Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carrier of Wingless (Cow) Regulation of Drosophila Neuromuscular Junction Development

Abstract The first Wnt signaling ligand discovered, Drosophila Wingless [Wg (Wnt1 in mammals)], plays critical roles in neuromuscular junction (NMJ) development, regulating synaptic architecture, and function. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), consisting of a core protein with heparan sulfate (HS) glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains, bind to Wg ligands to control both extracellular distribution and intercellular signaling function. Drosophila HSPGs previously shown to regulate Wg trans-synaptic signaling at the NMJ include the glypican Dally-like protein (Dlp) and perlecan Terribly Reduced Optic Lobes (Trol). Here, we investigate synaptogenic functions of the most recently described Drosophila HSPG, secreted Carrier of Wingless (Cow), which directly binds Wg in the extracellular space. At the glutamatergic NMJ, we find that Cow secreted from the presynaptic motor neuron acts to limit synaptic architecture and neurotransmission strength. In cow null mutants, we find increased synaptic bouton number and elevated excitatory current amplitudes, phenocopying presynaptic Wg overexpression. We show cow null mutants exhibit an increased number of glutamatergic synapses and increased synaptic vesicle fusion frequency based both on GCaMP imaging and electrophysiology recording. We find that membrane-tethered Wg prevents cow null defects in NMJ development, indicating that Cow mediates secreted Wg signaling. It was shown previously that the secreted Wg deacylase Notum restricts Wg signaling at the NMJ, and we show here that Cow and Notum work through the same pathway to limit synaptic development. We conclude Cow acts cooperatively with Notum to coordinate neuromuscular synapse structural and functional differentiation via negative regulation of Wg trans-synaptic signaling within the extracellular synaptomatrix.
Blood counts in adult and elderly individuals: defining the norms over eight decades of life

The blood count is one of the most common tests used for health assessment. In elderly individuals, selection of a ‘healthy’ reference population for laboratory assessment is difficult due to the high prevalence of chronic morbidities, leading to uncertainty regarding appropriate reference intervals. In particular, age‐specific lower haemoglobin reference limits to define anaemia are controversial. Here, we applied a data mining approach to a large dataset of 3 029 904 clinical routine samples to establish blood count reference intervals. We excluded samples from units/specialists with a high proportion of abnormal blood counts, samples from patients with an unknown or decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate, and samples with abnormal test results in selected other analytes. After sample exclusion, 566 775–572 060 samples from different individuals aged 20–100 years were available for analysis. We then used an established statistical algorithm to determine the distribution of physiological test results and calculated age‐ and sex‐specific reference intervals. Our results show substantial trends with age in haematology analytes' reference intervals. Most notably, haemoglobin and red cell counts decline in men with advanced age, accompanied by increases in red cell volume in both sexes. These findings were confirmed in an independent dataset, and suggest an at least partly physiologic cause.
Mechanical Performances of Al-Si-Mg Alloy with Dilute Sc and Sr Elements

Due to its excellent comprehensive performances, Al-Si-Mg alloy i widely used in automotive, transportation and other fields. In this work, tensile performances and fracture behavior of Al-Si-Mg alloy modified by dilute Sc and Sr elements (Al-7.12Si-0.36Mg-0.2Sc-0.005Sr) were investigated at the temperature of −60–200 °C for the first time, aiming to obtain a satisfactory thermal stability within a certain temperature range. The results showed that the new designed Al-Si-Mg alloy possessed a completely stable yield strength and a higher-level elongation under the present conditions. Fracture morphology analysis, fracture profile observation and strengthening mechanism analysis were applied to elucidate the evolution mechanisms of yield strength and elongation of the alloy. The fracture modes were significantly distinct in different temperature sections, and the reasons were discussed. In addition, the interaction among the nano precipitate phase particles, the deformation substructure and the dislocations were responsible for the thermal stability of the alloy within a certain temperature range.
Validating patient prioritization in the 2018 Revised United Network for Organ Sharing Heart Allocation System: A single‐center experience

