Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from HLA-matched sibling donors in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A report from the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt

Introduction Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is widely used for high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients in their first complete remission (CR1), and for relapsed patients in second complete remission (CR2). Patients and methods We retrospectively analyzed data for 67 children with ALL, from a cancer center in a low/middle income country, who had undergone HSCT from human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling donors (MSDs) using myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimens, between 2007 and 2020, describing the survival outcome and relapse probability after achieving CR1 and CR2 and determining outcome differences in relation to indications for HSCT in patients transplanted in CR1. All patients had achieved a negative minimal residual disease prior to transplant (<0.01%). Results Forty-six patients (68.7%) were in CR1; 25 had adverse cytogenetics, including 18 patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL (Ph-positive ALL), and 21 had poor induction response. The 5-year overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) for the whole cohort were 56.1% (95% CI, 42.8%-69.4%), 49% (95% CI, 35.7%-62.3%) and 33.5% (95% CI, 21.7%-45.8%), respectively with better EFS and CIR for CR1 transplants compared to CR2 transplants (P=0.02 and P=0.03, respectively). Patients with Ph-positive ALL had better 5-year OS, EFS and non-relapse mortality (NRM) compared with other CR1 transplants (P=0.015, P=0.009 and P=0.028, respectively). Conclusion Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from MSD for ALL in CR1 group had superior outcomes compared to CR2 group and was apparently a curable option for Ph-positive ALL without an increased risk of non-relapse mortality. Poorer survival rates and higher relapse probabilities were associated with HSCT conducted to patients who had a poor response to induction therapy or suffered a relapse.
AN ASYMMETRIC STREAMING MOTION IN THE GALACTIC BULGE X-SHAPED STRUCTURE REVEALED BY OGLE-III PROPER MOTIONS

The Galactic bulge shows a double red clump in sightlines at |b| ≳ 5° and −3° ≲ l ≲ 4°. This dump is interpreted as the signature of an X-shaped structure seen almost edge-on. We measure the proper motions of the stars belonging to the closer and the further arms of the X-shaped structure. The intrinsic kinematic properties of the two arms are found by incorporating information taken from the luminosity function. At b = −5°, we find that the proper motion difference between the two arms is a linear function of Galactic longitude for −0. °1 < l < 0. °5, which we interpret as a streaming motion of the stars within the X-shaped structure. A streaming motion was previously reported based on radial velocity data, not the proper motions. The proper motion difference in longitude is constant for −0. °8 < l < −0. °1, which provides an estimate of the bulge rotational speed of 87.9 ± 8.2 km s−1 kpc−1.
Experimental energy-loss function,Im[−1ε(q,ω)], for aluminum

Description detaillee des methodes et des resultats de mesures experimentales de perte d'energie electronique realisees sur Al. Ce travail est une extension d'etudes anterieures, et met en evidence les problemes associees a la diffusion a plusieurs electrons qui masque la structure de perte d'energie des materiaux. Il donne egalement des methodes precises pour la correction de ces effets et revele des caracteristiques de perte d'energie qui n'ont pas ete observees anterieurement
Effects of apnoea training on aerobic and anaerobic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Trained breath-hold divers have shown physiological adaptations that might improve athletes’ aerobic and anaerobic performance. Objective This study aimed to systematically review the scientific literature and perform a meta-analysis to assess the effects of voluntary apnoea training on markers of anaerobic and aerobic performance, such as blood lactate and VO2max. Methods A literature search on three databases (Web of Science, PubMed and SCOPUS) was conducted in March 2022. The inclusion criteria were 1) peer-reviewed journal publication; 2) clinical trials; 3) healthy humans; 4) effects of apnoea training; 5) variables included markers of aerobic or anaerobic performance, such as lactate and VO2max. Results 545 manuscripts were identified following database examination. Only seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were, therefore, included in the meta-analysis. 126 participants were allocated to either voluntary apnoea training (ApT; n = 64) or normal breathing (NB; n = 63). Meta-analysis on the included studies demonstrated that ApT increased the peak blood lactate concentration more than NB (MD = 1.89 mmol*L−1 [95% CI 1.05, 2.73], z = 4.40, p < 0.0001). In contrast, there were no statistically significant effects of ApT on VO2max (MD = 0.89 ml*kg−1*min−1 [95% CI −1.23, 3.01], z = 0.82, p = 0.41). Conclusion ApT might be an alternative strategy to enhace anaerobic performance associated with increased maximum blood lactate; however, we did not find evidence of ApT effects on physiological aerobic markers, such as VO2max. Systematic Review Registration: [PRISMA], identifier [registration number].
Observation of negative contact resistances in graphene field-effect transistors

