Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Local Products for Their Industrial Use: The Case of Italian Potato Cultivars Analyzed by Untargeted and Targeted Methodologies

The chemical characterization of local Italian potato cultivars is reported to promote their preservation and use as high quality raw material in food industries. Twenty potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars from Piedmont and Liguria Italian regions were investigated using NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and RP-HPLC-PDA-ESI-MSn (Reversed Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Photodiode Array Detector and Electrospray Ionization Mass Detector) methodologies. Water soluble and lipophilic metabolites were identified and quantified. With respect to literature data, a more complete 1H (protonic) spectral assignment of the aqueous potato extracts was reported, whereas the 1H NMR assignment of potato organic extracts was reported here for the first time. Phenolics resulted to be in high concentrations in the purple–blue colored Rouge des Flandres, Bergerac, Fleur Bleu, and Blue Star cultivars. Servane, Piatlina, and Malou showed the highest amount of galacturonic acid, a marker of pectin presence, whereas Jelly cultivar was characterized by high levels of monosaccharides. Roseval and Rubra Spes contained high levels of citric acid involved in the inhibition of the enzymatic browning in fresh-cut potato. High levels of the amino acids involved in the formation of pleasant-smell volatile compounds during potato cooking were detected in Rouge des Flandres, Blue Star, Bergerac, Roseval, and Ratte cultivars. These results suggest that each local cultivar is characterized by a proper chemical profile related to specific proprieties that can be useful to obtain high quality industrial products.
Medicaid Expansion and Utilization of Antihyperglycemic Therapies

OBJECTIVE Certain antihyperglycemic therapies modify cardiovascular and kidney outcomes among patients with type 2 diabetes, but early uptake in practice appears restricted to particular demographics. We examine the association of Medicaid expansion with use of and expenditures related to antihyperglycemic therapies among Medicaid beneficiaries. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We employed a difference-in-difference design to analyze the association of Medicaid expansion on prescription of noninsulin antihyperglycemic therapies. We used 2012–2017 national and state Medicaid data to compare prescription claims and costs between states that did (n = 25) and did not expand (n = 26) Medicaid by January 2014. RESULTS Following Medicaid expansion in 2014, average noninsulin antihyperglycemic therapies per state/1,000 enrollees increased by 4.2%/quarter in expansion states and 1.6%/quarter in nonexpansion states. For sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), quarterly growth rates per 1,000 enrollees were 125.3% and 20.7% for expansion states and 87.6% and 16.0% for nonexpansion states, respectively. Expansion states had faster utilization of SGLT2i and GLP-1RA than nonexpansion states. Difference-in-difference estimates for change in volume of prescriptions after Medicaid expansion between expansion versus nonexpansion states was 1.68 (95% CI 1.09–2.26; P < 0.001) for all noninsulin therapies, 0.125 (−0.003 to 0.25; P = 0.056) for SGLT2i, and 0.12 (0.055–0.18; P < 0.001) for GLP-1RA. CONCLUSIONS Use of noninsulin antihyperglycemic therapies, including SGLT2i and GLP-1RA, increased among low-income adults in both Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states, with a significantly greater increase in overall use and in GLP-1RA use in expansion states. Future evaluation of the population-level health impact of expanded access to these therapies is needed.
On Distributed Nash Equilibrium Computation: Hybrid Games and a Novel Consensus-Tracking Perspective

With the incentive to solve Nash equilibrium computation problems for networked games, this article tries to find answers for the following two problems: 1) how to accommodate hybrid games, which contain both continuous-time players and discrete-time players? and 2) are there any other potential perspectives for solving continuous-time networked games except for the consensus-based gradient-like algorithm established in our previous works? With these two problems in mind, the study of this article leads to the following results: 1) a hybrid gradient search algorithm and a consensus-based hybrid gradient-like algorithm are proposed for hybrid games with their convergence results analytically investigated. In the proposed hybrid strategies, continuous-time players adopt continuous-time algorithms for action updating, while discrete-time players update their actions at each sampling time instant and 2) based on the idea of consensus tracking, the Nash equilibrium learning problem for continuous-time games is reformulated and two new computation strategies are subsequently established. Finally, the proposed strategies are numerically validated.
Non-Markovian Methods in Glass Transition

