Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Expressions of microRNAs and Transfer RNA-derived Small RNAs: Potential Targets of Choroidal Neovascularization

ABSTRACT Purpose: Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is one of the major clinical characteristics of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) play key roles in diverse biological functions. The purpose of the study was to investigate the roles and possible functions of the miRNAs and tsRNAs in CNV. Methods: The mouse model of laser-induced CNV was conducted by laser photocoagulation. The expression profiles of miRNAs and tsRNAs were accessed by small RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) in RPE-choroid-sclera complexes of mice in CNV group and control group. Selected altered miRNAs and tsRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR. Target genes were predicted by informatics analysis and intersected with the previous microarray study of altered mRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were conducted to reveal the biological functions and signaling pathways with which these target genes are most enriched. Results: The results revealed that 79 miRNAs and 72 tsRNAs in total were significantly altered in the RPE-choroid-sclera complexes of CNV mice. GO analysis revealed that the altered target genes of the selected miRNAs most enriched in immune response, integral component of membrane and peptide binding, while the altered target genes of tsRNAs most enriched in regulation of immune system process, extracellular region, and core promoter binding. Moreover, KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that altered target genes of miRNAs and tsRNAs most enriched in hematopoietic cell lineage and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor signaling pathway, respectively. Conclusions: Our study identified differential expressions of miRNAs and tsRNAs in CNV model, and these altered miRNAs and tsRNAs might be novel potential targets in treating CNVs in patients with neovascular AMD.
Robust MVDR beamforming using the DOA matrix decomposition

The minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer is very sensitive to errors, such as the the finite snapshots and the steering vector errors. A small mismatch can lead to serious degradation to its performance, especially at high signal-to-noise ratio(SNR). In this paper, a new robust MVDR beamformer is proposed. Our analysis starts from the physical meaning of the MVDR weight vector formula. Based on this analysis, DOA matrix is constructed in the single uniform linear array. Through the decomposition of this DOA matrix, we could obtain the actual signal modes contained in the covariance matrix of the snapshots. Then the weight vector could be modified to solve the robustness problem of MVDR beamforming. The computer simulation shows the effectiveness of this method.
Ebola Response: A study of the Psychosocial Factors of Preparedness Among Commissioned Corps Officers of the United States Public Health Service.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to explore the relationships between occupational and general-self efficacy, and perceived preparedness among Commissioned Corps officers in the United States Public Health Service (Commissioned Corps). Commissioned Corps officers fight to protect the United States from diseases and care for the survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Commissioned Corps officers play a vital role in the fight to protect the United States from diseases and care for the survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The Commissioned Corps provided healthcare services in Liberia during the 2014 Ebola crisis that underscored the challenges of emerging diseases in a globalized community. It is imperative that these health professionals maintain a high level of self-efficacy and feel confident in their overall preparedness training as they respond to public health emergencies. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study used assessment instruments derived from Albert Bandura's concept of self-efficacy to analyze the occupational and general self-efficacy, and perceived preparedness levels of health services officers in the Commissioned Corps. 82 Commissioned Corps officers completed the assessment survey. To date, no study has examined the relationship between these constructs in this population. RESULTS There was a statistically significant relationship between feeling confident in one's Commissioned Corps training and perceived preparedness (rs = 0.55, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION This study reflects the training perceptions and self-beliefs of Commissioned Corps officers, fills an important gap in the empirical research in this population, and advances previous investigations, which suffered from an underrepresentation of female service members.
The Role of Minor Pheromone Components in Segregating 14 Species of Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of the Subfamily Cerambycinae

Abstract We present research on the chemical ecology of 14 species of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), in four tribes of the subfamily Cerambycinae, conducted in east-central Illinois over 8 yr. Adult males produce aggregation-sex pheromones that attract both sexes. Twenty independent field bioassays explored the pheromone chemistry of the species and tested the possible attractive or antagonistic effects of compounds that are not produced by a given species, but are pheromone components of other species. Analyses of beetle-produced volatiles revealed compounds that had not been reported previously from several of the species. The most common pheromone component was (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, but pheromones of some species included isomers of the related 2,3-hexanediols. Males of the congeners Phymatodes amoenus (Say) and Phymatodes testaceus (L.) produced pure (R)-2-methylbutan-1-ol. Enantiomers of 2-methylbutan-1-ol also proved to be powerful synergists for Megacyllene caryae (Gahan), Sarosesthes fulminans (F.), and Xylotrechus colonus (F.). The major components of pheromone blends were consistently present in collections of headspace volatiles from male beetles, and only the major components were inherently attractive to a subset of species when tested as single components. Minor components of some species acted as powerful synergists, but in other cases appeared not to influence attraction. Among the minor components identified in headspace extracts from males, 2,3-hexanedione and 2-hydroxyhexan-3-one appeared to be analytical artifacts or biosynthetic by-products, and were neither attractants nor synergists. The antagonistic effects of minor compounds produced by heterospecific males suggest that these compounds serve to maintain prezygotic reproductive isolation among some species that share pheromone components.
Radiometals for imaging and theranostics, current production and future perspectives.

