Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pterostilbene increases Fas expression in T-lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines

Treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been promising in last decades, but side effects still persist and searching for the least toxic agents continue. Pterostilbene (PTE) is a natural compound with several anti-cancer and anti-oxidant properties. Fas, as a member of death inducing family of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors with an intracellular death domain, can initiate the extrinsic apoptosis signaling pathway. Here after the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) determination in cell lines, we searched for PTE effects on Fas, both in mRNA and surface levels in two ALL cell lines, Jurkat and Molt-4. After harvesting cells in optimum situations, MTS assay was used to determine IC50 concentrations. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry were performed for Fas mRNA and surface expression variations after exposure to PTE. The findings showed that PTE decreases cell viability with different extent in two ALL cell lines. In addition to inducing apoptosis, it can increase Fas in both gene and cell surface expression in the same concentrations. Pterostilbene as a natural anti-cancer agent can increase Fas expression both in mRNA and surface levels that results in apoptosis signal transduction improvement which sensitizes cells to apoptosis by immune effector cells. As a result, abnormal cells removal would be more efficiently with the minimum side effects on normal cells.
TET2 Function in Hematopoietic Malignancies, Immune Regulation, and DNA Repair

Over the last decade, investigation of Ten-Eleven Translocation 2 (TET2) gene function and TET2 mutation have become of increasing interest in the field of hematology. This heightened interest was sparked by the seminal discoveries that (1) TET2 mutation is associated with development of hematological malignancies and that (2) the TET family of proteins is critical in promoting DNA demethylation and immune homeostasis. Since then, additional studies have begun to unravel the question “Does TET2 have additional biological functions in the regulation of hematopoiesis? ” Here, we present a mini-review focused on the current understanding of TET2 in hematopoiesis, hematological malignancies, and immune regulation. Importantly, we highlight the critical function that TET2 facilitates in maintaining the stability of the genome. Based on our review of the literature, we provide a new hypothesis that loss of TET2 may lead to dysregulation of the DNA repair response, augment genome instability, and subsequently sensitize myeloid leukemia cells to PARP inhibitor treatment.
Asherman’s syndrome: current perspectives on diagnosis and management

Intrauterine adhesions with symptoms like hypomenorrhea or infertility are known under the term Asherman’s syndrome. Although the syndrome has been widely investigated, evidence of both prevention of the syndrome and the ideal treatment are missing. Understanding the pathogenesis of intrauterine adherences is necessary for the prevention of the formation of intrauterine scarring. Intrauterine adhesions can develop from lesion of the basal layer of the endometrium caused by curettage of the newly pregnant uterus. The syndrome may also occur after hysteroscopic surgery, uterine artery embolization or uterine tuberculosis. For initial diagnosis the less invasive contrast sonohysterography or hysterosalpingography is useful. The final diagnosis is based on hysteroscopy. Magnetic resonance imaging is required in cases with totally obliterated uterine cavity. Intrauterine adherences are classified in accordance with different classification systems based on the hysteroscopic diagnosis of severity and localization of adherences. Classification is necessary for the planning of surgery, information on prognosis and scientific purposes. Surgery is performed in symptomatic patients with either infertility or with painful periods. Intrauterine adherences are divided with a hysteroscope using scissors or a power instrument working from the central part of the uterus to the periphery. Peroperative ultrasonography is useful in an outpatient setting for the prevention of complications. Hysteroscopy with fluoroscopy is a solution in difficult cases. Use of intrauterine devices like balloon catheters or intrauterine contraceptive devices seems to be the preferred methods for the prevention of re-occurrence of adhesions after treatment. Both primary prevention after hysteroscopic surgery or curettage and secondary prevention of new adhesions after adhesiolysis have been investigated. The aim of this review was to summarize the literature on diagnosis, classification, treatment and prevention, based on a literature search with a wide range of search terms.
Changing Migratory Behaviors and Climatic Responsiveness in Birds

