Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Expression of Placental Growth Factor, Transforming Growth Factor-β and Soluble Endoglin in Peripheral Mononuclear Cells in Preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE To measure the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) mRNA expression of placental growth factor (PlGF), Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and soluble Endoglin (sEng) in the blood of preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, from November 2016 to April 2018. METHODOLOGY The study included 50 normotensive and 57 preeclamptic patients (18-40 years of age), all in the third trimester of pregnancy. The preeclamptic group was further divided into early-onset preeclampsia (EOP) and late-onset preeclampsia (LOP). Blood samples from patients and healthy controls were collected and mRNA expression was measured (18 patients and 18 controls) by real time PCR. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS (version 22). The values were considered significant at 0.05 level of significance. RESULTS The PBMCs mRNA expression of PlGF, TGF- and sEng were significantly different between the preeclampsia and control group (p<0.001). A significant decrease in expression of TGF- was observed in LOP group compared to controls (p<0.001); whereas, the difference in the expression of EOP compared to controls was not significant (p=0.12). Similar to TGF-, the expression of PlGF was significantly decreased among EOP and LOP compared to controls. Detailed analysis of sEng showed significantly increased expression in both EOP and LOP as compared to healthy group (p<0.001). CONCLUSION There is a significant difference in extra-placental expression of PlGF, and sEng in preeclampsia.
Efficacy of nivolumab four-weekly dosing schedule based on body weight

Nivolumab has received regulatory approval to be given by weight-based or flat dosing every two weeks or by flat dosing every four weeks. However, flat dosing would lead to unnecessarily high doses for patients with lower body weight, increasing the drug usage and probability of toxicity. We review the rationale of using a four-weekly hybrid dosing strategy using weight-based and flat-dosing regimens adopted by some jurisdictions.
OPTN/SRTR 2017 Annual Data Report: Heart

In 2017, 3273 heart transplants were performed in the United States. New listings continued to increase, and 3769 new adults were listed for heart transplant in 2017. Over the past decade, posttransplant mortality has declined. The number of new pediatric listings increased over the past decade, as did the number of pediatric heart transplants, although some fluctuation has occurred more recently. New listings for pediatric heart transplants increased from 481 in 2007 to 623 in 2017. The number of pediatric heart transplants performed each year increased from 330 in 2007 to 432 in 2017, slightly fewer than in 2016. Short‐term and long‐term mortality improved. Among pediatric patients who underwent transplant between 2015‐2016, 4.8% had died by 6 months and 6.2% by 1 year.
Mimicking natural polymorphism in eIF4E by CRISPR‐Cas9 base editing is associated with resistance to potyviruses

Summary In many crop species, natural variation in eIF4E proteins confers resistance to potyviruses. Gene editing offers new opportunities to transfer genetic resistance to crops that seem to lack natural eIF4E alleles. However, because eIF4E are physiologically important proteins, any introduced modification for virus resistance must not bring adverse phenotype effects. In this study, we assessed the role of amino acid substitutions encoded by a Pisum sativum eIF4E virus‐resistance allele (W69L, T80D S81D, S84A, G114R and N176K) by introducing them independently into the Arabidopsis thaliana eIF4E1 gene, a susceptibility factor to the Clover yellow vein virus (ClYVV). Results show that most mutations were sufficient to prevent ClYVV accumulation in plants without affecting plant growth. In addition, two of these engineered resistance alleles can be combined with a loss‐of‐function eIFiso4E to expand the resistance spectrum to other potyviruses. Finally, we use CRISPR‐nCas9‐cytidine deaminase technology to convert the Arabidopsis eIF4E1 susceptibility allele into a resistance allele by introducing the N176K mutation with a single‐point mutation through C‐to‐G base editing to generate resistant plants. This study shows how combining knowledge on pathogen susceptibility factors with precise genome‐editing technologies offers a feasible solution for engineering transgene‐free genetic resistance in plants, even across species barriers.
Impact of Head Start Quality on Children’s Developmental Outcomes