The 2018 Revised United Network for Organ Sharing Heart Allocation System (HAS) was proposed to reclassify status 1A candidates into groups of decreasing acuity; however, it does not take into account factors such as body mass index (BMI) and blood group which influence waitlist (WL) outcomes. We sought to validate patient prioritization in the new HAS at our center. We retrospectively evaluated patients listed for heart transplantation (n = 214) at Emory University Hospital from 2011 to 2017. Patients were reclassified into the 6‐tier HAS. Multistate modeling and competing risk analysis were used to compare outcomes of transplantation and WL death/deterioration between new tiers. Additionally, a stratified sensitivity analysis by BMI and blood group was performed. Compared with tier 4 patients, there was progressively increasing hazard of WL death/deterioration in tier 3 (HR: 2.52, 95% CI: 1.37‐4.63, P = .003) and tier 2 (HR: 5.03, 95% CI: 1.99‐12.70, P < .001), without a difference in transplantation outcome. When stratified by BMI and blood group, this hierarchical association was not valid in patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 and non‐O blood groups in our cohort. Therefore, the 2018 HAS accurately prioritizes the sickest patients in our cohort. Factors such as BMI and blood group influence this relationship and iterate that the system can be further refined.
Dietary Antioxidants Significantly Attenuate Hyperoxia-Induced Acute Inflammatory Lung Injury by Enhancing Macrophage Function via Reducing the Accumulation of Airway HMGB1

Mechanical ventilation with hyperoxia is the major supportive measure to treat patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, prolonged exposure to hyperoxia can induce oxidative inflammatory lung injury. Previously, we have shown that high levels of airway high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) mediate hyperoxia-induced acute lung injury (HALI). Using both ascorbic acid (AA, also known as vitamin C) and sulforaphane (SFN), an inducer of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), we tested the hypothesis that dietary antioxidants can mitigate HALI by ameliorating HMGB1-compromised macrophage function in phagocytosis by attenuating hyperoxia-induced extracellular HMGB1 accumulation. Our results indicated that SFN, which has been shown to attenute HALI in mice exposed to hyperoxia, dose-dependently restored hyperoxia-compromised macrophage function in phagocytosis (75.9 ± 3.5% in 0.33 µM SFN versus 50.7 ± 1.8% in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) control, p < 0.05) by reducing oxidative stress and HMGB1 release from cultured macrophages (47.7 ± 14.7% in 0.33 µM SFN versus 93.1 ± 14.6% in DMSO control, p < 0.05). Previously, we have shown that AA enhances hyperoxic macrophage functions by reducing hyperoxia-induced HMGB1 release. Using a mouse model of HALI, we determined the effects of AA on hyperoxia-induced inflammatory lung injury. The i.p. administration of 50 mg/kg of AA to mice exposed to 72 h of ≥98% O2 significantly decreased hyperoxia-induced oxidative and nitrosative stress in mouse lungs. There was a significant decrease in the levels of airway HMGB1 (43.3 ± 12.2% in 50 mg/kg AA versus 96.7 ± 9.39% in hyperoxic control, p < 0.05), leukocyte infiltration (60.39 ± 4.137% leukocytes numbers in 50 mg/kg AA versus 100 ± 5.82% in hyperoxic control, p < 0.05) and improved lung integrity in mice treated with AA. Our study is the first to report that the dietary antioxidants, ascorbic acid and sulforaphane, ameliorate HALI and attenuate hyperoxia-induced macrophage dysfunction through an HMGB1-mediated pathway. Thus, dietary antioxidants could be used as potential treatments for oxidative-stress-induced acute inflammatory lung injury in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.
Meningococcal Disease-Associated Prophage-Like Elements Are Present in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Some Commensal Neisseria Species

