Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small intestinal dysmotility in cirrhotic patients: correlation with severity of liver disease and cirrhosis-associated complications

Abstract Introduction Altered small intestinal motility has been observed in various manometry studies in patients with cirrhosis. Since small bowel manometry is available only in a few centers, interpretation of dysmotility in cirrhosis is controversial. Patients and Methods In this study, both fasting and postprandial manometric tracings of 24-hour antroduodenojejunal manometries were analyzed using both visual analysis and computer-aided analysis. Results In 34 patients (83 %), the mean migrating motor complex (MMC) cycle length was different compared with healthy controls. Phase II was prolonged in 27 patients (66 %), while phase I showed a reduced duration in 23 (56 %) and in phase III in 13 individuals (32 %). We also observed special motor patterns, e. g. , migrating clustered contractions (MCCs) or retrograde clustered contractions (RCCs), which were present during fasting (69 %) and postprandial (92 %) motility, while none of the healthy controls showed any special motor patterns. Special motor patterns showed a significant correlation with the severity of cirrhosis (Child-Score; p > 0.05) and the existence of ascites (p < 0.05). Discussion This study in a large cohort of patients with cirrhosis by using 24-hour, solid state portable manometry showed in most individuals disturbances of cyclic fasting motility. Special motor patterns like RCCs during fasting and postprandial motility could be observed exclusively in the cirrhosis group, showing a significant correlation with severity of cirrhosis and the occurence of associated complications.
Superoxide Scavenging Activity of Rosmarinic Acid from Perilla frutescens Britton Var. acuta f. viridis

Rosmarinic acid (RoA) has been isolated in high yield (0.1%) from the leaves of Perilla frutescens Britton var. acuta f. viridis, one of the most common garnishes in Japan, as a superoxide scavenger in a xanthine/xanthine oxidase system. The scavenging activity of RoA was significantly higher than that of ascorbic acid (AA). The structure−activity relationships using RoA, caffeic acid (CaA), and its related compounds indicated that the presence of an ortho dihydroxyphenyl group is essential for the scavenging effect. In addition, the conjugated double bond in the C3 carbon chain is important for enhancing the effect. The activity of RoA was then shown to be due to the additive effect of both CaA and (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)lactic acid units, both of which are hydrolyzed products of RoA. RoA significantly inhibited both intracellular superoxide and peroxide formation in differentiated HL-60 cells, suggesting that RoA effectively exhibited antioxidative activity in the biological systems through the scavenging.
Is lack of mating competitiveness in spring linked to mating asynchrony between wild and mass‐reared codling moths from an operational sterile insect programme?

Mating competitiveness and pheromone trap catches of mass‐reared, male codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), from the Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada, mass‐rearing facility operated by the Okanagan‐Kootenay Sterile Insect Release Board, were compared to wild males using mark–release–recapture field experiments in spring, summer, and autumn at Summerland, British Columbia. In spring, significantly more wild diapause males mated with tethered, wild females than did non‐irradiated (0 Gy) or irradiated (100 or 250 Gy) non‐diapause, mass‐reared males. A lower dose of radiation did not improve mating competitiveness, nor catches of mass‐reared males released in spring. Median mating time for wild males was approximately 45 min earlier than mass‐reared males with most wild males (70.5%) mating before sunset and mass‐reared males mating at or shortly after sunset in spring. Superior mating competitiveness of wild males in spring was mirrored by greater recapture rates in pheromone‐baited traps. In summer, mating competitiveness of mass‐reared moths improved relative to wild males and there was a significant inverse relationship between radiation dose (0, 100, and 250 Gy) and competitiveness of mass‐reared males. In autumn, untreated, wild males were significantly more responsive to pheromone traps than non‐diapausing mass‐reared males receiving 250 Gy of radiation. Mass‐reared males, subjected to diapause‐inducing conditions as larvae and emerged from diapause before this irradiation treatment, were recaptured significantly more often than similarly irradiated, non‐diapause, mass‐reared males, but not more than untreated, diapause wild males. We hypothesize that differences between wild and mass‐reared males in daily timing or speed of responses to natural or synthetic pheromone sources under montane weather patterns typical of spring in British Columbia may partially explain poor activity of sterile males, and low sterile : wild overflooding ratios during spring when measured using pheromone traps by the sterile insect release programme in British Columbia.
Accumulation of chromium by a population of mussels (Mytilus edulis (L.)) exposed to leather tannery effluent

