Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic repair for spinal cord injury: combinatory approaches to address a multifaceted problem

The recent years saw the advent of promising preclinical strategies that combat the devastating effects of a spinal cord injury (SCI) that are progressing towards clinical trials. However, individually, these treatments produce only modest levels of recovery in animal models of SCI that could hamper their implementation into therapeutic strategies in spinal cord injured humans. Combinational strategies have demonstrated greater beneficial outcomes than their individual components alone by addressing multiple aspects of SCI pathology. Clinical trial designs in the future will eventually also need to align with this notion. The scenario will become increasingly complex as this happens and conversations between basic researchers and clinicians are required to ensure accurate study designs and functional readouts.
The Antiulcer Activities of the Methanol Extract of Cassia singueana Leaves Using Indomethacin-Induced Gastric Ulcer Model in Rats

The antiulcer activities of the methanolic extract of Cassia singueana leaves were evaluated using indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer model in rats. The extract was prepared by cold marceration in 80% methanol at 37 0 C with intermittent shaking for 48 h. A yield of 12.6% w/w dry extract was obtained. The extract was safe, up to a dose of 4000 mg/kg given per os did not cause mortality in the rats. The extract at 250 and 750 mg/kg produced significant (p<0.05) protective effect in rats with a preventive index of 71% against 52% with cimetidine (100 mg/kg) and 0% with distilled water. The histopathologic lesions deviated from numerous severe focal lesions and marked disorientation of the gastric epithelium in solvent treated control to fairly protected gastric mucosa with CSE (250 and 750 mg/kg) and cimetidine (100 mg/k) treated rats. Cassia leaf extract was found to be significantly protective against indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers in the experimental rats.
Long-term dietary flavonoid intake and change in cognitive function in the Framingham Offspring cohort

Abstract Objective: To examine the association between long-term intake of total and the six classes of dietary flavonoids and decline in cognitive function over a follow-up period of up to 15 years. Design: In this longitudinal study, we evaluated change in eight cognitive domain scores (verbal and visual memory, verbal learning, attention and concentration, abstract reasoning, language, visuoperceptual organisation and the global function) based on three neuropsychological exams and characterised the annualised change between consecutive exams. Long-term intakes of total and six flavonoid classes were assessed up to four times by a validated FFQ. Repeated-measures regression models were used to examine the longitudinal association between total and six flavonoid classes and annualised change in the eight cognitive domains. Setting: The Framingham Heart Study (FHS), a prospective cohort study. Participants: One thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine subjects who were free of dementia, aged ≥45 years and had attended at least two of the last three FHS Offspring cohort study exams. Results: Over a median follow-up of 11·8 years with 1779 participants, nominally significant trends towards a slower decline in cognitive function were observed among those with higher flavanol and flavan-3-ol intakes for global function, verbal and visual memory; higher total flavonoids and flavonoid polymers for visual memory; and higher flavanols for verbal learning. Conclusions: In spite of modest nominal trends, overall, our findings do not support a clear association between higher long-term flavonoid intake and slowing age-related cognitive decline.
Incidence of lower extremity amputations among patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the United States from 2010 to 2014

To compare the incidence of lower extremity amputation (LEA) among patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with those without diabetes using US commercial claims and to assess the presence of key co‐morbidities and precipitating factors at the time of the LEA.
ROCK1 Inhibitor Stabilizes E-cadherin and Improves Barrier Function in Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating gastrointestinal disease of newborns. Although incompletely understood, NEC is associated with intestinal barrier dysfunction. E-cadherin, an adherens junction, is a protein complex integral in maintaining normal barrier homeostasis. ROCK1 is a kinase that regulates the E-cadherin complex and p120-catenin is a subunit of the E-cadherin complex that has been implicated in stabilizing the cadherin complex at the plasma membrane. We hypothesized that E-cadherin is decreased in NEC and that inhibition of ROCK1 would protect against adherens junction disruption. To investigate this, a multi-modal approach was used: In vitro Caco-2 model of NEC (LPS/ TNFa), rap pup model (hypoxia + bacteria containing formula), and human intestinal samples. E-cadherin was decreased in NEC compared to controls, with re-localization from the cell border to an intracellular location. ROCK1 exhibited a time-dependent response to disease, with increased early expression in NEC, and decreased expression at later time points and disease severity. Administration of ROCK1 inhibitor (RI) resulted in preservation of E-cadherin expression at the cell border, preservation of intestinal villi on histologic examination, and decreased apoptosis. ROCK1 upregulation in NEC led to decreased association of E-cadherin to p120 and increased intestinal permeability. RI helped maintain the stability of the E-cadherin-p120 complex, leading to improved barrier integrity and protection from experimental NEC.
Systematic review and Meta-analysis of treating open angle glaucoma with gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy.

