Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
University of Birmingham Environmentally relevant iron oxide nanoparticles produce limited acute pulmonary effects in rats at realistic exposure levels

Iron is typically the dominant metal in the ultrafine fraction of airborne particulate matter. Various studies have investigated the toxicity of inhaled nano-sized iron oxide particles (FeOxNPs) but their results have been contradictory, with some indicating no or minor effects and others finding effects including oxidative stress and inflammation. Most studies, however, did not use materials reflecting the characteristics of FeOxNPs present in the environment. We, therefore, analysed the potential toxicity of FeOxNPs of different forms (Fe3O4, α-Fe2O3 and γ-Fe2O3) reflecting the characteristics of high iron content nano-sized particles sampled from the environment, both individually and in a mixture (FeOx-mix). A preliminary in vitro study indicated Fe3O4 and FeOx-mix were more cytotoxic than either form of Fe2O3 in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). Follow-up in vitro (0.003, 0.03, 0.3 μg/mL, 24 h) and in vivo (Sprague–Dawley rats, nose-only exposure, 50 μg/m3 and 500 μg/m3, 3 h/d × 3 d) studies therefore focused on these materials. Experiments in vitro explored responses at the molecular level via multi-omics analyses at concentrations below those at which significant cytotoxicity was evident to avoid detection of responses secondary to toxicity. Inhalation experiments used aerosol concentrations chosen to produce similar levels of particle deposition on the airway surface as were delivered in vitro. These were markedly higher than environmental concentrations. No clinical signs of toxicity were seen nor effects on BALF cell counts or LDH levels. There were also no significant changes in transcriptomic or metabolomic responses in lung or BEAS-2B cells to suggest adverse effects.
Considerations on clinical biomarkers analyses using immunoassays

Biomarkers are continuously gaining an increasing role in clinical research. I aim to highlight considerations that will make your translational research more reproducible and impactful. Biomarkers related to screening, diagnosis, monitoring of disease progression, prognosis or measuring the efficacy of therapeutic treatments as surrogate end points have become essential in clinical research. Immunoassays are powerful tools, which among many other applications can serve to specifically detect certain disease biomarkers. Through my background in clinical research in industry and academia, with a recent focus in Huntington’s disease (HD), I gained valuable insight in the analysis of clinical biomarkers using immunoassays. While the HD insights are used as an example, the resulting considerations are applicable to the study of clinical biomarkers across diseases. HD is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disorder, caused by a dominant, autosomal, monogenic mutation, resulting in the mutant huntingtin (mtHtt >37 CAG repeats) presence in all tissues. HD is characterized by a slow progressive neuronal death in the brain (mostly cortex), correlating to declines in cognitive, motor, and psychiatric functions. There are few moderately effective symptomatic treatments, but no FDA-approved therapeutic interventions to prevent, delay its onset or treat HD. However, promising altering strategies are currently under development and there is a tremendous need for biomarkers that could monitor response to therapeutic interventions. In addition, biomarkers could potentially predict, the age of onset prior to clinical symptoms, or monitor the rate of disease progression, thus could be of great value for the patients’ life and their clinical care, hence important to have reliable results. Since the mutation of the huntingtin gene discovery in 1993, scientists had analyzed the levels of mtHtt, immune, metabolic, endocrine, oxidative stress and axonal and glial degeneration markers. The literature summary of the HD “wet biomarkers” revealed conflicting findings for many of the biomarkers studied by different labs. The lack of reproducibility between labs for some of the biomarkers analyzed slowed the understanding of the disease and may have delayed the development of effective treatments for HD patients. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOASSAY AND IMMUNOCHEMISTRY 2021, VOL. 42, NO. 1, 1–3 https://doi.org/10.1080/15321819.2021. 1872358
Separation of Uranium from Aqueous Solutions Using Al3+‐ and Fe3+‐modified Titanium‐ and Zirconium Phosphates

Abstract The ability of four amorphous Al3+‐ and Fe3+‐doped titanium and zirconium sorbents to separate U(VI) from acidic aqueous solutions (pHinit=3, ionic strength 0.1 M established by NaNO3) was investigated using a batch technique and instrumental neutron activation analysis. All investigated sorbents were found to be chemically stable and remove considerable amounts of uranium from acidic aqueous solutions (pHinit=3). The scanning electron microscopic and powder‐X‐ray diffraction examination of the grains of the two investigated titanium phosphates after contacting the uranium solutions revealed the formation of sodium autunite (Na2(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6‐8H2O) accompanied, in the case of the Fe3+‐doped titanium phosphate, by iron uranyl phosphate hydroxide hydrate (Fe(UO2)2(PO4)2(OH) · 7H2O). No crystal formation was observed in the cases of uranium sorbed by zirconium phosphates indicating the different sorption mechanism involved.
What Are Risk Factors for an Ileus After Posterior Spine Surgery?—A Case Control Study

