Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in Koreans heterozygous for HLA-DRB1*0405 and *0901.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of susceptibility and protective HLA-DRB1 alleles with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its clinical markers in an Asian population. METHODS All RA patients (n = 574) and control subjects (n = 392) were Korean. HLA-DRB1 typing and further subtyping of all alleles was performed by polymerase chain reaction, sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization, and direct DNA sequencing analysis. We used a relative predispositional effects (RPEs) method and a false discovery rate correction method for multiple comparisons. RESULTS The DRB1*0405 and *0901 alleles showed the most significant associations with RA (P = 7.83 x 10(-24), odds ratio [OR] 4.40 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 3.24-5.99], and P = 3.76 x 10(-9), OR 2.47 [95% CI 1.82-3.36], respectively). The RPEs test showed that the DRB1*0401 and *0410 alleles conferred susceptibility and that the DRB1*0701, *0802, *1301, *1302, *1403, and *1405 alleles showed significant protective effects. Susceptibility and protective alleles both showed a pattern consistent with additive genetic effects, and each influenced RA independently of the other. The compound heterozygote DRB1*0405/*0901 was associated with the highest risk of RA (corrected P = 1.81 x 10(-11), OR 58.2 [95% CI 7.95-425.70]). The mean age at disease onset was approximately 4 years earlier or was 3 years earlier, respectively, in patients with at least 1 copy of the DRB1*0405 or the DRB1*0901 allele. Radiographic changes (stages II-IV) were more frequent in patients with at least 1 copy of DRB1*0405 (P = 0.032, 92.6% versus 84.3%, OR 2.33 [95% CI 1.24-4.39]). CONCLUSION The DRB1*0405/*0901 heterozygote has the strongest association with RA, suggesting that this heterozygote enhances the susceptibility to RA in Koreans.
Fine-Tuning the Wall Thickness of Ordered Mesoporous Graphene by Exploiting Ligand Exchange of Colloidal Nanocrystals

Because of their unique physical properties, three-dimensional (3D) graphene has attracted enormous attention over the past years. However, it is still a challenge to precisely control the layer thickness of 3D graphene. Here, we report a novel strategy to rationally adjust the wall thickness of ordered mesoporous graphene (OMG). By taking advantage of ligand exchange capability of colloidal Fe3O4 nanocrystals, we are able to fine-tune the wall thickness of OMG from 2 to 6 layers of graphene. When evaluated as electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction upon S and N doping, the 4-layer OMG is found to show better catalytic performance compared with their 2- and 6-layer counterparts, which we attribute to the enhanced exposure of active sites arising from the thin wall thickness and high surface area.
Proliferation zones in the brain of adult gymnotiform fish: A quantitative mapping study

Whereas in mammals postnatal neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and angiogenesis appear to be kept at low rates, in fish the capability for the production of new brain cells during adulthood is very pronounced. Many of the newly generated cells originate from germinal layers that maintain their proliferative activity during adulthood. By employing incorporation of the thymidine analogue 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) into mitotic active cells, we have quantitatively mapped such proliferation zones in the brain of adult Apteronotus leptorhynchus (Gymnotiformes, Teleostei).
Advantage and drawback of support vector machine functionality

Support Vector Machine(SVM)is one of the most efficient machine learning algorithms, which is mostly used for pattern recognition since its introduction in 1990s. SVMs vast variety of usage, such as face and speech recognition, face detection and image recognition has turned it into a very useful algorithm. This has also been applied to many pattern classification problems such as image recognition, speech recognition, text categorization, face detection, and faulty card detection.Statistics was collected from journals and electronic sources published in the period of 2000 to 2013. Pattern recognition aims to classify data based on either a priori knowledge or statistical information extracted from raw data, which is a powerful tool in data separation in many disciplines. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a kind of algorithms in biometrics. It is a statistics technical and used orthogonal transformation to convert a set of observations of possibly correlated variables into a set of values of linearly uncorrelated variables.
Discovery of Phosphatidic Acid, Phosphatidylcholine, and Phosphatidylserine as Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis of Endometriosis

