Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of the Ability of Leu8- and Pro8-Oxytocin to Regulate Intracellular Ca2+ and Ca2+-Activated K+ Channels at Human and Marmoset Oxytocin Receptors

The neurohypophyseal hormone oxytocin (OT) regulates biologic functions in both peripheral tissues and the central nervous system. In the central nervous system, OT influences social processes, including peer relationships, maternal-infant bonding, and affiliative social relationships. In mammals, the nonapeptide OT structure is highly conserved with leucine in the eighth position (Leu8-OT). In marmosets (Callithrix), a nonsynonymous nucleotide substitution in the OXT gene codes for proline in the eighth residue position (Pro8-OT). OT binds to its cognate G protein–coupled receptor (OTR) and exerts diverse effects, including stimulation (Gs) or inhibition (Gi/o) of adenylyl cyclase, stimulation of potassium channel currents (Gi), and activation of phospholipase C (Gq). Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing marmoset or human oxytocin receptors (mOTRs or hOTRs, respectively) were used to characterize OT signaling. At the mOTR, Pro8-OT was more efficacious than Leu8-OT in measures of Gq activation, with both peptides displaying subnanomolar potencies. At the hOTR, neither the potency nor efficacy of Pro8-OT and Leu8-OT differed with respect to Gq signaling. In both mOTR- and hOTR-expressing cells, Leu8-OT was more potent and modestly more efficacious than Pro8-OT in inducing hyperpolarization. In mOTR cells, Leu8-OT–induced hyperpolarization was modestly inhibited by pretreatment with pertussis toxin (PTX), consistent with a minor role for Gi/o activation; however, the Pro8-OT response in mOTR and hOTR cells was PTX insensitive. These findings are consistent with membrane hyperpolarization being largely mediated by a Gq signaling mechanism leading to Ca2+-dependent activation of K+ channels. Evaluation of the influence of apamin, charybdotoxin, paxilline, and TRAM-34 demonstrated involvement of both intermediate and large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels.
Demographic, psychological and relationship factors are associated with resource loss among pregnant women

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study analysed the association between demographic, psychological and relationship factors and resource loss in pregnant women. Methods: Quantitative descriptive correlational study. Depressive mood, social support, relationship intimacy and resource loss were assessed in a sample of 200 pregnant women recruited from public primary-care clinics. Results: Hierarchical regression showed that being younger, having lower yearly income, and having stronger depressive mood, little relationship intimacy and little satisfaction with social support were the main factors associated with resource loss. Depressive mood accounted for most resource loss after controlling for demographic risk factors. The models show the combined influence of demographic, psychological and relationship factors in shaping resource loss. Conclusions and implications: Depressive mood was a major risk factor for resource loss among pregnant women, whereas social support and relationship intimacy had a protective role. The results highlight the importance of screening for depressive mood and level of resources during routine prenatal care, in order to identify pregnant women at risk of depression. The findings point to interventions that foster patient’s emotions to help them protect resources.
Impact of causal explanations for social anxiety disorder on stigma and treatment perceptions

Abstract Background and aims: There is evidence to suggest that biogenetic explanations for symptoms of mental disorders have become increasingly popular. Research suggests that such explanations provokes mixed blessings: biological explanations may reduce blame but also encourage prognostic pessimism and promote perceptions of pharmacological treatment over psychotherapy. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of different causal explanations on social anxiety disorder. Method: About 205 adults completed an experiment where they read a vignette describing an individual with social anxiety disorder and were randomly assigned to a symptom explanation that was: (1) biological, (2) biopsychosocial, (3) psychosocial, or (4) no explanation. Results: The psychosocial condition yielded the highest perceived credibility and lowest attributions of blame. The biological condition promoted positive expectations for medication effectiveness compared to other conditions. Conditions did not differ on prognostic expectations. Conclusions: Calls attention to the risk of generalizing from previous research to mental disorders as a whole.
Systolic Blood Pressure During Acute Stroke Is Associated With Functional Status and Long-term Mortality in the Elderly

