Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A point mutation c.473A > G of ITGB3 is responsible for the formation of the Woa human platelet alloantigen

A 36-year-old female (Wo) delivered a full-term girl in the 40th week of gestation with no signs of bleeding. Her neonatal platelet count was 29 G/L (dropping to 20 G/L), and fetal-neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) was suspected. In the serological work-up, no anti-platelet antibodies were detectable using PAK Lx (Immucor Medizinische Diagnostik). Genetic testing did not reveal incompatibility for HPA-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6, -9 and -15. Two years later, Mrs. Wo gave birth to a white European full-term boy in the 39th week of gestation, again with no signs of bleeding. The neonatal platelet count was 31 G/L. Platelet antibody testing in the monoclonal antibody of platelet specific antigens (MAIPA) assay using random donor platelets was negative. In contrast, a MAIPA cross-match analysis between maternal serum and paternal platelets showed positive reactions with αIIbβ3, indicating an alloimmunization against a lowfrequency antigen. On Day 1, the newborn was transfused with random donor platelets. The platelet count rose to 170 G/L, remained above 50 G/L without further transfusions, and was in normal range at Day 28.
Czech Brain Aging Study (CBAS): prospective multicentre cohort study on risk and protective factors for dementia in the Czech Republic

Purpose Identification of demographic, physical/physiological, lifestyle and genetic factors contributing to the onset of dementia, specifically Alzheimer disease (AD), and implementation of novel methods for early diagnosis are important to alleviate prevalence of dementia globally. The Czech Brain Aging Study (CBAS) is the first large, prospective study to address these issues in Central/Eastern Europe by enrolling non-demented adults aged 55+ years, collecting a variety of personal and biological measures and tracking cognitive function over time. Participants The CBAS recruitment was initiated in 2011 from memory clinics at Brno and Prague University Hospitals, and by the end of 2018, the study included 1228 participants. Annual follow-ups include collection of socioeconomic, lifestyle and personal history information, neurology, neuropsychology, laboratory, vital sign and brain MRI data. In a subset, biomarker assessment (cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and amyloid positron emission tomography) and spatial navigation were performed. Participants were 69.7±8.1 years old and had 14.6±3.3 years of education at baseline, and 59% were women. By the end of 2018, 31% finished three and more years of follow-up; 9% converted to dementia. Apolipoprotein E status is available from 95% of the participants. The biological sample bank linked to CBAS database contained CSF, serum and DNA. Findings to date Overall, the findings, mainly from cross-sectional analyses, indicate that spatial navigation is a promising marker of early AD and that it can be distinguished from other cognitive functions. Specificity of several standard memory tests for early AD pathology was assessed with implications for clinical practice. The relationship of various lifestyle factors to cognition and brain atrophy was reported. Future plans Recruitment is ongoing with secured funding. Longitudinal data analyses are currently being conducted. Proposals for collaboration on specific data from the database or biospecimen, as well as collaborations with similar cohort studies to increase sample size, are welcome. Study details are available online (www.cbas.cz).
Effects of Flow‐Induced Microfluidic Chip Wall Deformation on Imaging Flow Cytometry