The sensitivity and specificity of clinical diagnostic indicators and non-invasive diagnostic methods for endometriosis at early stage is not optimal. Previous studies demonstrated that abnormal lipid metabolism was involved in the pathological development of endometriosis. Our cross-sectional study included 21 patients with laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis at stage I–II and 20 infertile women who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy combined with hysteroscopy from January 2014 to January 2015. Eutopic endometrium was collected by pipelle endometrial biopsy. Lipid metabolites were quantified by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-HRMS). Lipid profiles of endometriosis patients at early stage (I–II) was characterized by a decreased concentration of phosphatidylcholine (18:1/22:6), (20:1/14:1), (20:3/20:4), and phosphatidylserine (20:3/23:1) and an increased concentration of phosphatidic acid (25:5/22:6) compared with control. The synthesized predicting strategy with 5 biomarkers has a specificity of 75.0% and a sensitivity of 90.5%. Lipid profile of eutopic endometrium in endometriosis was effectively characterized by UHPLC-ESI-HRMS-based metabolomics. Our study demonstrated the alteration of phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine metabolites in endometriosis and provided potential biomarkers for semi-invasive diagnose of endometriosis at early stage.
Forced Expression of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 Confers Resistance of Pro-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia to Gleevec Treatment

ABSTRACT The gene encoding c-ABL, a nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase, is involved in a chromosomal translocation resulting in expression of a BCR-Abl fusion protein that causes most chronic myelogenous and some acute lymphocytic leukemias (CML and ALL) in humans. The Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) expresses an alternative form of c-Abl, v-Abl, that transforms murine pro-B cells, resulting in acute leukemia and providing an experimental model for human disease. Gleevec (STI571) inhibits the Abl kinase and has shown great utility against CML and ALL in humans, although its usefulness is limited by acquired resistance. Since STI571 is active against A-MuLV-transformed cells in vitro, we performed a retroviral cDNA library screen for genes that confer resistance to apoptosis induced by STI571. We found that forced expression of Cdk6 promotes continued cell division and decreased apoptosis of leukemic cells. We then determined that the transcription factor E2A negatively regulates Cdk6 transcription in leukemic pro-B cells and that the v-Abl kinase stimulates Cdk6 expression via an extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1-dependent pathway. Finally, we show that the cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor PD0332991 can act synergistically with STI571 to enhance leukemic cell death, suggesting a potential role for CDK6 inhibitors in the treatment of STI571-resistant CML or ALL.
Dual functions of DNA replication forks in checkpoint signaling and PCNA ubiquitination

During cell proliferation, DNA damage inflicted by intrinsic or extrinsic genotoxic stresses impose a thereat to DNA replication. The stability of the DNA replication forks that encounter DNA damage is crucial for genomic integrity. Both the ATR-regulated checkpoint pathway and the translesion DNA synthesis mediated by the ubiquitinated PCNA are important for continuous replication of damaged DNA. We have recently shown that Chk1, a key effector kinase of ATR in checkpoint response, is required for efficient PCNA ubiquitination after DNA damage. Surprisingly, the ubiquitination of PCNA is independent of ATR, but regulated by Claspin, a replication protein that mediates the activation of Chk1 by ATR. Like Claspin, Timeless and Rad17, two other Chk1 regulators at stressed replication forks, are also implicated in PCNA ubiquitination. These findings suggest that while ATR signaling and PCNA ubiquitination are two independent processes, they are mediated by a common group of proteins including Chk1 and it regulators at replication forks. Furthermore, these data raise the possibility that Chk1 and its regulators may constitute a functional module at replication forks to enable multiple stress responses.
Electroreduction of Some Diazine and Triazine Pesticides at the Dropping Mercury Electrode

