Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using sno-lncRNAs as potential markers for Prader-Willi syndrome diagnosis

ABSTRACT The genetic disorder Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is mainly caused by the loss of multiple paternally expressed genes in chromosome 15q11-q13 (the PWS region). Early diagnosis of PWS is essential for timely treatment, leading to effectively easing some clinical symptoms. Molecular approaches for PWS diagnosis at the DNA level are available, but the diagnosis of PWS at the RNA level has been limited. Here, we show that a cluster of paternally transcribed snoRNA-ended long noncoding RNAs (sno-lncRNAs, sno-lncRNA1–5) derived from the SNORD116 locus in the PWS region can serve as diagnostic markers. In particular, quantification analysis has revealed that 6,000 copies of sno-lncRNA3 are present in 1 μL whole blood samples from non-PWS individuals. sno-lncRNA3 is absent in all examined whole blood samples of 8 PWS individuals compared to 42 non-PWS individuals and dried blood samples of 35 PWS individuals compared to 24 non-PWS individuals. Further developing a new CRISPR-MhdCas13c system for RNA detection with a sensitivity of 10 molecules per μL has ensured sno-lncRNA3 detection in non-PWS, but not PWS individuals. Together, we suggest that the absence of sno-lncRNA3 represents a potential marker for PWS diagnosis that can be detected by both RT-qPCR and CRISPR-MhdCas13c systems with only microlitre amount of blood samples. Such an RNA-based sensitive and convenient approach may facilitate the early detection of PWS.
Self-reported incidents of violence towards nurses working in acute psychiatric units

Background Acute psychiatric units are found to be stressful working environments because of the nature of illness patients present with. Objectives This study aimed to determine self-reported incidents of physical and verbal violence towards nurses working in acute psychiatric units in Western Cape, South Africa. Method A questionnaire was used to collect data. Chi-square test was performed to determine association between gender, category and experience of violence. Mann–Whitney U test was carried out to determine associations between years of employment and the likelihood of experiencing physical violence and verbal abuse. Results Overall physical violence 35 (34.3%) and verbal abuse 83 (83%) incidents. Most female respondents reported both physical violence (74.2%, n = 26) and verbal abuse (72.2%, n = 60), with (56.2%, n = 18) professional nurses reporting physical violence. Years of employment was statistically significantly associated with the likelihood of nurses experiencing physical violence (p = 0.007). Conclusion Most respondents (74.2%, n = 26) were females and they mostly experienced physical violence and verbal abuse while 28.2% (n = 29) were males. Years of service were associated with the likelihood of experiencing physical violence. Contribution The knowledge gained will add on existing knowledge about the challenge of violence experienced by nurses in the workplace and might have an influence on policymakers.
Similarities and distinctions between acetazolamide and sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in patients with acute heart failure: Key insights into ADVOR and EMPULSE

Both acetazolamide and sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors block sodium reabsorption in the proximal renal tubule primarily through inhibition of sodium–hydrogen exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3), but neither SGLT2 inhibitors nor acetazolamide produce a sustained natriuresis due to compensatory upregulation of sodium reabsorption at distal nephron sites. Nevertheless, acetazolamide and SGLT2 inhibitors have been used as adjunctive therapy to loop diuretics in states where NHE3 is upregulated, e.g. acute heart failure. Two randomized controlled trials have been carried out with acetazolamide in acute heart failure (DIURESIS‐CHF and ADVOR). In ADVOR, acetazolamide improved physical signs of fluid retention, but this finding could not be explained by the modest observed diuretic effect. Acetazolamide did not produce a natriuresis in the DIURESIS‐CHF trial, and in ADVOR, immediate effects on symptoms and body weight were not reported, and the drug had no effect on morbidity or mortality after 90 days. Three randomized controlled trials have been carried out with empagliflozin (EMPAG‐HF, EMPA‐RESPONSE‐AHF and EMPULSE) in acute heart failure. The EMPULSE trial did not report effects on diuresis or in changes in physical signs of congestion during the first week of treatment, but in EMPAG‐HF and EMPA‐RESPONSE‐AHF, empagliflozin had no effect of dyspnoea, urinary sodium excretion or body weight during the first 4 days. In the EMPULSE trial, empagliflozin improved health status at 15 days and reduced the risk of worsening heart failure events at 90 days, but these effects are similar in magnitude and time course to the early statistical significance on the risk of heart failure hospitalizations achieved within 14–30 days in the major trials of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with chronic heart failure. Neurohormonal inhibitors produce this early effect in the absence of a diuresis. Additionally, in numerous randomized controlled trials, in‐hospital diuretic intensification has not reduced the risk of major heart failure events, even when treatment is sustained. These findings, taken collectively, suggest that any immediate diuretic effects of acetazolamide and SGLT2 inhibitors in acute heart failure are not likely to influence the short‐ or long‐term clinical course of patients.
Still an Ineffective Method With Supertrials/ERPs—Comments on “Decoding Brain Representations by Multimodal Learning of Neural Activity and Visual Features”

