Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calcium Signaling in T Cells and Chronic Inflammatory Disorders of the Oral Cavity

Acute immune responses to microbial insults in the oral cavity often progress to chronic inflammatory diseases such as periodontitis and apical periodontitis. Chronic oral inflammation causes destruction of the periodontium, potentially leading to loss of the dentition. Previous investigations have demonstrated that the composition of oral immune cells, rather than the overall extent of cellular infiltration, determines the pathological development of chronic inflammation. The role of T lymphocyte populations, including Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells, has been extensively described. Studies now propose pathogenic Th17 cells as a distinct subset, uniquely classifiable from traditional Th17 populations. In situ differentiation of pathogenic Th17 cells has been verified as a source of destructive inflammation, which critically drives pathogenesis in chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Pathogenic Th17 cells resemble a Th1 penotype and produce not only interleukin 17 (IL-17) but also γ-interferon (IFN-γ) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The proinflammatory cytokine-specific mechanisms known to induce IL-17 expression in Th17 cells are well characterized; however, differentiation mechanisms that lead to pathogenic Th17 cells are less understood. Recently, Ca2+ signaling through Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ channels (CRAC) in T cells has been uncovered as a major signaling axis involved in the regulation of T-cell-mediated chronic inflammation. In particular, pathogenic Th17 cell–mediated immunological diseases appear to be effectively targeted via such Ca2+ signaling pathways. Pathogenic plasticity of Th17 cells has been extensively illustrated in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Although their specific causal relationship to oral infection-induced chronic inflammatory diseases is not fully established, pathogenic Th17 cells may be involved in the underlining mechanism. This review highlights the current understanding of T-cell phenotype regulation, calcium signaling pathways in this event, and the potential role of pathogenic Th17 cells in chronic inflammatory disorders of the oral cavity.
The effect of central bank communication on sovereign bond yields: The case of Hungary

In this article we investigate how the public communication of the Hungarian Central Bank’s Monetary Council (MC) affects Hungarian sovereign bond yields. This research ties into the advances made in the financial and political economy literature which rely on extensive textual data and quantitative text analysis tools. While prior research demonstrated that forward guidance, in the form of council meeting minutes or press releases can be used as predictors of rate decisions, we are interested in whether they are able to directly influence asset returns as well. In order to capture the effect of central bank communication, we measure the latent hawkish or dovish sentiment of MC press releases from 2005 to 2019 by applying a sentiment dictionary, a staple in the text mining toolkit. Our results show that central bank forward guidance has an intra-year effect on bond yields. However, the hawkish or dovish sentiment of press releases has no impact on maturities of one year or longer where the policy rate proves to be the most important explanatory variable. Our research also contributes to the literature by applying a specialized dictionary to monetary policy as well as broadening the discussion by analyzing a case from the non-eurozone Central-Eastern region of the European Union.
Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Staging and Multimodal Therapy of Esophageal and Gastric Tumors

Simple Summary Upper gastrointestinal tumors involve the tubular organs from the upper esophagus, the stomach, and the first part of the small intestine. Esophageal and gastric cancers are responsible for high rates of disease, morbidity, and mortality throughout the world. Diagnosis of these tumors involves a combination of clinical symptoms, endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, and radiological studies. Treatment depends on input from many medical doctors including gastroenterologists, surgeons, pathologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, and radiation oncologists. Treatment may include endoscopy, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these approaches. Future directions of diagnosis may include improvements in endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, blood testing, and tissue testing. Abstract Gastric and esophageal tumors are diverse neoplasms that involve mucosal and submucosal tissue layers and include squamous cell carcinomas, adenocarcinomas, spindle cell neoplasms, neuroendocrine tumors, marginal B cell lymphomas, along with less common tumors. The worldwide burden of esophageal and gastric malignancies is significant, with esophageal and gastric cancer representing the ninth and fifth most common cancers, respectively. The approach to diagnosis and staging of these lesions is multimodal and includes a combination of gastrointestinal endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, and cross-sectional imaging. Likewise, therapy is multidisciplinary and combines therapeutic endoscopy, surgery, radiotherapy, and systemic chemotherapeutic tools. Future directions for diagnosis of esophageal and gastric malignancies are evolving rapidly and will involve advances in endoscopic and endosonographic techniques including tethered capsules, optical coherence tomography, along with targeted cytologic and serological analyses.
Disciplinary practices among orphaned children in Sub-Saharan Africa

