Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SCMFMDA: Predicting microRNA-disease associations based on similarity constrained matrix factorization

miRNAs belong to small non-coding RNAs that are related to a number of complicated biological processes. Considerable studies have suggested that miRNAs are closely associated with many human diseases. In this study, we proposed a computational model based on Similarity Constrained Matrix Factorization for miRNA-Disease Association Prediction (SCMFMDA). In order to effectively combine different disease and miRNA similarity data, we applied similarity network fusion algorithm to obtain integrated disease similarity (composed of disease functional similarity, disease semantic similarity and disease Gaussian interaction profile kernel similarity) and integrated miRNA similarity (composed of miRNA functional similarity, miRNA sequence similarity and miRNA Gaussian interaction profile kernel similarity). In addition, the L2 regularization terms and similarity constraint terms were added to traditional Nonnegative Matrix Factorization algorithm to predict disease-related miRNAs. SCMFMDA achieved AUCs of 0.9675 and 0.9447 based on global Leave-one-out cross validation and five-fold cross validation, respectively. Furthermore, the case studies on two common human diseases were also implemented to demonstrate the prediction accuracy of SCMFMDA. The out of top 50 predicted miRNAs confirmed by experimental reports that indicated SCMFMDA was effective for prediction of relationship between miRNAs and diseases.
Field observations and survey evidence to assess predictors of mask wearing across different outdoor activities in an Argentine city during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract We here studied some potential factors underlying variation in compliance with preventive behaviors against COVID‐19 by studying mask wearing during outdoor recreational activities in a midsize city of Argentina in 2020. The originality of present research relies on the complementation of observational (N = 15,507) and survey (N = 578) data and in assessing the determinants of and disposition to the same preventive behavior across activities. In Study 1, we did 8 weeks of unobtrusive systematic observation of mask wearing in outdoor recreational sites as a function of activity (walking, running, and cycling). In Study 2, we ran an online survey (concomitant with the last weeks of the observational study) to measure self‐reported mask use and relevant beliefs, including self‐ and other‐regarding motives. Behavioral observations showed that mask wearing declined over time for the three activities as predicted from a social dilemma perspective; nonetheless, compliance significantly differed across activities. Self‐reported mask use was predicted by the perceived risk of contagion for the self and for others, perceived comfort costs of wearing masks, and social norms, but not by perceived illness severity or mask effectiveness. We discuss some implications and limitations of present findings for the development of preventive strategies to reduce COVID‐19 transmission.
Genome assembly of the Chinese maize elite inbred line RP125 and its EMS mutant collection provide new resources for maize genetics research and crop improvement.

Maize is an important crop worldwide, as well as a valuable model with vast genetic diversity. Accurate genome and annotation information for a wide range of inbred lines would provide valuable resources for crop improvement and pan-genome characterization. In this study, we generated a high-quality de novo genome assembly (contig N50 of 15.43 megabases) of the Chinese elite inbred line RP125 using Nanopore long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding, which yield highly contiguous, chromosome-length scaffolds. Global comparison of the RP125 genome with those of B73, W22, and Mo17 revealed a large number of structural variations. To create new germplasm for maize research and crop improvement, we carried out an EMS mutagenesis screen on RP125. We obtained a total of 5,818 independent M2 families, with 946 mutants showing heritable phenotypes. Taking advantage of the high-quality RP125 genome, we successfully cloned 10 mutants from the EMS library, including the novel kernel mutant qk1 (quekou: 'missing a small part' in Chinese), which exhibited partial loss of endosperm and a starch accumulation defect. QK1 encodes a predicted metal tolerance protein that is specifically required for iron transport. Increased accumulation of iron and ROS as well as ferroptosis-like cell death were detected in endosperm of qk1. Our study provides the community with a high-quality genome sequence and a large collection of mutant germplasm.
Dyeing and Spectroscopic Properties of Natural Dyes on Poly (Lactic Acid) and Poly (Ethylene Terephthalate) Fabrics

