Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Muscle Strength and Physical Performance Are Associated with Reaction Time Performance in Older People

Background: Functional mobility and muscle strength are well known risk factors for sarcopenia. Furthermore, possible associations have been suggested between predisposing factors of sarcopenia and reaction time among the elderly. This study aims to analyze possible associations of functional mobility and muscle strength and reaction times in a population of people aged >60 years. Methods: A total of 290 older people (69.35 ± 5.55 years) participated in this study. The following parameters were assessed: optoacoustic lower-limb reaction time (OALLRT); acoustic lower-limb reaction time (ALLRT); optic lower-limb reaction time (OLLRT, using an optical detection system), functional mobility (through the timed up-and-go test) and muscle strength (using a dynamometer). Results: Our results show that lower values of muscle strength were associated with increased reaction times in OALLRT (β = −0.170; 95% confidence interval −0.011–0.000; R2 = 0.237; p = 0.035) and in ALLRT (β = −0.228; 95% confidence interval −0.011–0.002; R2 = 0.199; p = 0.006). Conclusion: Increased muscle strength (which at low values are risk factors for sarcopenia) was associated with decreased reaction times in people >60 years of age.
Physiological and Psychological Responses to Three Distinct Exercise Training Regimens Performed in an Outdoor Setting: Acute and Delayed Response

The aim of this study was to compare the acute responses to three time-matched exercise regimens. Ten trained adults (age, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), and body mass index (BMI) = 25.9 ± 5.6 yr, 50.9 ± 5.4 mL·kg−1·min−1, and 22.1 ± 1.8 kg·m−2) completed sprint interval training (SIT) requiring 14 × 5 s efforts with 35 s of recovery, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) consisting of 18 × 15 s efforts at ~90% of peak heart rate (HRpeak) with 15 s of recovery, and vigorous continuous training (CT) consisting of 8.75 min at ~85 %HRpeak, in randomized order. Heart rate, blood lactate concentration, rating of perceived exertion, affective valence, and enjoyment were monitored. Moreover, indices of neuromuscular function, autonomic balance, diet, mental stress, incidental physical activity (PA), and sleep were measured 24 h after each session to analyze the magnitude of recovery. Both HIIT and CT exhibited a greater %HRpeak and time ≥ 90 %HRpeak than SIT (p < 0.05). Blood lactate and rating of perceived exertion were higher in response to SIT and HIIT vs. CT (p < 0.05); however, there were no differences in enjoyment (p > 0.05). No differences were exhibited in any variable assessed along 24 h post-exercise between conditions (p > 0.05). These data suggest that HIIT and CT accumulate the longest duration at near maximal intensities, which is considered a key factor to enhance VO2max.
Effect of glycemic gap upon mortality in critically ill patients with diabetes

Hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and blood glucose fluctuation are associated with the outcome in critically ill patients, but the target of blood glucose control is debatable especially in patients with diabetes regarding the status of blood glucose control before admission to ICU. This study aimed to investigate the association between the glycemic gap which is calculated as the mean blood glucose level during the first 7 days after admission to ICU minus the A1C‐derived average glucose and the outcome of critically ill patients with diabetes.
A Meta-Analysis of Computerized Tomography-Based Radiomics for the Diagnosis of COVID-19 and Viral Pneumonia