Background and Purpose— The prognostic value of blood pressure (BP) levels during acute stroke has not been adequately studied. Most studies do not use continuous BP measurements, and patients are followed only for a short period. We designed a study to assess, with 24-hour BP monitoring (24H BPM), the impact of BP levels during the first day of stroke, on the short-term functional status and long-term mortality in elderly patients. Methods— We studied 177 patients with acute stroke (89 men), mean age 84±6 years. BP was measured on admission and 24H BPM was recorded within 24 hours of admission. After 7 days, patients were assessed for functional status according to the modified Rankin Scale and were subsequently followed up for mortality ⩽5 years (mean, 2.07±1.48). Results— After 7 days, functional status improved and modified Rankin Scale decreased from 4.2 to 3.7. Follow-up analysis disclosed that 71 patients (27 men and 44 women) had died. Mortality rate was higher in women (50% versus 30%; P<0.01) and in patients with a history of congestive heart failure. Only average systolic BP, recorded by 24H BPM, predicted short-term functional status and long-term mortality. Cox proportional hazards model analysis demonstrated that age, sex, congestive heart failure, and average systolic BP >160 mm Hg, recorded by 24H BPM, were associated with increased mortality. Conclusions— High systolic BP recorded by 24H BPM on the first day of stroke was found to be associated with unfavorable short-term functional status and long-term mortality in elderly patients.
Survival in multiple myeloma patients who develop second malignancies: a population-based cohort study

Survival in multiple myeloma (MM) has improved significantly during recent decades both in younger and older patients. [1][1],[2][2] The improved survival is considered to be primarily due to new treatment options in MM, including high-dose melphalan with autologous stem cell transplantation,[3][3]
Analysis of parenchymal texture with digital breast tomosynthesis: comparison with digital mammography and implications for cancer risk assessment.

PURPOSE To correlate the parenchymal texture features at digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and digital mammography with breast percent density (PD), an established breast cancer risk factor, in a screening population of women. MATERIALS AND METHODS This HIPAA-compliant study was approved by the institutional review board. Bilateral DBT images and digital mammograms from 71 women (mean age, 54 years; age range, 34-75 years) with negative or benign findings at screening mammography were retrospectively collected from a separate institutional review board-approved DBT screening trial (performed from July 2007 to March 2008) in which all women had given written informed consent. Parenchymal texture features of skewness, coarseness, contrast, energy, homogeneity, and fractal dimension were computed from the retroareolar region. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to obtain orthogonal texture components. Mammographic PD was estimated with software. Correlation analysis and multiple linear regression with generalized estimating equations were performed to determine the association between texture features and breast PD. Regression was adjusted for age to determine the independent association of texture to breast PD when age was also considered as a predictor variable. RESULTS Texture feature correlations to breast PD were stronger with DBT than with digital mammography. Statistically significant correlations (P < .001) were observed for contrast (r = 0.48), energy (r = -0.47), and homogeneity (r = -0.56) at DBT and for contrast (r = 0.26), energy (r = -0.26), and homogeneity (r = -0.33) at digital mammography. Multiple linear regression analysis of PCA texture components as predictors of PD also demonstrated significantly stronger associations with DBT. The association was strongest when age was also considered as a predictor of PD (R² = 0.41 for DBT and 0.28 for digital mammography; P < .001). CONCLUSION Parenchymal texture features are more strongly correlated to breast PD in DBT than in digital mammography. The authors' long-term hypothesis is that parenchymal texture analysis with DBT will result in quantitative imaging biomarkers that can improve the estimation of breast cancer risk.
Performance Profiling of Female Youth Netball Players.

