Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systematic analysis of COVID-19 infection and symptoms in a systemic lupus erythematosus population: correlation with disease characteristics, hydroxychloroquine use and immunosuppressive treatments

We read with interest the article of Bozzalla Cassione et al about COVID-19 incidence in their systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohort.1 Their study adds useful epidemiological information about COVID-19 risk in SLE.1 They suggest that hydroxycholoroquine was not protective, but could not draw definite conclusion and open the question to immunosuppressive drugs’ influence. We would like to share analysis of our SLE cohort (n=225) that can help to answer these questions and determine COVID-19 infection risk factors. Determining COVID-19 incidence is challenging: PCR lacks sensitivity, was usually realised only in severely ill patients and patients with suggestive benign symptoms could stay at home without medical contact. We studied the incidence of COVID-19 infection, either asserted or suspected, by analysing positive nasopharyngeal PCR, hospitalisation or contact with emergency department, but also suspected diagnosis in ambulatory medicine. Each patient was called by phone to determine COVID-19 suggestive symptoms since 4 February 2020, date of the first case in our country. Among our patients, 92.9% were female, with a mean (±SD) age of 51.7 (±14.9) years. Most recent biological evaluation showed positivity for ds-DNA in 24% (median (min–max) levels: 139 (12–758) IU/mL). Mean (±SD) number of 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR), 2019 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) classification criteria were 4.5 (±1.5), …
Combining a Candidate Vaccine for Opioid Use Disorders with Extended-Release Naltrexone Increases Protection against Oxycodone-Induced Behavioral Effects and Toxicity

Opioid use disorders (OUDs) and opioid-related fatal overdoses are a significant public health concern in the United States and worldwide. To offer more effective medical interventions to treat or prevent OUD, antiopioid vaccines are in development that reduce the distribution of the targeted opioids to brain and subsequently reduce the associated behavioral and toxic effects. It is of critical importance that antiopioid vaccines do not interfere with medications that treat OUD. Hence, this study tested the preclinical proof of concept of combining a candidate oxycodone vaccine [oxycodone–keyhole limpet hemocyanin (OXY-KLH)] with an FDA-approved extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) depot formulation in rats. The effects of XR-NTX on oxycodone-induced motor activity and antinociception were first assessed in nonvaccinated naïve rats to establish a baseline for subsequent studies. Next, OXY-KLH and XR-NTX were coadministered to determine whether the combination would affect the efficacy of each individual treatment, and it was found that the combination of OXY-KLH and XR-NTX offered greater efficacy in reducing oxycodone-induced motor activity, thigmotaxis, antinociception, and respiratory depression over a range of repeated or escalating oxycodone doses in rats. These data support the feasibility of combining antibody-based therapies with opioid receptor antagonists to provide greater or prolonged protection against opioid-related toxicity or overdose. Combining antiopioid vaccines with XR-NTX may provide prophylactic measures to subjects at risk of relapse and accidental or deliberate exposure. Combination therapy may extend to other biologics (e.g., monoclonal antibodies) and medications against substance use disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Opioid use disorders (OUDs) remain a major problem worldwide, and new therapies are needed. This study reports on the combination of an oxycodone vaccine [oxycodone–keyhole limpet hemocyanin (OXY-KLH)] with a currently approved OUD therapy, extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX). Results demonstrated that XR-NTX did not interfere with OXY-KLH efficacy, and combination of low doses of XR-NTX with vaccine was more effective than each individual treatment alone to reduce behavioral and toxic effects of oxycodone, suggesting that combining OXY-KLH with XR-NTX may improve OUD outcomes.
Development Of Recombinant Antigens For Diagnosis Of Avian Mycoplasmosis

