Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DYSREGULATED METABOLIC RESPONSE In Utero Maternal Benzene Exposure Predisposes to the Metabolic Imbalance in the Offspring

J Endocrine Soc, Volume 5, Issue Supplement_1, April-May 2021 cytoplasmic locations to the plasma membrane is impaired. Sortilin is an important constituent of Glut4 storage vesicles and interacts with guiding proteins to determine location of Glut4 in the trans-Golgi network. Sortilin levels are shown to affect adipocyte function. Using mouse 3T3L1 adipocytes, we demonstrate that alternative splicing of sortilin pre-mRNA results in an inclusion of an exon (17b) between exons 17 and 18 in the 10CC motif of the VPS10p domain crucial for ligand interaction. Sort expression correlates to insulin resistance and over-expression of Sort decreases glucose uptake in adipocytes. Using co-immunoprecipitation assays, we demonstrate that Sort17b is a strong binding partner of Glut4. Using bioinformatic analysis, we show that this insertion results in a novel intrinsically disordered region and has potential sites of proteolytic cleavage. Our study is the first to describe sortilin’s alternatively spliced variants in adipocytes and their effects on glucose uptake. As a broader approach, the research demonstrates the impact of a post-transcriptional event on the metabolic fate of adipocytes in conditions of insulin resistance.
Associations of salivary total antioxidant capacity with cortical amyloid beta burden, cortical glucose uptake and cognitive function in normal aging.

BACKGROUND Recognizing vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires from non-invasive, simple, and inexpensive markers that can be easily obtained in primary care settings. While saliva meets all these requirements, there is lack of evidence linking salivary constituents to in vivo AD pathology in aging. METHODS We examined the potential of salivary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) for identifying global cortical amyloid-beta (Aβ) burden, deficits in regional glucose uptake, and poorer cognition in 71 cognitively normal older adults. We further assessed whether salivary TAC-related cognitive performance was associated with higher Aβ load and lower cortical glucose consumption. RESULTS Linear regression analyses adjusted by age, sex, years of education, and ApoE4 status showed that salivary TAC was associated with slower processing speed and poorer sustained attention, as well as with higher Aβ load and lower glucose metabolism in cortical regions vulnerable to cognitive aging and AD. Results also revealed that lower scores in processing speed and sustained attention were associated with greater Aβ burden and lower regional glucose consumption, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings support the use of salivary TAC for preventive screening and detection of cerebral vulnerability to AD. Further research is needed to evaluate the utility of salivary TAC as a clinical marker.
Research on a Novel Hybrid Decomposition–Ensemble Learning Paradigm Based on VMD and IWOA for PM2.5 Forecasting

The non-stationarity, nonlinearity and complexity of the PM2.5 series have caused difficulties in PM2.5 prediction. To improve prediction accuracy, many forecasting methods have been developed. However, these methods usually do not consider the importance of data preprocessing and have limitations only using a single forecasting model. Therefore, this paper proposed a new hybrid decomposition–ensemble learning paradigm based on variation mode decomposition (VMD) and improved whale-optimization algorithm (IWOA) to address complex nonlinear environmental data. First, the VMD is employed to decompose the PM2.5 sequences into a set of variational modes (VMs) with different frequencies. Then, an ensemble method based on four individual forecasting approaches is applied to forecast all the VMs. With regard to ensemble weight coefficients, the IWOA is applied to optimize the weight coefficients, and the final forecasting results were obtained by reconstructing the refined sequences. To verify and validate the proposed learning paradigm, four daily PM2.5 datasets collected from the Jing-Jin-Ji area of China are chosen as the test cases to conduct the empirical research. The experimental results indicated that the proposed learning paradigm has the best results in all cases and metrics.
The prevalence of genu varum and genu valgum in overweight and obese patients: assessing the relationship between body mass index and knee angular deformities

Background: Recent studies have shown evidence of a relationship between overweight and obesity with skeletal abnormalities, especially angular knee disorders. We aimed to reveal causal relationship between obesity and skeletal abnormalities. Methods: This study was performed on 280 overweight or obese patients (with BMI > 25kg/m2) who referred to the hospital with which the authors are affiliated in Tehran between 2017 and 2018. Several non-radiographic methods including measuring Q angle, inter-malleoli distance and distance between two knees were used to determine genu varum and genu valgum. BMI was also calculated by dividing the weight by the square of the height. Results: The prevalence of genu varumand genu valgum was 8.6% and 10.0%, respectively. There was a significant adverse correlation between the Q angle and BMI. The mean BMI in patients with and without genu varum was 39.07 ± 6.41 kg/m2 and 42.1 ± 2.26 kg/m2, respectively, being significantly lower in the genuvarum group (P = 0.008). Also, the mean BMI in patients with and without genu valgum was 43.39 ± 3.33 kg/m2 and 41.58 ± 4.61 kg/m2, respectively, being significantly higher in the genuvalgum group (P = 0.044). Also, there was a direct correlation between BMI of patients with inter-malleoli distance and inverse correlation between BMI and two knees distance. Conclusion: There is a strong and significant relationship between incidence of obesity and genu valgum; therefore, the prevalence of this deformity in obese individuals is predictable. The lower incidence of genu varum in obese people is predictable in our society. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Nonconducting polymers on Prussian Blue modified electrodes: improvement of selectivity and stability of the advanced H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ transducer

