Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition on JNK Mimics Silencing of Wnt-11 Mediated Cellular Response in Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer Cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers among men, and one of the leading causes of cancer death for men. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway is required for several cellular functions, such as survival, proliferation, differentiation, and migration. Wnt-11, a member of the Wnt family, has been identified for its upregulation in PCa; however, downstream signalling of Wnt-11 remains to be fully characterized. In this study, we investigated the role of the JNK pathway as a potential downstream factor for Wnt-11 signalling. For this purpose, LNCaP, DU145, and PC-3 PCa cells and normal epithelial PNT1A cells were treated with a specific JNK kinase inhibitor: JNKVIII. Our results showed that JNK inhibition decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and promoted cell death in a cell type-dependent manner. We found that JNK inhibition led to an increase in autophagy and prevented epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in independently growing androgen cells. JNK inhibition and the silencing of Wnt-11 showed similar responses in DU145 and PC-3 cells and decreased metastasis-related biomarkers, cell migration, and invasion. Overall, our results suggest that JNK signalling plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of PCa by mediating Wnt-11 induced signals. Our data highlights that both the JNK pathway and Wnt-11 could be a useful therapeutic target for the combinatory application of current PCa.
Sex and gender differences in the outcome of patients with COVID‐19

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a new wave of emerging infections that the world is struggling with. There are many unanswered questions in this regard, including Gender-specific outcome in COVID-19. Gender and age are major risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to the effect of these factors on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, the clinical outcome varies according to both of them. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
In Vitro and In Vivo Assessment of PEGylated PEI for Anti-IL-8/CxCL-1 siRNA Delivery to the Lungs

Inhalation offers a means of rapid, local delivery of siRNA to treat a range of autoimmune or inflammatory respiratory conditions. This work investigated the potential of a linear 10 kDa Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modified 25 kDa branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) (PEI-LPEG) to effectively deliver siRNA to airway epithelial cells. Following optimization with anti- glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) siRNA, PEI and PEI-LPEG anti-IL8 siRNA nanoparticles were assessed for efficacy using polarised Calu-3 human airway epithelial cells and a twin stage impinger (TSI) in vitro lung model. Studies were then advanced to an in vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated rodent model of inflammation. In parallel, the suitability of the siRNA-loaded nanoparticles for nebulization using a vibrating mesh nebuliser was assessed. The siRNA nanoparticles were nebulised using an Aerogen® Pro vibrating mesh nebuliser and characterised for aerosol output, droplet size and fine particle fraction. Only PEI anti-IL8 siRNA nanoparticles were capable of significant levels of IL-8 knockdown in vitro in non-nebulised samples. However, on nebulization through a TSI, only PEI-PEG siRNA nanoparticles demonstrated significant decreases in gene and protein expression in polarised Calu-3 cells. In vivo, both anti-CXCL-1 (rat IL-8 homologue) nanoparticles demonstrated a decreased CXCL-1 gene expression in lung tissue, but this was non-significant. However, PEI anti-CXCL-1 siRNA-treated rats were found to have significantly less infiltrating macrophages in their bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Overall, the in vivo gene and protein inhibition findings indicated a result more reminiscent of the in vitro bolus delivery rather than the in vitro nebulization data. This work demonstrates the potential of nebulised PEI-PEG siRNA nanoparticles in modulating pulmonary inflammation and highlights the need to move towards more relevant in vitro and in vivo models for respiratory drug development.
Early Predictors of Employment Status One Year Post Injury in Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury in Europe

Sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI) often affects the individual’s ability to work, reducing employment rates post-injury across all severities of TBI. The objective of this multi-country study was to assess the most relevant early predictors of employment status in individuals after TBI at one-year post-injury in European countries. Using a prospective longitudinal non-randomized observational cohort (The Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI (CENTER-TBI) project), data was collected between December 2014–2019 from 63 trauma centers in 18 European countries. The 1015 individuals who took part in this study were potential labor market participants, admitted to a hospital and enrolled within 24 h of injury with a clinical TBI diagnosis and indication for a computed tomography (CT) scan, and followed up at one year. Results from a binomial logistic regression showed that older age, status of part-time employment or unemployment at time of injury, premorbid psychiatric problems, and higher injury severity (as measured with higher Injury severity score (ISS), lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and longer length of stay (LOS) in hospital) were associated with higher unemployment probability at one-year after injury. The study strengthens evidence for age, employment at time of injury, premorbid psychiatric problems, ISS, GCS, and LOS as important predictors for employment status one-year post-TBI across Europe.
Genetic Diversity within Chinese Watermelon Ecotypes Compared with Germplasm from Other Countries

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Citrullus lanatus, genetic relationship, molecular markers, SSR, morphological traits ABSTRACT. Genetic diversity among 95 watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) ecotypes was evaluated and compared with representative Chinese, American, Japanese, and Russian watermelon cultigens, landraces, and a wild watermelon relative (Trichosanthes kirilowii). Open-pollinated, hybrid, and inbred lines were included for most of the ecotypes and are hereafter collectively referred to as cultigens unless an ecotype group is being discussed. Morphological characteristics (including days to flower, female to male flower ratio, branch number, fruit length and diameter ratio, fruit soluble solid content, fruit yield, and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to estimate genetic diversity. Of 398 watermelon primer pairs tested, 9.5% (38) produced polymerase chain reaction amplicons in watermelon. Ofthese38primer pairs,theaverage numberofpolymorphicbands amongthe 96cultigens was2.4,even with 12 primer pairs demonstrating monomorphic banding patterns. Based on the SSR data, the genetic similarity coefficients were calculated and a dendrogram constructed. All cultigens were clustered to six groups. The wild species and landraces formed distant clusters from the cultivated watermelon. The genetic similarity coefficients within the Chinese cultigens ranged from 0.37 to 0.99, but except for a wild relative to watermelon, most cultigens were closely related. The genetic distance among non-Chinese cultigens ranged from 0.67 to 0.91 with an average of 0.88. When combined morphological traits and molecular traits were assessed, Russian and U.S. fruit were more genetically similar to each other than to Chinese and Japanese cultigens. Crossing Russian and/or U.S. cultigens with Chinese or Japanese cultigens should thus improve genetic diversity and introduce new traits for the resulting watermelon cultigens.
Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms for Bioelectromagnetics: Prediction Models and Feature Selection Techniques Using Data from Weak Radiofrequency Radiation Effect on Human and Animals Cells

The emergence of new technologies to incorporate and analyze data with high-performance computing has expanded our capability to accurately predict any incident. Supervised Machine learning (ML) can be utilized for a fast and consistent prediction, and to obtain the underlying pattern of the data better. We develop a prediction strategy, for the first time, using supervised ML to observe the possible impact of weak radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) on human and animal cells without performing in-vitro laboratory experiments. We extracted laboratory experimental data from 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications (1990–2015) describing 1127 experimental case studies of human and animal cells response to RF-EMF. We used domain knowledge, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and the Chi-squared feature selection techniques to select six optimal features for computation and cost-efficiency. We then develop grouping or clustering strategies to allocate these selected features into five different laboratory experiment scenarios. The dataset has been tested with ten different classifiers, and the outputs are estimated using the k-fold cross-validation method. The assessment of a classifier’s prediction performance is critical for assessing its suitability. Hence, a detailed comparison of the percentage of the model accuracy (PCC), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), precision, sensitivity (recall), 1 − specificity, Area under the ROC Curve (AUC), and precision-recall (PRC Area) for each classification method were observed. Our findings suggest that the Random Forest algorithm exceeds in all groups in terms of all performance measures and shows AUC = 0.903 where k-fold = 60. A robust correlation was observed in the specific absorption rate (SAR) with frequency and cumulative effect or exposure time with SAR×time (impact of accumulated SAR within the exposure time) of RF-EMF. In contrast, the relationship between frequency and exposure time was not significant. In future, with more experimental data, the sample size can be increased, leading to more accurate work.
Localization of Tobacco Yellow Dwarf Virus Replication Using the In Plant Activation (INPACT) Expression Platform

