Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Possible radioprotection of submandibular glands in gamma-irradiated rats using kaempferol: a histopathological and immunohistochemical study

Abstract Background and purpose Salivary gland damage remains a problem despite advances in radiotherapy schedules for head and neck cancer. Kaempferol, a natural flavonoid, found in several fruits and vegetables, is a good antioxidant. This study was designed to evaluate the possible protective effects of kaempferol on submandibular glands (SMGs) of rats exposed to fractionated gamma irradiation. Materials and methods Twenty-four male adult Wistar albino rats were included in this study and assigned to three groups (n = 8). Rats in group K received kaempferol orally in five doses at a dose of 10 mg/kg/2 days for 10 days. Meanwhile, rats in group R were subjected to fractionated whole-body gamma irradiation at a dose of 2 Gy/5 days/week for 2 weeks (20 Gy), and the KR group received kaempferol as group K and then was subjected to a fractionated whole-body gamma irradiation as group R. SMG samples were collected on days 1 and 7 after the last radiation session; and processed for histopathological and immunohistochemical investigations. Results The SMGs of group R showed focal atrophy and degeneration. Acini showed vacuolization and had pyknotic hyperchromatic nuclei. Striated ducts degenerated, shrunken, and were surrounded by empty spaces. The percentage of areas covered by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) significantly increased, whereas the percentage of areas covered by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) significantly decreased compared with those in group K. Cotreatment with kaempferol (group KR) partially preserved normal gland architecture where acinar vacuolation and degeneration were almost absent; however, some ducts degenerated. A significant decrease in the percentage of areas covered by COX-2 and a significant increase in the percentage of areas covered by PCNA were observed compared with those in group R. Conclusions Kaempferol has a possible radioprotective effect on the SMGs of rats exposed to fractionated gamma irradiation.
Effectiveness of integrating primary healthcare in aftercare for older patients after discharge from tertiary hospitals—a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Quality of aftercare can crucially impact health status of older patients and reduce the extra burden of unplanned healthcare resource utilisation. However, evidence of effectiveness of primary healthcare in supporting aftercare, especially for older patients after discharge are limited. Methods We searched for English articles of randomised controlled trials published between January 2000 and March 2022. All-cause hospital readmission rate and length of hospital stay were pooled using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were conducted to identify the relationship between intervention characteristics and the effectiveness on all-cause hospital readmission rate. Results A total of 30 studies with 11,693 older patients were included in the review. Compared with patients in the control group, patients in the intervention group had 32% less risk of hospital readmission within 30 days (RR = 0.68, P < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.56–0.84), and 17% within 6 months (RR = 0.83, P < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.75–0.92). According to the subgroup analysis, continuity of involvement of primary healthcare in aftercare had significant effect with hospital readmission rates (P < 0.001). Economic evaluations from included studies suggested that aftercare intervention was cost-effective due to the reduction in hospital readmission rate and risk of further complications. Conclusion Integrating primary healthcare into aftercare was designed not only to improve the immediate transition that older patients faced but also to provide them with knowledge and skills to manage future health problems. There is a pressing need to introduce interventions at the primary healthcare level to support long-term care.
Interdisciplinary trainee networks to promote research on aging: Facilitators, barriers, and next steps

ABSTRACT Interdisciplinary education and research foster cross disciplinary collaboration. The study of age and aging is complex and needs to be carried out by scholars from myriad disciplines, making interdisciplinary collaboration paramount. Non-formal, extracurricular, and interdisciplinary networks are increasingly filling gaps in academia’s largely siloed disciplinary training. This study examines the experiences of trainees (undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students) who belonged to one such network devoted to interdisciplinary approaches to education and research on aging. Fifty-three trainees completed the survey. Among respondents, some faculties (e.g., Health Sciences) were disproportionately represented over others (e.g., Business, Engineering, and Humanities). Most trainees valued their participation in the interdisciplinary network for research on aging. They also valued expanding their social and professional network, the nature of which was qualitatively described in open-text responses. We then relate our findings to three types of social capital: bonding; bridging; and linking. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for the intentional design and/or refinement of similar networks to maximize value to trainees, provide the skills necessary for interdisciplinary collaboration, and foster egalitarian and representative participation therein.
PhyloPGM: boosting regulatory function prediction accuracy using evolutionary information

