Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhance Liver Regeneration via Improving Lipid Accumulation and Hippo Signaling

The liver has the potential to regenerate after injury. It is a challenge to improve liver regeneration (LR) after liver resection in clinical practice. Bone morrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown to have a role in various liver diseases. To explore the effects of MSCs on LR, we established a model of 70% partial hepatectomy (PHx). Results revealed that infusion of MSCs could improve LR through enhancing cell proliferation and cell growth during the first 2 days after PHx, and MSCs could also restore liver synthesis function. Infusion of MSCs also improved liver lipid accumulation partly via mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling and enhanced lipid β-oxidation support energy for LR. Rapamycin-induced inhibition of mTOR decreased liver lipid accumulation at 24 h after PHx, leading to impaired LR. And after infusion of MSCs, a proinflammatory environment formed in the liver, evidenced by increased expression of IL-6 and IL-1β, and thus the STAT3 and Hippo-YAP pathways were activated to improve cell proliferation. Our results demonstrated the function of MSCs on LR after PHx and provided new evidence for stem cell therapy of liver diseases.
Long-term outcomes of bilateral direct-to-implant breast reconstruction in women at high breast cancer risk

Abstract Introduction: Challenges of direct-to-implant breast reconstruction (BR) are to achieve sufficient implant coverage and lower pole projection. We assessed reoperation rates, long-term patient satisfaction and aesthetic outcome after direct-to-implant BR without acellular dermal matrix (ADM) in women with high breast cancer risk. Methods: Women who underwent bilateral skin or nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate direct-to-implant BR between 1994 and 2006 completed a survey on reoperations and the Breast-Q Reconstruction questionnaire. Photographs taken during follow-up were rated for long-term aesthetic outcome (scale 1–10) by five plastic surgeons. Outcomes were compared between women who never underwent unanticipated reoperations after immediate BR and women who underwent one or more reoperations, adjusted for potential confounders using multivariable linear regression. Results: Of 143 women, 70 (49%) were never reoperated and 73 (51%) had undergone reoperations. Median follow-up was 12 years in both groups (range 7–17 and 6–19 years, respectively). Baseline characteristics were comparable except for history of prophylactic oophorectomy with 81% in the no-reoperations group versus 66% in the reoperated group (p = .03). Breast-Q scores were 59.7 ± 17.3 versus 58.0 ± 17.8 (p = .67) for ‘satisfaction with breasts’ and 71.1 ± 20.3 versus 68.1 ± 22.9 (p = .47) for ‘satisfaction with outcome’ in the no-reoperation versus reoperation group, respectively. Aesthetic outcome was scored 5.8 ± 1.1 in the no-reoperation group versus 5.3 ± 1.3 in the reoperation group (p = .01). Conclusions: The single-stage intent did not prevent unanticipated surgical reinterventions in 51% of the patients. Long-term patient satisfaction was reasonable and not affected by reoperations. Aesthetic outcome, however, was only poor to reasonable and scores were significantly lower in the reoperated group.
Optimal body mass index cut‐off points for prediction of incident diabetes in a Chinese population

The current body mass index (BMI) classifications have been established based on the risk of obesity‐related conditions, but not specifically on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study was to identify the optimal BMI cut‐off points for assessing incident T2DM risk in the Chinese population.
Identifying and integrating patient and caregiver perspectives in clinical practice guidelines for percutaneous renal biopsy

Percutaneous renal biopsy is often essential for providing reliable diagnostic and prognostic information for people with suspected kidney disease, however the procedure can lead to complications and concerns among patients. This study aims to identify and integrate patient priorities and perspectives into the Kidney Health Australia – Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment clinical practice guidelines for renal biopsy, to ensure patient‐relevance.
ABBV-105, a selective and irreversible inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, is efficacious in multiple preclinical models of inflammation

Abstract Objectives: Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase required for intracellular signaling downstream of multiple immunoreceptors. We evaluated ABBV-105, a covalent BTK inhibitor, using in vitro and in vivo assays to determine potency, selectivity, and efficacy to validate the therapeutic potential of ABBV-105 in inflammatory disease. Methods: ABBV-105 potency and selectivity were evaluated in enzymatic and cellular assays. The impact of ABBV-105 on B cell function in vivo was assessed using mechanistic models of antibody production. Efficacy of ABBV-105 in chronic inflammatory disease was evaluated in animal models of arthritis and lupus. Measurement of BTK occupancy was employed as a target engagement biomarker. Results: ABBV-105 irreversibly inhibits BTK, demonstrating superior kinome selectivity and is potent in B cell receptor, Fc receptor, and TLR-9-dependent cellular assays. Oral administration resulted in rapid clearance in plasma, but maintenance of BTK splenic occupancy. ABBV-105 inhibited antibody responses to thymus-independent and thymus-dependent antigens, paw swelling and bone destruction in rat collagen induced arthritis, and reduced disease in an IFNα-accelerated lupus nephritis model. BTK occupancy in disease models correlated with in vivo efficacy. Conclusion: ABBV-105, a selective BTK inhibitor, demonstrates compelling efficacy in pre-clinical mechanistic models of antibody production and in models of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Anti-Aging Effect of Chitosan Oligosaccharide on d-Galactose-Induced Subacute Aging in Mice

Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), a natural polysaccharide with good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, is the depolymerized product of chitosan possessing various biological activities. The present study was designed to investigate the possible anti-aging effect of COS on the aging model mouse induced by d-galactose (d-gal) and explore the underlying mechanism. In the experiment, 48 male Kunming mice (KM mice) were randomly divided into the normal group, model group, positive group, and low-medium-high dose polysaccharide groups (300, 600, 1200 mg/kg/day). The results showed that COS, by intragastric gavage after subcutaneous injection of d-gal (250 mg/kg/day) into the neck of mice consecutively for eight weeks, gradually recovered the body weight, the activity of daily living, and organ indices of mice, as well as effectively ameliorated the histological deterioration of the liver and kidney in mice triggered by d-gal. To be specific, COS obviously improved the activities of antioxidant enzymes in liver and kidney of KM mice, including catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels when compared with those in model group mice. Furthermore, COS not only elevated the diminished levels of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM induced by d-gal, but also significantly inhibited the d-gal-caused upregulation of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), uric acid (UA) and creatinine (CREA) levels as compared with those of mice in the model group. These results demonstrate that COS has an obvious anti-aging activity in d-gal-induced subacute aging mice, the mechanism of which, to some extent, is associated with enhancing the antioxidant defenses, reducing oxidative stress, and improving the immune function of aging model mice.
Plasma-Induced Destruction of Bacterial Cell Wall Components: A Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasmas are gaining increasing attention for biomedical applications. However, very little fundamental information on the interaction mechanisms between the plasma species and biological cells is currently available. We investigate the interaction of important plasma species, such as OH, H2O2, O, O3, as well as O2 and H2O, with bacterial peptidoglycan by means of reactive molecular dynamics simulations, aiming for a better understanding of plasma disinfection. Our results show that OH, O, O3, and H2O2 can break structurally important bonds of peptidoglycan (i.e., C–O, C–N, or C–C bonds), which consequently leads to the destruction of the bacterial cell wall. The mechanisms behind these breakups are, however, dependent on the impinging plasma species, and this also determines the effectiveness of the cell wall destruction.
Which Scores to Predict in Sentence Regression for Text Summarization?

The task of automatic text summarization is to generate a short text that summarizes the most important information in a given set of documents. Sentence regression is an emerging branch in automatic text summarizations. Its key idea is to estimate the importance of information via learned utility scores for individual sentences. These scores are then used for selecting sentences from the source documents, typically according to a greedy selection strategy. Recently proposed state-of-the-art models learn to predict ROUGE recall scores of individual sentences, which seems reasonable since the final summaries are evaluated according to ROUGE recall. In this paper, we show in extensive experiments that following this intuition leads to suboptimal results and that learning to predict ROUGE precision scores leads to better results. The crucial difference is to aim not at covering as much information as possible but at wasting as little space as possible in every greedy step.
Hypoxic Signalling in Tumour Stroma

Hypoxia is a common feature in solid tumors and is associated with cancer progression. The main regulators of the hypoxic response are hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) that guide the cellular adaptation to hypoxia by gene activation. The actual oxygen sensing is performed by HIF prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) that under normoxic conditions mark the HIF-α subunit for degradation. Cancer progression is not regulated only by the cancer cells themselves but also by the whole tumor microenvironment, which consists of cellular and extracellular components. Hypoxic conditions also affect the stromal compartment, where stromal cells are in close contact with the cancer cells. The important function of HIF in cancer cells has been shown by many animal models and described in hundreds of reviews, but less in known about PHDs and even less PHDs in stromal cells. Here, we review hypoxic signaling in tumors, mainly in the tumor stroma, with a focus on HIFs and PHDs.
Benign joint hypermobility syndrome in patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders: dikkat eksikligi/hiperaktivite bozuklugu olan hastalarda Benign eklem hipermobilite sendromu