Study design: Case-Control Study. Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate risk factors for developing a postoperative ileus after posterior spine surgery. Methods: Patient charts, including radiographs were evaluated retrospectively. Diagnosis of an ileus was confirmed radiographically by a CT scan in all cases. The control group was retrieved by selecting a random sample of patients undergoing posterior spine surgery who did not develop bowel dysfunction postoperatively. Results: A total of 40 patients had a postoperative ileus. The control group consisted of 80 patients. Both groups did not differ significantly in age, gender, BMI, tobacco use, comorbidities or status of previous abdominal surgery. Significant differences between the 2 groups was the length of stay (5.9 vs. 11.2; p = 0.001), surgery in the lumbar spine (47.5% vs. 87.5%; p < 0.001) and major spine surgery involving > 3 levels (35.0% vs. 57.5%; p = 0.019). Patients who suffered from an ileus were more likely to be treated in ICU (23.8% vs. 37.5%; p = 0.115), being re-admitted (0.0% vs 5.0%; p = 0.044) and having a delayed discharge (32.5% vs. 57.5%; p = 0.009). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that lumbar spine surgery compared to thoracic and/or cervical spine surgery (p = 0.00, OR 8.7 CI 2.9-25.4) and major spine surgery involving > 3 levels (p = 0.012; OR 3.0, CI 1.3-7.2) are associated with developing an ileus postoperatively. Conclusion: Surgeries of the lumbar spine as well as those involving > 3 levels are associated with developing a postoperative ileus. Further studies are needed to expand on possible risk factors and to better understand the mechanism underlying postoperative ileus in spine surgery patients.
Reactions of Ethynyl Radicals with Alkynes in the System Sodium Vapour/Ethynylbromide/Alkyne

The radicals were generated from the respective halide RX by the reaction Na + RX R + NaX in a low-pressure flow reactor fed by a multi-slit diffusion burner. Test results are reported for the system Na/CH3I giving k(Na + CH3I) = 6.0 · 10−3 and k(CH3 + CH3) = 2.8·1013 cm3 mol−1 s−1. The main part deals with the production of C2H in the system Na/C2HBr and its consecutive reactions with C2HBr and added C2H2 and C4H2. The rate constant k(Na + C2HBr) was found to be 2.9 · 1013 cm3 mol−1 s−1. The bimolecular rate constants of C2H with the compounds above have been determined to 1.0·1014, 2.3 · 1013 and 4.0·1013 cm3 mol−1 s−1, respectively, at a temperature of 603 K. – The main products in this reaction system are polyynes with a minor formation of ethyne and very little hydrogenated polyynes. The formation of an aromatic compound (ethynylbenzene) is negligibly small, a fact which is discussed in its relation to aromates in hydrocarbon flames. The primary reaction Na + C2HBr and its products are discussed as well as the unimolecular decomposition and stabilization of energized adducts formed by C2H.
Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Laelia suffusa (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Lymantriinae)

Abstract In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of a white tussock moth, Laelia suffusa (Walker, 1855) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Lymantriinae), was sequenced and annotated. The genome sequence was 15,502 bp in length and comprised 13 PCGs, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and a single noncoding control region (CR). The nucleotide composition of the genome was highly A + T biased, accounting for 79.04% of the whole genome and with a slightly positive AT skewness (0.015). Comparing the gene order with the basal species of Lepidoptera, a typical trnM rearrangement was detected in the mitogenome of L. suffusa. Besides, the trnM rearrangement was found at the head of trnI and trnQ, rather than at the back. The 13 PCGs used ATN as their start codons, except for the cox1 which used CGA. Out of the 22 tRNAs, only 1 tRNA (trnS1) failed to fold in a typical cloverleaf secondary structure. The conserved motif ‘ATAGA + poly-T’ was detected at the start of the control region which was similar to other Lepidoptera species. In total, 10 overlapping regions and 19 intergenic spacers were identified, ranging from 1 to 41 and 2 to 73 bp, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Lymantriinae was a monophyletic group with a high support value and L. suffusa was closely related to tribe Orgyiini (Erebidae, Lymantriinae). Moreover, the phylogenetic relationship of Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) species was reconstructed using two datasets (13 PCGs and 37 genes) and these supported the topology of (Notodontidae + (Erebidae + (Nolidae + (Euteliidae + Noctuidae)))).
Clay-PMMA nanocomposites by photoinitiated radical polymerization using intercalated phenacyl pyridinium salt initiators

