Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does arterial hypertension influence the onset of Huntington's disease?

Huntington’s disease (HD) age of onset (AO) is mainly determined by the length of the CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. The remaining AO variability has been attributed to other little-known factors. A factor that has been associated with other neurodegenerative diseases is arterial hypertension (AHT). The aim of this study is to evaluate the contribution of AHT to the AO of HD. We used data from a cohort of 630 European HD patients with adult onset collected by the REGISTRY project of the European Huntington’s Disease Network. Multiple linear regression and ANOVA, controlling for the CAG repeat number of the expanded allele (CAGexp) of each patient, were performed to assess the association between the AHT condition and the AO of the motor symptoms (mAO). The results showed a significant association between AHT and mAO, especially when we only considered the patients diagnosed with AHT prior to manifesting any HD signs (pre-HD AHT). Remarkably, despite the low number of cases, those patients developed motor symptoms 5–8 years later than normotensive patients in the most frequent CAGexp range (40–44). AHT is an age-related condition and consequently, the age of the patient at the time of data collection could be a confounder variable. However, given that most pre-HD AHT patients included in our study had started treatment with antihypertensive drugs prior to the onset of HD, and that antihypertensive drugs have been suggested to confer a neuroprotective effect in other neurodegenerative diseases, raises the interest in elucidating the impact of AHT and/or AHT treatment in HD age of onset in further studies. A confirmation of our results in a larger sample set would open the possibility to significantly improve HD management.
Cross talk between serum Kisspeptin-Leptin during assisted reproduction techniques

Background & objective: Leptin facilitates onset of puberty by impact on hypothalamic Kisspeptin, gonadotropin releasing hormone, follicle stimulating and luteinizing hormone. The link of peripheral Leptin-Kisspeptin in regulating the ovarian and endometrial tissue in relation to adiposity is unknown. Therefore, we wanted to identify Kisspeptin-Leptin association with body mass index (BMI) and success of assisted reproductive treatments (ART) in infertile females. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried from August 2014 till May 2016 after receiving ethical approval at Australian Concept Infertility Medical Centre, and Aga Khan University. The study group comprised of females with an age range of 25-37 year who had duration of unexplained infertility for more than two years. They were grouped as; underweight (<18 kg/m2), normal weight (18-22.9 kg/m2), overweight 23-24.99 kg/m2 and obese (>25 kg/m2). Kisspeptin and Leptin levels were measured by enzyme linked immune sorbent assay before down regulation of ovaries and initiation of treatment protocol of ART. Failure of procedure was detected by beta human chorionic gonadotropin <25mIU/ml (non-pregnant) whereas females with levels >25mIU/ml and cardiac activity on trans-vaginal scan were declared pregnant. Results: Highest Kisspeptin and Leptin levels were seen in normal weight group (374.80 ± 185.08ng/L; 12.78 ± 6.8 pg/ml) respectively, yet the highest number of clinical pregnancy was observed in overweight group (42%). A strong correlation of Kisspeptin with Leptin (r=0.794, p=0.001) was observed in the overweight females. Conclusion: Leptin-Kisspeptin-fertility link is expressed by maximum number of clinical pregnancies in the female group that showed strongest relationship between serum Leptin and Kisspeptin levels, irrespective of their BMI.
Benjamini-Schramm convergence and pointwise convergence of the spectral measure

In this note we discuss Benjamini-Schramm (or local) convergence for sequences of finite graphs of bounded degree. We prove a continuity result on the expected spectral measure on sofic random rooted graphs. In particular, we prove that the spectral measure converges for every interval of the real line, i.e., the integrated density of states converges pointwise. As an application we show how this implies the original Lück Approximation theorem for the growth of Betti numbers on covering towers of complexes.
Knowledge and Attitude of Exclusive Breast-Feeding Among Saudi Women in Primary Health Care Centers in Jeddah City , Saudi Arabia