The current research studied the dyeing properties and spectroscopic characteristics of natural dyes on PLA and PET fabrics. The natural dyes used were the dyes extracted from turmeric and cassumunar powder and the commercial dyes viz. Natural Orange and Natural Red Brown. The water solubility and partition of the dyes in octanol and water (logP) were studied. It was found that the dyes with poor water solubility that were the turmeric and cassumunar dyes exhibited a high degree of exhaustion and visual color yield (K/S) than the readily water soluble commercial dyes viz. Natural Orange and Natural Red Brown. Turmeric and cassumunar dyes can be used for dyeing PLA and PET fabrics to a medium-deep shade with the turmeric dye providing a deeper shade. The fluorescence properties of the turmeric and cassumunar dyes were examined on the PLA and PET fabrics and it was observed that the dyes exhibited a stronger fluorescence emission on PLA than PET for both turmeric and cassumunar dyes. Cassumunar dye displayed less fluorescence properties than turmeric dyes on both fabrics. The fluorescence emission properties of the turmeric dyes at different K/S levels were also investigated.
Disease gene prediction with privileged information and heteroscedastic dropout

Abstract Motivation Recently, machine learning models have achieved tremendous success in prioritizing candidate genes for genetic diseases. These models are able to accurately quantify the similarity among disease and genes based on the intuition that similar genes are more likely to be associated with similar diseases. However, the genetic features these methods rely on are often hard to collect due to high experimental cost and various other technical limitations. Existing solutions of this problem significantly increase the risk of overfitting and decrease the generalizability of the models. Results In this work, we propose a graph neural network (GNN) version of the Learning under Privileged Information paradigm to predict new disease gene associations. Unlike previous gene prioritization approaches, our model does not require the genetic features to be the same at training and test stages. If a genetic feature is hard to measure and therefore missing at the test stage, our model could still efficiently incorporate its information during the training process. To implement this, we develop a Heteroscedastic Gaussian Dropout algorithm, where the dropout probability of the GNN model is determined by another GNN model with a mirrored GNN architecture. To evaluate our method, we compared our method with four state-of-the-art methods on the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man dataset to prioritize candidate disease genes. Extensive evaluations show that our model could improve the prediction accuracy when all the features are available compared to other methods. More importantly, our model could make very accurate predictions when >90% of the features are missing at the test stage. Availability and implementation Our method is realized with Python 3.7 and Pytorch 1.5. 0 and method and data are freely available at: https://github.com/juanshu30/Disease-Gene-Prioritization-with-Privileged-Information-and-Heteroscedastic-Dropout.
Psychometrische Kennwerte einer deutschen Übersetzung des Parental Bonding Instrument

Zusammenfassung Das elterliche Erziehungsverhalten beeinflusst sowohl die Entwicklung eines Kindes als auch die Entstehung und Behandlung psychischer Störungen. Das Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker, Tupling & Brown, 1979) ist ein bekanntes Instrument zur retrospektiven Erfassung des elterlichen Erziehungsstils. Bisher existiert jedoch keine ausreichend validierte deutsche Version. Daher entwickelten wir eine sprachlich aktuelle, deutsche Übersetzung des PBI (PBI-dt) und untersuchten in einer Onlinestudie anhand einer deutschsprachigen Stichprobe (N=791) die psychometrischen Eigenschaften des PBI-dt hinsichtlich Item- und Reliabilitätskennwerten, Konstrukt- und Kriteriumsvalidität sowie der faktoriellen Struktur. Die Analysen ergaben gute Item- und Reliabilitätskennwerte (α=0,86−0,95). Die Skalen des PBI korrelierten in den erwarteten Richtungen mit den Skalen des Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Außerdem wurden signifikante Unterschiede im berichteten elterlichen Erziehungsstil zwischen Personen mit und ohne psychische Erkrankung sowie zwischen übergewichtigen und normalgewichtigen Personen gefunden. Diese Ergebnisse weisen auf das Vorliegen von hoher Konstrukt- und Kriteriumsvalidität hin. Konfirmatorische Faktorenanalysen ergaben in allen untersuchten Fitindizes eine akzeptable Modellanpassungsgüte sowohl für das 2-Faktorenmodell von Parker et al. (1979) als auch für das 3-Faktorenmodell mit den Subskalen FürsorgeFürsorgeFürsorgeFürsorgeFürsorgeFürsorge, Einschränkung der VerhaltensfreiheitEinschränkung der VerhaltensfreiheitEinschränkung der VerhaltensfreiheitEinschränkung der VerhaltensfreiheitEinschränkung der VerhaltensfreiheitEinschränkung der Verhaltensfreiheit sowie Verweigerung psychologischer AutonomieVerweigerung psychologischer AutonomieVerweigerung psychologischer AutonomieVerweigerung psychologischer AutonomieVerweigerung psychologischer AutonomieVerweigerung psychologischer Autonomie. Die Verwendung einer 3-Faktorenstruktur konnte zudem inhaltlichen Mehrwert bieten, z. B. eine bessere Differenzierung zwischen normal- und übergewichtigen Personen. Insgesamt weist die vorliegende deutsche Übersetzung des PBI somit gute psychometrische Eigenschaften auf und stellt ein reliables Messinstrument dar.
The function and mechanism of the JARID2/CCND1 axis in modulating glioma cell growth and sensitivity to temozolomide (TMZ)