An approach to improve the analytical performance of a Prussian Blue (PB)-based hydrogen peroxide transducer is described. In support of this objective, both the stabilizing and anti-interferent properties of nonconducting films were used. Electropolymerization on the top surface of PB modified electrodes is possible due to the high oxidizing ability of Berlin Green, and the growth of nonconductive polymers may be independently monitored by investigating the redox activity of the inorganic polycrystal. The best performance characteristics, which are advantageous over existing H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ sensors, were obtained for PB electrodes covered with electropolymerized o-phenylenediamine (1,2-diaminobenzene). The reported transducer remained at the 100% response state for more than 20 h under continuous flow of 0.1-mM hydrogen peroxide (flow rate 1 mlmin/sup -1/), which improves the stability level among the selective H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ sensors by one order of magnitude. The selectivity factor of the PB-poly (1,2-diaminobenzene) based transducer relative to ascorbate is nominally 600. PB-poly(1,2-diaminobenzene) modified electrode allows the detection hydrogen peroxide in the flow-injection mode down to 10/sup -7/ M with sensitivity of 0.3 AM/sup -1/cm/sup -2/, which is two times lower compared to the uncovered PB-based transducer.
Functionality of Cellulose Nanofiber as Bio-Based Nucleating Agent and Nano-Reinforcement Material to Enhance Crystallization and Mechanical Properties of Polylactic Acid Nanocomposite

Polylactic acid (PLA), a potential alternative material for single use plastics, generally portrays a slow crystallization rate during melt-processing. The use of a nanomaterial such as cellulose nanofibers (CNF) may affect the crystallization rate by acting as a nucleating agent. CNF at a certain wt. % has been evidenced as a good reinforcement material for PLA; nevertheless, there is a lack of information on the correlation between the amount of CNF in PLA that promotes its functionality as reinforcement material, and its effect on PLA nucleation for improving the crystallization rate. This work investigated the nucleation effect of PLA incorporated with CNF at different fiber loading (1–6 wt.%) through an isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization kinetics study using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. Mechanical properties of the PLA/CNF nanocomposites were also investigated. PLA/CNF3 exhibited the highest crystallization onset temperature and enthalpy among all the PLA/CNF nanocomposites. PLA/CNF3 also had the highest crystallinity of 44.2% with an almost 95% increment compared to neat PLA. The highest crystallization rate of 0.716 min–1 was achieved when PLA/CNF3 was isothermally melt crystallized at 100 °C. The crystallization rate was 65-fold higher as compared to the neat PLA (0.011 min–1). At CNF content higher than 3 wt. %, the crystallization rate decreased, suggesting the occurrence of agglomeration at higher CNF loading as evidenced by the FESEM micrographs. In contrast to the tensile properties, the highest tensile strength and Young’s modulus were recorded by PLA/CNF4 at 76.1 MPa and 3.3 GPa, respectively. These values were, however, not much different compared to PLA/CNF3 (74.1 MPa and 3.3 GPa), suggesting that CNF at 3 wt. % can be used to improve both the crystallization rate and the mechanical properties. Results obtained from this study revealed the dual function of CNF in PLA nanocomposite, namely as nucleating agent and reinforcement material. Being an organic and biodegradable material, CNF has an increased advantage for use in PLA as compared to non-biodegradable material and is foreseen to enhance the potential use of PLA in single use plastics applications.
Phone follow up to families of COVID‐19 patients who died at the hospital: families' grief reactions and clinical psychologists' roles

A proportion of persons affected by coronavirus disease‐19 (COVID‐19) die and do so in extraordinary circumstances. This can make grief management extremely challenging for families. The Clinical Psychology unit of an Italian hospital offered a bereavement follow‐up call to such families. This study aimed to explore the families' experiences and needs collected during these calls, and the role that the psychologists played through the call. A total of 246 families were called over 3 months. Multiple qualitative methods included: (i) written reports of the calls with relatives of patients who died at the hospital for COVID‐19; (ii) qualitative semi‐structured interviews with psychologists involved in the calls; (iii) observation of psychologists' peer group discussions. A thematic analysis was conducted. Six themes emerged: without death rituals, solitary, unexpected, unfair, unsafe, coexisting with other stressors. Families' reactions were perceived by psychologists as close to a traumatic grief. Families' needs ranged from finding alternative rituals to giving meaning and expressing different emotions. The psychologists played both a social‐institutional and a psychological‐human role through the calls (e.g., they cured disrupted communication or validated feelings and choices). This study highlighted the potential of traumatic grief of families of COVID‐19 victims, and provided indications for supporting them within the space of a short phone call.
Appendectomy Does Not Increase the Risk of Future Emergence of Parkinson’s Disease: A Meta-analysis