Title : Development of Recombinant Antigens for Diagnosis of Avian Mycoplasmosis Name and Degree : G. Venkatesh Ph. D. , in Animal Biotechnology Chairman : Dr. P. Ramadass Professor and Head Department of Animal Biotechnology Madras Veterinary College Chennai-7. University : Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Year : 2006 Avian Mycoplasmosis is widespread and is one of the most common respiratory diseases of poultry causing significant economic losses in poultry industry. The disease occurs when birds infected with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) or Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) are stressed. An attempt has been made in this study to express the antigenic proteins of MG and MS in E.coli and use them in diagnostic assay. Primers were designed with built in restriction enzyme sites for amplification of p75 and p29 (TM-1) genes of MG PG31, PCR amplification of the genes was done, cloned and sequenced. The genes were cloned into expression vector pPROEx HTb and expressed in E. coli DH5α. The full length vlhA gene of local field isolate MS427 was amplified using published primers and the 5’ end corresponding to MSPB protein sequences were sequenced. Based on the sequence, primers were synthesized, amplified , a smaller part of MSPB (MSPB-I) and a larger part of MSPB (MSPB-II) gene was cloned in the expression vector pPROEx HTb and expressed in E. coli DH5α. The recombinant proteins were purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The four recombinant proteins obtained in this study were characterized and evaluated as diagnostic antigen. The recombinant P29 of MG and recombinant MSPB-II protein of MS showed a potential to be used as diagnostic antigens. A highly sensitive indirect ELISA, a rapid simple easy to perform latex agglutination test and flow-through enzyme immunoassay were developed to diagnose MG and MS separately using their respective recombinant proteins. The MG and MS indirect ELISA had perfect agreement with commercial ELISA kit used in this study. The latex agglutination tests and flow-through enzyme immunoassays had substantial agreement with commercial kit.
Does Tax Risk Affect Investor Valuation of Tax Avoidance?

We examine how investors value tax avoidance (measured as the level of cash effective tax rates [ETRs]) and tax risk (measured as the volatility of cash ETRs), and how these constructs interact to influence firm value. Our results suggest that investors positively value tax avoidance but negatively value tax risk and, most importantly, that greater tax risk moderates the positive valuation of tax avoidance. In additional analyses, we find that contemporaneous measures of tax avoidance and tax risk provide insight into future tax cash flows and that our results hold using GAAP ETR-based measures of tax avoidance and tax risk. Finally, our results are robust to a battery of sensitivity checks including controlling for idiosyncratic and systematic risk, the cost of equity capital, and unrecognized tax benefits in the post-FIN 48 period, among others. Broadly, our findings provide new evidence on how taxes affect firm value and suggest that tax avoidance and tax risk should be considered jointly rather than in isolation.
Docosahexaenoic Acid Incorporation Is Not Affected by Doxorubicin Chemotherapy in either Whole Cell or Lipid Raft Phospholipids of Breast Cancer Cells in vitro and Tumor Phospholipids in vivo.

To better understand how docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) improves the effects of doxorubicin (DOX), we examined DHA ± DOX on changes in whole cell and lipid raft phospholipids (PL) of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. We sought to confirm whether the relative changes in PL DHA content of MDA-MB-231 cells could be extended to PL from MDA-MB-231 tumors grown in mice fed a DHA supplemented diet ±DOX. Treatment with DHA did not change PL composition yet DOX increased the proportion of phosphatidylserine in MCF-7 cell lipid rafts by two-fold (p < 0.001). Regardless of DOX, the relative percent incorporation of DHA was higher in MDA-MB-231 cells compared to MCF-7 cells in phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylcholine (whole cell and lipid rafts); and higher in phosphatidylethanolamine vs. phosphatidylcholine (4.4-fold in MCF-7 and 6-fold in MDA-MB-231 cells respectively). DHA treatment increased eicosapentaenoic acid and docosapentaenoic acid in MDA-MB-231 cells but not MCF-7 cells. Increased DHA content in MDA-MB-231 cells, MCF-7 cells, and MDA-MB-231 tumors in all PL moieties (except sphingomyelin) corresponded with reduced arachidonic acid (p < 0.05). Feeding mice 2.8% (w/w of fat) DHA ± DOX increased tumor necrotic regions (p < 0.05). This study established differential incorporation of DHA into whole cell and lipid rafts between human breast cancer cell lines. However, within each cell line, this incorporation was not altered by DOX confirming that DOX does not change membrane lipid composition. Furthermore, our findings indicate that membrane changes observed in vitro are translatable to in vivo changes and that DHA + DOX could contribute to the anticancer effects through increased necrosis.
Ozone Effects on Fungal Leaf Diseases of Wheat in Relation to Epidemiology