ABSTRACT A maximal surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ) as the representative agent is the standard therapy for gliomas. However, tumor cell resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy leads to poor prognosis and high mortality in patients with glioma. In the present study, we demonstrated that JARID2 was downregulated and CCND1 was upregulated within glioma tissues of different grades and glioma cells. In tissue samples, JARID2 was negatively correlated with CCND1. JARID2 overexpression significantly inhibited glioma cell viability, promoted glioma cell apoptosis upon TMZ treatment, and increased p21, cleaved-PARP, and cleaved-caspase3 in TMZ-treated glioma cells. JASPAR tool predicted the possible binding sites between JARID2 and CCND1 promoter regions; through direct binding to CCND1 promoter region, JARID2 negatively regulated CCND1 expression. Under TMZ treatment, JARID2 overexpression inhibited CCND1 expression, promoted glioma cell apoptosis, and increased p21, cleaved-PARP, and cleaved-caspase3 in glioma cells treated with TMZ; meanwhile, CCND1 overexpression exerted opposite effects on glioma cells treated with TMZ and partially reversed the effects of JARID2 overexpression. In conclusion, JARID2 targets and inhibits CCND1. The JARID2/CCND1 axis modulates glioma cell growth and glioma cell sensitivity to TMZ.
Aspirin and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid use and their interaction in cardiovascular diseases and colorectal adenomas

Abstract Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) is inexpensive and is established in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and colorectal adenomas. Omega-3 (n3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have also shown benefit in preventing CVD. The combination could be an effective preventative measure in patients with such diseases. ASA and n3 PUFA reduced the risk of CVD in ASA-resistant or diabetic patients. EPA- and DHA-deficient patients also benefited the most from n3 PUFA supplementation. Synergistic effects between ASA and EPA and DHA are ‘V-shaped’ such that optimal ASA efficacy is dependent on EPA and DHA concentrations in blood. In colorectal adenomas, ASA (300 mg/d) and EPA reduced adenoma burden in a location- and subtype-specific manner. Low doses of ASA (75–100 mg/d) were used in CVD prevention; however, ultra-low doses (30 mg/d) can also reduce thrombosis. EPA-to-DHA ratio is also important with regard to efficacy. DHA is more effective in reducing blood pressure and modulating systemic inflammation; however, high-dose EPA can lower CVD events in high-risk individuals. Although current literature has yet to examine ASA and DHA in preventing CVD, such combination warrants further investigation. To increase adherence to ASA and n3 PUFA supplementation, combination dosage form may be required to improve outcomes.
Increasing food intake affects digesta retention, digestibility and gut fill but not chewing efficiency in domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Abstract In ruminants, the level of food intake affects net chewing efficiency and hence faecal particle size. For nonruminants, corresponding data are lacking. Here, we report the effect of an increased food intake of a mixed diet in four domestic rabbit does due to lactation, and assess changes in particle size (as determined by wet sieving analysis) along the rabbit digestive tract. During lactation, rabbits achieved a distinctively higher dry matter intake than at maintenance, with a concomitant reduction in mean retention times of solute and particle markers, an increase in dry matter gut fill, a reduction in apparent digestibility of dry matter, and an overall increase in digestible dry matter intake. By contrast, there was no change in faecal mean particle size (mean ± SD: 0.58 ± 0.02 vs. 0.56 ± 0.01 mm). A comparison of diet, stomach content and faecal mean particle size suggested that 98% of particle size reduction occurred due to ingestive mastication and 2% due to digestive processes. Very fine particles passing the finest sieve, putatively not only of dietary but mainly of microbial origin, were particularly concentrated in caecum contents, which corresponds to retention of microbes via a ‘wash‐back' colonic separation mechanism, to concentrate them in caecotrophs that are re‐ingested. This study gives rise to the hypothesis that chewing efficiency on a consistent diet is not impaired by intake level in nonruminant mammals.
Persistence of undifferentiated spermatogonia in aged Japanese Black cattle