A recent paper claims that a newly proposed method classifies EEG data recorded from subjects viewing ImageNet stimuli better than two prior methods. However, the analysis used to support that claim is based on confounded data. We repeat the analysis on a large new dataset that is free from that confound. Training and testing on aggregated supertrials derived by summing trials demonstrates that the two prior methods achieve statistically significant above-chance accuracy while the newly proposed method does not.
Gastrointestinal parasites in bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) in aquaculture production units in the Mexican central highlands

Abstract In Mexico, intensive production of bullfrogs is one of the most important aquaculture activities, due to growing demand for their meat. Frogs can be hosts for several parasites that negatively affect their development and health. The objective of this study was to identify the presence of intestinal parasites in bullfrogs in aquaculture production units. Eighteen bullfrogs aquaculture production units were selected, and 20 animals (n=360) from each farm. Fecal samples were obtained by mucosal scraping and processed using the concentration method. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 70.5%, and all farms had frogs infected by some species of parasite. Two species of parasites were identified: Eimeria sp. and Strongyloides sp. Significant differences were found regarding parasite prevalence between males and females (73.8% vs 58.8%) and regarding tibia length (5.5 vs 6.1 cm) and weight (168 vs 187 g) between parasitized and non-parasitized frogs. In conclusion, the present study showed a high prevalence of intestinal parasites, and morphometric alterations (weight, snout-cloaca length, radio-ulna length, tibia length and distance between parotid glands) were identified in the parasitized animals. These results provided useful information that will enable establishment of adequate control measures to help minimize the adverse effects of these parasites.
Unitarity Triangle analysis in the Standard Model from the UTfit Collaboration

Flavour physics represents a unique test bench for the Standard Model (SM). New analyses performed at the LHC experiments are now providing unprecedented insights into Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) metrology and new evidences for rare decays. The CKM picture can provide very precise SM predictions through global analyses. We present here the results of the latest global SM analysis performed by the UTfit collaboration including all the most updated inputs from experiments, lattice QCD and phenomenological calculations.
Dynamic analysis of circulating tumor DNA to predict the prognosis and monitor the treatment response of patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: A prospective study

