Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association between Polymorphisms of Vitamin D Receptor and Lung Cancer Susceptibility: Evidence from an Updated Meta-analysis

Purpose: The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate polymorphism of Bsm1, Apal, Taq1 and Cdx-2 in vitamin D receptor (VDR) associations in relation to lung cancer (LC) susceptibility. Methods: 9 literatures were recruited into this meta-analysis from PubMed, PMC, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane library and CNKI. STATA version 15.1 was used for statistical tests. The heterogeneity was tested using I2 statistics. According to the value of I2, the random-effect model (REM) or fixed-effect model (FEM) was selected to combine data from studies, respectively. Potential publication bias was evaluated by Egger's test. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to evaluate the stability and reliability in results. Results: Decreased susceptibility of LC was found in all genetic models contrast in Bsm1 gene of VDR (a vs. A: OR = 0.62, 95 % CI = 0.44-0.87; aa vs. AA: OR = 0.76, 95 % CI = 0.60-0.96; Aa vs. AA: OR = 0.59, 95 % CI = 0.39-0.88; aa vs. AA+Aa: OR = 0.80, 95 % CI = 0.64-0.99; Aa+aa vs. AA: OR = 0.57, 95 % CI = 0.37-0.86). The similar results were also found in partial genetic models of Taq1 (a vs. A: OR = 0.88, 95 % CI = 0.79-0.98; aa vs. AA+Aa: OR = 0.84, 95 % CI = 0.73-0.98) and Cdx-2 (Aa vs. AA: OR = 0.80, 95 % CI = 0.66-0.98; Aa+aa vs. AA: OR = 0.79, 95 % CI = 0.65-0.96). Likewise, significant correlation between Bsm1, Taq1 polymorphism and LC risk was detected among Asians. Cdx-2 polymorphism was considered as a protective factor in Caucasians, whereas no association of Apal polymorphism with LC risk was observed in Asians and Caucasians for all genetic models. Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis suggested that Bsm1, Taq1 and Cdx-2 polymorphism may contribute to lung cancer susceptibility, more studies need be conducted to confirm in the future.
Evaluation and comparison of the sensory processing in infants born by natural delivery and caesarean section

Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to determine whether the examined children have deficits in sensory processing and to assess the occurrence of these disorders, as well as to compare the sensory processes of infants born by natural delivery (ND) and caesarean section (CS). Material and methods: The research was conducted in May–June 2018 at the Department of Rehabilitation of the Children’s Hospital of prof. dr med. Jan Bogdanowicz in Warsaw. Thirty infants born in ND and 30 infants born by CS aged 4–6 months were involved. The inclusion criteria were: term birth (38–42 Hbd), birth weight above 2500 g, ND or CS, and age 4–6 months. Exclusion criteria were: serious psychomotor dysfunctions, e.g. genetic defects, neurological and orthopaedic diseases, sight and hearing defects, infants from complicated and endangered pregnancies, perinatal medical history, hungry and/or tired child during examination, and withdrawal of consent of a parent or legal guardian for their child to participate in the study. Test of Sensory Function in Infants (TSFI) and the Sensomotor Questionnaire – our own study was used to evaluate sensory processing. Results: The analysis of TSFI and the Sensomotor Questionnaire showed statistically significant differences between the groups. The largest differences were recorded in the reactivity to tactile deep pressure (RTD) subtest. More than half of the infants delivered by CS and only two children born by ND were in the deficit group in the RTD subtest. Conclusions: Sensory processing disorders are more common in infants delivered by CS than in infants born by ND. Early diagnosis and possible therapy for improvement, especially in children born by CS, is recommended.
Comparative study of modulation techniques for microwave digital radios

