Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of bioactive components in Ghost chili (Capsicum chinense) for antioxidant, genotoxic, and apoptotic effects in mice

Abstract Apart from using traditionally in culinary preparations, chili peppers are also important constituents of herbal medicines. Although the bioactive components are studied mostly in the fruits of Capsicum annuum, no such study reports till date is available for Ghost chili (C. chinense) from North East India. Therefore, the aim of this study was to carry out an analysis of the bioactive constituents in the naturally occurring hottest chili Ghost chili (C. chinense), and evaluate its antioxidant, pro/anti-genotoxic, and apoptotic effects in in vitro and in vivo models. Three different antioxidant assays showed that lower doses of Ghost chili extract showed higher DNA protective and antioxidant activities. Furthermore, the administration for 7 alternate days into 6 week old Swiss albino mice showed that the lower doses (50 and 100 mg/kg bw) reduced DMBA induced genotoxicity beside significantly enhancing the activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes, while higher dose (200 mg/kg bw) induced genotoxic effect in bone marrow cells. The administration of higher dose (200 mg/kg bw) also induced apoptosis and upregulation of Bax (pro) and downregulation of Bcl-2 (anti) apoptotic genes. Dose dependent increase of apoptosis was also observed in Hep G2 and Hep 3B liver cancer cell lines. Our findings in the present study suggest that low doses of C. chinense can exert cancer chemopreventive effects. The induction of apoptosis in both cancer cell lines and mouse bone marrow cells, and up-regulation of proapoptotic genes suggests that the higher dose of C. chinense can be used for targeted cancer therapy.
Does size matter? Spacious car cockpits may increase the probability of parking violations

Abstract Cockpit design is a core area of human factors and ergonomics (HF/E). Ideally, good design compensates for human capacity limitations by distributing task requirements over human and interface to improve safety and performance. Recent empirical findings suggest that the mere spatial layout of car cockpits may influence driver behaviour, expanding current views on HF/E in cockpit design. To assess the reliability of findings showing that an expansive driver seat space predicts parking violations, we replicated an original field study in a geographically and socio-culturally different location and included an additional covariate. After controlling for car length, brand status, and car price, driver seat space remained a positive predictor of illegal parking. This suggests that the spatial design of vehicle cockpits may indeed have an influence on driver behaviour and may therefore be a relevant dimension to be included in research and applications of HF/E in cockpit design. Practitioner summary: In car cockpit design, ergonomists typically focus on optimising human–machine interfaces to improve traffic safety. We replicate evidence showing that increasing physical space surrounding the driver relates to an increased probability of parking violations. This suggests that spatial design should be added to the ergonomist's toolbox for reducing traffic violations.
Monitoring response in lymphomas: qualitative, quantitative, or what else?

Abstract The Deauville criteria (DC) shall always be used to report interim and final PET and to assign metabolic response categories in FDG-avid lymphoma. A recent review article supports the role of quantitative extension of the DC to improve response assessment in lymphoma. We analyze different quantitative approach, to help physician to better distinguish what has to be done in every day clinical practice respect to what represent interesting insights and ongoing research. Respect to DC, all the proposed quantitative approaches obtained in retrospective studies, requires mature follow-up and a validation in independent cohorts of lymphoma patients. Moreover, the sensitivity of the system, not the adequate specificity of the tracer and the biology of the disease together with the DC, influence the accuracy of PET/CT. In conclusions, in current clinical practice, the DC, validated in a large cohort of lymphoma patients, represent the standard criteria for PET interpretation.
Understanding the learned behavior of customized convolutional neural networks toward malaria parasite detection in thin blood smear images

Abstract. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have become the architecture of choice for visual recognition tasks. However, these models are perceived as black boxes since there is a lack of understanding of the learned behavior from the underlying task of interest. This lack of transparency is a serious drawback, particularly in applications involving medical screening and diagnosis since poorly understood model behavior could adversely impact subsequent clinical decision-making. Recently, researchers have begun working on this issue and several methods have been proposed to visualize and understand the behavior of these models. We highlight the advantages offered through visualizing and understanding the weights, saliencies, class activation maps, and region of interest localizations in customized CNNs applied to the challenge of classifying parasitized and uninfected cells to aid in malaria screening. We provide an explanation for the models’ classification decisions. We characterize, evaluate, and statistically validate the performance of different customized CNNs keeping every training subject’s data separate from the validation set.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Impact of ultrasonication techniques on the preparation of novel Amiloride-nanoemulsion used for intranasal delivery in the treatment of epilepsy