Objectives: In this study, we determined whether attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is accompanied by benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS) and evaluated the incidence of BJHS in patients with ADHD. Patients and methods: This study was performed in the Ufuk University Faculty of Medicine, Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Psychiatry between November 2007 and February 2008. A total of 54 patients (45 males, 9 females; mean age 9.7±2.2 years; range 7 to 12 years) with ADHD and 36 healthy controls (19 males, 17 females; mean age 9.8±2.3 years; range 7 to 12 years) were included in the study. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the individuals and the joint pain severity in the last month were recorded. Pain severity was assessed with the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) and the Likert Pain Scale. The joint hypermobility was evaluated by using Beighton scores. Results: Benign joint hypermobility syndrome was found in 31.5% of the patients with ADHD and 13.9% of the individuals in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in FPS-R or Likert Pain Scale scores (p>0.05). A statistically significant increase was observed in the Beighton total score in ADHD patients compared with the control group (p=0.004). Conclusion: The results of this study support that joint hypermobility may be associated with ADHD, and this condition should be taken into consideration in assessing the complaints of patients with ADHD-related musculoskeletal symptoms.
On structural and electrical characterization of n-ZnO/p-Si single heterojunction solar cell

We report structural and electrical characterizations of zinc oxide films grown on sapphire and silicon substrates. The zinc oxide works as an active n-layer of a heterojunction solar cell as well as antireflection coating. The deposition parameters of zinc oxide have been optimized using RF sputtering. The x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy confirm that optimized deposition temperature and RF power are >300 °C and 180 W respectively. The films grown on textured silicon substrates have lower crystallinity as compared to those grown on sapphire. The pn junction formation between zinc oxide and silicon has been confirmed by current-voltage and suns-VOC measurements. The initial solar cell device has been fabricated using silver as front and aluminum as back contact.
Multiple Antenna Aided NOMA in UAV Networks: A Stochastic Geometry Approach

This paper investigates the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) assisted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) networks. By utilizing a stochastic geometry model, a new 3-D UAV framework for providing wireless service to randomly roaming NOMA users has been proposed. In an effort to evaluate the performance of the proposed framework, we derive analytical expressions for the outage probability and the ergodic rate of MIMO-NOMA enhanced UAV networks. We examine tractable upper bounds for the whole proposed framework, with deriving asymptotic results for scenarios that transmit power of interference sources being proportional or being fixed to the UAV. For obtaining more insights for the proposed framework, we investigate the diversity order and high signal-to-noise slope of MIMO-NOMA assisted UAV networks. Our results confirm that: 1) Outage probability of NOMA enhanced UAV networks is affected to a large extent by the targeted transmission rates and power allocation factors of NOMA users and 2) For the case that the interference power is proportional to the UAV power, there are error floors for the outage probabilities.
In Vivo Optical Imaging of Myelination Events in a Myelin Basic Protein Promoter-Driven Luciferase Transgenic Mouse Model

The compact myelin sheath is important for axonal function, and its loss can lead to neuronal cell death and irreversible functional deficits. Myelin is vulnerable to a variety of metabolic, toxic, and autoimmune insults. In diseases like multiple sclerosis, there is currently no therapy to stop myelin loss, underscoring the need for neuroprotective and remyelinating therapies. Noninvasive, robust techniques are also needed to confirm the effect of such therapies in animal models. This article describes the generation, characterization, and potential uses for a myelin basic protein-luciferase (MBP-luci) transgenic mouse model, in which the firefly luciferase reporter gene is selectively controlled by the MBP promoter. In vivo bioluminescence imaging can be used to visualize and quantify demyelination and remyelination at the transcriptional level, noninvasively, and in real time. Transgenic mice were assessed in the cuprizone-induced model of demyelination, and luciferase activity highly correlated with demyelination and remyelination events as confirmed by both magnetic resonance imaging and postmortem histological analysis. Furthermore, MBP-luci mice demonstrated enhanced luciferase signal and remyelination in the cuprizone model after treatment with a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-delta selective agonist and quetiapine. Imaging sensitivity was further enhanced by using CycLuc 1, a luciferase substrate, which has greater blood–brain barrier penetration. We demonstrated the utility of MBP-luci model in tracking myelin changes in real time and supporting target and therapeutic validation efforts.
Reduced Contrast Sensitivity is Associated With Elevated Equivalent Intrinsic Noise in Type 2 Diabetics Who Have Mild or No Retinopathy

Purpose To evaluate explanations for contrast sensitivity (CS) losses in subjects who have mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) or no diabetic retinopathy (NDR) by measuring and modeling CS in luminance noise. Methods Ten diabetic subjects with NDR, 10 with mild NPDR, and 10 age-equivalent nondiabetic controls participated. Contrast threshold energy (Et) was measured for letters presented in the absence of noise (Et0) and in four levels of luminance noise. Data were fit with the linear amplifier model to estimate inferred noise level within the visual pathway (Neq) and sampling efficiency (ability to use stimulus information optimally). Et0, Neq, and efficiency were compared to clinical characteristics. Results Neq was correlated with Et0 for the diabetic subjects (r = 0.93, P < 0.001) and ranged from normal to 12-times the upper limit of normal. ANOVA indicated significant differences among the subject groups for Et0 and Neq (both F > 11.92, P < 0.001). Et0 and Neq were elevated for the mild NPDR group compared to the control and NDR groups (all t > 3.89, P ≤ 0.001); the NDR and control groups did not differ significantly (all t < 0.61, P > 0.55). There were no significant efficiency differences among the groups (F = 1.29, P = 0.29). Neq was correlated significantly with disease duration, microperimetric sensitivity, and Pelli-Robson CS. Conclusions Elevated contrast threshold may be associated with increased intrinsic noise in early-stage diabetic subjects. Results suggest that noise-based CS measurements can provide important information about early neural dysfunction in these individuals.
Bioaccumulation and effects of dietary exposure to the alternative flame retardant, bis(2‐ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), in the Atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus

Bis(2‐ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), a high production volume flame retardant chemical used as a replacement for banned flame retardants, has been detected in media and human and wildlife tissues globally. We describe bioaccumulation and biological effects from dietary exposure of TBPH to an estuarine fish, Atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus. Briefly, adult fish were fed carrier control or chemically amended diets for 28 d, followed by 14 d of control diet feeding. Diets were amended with TBPH (TBPH_LO diet, 139 μg/g dry wt, or TBPH_HI diet, 4360 μg/g dry wt) or a polychlorinated biphenyl congener (PCB153 diet, 13 μg/g dry wt), which was included as a positive control for bioaccumulation. Although bioaccumulation of either chemical correlated with fish size, only a small proportion of the TBPH offered (<0.5% total TBPH) had bioaccumulated into TBPH‐treated fish by 28 d. In contrast, 24.5% of the PCB153 offered was accounted for in 28‐d PCB‐treated fish. Although 28‐d bioaccumulated concentrations of TBPH differed by sex and treatment, sexes did not differ in their rates of TBPH bioaccumulation, and the time to achieve 50% of 28 d concentration (T1/2) was estimated to be 13 d. Depuration rates of TBPH did not differ by sex or treatment, and the time after exposure to achieve T1/2 was estimated to be 22 d. Independent of treatment, male fish grew faster than female fish, but for both sexes reproductive condition (gonadal somatic index) declined unexpectedly over the experimental period. Across treatments, only the TBPH_LO treatment affected growth, reducing male but increasing female growth rates by small amounts relative to respective controls. In summary, our study used very high concentrations of dietary TBPH to contaminate fish tissues above the highest levels reported to date in wild biota, yet we observed few adverse biological effects. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2350–2360. © 2018 SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Trends in Deaths from Rheumatic Heart Disease in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Burden and Challenges

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a preventable disease that is prevalent in developing regions of the world. Its eradication from most of the developed world indicates that this disease can be controlled and eliminated. Aim: To conduct an in-depth analysis of the trends and challenges of controlling RHD in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR). Methodology: Global data from the World Health Organization (WHO) data banks were retrieved for total deaths and age standardized death rate per 100,000 (ASDR) by age group, sex, and year (from 2000 to 2015). The data was compared with the five other WHO regions of the world. We also performed in-depth analysis by socio-economic groups in relation to other attributes in the region related to population growth, illiteracy, and nutritional status. Indicators of service delivery were correlated with ASDR from RHD. Findings: Prevalence of RHD in 2015 in the EMR region was one-third of that of the total deaths reported in the Asian and West Pacific regions. The total deaths for the region peaked twice: in early adulthood and again later in old age, and was higher in females than in males. There was a rising trend in deaths from RHD from 2000 to 2015. The highest total deaths were reported from Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Yemen, representing 80% of the total death rates for the region (35,248). The highest ASDR was Afghanistan (27.5), followed by Yemen (18.78) and Egypt (15.59). The ASDR for RHD was highest in low income countries. It correlated highly, in all income groups, with anemia during pregnancy. Conclusions: Trends and patterns of deaths from RHD in the EMR have shifted to a later age group and are linked with poverty related to inequalities in development and service delivery for certain age groups and gender.
A two-component model for the high-energy variability of blazars. Application to PKS 2155-304

Aims. We study the production of very-high-energy emission in blazars as a superposition of a steady component from a baryonic jet and a time-dependent contribution from an inner e − e + beam launched by the black hole. Methods. Both primary relativistic electrons and protons are injected in the jet, and the particle distributions along it are found by solving a one-dimensional transport equation that accounts for convection and cooling. The short-timescale variability of the emission is explained by local pair injections in turbulent regions of the inner beam. Results. For illustration, we apply the model to the case of PKS 2155-304, reproducing a quiescent state of emission with inverse Compton and synchrotron radiation from primary electrons, as well as proton-proton interactions in the jet. The latter also yield an accompanying neutrino flux that could be observed with a new generation km-scale detector in the northern hemisphere such as KM3NeT.