Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex differences in psychotropic and analgesic drug use before and after initiating treatment with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

Background/aims The aim was to explore the impact of sex on prevalence, patterns and trends in the prescription of psychotropics and analgesics in users of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), before and after AChEI initiation, compared to the general population. Methods A prospective study applying data from the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD) in the period 2004–2016. Prescription of antidepressants, antipsychotics, analgesics including opioids, benzodiazepines and z-hypnotics in persistent AChEI users was studied in a follow-up period from four years before to two years after AChEI initiation in men and women of four age groups: 37–64, 65–72, 73–80 and 81–88 years. Results Use of antidepressants, antipsychotics and weaker analgesics increased in both sexes during the follow-up period in 11.764 persistent AChEI users. Women with pre-dementia and dementia stages of AD showed a prescription pattern with more use of psychotropics and opioids than men, except for antipsychotics. Conclusion Female sex showed to have a significant influence on the prescriptions of psychotropics and analgesics in AD patients in a pre-dementia and dementia stage. The exception is for antipsychotics, that men used more than women. The prescription pattern showed a higher extent of polypharmacy of psychotropics and/or opioids in women than in men. The total prescription pattern of analgesics could indicate an undertreatment of pain in pre-dementia and dementia stages, most pronounced in men.
Cytotoxicity, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of mosses obtained from open habitats

Mosses are mainly the object of ecological and taxonomic research. This group of plants are still underestimated by scientists in other aspects of research. Recent research has shown that these plants contain remarkable and unique substances with high biological activity. Five species of mosses from a large urban ecosystem were identified for present study. In order to determine their biological potential, multifaceted studies were carried out, including: total phenolics content, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial and antifungal study, cytotoxicity evaluation, and scratch assay to assess pro-regenerative effect in the context of their possible use as the ingredients of biologically active cosmetics. Additionally, determination of individual phenolic compounds in selected extracts of the tested mosses was made. Research showed that Ceratodon purpureus and Dryptodon pulvinatus extracts had the greatest potential as antioxidants and antimicrobial activity. The cytotoxicity assessment indicated that the extracts from Dryptodon pulvinatus and Rhytidiadelphus squarossus exerted the strongest negative effect on mouse fibroblast line L929 viability at higher concentrations. While, the extract from Tortulla muralis best stimulated human foreskin fibroblast line HFF-1 proliferation and wound healing. The research on individual phenolic compounds content in the extracts tested indicated over 20 peaks on UPLC chromatograms. The conducted study has shown that mosses, especially so far unexplored species of open ecosystems, and e.g. epilytic habitats, may be a valuable source of biologically active substances and thus may constitute important medical and cosmetic possibilities.
Potassium fertilization improves growth, yield and seed quality of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under drought stress at different growth stages

Water scarcity is a major concern for sunflower production in the semi-arid and arid regions of the world. Potassium (K) application has been found effective to alleviate the influence of drought stress; however, the impact of drought stress on seed quality of sunflower has not been reported frequently. Therefore, a field experiment was performed to determine the optimum K requirement for mitigating the adverse effects of water stress and improving growth and seed quality of spring-planted sunflower. Sunflower plants were exposed to water stress at different growth stages, i.e., Io = no stress (normal irrigation), I1 = pre-anthesisi stress (irrigation skipped at pre-anthesis stage), I2 = anthesis stress (irrigation skipped at anthesis stage) and I3 = post-anthesis stress (irrigation skipped at post-anthesis stage). Potassium was applied at four different rates, i.e., Ko = 0, K1 = 50, K2 = 100 and K3 = 150 kg ha-1. The results revealed that water stress at pre- and post-anthesis stages significantly reduced plant height, head diameter, number of achenes, oleic acid contents, and phosphorus (P) uptake. However, pre-anthesis stress improved linoleic acid contents. Treatment IoK3 (stress-free with 150 kg ha-1 K) was optimum combination for 1000-achene weight, biological and achene yields, oil contents, protein contents, and N and P uptake. Results indicated that a higher amount of K and irrigation resulted in higher yield, whereas yield and yield components decreased with early-stage water stress. Nevertheless, potassium application lowered the impacts of waters stress compared to no application. Keeping in view these results, it is recommended that sunflower must be supplied 150 kg ha-1 K in arid and semi-arid regions to achieve higher yield and better seed quality.
Questionnaire and Lactic Acid Sting Test Play Different Role on the Assessment of Sensitive Skin: A Cross-sectional Study