In situ synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposites by photopolymerization using organophilic montmorillonite (MMT) as the layered clay is reported. MMT clay was ion exchanged with N-phenacyl, N,N-dimethylanilinium hexafluoro phosphate (PDA) which acts as both suitable intercalant- and photo-initiator. These modified clays were then dispersed in methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer in different loading degrees to carry out the in situ photopolymerization. Intercalation ability of the photoinitiator and exfoliated nanocomposite structure were evidenced by both X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermal properties and morphologies of the resultant nanocomposites were also studied.
Possible quadrupole order in tetragonal Ba2CdReO6 and chemical trend in the ground states of 5d 1 double perovskites

The synthesis and physical properties of the double perovskite (DP) compound Ba2CdReO6 with the 5d 1 electronic configuration are reported. Three successive phases originating from a spin–orbit-entangled J eff = 3/2 state, confirmed by a reduced effective magnetic moment of 0.72 μ B, were observed upon cooling. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed a structural transition from a high-temperature cubic structure to a low-temperature tetragonal structure at T s = 170 K, below which the J eff = 3/2 state was preserved. Magnetization, heat capacity, and thermal expansion measurements showed two more electronic transitions to a possible quadrupole ordered state at T q = 25 K and an antiferromagnetic order of dipoles with a ferromagnetic moment of ∼0.2 μ B at T m = 12 K. These properties were compared with those of the DP's sister compounds Ba2 BReO6 (B = Mg, Zn, and Ca) and the chemical trend is discussed in terms of the mean-field theory for spin–orbit-coupled 5d electrons (2010 Chen et al Phys. Rev. B 82 174440). The DP Ba2 BReO6 compounds provide a unique opportunity for a systematic investigation of symmetry breaking in the presence of multipolar degrees of freedom.
Serum interleukin-6, interleukin-17A and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

BACKGROUND Recurrent aphthous stomatitis remains the most common disease of the oral mucosa. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of serum interleukin-6, interleukin-17A, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in recurrent aphthous stomatitis. METHODS Using flow cytometry analysis, detect the level of serum interleukin-2, interleukin-6, interleukin-17A, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-gamma in 127 patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and 20 healthy control cases, compare and analyze the correlation of each index. RESULTS The levels of serum interleukin-2, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-gamma in the recurrent aphthous stomatitis group were higher than in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in interleukin-17A between the two groups. CONCLUSION The levels of serum interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha in recurrent aphthous stomatitis patients were significantly increased. Considering that serum TNF-α was mostly within the normal range, its role in the pathology of RAS needed to be further explored.
The Impacts of Low Diversity Sequence Data on Phylodynamic Inference during an Emerging Epidemic

Phylodynamic inference is a pivotal tool in understanding transmission dynamics of viral outbreaks. These analyses are strongly guided by the input of an epidemiological model as well as sequence data that must contain sufficient intersequence variability in order to be informative. These criteria, however, may not be met during the early stages of an outbreak. Here we investigate the impact of low diversity sequence data on phylodynamic inference using the birth–death and coalescent exponential models. Through our simulation study, estimating the molecular evolutionary rate required enough sequence diversity and is an essential first step for any phylodynamic inference. Following this, the birth–death model outperforms the coalescent exponential model in estimating epidemiological parameters, when faced with low diversity sequence data due to explicitly exploiting the sampling times. In contrast, the coalescent model requires additional samples and therefore variability in sequence data before accurate estimates can be obtained. These findings were also supported through our empirical data analyses of an Australian and a New Zealand cluster outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2. Overall, the birth–death model is more robust when applied to datasets with low sequence diversity given sampling is specified and this should be considered for future viral outbreak investigations.
Depression in Children and Adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Associations with Resilience and Prosocial Behavior

Depression in children and adolescents has become a serious public health problem worldwide. The objectives of this study were twofold: first, to investigate the status of depression among children and adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest plateau in the world, with an average altitude of more than 4200 m (13,776 feet), and second, to examine the associations among prosocial behavior, resilience, and depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted among children and adolescents from Yushu Prefecture on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A total of 11,160 participants aged 10–17 years (Mage = 14.34 years, SD = 1.77; 51.4% girls) were included. Self-reported depression, resilience, and prosocial behavior were assessed. The prevalence of depression was 29.2% in the current study. Higher levels of prosocial behavior were significantly associated with lower levels of depression (β = −0.25, p < 0.001). Furthermore, resilience significantly moderated the relationship between prosocial behavior and depression (β = −0.08, p < 0.001); that is, resilience enhanced the protective role of prosocial behavior in depression. These findings indicate that resilience may play an important role in the associations between prosocial behavior and depression, which suggests that improving resilience is essential for the prevention and intervention of depression among children and adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Interactions between Enhanced Polygenic Risk Scores and Lifestyle for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes Mellitus and Lipid Levels.