Breast-feeding has several health benefits for the infant and the mother as well. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) indicates that feeding a child only breast milk without any supplementation. However, medication or supplements are acceptable. Practicing EBF is based on women's knowledge as well as their attitude toward it. Low EBF rate among Saudi women is an alarming issue that needs an action by the health care providers. Study aim: To assess knowledge levels and attitudes toward EBF among Saudi women in primary health care centers in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. Research question: What are the knowledge and attitudes of exclusive breast-feeding among Saudi women in the primary health care centers in Jeddah. Design: descriptive cross-sectional design Setting: Well-baby clinics of the primary health care centers, Jeddah city. Sampling: Convenience sample including 315 Saudi women who had given birth to a live full-term healthy newborn during the last 12 months as infant age between 6 to 12 months. Data was collected over three months from May until July 2016. Tool: A structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire consisted of seven parts was used to collect data. Part I: Woman's demographic and obstetrical data. Part II: Pattern of breast-feeding. Part III: Woman's knowledge regarding EBF. Part IV: Woman's attitude toward EBF. Results: More than eighty percent of the infants received formula feeding. Not enough milk and back to school/work were the main reasons given by the women for stooping breast-feeding. More than half of the women were having moderate knowledge about EBF while the majority had neutral attitude towards EBF. Families and friends considered as the most EBF knowledge sources for the women. Conclusion and Recommendations: The percentage of EBF was low despite high level of women education, while formula feeding was the predominant mode of feeding. Assessing women knowledge and attitude toward EBF helps healthcare professional to create educational programs that promote EBF practices among the childbearing women.
Subcuticular interrupted versus continuous skin suturing in elective cesarean section in obese women: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Objective: To compare the interrupted subcuticular skin closure with continuous one in obese women undergoing cesarean delivery. Materials and methods: A randomized controlled study conducted on 169 obese women with term uncomplicated singleton pregnancy who underwent elective cesarean delivery. They were randomized to either skin closure through continuous subcuticular sutures using vicryl 3/0 or interrupted subcuticular suturing using vicryl 3/0. The primary outcome parameter was occurrence of wound infection. Secondary outcomes included other skin complications, postoperative pain, operative duration and hospital stay Results: There was a statistically higher number of cases with wound hematoma (20 vs. 10, p = .04), infection (30 vs. 15, p = .008) and those who needed reclosure of wound (8 vs. 0, p = .004) in the continuous when compared to women in the interrupted subcuticular group, respectively. Healing with secondary intension was significantly higher in women in the continuous subcuticular group (52 vs. 26, respectively, p < .001). The number of cases with wound seroma and keloid formation was not statistically different between the two groups (25 vs. 19, p = .272 and 12 vs. 5, p = .069 in the continuous vs. interrupted groups, respectively). The duration of CS was longer in those who underwent interrupted closure when compared to continuous ones. However, that was statistically insignificant (40.95 + 6.376 vs. 37.05 + 6.455, p = 0.14). Conclusions: Most surgical wound complications were reduced if skin closure with continuous subcuticular sutures is replaced with interrupted one.
Positivity resonance as a fresh , evidence-based perspective on an age-old topic

