Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Grandchild’s IQ is associated with grandparental environments prior to the birth of the parents

Background. Despite convincing animal experiments demonstrating the potential for environmental exposures in one generation to have demonstrable effects generations later, there have been few relevant human studies. Those that have been undertaken have demonstrated associations, for example, between exposures such as nutrition and cigarette smoking in the grandparental generation and outcomes in grandchildren. We hypothesised that such transgenerational associations might be associated with the IQ of the grandchild, and that it would be likely that there would be differences in results between the sexes of the grandparents, parents, and children. Method. We used three-generational data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We incorporated environmental factors concerning grandparents (F0) and focussed on three exposures that we hypothesised may have independent transgenerational associations with the IQ of the grandchildren (F2): (i) UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at grandparental birth year; (ii) whether grandfather smoked; and (iii) whether the grandmother smoked in the relevant pregnancy. Potential confounders were ages of grandparents when the relevant parent was born, ethnic background, education level and social class of each grandparent. Results. After adjustment, all three target exposures had specific associations with measures of IQ in the grandchild. Paternal grandfather smoking was associated with reduced total IQ at 15 years; maternal grandfather smoking with reduced performance IQ at 8 years and reduced total IQ at 15. Paternal grandmother smoking in pregnancy was associated with reduced performance IQ at 8, especially in grandsons. GDP at grandparents’ birth produced independent associations of reduced IQ with higher GDP; this was particularly true of paternal grandmothers. Conclusions. These results are complex and need to be tested in other datasets. They highlight the need to consider possible transgenerational associations in studying developmental variation in populations.
How journalists and experts metaphorically frame emerging information technologies: The case of cyberinfrastructure for big data

Journalists and experts contribute to the creation of frames (frame-building) of innovations. However, little is known about the specific contribution of these different societal actors to the frame-building of emerging information technologies. This article focuses on a specific emerging information technology – cyberinfrastructure for big data. In particular, we investigated the role of metaphors in the frame-building of cyberinfrastructure during its early development, and contrast the metaphorical framing of cyberinfrastructure by journalists in a corpus of US news texts (Study 1) with the metaphorical framing of experts in a corpus of interviews (Study 2). Results show considerable differences between the frames by journalists and experts in the frame-building process. Journalists, to a great extent, employ their own frames in conceptualizing cyberinfrastructure rather than drawing on the frames used by experts. Future research should investigate the impact of these different metaphorical frames on audience members.
Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR Using Different Sample Sources: Review of the Literature

Objective: The most widely used diagnostic technique for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). It can be done on different samples: nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) or oropharyngeal swabs (OPS), and self-collected saliva. However, negative findings do not rule out infection. Methods: A review was conceived to discuss advantages and limitations of the available diagnostic modalities for nonserologic diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 based on RT-PCR; the article also proposes some practical suggestions to improve diagnostic reliability. Results: A total of 16 papers (corresponding to 452 patients) of the 56 initially identified were included. Most of the papers describe findings from different samples obtained in limited case series; comparative studies are missing. Conclusions: Diagnostic accuracy of NPS and OPS is suboptimal and the risk of contaminated aerosol dispersal is not negligible. The SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be found in self-collected saliva specimens of many infected patients within 7 to 10 days after symptom onset. There is an urgent need for comparative trials to define the diagnostic modality of choice. Adequate education and training of health care personnel is mandatory.
Atrial Fibrillation Screen, Management, and Guideline‐Recommended Therapy in the Rural Primary Care Setting: A Cross‐Sectional Study and Cost‐Effectiveness Analysis of eHealth Tools to Support All Stages of Screening

BACKGROUND Internationally, most atrial fibrillation (AF) management guidelines recommend opportunistic screening for AF in people ≥65 years of age and oral anticoagulant treatment for those at high stroke risk (CHA₂DS₂‐VA≥2). However, gaps remain in screening and treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS General practitioners/nurses at practices in rural Australia (n=8) screened eligible patients (≥65 years of age without AF) using a smartphone ECG during practice visits. eHealth tools included electronic prompts, guideline‐based electronic decision support, and regular data reports. Clinical audit tools extracted de‐identified data. Results were compared with an earlier study in metropolitan practices (n=8) and nonrandomized control practices (n=69). Cost‐effectiveness analysis compared population‐based screening with no screening and included screening, treatment, and hospitalization costs for stroke and serious bleeding events. Patients (n=3103, 34%) were screened (mean age, 75.1±6.8 years; 47% men) and 36 (1.2%) new AF cases were confirmed (mean age, 77.0 years; 64% men; mean CHA₂DS₂‐VA, 3.2). Oral anticoagulant treatment rates for patients with CHA₂DS₂‐VA≥2 were 82% (screen detected) versus 74% (preexisting AF)(P=NS), similar to metropolitan and nonrandomized control practices. The incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio for population‐based screening was AU$16 578 per quality‐adjusted life year gained and AU$84 383 per stroke prevented compared with no screening. National implementation would prevent 147 strokes per year. Increasing the proportion screened to 75% would prevent 177 additional strokes per year. CONCLUSIONS An AF screening program in rural practices, supported by eHealth tools, screened 34% of eligible patients and was cost‐effective. Oral anticoagulant treatment rates were relatively high at baseline, trending upward during the study. Increasing the proportion screened would prevent many more strokes with minimal incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio change. eHealth tools, including data reports, may be a valuable addition to future programs. REGISTRATION URL: https://www.anzctr. org.au. Unique identifier: ACTRN12618000004268.
The Distribution, Habitat Use, Activity, and Status of the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) in Georgia

