Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tongue Function: An Underrecognized Component in the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Mandibular Repositioning Appliance

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common but still underrecognized disorder. A mandibular repositioning appliance (MRA) is used to treat OSA by advancing the mandible and thereby reducing the collapsibility of the upper airway. It has been found that an MRA increases the volume of the upper airway, especially the velopharyngeal area, in OSA patients. We hypothesize that this increase in the velopharyngeal volume is associated with an anterior displacement of the tongue, but likely not with a stretching of the soft tissue connecting the soft palate, lateral pharynx, palatopharyngeal arch, and mandible. Since the function and structure of the genioglossus and hypoglossal nerve are always abnormal in patients with OSA, the tongue does not always move simultaneously with the mandible when an MRA is being used. Oropharyngeal exercises, especially tongue exercises, can improve the quality of life of OSA patients, including reduction of daytime sleepiness and snoring, better quality of sleep, and partial decrease in the AHI. Further, in animal models, tongue exercise is also found to be effective in tongue function recovery and in the remodeling of the hypoglossal nucleus. We suggest that a combination of tongue exercises along with MRA is a promising approach for patients who do not respond to an MRA alone.
Time Series Featurization via Topological Data Analysis: an Application to Cryptocurrency Trend Forecasting

We propose a novel methodology for feature extraction from time series data based on topological data analysis. The proposed procedure applies a dimensionality reduction technique via principal component analysis to the point cloud of the Takens' embedding from the observed time series and then evaluates the persistence landscape and silhouettes based on the corresponding Rips complex. We define a new notion of Rips distance function that is especially suited for persistence homologies built on Rips complexes and prove stability theorems for it. We use these results to demonstrate in turn some stability properties of the topological features extracted using our procedure with respect to additive noise and sampling. We further apply our method to the problem of trend forecasting for cryptocurrency prices, where we manage to achieve significantly lower error rates than more standard, non TDA-based methodologies in complex pattern classification tasks. We expect our method to provide a new insight on feature engineering for granular, noisy time series data.
Characterization of Sigma Factor Genes in Streptomyces lividans TK24 Using a Genomic Library-Based Approach for Multiple Gene Deletions

Alternative sigma factors control numerous aspects of bacterial life, including adaptation to physiological stresses, morphological development, persistence states and virulence. This is especially true for the physiologically complex actinobacteria. Here we report the development of a robust gene deletions system for Streptomyces lividans TK24 based on a BAC library combined with the λ-Red recombination technique. The developed system was validated by systematically deleting the most highly expressed genes encoding alternative sigma factors and several other regulatory genes within the chromosome of S. lividans TK24. To demonstrate the possibility of large scale genomic manipulations, the major part of the undecylprodigiosin gene cluster was deleted as well. The resulting mutant strains were characterized in terms of morphology, growth parameters, secondary metabolites production and response to thiol-oxidation and cell-wall stresses. Deletion of SLIV_12645 gene encoding S. coelicolor SigR1 ortholog has the most prominent phenotypic effect, resulted in overproduction of actinorhodin and coelichelin P1 and increased sensitivity to diamide. The secreted proteome analysis of SLIV_12645 mutant revealed SigR1 influence on trafficking of proteins involved in cell wall biogenesis and refactoring. The reported here gene deletion system will further facilitate work on S. lividans strain improvement as a host for either secondary metabolites or protein production and will contribute to basic research in streptomycetes physiology, morphological development, secondary metabolism. On the other hand, the systematic deletion of sigma factors encoding genes demonstrates the complexity and conservation of regulatory processes conducted by sigma factors in streptomycetes.
Acute Anaerobic Exercise Affects the Secretion of Asprosin, Irisin, and Other Cytokines – A Comparison Between Sexes

