Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Melatonin in Improving Clinical Responses of Chemotherapy in Solid Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review

It is common for patient undergoing cancer treatment to consume any kind of supplement in order to enhance treatment efficacy or minimize side effects. There are many supplementations available out there including antioxidant which is used by approximately 22-83% cancer patients [1-3]. This group of antioxidant includes N-acetylcysteine, glutathione, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, melatonin, and many others. The one which has been explored by many researchers is melatonin (MLT).
Convergence and divergence in prey of sympatric canids and felids: opportunism or phylogenetic constraint?

Since the canids and felids diverged in the mid-Eocene or earlier, each family has developed a suite of morphological and behavioural adaptations for obtaining and consuming prey. We here distinguish between prey taxa captured and eaten as a result of these phylogenetic adaptations, and those because they are fortuitously encountered, and argue that such supplementary prey, often opportunistically caught, create a buffer between sympatric, and potentially competitive, canids and felids and thus enhance coexistence. We base our analysis on dietary data derived from the stomach contents of four sympatric canid and felid species in the Free State Province, South Africa (canids: Cape fox Vulpes chama and black-backed jackal Canis mesomelas; felids: African wild cat Felis silvestris lybica and caracal Caracal caracal), and from results of studies on these species elsewhere in southern Africa. The two canid species preyed heavily on invertebrates, and thus opportunistically, while the felids (especially the caracal) concentrated on mammals, prey they are phylogenetically adapted to capture. Only three species of mammalian prey are shared by the four species. The ratio of opportunistically-to-phylogenetically mediated prey taxa used (the O/P ratio) differ between the species, with the black-backed jackal having the most opportunistically caught taxa in its diet, and the caracal the least. As predicted, a comparison of this data with those from dietary studies of the same species carried out elsewhere indicates that the number of opportunistically obtained prey taxa varies more than those resulting from phylogenetic adaptations. The largest canid had the widest food spectrum (35 prey taxa) while the smallest felid had the most restricted one (11 prey taxa). We argue that using the O/P distinction allows a better understanding of changes in food niche breadth of particular species, especially in xeric areas, and gives a better indication of possible exploitative competition for food by sympatric carnivores than when regarding all prey taxa as actively pursued. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 83, 527–538.
Comorbid Pain and Cognitive Impairment in a Nationally Representative Adult Population

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objective: Using a nationally representative sample of adults and pain definitions consistent with the United States National Pain Strategy, we examined the associations of pain and cognitive impairment (CI) with each other and with measures of health status, physical impairment, social impairment, health care utilization, and dissatisfaction with health care. Materials and Methods: Prevalence estimates and multivariable logistic regression analyses of the 2017 National Health Interview Survey were performed. Results: As the level of reported pain increased from “no pain” to high-impact chronic pain (HICP), there was an increase in the prevalence of CI from 2.99% in those with no pain to 18.19% in those with HICP. Similarly, as the level of CI increased from no impairment to substantial CI, the prevalence of any pain increased from 62.44% to 83.20%. As pain severity and CI increased, we found increased prevalence for all outcomes examined, with the highest prevalence seen in participants with HICP and substantial CI. While 4.15% of individuals without either pain or CI reported poor/fair health, this increased to 33.98% in those with substantial CI or “dementia” but no pain, to 52.22% in those with HICP but no CI, and to 81.8% in individuals reporting both HICP and substantial CI or “dementia. ” Discussion: Our data suggest that individuals with comorbid chronic pain and CI are in a much higher state of self-reported disability than those with chronic pain or CI alone. Best practice guidelines are generally silent on multidisciplinary, integrated care for these comorbid conditions, increasing the potential for inadequate care.
Prognostic Value of Braden Scale in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction: From the Retrospective Multicenter Study for Early Evaluation of Acute Chest Pain.

BACKGROUND The Braden Scale (BS) is a routine nursing measure used to predict pressure ulcer events; it is recommended as a frailty identification instrument. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the predictive utility of the BS in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention. METHODS We enrolled 2285 patients with AMI from the Retrospective Multicenter Study for Early Evaluation of Acute Chest Pain. The patients were divided into 3 groups (B1, B2, and B3) according to their BS score (≤12 vs 13-14 vs ≥15). The primary endpoint was all-cause death. RESULTS There were 264 (12.0%) all-cause deaths during the median follow-up period of 10.5 (7.9-14.2) months. In-hospital and midterm mortality and other adverse outcomes increased with decreases in the BS score. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with a lower BS score had a lower cumulative survival rate (P < .001). The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that a decreased BS score was an independent predictor for all-cause mortality (B2 vs B1: hazard ratio, 0.610; 95% confidence interval, 0.440-0.846; P = .003; B3 vs B1: hazard ratio, 0.345; 95% confidence interval, 0.241-0.493; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS The BS at admission may be a useful routine nursing measure to evaluate the prognosis of patients with AMI. The BS may be used to stratify risk at early stages and to identify those who may benefit from further assessment and intervention due to frailty syndrome.
Validation of the bag‐mediated filtration system for environmental surveillance of poliovirus in Nairobi, Kenya