The accumulation of chromium was investigated at the tissue and ultrastructural level in mussels (Mytilus edulis (L.)) in an estuary receiving leather tannery effluent and at a reference site. Mussels were also reciprocally transplanted between the estuaries to follow short‐term patterns of accumulation and depuration, respectively. The digestive gland was found to accumulate the highest concentrations of chromium in transplanted mussels after 12 months. However, in native mussels (>8 years old), the gill contained the highest concentrations. The general trend in the chromium concentrations of native mussels was: gill > kidney > digestive gland > mantle > adductor muscle. Concentrations of chromium in the gill of mussels close to the tannery outfall were in the range 400 to 1,000 μg/g dry weight, compared to a maximum of 6 μg/g in reference mussels. Seasonally in chromium concentrations was seen at both sites with an early spring maximum evident in reference mussels that could be linked to spawning and an early summer peak in concentrations in the contaminated estuary, possibly as a result of augmented feeding or increased discharges. Relationships between tissue concentrations were also studied and a high correlation occurred between some tissues, for example, digestive gland–kidney and gill–adductor muscle. Depuration was generally slow in mussels transplanted out of the Colligan Estuary, although the digestive gland lost the most chromium. Therefore, it is suggested that two pools of chromium accumulation exist in the contaminated mussels, that is, via the gills (slow) and via the digestive gland (fast). At the cellular level, chromium was found in both particulate (lysosomal) and cytosolic fractions. In the gill, particulate chromium was associated with calcium and phosphorus, whereas chromium was detected in sulfur‐dominated granules in the kidney. In the cytosol, binding to a high molecular weight component occurred in the gill, whereas binding in the digestive gland cytosol was dominated by a poorly resolved low molecular weight component. In addition, chromium is apparently detoxified by a separate pathway compared with iron or zinc, as judged by the differential cytosolic and lysosomal affinities of these metals.
Complement activation in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura according to phases of disease course.

Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune thrombocytopenia with a shortened platelet survival and relative bone marrow failure. The pathogenesis involves antibody production, cytokine release, T-cell impairment, complement activation, and clearance of platelets. We measured plasma levels of C3, C4, C1q, and sC5b-9 in 80 ITP patients in acute phase, 50 ITP patients in complete (CR) or partial (PR) remission, and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Statistical analyses showed that acute ITP patients had higher plasma levels of sC5b-9 and C1q than CR or PR patients (median of sC5b-9: 200 vs 98 mg/dL, p-value<0.001) (median of C1q: 2.11 vs 1.00 mg/dL, p-value<0.001). CR and PR ITP patients had sC5b-9 and C1q plasma levels comparable to those observed in healthy volunteers. There was a significant correlation between sC5b-9 and C1q plasma levels (Spearman's rho correlation index on 130 ITP patients equal to 0.58, p-value<0.001). We also found that sC5b-9 plasma level is inversely correlated with the number of platelets. Furthermore, we divided acute ITP patients into subjects with detectable (24 of 80, 30%) or undetectable (56 of 80, 70%) antiplatelet antibodies; patients with detectable antiplatelet antibodies have significantly higher plasma levels of C1q and sC5b-9. This research will potentially offer novel therapeutic strategies in light of new drugs affecting the complement activation for monitoring therapy response.
COVID-19: Pathogenesis, Genetic Polymorphism, Clinical Features and Laboratory Findings.