Abstract Conservation of the imperiled spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) at the regional level (i.e., Georgia, USA) will require knowledge of the species historic and contemporary distribution, activity patterns, and habitat preferences. To address these needs, we compiled 170 records of spotted turtles in Georgia from 1892 to 2014, including 89 museum records, 80 records based on credible observations or photos, and 1 literature record. There are recent (1995–2014) records for 79 locations in 31 counties, with 29 of these occurring on 14 conservation lands. Our results demonstrate that the spotted turtle ranges throughout much of the Coastal Plain of Georgia including the Flint River and Withlacoochee River drainages of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Half of the records for which habitat could be classified (62 of 124 records, 50%) were associated with blackwater creek swamps or seepage slope swamps. Remarkably, all but 4 Georgia spotted turtle records with body size data (i.e., 150 of 154; 97%) were based on adult turtles. The majority of Georgia records with the date included were from the late winter–spring (134 of 160 records, 84%, February–May). Likewise, the majority of observations were turtles found on roads (94 of 170 records; 55%), the majority of which (63; 67%) were alive. For the spotted turtle in Georgia, we recommend 1) continued protection and state-listing status, and 2) initiating long-term mark–recapture efforts to estimate population sizes and demographics and evaluate population trends.
Effects of melatonin administration to cashmere goats on cashmere production and hair follicle characteristics in two consecutive cashmere growth cycles.

The objective of the study was to determine the long-term effects of melatonin treatment on cashmere production and hair follicle populations in cashmere goats and their activity in two consecutive cashmere growth cycles. Twenty-four female Inner Mongolian Cashmere goats were randomly allocated to two groups (n = 12), one of which received melatonin implants, the other being an untreated control group. Melatonin implants were subcutaneously inserted behind the ear at a dose of 2 mg/kg live weight on two occasions -April 30 and June 30, 2016. Hair samples were collected by combing in April of 2017 and 2018, and the weight, staple length, and diameter of the cashmere fibers were measured. Blood and skin samples were collected monthly between April and September 2016, and in April and September in 2017 for the analysis of melatonin concentration and the characteristics of secondary hair follicle populations, respectively. The results indicated that serum melatonin concentration in the treated goats was elevated (P < 0.05) relative to that of the control group, but only during the first growth cycle. Melatonin treatment of cashmere goats in one cashmere growth cycle increased the weight, staple length, and density (all P < 0.05) of the cashmere fibers and decreased fiber diameter (P < 0.01), but did not affect the characteristics of cashmere production in the subsequent annual cycle. Melatonin treatment had no effect on the population of skin secondary hair follicles for two consecutive cycles. However, in the first growth cycle after treatment, it advanced the onset of activity of skin secondary hair follicles by 2 mo (P < 0.05), and it increased the number of follicles that were active (P < 0.05). In summary, the melatonin treatment of cashmere goats in one cashmere growth cycle improved cashmere production for that cycle only, with no residual effects on the subsequent cycle, a technique acceptable to the cashmere goat industry. The enhancement of cashmere production after the treatment of goats with melatonin appears to involve the acceleration of the annual regeneration of skin secondary hair follicles and increased population of active secondary hair follicles in the skin of cashmere goats.
Correlation between lifestyle and social factors in functional dyspepsia among college freshmen

Objective We aimed to examine the relationship between the prevalence of functional dyspepsia (FD) and lifestyle habits, to identify social factors that may contribute to psychosocial disorders. Methods We enrolled 759 university freshmen in this study, who were categorized into the FD group and healthy group. All participants completed the validated Self-Rating Depression Scale and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale questionnaires, to assess lifestyle and social factors among participants. Results The proportion of participants with FD was 16.86%, and 67.97% were women. Diet irregularities and sleep impairment may have an effect on FD. Tea consumption may play a role in preventing FD. Participants with FD were more likely to have mood disorders than healthy participants. Most participants with FD who had mood disorders experienced mild anxiety or depression. Participants’ main sources of stress arose from daily life, development, social life, life events, and participants’ daily schedule. Conclusion Sex and lifestyle habits, including sleeping patterns and dietary habits, can have an impact on FD. Social stress and mood disorders also have an effect on FD. FD may be prevented by adjusting lifestyle habits and psychological counseling.
Update on the Clot Waveform Analysis

