Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus: Guidelines on Antiviral Prophylaxis in Pregnancy].

BACKGROUND Most HBV-associated deaths among adults are secondary to infections acquired at birth or in the first five years of life. AIM To extend the guideline for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the hepatitis B virus to include antiviral prophylaxis. METHODS The guideline was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in accordance with WHO standards. The summary was translated into German by employees of the WHO Collaborating Centre at Danube University Krems (Austria). RESULTS In addition to the recommendation to test pregnant women for heptatitis B virus (HBV) and vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B as soon as possible after birth, two new recommendations have been formulated: pregnant women testing positive for HBV infection should receive tenofovir prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HBV. WHO recommends that in settings in which antenatal HBV DNA testing is not available, HBeAg testing can be used as an alternative to determine eligibility for tenofovir prophylaxis.
Frailty and prefrailty in people living with HIV, with focus on women living with HIV

With the increasing lifespan of people living with HIV (PLWH), frailty and prefrailty are becoming topics which require more attention. The reciprocal interactions between chronic inflammation, comorbidities and frailty demonstrate the complex pathophysiology of frailty and its consequences. Female sex, HIV infection without antiretroviral treatment, reduced CD4 cell count, depression and cardiovascular disease are some of the risk factors for frailty among PLWH. Frailty predisposes to falls and can therefore lead to more frequent fractures, hospitalization and death, especially in women with osteoporosis. Continuous antiretroviral treatment, prevention of comorbidities such as depression and diagnosis of prefrailty are crucial interventions to slow the development of frailty. This review summarizes the literature on frailty in people living with HIV and discusses frailty management strategies in order to improve the health outcomes in women living with HIV.
Involvement of Flagellin in Kin Recognition between Bacillus velezensis Strains

Kin selection plays an important role in stabilizing population cooperation and maintaining the progeny benefits for bacteria in nature. However, to date, the role of flagellin in kin recognition in Bacillus has not been reported. ABSTRACT Kin discrimination in nature is an effective way for bacteria to stabilize population cooperation and maintain progeny benefits. However, so far, the research on kin discrimination for Bacillus still has concentrated on “attack and defense” between cells and diffusion-dependent molecular signals of quorum sensing, kin recognition in Bacillus, however, has not been reported. To determine whether flagellar is involve in the kin recognition of Bacillus, we constructed Bacillus velezensis SQR9 assembled with flagellin of its kin and non-kin strains, and performed a swarm boundary assay with SQR9, then analyzed sequence variation of flagellin and other flagellar structural proteins in B. velezensis genus. Our results showed that SQR9 assembled with flagellin of non-kin strains was more likely to form a border phenotype with wild-type strain SQR9 in swarm assay than that of kin strains, and that non-kin strains had greater variation in flagellin than kin strains. In B. velezensis, these variations in flagellin were prevalent and had evolved significantly faster than other flagellar structural proteins. Therefore, we proposed that flagellin is an effective tool partly involved in the kin recognition of B. velezensis strains. IMPORTANCE Kin selection plays an important role in stabilizing population cooperation and maintaining the progeny benefits for bacteria in nature. However, to date, the role of flagellin in kin recognition in Bacillus has not been reported. By using rhizospheric Bacillus velezensis SQR9, we accomplished flagellin region interchange among its related strains, and show that flagellin acts as a mediator to distinguish kin from non-kin in B. velezensis. We demonstrated the polymorphism of flagellin in B. velezensis through alignment analysis of flagellin protein sequences. Therefore, it was proposed that flagellin was likely to be an effective tool for mediating kin recognition in B. velezensis.
The paradoxical role of radiation‐induced cGAS–STING signalling network in tumour immunity

The cyclic GMP–AMP synthase–stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS–STING) pathway is an essential component of the innate immune system and is central to the identification of abnormal DNA leakage caused by ionising radiation (IR) damage. Cell‐intrinsic cGAS–STING initiation has been revealed to have tremendous potential for facilitating interferon synthesis and T‐cell priming. Targeting the cGAS–STING axis has been proposed as a strategy to improve radiosensitivity or enhance immunosurveillance. However, due to the complex biology of the irradiated tumour microenvironment and the extensive involvement of the cGAS–STING pathway in various physiological and pathological processes, many defects in this strategy limit the therapeutic effect. Here, we outline the molecular mechanisms by which IR activates the cGAS–STING pathway and analyse the dichotomous roles of the cGAS–STING pathway in modulating cancer immunity after radiotherapy (RT). Then, based on the crosstalk between the cGAS–STING pathway and other signalling events induced by IR, such as necroptosis, autophagy and other cellular effects, we discuss the immunomodulatory actions of the broad cGAS–STING signalling network in RT and their potential therapeutic applications. Finally, recent advances in combination therapeutic strategies targeting cGAS–STING in RT are explored.
COEVOLUTION BETWEEN SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES AND BULGES IS NOT VIA INTERNAL FEEDBACK REGULATION BUT BY RATIONED GAS SUPPLY DUE TO ANGULAR MOMENTUM DISTRIBUTION

