Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Adalimumab and Cyclosporine A on the Expression Profile of the Genes Related to TGFβ Signaling Pathways in Keratinocyte Cells Treated with Lipopolysaccharide A

Background In the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis, cyclosporine A (CsA) conventional therapy is used and biological, anti-cytokine treatment using, for example, anti-TNF drug—adalimumab. Aim This study aimed at investigating the effect of CsA and adalimumab on the profile of mRNAs and protein expression associated with transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) pathways in human keratinocyte (HaCaT) culture previously exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Materials and Methods HaCaT culture was exposed to 1 ng/ml LPS for 8 hours+8 μg/ml adalimumab for 2, 8, and 24 hours or 1 ng/ml LPS for 8 hours+100 ng/ml CsA for 2, 8, and 24 hours and compared to the control culture. Sulphorodamine B cytotoxicity assay was performed. The expression profile of mRNA related to TGFβ paths was indicated by microarray and RTqPCR analyses. The ELISA test was used to analyze changes on the proteome level. Statistical analysis consisted of ANOVA analysis and the post hoc Tukey test (p < 0.05). Results The cytotoxicity test showed that LPS, adalimumab, and cyclosporine in the concentration used in this experiment did not have any cytotoxicity effect on HaCaT cells. The largest fold changes (FC) in expression in (∣FC | >4.00) was determined for TGFβ1-3, TGFβRI-III, SKIL, SMURF2, SMAD3, BMP2, BMP6, JAK2, UBE2D1, SKP2, EDN1, and PRKAR2B (p < 0.05). In addition, on the protein level, the direct changes observed at mRNA were the same. Conclusion Analysis of the microarray expression profile of genes associated with TGFβ signaling pathways has demonstrated the potential of cyclosporin A and adalimumab to induce changes in their transcriptional activity. The anti-TNF drug seems to affect TGFβ cascades to a greater extent than cyclosporin A. The obtained results suggest that the regularity of taking the drug is important for the efficacy of psoriasis therapy.
Potential Zoonotic Origins of SARS-CoV-2 and Insights for Preventing Future Pandemics Through One Health Approach

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that has resulted in a global pandemic and is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Zoonotic diseases are infections that are transmitted from animals to humans. COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 most likely originated in bats and transmitted to humans through a possible intermediate host. Based on published research so far, pangolins are considered the most likely intermediate hosts. Further studies are needed on different wild animal species, including pangolins that are sold at the same wet market or similar wet markets before concluding pangolins as definitive intermediate hosts. SARS-CoV-2 is capable of reverse zoonosis as well. Additional research is needed to understand the pathogenicity of the virus, especially in companion animals, modes of transmission, incubation period, contagious period, and zoonotic potential. Interdisciplinary one health approach handles these mosaic issues of emerging threats by integrating professionals from multiple disciplines like human medicine, veterinary medicine, environmental health, and social sciences. Given that the future outbreak of zoonotic diseases is inevitable, importance must be given for swift identification of the pathogen, source, and transmission methods. Countries should invest in identifying the hot spots for the origin of zoonotic diseases, enhance diagnostic capabilities, and rapid containment measures at local, regional, and national levels. The threat posed by emerging infectious diseases in modern-days also needs combined efforts internationally where a single discipline or nation cannot handle the burden alone.
Identifying Interactions between Dietary Sodium, Potassium, Sodium–Potassium Ratios, and FGF5 rs16998073 Variants and Their Associated Risk for Hypertension in Korean Adults