A model for the heterogeneity of local dynamics in polymer and other glass-forming materials is provided here. The fundamental characteristics of the glass transition phenomenology emerge when simulating a condensed matter open cluster that has a strong interaction with its heterogeneous environment. General glass transition features, such as non-exponential structural relaxations, the slowing down of relaxation times with temperature and specific off-equilibrium glassy dynamics can be reproduced by non-Markovian dynamics simulations with the minimum computer resources. Non-Markovian models are shown to be useful tools for obtaining insights into the complex dynamics involved in the glass transition phenomenon, including whether or not there is a need for a growing correlation length or the relationship between the non-exponentiality of structural relaxations and dynamic heterogeneity.
Circulating T-cell Immunosenescence in Patients with Advanced Non–small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Single-agent PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors or Platinum-based Chemotherapy

Purpose: CD28, CD57, and KLRG1 have been previously identified as markers of T-cell immunosenescence. The impact of immunosenescence on anti-PD(L)-1 (ICI) or platinum-based chemotherapy (PCT) in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) is unknown. Experimental Design: The percentage of CD28−, CD57+, KLRG1+ among CD8+ T cells [senescent immune phenotype (SIP)] was assessed by flow cytometry on blood from patients with aNSCLC before single-agent ICI (discovery cohort). A SIP cut-off was identified by log-rank maximization method and patients with aNSCLC treated with ICI (validation cohort) or PCT were classified accordingly. Proliferation and functional properties of SIP+ CD8+ T cells were assessed in vitro. Results: In the ICI discovery cohort (N = 37), SIP cut-off was 39.5%, 27% of patients were SIP+. In the ICI validation cohort (N = 46), SIP+ status was found in 28% of patients and significantly correlated with worse objective response rate (ORR; 0% vs. 30%, P = 0.04), median progression-free survival (PFS) [1.8 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3-NR) vs. 6.4 (95% CI, 2–19) months, P = 0.009] and median overall survival, OS [2.8 (95% CI, 2.0-NR) vs. 20.8 (95% CI, 6.0-NR) months, P = 0.02]. SIP+ status was significantly associated with circulating specific immunephenotypes, in vitro lower CD8+ T cells proliferation, lower IL2 and higher TNFα and IFNγ production. In the ICI-pooled population (N = 83), SIP+ status did not correlate with any clinical characteristics and it was associated with significantly worse ORR, PFS, and OS. In PCT cohort (N = 61), 11% of patients were SIP+. SIP status did not correlate with outcomes upon PCT. Conclusions: Circulating T-cell immunosenescence is observed in up to 28% of patients with aNSCLC and correlates with lack of benefit from ICI but not from PCT. See related commentary by Salas-Benito et al., p. 374
How Long Are Reperfusion Therapies Beneficial for Patients after Stroke Onset? Lessons from Lethal Ischemia Following Early Reperfusion in a Mouse Model of Stroke

Ischemic stroke caused by cerebral artery occlusion induces neurological deficits because of cell damage or death in the central nervous system. Given the recent therapeutic advances in reperfusion therapies, some patients can now recover from an ischemic stroke with no sequelae. Currently, reperfusion therapies focus on rescuing neural lineage cells that survive in spite of decreases in cerebral blood flow. However, vascular lineage cells are known to be more resistant to ischemia/hypoxia than neural lineage cells. This indicates that ischemic areas of the brain experience neural cell death but without vascular cell death. Emerging evidence suggests that if a vascular cell-mediated healing system is present within ischemic areas following reperfusion, the therapeutic time window can be extended for patients with stroke. In this review, we present our comments on this subject based upon recent findings from lethal ischemia following reperfusion in a mouse model of stroke.
Whey Protein Concentrate/Isolate Biofunctional Films Modified with Melanin from Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Seeds