The aim of this review is to make the reader familiar with currently available radiometals, their production modes, capacities and quality concerns related to their medical use, as well as new emerging radiometals and irradiation technologies from the perspective of their diagnostic and theranostic applications. Production methods of 177 Lu serve as an example of various issues related to the production yield, specific activity, radionuclidic and chemical purity and production economy. Other radiometals which are currently used or explored for potential medical applications, with particular focus on their theranostic value, are discussed. The incidence of using radiometals for diagnostic imaging and therapy is on the rise. The high demand for radiometals for medical use prompts investigations towards using alternative irradiation reactions, while using existing nuclear reactors and accelerator facilities. This review discusses these production capacities and what is necessary to cover the growing demand for theranostic nuclides.
Evaluating Focus Theories for Requirements Elicitation

Interactive tools for controlling requirements elicitation are normally driven by rules of specification construction, rather than by conventions of human dialogue. On the other hand, theories of dialogue tend to ignore the interaction with constraints imposed by the domain of application. Various competing theories of dialogue exist but there have been few comparative studies of their use in nontrivial tasks. This paper presents a comparative study of the use of focus theories for requirements elicitation which required us to be precise about our interpretation of our chosen focus theories and to develop an innovative means of empirical testing for them.
Dietary Pomegranate Pulp: Effect on Ewe Milk Quality during Late Lactation

Simple Summary The agro-industrial by-products from the pomegranate juice industry are rich in bioactive compounds. The inclusion of such by-products in the diet of lactating ruminants could improve the health benefits of milk and its technological properties, such as the cheese-making, especially in certain conditions. For example, during late lactation when the quality of milk naturally declines or during the dry season when the availability of good-quality pasture is limited. In addition, recycling agro-industrial by-products that are not edible by humans as an ingredient of the animal diet could reduce the feed costs and the feed-to-food competition in livestock production. Abstract Pomegranate pulp, a by-product of the pomegranate juice industry, contains a remarkable quantity of bioactive compounds that can favorably affect ruminant metabolism and milk quality. The present paper investigated the effect of dietary pomegranate pulp on milk yield and quality during late lactation in grazing ewes. Twenty Comisana ewes (150 ± 10 days in milk) were subdivided into control (CTRL) and pomegranate (PP) groups. The CTRL group received a corn-barley based concentrate, while the PP group received a concentrate containing 64.8% pomegranate pulp. Dietary treatment did not affect milk yield. CTRL milk had a greater percentage of β-casein and total casein, while αs1-casein percentage tended to be greater in the PP group. The PP milk showed a lower percentage of 14:0, 16:0, but a greater percentage of vaccenic, rumenic, and α-linolenic acid. Punicic acid was detected only in the PP milk. Total antioxidant capacity (ORAC) was greater in the CTRL milk as compared with the hydrophilic ORAC. Dietary pomegranate pulp increased milk health quality with no detrimental effects on milk yield. Therefore, pomegranate pulp could represent a strategy for improving milk quality and reducing feeding cost during a less profitable phases such as late lactation. Also, dietary pomegranate pulp, as an alternative to traditional feedstuffs, may lower feed-to-food competition in livestock production.
A fast semi-analytical method for computing the response of railway tracks on nonlinear foundations

The nonlinear vibration of railway tracks is a subject of some recent investigations. A main source of non-linearity comes from the railway foundations. For example, ballast and its lower layers or support systems of non-ballasted railway could have nonlinear behaviors. Models of beam under moving forces are often used for this dynamic system, and then the models are solved by numerical method or perturbation technique for some special nonlinear cases. This communication present a new method for calculating the response of railway tracks under moving trains loads. Based an analytical model of periodically supported beam, this model holds for all kinds of nonlinear foundations. Then, by using harmonic balance techniques and iteration procedures, a new method is developed to calculate the response of the model provided that the loading forces form a periodic impulse series. This kind of loading force represents charges of moving trains with equal mass wagons. This method is demonstrated to converge to the analytic solution of the model in case of linear foundation. Then, it is applied to bilinear and nonlinear foundation as examples. The results show that the nonlinear parameters of foundation have a strong influence on the railways track responses. This semi-analytical method is simple and could be efficient to compute the nonlinear vibrations of railway tracks.
Genetic engineering approaches to improve posttranslational modification of biopharmaceuticals in different production platforms

The number of approved biopharmaceuticals, where product quality attributes remain of major importance, is increasing steadily. Within the available variety of expression hosts, the production of biopharmaceuticals faces diverse limitations with respect to posttranslational modifications (PTM), while different biopharmaceuticals demand different forms and specifications of PTMs for proper functionality. With the growing toolbox of genetic engineering technologies, it is now possible to address general as well as host‐ or biopharmaceutical‐specific product quality obstacles.
Are changes in children's communication patterns predictive of treatment outcomes for children with anxiety?

