Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preventing Transmission of Lethal Disease: Removal Behaviour of Lasius fuliginosus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Towards Fungus Contaminated Aphids

Simple Summary To decrease the risk of infection transmission, ants are known to use a number of defensive mechanisms. One of them is the removal of conidia-contaminated aphids and sporulating cadavers, which is aimed at limiting contacts with potentially dangerous entities. This quarantining behaviour is helpful in limiting transmission of disease by the aphid milkers, both to the ant colony and among aphids, which are their main suppliers of carbohydrate food. The spread of this behaviour among ants is still scarcely studied. Among seven ant species studied, active usage of quarantining behaviour was found only in Formica ants. The behaviour of Lasius fuliginosus aphid milkers towards Chaitophorus populeti aphids covered with conidia of Beauveria bassiana was studied in the field. Most aggressive milkers quickly detected and removed conidia-contaminated aphids from the plant, carrying them down and placing them some distance away from the experimental aspen trees. In general, active usage of quarantining behaviour towards fungus contaminated aphids was found to be not limited to the genus Formica, but typical of L. fuliginosus as well. Removal of most fungus-contaminated aphids from the plant enables these ants to reduce the risk of infection transmission among aphids, as well as among ants. Abstract The ability of ants to detect and remove conidia-contaminated aphids, aimed at limiting contacts with potentially dangerous entities, is an effective antifungal mechanism to prevent the spread of infection among both their nestmates and aphids, their main suppliers of carbohydrates. However, the spread and the scale of this quarantining behaviour among ants are still scarcely studied. Among seven ant species studied, active usage of quarantining behaviour was found only in Formica ants. The behaviour of Lasius fuliginosus (Latreille) aphid milkers towards Chaitophorus populeti (Panzer) aphids covered with conidia of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) Vuillemin was studied in the field. Most aggressive milkers quickly detected and removed conidia-contaminated aphids from the plant, carrying them down and placing them some distance away from the experimental aspen trees. In general, active usage of quarantining behaviour towards conidia-contaminated aphids was found to be not limited to the genus Formica, but typical of L. fuliginosus as well. The response of milkers of L. fuliginosus and Formica s. str. ants to living aphids covered with conidia is quite similar. Removal of most fungus-contaminated aphids from the plant enables these ants to reduce the risk of infection transmission among both their nestmates and aphids.
A Multicenter, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial of a Conservative Fluid Management Strategy Compared With Usual Care in Participants After Cardiac Surgery: The Fluids After Bypass Study.

OBJECTIVES There is little evidence to guide fluid administration to patients admitted to the ICU following cardiac surgery. This study aimed to determine if a protocolized strategy known to reduce fluid administration when compared with usual care reduced ICU length of stay following cardiac surgery. DESIGN Prospective, multicenter, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial. SETTING Five cardiac surgical centers in New Zealand conducted from November 2016 to December 2018 with final follow-up completed in July 2019. PATIENTS Seven-hundred fifteen patients undergoing cardiac surgery; 358 intervention and 357 usual care. INTERVENTIONS Randomization to protocol-guided strategy utilizing stroke volume variation to guide administration of bolus fluid or usual care fluid administration until desedation or up to 24 hours. Primary outcome was length of stay in ICU. Organ dysfunction, mortality, process of care measures, patient-reported quality of life, and disability-free survival were collected up to day 180. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Overall 666 of 715 (93.1%) received at least one fluid bolus. Patients in the intervention group received less bolus fluid (median [interquartile range], 1,000 mL [250-2,000 mL] vs 1,500 mL [500-2,500 mL]; p < 0.0001) and had a lower overall fluid balance (median [interquartile range], 319 mL [-284 to 1,274 mL] vs 673 mL [38-1,641 mL]; p < 0.0001) in the intervention period. There was no difference in ICU length of stay between the two groups (27.9 hr [21.8-53.5 hr] vs 25.6 hr [21.9-64.6 hr]; p = 0.95). There were no differences seen in development of organ dysfunction, quality of life, or disability-free survival at any time points. Hospital mortality was higher in the intervention group (4% vs 1.4%; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS A protocol-guided strategy utilizing stroke volume variation to guide administration of bolus fluid when compared with usual care until desedation or up to 24 hours reduced the amount of fluid administered but did not reduce the length of stay in ICU.
Brain Training and Sulforaphane Intake Interventions Separately Improve Cognitive Performance in Healthy Older Adults, Whereas a Combination of These Interventions Does Not Have More Beneficial Effects: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Earlier studies have demonstrated that a single-domain intervention, such as a brain-training (BT) game alone and a sulforaphane (SFN) intake, positively affects cognition. This study examined whether a combined BT and SFN intake intervention has beneficial effects on cognitive function in older adults. Methods: In a 12-week double-blinded randomized control trial, 144 older adults were randomly assigned to one of four groups: BT with SFN (BT-S), BT with placebo (BT-P), active control game (AT) with SFN (AT-S), and active control game with placebo (AT-P). We used Brain Age in BT and Tetris in AT. Participants were asked to play BT or AT for 15 min a day for 12 weeks while taking a supplement (SFN or placebo). We measured several cognitive functions before and after the intervention period. Results: The BT (BT-S and BT-P) groups showed more improvement in processing speed than the active control groups (AT-S and AT-P). The SFN intake (BT-S and AT-S) groups recorded significant improvements in processing speed and working memory performance unlike the placebo intake groups (BT-P and AT-P). However, we did not find any evidence of the combined intervention’s beneficial effects on cognition. Discussion: We discussed a mechanism to improve cognitive functions in the BT and SFN alone interventions.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Snake Envenomation in Dogs in Queensland, Australia

