Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High salt diet-induced alteration in vascular reactivity in wild-type and adenosine A2A receptor null mice

High salt diet-induced alteration in vascular reactivity in wild-type and adenosine A2A receptor null mice Isha Pradhan Alteration in vascular reactivity serves as a marke r for cardiovascular disease. Enhancement of vasodilatory response through adenos ine A2A receptor (A2AAR) signaling against high salt (HS) diet is speculated to be an adaptive response as salt-sensitive rats showed upregulation of A2AAR and cyp-epoxygenases but salt-resistant rats did not. However, no direct evidence is available showing th e compensatory role of A 2 AR signaling upon salt loading. For this, understandin g the functional and biochemical outcome of HS diet on vascular tone regulation and its underlying signaling mechanism in the presence and absence of A 2AAR is required. This dissertation was carried out t o investigate the role of A 2AAR and epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EETs) on HS-modula ted vascular reactivity and its signaling pathway invol ved using A2AAR +/+ and A2AAR -/mice. Isometric tension measurement and western blot stud ies were conducted to evaluate aortic reactivity and underlying signaling mechanis m in HS and normal salt (NS) fed A2AAR +/+ and A2AAR -/mice. Our data demonstrated clear differences in v ascular reactivity and their signaling mechanism between A 2AAR +/+ and A2AAR -/mice on a HS diet. HS diet enhanced vascular relaxation to adeno sine in A2AAR +/+ mice, while HS diet amplified contraction to adenosine in A 2A R -/mice. In the presence of A 2 AR, we found that enhanced vascular relaxation to HS is mediated through A2AAR coupled with EETs that activate peroxisome proliferator activated rec eptor-gamma (PPAR γ) leading to opening of ATP-sensitive K+ (K ATP) channels downstream. In contrary, in the absence o f A2AAR, HS-elicited amplified contraction is found to o ccur through loss of vasodilatory response and its signaling involving EETs and PPAR γ and increased vasoconstrictors such as adenosine A 1 receptor (A1AR) and soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), an enzyme that degrades EETs. Most importantly, our finding r evealed that increasing EETs availability through sEH inhibition could be a pote ntial strategy to improve exaggerated vascular contraction in HS-fed A 2 AR -/mice.
Genetic deficiency of Phactr1 promotes atherosclerosis development via facilitating M1 macrophage polarization and foam cell formation.

Genetic variants in phosphatase actin regulator-1 (Phactr1) is reported to be associated with arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, the function of Phactr1 in atherosclerosis remains unclear. Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent coronary angiography and optical coherence tomography were enrolled and divided into non-ST segment elevation (NST-ACS) group and ST-ACS group. The expression of Phactr1 on monocytes was higher in NST-ACS and ST-ACS groups as compared to control group. Furthermore, NST-ACS patients who have more vulnerable features including TCFA and large lipid area showed higher levels of Phactr1 on monocytes than those with stable plaques. Through mouse models of atherosclerosis, Phactr1-/-Apoe-/- mice (DKO) developed more severe atherosclerotic plaques, recruiting more macrophages into subendothelium and having elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines in plaques. Similarly, Apoe-/- mice receiving DKO bone marrow (BM) exhibited elevated plaque burden compared with Apoe-/- mice receiving Apoe-/- BM, indicating the protective effect of Phactr1 in hematopoietic cells. We found that depletion of Phactr1 in BM-derived macrophages (BMDMs) tended to differentiate into M1 phenotype, produced more proatherogenic cytokines and eventually converted into foam cells driven by oxidized low-density lipoprotein. Mechanistically, Phactr1 activated CREB signaling via directly binding to CREB, upregulating CREB phosphorylation and inducing KLF4 expression. Finally, overexpression of KLF4 partly rescued the excessive inflammation response and foam cell formation induced by deficiency of Phactr1. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that elevated Phactr1 in monocytes is a promising biomarker for vulnerable plaques, while increased Phactr1 attenuates atherosclerotic development via activation of CREB and M2 macrophage differentiation.
I am nice and capable! How and when newcomers' self-presentation to their supervisors affects socialization outcomes.