Background Questionnaires and lactic acid sting test (LAST) are two widely used methods to identify sensitive skin. However, the self-perceived sensitive skin by questionnaires was not consistent with the determination of LAST. Objective The aim of the study was to measure the biophysical properties noninvasively of sensitive skin evaluated by questionnaire and LAST and to investigate their correlations with the scores of questionnaire and LAST. Methods A total of 209 healthy Chinese females completed the study. Self-assessment questionnaire and LAST were both performed to identify sensitive skin. Epidermal biophysical properties, including skin hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), sebum content, erythema index (EI), a* value, L* value, skin elasticity, and skin pH, were measured with noninvasive instruments. Results The frequency of sensitive skin was 50.2% and 66.0% by questionnaire and LAST, respectively. Subjects with self-assessed sensitive skin had a slightly higher LAST positive rate. Skin hydration, sebum content, a* and EI values were significantly higher in the self-assessed sensitive skin group, while TEWL, a* and EI values increased but L* value decreased with significance in the LAST positive group. The LAST stingers among sensitive skin subjects had higher EI but not in the healthy skin subjects. In addition, questionnaire scores positively correlated with skin hydration, sebum content, a* and EI values, while a positive relationship of LAST scores with TEWL, a* and EI values was observed. The scores of questionnaire and LAST both negatively related to L* value. Conclusion Self-assessed questionnaire is associated with sensitive skin featured by oily and red face without impaired barrier function, whereas LAST is suitable to identify fragile skin barrier and enhanced blood flow on the face. Combination of both methods to diagnose sensitive skin might be more reliable.
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies benefit from grassland/ pasture while bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) colonies in the same landscapes benefit from non-corn/soybean cropland

Agriculturally important commercially managed pollinators including honey bees (Apis mellifera L., 1758) and bumble bees (Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863) rely on the surrounding landscape to fulfill their dietary needs. A previous study in Europe demonstrated that managed honey bee foragers and unmanaged native bumble bee foragers are associated with different land uses. However, it is unclear how response to land use compares between managed honey bees and a managed native bumble bee species in the United States, where honey bees are an imported species. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no such direct comparisons of bee responses to land use have been made at the colony level. To better understand how two different social bees respond to variation in land use, we monitored the weights of A. mellifera and B. impatiens colonies placed in 12 apiaries across a range of land use in Michigan, United States in 2017. Bombus impatiens colonies gained more weight and produced more drones when surrounded by diverse agricultural land (i.e., non-corn/soybean cropland such as tree fruits and grapes), while honey bee colonies gained more weight when surrounded by more grassland/pasture land. These findings add to our understanding of how different bee species respond to agricultural landscapes, highlighting the need for further species-specific land use studies to inform tailored land management.
Prevalence of Subclinical Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis in the General Population

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Early detection of coronary atherosclerosis using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), in addition to coronary artery calcification (CAC) scoring, may help inform prevention strategies. We used CCTA to determine the prevalence, severity, and characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis and its association with CAC scores in a general population. Methods: We recruited 30 154 randomly invited individuals age 50 to 64 years to SCAPIS (the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study). The study includes individuals without known coronary heart disease (ie, no previous myocardial infarctions or cardiac procedures) and with high-quality results from CCTA and CAC imaging performed using dedicated dual-source CT scanners. Noncontrast images were scored for CAC. CCTA images were visually read and scored for coronary atherosclerosis per segment (defined as no atherosclerosis, 1% to 49% stenosis, or ≥50% stenosis). External validity of prevalence estimates was evaluated using inverse probability for participation weighting and Swedish register data. Results: In total, 25 182 individuals without known coronary heart disease were included (50.6% women). Any CCTA-detected atherosclerosis was found in 42.1%; any significant stenosis (≥50%) in 5.2%; left main, proximal left anterior descending artery, or 3-vessel disease in 1.9%; and any noncalcified plaques in 8.3% of this population. Onset of atherosclerosis was delayed on average by 10 years in women. Atherosclerosis was more prevalent in older individuals and predominantly found in the proximal left anterior descending artery. Prevalence of CCTA-detected atherosclerosis increased with increasing CAC scores. Among those with a CAC score >400, all had atherosclerosis and 45.7% had significant stenosis. In those with 0 CAC, 5.5% had atherosclerosis and 0.4% had significant stenosis. In participants with 0 CAC and intermediate 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease according to the pooled cohort equation, 9.2% had CCTA-verified atherosclerosis. Prevalence estimates had excellent external validity and changed marginally when adjusted to the age-matched Swedish background population. Conclusions: Using CCTA in a large, random sample of the general population without established disease, we showed that silent coronary atherosclerosis is common in this population. High CAC scores convey a significant probability of substantial stenosis, and 0 CAC does not exclude atherosclerosis, particularly in those at higher baseline risk.
Assessment of heavy metals in water, sediment, Anabas testudineus and Eichhornia crassipes in a former mining pond in Perak, Malaysia