Abstract Anxiety is the most prevalent childhood psychopathology. Cognitive behavioural therapy is considered the most effective treatment, but outcomes remain variable. This study investigated children's communication patterns in child–therapist conversations and whether changes in these patterns, from rigid to more flexible, were associated with better treatment outcomes. Fifty‐three children (31% boys), with a mean age in years of M = 9.68 (SD = 1.85), completed a 12‐week cognitive behavioural therapy program. Maternal as well as children's reports of children's anxiety were assessed pretreatment and posttreatment. Additionally, 15‐min segments of two therapy sessions were audiotaped and children's conversational turns were coded for properties of response and initiative. The structure of children's communication patterns was further quantified using recurrence quantification analysis. As expected children entering treatment were characterised by rigid and inhibited conversational behaviour. Children who became less repetitive and deterministic over time had better maternal‐rated treatment outcomes. These findings did not generalize to child reports. Last, the hypothesis that the positive relation between the breaking of rigid communication patterns and treatment outcome would be mediated by increases in proactive conversational behaviours of the child was only partly supported. These study findings contribute to the emergent literature on processes of change in childhood anxiety treatment by providing initial support for the hypothesis that breaking rigid (communication) patterns may be a prerequisite of clinical change.
The detection of environmental autoinducing peptide quorum‐sensing genes from an uncultured Clostridium sp. in landfill leachate reactor biomass

Aims: To elucidate whether a dominant uncultured clostridial (Clostridium thermocellum‐like) species in an environmental sample (landfill leachate), possesses an autoinducing peptide (AIP) quorum‐sensing (QS) gene, although it may not be functional.
Confirmatory Trials for Drugs Approved on a Single Trial.

June 2019 1 © 2019 American Heart Association, Inc. The requirement for two as opposed to one adequate and well-controlled study for drug approval has gained and lost popularity in regulatory science.1 The rationale for two trials was that an individual trial result might be driven by bias in the specific study site, the specific study personnel, or in the design, conduct and control arm of a specific study. Thus, a second trial, which alters these preconditions, would be able to confirm whether an intervention truly works or whether the observed result was a product of a unique and irreproducible recipe. Criticism of recent trials in cardiovascular medicine force us to revisit under what circumstances two regulatory trials are preferable, and when one might suffice. Here, we consider two examples: a trial of icosapent ethyl and a trial of sacubitrilvalsartan. Both have generated controversy in the professional community for specific study design choices, including choice of control arm, or use of unequal runin periods. A confirmatory, randomized study could provide clarity in both these examples and may be demanded by regulatory agencies.
The Twazon Arabic Weight Loss App: App-Based Intervention for Saudi Women With Obesity

Background By 2022, it is estimated that the rate of female obesity (78%) in Saudi Arabia will almost double that of males (41%). Despite being mainly attributed to poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and a lack of health awareness, behavioral modification interventions are relatively new to the population; bariatric surgery continues to be the treatment of choice for comorbidities. However, neither pre nor postoperative diet and exercise are promoted. Evidence-informed mobile health (mHealth) weight loss apps and interventions may be an effective tool for delivering a culturally relevant intervention. Objective This study aimed to determine the feasibility of a weight loss intervention that tests the effectiveness of Twazon, an originally designed Arabic weight-loss app that promotes lifestyle modification specific to Arab populations. Methods A pre-post single‐arm pilot study was carried out among a sample of 240 overweight volunteer Saudi women residing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia who used the Twazon app over a 4-month period. Anthropometric, diet, and physical activity measures were assessed 3 times: baseline, 2-months and 4-months; frequency of app use and system usability were evaluated during the 2 latter data collection periods. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to identify changes over time. Results A total of 40 participants completed the 4-month intervention with an attrition rate of 83%. An evaluation of the frequency of app use fostered 2 groups: engaged users (65%) and unengaged users (35%). At 4 months, the engaged users experienced more successful outcomes; body weight was lowered on average by 1.3 (SD 0.6) kg (P=.18), waist circumference (WC) was reduced by 4.9 (SD 1.1) cm (P<.001), and daily energy consumption was decreased by >600 calories (P=.002). Unengaged users experienced minor changes in body weight, WC, and reduced energy intake. Conclusions The findings have demonstrated that engagement with the Twazon app renders positive changes in body weight, WC, and energy intake. mHealth weight loss apps and interventions have the potential to be effective in promoting weight loss and healthy lifestyle modification in Saudi Arabia and similar populations.
Effect of environmental temperature on sweat onset during motion sickness.