Imaging flow cytometry is a powerful tool by virtue of its capability for high‐throughput cell analysis. The advent of high‐speed optical imaging methods on a microfluidic platform has significantly improved cell throughput and brought many degrees of freedom to instrumentation and applications over the last decade, but it also poses a predicament on microfluidic chips. Specifically, as the throughput increases, the flow speed also increases (currently reaching 10 m/s): consequently, the increased hydrodynamic pressure on the microfluidic chip deforms the wall of the microchannel and produces detrimental effects lead to defocused and blur image. Here, we present a comprehensive study of the effects of flow‐induced microfluidic chip wall deformation on imaging flow cytometry. We fabricated three types of microfluidic chips with the same geometry and different degrees of stiffness made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and glass to investigate material influence on image quality. First, we found the maximum deformation of a PDMS microchannel was >60 μm at a pressure of 0.6 MPa, while no appreciable deformation was identified in a glass microchannel at the same pressure. Second, we found the deviation of lag time that indicating velocity difference of migrating microbeads due to the deformation of the microchannel was 29.3 ms in a PDMS microchannel and 14.9 ms in a glass microchannel. Third, the glass microchannel focused cells into a slightly narrower stream in the X‐Y plane and a significantly narrower stream in the Z‐axis direction (focusing percentages were increased 30%, 32%, and 5.7% in the glass channel at flow velocities of 0.5, 1.5, and 3 m/s, respectively), and the glass microchannel showed stabler equilibrium positions of focused cells regardless of flow velocity. Finally, we achieved the world's fastest imaging flow cytometry by combining a glass microfluidic device with an optofluidic time‐stretch microscopy imaging technique at a flow velocity of 25 m/s. © 2019 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
How to identify patients who are less likely to have metachronous neoplasms after a colon cancer: a predictive model

Abstract Background Patients with prior colon cancer have increased risk of metachronous colorectal neoplasms; therefore, endoscopic surveillance is indicated. Current recommendations are not risk-stratified. We investigated predictive factors for colorectal neoplasms to build a model to spare colonoscopies for low-risk patients. Methods This was a multicenter, retrospective study including patients who underwent surgery for colon cancer in 2001 – 2008 (derivation cohort) and 2009 – 2013 (validation cohort). A predictive model for neoplasm occurrence at second surveillance colonoscopy was developed and validated. Results 421 and 203 patients were included in derivation and validation cohort, respectively. At second surveillance colonoscopy, 112 (26.6 %) and 55 (27.1 %) patients had metachronous neoplasms in derivation and validation groups; three cancers were detected in the latter. History of left-sided colon cancer (OR 1.64, 95 %CI 1.02 – 2.64), ≥ 1 advanced adenoma at index colonoscopy (OR 1.90, 95 %CI 1.05 – 3.43), and ≥ 1 adenoma at first surveillance colonoscopy (OR 2.06, 95 %CI 1.29 – 3.27) were independently predictive of metachronous colorectal neoplasms at second surveillance colonoscopy. For patients without such risk factors, diagnostic accuracy parameters were: 89.3 % (95 %CI 82.0 %-94.3 %) and 78.2 % (95 %CI 65.0 %-88.2 %) sensitivity, and 28.5 % (95 %CI 23.5 %-33.9 %) and 33.8 % (95 %CI 26.2 %-42.0 %) specificity in derivation and validation group, respectively. No cancer would be missed. Conclusions Patients with prior left-sided colon cancer or ≥ 1 advanced adenoma at index colonoscopy or ≥ 1 adenoma at first surveillance colonoscopy had a significantly higher risk of neoplasms at second surveillance colonoscopy; patients without such factors had much lower risk and could safely skip the second surveillance colonoscopy. A prospective, multicenter validation study is needed.
Sociodemographic factors affecting viral load suppression among people living with HIV in South Carolina

ABSTRACT Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) enables people living with HIV (PLWH) to reach and maintain viral suppression. As viral suppression significantly reduces risk for secondary transmission, this study aimed to examine sociodemographic factors associated with viral suppression among PLWH in South Carolina (SC). We analyzed cross-sectional data collected from 342 PLWH receiving HIV care from a large clinic in SC and provided complete information on most recent viral load, ART adherence, and sociodemographic factors. Bivariate analysis examined associations between key variables, and logistic regression was used to calculate the odds of viral suppression among select sociodemographic groups and adherence levels. Results indicated that approximately 82% of participants reported achieving viral suppression. PLWH who were older, male, and employed full-time had higher odds of being virally suppressed compared to those who were younger, female, and unemployed. PLWH with medium (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR]: 3.79; 95% CI: 1.15–12.48) and high (aOR: 3.51; 95% CI: 1.21–10.24) levels of adherence were more likely to report viral suppression than those with low adherence. Targeted interventions are warranted for groups at-risk of low ART adherence, and healthcare providers should also be aware of contextual factors that serve as barriers to adherence for PLWH.
Treatment of Fungal Peritonitis in CAPO Patients Using Peritoneal Lavage