This study compared the bag‐mediated filtration system (BMFS) and standard WHO two‐phase separation methods for poliovirus (PV) environmental surveillance, examined factors impacting PV detection and monitored Sabin‐like (SL) PV type 2 presence with withdrawal of oral polio vaccine type 2 (OPV2) in April 2016.
Translation of small downstream ORFs enhances translation of canonical main open reading frames

In addition to canonical open reading frames (ORFs), thousands of translated small ORFs (containing less than 100 codons) have been identified in untranslated mRNA regions (UTRs) across eukaryotes. Small ORFs in 5′ UTRs (upstream (u)ORFs) often repress translation of the canonical ORF within the same mRNA. However, the function of translated small ORFs in the 3′ UTRs (downstream (d)ORFs) is unknown. Contrary to uORFs, we find that translation of dORFs enhances translation of their corresponding canonical ORFs. This translation stimulatory effect of dORFs depends on the number of dORFs, but not the length or peptide they encode. We propose that dORFs represent a new, strong, and universal translation regulatory mechanism in vertebrates.
Electroencapsulation and electrospraying of pharmaceutical materials in preparation for oral drug delivery applications

In bi-polar parallel nozzle electroencapsulation, two oppositely charged droplet jets are produced by electrospraying (electrostatic atomization), a method of extracting microor nanodroplets from a body of liquid using electrical forces. The two species of droplets are attracted to each other due to Coulombic forces. Upon contact, droplets of similar size can merge into a single-phase, or form a core-shell capsule structure, depending on the mutual miscibility of the liquids. In this work, an electroencapsulation setup was designed and experimented for the single-step production of two types of drug carrier particles of 10–50 μm in size: wrinkled, solid Eudragit L 100 enteric polymer micromatrix particles; and spherical microcapsules consisting of a solid Eudragit E 100 polymer shell and a liquid glycerol core. The carrier particle payload consisted of a model drug (griseofulvin); or griseofulvin loaded, mesoporous silicon (PSi) nanoand microparticles, which themselves are functional drug carriers. The goal was to obtain the carrier particle payloads as either stable drug dispersions in a disordered solid state, or non-agglomerated PSi nanoparticle dispersions, to enhance the drug dissolution properties at release. The carrier formulations would effectively render the payload in the form of an inert micropowder for purposes of handling and dosing. In oral administration, the formulations were to shield the payload from intestinal metabolism, and to restrain its release until arrival to target pH-conditions. The carrier particles were characterized to evaluate these properties. The micromatrix particles were proven stable and gastro-resistant in vitro. Griseofulvin dissolution and absorption properties improved significantly, the latter especially for the drug loaded PSi payloads. Finally, the efficiency of the asymmetric core-shell microcapsule production was optimized using Taguchi techniques. In conclusion, electroencapsulation was found to be a potentially feasible method to improve the oral bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. Furthermore, partially crystalline piroxicam microparticles were produced by electrospraying, and characterized. The crystalline phase was shown to consist of a previously unknown, stable polymorphic form of piroxicam. The result suggests the method could provide a unique way to produce novel drug polymorphs. Thus, it is possible that the dissolution properties of certain drug materials could be improved sufficiently to facilitate oral administration, without the necessity to use more complex formulations. vii
Factors affecting surgical resection and treatment outcomes in patients with pulmonary mucormycosis.