Geminiviruses and their diseases are a considerable economic threat to a vast number of crops worldwide. Investigating how and where these viruses replicate and accumulate in their hosts may lead to novel molecular resistance strategies. In this study, we used the Rep-inducible In Plant Activation (INPACT) expression platform, based on the genome of tobacco yellow dwarf virus (TYDV), to determine where this model mastrevirus replicates in its host tobacco. By developing an infectious clone of TYDV and optimizing its delivery by agroinfiltration, we first established an efficient artificial infection process. When delivered into transgenic tobacco plants containing a TYDV-based INPACT cassette encoding the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter, we showed the virus activates GUS expression. Histology revealed that reporter gene expression was limited to phloem-associated cell types suggesting TYDV replication has a restricted tissue tropism.
Production of Lactic Acid from Carob, Banana and Sugarcane Lignocellulose Biomass

Lignocellulosic biomass from agricultural residues is a promising feedstock for lactic acid (LA) production. The aim of the current study was to investigate the production of LA from different lignocellulosic biomass. The LA production from banana peduncles using strain Bacillus coagulans with yeast extract resulted in 26.6 g LA·L−1, and yield of 0.90 g LA·g−1 sugars. The sugarcane fermentation with yeast extract resulted in 46.5 g LA·L−1, and yield of 0.88 g LA·g−1 sugars. Carob showed that addition of yeast extract resulted in higher productivity of 3.2 g LA·L−1·h−1 compared to without yeast extract where1.95 g LA·L−1·h−1 was obtained. Interestingly, similar LA production was obtained by the end where 54.8 and 51.4 g·L−1 were obtained with and without yeast extract, respectively. A pilot scale of 35 L using carob biomass fermentation without yeast extract resulted in yield of 0.84 g LA·g−1 sugars, and productivity of 2.30 g LA·L−1·h−1 which indicate a very promising process for future industrial production of LA.
TRAF2 Plays a Key, Nonredundant Role in LIGHT-Lymphotoxin β Receptor Signaling

ABSTRACT LIGHT is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily, and its function is mediated by at least two receptors, including lymphotoxin β receptor (LTβR) and herpes simplex virus entry mediator. However, the molecular mechanism of LIGHT signaling mediated by LTβR has not been clearly defined. In this report, we demonstrate that TRAF2 is critical for LIGHT- and LTβR-mediated activation of both the transcription factor NF-κB and the mitogen-activated protein kinase JNK. In HeLa cells, LIGHT induces NF-κB and JNK activation, which can be blocked by the dominant negative mutant of TRAF2. In these cells, LIGHT causes the recruitment of TRAF2, TRAF3, and IκB kinase into the LTβR complex. Importantly, while both NF-κB and JNK are activated by LIGHT in wild-type mouse embryonic fibroblasts, no activation of either of these two pathways is observed in TRAF2 null fibroblasts. However, LIGHT-induced NF-κB and JNK activation can be restored by ectopic expression of TRAF2 in TRAF2−/− cells. Interestingly, in contrast to TNF signaling, the activation of both NF-κB and JNK by LIGHT was normal in RIP−/− and TRAF5−/− cells. Taken together, our data demonstrate that TRAF2, an important effector molecule of TNF signaling, plays a critical, nonredundant role in LIGHT-LTβR signaling.
Hemodynamic Adaptations Induced by Short-Term Run Interval Training in College Students