This paper describes four CAPD patients with fungal peritonitis. The causative fungi were Candida albicans (twice), C. tropicalis and Cryptococcus neoformans. The infections were managed using the following regimen: 1 Removal of the Tenckhoff catheter. 2 Insertion of a temporary peritoneal catheter and commencement of peritoneal lavage, and administration of intraperitoneal miconazole and oral ketoconazole. 3 Insertion of a new Tenckhoff catheter after resolution of the peritonitis. Three of these patients recovered. We believe that it helps to remove the Tenckhoff catheter early and that, with our regimen, we can manage fungal peritonitis without suspending peritoneal dialysis. It appears that a combination of intraperitoneal miconazole and oral ketoconazole constitutes an effective antifungal therapy in CAPD peritonitis.
FAK regulates dynein localisation and cell polarity in migrating mouse fibroblasts

Fibroblasts executing directional migration position their centrosome, and their Golgi apparatus, in front of the nucleus towards the cell leading edge. Centrosome positioning relative to the nucleus has been associated to mechanical forces exerted on the centrosome by the microtubule‐dependent molecular motor cytoplasmic dynein 1, and to nuclear movements such as rearward displacement and rotation events. Dynein has been proposed to regulate the position of the centrosome by exerting pulling forces on microtubules from the cell leading edge, where the motor is enriched during migration. However, the mechanism explaining how dynein acts at the front of the cells has not been elucidated.
Avoidance of non-localizable obstacles in echolocating bats: A robotic model

Most objects and vegetation making up the habitats of echolocating bats return a multitude of overlapping echoes. Recent evidence suggests that the limited temporal and spatial resolution of bio-sonar prevents bats from separately perceiving the objects giving rise to these overlapping echoes. Therefore, bats often operate under conditions where their ability to localize obstacles is severely limited. Nevertheless, bats excel at avoiding complex obstacles. In this paper, we present a robotic model of bat obstacle avoidance using interaural level differences and distance to the nearest obstacle as the minimal set of cues. In contrast to previous robotic models of bats, the current robot does not attempt to localize obstacles. We evaluate two obstacle avoidance strategies. First, the Fixed Head Strategy keeps the acoustic gaze direction aligned with the direction of flight. Second, the Delayed Linear Adaptive Law (DLAL) Strategy uses acoustic gaze scanning, as observed in hunting bats. Acoustic gaze scanning has been suggested to aid the bat in hunting for prey. Here, we evaluate its adaptive value for obstacle avoidance when obstacles can not be localized. The robot’s obstacle avoidance performance is assessed in two environments mimicking (highly cluttered) experimental setups commonly used in behavioral experiments: a rectangular arena containing multiple complex cylindrical reflecting surfaces and a corridor lined with complex reflecting surfaces. The results indicate that distance to the nearest object and interaural level differences allows steering the robot clear of obstacles in environments that return non-localizable echoes. Furthermore, we found that using acoustic gaze scanning reduced performance, suggesting that gaze scanning might not be beneficial under conditions where the animal has limited access to angular information, which is in line with behavioral evidence.
An Anatomic Technique for Establishing Leg Length During the Anterior Approach to Total Hip Arthroplasty

Leg-length discrepancy following total hip arthroplasty is a common challenge to the treating surgeon. A multitude of surgical techniques and measurement strategies have been described to reduce the likelihood of undesirable leg and hip length. We present a simple intraoperative technique using the capsule (Y-ligament) to minimize this problem. After its exposure, the hip capsule is incised in line with the long axis of the femoral neck and dissected from its insertion on the anterior intertrochanteric line. This allows excellent exposure of the hip. At the end of the replacement, the position of the released capsule indicates gain, loss, or unchanged length of the hip. It is an effective intraoperative way to check the desired hip length without fluoroscopy or cumbersome measuring devices. The ease and efficacy of this technique have proven to be another advantage of the anterior approach to hip arthroplasty.
Exosomes: A Novel Therapeutic Agent for Cartilage and Bone Tissue Regeneration