The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)–clot waveform analysis (CWA) was previously reported to be associated with the early detection of disseminated intravascular coagulation and was also reported to be able to measure very low levels of coagulation factor VIII activity. The software program for the analysis for the APTT-CWA allows the associated first and second derivative curves (first and second DCs) to be displayed. The first and second DC reflect the velocity and acceleration, respectively. The height of the first DC reflects the “thrombin burst” and bleeding risk, while that of the second DC is useful for detecting any coagulation factor deficiency and abnormal enhancement of coagulation by phospholipids. Activated partial thromboplastin time-CWA aids in making a differential diagnosis which is difficult to do using only the routine APTT. The CWA is currently used for many applications in the clinical setting, including the monitoring of hemophilia patients and patients receiving anticoagulant therapy and the differential diagnosis of diseases.
Spread of Haitian variant Vibrio cholerae O1 causing cholera outbreaks in Odisha, India.

Cholera posed a significant threat causing outbreaks/epidemics with high morbidity and mortality in Odisha. This study envisages the characterisation of isolated pathogen from two cholera outbreaks reported in 2018 and 2019 from Bargarh and Rayagada districts of Odisha respectively. Vibrio cholerae O1 were isolated following standard techniques. The different virulent and drug resistant genes were detected by multiplex PCR assays; whereas the ctxB genotypes were characterised through double mismatch amplification mutation (DMAMA) PCR assay. The ctxB genes were further sequenced and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was done on some selected strains. The clinical and water isolates of Haitian variant (HCT) V.cholerae O1 Ogawa biotype El Tor with multi drug resistant strains were isolated from both the places. All the V.cholerae O1 strains were positive for virulence genes. The antibiotic resistant genes like dfrA1 (100%), strB (76.9%), intSXT (61.5%) were detected. The PFGE results on V.cholerae O1 strains exhibited two different pulsotypes. These cholera outbreaks were due to multidrug resistant HCT variant V.cholerae O1 strains which were circulating and caused the cholera outbreaks in Odisha. So continuous surveillance on diarrheal disorders is highly essential to prevent the future diarrheal outbreaks in this region.
Associations between cumulative environmental quality and ten selected birth defects in Texas

Causes of most birth defects are largely unknown. Genetics, maternal factors (e.g., age, smoking) and environmental exposures have all been linked to some birth defects, including neural tube, oral cleft, limb reduction, and gastroschisis; however, the contribution of cumulative exposures across several environmental domains in association with these defects is not well understood.
A Review of Probiotics: Are They Really "Functional Foods"?

Probiotic therapy may be useful in the treatment or prevention of a number of disorders, particularly diarrheic disease. Practitioners should attempt to use probiotics that are accurately labeled (genus, species, and ideally strain), indicating the number of viable organisms. Ideally, only organisms that have been demonstrated to colonize the intestinal tract of horses and products for which efficacy has been shown clinically should be used. More research is needed, but equine doses of 1 3 10 9 to 1 3
Improvement of sugarcane for borer resistance using Agrobacterium mediated transformation of cry1Ac gene

ABSTRACT The sugarcane (Saccharum X officinarum) is one of the most important crops used to produce sugar and raw material for biofuel in the world. One of the main causes for sucrose content and yield losses is the attack by insect. In this investigation, cry1Ac gene was introduced into sugarcane variety GT54-9(C9) using the Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation method for transgenic sugarcane production presenting insect-resistance. The A. tumefaciens strain GV1303 including pARTcry1Ac vector was used for the production of transformed sugarcane. The Bacillus thuringiensis cry gene were successfully used to produce transgenic plants used for the improvement of both agronomic efficiency and product quality by acquiring insect resistance. PCR and Southern hybridization techniques were used to confirm the cry1Ac gene incorporation into sugarcane genome. Transformation percentage was 22.2% using PCR analysis with specific primers for cry1Ac and npt-II (Neomycin phosphotransferase) genes. The expression of cry1Ac gene was determined using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), QuickStix test, and insect bioassays. Bioassays for transformed sugarcane plants showed high level of toxicity to Sesamia cretica giving 100% mortality of the larvae. Sugarcane insect resistance was improved significantly by using cry1Ac gene transformation.
Multiple Malignant Lymphomas of the Bile Duct Developing after Spontaneous Regression of an Autoimmune Pancreatitis-like Mass

We herein report a 67-year-old woman with malignant lymphomas of the bile duct that developed after regression of a pancreatic head mass. Computed tomography suggested the mass was pancreatic head cancer. Endoscopic ultrasonography showed a low-echoic mass with hyperechoic strands resembling autoimmune pancreatitis. Her serum IgG4 concentration was elevated to 674 mg/dL. After the pancreatic head mass spontaneously diminished, three masses were detected in the common bile duct. A biopsy of the major papilla revealed high-grade B-cell lymphoma with MYC, BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangement. Systemic chemotherapy with rituximab plus etoposide, prednisolone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin resulted in complete remission.
PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer and its relationship with TLR-4 expression.

