Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and Safety of Different Doses of Systemic Corticosteroids in COPD Exacerbation

BACKGROUND: Although systemic corticosteroids (SCS) have long been used to treat patients with COPD exacerbation, the recommended dose remains controversial. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis and an indirect treatment comparison to investigate the efficacy and safety of different doses of SCS in subjects with COPD exacerbation. METHODS: Studies were identified by searching different databases for randomized controlled trials that investigated the efficacy and safety of SCS with placebo in subjects with exacerbation of COPD. The different doses of SCS were assigned to low-dose (ie, initial dose ≤ 40 mg prednisone equivalent/d [PE/d]), medium-dose (initial dose = 40–100 mg PE/d, and high-dose (initial dose > 100 mg PE/d) groups. The indirect treatment comparison was performed between low-, medium-, and high-dose SCS groups. RESULTS: Twelve trials with 1,375 participates were included. Compared to placebo, the risk of treatment failure was lower in the low-dose SCS groups (risk ratio 0.61 [95% CI 0.43–0.88], P = .007) and high-dose SCS groups (risk ratio 0.64 [95% CI 0.48–0.85], P = .002); the FEV1 was significantly improved in low-dose (mean difference 0.09 [95% CI 0.06–0.12], P < .001), medium-dose (mean difference 0.23 [95% CI 0.02–0.44], P = .036), and high-dose SCS groups (mean difference 0.09, [95% CI 0.03–0.15], P < .001, respectively). Regarding safety, the incidence of hyperglycemia was higher in high-dose SCS groups versus placebo (risk ratio 2.52 [95% CI 1.13–5.62], P = .02). The indirect comparison between low-, medium-, and high-dose SCS found that the risk of treatment failure and changes in FEV1 were similar between these doses of SCS. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicates that low-dose SCS (initial dose ≤ 40 mg PE/d) was sufficient and safer for treating subjects with COPD exacerbation, and it was noninferior to higher doses of SCS (initial dose > 40 mg PE/d) in improving FEV1 and reducing the risk of treatment failure. However, our findings need to be verified in head-to-head randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis of Thiophenyl, Thiazolyl, and Pyridinyl Androstane Derivatives: A Novel Class of Potent Anti-inflammatory and Anti-ulcerogenic Heterocyclic Steroids

The investigation of drugs used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases with limited side effects becomes an urgent need for inflammation patients. This search aimed at the preparation of novel hybrid heterosteroids with structures especially non-ulcerogenic and anti-inflammatory activities. The heterocyclic steroids were formulated using simple and effective techniques. IR, H NMR, C NMR spectra and elemental microanalysis were used to characterize the synthesized compound. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of some of these compounds was studied using carrageenan-induced paw oedema assay. Also, the effect of the different compounds on the development of gastric mucosal damage induced in rats by 96% EtOH administration was studied. The most marked and sustained inhibition of the oedema response was observed with the administration of the low and high doses (25 and 50 mg/kg) of compounds 8, 4, 23, 14 as well as by the high dose of compound 32. There was no significant difference in the degree of oedema inhibition between the low and high doses of compounds 8, 23, 14 at all-time points in the study. All investigated compounds administered at (50 mg/kg) dose inhibited gastric mucosal lesions induced in rats by 96% EtOH administration. Compounds 4, 9, 11, 26, 32 were the most effective in inhibiting lesion formation. No lesions were observed after the administration of compounds 9, 26 at 50 mg/kg. These findings are approaching a distinctive chance to create fresh anti-inflammatory drugs that eliminate the ulcerogenic liabilities connected with drugs presently on the market.
Seasonal Abundance of Lygus lineolaris (Heteroptera: Miridae) and Selected Predators in Early Season Uncultivated Hosts: Implications for Managing Movement into Cotton

