Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of Maternal Factors and HIV Infection With Innate Cytokine Responses of Delivering Mothers and Newborns in Mozambique

Maternal factors and exposure to pathogens have an impact on infant health. For instance, HIV exposed but uninfected infants have higher morbidity and mortality than HIV unexposed infants. Innate responses are the first line of defense and orchestrate the subsequent adaptive immune response and are especially relevant in newborns. To determine the association of maternal HIV infection with maternal and newborn innate immunity we analyzed the cytokine responses upon pattern recognition receptor (PRR) stimulations in the triad of maternal peripheral and placental blood as well as in cord blood in a cohort of mother-infant pairs from southern Mozambique. A total of 48 women (35 HIV-uninfected and 13 HIV-infected) were included. Women and infant innate responses positively correlated with each other. Age, gravidity and sex of the fetus had some associations with spontaneous production of cytokines in the maternal peripheral blood. HIV-infected women not receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) before pregnancy showed decreased IL-8 and IL-6 PRR responses in peripheral blood compared to those HIV-uninfected, and PRR hyporesponsiveness for IL-8 was also found in the corresponding infant’s cord blood. HIV infection had a greater impact on placental blood responses, with significantly increased pro-inflammatory, TH1 and TH17 PRR responses in HIV-infected women not receiving ART before pregnancy compared to HIV-uninfected women. In conclusion, innate response of the mother and her newborn was altered by HIV infection in the women who did not receive ART before pregnancy. As these responses could be related to birth outcomes, targeted innate immune modulation could improve maternal and newborn health.
Timing of sex disturbance caused by tributyltin exposure during the embryonic stage in the caprellid amphipod, Caprella danilevskii

Caprellid amphipods, Caprella danilevskii were exposed to tributyltin (TBT) (100 ng 1−1) for ten periods after eggs were deposited in the brood pouch. Brood loss during incubation was found in six exposure periods between 12 and 72 h after spawning, although no brood loss was observed in the control. It was suggested that exposure to TBT half a day after spawning might be sufficient to damage reproduction during the caprellid's embryonic life. The female percentage was 38.7% in the control, whereas it was gradually increased to 60.0–71.4% in the four exposure periods between 12 and 48 h after spawning.
Stroke and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Stroke and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are common neurological diseases. Several exiting studies indicated that late onset-AD and ischemic stroke have shared genetic links. Different kinds of stroke have different mechanisms. However, it remains unclear whether there is a causal relationship between different types of strokes, including any stroke (AS), any ischemic stroke (AIS), large-artery atherosclerotic stroke (LAS), and cardio-embolic stroke (CES), and AD. Herein, we conducted several Mendelian randomization (MR) studies to explore genetically causal link of different kinds of strokes and AD. The results for inverse-variance weighted (IVW) meta-analysis (β = −0.039, OR = 0.9618, and P-value = 0.750) and weighted median regression (WMR) (β = −0.156, OR = 0.8556, and P-value = 0.274) demonstrated that AS is not causally associated with AD risk. The result of MR-Egger regression (β = −1.312, P-value = 0.098) and intercept term (P-value = 0.105) illustrated no pleiotropy in this MR study. According to the results for IVW (P-value = 0.305, β = −0.103, and OR = 0.9021) and WMR (P-value = 0.487, β = −0.092, and OR = 0.9121) in the MR study between AIS and AD, there is no causal association between AIS and AD risk. In addition, the MR-Egger regression (P-value = 0.290 and β = −0.512) and intercept term (P-value = 0.387) showed no potential pleiotropy. LAS is not causally associated with AD risk according to the MR results (IVW: P-value = 0.568, β = 0.037, and OR = 1.0377; WMR: P-value = 0.793, β = −0.022, and OR = 0.9782). Additionally, the results of MR-Egger regression (P-value = 0.122 and β = −1.220) and intercept term (P-value = 0.110) showed no potential pleiotropy. Our results [IVW: P-value = 0.245, β = −0.064, and OR = 0.938; WMR: P-value = 0.331, β = −0.057, and OR = 0.9446; MR-Egger: P-value = 0.673 and β = −0.062, and intercept term (P-value = 0.985)] further demonstrated there is no causal link between CES and AD and no pleiotropy in this MR study. In conclusion, different types of stroke, including AS, AIS, LAS, and CES, would not be causally associated with AD risk.
THE STRUCTURE AND NANOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ADHESIVE MUCILAGE THAT MEDIATES DIATOM‐SUBSTRATUM ADHESION AND MOTILITY 1