Background - Both lifestyle and genetic factors confer risk for cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and dyslipidemia. However, the interactions between these two groups of risk factors were not comprehensively understood due to previous poor estimation of genetic risk. Here we set out to develop enhanced polygenic risk scores (PRS), and systematically investigate multiplicative and additive interactions between PRS and lifestyle for coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, T2D, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-cholesterol. Methods - Our study included 276,096 unrelated white British participants from the UK Biobank. We investigated several PRS methods (P+T, LDpred, PRS-CS, and AnnoPred), and showed that AnnoPred achieved consistently improved prediction accuracy for all six diseases/traits. With enhanced PRS and combined lifestyle status categorized by smoking, body mass index, physical activity, and diet, we investigated both multiplicative and additive interactions between PRS and lifestyle using regression models. Results - We observed that healthy lifestyle reduced disease incidence by similar multiplicative magnitude across different PRS groups. The absolute risk reduction (ARR) from lifestyle adherence was however significantly greater in individuals with higher PRS. Specifically, for T2D, the ARR from lifestyle adherence was 12.4% (95% CI, 10.0%-14.9%) in the top 1% PRS versus 2.8% (95% CI, 2.3%-3.3%) in the bottom PRS decile, leading to a ratio of more than 4.4. We also observed a significant interaction effect between PRS and lifestyle on triglyceride level. Conclusions - By leveraging functional annotations, AnnoPred outperforms state-of-the-art methods on quantifying genetic risk through PRS. Our analyses based on enhanced PRS suggest that individuals with high genetic risk may derive similar relative but greater absolute benefit from lifestyle adherence.
How Do Machines Learn? Artificial Intelligence as a New Era in Medicine

With an increased number of medical data generated every day, there is a strong need for reliable, automated evaluation tools. With high hopes and expectations, machine learning has the potential to revolutionize many fields of medicine, helping to make faster and more correct decisions and improving current standards of treatment. Today, machines can analyze, learn, communicate, and understand processed data and are used in health care increasingly. This review explains different models and the general process of machine learning and training the algorithms. Furthermore, it summarizes the most useful machine learning applications and tools in different branches of medicine and health care (radiology, pathology, pharmacology, infectious diseases, personalized decision making, and many others). The review also addresses the futuristic prospects and threats of applying artificial intelligence as an advanced, automated medicine tool.
Pubertal Testosterone and the Structure of the Cerebral Cortex in Young Men.

Adolescence is a period of brain maturation that may involve a second wave of organizational effects of sex steroids on the brain. Rodent studies suggest that, overall, organizational effects of gonadal steroid hormones decrease from the prenatal/perinatal period to adulthood. Here we used multimodal magnetic resonance imaging to investigate whether 1) testosterone exposure during adolescence (9-17 years) correlates with the structure of cerebral cortex in young men (n = 216, 19 years of age); 2) this relationship is modulated by the timing of testosterone surge during puberty. Our results showed that pubertal testosterone correlates with structural properties of the cerebral cortex, as captured by principal component analysis of T1 and T2 relaxation times, myelin water fraction, magnetization transfer ratio, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity. Many of the correlations between pubertal testosterone and the cortical structure were stronger in individuals with earlier (vs. later) testosterone surge. We also demonstrated that the strength of the relationship between pubertal testosterone and cortical structure across the cerebral cortex varies as a function of inter-regional profiles of gene expression specific to dendrites, axonal cytoskeleton, and myelin. This finding suggests that the cellular substrate underlying the relationships between pubertal testosterone and cerebral cortex involves both dendritic arbor and axon.
Pregnant Women Infected with Zika Virus Show Higher Viral Load and Immunoregulatory Cytokines Profile with CXCL10 Increase

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy usually shows only mild symptoms and is frequently subclinical. However, it can be vertically transmitted to the fetus, causing microcephaly and other congenital defects. During pregnancy, the immune environment modifications can alter the response to viruses in general and ZIKV in particular. Objective: To describe the role of pregnancy in the systemic pro- and anti-inflammatory response during symptomatic ZIKV infection. Materials and Methods: A multiplex assay was used to measure 25 cytokines, chemokines, and receptors in 110 serum samples from pregnant and nonpregnant women with and without ZIKV infection with and without symptoms. Samples were collected through an epidemiological surveillance system. Results: Samples from pregnant women with ZIKV infection showed a higher viral load but had similar profiles of inflammatory markers as compared with nonpregnant infected women, except for CXCL10 that was higher in infected pregnant women. Notably, the presence of ZIKV in pregnancy favored a regulatory profile by significantly increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-10, receptors IL-1RA, and IL-2R, but only those pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ and IL-17 that are essential for the antiviral response. Interestingly, there were no differences between symptomatic and weakly symptomatic ZIKV-infected groups. Conclusion: Our results revealed a systemic anti-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine profile that could participate in the control of the virus. The anti-inflammatory response in pregnant women infected with ZIKA was characterized by high CXCL10, a cytokine that has been correlated with congenital malformations.