AIM To systematically review and Meta-analyze studies of managing open angle glaucoma (OAG) with gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT) and to evaluate its effectiveness and safety. METHODS Eligible studies were retrieved and screened from five main electronic databases. Mean difference (MD) was hired to show the pooled effectiveness of intraocular pressure (IOP) and medication decrease achieved by GATT. In addition, combined surgical success and reoperation rates were calculated, and complications were also summarized. RESULTS Ten studies were included for systematic review, but one study was not pooled for Meta-analysis due to the repeated data. The combined IOP decrease after GATT was 9.81 mm Hg (95%CI: 7.98-11.63 mm Hg) which showed significant reduction from the baselines (Z=10.52, P<0.0001). Similarly, the number of medications after GATT also decreased distinctly compared with that of medication before the surgery (Z=9.09, P<0.0001), and the pooled medication decrease was 1.68 (95%CI: 1.31-2.04). In addition, the combined surgical success rate was 85%, while the pooled reoperation rate was 20%. Sight-threatening complications occurred scarcely, whereas the pooled occurrence rate of hyphemia was as high as 36.0%. CONCLUSION GATT could effectively lower IOP and decrease medications for patients with OAG. Moreover, the procedure appears to be a safe and promising treatment for OAG due to its minimally-invasive and conjunctiva-sparing nature.
SERPINH1 regulates EMT and gastric cancer metastasis via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

In this study, we investigated the role of SERPINH1 in gastric cancer (GC) progression. GC patient tissues show significantly higher SERPINH1 mRNA and protein levels than normal gastric mucosal tissues. GC patients with high SERPINH1 expression are associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. SERPINH1 mRNA levels negatively correlate with E-cadherin mRNA levels and positively correlate with levels of N-cadherin, MMP2, and MMP9 mRNA levels. This suggests SERPINH1 regulates epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). SERPINH1 expression was significantly higher in the HGC-27, AGS, MGC-803, and SGC-7901 GC cell lines than in the GES-1 normal gastric mucosal cell line. In SERPINH1-silenced SGC-7901 cells, survival, colony formation, migration and invasion were all reduced, whereas they were all enhanced in SERPINH1-overexpressing MGC-803 cells. Levels of WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway proteins, including β-catenin, Wnt2, GSK-3β, p-GSK-3β, NF-κB P65, Snail1, Slug and TWIST, were all reduced in SERPINH1-silenced SGC-7901 cells, and increased in the SERPINH1-overexpressing MGC-803 cells. Inhibition of SERPINH1 protein using Co1003 significantly decreased survival, invasion, and migration of GC cells. SERPINH1 thus appears to regulate EMT and GC progression via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, making SERPINH1 a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in GC patients.
Unusual coexistence of double inferior vena cava with nutcracker syndrome–a case report and review of the literature

Knowledge of vessel anomalies is significant for all specialists in clinical practice and may prevent serious complications following medical interventions. Here, the rare coexistence of a duplicated inferior vena cava (IVC) and nutcracker syndrome in a 42-year-old female patient with atypical abdominal pain is presented, using two complementary radiological techniques (colour Doppler ultrasonography and computed tomography angiography). The right renal vein was found to be compressed when passing between the superior mesenteric artery and the abdominal aorta. The lumen dimensions (width × height) of the right IVC and left IVC at the level of termination were 15.8 × 17.7 mm and 13.4 × 12.4 mm, respectively. Ultrasonography revealed low blood flow in the left IVC that was reversed, and thus blood travelled in the same caudal direction as in the aorta. In the right IVC, however, flow travelled in the cranial direction. The simultaneous existence of a duplicated IVC and nutcracker syndrome is an extremely rare vessel anomaly; nevertheless, this dual presence may result in clinical symptoms and would have an impact on medical operations and even minor medical procedures.
Diet quality and risk of frailty among older women in the Nurses' Health Study.

BACKGROUND The frailty syndrome is associated with higher risk of disability and death after accounting for multimorbidity. Therefore, the determinants of frailty need to be identified to ensure older adults live not only longer but also healthier lives. However, the effect of diet quality on frailty is mostly unknown. OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate the alternate Mediterranean diet (AMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, and the alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010) in association with frailty risk among older women. METHODS We analyzed data from 71,941 women aged ≥60 y participating in the Nurses' Health Study. The AMED, DASH, and AHEI-2010 were computed from validated FFQs in 1990 and repeated every 4 y until 2010. Frailty was defined as having ≥3 of the following 5 criteria from the FRAIL scale: fatigue, reduced resistance, reduced aerobic capacity, having ≥5 illnesses, and weight loss ≥5%. The occurrence of frailty was assessed every 4 y. RESULTS During follow-up we identified 11,564 incident cases of frailty. After adjusting for potential confounders, the RRs (95% CIs) of frailty per 1-SD increase in the AMED, DASH, and AHEI-2010 scores were 0.87 (0.85, 0.90), 0.93 (0.91, 0.95), and 0.90 (0.88, 0.92), respectively. All diet quality scores were associated with lower risk of the individual frailty criteria fatigue, reduced resistance, reduced aerobic capacity, and weight loss. Lower consumption of red and processed meat, a lower sodium intake, a higher ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat, vegetables, and moderate alcohol intake were components of the diet quality scores independently associated with lower risk of frailty. CONCLUSIONS Adherence to a healthy diet, as defined by the AMED, DASH, and AHEI-2010 scores, was associated with reduced risk of frailty in older women.
Adjacent dimer epitope of envelope protein as an important region for Zika virus serum neutralization: a computational investigation