We investigated the adhesive mucilage and mechanism of cell‐substratum adhesion of two benthic raphid diatoms, the marine species Craspedostauros australis E. J. Cox and the freshwater species Pinnularia viridis (Nitzsch) Ehrenberg. SEM images of P. viridis and C. australis cells revealed the presence of multistranded tethers that appear to arise along the raphe openings and extend for a considerable distance from the cell before forming a “holdfast‐like” attachment with the substratum. We propose that the tethers result from the elongation/stretching of composite adhesive mucilage strands secreted from raphes during the onset of cell adhesion and reorientation. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) force measurements reveal that the adhesive strands originating from the nondriving raphe of live C. australis and P. viridis are highly extensible and accumulate to form tethers. During force measurements tethers can be chemically stained and are seen to extend between the cantilever tip and a cell during elongation and relaxation. In most cases, AFM force measurements recorded an interaction with a number of adhesive strands that are secreted from the raphe. The force curves of C. australis and P. viridis revealed a sawtooth pattern, suggesting the successive unbinding of modular domains when the adhesive strands were placed under stress. In addition, we applied the “fly‐fishing” technique that allowed the cantilever, suspended a distance above the cell, to interact with single adhesive strands protruding from the raphe. These force curves revealed sawtooth patterns, although the binding forces recorded were in the range for single molecule interactions.
The Inhibitory Effect of Wheat Husks Addition on Aflatoxins Production by Aspergillus flavus in Liquid Culture With Various Wheat Compositions as Carbon Sources

Wheat may be infected by the aflatoxigenic mold Aspergillus flavus during pre- and post-harvest activities. Control strategies reported to manage aflatoxin contamination of wheat are expensive and require extensive testing to verify the absence of toxic secondary metabolites or newly formed compounds. The objective of this study was to develop an in vitro new control strategy based on assessing the influence of wheat husks on aflatoxin production by A. flavus in liquid culture. The results showed that aflatoxin production is significantly influenced by the existence of husks in the wheat forms used as carbon substrates according to the following order: full wheat grains < half-crushed wheat grains < wheat flour 82% < wheat flour 72%. By applying a fractional factorial design and a response surface methodology, maximum aflatoxin production (2.567 ng/mg) was predicted when wheat flour 72% (39 g/l) as a carbon source, yeast extract (5 g/l), and a 75-ml medium volume/250 ml flask were utilized. At this optimized condition, after addition of wheat husk extract, the growth and synthesis of aflatoxins of A. flavus were repressed by 74.85 and 98.72%, respectively. This finding paves the way to examine the antifungal potential of wheat husk constituents and to compare their efficacy with thyme, cinnamon, sweet basil, and coriander essential oils, which possess antimycotic activities. Accordingly, the wheat husk component SiO2 showed the highest growth inhibition (67.04%) and reduction of A. flavus aflatoxins (82.67%). These results are comparable to those obtained from various examined antimycotic essential oils.
Selective Antagonism of A1 Adenosinergic Receptors Strengthens the Neuromodulation of the Sensorimotor Network During Epidural Spinal Stimulation

Although epidural spinal stimulation (ESS) results in promising therapeutic effects in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), its potential to generate functional motor recovery varies between individuals and remains largely unclear. However, both preclinical and clinical studies indicate the capacity of electrical and pharmacological interventions to synergistically increase the engagement of spinal sensorimotor networks and regain motor function after SCI. This study explored whether selective pharmacological antagonism of the adenosine A1 receptor subtype synergizes with ESS, thereby increasing motor response. We hypothesized that selective pharmacological antagonism of A1 receptors during ESS would produce facilitatory effects in spinal sensorimotor networks detected as an increased amplitude of spinally-evoked motor potentials and sustained duration of ESS induced activity. Terminal experiments were performed in adult rats using trains of stereotyped pulses at 40 Hz delivered at L5 with the local administration to the cord of 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX). We demonstrated that ESS combined with the blockage of A1 receptors increased the magnitude of the endogenous modulation and postponed the decay of responses that occur during ESS alone. Although DPCPX significantly increased the yield of repetitive stimulation in intact spinal cords, the effects of A1 antagonism on motor evoked responses after an acute spinal transection was not detected. These studies support the future investigation of the optimal dosage, methods of delivery, and systemic effects of the synergistic application of A1 antagonists and spinal stimulation in the intact and injured spinal cord.
Milk yield and reproductive performance of Friesian cows under Sudan tropical conditions