Hypertension is affected by both genetic and dietary factors. This study aimed to examine the interaction between dietary sodium/potassium intake, sodium–potassium ratios, and FGF5 rs16998073 and link these with increased risk for developing hypertension. Using data from the Health Examinee (HEXA) Study of the Korean Genome and Epidemiologic Study (KoGES), we were able to identify a total of 17,736 middle-aged Korean adults who could be included in our genome-wide association study (GWAS) to confirm any associations between hypertension and the FGF5 rs16998073 variant. GWAS analysis revealed that the FGF5 rs16698073 variant demonstrated the strongest association with hypertension in this population. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between dietary intake of sodium, potassium, and sodium–potassium ratios and the FGF5 rs16998073 genotypes (AA, AT, TT) and any increased risk of hypertension. Carriers with at least one minor T allele for FGF5 rs16998073 were shown to be at significantly higher risk for developing hypertension. Male TT carriers with a daily sodium intake ≥2000 mg also demonstrated an increased risk for developing hypertension compared to the male AA carriers with daily sodium intake <2000 mg (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.41, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.84–3.15, p-interaction < 0.0001). Female AA carriers with a daily potassium intake ≥3500 mg showed a reduced risk for hypertension when compared to female AA carriers with a daily potassium intake <3500 mg (AOR = 0.75. 95% CIs = 0.58–0.95, p-interaction < 0.0001). Male TT carriers in the mid-tertile for sodium–potassium ratio values showed the highest odds ratio for hypertension when compared to male AA carriers in the lowest-tertile for sodium–potassium ratio values (AOR = 3.03, 95% CIs = 2.14–4.29, p-interaction < 0.0001). This study confirmed that FGF5 rs16998073 variants do place their carriers (men and women) at increased risk for developing hypertension. In addition, we showed that high daily intake of sodium exerted a synergistic effect for hypertension when combined with FGF5 rs16998073 variants in both genders and that dietary sodium, potassium, and sodium–potassium ratios all interact with FGF5 rs16998073 and alter the risk of developing hypertension in carriers of either gender among Koreans.
Comparative Results of “Epi-Off” Conventional versus “Epi-Off” Accelerated Cross-Linking Procedure at 5-year Follow-Up

Purpose The aim of our study was to compare the long-term efficacy and safety of “epi-off” conventional and “epi-off” accelerated corneal cross-linking (CXL) in patients with progressive keratoconus. Methods “Epithelial-off” (“Epi-off”) CXL using the conventional technique (3 mW/cm2, 30 minutes) was performed in 93 eyes of 93 patients (S-CXL group) and “epi-off” accelerated method (9 mW/cm2, 10 minutes) in 76 eyes of 76 patients with progressive KCN (A-CXL group). Cases with different stages of keratoconus and topographic evidence of progression were included. Main outcomes comprised refraction, keratometry measurements, uncorrected (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and topographical indices. Micromorphological analysis was assessed by anterior segment ocular coherence tomography (AS-OCT). The follow-up period was 5 years. Results In both groups, Kflat presented similar results: decrease at 1 year (p=0.465), at 2 years (p=0.672), at 3 years (p=0.198), at 4 years (p=0.32), and at 5 years (p=0.864). In both groups, Ksteep presented a similar decrease at 1 year (p=0.709), at 2 years (p=0.455), at 3 years (p=0.43), at 4 years (p=0.57), and at 5 years (p=0.494), with no statistically significant difference. Decrease in Kavg was similar in both groups at all analyzed time points (p=0.18 at 1 year, p=0.093 at 2 years, p=0.57 at 3 years, p=0.154 at 4 years, and p=0.247 at 5 years). Kmax had a similar decrease in both groups at 1 year (p=0.06), at 2 years (p=0.09), at 3 years (p=0.126), at 4 years (p=0.113), and at 5 years (p=0.114). There was no statistically significant difference between the cylinder decrease in both groups (p=0.349 at 1 year, p=0.6782 at 2 years, p=0.299 at 3 years, p=0.0943 at 4 years, and p=0.144 at 5 years). The BCVA values were statistically significantly higher than the preoperative values in both groups at all time points (p < 0.05). Topographical indices such as thinnest corneal point (TP), corneal volume (CV), index vertical asymmetry (IVA), index of vertical asymmetry (ISV), index of height asymmetry (IHA), index of height decentration (IHD), Belin/Ambrosio Enhanced Ectasia Display (BAD_D), and Ambrosio retinal thickness (ART Max) were significantly statistically decreased compared with baseline at all time points, in both groups. Conclusion “Epi-off” accelerated and conventional CXL have the same efficacy in terms of improvement in visual and topographic outcomes.
Multiplex Tests for Respiratory Tract Infections: The Direct Utility of the FilmArray Respiratory Panel in Emergency Department