Abstract We, the Editors and Publishers of Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology have retracted the following article: Niyaz Ahmad, Rizwan Ahmad, Md Aftab Alam, Farhan Jalees Ahmad & Mohd Amir. (2018). Impact of ultrasonication techniques on the preparation of novel Amiloride-nanoemulsion used for intranasal delivery in the treatment of epilepsy. Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 46:sup3, S192–S207. DOI: 10.1080/21691401.2018. 1489826 This article is retracted due to reuse of images from other articles by the same authors, representing results of different experiments. This includes a section of Figure 6(d) which can also be found in: Ahmad et al. (2018). Ultrasonication techniques used for the preparation of novel Eugenol-Nanoemulsion in the treatment of wounds healings and anti-inflammatory. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jddst. 2018.06. 003 As well as Figure 4(b), which can also be found in: Ahmad et al. (2018). Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jddst. 2018.06. 003 In addition, concerns were raised regarding the integrity of other Figures in the article, including Figure 1. When asked for an explanation, the authors were unable to provide raw data that would support the integrity of their research. As the authors were unable to provide the original images, the Editors agreed the findings of the study are no longer valid and advised for the article to be retracted. The authors do not agree with the retraction. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.
Hb Oslo [β42(CD1)Phe→Ile; HBB: c.127T>A]: A Novel Unstable Hemoglobin Variant Found in a Norwegian Patient

Abstract Unstable hemoglobin (Hb) variants are the result of sequence variants in the globin genes causing precipitation of Hb molecules in red blood cells (RBCs). Intracellular inclusions derived from the unstable Hb reduce the life-span of the red cells and may cause hemolytic anemia. Here we describe a patient with a history of hemolytic anemia and low oxygen saturation. She was found to be carrier of a novel unstable Hb variant, Hb Oslo [β42(CD1)Phe→Ile (TTT>ATT), HBB: c.127T>A] located in the heme pocket of the β-globin chain. Three-dimensional modeling suggested that isoleucine at position 42 creates weaker interactions with distal histidine and with the heme itself, which may lead to altered stability and decreased oxygen affinity. At steady state, the patient was in good clinical condition with a Hb concentration of 8.0–9.0 g/dL. During virus infections, the Hb concentration fell and on six occasions during 4 years, the patient needed a blood transfusion.
Searching ECOD for Homologous Domains by Sequence and Structure

ECOD is a database of evolutionary domains from structures deposited in the PDB. Domains in ECOD are classified by a mixed manual/automatic method wherein the bulk of newly deposited structures are classified automatically by protein‐protein BLAST. Those structures that cannot be classified automatically are referred to manual curators who use a combination of alignment results, functional analysis, and close reading of the literature to generate novel assignments. ECOD differs from other structural domain resources in that it is continually updated, classifying thousands of proteins per week. ECOD recognizes homology as its key organizing concept, rather than structural or sequence similarity alone. Such a classification scheme provides functional information about proteins of interest by placing them in the correct evolutionary context among all proteins of known structure. This unit demonstrates how to access ECOD via the Web and how to search the database by sequence or structure. It also details the distributable data files available for large‐scale bioinformatics users. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Yeast and Filaments Have Specialized, Independent Activities in a Zebrafish Model of Candida albicans Infection

Candida albicans dimorphism is a crucial virulence factor during invasive candidiasis infections, which claim the lives of nearly one-half of those afflicted. It has long been believed that filaments drive tissue invasion and yeast mediates bloodstream dissemination, but observation of these activities during infection has been prevented by technical limitations. ABSTRACT Candida albicans dimorphism is a crucial virulence factor during invasive candidiasis infections, which claim the lives of nearly one-half of those afflicted. It has long been believed that filaments drive tissue invasion and yeast mediates bloodstream dissemination, but observation of these activities during infection has been prevented by technical limitations. We used a transparent zebrafish infection model to analyze more comprehensively how C. albicans utilizes shape to disseminate and invade. This model facilitated the use of diverse, complementary strategies to manipulate shape, allowing us to monitor dissemination, invasion, and pathogenesis via intravital imaging of individual fungal cells throughout the host. To control fungal cell shape, we employed three different strategies: gene deletion (efg1Δ/Δ cph1Δ/Δ, eed1Δ/Δ), overexpression of master regulators (NRG1 or UME6), and modulation of the infection temperature (21°C, 28°C, or 33°C). The effects of these orthogonal manipulations were consistent, support the proposed specialized roles of yeast in dissemination and filaments in tissue invasion and pathogenesis, and indicate conserved mechanisms in zebrafish. To test if either morphotype changes the effectiveness of the other, we infected fish with a known mixture of shape-locked strains. Surprisingly, mixed-strain infections were associated with additive, but not synergistic, filament invasion and yeast dissemination. These findings provide the most complete view of morphotype-function relationships for C. albicans to date, revealing independent roles of yeast and filaments during disseminated candidiasis.
Graphene‐Based Smart Platforms for Combined Cancer Therapy