What is love? Humans have pondered the meaning of this splendored phenomenon for millennia. Anything that so reliably stirs the human heart, preoccupies the mind, and ignites passionate action certainly merits this long-standing and continued inquiry. Artistic expressions of what love is and how it works abound—in poetry, books, songs, and movies. Scientific perspectives are less prevalent. Although scientific psychology began in the late 1800s, more than six decades into this collective endeavor, Harry Harlow (1958), then president of the American Psychological Association, decried that psychologists had “failed” to advance beyond poets and novelists in understanding the “wondrous state” of love, “deep, tender, and rewarding” (p. 673). In the nearly six decades since receiving this failing grade, two strands of psychological science have taken the love question seriously: Developmental science has investigated how love emerges between infants and their caregivers (e.g., Ainsworth, 1985; Stern, 2008), and relationship science has explored romantic love, including how early childhood attachment shapes adulthood love relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Mikulincer, Shaver, Sapir-Lavid, & Avihou-Kanza, 2009). 1 Neighboring emotion science lags behind. Although a few emotion scientists have devoted attention to the love question over the years (e.g., Fehr & Russell, 1991; Gonzaga, Keltner, Londahl, & Smith, 2001; Shaver, Morgan, & Wu, 1996), these efforts have not germinated a thriving study of love within affective science. As long-time love scholar, Elaine Berscheid (2010) recently noted, “emotion theorists have their own problems [in defining emotions] and are not yet in a position to help love scholars” (p. 8). For emotion scientists, who by definition favor the study of momentary phenomena, love may well seem too large, too allencompassing, if not too pop culture. The largeness of love is evident by the diverse set of psychological phenomena that fit under the umbrella term “love”: the preoccupying and strong desire for further connection, the powerful bonds people hold with a select few and the intimacy that grows between them, the commitments to loyalty and faithfulness. Indeed, when one person says, “I love you” to another, it can point to any or all of the above—that is, this ubiquitous utterance may reflect a strong craving for physical contact or proximity, or serve as a means to invite or secure the other person into one’s innermost circle of social ties, or it may signal a deep and abiding trust, or a commitment to be loyal. Yet, in addition to desire, bonds, intimacy, and commitment, love is an emotion—a phenomenon that arises to infuse both mind and body for a moment, and then dissipates. This chapter puts forth a new perspective on love, one that emanates from emotion science. The goal is to provide a conceptual framework to support a fresh wave of empirical research on C H A P T E R 4 8
Collagen-enriched serpiginous skin lesion in a cat resembling the linear form of localized scleroderma in humans

Localized scleroderma (LS) is a sclerotic skin disorder rarely reported in the veterinary literature. We herein report the first case of a linear LS-like skin lesion in a cat. A 1-year-old castrated male Himalayan cat was presented with a 1-month history of an alopecic, indurated, serpiginous, branched skin lesion on the dorsal cervical to scapular area. The cat had no history of trauma, although a topical spot-on endectocide had been applied near the lesion. Histopathological examination revealed a focal area of hyperplastic dermal collagen with the absence of pilosebaceous units. The cutaneous lesion remained unchanged during a 2-year follow-up period. Clinical and histopathological similarities of this skin lesion with those of the linear form of LS in humans were considered.
When can ocean acidification impacts be detected from decadal alkalinity measurements?

We use a large initial condition suite of simulations (30 runs) with an Earth system model to assess the detectability of biogeochemical impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on the marine alkalinity distribution from decadally repeated hydrographic measurements such as those produced by the Global Ship‐Based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO‐SHIP). Detection of these impacts is complicated by alkalinity changes from variability and long‐term trends in freshwater and organic matter cycling and ocean circulation. In our ensemble simulation, variability in freshwater cycling generates large changes in alkalinity that obscure the changes of interest and prevent the attribution of observed alkalinity redistribution to OA. These complications from freshwater cycling can be mostly avoided through salinity normalization of alkalinity. With the salinity‐normalized alkalinity, modeled OA impacts are broadly detectable in the surface of the subtropical gyres by 2030. Discrepancies between this finding and the finding of an earlier analysis suggest that these estimates are strongly sensitive to the patterns of calcium carbonate export simulated by the model. OA impacts are detectable later in the subpolar and equatorial regions due to slower responses of alkalinity to OA in these regions and greater seasonal equatorial alkalinity variability. OA impacts are detectable later at depth despite lower variability due to smaller rates of change and consistent measurement uncertainty.
Effective prevention of adhesions with hyaluronate.