COVID-19 caused by a novel agent SARS-CoV-2 progressed to a pandemic condition and resulted in a major public health concern worldwide, leading to social and economic issues at the same time. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 starts with the bonding of the virus to ACE-2 receptors expressed in many tissues, and the triggered excessive immune response plays a critical role in the course of the disease. The cytokine storm that occurs upon excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines is considered responsible for the severe progression of the disease and the organ damage. However, the accurate pathophysiological mechanism of the disease, which progresses with various clinical presentations, is still substantially unknown. While various studies have been conducted on the effect of genetic polymorphism on the course and severity of the disease, the presence of a significant effect has not been proven yet. The clinical course of the disease is variable, with clinical representation ranging from 81% mild course to 14% severe course along with 5% critical course in patients. Asymptomatic course is considered to be higher than expected, although its frequency is not known exactly. Older adults and those with comorbidities are exposed to a more severe disease course. The disease progress with various symptoms, such as fever, cough, dyspnea, malaise, myalgia, taste and smell dysfunctions, diarrhea, and headache. A range of complications (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, thromboembolic conditions, arrhythmia and cardiac events, secondary infections) could be seen during the course of the disease. Varied laboratory tests are vital to determine the severity and prognosis of the disease, along with the condition and exposure of the affected systems during the course of COVID-19.
Low‐density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) is an independent adverse prognostic factor in acute myeloid leukaemia

The low‐density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) is a membrane receptor that mediates the endocytosis of low‐density lipoprotein (LDL). Uptake of LDL has been proposed to contribute to chemotherapy resistance of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cell lines in vitro. In the present study, we analysed LDLR expression and survival using bone marrow biopsies from 187 intensively treated patients with AML. Here, increasing LDLR expression was associated with decreasing overall (58·4%, 44·2%, and 24·4%; P = 0·0018), as well as event‐free survival (41·7%, 18·1%, and 14·3%; P = 0·0077), and an increasing cumulative incidence of relapse (33·9%, 55·1%, and 71·4%; P = 0·0011). Associations of LDLR expression with survival were confirmed in 557 intensively treated patients from two international validation cohorts. In the analytic and validation cohorts, LDLR expression remained associated with outcome in multivariable regression analyses including the European LeukemiaNet genetic risk classification. Thus, LDLR predicts outcome of patients with AML beyond existing risk factors. Furthermore, we found low expression levels of LDLR in most healthy tissues, suggesting it as a promising target for antibody‐based pharmacodelivery approaches in AML.
Remdesivir in Patients with Acute or Chronic Kidney Disease and COVID-19.

On May 1, 2020, after review of yet unpublished data from available clinical trials, the US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to permit the use of remdesivir, a nucleotide analog that inhibits viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDRP), for treatment of adults and children hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). EUAwas granted after an interim analysis of 606 recoveries in the randomized, placebo-controlled National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Adaptive Covid-19 Treatment Trial (n51063 participants from 47 United States sites and 21 international sites). Remdesivir reduced the median time to recovery (11 versus 15 days; hazard ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.54; P,0.001) compared with placebo, and overall mortality among patients treated with remdesivir was 8.0% compared with 11.6% among those treated with placebo (P50.59). 1Notably, patientswith severe AKI and ESKD were excluded from this and all other remdesivir trials on the basis of eGFR cutoffs (either 50 or 30 ml/ min per 1.73m) (Table 1). As a result, the EUA fact sheet for health care providers states the following.1
The Emerging Role of Innate Immunity in Chronic Kidney Diseases

Renal fibrosis is a common fate of chronic kidney diseases. Emerging studies suggest that unsolved inflammation will progressively transit into tissue fibrosis that finally results in an irreversible end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Renal inflammation recruits and activates immunocytes, which largely promotes tissue scarring of the diseased kidney. Importantly, studies have suggested a crucial role of innate immunity in the pathologic basis of kidney diseases. This review provides an update of both clinical and experimental information, focused on how innate immune signaling contributes to renal fibrogenesis. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms may uncover a novel therapeutic strategy for ESRD.
Evaluation of genotoxicity induced by herbicide pendimethalin in fresh water fish Clarias batrachus (linn.) and possible role of oxidative stress in induced DNA damage