Australia has some of the most venous snakes in the world, and envenomations of domestic dogs are common, but clinical signs as well as the diagnostic procedures and treatments of snake envenomations are poorly described. Therefore, we invited veterinary clinics in the state of Queensland, Australia, to provide detailed data on snake envenomation cases in dogs. A total of 230 cases were reported from 19 veterinary hospitals, with an average of 12.1 dogs per clinic, per year. Detailed case data were provided from 20 dogs—of these, 65.0% (13/20) were envenomated during the daytime, with collapse and paresis being the most common signs reported by owners. The median time between the onset of clinical signs and admission to the veterinary hospital was 60 min. Clinical signs were the sole diagnostic modality utilised by veterinarians in 30.0% (6/20) of cases. Activated clotting time was the most common diagnostic procedure conducted, while snake venom detection kits (SVDK) were only used in 15.0% (3/20) of cases. Of the dogs that received antivenom (85.0%, 17/20), the tiger/multibrown combination (3000 units tiger/4000 units brown) was predominately (13/17) provided. Three of the 17 dogs that received antivenom (17.6%) died or were euthanised. About 82.4% (14/17) of the dogs treated with antivenom, but only 33.3% (1/3) of the dogs not treated with antivenom, recovered (p = 0.140). Overall, veterinarians relied frequently on medical history, clinical signs, and diagnostic tests other than the SVDK and, thus, most likely, administered snake envenomation treatment based on their clinical experience.
A comparison with antioxidant and functional properties among five mango (Mangifera indica L.) varieties in Bangladesh.

A comparative study was conducted to investigate the variation of some functional factors as well as antioxidant markers among commercially important five Bangladeshi ripe mango (Mangifera indica L.) varieties such as Fazli, Langra, Ashwina, Himsagor, and Amrupali. Maximum amount of total soluble solid (20.13%) and reducing sugar (3.53%) were found in Amrupali in contrast to other varieties. Highest titratable acidity (0.798%) was observed in Ashwina and lowest acid content (0.154%) was found in Fazli among all varieties. Moreover, Fazli showed significantly higher pH value (6.0) than those of other varieties. The present study on antioxidant markers revealed that Ashwina and Langra showed significantly higher ascorbic acid content (65.66 and 59.17 mg/100 g) whereas Himsagor and Fazli showed lower ascorbic acid content (10.83 and 12.5 mg/100 g) compared to those of other varieties. A significantly highest level of total phenol contents was found in Langra followed by Ashwina, Amrupali, Fazli, and Himsagor. The highest DPPH ̇ radical scavenging activity was observed in Fazli variety among all other varieties. The linear regression analysis revealed that titratable acidity was inversely correlated with pH value. A positive relationship (R2 = 0.865) was found between TSS and reducing sugar. The relationship between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of five mango varieties was found to be positive (R2 = 0.925) providing strong evidence that phenol content plays a vital role in the antioxidant activity of mango. Ascorbic acid content of the mango varieties was moderately (R2 = 0.76) proportional to their antioxidant activity. Results generated in this study revealed that Langra variety proved to be the best considering its antioxidant and functional properties.
Structure-property relationships in densely grafted π-stacked polymers

Three methyl end-capped oligo(ethylene glycol) (MOEG) ethers (1b-d) and a methoxyderivative (1a) of benzofulvene monomer BF3k were synthesized and induced to polymerize spontaneously by solvent removal to obtain soluble π-stacked polymers bearing densely grafted MOEG side chains (poly-1b–d) and model polymer poly-1a. The physicochemical features (e.g., solubility, NMR, MALDI-TOF, and absorption/emission spectra, as well as MWD, conformation plot, and thermal properties) of the synthesized polymers were compared in a structure-property relationship study. This approach afforded the following evidence. The structure of poly-1a–d is very similar to that of BF3k, suggesting that the polymerization mechanism is not affected by the presence of the electron-rich methoxy group or bulkier MOEG side chains. However, the latter appear to be capable of affecting the conformational behavior of the polymer backbone. The solubility of poly-1a–d depends on the number of the oligo(ethylene glycol) monomeric units. In particular, poly-1d, featuring a long MOEG side chain (n = 9), shows an amphiphilic character and is soluble in a number of organic solvents, whereas it interacts with water to give isolated macromolecules in equilibrium with nanosized water-soluble aggregates. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2446–2461, 2010
Astrocytes contribute to the neuronal recovery promoted by high‐frequency repetitive magnetic stimulation in in vitro models of ischemia