Objectives This study considers whether orphans’ experiences with physically and psychologically violent discipline differ from non-orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, and to what extent national, community, household, caretaker, and child characteristics explain those differences. Methods We use cross-sectional Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) administered between 2010–2017 in 14 sub-Saharan African countries. The sample included 125,197 children, of which 2,937 were maternal orphans, 9,113 were paternal orphans, and 1,858 were double orphans. We estimate the difference between orphans and non-orphans experience of harsh discipline using multivariable logistic regressions with country fixed effects and clustered standard errors. Results Findings show that orphaned children experience less harsh discipline in the home. With the exception of double orphans’ experience with physically violent discipline, these differences persisted even after controlling for a rich set of child, household, and caretaker characteristics. Conclusions We propose two alternative explanations for our surprising findings and provide a supplementary analysis to help arbitrate between them. The evidence suggests that orphaned children (especially those with a deceased mother) are less likely to experience harsh discipline because of lower caretaker investment in their upbringing. We encourage future research to draw on in-depth interviews or household surveys with discipline data from multiple children in a home to further unpack why orphans tend to experience less harsh punishment than other children.
Safety, Antitumor Activity, and T-cell Responses in a Dose-Ranging Phase I Trial of the Oncolytic Peptide LTX-315 in Patients with Solid Tumors

Purpose: LTX-315 is a first-in-class, 9-mer membranolytic peptide that has shown potent immunomodulatory properties in preclinical models. We conducted a phase I dose-escalating study of intratumoral LTX-315 administration in patients with advanced solid tumors. Patients and Methods: Thirty-nine patients were enrolled, receiving LTX-315 injections into accessible tumors. The primary objective was to assess the safety and tolerability of this approach, with antitumor and immunomodulatory activity as secondary objectives. Tumor biopsies were collected at baseline and posttreatment for analysis of immunologic parameters. Results: The most common treatment-related grade 1–2 adverse events were vascular disorders including transient hypotension (18 patients, 46%), flushing (11 patients, 28%), and injection site reactions in 38% of patients. The most common grade 3 LTX-315–related toxicities were hypersensitivity or anaphylaxis (4 patients, 10%). Analysis of immune endpoints in serial biopsies indicated that LTX-315 induces necrosis and CD8+ T-cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment. Sequencing of the T-cell receptor repertoire in peripheral blood identified significant expansion of T-cell clones after treatment, of which 49% were present in available tumor biopsies after treatment, suggesting that they were tumor associated. Substantial volume reduction (≥30%) of injected tumors occurred in 29% of the patients, and 86% (12/14 biopsies) had an increase in intralesional CD8+ T cells posttreatment. No partial responses by immune-related response criteria were seen, but evidence of abscopal effect was demonstrated following treatment with LTX-315. Conclusions: LTX-315 has an acceptable safety profile, is clinically active, induces changes in the tumor microenvironment and contributes to immune-mediated anticancer activity.
The impact of adverse childhood experiences on adolescent health risk indicators in a community sample.

OBJECTIVE Despite growing awareness of the high prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in community samples of adolescents, little work has examined the impact of ACEs on adolescence and well-being during this critical period of development. Much research has focused on retrospective reports of ACEs by adults and adult physical and mental health, finding that ACEs contribute to a range of diseases and mental health disorders in adulthood. This study examined differences in self-reported mental health, nonsuicidal self-injury, suicidality, violence, and substance use between adolescents without self-reported history of ACEs, youth with one self-reported ACE, and youth with self-reported multiple (2 or more) ACEs. METHOD The sample included 1,532 adolescents who completed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey in their local high schools. By local consensus, this national survey was augmented with questions exploring prevalence of 11 commonly identified ACEs. RESULTS After controlling for age, gender, and race, youth with multiple ACEs reported 3 to 15 times the odds of a range of negative health experiences. CONCLUSIONS Findings indicate a serious burden of ACEs on adolescent social emotional well-being. This study did not include youth in out of school placements or who were not present the day the survey was given, and thus represent youth who may benefit from universal prevention and intervention programs. Universal screening of ACEs and health-related outcomes suggests that reporting multiple ACEs is strongly related to a wide range of mental health, violence, and substance use histories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Line managers’ hiring intentions regarding people with mental health problems: a cross-sectional study on workplace stigma

Objectives Stigma may negatively affect line managers’ intention to hire people with mental health problems (MHP). This study aims to evaluate line managers’ knowledge and attitudes concerning job applicants with MHP, and to assess which factors are associated with the intention (not) to hire an applicant with MHP. Methods A sample of Dutch line managers (N=670) filled out a questionnaire on their knowledge, attitudes and experiences concerning applicants/employees with MHP. Descriptive analyses and multiple regression analyses were used. Results The majority (64%) was reluctant to hire a job applicant with MHP, despite the fact that only 7% had negative and 52% had positive personal experiences with such employees. Thirty per cent were reluctant to hire an applicant if they knew the applicant had past MHP. Associated with higher reluctance to hire an applicant with MHP were the concerns that it will lead to long-term sickness absence (β (95% CI)=0.39 (0.23 to 0.55)), that the employee cannot handle the work (β (95% CI)=0.16 (0.00 to 0.33)) that one cannot count on the employee (β (95% CI)=0.41 (0.23 to 0.58)) and higher manager education level (β (95% CI)=0.25 (0.05 to 0.44)). Conversely, associated with positive hiring intentions was being in favour of diversity and/or inclusive enterprise (β(95% CI)=−0.64 (−0.87 to −0.41)). Conclusions As the majority of managers were reluctant to hire applicants with MHP, and even 30% were reluctant to hire applicants who had past MHP, these findings have major implications for social inclusion in the Netherlands, where about 75% of employees would disclose MHP at work.
NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF THE WALL ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF ISOTHERMAL TWO-PHASE FLOW IN THE BED OF A HYDRODESULFURIZATION REACTOR