Seasonal patterns of abundance of tarnished plant bug (TPB), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), on uncultivated roadside hosts near large cotton fields were determined in two physiographic provinces, the Highland Rim (HR) and the Coastal Plain (CP) of Alabama. Sequence of hosts utilized was similar between years in both provinces, but time that hosts harbored populations shifted in the HR, probably in response to rainfall. Erigeron annuus (L.) Persoon and Erigeron strigosus Muhlenberg ex Willdenow, in the HR and CP, respectively, held the densest populations during the time cotton was in an early square growth stage. In both provinces, diversity and density of hosts, and frequency of most hosts, declined while cotton was entering this growth stage. The predators Geocoris spp. , Orius spp. , and Coccinellidae shared the same hosts in early spring, but were much less dense than TPB on late spring-early summer hosts. Polymerus basalis (Reuter) shared some of the same hosts in the CP. Heavy rainfall in the spring along with an increased frequency and diversity of uncultivated weedy hosts of TPB coincided with low estimates of cotton yield loss from plant-bug feeding. Potential for area-wide management via host manipulation and potential effects on predator populations are discussed.
Joint Raindrop and Haze Removal From a Single Image

In a recent study, it was shown that, with adversarial training of an attentive generative network, it is possible to convert a raindrop degraded image into a relatively clean one. However, in real world, raindrop appearance is not only formed by individual raindrops, but also by the distant raindrops accumulation and the atmospheric veiling, namely haze. Current methods are limited in extracting accurate features from a raindrop degraded image with background scene, the blurred raindrop regions, and the haze. In this paper, we propose a new model for an image corrupted by the raindrops and the haze, and introduce an integrated multi-task algorithm to address the joint raindrop and haze removal (JRHR) problem by combining an improved estimate of the atmospheric light, a modified transmission map, a generative adversarial network (GAN) and an optimized visual attention network. The proposed algorithm can extract more accurate features for both sky and non-sky regions. Experimental evaluation has been conducted to show that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms on both synthetic and real-world images in terms of both qualitative and quantitative measures.
Use of Habitat and Diurnal Activity of Pacific Black Duck, Chestnut Teal and Grey Teal at Serendip, Victoria

The activities of Pacific Black Ducks Anus superciliosa, Chestnut Teal A. castanea (adults and non-flying young) and Grey Teal A. gibberifrons in a fresh-water habitat and the use made of subdivisions within that habitat were studied by making hourly observations on every seventh day for ten weeks. In the study area most ducks spent the day loafing: Black Ducks fed more (28.6% of observations) than Chestnut Teal (18.3%) and Grey Teal spent little time (7.6%) feeding. Most ducks fed early and late in the day. All species shared all divisions of the habitat for feeding and loafing, the mam. activities considered, but Chestnut Teal used dead trees and logs more for loafing than the other specles, whch concentrated on isolated short grassland, Younger ducklings spent most time feedmg but older ones tended to resemble adults in time spent in various activities. Any competition for food that may occur between the three species could be reduced by nocturnal dispersal to different feeding areas, by selection of different foods or by the selection of Mering sues of the same food as a consequence of the different sizes of bid.
COVID-19 pandemic preventive behaviors and causal beliefs among Italian community dwelling adults

In an online sample of 1054 Italian community-dwelling adults, we assessed the relationships between the frequency of implementation of practices intended to prevent COVID-19 infection, degree of agreement with theories about the origin of the infections, and the frequency of use of different sources of information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that participants’ COVID-19-related preventive behaviors and causal beliefs were significantly associated with selected demographic variables and frequency of use of specific sources of information (e.g. scientific journals vs social media).
The Association of Plasma-Free Branched-Chain Amino Acids with Disease Related Parameters in Ulcerative Colitis