Perceived lack of time is one of the most often cited barriers to exercise participation. High intensity interval training has become a popular training modality that incorporates intervals of maximal and low-intensity exercise with a time commitment usually shorter than 30 min. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of short-term run interval training (RIT) on body composition (BC) and cardiorespiratory responses in undergraduate college students. Nineteen males (21.5 ± 1.6 years) were randomly assigned to a non-exercise control (CON, n = 10) or RIT (n = 9). Baseline measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate (HRrest), double product (DP) and BC were obtained from both groups. VO2max and running speed associated with VO2peak (sVO2peak) were then measured. RIT consisted of three running treadmill sessions per week over 4 weeks (intervals at 100% sVO2peak, recovery periods at 40% sVO2peak). There were no differences in post-training BC or VO2max between groups (p > 0.05). HRrest (p = 0.006) and DP (p ≤ 0.001) were lower in the RIT group compared to CON at completion of the study. RIT lowered HRrest and DP in the absence of appreciable BC and VO2max changes. Thereby, RIT could be an alternative model of training to diminish health-related risk factors in undergraduate college students.
Removing interactions, rather than species, casts doubt on the high robustness of pollination networks

In the last 15 years, a complex networks perspective has been increasingly used in the robustness assessment of ecological systems. It is therefore crucial to assess the reliability of such tools. Based on the traditional simulation of node (species) removal, mutualistic pollination networks are considered to be relatively robust because of their 1) truncated power-law degree distribution, 2) redundancy in the number of pollinators per plant and 3) nested interaction pattern. However, species removal is only one of several possible approaches to network robustness assessment. Empirical evidence suggests a decline in abundance prior to the extinction of interacting species, arguing in favour of an interaction removal-based approach (i.e. interaction disruption), as opposed to traditional species removal. For simulated networks, these two approaches yield radically different conclusions, but no tests are currently available for empirical mutualistic networks. This study compared this new robustness evaluation approach based on interaction extinction versus the traditional species removal approach for 12 alpine and subalpine pollination networks. In comparison with species removal, interaction removal produced higher robustness in the worst-case extinction scenario but lower robustness in the best-case extinction scenario. Our results indicate that: 1) these two approaches yield very different conclusions and 2) existing assessments of ecological network robustness could be overly optimistic, at least those based on a disturbance affecting species at random or beginning with the least connected species. Therefore, further empirical study of plant–pollinator interactions in disturbed ecosystems is imperative to understand how pollination networks are disassembled.
Biological Activities of Sunflower Protein Hydrolysate

3 Abstract: There is a growing trend and interest in the use of food protein - derived peptides and hydrolysates as intervention against chronic human diseases and for maintenance of general well-being. Sunflower protein hydrolysate (SPH) was prepared by the hydrolysis of sunflower protein isolate, first with alcalase for 1h then with flavourzyme for 2h. The biological activity of the hydrolysate including its effect on serum lipids, effect on body weight loss, antihyperglycemic effect, hepatoprotective effect and antihypertensive activity were examined. Examination of rats after 24 hours of injection of high dose of hyrolysate showed no lethality or any manifestations of acute toxicity, which indicates the safety of SPH. The hepatoprotective effect in this study is displayed by 22.60% decline of serum GPT. This data points to the supportive role of the utilized hydrolysate. The results also demonstrated a positive antihyperglycemic effect of the high dose (200 mg/dl) of SPH which equals 30.42% decline in the high blood glucose levels. In the present work, administration of SPH resulted in significant decrease in both serum total cholesterol (18.55%) and triglyceride (29.70%) levels in induced hyperlipidemic rats (p<0.01). Unfortunately, SPH revealed no lowering effect on hypertensive rats. Also, the SPH did not exhibit any weight losing effect on obese rats.
TAXONOMIC REASSESSMENT OF TWO VIRGIANID BRACHIOPOD GENERA FROM THE UPPER ORDOVICIAN AND LOWER SILURIAN OF SOUTH CHINA