Background: Limited data are available on the application of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) patients. Here, we investigated the value of ctDNA for predicting the prognosis and monitoring the treatment response in mTNBC patients. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 70 Chinese patients with mTNBC who had progressed after [≤] 2 lines of chemotherapy and collected blood samples to extract ctDNA for 457-gene targeted panel sequencing. Results: Patients with ctDNA+, defined by 12 prognosis-relevant mutated genes, had a shorter progression-free survival (PFS) than ctDNA- patients (5.16 months vs. 9.05 months, P = 0.001) and ctDNA+ was independently associated with a shorter PFS (HR, 95%CI: 2.67, 1.2-5.96; P = 0.016) by multivariable analyses. Patients with a higher mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity (MATH) score ([≥] 6.316) or a higher ctDNA fraction (ctDNA% [≥] 0.05) had a significantly shorter PFS than patients with a lower MATH score (5.67 months vs.11.27 months, P = 0.007) and patients with a lower ctDNA% (5.45 months vs. 12.17 months, P < 0.001), respectively. Positive correlations with treatment response were observed for MATH score (R = 0.24, P = 0.014) and ctDNA% (R = 0.3, P = 0.002), but not the CEA, CA125, or CA153. Moreover, patients who remained ctDNA+ during dynamic monitoring tended to have a shorter PFS than those who did not (3.90 months vs. 6.10 months, P = 0.135). Conclusions: ctDNA profiling provides insight into the mutational landscape of mTNBC and may reliably predict the prognosis and treatment response of mTNBC patients. Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81902713), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. ZR2019LZL018), Breast Disease Research Fund of Shandong Provincial Medical Association (Grant No. YXH2020ZX066), the Start-up Fund of Shandong Cancer Hospital (Grant No. 2020-PYB10), Beijing Science and Technology Innovation Fund (Grant No. KC2021-ZZ-0010-1).
The Predictive Ability of MAGGIC Score After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Comparative Study

Introduction The European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) II and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) are validated scoring systems for short-term risk estimation after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The Meta-Analysis Global Group in Chronic Heart Failure (MAGGIC) risk score is originally aimed to estimate mortality in heart failure patients; however, it has showed a similar power to predict mortality after heart valve surgery. In this study, we sought to evaluate whether MAGGIC score may predict short and long-term mortality after CABG and to compare its power with EuroSCORE II and STS scoring systems. Methods Patients who underwent CABG due to chronic coronary syndrome at our institution were included in this retrospective study. Follow-up data were used to define the predictive ability of MAGGIC and to compare it with STS and EuroSCORE-II for early, one-year, and up to 10-year mortality. Results MAGGIC, STS, and EuroSCORE-II scores had good prognostic power, moreover MAGGIC was better for predicting 30-day (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.903; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.871-0.935), one-year (AUC: 0.931; 95% CI: 0.907-0.955), and 10-year (AUC: 0.923; 95% CI: 0.893-0.954) mortality. MAGGIC was found to be an independent predictor to sustain statistically significant association with mortality in follow-up. Conclusion MAGGIC scoring system had a good predictive accuracy for early and long-term mortality in patients undergoing CABG when compared to EuroSCORE-II and STS scores. It requires limited variables for calculation and still yields better prognostic power in determining 30-day, one-year, and up to 10-year mortality.
Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use Among Older Patients with Diabetes in a Chinese Community

Abstract Background Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are frequently prescribed to older people with diabetes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of PIM use in older people with diabetes and identify potential risk factors influencing the development of PIM use. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted in an outpatient setting in Beijing, China, using Chinese criteria. The prevalence of PIM use, polypharmacy, and comorbidities in older adults with diabetes in an outpatient setting was measured. Logistic models were employed to investigate the association among polypharmacy, comorbidities, and PIM use. Results The prevalence of PIM use and polypharmacy was 50.1% and 70.8%, respectively. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (68.0%), hyperlipemia (56.6%), and stroke (36.3%), and the top three inappropriately used medications were insulin (22.0%), clopidogrel (11.9%), and eszopiclone (9.81%). Age (OR 1.025; 95% CI 1.009, 1.042), the number of diagnoses (OR 1.172; 95% CI 1.114, 1.232), coronary heart disease (OR 1.557; 95% CI 1.207, 2.009), and polypharmacy (OR 1.697; 95% CI 1.252, 2.301) were associated with PIM use. Conclusions Given the higher rate of PIM use among older adults with diabetes, strategies and interventions targeting this population are needed to minimize PIM use.
Experimental investigation on the distribution of spray water in a spent fuel-assembly simulator