Objective: The new adipokine, which is asprosin, affects glucose release from the liver to the blood, and thus, influences exercise metabolism. This is the first study assessing whether single anaerobic exercise affects asprosin secretion in women and men. Methods: 10 men and 10 women (aged 21.64 ± 1.22 and 22.64 ± 1.49, respectively) performed a single 20-s bicycle sprint. Blood samples were collected before exercise and in the 3′, 15′, 30′, and 60′ of recovery, and 24 h after competition. Results: Only in women did asprosin (P = 0.001) (15′, 30′, 60′, and 24 h after exercise) and irisin (P < 0.001) (15′, 30′, and 60′) concentrations increase. Leptin, however, decreased (P = 0.001) at 3′, 15′, and 30′ in women. There was an increase in interleukin-6 (P < 0.001) at 3′, 15′, 30′, and 60′ of recovery in men, at 15′, 30′, 60′, and 24 h of recovery in women, along with a simultaneous decrease in interleukin-1β (P < 0.001) at 15′, 30′, and 60′ of recovery in men, and at 15′ and 30′ of recovery in women (r = -0.35, P < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between asprosin and adiponectin and a negative one between asprosin and leptin. The increase in irisin concentration at 30′ of recovery was positively correlated with the increase in asprosin concentration and percentage fat content, while being negatively correlated with total and lean body mass (LBM). Conclusion: The single anaerobic effort induced an increase in asprosin and irisin secretion while reducing leptin secretion in women. Adipocytokine concentration changes are inter-related. Regardless of sex, anaerobic efforts induce anti-inflammatory effects.
Predicting Offenders' Institutional Misconduct and Recidivism: The Utility of Behavioral Ratings by Prison Officers

Measures of current behavior are rarely incorporated into risk assessment. Therefore, the current study used a behavior rating scale to assess prison officers' observations of inmates prison behavior and examined the contribution of these ratings for risk assessment. Prison officers rated 272 sexual and violent offenders in three different correctional treatment facilities in Berlin, Germany. Factor analysis revealed three psychologically meaningful factors measuring externalizing, internalizing and adaptive prison behavior. The construct validity of the three factors was established through correlational analyses with standardized risk assessment instruments. Externalizing and internalizing behaviors were significant predictors of violent recidivism after release. In addition, externalizing was a significant predictor of institutional misconduct, whereas adaptive and internalizing behavior predicted whether an inmate was granted privileges (e.g., minimum-security confinement). Logistic regression analyses indicated that externalizing behavior ratings added incrementally to the Level of Service Inventory-Revised for the prediction of institutional misconduct and violent recidivism. The results indicate that prison officers observe important prison behaviors and that behavioral ratings can improve risk assessment.
The Occurrence of Putative Nitric Oxide Dismutase (Nod) in an Alpine Wetland with a New Dominant Subcluster and the Potential Ability for a Methane Sink

Recently, a new oxygenic pathway has been proposed based on the disproportionation of NO with putative NO dismutase (Nod). In addition to a new process in nitrogen cycling, this process provides ecological advantages for the degradation of substrates in anaerobic conditions, which is of great significance for wastewater treatment. However, the Nod distribution in aquatic environments is rarely investigated. In this study, we obtained the nod genes with an abundance of 2.38 ± 0.96 × 105 copies per gram of dry soil from the Zoige wetland and aligned the molecular characteristics in the corresponding Nod sequences. These Nod sequences were not only found existing in NC10 bacteria, but were also found forming some other clusters with Nod sequences from a WWTP reactor or contaminated aquifers. Moreover, a new subcluster in the aquifer-similar cluster was even dominant in the Zoige wetland and was named the Z-aquifer subcluster. Additionally, soils from the Zoige wetland showed a high potential rate (10.97 ± 1.42 nmol of CO2 per gram of dry soil per day) for nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (N-DAMO) with low abundance of NC10 bacteria, which may suggest a potential activity of Nod in other clusters when considering the dominance of the Z-aquifer subcluster Nod. In conclusion, we verified the occurrence of Nod in an alpine wetland for the first time and found a new subcluster to be dominant in the Zoige wetland. Moreover, this new subcluster of Nod may even be active in the N-DAMO process in this alpine wetland, which needs further study to confirm.
Seroprevalence of Neutralizing Antibodies to Human Adenovirus Type 4 and 7 in Healthy Populations From Southern China

