Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extracellular S100A4 as a key player in fibrotic diseases

Fibrosis is characterized by fibroblast activation, extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation and infiltration of inflammatory cells that sometimes leads to irreversible organ dysfunction. Considerable evidence now indicates that inflammation plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of organ fibrosis. S100A4 protein, a ubiquitous member of the S100 family, has recently been discovered as a potential factor implicated in fibrotic diseases. S100A4 protein is released at inflammatory site and has a certain biological function to promote cell motility, invasion, ECM remodelling, autophagy and angiogenesis. In addition, extracellular S100A4 is also a potential causation of inflammatory processes and induces the release of cytokines and growth factors under different pathological conditions. Elevated S100A4 level in patients’ serum closely correlates with disease activity in several fibrotic diseases and serves as a useful biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring disease progression. Analyses of knockout mouse models have identified a functional role of extracellular S100A4 protein in fibrotic diseases, suggesting that suppressing its expression, release or function might be a promising therapeutic strategy. This review will focus on the role of extracellular S100A4 as a key regulator of pro‐inflammatory signalling pathways and its relative biological processes involved in the pathogenesis of fibrosis.
Intracellular synthesis of gold nanoparticles by Gluconacetobacter liquefaciens for delivery of peptide CopA3 and ginsenoside and anti-inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages

Abstract Probiotic Gluconacetobacter strains are intestinal microbes with beneficial effects on human health. Recently, researchers have used these strains to biosynthesize metal and non-metal nanoparticles for treating various chronic diseases. Despite their importance in nanotechnology, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) biosynthesized by Gluconacetobacter species have not been clearly identified for treating inflammation and inflammation-associated diseases. While ginsenoside CK has strong pharmaceutical activity, it also has strong cytotoxicity and hydrophobicity which is hurdle to make formulation. Peptide–nanoparticle hybrids are gaining increasing attention for their potential biomedical applications, including human inflammatory diseases. Herein, we developed peptide CopA3 surface conjugated and ginsenoside compound K (CK) loaded gold nanoparticles (GNP-CK-CopA3), which intracellularly synthesised by the probiotic Gluconacetobacter liquefaciens kh-1, to target lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 macrophages. The synthetic GNP-CK-CopA3 was characterised by various instrumental techniques. The results of our cellular uptake and MTT assays exhibited obvious drug intracellular delivery without significant cytotoxicity. In addition, pre-treatment with GNP-CK-CopA3 significantly ameliorated LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and suppressed the mRNA and protein expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in macrophages. Furthermore, GNP-CK-CopA3 efficiently inhibited the activation of the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activating protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways. Taken together, our findings highlight the potential of using peptide–nanoparticle hybrids in the development of anti-inflammatory approaches and providing the experimental foundation for further application. Graphical Abstract
Connected Personas: Translating the Complexity of Older Adult Personal Health Information Management for Designers of Health Information Technologies

Human-centered design (HCD) can be used to communicate research study findings to designers of health information technologies (HIT). We used the HCD approach to develop personas, scenarios, and design guidelines for designers with the aim that it would lead to new HIT designs that support the autonomy and health of older adults. The foundation of the personas, scenarios, and design guidelines was a study that focused on understanding how older adults manage their health information and the role that stakeholders play in that process. In this paper, we describe how we carried out a HCD approach and how it led us to expand the persona process to create a network of connected personas. The connected personas allowed us to show the complexities of personal health information management for older adults and emphasize the importance of relationships with family, friends, and providers.
Assessment of Probiotics Mixture on Memory Function, Inflammation Markers, and Oxidative Stress in an Alzheimer's Disease Model of Rats

Background: The most important cause of neurodegeneration in AD is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Probiotics are microorganisms that are believed to be beneficial to human and animals. Probiotics reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in some cases. Therefore, this study determined the effects of probiotics mixture on the biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation in an AD model of rats. Methods: In this study, 50 rats were allocated to five groups, namely control, sham, and AD groups with Aβ1-40 intra-hippocampal injection, as well as AD + rivastigmine and AD + probiotics groups with Aβ1-40 intra-hippocampal injection and 2 ml (1010 CFU) of probiotics (Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Bifidobacterium infantis) orally once a day for 10 weeks. MWM was used to assess memory and learning. To detect Aβ plaque, Congo red staining was used. Oxidative stress was monitored by measuring the MDA level and SOD activity, and to assess inflammation markers (IL-1β and TNF-α) in the hippocampus, ELISA method was employed. Results: Spatial memory improved significantly in treatment group as measured by MWM. Probiotics administration reduced Aβ plaques in AD rats. MDA decreased and SOD increased in the treatment group. Besides, probiotics reduced IL-1β and TNF-α as inflammation markers in the AD model of rats. Conclusion: Our data revealed that probiotics are helpful in attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress in AD.
Symptoms improve after a yoga program designed for PTSD in a randomized controlled trial with veterans and civilians.