ABSTRACT This study examines Head Start’s impact on children’s cognitive and social-emotional outcomes by considering the quality of Head Start and heterogeneity in types of care received by the control group. The questions addressed in this article are (1) Do children who attended high-quality Head Start programs have better outcomes than those in low-quality Head Start, home-based, or center-based care and (2) Do child and family characteristics and overall quality affect child outcomes? This study found that high-quality Head Start children had higher cognitive scores than children in low quality Head Start or center-based care. Child and family characteristics and overall quality moderated the effects of type of care on children’s cognitive and social-emotional outcomes.
Elevated oxidative stress in pied flycatcher nestlings of eumelanic foster fathers under low rearing temperatures

ABSTRACT Striking variation in melanin coloration within natural populations is likely due to the different fitness outcomes of alternative phenotypes in varying environmental conditions. There are two types of melanin: eumelanins yield blackish hues, whereas pheomelanins yield reddish hues. The production of eumelanins requires low levels of glutathione (GSH), which is the most important intracellular antioxidant, whereas the production of pheomelanins requires high levels of GSH. We investigated the oxidative status of male pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) with different degrees of melanin coloration under different temperatures during the nestling period. Moreover, we assessed the oxidative status of offspring in relation to their biological or foster father's melanin coloration and ambient temperature. To separate offspring genotype effects and paternal effects in different temperatures, we used a partial cross-foster design. The temperature differently affected the oxidative status of differently colored male pied flycatchers and their foster offspring. When the weather was relatively cold, black males had higher glutathione S-transferase levels compared with brown males, indicating enhanced stress in black males. Foster offspring of black males had a lower ratio between reduced and oxidized GSH followed by higher total amount of GSH than foster offspring of brown males. Thus, foster offspring of black males seem to suffer from oxidative stress under relatively cold weather compared with those of brown males, and vice versa under relatively warm weather. Although differently colored males experienced changes in their oxidative status under different temperatures, the link between paternal melanin coloration and offspring oxidative stress appears to be environmentally induced. Summary: The pied flycatcher demonstrates a temperature-dependent association between oxidative stress of offspring and variation in the melanin coloration of their foster father.
Effect of Ramadan Fasting on Weight and Body Composition in Healthy Non-Athlete Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Ramadan involves one month of fasting from sunrise to sunset. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to determine the effect of Ramadan fasting on weight and body composition. Methods: In May 2018, we searched six databases for publications that measured weight and body composition before and after Ramadan, and that did not attempt to influence physical activity or diet. Results: Data were collected from 70 publications (90 comparison groups, 2947 participants). There was a significant positive correlation between starting body mass index and weight lost during the fasting period. Consistently, there was a significant reduction in fat percentage between pre-Ramadan and post-Ramadan in people with overweight or obesity (−1.46 (95% confidence interval: −2.57 to −0.35) %, p = 0.010), but not in those of normal weight (−0.41 (−1.45 to 0.63) %, p = 0.436). Loss of fat-free mass was also significant between pre-Ramadan and post-Ramadan, but was about 30% less than loss of absolute fat mass. At 2–5 weeks after the end of Ramadan, there was a return towards, or to, pre-Ramadan measurements in weight and body composition. Conclusions: Even with no advice on lifestyle changes, there are consistent—albeit transient—reductions in weight and fat mass with the Ramadan fast, especially in people with overweight or obesity.
Near unity charge separation efficiency leads to pure ultraviolet emission in few layer graphene nanosheets