Human adenoviruses type 4 (HAdV4) and 7 (HAdV7) are two major respiratory pathogens and sporadically cause outbreaks of acute respiratory diseases. The neutralizing antibody (nAb) response to these two adenoviruses in civilian populations, which is important for dissecting previous circulations and predicting potential outbreaks, remains largely unknown. In this study, we generated replication-competent HAdV4 and HAdV7 reporter viruses expressing secreted-alkaline-phosphatase (SEAP), and established neutralization assays to investigate the seroprevalence of pre-existing nAb in healthy volunteers from Hunan Province, southern China. The seropositivity rates are 58.4 and 63.8% for anti-HAdV4 nAb and anti-HAdV7 nAb, respectively. High nAb titers (> 1000) were frequently detected in HAdV4-seropositive individuals, whereas most HAdV7-seropositive volunteers had moderate nAb titers (201–1000). The seropositivity rates of anti-HAdV4 nAb and anti-HAdV7 nAb increase with age, with individuals younger than 20 exhibiting the lowest seropositivity rates. Both seropositivity rates and nAb titers are comparable between different sex groups. Notably, HAdV4-seropositive individuals tend to be HAdV7-seropositive and vice versa. Because HAdV4 antisera showed no neutralizing activity to HAdV7 whereas HAdV7 antisera cannot neutralize HAdV4, a subgroup of individuals might be susceptible to infection by HAdV4 and HAdV7 and thus generate nAb to both of them. These results revealed the continuous circulation of HAdV4 and HAdV7 and the lack of protective immunity in more than 35% of people, which emphasized the surveillance of these two HAdVs and the development of prophylactic vaccines.
Contrast-Enhanced Mammography (CEM) for Detecting Residual Disease after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Comparison with Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Objective To evaluate the performance of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for estimating residual tumor size after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Methods The institutional review board approved this study. This prospective study included women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who underwent breast CEM and MRI at the end of the last cycle of NAC and before definitive surgery. Size of residual malignancy on post-NAC CEM and MRI was compared with surgical pathology. Agreements and correlations of CEM and MRI measurements with histological size were assessed. Results Thirty-three patients were included with a mean age of 45 years (range 22–76). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value for detection of residual disease of CEM were 76%, 87.5%, 95%, and 86.4%, and those of MRI were 92%, 75%, 92%, and 75%. Comparing CEM to MRI, the mean difference was −0.8 cm, concordance coefficient was 0.7, and Pearson correlation was 0.7 (p = 0.0003). The concordance coefficient between measurements of each imaging modality and pathologic tumor size was 0.7 for CEM and 0.4 for MRI. Pearson correlation was 0.8 for CEM and 0.5 for MRI. Mean differences between CEM, MRI, and residual histopathological tumor size were 0.8 cm and 1.8 cm, respectively. Conclusions CEM has good correlation and agreement with histopathology for measuring residual disease after NAC. CEM was comparable to MRI, showing high positive predictive value and specificity for detecting residual disease.
Object Discovery in Videos as Foreground Motion Clustering

We consider the problem of providing dense segmentation masks for object discovery in videos. We formulate the object discovery problem as foreground motion clustering, where the goal is to cluster foreground pixels in videos into different objects. We introduce a novel pixel-trajectory recurrent neural network that learns feature embeddings of foreground pixel trajectories linked across time. By clustering the pixel trajectories using the learned feature embeddings, our method establishes correspondences between foreground object masks across video frames. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework for object discovery, we conduct experiments on commonly used datasets for motion segmentation, where we achieve state-of-the-art performance.
B Cell Siglecs–News on Signaling and Its Interplay With Ligand Binding