Despite traditionally treating autologous and allogeneic transplantation and emerging tissue engineering (TE)-based therapies, which have commonly performed in clinic for skeletal diseases, as the “gold standard” for care, undesirably low efficacy and other complications remain. Therefore, exploring new strategies with better therapeutic outcomes and lower incidences of unfavorable side effect is imperative. Recently, exosomes, secreted microvesicles of endocytic origin, have caught researcher’s eyes in tissue regeneration fields, especially in cartilage and bone-related regeneration. Multiple researchers have demonstrated the crucial roles of exosomes throughout every developing stage of cartilage and bone tissue regeneration, indicating that there may be a potential therapeutic application of exosomes in future clinical use. Herein, we summarize the function of exosomes derived from the primary cells functioning in skeletal diseases and their restoration processes, therapeutic exosomes used to promote cartilage and bone repairing in recent research, and applications of exosomes within the setting of the TE matrix.
The influence of a cooked-fish meal on estimated glomerular filtration rate

Ingestion of cooked meat increases circulating blood creatinine concentration due to conversion of creatine during cooking. This may cause falsely low estimated glomerular filtration rate. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence chronic kidney disease guidelines recommend meat avoidance prior to blood testing for estimated glomerular filtration rate. Fish muscle also contains creatine, but the influence of fish consumption on blood creatinine concentration has not been studied.Four blood samples were collected from each of 20 healthy volunteers: one before and three (at 2, 4 and 20 h) after consuming cooked fish (200 g/person cod, approximately 35 g/person protein). Apart from this meal, for the study duration, subjects were asked to avoid eating meat or fish. Creatinine and cystatin C were measured and estimated glomerular filtration rate (CKD-EPI equations) was calculated.Serum creatinine concentration (mean) was increased relative to the preprandial concentration (71.8 μmol/L) in all subjects at 2 h (77.3 μmol/L) and in 17/20 subjects at 4 h (75.5 μmol/L) ( P < 0.0001) but was not significantly different from baseline after 20 h (73.6 μmol/L P = 0.1170). Mean cystatin C concentration remained unchanged throughout the study ( P > 0.05). Estimated glomerular filtration rate calculated using the CKD-EPI (creatinine) and CKD-EPI (creatinine and cystatin C) equations demonstrated significant declines at 2 and 4 h ( P < 0.0005), while the CKD-EPI (cystatin C) equation remained unchanged ( P > 0.05). Cooked fish consumption transiently increases blood creatinine concentration and consequently lowers the estimates of glomerular filtration rate derived from creatinine-based equations. Consideration should be given to avoidance of cooked fish consumption before glomerular filtration rate estimation.
Legionella pneumophila as Cause of Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia, China

We report a case of community-acquired pneumonia in a patient in China. We verified Legionella pneumophila infection through next-generation sequencing of blood, sputum, and pleural effusion samples. Our results show the usefulness of next-generation sequencing and of testing different samples early in the course of illness to identify this bacterium.
The pandemic Escherichia coli sequence type 131 strain is acquired even in the absence of antibiotic exposure