Abstract Neisseria spp. possess four genogroups of filamentous prophages, termed Nf1 to 4. A filamentous bacteriophage from the Nf1 genogroup termed meningococcal disease-associated phage (MDA φ) is associated with clonal complexes of Neisseria meningitidis that cause invasive meningococcal disease. Recently, we recovered an isolate of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (ExNg63) from a rare case of gonococcal meningitis, and found that it possessed a region with 90% similarity to Nf1 prophages, specifically, the meningococcal MDA φ. This led to the hypothesis that the Nf1 prophage may be more widely distributed amongst the genus Neisseria. An analysis of 92 reference genomes revealed the presence of intact Nf1 prophages in the commensal species, Neisseria lactamica and Neisseria cinerea in addition to the pathogen N. gonorrhoeae. In N. gonorrhoeae, Nf1 prophages had a restricted distribution but were present in all representatives of MLST ST1918. Of the 160 phage integration sites identified, only one common insertion site was found between one isolate of N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis. There was an absence of any obvious conservation of the receptor for prophage entry, PilE, suggesting that the phage may have been obtained by natural transformation. An examination of the restriction modification systems and mutated mismatch repair systems with prophage presence suggested that there was no obvious preference for these hosts. A timed phylogeny inferred that N. meningitidis was the donor of the Nf1 prophages in N. lactamica and N. gonorrhoeae. Further work is required to determine whether Nf1 prophages are active and can act as accessory colonization factors in these species.
A proof‐of‐principle bite force study using two experimental test denture adhesives and a currently marketed denture adhesive

This proof‐of‐principle, single‐center, randomized, examiner‐blind, crossover study compared two experimental polyvinyl acetate (PVA)‐based denture adhesives (Test Adhesives 1 and 2) with a marketed reference polymethyl vinyl ether/maleic anhydride (PMV/MA)‐based adhesive and no adhesive using incisal bite force area over baseline over 12 hr (AOB0–12) in participants with an at least moderately well‐fitting complete maxillary denture. Previous in vitro studies suggested the experimental denture adhesives provided superior performance.
PRMT5-mediated histone arginine methylation antagonizes transcriptional repression by polycomb complex PRC2

Abstract Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) catalyzes the symmetric di-methylation of arginine residues in histones H3 and H4, marks that are generally associated with transcriptional repression. However, we found that PRMT5 inhibition or depletion led to more genes being downregulated than upregulated, indicating that PRMT5 can also act as a transcriptional activator. Indeed, the global level of histone H3K27me3 increases in PRMT5 deficient cells. Although PRMT5 does not directly affect PRC2 enzymatic activity, methylation of histone H3 by PRMT5 abrogates its subsequent methylation by PRC2. Treating AML cells with an EZH2 inhibitor partially restored the expression of approximately 50% of the genes that are initially downregulated by PRMT5 inhibition, suggesting that the increased H3K27me3 could directly or indirectly contribute to the transcription repression of these genes. Indeed, ChIP-sequencing analysis confirmed an increase in the H3K27me3 level at the promoter region of a quarter of these genes in PRMT5-inhibited cells. Interestingly, the anti-proliferative effect of PRMT5 inhibition was also partially rescued by treatment with an EZH2 inhibitor in several leukemia cell lines. Thus, PRMT5-mediated crosstalk between histone marks contributes to its functional effects.
Diagnostic Testing for Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is the most geographically widespread tick-borne virus, with infection resulting in mortality in up to 30% of cases. Clinical diagnosis alone is difficult due to the nonspecific nature of symptoms; therefore, laboratory diagnostics should be utilized for patients with residence in or travel to regions of endemicity in whom the disease is suspected. This minireview provides an overview of laboratory tests available for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and their utility in diagnosis with a focus on diagnosing CCHF in humans. ABSTRACT Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is the most geographically widespread tick-borne virus, with infection resulting in mortality in up to 30% of cases. Clinical diagnosis alone is difficult due to the nonspecific nature of symptoms; therefore, laboratory diagnostics should be utilized for patients with residence in or travel to regions of endemicity in whom the disease is suspected. This minireview provides an overview of laboratory tests available for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and their utility in diagnosis with a focus on diagnosing CCHF in humans.
Performance Characteristics of a Multiplex Flow Immunoassay for Detection of IgG-Class Antibodies to Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella-Zoster Viruses in Presumptively Immune Health Care Workers

Immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella-zoster viruses (VZV; MMRV) is a common condition of employment for health care workers (HCWs) to ensure compliance with national standards and state laws. When documentation of complete vaccination or laboratory-confirmed infection is not available, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) criteria are used to guide vaccination or anti-MMRV IgG testing. We assessed the performance of the BioPlex 2200 MMRV IgG multiplex flow immunoassay (MFI; Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA) and matched immunofluorescence assays (IFAs; MBL Bion, Des Plaines, IL) in 220 HCWs categorized by ACIP criteria for presumptive immunity to MMRV. ABSTRACT Immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella-zoster viruses (VZV; MMRV) is a common condition of employment for health care workers (HCWs) to ensure compliance with national standards and state laws. When documentation of complete vaccination or laboratory-confirmed infection is not available, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) criteria are used to guide vaccination or anti-MMRV IgG testing. We assessed the performance of the BioPlex 2200 MMRV IgG multiplex flow immunoassay (MFI; Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA) and matched immunofluorescence assays (IFAs; MBL Bion, Des Plaines, IL) in 220 HCWs categorized by ACIP criteria for presumptive immunity to MMRV. Among HCWs presumptively immune to measles, mumps, rubella, and VZV, the Bio-Rad MFI was positive in 77.3, 85.4, 84.3, and 91.1% of HCWs, respectively. Comparatively, the Bion IFA was positive in 92.9, 91.1, and 93.5% of HCWs presumptively immune to measles, mumps, and VZV (a rubella IFA was unavailable). Among HCWs fully vaccinated against measles, mumps, and VZV, Bio-Rad MFI/Bion IFA positivity rates were 77.4%/93%, 84.8%/90.7%, and 54.5%/90.9%, respectively. The Bio-Rad MFI was positive in 83.7% of HCWs fully vaccinated against rubella. For HCWs whose last vaccination event occurred within 15 years of enrollment, 83.3, 93.3, and 74.2% were positive by the Bio-Rad measles, mumps, and rubella IgG MFIs, respectively. We show significantly decreased Bio-Rad MFI sensitivity for detection of anti-measles and anti-mumps IgG-class antibodies in presumptively immune or fully vaccinated HCWs. Although negative results typically prompt revaccination, failure to recognize presumptive immunity in individuals unable to receive live, attenuated vaccines may have employment implications.
Trauma-related drinking to cope: A novel approach to the self-medication model.

Multiple etiological models have been proposed to explain posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) comorbidity, but the predominant model to date is the "drinking to cope" self-medication model. Despite its popularity, the self-medication model lacks rigorous empirical support related to inconsistencies and methodological limitations, particularly the failure to operationalize drinking to cope with trauma symptoms specifically. The present study sought to measure trauma-related drinking to cope (TRD) in order to provide a more specific test of the self-medication model among a representative sample of 1,896 undergraduates with a history of trauma exposure and alcohol use. Using a model-building approach in Mplus, a correlated multiple mediator model tested the association between PTSD symptoms and alcohol use problems (AUPs) through TRD and more generalized drinking to cope motives (as assessed by the coping subscale of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire; DMQ-Cope) as moderated by sex. Results indicated that, while accounting for the effects of generalized drinking to cope motives, TRD partially mediated the relation between PTSD symptoms and AUPs and that this relationship was stronger for males than for females. With the exception of moderation by sex, results were substantiated using longitudinal data. Findings were consistent with the self-medication model, suggesting that TRD motives may serve as a mechanism through which PTSD symptoms influence AUPs. TRD may serve as a more specific screening tool for AUP risk among individuals endorsing PTSD symptoms compared with the commonly used DMQ-Cope. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Effect of patient- and center-level characteristics on uptake of home dialysis in Australia and New Zealand: a multicenter registry analysis.