Electroanalytical methods enable determination of electroactive species in nonhomogeneous systems, as limiting currents are little affected by the presence of solid and colloidal particles. An example of such applications of electrochemical methods are studies of binding of toxic substances, such as pesticides, on slightly soluble polymers, such as lignin. To successfully apply polarographic methods for following free pesticides in a slurry of lignin, it is first necessary in principle to elucidate the electrochemical processes involved. In aqueous buffered solutions the electron transfers, in which organic compounds participate, are in the majority of cases accompanied by chemical reactions. To elucidate the nature of the electrochemical process, it is necessary first to find the pH-region in which the given pesticide is electroactive, i.e., gives a wave on the current-voltage curve, and to determine the number of electrons transferred. Further information is obtained from dependences of limiting currents and half-wave potentials on pH. Such investigations, combined with spectrochemical determination of equilibrium constants and identification of products formed by controlled potential electrolyses, enable recognition of the sequence of chemical and electrochemical steps. In the examples presented, the reduction of the ethylenic bond in maleic hydrazide (I), and reductions of azomethine bonds (\( > \)C=NH\( + -\) in some diazine and triazine pesticides, are accompanied by acid-base equilibria, by covalent addition of water to C=N double bonds, and by a ring opening. Such studies are demonstrated by elucidation of the pattern of reduction of some 2-aminopyrimidines (sulfometuron methyl, II), a 1,3,5-triazine(hexazinone, III) and two 1,2,4-triazines (metamitron, IVa and metribuzin, IVb).
Prevalence and factors associated with hypertension in primary school children, in the centre region of Cameroon.

Background There has been a progressive increase in hypertension among children and adolescents over the years. Hypertension in childhood is influenced by various risk factors including; childhood obesity, lifestyle and hereditary factors. This study is aimed at assessing the prevalence of hypertension and elevated blood pressure (BP); as well as the associated factors to hypertension among primary school children in a rural setting in the, Centre Region of Cameroon. Methods A cross sectional study was carried out from November 2017 to May 2018 in 13 primary schools in Mbankomo subdivision. A two staged cluster sampling technique was used to select participants: the first stage we conveniently selected 13 out of 71 (18%) primary schools in the study area by probability proportionate to size since the subdivision does not have an equal number of primary schools in the rural and semi-urban areas. In the second stage, we also used probability proportional to size to randomly select participants from the 13 clusters because the classes did not have equal number of students. We randomly selected 13% pupils enrolled in each class of the 13 schools. BP and anthropometric measurements were taken, together with socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle and past history. Results The overall prevalence of hypertension among the 822 pupils sampled was 1.6% (with 1.5% in stage I and 0.1% in stage II) and that of elevated BP was 8.1%, with a systolic predominance of 1.6%. SBP and DBP had a significant positive correlation with age (r=0.17; P=0.000 and r=0.07; P=0.000 respectively) and BMI (r=0.18; P=0.000 and r=0.11; P=0.000 respectively). The associated risk factors for hypertension were: the pupil's age >10 years (95% CI: 1.2581-33.1841; P=0.0254), family history of overweight (95% CI: 1.6906-32.9401; P=0.008), and excess weight (95% CI: 2.5094-40.7063; P=0.0011), and being born at term (P=0.0004) as a protecting factor. Conclusions This study revealed a high prevalence of hypertension among primary school children in rural areas, with a number of preventable risk factors. Considering the risk factors found, children should be educated on proper nutrition, and the need for physical exercises at home and in school to avoid overweight and obesity.
Longitudinal Associations Between Reactive and Regulatory Temperament Traits and Depressive Symptoms in Middle Childhood

