Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intrinsic Factors Associated with Pregnancy Falls

Approximately 25% to 27% of women sustain a fall during pregnancy, and falls are associated with serious injuries and can affect pregnancy outcomes. The objective of the current study was to identify intrinsic factors associated with pregnancy that may contribute to women's increased risk of falls. A literature search (Medline and Pubmed) identified articles published between January 1980 and June 2013 that measured associations between pregnancy and fall risks, using an existing fall accident investigation framework. The results indicated that physiological, biomechanical, and psychological changes associated with pregnancy may influence the initiation, detection, and recovery phases of falls and increase the risk of falls in this population. Considering the logistic difficulties and ethnic concerns in recruiting pregnant women to participate in this investigation of fall risk factors, identification of these factors could establish effective fall prevention and intervention programs for pregnant women and improve birth outcomes.
Disequilibrium vegetation dynamics under future climate change.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Near-future climate changes are likely to elicit major vegetation changes. Disequilibrium dynamics, which occur when vegetation comes out of equilibrium with climate, are potentially a key facet of these. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for making accurate predictions, informing conservation planning, and understanding likely changes in ecosystem function on time scales relevant to society. However, many predictive studies have instead focused on equilibrium end-points with little consideration of the transient trajectories. METHODS We review what we should expect in terms of disequilibrium vegetation dynamics over the next 50-200 yr, covering a broad range of research fields including paleoecology, macroecology, landscape ecology, vegetation science, plant ecology, invasion biology, global change biology, and ecosystem ecology. KEY RESULTS The expected climate changes are likely to induce marked vegetation disequilibrium with climate at both leading and trailing edges, with leading-edge disequilibrium dynamics due to lags in migration at continental to landscape scales, in local population build-up and succession, in local evolutionary responses, and in ecosystem development, and trailing-edge disequilibrium dynamics involving delayed local extinctions and slow losses of ecosystem structural components. Interactions with habitat loss and invasive pests and pathogens are likely to further contribute to disequilibrium dynamics. Predictive modeling and climate-change experiments are increasingly representing disequilibrium dynamics, but with scope for improvement. CONCLUSIONS The likely pervasiveness and complexity of vegetation disequilibrium is a major challenge for forecasting ecological dynamics and, combined with the high ecological importance of vegetation, also constitutes a major challenge for future nature conservation.
Health Care Providers’ Perspectives on Family Compliance and Behavior Change in a Childhood Obesity Program

Background. Evidence suggests that children and adolescents growing up in low-income families and those with underrepresented ethnocultural backgrounds tend to have high prevalence rates of obesity and more difficulty adhering to childhood obesity interventions. However, less is known about how intergenerational, family-based approaches to lifestyle interventions for childhood obesity support sustained behavior change. Aims. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of health care providers regarding family adherence and behavior change in a childhood obesity program that served ethnoculturally diverse and low-income families. Method. Semistructured in-person interviews were conducted with 18 providers at one of three hospitals participating in a Canadian family-based childhood obesity program. Data were thematically analyzed using a constant comparative approach. Results. The following key themes emerged as challenges from the provider’s perspective for family adherence and behavior modification in the childhood obesity program: divergent views about obesity, complicated lives and logistical priorities, parental role modeling, and intergenerational tensions. Discussion and Conclusion. This examination of providers’ perspectives on family adherence and behavior modification relevant to the management of childhood obesity highlight the importance of tailoring childhood obesity programs to the complex and diverse needs of families from diverse backgrounds. Recommendations include methods of service delivery that address logistical challenges and are better suited to extended families, particularly grandparents.
Advantaged socioeconomic conditions in childhood are associated with higher cognitive functioning but stronger cognitive decline in older age