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are involved in immune system’s metabolic pathways and play fundamental role in gut health. Our aim was to assess BCAA plasma levels in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and associations of plasma BCAAs with disease-related parameters. This was a case-control study in adult patients with UC and BMI-matched controls. A total of 150 volunteers were screened between May 2016 and June 2017; 43 patients and 34 healthy controls were enrolled. Medical and dietary history (3 × 24 h recalls, MedDiet score), anthropometric measurements, blood and fecal samples were collected. We measured BCAAs in plasma with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In patients, fecal calprotectin, lactoferrin, lysozyme and defensin were quantified. Dietary pattern was similar in patients and controls. Plasma-free BCAA profiles did not differ between groups. Regression analysis showed that i) valine was inversely associated with calprotectin (p = 0.007) and ii) isoleucine with age (p = 0.031), after adjusting for age, sex, PMS and smoking. Leucine was negatively associated with age (p = 0.015) after adjusting for age, sex and PMS, but this association vanished when smoking was introduced. No correlation was observed between total BCAAs with any of the parameters. Plasma-free valine is negatively associated with calprotectin in patients with UC.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Homebound Nursing Students

University students are predisposed to stress, which could be even higher in Nursing students since they are directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic given their health training and area of knowledge. Our purpose was to assess the stress levels of Nursing students before and during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Murcia (Spain), its influence on taking an online exam and how it was affected by physical exercise. This was an observational and prospective study including Nursing students from the second year of the Nursing Degree from 3 February to 23 April 2020. Three measurements were performed: one before lockdown and two during lockdown. Stress increased substantially during lockdown. Financial, family or emotional problems, as well as physical exercise, also increased. Indeed, at 40 days of lockdown, those students with financial, family or emotional problems, and less physical exercise reported significantly higher stress levels. In addition, those who passed the online exam had lower stress levels compared to those who failed. In conclusion, during lockdown, stress in Nursing students increased. This could be triggered by students’ personal problems, and physical exercise may be used as a way to reduce stress. Academic performance was better in those students reporting less stress.
The Bactericidal Activity and Spore Inhibition Effect of Manuka Honey against Clostridioides Difficile

Clostridioides difficile colitis overgrowth occurs when the normal gut microbiome becomes disrupted, often due to antibiotics. Effective treatment remains elusive, due partly to the persistence of its spores in the gut. Natural substances like manuka honey offer an alternative antimicrobial mechanism of action to conventional antibiotics. We investigated the antibiotic activity of manuka honey against 20 C. difficile isolates. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of manuka honeys of methylglyoxal (MGO) grades 30+, 100+, 250+, and 400+ were determined based on broth microdilution. Sporicidal activity was assessed in a range of honey concentrations by enumerating total viable cell and spore counts at 0–96 h after organism inoculation. The MICs of C. difficile ranged from 4% to >30% (w/v). MIC50 for the four MGO grades were similar at 10–14%. MBC results for the majority of isolates were distributed bimodally at MBC/MIC ratios ≤4 or MBC >30%. Growth kinetics in honey showed total viable cell counts remaining >105 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL at all time points, whereas spore counts remained within 1-log of baseline (102 CFU/mL) in honey but steadily increased in the drug-free control to >105 CFU/mL by 96 h. Manuka honey demonstrated variable inhibitory and bactericidal activity against C. difficile. MGO grade had no noticeable impact on overall MIC distributions or bactericidal activity. Although manuka honey could inhibit spore proliferation, it did not eradicate spores completely.
Xenogeneic and Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells Effectively Protect the Lung Against Ischemia-reperfusion Injury Through Downregulating the Inflammatory, Oxidative Stress, and Autophagic Signaling Pathways in Rat

