Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deferoxamine Treatment Combined With Sevoflurane Postconditioning Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Restoring HIF-1/BNIP3-Mediated Mitochondrial Autophagy in GK Rats

Mitochondrial autophagy is involved in myocardial protection of sevoflurane postconditioning (SPostC) and in diabetic state this protective effect is weakened due to impaired HIF-1 signaling pathway. Previous studies have proved that deferoxamine (DFO) could activate impaired HIF-1α in diabetic state to restore the cardioprotective of sevoflurane, while the specific mechanism is unclear. This study aims to investigate whether HIF-1/BNIP3-mediated mitochondrial autophagy is involved in the restoration of sevoflurane postconditioning cardioprotection in diabetic state. Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model was established by ligating the anterior descending coronary artery and sevoflurane was administered at the first 15 min of reperfusion. Myocardial infarct size, mitochondrial ultrastructure and autophagosome, ATP content, mitochondrial membrane potential, ROS production, HIF-1α, BNIP3, LC3B-II, Beclin-1, P62, LAMP2 protein expression were detected 2 h after reperfusion, and cardiac function was evaluated by ultrasound at 24 h after reperfusion. Our results showed that with DFO treatment, SPostC up-regulated the expression of HIF-1α and BNIP3, thus reduced the expression of key autophagy proteins LC3B-II, Beclin-1, p62, and increased the expression of LAMP2. Furthermore, it reduced the accumulation of autophagosomes and ROS production, increased the content of ATP, and stabilized the membrane potential. Finally, the myocardial infarction size was reduced and cardiac function was improved. Taken together, DFO treatment combined with SPostC could alleviate myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in diabetic rats by restoring and promoting HIF-1/BNIP3-mediated mitochondrial autophagy.
Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Infection Alters the Sialome of Ixodes ricinus Ticks During the Earliest Stages of Feeding

Ticks are hematophagous arthropods that transmit a number of pathogens while feeding. Among these is tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a flavivirus transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks in the temperate zone of Europe. The infection results in febrile illness progressing to encephalitis and meningitis with a possibility of fatality or long-term neurological sequelae. The composition of tick saliva plays an essential role in the initial virus transmission during tick feeding. Ticks secrete a diverse range of salivary proteins to modulate the host response, such as lipocalins to control the itch and inflammatory response, and both proteases and protease inhibitors to prevent blood coagulation. Here, the effect of viral infection of adult females of Ixodes ricinus was studied with the goal of determining how the virus alters the tick sialome to modulate host tissue response at the site of infection. Uninfected ticks or those infected with TBEV were fed on mice and removed and dissected one- and 3-h post-attachment. RNA from the salivary glands of these ticks, as well as from unfed ticks, was extracted and subjected to next-generation sequencing to determine the expression of key secreted proteins at each timepoint. Genes showing statistically significant up- or down-regulation between infected and control ticks were selected and compared to published literature to ascertain their function. From this, the effect of tick viral infection on the modulation of the tick-host interface was determined. Infected ticks were found to differentially express a number of uncategorized genes, proteases, Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors, cytotoxins, and lipocalins at different timepoints. These virus-induced changes to the tick sialome may play a significant role in facilitating virus transmission during the early stages of tick feeding.
Five Applications of Narrative Exposure Therapy for Children and Adolescents Presenting With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders

Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is an individual therapeutic approach that has an emerging evidence base for children. It was initially trialed with refugee and asylum seeking populations, in low, middle and high-income settings, utilizing either lay or professional therapists. The results of treatment trials for PTSD in refugee children with NET (or the child “KIDNET” adaptation) demonstrates how this is an effective intervention, is scalable and culturally dexterous. This paper describes, in five cases from clinical practice settings, the applicability of NET into broader, routine practice. The cases outlined describe the use of NET with adolescents with: autism spectrum disorders, psychotic symptoms, and intellectual disabilities; histories of forced abduction into child soldiering; complex physical health problems needing multiple interventions; and victims of childhood sexual abuse. The cases are discussed with regards to how the NET lifeline facilitated engagement in treatment, practical adaptations for those with intellectual disabilities and how NET, with its relatively short training for health professionals, can be modified to different contexts and presentations. The importance of improving access to care is discussed to ensure that young people are supported with their most complex and disruptive memories.
Analysis of the Territorial Aggressive Behavior of the Bioluminescent Flashlight Fish Photoblepharon steinitzi in the Red Sea