Abstract Motivation The computational prediction of regulatory function associated with a genomic sequence is of utter importance in -omics study, which facilitates our understanding of the underlying mechanisms underpinning the vast gene regulatory network. Prominent examples in this area include the binding prediction of transcription factors in DNA regulatory regions, and predicting RNA–protein interaction in the context of post-transcriptional gene expression. However, existing computational methods have suffered from high false-positive rates and have seldom used any evolutionary information, despite the vast amount of available orthologous data across multitudes of extant and ancestral genomes, which readily present an opportunity to improve the accuracy of existing computational methods. Results In this study, we present a novel probabilistic approach called PhyloPGM that leverages previously trained TFBS or RNA–RBP binding predictors by aggregating their predictions from various orthologous regions, in order to boost the overall prediction accuracy on human sequences. Throughout our experiments, PhyloPGM has shown significant improvement over baselines such as the sequence-based RNA–RBP binding predictor RNATracker and the sequence-based TFBS predictor that is known as FactorNet. PhyloPGM is simple in principle, easy to implement and yet, yields impressive results. Availability and implementation The PhyloPGM package is available at https://github.com/BlanchetteLab/PhyloPGM Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Increasing temperatures affect multiyear life cycle of the outbreak bush‐cricket Barbitistes vicetinus (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae)

Although outbreaks of rare species are unusual, several insect species have become emerging pests probably due to the ongoing environmental changes. Barbitistes vicetinus was first described in 1993 as an endemic bush‐cricket of north‐east Italy and was considered rare until 2008, when it became an established pest, causing severe damages to forests and crops. The possible role of temperature in changing its life cycle has still to be fully understood. Here, we explored the effect of summer temperature on egg diapause and the effect of winter temperature on egg survival. Field observations showed that the proportion of embryos that can complete development at the end of summer ranged from zero to nearly 90% depending on summer temperatures. A substantial shift in the rate of development from 20% to nearly 80% occurred in a thermal range of about 1 °C. On the contrary, overwinter egg survival was high and constant (90%) across a wide range of winter temperatures that go well beyond both the cold and warm thermal limits of the current species range. Overall, the results suggest a potential key role of summer temperature warming on the outbreak propensity of this species that is able to switch from a multiyear to an annual life cycle with just a 1–2 °C warming.
Rho GTPase-activating protein 35 suppresses gastric cancer metastasis by regulating cytoskeleton reorganization and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

ABSTRACT Cytoskeletal reorganization and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are key processes and typical characteristics of metastatic cancer cells. Rho GTPase‑activating protein 35 (ARHGAP35) is a GTPase-activating protein, which has a significant effect on cell motility. However, the particular function of ARHGAP35 in gastric cancer (GC) remains unknown. In the present study, the role of ARHGAP35 in GC was investigated by in vitro loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments. Cytoskeletal reorganization in GC cells was evaluated using immunofluorescence staining and the protein expression levels of key molecules and active RhoA were detected by western blot analysis. Additionally, the clinical evaluation of proteins in human GC tissues was assessed by immunohistochemistry. The results showed that ARHGAP35, a tumor suppressor, was downregulated in GC tissues and its decreased expression was associated with the metastatic status of GC. Additionally, Transwell and wound healing assays demonstrated that ARHGAP35 knockdown promoted cell motility in vitro. However, the above effects were abrogated following ectopic ARHGAP35 expression. Furthermore, ARHGAP35 could affect cytoskeletal reorganization via directly regulating RhoA activation. In addition, ARHGAP35 upregulated E-cadherin and attenuated EMT in GC cells. Both ARHGAP35 and E-cadherin were associated with overall survival in patients with GC, while their combination allowed for an even greater capacity for distinguishing GC patients with different prognosis. Overall, the results of the current study suggested that ARHGAP35 could directly regulate cell morphology and motility via affecting cytoskeletal reorganization and EMT via targeting RhoA and E-cadherin, respectively. Targeting the ARHGAP35/RhoA/E-cadherin pathway could be a potential approach for treating GC.
COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in Italian healthcare workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Introduction As for other vaccines, vaccination hesitancy may be a determining factor in the success (or otherwise) of the COVID-19 immunization campaign in healthcare workers (HCWs). Areas covered To estimate the proportion of HCWs in Italy who expressed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, we conducted a systematic review of the relevant literature and a meta-analysis. Determinants of vaccine compliance and options suggested by these studies to address vaccine hesitancy among HCWs were also analyzed. Seventeen studies were included in the meta-analysis and systematic review, selected from scientific articles available in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus databases between 1 January 2020 and 25 January 2022. The vaccine hesitancy rate among HCWs was 13.1% (95%CI: 6.9–20.9%). The vaccine hesitancy rate among HCWs investigated before and during the vaccination campaign was 18.2% (95%CI = 12.8–24.2%) and 8.9% (95%CI = 3.4–16.6%), respectively. That main reasons for vaccine hesitation were lack of information about vaccination, opinion that the vaccine is unsafe, and fear of adverse events. Expert opinion Despite strategies to achieve a greater willingness to immunize in this category, mandatory vaccination appears to be one of the most important measures that can guarantee the protection of HCWs and the patients they care for.
Simultaneous versus staged major hepatectomy (≥3 liver segments) for outcomes of synchronous colorectal liver metastases: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Hepatectomy is an effective treatment for synchronous colorectal liver metastases (SCLM) patients. However, whether to choose simultaneous hepatectomy (SIH) or staged hepatectomy (STH) is still controversial, especially during major hepatectomy (≥3 liver segments).
“He Helped Me in Discovering Myself.” Rethinking and Exploring Sexual and Gender Identity in Trans-Inclusive Relationships