The gate-voltage (VG) dependence of the contact resistance (RC) in graphene field-effect transistors is characterized by the transmission line model. The RC-VG characteristics of Ag, Cu, and Au contacts display a dip around the charge neutrality point and become even negative with Ag contacts. The dip structure is well reproduced by a model calculation that considers a metal-contact-induced potential variation near the metal contact edges. The apparently negative RC originates with the carrier doping from the metal contacts to the graphene channel and appears when the doping effect is more substantial than the actual contact resistance precisely at the contacts. The negative RC can appear at the metal contacts to Dirac-cone systems such as graphene.
Curcumin affects function of Hsp90 and drug efflux pump of Candida albicans

Candida albicans is a pathogenic yeast that causes candidiasis in immunocompromised patients. The overuse of antifungal drugs has led to the development of resistance to such drugs by this fungus, which is a major challenge in antifungal chemotherapy. One approach to this problem involves the utilization of new natural products as an alternative source of antifungals. Curcumin, one such natural product, has been widely studied as a drug candidate and is reported to exhibit antifungal activity against C. albicans. Although studies of the mechanism of curcumin against human cancer cells have shown that it inhibits heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), little is known about its function against C. albicans. In this paper, using a doxycycline-mediated HSP90 strain and an HSP90-overexpressing strain of C. albicans, we demonstrated that the curcumin triggered a decrease in Hsp90 by affecting it at the post-transcriptional level. This also led to the downregulation of HOG1 and CDR1, resulting in a reduction of the stress response and efflux pump activity of C. albicans. However, the inhibition of HSP90 by curcumin was not due to the inhibition of transcription factors HSF1 or AHR1. We also found that curcumin can not only decrease the transcriptional expression of CDR1, but also inhibit the efflux pump activity of Cdr1. Hence, we conclude that disruption of HSP90 by curcumin could impair cell growth, stress responses and efflux pump activity of C. albicans.
rAAV expressing recombinant neutralizing antibody for the botulinum neurotoxin type A prophylaxis

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is one of the most dangerous bacterial toxins and a potential biological weapon component. BoNT mechanism of pathological action is based on inhibiting the release of neurotransmitters from nerve endings. To date, anti-BoNT therapy is reduced to the use of horse hyperimmune serum, which causes many side effects, as well as FDA-approved drug BabyBig which consists of human-derived anti-BoNT antibodies (IgG) for infant botulinum treatment. Therapeutics for botulism treatment based on safer monoclonal antibodies are undergoing clinical trials. In addition, agents have been developed for the specific prevention of botulism, but their effectiveness has not been proved. In this work, we have obtained a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV-B11-Fc) expressing a single-domain antibody fused to the human IgG Fc-fragment (B11-Fc) and specific to botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A). We have demonstrated that B11-Fc antibody, expressed via rAAV-B11-Fc treatment, can protect animals from lethal doses of botulinum toxin type A, starting from day 3 and at least 120 days after administration. Thus, our results showed that rAAV-B11-Fc can provide long-term expression of B11-Fc-neutralizing antibody in vivo and provide long-term protection against BoNT/A intoxication. Consequently, our study demonstrates the applicability of rAAV expressing protective antibodies for the prevention of intoxication caused by botulinum toxins.
Accurate classification of pain experiences using wearable electroencephalography in adolescents with and without chronic musculoskeletal pain