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) led to a global pandemic. Although reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of viral nucleic acid is the gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis, its sensitivity was found to not be high enough in many reports. As radiomics-based diagnosis research has recently emerged, we aimed to use computerized tomography (CT)-based radiomics models to differentiate COVID-19 pneumonia from other viral pneumonia infections. Materials and methods: This study was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis diagnostic test accuracy studies (PRISMA-DTA) guidelines. The Pubmed, Cochrane, and Embase databases were searched. The pooled sensitivity and pooled specificity were calculated. A summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curve was constructed. The study quality was evaluated based on the radiomics quality score. Results: A total of 10,300 patients were involved in this meta-analysis. The radiomics quality score ranged from 13 to 16 (maximum score: 36). The pooled sensitivity was 0.885 (95% CI: 0.818–0.929), and the pooled specificity was 0.811 (95% CI: 0.667–0.902). The pooled AUC was 906. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis showed that CT-based radiomics feature models can successfully differentiate COVID-19 from other viral pneumonias.
Current State of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has already achieved remarkable remissions in some difficult-to-treat patients with B-cell malignancies. Although the clinical experience in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients is limited, the proportion of remissions reached in this disease is clearly the lowest from the spectrum of B-cell tumors. In this review, we discuss the antigenic targets exploited in CLL CAR-T therapy, the determinants of favorable responses, as well as the mechanisms of treatment failure specific to this disease.
Evaluation of a Low-Cost Commercial Actigraph and Its Potential Use in Detecting Cultural Variations in Physical Activity and Sleep

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the performance of a low-cost commercial smartwatch, the Xiaomi Mi Band (MB), in extracting physical activity and sleep-related measures and show its potential use in addressing questions that require large-scale real-time data and/or intercultural data including low-income countries. We evaluated physical activity and sleep-related measures and discussed the potential application of such devices for large-scale step and sleep data acquisition. To that end, we conducted two separate studies. In Study 1, we evaluated the performance of MB by comparing it to the GT3X (ActiGraph, wGT3X-BT), a scientific actigraph used in research, as well as subjective sleep reports. In Study 2, we distributed the MB across four countries (Austria, Germany, Cuba, and Ukraine) and investigated physical activity and sleep among these countries. The results of Study 1 indicated that MB step counts correlated highly with the scientific GT3X device, but did display biases. In addition, the MB-derived wake-up and total-sleep-times showed high agreement with subjective reports, but partly deviated from GT3X predictions. Study 2 revealed similar MB step counts across countries, but significant later wake-up and bedtimes for Ukraine than the other countries. We hope that our studies will stimulate future large-scale sensor-based physical activity and sleep research studies, including various cultures.
In Vitro and In Vivo Antifungal Activity of Sorbicillinoids Produced by Trichoderma longibrachiatum

In the search for antifungal agents from marine resources, we recently found that the culture filtrate of Trichoderma longibrachiatum SFC100166 effectively suppressed the development of tomato gray mold, rice blast, and tomato late blight. The culture filtrate was then successively extracted with ethyl acetate and n-butanol to identify the fungicidal metabolites. Consequently, a new compound, spirosorbicillinol D (1), and a new natural compound, 2′,3′-dihydro-epoxysorbicillinol (2), together with 11 known compounds (3–13), were obtained from the solvent extracts. The chemical structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses and comparison with literature values. The results of the in vitro antifungal assay showed that of the tested fungal pathogens, Phytophthora infestans was the fungus most sensitive to the isolated compounds, with MIC values ranging from 6.3 to 400 µg/mL, except for trichotetronine (9) and trichodimerol (10). When tomato plants were treated with the representative compounds (4, 6, 7, and 11), bisvertinolone (6) strongly reduced the development of tomato late blight disease compared to the untreated control. Taken together, our results revealed that the culture filtrate of T. longibrachiatum SFC100166 and its metabolites could be useful sources for the development of new natural agents to control late blight caused by P. infestans.
Detection and identification of explosives by surface enhanced Raman scattering

ABSTRACT Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) has undergone an important development over the last few years, particularly in the detection and identification of extremely low traces of explosives. The large number of studies and results generated by this increasing research makes a comprehensive overview necessary. This work reviews in detail that research focused on the identification of explosives by SERS, including TNT, DNT, RDX, PETN, TATP, HMTD, perchlorate, etc. either in bulk state, in solution or in vapor phase. In brief, TNT and DNT have been widely studied by SERS due to its aromatic structure and LODs down to 5–10 zg and 10−17–10−13 M have been achieved. The other explosives have been quite less researched; therefore, few results are available to be compared and a bit more modest LODs have been reached such as 10−13 M for RDX, 10−4 M for TATP, 5 pg for PETN, or 10−9 M for perchlorate. In addition, the challenges of detecting both explosives vapors and perchlorate anion by SERS are thoroughly discussed.
An Insight into Giant Cell Arteritis Pathogenesis: Evidence for Oxidative Stress and SIRT1 Downregulation