The flashlight fish Photoblepharon steinitzi inhabit coral reef caves in the Red Sea. During the night they dwell alone or in pairs near their cave entrance, characteristic of territorial like behavior. A special feature of the flashlight fish is a bioluminescent organ located under their eyes, which emits blue green light. This bioluminescence may have various functions including intraspecific communication. To gain a better understanding of how these bioluminescent signals are used during territorial aggression, we investigated the territorial behavior of P. steinitzi in its native environment. Using infrared video recordings at night, we found that P. steinitzi increases its blinking frequency, while attacking intraspecific intruders, different artificial light organs or a fish dummy simulating an intraspecific intruder. All three stimuli presented to P. steinitzi elicited four different types of attack modes (i.e., darting, border crossings, repetitive swimming toward stimuli and aggressive contact with stimuli such as ramming and bites) to varying degrees coupled with high blinking frequencies. These attacks occurred near the entrance of the cave where P. steinitzi mainly resides during the night, suggesting a territorial behavior. Collectively our data show that the intensity of displayed aggression potential in P. steinitzi depends on the signal properties of the intraspecific intruder. A constant glowing light organ dummy increase the aggression level in P. steinitzi whereas a blinking light organ dummy that simulate an intruder and a constant glowing dummy that display the fish shape decrease the aggression level in P. steinitzi.
Fully-Automated Segmentation of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma on Dual-Sequence MRI Using Convolutional Neural Networks

In this study, we proposed an automated method based on convolutional neural network (CNN) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) segmentation on dual-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). T1-weighted (T1W) and T2-weighted (T2W) MRI images were collected from 44 NPC patients. We developed a dense connectivity embedding U-net (DEU) and trained the network based on the two-dimensional dual-sequence MRI images in the training dataset and applied post-processing to remove the false positive results. In order to justify the effectiveness of dual-sequence MRI images, we performed an experiment with different inputs in eight randomly selected patients. We evaluated DEU's performance by using a 10-fold cross-validation strategy and compared the results with the previous studies. The Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of the method using only T1W, only T2W and dual-sequence of 10-fold cross-validation as different inputs were 0.620 ± 0.0642, 0.642 ± 0.118 and 0.721 ± 0.036, respectively. The median DSC in 10-fold cross-validation experiment with DEU was 0.735. The average DSC of seven external subjects was 0.87. To summarize, we successfully proposed and verified a fully automatic NPC segmentation method based on DEU and dual-sequence MRI images with accurate and stable performance. If further verified, our proposed method would be of use in clinical practice of NPC.
Subordinate Effect of -21M HLA-B Dimorphism on NK Cell Repertoire Diversity and Function in HIV-1 Infected Individuals of African Origin

Natural Killer (NK) cells play an important role in antiviral defence and their potent effector function identifies them as key candidates for immunotherapeutic interventions in chronic viral infections. Their remarkable functional agility is achieved by virtue of a wide array of germline encoded inhibitory and activating receptors ensuring a self-tolerant and tunable repertoire. NK cell diversity is generated by a combination of factors including genetic determinants and infections/environmental factors, which together shape the NK cell pool and functional potential. Recently a genetic polymorphism at position −21 of HLA-B, which influences the supply of HLA-E binding peptides and availability of HLA-E for recognition by the inhibitory NK cell receptor NKG2A, was shown to have a marked influence on NK cell functionality in healthy human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) seronegative Caucasian individuals. In this study, −21 methionine (M)-expressing alleles supplying HLA-E binding peptides were largely poor ligands for inhibitory killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), and a bias to NKG2A-mediated education of functionally-potent NK cells was observed. Here, we investigated the effect of this polymorphism on the phenotype and functional capacity of NK cells in a cohort of African individuals with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)/HCMV co-infection. A similarly profound influence of dimorphism at position −21 of HLA-B on NK cells was not evident in these subjects. They predominantly expressed African specific HLA-B and −C alleles that contribute a distinct supply of NKG2A and KIR ligands, and these genetic differences were compounded by the marked effect of HIV/HCMV coinfection on NK cell differentiation. Together, these factors resulted in a lack of correlation of the HLA-B −21 polymorphism with surface abundance of HLA-E and loss of the NK cell functional advantage in subjects with −21M HLA-B alleles. Instead our data suggest that during HIV/HCMV co-infection exposure of NK cells to an environment that displays altered HLA-E ligands drives adaptive NKG2C+ NK cell expansions influencing effector responses. Increased efforts to understand how NK cells are functionally calibrated to self-HLA during chronic viral infections will pave the way to developing targeted therapeutic interventions to overcome the current barriers to enhancing immune-based antiviral control.
DNA Sensors’ Signaling in NK Cells During HHV-6A, HHV-6B and HHV-7 Infection