Background The FilmArray Respiratory Panel with multiplex targets for respiratory pathogens has been widely used and verified in clinical trials in special test settings. However, it is necessary to evaluate the panel's performance at the point of care directly, in nonspecific test settings. Methods Patients with respiratory tract infections were enrolled from among emergency department visitors, and all steps, including the collection of specimens and testing, were performed by our clinicians. Results Among 270 patients, 196 (72.6%) patients were found to have one or more pathogens. For signal pathogen detection, influenza A virus had the highest rate of detection; 45 (16.7%) of the patients had two or more respiratory pathogens codetected, and most of the multiplex pathogens were rhinovirus/enterovirus codetected with Bordetella pertussis (17.8%). The information provided by the FilmArray had an impact on the prescription of antimicrobials, and there were differences in the rates of antibiotic prescriptions and anti-influenza prescriptions among patients. Conclusions Use of the FilmArray by clinical staff was successfully implemented in the emergency department for the first time in China. The FilmArray has the potential for point-of-care testing in nonspecific settings.
Geomagnetic Field Based Indoor Landmark Classification Using Deep Learning

The unstable nature of radio frequency signals and the need for external infrastructure inside buildings have limited the use of positioning techniques, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fingerprinting. Compared to these techniques, the geomagnetic field exhibits stable signal strength in the time domain. However, existing magnetic positioning methods cannot perform well in a wide space because the magnetic signal is not always discernible. In this paper, we introduce deep recurrent neural networks (DRNNs) to build a model that is capable of capturing long-range dependencies in variable-length input sequences. The use of DRNNs is brought from the idea that the spatial/temporal sequence of magnetic field values around a given area will create a unique pattern over time, despite multiple locations having the same magnetic field value. Therefore, we can divide the indoor space into landmarks with magnetic field values and find the position of the user in a particular area inside the building. We present long short-term memory DRNNs for spatial/temporal sequence learning of magnetic patterns and evaluate their positioning performance on our testbed datasets. The experimental results show that our proposed models outperform other traditional positioning approaches with machine learning methods, such as support vector machine and k-nearest neighbors.
Primary Angioplasty in a Catastrophic Presentation: Acute Left Main Coronary Total Occlusion—The ATOLMA Registry

Objectives To determine the outcome predictors of in-hospital mortality in acute total occlusion of the left main coronary artery (ATOLMA) patients referred to emergent angioplasty and to describe the clinical presentation and the long-term outcome of these patients. Background ATOLMA is an uncommon angiographic finding that usually leads to a catastrophic presentation. Limited and inconsistent data have been previously reported regarding true ATOLMA, yet comprehensive knowledge remains scarce. Methods This is a multicenter retrospective cohort that includes patients presenting with myocardial infarction due to a confirmed ATOLMA who underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Results In the period of the study, 7930 emergent PCI were performed in the five participating centers, and 46 of them had a true ATOLMA (0.58%). At admission, cardiogenic shock was present in 89% of patients, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was required in 67.4%. All the patients had right dominance. Angiographic success was achieved in 80.4% of the procedures, 13 patients (28.2%) died during the catheterization, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 58.6% (27/46). At one-year and at the final follow-up, 18 patients (39%) were alive, including four cases successfully transplanted. Multivariate analysis showed that postprocedural TIMI flow was the only independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (OR 0.23, (95% CI 0.1–0.36), p < 0.001). Conclusions Our study confirms that the clinical presentation of ATOLMA is catastrophic, presenting a high in-hospital mortality rate; nevertheless, primary angioplasty in this setting is feasible. Postprocedural TIMI flow resulted as the only independent predictor of in-hospital mortality. In-hospital survivors presented an encouraging outcome. ATOLMA and left dominance could be incompatible with life.
The Development and Psychometric Testing of the Nurse Practitioner Role Transition Scale