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), medium and large vessel granulomatous vasculitis affecting the elderly, is characterized by a multitude of vascular complications, including venous thrombosis, myocardial infraction and stroke. The formation of granulomatous infiltrates and the enhanced accumulation of proinflammatory cytokines are typical features of this condition. The GCA pathogenesis remains largely unknown, but recent studies have suggested the involvement of oxidative stress, mainly sustained by an enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by immature neutrophils. On this basis, in the present study, we intended to evaluate, in GCA patients, the presence of systemic oxidative stress and possible alterations in the expression level of nuclear sirtuins, enzymes involved in the inhibition of inflammation and oxidative stress. Thirty GCA patients were included in the study and compared to 30 healthy controls in terms of leukocyte ROS production, oxidative stress and SIRT1 expression. Our results clearly indicated a significant increase (p < 0.05) both in the ROS levels in the leukocyte fractions and plasma oxidative stress markers (lipid peroxidation and total antioxidant capacity) in the GCA patients compared to the healthy controls. In PBMCs from the GCA patients, a significant decrease in SIRT1 expression (p < 0.05) but not in SIRT6 and SIRT7 expression was found. Taken together, our preliminary findings indicate that, in GCA patients, plasma oxidative stress is paralleled by a reduced SIRT1 expression in PBMC. Further studies are needed to highlight if and how these alterations contribute to GCA pathogenesis.
High-Throughput Sequencing of Phage Display Libraries Reveals Parasitic Enrichment of Indel Mutants Caused by Amplification Bias

The combination of phage display technology with high-throughput sequencing enables in-depth analysis of library diversity and selection-driven dynamics. We applied short-read sequencing of the mutagenized region on focused display libraries of two homologous nucleic acid modification eraser proteins—AlkB and FTO—biopanned against methylated DNA. This revealed enriched genotypes with small indels and concomitant doubtful amino acid motifs within the FTO library. Nanopore sequencing of the entire display vector showed additional enrichment of large deletions overlooked by region-specific sequencing, and further impacted the interpretation of the obtained amino acid motifs. We could attribute enrichment of these corrupted clones to amplification bias due to arduous FTO display slowing down host cell growth as well as phage production. This amplification bias appeared to be stronger than affinity-based target selection. Recommendations are provided for proper sequence analysis of phage display data, which can improve motive discovery in libraries of proteins that are difficult to display.
A Virus-Like Particle-Based Vaccine Candidate against the Tick-Borne Powassan Virus Induces Neutralizing Antibodies in a Mouse Model

Powassan virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flavivirus circulating in North America and the Russian Far East that can cause severe neuroinvasive diseases, including encephalitis, meningitis, and meningoencephalitis. The reported neuroinvasive case fatality is about 10%, and approximately 50% of the survivors from the neuroinfection exhibit long-lasting or permanent neurological sequelae. Currently, treatment of POWV infection is supportive, and no FDA-approved vaccines or specific therapeutics are available. A novel Powassan vaccine candidate was created using virus-like particle technology (POW-VLP) and assembled with the viral structural proteins pre-Membrane (prM) and Envelope (E). Western blot immunoassay demonstrated high antigenicity of POW-VLP structural proteins. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the POW-VLP exhibited icosahedral morphology typical of flaviviruses. A dose-escalation study in a murine model was performed to test immunogenicity and safety. Serum antibody was tested by ELISA, demonstrating that POW-VLP afforded 100% seroconversion to the E protein. Reporter viral-particle neutralization assay demonstrated high levels of neutralizing antibodies in the serum of immunized mice. Hybridomas expressing monoclonal antibodies were produced following POW-VLP immunization. The POW-VLP vaccine candidate created in this study provides a strategy for inducing protective antibodies against Powassan neuroinvasive infection.
Work–Family Conflict on Children’s Internet Addiction: Role of Parenting Styles in Korean Working Mother