Valorization of food industry waste and plant residues represents an attractive path towards obtaining biodegradable materials and achieving “zero waste” goals. Here, melanin was isolated from watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seeds and used as a modifier for whey protein concentrate and isolate films (WPC and WPI) at two concentrations (0.1% and 0.5%). The modification with melanin enhanced the ultraviolet (UV) blocking, water vapor barrier, swelling, and mechanical properties of the WPC/WPI films, in addition to affecting the apparent color. The modified WPC/WPI films also exhibited high antioxidant activity, but no cytotoxicity. Overall, the effects were melanin concentration-dependent. Thus, melanin from watermelon seeds can be used as a functional modifier to develop bioactive biopolymer films with good potential to be exploited in food packaging and biomedical applications.
Risk factors of metachronous recurrence after endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) can be a curative treatment for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SESCC). However, it is unclear whether the development of metachronous recurrence after ESD may be explained based on several risk factors. This study aimed to assess the incidence and the risk factors of metachronous recurrence of SESCC after ESD. This retrospective analysis was conducted at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, from April 2007 to May 2018. Two hundred and fifty-three SESCC patients treated with ESD were followed using surveillance endoscopy after the procedure. Risk factors for metachronous esophageal SCC were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox’s proportional hazards model. Metachronous esophageal SCCs were found in 21 (8.3%) of the 253 patients. Six patients (2.4%) with extraesophageal recurrence such as lymph node metastasis confirmed by imaging were excluded from patients with metachronous recurrence and data were censored from the recurrence date. Univariate analysis revealed that the presence of many (>10) irregularly shaped multiform Lugol-voiding lesions (LVLs) around the main lesion, margin of the main LVL, and tumor differentiation were risk factors for the development of metachronous cancer. Multivariate analysis also revealed that many (>10) LVLs (hazard ratio [HR], 6.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.62–24.72; p = 0.047) and unclear or spiculated margin of the main LVL (HR, 6.51; 95% CI, 1.44–29.42; p = 0.029) were associated with the risk of metachronous recurrence. Metachronous esophageal SCC develops in patients treated with ESD for SESCC. A risk assessment is important for surveillance before and after ESD for SESCC. Number of LVLs and tumor edge type are associated with an increased risk of metachronous cancer in SESCC. Patients will benefit from careful endoscopic surveillance when endoscopists pay attention to these tumor characteristics.
Sex differences in soleus muscle H‐reflex and V‐wave excitability

What is the central question of this study? How do H‐reflex and V‐wave excitability compare between men and women engaging in similar levels of physical activity? What is the main finding and its importance? H‐reflex excitability is lower in women than in men because of their greater level of antagonist co‐activation during sustained plantar flexion isometric exercise. In addition, supraspinal drive is similar between men and women independently of their differences in H‐reflex excitability and antagonist muscle co‐activation.
High-speed imaging of ESCRT recruitment and dynamics during HIV virus like particle budding

Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport proteins (ESCRT) catalyze the fission of cellular membranes during budding of membrane away from the cytosol. Here we have used Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy to visualize the recruitment of ESCRTs specifically, ALIX, CHMP4b and VPS4 onto the budding HIV Gag virus-like particles (VLPs). We imaged the budding VLPs with 200 millisecond time resolution for 300 frames. Our data shows three phases for ESCRT dynamics: 1) recruitment in which subunits of ALIX, CHMP4b and VPS4 are recruited with constant proportions on the budding sites of HIV Gag virus like particles for nearly 10 seconds, followed by 2) disassembly of ALIX and CHMP4b while VPS4 signal remains constant for nearly 20 seconds followed by 3) disassembly of VPS4. We hypothesized that the disassembly observed in step 2 was catalyzed by VPS4 and powered by ATP hydrolysis. To test this hypothesis, we performed ATP depletion using (-) glucose medium, deoxyglucose and oligomycin. Imaging ATP depleted cells, we show that the disassembly of CHMP4b and ALIX observed in step 2 is ATP dependent. ATP depletion resulted in the recruitment of approximately 2-fold as many subunits of all ESCRTs. Resuming ATP production in cells, resulted in disassembly of the full ESCRT machinery which had been locked in place during ATP depletion. With some caveats, our experiments provide insight into the formation of the ESCRT machinery at the budding site of HIV during budding.
Mortality Rate in a Cohort of People Living With HIV in Rural Tanzania After Accounting for Unseen Deaths Among Those Lost to Follow-up