After decades of effort, there are no effective clinical treatments to induce the recovery of ischemia‐injured tissues, and among the several strategies that have been explored, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has proven to be one of the most promising, with beneficial effects in limb motor function, aphasia, hemispatial neglect, or dysphagia. Despite the clinical evidences, little is known about the mechanisms underlying those effects. The present study aimed to explore the cellular and molecular effects of high‐frequency repetitive magnetic stimulation (HF‐rMS) on an in vitro model of ischemia. Using primary cortical cultures exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation followed by reperfusion, we observed that HF‐rMS treatment prevents the ischemia‐induced neuronal death by 21.2%, and the neurite degeneration triggered by ischemia. Our results also demonstrate that with this treatment there is an increase of 89.2% on the number cells expressing ERK1/2, of 20.1% on the number of cells expressing c‐Fos, and a synaptogenic effect, through an increase of 62.9% in the number of synaptic puncta as well as of 49.4% in their intensity. Interestingly, our results indicate that astrocytes are crucial to the beneficial effects triggered by HF‐rMS after ischemia, thus suggesting a direct effect of HF‐rMS on these cells. The modulation of astrocytes with this non‐invasive brain stimulation technique is a promising approach to promote the recovery of ischemia‐induced injured tissues; however, it is essential to understand how these effects can be modulated in order to optimize the protocols and enhance the beneficial outcomes.
Attitudes Toward Technology and Use of Fall Alert Wearables in Caregiving: Survey Study

Background Wearable technology for fall alerts among older adult care recipients is one of the more frequently studied areas of technology, given the concerning consequences of falls among this population. Falls are quite prevalent in later life. While there is a growing amount of literature on older adults’ acceptance of technology, less is known about how caregivers’ attitudes toward technology can impact care recipients’ use of such technology. Objective The objective of our study was to examine associations between caregivers’ attitudes toward technology for caregiving and care recipients’ use of fall alert wearables. Methods This study examined data collected with an online survey from 626 caregivers for adults 50 years and older. Adapted from the technology acceptance model, a structural equation model tested the following prespecified hypotheses: (1) higher perceived usefulness of technologies for caregiving would predict higher perceived value of and greater interest in technologies for caregiving; (2) higher perceived value of technologies for caregiving would predict greater interest in technologies for caregiving; and (3) greater interest in technologies for caregiving would predict greater use of fall alert wearables among care recipients. Additionally, we included demographic factors (eg, caregivers’ and care recipients’ ages) and caregiving context (eg, caregiver type and caregiving situation) as important predictors of care recipients’ use of fall alert wearables. Results Of 626 total respondents, 548 (87.5%) with all valid responses were included in this study. Among care recipients, 28% used fall alert wearables. The final model had a good to fair model fit: a confirmatory factor index of 0.93, a standardized root mean square residual of 0.049, and root mean square error of approximation of 0.066. Caregivers’ perceived usefulness of technology was positively associated with their attitudes toward using technology in caregiving (b=.70, P<.001) and interest in using technology for caregiving (b=.22, P=.003). Greater perceived value of using technology in caregiving predicted greater interest in using technology for caregiving (b=.65, P<.001). Greater interest in using technology for caregiving was associated with greater likelihood of care recipients using fall alert wearables (b=.27, P<.001). The caregiver type had the strongest inverse relationship with care recipients’ use of fall alert wearables (unpaid vs paid caregiver) (b=–.33, P<.001). Conclusions This study underscores the importance of caregivers’ attitudes in care recipients’ technology use for falls management. Raising awareness and improving perception about technologies for caregiving may help caregivers and care recipients adopt and better utilize technologies that can promote independence and enhance safety.
Protective effects of aloe vera gel (aloe baberdensis Miller) on aluminum chloride-induced reproductive toxicity in male Wistar rats