Numerical simulations of the isothermal two-phase flow distribution in the packed bed of a reactor used for fuel hydrodesulfurization using the commercial software Fluent are reported. As a first step, the heat and mass transfer as well as the chemical reactions are not taken into account. The reactor considered has, above the bed, a distribution tray equipped with chimneys. A Eulerian three-phase model that considers the catalyst particles as a granular static phase was used following the Holub single-slit model for particle fluid interaction to compute the liquid-solid and gas-solid drag coefficients. Physical properties of the fluids are assumed to be constant. In the present study, the tendency of the liquid to move towards the wall of the reactor was studied in a bed 11 m in depth. The simulations predict that there is no suction effect on the flow caused by the wall. As the two-phase flow moves downward through the bed, a slow radial liquid spreading takes place. However, flow distribution is not completely uniform, at least at a distance of 11 m from the inlet.
External quality assessment of M-protein diagnostics: a realistic impression of the accuracy and precision of M-protein quantification

Abstract Objectives Studies that investigate the accuracy and precision of M-protein quantification are scarce. These studies are prone to give a biased view, since they are exclusively performed by institutions with international top-expertise on M-protein diagnostics. To obtain a realistic impression of the accuracy and precision of M-protein quantification, we studied results of 73 laboratories participating in the Dutch External Quality Assessment (EQA) program for M-protein diagnostics. Methods To measure accuracy, healthy serum was spiked with respectively 1 and 5 g/L human IgG-kappa monoclonal antibody daratumumab. To measure precision, five sera were selected to be repeatedly send to all blinded EQA-participants. Results The reported concentrations for the EQA-sample spiked with 5 g/L daratumumab ranged from 2.6 to 8.0 g/L (mean 4.9 g/L, between-laboratory CV = 23%). 98% of the participants detected and correctly characterized the 1 g/L daratumumab band. Both the accuracy (mean 1.7 g/L) and precision (between-laboratory CV = 46%) of this 1 g/L M-protein was poor. In the five EQA-samples that were repeatedly send to the same 73 participating laboratories, between-laboratory precision (mean CV = 25%) was significantly different than the within-laboratory precision (mean CV = 12%). Relatively poor precision was observed in sera with small M-proteins. Conclusions The EQA-data reveal a large variation in reported M-protein concentrations between different laboratories. In contrast, a satisfactory within-laboratory precision was observed when the same sample was repeatedly analyzed. The M-protein concentration is correlated with both accuracy and precision. These data indicate that M-protein quantification to monitor patients is appropriate, when subsequent testing is performed within the same laboratory.
Role of Interleukin-7 in the Development of and Recovery from Radiation-Induced Lymphopenia: A Post-hoc Analysis of a Prospective Cohort

Purpose Radiation-induced lymphopenia is associated with worse outcomes in solid tumors. We assessed the impact of interleukin-7 (IL-7), a key cytokine in lymphocyte homeostasis, on radiation-induced lymphopenia. Materials and Methods A post-hoc analysis was performed in a prospective cohort of 98 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were treated with radiotherapy in 2016–2018. Blood IL-7 levels were assayed before and at the end of radiotherapy. Acute severe lymphopenia (ASL) was defined as a total lymphocyte count of < 200/μL during radiotherapy. Cox and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of survival and ASL development, respectively. Results Patients with ASL (n=41) had significantly poorer overall survival than those without (12.0 months vs. 25.3 months, p=0.001). Patients with lymphocyte recovery showed significantly longer overall survival than those without (21.8 months vs. 10.3 months, p=0.042). ASL was an independent predictor of poor survival (hazard ratio, 2.07; p=0.015). Patients with ASL had significantly lower pre-radiotherapy IL-7 levels (2.07 pg/mL vs. 3.01 pg/mL, p=0.010). A high pre-radiotherapy IL-7 level was an independent predictor of a reduced risk of ASL development (hazard ratio, 0.40; p=0.004). IL-7 levels reflected a feedback response to ASL, with a higher ΔIL-7 in patients with ASL and a lower ΔIL-7 in those without ASL (0.48 pg/mL vs. −0.66 pg/mL, p < 0.001). Post-radiotherapy IL-7 levels were significantly positively correlated with the total lymphocyte counts at 2 months. Conclusion IL-7 is associated with the development of and recovery from ASL, which may impact survival. To overcome radiation-induced lymphopenia, a novel strategy using IL-7 may be considered.
Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Semi-Cylindrical and Cylindrical Spouted Bed Hydrodynamics