Objective We assessed the potential of using EEG to detect cold thermal pain in adolescents with and without chronic musculoskeletal pain. Methods Thirty-nine healthy controls (15.2 ± 2.1 years, 18 females) and 121 chronic pain participants (15.0 ± 2.0 years, 100 females, 85 experiencing pain ≥12-months) had 19-channel EEG recorded at rest and throughout a cold-pressor task (CPT). Permutation entropy, directed phase lag index, peak frequency, and binary graph theory features were calculated across 10-second EEG epochs (Healthy: 292 baseline / 273 CPT epochs; Pain: 1039 baseline / 755 CPT epochs). Support vector machine (SVM) and logistic regression models were trained to classify between baseline and CPT conditions separately for control and pain participants. Results SVM models significantly distinguished between baseline and CPT conditions in chronic pain (75.2% accuracy, 95% CI: 71.4%–77.1%; p < 0.0001) and control (74.8% accuracy, 95% CI: 66.3%–77.6%; p < 0.0001) participants. Logistic regression models performed similar to the SVM (Pain: 75.8% accuracy, 95% CI: 69.5%–76.6%, p < 0.0001; Controls: 72.0% accuracy, 95% CI: 64.5%–78.5%, p < 0.0001). Permutation entropy features in the theta frequency band were the largest contributor to model accuracy for both groups. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that subjective pain experiences can accurately be detected from electrophysiological data, and represent the first step towards the development of a point-of-care system to detect pain in the absence of self-report.
Lifestyle-based oxidative balance score and its association with cardiometabolic health of the community-dwelling elderly: A cross-sectional secondary analysis

Background Cardiometabolic diseases, the main disease burden in older adults, are largely caused by oxidative stress resulting from lifestyle factors. This study investigated the relationship between lifestyle-based oxidative balance scores and cardiometabolic health among the community-dwelling elderly. Methods This work conducted a secondary analysis of previous cross-sectional research data and constructed a lifestyle-based oxidative balance score (LOBS) including 4 components (higher scores were considered more antioxidant). Linear regression models and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations with cardiometabolic biomarkers and the number of cardiometabolic risk factors. Besides, we investigated whether these associations differed by covariates. Results A total of 710 individuals (60.99% female, median age 70.0 years) were recruited. The inverse associations of LOBS with SBP and TG and the positive association with HDLC were statistically significant in both linear and logistic regression models. In contrast, an inverse association of LOBS with DBP was significant only in the linear regression model (all P < 0.05). The associations of LOBS with TG and HDLC were not affected by age, gender, or socioeconomic level. A significant inverse association was observed between LOBS and the number of cardiometabolic risk factors. Compared with the lowest LOBS, the ORs for more cardiometabolic risk factors in the second and third intervals were 0.577 (0.422, 0.788) and 0.460 (0.301, 0.703) (both P < 0.001). Conclusion In summary, this study shows that antioxidant-predominant lifestyle exposure yields a better cardiometabolic health status. We recommend that general practitioners should offer comprehensive healthy lifestyle management to community-dwelling elderly.
Small extracellular vesicles as a multicomponent biomarker platform in urinary tract carcinomas

Extracellular vesicles are a large group of nano-sized vesicles released by all cells. The variety of possible cargo (mRNAs, miRNAs, lncRNAs, proteins, and lipids) and the presence of surface proteins, signaling molecules, and receptor ligands make them a rich source of biomarkers for malignancy diagnosis. One of the groups gathering the most interest in cancer diagnostic applications is small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), with ≤200 nm diameter, mainly composed of exosomes. Many studies were conducted recently, evaluating the diagnostic potential of sEVs in urinary tract carcinomas (UTCs), discovering and clinically evaluating various classes of biomarkers. The amount of research concerning different types of UTCs understandably reflects their incidence. sEV cargos getting the most interest are non-coding RNAs (miRNA and lncRNA). However, implementation of other approaches such as metabolomic and proteomic analysis is also evaluated. The results of many studies indicate that sEVs have an essential role in the cancer process and possess many possible diagnostic and prognostic applications for UTC. The relative ease of obtaining biofluids rich in sEVs (urine and blood) confirms that sEVs are essential for UTC detection in the liquid biopsy approach. A noticeable rise in research quality is observed as more researchers are aware of the research standardization necessity, which is essential for considering the clinical application of their findings.
Self-assessed tactical skills in tennis players: Psychometric evaluation of the Tactical Skills Questionnaire in Tennis