Based on spillover and crossover models in the family system, we hypothesized the mediating effect of parenting style in the association between maternal work–family conflict (WFC) and children’s problematic internet (PIU). This is a cross-sectional study using data from the 10th wave Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC) in 2017. The study subjects were 707 mothers and their children. The WFC was measured using the Marshall and Barnett scale, parenting style by the Parenting Styles and Dimension Questionnaire developed by Robinson, and the PIU of a child by the K-Scale for adolescent observers. As a result, maternal WFC had a positive association with the PIU of a child. Maternal WFC also had a link with parenting styles. Specifically, WFC had a negative association with an authoritative parenting style, and a positive association with authoritarian and permissive parenting styles. Regarding the relationship between maternal WFC and the PIU of a child, parenting styles showed a mediating effect for authoritative (z = 2.08, p = 0.037), authoritarian (z = 2.71, p = 0.007), and permissive (z = 3.14, p = 0.002). Based on the results, we assert that when planning an intervention to reduce children’s PIU for working mothers, a multifaceted approach is essential, including both WFC and parenting behavior.
Viscosity Model for Nanoparticulate Suspensions Based on Surface Interactions

In this paper, a widely mechanistic model was developed to depict the rheological behaviour of nanoparticulate suspensions with solids contents up to 20 wt. %, based on the increase in shear stress caused by surface interaction forces among particles. The rheological behaviour is connected to drag forces arising from an altered particle movement with respect to the surrounding fluid. In order to represent this relationship and to model the viscosity, a hybrid modelling approach was followed, in which mechanistic relationships were paired with heuristic expressions. A genetic algorithm was utilized during model development, by enabling the algorithm to choose among several hard-to-assess model options. By the combination of the newly developed model with existing models for the various physical phenomena affecting viscosity, it can be applied to model the viscosity over a broad range of solids contents, shear rates, temperatures and particle sizes. Due to its mechanistic nature, the model even allows an extrapolation beyond the limits of the data points used for calibration, allowing a prediction of the viscosity in this area. Only two parameters are required for this purpose. Experimental data of an epoxy resin filled with boehmite nanoparticles were used for calibration and comparison with modelled values.
Effect of Differences in the Microbiome of Cyp17a1-Deficient Mice on Atherosclerotic Background

CYP17A1 is a cytochrome P450 enzyme that has 17-alpha-hydroxylase and C17,20-lyase activities. Cyp17a11 deficiency is associated with high body mass and visceral fat deposition in atherosclerotic female ApoE knockout (KO, d/d or −/−) mice. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of diet and Cyp17a1 genotype on the gut microbiome. Female Cyp17a1 (d/d) × ApoE (d/d) (DKO) and ApoE (d/d) (controls) were fed either standard chow or a Western-type diet (WTD), and we demonstrated the effects of genetics and diet on the body mass of the mice and composition of their gut microbiome. We found a significantly lower alpha diversity after accounting for the ecological network structure in DKO mice and WTD-fed mice compared with chow-fed ApoE(d/d). Furthermore, we found a strong significant positive association of the Firmicutes vs. Bacteroidota ratio with body mass and the circulating total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations of the mice when feeding the WTD, independent of the Cyp17a1 genotype. Further pathway enrichment and network analyses revealed a substantial effect of Cyp17a1 genotype on associated cardiovascular and obesity-related pathways involving aspartate and L-arginine. Future studies are required to validate these findings and further investigate the role of aspartate/L-arginine pathways in the obesity and body fat distribution in our mouse model.
Treg-Resistant Cytotoxic CD4+ T Cells Dictate T Helper Cells in Their Vicinity: TH17 Skewing and Modulation of Proliferation