Abstract. The data obtained from the dairy herd of the Arab Company for Agricultural Production and Processing (ACAPP) in a semi arid area 40 km south of Khartoum involved 337 cows with a total of 1049 records from 16 years between 1986 and 2002. The least squares means for age at first calving, calving interval, days open, lactation milk yield, daily milk yield, lactation length and dry period were 29.76±0.40 months, 433.12 ± 6.70 days, 167.79±7.08 days, 3475.53±78.89 kg, 12.29±0.28 kg, 294.10±3.62 days and 164.08 ± 6.70 days, respectively. The analysis of variance showed that the parity number had significant (p Heritability estimates of age at first calving, calving interval, milk yield per lactation, daily milk yield, lactation length and dry period were generally low (0.098±0.104, 0.047±0.046, 0.130±0.042, 0.123±0.041, 0.172±0.062 and 0.044±0.031, respectively) except the heritability of days open which was 0.51±0.37. The productivity of the herd in this study which averaged 12.3 kg/cow/day was much lower than the expected productivity of Holstein Friesian cows, which reflects the negative impact of the prevalent environment in the Sudan. More records and economic data are required to examine the economic feasibility of raising pure Friesians under Sudan conditions.
RESPONSE OF MUSTARD (BRASSICA JUNCEA L.) TO PHOSPHORUS, TRIACONTANOL GRANULE AND GROWTH PROMOTERS

Genetic variability and correlations were studied in seven inbred lines of maize and their 21 direct cross combinations obtained from a diallel cross. Based on the data recorded on eight yield related traits, the values of genotypic correlation were slightly higher than the corresponding phenotypic values. Phenotypic and genotypic correlations between grain yield on one hand and plant height, ear height and ear length on the other were positive and significant. Genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation were high for grain yield, ear height, 100-kernel weight, ear length and number of kernel rows/ear. Genotypic variation was found to be good indication of phenotypic variability. Heritability estimates and genetic advance were high for grain yield, ear height, plant height and ear length.
Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients With Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Objectives: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a considerable burden on patients and the healthcare service system. Patients with DFUs have many risk factors that might contribute to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence of OSA and associated features in patients with DFUs. Methods: Between July 2017 and June 2019, we recruited 245 consecutive patients who sought for treatment at West China Hospital because of DFUs. Polysomnography data from 127 Patients were included in the final analysis. Results: Of the 127 patients, with a median age of 64 years (interquartile range, 55–73 years; range, 36–86 years) and a mean body mass index (BMI) 24.09 ± 0.37 kg/m2, 91 (72%) were men. The prevalence of OSA [apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) ≧5/h] was 92% in men and 97% in women (P = 0.304). Moderate to severe OSA (AHI ≧15/h) was noted in 44 men (48%) and 26 women (72%) (P = 0.015). The risk factors associated with the severity of OSA were sex, age, smoking, alcohol use, and duration of diabetes. After multivariable adjustment, duration of diabetes and age were independent predictive factors of the severity of OSA. No significant association was observed between BMI, waist circumference, Epworth score, and the severity of OSA. There were no significant associations between OSA and ischemic heart disease, cerebral infarction, hypertension, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic kidney disease, and peripheral artery disease. Conclusions: The prevalence of OSA was high in patients with DFUs, with moderate to severe OSA accounting for more than half of the patients. Age and duration of diabetes were independent predictive factors of the severity of OSA.
Hand Resting Tremor Assessment of Healthy and Patients With Parkinson’s Disease: An Exploratory Machine Learning Study

The aim of this study is comparing the accuracies of machine learning algorithms to classify data concerning healthy subjects and patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), toward different time window lengths and a number of features. Thirty-two healthy subjects and eighteen patients with PD took part on this study. The study obtained inertial recordings by using an accelerometer and a gyroscope assessing both hands of the subjects during hand resting state. We extracted time and temporal frequency domain features to feed seven machine learning algorithms: k-nearest-neighbors (kNN); logistic regression; support vector classifier (SVC); linear discriminant analysis; random forest; decision tree; and gaussian Naïve Bayes. The accuracy of the classifiers was compared using different numbers of extracted features (i.e., 272, 190, 136, 82, and 27) from different time window lengths (i.e., 1, 5, 10, and 15 s). The inertial recordings were characterized by oscillatory waveforms that, especially in patients with PD, peaked in a frequency range between 3 and 8 Hz. Outcomes showed that the most important features were the mean frequency, linear prediction coefficients, power ratio, power density skew, and kurtosis. We observed that accuracies calculated in the testing phase were higher than in the training phase. Comparing the testing accuracies, we found significant interactions among time window length and the type of classifier (p < 0.05). The study found significant effects on estimated accuracies, according to their type of algorithm, time window length, and their interaction. kNN presented the highest accuracy, while SVC showed the worst results. kNN feeding by features extracted from 1 and 5 s were the combination with more frequently highest accuracies. Classification using few features led to similar decision of the algorithms. Moreover, performance increased significantly according to the number of features used, reaching a plateau around 136. Finally, the results of this study suggested that kNN was the best algorithm to classify hand resting tremor in patients with PD.
Nicotine Changes the microRNA Profile to Regulate the FOXO Memory Program of CD8+ T Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: Smoking suppresses PD-1 expression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, we assess if smoking changed the epigenetic control over CD8+ T cell memory formation through a microRNA (miR) dependent mechanism. Methods: Phenotypes of CD8+ T cells from smokers and non-smokers, RA and healthy, were analyzed by flow cytometry. A microarray analysis was used to screen for differences in miR expression. Sorted CD8+ cells were in vitro stimulated with nicotine and analyzed for transcription of miRs and genes related to memory programming by qPCR. Results: CD27+CD107a−CD8+ T cells, defining a naïve-memory population, had low expression of PD-1. Additionally, the CD27+ population was more frequent in smokers (p = 0.0089). Smokers were recognized by differential expression of eight miRs. Let-7c-5p, let-7d-5p and let-7e-5p, miR-92a-3p, miR-150-5p, and miR-181-5p were up regulated, while miR-3196 and miR-4723-5p were down regulated. These miRs were predicted to target proteins within the FOXO-signaling pathway involved in CD8+ memory programming. Furthermore, miR-92a-3p was differentially expressed in CD8+ cells with naïve-memory predominance. Nicotine exposure of CD8+ cells induced the expression of miR-150-5p and miR-181a-5p in the naïve-memory cells in vitro. Additionally, nicotine exposure inverted the ratio between mRNAs of proteins in the FOXO pathway and their targeting miRs. Conclusions: Smokers have a high prevalence of CD8+ T cells with a naïve-memory phenotype. These cells express a miR profile that interacts with the memory programming conducted through the FOXO pathway.
Direct and Indirect Analysis of the Elevational Shift of Larch Budmoth Outbreaks Along an Elevation Gradient