A comparative study is presented showing the relative merits of four modulation techniques for use in line-of-sight digital radio systems operating at 45 Mb/s in a bandwidth of 10 MHz. The candidate modulations are conventional 64-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation), reduced-bandwidth 16-QAM, reduced-bandwidth 49-QPRS (quadrature partial-response signaling), and conventional 81-QPRS. Comparisons are made from three points of view: bit-error-rate performance with unfaded channels, robustness to multipath fading, and sensitivity to timing and phase errors. Extensive numerical calculations show that none of the above signaling techniques is uniformly better than the others. Conventional 64-QAM seems to be the best solution to combat selective fading. On the other hand, reduced bandwidth 16-QAM and 49-QPRS as well as conventional 81-QPRS all have the advantage of lower bit error rates and less sensitivity to synchronization errors. <<ETX>>
Gemella endocarditis: A case report and a review of the literature

Abstract Infective endocarditis (IE) remains a prevalent disease with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Recent changes have been noted in the profile of causative microorganisms. In this report, we describe a case of Gemella-related endocarditis and review the related literature. Our patient was an 81-year-old man who presented with dyspnea and fatigue. His initial examination revealed a new systolic murmur. Echocardiogram revealed moderate mitral regurgitation with 1-cm mass on the anterior mitral leaflet, and blood cultures grew Gemella haemolysans. Penicillin and gentamicin were initiated, and workup for possible source was positive for a colonic polyp with high-grade dysplasia. The patient subsequently developed cardiogenic shock and severe pulmonary edema. Comfort care measures were initiated, and he passed away thereafter. We reviewed PubMed for cases of Gemella-related endocarditis. We found 65 documented cases and added our patient’s case to the analysis. Seventy-two percent of the cases occurred in men. The mean age was 51 years and 42% of the patients were older than 60 years. Fever was the most common presenting symptom and most of the cases presented subacutely. The mitral valve was the most affected site and 50% of the patients required surgical intervention. G. morbillorum was the most common subtype and a total of four cases were found to be associated with colorectal neoplasm. As a conclusion, Gemella species rarely cause IE. The absence of a clear source of bacteremia warrants further evaluation for a gastrointestinal source. The infection can be destructive and must be promptly treated to avoid complications. morbillorum Key messages: Gemella endocarditis is a serious infection with significant morbidity and mortality. It must be promptly treated to avoid further complications.
The Effect of Workers’ Compensation Status on the Patient Experience

Background: Rating the patient experience is an increasingly important component of value-based health care. Generation of lower ratings on validated functional assessments by patients with Workers’ Compensation is well known; however, the relationship between Workers’ Compensation status and patient satisfaction is poorly described in orthopaedic patient populations. Methods: All orthopaedic outpatient patient satisfaction surveys (Press Ganey) generated over an 18-month period at a U.S. academic tertiary care center were included in this study. Data with regard to the primary payer, demographic characteristics, orthopaedic subspecialty, and planned surgical interventions with the provider for whom the survey was completed were analyzed in conjunction with patient satisfaction data. Results: During the study period, 3,720 consecutive patient satisfaction surveys were generated, and 244 surveys were generated by 215 patients with Workers’ Compensation. Satisfied patients with Workers’ Compensation were more likely to be male (p = 0.0007), to have higher mental health self-assessments (p = 0.004), and to be scheduled for surgical intervention (p = 0.03). Scheduling a surgical procedure was independently associated with improved patient satisfaction, whereas Workers’ Compensation status was independently associated with dissatisfaction when adjusting for sex, language, race, and marital status. Across all patient satisfaction domains, patients with Workers’ Compensation gave significantly lower scores (p < 0.05) compared with all other patients. Patients with Workers’ Compensation were more likely to rate their overall health as lower compared with other patients (p < 0.0001). Patients with Workers’ Compensation were more likely to give lower ratings to providers on a 1-to-10 scale (p < 0.0001) and were less likely to recommend the practice to others (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Workers’ Compensation status is a non-modifiable independent predictor of dissatisfaction with health care compared with other primary payer groups. Further research is warranted to understand the factors influencing patient satisfaction ratings.
Serum Aldosterone Levels in Patients With Diabetic Nephropathy in Relation to Vascular Calcification