The extensive research of graphene and its derivatives in biomedical applications during the past few years has witnessed its significance in the field of nanomedicine. Starting from simple drug delivery systems, the application of graphene and its derivatives has been extended to a versatile platform of multiple therapeutic modalities, including photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, magnetic hyperthermia therapy, and sonodynamic therapy. In addition to monotherapy, graphene‐based materials are widely applied in combined therapies for enhanced anticancer activity and reduced side effects. In particular, graphene‐based materials are often designed and fabricated as “smart” platforms for stimuli‐responsive nanocarriers, whose therapeutic effects can be activated by the tumor microenvironment, such as acidic pH and elevated glutathione (termed as “endogenous stimuli”), or light, magnetic, or ultrasonic stimuli (termed as “exogenous stimuli”). Herein, the recent advances of smart graphene platforms for combined therapy applications are presented, starting with the principle for the design of graphene‐based smart platforms in combined therapy applications. Next, recent advances of combined therapies contributed by graphene‐based materials, including chemotherapy‐based, photothermal‐therapy‐based, and ultrasound‐therapy‐based synergistic therapy, are outlined. In addition, current challenges and future prospects regarding this promising field are discussed.
Genetic landscape of long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) in glioblastoma: identification of complex lncRNA regulatory networks and clinically relevant lncRNAs in glioblastoma

The major part of the genome that was previously called junk DNA has been shown to be dynamically transcribed to produce non-coding RNAs. Among them, the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) play diverse roles in the cellular context and are therefore involved in various diseases like cancer. LncRNA transcript profiling of glioblastoma (n = 19) and control brain samples (n = 9) identified 2,774 and 5,016 lncRNAs to be upregulated and downregulated in GBMs respectively. Correlation analysis of differentially regulated lncRNAs with mRNA and lncRNA identified several lncRNAs that may potentially regulate many tumor relevant mRNAs and lncRNAs both at nearby locations (cis) and far locations (trans). Integration of our data set with TCGA GBM RNA-Seq data (n = 172) revealed many lncRNAs as a host as well as decoy for many tumor regulated miRNAs. The expression pattern of seven lncRNAs- HOXD-AS2, RP4-792G4.2, CRNDE, ANRIL, RP11-389G6.3, RP11-325122.2 and AC123886.2 was validated by TCGA RNA-Seq data and RT-qPCR. Silencing ANRIL, a GBM upregulated lncRNA, inhibited glioma cell proliferation and colony growth. Cox regression analysis identified several prognostic lncRNAs. An lncRNA risk score derived from five lnRNAs-RP6-99M1.2, SOX21-AS1, CTD-2127H9.1, RP11-375B1.3 and RP3-449M8.9 predicted survival independent of all other markers. Multivariate cox regression analysis involving G-CIMP, IDH1 mutation, MGMT promoter methylation identified lncRNA risk score to be an independent poor predictor of GBM survival. The lncRNA risk score also stratified GBM patients into low and high risk with significant survival difference. Thus our study demonstrates the importance of lncRNA in GBM pathology and underscores the potential possibility of targeting lncRNA for GBM therapy.
Guest Editor’s Introduction

The half dozen articles in this special issue of Violence Against Women (VAW) represent cutting-edge basic behavioral research into the etiology of alcohol-involved partner violence—including intimate partner violence (IPV) and dating violence (DV)—as well as bystander approaches to the prevention of sexual assault (SA). As VAW readers are no doubt aware, a high percentage of such forms of interpersonal violence involve alcohol use by at least one of the parties involved. Insofar as this element adds significantly to the difficulty in developing efficacious violence prevention interventions, such efforts necessarily require grounding in the kinds of sound basic behavioral research presented here.
Design and Fabrication Technology of Low Profile Tactile Sensor with Digital Interface for Whole Body Robot Skin

Covering a whole surface of a robot with tiny sensors which can measure local pressure and transmit the data through a network is an ideal solution to give an artificial skin to robots to improve a capability of action and safety. The crucial technological barrier is to package force sensor and communication function in a small volume. In this paper, we propose the novel device structure based on a wafer bonding technology to integrate and package capacitive force sensor using silicon diaphragm and an integrated circuit separately manufactured. Unique fabrication processes are developed, such as the feed-through forming using a dicing process, a planarization of the Benzocyclobutene (BCB) polymer filled in the feed-through and a wafer bonding to stack silicon diaphragm onto ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) wafer. The ASIC used in this paper has a capacitance measurement circuit and a digital communication interface mimicking a tactile receptor of a human. We successfully integrated the force sensor and the ASIC into a 2.5×2.5×0.3 mm die and confirmed autonomously transmitted packets which contain digital sensing data with the linear force sensitivity of 57,640 Hz/N and 10 mN of data fluctuation. A small stray capacitance of 1.33 pF is achieved by use of 10 μm thick BCB isolation layer and this minimum package structure.
Formation of a Family of Long Intergenic Noncoding RNA Genes with an Embedded Translocation Breakpoint Motif in Human Chromosomal Low Copy Repeats of 22q11.2—Some Surprises and Questions