ABSTRACT The concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn were analysed in water, sediment, muscle of climbing perch fish (Anabas testudineus), and tissue of water hyacinth plants (Eichhornia crassipes) collected from a former tin-mining pond in Perak, Malaysia. The monitoring was performed during the minimum and maximum rainfall periods. The concentrations of As, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in water exceeded the permissible limits set by the Interim National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia (INWQS). The risk index (RI) values determined for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn in sediment presented a low degree of ecological risk. The order of the top three heavy metals measured in fish muscle was Zn > Fe > Al. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of As and Cr exceeded the allowable limits in both rainfall periods. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) values of Zn in water hyacinth were 24.865 and 3.214, respectively. The concentrations of Cu and Zn in the plant tissue were significantly correlated (p < .05) with the concentrations of heavy metals in water. Overall, climbing perch and water hyacinth are excellent bioindicators of environmental impacts on water bodies.
Diagnostic Pitfalls of Digital Microscopy Versus Light Microscopy in Gastrointestinal Pathology: A Systematic Review

Digital microscopy (DM) is one of the cutting-edge advances in pathology, which entails improved efficiency, diagnostic advantages, and potential application in virtual diagnosis, particularly in the current era of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the diagnostic challenges are the remaining concerns for its wider adoption by pathologists, and these concerns should be addressed in a specific subspecialty. We aim to identify the common diagnostic pitfalls of whole slide imaging (WSI), one modality of DM, in gastrointestinal (GI) pathology. From validating studies of primary diagnosis performance, we included 16 records with features on GI cases involved, at least two weeks wash-out periods, and more than 60 case study designs. A tailored quality appraisal assessment was utilized to evaluate the risks of bias for these diagnostic accuracy studies. Furthermore, due to the highly heterogeneous studies and unstandardized definition of discordance, we extract the discordant cases in GI pathology and calculate the discrepant rate, resulting from 0.5% to 64.28%. Targeting discrepancy cases between digital microscopy and light microscopy, we demonstrate five main diagnostic pitfalls regarding WSI as follows: additional time to review slides in WSI, hard to identify dysplasia nucleus, missed organisms like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), specific cell recognitions, and technical issues. After detailed reviews and analysis, we generate two essential suggestions for further GI cases signing out by DM. One is to use systematized 20x scans for diagnostic workouts and requesting 40x or even 60x scans for challenging cases; another is that a high-volume slides training should be set before the real clinical application of WSI for primary diagnosis, particularly in GI pathology.
Unifying information theory and machine learning in a model of electrode discrimination in cochlear implants

Despite the development and success of cochlear implants over several decades, wide inter-subject variability in speech perception is reported. This suggests that cochlear implant user-dependent factors limit speech perception at the individual level. Clinical studies have demonstrated the importance of the number, placement, and insertion depths of electrodes on speech recognition abilities. However, these do not account for all inter-subject variability and to what extent these factors affect speech recognition abilities has not been studied. In this paper, an information theoretic method and machine learning technique are unified in a model to investigate the extent to which key factors limit cochlear implant electrode discrimination. The framework uses a neural network classifier to predict which electrode is stimulated for a given simulated activation pattern of the auditory nerve, and mutual information is then estimated between the actual stimulated electrode and predicted ones. We also investigate how and to what extent the choices of parameters affect the performance of the model. The advantages of this framework include i) electrode discrimination ability is quantified using information theory, ii) it provides a flexible framework that may be used to investigate the key factors that limit the performance of cochlear implant users, and iii) it provides insights for future modeling studies of other types of neural prostheses.
Hsp70 modulates immune response in pancreatic cancer through dendritic cells

ABSTRACT Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), a protein chaperone, is known to promote cell survival and tumor progression. However, its role in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is largely unknown. We specifically evaluated Hsp70 in the TME by implanting tumors in wild-type (WT) controls or Hsp70−/- animals, thus creating a TME with or without Hsp70. Loss of Hsp70 led to significantly smaller tumors; there were no differences in stromal markers, but interestingly, depletion of CD8 + T-cells abrogated this tumor suppressive effect, indicating that loss of Hsp70 in the TME affects tumor growth through the immune cells. Compared to WT, adoptive transfer of Hsp70−/- splenocytes exhibited greater antitumor activity in immunodeficient NSG and Rag 1−/- mice. Hsp70−/- dendritic cells showed increased expression of MHCII and TNF-α both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that the absence of Hsp70 in the TME inhibits tumors through increased dendritic cell activation. Hsp70 inhibition in DCs may emerge as a novel therapeutic strategy against pancreatic cancer.
Bacterial Biofilm Destruction: A Focused Review On The Recent Use of Phage-Based Strategies With Other Antibiofilm Agents