Abstract This qualitative study explores the effects of being in a relationship with a transgender or non-binary (TGNB) person on an individual’s sexual and/or gender identity. To this aim, the responses of 107 partners of TGNB individuals to the following open-ended question were collected: “What effect, if any, has having a relationship with a transgender person had on your gender and/or sexual identity? ” Through thematic analysis, 4 overarching themes emerged from the participants’ responses: 1) No reason to change; 2) Exploration and changes; 3) New perspective; and 4) Negative effects and confusion. Overall, this study suggests that being in a relationship with a TGNB person may prompt a reflection on the concept of sexual and gender identity, and an exploration of one’s own identity, which is usually experienced as positive, but may also be a source of distress for the individual and/or the couple. Also, in many other cases, the relationship has been observed to have no effect on the partner’s identity, due to a number of reasons. These findings constitute a relevant addition to the understanding of couple’s dynamics in trans-including couples.
Proteomic changes associated with predator‐induced morphological defences in oysters

Inducible prey defences occur when organisms undergo plastic changes in phenotype to reduce predation risk. When predation pressure varies persistently over space or time, such as when predator and prey co‐occur over only part of their biogeographic ranges, prey populations can become locally adapted in their inducible defences. In California estuaries, native Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) populations have evolved disparate phenotypic responses to an invasive predator, the Atlantic oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea). In this study, oysters from an estuary with drills, and oysters from an estuary without drills, were reared for two generations in a laboratory common garden, and subsequently exposed to cues from Atlantic drills. Comparative proteomics was then used to investigate molecular mechanisms underlying conserved and divergent aspects of their inducible defences. Both populations developed smaller, thicker, and harder shells after drill exposure, and these changes in shell phenotype were associated with upregulation of calcium transport proteins that could influence biomineralization. Inducible defences evolve in part because defended phenotypes incur fitness costs when predation risk is low. Immune proteins were downregulated by both oyster populations after exposure to drills, implying a trade‐off between biomineralization and immune function. Following drill exposure, oysters from the population that co‐occurs with drills grew smaller shells than oysters inhabiting the estuary not yet invaded by the predator. Variation in the response to drills between populations was associated with isoform‐specific protein expression. This trend suggests that a stronger inducible defence response evolved in oysters that co‐occur with drills through modification of an existing mechanism.
The role of cofeeding arthropods in the transmission of Rickettsia felis

Rickettsia felis is an emerging etiological agent of rickettsioses worldwide. The cosmopolitan cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is the primary vector of R. felis, but R. felis has also been reported in other species of hematophagous arthropods including ticks and mosquitoes. Canines can serve as a bacteremic host to infect fleas under laboratory conditions, yet isolation of R. felis from the blood of a vertebrate host in nature has not been realized. Cofeeding transmission is an efficient mechanism for transmitting rickettsiae between infected and uninfected fleas; however, the mechanism of transmission among different orders and classes of arthropods is not known. The potential for R. felis transmission between infected fleas and tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and mosquito (Anopheles quadrimaculatus) hosts was examined via cofeeding bioassays. Donor cat fleas infected with R. felis transmitted the agent to naïve D. variabilis nymphs via cofeeding on a rat host. Subsequent transstadial transmission of R. felis from the engorged nymphs to the adult ticks was observed with reduced prevalence in adult ticks. Using an artificial host system, An. quadrimaculatus exposed to a R. felis-infected blood meal acquired rickettsiae and maintained infection over 12 days post-exposure (dpe). Similar to ticks, mosquitoes were able to acquire R. felis while cofeeding with infected cat fleas on rats infection persisting in the mosquito for up to 3 dpe. The results indicate R. felis-infected cat fleas can transmit rickettsiae to both ticks and mosquitoes via cofeeding on a vertebrate host, thus providing a potential avenue for the diversity of R. felis-infected arthropods in nature.
Randomized single-query motion planning in expansive spaces