15 Introduction 16 Background and Conceptual Framework 17 Procedures for the Development of the NPRTS 20 Methods 22 Results 25 Discussion 29 References 33 Tables 37 Chapter 3 Article #2: Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Role Transition: The Process of Reattaining Expert Status 42 Abstract 43 Introduction 44 Literature Review 44 Methods 49 Results 51 Discussion 60 References 62 Tables 65 Chapter 4 Article #3: Revision and Validation of the Nurse Practitioner Role Transition Scale 67 Abstract 68 Introduction 70 Conceptual Framework 71 Background 74 Study Aim 78 Methods 78 Results 83 Discussion 89 References 96 Tables and Figures 102 Chapter 5 Discussion and Review 107 References 114
Assessing the potential for maladaptation during active management of limber pine populations: a common garden study detects genetic differentiation in response to soil moisture in the Southern Rocky Mountains

Active management is needed to sustain healthy limber pine (Pinus flexilis E. James) forests in the Southern Rocky Mountains (henceforth, Southern Rockies), as they are threatened by the interaction of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic, climate change, and the spread of the non-native pathogen that causes white pine blister rust disease (Cronartium ribicola A. Dietr.). Appropriate source material for restoration and proactive introduction needs to be selected, taking into account potential genetic differentiation that would hamper management success. We conducted a common garden study in a greenhouse to determine the degree of genetic differentiation among limber pine populations in the Southern Rockies. We evaluated the differential responses of populations from northern and southern portions of the Southern Rockies to different moisture regimes during early seedling growth by measuring primary needle length, stem diameter, water potential, biomass allocation between roo.
Case-Control Study of Risk Factors and Self-Care Behaviors of Foot Ulceration in Diabetic Patients Attending Primary Healthcare Services in Palestine

The purpose of this study is to identify certain sociodemographic, lifestyle, self-care, and foot examination factors that predict the development of diabetic foot ulcers in Palestine. A case-control study was performed in Palestine in 2019. The control group consisted of diabetic patients without foot ulceration (NFU). The case group included diabetic patients who had foot ulcers (DFU) with a size not less than 0.5 cm2. The sample of patients was taken from primary healthcare diabetic clinics in Palestine. Findings of the study showed several independent risk factors for developing DFUs, which were smoking, sensory loss to vibration, sensory loss to monofilament, loss of pedal pulse, presence of calluses, nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy. Also, this study has shown that illiteracy and low income were significantly associated with DFU development. Moreover, the current study demonstrated that poor self-care behaviors were associated with DFU. The information gained from the study will contribute to raising awareness and improving health education for diabetic patients and their families with the aim of reducing the complications of diabetes.
Soluble IL-2 Receptor in Dermatomyositis: Its Associations with Skin Ulcers and Disease Activity

Objective To investigate the role of soluble interleukin-2R (sIL-2R) in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). Methods Serum sIL-2R levels were measured in 74 dermatomyositis (DM), 16 immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), 24 rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 20 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 20 healthy controls (HCs) by chemiluminescent immunometric assay. Clinical features and laboratory data were collected from electronic medical record. Disease activity was evaluated by using physician global disease activity and myositis disease activity assessment visual analog scale (MYOACT) on admission. 20 DM patients were followed. Serum sIL-2R levels were analyzed and compared with clinical features, laboratory data, and measures of disease activity. Results Serum sIL-2R levels were significantly higher in DM patients than in IMNM patients and HCs (648.8 ± 433.1 U/ml vs. 352.3 ± 126.0 U/ml and 648.8 ± 433.1 U/ml vs. 285.8 ± 101.9 U/ml, respectively; all P < 0.001), while there was no significant difference between IMNM and HCs. There were also no significant differences of sIL-2R levels in DM, SLE, and RA. Importantly, serum sIL-2R levels were significantly higher in treatment-naïve or active DM patients than those that are not (1100.9 ± 550.4 U/ml vs. 615.6 ± 330.4 U/ml, P = 0.006; 808.8 ± 421.6 U/ml vs. 339.8 ± 103.4 U/ml, P < 0.001). DM patients with skin ulcers had significantly higher sIL-2R levels than those without (889.3 ± 509.9 U/ml vs. 640.0 ± 368.7 U/ml, P = 0.023). Cross-sectional analysis in DM showed that sIL-2R levels positively correlated with CK, ESR, CRP, ferritin, physician VAS, and MYOACT scores (rho = 0.278, rho = 0.474, rho = 0.469, rho = 0.454, r = 0.646, and r = 0.600, respectively; all P < 0.05), negatively correlated with T cell counts and MMT8 scores (r = −0.380, P = 0.002; rho = −0.394, P = 0.001). Follow-up study showed that changes in sIL-2R levels after treatment correlated with changes in physician VAS and MYOACT scores (r = 0.823 and r = 0.695, respectively; all P < 0.01). Conclusion Serum sIL-2R levels were elevated in DM but not in IMNM. Serum sIL-2R could act as a disease activity marker and be associated with ulcerative skin lesions in DM.
Relationships among Peach, Almond, and Related Species as Detected by Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