OBJECTIVE Although yoga shows promise as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there are few randomized controlled trials that demonstrate significant benefits for individuals with PTSD. The present study addresses this need by comparing the effects of a holistic yoga program (HYP) to that of a wellness lifestyle program (WLP) on PTSD symptom severity with a randomized clinical trial. METHOD The sample consisted of 209 participants (91.4% veterans; 66% male; 61.7% White) who met diagnostic criteria for PTSD at baseline. Participants were randomly assigned to attend one of the 2 weekly interventions for 16 weeks. The HYP consisted of yoga instruction, while the WLP consisted of didactics, discussions, and walking. PTSD severity was measured using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) and the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5). RESULTS Analyses revealed that the HYP reduced PTSD severity measured by the CAPS-5 significantly more than the WLP at treatment end (mean difference = -5.4, effect size = 0.46, p < .001), but not at 7-month follow up (mean difference = -0.9, p = .603). Similarly, the HYP reduced PTSD severity measured by the PCL-5 significantly more than the WLP at treatment end (difference = -6.0, p = .001), but not at 7-month follow up (mean difference = -1.0, p = .682). CONCLUSION Yoga may be an effective intervention for PTSD in addition to standard treatments. Future yoga trials should consider adding a social component to interventions or booster classes to maintain effects long term. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Impact of objective nutritional indexes on 1-year mortality after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a prospective observational cohort study

Abstract Introduction The prognostic value of objective nutritional indexes has been demonstrated in many diseases. This study evaluated the prognostic value of these indexes in patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI). Material and methods Totally, 119 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI between January 2016 and December 2018 were evaluated. All patients were followed-up for one year. Objective nutritional index (geriatric nutritional risk index [GNRI], prognostic nutritional index [PNI]) and controlling nutritional status [CONUT]) scores were calculated before TAVI. Results Mean age of the study population was 77.1 ± 7.8 years (59.7% female). During one-year follow-up, 31 (26.1%) deaths were observed. In a Kaplan–Meier analysis, mortality rates were significantly increased in patients with lower GNRI and PNI and higher CONUT scores (50.01% vs. 4.4%; p < .001, 48.1% vs. 15.2%; p < .001, 57.5% vs. 12.8%; p < .001, respectively). Pairwise comparisons of the ROC curves demonstrated that the GNRI score was a significantly better predictor of mortality than the PNI and CONUT scores (area under curve; 0.898, 0.664, and 0.722, respectively, for both; p < .001). According to Cox proportional hazard analyses, the GNRI (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.898) and STS (HR: 1.359) score were independently associated with increased 1-year mortality (for all p < .05). Conclusion The GNRI, PNI and CONUT scores were associated with 1-year all-cause mortality in patients who underwent TAVI. The predictive value of the GNRI score was significantly better than the PNI or CONUT scores. Assessment of the GNRI should be considered before TAVI.
Fatal Rodentborne Leptospirosis in Prison Inmates, South Africa, 2015

Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease. In 2015, leptospirosis was diagnosed in 2 prison inmates in South Africa. Using real-time PCR and DNA sequencing, we identified Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae in rodents and water samples within the prison. Leptospirosis might be frequently underdiagnosed in South Africa.
Deep Learning of Spatiotemporal Filtering for Fast Super-Resolution Ultrasound Imaging

Super-resolution ultrasound (SR-US) imaging is a new technique that breaks the diffraction limit and allows visualization of microvascular structures down to tens of micrometers. The image processing methods for the spatiotemporal filtering needed in SR-US, such as singular value decomposition (SVD), are computationally burdensome and performed offline. Deep learning has been applied to many biomedical imaging problems, and trained neural networks have been shown to process an image in milliseconds. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of deep learning to realize a spatiotemporal filter in the context of SR-US processing. A 3-D convolutional neural network (3DCNN) was trained on <italic>in vitro</italic> and <italic>in vivo</italic> data sets using SVD as ground truth in tissue clutter reduction. <italic>In vitro</italic> data were obtained from a tissue-mimicking flow phantom, and <italic>in vivo</italic> data were collected from murine tumors of breast cancer. Three training techniques were studied: training with <italic>in vitro</italic> data sets, training with <italic>in vivo</italic> data sets, and transfer learning with initial training on <italic>in vitro</italic> data sets followed by fine-tuning with <italic>in vivo</italic> data sets. The neural network trained with <italic>in vitro</italic> data sets followed by fine-tuning with <italic>in vivo</italic> data sets had the highest accuracy at 88.0%. The SR-US images produced with deep learning allowed visualization of vessels as small as <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$25~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> in diameter, which is below the diffraction limit (wavelength of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$110~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> at 14 MHz). The performance of the 3DCNN was encouraging for real-time SR-US imaging with an average processing frame rate for <italic>in vivo</italic> data of 51 Hz with GPU acceleration.
A Cryptic Alternative for the Evolution of Hyphae