Diabetic Nephropathy(DN) is a complex disease manifested by persistence microalbuminuria occurring due to the interaction between hemodynamic and metabolic pathway that activates the local renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system resulting in a decline in renal functions. This study aimed to quantify the associations between serum aldosterone concentration and fetuin- A as a marker of calcification in type 2 diabetic patients with and without microalbuminuria from one side, and study the possible relationship between aldosterone and fetuin-A with glycemic indices, serum electrolyte, renal function and microalbuminuria and body mass index from the other side. A case-control study involved eighty-six adult subjects classified into three groups after testing urine microalbumin including thirty-two diabetics type 2 patients with positive microalbuminuria and twenty-eight diabetics type 2 patients with negative microalbuminuria and 26 healthy subjects during their visit to AL kindy specialized Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes / Baghdad. Those patients were compared to control group of 26 apparently healthy subjects, fasting blood samples was obtained from each of them in one occasion only to measure: fasting serum glucose, electrolyte, aldosterone, fetuin-A, urea, and creatinine. In addition to glycoheamoglobin, glomerular filtration rate and body mass index. Despite the presence of microalbuminuria in thirty-two of the studied diabetics, there was no positive correlation between aldosterone and fetuin- A, besides that no significant variations in serum aldosterone ,glomerular filtration rate(GFR) values, while both groups showed a significant increase in fasting serum glucose and glycaoheamoglobin ,significant decrease in serum sodium and chloride in comparison with the control group , significant increase was detected in serum fetuin-A mean values in microalbuminuric diabetics. Whereas, negative microalbuminuric diabetics measures expressed a positive correlation between both serum sodium and chloride levels and fetuin -A. The conclusion of this study diabetic patient are prone to vascular calcification (VC) might be due to increase in aldosterone level or due to diabetic itself from this study we can conclude microalbuminuria can occur without a decline in renal function or a change in estimated GFR ,no definite correlation occur between aldosterone and fetuin- A, fetuin- A mean values are higher in diabetic patient with microalbuminuria compared to diabetic patients without microalbuminuria and control group and this referred to uncontrolled diabetes ,aldosterone show a correlation with weight and body mass index while fetuin- A does not show such correlation. In general, electrolyte disturbances (hypernatremia) is more obvious in this study , and its occurrence is due to diabetic (osmotic diuresis) or drugs, while sodium retention which is a sign of aldosterone increment does not occur. Hypochloremia that occur in this study is due to chloride and it is in parallel with sodium level.
Objective and subjective evaluation of dysphotopsia in normal and post-operative eyes

The principle theme of this thesis is the measurement of dysphotopsia, a common complaint in both the ageing population and after cataract or refractive surgery. Despite the availability of multiple objective and subjective methods to measure dysphotopsia, no single method is in common use, nor are photic effects commonly measured prior to cataract or refractives urgery. In this thesis, objective measures are taken using the Aston halometer and C-Quant, whilst subjective complaints are graded using simulated images. Whilst many previously published studies have reported monocular halometry results, an early study in the thesis found monocular halo areas to be approximately 30 % larger (P Binocular and monocular halo areas both increased with age (rs = 0.449, rs2 = 0.202, P Due to the effects of a bright light source on the pupil size, and the issue of senile miosis, this programme of research considered, for the first time, whether pupil size had an effect on the size of the halo area measured with halometry. No significant difference in halo area with various simulated pupil sizes (4.5, 6.0 and 7.5 mm) was detected (χ2(3) = 7.56, P = 0.056). The Aston halometer is therefore a robust way to evaluate dysphotopsia without measuring or controlling pupil size. A longitudinal study tracked photic effects in individuals for a year after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, and another measured dysphotopsia pre- and up to a year post-cataract surgery. Subjective complaints resolved by 3 months post-refractive surgery, objective halo area took 6 months to resolve post cataract surgery and up to 12 months post-corneal refractive surgery. A glare effect ratio was calculated for binocular halometry (median = 1.28; IQR 0.75 – 2.15) and retinal straylight (median = 5.63; IQR 2.72 – 7.97). The glare effect ratio is independent of age, and it is suggested that the glare effect ratio could be used to identify individuals most at risk of significant subjective complaints of dysphotopsia following procedures such as corneal refractive surgery.
Prevalence, risk factors and molecular investigation of Giardiasis amonginfants in Al-Shamia City, Al-Qadisiya Governorate, Iraq.