McKenzie, CR, Whatman, C, and Brughelli, M. Performance profiling of female youth netball players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical performance characteristics of New Zealand secondary school netball players to provide a physical performance profile and determine whether there are differences between playing grade and playing positions for this group. A total of 102 female netball players (mean ± SD: age 13.3 ± 0.50 years, height 166.95 ± 5.72 cm, and body mass 60.94 ± 12.80 kg) participated in this study. Measurements included anthropometry, horizontal and vertical jump performance, balance, core strength, change-of-direction speed, and split sprint times. Magnitude-based inferences were used to determine differences in all measures. Grade 1 players jumped further and higher (effect size [ES] = 0.41-1.37) and ran faster with small to moderate differences. They demonstrated faster change-of-direction speed (ES = -0.73 to -1.31), greater core strength (ES = 0.28-1.17), and a faster time-to-stabilization (ES = -0.69). Grade 2 circle players jumped further (ES = -0.29), compared with noncircle players who jumped higher (ES = 0.35). Noncircle players had faster sprint and change-of-direction speed (ES = -0.33 to -0.55) and measures of balance (ES = -0.47 to 0.55). Grade 1 circle players were found to be faster over 20 m (ES = 0.75). The results of this study showed differences in the physical performance capabilities between youth netball players competing in different grades, as well as differences between playing positions. These findings have provided a physical performance profile of female youth netball players in New Zealand, suggesting that physical performance measures could be used for position-specific training and talent identification and selection.
Brain Glucose Metabolism Heterogeneity in Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and in Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE Idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) often precedes Parkinson's disease (PD) and other alpha-synucleinopathies. The aim of the study is to investigate brain glucose metabolism of patients with RBD and PD by means of a multidimensional scaling approach, using18F-FDG-PET as a biomarker of synaptic function. METHODS Thirty-six iRBD patients (64.1±6.5 y, 32 M), 72 PD patients, and 79 controls (65.6±9.4 y, 53 M) underwent brain 18F-FDG-PET. PD patients were divided according to the absence (PD, 32 subjects; 68.4±8.5 y, 15 M) or presence (PDRBD, 40 subjects; 71.8±6.6 y, 29 M) of RBD. 18F-FDG-PET scans were used to independently discriminate subjects belonging to four categories: controls (RBD no, PD no), iRBD (RBD yes, PD no), PD (RBD no, PD yes) and PDRBD (RBD yes, PD yes). RESULTS The discriminant analysis was moderately accurate in identifying the correct category. This is because the model mostly confounds iRBD and PD, thus the intermediate classes. Indeed, iRBD, PD and PDRBD were progressively located at increasing distance from controls and are ordered along a single dimension (principal coordinate analysis) indicating the presence of a single flux of variation encompassing both RBD and PD conditions. CONCLUSION Data-driven approach to brain 18F-FDG-PET showed only moderate discrimination between iRBD and PD patients, highlighting brain glucose metabolism heterogeneity among such patients. iRBD should be considered as a marker of an ongoing condition that may be picked-up in different stages across patients and thus express different brain imaging features and likely different clinical trajectories.
Insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease.

Clearly, insulin resistance is not simply a problem of deficient glucose uptake in response to insulin, but a multifaceted syndrome that increases significantly the risk for cardiovascular disease. The links between insulin resistance and the associated dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypercoagulability, and atherosclerosis are numerous and complex. This complexity derives both from the almost certain multiple causes of the insulin resistance syndrome and from the interaction of genes predisposing to insulin resistance with other genes that have their own, independent impact on lipid metabolism, blood pressure regulation, coagulation, and artery wall biology. Nonetheless, I suggest that dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism plays a central role in the development of this phenotype. Thus, the association between insulin resistance and dyslipidemia is clearly initiated by increased FFA release from, or defective uptake of FFAs into, adipocytes. Recent studies linking fatty acids to endothelial dysfunction, together with the clear role of VLDL in the stimulation of PAI-1, further support the view that dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism sits close to the center of the pathophysiology of the insulin resistance syndrome, at least as it relates to risk for cardiovascular disease.
The role of annealing and fragmentation in human tau aggregation dynamics

Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis is associated with the conversion of monomeric tau protein into filamentous aggregates. Because both toxicity and prion-like spread of pathogenic tau depend in part on aggregate size, the processes that underlie filament formation and size distribution are of special importance. Here, using a combination of biophysical and computational approaches, we investigated the fibrillation dynamics of the human tau isoform 2N4R. We found that tau filaments engage in a previously uncharacterized secondary process involving end-to-end annealing and that rationalization of empirical aggregation data composed of total protomer concentrations and fibril length distributions requires inclusion of this process along with filament fragmentation. We noted that annealing of 2N4R tau filaments is robust, with an intrinsic association rate constant of a magnitude similar to that mediating monomer addition and consistent with diffusion-mediated protein–protein interactions in the absence of long-range attractive forces. In contrast, secondary nucleation on the surface of tau filaments did not detectably contribute to tau aggregation dynamics. These results indicate that tau filament ends engage in a range of homotypic interactions involving monomers, oligomers, and filaments. They further indicate that, in the case of tau protein, fibril annealing and fragmentation along with primary nucleation and elongation are the major processes controlling filament size distribution.
Catalytic degradation of O‐cresol using H2O2 onto Algerian Clay‐Na

Clay material is used as a catalyst to degrade an organic pollutant. This study focused on the O‐cresol oxidative degradation in aqueous solution by adding H2O2 and Mont‐Na. The catalytic tests showed a high catalytic activity of Mont‐Na, which made it possible to achieve more than 84.6% conversion after 90 min of reaction time at 55°C in 23.2 mM H2O2. The pH value was found to be negatively correlated with the degradation rate of O‐cresol. UV–Vis spectrophotometry revealed that the increase of degradation rate at low pH is related to the formation of 2‐methylbenzoquinone as intermediate product. In addition, the content of iron in Mont‐Na decreased after the catalytic test, bringing further evidence about the O‐cresol catalytic oxidation. The mineralization of O‐cresol is also confirmed by the different methods of characterization of Mont‐Na after the catalytic oxidation test. The effect of the O‐cresol oxidation catalyzed by natural clay is significant.
Removal of cumulus cells around 20 h after the start of in vitro maturation improves the meiotic competence of porcine oocytes via reduction in cAMP and cGMP levels

We examined the effect of the timing of removing cumulus cells surrounding porcine oocytes from small follicles (SFs, < 3 mm in diameter) and medium follicles (MFs; 3–6 mm in diameter) on the meiotic and developmental competence of the oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected from SFs and MFs, and the oocytes were denuded at 0, 20, and 44 h after the start of in vitro maturation (IVM), and the meiotic progression of the oocytes was assessed at the end of the IVM period. The incidence of mature oocytes was significantly affected by both the origin of the COCs and the time when the oocytes were denuded. Although the percentage of mature oocytes was always higher when the COCs were collected from MFs than that when the COCs were collected from SFs, the maturation rate was significantly higher when the oocytes were denuded at 20 h than when they were denuded at 44 h after the start of IVM. When the mature oocytes were activated electrically, the developmental competence of the oocytes denuded at 20 and 44 h to reach the blastocyst stage did not differ, whereas the competence of the MF-derived oocytes was significantly higher than that of SF-derived oocytes. When the intracellular cAMP and cGMP levels in SF-derived oocytes were examined at 24 h of IVM, the levels of both were significantly decreased only in the oocytes denuded at 20 h. In conclusion, denuding oocytes at 20 h of IVM caused a significant reduction in ooplasmic cAMP and cGMP levels and increased the meiotic competence of the oocytes without any reduction in blastocyst formation, even in the case of SF-derived oocytes.
Thirty‐day readmissions in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: A good metric for hospital quality?