Abstract The present study was carried out in fish Clarias batrachus to evaluate the genotoxicity induced by herbicide pendimethalin and to find out the role of oxidative stress in induced DNA damage. The LC50 value (96 h) of pendimethalin was determined (3.55 mg/L) and based on this, sub lethal test concentrations were calculated as SL-I (1/20th LC50), SLII (1/15th LC50) and SL-III (1/10th LC50) to which fish were exposed for 30, 45 and 60 days. Maximum DNA damage was observed in fish exposed to highest concentration of herbicide and for a particular concentration maximum damage occurs after 30 days then a time dependent decrease was observed. After 30 days the SOD and CAT activity was found to be significantly increased with respect to the control group while it was significantly decreased after 45 and 60 days as compared to 30 days of exposure. Level of lipid peroxidation in pendimethalin exposed fish followed the same pattern. GR activity remained same for all duration of herbicide exposure. The DNA damage is due to ROS generated by the metabolism of herbicide which is evident by alteration in LPO and anti-oxidant enzyme activities accompanied by incidence of DNA damage in a similar way. It can also be concluded that for pendimethalin genotoxicity testing C. batrachus can be used as model organism and comet assay and micronucleus test as effective tools.
Fatty acid composition and sensory quality of Musculus longissimus and carcass parameters in red deer (Cervus elaphus) grazed on natural pasture or fed a commercial feed mixture

The effects of feeding regimen on carcass characteristics, fatty acid composition and sensory quality of Musculus longissimus were studied in 16 male red deer. All animals were farm raised; eight were grazed on pasture and eight were fed a pelleted commercial feed mixture for 10 weeks prior to slaughter. The pellet-fed deer had a significantly higher dressing percentage than the pasture group. No differences were found in ultimate pH values and muscle glycogen content when comparing the treatment groups. Polar and neutral lipid fatty acid composition of the meat were analysed separately. Meat from pasture-fed deer showed a high content of the fatty acid 18 : 3 n-3 in the polar lipid fraction. In the same lipid fraction, the fatty acid 18 : 2 n-6 was dominant in meat from the pellet fed animals. Similar differences in the neutral lipid fraction were found when comparing fatty acid composition between treatment groups; however, the abundance of these fatty acids was much less. A trained expert panel using a descriptive test assessed the sensory profile of the meat. There was a significant difference between the two treatment groups for the sensory attribute of grassy flavour, with the pellet-fed animals having less grassy flavour than the animals grazing pasture. It was concluded that further research is needed to explore the effects of various feeding regimens applied to deer on parameters associated with meat lipids, including antioxidants and oxidation products. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry
Species composition of whitebait (Galaxiidae) fisheries in 12 Bay of Plenty rivers, New Zealand: Evidence for river mouth selection by juvenile Galaxias brevipinnis (Günther)

Abstract Galaxias maculatus dominated the whitebait catch in 11 of the 12 Bay of Plenty rivers studied. In four rivers, this species accounted for 84–99% of the catch. However, in seven other rivers, G. maculatus accounted for only 52–70% of the catch, and major (>18%) contributions were made by either Galaxias brevipinnis or Galaxias fasciatus. hi the twelfth river, the Motu River, G. brevipinnis dominated the catch, accounting for over 70% of whitebait caught. This is the first report of a river‐mouth whitebait fishery dominated by G. brevipinnis. Rivers where G. brevipinnis contributed more than 18% of the catch were all within a 70 km radius west of the Motu River mouth. In rivers beyond this limit, G. brevipinnis was less than 2% of the catch. Such differences in species composition may result from river‐mouth selection by migratory juveniles of G. brevipinnis.
A multilayer injectable hydrogel system sequentially delivers bioactive substances for each wound healing stage.