Larch budmoth (LBM) periodically defoliates alpine stands of European larch during vast outbreaks occurring generally at 8–10 year intervals. LBM outbreaks recently declined and the ongoing global warming has been pointed out as a possible cause of this decline. In this article, we reconstructed the recent history of LBM outbreaks at different elevations along a larch elevational gradient in the French Alps using direct and indirect observations based on tree-ring width and density analysis, and compared it with local climatic data. We found that LBM outbreaks time-series were better reconstructed with latewood density than with ring width. We also found that there was a recent but limited elevational shift of LBM outbreaks from medium toward higher elevations. We suggest that this elevational shift is a consequence of the variable effect of the global warming at the different elevations. Winter warming is expected to affect differently the timing of LBM egg hatch as well as that of larch bud flush, larvae being at present susceptible to emerge whereas no needles are available as food at the former optimal elevation. A better synchronization between larch and LBM may exist at higher elevations.
Parental investment: the problem of currency

Evolutionary thinking of sexual strategies has been shaped by a stimulating paper by R. L. Trivers on parental investment and sexual selection. However, there is a major problem in the practical application of the concept of parental investment to those systems in which both males and females offer a substantial amount of parental investment in each offspring, but where the investment of each parent takes different forms. Quantifiable measures (i.e., currency) of the investments of each parent can be of different units (in terms of time, energy, and a risk factor) and hence not additive, and thus one cannot predict who will be the choosier sex.
Pds5A and Pds5B Display Non-redundant Functions in Mitosis and Their Loss Triggers Chk1 Activation

Background Pds5 is an abundant HEAT-repeat-containing protein that binds to cohesin and mediates sister chromatid cohesion. In vertebrates, Pds5A and Pds5B are known to protect DNA replication fork, as their loss leads to DNA damage. Pds5 interacts directly with Wapl, to remove cohesin during mitosis. Aim To analyze the effects of the loss of Pds5 proteins-mediated DNA damage on the cell cycle checkpoints and to examine the possibility that Pds5 proteins have an overlapping function. Methods We first analyzed the cell cycle regulation of Pds5 proteins and defects in S-phase; DNA damage was confirmed after Pds5A/B knockdown. The activation of cell cycle checkpoints and apoptosis were examined by the level of p-Chk1S317, MAD2 localization, and the level of pro-apoptotic markers, respectively. Results Pds5 proteins dissociated from chromatin in a stepwise manner, and their loss led to activation of pro-apoptotic markers associated with the phosphorylation of Chk1S317 due to DNA damage. Depletion of either Pds5A or Pds5B alone increased Smc3 acetylation in perturbed cell cycle, while depletion of both proteins severely impaired Smc3 acetylation. Moreover, the loss of Pds5A/Pds5B activated the SAC in an ATR-Chk1-dependent manner and stabilized Wapl on chromatin. The depletion of Chk1 rescued the S-phase delay associated with Pds5 depletion and significantly increased mitotic catastrophe. Conclusion Pds5A and Pds5B display overlapping functions in facilitating Smc3 acetylation. Somewhat paradoxically, they also have non-redundant functions in terms of cohesin removal due to the activated surveillance mechanism that leads to phosphorylation of Chk1S317.