Whereas meta-analytical research draws a relatively unfavorable picture of the usefulness of self-presentation on the job, our study challenges this view by highlighting the benefits of such behaviors during newcomer socialization. Drawing from social influence theory, the current study examines how and when newcomers' self-presentation, in the form of ingratiation and self-promotion, facilitates their socialization success (indicated by affective commitment, job performance, and promotability) by shaping their supervisors' relational and work-based socialization efforts. Data from a time-lagged field study of 355 newcomer-supervisor dyads provided support for the proposed model. In particular, we found that ingratiation was positively related to supervisor relational socialization effort, which in turn was positively related to newcomer affective commitment. Additionally, self-promotion was positively related to supervisor work-based socialization effort, which in turn was positively related to newcomer job performance and promotability. Drawing on social influence theory's notion that characteristics related to the influencer may further affect self-presentation effectiveness, we found that newcomers' interpersonal influence and work role clarity weakened the positive effects of newcomer self-presentation on supervisor socialization efforts. These findings illustrate how newcomers can achieve desirable socialization outcomes by enacting social influence on organizational insiders with self-presentation, extending the literatures on both self-presentation and newcomer socialization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Survival and Health Care Use After Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease

ABSTRACT: Objectives: To compare long-term survival of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with deep brain stimulation (DBS) to matched controls, and examine whether DBS was associated with differences in injurious falls, long-term care, and home care. Methods: Using administrative health data (Ontario, Canada), we examined DBS outcomes within a cohort of individuals diagnosed with PD between 1997 and 2012. Patients receiving DBS were matched with non-DBS controls by age, sex, PD diagnosis date, time with PD, and a propensity score. Survival between groups was compared using the log-rank test and marginal Cox proportional hazards regression. Cumulative incidence function curves and marginal subdistribution hazard models were used to assess effects of DBS on falls, long-term care admission, and home care use, with death as a competing risk. Results: There were 260 DBS recipients matched with 551 controls. Patients undergoing DBS did not experience a significant survival advantage compared to controls (log-rank test p = 0.50; HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.65–1.22). Among patients <65 years of age, DBS recipients had a significantly reduced risk of death (HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.28–0.84). Patients receiving DBS were more likely than controls to receive care for falls (HR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.19–2.05) and home care (HR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.32–1.90), while long-term care admission was similar between groups. Conclusions: Receiving DBS may increase survival for younger PD patients who undergo DBS. Future studies should examine whether survival benefits may be attributed to effects on PD or the absence of comorbidities that influence mortality.
Verification of a Novel Approach to Predicting Effects of Antibiotic Combinations: In Vitro Dynamic Model Study with Daptomycin and Gentamicin against Staphylococcus aureus

To explore whether susceptibility testing with antibiotic combinations at pharmacokinetically derived concentration ratios is predictive of the antimicrobial effect, a Staphylococcus aureus strain was exposed to daptomycin and gentamicin alone or in combination in multiple dosing experiments. The susceptibility of the S. aureus strain to daptomycin and gentamicin in combination was tested at concentration ratios equal to the ratios of 24 h areas under the concentration–time curve (AUC24s) of antibiotics simulated in an in vitro dynamic model in five-day treatments. The MICs of daptomycin and gentamicin decreased in the presence of each other; this led to an increase in the antibiotic AUC24/MIC ratios and the antibacterial effects. Effects of single and combined treatments were plotted against the AUC24/MIC ratios of daptomycin or gentamicin, and a significant sigmoid relationship was obtained. Similarly, when the effects of single and combined treatments were related to the total exposure of both drugs (the sum of AUC24/MIC ratios (∑AUC24/MIC)), a significant sigmoid relationship was obtained. These findings suggest that (1) the effects of antibiotic combinations can be predicted by AUC24/MICs using MICs of each antibacterial determined at pharmacokinetically derived concentration ratios; (2) ∑AUC24/MIC is a reliable predictor of the antibacterial effects of antibiotic combinations.
Circadian Phase Prediction From Non-Intrusive and Ambulatory Physiological Data

Chronotherapy aims to treat patients according to their endogenous biological rhythms and requires, therefore, knowing their circadian phase. Circadian phase is partially determined by genetics and, under natural conditions, is normally entrained by environmental signals (zeitgebers), predominantly by light. Physiological data such as melatonin concentration and core body temperature (CBT) have been used to estimate circadian phase. However, due to their expensive and intrusive obtention, other physiological variables that also present circadian rhythmicity, such as heart rate variability, skin temperature, activity, and body position, have recently been proposed in several studies to estimate circadian phase. This study aims to predict circadian phase using minimally intrusive ambulatory physiological data modeled with machine learning techniques. Two approaches were considered; first, time-series were used to train artificial neural networks (ANNs) that predict CBT and melatonin dynamics and, second, a novel approach that uses scalar variables to build regression models that predict the time of the minimum CBT and the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO). ANNs require less than 48 hours of minimally intrusive data collection to predict circadian phase with an accuracy of less than one hour. On the other hand, regression models that use only three variables (body mass index, activity, and heart rate) are simpler and show higher accuracy with less than one minute of error, although they require longer times of data collection. This is a promising approach that should be validated in further studies considering a broader population and a wider range of conditions, including circadian misalignment.
Does labelling of healthy foods on menus using symbols promote better choices at the point-of-purchase?