We reason that without physical fine-tuning, neither the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) nor the stellar bulges can self-regulate or inter-regulate by driving away already fallen cold gas to produce the observed correlation between them. We suggest an alternative scenario where the observed mass ratios of the SMBHs to bulges reflect the angular momentum distribution of infallen gas such that the mass reaching the stable accretion disk is a small fraction of that reaching the bulge region, averaged over the cosmological timescales. We test this scenario using high-resolution, large-scale cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, without active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, assuming the angular momentum distribution of gas landing in the bulge region yields a Mestel disk that is supported by independent simulations resolving the Bondi radii of SMBHs. A mass ratio of 0.1%–0.3% between the very low angular momentum gas that free falls to the subparsec region to accrete to the SMBH and the overall star formation rate is found. This ratio is found to increase with increasing redshift to within a factor of ∼2, suggesting that the SMBH-to-bulge ratio is nearly redshift independent, with a modest increase with redshift, which is a testable prediction. Furthermore, the duty cycle of AGNs with high Eddington ratios is expected to increase significantly with redshift. Finally, while SMBHs and bulges are found to coevolve on ∼30–150 Myr timescales or longer, there is indication that on still smaller timescales, the SMBH accretion and star formation may be less correlated.
Patient characteristics that predict Richter's transformation in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with ibrutinib

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) transformation to aggressive lymphoma, known as Richter's Transformation (RT), has a dismal prognosis. There are limited data evaluating risk of RT in patients treated with ibrutinib. We performed a retrospective analysis to determine prognostic variables associated with development of RT and overall survival (OS) at progression after treatment with ibrutinib. We identified 559 patients with CLL treated with ibrutinib from 2010–2019. After a median follow‐up of 44.5 months from ibrutinib start, 179 patients progressed and were included in our analysis. After a median follow‐up of 20.8 months from progression, 54 out of 179 patients developed RT. Progression on treatment (hazard ratio [HR] 4.01 [1.60–10.00], p = .003), higher LDH (HR 1.80 for 2‐fold increase [1.33–2.43], p = .0001), and lymphadenopathy without lymphocytosis (HR 2.88 [1.15–7.20], p = .02) were independent prognostic variables for the development of RT at progression. Progression with lymphadenopathy without lymphocytosis continued to be an independent prognostic variable of worse OS post‐progression. In a subset analysis of 50 patients who obtained a PET‐CT at progression, the median SUVmax for patients who would develop RT was 15.2 (n = 30, range: 4.0–46.3) versus those patients who did not develop RT with a SUVmax of 7.7 (n = 20, range: 2.3–27.2) (p = .0030). Median OS from date of RT was 4.0 months, suggesting that prognosis for RT remains poor. A lymph node biopsy to rule out RT should be considered in patients who received ibrutinib who progress on treatment, have an elevated LDH, or progress with lymphadenopathy without lymphocytosis.
Quantum state transfer through a qubit network with energy shifts and fluctuations

We study quantum state transfer through a qubit network modeled by spins with XY interaction, when relying on a single excitation. We show that it is possible to achieve perfect transfer by shifting (adding) energy to specific vertices. This technique appears to be a potentially powerful tool for changing, and in some cases improving, the transfer capabilities of quantum networks. Analytical results are presented for all-to-all networks and for all-to-all networks with a missing link. Moreover, we evaluate the effect of random fluctuations on the transmission fidelity.
HIGH-FREQUENCY RADIO PROPERTIES OF SOURCES IN THE FERMI-LAT 1 YEAR POINT SOURCE CATALOG

The high-frequency radio sky, like the gamma-ray sky surveyed by the Fermi satellite, is dominated by flat spectrum radio quasars and BL Lac objects at bright flux levels. To investigate the relationship between radio and gamma-ray emission in extragalactic sources, we have cross-matched the Australia Telescope 20 GHz survey catalog (AT20G) with the Fermi-LAT 1 year Point Source Catalog (1FGL). The 6.0 sr of sky covered by both catalogs (δ < 0°, |b|>1.°5) contains 5890 AT20G radio sources and 604 1FGL gamma-ray sources. The AT20G source positions are accurate to within ∼1 arcsec and, after excluding known Galactic sources, 43% of Fermi 1FGL sources have an AT20G source within the 95% Fermi confidence ellipse. Monte Carlo tests imply that at least 95% of these matches are genuine associations. Only five gamma-ray sources (1% of the Fermi catalog) have more than one AT20G counterpart in the Fermi error box. The AT20G matches also generally support the active galactic nucleus (AGN) associations in the First LAT AGN Catalog. We find a trend of increasing gamma-ray flux density with 20 GHz radio flux density. The Fermi detection rate of AT20G sources is close to 100% for the brightest 20 GHz sources, decreasing to 20% at 1 Jy, and to roughly 1% at 100 mJy. Eight of the matched AT20G sources have no association listed in 1FGL and are presented here as potential gamma-ray AGNs for the first time. We also identify an alternative AGN counterpart to one 1FGL source. The percentage of Fermi sources with AT20G detections decreases toward the Galactic plane, suggesting that the 1FGL catalog contains at least 50 Galactic gamma-ray sources in the southern hemisphere that are yet to be identified.
Characterization of a multipurpose NS3 surface patch coordinating HCV replicase assembly and virion morphogenesis

