exception of microRNAs (miRNAs), remains relatively unexplored. To elucidate which RNAs are present in plasma from melanoma patients and which could be used to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals, we used next generation sequencing (NGS), and validation was carried out by qPCR and/or ddPCR. We identified 442 different microRNAs in samples, eleven of which were differentially expressed (p < 0.05). Levels of miR-134-5p and miR-320a-3p were significantly down-regulated (p < 0.001) in melanoma samples (n = 96) compared to healthy controls (n = 28). Differentially expressed protein-encoding mRNA 5′-fragments were enriched for the angiopoietin, p21-activated kinase (PAK), and EIF2 pathways. Levels of ATM1, AMFR, SOS1, and CD109 gene fragments were up-regulated (p < 0.001) in melanoma samples (n = 144) compared to healthy controls (n = 41) (AUC = 0.825). Over 40% of mapped reads were YRNAs, a class of non-coding RNAs that to date has been little explored. Expression levels of RNY3P1, RNY4P1, and RNY4P25 were significantly higher in patients with stage 0 disease than either healthy controls or more advanced stage disease (p < 0.001). In conclusion, we have identified a number of novel RNA biomarkers, which, most importantly, we validated in multi-center retrospective and prospective cohorts, suggesting potential diagnostic use of these RNA species.
Atrial fibrillation and human immunodeficiency virus type‐1 infection: a systematic review. Implications for anticoagulant and antiarrhythmic therapy

The prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/AFL) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus type‐1 (HIV‐1) infection have been poorly investigated. We performed a systematic review using PubMed and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and screening of references, searching for clinical studies reporting on the association between HIV‐1 infection and AF/AFL. We also summarized the main interactions of antiretroviral agents with antithrombotic and antiarrhythmic drugs. We found a prevalence of AF/AFL ranging from 2.0% to 5.13% in patients with HIV‐1, with an incidence rate of 3.6/1000 person‐years. Low CD4+ count (<200–250 cells ml−1) and high viral load were predictors of AF/AFL. Regarding drugs interactions, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, integrase inhibitor and maraviroc have the lowest interactions with oral anticoagulants. Among anticoagulants, dabigatran presents the most favourable profile. Most of antiarrhythmic drugs interact with protease inhibitors, with beta blockers and diltiazem having fewer interactions. The few studies available suggest a non‐negligible prevalence of AF/AFL in patients with HIV‐1 infection. Awareness of potential interactions with anticoagulation and antiarrhythmic drugs is needed to offer optimal management in this population.
The Burden of Road Traffic Injuries in Iran and 15 Surrounding Countries: 1990-2016.

BACKGROUND The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study provides estimates of deaths, years of life lost (YLL), years of life lived with disability (YLD), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to 249 causes of death, 315 diseases and injuries, and 79 behavioral, environmental, occupational, and metabolic risk factors in 195 countries, territories, and regions by sex and 20 age categories in 195 countries and regions since 1990. In this study, we aimed to present the burden of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in Iran and 15 surrounding countries in 1990-2016. METHODS The standard Cause of Death Ensemble modeling (CODEm) is used to estimate deaths due to all causes of injury by age, sex, country and year. A range of 27 causes is used for estimating non-fatal health outcomes based on inpatient and outpatient datasets using DisMod-MR 2.0. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) estimate quantify the total burden of years lost due to premature death or disability and was computed by summing the fatal burden and non-fatal burden associated with a cause (i.e., YLL+YLD). RESULTS In 2016, age-standardized transport injuries in Iran accounted for 35.6 (UI: 29.64-43.44) deaths per 100000 compared to 60.8 (UI: 51.04-72.49) in 1990. Transport injury became the fourth leading cause of death in Iran in 2016, up from the 5th leading cause of death in 1990. The burden of RTIs was mainly caused by motor vehicles and motorcycles and mostly affected the economically productive age groups (15-49), males and children, especially those at school age. Afghanistan with 59.14 deaths (52.09-66.8) and UAE with 53.71 deaths (36.59-72.77) had the largest transport injury death rates per 100000. From 1990 to 2016, Iran had -2.06 annual percent change in transport death rates. The lowest annual percent change is reported for Turkmenistan at -3.43. While Pakistan, UAE and Qatar had the highest annual percent change in transport injury. Across all countries, the observed-to-expected ratios for transport injury death rates varied considerably in 2016.The UAE had the largest age-standardized ratios of observed-to-expected rate (2.93), followed by Oman (2.39), Saudi Arabia (2.23), Afghanistan (2.04) and Iran (1.95). CONCLUSIONS RTIs continue to be a public health burden in Iran and its neighboring countries, even though, there is evidence for decline in RTIs across all countries except Pakistan. The most frequent sub-causes of death and injury are the motor vehicle, motorcycle, and pedestrian injuries. The most vulnerable road users are children and young adults.
Sexual Abuse of Elderly Victims Investigated by the Police: From Motives to Crime Characteristics