Abstract Aging is a major risk factor for spermatogenesis deterioration. However, the influence of age on spermatogenic stem cells and their progenitors in bulls is largely unknown. Here, we report age‐related changes in undifferentiated and differentiating spermatogonia in Japanese Black cattle with nearly constant sperm output, by using spermatogonial markers. The numbers of differentiating spermatogonia and more differentiated spermatogenic cells were significantly decreased in aged bovine testes compared with those in young testes. In contrast, the number of undifferentiated spermatogonia was maintained, and their proliferative activity did not differ significantly between young and aged bovine testes. Although severe calcification was only observed to a small extent in aged testes, fewer Sertoli cells and interstitial fibrosis were observed in noncalcified testicular regions. These results suggest that, even in old bulls with nearly constant sperm output, testicular spermatogenic activity declined whereas undifferentiated spermatogonia numbers were maintained. Thus, we propose that undifferentiated spermatogonia may be resistant to age‐related changes in bovine testes. Because undifferentiated spermatogonia may contain stem cell activity, our findings highlight the potential utility of undifferentiated spermatogonia as an agricultural resource to produce spermatozoa beyond the natural bovine lifetime through transplantation and in vitro spermatogenesis in future animal production.
Congenital toxoplasmosis in humans: an update of worldwide rate of congenital infections

Abstract Abstract The morbidity due to congenital toxoplasmosis in humans is very high. Most of these infected children are likely to develop symptoms of clinical toxoplasmosis. Sequelae in fetus resulting from Toxoplasma gondii infections in women who become infected with this parasite during pregnancy can be devastating and enormous efforts are directed in some countries to prevent these consequences. Here, an update on congenital toxoplasmosis in humans, especially the rate of congenital infections in humans worldwide, is provided. Although several countries have surveillance programmes, most information on the rate of congenital transmission is from France and Brazil. Because of compulsory national screening programme in France to detect and treat women with recently acquired T. gondii infection with anti-toxoplasma therapy, the rate of congenital transmission and the severity of disease in children are declining. Infections by this parasite are widely prevalent in Brazil. The severity of clinical toxoplasmosis in Brazilian children is very high and may be associated with the genetic characteristics of T. gondii isolates prevailing in animals and humans in Brazil. Virtually little or no information is available on this topic from China, India and other countries in Asia.
No Drill, No Fill...A Child Friendly Technique

Everyone thinks that baby teeth don’t matter because they are going to fall out anyway. But neglecting baby teeth can set a child up for lifelong dental trouble. It is difficult to manage children by using anesthesia, drilling and filling. Hence a child friendly technique was developed which is called Hall technique. The Hall technique is a method for managing carious primary molars where decay is sealed under preformed metal crowns (PMCs) without local anesthesia, tooth preparation or any caries removal. Indications, contraindications, steps of preparation, advantages, disadvantages and few studies are included in this study.
Comparison of Ground Reaction Forces between Combat Boots and Sports Shoes