Wound healing is a dynamic and complex process that contains several sequential phases. However, most of the current drug delivery systems were designed to treat only one certain phase of wound repair, ignoring the facts that every stage plays critical roles in wound healing process and those critical stages coordinately work to ensure an optimal tissue regeneration. Therefore, a delivery system that can precisely meet the requirements of each wound healing stage is desired to enhance tissue regeneration. In this study, an injectable sodium alginate/bioglass (SA/BG) composite hydrogel was used to carry SA microparticles containing conditioned medium (CM) of cells (SACM). Inside the SACM microparticles, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres containing pirfenidone (PFD) were encapsulated (PLGAPFD). This multilayer injectable hydrogel system (SA/BG-SACM-PLGAPFD) was designed to sequentially deliver bioactive molecules for meeting bioactivity requirement and timeline of each wound healing stage. Firstly, SA/BG hydrogels could rapidly release BG ionic products in first 1-3 days to regulate the inflammatory response of the host and initiate the subsequent tissue regeneration. Then, SACM hydrogel microparticles could release conditioned medium of RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with BG ionic products in 2-7 days to facilitate the formation of vascularized granulation tissue. Finally, PLGAPFD microspheres released PFD in 8-20 days to prevent the fibrosis and scar formation in the regenerated skin. Thus, this SA/BG-SACM-PLGAPFD delivery system could restrain host inflammation, accelerate wound healing and inhibit the fibrosis formation in a diabetic mouse skin damage model, enhancing skin regeneration. As the bioactive components in each layer of the system can be adjusted according to the requirements of different tissue regeneration, this three-layered injectable biomaterial system has a wide application potential in regenerative medicine field.
Three dimensions of scientific impact

Significance What are the mechanisms behind one’s research success as measured by one’s papers’ citability? By acknowledging the perceived esteem might be a consequence not only of how valuable one’s works are but also of pure luck, we arrived at a model that can accurately recreate a citation record based on just three parameters: the number of publications, the total number of citations, and the degree of randomness in the citation patterns. As a by-product, we show that a single index will never be able to embrace the complex reality of the scientific impact. However, three of them can already provide us with a reliable summary. The growing popularity of bibliometric indexes (whose most famous example is the h index by J. E. Hirsch [J. E. Hirsch, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102, 16569–16572 (2005)]) is opposed by those claiming that one’s scientific impact cannot be reduced to a single number. Some even believe that our complex reality fails to submit to any quantitative description. We argue that neither of the two controversial extremes is true. By assuming that some citations are distributed according to the rich get richer rule (success breeds success, preferential attachment) while some others are assigned totally at random (all in all, a paper needs a bibliography), we have crafted a model that accurately summarizes citation records with merely three easily interpretable parameters: productivity, total impact, and how lucky an author has been so far.
Evolving white matter injury following pediatric traumatic brain injury.

This study is unique in that it examines the evolution of white matter injury very early and at 12 months post-injury in pediatric patients following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was acquired at 2 time points, acutely at 6 - 17 days and 12 months following a complicated mild (cMild)/moderate (mod) or TBI. Regional measures of anisotropy and diffusivity were compared between TBI groups and against a group of age-matched healthy controls and used to predict performance on measures of attention, memory, and intellectual functioning at 12-months post-injury. Analysis of the acute DTI data using tract based spatial statistics (TBSS) revealed a small number of regional decreases in fractional anisotropy (FA) in both the cMild/mod and severe TBI groups when compared to controls. These changes were observed in the occipital white matter, anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC)/basal ganglia and corpus callosum. The severe TBI group showed regional differences in axial diffusivity (AD) in the brainstem and corpus callosum that were not seen in the cMild/mod TBI group. By 12-months, widespread decreases in FA and increases in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), AD, and radial diffusivity (RD) were observed in both TBI groups compared to controls, with the overall number of regions with abnormal DTI metrics increasing over time. The early changes in regional DTI metrics were associated with 12 month performance IQ (PIQ) scores. These findings suggest that there may be regional differences in the brain's reparative processes or that mechanisms associated with the brain's plasticity to recover may also be region based.