Two-dimensional materials with van der Waals structure attract intense interest due to their high performance in ultrathin optoelectronic devices. In particular, the high efficiency charge separation between the two-dimensional materials can significantly improve the photo-response of a given device. Here we report the discovery of pure ultraviolet (UV) emission from few layer graphene nanosheets (GNS). Near unity charge separation efficiency is key to pure UV emission. The dynamics of an excited electron were analyzed using femtosecond transient absorption techniques. Electron transfer is observed from surface defect states induced by oxygen-containing functional groups to intrinsic sp2 domain states in few layer GNS. Moreover, a solar blind response device based on few layer GNS with a high on-off ratio was successfully fabricated.
The Patient’s Situation During Interhospital Intensive Care Unit-to-Unit Transfers: A Hermeneutical Observational Study

Interhospital intensive care unit-to-unit transfers are an increasing phenomenon, earlier mainly studied from a patient safety perspective. Using data from video recordings and participant observations, the aim was to explore and interpret the observed nature of the patient’s situation during interhospital intensive care unit-to-unit transfers. Data collection from eight transfers resulted in over 7 hours of video material and field notes. Using a hermeneutical approach, three themes emerged: being visible and invisible; being in a constantly changing space; and being a fettered body in constant motion. The patient’s situation can be viewed as an involuntary journey, one where the patient exists in a constantly changing space drifting in and out of the health personnel’s attention and where movements from the journey become part of the patient’s body. Interhospital transfers of vulnerable patients emerge as a complex task, challenging the health personnel’s ability to maintain a caring atmosphere around these patients.
E-Skin Bimodal Sensors for Robotics and Prosthesis Using PDMS Molds Engraved by Laser †

Electronic skin (e-skin) is pursued as a key component in robotics and prosthesis to confer them sensing properties that mimic human skin. For pressure monitoring, a great emphasis on piezoresistive sensors was registered due to the simplicity of sensor design and readout mechanism. For higher sensitivity, films composing these sensors may be micro-structured, usually by expensive photolithography techniques or low-cost and low-customizable molds. Sensors commonly present different sensitivities in different pressure ranges, which should be avoided in robotics and prosthesis applications. The combination of pressure sensing and temperature is also relevant for the field and has room for improvement. This work proposes an alternative approach for film micro-structuration based on the production of highly customizable and low-cost molds through laser engraving. These bimodal e-skin piezoresistive and temperature sensors could achieve a stable sensitivity of −6.4 × 10−3 kPa−1 from 1.6 kPa to 100 kPa, with a very robust and reproducible performance over 27,500 cycles of objects grasping and releasing and an exceptionally high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of 8.3%/°C. These results point toward the versatility and high benefit/cost ratio of the laser engraving technique to produce sensors with a suitable performance for robotics and functional prosthesis.
Concurrent exercise training on hyperglycemia and comorbidities associated: Non‐responders using clinical cutoff points

This study examined the effects of a 20‐week concurrent training (CT, ie, resistance plus endurance training) intervention on cardiovascular risk factors, such as body composition, blood pressure, and lipid profile among adult women with hyperglycemia. A secondary aim was to report prevalence of non‐responders for the different study outcomes. Physically inactive overweight/obese and hyperglycemic adult women (42 ± 6 years; BMI = 30.9 ± 4.8 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to a 20‐week CT intervention group or a control (non‐exercise) group (CG) (n = 14/group). Cardiovascular risk factors for body composition (body mass, waist circumference [WC], fat mass, and lean mass), blood pressure, and lipid profile (total, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting glucose) were assessed before and after the 20‐week intervention. Our results show that a CT intervention results in a reduction of comorbidities in terms of abdominal obesity and cardiovascular risk in adult women with hyperglycemia by decreasing WC and improving lipid profile in “mean” terms. At the individual level, after CT, some subjects changed their status from a “high” to a “low” cardiovascular risk in terms of WC, while others changed from hypertension to either high blood pressure or normotension, or from high blood pressure to normotension, and others changed from hypercholesterolemia/dyslipidemia to normocholesterolemia. Overall, there were ~30%, 50%, and 20% of individuals in the CT exercise group who showed no change/adverse response for body composition, blood pressure, and lipid profile, respectively, after the 20‐week CT intervention.
Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Wheat Carrying Pm40 Response to Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici Using Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis

Wheat powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) is considered a major wheat leaf disease in the main wheat producing regions of the world. Although many resistant wheat cultivars to this disease have been developed, little is known about their resistance mechanisms. Pm40 is a broad, effective resistance gene against powdery mildew in wheat line L699. The aim of this study was to investigate the resistance proteins after Bgt inoculation in wheat lines L699, Neimai836, and Chuannong26. Neimai836 with Pm21 was used as the resistant control, and Chuannong26 without any effective Pm genes was the susceptible control. Proteins were extracted from wheat leaves sampled 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h after Bgt inoculation, separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, and stained with Coomassie brilliant blue G-250. The results showed that different proteins were upregulated and downregulated in three wheat cultivars at different time points. For the wheat cultivar L699, a total of 62 proteins were upregulated and 71 proteins were downregulated after Bgt inoculation. Among these, 46 upregulated proteins were identified by mass spectrometry analysis using the NCBI nr database of Triticum. The identified proteins were predicted to be associated with the defense response, photosynthesis, signal transduction, carbohydrate metabolism, energy pathway, protein turnover, and cell structure functions. It is inferred that the proteins are not only involved in defense response, but also other physiological and cellular processes to confer wheat resistance against Bgt. Therefore, the resistance products potentially mediate the immune response and coordinate other physiological and cellular processes during the resistance response to Bgt. The lipoxygenase, glucan exohydrolase, glucose adenylyltransferasesmall, phosphoribulokinase, and phosphoglucomutase are first reported to be involved in the interactions of wheat-Bgt at early stage. The further study of these proteins will deepen our understanding of their detailed functions and potentially develop more efficient disease control strategies.
Paternal Postnatal Depression Among Fathers of Newborn in Saudi Arabia

Paternal postnatal depression (PPND) is not a commonly recognized phenomenon. The aim of the study was to identify the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) cutoff for Saudi fathers, to estimate PPND prevalence and to determine the risk factors of PPND among fathers of newborn in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study of fathers with babies born up to 6 months prior to the survey was conducted. Fathers were screened using EPDS and demographic questionnaire. The fathers were selected using systematic random sampling from visitors to the birth registration office. A subsample of participants from the postnatal wards in a tertiary care was invited for additional evaluation by a psychologist using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for major depressive disorders. Receiver operating characteristic curve was utilized to identify fathers with depression; a cutoff of 8/9 was optimal to achieve sensitivity 77.8% and specificity 81.3%. Adjusted prevalence of PPND was reported with corresponding Wilson 95% confidence interval. Two hundred and ninety fathers completed the EPDS and demographic questionnaire. Of 72 invited participants, 57 (79.16%) attended the diagnostic interview. The average age of fathers was 34.97 ± 8.56 years, the average maternal age was 29.18 ± 7.41 years, average age of the newborn was 43.13 ± 35.88 days. PPND adjusted prevalence was 16.6% (95% CI [8.5, 25.6]). Paternal mental health needs equal attention during and postdelivery of newborn. Fathers should receive perinatal and postnatal mental health assessment to prevent behavioral problems in their children and disruption of relationship with their spouse.
Hospitalization Trends for Acute Kidney Injury in Kidney Transplant Recipients in the United States, 2004-2014.

