Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitric oxide inhibits endothelial cell apoptosis by inhibiting cysteine‐dependent SOD1 monomerization

Endothelial cell apoptosis is an important pathophysiology in many cardiovascular diseases. The gasotransmitter nitric oxide (NO) is known to regulate cell survival and apoptosis. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of NO remains unclear. In this research, by targeting cytosolic copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) monomerization, we aimed to explore how NO inhibited endothelial cell apoptosis. We showed that treatment with the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor nomega‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L‐NAME) significantly decreased the endogenous NO content of endothelial cells, facilitated the formation of SOD1 monomers, inhibited dismutase activity, and promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs); by contrast, supplementation with the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) upregulated NO content, prevented the formation of SOD1 monomers, enhanced dismutase activity, and reduced ROS accumulation in L‐NAME‐treated HUVECs. Mechanistically, tris(2‐carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP), a specific reducer of cysteine thiol, increased SOD1 monomer formation, thus preventing the NO‐induced increase in dismutase activity and the decrease in ROS. Furthermore, SNP inhibited HUVEC apoptosis caused by the decrease in endogenous NO, whereas TCEP abolished this protective effect of SNP. In summary, our data reveal that NO protects endothelial cells against apoptosis by inhibiting cysteine‐dependent SOD1 monomerization to enhance SOD1 activity and inhibit oxidative stress.
The Effect of Predictability of the Perturbation Magnitude on Anticipatory and Compensatory Postural Adjustments during a Bimanual Load-Lifting Task

Abstract Background: To minimize the potential postural disturbance induced by external or self-initiated perturbations, humans generate anticipatory postural adjustments based on their perceived consequences of the body disturbance. Lifting is a common activity that induces a self-initiated perturbation that can compromise balance control. Aim: To assess anticipatory (APAs) and compensatory (CPAs) postural adjustments generated in response to a self-initiated perturbation induced by lifting objects of uncertain mass. Methods: Ten young adults lifted the tray with either light or heavy object placed in it. Electromyographic activity of eight trunk and leg muscles, and center-of-pressure (COP) displacements were recorded and analyzed during the APAs and CPAs phases. Results: When the object mass changed unpredictably, the participants generated APAs based on the most recent experience of lifting and needed three trials of lifting to generate optimal APAs and CPAs. Conclusions: Young adults were able to predict the perturbation magnitude during self-initiated perturbations induced by lifting objects. The outcome provides a foundation for future studies focusing on the role of predictability of perturbation consequences in postural control of older adults and individuals with balance deficit.
Cardioprotective effects of alantolactone on isoproterenol-induced cardiac injury and cobalt chloride-induced cardiomyocyte injury

Objectives Alantolactone (AL) is a compound extracted from the roots of Inula Racemosa that has shown beneficial effects in cardiovascular disease. However, the cardioprotective mechanism of AL against hypoxic/ischemic (H/I) injury is still unclear. This research aimed to determine AL’s ability to protect the heart against isoproterenol (ISO)-induced MI injury in vivo and cobalt chloride (CoCl2) induced H/I injury in vitro. Methods Electrocardiography (ECG), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assays in addition to histological analysis of the myocardium were used to investigate the effects of AL in vivo. Influences of AL on L-type Ca2+ current (ICa-L) in isolated rat myocytes were observed by the patch-clamp technique. Furthermore, cell viability, apoptosis, oxidative stress injury, mitochondrial membrane potential, and intracellular Ca2+ concentration were examined in vitro. Results The results indicated that AL treatment ameliorated the morphological and ECG changes associated with MI, and decreased levels of LDH, CK, and cTnI. Furthermore, pretreatment with AL elevated antioxidant enzyme activity and suppressed ROS production. AL prevented H/I-induced apoptosis, mitochondria damage, and calcium overload while reducing ICa-L in a concentration and time dependent fashion. The 50% inhibiting concentration (IC50) and maximal inhibitory effect (Emax) of AL were 17.29 μmol/L and 57.73 ± 1.05%, respectively. Conclusion AL attenuated MI-related injury by reducing oxidative stress, apoptosis, calcium overload, and mitochondria damage. These cardioprotective effects may be related to the direct inhibition of ICa-L.
Optimization of Extraction Process and the Antioxidant Activity Spectrum-effect Relationship of Angelica dahurica.