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle is highly regulated and characterized by a step-wise succession of interactions between viral and host cell proteins resulting in the assembly of macromolecular complexes, which catalyse genome replication and/or virus production. Non-structural (NS) protein 3, comprising a protease and a helicase domain, is involved in orchestrating these processes by undergoing protein interactions in a temporal fashion. Recently, we identified a multifunctional NS3 protease surface patch promoting pivotal protein-protein interactions required for early steps of the HCV life cycle, including NS3-mediated NS2 protease activation and interactions required for replicase assembly. In this work, we extend this knowledge by identifying further NS3 surface determinants important for NS5A hyperphosphorylation, replicase assembly or virion morphogenesis, which map to protease and helicase domain and form a contiguous NS3 surface area. Functional interrogation led to the identification of phylogenetically conserved amino acid positions exerting a critical function in virion production without affecting RNA replication. These findings illustrate that NS3 uses a multipurpose protein surface to orchestrate the step-wise assembly of functionally distinct multiprotein complexes. Taken together, our data provide a basis to dissect the temporal formation of viral multiprotein complexes required for the individual steps of the HCV life cycle.
Some mass relations for mesons and baryons in Regge phenomenology

In the quasilinear Regge trajectory ansatz, some useful linear mass inequalities, quadratic mass inequalities, and quadratic mass equalities are derived for mesons and baryons. Based on these relations, mass ranges of some mesons and baryons are given. The masses of bc and ss belonging to the pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor meson multiplets are also extracted. The J{sup P} of the baryon {xi}{sub cc}{sup +}(3520) is assigned to be (1/2){sup +}. The parameters of the (1/2){sup +} and (3/2){sup +} SU(4) baryon trajectories are extracted and the masses of the orbital excited baryons lying on the (1/2){sup +} and (3/2){sup +} trajectories are estimated. The J{sup P} assignments of baryons {xi}{sub c}(2980), {xi}{sub c}(3055), {xi}{sub c}(3077), and {xi}{sub c}(3123) are discussed. The predictions are in reasonable agreement with the existing experimental data and those suggested in many other different approaches. The mass relations and the predictions may be useful for the discovery of the unobserved meson and baryon states and the J{sup P} assignment of these states.
Specific adolescent prodromal symptoms associated with onset of psychosis in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986

Several psychological symptoms in adolescence associate with later development of psychosis. However, it is unclear which symptoms specifically predict psychotic disorders rather than psychiatric disorders in general. We conducted a prospective study comparing how specific adolescent psychotic‐like symptoms, predicted psychotic and non‐psychotic hospital‐treated psychiatric disorders in the population‐based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC1986).
Association between Levels of Trimethylamine N-Oxide and Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world. Reports on the effect of Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TAMO), a small amine oxide generated by gut microbial metabolism of choline, betaine, and carnitine, on cancer are inconsistent. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis summarize the effect of TAMO on cancer incidence. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. Data were pooled using the random-effects method and were expressed as weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The pooled results of 16 studies, including 5930 participants, showed that the association between TMAO levels and cancer incidence is insignificant (Odds Ratio: 0.97, 95% CI: (0.64, 1.46), P-value = 0.871). Subgroup analysis showed that urinary TMAO levels were negatively associated with cancer incidence; in contrast, a direct and positive association was observed between serum TMAO levels and cancer incidence. However, “gender” and the “TMAO measuring method” were the potential sources of discrepancies. Meta-regression analysis did not reveal any significant association between duration of studies, age, female ratio, subjects-control, and subjects-case. The present study demonstrates that serum TAMO levels were insignificantly associated with cancer incidence.
Plasma microRNA-221-3p as a biomarker for POCD after non-cardiac surgery