Abstract The spent fuel pool cooling system in a nuclear power plant, which is comprised mainly by the cooling pumps and heat exchangers, ensures the safety of the spent fuel assemblies and the integrity of the fuel rods during the period of storage. With the development of the passive cooling technique, a spray cooling system for the spent fuels based on the gravity was designed to further enhance the safety of the spent fuel pool in case of accident conditions. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the validity of the spray-cooling system using two types of tight rod bundles, namely a 5 × 5 heated rod bundle and a 17 × 17 isothermal rod bundle. Results shows that the rod bundle heated with a lower power can be effectively cooled only by air without any spray water. With the increase of the heated power, the rod surface temperature increases gradually and the spray cooling has to be implemented to maintain the wall temperature at a certain level. The effect of flow rate on wall temperature was investigated. For the isothermal rod bundle, main interests were focused on the distribution of the spray water after it flowed along the rods.
Cokriging and multivariate kriging methods based on data of a functional random field

Kriging and cokriging and their several related versions are techniques widely known and used in spatial data analysis. However, when the spatial data are functions a bridge between functional data analysis and geostatistics has to be built. We give an overview to cokriging analysis and multivariable spatial prediction to the case where the observations at each sampling location consist of samples of random functions. We extend multivariable geostatistical methods to the functional context. Our cokriging method predicts one variable at a time as in a classical multivariable sense, but considering as auxiliary information curves instead of vectors. We also give an extension of multivariable kriging to the functional context where is defined a predictor of a whole curve based on samples of curves located at a neighborhood of the prediction site. In both cases a non-parametric approach based on basis function expansion is used to estimate the parameters, and we prove that both proposals coincide when using such an approach. A linear model of coregionalization is used to define the spatial dependence among the coefficients of the basis functions, and therefore for estimating the functional parameters. As an illustration the methodological proposals are applied to analyze two real data sets corresponding to average daily temperatures measured at 35 weather stations located in the Canadian Maritime Provinces, and penetration resistance data collected at 32 sampling sites of an experimental plot.
Evidence of extraganglionic vagal mechanoreceptors in the mouse vagus nerve

Vagal afferent neuronal somas are in the nodose and jugular ganglia. In this study, we identified extraganglionic neurons in whole‐mount preparations of the vagus nerves from Phox2b‐Cre‐ZsGreen transgenic mice. These neurons are typically arranged in small clusters and monolayers along the cervical vagus nerve. Although infrequent, these neurons were sometimes observed along the thoracic and esophageal vagus. We performed RNAscope in situ hybridization and confirmed that the extraganglionic neurons detected in this transgenic mouse strain expressed vagal afferent markers (i.e., Phox2b and Slc17a6) as well as markers that identify them as potential gastrointestinal mechanoreceptors (i.e., Tmc3 and Glp1r). We also identified extraganglionic neurons in the vagus nerves of wild‐type mice that were injected intraperitoneally with Fluoro‐Gold, thereby ruling out possible anatomical discrepancies specific for transgenic mice. In wild‐type mice, extraganglionic cells were positive for peripherin, confirming their neuronal nature. Taken together, our findings revealed a previously undiscovered population of extraganglionic neurons associated with the vagus nerve. Going forward, it is important to consider the possible existence of extraganglionic mechanoreceptors that transmit signals from the abdominal viscera in future studies related to vagal structure and function.
Lectures on Physics Beyond the Standard Model.

3 The Hierarchy Problem 9 3.1 Scale-Invariance . 11 3.2 Breaking the Wilsonian Picture . 11 3.3 Just input parameters. 12 3.4 Pseudo-Goldstone Higgs . 13 3.5 Supersymmetry . 22 3.6 Extra Dimensions . 38 3.7 Cosmological Relaxation . 47
Stokes flow of vesicles in a circular tube