Objective: This study aims at investigating the protective effects of aloe vera gel on aluminum chloride-induced testicular toxicity of adult Wistar rats. Methods: Twenty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D) with five animals per group. Group A serves as the control group and received distilled water (1ml/Kg). Group B received distilled water (1ml/Kg) with 100mg/kg b.wt of aluminum chloride daily. Group C received 100mg/kg b.wt of aluminum chloride with 600mg/kg b.wt of Aloe vera gel daily. Group D received 100mg/kg b.wt of aluminum chloride with 5mg/kg b.wt of vitamin C daily. The animals were fed on standard laboratory animal diet and water ad libitum. Administration was via oral cannula for four weeks. The rats were slaughtered using cervical dislocation. The testes were harvested for seminal, biochemical and histological analysis. Results: The results demonstrate that the administration of aloe vera gel (AVG) is capable of preventing testicular toxicity due to aluminum chloride. Aluminum chloride caused a significant change in the testes and seminal parameters of group B when compared to the control animals. The level of Nitric oxide (NO) increased and the level of Superoxide dismutase (SOD) decreased significantly in rats treated with aluminum chloride. Conclusions: The administration of aloe vera gel showed a preventive response in aluminum-induced testicular toxicity of rats as evidenced by histological and biochemical analysis.
Hospitalization in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus at Tawam Hospital, United Arab Emirates (UAE): Rates, causes, and factors associated with length of stay

Introduction Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a relapsing and remitting multiorgan disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The survival rate of patients with SLE has recently improved, which was associated with increased morbidity and hospitalization rates. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the rate and causes of hospitalization in patients with SLE and explore factors associated with increased length of stay (LOS). Methods Patients who visited rheumatology clinics (Tawam hospital, United Arab Emirates (UAE)) and fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SLE criteria were identified. Retrospective charts were reviewed to determine previous admissions. Demographic data, reason for hospitalization, duration of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, number of specialist consultations, medications used, and SLE characteristics at time of admission were collected. The hospitalization rate was calculated as the number of hospitalized patients divided by the total number of patients with the disease. We performed multivariable regression analysis for factors associated with increased LOS. Results A total of 91 patients with SLE (88 women and 3 men) met the inclusion criteria with a mean disease duration of 10.2 years (SD 5.5). A total of 222 admissions were identified, and 66 of 91 patients were admitted at least once. The mean crude hospitalization rate calculated was 29.8%. The primary reason for admission was pregnancy (29%), SLE activity (24%), and infection (20%). When combining primary and secondary reasons, the proportion of admissions due to SLE activity increased to 32%. The mean LOS was 5.9 (SD 6.0) days. About 7% of admitted patients required ICU admission. In multivariable analysis, patients with lupus nephritis, complications during hospitalization, and increased number of specialists consultations and who were admitted to ICU and started new medication were all associated with increased LOS. Conclusion A significant proportion of patients with SLE were hospitalized during their disease course. The hospitalization rate in this study appears to be higher than those reported elsewhere. Disease flare is the leading cause of admission in patients with SLE in this relatively young cohort. Lupus nephritis has been found to be significantly related to longer LOS. Measurements taken to reduce the incidence and severity of flares would likely decrease hospitalization rate and LOS in patients with SLE.
Activated Lymphocytes and Increased Risk of Dermatologic Adverse Events during Sorafenib Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Simple Summary Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Of those advanced-stage patients who are treated with sorafenib, those who develop early dermatologic adverse events have a better prognosis. These events are possibly immune-related. Therefore, we analyzed the phenotype of 52 sorafenib-treated patients’ circulating lymphocytes throughout treatment. We found that different co-stimulatory and immune exhaustion markers, such as Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and DNAX accessory molecule 1 (DNAM-1) amongst others, correlate with the probability of developing these adverse events, both before and during the treatment. We also compared the phenotype of those lymphocytes expressing DNAM-1 with those that do not, and while NK DNAM-1-expressing cells have a co-stimulatory phenotype, T DNAM-1-expressing cells are immune-suppressors. Overall, we set a rationale for the combination of sorafenib and immune-targeted therapies; and for the use of immune markers (such as DNAM-1) for patients’ prognosis evaluation. Abstract Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with sorafenib who develop early dermatologic adverse events (eDAEs) have a better prognosis. This may be linked to immune mechanisms, and thus, it is relevant to assess the association between peripheral immunity and the probability of developing eDAEs. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 52 HCC patients treated with sorafenib were analyzed at baseline and throughout the first eight weeks of therapy. T, B, Natural Killer cells, and their immune checkpoints expression data were characterized by flow cytometry. Cytokine release and immune-suppression assays were carried out ex vivo. Cox baseline and time-dependent regression models were applied to evaluate the probability of increased risk of eDAEs. DNAM-1, PD-1, CD69, and LAG-3 in T cells, plus CD16 and LAG-3 in NK cells, are significantly associated with the probability of developing eDAEs. While NK DNAM-1+ cells express activation markers, T DNAM-1+ cells induce immune suppression and show immune exhaustion. This is the first study to report an association between immune checkpoints expression in circulating immune cells and the increased incidence of eDAEs. Our results support the hypothesis for an off-target role of sorafenib in immune modulation. We also describe a novel association between DNAM-1 and immune exhaustion in T cells.