Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and factors correlated with hypertension secondary from obstructive sleep apnea

Background In 2003, the JNC 7 reported obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as a cause of secondary hypertension. The prevalence of OSA in hypertension ranges from 30-80%. There are limited data on the prevalence and risk factors of OSA in hypertensive patients. This study thus aimed to evaluate prevalence and clinical predictors of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in these patients. Methods This was a cross-sectional study and conducted at the hypertension clinic at Khon Kaen University’s Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand. We enrolled patients with hypertension treated at the clinic. OSA was defined as apnea-hypopnea index of 5 events/hour or over according to cardiopulmonary monitoring. Patients whose hypertension was due to any other causes were excluded. The prevalence of OSA was calculated and risk factors for OSA were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Results There were 726 hypertensive patients treated at the clinic. Out of those, 253 (34.8%) were randomly studied and categorized as either non-OSA (147 patients, 58.1%) or OSA (106 patients, 41.9%). There were four independent factors associated with OSA-induced hypertension: age, sex, history of snoring, and history of headache. Headache had an adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 3.564 (95% confidence interval of 1.510, 8.411). Conclusion Age, male sex, history of snoring, and headache were independent predictors of hypertension caused by OSA.
Cardiac Resident Macrophages Prevent Fibrosis and Stimulate Angiogenesis

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Rationale: The initial hypertrophy response to cardiac pressure overload is considered compensatory, but with sustained stress, it eventually leads to heart failure. Recently, a role for recruited macrophages in determining the transition from compensated to decompensated hypertrophy has been established. However, whether cardiac resident immune cells influence the early phase of hypertrophy development has not been established. Objective: To assess the role of cardiac immune cells in the early hypertrophy response to cardiac pressure overload induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Methods and Results: We performed cytometry by time-of-flight to determine the identity and abundance of immune cells in the heart at 1 and 4 weeks after TAC. We observed a substantial increase in cardiac macrophages 1 week after TAC. We then conducted Cite-Seq single-cell RNA sequencing of cardiac immune cells isolated from 4 sham and 6 TAC hearts. We identified 12 clusters of monocytes and macrophages, categorized as either resident or recruited macrophages, that showed remarkable changes in their abundance between sham and TAC conditions. To determine the role of cardiac resident macrophages early in the response to a hypertrophic stimulus, we used a blocking antibody against macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CD115). As blocking CD115 initially depletes all macrophages, we allowed the replenishment of recruited macrophages by monocytes before performing TAC. This preferential depletion of resident macrophages resulted in enhanced fibrosis and a blunted angiogenesis response to TAC. Macrophage depletion in CCR2 (C-C chemokine receptor type 2) knockout mice showed that aggravated fibrosis was primarily caused by the recruitment of monocyte-derived macrophages. Finally, 6 weeks after TAC these early events lead to depressed cardiac function and enhanced fibrosis, despite complete restoration of cardiac immune cells. Conclusions: Cardiac resident macrophages are a heterogeneous population of immune cells with key roles in stimulating angiogenesis and inhibiting fibrosis in response to cardiac pressure overload.
Synthesis of a chitosan nanoparticle suspension and its protective effects against enamel demineralization after an in vitro cariogenic challenge