Despite the large number of studies indicating that Angelica dahurica has strong antioxidant capacity, there are no clear details on the specific antioxidant components involved. In this study, the chromatograms and antioxidant activity of A. dahurica were obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) methods. The factors affecting free radical scavenging were investigated under different extraction conditions, on the basis of the single factor experiment. The results showed that the optimum conditions for the DPPH method were ultrasonic extraction, using 80 % methanol as extract the extraction solvent, 20:1 (mL/g) ratio of liquid to material, and the extraction time was 30 min. Furthermore, the spectrum-effect relationship between the GC-MS chromatograms and the antioxidant effect of A. dahurica was established, to evaluate the antioxidant components of A. dahurica using multiple data analysis methods. Isoimperatorin and byakangelicol made the greatest contribution to scavenging DPPH free radicals and ferric-reducing antioxidant power. This result may provide the basis for developing new and effective products based on the antioxidant ingredients of A. dahurica.
Glutaminase 2 knockdown reduces hyperammonemia and associated lethality of urea cycle disorder mouse model

Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins in the cells and tissues, are of fundamental importance for cell survival, maintenance, and proliferation. The liver plays a critical role in amino acid metabolism and detoxication of byproducts such as ammonia. Urea cycle disorders with hyperammonemia remain difficult to treat and eventually necessitate liver transplantation. In this study, ornithine transcarbamylase deficient (Otcspf‐ash) mouse model was used to test whether knockdown of a key glutamine metabolism enzyme glutaminase 2 (GLS2, gene name: Gls2) or glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (GLUD1, gene name: Glud1) could rescue the hyperammonemia and associated lethality induced by a high protein diet. We found that reduced hepatic expression of Gls2 but not Glud1 by AAV8‐mediated delivery of a short hairpin RNA in Otcspf‐ash mice diminished hyperammonemia and reduced lethality. Knockdown of Gls2 but not Glud1 in Otcspf‐ash mice exhibited reduced body weight loss and increased plasma glutamine concentration. These data suggest that Gls2 hepatic knockdown could potentially help alleviate risk for hyperammonemia and other clinical manifestations of patients suffering from defects in the urea cycle.
Bilateral deficit in the countermovement jump and its associations with judo-specific performance

ABSTRACT This study aimed to describe the bilateral deficit (BLD) during the countermovement jump (CMJ) in judo athletes and determine the relationship between the BLD and judo-specific performance. Fourteen male judo athletes participated. Athletes performed three specific judo tests, Maximal Sprint Speed Judo Test, Maximal Aerobic Speed Judo Test and Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT), and double- and single-leg CMJ. The following CMJ variables were used: jump height (JH), mean (MPO) and peak (PPO) power output, peak force (PF), peak velocity (PV) and impulse (IMP). The Pearson’s or Spearman’s test were used (p < 0.05). The results show that the BLD is found in all CMJ parameters (20 to 31%). Negative correlations between first set of SJFTTT (total throws) and BLD in PF (r = −0.60; p= 0.022) and between the second set of SJFTTT and BLD in MPO (r= −0.74;p = 0.002), PV (r =−0.59;p = 0.025) and IMP (r =−0.55; p = 0.040) were found. Also, negative correlations between SJFTTT and the BLD in all CMJ parameters (r= −0.53 to −0.85; p < 0.05) were found. Higher values of BLD are related to poor SJFTTT performance.
A quantitative study on the mental health of Turkish seafarers

Physically and mentally healthy seafarers with professional knowledge and skills are needed for maritime transportation to be safe and sustainable. Mental problems experienced by seafarers can lead to negative consequences, such as bullying, substance dependency, assault, murder and suicide. Accordingly, this study examined the effects of differences between the socio-demographic characteristics of Turkish seafarers on their depression, which is an important criterion for determining mental disorders. Data collected from 403 participants through quantitative research methods were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and AMOS version 23.0. Although periodic physical and mental health checks are performed on seafarers, it was found from the analysis results that 33.2% of Turkish seafarers experience mental issues. Moreover, the study determined that the socio-demographic characteristics of seafarers made some differences in their depression levels.
Association of Daily Sitting Time and Leisure-Time Physical Activity With Survival Among US Cancer Survivors.