Our previous study showed that the plasma microRNA-221-3p level could serve as a biomarker for major depression or mood. This study aimed to further investigate the role of plasma microRNA-221-3p level in postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery were randomly assigned according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. POCD was diagnosed by the Z score method. The relative level of plasma microRNA-221-3p was decided by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Multiple logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves were used for the analysis of plasma microRNA-221-3p prediction performance for POCD. At 7 days post-surgery, the rate of POCD was 34.04%. Patients in the POCD group had a higher preoperative depression score, older age, and longer operation duration than that in the NPOCD group. The relative level of plasma microRNA-221-3p in the POCD group was 1.78 and 2.73 times higher than that in the NPOCD group at 1 day before and 7 days after the surgery, respectively. The relative content of plasma microRNA-221-3p at 7 days after operation was an independent risk factor for POCD. The ROC curves showed that the area under the curve was 0.938 for plasma microRNA-221-3p at postoperative 7 days, and the threshold for POCD detection was 12.33 with a sensitivity and specificity of 81.3% and 96.3%, respectively. Our results indicate that the plasma postoperative microRNA-221-3p levels could be an effective predictor for POCD after non-cardiac surgery.
THE INFLUENTIAL EFFECT OF BLENDING, BUMP, CHANGING PERIOD, AND ECLIPSING CEPHEIDS ON THE LEAVITT LAW

The investigation of the nonlinearity of the Leavitt law (LL) is a topic that began more than seven decades ago, when some of the studies in this field found that the LL has a break at about 10 days. The goal of this work is to investigate a possible statistical cause of this nonlinearity. By applying linear regressions to OGLE-II and OGLE-IV data, we find that to obtain the LL by using linear regression, robust techniques to deal with influential points and/or outliers are needed instead of the ordinary least-squares regression traditionally used. In particular, by using M- and MM-regressions we establish firmly and without doubt the linearity of the LL in the Large Magellanic Cloud, without rejecting or excluding Cepheid data from the analysis. This implies that light curves of Cepheids suggesting blending, bumps, eclipses, or period changes do not affect the LL for this galaxy. For the Small Magellanic Cloud, when including Cepheids of this kind, it is not possible to find an adequate model, probably because of the geometry of the galaxy. In that case, a possible influence of these stars could exist.
Clinical First-Trimester Prediction Models for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication that negatively impacts the health of both the mother and child. Early prediction of the risk of GDM may permit prompt and effective interventions. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the study characteristics, methodological quality, and model performance of first-trimester prediction model studies for GDM. Methods Five electronic databases, one clinical trial register, and gray literature were searched from the inception date to March 19, 2022. Studies developing or validating a first-trimester prediction model for GDM were included. Two reviewers independently extracted data according to an established checklist and assessed the risk of bias by the Prediction Model Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST). We used a random-effects model to perform a quantitative meta-analysis of the predictive power of models that were externally validated at least three times. Results We identified 43 model development studies, six model development and external validation studies, and five external validation-only studies. Body mass index, maternal age, and fasting plasma glucose were the most commonly included predictors across all models. Multiple estimates of performance measures were available for eight of the models. Summary estimates range from 0.68 to 0.78 (I2 ranged from 0% to 97%). Conclusion Most studies were assessed as having a high overall risk of bias. Only eight prediction models for GDM have been externally validated at least three times. Future research needs to focus on updating and externally validating existing models.
Total sleep deprivation decreases saliva ghrelin levels in adolescents

Ghrelin, a regulator of food intake and energy expenditure, has been shown to be associated with insufficient sleep. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of a single night of total sleep deprivation on fasting saliva ghrelin and on nocturnal variation of saliva ghrelin concentration. A further aim of the study was to investigate the influence of body mass index on changes in saliva ghrelin levels. Altogether 35 adolescents (18 boys; age: 13.8 ± 1.14 years) were studied on two subsequent days (sleep and total sleep deprivation). Saliva samples were collected during the two experimental nights at 21:00 hours, 01:00 hours and 06:00 hours. Total‐ghrelin concentration showed a continuous increase from the evening until 06:00 hours. This increase was blunted significantly (p = 0.003) by total sleep deprivation. Total‐ghrelin level was significantly lower (p = 0.02) during total sleep deprivation at 06:00 hours (median 403.6 pg ml−1; 95% confidence interval: 343.1–468.9 pg ml−1) as compared with values during the sleep condition (median 471.2 pg ml−1; 95% confidence interval: 205.4–1578.7 pg ml−1). Acyl‐ghrelin levels did not present any change at the three time points, and were not affected by total sleep deprivation. Stratifying the study population according to body mass index (normal weight and overweight/obese groups), the blunting effect of total sleep deprivation was more pronounced in the obese/overweight group (sleep: median 428.2 pg ml−1; 95% confidence interval: 331.3–606.9 pg ml−1 versus total sleep deprivation: median 333.1 pg ml−1; 95% confidence interval: 261.5–412.9 pg ml−1; p = 0.0479). Saliva total‐ghrelin concentrations gradually increased during the night, and total sleep deprivation significantly blunted this increase. This blunting effect was mainly observed in subjects with overweight/obesity. The physiological and clinical implications of the present observation are to be clarified by further studies.