BACKGROUND The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and dialysis-requiring AKI (AKI-D) in the general population is increasing. However, there is limited information on the epidemiology of AKI-related hospitalizations in the prevalent US kidney transplant population. METHODS We analyzed trends in the incidence of hospitalizations with primary diagnosis of AKI, secondary diagnosis of AKI and AKI-D using data from the National Inpatient Sample 2004-2014. Co-primary endpoints were in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and cost. Survey analysis techniques were used to compute national estimates. Linear trends in outcomes were evaluated using linear regression. RESULTS There were a total of 37,562 hospitalizations for primary AKI, 136,628 for secondary AKI, and 10,731 for AKI-D during the study period. We found an increase in hospitalizations for all three diagnoses over time (13.7 to 24.7 per thousand KTRs for primary AKI, 37.4 to 108.0 per thousand KTRs for secondary AKI and 4.2 to 6.0 per thousand KTRs for AKI-D; all P-trend <0.01). This was accompanied by significant improvements in in-hospital mortality (3.2% to 0.5% for primary and 6.1% to 4.4% for secondary AKI; both P-trend <0.01), average LOS (5.3 to 4.6 days for primary and 8.4 to 7.2 days for secondary AKI; both P-trend<0.001) and cost ($11,635 to $8,234 for primary and $21,373 to $17,470for secondary AKI; P-trend<0.001 for both). CONCLUSIONS The incidence of hospitalizations for AKI and AKI-D among kidney transplant recipients is rapidly rising. This has been accompanied by significant improvements in-hospital mortality, LOS, and cost.
Cytotoxicity effect of graphene oxide on human MDA-MB-231 cells

Abstract Context: The use of graphene oxide (GO) in biomedicine and cancer therapy has increased significantly owing to its unique physical and chemical properties. As a consequence, the toxicity of GO in the environment and in humans has garnered more and more attention. Objective: In this paper, we studied the potential cytotoxicity of GO nanosheets via examining the effect of GO on the viability, cellular colony formation and proliferation of a human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line, which was an ideal model used to study breast disease in vitro. Methods and results: The results suggested that higher concentrations of GO (≥100 μg/mL) exhibited time- and dose-dependent cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells, suppressed the colony-forming capacity and cellular proliferation. Moreover, higher concentrations of GO increased the proportion of G0/G1 phase cells and induced the LDH release, as well as the generation of intracellular ROS which was also remarkably increased and may directly related with cytotoxicity. Conclusion: Together, the above results suggested that GO can induce cytotoxicity against human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells probably due to the cellular ROS generation, which providing useful toxicity and mechanism information that can help to better inform safety assessments of GO.
Immediate Efficacy of Neuromuscular Exercise in Patients with Severe Osteoarthritis of the Hip or Knee: A Secondary Analysis from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective. Knowledge about the effects of exercise in severe and endstage osteoarthritis (OA) is limited. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of a neuromuscular exercise program in patients with clinically severe hip or knee OA. Methods. This was a randomized controlled assessor-blinded trial. Patients received an educational package (care-as-usual) only, or care-as-usual plus an 8-week neuromuscular exercise intervention (NEMEX-TJR). NEMEX-TJR was supervised by a physiotherapist, twice weekly for 1 h. The primary outcome was Activities of Daily Living (ADL) subscale from the Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaire. The secondary outcomes were the HOOS/KOOS subscales Pain, Symptoms, Sport and Recreation, and Joint-related Quality of Life. Exploratory outcomes were functional performance measures and lower limb muscle power. Results. Included were 165 patients, 56% female, average age 67 years (SD ± 8), and a body mass index of 30 (SD ± 5), who were scheduled for primary hip or knee replacement. The postintervention difference between mean changes in ADL was 7.2 points (95% CI 3.5 to 10.9, p = 0.0002) in favor of NEMEX-TJR compared with control. Second, there were statistically significant differences between groups in favor of NEMEX-TJR on all self-reported outcomes and most functional performance tests (walk, chair stands, and 1-leg knee bends). Stratified analyses according to joint revealed moderate effect size for ADL for hip patients (0.63, 95% CI 0.26 to 1.00). Corresponding effect size for knee patients was small (0.23 95% CI −0.14 to 0.60). Conclusion. Feasibility of neuromuscular exercise was confirmed in patients about to have total joint replacement. Self-reported activities of daily living and objective performance were improved and pain reduced immediately following 8 weeks of neuromuscular exercise. While the effects were moderate in hip OA, they were only small in knee OA. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01003756.