Importance Sedentary behaviors, particularly prolonged sitting and lack of physical activity, may influence survival after cancer. Objective To examine the independent and joint associations of daily sitting time and leisure-time physical activity with mortality outcomes among cancer survivors. Design, Setting, and Participants A prospective cohort of a nationally representative sample of cancer survivors, age 40 years or older (n = 1535; weighted population, 14 002 666), from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2014. Participants were linked to mortality data from their interview and physical examination date through December 31, 2015. Daily sitting time and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) were self-reported using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data analyses were performed from January 1 to May 1, 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures All-cause, cancer-specific, and noncancer mortality. Results Among 1535 cancer survivors (mean [SE] age, 65.1 [0.4] years; 828 [60.1%] females; 945 [83.1%] non-Hispanic White individuals), 950 (56.8%) reported LTPA of 0 minutes per week (min/wk) during the previous week (inactive); 226 (15.6%) reported LTPA of less than 150 min/wk (insufficiently active); 359 (27.6%) reported LTPA of 150 min/wk or more (active); 553 (35.4%) reported sitting for 6 to 8 hours per day (h/d); and 328 (24.9%) reported sitting for more than 8 h/d. Of note, 574 (35.8%) cancer survivors reported no LTPA with concurrent sitting of more than 6 h/d. During the follow-up period of up to 9 years (median, 4.5 years; 6980 person-years), there were 293 deaths (cancer, 114; heart diseases, 41; other causes, 138). Multivariable models showed that being physically active was associated with lower risks of all-cause (hazard ratio [HR], 0.34; 95% CI, 0.20-0.60) and cancer-specific (HR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15-0.70) mortality compared with inactivity. Sitting more than 8 h/d was associated with higher risks of all-cause (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.05-3.14) and cancer-specific (HR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.08-4.79) mortality compared with those sitting less than 4 h/d. In the joint analyses, prolonged sitting was associated with an increased risk of death among cancer survivors who were not sufficiently active. Specifically, inactive and insufficiently active survivors reported sitting more than 8 h/d had the highest overall (HR, 5.38; 95% CI, 2.99-9.67) and cancer-specific (HR, 4.71; 95% CI, 1.60-13.9) mortality risks. Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study of a nationally representative sample of US cancer survivors, the combination of prolonged sitting with lack of physical activity was highly prevalent and was associated with the highest risks of death from all causes and cancer.
Race/Ethnicity Differences in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Nurses

Introduction: There is evidence for relatively lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people of color in the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between race/ethnicity and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among nurses. Methods: Nurses in Southern California (N = 1183) completed a one-time, web-based survey to assess COVID-19 vaccine perceptions and uptake. Results: In all, 82.8% of respondents (N = 979) received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Identifying as East Asian was associated with 14% higher odds of COVID-19 vaccine uptake relative to identifying as White (odds ratio [OR] = 1.14/95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.06, 1.24]); identifying as Filipino was associated with 14% higher odds of uptake (OR = 1.14/95% CI = [1.08, 1.20]); and identifying as Hispanic/Latinx was associated with 6% higher odds of uptake (OR = 1.06/95% CI = [1.00, 1.12]). Discussion: Although nurses and people of color have been identified as groups with low levels of COVID-19 vaccine uptake, this study found that nurses of color received the vaccine at higher levels than their White counterparts.
Freestanding Fe3O4/Ti3C2T x MXene/polyurethane composite film with efficient electromagnetic shielding and ultra-stretchable performance

Electromagnetic pollution seriously affects the human reproductive system, cardiovascular system, people’s visual system, and so on. A novel versatile stretchable and biocompatible electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding film has been developed, which could effectively attenuate electromagnetic radiation. The EMI shielding film was fabricated with a convenient solution casting and steam annealing with 2D MXene, iron oxide nanoparticles, and soluble polyurethane. The EMI shielding effectiveness is about 30.63 dB at 8.2 GHz, based on its discretized interfacial scattering and high energy conversion efficiency. Meanwhile, the excellent tensile elongation is 30.5%, because of the sliding migration and gradient structure of the nanomaterials doped in a polymer matrix. In addition, the film also demonstrated wonderful biocompatibility and did not cause erythema and discomfort even after being attached to the arm skin over 12 h, which shows the great potential for attenuation of electromagnetic irradiation and protection of human health.
The impact of nutritional status on pancreatic cancer therapy

ABSTRACT Introduction Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease with poor outcomes. One of the reasons for the dismal prognosis resides in its impressive ability to alter the nutritional status of patients who develop malnutrition, cachexia, anorexia, and sarcopenia in most cases. The ideal way to measure such changes in PDAC patients, in order to readily identify them and avoid complications or discontinuations of treatment is a relatively unexplored area. In addition, most PDAC patients experience pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) that contributes to the complex puzzle of malnutrition and that can be treated with Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT). Areas covered We review current knowledge on the impact of nutritional status on both surgical and medical treatments for PDAC, reporting available data on the causes of malnutrition, characteristics, and advantages of different tools to investigate nutritional status and possible strategies to improve patient outcomes. Expert opinion All PDAC patients should receive a careful nutritional assessment at diagnosis, and this should be repeated alongside their treatment path. Screening tools and biochemical variables or scores are associated with prognosis, but bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA) and radiological assessment of body composition seem more accurate in predicting clinical outcomes and postoperative complications.
FB-CGANet: filter bank channel group attention network for multi-class motor imagery classification