It is unclear whether military shoes (combat boots and sports shoes) attenuate loading rate or affect force transfer during walking. Therefore, this study compared ground reaction forces (GRF) related to impact and force transfer between combat boots, military sports shoes and running shoes. Ten army recruits walked over a walkway with two force plates embedded. GRF were measured when walking barefoot (for data normalization) and with combat boots, military sports shoes and running shoes. Loading rate, first and second peak forces and push-off rate of force were computed along with temporal analysis of waveforms. Reduced loading rate was observed for the running shoe compared to the combat boot (p = 0.02 and d = 0.98) and to the military sports shoe (p = 0.04 and d = 0.92). The running shoe elicited a smaller second peak force than the combat boot (p < 0.01 and d = 0.83). Walking with military shoes and combat boots led to larger force transfer then running shoes potentially due to harder material used in midsole composition (i.e. styrene-butadiene rubber). These results could lead to a potentially larger risk of injuries while long duration walking in military shoes and boots compared to traditional running shoes.
Prevalence of depression among chronic back pain patients attending district hospital in Malaysia

Background: It is generally agreed that the relationship between chronic low back pain and depression is bidirectional. Depression can complicate the management and interfere with recovery in chronic back pain and similarly, chronic back pain can induce depression. Often if patients with depression are not managed, their back-pain morbidity may be prolonged. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression among different ethnic groups with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was done on clinically diagnosed CLBP patients attending orthopaedic clinic at Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban, Malaysia over twelve months between July and December 2019. The convenience sampling was used to recruit study participants. The Ministry of Health (MOH) pain scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) instruments were used to identify the severity of pain and depressive symptoms and to obtain socio-demographic. SPSS was used to evaluate the relationship between demographic factors, pain, and depressive symptoms. Results: A total of 100 patients with CLBP comprising 71 females and 29 males participated in the study. About 68% scored positively on the PHQ-9 with 40% having moderate to severe rating scores. The risk of depressive symptoms increased with the severity of pain. 77.8% of the studied population with severe CLBP experienced depressive symptoms. Among the different ethnic groups, the prevalence of depression in Indians was 83.3%, while it was 58.2% among Malays. Conclusion: This study shows that two-thirds of patients with CLBP have depression, and the prevalence is low in Malays as compare to other races.
Quantitative X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of Biomass (Switchgrass, Corn Stover, Eucalyptus, Beech, and Pine Wood) with a Typical Commercial Multi-Element Method on a WD-XRF Spectrometer

Quick and reliable inorganic elemental chemical analysis of biomass (including solid biofuels) is of importance in the increasing utilization and trade of biomass. In particular, it is important for the exploitation of contaminated/dirty biomass/biomass waste, and potentially also as a tool in ascertaining the type/origin of biomass. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry performed directly on the raw biomass with limited prior sample preparation is an attractive method for performing such inorganic elemental analysis. In the present study, we therefore carefully investigate the performance of a commercial multi-element standardless XRF method by analyzing five common biomass types (switchgrass, corn stover, eucalyptus, beech, and pine wood). Sample preparation involves milling the raw biomass using cutter and rotor mills (avoiding ball-milling) and cold-pressing the powdered samples into pellets using wax binder. XRF users often rely on this type of commercial precalibrated or ‘standardless’ methods deliv.
Information Retrieval System Based on Multi-agent for Healthcare

The hospital staff serves as patient registration and appointment scheduling in today’s healthcare domain. It makes time consuming and somehow hectic. Usually, patients have to come to the hospital and have to fill out patient registration forms and have to wait appointment. Over the past, most of works have been done by using online healthcare appointment system like m-commerce, e-commerce, telemedicine etc. Multi-agent system is most suitable for healthcare paradigm, as the properties of agent based systems deals with heterogeneous multiple agents. This information retrieval system based on multiagent contains agents that have information about the personal medical history, the hospital, departments of each hospital and doctors of each department. This system provides as an agent that gives the patient by selecting desired hospital, desired date and desired time, etc. This multi-agent based system collaborates with the agents of hospital, department and doctor for that appointment.The personal agent allows the access the offered services for appointment and view medical history. The visited user can search and view doctor information with time and date, hospital information and health news. The system in this paper is implemented with PHP programming language, for providing a robust, user friendly appointment for the patient.