The present study aimed at examining the Giardia dudenale infection in diarrheal infants who visited the Al-Shamia General Hospital from January 2017 until the end of June 2018. (200) samples of feces were examined for infants aged (1 month-2 years), the samples at the beginning examine by the direct moist smear method and the results showed that 45 samples were positive for infection (22.5%). The study also focused on the impact of some important factors related to children which represent the specific risk factors for the disease, such as age, gender, and nutrition type, the results showed that the lowest percentage was (20.22%) in the age group (1-6 months), while the highest rate of infection was (38.07%) in the age group (1-2 years), and the rate of parasite infection in males and females is somewhat similar, where was (31.69%) and (29.93%), respectively, with the highest rate of infection (39.21%) for infants who rely on artificial feeding and the lowest rate of breastfeeding infants (19.99%). Positive samples were subjected to molecular diagnosis using the most accurate Real-Time PCR technique, the results showed that the parasitic infection rate was (89.42%) positive for microscopic examination. The current study focused exclusively on infants under two years of age in terms of the spread of parasites between this age group using traditional methods and molecular methods together to give an accurate idea of parasite prevalence among the age group under study, It also addressed the risk factors that affect the spread of the parasite G. dudenale, because taking precautions to reduce the impact of a particular factor will be reflected positively to reduce the prevalence of the disease because of this parasite of a significant impact on the deterioration of the health and development of children.
Changes in behavioral effects of delta opioid receptor agonists with ethanol consumption

Author(s): Coker, Allison | Advisor(s): Whistler, Jennifer | Abstract: Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a common problem with few effective treatment options. There are only three FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of AUDs, all of which show limited treatment efficacy and none alleviate comorbid anxiety and/or depression. Thus, there is a significant need to identify novel targets for the treatment of AUDs, and the delta opioid receptor (DOR) could represent such a target. DOR agonists have been demonstrated to reduce EtOH consumption in rodent models and have well-established roles in motivation and anxiety. Importantly, the expression and function of DORs are known to change dynamically with a variety of perturbations including EtOH exposure, stress, and pain. This manuscript examines some ways in which the DOR regulation of reward and anxiety behaviors changes with behavioral state. We examined the preference to the DOR-1 agonist DPDPE and the DOR-2 agonist deltorphin in the conditioned place preference paradigm in animals that were either naive or ethanol consuming, as well as either stressed or un-stressed. While neither DPDPE nor deltorphin induced a place preference in naive unstressed animals, deltorphin induced a significant place preference in unstressed ethanol consuming animals. In stressed animals, DPDPE does not induce a place preference whether or not the animals were consuming ethanol. In contrast, deltorphin induces a place preference in ethanol naive stressed animals, however not in animals that were both stressed and ethanol consuming. We also examined the effects of the DOR-1 agonist TAN 67 and the DOR-2 agonist SNC 80 on anxiety-like behavior measured by the marble burying task in both naive and ethanol consuming animals. We found that while SNC 80 showed anxiolytic-like effects in naive animals, TAN 67 did not. However, neither DOR agonist showed an anxiolytic-like effect in ethanol consuming animals. This is in contrast to previous findings with the light/dark transition test in which DOR agonists increased anxiolytic efficacy with ethanol consumption. Together these studies examine DOR effects on reward and anxiety behaviors and further our understanding of how the effects of DOR agonists are dynamically changed by physiological state to help to refine targets for therapeutic development.
miRNA-125a-5p inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and induces apoptosis by targeting TP53 regulated inhibitor of apoptosis 1 and Bcl-2-like-2 protein