To our knowledge, no feasible, valid and reliable instrument exists to examine tactical skills over the course of multiple training and game situations in tennis yet. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Tactical Skills Questionnaire in Tennis (TSQT). The TSQT is a new instrument with closed-ended questions designed to examine tactical skills in tennis players. Participants were 233 competitive tennis players (age: 17.06 ± 4.74 years) competing on national or regional levels. With a principal component analysis (PCA) we identified four theoretically meaningful subscales for the 31-item TSQT: “Anticipation and positioning,” “Game intelligence and adaptability,” “Decision-making,” and “Recognizing game situations” and confirmed them with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (χ2 = 527.02, df = 426, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.045, SRMR = 0.079). Internal consistency was good, with Cronbach's alpha of 0.89 for the entire scale and McDonald's omega ranging from 0.69 to 0.78 for the separate subscales. A subsample of 57 players completed the TSQT twice to assess test-retest reliability. Absolute test-retest reliability of the subscales was good with no significant differences in mean scores between test and retest (p > 0.05). Relative test-retest reliability was moderate with ICC values ranging from 0.65 to 0.71. National players outperformed regional players on the subscales “Game intelligence and adaptability,” “Decision-making,” and “Recognizing game situations” (p < 0.05), and there was a trend toward significance for “Anticipation and positioning” (p = 0.07). This study supported the psychometric properties of the TSQT. Evaluating tactical skills with the TSQT provides players, coaches and other professionals with insight in players' self-assessed tactical skills over the course of multiple training and game situations. It creates the opportunity for players to reflect on their skills and detect personal development areas with their coach. We advise to use this information as input for tailor-made training programs.
The glass crossover from mean-field Spin-Glasses to supercooled liquids

Stochastic-Beta-Relaxation provides a characterisation of the glass crossover in discontinuous Spin-Glasses and supercoooled liquid. Notably it can be derived through a rigorous computation from a dynamical Landau theory. In this paper, I will discuss the precise meaning of this connection in a language that does not require familiarity with statistical field theory. I will discuss finite-size corrections in mean-field Spin-Glass models and loop corrections in finite-dimensional models that are both described by the dynamical Landau theory considered. Then I will argue that the same Landau theory can be associated to supercooled liquid described by Mode-Coupling Theory invoking a physical principle of time-scale invariance.
Inhibition modulated by self-efficacy: An event-related potential study

Inhibition, associated with self-efficacy, enables people to control thought and action and inhibit disturbing stimulus and impulsion and has certain evolutionary significance. This study analyzed the neural correlates of inhibition modulated by self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was assessed by using the survey adapted from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Fifty college students divided into low and high self-efficacy groups participated in the experiments. Their ability to conduct inhibitory control was studied through Go/No-Go tasks. During the tasks, we recorded students’ brain activity, focusing on N2 and P3 components in the event-related potential (ERP). Larger No-Go N2 amplitudes for the high self-efficacy group were found compared with the low self-efficacy group. Conflict detection as represented by N2 was modulated by self-efficacy, whereas conflict inhibition as represented by P3 was not modulated by self-efficacy. The highly self-efficacious students were more capable of detecting conflicts but not necessarily more capable of inhibiting action given that conflict was detected. Taken together, these findings offer neurophysiological evidence of the important regulatory role of self-efficacy in inhibitory control ability development.
COVID-19 and rheumatic diseases: A mini-review