Significance There is increasing evidence that socioeconomic conditions early in life have an impact on cognitive functioning in later life. Based on the large longitudinal sample from SHARE we find a clear pattern in cognitive functioning in old age, related to childhood socioeconomic conditions: Those from more affluent households show higher levels of fluid intelligence in old age and experience stronger decline over time in executive functions. The latter phenomenon is not often documented. Although modifications in cognitive functioning with aging are inevitable, life course socioeconomic circumstances impact the timing of this process. We conclude that the etiology of cognitive aging is the result of multiple social processes, defined by the socioeconomic conditions in childhood and all along the life course. Cognitive aging is characterized by large heterogeneity, which may be due to variations in childhood socioeconomic conditions (CSC). Although there is substantial evidence for an effect of CSC on levels of cognitive functioning at older age, results on associations with cognitive decline are mixed. We examined by means of an accelerated longitudinal design the association between CSC and cognitive trajectories from 50 to 96 years. Cognition included two functions generally found to decline with aging: delayed recall and verbal fluency. Data are from six waves of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), conducted between 2004 and 2015 (n = 24,066 at baseline; 56% female, age 50+). We found a consistent CSC pattern in levels of cognitive functioning in later life. Older people with disadvantaged CSC had lower levels of cognitive functioning than those with more advantaged CSC. We also find that decline is almost 1.6 times faster in the most advantaged group compared with the most disadvantaged group. The faster decline for people with more advantaged CSC becomes less pronounced when we additionally control for adulthood socioeconomic conditions and current levels of physical activity, depressive symptoms, and partner status. Our findings are in line with the latency, pathway, and cumulative model and lend support to theories of cognitive reserve, stating that neuronal loss can no longer be repaired in people with more cognitive reserve once the underlying pathology is substantial and speed of decline is accelerated.
Hitting a moving target: evolution of a treatment paradigm for atypical meningiomas amid changing diagnostic criteria.

OBJECT The World Health Organization (WHO) reclassified atypical meningiomas in 2000, creating a more clear and broadly accepted definition. In this paper, the authors evaluated the pathological and clinical transition period for atypical meningiomas according to the implementation of the new WHO grading system at their institution. METHODS A total of 471 meningiomas occurring in 440 patients between 1994 and 2006 were retrospectively reviewed to determine changes in diagnostic rates, postoperative treatment trends, and early outcomes. RESULTS Between 1994 and 2000, the incidence of the atypical meningiomas ranged from 0 to 3/year, or 4.4% of the meningiomas detected during the entire period. After 2002, the annual percentage of atypical meningiomas rose over a 2-year period, leveling off at between 32.7 and 35.5% between 2004 and 2006. The authors also found a recent trend toward increased use of adjuvant radiation therapy for incompletely resected atypical meningiomas. Prior to 2003, 18.7% were treated with this therapy; after 2003, 34.4% of lesions received this treatment. Incompletely resected tumors were treated with some form of radiation 76% of the time. In cases of complete resection, most patients were not given adjuvant therapy but were expectantly managed by close monitoring using serial imaging and by receiving immediate treatment for tumor recurrence. The overall recurrence rate for expectantly managed tumors was 9% over 28.2 months, and 75% of recurrences responded to delayed radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS The authors documented a significant change in the proportion of meningiomas designated as atypical during a transition period from 2002 to 2004, and propose a conservative strategy for the use of radiation therapy in atypical meningiomas.
Regulation of articular chondrocyte catabolic genes by growth factor interaction