Abstract The recent emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) has affected many countries, with severe clinical manifestations such as fetal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. However, even though it is a major public health concern, there is no approved treatment available. Structural knowledge of the main neutralization regions of the envelope (E) protein of ZIKV and its interactions with neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are crucial for the rational development of subunit vaccines and establishment of antibody-based interventions. In this study we screened from public data hot spot epitopes in conserved regions of ZIKV E protein that are nAbs targets. The result points to a conserved epitope located at domain II of the ZIKV E protein, namely adjacent dimer epitope, which is the ZIKV-117 and Z20 nAbs target. Although these two nAbs have been isolated from different donors, we have demonstrated, from structural and energetic details obtained by molecular dynamics of native and mutants, that hot spots residues of the epitope are the same for these nAbs, thereby indicating that they may share similar binding and neutralization mechanism. This convergence of information between these nAbs is important because both are potential targets for the development of therapies against ZIKV and only Z20 has its sequence and its complex structure with ZIKV E protein determined. Finally, these findings also contribute to existing knowledge, by fine mapping of the epitope/paratope residue pairs that are important for biotechnological development of therapies such as epitope mimetics for subunit vaccines and the rational design for antibody-based interventions against ZIKV. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Relationship between hypertension and geographic altitude: a cross-sectional survey among residents in Tibet

Objective This study aimed to assess the prevalence of hypertension (HT) among individuals living at different altitudes in Tibet. Methods We conducted a stratified cluster survey among 1,631 participants in Tibet living in areas at three different altitudes. Results Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) values were highest at the lowest altitudes. After adjusting for age and sex, the prevalence of HT at low, medium, and high altitudes was 40.6%, 32.5%, and 20.4%, respectively. The prevalence of HT decreased with increasing altitude and increased with increasing age and BMI value. Conclusion Increasing altitude tended to decrease BMI levels, and as a consequence, the prevalence of HT was reduced. National policies and guidelines for HT in Tibet should focus on this relationship.
NTUSD-Fin: A Market Sentiment Dictionary for Financial Social Media Data Applications

Extracting information in textual data for further applications is one of the popular topics in financial domain in last decade. Although there exist some dictionaries for news and financial reports, few dictionaries focus on financial social media data. This paper constructs a market sentiment dictionary based on more than 330K labeled posts from financial social media. There are 8,331 words, 112 hashtags and 115 emojis in our dictionary. The statistic results shows the difference the sentiment and the market sentiment of the investors. Furthermore, the comparison of (1) general sentiment analysis and market sentiment analysis, and (2) the market sentiment of social media data and formal reports are discussed with the constructed dictionary. We find that some neutral words in general sentiment dictionary should be considered as the bullish/bearish words. The experimental results of our dictionary and that of the dictionary for financial formal documents show the usefulness of our dictionary in financial social media application.
Bicomponent polymeric micelles for pH-controlled delivery of doxorubicin

Abstract Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems (DDSs) are expected to realize site-specific drug release and kill cancer cells selectively. In this study, a pH-responsive micelle was designed utilizing the pH-sensitivity of borate bonds formed between dopamine and boronic acid. First, methyl (polyethylene glycol)-block-polycaprolactone (mPEG-PCL) was conjugated with 4-cyano-4-(thiobenzoylthio)pentanoic acid (CTP) to obtain a macroinitiator. Two different segments poly(dopamine methacrylamide) (PDMA) and poly(vinylphenylboronic acid) (PVBA) were then grafted to the end of mPEG-PCL. Two triblock copolymers, mPEG-PCL-PDMA and mPEG-PCL-PVBA, were then obtained by reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization. These copolymers and their mixture self-assembled in aqueous solution to form micelles that were able to load hydrophobic anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). These two-component micelles were found to be pH-sensitive, in contrast to the one-component micelles. Furthermore, MTT studies showed that the micelles were almost nontoxic. The DOX-loaded micelles showed cytotoxicity equivalent to that of DOX at high concentration. In vivo antitumor experiments showed that this pH-sensitive polymeric micellar system had an enhanced therapeutic effect on tumors. These two-component boronate-based pH micelles are universally applicable to the delivery of anticancer drugs, showing great potential for cancer therapy.
The Increasing Importance of Friendship in Late Life: Understanding the Role of Sociohistorical Context in Social Development