Joint pain and arthralgia can be manifestations of COVID-19, and studies evaluating long COVID symptoms identified the persistence of these disorders. Moreover, some case reports highlighted the development of new inflammatory arthritis in patients with COVID-19, suggesting a possible relation. Viral infections and rheumatic diseases share a documented relationship; they have been associated with genetic and environmental risk factors responsible for some of them. There is crosstalk between viruses and the immune system during the development of several rheumatic diseases. Moreover, infections may participate in the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases and contribute to patient mortality. Therefore, it is crucial to provide a clearer insight into the interaction between viral infections and rheumatic diseases. Here, we provide a mini-review of the current literature with the aim of shedding light on the relationship between COVID-19 and rheumatic or musculoskeletal diseases, which is still unclear. Specifically, we examined several aspects: risk for the rheumatic population of acquiring the virus or developing severe symptoms, similarities of COVID-19 and arthritis, the possible rheumatic consequence of COVID-19, of rheumatic drugs and vaccines, and COVID-19 prevention in rheumatic patients through vaccination.
Primordial non-Gaussianity from mixed inflaton-curvaton perturbations

We characterise the primordial perturbations produced due to both inflaton and curvaton fluctuations in models where the curvaton has a quadratic, cosine or hyperbolic potential, and the inflaton potential is characterised by the usual slow-roll parameters. Isocurvature curvaton field perturbations can produce significant non-Gaussianity in the primordial density field, in contrast with adiabatic inflaton field perturbations which produce negligible non-Gaussianity for canonical scalar fields. A non-self-interacting curvaton with quadratic potential produces a local-type non-Gaussianity that is well described by the non-linearity parameter fNL, which may be scale-dependent when the inflaton perturbations dominate the power spectrum. We show how observational bounds on non-linearity parameters and the tensor-scalar ratio can be used to constrain curvaton and inflaton parameters. We find a consistency relation between the bispectrum and trispectrum parameters in a mixed inflaton-curvaton model for a quadratic curvaton potential. Self-interaction terms in the curvaton potential can lead to both a large trispectrum parameter, gNL, and scale-dependence of the non-linearity parameters.
Efficacy of obstructive sleep apnea treatment by antileukotriene receptor and surgery therapy in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy: A descriptive and cohort study

Background Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy is high and related to the occlusion of the upper airway. The main treatments of OSA in these children is adenotonsillectomy. However, this intervention is an invasive method with a various success rate. Thus, the indications of tonsillectomy remain debatable and non-invasive treatment is still a potential choice in these patients. Methods It was a cross-sectional and interventional study. This study included children aged from 2 to 12 years-old who were diagnosed with OSA by respiratory polygraphy and had tonsillar hypertrophy with/without adenoid hypertrophy. All main data including age, gender, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), clinical symptoms, and medical history were recorded for analysis. Physical examination and endoscopy were done to evaluate the size of tonsillar and adenoid hypertrophy by using Brodsky and Likert classifications, respectively. The severity of OSA was done by using the classification of AHI severity for children. Results There were 114 patients (2–12 years old) with a mean age of 5.5 ± 2.1 years included in the present study. The main reasons for consultations were snoring (96.7%), a pause of breathing (57.1%), an effort to breathe (36.8%), unrefreshing sleep (32%), doziness (28.2%), and hyperactivity (26.3%). There were 36% of subjects with tonsillar hypertrophy grade 1–2, 48.2% with grade 3, and 15.8% with grade 4 (Brodsky classification); among them, there were 46.5% of subjects with grades 1–2 of adenoid hypertrophy, 45.6% with grade 3, and 7.0% with grade 4 (Likert classification). The mean AHI was 12.6 ± 11.2 event/h. There was a significant correlation between the mean AHI and the level of tonsillar and adenoid hypertrophy severity (r = 0.7601 and r = 0.7903; p < 0.05 and p < 0.05, respectively). The improvement of clinical symptoms of study subjects was found in both groups treated with ALR (antileukotriene receptor) or ST (surgery therapy). The symptoms related to OSA at night including snoring, struggle to breathe, sleeping with the mouth open, and stopping breathing during sleep were significantly improved after treatment with ATR and with ST (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). The mean AHI was significantly reduced in comparison with before treatment in study subjects treated with ALR (0.9 ± 1.0 vs. 3.9 ± 2.7 events/h; p = 0.001) or with ST (3.5 ± 1.4 vs. 23.4 ± 13.1 events/h; p < 0.001). Conclusion The treatment of OSA due to adeno-tonsillar hypertrophy with ALR for moderate OSA or surgery for severe OSA might reduce the symptoms related to OSA at night and during the day.