Abstract Mortality assessment in cohorts with high numbers of persons lost to follow-up (LTFU) is challenging in settings with limited civil registration systems. We aimed to assess mortality in a clinical cohort (the Kilombero and Ulanga Antiretroviral Cohort (KIULARCO)) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons in rural Tanzania, accounting for unseen deaths among participants LTFU. We included adults enrolled in 2005–2015 and traced a nonrandom sample of those LTFU. We estimated mortality using Kaplan-Meier methods 1) with routinely captured data (method A), 2) crudely incorporating tracing data (method B), 3) weighting using tracing data to crudely correct for unobserved deaths among participants LTFU (method C), and 4) weighting using tracing data accounting for participant characteristics (method D). We investigated associated factors using proportional hazards models. Among 7,460 adults, 646 (9%) died, 883 (12%) transferred to other clinics, and 2,911 (39%) were LTFU. Of 2,010 (69%) traced participants, 325 (16%) were found: 131 (40%) had died and 130 (40%) had transferred. Five-year mortality estimates derived using the 4 methods were 13.1% (A), 16.2% (B), 36.8% (C), and 35.1% (D), respectively. Higher mortality was associated with male sex, referral as a hospital inpatient, living close to the index clinic, lower body mass index, more advanced World Health Organization HIV clinical stage, lower CD4 cell count, and less time since initiation of antiretroviral therapy. Adjusting for unseen deaths among participants LTFU approximately doubled the 5-year mortality estimates. Our approach is applicable to other cohort studies adopting targeted tracing.
An Exploration of Family Caregiver Experiences of Burden and Coping While Caring for People with Mental Disorders in Saudi Arabia—A Qualitative Study

Family caregivers of people with mental disorders face a number of burdens and stressors, such as associative stigma and burnout. These burdens are often a result of their caring role coupled with insufficient support or ineffective coping strategies, which can affect their quality of life and biopsychosocial integrity that, in turn, may affect the care they provide. This study aimed to explore the experiences of family caregivers of people with mental disorders, through examining the burdens that they face and the coping strategies that they use. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the Saudi public, recruited through popular social media platforms and analyzed using thematic analysis. Five main themes were constructed from the data: Type of care, Challenges, Coping and support, Perceptions of public awareness, and Messages to others. The findings emphasize the different types of burdens that caregivers experience, and their needs that require a range of responses such as educational training on effective coping strategies, and psychological support in the form of counseling or group therapy. This study highlights the voice of caregivers and their message to the public, in order to correct the misconceptions surrounding mental disorders and those associated with them.
Point-of-Care Echocardiography: A Useful Tool for Assessing Complex Arrhythmias in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate that the analysis of the atrioventricular, intraventricular, and interventricular asynchrony by point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) could be an alternative tool for assessing complex arrhythmias in pediatric patients with congenital heart diseases, mainly when an epicardial register or electrophysiology study is not available. DESIGN Descriptive, retrospective case series study. SETTING The pediatric intensive care unit of a university-affiliated tertiary hospital in Spain. PATIENTS The authors included 12 patients with congenital heart disease younger than 18 years admitted to the authors' pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) from January 2018 to December 2019, with complex arrhythmias after surgery, managed by performing a bedside echocardiography when an electrophysiology test or epicardial auriculogram was unavailable. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The authors included a total of 14 complex arrhythmias in 12 postsurgical patients in whom a comprehensive transthoracic electrocardiogram was not conclusive. The presence of atrioventricular, intraventricular, or interventricular asynchrony was assessed in standard echo views by performing M-mode and Doppler mitral inflow analysis, checking the heart motion. The final POCUS diagnoses were atrial flutter (n = 5), postsurgical atrioventricular block (n = 4), asynchrony induced by pacemaker (n = 2), junctional ectopic tachycardia (n = 1), nodal rhythm plus ventricular extrasystole (n = 1), and supraventricular tachycardia (n = 1). In all patients, regardless of the type of arrhythmia, detecting motion asynchrony was crucial for making the correct diagnosis. Offline cardiologist analysis of the POCUS scans showed full agreement. CONCLUSIONS POCUS is a useful tool for initial diagnosis and management of complex arrhythmias in the PICU, mainly when epicardial auriculogram or electrophysiology studies are unavailable.
The Relationship between Positive Youth Development and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese Early Adolescents: A Three-Year Cross-Lagged Analysis