This study tested the hypothesis that both allogenic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) and human inducible pluripotent stem cell-derived MSCs (iPS-MSCs) offered a comparable effect for protecting the lung against ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in rodent through downregulating the inflammatory, oxidative stress, and autophagic signaling pathways. Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 32) were categorized into group 1 (sham-operated control), group 2 (IRI), group 3 [IRI + ADMSCs (1.0 × 106 cells)/tail-vein administration at 0.5/18/36 h after IR], and group 4 [IRI + iPS-MSCs (1.0 × 106 cells)/tail-vein administration at 0.5/18/36 h after IR], and lungs were harvested at 72 h after IR procedure. In vitro study demonstrated that protein expressions of three signaling pathways in inflammation (TLR4/MyD88/TAK1/IKK/I-κB/NF-κB/Cox-2/TNF-α/IL-1ß), mitochondrial damage/cell apoptosis (cytochrome C/cyclophilin D/DRP1/ASK1/APAF-1/mitochondrial-Bax/caspase3/8/9), and autophagy/cell death (ULK1/beclin-1/Atg5,7,12, ratio of LCB3-II/LC3B-I, p-AKT/m-TOR) were significantly higher in lung epithelial cells + 6h hypoxia as compared with the control, and those were significantly reversed by iPS-MSC treatment (all P < 0.001). Flow cytometric analysis revealed that percentages of the inflammatory cells in bronchioalveolar lavage fluid and circulation, and immune cells in circulation/spleen as well as circulatory early and late apoptotic cells were highest in group 2, lowest in group 1, and significantly higher in group 3 than in group 4 (all P < 0.0001). Microscopy showed the lung injury score and numbers of inflammatory cells and Western blot analysis showed the signaling pathways of inflammation, mitochondrial damage/cell apoptosis, autophagy, and oxidative stress exhibited an identical pattern of flow cytometric results among the four groups (all P < 0.0001). Both xenogeneic and allogenic MSCs protected the lung against IRI via suppressing the inflammatory, oxidative stress, and autophagic signaling.
Babam2 Regulates Cell Cycle Progression and Pluripotency in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells as Revealed by Induced DNA Damage

BRISC and BRCA1-A complex member 2 (Babam2) plays an essential role in promoting cell cycle progression and preventing cellular senescence. Babam2-deficient fibroblasts show proliferation defect and premature senescence compared with their wild-type (WT) counterpart. Pluripotent mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) are known to have unlimited cell proliferation and self-renewal capability without entering cellular senescence. Therefore, studying the role of Babam2 in ESCs would enable us to understand the mechanism of Babam2 in cellular aging, cell cycle regulation, and pluripotency in ESCs. For this study, we generated Babam2 knockout (Babam2−/−) mESCs to investigate the function of Babam2 in mESCs. We demonstrated that the loss of Babam2 in mESCs leads to abnormal G1 phase retention in response to DNA damage induced by gamma irradiation or doxorubicin treatments. Key cell cycle regulators, CDC25A and CDK2, were found to be degraded in Babam2−/− mESCs following gamma irradiation. In addition, Babam2−/− mESCs expressed p53 strongly and significantly longer than in control mESCs, where p53 inhibited Nanog expression and G1/S cell cycle progression. The combined effects significantly reduced developmental pluripotency in Babam2−/− mESCs. In summary, Babam2 maintains cell cycle regulation and pluripotency in mESCs in response to induced DNA damage.
Motives and Commitment to Sport in Amateurs during Confinement: A Segmentation Study

The current COVID-19 pandemic has paralysed whole countries, which have had to confine their entire population and this changed people’s lives worldwide. The aim of this study is to identify the reasons for and the level of commitment to physical activity among the Spanish population during confinement and the return to the “new normal”. A sample of 1025 amateurs, 534 males and 491 females with an average age of 35 years old were interviewed using an online survey that collected their motives for practising sport and their commitment to physical activity. A cluster analysis combining hierarchical and non-hierarchical methods was performed, identifying three groups of amateurs: High Commitment (n = 650), Moderate Commitment (n = 324), and Low Commitment (n = 81). The main motives shown by the different groups were psychological motives related to an improved or managed general or emotional well-being. Regarding commitment, all the groups showed higher scores in enthusiasm for physical activity than affliction from sport. The variables referring to gender, educational level and sports habits showed differences that enabled the identification of the different groups. These findings highlight the importance of conducting segmentation studies that provide specific population profiles to improve the action strategies of governments and specialists.
PSA Based Biomarkers, Imagistic Techniques and Combined Tests for a Better Diagnostic of Localized Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer represents the most encountered urinary malignancy in males over 50 years old, and the second most diagnosed after lung cancer globally. Digital rectal examination and prostatic specific antigen were the long-time standard tools for diagnosis but with a significant risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Magnetic resonance imaging recently entered the diagnosis process, but to this date, there is no specific biomarker that accurately indicates whether to proceed with the prostate biopsy. Research in this area has gone towards this direction, and recently, serum, urine, imagistic, tissue biomarkers, and Risk Calculators promise to help better diagnose and stratify prostate cancer. In order to eliminate the comorbidities that appear along with the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, there is a constant need to implement new diagnostic strategies. Important uro-oncology associations recommend the use of novel biomarkers in the grey area of prostate cancer, to better distinguish the next step in the diagnostic process. Although it is not that simple, they should be integrated according to the clinical policies, and it should be considered that statistical significance does not always equal clinical significance. In this review, we analyzed the contribution of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based biomarkers (PHI, PHID, 4Kscore, STHLM3), imagistic techniques (mp-MRI and mp-US), and combined tests in the early diagnosis process of localized prostate cancer.
A Compact and Flexible UHF RFID Tag Antenna for Massive IoT Devices in 5G System