Objective To explore the impact of appendectomy history on emergence of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Background Although there are several studies to investigate the relationship between appendectomy history and emergence of PD, the results are still controversial. Methods We performed a comprehensive electronic search of the literature (the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and the Web of Science) up to April 2020 to identify studies that had employed databases allowing comparison of emergence of PD between patients with and those without appendectomy history. To integrate the impact of appendectomy history on emergence of PD, a meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models to calculate the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the selected studies, and heterogeneity was analyzed using I2 statistics. Results Four studies involving a total of 6 080 710 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Among 1 470 613 patients with appendectomy history, 1845 (.13%) had emergences of PD during the observation period, whereas among 4 610 097 patients without appendectomy history, 6743 (.15%) had emergences of PD during the observation period. These results revealed that patients with appendectomy history and without appendectomy had almost the same emergence of PD (RR, 1.02; 95% CI, .87-1.20; P = .83; I2 = 87%). Conclusion This meta-analysis has demonstrated that there was no significant difference in emergence of PD between patients with and those without appendectomy history.
Immune Response and Safety of Viral Vaccines in Children with Autoimmune Diseases on Immune Modulatory Drug Therapy

ABSTRACT Introduction: Children with autoimmune diseases often require treatment with systemic immunosuppressives. Efficacy and safety of vaccination, particularly live-attenuated viral vaccines in these patients remain a concern. Areas covered: To evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of viral vaccines in children and young people treated with systemic immunosuppressive drugs for autoimmune diseases. A systemic literature review was performed using Pubmed including English papers in subjects less than 21 years old. Viral vaccines were generally immunogenic and safe in children receiving immunosuppressive drugs, including biologics. Use of low-dose prednisolone or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs did not significantly impact on vaccine immunogenicity, although there was anecdotal evidence of reduced immunogenicity in patients receiving high-dose prednisolone/methylprednisolone and pulse cyclophosphamide. Patients on biologics mounted adequate seroprotective responses, but antibody titers tended to be lower. Both live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines were well tolerated with no serious adverse events. Autoimmune disease activity was not adversely affected by vaccination. Expert opinion: Current evidence indicates that administration of viral vaccines to children with autoimmune diseases receiving most systemic immunosuppressive drugs is immunogenic and safe. MMR can safely be given to most patients receiving biologics, but patients on high-dose prednisolone and pulse cyclophosphamide should avoid MMR and other live viral vaccines.
Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder among women after childbirth using the City Birth Trauma Scale in Spain.

OBJECTIVE Postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PP-PTSD) affects 3.1-6.3% of women after childbirth. The City Birth Trauma Scale (City-BiTS) is a questionnaire designed to evaluate and diagnose this disorder, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) criteria, including the following groups of symptoms characteristic of posttraumatic stress: reexperiencing, avoidance, negative cognitions and mood, and hyperarousal. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish-language version of this questionnaire (City-BiTS-S), based on a community sample of Spanish women. METHOD A total of 207 mothers, recruited at three health centers in southern Spain, completed the City-BiTS-S questionnaire and provided sociodemographic and obstetric data. RESULTS Exploratory factor analysis of the data replicated the two-factor structure reported in previous studies that explained 47.9% of the variance: Factor 1 of general symptoms and Factor 2 of birth-related symptoms. Both City-BiTS-S (Cronbach's alpha = .90) and the two factors (Cronbach's alpha for Factor 1 = 0.89; Cronbach's alpha for Factor 2 = 0.82) presented high internal consistency. Rasch analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of the two factors as valid subscales of the PP-PTSD. Results suggested reducing response options, reviewing Item 8, and rewording Item 3 in the Spanish version. CONCLUSIONS The City-BiTS-S presents appropriate psychometric properties to measure symptoms of PP-PTSD. Nevertheless, further research is recommended to confirm its validity in a clinical population and in different medical approaches to the birth process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
A machine learning-based framework for modeling transcription elongation