HYPOTHESIS Hyaluronate sodium in the form of a bioresorbant membrane reduces the development of intra-abdominal adhesions frequently found after implantation of synthetic mesh in the context of surgical hernia repair. DESIGN The effect of hyaluronate on the formation of adhesions was evaluated when applied laparoscopically as a bioresorbant membrane to protect the peritoneal surface of a synthetic mesh. SETTING Experimental animal model. INTERVENTIONS A peritoneal defect 5 cm in diameter was bilaterally created in the abdominal wall of each of 9 pigs by laparoscopy. A polypropylene mesh was fixed with clips onto these defects on both sides. In each of the animals, only on one side, the synthetic mesh was also covered by a hyaluronate membrane. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The incidence and severity of adhesions (grade 0-4, where 0 indicates no adhesion; 1, filmy avascular adhesions; 2, vascular adhesions; 3, cordlike fibrous adhesions; and 4, plain fibrous adhesions) were determined after 45 days, comparing treated and untreated sides by autopsy results and histological features. RESULTS Adhesions, mainly grades 3 and 4, occurred in 7 of the 9 animals in those meshes not covered by hyaluronate; 2 untreated animals did not develop adhesions. On the other hand, only 1 of the 9 animals developed adhesions (grade 2) at the mesh concealed by the hyaluronate membrane. CONCLUSIONS The bioresorbant hyaluronate membrane significantly reduced the formation of peritoneal adhesions (1-sided sign test, P<.05) induced by the insertion of a polypropylene mesh, when compared with the contralateral implants not protected by hyaluronate. Thus, hyaluronate membranes are efficient for reducing the incidence of peritoneal adhesions.
Statistical properties of the surface velocity field in the northern Gulf of Mexico sampled by GLAD drifters

The Grand LAgrangian Deployment (GLAD) used multiscale sampling and GPS technology to observe time series of drifter positions with initial drifter separation of O(100 m) to O(10 km), and nominal 5 min sampling, during the summer and fall of 2012 in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Histograms of the velocity field and its statistical parameters are non-Gaussian; most are multimodal. The dominant periods for the surface velocity field are 1–2 days due to inertial oscillations, tides, and the sea breeze; 5–6 days due to wind forcing and submesoscale eddies; 9–10 days and two weeks or longer periods due to wind forcing and mesoscale variability, including the period of eddy rotation. The temporal e-folding scales of a fitted drifter velocity autocorrelation function are bimodal with time scales, 0.25–0.50 days and 0.9–1.4 days, and are the same order as the temporal e-folding scales of observed winds from nearby moored National Data Buoy Center stations. The Lagrangian integral time scales increase from coastal values of 8 h to offshore values of approximately 2 days with peak values of 3–4 days. The velocity variance is large, O(1)m2/s2, the surface velocity statistics are more anisotropic, and increased dispersion is observed at flow bifurcations. Horizontal diffusivity estimates are O(103)m2/s in coastal regions with weaker flow to O(105)m2/s in flow bifurcations, a strong jet, and during the passage of Hurricane Isaac. The Gulf of Mexico surface velocity statistics sampled by the GLAD drifters are a strong function of the feature sampled, topography, and wind forcing
Microbiological Characterization of Pure Geraniol and Comparison with Bactericidal Activity of the Cinnamic Acid in Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria

Geraniol is a terpene alcohol and the principal constituent compound of many essential oils of the aromatic plants. This molecule is very important for the flavors and fragrance industries due to its pleasant odor. The geraniol has the insecticidal properties and is an efficiently repellent agent and its toxicity is low. So, its antimicrobial ability can be explored to obtaining important additives for especial products applied in the food industry. The cinnamic acid is a molecule present in cinnamon oils and in coca leaves. This molecule also exhibits low toxicity and has a broad biological application spectrum for many microorganisms. This work evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of geraniol and of the cinnamic acid against different microorganisms and compared their bactericidal activity for future applications as an additive for food packages. The bacteria studied were: Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration test (MIC) and the Agar Diffusion Method were applied to available the antimicrobial susceptibility. The geraniol showed a large bactericidal activity and greater than the cinnamic acid for the bacteria studied. The geraniol showed the better bactericidal action and high application potential for use as an additive for treatment of the food or to produce active food packaging.
Regulatory T cells induce activation rather than suppression of human basophils