Introduction Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) is a pandemic multidrug resistant (MDR) strain that has had unprecedented global expansion in the last decade and is now the predominant resistant E. coli in both the adult and pediatric populations [1]. ST131 has been associated with a variety of invasive infections, resulting in higher healthcare costs and increased morbidity and mortality. These strains produce extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), usually encoded by large plasmids, which can severely limit treatment options, delaying adequate therapy and increasing the use of last-resort antimicrobials such as carbapenems and colistin [2]. They are most commonly associated with CTX-M-15, a broad spectrum cephalosporinase. It is estimated that overall prevalence ranges from 12%–30% of all E. coli isolates, 70%–80% of fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli isolates, and 50%–60% of all ESBL-producing E. coli isolates [3]. Rates of asymptomatic fecal carriage in the community are increasing worldwide, though the exact bacterial or host factors involved are not fully understood. Although ST131 strains are not thought to be hypervirulent, they are rapidly transmitted between hosts and are persistent gut colonizers [4–7]. In mouse models, they can out-compete commensal E. coli to colonize the gut [8]. The population structure of ST131 has recently been defined by using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data, either with classification into clades A, B, or C or by the fimH alleles. Most ST131 strains fall with the 2 subclades of C1 and C2, corresponding to presence or absence of the CTX-M-15 beta-lactamase [9]. The most common fimH variants are fimH30 and fimH22 [9]. This article provides a broad overview of the ST131 colonization and transmission patterns, associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) plasmid types, and current knowledge about its virulence and metabolism potential.
Genetic manipulation of porcine deltacoronavirus reveals insights into NS6 and NS7 functions: a novel strategy for vaccine design

ABSTRACT Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging swine coronavirus that causes severe diarrhea, resulting in high mortality in neonatal piglets. Despite widespread outbreaks in many countries, no effective PDCoV vaccines are currently available. Here, we generated, for the first time, a full-length infectious cDNA clone of PDCoV. We further manipulated the infectious clone by replacing the NS6 gene with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) to generate rPDCoV-ΔNS6-GFP; likewise, rPDCoV-ΔNS7 was constructed by removing the ATG start codons of the NS7 gene. Growth kinetics studies suggest that rPDCoV-ΔNS7 could replicate similarly to that of the wild-type PDCoV, whereas rPDCoV-ΔNS6-GFP exhibited a substantial reduction of viral titer in vitro and in vivo. Piglets inoculated with rPDCoV-ΔNS7 or wild-type PDCoV showed similar diarrheic scores and pathological injury. In contrast, rPDCoV-ΔNS6-GFP-infected piglets did not show any clinical signs, indicating that the NS6 protein is an important virulence factor of PDCoV and that the NS6-deficient mutant virus might be a promising live-attenuated vaccine candidate. Taken together, the reverse genetics platform described here not only provides more insights into the role of PDCoV accessory proteins in viral replication and pathogenesis, but also allows the development of novel vaccines against PDCoV infection.
Resveratrol promoted the M2 polarization of microglia and reduced neuroinflammation after cerebral ischemia by inhibiting miR-155

Abstract Purpose: Neuroinflammation was demonstrated to play an important role in the brain injury induced by cerebral ischemia, which was mainly mediated by microglia. MicroRNA-155 (MiR-155) was reported to promote the M1 polarization of microglia and increase neuroinflammation. Resveratrol was identified to have the ability to promote the M2 polarization of microglia and reduce inflammation. Whether resveratrol can promote the M2 polarization of microglia and further inhibit neuroinflammation after cerebral ischemia, and its correlation with miR-155 is unclear. To clarify this, we conducted this study to explore the potential of resveratrol as an effective strategy to treat cerebral ischemia induced neuroinflammation. Materials and methods:The cerebral ischemia mouse model was first constructed by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Then resveratrol was intraperitoneally injected at 0 h, 8 h and 18 h after cerebral ischemia. Subsequently, the relative expression of miR-155 and the signature genes of M1 and M2 microglia in injured brain were measured by RT-PCR, and the concentration of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were detected by ELISA. Further, the in vitro experiments were also conducted to explore the effect of resveratrol on the inflammation mediated by LPS activated BV2 microglia. Results: Results indicated that the relative expression of miR-155 in ischemia brain and activated BV2 microglia was elevated, while resveratrol reduced the expression of miR-155. Resveratrol promoted the M2 polarization of microglia and reduced neuroinflammation in injured brain and activated BV2 microglia. Conclusions: In conclusion, this research indicated that resveratrol promoted the M2 polarization of microglia and reduced neuroinflammation after cerebral ischemia by inhibiting miR-155.