A family of long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA) genes, FAM230 is formed via gene sequence duplication, specifically in human chromosomal low copy repeats (LCR) or segmental duplications. This is the first group of lincRNA genes known to be formed by segmental duplications and is consistent with current views of evolution and the creation of new genes via DNA low copy repeats. It appears to be an efficient way to form multiple lincRNA genes. But as these genes are in a critical chromosomal region with respect to the incidence of abnormal translocations and resulting genetic abnormalities, the 22q11.2 region, and also carry a translocation breakpoint motif, several intriguing questions arise concerning the presence and function of the translocation breakpoint sequence in RNA genes situated in LCR22s.
Adding unregulated nursing support workers to ward staffing: Exploration of a natural experiment

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To explore the impact of an initiative to add unregulated nursing support workers to wards in acute care hospitals. BACKGROUND Adding nursing support workers to existing nurse staffing may be one solution to reduce nursing workloads and improve outcomes. However, the effects of this addition on nurse, patient and system outcomes are not well documented. In one state of Australia, a trial deployment of nursing support workers to wards across the public health system provided opportunity for the exploration of their impact in a natural, real-world, environment. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. METHODS A sample of five wards where nursing support workers had been added matched to a group of five wards where there were no nursing support workers. Data were collected via patient survey (n = 141) and nurse survey (n = 154). Analysis was comparative with regression models constructed for the different ward types. RESULTS Nursing leadership, staffing and resources, and nurse experience were linked to outcomes on both ward types. Instability was a significant predictor of reduced quality of care and increased turnover intention on wards where support workers were added. CONCLUSION Adding nursing support workers to ward staffing did not lead to improvements in patient care. Findings suggest that staffing a nursing ward is a complex activity and that a simple approach to staffing is unlikely to be successful. Future research should explore the process of implementation and the conditions under which this strategy is likely to be successful. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Ward-level factors are key in making appropriate staffing and skill mix choices to limit instability and to consequently avoid negative patient, staff and system outcomes. Consideration of the ward context, alongside effective delegation processes and integration into the care team are imperative when adding nursing support workers.
Performance and usefulness of platelet aggregation testing

Platelets, tiny and abundant anucleated blood cells, are at the forefront of hemostasis and pathological thrombus formation. These are dynamic processes that require a coordinated series of events involving platelet membrane receptors, bidirectional intracellular signals, and release of platelet proteins and inflammatory substances [1–3]. Over last century, progress in our understanding of the platelet function and the role of platelets in physiological and pathological thrombus formation has largely relied on the measurement of platelet aggregability in healthy individuals, patients, and animal models. The classical light transmission aggregometry (LTA) developed by Born in the 1960s [4] is still regarded as the “gold standard” of platelet function testing. However, LTA has weaknesses such as the use of platelet-rich plasma instead of whole blood under relatively low shear conditions, the requirement of large sample volumes, it is time-consuming and affected by many pre-analytical and analytical variables. In order to diminish variability in LTA performance in humans, guidelines in LTA procedure have been published [5]. Advances in the measurement of platelet aggregability include development of point-of-care devices, performing the test in plates with lower sample requirement, measurement under flow conditions, or using flow cytometry to detect cell aggregates. This review series presents an overview of these advances, as well as the use of aggregometry under special settings. Focusing on mouse models, Hughes highlights several challenges when performing aggregation experiments, while Podda et al. examine the use of human aggregometry in the special settings of thrombocytopenia, thrombocytosis and antiplatelet therapy. Dovlatova and Heptinstall describe the utility of the PFA-100®, which has been the most used point-of-care device in platelet function testing [6]. They also address platelet counting by commercial kits or flow cytometry, as a novel alternative to evaluate platelet aggregation. Chan et al. illustrate the advantages of platelet aggregation in standard 96-well plates with preloaded agonists using a common absorbance reader, and show that results are not fully equivalent to standard LTA aggregometry. Brouns et al. explore the potential of microfluid devices to assess multiple aspects of platelet function in patients with inherited platelet or coagulation disorders, and in cardiovascular patients under anti-thrombotic therapy. For platelet aggregation to occur, the αIIbβ3 integrin must change its conformation and gain the capacity to bind fibrinogen [7]. The review by Frelinger is devoted to the performance and utility of methods assessing such αIIbβ3 activation, mainly measurement of PAC1 binding to platelets by flow cytometry. Finally, platelet activation also promotes interaction with other blood cells such as leukocytes, and these plateletleukocytes have implications in human health. Here, Finsterbusch et al. nicely review approaches to measure platelet-leukocytes aggregates and their role in a variety of diseases.