Human basophils are refractory to suppression by Tregs and undergo activation by an IL-3– and STAT5-dependent mechanism. Unexpected basophil activation Basophils are granulocytes that exist at a relatively rare frequency in the blood but are critical mediators of allergic and inflammatory responses. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are known to suppress the functions of different immune cells, and Sharma et al. now examine how Tregs regulate basophil functions. Unexpectedly, they observed that resting human basophils are activated and not suppressed in the presence of Tregs. These activated basophils express activation markers (CD69, CD203c, and CD13) and release IL-4, IL-8, and IL-13. Treg-induced activation of basophils involves IL-3 and STAT5 but was not contact-dependent. These results now describe an activating effect mediated by Tregs and provide insight into how basophils are regulated. Basophils are a rare granulocyte population that has been associated with allergic and inflammatory responses. It is essential to understand the regulatory mechanisms by which basophils are kept in check, considering the impact of dysregulated basophil function on immune responses under different pathological conditions. Among immunoregulatory cells, CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the key players that maintain immune tolerance. The mechanisms by which Tregs regulate and suppress diverse immune cell subsets have been studied extensively, but the impact of Tregs on basophil functions is not well understood. We report that human basophils are refractory to Treg-mediated suppression and found that Tregs stimulate resting basophils to induce the expression of activation markers including CD69, CD203c, and CD13 and the release of basophil cytokines including IL-13, IL-8, and IL-4. Mechanistically, Tregs could induce human basophil activation via IL-3 and STAT5 activation, whereas cellular contact was dispensable. Inhibition of either IL-3–IL-3 receptor interactions or STAT5 phosphorylation abrogated Treg-mediated activation of basophils. These results provide evidence of direct positive effects that human Tregs have on basophil activation and reveal a previously unrecognized feature of this cell subset well known for immunosuppressive functions.
Retinoid receptor-related orphan receptor alpha: a key gene setting brain circuits

The retinoid receptor-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα) is thought to act as a constitutive activator of transcription by binding to the ROR response element (RORE) of target genes. Several mouse models in which RORα is defective have revealed the decisive roles of RORα on the development, maturation and neuroprotection of various cerebral regions including the cerebellar and somatosensory systems. We have recently shown that RORα is needed for accurate thalamic sensory system organization and somatosensory cortex development. The phenotype of various RORα deficient mice models (staggerer mutant or mouse lacking RORα in specific somatosensory regions) is, in part, reminiscent of what has been described in mice lacking thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3). As in in vitro studies or in other models, our studies strongly suggest that the T3/RORα-pathway, among others, is in part responsible for the staggerer phenotype. We have indeed identified some genes that were both regulated by T3 and RORα and that are known to be implicated in the cerebellar or somatosensory system development. Moreover, several groups have shown that RORα is at the crossroad of many biological processes and pathologies, including psychiatric and degenerative disorders. In particular, defective RORα-signalling has been demonstrated in humans to be associated with the emergence of autistic-like disorders. We believe that determining the appropriate amount of RORα activity could be crucial in detecting and preventing the emergence of specific brain diseases.
Sequential Recognition of Pollen Grain Z-Stacks by Combining CNN and RNN

Pollen recognition has a wide range of industrial and scientific applications. It guides the energy industry to potential oil and gas deposits, it is proxy data for climate-change scientists, and it increases agricultural production. However, pollen recognition is time consuming because it is usually done by visual inspection. Current automated solutions rely on predesigned measurements of texture and contours, which require tuning for optimal features of a dataset. Also, most methods classify pollen using single-focus images, which require pollen grains to be captured at specific focal planes. We take a difference approach. Instead of using single-focus images, we use stacks of multifocal images (i.e., z-stack) to account for both visual characteristics and 3-D information. We automatically learn from the data the best visual characteristics for classifying pollen using deep-learning methods. Here, we train convolutional and recurrent neural networks (CNN and RNN) to learn the optimal features and recognize a pollen grain as a sequence of multifocal images acquired by an optical microscope. Additionally, we transfer the knowledge pre-trained network to ours to improve its classification and convergence speed. We evaluated our method using 392 stack sequences of 10 types of pollen grains with 10 images for each sequence. Our method achieved a remarkable classification rate of 100%.