A growing awareness of a subsurface fossil record of mostly hyphal fungi organisms stretching back through the Phanerozoic to ≈400 megaannum (Ma) and possibly earlier, provides an alternative view on hyphal development. Parallel with the emergence of hyphal fungi during Ordovician–Devonian times when plants colonized the land, which is the traditional notion of hyphal evolution, hyphae‐based fungi existed in the deep biosphere. New insights suggest that the fundamental functions of hyphae may have evolved in response to an ancient subsurface endolithic life style and might have been in place before the colonization of land. To address the gaps in the current understanding of hyphal evolution a strategy based on research prospects involving investigations of uncharted geological material, new diagnostics, and comparisons to live species is proposed.
Possible Transmission Mechanisms of Mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in High HIV Prevalence Country, Botswana

Tuberculosis caused by concurrent infection with multiple Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains (i.e., mixed infection) challenges clinical and epidemiologic paradigms. We explored possible transmission mechanisms of mixed infection in a population-based, molecular epidemiology study in Botswana during 2012–2016. We defined mixed infection as multiple repeats of alleles at >2 loci within a discrete mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit–variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) result. We compared mixed infection MIRU-VNTR results with all study MIRU-VNTR results by considering all permutations at each multiple allele locus; matched MIRU-VNTR results were considered evidence of recently acquired strains and nonmatched to any other results were considered evidence of remotely acquired strains. Among 2,051 patients, 34 (1.7%) had mixed infection, of which 23 (68%) had recently and remotely acquired strains. This finding might support the mixed infection mechanism of recent transmission and simultaneous remote reactivation. Further exploration is needed to determine proportions of transmission mechanisms in settings where mixed infections are prevalent.
Calcium-alginate coated, whey protein-based microspheres: preparation, some properties and opportunities

An ‘all aqueous’ encapsulation process followed by a heat treatment was used to prepare calcium-alginate-coated, whey protein-based, water insoluble microspheres containing micronized calcium carbonate as a model core. Results obtained with this process were compared to those obtained with a similar process in which chemical cross-linking was utilized. At an initial core load of 25 or 50% (w/w), core retention ranged from 84.2–95.12% and was not significantly affected by the initial core load or by the cross-linking method. Regardless of the cross-linking method, protein retention during the process was high and ranged from 78.2–87.5%. Outer topography of the microspheres was not influenced by the cross-linking method, however, at a given composition, the inner structure of heat treated microspheres differed from that obtained with chemically-cross-linked microspheres. Swelling properties of denovomicrospheres were affected by pH. Results indicated that the micronized calcium carbonate could be used as a porogenic core. Removal of the core, by an acid treatment, allowed preparing microporous delivery devices. In addition to offer opportunities for encapsulation and delivery of crystalline core, the investigatedprocesscanprovidemeans toprepare ‘ghost’microporousdelivery systems that can, in potential, be loaded, following their preparation, with sensitive core materials at conditions that favour the stability and functionality of this core.
Coalescence, partial-coalescence and non-coalescence of an aqueous drop at an oil-water interface under an electric field.

Drop interface interaction under electric field is relevant in commercial desalters wherein water droplets suspended in oil coalesce under electric field, move down under gravity and eventually coalesce with the water pool at the bottom of the desalter. In this work, we report our observation that the transition from coalescence to partial coalescence can be described by a critical electrocapillary number, and is independent of the Ohnesorge number. On the other hand, the partial coalescence to non-coalescence transition depends upon both the electrocapillary number and the Ohnesorge number. The bridge during partial coalescence exhibits an electrocapillary number independent growth and collapse dynamics, although the transition time for growth to collapse depends upon the electrocapillary number (CaE). Lastly, contrary to previous studies, our results indicate that the secondary droplet size varies as CaE3/2 unlike the CaE1/2 reported in the literature.
A Health System's Pilot Experience with Using Mobile Social Knowledge Networking (SKN) Technology to Enable Meaningful Use of EHR Medication Reconciliation Technology

In fall 2016, a two-year grant was secured from AHRQ, to pilot a mobile Social Knowledge Networking (SKN) system on Electronic Health Record (EHR) Medication Reconciliation (MedRec), to enable Augusta University (AU) Health System, to progress from "limited-use" of EHR-MedRec technology, to "meaningful-use. " The rationale is that an SKN system would enable knowledge exchange on practice issues related to EHR-MedRec, across diverse provider subgroups and settings-of-care, which, in turn, is expected to increase provider engagement, promote inter-professional learning of best-practices, and provide a foundation for practice change (e.g., Meaningful Use of EHR-MedRec technology). Over a one-year period, 50 SKN Users (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists from outpatient-and-inpatient-medicine services), participated in discussing issues-related-to-EHR-MedRec, moderated by 5 SKN Moderators (senior administrators). This paper describes the health system's experiences with this pilot initiative; and discusses lessons learned, in regard to the potential of a mobile SKN system to enable Meaningful Use of EHR-MedRec technology.
Use of graded responsibility and common entrustment considerations among United States emergency medicine residency programs