CD22 and Siglec-G are members of the Siglec family. Both are inhibitory co-receptors on the surface of B cells and inhibit B-cell receptor induced signaling, characterized by inhibition of the calcium mobilization and cellular activation. CD22 functions predominantly as an inhibitor on conventional B cells, while Siglec-G is an important inhibitor on the B1a-cell subset. These two B-cell Siglecs do not only inhibit initial signaling, but also have an important function in preventing autoimmunity, as double deficient mice develop a lupus-like phenotype with age. Siglecs are characterized by their conserved ability to bind terminal sialic acid of glycans on the cell surface, which is important to regulate the inhibitory role of Siglecs. While CD22 binds α2,6-linked sialic acids, Siglec-G can bind both α2,6-linked and α2,3-linked sialic acids. Interestingly, ligand binding is differentially regulating the ability of CD22 and Siglec-G to control B-cell activation. Within the last years, quite a few studies focused on the different functions of B-cell Siglecs and the interplay of ligand binding and signal inhibition. This review summarizes the role of CD22 and Siglec-G in regulating B-cell receptor signaling, membrane distribution with the importance of ligand binding, preventing autoimmunity and the role of CD22 beyond the naïve B-cell stage. Additionally, this review article features the long time discussed interaction between CD45 and CD22 with highlighting recent data, as well as the interplay between CD22 and Galectin-9 and its influence on B-cell receptor signaling. Moreover, therapeutical approaches targeting human CD22 will be elucidated.
TFF3 Contributes to Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Cells via the MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathway

Abstract: Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) was found to be overexpressed in many types of tumours. Evidence has shown that TFF3 plays an important role in tumour proliferation, migration and invasion metastasis. However, the impact of TFF3 on patients' clinicopathological characteristics and underlying mechanisms remain unknown in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In this study, the expression of TFF3 and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) transcriptional factor Snail in PTC and para-carcinoma specimens was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot, and the possible associations with lymph node (LN) metastasis and other clinicopathological parameters were analysed. In vitro, the effect of TFF3 on the malignant behaviour of TPC-1 cells was evaluated by cell proliferation assays, cell adhesion assays, colony formation assays, wound-healing assays and transwell chamber invasion assays. EMT markers and regulatory molecules were detected by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot analysis in the TFF3-knockdown groups and shRNA control group. The results showed that TFF3 was upregulated in PTC tissue and was associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.0001), pathological grade (P=0.0002) and Snail expression (P=0.0001). The knockdown of TFF3 markedly inhibited the abilities of TPC-1 cell proliferation, adhesion, colony formation, migration and invasion. Mechanically, the results demonstrated that TFF3 might activate the MAPK/ERK signalling pathways, affect the expression of the transcription factors snail and slug in addition to affecting EMT associated markers E-cadherin and N-cadherin, and accelerate the progression of EMT in TPC-1 cells. These findings indicate that TFF3 might promote the metastatic potential of PTC by promoting the EMT process through cascades of MAPK/ERK pathways.
First reported nosocomial outbreak of Serratia marcescens harboring blaIMP-4 and blaVIM-2 in a neonatal intensive care unit in Cairo, Egypt

Introduction Serratia marcescens is a significant hospital-acquired pathogen, and many outbreaks of S. marcescens infection have been reported in neonates. We report a sudden breakout of S. marcescens harboring the blaIMP-4 and blaVIM-2 metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) genes that occurred from March to August 2015 in the neonatal intensive care unit of Cairo University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. Methods During the study period, 40 nonduplicate clinical isolates of S. marcescens were collected from blood culture samples. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to identify each isolate. Then, minimum inhibitory concentrations of different antibiotics were assessed by the Vitek 2 compact system. Screening of the MBL genes blaIMP, blaVIM, blaSIM-1, blaSPM-1, and blaGIM-1 as well as the carbapenemase genes KPC, NDM, OXA-48, SME-1, and SME-2 were evaluated. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis was preformed to detect the genetic relationship of the isolates. Results Analysis showed that 37.5% of the S. marcescens clinical isolates were resistant to meropenem (minimum inhibitory concentrations ≥ 2 µg/mL), and blaIMP-4 and blaVIM-2 were the most prevalent MBL genes (42.5% and 37.5%, respectively). None of the other investigated genes were observed. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis typing revealed two discrete clones; 33/40 (82.5%) were pulsotype A and 7/40 (17.5%) were pulsotype B. Conclusion Here, we report for the first time the detection of MBL-producing S. marcescens isolates, particularly IMP-4 and VIM-2 recovered from inpatients with bacteremias from the intensive care unit at Cairo University Hospital.
Advances in Resting State Neuroimaging of Mild Cognitive Impairment