Understanding of detailed transport phenomena occurring in spouted beds is necessary and fundamental for increasing the range of industrial applications. Especially for drying processes, detailed information about hydrodynamics is important, because it is closely related to heat and mass transfer. The use of semi-cylindrical spouted beds is a classical technique that emerged as an alternative to obtaining experimental data on the fluid dynamics of full-column spouted beds. This technique has been questioned, because the geometry of the bed must be altered for the visualization of the hydrodynamics occurring inside it, which, nevertheless, is the only way to obtain visual information on solid dynamics behavior inside the column. Therefore, the objective of this study was to revisit the semi-cylindrical spouted bed technique using computational fluid dynamics to perform numerical simulations and verifying these results against experimental results obtained in cylindrical and semi-cylindrical beds. Both simulated and experimental results were compared for the fluid dynamics of each system. The simulated results indicated that the flat wall had a great influence on the solid velocity, which is in accordance with the experimental observations already presented in the literature. However, little influence of this wall on static pressure, porosity profiles, and spout channel shape was observed in the simulated results, indicating a high fluid dynamic similarity between cylindrical and semi-cylindrical systems.
Large Strain Hysteresis and Mullins Effect of Tough Double-Network Hydrogels

Systematic loading and unloading experiments, in uniaxial tension and uniaxial compression, have been performed on a double-network hydrogel exhibiting a very high toughness. We observed a significant hysteresis during the first loading cycle that increased strongly with the applied maximum deformation. A large hysteresis was not observed during a second loading cycle, implying that the initial hysteresis can be attributed to the fracture of covalent bonds in the primary network. We report this type of dissipative mechanism for polymer gels for the first time. Assuming that the entire energy dissipated during the hysteresis cycle can be attributed to the fracture of network strands by a Lake−Thomas mechanism, our results suggest that the fracture and unloading of only 1% of the bonds within the network leads to a decrease of up to 80% of the number of strands. These results also demonstrate the very large degree of heterogeneity within the hydrogel network. If such a dissipative mechanism is active at the.
Recurrent Uveitis Related to Ibrutinib for Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

ABSTRACT Purpose We describe a case vision-threatening sclerouveitis as a probable adverse drug reaction to ibrutinib. Methods Case report. Results Ibrutinib is an inhibitor of Bruton's kinase which has shown success in the treatment of hematological malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Despite being generally well tolerated, recent studies have implicated ibrutinib in several adverse events affecting organs such as the heart, intestines, and the eyes. We present the case of a patient who developed severe sclerouveitis after approximately one year of ibrutinib therapy, and suggest this is a probable adverse drug reaction associated with ibrutinib in accordance with the Naranjo algorithm, highlighting the importance of prompt management of ocular symptoms in these patients.
Dissecting Aneurysm of the L1 Radiculomedullary Artery Associated with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Case Report

Abstract Background Both spinal artery aneurysm and spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage represent a very rare event. Methods We report a case of a ruptured dissecting aneurysm of the right L1 radiculomedullary artery associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage and severe motor weakness. Results An urgent decompressive hemilaminectomy was performed due to worsening in motor deficit. A subsequent spinal angiography showed a dissection of radiculomedullary artery of L1 on the right side, treated conservatively. Conclusion Nowadays, therapeutic strategies for this aneurysm remain controversial. Conservative strategy can represent a valid alternative.
Improving semiautomated zooplankton classification using an internal control and different imaging devices

The rapid development of image‐based methods for counting and classifying zooplankton has made it possible to analyze large numbers of samples in a semiautomated way. However, using semiautomated methods to deal with hundreds of samples increases the risk of propagating errors during the procedure. Furthermore, classification methods based on training sets require constant validation to ensure that systematic errors do not affect the results. In this study, we propose using an internal control to check the quality of the procedure for counting and classifying zooplankton. We also evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of two different laboratory imaging devices (scanner and photographic camera) at two resolutions (4800 dpi and 8500 dpi).
A pharmacovigilance study of pharmacokinetic drug interactions using a translational informatics discovery approach

While the pharmacokinetic (PK) mechanisms for many drug interactions (DDIs) have been established, pharmacovigilance studies related to these PK DDIs are limited. Using a large surveillance database, a translational informatics approach can systematically screen adverse drug events (ADEs) for many DDIs with known PK mechanisms.