Abstract Biofilms are bacterial communities that live in association with biotic or abiotic surfaces and enclosed in an extracellular polymeric substance. Their formation on both biotic and abiotic surfaces, including human tissue and medical device surfaces, pose a major threat causing chronic infections. In addition, current antibiotics and antiseptic agents have shown limited ability to completely remove biofilms. In this review, the authors provide an overview on the formation of bacterial biofilms and its characteristics, burden and evolution with phages. Moreover, the most recent possible use of phages and phage-derived enzymes to combat bacteria in biofilm structures is elucidated. From the emerging results, it can be concluded that despite successful use of phages and phage-derived products in destroying biofilms, they are mostly not adequate to eradicate all bacterial cells. Nevertheless, a combined therapy with the use of phages and/or phage-derived products with other antimicrobial agents including antibiotics, nanoparticles, and antimicrobial peptides may be effective approaches to remove biofilms from medical device surfaces and to treat their associated infections in humans.
Automatic Assessment of Mitral Regurgitation Severity Using the Mask R-CNN Algorithm with Color Doppler Echocardiography Images

Accurate assessment of mitral regurgitation (MR) severity is critical in clinical diagnosis and treatment. No single echocardiographic method has been recommended for MR quantification thus far. We sought to define the feasibility and accuracy of the mask regions with a convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) algorithm in the automatic qualitative evaluation of MR using color Doppler echocardiography images. The authors collected 1132 cases of MR from hospital A and 295 cases of MR from hospital B and divided them into the following four types according to the 2017 American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) guidelines: grade I (mild), grade II (moderate), grade III (moderate), and grade IV (severe). Both grade II and grade III are moderate. After image marking with the LabelMe software, a method using the Mask R-CNN algorithm based on deep learning (DL) was used to evaluate MR severity. We used the data from hospital A to build the artificial intelligence (AI) model and conduct internal verification, and we used the data from hospital B for external verification. According to severity, the accuracy of classification was 0.90, 0.89, and 0.91 for mild, moderate, and severe MR, respectively. The Macro F1 and Micro F1 coefficients were 0.91 and 0.92, respectively. According to grading, the accuracy of classification was 0.90, 0.87, 0.81, and 0.91 for grade I, grade II, grade III, and grade IV, respectively. The Macro F1 and Micro F1 coefficients were 0.89 and 0.89, respectively. Automatic assessment of MR severity is feasible with the Mask R-CNN algorithm and color Doppler electrocardiography images collected in accordance with the 2017 ASE guidelines, and the model demonstrates reasonable performance and provides reliable qualitative results for MR severity.
Effects of Allium cepa and Its Constituents on Respiratory and Allergic Disorders: A Comprehensive Review of Experimental and Clinical Evidence

The health benefits of Allium cepa (A. cepa) have been proclaimed for centuries. Various pharmacological and therapeutic effects on respiratory, allergic, and immunologic disorders are shown by A. cepa and its constituents. Flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol, alk(en)yl cysteine sulfoxides including S-methyl cysteine sulfoxide and S-propyl cysteine sulfoxide, cycloalliin, thiosulfinates, and sulfides are the main compounds of the plant. A. cepa displays broad-spectrum pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and antidiabetic effects. Our objective in this review is to present the effects of A. cepa and its constituents on respiratory, allergic, and immunologic disorders. Different online databases were searched to find articles related to the effect of A. cepa extracts and its constituents on respiratory, allergic, and immunologic disorders until the end of December 2020 using keywords such as onion, A. cepa, constituents of A. cepa, therapeutic effects and pharmacological effects, and respiratory, allergic, and immunologic disorders. Extracts and constituents of A. cepa showed tracheal smooth muscle relaxant effects, indicating possible bronchodilator activities or relieving effects on obstructive respiratory diseases. In experimental animal models of different respiratory diseases, the preventive effect of various extracts and constituents of A. cepa was induced by their antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory effects. The preventive effects of the plant and its components on lung disorders induced by exposure to noxious agents as well as lung cancer, lung infection, and allergic and immunologic disorders were also indicated in the experimental and clinical studies. Therefore, this review may be considered a scientific basis for development of therapies using this plant, to improve respiratory, allergic, and immunologic disorders.