PURPOSE Expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is related to the prognosis of many solid tumors, but the prognostic value of PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PD-L1 expression in predicting prognosis, and then provide further insight into the relation between PD-L1 and toll like receptor-4 (TLR-4) in CRC progression. METHODS The expression of PD-L1 and TLR-4 in patients with resected CRC was analyzed using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The biological relation of PD-L1 and TLR-4 in CRC was explored using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). RESULTS Positive PD-L1 and TLR-4 expression in tumor cells were observed in 12.7% and 41.2% respectively. High PD-L1 and TLR-4 expression levels were significantly correlated with poor disease-free survival. PD-L1 expression was closely associated with TLR-4 expression. Multivariate analyses further confirmed that increased expression levels of PD-L1 are unfavorable prognostic factors for operable CRC. CONCLUSION High PD-L1 expression can be used as a prognostic indicator for patients with operable CRC. PD-L1 expression is associated with TLR-4 expression, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the combined use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and TLR agonists.
Expression of a novel form of the fyn proto-oncogene in hematopoietic cells.

Abstract The fyn proto-oncogene encodes a 59-kD membrane-associated protein-tyrosine kinase that is implicated in the control of cell growth. We report here that there are two distinct fyn-encoded transcripts that exhibit mutually exclusive expression patterns; one form is found in thymocytes, splenocytes, and some hematolymphoid cell lines, while a second form accumulates principally in brain. The thymocyte and brain forms of p59fyn differ in their kinase domains, and are generated by mutually exclusive alternative splicing of a single exon. Immunoprecipitation followed by in vitro autophosphorylation demonstrates that both forms of p59fyn are enzymatically active. Our results define a novel form of the p59fyn protein-tyrosine kinase, with an altered catalytic domain, that apparently participates in a specialized signal transduction pathway in hematopoietic cells.
Analysis and Classification of Sleep Stages Based on Common Frequency Pattern From a Single-Channel EEG Signal

One crucial key of developing an automatic sleep stage scoring method is to extract discriminative features. In this paper, we present a novel technique, termed common frequency pattern (CFP), to extract the variance features from a single-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) signal for sleep stage classification. The learning task is formulated by finding significant frequency patterns that maximize variance for one class and that at the same time, minimize variance for the other class. The proposed methodology for automated sleep scoring is tested on the benchmark Sleep-EDF database and finally achieves 97.9%, 94.22%, and 90.16% accuracy for two-state, three-state, and five-state classification of sleep stages. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method identifies discriminative characteristics of sleep stages robustly and achieves better performance as compared to the state-of-the-art sleep staging algorithms. Apart from the enhanced classification, the frequency patterns that are determined by the CFP algorithm is able to find the most significant bands of frequency for classification and could be helpful for a better understanding of the mechanisms of sleep stages.
Antimicrobial defences of the avian egg

Antimicrobial proteins are active against protozoans, fungi, viruses as well as Grampositive and Gram-negative bacteria. In many cases, antimicrobial proteins are present as components of innate immunity and are capable of evading bacterial resistance mechanisms. Due to these characteristics, these proteins represent an appealing alternative to conventional antibiotic drugs. Considerable research has been conducted on antimicrobial proteins from invertebrate and mammalian sources. Within the last decade, over 20 novel antimicrobial proteins have been isolated from avian systems. The majority of these proteins has been isolated from the domestic chicken and therefore represents a minuscule fraction of the avian antimicrobial proteins that are potentially awaiting discovery. In this review, we elaborate on these discoveries and on the future of avian antimicrobial protein research.
A Fair Classifier Using Mutual Information

As machine learning becomes prevalent in our daily lives involving a widening array of applications such as medicine, finance, job hiring and criminal justice, one morally & legally motivated need for machine learning algorithms is to ensure fairness for disadvantageous against advantageous groups. Fairness in machine learning aims at guaranteeing the irrelevancy of a prediction output to sensitive attributes like race, sex and religion. To this end, we take an information- theoretic approach using mutual information (MI) which can fully capture such independence. Inspired by the fact that MI between prediction and the sensitive attribute being zero is the "sufficient and necessary condition" for independence, we develop an MI-based algorithm that well trades off prediction accuracy for fairness performance often quantified as Disparate Impact (DI) or Equalized Odds (EO). Our experiments both on synthetic and benchmark real datasets demonstrate that our algorithm outperforms prior fair classifiers in tradeoff performance both w.r. t. DI and EO.