The rapidly increasing number of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) worldwide has become a major public concern. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), characterized with accelerated memory decline than normal aging, is a stage between cognitively unimpaired and dementia. Identification of MCI in the Alzheimer's continuum from normal aging, is important for early diagnosis and improved intervention of AD. The imaging technique has been extensively used for diagnose and understanding the mechanisms of MCI. Firstly, we review the recent progresses in the research framework of MCI depending on the clinical and/or biomarker findings. Secondly, we cover studies that use of rs-fMRI (resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging) for the brain activities and functional connectivity between normal aging and MCI. Other methodologies and multi-modal studies for investigating the mechanism and early diagnosis of MCI are also discussed. Finally, we discuss how genetic and environmental factors such as education could interact with in MCI. Overall, MCI is a heterogeneous state and employing resting state neuroimaging with other AD biomarker approaches will be able to target in the more precise population and AD-related pathology process.
The C-Terminal Transactivation Domain of STAT1 Has a Gene-Specific Role in Transactivation and Cofactor Recruitment

STAT1 has a key role in the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity by inducing transcriptional changes in response to cytokines, such as all types of interferons (IFN). STAT1 exist as two splice isoforms, which differ in regard to the C-terminal transactivation domain (TAD). STAT1β lacks the C-terminal TAD and has been previously reported to be a weaker transcriptional activator than STAT1α, although this was strongly dependent on the target gene. The mechanism of this context-dependent effects remained unclear. By using macrophages from mice that only express STAT1β, we investigated the role of the C-terminal TAD during the distinct steps of transcriptional activation of selected target genes in response to IFNγ. We show that the STAT1 C-terminal TAD is absolutely required for the recruitment of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and for the establishment of active histone marks at the class II major histocompatibility complex transactivator (CIIta) promoter IV, whereas it is dispensable for histone acetylation at the guanylate binding protein 2 (Gbp2) promoter but required for an efficient recruitment of Pol II, which correlated with a strongly reduced, but not absent, transcriptional activity. IFNγ-induced expression of Irf7, which is mediated by STAT1 in complex with STAT2 and IRF9, did not rely on the presence of the C-terminal TAD of STAT1. Moreover, we show for the first time that the STAT1 C-terminal TAD is required for an efficient recruitment of components of the core Mediator complex to the IFN regulatory factor (Irf) 1 and Irf8 promoters, which both harbor an open chromatin state under basal conditions. Our study identified novel functions of the STAT1 C-terminal TAD in transcriptional activation and provides mechanistic explanations for the gene-specific transcriptional activity of STAT1β.
Distribution and drug resistance of pathogenic bacteria in ventilator-associated pneumonia at a local hospital of North-eastern China

Purpose To study the distribution of pathogenic bacteria in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and epidemiological characteristics of extended-spectrum β lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria. Patients and methods Lower respiratory tract secretions from 156 patients with mechanical ventilation were collected using a protective specimen brush (PSB), with quantitative bacterial culture carried out and antibiotic sensitivity measured. ESBLs produced by Gram-negative bacilli were detected using the double disk diffusion method and monitored by plasmid profiles. Results Gram-negative bacilli accounted for 78.9% of VAP pathogens, with Acinetobacter baumannii (25%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.7%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.5%) as the most common strains. There were 12 Gram-positive strains detected (15.8%); mostly methicillin-resistant. Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. There were also four strains of Candida albicans detected (5.26%). Most Gram-negative bacilli are sensitive to imipenem, but A. baumannii is serious resistant. ESBLs were detected in nine strains of Gram-negative bacilli; mainly produced by K. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, to different degrees of multidrug resistance. Five strains of K. pneumoniae-producing ESBLs were from the same clonal origin, as confirmed by plasmid restriction endonuclease analysis. Conclusion VAP was mainly caused by Gram-negative bacteria, with high antibiotic resistance rates. Plasmids played an important role in the spread of antibiotic resistance among bacteria.