The inertialess motion of lipid-bilayer vesicles flowing through a circular tube is investigated via direct numerical simulation and lubrication theory. A fully three-dimensional boundary integral equation method, previously used to study unbounded and wall-bounded Stokes flows around freely suspended vesicles, is extended to study the hindered mobility of vesicles through conduits of arbitrary cross-section. This study focuses on the motion of a periodic train of vesicles positioned concentrically inside a circular tube, with particular attention given to the effects of tube confinement, vesicle deformation and membrane bending elasticity. When the tube diameter is comparable to the transverse dimension of the vesicle, axisymmetric lubrication theory provides an approximate solution to the full Stokes-flow problem. By combining the present numerical results with a previously reported asymptotic theory (Barakat & Shaqfeh, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 835, 2018, pp. 721–761), useful correlations are developed for the vesicle velocity $U$ and extra pressure drop $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}p^{+}$ . When bending elasticity is relatively weak, these correlations are solely functions of the geometry of the system (independent of the imposed flow rate). The prediction of Barakat & Shaqfeh (2018) supplies the correct limiting behaviour of $U$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}p^{+}$ near maximal confinement, whereas the present study extends this result to all regimes of confinement. Vesicle–vesicle interactions, shape transitions induced by symmetry breaking, and unsteadiness introduce quantitative changes to $U$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}p^{+}$ . By contrast, membrane bending elasticity can qualitatively affect the hydrodynamics at sufficiently low flow rates. The dependence of $U$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}p^{+}$ on the membrane bending stiffness (relative to a characteristic viscous stress scale) is found to be rather complex. In particular, the competition between viscous forces and bending forces can hinder or enhance the vesicle’s mobility, depending on the geometry and flow conditions.
Exploring I-FABP, endothelin-1 and L-lactate as biomarkers of acute intestinal necrosis: a case-control study

Abstract Objective Acute intestinal necrosis (AIN) is a disease with devastating high mortality. AIN due to obstructed arterial blood flow has a blurred clinical presentation. Timely diagnosis is paramount, and a blood-based biomarker is warranted to increase patient survival. We aimed to assess intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) and endothelin-1 as diagnostic biomarkers for AIN. To our knowledge, this is the first study exploring endothelin-1 in AIN patients from a general surgical population. Design We conducted a single-centre nested case–control study comparing acutely admitted AIN patients to age- and sex-matched non-AIN patients during 2015–2016. I-FABP and endothelin-1 were analysed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. L-lactate levels were also measured in all patients. Cut-offs were estimated using receiver operator characteristic curves, and the diagnostic performance was estimated using the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). Results We identified 43 AIN patients and included 225 matched control patients. Median levels of I-FABP, endothelin-1 and L-lactate were 3550 (IQR: 1746–9235) pg/ml, 3.91 (IQR: 3.33–5.19) pg/ml and 0.92 (IQR: 0.74–1.45) mM in AIN patients and 1731 (IQR: 1124–2848) pg/ml, 2.94 (IQR: 2.32–3.82) pg/ml and 0.85 (IQR: 0.64-1.21) mM in control patients, respectively. The diagnostic performances of endothelin-1 and of I-FABP + endothelin-1 combined were moderate. Endothelin-1 alone revealed an AUC of 0.74 (0.67; 0.82). The sensitivity and specificity of endothelin-1 were 0.81 and 0.64, respectively. Conclusion I-FABP and endothelin-1 are promising biomarkers for AIN, with moderate diagnostic performance compared with the commonly used biomarker L-lactate. Preregistration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05665946.
Output regulation of singular linear systems with input saturation by composite nonlinear feedback control

Composite nonlinear feedback (CNF) control technique for tracking control problems is extended to the output regulation problem of singular linear systems with input saturation. A state feedback CNF control law and an output feedback CNF control law are constructed respectively for the output regulation problem of singular linear systems with input saturation. It is shown that the output regulation problem by CNF control is solvable under the same solvability conditions of the output regulation problem by linear control. However, with the virtue of the CNF control, the transient performance of the closed-loop system can be improved by carefully designing the linear part and the nonlinear part of the CNF control law. The design procedure and the improvement of the transient performance of the closed-loop system are illustrated with a numerical simulation.