Osteoarthritis is characterized by a loss of articular cartilage homeostasis in which degradation exceeds formation. Several growth factors have been shown to promote cartilage formation by augmenting articular chondrocyte anabolic activity. This study tests the hypothesis that such growth factors also play an anticatabolic role. We transferred individual or combinations of the genes encoding insulin‐like growth factor‐I, bone morphogenetic protein‐2, bone morphogenetic protein‐7, transforming growth factor‐β1, and fibroblast growth factor‐2, into adult bovine articular chondrocytes and measured the expression of catabolic marker genes encoding A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs‐4 and ‐5, matrix metalloproteinases‐3 and ‐13, and interleukin‐6. When delivered individually, or in combination, these growth factor transgenes differentially regulated the direction, magnitude, and time course of expression of the catabolic marker genes. In concert, the growth factor transgenes regulated the marker genes in an interactive fashion that ranged from synergistic inhibition to synergistic stimulation. Synergistic stimulation prevailed over synergistic inhibition, reaching maxima of 15.2‐ and 2.7‐fold, respectively. Neither the magnitude nor the time course of the effect of the transgene combinations could be predicted on the basis of the individual transgene effects. With few exceptions, the data contradict our hypothesis. The results demonstrate that growth factors that are traditionally viewed as chondrogenic tend also to promote catabolic gene expression. The competing actions of these potential therapeutic agents add an additional level of complexity to the selection of regulatory factors for restoring articular cartilage homeostasis or promoting repair.
The bZIP73 transcription factor controls rice cold tolerance at the reproductive stage

Summary Cold temperature during the reproductive stage often causes great yield loss of grain crops in subtropical and temperate regions. Previously we showed that the rice transcription factor bZIP73Jap plays an important role in cold adaptation at the seedling stage. Here we further demonstrate that bZIP73Jap also confers cold stress tolerance at the reproductive stage. bZIP73 Jap was up‐regulated under cold treatment and predominately expressed in panicles at the early binucleate and flowering stages. bZIP73Jap forms heterodimers with bZIP71, and co‐expression of bZIP73 Jap and bZIP71 transgenic lines significantly increased seed‐setting rate and grain yield under natural cold stress conditions. bZIP73Jap:bZIP71 not only repressed ABA level in anthers, but also enhanced soluble sugar transport from anthers to pollens and improved pollen grain fertility, seed‐setting rate, and grain yield. Interestingly, bZIP73Jap:bZIP71 also regulated the expression of qLTG3‐1 Nip, and qLTG3‐1 Nip overexpression lines greatly improved rice tolerance to cold stress during the reproductive stage. Therefore, our work establishes a framework for rice cold stress tolerance through the bZIP71‐bZIP73Jap‐qLTG3‐1Nip‐sugar transport pathway. Together with our previous work, our results provide a powerful tool for improving rice cold stress tolerance at both the seedling and the reproductive stages.
Locating and Characterizing a Transgene Integration Site by Nanopore Sequencing

The introduction of foreign DNA into cells and organisms has facilitated much of modern biological research, and it promises to become equally important in clinical practice. Locating sites of foreign DNA incorporation in mammalian genomes has proven burdensome, so the genomic location of most transgenes remains unknown. To address this challenge, we applied nanopore sequencing in search of the site of integration of Tg(Pou5f1-EGFP)2Mnn (also known as Oct4:EGFP), a widely used fluorescent reporter in mouse germ line research. Using this nanopore-based approach, we identified the site of Oct4:EGFP transgene integration near the telomere of Chromosome 9. This methodology simultaneously yielded an estimate of transgene copy number, provided direct evidence of transgene inversions, revealed contaminating E. coli genomic DNA within the transgene array, validated the integrity of neighboring genes, and enabled definitive genotyping. We suggest that such an approach provides a rapid, cost-effective method for identifying and analyzing transgene integration sites.
Cascading impacts of large-carnivore extirpation in an African ecosystem