The genetic relationships among peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch), almond (P. dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb or P. amygdalus (L.) Batsch) and 10 related Prunus species within the subgenus Amygdalus were investigated using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. P. gl andulosa Pall. was included as an outgroup. Polymorphic alleles were scored as present or absent for each accession. The number of alleles revealed by the SSR analysis in peach and almond cultivars ranged from one to three whereas related Prunus species showed a range of one to 10 alleles. Results demonstrated an extensive genetic variability within this readily intercrossed germplasm as well as the value of SSR markers developed in one species of Prunus for the characterization of related species. Mean character difference distances were calculated for all pairwise comparisons and were used to construct an unrooted dendogram depicting the phenetic relationships among species. Four main groups were distinguished. Peach cultivars clustered with accessions of P. davidiana (Carr.) Franch. and P. mira Koehne. The second group contained almond cultivars. A third group included accessions of P. argentea (Lam) Rehd. , P. bucharica Korschinsky, P. kuramica Korschinsky, P. pedunculata Pall, P. petunikowii Lits. , P. ta ngutica (Spach) Batal. , and P. webbii (Spach) Vieh. P. glandulosa and P. scoparia Batal. were included in a fourth group. Peach (Prunus persica) and almond (P. dulcis) syn. (P. amyg- dalus) are two species of genus Prunus subgenus Amygdalus (Rosaceae, subfamily Prunoideae) that are commercially grown worldwide. These species originated in Southeastern and Central Asia respectively, and represent divergent evolution under two distinct environments, being warmer and more humid in the case of peach, and colder and xerophytic for almond (Watkins, 1976). Related Prunus species are found growing wild from eastern China to the mountainous areas and deserts of western China, Kurdistan, Turkestan, Afghanistan and Iran (Browick and Zohary, 1996; Faust and Timon, 1995; Grasselly, 1976; Hesse, 1975; Kester and Gradziel, 1996; Kester et al., 1991; Scorza and Sherman, 1996). The direct use of these related Prunus species as a rootstock for peach and almond, mainly under non-irrigated native conditions, has been reported by several authors (Denisov, 1988; Grasselly, 1976; Hesse, 1975). Interspecifi c crosses (peach x almond, peach x P. davidiana, and P. webbii x peach) have also been used as peach
A comparison of current and historical fish assemblages in a Caribbean island estuary: conservation value of historical data

1.Historical data are often one of the only resources available for documenting and assessing causes of environmental change, particularly in developing regions where funding for ecological studies is limited. In this paper, previously unpublished data from a year-long study (1977) of the fish community of the Espiritu Santo estuary are presented. This dataset is among the oldest and most extensive surveys of a Caribbean island estuarine fish community. 2.A comparison of these historical data with data collected in June and July 2004 using identical sampling methods allowed description of potential long-term changes in the fish community, identification of vulnerable species, and assessment of potential drivers of change. 3.Results strongly suggest a decline in species richness and abundance in the Espiritu Santo estuarine fish community, with greater declines in freshwater-tolerant than marine or euryhaline species. Declines in freshwater inflow to the estuary, due to large-scale upstream water abstractions for municipal use, have increased since the initial 1977 survey. 4.This is the first study to examine long-term change in the fish community of a tropical island estuary. Additional research and conservation efforts are needed to understand mechanisms of change and to protect Caribbean island estuarine fish communities. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.