Change of avian migratory behavior is one of the best-studied phenomena presumably associated with contemporary climate change, yet to what degree these behavioral changes represent responses to climate warming is still controversial. We investigated the inter-specific variation in change of migratory behavior over three decades at a Central-European site, testing whether the type and extent of such changes are predicted by the species’ responsiveness to short-term variation in large-scale climatic indices. We found that species with earlier arrivals after winters with higher North-Atlantic Oscillation indices were more likely to overwinter at the study site; this behavior was more frequent in the second than in the first half of the study, although the extent of this change was not predicted quantitatively by short-term climatic responsiveness. Overwintering was more prevalent in short-distance migrants with more complex diets and larger population sizes. Furthermore, species arriving earlier after summers with higher Sahel rainfall indices increasingly advanced their first arrival date, whereas species that do not molt in the pre-breeding season increased their frequency of overwintering in more recent years. Our results demonstrate that interspecific variation in short-term climatic responsiveness predicts long-term changes in migratory behaviors, supporting that the latter are responses to climate change. Furthermore, the type of response (advancing arrivals or overwintering near the breeding grounds) depends on life history. Finally, we found that overwintering behavior during the study period predicted subsequent trends in population size, suggesting that information on temporal changes in migratory strategy may help conservation planning and risk assessment.
Comparison of the Mean DMF Index in Type I Diabetic and Healthy Children

Statement of the Problem: It is expected that the prevalence of caries would be more in diabetics than in non-diabetic individuals due to the complications subsequent to metabolic changes such as xerostomia and increased glucose level in saliva. On the other hand, the restriction of glucose consumption in the diabetics’ diet would be a reason to justify decreasing dental caries in them. Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the mean DMF (decayed, missed due to decay, and filled teeth) index in type I diabetic and healthy children. Materials and Method: The DMF index was assessed in 100 type I diabetic children (9-14 years-old, mean= 12±1.23) and compared with the DMF index in 100 age- and sex-matched metabolically healthy controls. Data were collected through a questionnaire and clinical examinations and analyzed statistically by t-test and one-way ANOVA. Results: The results showed that there were no significant differences between the mean DMF index of diabetic children and healthy children. The mean DMF was significantly lower in those who regularly used a toothbrush and dental floss than in those who did not use in both groups (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Diabetes did not affect dental condition by itself but adequate oral hygiene had an important role in controlling caries and promoting oral status.
How Cost-of-Illness (COI) Study Provides Direct and Indirect Costs of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina ?

Background: This cost-of-illness (COI) study provides deep insight in direct and indirect costs of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH). Aim: Objective of this study was to analyze the costs and quality of life (QoL) of patients with MS in BH. Patients and methods: We applied the same methodology already used in study conducted across nine European countries. Sixty-two patients participated with EDSS score not higher than 6.5. Costs are collected using a questionnaire quality of life was measured by EQ-5D and MSQOL-54 questionnaires. Results: Mean age of respondents was 39.8 The mean utility measured by EQ-5D-3L was 0.68 at the beginning and 0.63 at the end of the study. QoL measured by MSQoL-54 showed improvement at the end of the trial. Costs are presented from the societal and payer perspective. Cost of MS in Bosnia and Herzegovina annually amount 124.8 million BAM. Cost driver where indirect and DMDs costs, with significant differences among subgroups. Conclusions: This study provides an in-depth analysis of MS costs in BH providing data for health policies development and information for future cost-effectiveness evaluations of new therapeutic options as well as for comparison of MS costs with other countries.
Transcriptomic Analysis of Potential “lncRNA–mRNA” Interactions in Liver of the Marine Teleost Cynoglossus semilaevis Fed Diets With Different DHA/EPA Ratios