Abstract Objective Our study aims to synthesize, characterize, and determine the effects of a ChNPs suspension on human enamel after cariogenic challenge via pH-cycling. Methodology ChNPs were synthesized by ion gelation and characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering. Forty enamel blocks were divided into four groups (n=10/group): (i) ChNPs suspension; (ii) chitosan solution; (iii) 0.05% sodium fluoride (NaF) solution; and (iv) distilled water. Specimens were exposed to cariogenic challenge by cycling in demineralization solution (3 h) and then remineralized (21h) for 7 days. Before each demineralization cycle, the corresponding solutions were passively applied for 90 s. After 7 days, specimens were examined for surface roughness (Ra) and Knoop hardness (KHN) before and after the cariogenic challenge; % KHN change (variation between initial and final hardness), and surface topography by an optical profilometer. The data were analyzed by repeated-measures ANOVA, One-way ANOVA, and Tukey tests (α=0.05). Results TEM images showed small spherical particles with diameter and zeta potential values of 79.3 nm and +47.9 mV, respectively. After the challenge, all groups showed an increase in Ra and a decrease in KHN values. Optical profilometry indicated that ChNPs- and NaF-treated specimens showed uneven roughness interspersed with smooth areas and the lowest %KHN values. Conclusion The ChNPs suspension was successfully synthesized and minimized human enamel demineralization after a cariogenic challenge, showing an interesting potential for use as an oral formulation for caries prevention.
Breastfeeding supportive practices in European hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Introduction During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, international recommendations and guidelines regarding breastfeeding-supportive hospital practices changed frequently. For example, some recommended separation of mothers and infants; others, feeding pumped milk instead of milk fed directly from the breast. Many recommendations were inconsistent or in direct conflict with each other. Guidance from UENPS (the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies) published in April 2020 recommended rooming in and direct breastfeeding where feasible, under strict measures of infection control, for women who were COVID-19 positive or under investigation for COVID-19. Key findings Our study assessed data from respondents from 124 hospitals in 22 nations, with over 1000 births per year, who completed a survey on practices during the COVID-19 epidemic, as they related to the World Health Organization (WHO) Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, considered to be the gold standard for breastfeeding support. The survey was conducted in the fall of 2020/winter of 2021. Overall 88% of responding hospitals had managed COVID positive mothers, and 7% had treated over 50 birthing women with confirmed COVID-19. The biggest change to hospital policy related to visitation policies, with 38% of hospitals disallowing all visitors for birthing women, and 19% shortening the postpartum stay. Eight hospitals (6%) recommended formula feeding instead of breastfeeding for women who tested positive for COVID-19 or were under investigation, whereas 73% continued to recommend direct, exclusive breastfeeding, but with some form of protection such as a mask or hand sanitizer for the mother or cleaning the breast before the feed. While 6% of hospitals discontinued rooming in, 31% strengthened their rooming in policy (keeping mothers and their babies together in the same room) to protect infants against possible exposure to the virus elsewhere in the hospital . Overall, 72% of hospitals used their country’s national guidelines when making policy, 31% used WHO guidelines and 22% UENPS/SIN guidelines. Many European hospitals relied on more than one accredited source. Discussion Our most concerning finding was that 6% of hospitals recommended formula feeding for COVID positive mothers, a measure that was later shown to be potentially harmful, as protection against the virus is transmitted through human milk. It is encouraging to note that a third of hospitals strengthened rooming in measures. Especially given the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the situation around postnatal care in maternity hospitals requires ongoing monitoring and may require proactive investment to regain pre-COVID era practices.
Brain-Based Biotypes of Psychiatric Vulnerability in the Acute Aftermath of Trauma.

OBJECTIVE Major negative life events, such as trauma exposure, can play a key role in igniting or exacerbating psychopathology. However, few disorders are diagnosed with respect to precipitating events, and the role of these events in the unfolding of new psychopathology is not well understood. The authors conducted a multisite transdiagnostic longitudinal study of trauma exposure and related mental health outcomes to identify neurobiological predictors of risk, resilience, and different symptom presentations. METHODS A total of 146 participants (discovery cohort: N=69; internal replication cohort: N=77) were recruited from emergency departments within 72 hours of a trauma and followed for the next 6 months with a survey, MRI, and physiological assessments. RESULTS Task-based functional MRI 2 weeks after a motor vehicle collision identified four clusters of individuals based on profiles of neural activity reflecting threat reactivity, reward reactivity, and inhibitory engagement. Three clusters were replicated in an independent sample with a variety of trauma types. The clusters showed different longitudinal patterns of posttrauma symptoms. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide a novel characterization of heterogeneous stress responses shortly after trauma exposure, identifying potential neuroimaging-based biotypes of trauma resilience and psychopathology.
Clinicopathological differences in radiation-induced organizing hematomas of the brain based on type of radiation treatment and primary lesions

Background Radiation-induced organizing hematoma (RIOH) is a sporadic form of cavernous hemangioma (CH) that occurs after cerebral radiation. RIOH lesions are distinct histologically from de novo CH; however, detailed research on this subject is lacking. In the present study, the clinical and histological features of RIOHs were evaluated based on causative lesions. Methods The present study included 37 RIOHs confirmed by surgical excision from January 2009, to May 2020, in Yonsei Severance Hospital. All cases were divided into subgroups based on type of radiation treatment (gamma knife surgery [GKS], n = 24 vs. conventional radiation therapy [RT], n = 13) and pathology of the original lesion (arteriovenous malformation, n = 14; glioma, n = 12; metastasis, n = 4; other tumors, n = 7). The clinicopathological results were compared between the groups. Results Clinical data of multiplicity, latency, and size and wall thickness of the original tumors and RIOHs were analyzed. The GKS group showed shorter latency (5.85 ± 4.06 years vs. 11.15 ± 8.27 years, p = .046) and thicker tumor wall (693.7 ± 565.7 μm vs. 406.9 ± 519.7 μm, p = .049) than the conventional RT group. Significant difference was not found based on original pathology. Conclusions RIOH is more likely to occur earlier with thick tumor wall in subjects who underwent GKS than in patients who underwent conventional RT. These results indicate the clinical course of RIOH differs based on type of treatment and might help determine the duration of follow-up.
Cardiac SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with pro-inflammatory transcriptomic alterations within the heart