Background Surgical resection is the cornerstone treatment for pulmonary mucormycosis, a lethal fungal infection. It is unclear why some patients do not receive surgery, and the natural courses of these patients have not been well evaluated. Methods A retrospective review was performed using the medical records of 20 patients with pathologically-confirmed pulmonary mucormycosis. We evaluated the reasons for not receiving surgery and compared treatment outcomes between patients who did and did not undergo surgery. Results Overall survival rate was 50%. Nine of 11 (82%) patients who underwent surgery survived; however, only 1 of 9 (11%) patients who did not undergo surgery survived. Reasons for not receiving surgery were death shortly after diagnosis (n=1), altered mental state (n=1), refractory underlying disease (n=3), and refusal by patient due to concern of operative risk (n=4). Patients who did not undergo surgery were more likely to be older (P=0.018), have a longer duration of steroid use (P=0.021), higher lactate dehydrogenase level (P=0.039), higher sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (P=0.035), and higher rate of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (P=0.020) than those did receive surgery. Surgery was the only favorable survival factor in multivariable analyses (adjusted odds ratio for survival =15.45; P=0.029). Conclusions The main reasons for not undergoing surgery in patients with pulmonary mucormycosis were the gravity of underlying diseases and concerns for operative risk. Although overall survival rate was poor, it was significantly higher in patients who received pulmonary resection surgery. The decision to undergo lung resection is time-sensitive and essential in improving survival rate in patients suffering from pulmonary mucormycosis, despite perioperative risks.
Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Principles and Practice of Declarative Programming

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 15th Symposium on Principles and Practice of Declarative Programming - PPDP 2013. This year's symposium continues the long tradition of bringing together researchers form the various declarative programming committees, includes those working in the logic, constraint and functional programming paradigms. Our mission is to stimulate research in the use of logical formalisms and methods for specifying, performing, and analysing computations, including mechanisms for mobility, modularity, concurrency, object-orientation, security, verification and static analysis.
Is it “loud” enough?: A qualitative investigation of blunt use among African American young adults

Abstract Heavy blunt use is common among young adult cannabis users, especially African Americans. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to examine how African American young adults understand, talk about and experience their blunt use. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults reporting daily or almost daily blunt use in the past month (N = 20; 75% male). Thematic analysis of the audio-recorded interviews revealed aspects of how blunts are described, made and used among heavy blunt users. The three emergent themes have implications for the assessment of cannabis use and intervention development for heavy blunt users.
Historical and contemporary selection of teleost MHC genes: did we leave the past behind?

The extreme polymorphism of antigen-presenting genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has spurred intense research unparalleled for any other gene family. This applies also to teleosts where sequence information is available for 3559 MHC class I and class II allelic variants from 137 species. This review summarizes current knowledge on the origin and maintenance of diversity at classical MHC loci. Most studies identified positive selection (i.e. elevated rates of non-synonymous over synonymous substitutions, dN/dS) as a sign of balancing selection. A meta-analysis on nine species with sufficient numbers of class I and class II sequences revealed that recombination rate and intensity of positive selection were positively correlated, suggesting that recombination and gene conversion played a significant role in shaping the allelic repertoire. Processes that create diversity over long timescales need to be complemented by contemporary balancing selection, either through overdominance or frequency-dependent selection, in order to explain the high allelic diversity observed today. While some evidence for overdominance exists for a few taxa (mainly salmonids) by correlating parasite infection data or survival to MHC genotypes, field or experimental data on negative frequency-dependent selection are lacking altogether, even though some fish species are particularly suitable as model systems. Theoretical predictions suggest that negative frequency-dependent selection is necessary to maintain the existing polymorphism. Hence, future empirical studies should focus on detecting signals that differentiate between mechanisms of contemporary selection rather than repeatedly showing historical selection events.
Histaminergic neurons in the tuberomammillary nucleus as a control centre for wakefulness

Histamine plays pleiotropic roles as a neurotransmitter in the physiology of brain function, this includes the maintenance of wakefulness, appetite regulation and memory retrieval. Since numerous studies have revealed an association between histaminergic dysfunction and diverse neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, a large number of compounds acting on the brain histamine system have been developed to treat neurological disorders. In 2016, pitolisant, which was developed as a histamine H3 receptor inverse agonist by Schwartz and colleagues, was launched for the treatment of narcolepsy, emphasising the prominent role of brain histamine on wakefulness. Recent advances in neuroscientific techniques such as chemogenetic and optogenetic approaches have led to remarkable progress in the understanding of histaminergic neural circuits essential for the control of wakefulness. In this review article, we summarise the basic knowledge about the histaminergic nervous system and the mechanisms underlying sleep/wake regulation that are controlled by the brain histamine system.
Attitude Control on the Pico Satellite Solar Cell Testbed-2