Wheat plants at growth stages tillering, stem elongation, ear emergence and anthesis were exposed to 80, 160, 240 μg m−3 ozone for 5 days (7 h per day) and to charcoal-filtered air. Post-exposure inoculations with Septoria nodorum or Bipolaris sorokiniana revealed a faster growth of lesions on ozonated leaves. However, whereas maximum size of Septoria lesions was measured on leaves exposed to the highest concentration of O3, Bipolaris lesions developed best at 160 μg m−2 and were significantly reduced at 240 μg m−3 O3. These predisposing effects were largely independent of the four growth stages tested. The latent period of S. nodorum was inversely related to the lesion growth and particularly shortened by ozone at growth stages (GS) 37 and 55. The latent period of B. sorokiniana was most strongly shortened at GS 65 (anthesis). It is concluded that both diseases may be enhanced by ozone throughout the main growing season of wheat and that in particular S. nodorum epidemics may be accelerated by shortened latent periods at decisive stages of the early season. Zusammenfassung Ozonwirkung auf pilzliche Blattkrankheiten an Weizen in bezug zur Epidemiologie I. Nekrotrophe Pathogene Weizenpflanzen im Stadium Bestockung, Schossen, Ahrenschieben und Blute wurden mit 80, 160, 240 μg m−3 Ozon 5 Tage lang begast (7 Stunden taglich) bzw. aktivkohlegefilteiter Luft ausgesetzt. Nach anschliesender Inokulation mit Septoria nodorum und Bipolaris sorokiniana, entstanden auf ozonbehandelten Blattern grosere Lasionen. Wahrend jedoch bei Septoria die grosten Lasionen bei der hochsten Ozonkonzentration entstanden, war dies bei Bipolaris bei 160 μg m−3 der Fall, wahrend sich bei 240 μg m−3 Ozon die Pilzlasionen deutlich schlechter entwickelten. Diese ozonbedingten Pradispositionseffekte konnten weitgehend in alien Entwicklungsstadien reproduziert werden. Die Latenzzeit von S. nodorum verhielt sich umgekehrt proportional zum Lasionenwachstum und war besonders stark bei EC 37 und EC 55 durch Ozon verkurzt. Bei B. sorokiniana war die Latenzzeit am starksten bei EC 65 verkurzt. Es wird gefolgert, das beide Krankheiten wahrend der gesamten Hauptvegetationsperiode durch Ozon gefordert werden konnen, wobei der Epidemieaufbau insbesondere bei Septoria schon fruhzeitig durch verkurzte Latenzzeiten beschleunigt werden kann.
Running head: MARITAL BEHAVIORS AND STABILITY IN REMARRIAGE

Nearly half of adults in the U.S. indicated they had a close step-relative that included stepparents, stepchildren, and other close relationships. The prevalence of stepfamilies is rapidly increasing and represents a population that remains largely understudied. This study explored the roles of socioemotional behaviors (positivity, negativity, and sexual interest) on marital stability for different remarriage constellations (depending which of the couple, both partners, or neither had previous children). This study uses dyadic relationship data from 879 couples. It was hypothesized that positivity and sexual interest would be inversely related with marital instability, while negativity will be correlated with marital instability.
Effects of free‐air CO2 enrichment (FACE) on CH4 emission from a rice paddy field

Methane (CH4) is a particularly potent greenhouse gas with a radiative forcing 23 times that of CO2 on a per mass basis. Flooded rice paddies are a major source of CH4 emissions to the Earth's atmosphere. A free‐air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiment was conducted to evaluate changes in crop productivity and the crop ecosystem under enriched CO2 conditions during three rice growth seasons from 1998 to 2000 in a rice paddy at Shizukuishi, Iwate, Japan. To understand the influence of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations on CH4 emission, we measured methane flux from FACE rice fields and rice fields with ambient levels of CO2 during the 1999 and 2000 growing seasons. Methane production and oxidation potentials of soil samples collected when the rice was at the tillering and flowering stages in 2000 were measured in the laboratory by the anaerobic incubation and alternative propylene substrates methods, respectively. The average tiller number and root dry biomass were clearly larger in the plots with elevated CO2 during all rice growth stages. No difference in methane oxidation potential between FACE and ambient treatments was found, but the methane production potential of soils during the flowering stage was significantly greater under FACE than under ambient conditions. When free‐air CO2 was enriched to 550 ppmv, the CH4 emissions from the rice paddy field increased significantly, by 38% in 1999 and 51% in 2000. The increased CH4 emissions were attributed to accelerated CH4 production potential as a result of more root exudates and root autolysis products and to increased plant‐mediated CH4 emissions because of the larger rice tiller numbers under FACE conditions.
COVID-19 and dengue: a deadly duo