BACKGROUND Home-based dialysis therapies, home hemodialysis (HHD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) are underutilized in many countries and significant variation in the uptake of home dialysis exists across dialysis centers. This study aimed to evaluate the patient- and center-level characteristics associated with uptake of home dialysis. METHODS The Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry was used to include incident dialysis patients in Australia and New Zealand from 1997 to 2017. Uptake of home dialysis was defined as any HHD or PD treatment reported to ANZDATA within 6 months of dialysis initiation. Characteristics associated with home dialysis uptake were evaluated using mixed effects logistic regression models with patient- and center-level covariates, era as a fixed effect and dialysis center as a random effect. RESULTS Overall, 54 773 patients were included. Uptake of home-based dialysis was reported in 24 399 (45%) patients but varied between 0 and 87% across the 76 centers. Patient-level factors associated with lower uptake included male sex, ethnicity (particularly indigenous peoples), older age, presence of comorbidities, late referral to a nephrology service, remote residence and obesity. Center-level predictors of lower uptake included small center size, smaller proportion of patients with permanent access at dialysis initiation and lower weekly facility hemodialysis hours. The variation in odds of home dialysis uptake across centers increased by 3% after adjusting for the era and patient-level characteristics but decreased by 24% after adjusting for center-level characteristics. CONCLUSION Center-specific factors are associated with the variation in uptake of home dialysis across centers in Australia and New Zealand.
A Batteryless Padless Crystalless 116 µm × 116 µm "Dielet" Near-Field Radio With On-Chip Coil Antenna

Batteryless compact radios are highly needed to realize many Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications, such as miniaturized radio-frequency identification (RFID), wearable/implantable devices, and counter-counterfeit electronics. To miniaturize the radios, it is necessary to integrate an antenna on chip to transfer both power and data, eliminating the I/O pads and crystal. In addition, the ultra-small die area precludes the use of any on-chip energy storage (such as large capacitors or inductors); therefore, sufficient power must be supplied wirelessly. As a result, two challenges must be overcome for uplink communication. First, the wireless power tone acts as a large blocker for the uplink communication signal, resulting in a poor uplink signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Second, without a crystal, the on-chip oscillator will be noisy and subject to further degrading the uplink SNR. In this article, we have demonstrated an RFID system used to detect counterfeit electronics that addresses the design challenges by the proposed two-tone technique. With an overall dimension of 116 $\mu \text{m}\,\,\times $ 116 $\mu \text{m}$ , the “dielet” radio chip is fabricated by a 65-nm CMOS technology, which is batteryless, padless, and crystalless. This is the smallest functional radio chip to date, and the measurement results show that both the uplink signal-to-blocker ratio (SBR) and SNR can be improved by the new two-tone technique.
Semantic-Aware Image Analysis

Extracting and utilizing high-level semantic information from images is one of the important goals of computer vision. The ultimate objective of image analysis is to be able to understand each pixel of an image with regard to high-level semantics, e.g. the objects, the stuff, and their spatial, functional and semantic relations. In recent years, thanks to large labeled datasets and deep learning, great progress has been made to solve image analysis problems, such as image classification, object detection, and object pose estimation. In this work, we explore several aspects of semantic-aware image analysis. First, we explore semantic segmentation of man-made scenes using fully connected conditional random fields which can model long-range connections within the image of man-made scenes and make use of contextual information of scene structures. Second, we introduce a semantic smoothing method by exploiting the semantic information to accomplish semantic structure-preserving image smoothing. Semantic segmentation has achieved significant progress recently and has been widely used in many computer vision tasks. We observe that high-level semantic image labeling information can provide a meaningful structure prior to image smoothing naturally. Third, we present a deep object co-segmentation approach for segmenting common objects of the same class within a pair of images. To address this task, we propose a CNN-based Siamese encoder-decoder architecture. The encoder extracts high-level semantic features of the foreground objects, a mutual correlation layer detects the common objects, and finally, the decoder generates the output foreground masks for each image. Finally, we propose an approach to localize common objects from novel object categories in a set of images. We solve this problem using a new common component activation map in which we treat the class-specific activation maps as components to discover the common components in the image set. We show that our approach can generalize on novel object categories in our experiments.