Although a large literature has examined the role of temperament in adult and adolescent depression, few studies have investigated interactions between reactive and regulatory temperament traits in shaping depressive symptoms in children over time. Child temperament measures (laboratory observations and maternal reports) and depressive symptoms were collected from 205 seven-year-olds (46% boys), who were followed up 1 (N = 181) and 2 (N = 171) years later. Child participants were Caucasian (87.80%), Asian (1.95%), or other ethnicity (7.80%); 2.45% of the sample was missing ethnicity data. Multilevel modeling was used to investigate within- and between-person variance in intercepts and slopes of child depressive symptoms. A steeper increase in depressive symptoms was found for children lower in laboratory-assessed effortful control (EC). Lower mother-reported surgency and higher mother-reported NE predicted increases in child depressive symptoms in the context of lower mother-reported EC. Our findings implicate EC as having main and moderating effects related to depressive symptoms in middle childhood. We emphasize the importance of developing prevention programs that enhance EC-like abilities.
Growth hormone, prolactin and thyrotrophin responses to thyrotrophin-releasing hormone in diabetic patients.

Growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL) and thyrotrophin (TSH) responses to thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) were studied in 15 insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Basal plasma GH levels were raised above 5 mu. /l in 6 patients and following the injection of TRH there was a significant rise in plasma GH levels in 9. The mean rise in plasma GH from basal to peak values was significant in the group as a whole (P < 0.01). Basal PRL and TSH levels were normal and rose normally in response to TRH. GH release may be qualitatively abnormal in some diabetics and any such loss of specificity of GH-releasing mechanisms would further contribute to the raised GH levels found in many diabetics which would be of importance if GH is a factor in the aetiology of diabetic microangiopathy.
Faster region convolutional neural network for automated pavement distress detection

Pavement images have been utilised to detect distresses. However, existing methods for detecting pavement distresses are not acceptable owing to the various real-world conditions. To complete the task, a novel detection method based on faster region convolutional neural network (Faster R-CNN) was utilised to recognise and locate pavement distresses including crack, pothole, oil bleeding and dot surface autonomously. Twenty Faster R-CNNs were trained and tested by 6498 pavement images. Then the performance of training was analysed to select the optimal Faster R-CNN. At last, a test and a comparative study were presented to verify the stability and superiority of the optimal one. In the testing, average results of the accuracy rates, recall rates and location errors in the optimal one were 90.4%, 89.1% and 6.521 pixels, which were close to average results of training and validation. It indicated the optimal Faster R-CNN had good performance to detect distresses in different pavements. Compared with the CNN and K-value method, the optimal Faster R-CNN located pavement distresses with bounding boxes more precisely.
Mirk/Dyrk1B in cancer

Mirk/Dyrk1B is a member of a conserved family of serine/threonine kinases which are activated by intramolecular tyrosine phosphorylation, and which mediate differentiation in different tissues—Mirk in skeletal muscle, Dyrk1A in the brain, etc. One role of Mirk in skeletal muscle differentiation is to block cycling myoblasts in the G0 quiescent state by modification of cell cycle regulators, while another role of Mirk is to limit apoptosis in fusing myoblasts. Amplification of the Mirk gene, upregulation of Mirk expression and/or constitutive activation of this kinase have been observed in several different types of cancer. If coupled with a stress condition such as serum starvation which induces a quiescent state, depletion of Mirk by RNA interference using either synthetic duplex RNAi's or pSilencer‐encoded RNAi's have decreased colony formation of different cancer cell lines and enhanced apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. Mirk is activated by phosphorylation by the stress‐activated SAPK kinases MKK3 and MKK6. Our working hypothesis is that Mirk is activated by this pathway in response to various stresses, and then acts as a checkpoint kinase to arrest damaged tumor cells in a quiescent state and allow cellular repair. Pharmacological inhibition of Mirk may enhance the anti‐tumor effect of chemotherapeutic drugs. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 274–279, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology practical guidance on the use of natriuretic peptide concentrations