The Pico Satellite Solar Cell Testbed-2 (PSSCT-2) was a 5” x 5” x 10”, 3.7-kg mass nanosatellite ejected from the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the final STS-135 mission on July 20, 2011. PSSCT-2 had a three-axis attitude control system to enable firing of solid rockets for orbit raising, pointing of solar cells normal to the sun for on-orbit performance monitoring, and pointing of a GPS antenna in the anti-flight direction for radio-occultation measurements. Attitude determination and control hardware developed by the authors for this mission included two sun sensors, an Earth nadir sensor suite, three magnetic torque coils, and three magnetically-shielded miniature reaction wheels. We performed on-orbit magnetic detumbling, nadir-pointing, sun-pointing, flight/anti-flight pointing, and crude antenna pointing towards our ground station to support various experiments over the 4 and 1/2month orbital lifetime. This work discusses the overall mission, attitude sensors, reaction wheel design and testing, magnetic torque coils, attitude control loops, overall performance of our three-axis attitude control system, and some of the lessons learned.
Molecular Dynamics of Complexes of Atosiban with Neurohypophyseal Receptors in the Fully Hydrated Phospholipid Bilayer

The aim of our research was to get insight into the molecular mechanism of binding atosiban, a strong selective oxytocin (OT) antagonist by OT receptor (OTR) versus vasopressin V1a and V2 receptors (VlaR and V2R, respectively). The docking of ligand and interaction with receptor are dynamic events and Molecular Dynamics (MD) seems to be a proper tool for studying the mentioned processes. Therefore we describe MD of three pairs of atosiban-receptor complexes, two complexes per each receptor, conducted in the fully hydrated 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidyl-choline lipid bilayer, simulating G protein-coupled receptors environment. We confirmed strong and specific binding of atosiban in OTR and a weaker binding of it in VlaR, on the contrary to its less specific binding in V2R, in the agreement with our preliminary results [Slusarz et al. 2003].
Irradiation dose does not affect male reproductive organ size, sperm storage, and female remating propensity in Ceratitis capitata

Abstract The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata is a globally invasive pest, often controlled with the sterile insect technique (SIT). For the SIT, mass-rearing of the target insect followed by irradiation are imperatives. Sterile males are often less able to inhibit female remating and transfer less number of sperm, and even irradiation could affect male reproductive organs, with consequences for their ability to inhibit female remating. On the other hand, male age could affect their ability to modulate female response after mating. Here, we evaluated the quality of the genetic sexing strain Vienna-8-tsl mass-reared in Bioplanta San Juan, Argentina, under laboratory conditions, with regard to: (i) the ability of sterile males irradiated at 100 or 140 Gy to inhibit female remating, in the same day and at 24 h of first copulation; (ii) the ability of 3, 4 or 5 day-old sterile males to inhibit female remating at 24 h of first copulation, and (iii) the effect of a reduction in irradiation doses on the number of sperm stored by females and reproductive organ size in virgin males. Sterile males were better able than wild males to inhibit female remating in the same day of first copulation and as able as wild males 1 day after first copulation. Male age did not affect their ability to inhibit female receptivity. Number of sperm stored by females, testes size and ectodermal accessory glands size were not affected by male identity, while sterile 100 Gy males had larger mesodermal accessory glands than control lab males. A reduction in irradiation dose does not impact any variable measured, except for percentage of sperm-depleted females: females mated with sterile 100 Gy males had lower probabilities to store sperm. The results showed here are very encouraging for tsl Vienna 8 strain reared in Argentina and are discussed in comparison with previous studies in C. capitata female remating with dissimilar results.
A Content Analysis of Social Support Messages about Environmental Breast Cancer Risk within Blogs for Mothers

ABSTRACT Bloggers can help stimulate online conversations among their readers about a variety of health topics, including breast cancer. However, in previous studies, researchers have not specifically examined supportive messages within an online blogger community that stem from an intervention where bloggers were provided with evidence-based information about breast cancer risk that they could tailor and disseminate to their readers. In the current study, we content analyzed 282 supportive messages within online conversations from participants in blogger communities over a 2-month period immediately following an intervention where the authors provided 74 bloggers who write about motherhood issues with an infographic based on evidence-based information from the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) about environmental breast cancer risk/prevention. Bloggers who shared information about their personal breast cancer risk generated a significantly higher number of blog reader comments than bloggers who did not share information about their personal breast cancer risk. Bloggers who cited breast cancer statistics in posts were more likely to draw esteem and emotional support from their readers. Bloggers’ repetition of information from blog intervention messages was more likely to elicit esteem, informational, and emotional support from readers. Disclosure of a personal breast cancer diagnosis was associated with mixed types of social support messages. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed along with key limitations of the study and future directions for research in this area.