Abstract Reexamination of type and topotype material revealed the presence of well-developed ventral and dorsal interareas in two virgianid brachiopods from South China, Eoconchidium jiangshanensis Liang (in Liu et al., 1983) and Paraconchidium shiqianensis Rong, Xu, and Yang, 1974, of Late Ordovician and Early Silurian ages, respectively. A cladistic analysis of the common virgianid taxa, incorporating new data on the development of interareas, confirms Paraconchidium Rong, Xu, and Yang, 1974 as a valid genus (not a junior synonym of Pseudoconchidium Nikiforova and Sapelnikov, 1971) and warrants E. jiangshanensis as the type species of Deloprosopus new genus (not allied to either Eoconchidium or Tcherskidium as previously believed). Our preliminary survey on the suborder Pentameridina, based on available material or illustrations of well-preserved, disarticulated (typically silicified) valves, indicates that 1) the interareas are more commonly developed in the superfamily Pentameroidea than was reported previously, especially in the families Virgianidae and Subrianidae; 2) the ventral and dorsal interareas commonly do not occur as paired planar surfaces in the Pentameroidea, as they do in the superfamily Stricklandioidea; and 3) despite the common absence of a ventral interarea, the development of a sharply delimited dorsal interarea appears to be ubiquitous in the Pentameroidea and possibly in the suborder Pentameridina. In the currently adopted classification, the presence of matching ventral and dorsal interareas is treated as one of the diagnostic characters that separate Stricklandioidea from other superfamilies of the Pentameridina. The new data presented herein on the development of interareas imply the need to reevaluate the taxonomic and evolutionary significance of the ventral and dorsal interareas, pending a thorough survey on their distribution in the suborder Pentameridina.
Transcriptome analysis of common and diverged circulating miRNAs between arterial and venous during aging

Circulating miRNAs have received extensive attention as non-invasive biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of disease. However, most samples have been obtained from peripheral venous blood. To evaluate whether peripheral venous miRNAs represent circulating miRNAs from all blood vessels under a given condition, such as aging, we compared the miRNA profiles of venous and arterial plasma between young and aged rats by Illumina next-generation sequencing. The DEseq2 tool was used to obtain differentially-expressed miRNAs. We observed 105 aging-related deregulated miRNAs in vein and 62 in artery, which were highly associated with cell survival and inflammation, respectively. On the other hand, the young and aged groups exhibited a unique arterial-venous bias. There were 54 differentially-expressed miRNAs in the young group and 42 in the aged group; only 8 miRNAs were shared. Further transcriptional factors enrichment analysis found that the shared miRNAs could be partially upregulated by NF-κB and SIRT1. These transcriptional factors could be organ-specific and/or regulated in physiological and aging states as possible causal factors. This study suggested the potential application of circulating miRNAs, which reflect the systematic response to certain conditions, such as aging, and the importance of origin selection for candidate circulating miRNAs.
Bilateral Simultaneous Breast Reconstruction with DIEP- and TMG Flaps: Head to Head Comparison, Risk and Complication Analysis

Background: A two center retrospective cohort study of simultaneous bilateral breast reconstructions using double deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flaps and double transverse myocutaneous/upper gracilis (TMG) flaps was conducted. The aim of this study was to compare surgical procedures, complications, and overall outcome. Patients and Methods: Two study groups, either receiving a simultaneous bilateral breast reconstruction, with double DIEP flaps (n = 152) in group 1, or double TMG flaps (n = 86) in group 2, were compared. A detailed risk and complication analysis was performed. Patient characteristics, operative time and the need for further operations were evaluated. Results: Double DIEP patients had donor site complications in 23.7% and double TMG patients in 16.3% (p = 0.9075, RR 1.45). Flap loss rates of 3.5% (double TMG) and 2.6% (double DIEP) were recorded (p = 0.7071, RR 1.33). The need for postoperative lipofilling was significantly higher in double TMG patients (65.1% vs. 38.2 %, p = 0.0047, RR 1.71). Conclusion: Complication analysis favors the double DIEP procedure. Donor site morbidity was lower and less severe in the double TMG group. Later fat grafting was more frequently needed after double TMG reconstructions. Further studies, preferably of prospective nature, are needed to evaluate the benefit of bilateral simultaneous breast reconstructions.