Thirty‐day readmission rates has been increasingly used by clinicians, hospital administrators, and policy makers as a metric for the quality of care. However, the 30‐day readmission rates may be affected by other factors intrinsic to the patient and may not be a good measure of the quality of care provided by the hospital. In this review, we examined the quality of the 30‐day readmissions rate as a quality metric for the quality of care provided to patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). It has been shown that in this patient population, 30‐day readmission rate primarily captures values, such as the number of comorbidities, disease severity, and discharge dispositions. There is little association between SAH 30‐day readmission rates and mortality. However, 30‐day readmissions may be reduced by increasing early discharge surveillance, providing readmission reduction programs to patients discharged to medical facilities as well as to home, and identifying patients most at risk for readmission.
Use of Steatotic Grafts in Liver Transplantation: Current Status

In the field of liver transplantation, the demand for adequate allografts greatly exceeds the supply. Therefore, expanding the donor pool to match the growing demand is mandatory. The present review summarizes current knowledge of the pathophysiology of ischemia/reperfusion injury in steatotic grafts, together with recent pharmacological approaches aimed at maximizing the utilization of these livers for transplantation. We also describe the preclinical models currently available to understand the molecular mechanisms controlling graft viability in this specific type of donor, critically discussing the heterogeneity in animal models, surgical methodology, and therapeutic interventions. This lack of common approaches and interventions makes it difficult to establish the pathways involved and the relevance of isolated discoveries, as well as their transferability to clinical practice. Finally, we discuss how new therapeutic strategies developed from experimental studies are promising but that further studies are warranted to translate them to the bedside.
The Impact of Stalking-Related Fear and Gender on Personal Safety Outcomes

Research has consistently found that more women worry about their personal safety and feel vulnerable to most every crime compared with men suggesting there is a gender fear gap. Environmental risk and prior victimization history impact concerns about personal safety. However, few studies include stalking as part of the victimization history. Two reasons studies may not include stalking are that adding more questions to a research assessment increases participant burden and measurement of stalking has not always been clear. The current study used a community sample of 2,719 men and women and a five-item stalking assessment to examine the prevalence and impact of stalking and stalking-related fear on concern about personal safety, perceived vulnerability to an attack, perceptions that risk of victimization is higher due to personal characteristics, discomfort when thinking about safety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms controlling for victimization history, age, and environment risk by gender. Overall, 30% of women and 12% of men experienced stalking using the extreme fear standard which is double the national rates. Stalking-related fear, for both women and men, was associated with all of the outcome measures. Furthermore, there were significant main effects of gender after controlling for stalking-related fear on three of the outcomes consistent with the gender fear gap. Based on these results, research studies should consider including stalking as part of the victimization history as it is likely to impact health and mental health outcomes as well as personal safety concerns and responses for both men and women.
Effect of aged garlic powder on physicochemical characteristics, texture profiles, and oxidative stability of ready-to-eat pork patties

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aged garlic powder (AGP) on physicochemical characteristics, texture profiles, and oxidative stability of ready-to-eat (RTE) pork patties. Methods There were five treatment groups: a control; 1% fresh garlic powder (T1); 0.5%, 1%, and 2% AGP (T2, T3, and T4). Pork patties with vacuum packaging were roasted at 71°C for core temperature, stored at 4°C for 14 d, and then reheated for 1 min using a microwave. Results The AGP groups showed a lower the level of lipid oxidation and higher thiol contents than the control and T1. The pH value of the control increased whereas that of aged garlic groups decreased after re-heating process. In addition, the redness significantly increased with increasing level of AGP whereas the redness of the control and T1 decreased after re-heating process. T4 added patties improved textural and sensory properties compared to the control. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that AGP addition to RTE pork patties can improve their sensory characteristics and oxidative stability.
Effects of ankle stiffness on gait selection of dynamic bipedal walking with flat feet

This paper investigates the effects of ankle joint stiffness on gait selection of dynamic bipedal walking with flat feet. We present a dynamic bipedal walking model with upper body, flat feet and compliant joints. The model can generate the three common gaits of dynamic bipedal walking. Simulation experiments are carried out to verify the analytical results and provide further results on gait comparison and selection.