Objectives The host DNA sensor proteins TLR9, STING, IFI16 are central signaling molecules that control the innate immune response to cytosolic nucleic acids. Here we propose to investigate how Natural killer (NK) cell infection by human herpesvirus (HHV)-6A, HHV-6B or HHV-7 is able to modify DNA sensor signaling in NK cells. Methods We infected the NK92 cell line and primary NK cells with cell-free inocula of HHV-6A, HHV-6B or HHV-7 and evaluated TLR9, STING, and IFI16 pathway expression by Real-Time PCR, Western Blot, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry for 1, 2, 3, and 6 days post-infection. We evaluated NK cell cytokine-producing by Real-Time PCR and enzyme immunosorbent assay. Results NK92 and primary NK cells were promptly infected by three viruses, as demonstrated by virus presence (DNA) and transcription (RNA) analysis. Our data show STING/STAT6 up-modulation in HHV-6A infected NK cells. NK cells infected with HHV-6B and HHV-7 up-regulated CCL3, IFN-alpha, TNF-alpha, IL-8 and IFN-gamma and slightly induced IL-4, and CCL4. HHV-6A infected NK cells up-regulated IL-4 and IL-13 and slightly induced IL-10, TNF-alpha, IFN-alpha, and IFN-gamma. Conclusion For the first time, we demonstrate that HHV-6A, HHV-6B, and HHV-7 infections have a differential impact on intracellular DNA sensors. HHV-6B and HHV-7 mainly lead to the active control of in vivo viral spreading by pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion via TLR9. HHV-6A infected NK cells conversely induced STING/STAT6 pathway, as a mechanism of anti-viral activation, but they were characterized by a Th2 type response and a non-cytotoxic profile, suggesting a potential novel mechanism of HHV-6A-mediated immunosuppression.
Make the Unconscious Explicit to Boost the Science of Consciousness

If we are to understand the how’s and why’s of conscious processing we need to compare it with unconscious processing and see how they differ (Baars, 1988). An accurate characterization of unconscious processing is therefore crucial for continued progression in the science of consciousness. The scope and limits of unconscious processing have been extensively investigated for more than a century (see e.g., Kouider and Dehaene, 2007, for a historical perspective), but a consensus has yet to emerge. While some argue that unconscious processing is very limited (e.g., Holender and Duscherer, 2004), others have proposed that anything that can be done consciously can also be done unconsciously (Hassin, 2013; but see Hesselmann and Moors, 2015). The controversy continues in part for methodological/technical reasons, for example that it is nontrivial to present a stimulus below the limen of consciousness while maintaining the possibility for the brain to process the information. We argue here that this aspect is particularly relevant to consider when evaluating the possibility of unconscious high-level cognitive functions: if a certain level of processing of the input stimulus cannot be verified to start with, a lack of related high-level cognition would be expected. Such situation provides little evidence against the possibility of a particular type of unconscious high-level cognition. We also argue that evidence against particular unconscious high-level functions should be framed in an experimental context where at least the conscious analog can be demonstrated—otherwise the evidence is again weak. Lastly, we note that an explicit characterization of the unconscious is crucial also in research on the neural correlates of consciousness.
Cold Formalin Fixation Guarantees DNA Integrity in Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded Tissues: Premises for a Better Quality of Diagnostic and Experimental Pathology With a Specific Impact on Breast Cancer

Formalin fixation and paraffin embedding (FFPE) represent the standard method to preserve tissue specimens for diagnostic pathology, however formalin fixation induces severe fragmentation of nucleic acids. We investigated whether formalin fixation at 4°C could preserve DNA integrity in FFPE specimens. Paired samples from 38 specimens were formalin fixed at room temperature (stdFFPE) and at 4°C (coldFFPE), respectively. Two independent cohorts were prospectively collected, cohort A (collected 6 years prior to the study, n = 21), cohort B (collected at time of the study, n = 17). DNA was extracted and its integrity evaluated with a qPCR-based assay that produces a normalized integrity index, the QC score (ratio between the quantity of a long and a short amplicon of the same gene). We observed higher QC scores in coldFFPE compared to stdFFPE samples (mean values: 0.69 vs. 0.36, p < 0.0001) and stdFFPE breast cancer specimens showed the most detrimental effect overall. Comparable QC scores were obtained between coldFFPE tissues of both cohorts; conversely, DNA integrity of stdFFPE was significantly lower in cohort A compared to cohort B (p < 0.0001). Of note, QC scores of stdFFPE (but not of coldFFPE) samples were significantly reduced following 6 months of storage (p = 0.0001). Monitored formalin fixation at 4°C outperforms standard fixation in ensuring high-quality DNA, which is key to feasibility of downstream high-throughput molecular analyses. An important effect was observed over storage time, thus suggesting a likely better preservation of archival samples when this cold fixation protocol is used.
Emerging Priorities for Microbiome Research