Significance Although plenty of studies have identified the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) pausing events in eukaryotes and demonstrated the regulatory roles of such events in gene expression and RNA processing, there was no study that systematically modeled the global landscape of Pol II pausing in the whole genome. Here, we have developed a deep learning framework that can accurately predict the Pol II pausing events from the contextual DNA sequences. Through applying our powerful computational approach to predict the pausing tendencies on interested regions in the human genome, we provided useful insights into understanding the relations between Pol II pausing events and alternative splicing, transcription factors, histone modifications, and DNA methylation. RNA polymerase II (Pol II) generally pauses at certain positions along gene bodies, thereby interrupting the transcription elongation process, which is often coupled with various important biological functions, such as precursor mRNA splicing and gene expression regulation. Characterizing the transcriptional elongation dynamics can thus help us understand many essential biological processes in eukaryotic cells. However, experimentally measuring Pol II elongation rates is generally time and resource consuming. We developed PEPMAN (polymerase II elongation pausing modeling through attention-based deep neural network), a deep learning-based model that accurately predicts Pol II pausing sites based on the native elongating transcript sequencing (NET-seq) data. Through fully taking advantage of the attention mechanism, PEPMAN is able to decipher important sequence features underlying Pol II pausing. More importantly, we demonstrated that the analyses of the PEPMAN-predicted results around various types of alternative splicing sites can provide useful clues into understanding the cotranscriptional splicing events. In addition, associating the PEPMAN prediction results with different epigenetic features can help reveal important factors related to the transcription elongation process. All these results demonstrated that PEPMAN can provide a useful and effective tool for modeling transcription elongation and understanding the related biological factors from available high-throughput sequencing data.
Learning in Stereo: The Relationship Between Spatial Ability and 3D Digital Anatomy Models

Three‐dimensional (3D) digital anatomical models show potential to demonstrate complex anatomical relationships; however, the literature is inconsistent as to whether they are effective in improving the anatomy performance, particularly for students with low spatial visualization ability (Vz). This study investigated the educational effectiveness of a 3D stereoscopic model of the pelvis, and the relationship between learning with 3D models and Vz. It was hypothesized that participants learning with a 3D pelvis model would outperform participants learning with a two‐dimensional (2D) visualization or cadaveric specimen on a spatial anatomy test, particularly when comparing those with low Vz. Participants (n = 64) were stratified into three experimental groups, who each attended a learning session with either a 3D stereoscopic model (n = 21), 2D visualization (n = 21), or cadaveric specimen (n = 22) of the pelvis. Medical and pre‐medical student participants completed a multiple‐choice pre‐test and post‐test during their respective learning session, and a long‐term retention (LTR) test 2 months later. Results showed no difference in anatomy test improvement or LTR performance between the experimental groups. A simple linear regression analysis showed that within the 3D group, participants with high Vz tended to retain more than those with low Vz on the LTR test (R2 = 0.31, P = 0.01). The low Vz participants may be cognitively overloaded by the complex spatial cues from the 3D stereoscopic model. Results of this study should inform resource selection and curriculum design for health professional students, with attention to the impact of Vz on learning.
How do confronters want perpetrators to respond? Defining successful confrontation as the match between desired and actual outcomes

ABSTRACT Research on confronting prejudice frequently defines an effective confrontation as one that induces change in the perpetrator’s prejudicial beliefs or actions. We argue for a broader definition, defining successful confrontation as one that elicits the confronter’s desired response. Using a community sample of 152 adults, we conducted an exploratory study in which participants recalled a time when they had confronted racism or sexism. Results revealed a frequent mismatch between what confronters desired and what they received from the perpetrator. Path analysis showed that a perceived match between desired and actual perpetrator responses to confrontation predicted greater positive and lower negative emotion among confronters, across a range of perpetrator responses. We argue that researchers need to expand definitions of successful confrontation to better understand the ways in which confronters’ and perpetrators’ behaviors intersect within lived experiences of prejudice.
Photobiomodulation therapy for thrombocytopenia by upregulating thrombopoietin expression via the ROS‐dependent Src/ERK/STAT3 signaling pathway

Chemotherapy‐induced thrombocytopenia (CIT) can increase the risk of bleeding, which may delay or prevent the administration of anticancer treatment schedules. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT), a non‐invasive physical treatment, has been proposed to improve thrombocytopenia; however, its underlying regulatory mechanism is not fully understood.
An Overview of the Synthesis and Antimicrobial, Antiprotozoal, and Antitumor Activity of Thiazole and Bisthiazole Derivatives

Thiazole, a five-membered heteroaromatic ring, is an important scaffold of a large number of synthetic compounds. Its diverse pharmacological activity is reflected in many clinically approved thiazole-containing molecules, with an extensive range of biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antihelmintic, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory effects. Due to its significance in the field of medicinal chemistry, numerous biologically active thiazole and bisthiazole derivatives have been reported in the scientific literature. The current review provides an overview of different methods for the synthesis of thiazole and bisthiazole derivatives and describes various compounds bearing a thiazole and bisthiazole moiety possessing antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and antitumor activity, encouraging further research on the discovery of thiazole-containing drugs.