The present study aimed to investigate the role and underlying molecular mechanism of microRNA (miR)-125a-5p in hepatocellular carcinoma. The level of miR-125a-5p was detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. TargetScan was used to investigate the association between miR-125a-5p and TP53-regulated inhibitor of apoptosis 1 (TRIAP1)/B cell lymphoma-2-like 2 protein (BCL2L2). Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm this prediction. To investigate the role of miR-125a-5p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, miR-125a-5p was overexpressed in the human HCC cell line PLC/PRF/5 using miR-125a-5p mimics. Subsequently, cell proliferation, cell apoptosis and cell migration were studied using MTT assay, flow cytometry analysis and Transwell assay, respectively. Protein expression levels in the present study were measured by western blot analysis. Taken together, the present results suggested that miR-125a-5p was markedly downregulated in HCC cells. TRIAP1 and BCL2L2 were direct targets of miR-125a-5p and were upregulated in PLC/PRF/5 cells. miR-125a-5p upregulation inhibited PLC/PRF/5 cell viability and migration and induced cell apoptosis. In addition, miR-125a-5p overexpression increased the expression of caspase9 and apoptotic protease-activating factor 1. Notably, the present study revealed that all the effects on PLC/PRF/5 cells elicited by miR-125a-5p overexpression were eliminated by TRIAP1/BCL2L2 upregulation. In conclusion, miR-125a-5p was shown to be downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and its upregulation inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth and metastasis by targeting TRIAP1 and BCL2L2.
SAT0007 THE SUPPRESSIVE ACTIVITY OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD TREG REPRESENTS IMMUNOLOGICAL REMISSION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS

Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with sustained remission may have relapsed disease after DMARDs tapering. Many predictors such as multibiomarker disease activity, ultrasound and MRI for detecting subclinical synovitis have some role to be prognostic tools. However, their values are limit. 1, 2 The number of Foxp3+ Treg may indicate immunological status in some situation, but is controversial. 3 The Treg function may represent the different stages of RA Objectives This study aimed to determine the suppressive activity of Foxp3+ Treg from peripheral blood (PB) of RA patients with clinical remission compare with active RA. Methods In this cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected from RA patients with sustained clinical remission for at least 6 months and from active RA patients. The Treg and autologous conventional T cell were isolated from PB of the patients by using FACS sorting. Then the isolated cells were evaluated suppressive activity by co-culture suppression assay. Results The Treg of patients with sustained clinical remission (for more than six months) showed higher suppressive activity compared to Treg from active RA patients [57.24% versus 23.67%, p < 0.0001, 95% CI; 20.88-44.01(showed in figure 1A)]. Moreover, the suppressive activity correlated with the degree of disease activity. When we analyzed in patients with DAS28 score < 2.6 (remission), >2.6-3.2 (low DAS), >3.2-5.1 (moderate DAS) and >5.1 (high DAS), the suppressive activity of Treg dependently decreased to the degree of disease activity [57.97%, 39.15%, 23.01%, and 17.07%, respectively (showed in figure 1B)]. Conclusion This suppressive activity of Treg may indicate immunological remission in RA patients with clinical remission, especially in patients who candidate for DMARDs reduction. References [1] Schett G, Emery P, Tanaka Y, et al. Tapering biologic and conventional DMARD therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: current evidence and future directions. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2016;75(8):1428 [2] Hirata S, Dirven L, Shen Y, et al. A multi-biomarker score measures rheumatoid arthritis disease activity in the BeSt study. Rheumatology. 2013;52(7):1202-1207. [3] Kleinewietfeld M, Hafler DA. The plasticity of human Treg and Th17 cells and its role in autoimmunity. Seminars in Immunology. 2013;25(4):305-12.Figure 1 Suppressive activity of Treg in different stages of RA patients. The suppressive activity of Treg was measured by 3 days co-culture suppression assay. (A) Suppressive activity of Treg in healthy control (n=7), clinical remission (n=14) and active RA (n=13). (B) Suppressive activity of Treg in patients with various DAS28 score: DAS28 <2.6 (remission), >2.6-3.2 (low DAS), >3.2-5.0 (moderate DAS), and >5.1 (high DAS), respectively. **p<0.01, ***p<0.0001 (Independent t-test and Kruskal Wallis test) Acknowledgement This study was supported by a research scholarship from the National Research Council of Thailand and by Mahidol University. Disclosure of Interests None declared