Abstract Objective: Take-away foods account for a significant proportion of dietary intake among young adults (18–35 years). Young adults want nutrition information at the point-of-purchase (POP); however, it is either unavailable, perceived as ineffective or difficult to use. The present study examined whether symbols on university food outlet menus identifying healthier options would increase their sales and consumer’s awareness of these symbols, purchasing factors and barriers to eating healthy foods. Design: Repeated-measures, comparison group, quasi-experimental study. Setting: Two carefully matched university food outlets were analysed to determine the targeted items. Tick symbols ✓ were placed next to the targeted items in the experimental outlet. No changes were made at the comparison outlet. Customers were surveyed at the experimental outlet. Food sales were collected for 4 weeks from both outlets at baseline and during the intervention. Food sales were also collected from the experimental outlet 10 weeks later. Participants: Food outlet patrons. Results: Significant increases in food sales were observed during observation 3 compared with observation 1 (P = 0·0004) and observation 2 (P = 0·0002). Sixty-eight per cent of respondents noticed the symbols, and of that, 30 % reported being influenced. Taste was the most common purchasing factor, and people were less likely to select taste as a factor if they were influenced by the symbols (P = 0·04). Conclusions: Identifying healthier options with a symbol at the POP increased sales over time. Several purchasing factors (price, taste and healthy food availability) need to be addressed to improve the food selection of young adults.
Evaluation of human papillomavirus (HPV) prediction using the International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Criteria and Classification system, compared to p16 immunohistochemistry and HPV RNA in-situ hybridization

Background The International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Criteria and Classification (IECC) separated endocervical adenocarcinomas into human papillomavirus (HPV) associated (HPVA) and non–HPV-associated (NHPVA) categories by morphology alone. Our primary objective was to assess the accuracy of HPV prediction by the IECC system compared to p16 immunohistochemistry and HPV RNA in-situ hybridization (RISH). Our secondary goal was to directly compare p16 and HPV RISH concordance. Methods Cases were classified by IECC and stained for p16 and HPV RISH on tissue microarray, with discordant p16/HPV RISH cases re-stained on whole tissue sections. Remaining discordant cases (p16/HPV, IECC/p16, IECC/HPV discordances) were re-reviewed by the original pathologists (n = 3) and external expert pathologists (n = 2) blinded to the p16 and HPV RISH results. Final IECC diagnosis was assigned upon independent agreement between all reviewers. Results One hundred and eleven endocervical adenocarcinomas were classified originally into 94 HPVA and 17 NHPVA cases. p16 and HPV RISH was concordant in 108/111 cases (97%) independent of the IECC. HPV RISH and p16 was concordant with IECC in 103/111 (93%) and 106/111 (95%), respectively. After expert review, concordance improved to 107/111 (96%) for HPV RISH. After review of the eight discordant cases, one remained as HPVA, four were reclassified to NHPVA from HPVA, two were unclassifiable, and one possibly represented a mixed usual and gastric-type adenocarcinoma. Conclusions p16 and HPV RISH have excellent concordance in endocervical adenocarcinomas, and IECC can predict HPV status in most cases. Focal apical mitoses and apoptotic debris on original review led to the misclassification of several NHPVA as HPVA.
Application of a virulent bacteriophage cocktail leads to reduction of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis counts in processed meat products

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) is a major cause of food-borne disease outbreaks worldwide. We evaluated the effectiveness of five lytic bacteriophages applied as a cocktail to reduce the counts of SE in two types of processed meat products: cooked (turkey ham (TB) and chicken sausage (CS)) and cured sausage (Italian salami (IS) and barbecue sausage (BS)). Groups of 25 samples each were contaminated with SE, treated with a phage cocktail using a multiplicity of infection of 105 and then incubated for ten days at 18°C and 4°C. A significant reduction in bacteria was obtained on days 3, 6 and 10 in all matrices incubated at 18°C (from 0.48 to 2.12 log Colony Forming Units (CFU) g−1) and at 4°C (from 0.23 to 2.06 log CFU g−1), with the exception of BS at day 3 at 4°C, and IS at both incubation temperatures throughout the trial. The viral titre remained stable in all matrices analysed except in BS. These results show the effectiveness of this bacteriophage cocktail against S. enterica serovar Enteritidis in some processed meat products such as CS, BS and TB.
Role of presymptomatic transmission of COVID-19: evidence from Beijing, China

Background The presymptomatic transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been documented in limited clusters, and it is predicted through modelling. However, there is a lack of evidence from observations with a large sample size. Methods We used data from meticulous contact tracing of people exposed to cases of SARS-CoV-2 to estimate the proportion of cases that result from the presymptomatic transmission of the virus in Beijing during January 2020 and February 2020. Results The results showed that presymptomatic transmission occurred in at least 15% of 100 secondary COVID-19 cases. The earliest presymptomatic contact event occurred 5 days prior to the index case’s onset of symptoms, and this occurred in two clusters. Conclusions The finding suggested that the contact tracing period should be earlier and highlighted the importance of preventing transmission opportunities well before the onset of symptoms.
Emerging Concepts of Motor Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease

The concept of cognitive reserve (CR) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) explains the differences between individuals in their susceptibility to AD-related pathologies. An enhanced CR may lead to less cognitive deficits despite severe pathological lesions. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is also a common neurodegenerative disease and is mainly characterized by motor dysfunction related to striatal dopaminergic depletion. The degree of motor deficits in PD is closely correlated to the degree of dopamine depletion; however, significant individual variations still exist. Therefore, we hypothesized that the presence of motor reserve (MR) in PD explains the individual differences in motor deficits despite similar levels of striatal dopamine depletion. Since 2015, we have performed a series of studies investigating MR in de novo patients with PD using the data of initial clinical presentation and dopamine transporter PET scan. In this review, we summarized the results of these published studies. In particular, some premorbid experiences (i.e., physical activity and education) and modifiable factors (i.e., body mass index and white matter hyperintensity on brain image studies) could modulate an individual’s capacity to tolerate PD pathology, which can be maintained throughout disease progression.
Cross-Kingdom Cell-to-Cell Interactions in Cariogenic Biofilm Initiation

Candida albicans is known to form polymicrobial biofilms with various Streptococcus spp. , including mitis and mutans group streptococci. Streptococcus gordonii (mitis group) has been shown to bind avidly to C. albicans hyphae via direct cell-to-cell interaction, while the cariogenic pathogen Streptococcus mutans (mutans group) interacts with the fungal cells via extracellular glucans. However, the biophysical properties of these cross-kingdom interactions at the single-cell level during the early stage of biofilm formation remain understudied. Here, we examined the binding forces between S. mutans (or S. gordonii) and C. albicans in the presence and absence of in situ glucans on the fungal surface using single-cell atomic force microscopy and their influence on biofilm initiation and subsequent development under cariogenic conditions. The data show that S. gordonii binding force to the C. albicans surface is significantly higher than that ofS. mutans to the fungal surface (~2-fold). However, S. mutans binding forces are dramatically enhanced when the C. albicans cell surface is locally coated with extracellular glucans (~6-fold vs. uncoated C. albicans), which vastly exceeds the forces between S. gordonii andC. albicans. The enhanced binding affinity of S. mutans to glucan-coated C. albicans resulted in a larger structure during early biofilm initiation compared to S. gordonii–C. albicans biofilms. Ultimately, this resulted in S. mutans dominance composition in the 3-species biofilm model under cariogenic conditions. This study provides a novel biophysical aspect of Candida-streptococcal interaction whereby extracellular glucans may selectively favor S. mutans binding interactions with C. albicans during cariogenic biofilm development.
Trace Cd2+ Ions Detection on the Flower-Like Ag@CuO Substrate

CuO flower-like material (FM) was prepared via the facile hydrothermal method, and Ag nanoparticles were deposited on the CuO FM to obtain Ag@CuO composite. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was used as the probe molecule on Ag@CuO FM substrate to study surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). It is discovered that it exhibited an excellent SERS performance with limit of detection of 3.58 × 10−16 M and enhancement factor (EF) of 3.99 × 1010. More importantly, we used it as a SERS substrate to detect cadmium ions and found that its limit of detection (LOD) reaches up to 2.6 × 10−8 M, which is lower than the highest allowable Cd2+ concentration in drinking water set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Therefore, the proposed composite can be applicable to the detection of Cd2+ in drinking water and in soil.
Hospital inpatient care utilization among patients with tuberculosis, Republic of Ireland, 2015–2018

Background The Republic of Ireland (ROI) has a low incidence of TB. A reform of TB services in 2003 recommended that the delivery of care to patients with TB should primarily be in the outpatient setting, with limited indications for hospitalization. Three hospitals were designated as TB centres. Our aim was to describe the utilization of hospital inpatient care by patients with TB in the ROI. Methods We searched public hospital coding data to identify discharges between 01/01/2015-31/12/18 where TB was the principal diagnosis. The cost of TB episodes of care was calculated using payment rules for public hospitals in the ROI. Results We identified 1185 discharges with TB as the principal diagnosis. Of these, 68% (801/1185) were emergency episodes of care and 32% (384/1185) were elective. We estimate that 65.1% (818/1257) patients with TB notified in the ROI from 2015 to 2018 who had an episode of care in a public hospital was 65.1% (818/1257) and that 50.8% (639/1257) of those notified had an emergency episode of care. The estimated mean annual cost of TB inpatient care per year in the ROI from 2015 to 2018 was €2,638,828–2,955,047, with emergency episodes of care having a mean annual cost of €2,250,926–2,557,397 per year. Conclusions The burden of TB on hospital inpatient care in the Republic of Ireland is significant.