Microbiome research has increased dramatically in recent years, driven by advances in technology and significant reductions in the cost of analysis. Such research has unlocked a wealth of data, which has yielded tremendous insight into the nature of the microbial communities, including their interactions and effects, both within a host and in an external environment as part of an ecological community. Understanding the role of microbiota, including their dynamic interactions with their hosts and other microbes, can enable the engineering of new diagnostic techniques and interventional strategies that can be used in a diverse spectrum of fields, spanning from ecology and agriculture to medicine and from forensics to exobiology. From June 19–23 in 2017, the NIH and NSF jointly held an Innovation Lab on Quantitative Approaches to Biomedical Data Science Challenges in our Understanding of the Microbiome. This review is inspired by some of the topics that arose as priority areas from this unique, interactive workshop. The goal of this review is to summarize the Innovation Lab’s findings by introducing the reader to emerging challenges, exciting potential, and current directions in microbiome research. The review is broken into five key topic areas: (1) interactions between microbes and the human body, (2) evolution and ecology of microbes, including the role played by the environment and microbe-microbe interactions, (3) analytical and mathematical methods currently used in microbiome research, (4) leveraging knowledge of microbial composition and interactions to develop engineering solutions, and (5) interventional approaches and engineered microbiota that may be enabled by selectively altering microbial composition. As such, this review seeks to arm the reader with a broad understanding of the priorities and challenges in microbiome research today and provide inspiration for future investigation and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
Analysis of factors for intention to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Purpose: The performance rate to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by witness in out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) is very low in South Korea. To prevent the death caused by OHCA, it is important to encourage the witness to perform CPR actively. The purpose of the study is to investigate the influencing factors to affect bystander CPR rate. Methods: I conducted a questionnaire survey from 25 February to 4 March, 2013, receiving responses from 517 people in Korea. The questionnaire included social demographic factors, history of heart disease, knowledge of CPR, and the reliability of emergency medical service (EMS). A logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: Among the 517 respondents, 294 (57.4%) had intention of performing CPR. Multiple logistic regression analysis found the following significant predictors of CPR intention: gender (odds ratio [OR]
Local Government Policies and Migration: An Analysis for SMSAs in the United States, 1965-1970

This study empirically investigates the impact of AFDC (welfare) policies, per capita property taxation, and per capita local government spending on net in-migration by race to SMSAs for the period 1965-1970. The empirical results imply that black migrants on average are attracted to SMSAs with higher welfare benefits whereas white migrants on average manifest an aversion to higher welfare SMSAs. While higher property taxes exercise little to no effect on black net in-migration, they act to discourage white in-migration. Finally, higher non-welfare expenditures by SMSAs appear to encourage black net in-migration, but they have little to no impact on white in-migration.
Laboratory Assessment of Testicular Function

Since the symptoms of hypogonadism are nonspecific, and the signs of testosterone deficiency can be subtle and slow to develop, the assessment of testicular function relies heavily on laboratory testing. The laboratory diagnosis of hypogonadism is based on a consistent and unequivocally low serum total testosterone level measured in blood samples obtained in the early morning, but normal ranges vary with different methods and among laboratories. Moreover, many men who present with adult onset testosterone deficiency have a low level of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. In these men, tests for the free (or non-SHBG/bioavailable) testosterone fraction testosterone) are helpful for an accurate diagnosis. If testosterone deficiency is confirmed, the next step is to differentiate between primary and secondary hypogonadism by measuring LH and FSH. With many disorders, however, both the testes and the hypothalamic-pituitary unit are affected. Other tests such as estradiol, inhibin-B, and Mullerian inhibitory hormone, and provocative endocrine tests using hCG, GnRH or its analogs, or antiandrogens or antiestrogens, and semen analysis in the subfertile male are discussed. For complete coverage of all related areas of Endocrinology, please visit our on-line FREE web-text, WWW.ENDOTEXT. ORG.
The Economic Vote: Contents

This book proposes a selection model for explaining cross-national variation in economic voting: Rational voters condition the economic vote on whether incumbents are responsible for economic outcomes, because this is the optimal way to identify and elect competent economic managers under conditions of uncertainty. This model explores how political and economic institutions alter the quality of the signal that the previous economy provides about the competence of candidates. The rational economic voter is also attentive to strategic cues regarding the responsibility of parties for economic outcomes and their electoral competitiveness. Theoretical propositions are derived, linking variation in economic and political institutions to variability in economic voting. The authors demonstrate that there is economic voting, and that it varies significantly across political contexts. The data consist of 165 election studies conducted in 19 different countries over a 20-year time period.
Financial Aid and Students College Decisions Evidence from the District of Columbias Tuition Assistance Grant Program

How college price influences student decisions about whether and where to attend college is an important issue. The District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program allows those who qualify to attend public colleges and universities in other states at considerably lower "in-state" tuitions. This paper examines whether the grant program has effects on the likelihood that DC high school graduates apply to and enroll in college, finding that applications to four-year colleges increased substantially under the program.