Purpose The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires all residency programs to provide increasing autonomy as residents progress through training, known as graded responsibility. However, there is little guidance on how to implement graded responsibility in practice and a paucity of literature on how it is currently implemented in emergency medicine (EM). We sought to determine how EM residency programs apply graded responsibility across a variety of activities and to identify which considerations are important in affording additional responsibilities to trainees. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of EM residency programs using a 23-question survey that was distributed by email to 162 ACGME-accredited EM program directors. Seven different domains of practice were queried. Results We received 91 responses (56.2% response rate) to the survey. Among all domains of practice except for managing critically ill medical patients, the use of graded responsibility exceeded 50% of surveyed programs. When graded responsibility was applied, post-graduate year (PGY) level was ranked an “extremely important” or “very important” consideration between 80.9% and 100.0% of the time. Conclusion The majority of EM residency programs are implementing graded responsibility within most domains of practice. When decisions are made surrounding graded responsibility, programs still rely heavily on the time-based model of PGY level to determine advancement.
Emerging connections between oxidative stress, defective proteolysis, and metabolic diseases

Abstract The ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy are two major intracellular proteolytic systems that are closely associated with each other. Because UPS and autophagy are involved in the clearance of oxidised and/or aggregated proteins, it would be logical to assume that alterations in proteolysis would accompany pathological conditions. Indeed, both systems are themselves susceptible to oxidative modification and therefore could be a prominent target of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative stress appears to be a common underlying factor in the development of and the pathogenesis of various metabolic diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recent studies, using obesity and hyperglycaemia model mice, reported that both UPS and autophagy systems are inhibited in these mice and that this inhibition is accompanied by lipid accumulation, insulin resistance, and tissue damage. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms that are responsible for regulating intracellular proteolysis in metabolic diseases are not well understood. In the current review, we discuss the correlation between oxidative stress, defective proteolysis, and metabolic diseases. An understanding of how ROS affects intracellular proteolysis may provide new perspectives on the development of and control of diseases.
Small Cell Carcinoma of Bladder; Still A Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenge: Seven Years of Experience and Follow-up in A Referral Center.

PURPOSE To report clinical, histopathological, and treatment features of small cell carcinoma of (SmccB) bladder during 7 years in a referral center. METHODS The clinical, histopathological features, treatment modalities, and outcome of all patients with bladder SmccB treated between 2009 and 2016 who were managed in Hasheminejad Kidney Center (HKC) were retrospectively collected. RESULTS Thirteen patients were diagnosed and managed with SmccB. The average age of patients was 64.92 years. For each patient, 8 markers were used for IHC staining on average. Neuroendocrine markers such as CD 56, Neuron Specific Enolase, Synaptophysin, and Chromogranin were found in a significant percentage of patients (69%, 38%, 54%, and 31% respectively). Patients were managed with TURBT alone (N=3), chemotherapy after TURBT (N=4), chemotherapy plus radical surgery (N=4) and radical surgery alone (N=2). The best clinical result was seen in chemotherapy received patients with or without radical surgery. The mean(SE) of survival rate in patients who received only chemotherapy alone was 42.4 (10.0) months, while in those who were managed with chemotherapy plus radical surgery it was 47.7 (10.1) months. DISCUSSION In our center immunohistochemistry was needed for definitive diagnosis in 17/19 samples. Misdiagnosis happened in two samples without IHC request. We think that use of immunohistochemistry should be mandatory for diagnosis of SmccB to exclude misdiagnosis. Chemotherapy is the most important part of treatment and the addition of radical surgery can slightly improve patients' survival.
Charge-Redistribution Based Quadratic Operators for Neural Feature Extraction

This paper presents a SAR converter based mixed-signal multiplier for the feature extraction of neural signals using quadratic operators. After a thorough analysis of design principles and circuit-level aspects, the proposed architecture is explored for the implementation of two quadratic operators often used for the characterization of neural activity, the moving average energy (MAE) operator and the nonlinear energy operator (NEO). Programmable chips for both operators have been implemented in a HV-180 nm CMOS process. Experimental results confirm their suitability for energy computation and action potential detection and the accomplished area×power performance is compared to prior art. The MAE and NEO prototypes, at a sampling rate of 30kS/s, consume 116 nW and 178 nW, respectively, and digitize both the input neural signal and the operator outcome, with no need for digital multipliers.