Cytotoxic CD4+ T cells (CD4 CTL) are terminally differentiated T helper cells that contribute to autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. We developed a novel triple co-culture transwell assay to study mutual interactions between CD4 CTL, conventional TH cells, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) simultaneously. We show that, while CD4 CTL are resistant to suppression by Tregs in vitro, the conditioned medium of CD4 CTL accentuates the suppressive phenotype of Tregs by upregulating IL-10, Granzyme B, CTLA-4, and PD-1. We demonstrate that CD4 CTL conditioned medium skews memory TH cells to a TH17 phenotype, suggesting that the CD4 CTL induce bystander polarization. In our triple co-culture assay, the CD4 CTL secretome promotes the proliferation of TH cells, even in the presence of Tregs. However, when cell−cell contact is established between CD4 CTL and TH cells, the proliferation of TH cells is no longer increased and Treg-mediated suppression is restored. Taken together, our results suggest that when TH cells acquire cytotoxic properties, these Treg-resistant CD4 CTL affect the proliferation and phenotype of conventional TH cells in their vicinity. By creating such a pro-inflammatory microenvironment, CD4 CTL may favor their own persistence and expansion, and that of other potentially pathogenic TH cells, thereby contributing to pathogenic responses in autoimmune disorders.
Celiac Disease and the Thyroid: Highlighting the Roles of Vitamin D and Iron

Celiac disease (CD) and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) and Graves’ disease (GD) frequently coexist, entailing numerous potential impacts on diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Possible correlations might exist through gut microbiota, regulating the immune system and inflammatory responses, promoting autoimmune diseases, as well as shared cytokines in pathogenesis pathways, cross-reacting antibodies or malabsorption of micronutrients that are essential for the thyroid like iron or vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is a common finding in patients with AITD, but might protect from autoimmunity by wielding immunoregulatory and tolerogenic impacts. Additionally, vitamin D is assumed to be involved in the onset and progression of CD, presumably plays a substantial protective role for intestinal mucosa and affects the thyroid via its immunomodulatory effects. Iron is an essential micronutrient for the thyroid gland needed for effective iodine utilization by the iron-dependent enzyme thyroid iodine peroxidase (TPO). Despite being crucial for thyroid hormone synthesis, iron deficiency (ID) is a common finding in patients with hypothyroidism like HT and is frequently found in patients with CD. A literature research was conducted to examine the interplay between CD, AITD, vitamin D and iron deficiency. This narrative review highlights the relevant correlation of the two disease entities CD and AITD, their reciprocal impact and possible therapeutic options that should be further explored by future studies.
Fabrication, Microstructure and Colloidal Stability of Humic Acids Loaded Fe3O4/APTES Nanosorbents for Environmental Applications

Nowadays, numerous researches are being performed to formulate nontoxic multifunctional magnetic materials possessing both high colloidal stability and magnetization, but there is a demand in the prediction of chemical and colloidal stability in water solutions. Herein, a series of silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) has been synthesized via the sol-gel method with and without establishing an inert atmosphere, and then it was tested in terms of humic acids (HA) loading applied as a multifunctional coating agent. The influence of ambient conditions on the microstructure, colloidal stability and HA loading of different silica-coated MNPs has been established. The XRD patterns show that the content of stoichiometric Fe3O4 decreases from 78.8% to 42.4% at inert and ambient atmosphere synthesis, respectively. The most striking observation was the shift of the MNPs isoelectric point from pH ~7 to 3, with an increasing HA reaching up to the reversal of the zeta potential sign as it was covered completely by HA molecules. The zeta potential data of MNPs can be used to predict the loading capacity for HA polyanions. The data help to understand the way for materials’ development with the complexation ability of humic acids and with the insolubility of silica gel to pave the way to develop a novel, efficient and magnetically separable adsorbent for contaminant removal.