Based on the development assets theory and the scar model, the present study examined the relationship between positive youth development (PYD) and depressive symptoms among Chinese early adolescents using a three-year longitudinal study design. Data from three waves were collected from 1301 students (Mean age = 12.46, SD = 0.63 years and 51.2% boys at wave 1) across the junior high school period (Grades 7–9). All participants completed a questionnaire that included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale (CPYD) once a year over three years. After controlling for age and gender, this study found that PYD significantly predicted subsequent depressive symptoms. However, depressive symptoms did not significantly predict subsequent PYD. The results indicated a unidirectional relationship between PYD and depressive symptoms, where a reduction in PYD may increase subsequent depressive symptoms, though not vice versa. Besides, the negative cross-sectional correlation between PYD and depressive symptoms remains significant and stable from first year (T1) to third year (T3). These findings suggest that promoting PYD may be a promising approach to preventing/reducing adolescent depressive symptoms.
Physiological quality of Araucaria angustifolia seeds at different stages of development.

1 Programa de Pos Graduacao em Recursos Geneticos Vegetais, Laboratorio de sementes, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis – SC, 88034-001, Brazil (E-mail: mariliashibata@gmail.com) 2 Departamento de agronomia, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Lages – SC, 88.520-000, Brazil (E-mail: cileidecoelho@yahoo.com.br; cileide.coelho@pq.cnpq.br) 3 Departamento de ciencia rural, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Curitibanos – SC, 89.520-000, Brazil (E-mail: neusasteiner@yahoo.com.br)
The Close Link of Pancreatic Iron With Glucose Metabolism and With Cardiac Complications in Thalassemia Major: A Large, Multicenter Observational Study

OBJECTIVE We systematically explored the link of pancreatic iron with glucose metabolism and with cardiac complications in a cohort of 1,079 patients with thalassemia major (TM) enrolled in the Extension-Myocardial Iron Overload in Thalassemia (E-MIOT) project. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS MRI was used to quantify iron overload (T2* technique) and cardiac function (cine images) and to detect macroscopic myocardial fibrosis (late gadolinium enhancement technique). Glucose metabolism was assessed by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). RESULTS Patients with normal glucose metabolism showed significantly higher global pancreas T2* values than patients with impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and diabetes. A pancreas T2* <13.07 ms predicted an abnormal OGTT. A normal pancreas T2* value showed a 100% negative predictive value for disturbances of glucose metabolism and for cardiac iron. Patients with myocardial fibrosis showed significantly lower pancreas T2* values. Patients with cardiac complications had significantly lower pancreas T2* values. No patient with arrhythmias/heart failure had a normal global pancreas T2*. CONCLUSIONS Pancreatic iron is a powerful predictor not only for glucose metabolism but also for cardiac iron and complications, supporting the close link between pancreatic iron and heart disease and the need to intensify iron chelation therapy to prevent both alterations of glucose metabolism and cardiac iron accumulation.