Historically, family ties have been understood as the primary source of support for aging adults, and past empirical and theoretical work has highlighted the tendency of older adults to focus on close family. However, in line with demographic changes and historical increases in the diversity of social structures, friendships are increasing in importance in recent generations of older adults. Given the powerful role of context in shaping these changes, this paper offers a conceptual analysis linking individual agency to sociohistorical context as a way to understand this increasing diversity of social ties. More specifically, we propose that the individual invests time and energy to form and maintain social ties, and that each individual has a specific social opportunity structure (all potential ties that are available to invest in, as well as the costs of those investments). Furthermore, this investment of time and energy is determined in part by individual differences in capacities and motivations. We argue that sociohistorical context influences this process in three important ways: (1) in its effect on the social opportunity structure; (2) in its direct effect on time and energy; and (3) in its effect on individuals’ capacities and motivations. We believe that these mechanisms can account for the increasing diversity of social ties across adulthood, as well as the potential for future historical changes.
Testing invariance of ethnic-racial discrimination and identity measures for adolescents across ethnic-racial groups and contexts.

Ethnic-racial discrimination experiences, ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, and attitudes toward other ethnic-racial group contact all make important contributions to individuals' health and well-being. Absent from the literature is systematic examination of whether these constructs may be measured equivalently for adolescents from different ethnic-racial groups living in different contexts. In 2 large ethno-racially diverse samples of high school students in the Southwestern (N = 2,136) and Midwestern (N = 1,055) United States, the current study tested invariance of 4 widely used measures, including Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index (Fisher, Wallace, & Fenton, 2000), Ethnic Identity Scale-Brief (Douglass & Umaña-Taylor, 2015), Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Teen (Scottham, Sellers, & Nguyên, 2008), and Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Other Group Orientation (Phinney, 1992). Results from multigroup confirmatory factor analyses supported configural and metric but not scalar invariance across Asian, Black, Latinx, Native, and White American adolescents, and across geographic regions for Asian, Black, and White American adolescents. Results demonstrate the utility of these measures to examine whether associations with theoretically related constructs differ across groups and regions, but specific items preclude mean-level group difference tests for certain groups. Supporting convergent validity across ethno-racially diverse adolescents in 2 regions, scores on ethnic-racial discrimination from peers, adults in school, and other adults in society were each positively associated with depressive symptoms; ERI exploration, resolution, affirmation, centrality, and public regard scores were each positively associated with self-esteem; and other group orientation scores were positively associated with ERI achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Parafoveal‐on‐foveal repetition effects in sentence reading: A co‐registered eye‐tracking and electroencephalogram study

Abstract When reading, can the next word in the sentence (word n + 1) influence how you read the word you are currently looking at (word n)? Serial models of sentence reading state that this generally should not be the case, whereas parallel models predict that this should be the case. Here we focus on perhaps the simplest and the strongest Parafoveal‐on‐Foveal (PoF) manipulation: word n + 1 is either the same as word n or a different word. Participants read sentences for comprehension and when their eyes left word n, the repeated or unrelated word at position n + 1 was swapped for a word that provided a syntactically correct continuation of the sentence. We recorded electroencephalogram and eye‐movements, and time‐locked the analysis of fixation‐related potentials (FRPs) to fixation of word n. We found robust PoF repetition effects on gaze durations on word n, and also on the initial landing position on word n. Most important is that we also observed significant effects in FRPs, reaching significance at 260 ms post‐fixation of word n. Repetition of the target word n at position n + 1 caused a widely distributed reduced negativity in the FRPs. Given the timing of this effect, we argue that it is driven by orthographic processing of word n + 1, while readers were still looking at word n, plus the spatial integration of orthographic information extracted from these two words in parallel.
Invasive adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix.

: A series of 33 infiltrative adenocarcinomas of the uterine cervix treated during the period from 1965 to 1970 is assessed and compared with a previous series from this institution and with series reported in the literature. The findings indicate that adenocarcinomas constitute and increasing proportion of cervical carcinomas and in this series make up 9.6% of all cervical carcinomas as compared with a previous figure of 5.5%. Five patients in the series were 32 years of age or less, and all had been receiving oral contraceptives for varying periods of time prior to the diagnosis of carcinomas. Radical surgery or irradiation treatment followed by extrafascial conservative hysterectomy in appropriate cases may offer increased survival for operable stages of adenocarcinoma, particularly in the presence of bulky lesions.