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have emerged as important regulators of lipid metabolism and have been shown to play multifaceted roles in controlling transcriptional gene regulation, but very little relevant information has been available in fish, especially in non-model fish species. With a feeding trial on a typical marine teleost tongue sole C. semilaevis followed by transcriptomic analysis, the present study investigated the possible involvement of lncRNA in hepatic mRNA expression in response to different levels of dietary DHA and EPA, which are two most important fatty acids for marine fish. An 80-day feeding trial was conducted in a flow-through seawater system, and in this trial three experimental diets differing basically in DHA/EPA ratio, i.e., 0.61 (D/E-0.61), 1.46 (D/E-1.46), and 2.75 (D/E-2.75), were randomly assigned to 9 tanks of experimental fish. A total of 124.04 G high quality genome-wide clean data about coding and non-coding transcripts was obtained in the analysis of hepatic transcriptome. Compared to diet D/E-0.61, D/E-1.46 up-regulated expression of 178 lncRNAs and 2629 mRNAs, and down-regulated that of 47 lncRNAs and 3059 mRNAs, while D/E-2.75 resulted in much less change in gene expression. The co-expression and co-localization analysis of differentially expressed (DE) lncRNA and mRNA among dietary groups were then conducted. The co-expressed DE lncRNA and mRNA were primarily enriched in GO terms such as Metabolic process, Intracellular organelle, Catalytic activity, and Oxidoreductase activity, as well as in KEGG pathways such as Ribosome and Oxidative phosphorylation. Overlap of co-expression and co-localization analysis, i.e., lncRNA–mRNA matches “XR_523541. 1–solute carrier family 16, member 5 (slc16a5)” and “LNC_000285–bromodomain adjacent to zinc finger domain 2A (baz2a),” were observed in all inter-group comparisons, indicating that they might crucially mediate the effects of dietary DHA and EPA on hepatic gene expression in tongue sole. In conclusion, this was the first time in marine teleost to investigate the possible lncRNA–mRNA interactions in response to dietary fatty acids. The results provided novel knowledge of lncRNAs in non-model marine teleost, and will serve as important resources for future studies that further investigate the roles of lncRNAs in lipid metabolism of marine teleost.
Altered Immune Landscape and Disrupted Coral-Symbiodinium Symbiosis in the Scleractinian Coral Pocillopora damicornis by Vibrio coralliilyticus Challenge

Vibrio coralliilyticus is known to cause coral diseases, especially under environmental perturbation, but its impact on coral physiology and underpinning mechanism is poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated cytological, immunological, and metatranscriptomic responses of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis to V. coralliilyticus infection. The density and chlorophyll content of symbiotic zooxanthellae decreased significantly at 12 and 24 h after Vibrio challenge. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and catalase, nitric oxide synthase, phenoloxidase (PO), and the activation level of caspase3 all rose significantly in P. damicornis after Vibrio challenge. In the metatranscriptomic analysis, we found 10 significantly upregulated genes in the symbionts at 24 h after the challenge, which were mostly involved in the metabolism of nucleic acid and polysaccharide, and 133 significantly down-regulated symbiont genes, which were mainly related to amino acid catabolism and transport. Meanwhile, 1432 significantly upregulated coral genes were revealed, highly overrepresented in GO terms that are mostly related to the regulation of immune response, the regulation of cytokine production, and innate immune response. Furthermore, at 24 h after Vibrio challenge, 890 coral genes were significantly downregulated, highly overrepresented in four GO terms implicated in defense response. These results in concert suggest that V. coralliilyticus infection triggered the innate immune response including the redox, PO, and apoptosis systems, but repressed the response of the complement system in the scleractinian coral P. damicornis, accompanied by symbiont density decrease and symbiosis collapse through disordering the metabolism of the symbionts. These findings shed light on the molecular regulatory processes underlying bleaching and degradation of P. damicornis resulting from the infection of V. coralliilyticus.
Identification of Off-Patent Compounds That Present Antifungal Activity Against the Emerging Fungal Pathogen Candida auris

Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen of great concern among the scientific community because it is causing an increasing number of hospital outbreaks of difficult management worldwide. In addition, isolates from this species frequently present reduced susceptibility to azole and echinocandin drugs. For this reason, it is necessary to develop new antifungal strategies to better control the disease caused by this yeast. In this work, we screened drugs from the Prestwick chemical library, which contains 1,280 off-patent compounds that are already approved by the Food and Drug Administration, with the aim of identifying molecules with antifungal activity against C. auris. In an initial screening, we looked for drugs that inhibited the growth of three different C. auris strains and found 27 of them which it did so. Ten active compounds were selected to test the susceptibility profile by using the EUCAST protocol. Antifungal activity was confirmed for seven drugs with MICs ranging from 0.5 to 64 mg/L. Some of these drugs were also tested in combination with voriconazole and anidulafungin at sub-inhibitory concentrations. Our results suggest synergistic interactions between suloctidil and voriconazole with fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) values of 0.11 to 0.5 and between ebselen and anidulafungin (FICI, 0.12 to 0.44). Our findings indicate that drug repurposing could be a viable alternative to managing infections by C. auris.
Targeted APC Activation in Cancer Immunotherapy to Enhance the Abscopal Effect

In oncology, the “abscopal effect” refers to the therapeutic effect on a distant tumor resulting from the treatment of local tumor (e. g., ablation, injection, or radiation). Typically associated with radiation, the abscopal effect is thought to be mediated by a systemic antitumor immune response that is induced by two concurrent changes at the treated tumor: (1) the release of tumor antigens and (2) the exposure of damage-associated molecular patterns. Therapies that produce these changes are associated with immunogenic cell death (ICD). Some interventions have been shown to cause an abscopal effect without inducing the release of tumor antigens, suggesting that release of tumor antigens at baseline plays a significant role in mediating the abscopal effect. With tumor antigens already present, therapies that target activation of APCs alone may be sufficient to enhance the abscopal effect. Here, we discuss two therapies targeted at APC activation, TLR9 and CD40 agonists, and their use in the clinic to enhance the abscopal effect.
Comparative Estimation of QGDFoam Solver Accuracy for Inviscid Flow Around a Cone

The article is devoted to a comparative evaluation of the accuracy of solvers of the OpenFOAM software package. As the test problem, an axisymmetric problem of flow around a cone by an inviscid flow of a compressible gas at zero angle of attack is used. Simulation results for different solvers are compared with the known numerical solution of this classical problem. When solving the test problem for each solver, the angle of the cone and external flow rate are varied with a certain step. The comparison is carried out in a fairly wide range of these determining parameters. Special attention is paid to the QGDFoam solver, which has the property of suppressing undesirable oscillations in the vicinity of the cone vertex while maintaining sufficient accuracy. Keywords— compressible flow; supersonic flow; quasi-gas dynamic equations; OpenFOAM; QGDFoam
Functional and Objective Audiovestibular Evaluation of Children With Apparent Semicircular Canal Dehiscence–A Case Series in a Pediatric Vestibular Center

Semicircular canal dehiscence is a bony abnormality in the otic capsule especially involving the superior semicircular canal. Since its identification in 1998, there is significant research regarding the pathology in the adult population. This condition generates a third window effect that is well–described in the literature. However, the entity is rare in the pediatric population with limited research. Difficulties encountered in children are obtaining a direct history that is essential for the diagnosis followed by neurovestibular tests that may be difficult to perform. This study presents observations regarding different clinical and diagnostic aspects of semicircular canal dehiscences in children as a retrospective audit in a tertiary pediatric vestibular center. Of 580 children assessed in a 30 months period undergoing comprehensive functional and objective audiovestibular assessment, 13 children (2.2%) were detected to possess radiological semicircular canal dehiscences (high resolution computed tomography scans at 0.625 mm slices reformatted in the axial, coronal and sagittal planes). The right superior semicircular canal was most commonly affected (66.6%). There were 4 bilateral semicircular canal dehiscences. Clinical suspicion of the condition was raised with reliable surrogate history from carers or from older children (100%), a mixed or conductive hearing loss (80% of hearing losses) in the presence of normal impedance audiometry (92.3%), normal transient otoacoustic emissions (84.6%) on the side of the dehiscence and the presence of replicable pathological saccades in the video head impulse test (76.9%). Disequilibrium symptoms and typical third window symptoms were absent or difficult to elicit in children (46.15 and 30.76% respectively). Only 3 (0.5%) fulfilled the adult criteria of a superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome. The abnormal video head impulse test characterized by pathological saccades may affect other non-dehisced ipsilateral canals. Semicircular canal dehiscences are rare in children but may be considered as an etiology for hearing losses and imbalance. Children with semicircular canal dehiscence may present differently from the classical superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome found in adults.
A Sparse Superposition Multiple Access Scheme and Performance Analysis for 5G Wireless Communication Systems