Random sampling is a fundamental technique for motion planning of objects with many degrees of freedom (dof). This thesis presents efficient randomized algorithms for single-query motion planning of objects with many dofs and under complex motion constraints. Unlike most other probabilistic roadmap planners, our algorithms perform no preprocessing of the environment. They sample collision-free configurations incrementally in the connected components of the space that contain the query configurations, thus avoiding the high cost of pre-computing a roadmap for the entire space. Two specific planners are discussed. One addresses the simpler problem of path planning. The other extends the basic idea and takes into account kinematic and dynamic constraints on motion as well. A control system is used to represent both types of constraints in a unified framework. Our algorithms have been tested extensively on both synthesized examples and real-life CAD data from the industry; they have shown strong performance on rigid-body and articulated objects with up to 18 dofs. We also demonstrate their generality and effectiveness in three practical applications: assembly maintainability checking, motion synthesis for animated characters, and kinodynamic motion planning for an integrated real-time robot system in environments with moving obstacles. The lack of theoretical explanation for the randomized motion planners' success in experiments has motivated us to introduce the notion of expansive spaces as a new way to characterize the complexity of input environments. It provides us a conceptual framework to understand why randomized motion planners work well and under what conditions. We prove that in an expansive space, our algorithms find a solution trajectory with probability that converges to 1 at an exponential rate, if a solution exists. An efficient motion planner is also useful as a primitive for accomplishing more complex tasks. An example of this is the robot placement problem, an important application from the manufacturing industry. By combining a randomized path planner with local iterative optimization, our placement algorithm computes simultaneously a base location and a corresponding collision-free path for a fixed-base robot manipulator to execute specified tasks as efficiently as possible.
Autoimmune Antibodies in Children and Adolescents With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Objectives: The clinical significance of autoantibody positivity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the absence of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) remains uncertain. We aimed to determine the prevalence of autoantibodies in a pediatric cohort with biopsy-proven NAFLD and investigate the association between autoantibodies and NAFLD histologic grade. Methods: Single-center, retrospective study of patients ≤21 years with biopsy-proven NAFLD from 2014 to 2019. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained within 90 days of liver biopsy. Autoantibody positivity was defined as serum titer ≥1:80 or units ≥20. Liver biopsies were evaluated for features of AIH, then scored for steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning, lobular inflammation, and NAFLD activity score (NAS) was calculated. Portal inflammation and fibrosis were scored separately. Multivariable logistic regression was used for continuous and binary outcomes. Results: Sixty-seven subjects met inclusion criteria. Positive antinuclear antibody (ANA), antismooth muscle antibody (ASMA), antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), anti-F-actin antibody (F-actin), anti-liver kidney microsomal (LKM) antibody, or any combination was observed in 43%, 39%, 19%, 13%, 0%, and 66% of subjects, respectively. After controlling for confounders, positive ANA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >80 had 4.6 greater odds of having an NAS ≥5 (P = 0.035; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–19.01). Autoantibody positivity resolution occurred in 10%–50% who underwent serial monitoring. Conclusions: Autoantibodies, except LKM, were frequently encountered in our pediatric NAFLD cohort in the absence of AIH. ANA positivity with ALT may help clinically stratify pediatric patients with suspected NAFLD targeting those at greater risk for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Young elephants in a large herd maintain high levels of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus‐specific antibodies and do not succumb to fatal haemorrhagic disease

Abstract Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHVs) have co‐existed with elephants for millions of years, yet may cause fatal haemorrhagic disease (EEHV‐HD), typically in elephants between 1 and 10 years of age. EEHV is omnipresent in (sub)adult elephants, and young elephants with low EEHV‐specific antibody levels are at risk for EEHV‐HD, suggesting that fatal disease may occur due to an insufficiently controlled primary infection. To further address this hypothesis, sera of three large elephant cohorts were subjected to a multiple EEHV species ELISA: (I) 96 Asian elephants between 0 and 57 years, including 13 EEHV‐HD fatalities, from European zoo herds typically sized five to six elephants, (II) a herd of 64 orphaned elephants aged 0–15 years at the Elephant Transit Home in Sri Lanka and (III) 31 elephants aged 8–63 years, part of a large herd of 93 elephants at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sri Lanka. All Sri Lankan elephants showed high EEHV‐specific antibody levels regardless of their age. While antibody levels of most European zoo elephants were comparable to those of Sri Lankan elephants, the average antibody level of the European juveniles (1–5 years of age) was significantly lower than those of age‐matched Sri Lankan individuals. Moreover, the European juveniles showed a gradual decrease between 1 and 4 years of age, to be attributed to waning maternal antibodies. Maintenance of high levels of antibodies in spite of waning maternal antibodies in young Sri Lankan elephants is likely due to the larger herd size that increases the likelihood of contact with EEHV‐shedding elephants. Together with the observation that low levels of EEHV‐specific antibodies correlate with increased numbers of EEHV‐HD fatalities, these results suggest that infection in presence of high maternal antibody levels may protect calves from developing EEHV‐HD, while at the same time activating an immune response protective in future encounters with this virus.