Abstract : Since the sweat response is observed as part of some motion-sickness- rating procedures, it is useful to know if other variables such as environmental temperature can affect the response during vestibular stimulation on several occasions. On each occasion the run was carried out with a different environmental temperature. At a relatively high temperature the thermal stress caused a sweat response, and no vestibular stimulation was required. With lower environmental temperatures, a longer period of vestibular stimulation was required to evoke the sweat response. At a relatively low temperature no sweating was observed despite continuous vestibular stimulation and the development of severe nausea. The results indicate that environmental temperature can affect the sweat response during motion sickness and suggest the possible hazard of excessive fluid and electrolyte loss when both vestibular and thermal stress are present. By proper selection of environmental temperature, sweating can be induced before the onset of nausea. In this situation the sweat response could serve as a useful predictor of motion-sickness onset in the administration of adaption schedules and in monitoring persons in the space- flight environment. (Author)
Noninvasive diagnosis of TRIT1‐related mitochondrial disorder by measuring i6A37 and ms2i6A37 modifications in tRNAs from blood and urine samples

Subsets of mitochondrial transfer RNA (tRNA) contain the N6‐isopentenyladenosine (i6A) or 2‐methylthio‐N6‐isopentenyladenosine (ms2i6A) modification at position A37, which is adjacent to an anticodon. These modifications are essential for efficient protein translation in mitochondria and contribute to energy metabolism. The first step in i6A and ms2i6A modifications is catalyzed by tRNA isopentenyltransferase, which is encoded by the TRIT1 gene. Herein, we report a girl with a developmental delay, frequent episodes of seizures induced by febrile illness, and myoclonic epilepsy who had compound heterozygous missense mutations in TRIT1. A mass spectrometry analysis of RNA nucleoside obtained from the subject's peripheral blood and urine showed a marked decrease in both i6A and ms2i6A modifications. These results suggest that the mitochondrial disorder was caused by defective tRNA isopentenylation arising from a loss‐of‐function mutation in TRIT1. Furthermore, the present observations suggest that noninvasive biochemical analysis using peripheral blood and urine samples are sufficient for the diagnosis of TRIT1‐related disorders, making muscle biopsy for the direct measurement of oxidative phosphorylation unnecessary. Such biochemical analyses before the start of antiepileptic medications would be beneficial to avoid hepatotoxicity in patients with possible mitochondrial disorders.
High‐intensity exercise training enhances mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation efficiency in a temperature‐dependent manner in human skeletal muscle: implications for exercise performance

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether exercise training‐induced adaptations in human skeletal muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics are magnified under thermal conditions resembling sustained intense contractile activity and whether training‐induced changes in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) efficiency influence exercise efficiency. Twenty healthy men performed 6 wk of high‐intensity exercise training [i.e., speed endurance training (SET; n = 10)], or maintained their usual lifestyle (n = 10). Before and after the intervention, mitochondrial respiratory function was determined ex vivo in permeabilized muscle fibers under experimentally‐induced normothermia (35°C) and hyperthermia (40°C) mimicking in vivo muscle temperature at rest and during intense exercise, respectively. In addition, activity and content of muscle mitochondrial enzymes and proteins were quantified. Exercising muscle efficiency was determined in vivo by measurements of leg hemodynamics and blood parameters during one‐legged knee‐extensor exercise. SET enhanced maximal OXPHOS capacity and OXPHOS efficiency at 40°C, but not at 35°C, and attenuated hyperthermia‐induced decline in OXPHOS efficiency. Furthermore, SET increased expression of markers of mitochondrial content and up‐regulated content of MFN2, DRP1, and ANT1. Also, SET improved exercise efficiency and capacity. These findings indicate that muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics adapts to high‐intensity exercise training in a temperature‐dependent manner and that enhancements in mitochondrial OXPHOS efficiency may contribute to improving exercise performance. —Fiorenza, M. , Lemminger, A. K. , Marker, M. , Eibye, K. , Iaia, F. M. , Bangsbo, J., Hostrup, M. High‐intensity exercise training enhances mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation efficiency in a temperature‐dependent manner in human skeletal muscle: implications for exercise performance. FASEB J. 33, 8976–8989 (2019). www.fasebj. org