While COVID-19 wreaks havoc across the world, countries in South and South-East Asia and Latin America are faced with the prospect of a second epidemic: dengue. Further complicating the picture is that the early signs and symptoms of dengue and COVID-19 could be similar, making it a risk that patients may be wrongly diagnosed early in the course of disease. This is confounded further by a report from Singapore of false-positive dengue antibody testing in two COVID-19 patients, and the presence of co-infection of dengue and COVID-19 in Thailand. Unless urgent measures are taken, there is a risk that dengue and COVID-19 could overwhelm healthcare systems across multiple countries.
Lethal Means Assessment in Psychiatric Emergency Services: Frequency and Characteristics of Assessment

Abstract Objective Lethal means safety is an effective suicide prevention strategy with demonstrated results at the population level, yet individual-level uptake is less well understood. Methods Using automated data extraction methods, we conducted an investigation of electronic health records from psychiatric emergency service (PES) patients from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2017 at a busy urban medical center in the Pacific Northwest. At each PES mental health evaluation, every patient received a Suicide Risk Assessment during which providers used an electronic template with standardized fields to record lethal means access and other suicide risk factors. Results We assessed 32,658 records belonging to 15,652 patients. Among all visits, 69.9% (n = 22,824) had some documentation of lethal means assessment. However, 54.1% (n = 17,674) of all visits lacked some or all potential documentation detail. Additionally, among 59.6% of visits in which a patient had documented access to lethal means, the specific means available were not indicated. Across the twenty risk and demographic factors we assessed, the prevalence of documentation did not vary by any given risk factor and only varied minimally by age and race. For example, when comparing visits which indicated family history of suicide to those which indicated no family history of suicide, the prevalence ratio was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.03). Conclusion Despite the high-risk patient population, mental health focus of the facility, and the presence of a standardized tool, lethal means documentation was suboptimal. In alignment with recent recommendations, our findings indicate that additional focus on implementation is needed to improve documentation of lethal means assessment. Highlights Fifteen times larger than prior comparable studies Findings demonstrate persistent under-documentation patterns in new setting and region Standardized methods likely needed to improve documentation detail and frequency
Weight Status Is Related to Health-Related Physical Fitness and Physical Activity but Not to Sedentary Behaviour in Children