Upcoming 5th-generation (5G) systems incorporate physical objects (referred to as things), which sense the presence of components such as gears, gadgets, and sensors. They may transmit many kinds of states in the smart city context, such as new deals at malls, safe distances on roads, patient heart rhythms (especially in hospitals), and logistic control at aerodromes and seaports around the world. These serve to form the so-called future internet of things (IoT). From this futuristic perspective, everything should have its own identity. In this context, radio frequency identification (RFID) plays a specific role, which provides wireless communications in a secure manner. Passive RFID tags carry out work using the energy harvested among massive systems. RFID has been habitually realized as a prerequisite for IoT, the combination of which is called IoT RFID (I-RFID). For the current scenario, such tags should be productive, low-profile, compact, easily mountable, and have eco-friendly features. The presently available tags are not cost-effective and have not been proven as green tags for environmentally friendly IoT in 5G systems nor are they suitable for long-range communications in 5G systems. The proposed I-RFID tag uses the meandering angle technique (MAT) to construct a design that satisfies the features of a lower-cost printed antenna over the worldwide UHF RFID band standard (860–960 MHz). In our research, tag MAT antennas are fabricated on paper-based Korsnäs by screen- and flexo-printing, which have lowest simulated effective outcomes with dielectric variation due to humidity and have a plausible read range (RR) for European (EU; 866–868 MHz) and North American (NA; 902–928 MHz) UHF band standards. The I-RFID tag size is reduced by 36% to 38% w.r. t. a previously published case, the tag gain has been improved by 23.6% to 33.12%, and its read range has been enhanced by 50.9% and 59.6% for EU and NA UHF bands, respectively. It provides impressive performance on some platforms (e.g., plastic, paper, and glass), thereby providing a new state-of-the-art I-RFID tag with better qualities in 5G systems.
The Acute Effects of Electronic Cigarette Vaping and Tobacco Cigarette Smoking on Choroidal Thickness in Young, Healthy, Habitual, Dual Smokers

The present study aims to evaluate and compare the acute effects of tobacco cigarettes (TC) smoking and electronic cigarette (EC) vaping on foveal and choroidal thickness (CT) in young, healthy, dual smokers. Participants underwent four trials: 5 min TC; 5 min EC; 30 min EC; and 60 min nothing (sham trial). Scans before and immediately after each trial were obtained using spectral domain optical coherence tomography with the enhanced depth imaging mode. Changes in central foveal thickness (CFT), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), and CT at fourother points, 500 μm and 1000 μm temporally and nasally to the fovea, were measured. Forty-seven participants (33 male, 14 female; mean age 24.85 ± 1.57 years) were included. They smoked 13.53 ± 5.27 TCs/day for 6 ± 2.3 years and vaped ECs for the past 2.4 ± 1.08 years. We did not observe any statistically significant change in SFCT, CFT, and CT of the other points after any of the fourtrials. The acute changes in CFT and CT after EC vaping or TC smoking did not differ significantly compared to the sham trial. Smoking and vaping does not seem to result in statistically significant acute alterations in foveal and CT in young, dual smokers.