Abstract Aims Cardiac involvement in COVID-19 is associated with adverse outcome. However, it is unclear whether cell-specific consequences are associated with cardiac SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, we investigated heart tissue utilizing in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and RNA-sequencing in consecutive autopsy cases to quantify virus load and characterize cardiac involvement in COVID-19. Methods and results In this study, 95 SARS-CoV-2-positive autopsy cases were included. A relevant SARS-CoV-2 virus load in the cardiac tissue was detected in 41/95 deceased (43%). Massive analysis of cDNA ends (MACE)-RNA-sequencing was performed to identify molecular pathomechanisms caused by the infection of the heart. A signature matrix was generated based on the single-cell dataset ‘Heart Cell Atlas’ and used for digital cytometry on the MACE-RNA-sequencing data. Thus, immune cell fractions were estimated and revealed no difference in immune cell numbers in cases with and without cardiac infection. This result was confirmed by quantitative immunohistological diagnosis. MACE-RNA-sequencing revealed 19 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with a q-value <0.05 (e.g. up: IFI44L, IFT3, TRIM25; down: NPPB, MB, MYPN). The upregulated DEGs were linked to interferon pathways and originate predominantly from endothelial cells. In contrast, the downregulated DEGs originate predominately from cardiomyocytes. Immunofluorescent staining showed viral protein in cells positive for the endothelial marker ICAM1 but rarely in cardiomyocytes. The Gene Ontology (GO) term analysis revealed that downregulated GO terms were linked to cardiomyocyte structure, whereas upregulated GO terms were linked to anti-virus immune response. Conclusion This study reveals that cardiac infection induced transcriptomic alterations mainly linked to immune response and destruction of cardiomyocytes. While endothelial cells are primarily targeted by the virus, we suggest cardiomyocyte destruction by paracrine effects. Increased pro-inflammatory gene expression was detected in SARS-CoV-2-infected cardiac tissue but no increased SARS-CoV-2 associated immune cell infiltration was observed.
Internet-based survey of the frequency and types of orthopedic conditions and injuries experienced by dogs competing in agility.

OBJECTIVE To describe the frequency and types of injuries experienced by dogs competing and training in agility and identify breed and geographic differences in frequency and types of injuries. SAMPLE Surveys completed by owners of 4,701 dogs. PROCEDURES The study involved an internet-based survey. Participants were asked whether their dog had ever had an injury that kept it from participating in agility for > 1 week and, if so, to identify the location and type of injury. RESULTS Owners of 1,958 (41.7%) dogs reported that their dogs had experienced an injury. The most common injury locations were the shoulder region (n = 589 [30.1% of all dogs with an injury]) and iliopsoas muscle (380 [19.4%]). The percentage of Border Collies sustaining an injury (549/1,052 [51.9%]) was significantly higher than percentages of other breeds. Percentage of dogs that sustained an injury varied by country, with the highest percentage reported in Australia (93/174 [53.4%]) and lowest percentage reported in the US (1,149/2,889 [39.8%]). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested that, among dogs competing and training in agility, injuries to the shoulder region were substantially more common than injuries in other anatomic locations, with iliopsoas muscle injuries second most common. The frequency and types of injuries varied among breeds and geographic regions. Findings may help guide clinical evaluations when agility dogs are seen in clinical practice for performance issues or lameness. Further studies regarding regional differences in injury rates are required.
Varicella zoster virus impairs expression of the non-classical major histocompatibility complex class I-related gene protein (MR1).

The antigen presentation molecule MR1 presents ligands derived from the riboflavin (vitamin B) synthesis pathway, which is not present in mammalian species or viruses, to Mucosal Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells. In this study, we demonstrate that Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) profoundly suppresses MR1 expression. We show that VZV targets the intracellular reservoir of immature MR1 for degradation, whilst pre-existing, ligand bound cell surface MR1 is protected from such targeting; thereby highlighting an intricate temporal relationship between infection and ligand availability. We also identify VZV open reading frame (ORF) 66 as functioning to suppress MR1 expression when this viral protein is expressed during transient transfection, but this is not apparent during infection with a VZV mutant virus lacking ORF66 expression. This indicates that VZV is likely to encode multiple viral genes that target MR1. Overall, we identify an immunomodulatory function of VZV whereby infection suppresses the MR1 biosynthesis pathway.
Social connectedness among parents raising children in low‐income communities: An integrative review