Natriuretic peptide [NP; B‐type NP (BNP), N‐terminal proBNP (NT‐proBNP), and midregional proANP (MR‐proANP)] concentrations are quantitative plasma biomarkers for the presence and severity of haemodynamic cardiac stress and heart failure (HF). End‐diastolic wall stress, intracardiac filling pressures, and intracardiac volumes seem to be the dominant triggers. This paper details the most important indications for NPs and highlights 11 key principles underlying their clinical use shown below. NPs should always be used in conjunction with all other clinical information. NPs are reasonable surrogates for intracardiac volumes and filling pressures. NPs should be measured in all patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of HF such as dyspnoea and/or fatigue, as their use facilitates the early diagnosis and risk stratification of HF. NPs have very high diagnostic accuracy in discriminating HF from other causes of dyspnoea: the higher the NP, the higher the likelihood that dyspnoea is caused by HF. Optimal NP cut‐off concentrations for the diagnosis of acute HF (very high filling pressures) in patients presenting to the emergency department with acute dyspnoea are higher compared with those used in the diagnosis of chronic HF in patients with dyspnoea on exertion (mild increase in filling pressures at rest). Obese patients have lower NP concentrations, mandating the use of lower cut‐off concentrations (about 50% lower). In stable HF patients, but also in patients with other cardiac disorders such as myocardial infarction, valvular heart disease, atrial fibrillation or pulmonary embolism, NP concentrations have high prognostic accuracy for death and HF hospitalization. Screening with NPs for the early detection of relevant cardiac disease including left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with cardiovascular risk factors may help to identify patients at increased risk, therefore allowing targeted preventive measures to prevent HF. BNP, NT‐proBNP and MR‐proANP have comparable diagnostic and prognostic accuracy. In patients with shock, NPs cannot be used to identify cause (e.g. cardiogenic vs. septic shock), but remain prognostic. NPs cannot identify the underlying cause of HF and, therefore, if elevated, must always be used in conjunction with cardiac imaging.
Upper Limb Ischemia: 20 Years Experience from a Single Center

The objective of this study was to review a single center's experience of upper limb revascularization over 20 years. All patients undergoing operative or endovascular upper limb revascularization between June 1983 and July 2003 were identified. One hundred eighty-four upper limb revascularization procedures were carried out on 172 patients. Sixty-one patients had a thromboembolic event (35%), 53 patients presented with a traumatic vascular injury (31%), and 29 patients had symptoms of chronic atherosclerotic upper limb ischemia (17%). Fifteen patients had subclavian steal syndrome, eight patients had thoracic outlet compression, and six patients had iatrogenic injuries of the upper limb arteries. Fifty-five thromboembolectomies were performed, 37 under locoregional anesthesia. Ten patients (18.2%) died from cardiopulmonary causes following embolectomy. Fifteen reversed saphenous vein bypass grafts were performed for traumatic damage. Twenty-seven patients had a primary repair, and five required a vein patch. One patient subsequently had an arm amputation, and two patients died. Twelve patients presenting with chronic arm ischemia had a subclavian angioplasty, 12 patients had a proximal bypass, and in 5 patients, stenoses were stented. The mortality in this group was 6.9% (2 of 29). The mortality for upper limb revascularization was 8.7%. Almost all deaths occurred after upper limb embolectomy, and the mortality of this procedure was similar to that of lower limb embolectomy. Deaths were the result of cardiac comorbidity, and this should be actively sought and treated if outcomes are to improve.
Distribution of grip force in three different functional prehension patterns

Normative data of the grip force distribution necessary to complete functional tasks are limited. Small force sensors have been specially designed for accurate measurement of the dynamic handgrip force distribution by attaching them to the palmar surface of the hand. Seventeen healthy participants performed three different tasks, each requiring a different functional prehension pattern. When cylindrical objects were manipulated, the highest average grip forces were found at the fingertips and the thumb, followed by the middle finger. In a spherical grasp pattern, the contributions by the thumb, ring and small fingers always exceeded 71% of the total grip force. The highest local forces of 9.9 N were measured when a zip was closed with a tip pinch. Individual finger forces were found to differ by gender, but not by hand dimension and age. The results are useful for biomechanical modelling of the hand, for designing ergonomic tool grips, and for evaluating hand function.