Orthogonal multiple access (OMA) is widely employed in traditional cellular wireless communication systems due to a low-complexity receiver is needed. However, multiple access scheme with higher spectral efficiency and the capability of access more users than OMA scheme is preferred for the future wireless communication systems. In this work, we propose a non-orthogonal multiple access scheme called sparse superposition multiple access (SSMA) by superposing more users to a limited number of time-frequency resource for the uplink transmission in the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems. Moreover, we design two sparse superposition matrices (SSMs) for 150% and 200% overloaded SSMA scheme. Then, a low complexity belief propagation detection and decoding algorithm based multiple user detection is proposed. Furthermore, we utilize extrinsic information transfer chart to analyze the superiority of the proposed SSMs theoretically and the numerical results show that the proposed SSM with an overload of 150% has a gain of about 1 dB compared to the existing scheme. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms the traditional OMA scheme and the existing scheme significantly.
A Real-Time Human-Robot Collision Safety Evaluation Method for Collaborative Robot

—As collaborative robots share workspace with humans, physical collision between the human and the robot is inevitable. In order to ensure the safety of humans an international standard, ISO/TS 15066, presents the collision peak pressure which should not be exceeded in the case of collision. To prevent human injury from collision, robots should be aware of its potential risk by predicting the collision peak pressure in real time. The pressure varies depending on the shape of the impactor and the contact area in the event of a collision, the collision peak pressure needs to be analyzed by considering the contact surface nonlinearity. Furthermore, the deformation of human skin exhibits nonlinear elastic behavior. Modeling the human-robot contact behavior with the finite element method would be a conventional approach for solving complex nonlinearity. However, it is not practically possible to perform real-time evaluations because of its high computational cost. This paper introduces a real-time pressure estimation method using a mathematical model for evaluating collision safety for a collaborative robot. To verify the effectiveness of the real-time model associated with the contact surface, impactor shape and the material, we compare with a FE model based calculation results in this paper. The relationship between accuracy and the computational cost is also described.
Identification of Cbp1, a c-di-GMP Binding Chemoreceptor in Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571 Involved in Chemotaxis and Nodulation of the Host Plant

Cbp1, a chemoreceptor containing a PilZ domain was identified in Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571, a nitrogen-fixing free-living soil bacterium that induces nodule formation in both the roots and stems of the host legume Sesbania rostrata. Chemoreceptors are responsible for sensing signals in the chemotaxis pathway, which guides motile bacteria to beneficial niches and plays an important role in the establishment of rhizobia-legume symbiosis. PilZ domain proteins are known to bind the second messenger c-di-GMP, an important regulator of motility, biofilm formation and virulence. Cbp1 was shown to bind c-di-GMP through the conserved RxxxR motif of its PilZ domain. A mutant strain carrying a cbp1 deletion was impaired in chemotaxis, a feature that could be restored by genetic complementation. Compared with the wild type strain, the Δcbp1 mutant displayed enhanced aggregation and biofilm formation. The Δcbp1 mutant induced functional nodules when inoculated individually. However, the Δcbp1 mutant was less competitive than the wild type in competitive root colonization and nodulation. These data are in agreement with the hypothesis that the c-di-GMP binding chemoreceptor Cbp1 in A. caulinodans is involved in chemotaxis and nodulation.