Abstract Social isolation has been linked to numerous health risks, including depression and mortality. Parents raising children in low‐income and under‐resourced communities are at an increased risk for experiencing social isolation and its negative effects. Social connectedness (SC), one's sense of belongingness and connection to other people, or a community, has been linked to reduced social isolation and improved health outcomes in the general population, yet little is known about the impact SC has on parents with low incomes. This integrative review aims to describe the current state of the science surrounding SC in parents with low incomes, summarize how SC is being defined and measured, evaluate the quality of the science, and identify gaps in the literature to guide future research. Five electronic databases were searched, yielding 15 articles for inclusion. Empirical studies meeting the following criteria were included: population focused on parents who have low incomes or live in low‐income communities and have dependent children, outcomes were parent‐centered, SC was a study variable or a qualitative finding, and publication date was before March 2021. Findings emphasize SC as a promising construct that may be protective in the health and well‐being of parents and children living in low‐income communities. However, a lack of consensus on definitions and measures of SC makes it difficult to build a strong science base for understanding these potential benefits. Future research should focus on understanding the mechanisms by which SC works to benefit parents and their children.
An Autopsy Confirmed Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder with Extensive Brain White Matter Lesion and Optic Neuritis but Intact Spinal Cord, Clinically Mimicking a Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis-like Course

A 57-year-old woman presented with optic neuritis with repeated clinical symptoms of focal demyelination of the cerebral white matter and brain stem for 14 years. At the end of the patient's course, the clinical signs mimicked secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, but whether it was caused by interferon administration or neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) - or a combination of both or others - was unclear. Histopathological findings indicated the etiology to be NMOSD, with no apparent plaque in spinal cord specimens. This case suggests that an accurate clinical diagnosis requires serum anti-aquaporin 4 antibody measurements as well as an autopsy examination.
Neuron segmentation using 3D wavelet integrated encoder–decoder network

Abstract Motivation 3D neuron segmentation is a key step for the neuron digital reconstruction, which is essential for exploring brain circuits and understanding brain functions. However, the fine line-shaped nerve fibers of neuron could spread in a large region, which brings great computational cost to the neuron segmentation. Meanwhile, the strong noises and disconnected nerve fibers bring great challenges to the task. Results In this article, we propose a 3D wavelet and deep learning-based 3D neuron segmentation method. The neuronal image is first partitioned into neuronal cubes to simplify the segmentation task. Then, we design 3D WaveUNet, the first 3D wavelet integrated encoder–decoder network, to segment the nerve fibers in the cubes; the wavelets could assist the deep networks in suppressing data noises and connecting the broken fibers. We also produce a Neuronal Cube Dataset (NeuCuDa) using the biggest available annotated neuronal image dataset, BigNeuron, to train 3D WaveUNet. Finally, the nerve fibers segmented in cubes are assembled to generate the complete neuron, which is digitally reconstructed using an available automatic tracing algorithm. The experimental results show that our neuron segmentation method could completely extract the target neuron in noisy neuronal images. The integrated 3D wavelets can efficiently improve the performance of 3D neuron segmentation and reconstruction. Availabilityand implementation The data and codes for this work are available at https://github.com/LiQiufu/3D-WaveUNet. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Determining Sequence-Dependent DNA Oligonucleotide Hybridization and Dehybridization Mechanisms Using Coarse-Grained Molecular Simulation, Markov State Models, and Infrared Spectroscopy

A robust understanding of the sequence-dependent thermodynamics of DNA hybridization has enabled rapid advances in DNA nanotechnology. A fundamental understanding of the sequence-dependent kinetics and mechanisms of hybridization and dehybridization remains comparatively underdeveloped. In this work, we establish new understanding of the sequence-dependent hybridization/dehybridization kinetics and mechanism within a family of self-complementary pairs of 10-mer DNA oligomers by integrating coarse-grained molecular simulation, machine learning of the slow dynamical modes, data-driven inference of long-time kinetic models, and experimental temperature-jump infrared spectroscopy. For a repetitive ATATATATAT sequence, we resolve a rugged dynamical landscape comprising multiple metastable states, numerous competing hybridization/dehybridization pathways, and a spectrum of dynamical relaxations. Introduction of a G:C pair at the terminus (GATATATATC) or center (ATATGCATAT) of the sequence reduces the ruggedness of the dynamics landscape by eliminating a number of metastable states and reducing the number of competing dynamical pathways. Only by introducing a G:C pair midway between the terminus and the center to maximally disrupt the repetitive nature of the sequence (ATGATATCAT) do we recover a canonical “all-or-nothing” two-state model of hybridization/dehybridization with no intermediate metastable states. Our results establish new understanding of the dynamical richness of sequence-dependent kinetics and mechanisms of DNA hybridization/dehybridization by furnishing quantitative and predictive kinetic models of the dynamical transition network between metastable states, present a molecular basis with which to understand experimental temperature jump data, and furnish foundational design rules by which to rationally engineer the kinetics and pathways of DNA association and dissociation for DNA nanotechnology applications.