Objective. Motor imagery-based brain–computer interface (MI-BCI) is one of the most important BCI paradigms and can identify the target limb of subjects from the feature of MI-based Electroencephalography signals. Deep learning methods, especially lightweight neural networks, provide an efficient technique for MI decoding, but the performance of lightweight neural networks is still limited and need further improving. This paper aimed to design a novel lightweight neural network for improving the performance of multi-class MI decoding. Approach. A hybrid filter bank structure that can extract information in both time and frequency domain was proposed and combined with a novel channel attention method channel group attention (CGA) to build a lightweight neural network Filter Bank CGA Network (FB-CGANet). Accompanied with FB-CGANet, the band exchange data augmentation method was proposed to generate training data for networks with filter bank structure. Main results. The proposed method can achieve higher 4-class average accuracy (79.4%) than compared methods on the BCI Competition IV IIa dataset in the experiment on the unseen evaluation data. Also, higher average accuracy (93.5%) than compared methods can be obtained in the cross-validation experiment. Significance. This work implies the effectiveness of channel attention and filter bank structure in lightweight neural networks and provides a novel option for multi-class motor imagery classification.
Upper motor neuron dysfunction is associated with the presence of behavioural impairment in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Increasing evidence shows that approximately half of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) display cognitive (ALSci) or behavioural (ALSbi) impairment, or both (ALScbi). The aim of our study was to assess whether the burden of upper and lower motor neuron involvement is associated with the presence of cognitive and behavioural impairment.
RNA-Seq analysis of Phanerochaete sordida YK-624 degrades neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid

ABSTRACT Acetamiprid (ACE) belongs to the group of neonicotinoid pesticides, which have become the most widely utilised pesticides around the world in the last two decades. The ability of Phanerochaete sordida YK-624 to degrade ACE under ligninolytic conditions has been demonstrated; however, the functional genes involved in ACE degradation have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, the differentially expressed genes of P. sordida YK-624 under ACE-degrading conditions and in the absence of ACE were elucidated by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Based on the gene ontology enrichment results, the cell wall and cell membrane were significantly affected under ACE-degrading conditions. This result suggested that intracellular degradation of ACE might be mediated by this fungus. In addition, genes in metabolic pathways were the most enriched upregulated differentially expressed genes according to the KEGG pathway analysis. Eleven differentially expressed genes characterised as cytochrome P450s were upregulated, and these genes were determined to be particularly important for ACE degradation by P. sordida YK-624 under ligninolytic conditions. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Lower-body muscular power and exercise tolerance predict susceptibility to enemy fire during a tactical combat movement simulation

Abstract This study examined if field-expedient physical fitness/performance assessments predicted performance during a simulated direct-fire engagement. Healthy subjects (n = 33, age = 25.7 ± 7.0 years) completed upper- and lower-body strength and power assessments and a 3-min all-out running test to determine critical velocity. Subjects completed a simulated direct-fire engagement that consisted of marksmanship with cognitive workload assessment and a fire-and-move drill (16 × 6-m sprints) while wearing a combat load. Susceptibility to enemy fire was modelled on average sprint duration during the fire-and-move drill. Stepwise linear regression identified predictors for the performance during the simulated direct-fire engagement. Critical velocity (β = −0.30, p < 0.01) and standing broad jump (β = −0.67, p < 0.001) predicted susceptibility to enemy fire (R 2 = 0.74, p < 0.001). All predictors demonstrated poor relationships with marksmanship accuracy and cognitive performance. These data demonstrate the importance of exercise tolerance and lower-body power during simulated direct-fire engagements and provide potential targets for interventions to monitor and enhance performance and support soldier survivability. Practitioner Summary: This study identified field-expedient physical fitness/performance predictors of a simulated direct-fire engagement which evaluated susceptibility to enemy fire, marksmanship, and cognitive performance. Our findings suggest that high-intensity exercise tolerance and lower-body power are key determinants of performance that predicted susceptibility to enemy fire.
Uncertainty-Aware Deep Learning With Cross-Task Supervision for PHE Segmentation on CT Images

Perihematomal edema (PHE) volume, surrounding spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH), is an important biomarker for the presence of SICH-associated diseases. However, due to irregular shapes and extremely low contrast of PHE on CT images, manually annotating PHE in pixel-wise is time-consuming and labour intensive even for experienced experts, which makes it almost infeasible to deploy current supervised deep learning approaches for automated PHE segmentation. How to develop annotation-efficient deep learning to achieve accurate PHE segmentation is an open problem. In this paper, we, for the first time, propose a cross-task supervised framework by introducing slice-level PHE labels and pixel-wise SICH annotations, which are more accessible in clinical scenarios compared to pixel-wise PHE annotations. Specifically, we first train a multi-level classifier based on slice-level PHE labels to produce high-quality class activation maps (CAMs) as pseudo PHE annotations. Then, we train a deep learning model to produce accurate PHE segmentation by iteratively refining the pseudo annotations via an uncertainty-aware corrective training strategy for noise removal and a distance-aware loss for background compression. Experimental results demonstrate that, the proposed framework achieves a comparative performance with the fully supervised methods on PHE segmentation, and largely improves the baseline performance where only pseudo PHE labels are used for training. We believe the findings from this study of using cross-task supervision for annotation-efficient deep learning can be applied to other medical imaging applications.