Elderly sexual abuse has been almost completely ignored from researchers and practitioners alike. However, the occidental population is aging and living longer, suggesting that the number of cases of elderly sexual abuse should increase. Moreover, elderly sexual assaults have been described as being more violent, resulting in more severe injuries, and are more frequently committed by strangers, making criminal investigations more difficult to solve. The current study aims to identify the various motivations associated with elderly sexual abuse and to test whether it is possible to link offender and modus operandi characteristics to these motivations. In other words, the main objective is to identify “why” the elderly are sexually abused, “how,” and “by whom”? Using two-step cluster analysis on a sample of 128 cases of extra-familial elderly sexual assaults (aged 65 years or more) from France, four clusters of offenders’ motivation were identified. Congruent with previous studies, results showed that elderly sexual abuse was motivated by sex, anger, and opportunities. However, a fourth cluster was identified, describing offenders motivated by experimentation. These offenders, in addition to being young with a lack of criminal experience, were also more likely to perform the most intrusive sexual acts and to use physical violence, sometimes to the point of killing their victim. To test the external validity of our cluster solution, a series of bivariate analyses were conducted. Results showed that the four motivations were also associated with specific offender and crime characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of looking at the motivations underlying elderly sexual abuse to suggest better interventions strategies as well as improve the criminal investigation of these cases.
Temporal pathways of change in two randomized controlled trials for depression and harmful drinking in Goa, India

Abstract Background The current study explored the temporal pathways of change within two treatments, the Healthy Activity Program (HAP) for depression and the Counselling for Alcohol Problems (CAP) Program for harmful drinking. Methods The study took place in the context of two parallel randomized controlled trials in Goa, India. N = 50 random participants who met a priori criteria were selected from each treatment trial and examined for potential direct and mediational pathways. In HAP, we examined the predictive roles of therapy quality and patient-reported activation, assessing whether activation mediated the effects of therapy quality on depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) outcomes. In CAP, we examined the predictive roles of therapy quality and patient change- and counter-change-talk, assessing whether change- or counter-change-talk mediated the effects of therapy quality on daily alcohol consumption. Results In HAP, therapy quality (both general and treatment-specific skills) was associated with patient activation; patient activation but not therapy quality significantly predicted depression outcomes, and patient activation mediated the effects of higher general skills on subsequent clinical outcomes [a × b = −2.555, 95% confidence interval (CI) −5.811 to −0.142]. In CAP, higher treatment-specific skills, but not general skills, were directly associated with drinking outcomes, and reduced levels of counter-change talk both independently predicted, and mediated the effects of higher general skills on, reduced alcohol consumption (a × b = −24.515, 95% CI −41.190 to −11.060). Change talk did not predict alcohol consumption and was not correlated with counter-change talk. Conclusion These findings suggest that therapy quality in early sessions operated through increased patient activation and reduced counter-change talk to reduce depression and harmful drinking respectively.