Purpose: The aim of this research was to describe, examine, and compare the level of physical fitness, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour in pupils aged 6–13 in the Region of Murcia, Spain, in accordance with weight status. Methods: A total of 370 children (166 girls and 204 boys) aged 6–13 (M = 8.7; DT = 1.8) from the Region of Murcia participated in this descriptive and cross-sectional study. Some anthropometric parameters such as body mass index, waist circumference, as well as skinfold measurements were determined. ALPHA-FIT Test Battery was used to evaluate physical fitness. Krece Plus Short Test was used to measure physical activity level and sedentary behaviour. Results: 52.4% of the children presented excess weight (according to the World Health Organization growth references). Regarding boys, statistically significant differences were found for cardiorespiratory fitness (p < 0.001), relative handgrip strength (p < 0.001), lower muscular strength (p < 0.001), speed-agility (p < 0.001), as well as sport activities hours (p = 0.001) among the three weight status groups (normal weight, overweight, and obesity). As for girls, statistically significant differences were found for cardiorespiratory fitness (p = 0.004), relative handgrip strength (p < 0.001), lower muscular strength (p < 0.001), sport activities hours (p = 0.005), as well as physical activity level (assessed by Krece Plus Test) (p = 0.017). A negative statistically significant correlation was found between body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness (rho = −0.389), lower muscular strength, (rho = −0.340), and relative handgrip strength (rho = −0.547). At the same time, a positive statistically significant relationship between body mass index and the time spent in speed-agility (rho = 0.263) was shown. Regarding waist circumference and body fat percentage, similar relationships were identified. Moreover, a greater probability of having higher cardiorespiratory fitness (OR = 1.58; CI95% = 1.38–1.82), relative handgrip strength (OR = 1.25; CI95% = 1.19–1.31), more hours of sport activities (OR = 1.40; CI95% = 1.19–1.66), and physical activity level (assessed by Krece Plus Test) (OR = 1.23; CI95% = 1.07–1.42) was noted in the normal weight group. Conclusions: Children that presented normal weight achieved higher results for health-related physical fitness and physical activity than those with excess weight; this was, however, not found to be the case for sedentary behaviour. The authors emphasise the need for changes in public policies and school-based intervention programmes to develop higher levels of both PF and PA in overweight and obese children.
"I've been to physical therapy before, but not for the knees." A qualitative study exploring barriers and facilitators to physical therapy utilization for knee osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND Physical therapy (PT) is recommended to reduce pain and improve function. However, only 10%-15% of adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA) use PT in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore patient-reported barriers and facilitators to PT utilization for knee OA, to understand why PT is underutilized. METHODS Qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews was conducted, that is, one-on-one phone interviews with adults from local community centers. Participants were eligible if they were fluent in English and self-reported knee OA (1) over 45 years of age, (2) have activity-related knee pain, and (3) have no morning stiffness or morning stiffness in the knee(s) for ≤30 min. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. To identify barriers and facilitators to PT utilization for knee OA, a coding framework, thematic analysis, and a constant comparative approach were used. RESULTS Of 22 participants with health insurance and who participated, 59% were considering PT, 23% refused PT, and 18% used PT for knee OA. Themes identified as either barriers or facilitators for participants were (1) previous experience with PT, (2) physician referral, (3) beliefs about treatment efficacy before and after knee replacement surgery, (4) insurance coverage, and (5) preference to avoid surgery. CONCLUSION A previous positive encounter with PT and a physician referral may facilitate PT utilization for adults with knee OA. Knowledge about and access to PT services were not identified as barriers related to PT utilization. Further research is necessary to confirm findings in a broader group of adults with knee OA.
EFFECTS OF EYESTALK ABLATION ON LARVAL MOLTING RATES AND MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN LOBSTER, HOMARUS AMERICANUS

Larvae of the lobster, Homarus americanus, displayed abbreviation of subsequent molt intervals in response to bilateral eyestalk ablation at the 2nd stage. The interval in which the ablation occurred (2nd stage) was occasionally shortened. However, the 3rd stage molt interval was always abbreviated. At the 4th stage the ablated larvae were larger than intact controls. Removal of the last pair of swimming legs, as a control for the trauma of eyestalk ablation, slightly decreased growth but had no effect on molt interval lengths. Eyestalk removal sometimes resulted in 4th stage larvae with characteristics intermediate between normal 3rd and 4th stages. Eyestalkless larvae that were reared communally and fed frozen Artemia formed significant numbers of these intermediates. Eyestalkless larvae reared individually and fed live Artemia nauplii rarely formed intermediates. These results imply that although eyestalks may be involved in the regulation of both the timing and growth increment of larval molting, they.
Enhancement of interface thermal conductance between Cr–Ni alloy and dielectric via Cu nano-interlayer

Facilitating interfacial thermal transport is highly desirable for various engineering applications, such as improving heat dissipation in microelectronics and efficiency of electrothermal heating element. Here, the interface thermal conductances (ITCs) of Cr0.22Ni0. 78/MgO and Cr0.22Ni0. 78/Al2O3 interfaces are studied through the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. It is found that the two ITCs can be hugely enhanced by 3 and 2.4 times, respectively, with the introduction of Cu nano-interlayer of a thickness larger than 7.2 Å. The enhanced ratio is robust and shows weak dependence on temperature. Further vibrational spectral analysis and phonon transmission function reveal that the enhancement in ITC mainly originates from the boosting of inelastic phonon scattering, which is generally considered to contribute a small proportion to ITC. Here, the inelastic scattering contributes as high as 63% to the ITC of Cr0.22Ni0. 78/Cu/MgO interface at 300 K. The findings provide an effective strategy to enhance ITC at a wide temperature range and advance our understanding of inelastic scattering in interfacial phonon transport.