Ecosystems feel war's effects War ravages human lives and landscapes, but nonhuman victims are no less affected. The Mozambican Civil War resulted in the rapid decline of predators in Gorongosa National Park and led to a trophic cascade that shifted prey behaviors and plant communities. Atkins et al. monitored this shift and found that the absence of wild dogs and leopards resulted in a change in habitat use and plant consumption by bushbuck, which are forest-dwelling antelopes. Experiments further showed that changes in prey behavior were reversible when signs of predator activity were introduced, supporting the impact of the predator loss. These results confirm patterns seen elsewhere and go further in providing mechanistic detail about the importance of the “landscape of fear” perceived by prey animals. Science, this issue p. 173 Human warfare altered the “landscape of fear” among predators and prey in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. Populations of the world’s largest carnivores are declining and now occupy mere fractions of their historical ranges. Theory predicts that when apex predators disappear, large herbivores become less fearful, occupy new habitats, and modify those habitats by eating new food plants. Yet experimental support for this prediction has been difficult to obtain in large-mammal systems. After the extirpation of leopards and African wild dogs from Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, forest-dwelling antelopes [bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus)] expanded into treeless floodplains, where they consumed novel diets and suppressed a common food plant [waterwort (Bergia mossambicensis)]. By experimentally simulating predation risk, we demonstrate that this behavior was reversible. Thus, whereas anthropogenic predator extinction disrupted a trophic cascade by enabling rapid differentiation of prey behavior, carnivore restoration may just as rapidly reestablish that cascade.
Pediatric Phase I Trial and Pharmacokinetic Study of Trebananib in Relapsed Solid Tumors, Including Primary Tumors of the Central Nervous System ADVL1115: A Children's Oncology Group Phase I Consortium Report

Purpose: Trebananib is a first-in-class antiangiogenic peptibody (peptide–Fc fusion protein) that inhibits Angiopoietin 1 and 2. A pediatric phase 1 trial was performed to define trebananib dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D), and pharmacokinetics (PK). Experimental Design: Trebananib was administered by weekly infusion. Three dose levels (10, 15, or 30 mg/kg/dose) were evaluated using a rolling-six design. Part 2 evaluated a cohort of subjects with primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Pharmacokinetic sampling and analysis of peripheral blood biomarkers was performed during the first 4 weeks. Response was evaluated after 8 weeks. Correlative studies included angiogenic protein expression and DCE-MRI. Results: Thirty-seven subjects were enrolled (31 evaluable for toxicity) with median age 12 years (range, 2 to 21). Two of 19 evaluable non-CNS subjects developed DLT at the 30 mg/kg dose level, including venous thrombosis and pleural effusion. In the CNS cohort, 3/12 subjects developed DLT, including decreased platelet count, transient ischemic attack, and cerebral edema with headache and hydrocephalus. Other grade 3 or 4 toxicities included lymphopenia (n = 4), anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, vomiting, and hypertension (n = 1 each). Response included stable disease in 7 subjects, no partial or complete responses. Two subjects continued study treatment with prolonged stable disease for 18 cycles (neuroblastoma) and 26 cycles (anaplastic astrocytoma). Pharmacokinetics appeared linear over 3 dose levels. Correlative studies demonstrated increased PlGF and sVCAM-1, but no change in endoglin or perfusion by DCE-MRI. Conclusions: Trebananib was well tolerated in pediatric patients with recurrent or refractory solid or CNS tumors. RP2D is 30 mg/kg. Clin Cancer Res; 23(20); 6062–9. ©2017 AACR.
Does increasing meal frequency improve weight loss and some biochemical parameters in overweight/obese females?

Introduction Introduction: despite the positive effects of frequent meals on obesity treatment, there have been no definite conclusions on the matter. Objective: the aim of this study is to determine the effects of different meal frequencies on weight loss, body composition and some biochemical parameters of overweight or obese females. Methods: sixty-five adult overweight or obese females were recruited from the Endocrine Department of Ankara Gülhane Education and Research Hospital. Individualistic weight-loss diet programs were implemented (three meals/day for one group and six meals/day for the other group) with a three-month follow-up. Anthropometric measurements and 24-hour dietary records were taken for each week during the study period. Some biochemical parameters (lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin) were analyzed at the beginning and at the end of the study. Results: forty-three participants finished the study period. Body weight, body mass index, fat mass (kg), fat mass percentage (%), and waist circumference (cm) decreased significantly in both groups (p < 0.05), while fat free mass (kg) and body water (l) did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Only serum fasting insulin levels decreased significantly in the six meals/day group (p < 0.05). Whatever the differences between the initial and final values of body weight, body composition, and biochemical parameters, they were similar between the groups (p > 0.05). Only the decrease in fasting insulin levels in the six-meal group was found higher than that of the three-meal group. Conclusion: in conclusion, body weight, body composition, and lipid profiling are not affected by the number of meals when weight-loss diets are prepared with adequate energy restrictions and sufficient and balanced nutrition.
Improvement of pulmonary arterial hypertension, inflammatory response, and epithelium injury by dual activation of cAMP/cGMP pathway in a rat model of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension

ABSTRACT Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a life-threatening lung disease. PH with concomitant lung diseases, e.g., idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, is associated with poor prognosis. Development of novel therapeutic vasodilators for treatment of these patients is a key imperative. We evaluated the efficacy of dual activation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) using an active, small-molecule phosphodiesterase (PDE4)/PDE5 dual inhibitor (Compound A). Compound A increased both cAMP and cGMP levels in WI-38 lung fibroblasts and suppressed the expressions of type-1 collagen α1 chain and fibronectin. Additionally, compound A reduced right ventricular weight/left ventricular weight+septal weight ratio, brain natriuretic peptide expression levels in right ventricle, C─C motif chemokine ligand 2 expression levels in lung, and plasma surfactant protein D. Our data indicate that dual activation of cAMP/cGMP pathways may be a novel treatment strategy for PH. Graphical abstract Elevated cAMP suppresses profibrotic and inflammatory responses. Elevated cGMP enhances vasodilation and suppresses proliferation of smooth muscle cells.
Switching from Endoscopic Extraperitoneal Radical Prostatectomy to Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy: Comparing Outcomes and Complications

Objective: Endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy (EERPE) and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) are minimally invasive surgical techniques to treat localized prostate cancer. We report the outcome and complications of these two techniques conducted by one individual surgeon. Patients and Methods: 86 patients underwent EERPE between January 2008 and June 2011, and 100 patients underwent RALP between August 2011 and October 2012. All surgeries were performed by one single surgeon. Results: The patients of the EERPE and RALP groups had similar clinical characteristics in PSA, prostate volume and D'Amico classification, and were significantly different in their age and BMI as well as in the number of prior surgeries. RALP surgeries were significantly slower (183 vs. 157 min) but also involved lower blood loss (147 vs. 245 ml). Pathological stages and positive surgical margins were similar in both groups. Complications were assessed by the Clavien-Dindo classification. 6 patients in the EERPE group and 3 patients of the RALP group suffered major complications (IIIb-IV). Conclusion: Altogether our results indicate that the learning curve for RALP was short after experience with EERPE. We hypothesize that this is more a result of the surgical experience of the surgeon with the EERPE than on the robotic technique.
Electroanalytical Performance of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Films Processed in One Step by Pulsed Laser Deposition Directly Coupled with Thermal Annealing

Graphene-based materials are widely studied to enable significant improvements in electroanalytical devices requiring new generations of robust, sensitive and low-cost electrodes. In this paper, we present a direct one-step route to synthetize a functional nitrogen-doped graphene film onto a Ni-covered silicon electrode substrate heated at high temperature, by pulsed laser deposition of carbon in the presence of a surrounding nitrogen atmosphere, with no post-deposition transfer of the film. With the ferrocene methanol system, the functionalized electrode exhibits excellent reversibility, close to the theoretical value of 59 mV, and very high sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide oxidation. Our electroanalytical results were correlated with the composition and nanoarchitecture of the N-doped graphene film containing 1.75 at % of nitrogen and identified as a few-layer defected and textured graphene film containing a balanced mixture of graphitic-N and pyrrolic-N chemical functions. The absence of nitrogen dopant in the graphene film considerably degraded some electroanalytical performances. Heat treatment extended beyond the high temperature graphene synthesis did not significantly improve any of the performances. This work contributes to a better understanding of the electrochemical mechanisms of doped graphene-based electrodes obtained by a direct and controlled synthesis process.