Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of Objectively Measured Sleep with Frailty and 5-year Mortality in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine whether actigraphy-measured sleep was independently associated with risk of frailty and mortality over a five-year period among older adults. METHODS We used data from Waves 2 (W2) and 3 (W3) (2010-2015) of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a prospective cohort of community-dwelling older adults born between 1920 and 1947. One-third of W2 respondents were randomly selected to participate in a sleep study, of whom N=727 consented and N=615 were included in the analytic sample. Participants were instructed to wear a wrist actigraph for 72 hours (2.93±0.01 nights). Actigraphic sleep parameters were averaged across nights and included total sleep time, percent sleep, sleep fragmentation index, and wake after sleep onset (WASO). Subjective sleep was collected via questionnaire. Frailty was assessed using modified Fried Frailty Index. Vital status was ascertained at the time of the W3 interview. W3 frailty/mortality status were analyzed jointly with a four-level variable: robust, pre-frail, frail, and deceased. Associations were modeled per 10-unit increase. RESULTS After controlling for baseline frailty (robust and pre-frail categories), age, sex, education, body mass index, and sleep time preference, a higher sleep fragmentation index was associated with frailty (OR=1.70, 95% CI: 1.02-2.84) and mortality (OR=2.12, 95% CI: 1.09-4.09). Greater WASO (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.02-1.50) and lower percent sleep (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.17-0.97) were associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS Among community-dwelling older adults, actigraphic sleep is associated with frailty and all-cause mortality over a five-year period. Further investigation is warranted to elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying these associations.
Neuroprotection mediated by ST266 requires full complement of proteins secreted by amnion-derived multipotent progenitor cells

ST266 is the biological secretome of cultured Amnion-derived Multipotent Progenitor cells containing multiple growth factors and cytokines. While intranasally-administered ST266 improves the phenotype in experimental optic neuritis, specific ST266 components mediating these effects are not known. We compared the effects of ST266 with and without removal of large molecular weight proteins both in vitro and in the multiple sclerosis model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in C57BL/6J mice. Mice were treated daily with intranasal vehicle, ST266 or lower molecular weight fraction of ST266. Retinal ganglion cells were counted in isolated retinas, and optic nerves were assessed for inflammation and demyelination. ST266 treatment significantly improved retinal ganglion cell survival and reduced optic nerve demyelination in EAE mice. The lower molecular weight ST266 fraction significantly improved optic nerve demyelination, but only showed a trend towards improved retinal ganglion cell survival. ST266 fractions below 50kDa increased Schwann cell proliferation in vitro, but were less effective than non-fractionated ST266. Demyelination attenuation was partially associated with the lower molecular weight ST266 fraction, but removal of higher molecular weight biomolecules from ST266 diminishes its neuroprotective effects, suggesting at least some high molecular weight proteins play a role in ST266-mediated neuroprotection.
Application of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging combined with serum tumor markers in brain metastases of small cell lung cancer

Objective To investigate the value of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in combination with peripheral serum tumor markers in the diagnosis and therapeutic evaluation of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) brain metastases. Methods Retrospective analysis of 368 SCLC cases diagnosed by histopathology or cytology from February 2009 to February 2012 in Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital was made. All patients underwent pathological examination of progastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and brain DWI, and measured the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of DWI sequences of brain metastases. The difference between the positive rates of ProGRP and NSE in patients with or without brain metastases was compared by the χ 2 test, and the diagnostic efficiency of ProGRP, NSE, DWI and combined detection for brain metastases were analyzed. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare the changes of ADC value, ProGRP and NSE before and after brain irradiation therapy in brain metastases of SCLC. Pearson correlation analysis was made to evaluate the correlation between the changes of ADC value and the levels of ProGRP and NSE in SCLC patients with brain metastases before and after treatment. Results The median expression of serum ProGRP in 169 SCLC patients was 2 664.7 pg/ml (98.4-4 876.8 pg/ml), with a positive rate of 98.2% (166/169). The median expression of NSE was 41.9 μg/L(9.4-264.3 μg/L), with a positive rate of 70.4% (119/169). The median expression of serum ProGRP level was 514.3 pg/ml (3.9-2 899.3 pg/ml) in 199 SCLC patients without brain metastasis, the positive rate was 89.4% (178/199). The median expression of NSE was 40.4 μg/L (0.3-176.1 μg/L), with a positive rate of 64.8% (129/199). The difference of ProGRP level between the two groups was statistically significant (u = 121.47, P < 0.001), but there was no significant difference in NSE level (u = 1.35, P = 0.12). The sensitivities of ProGRP, NSE, DWI, ProGRP+DWI and NSE+DWI were 68.4%, 41.2%, 66.7%, 92.2%, and 82.4%, and the specificities were 52.9%, 35.3%, 76.5%, 94.1%, and 88.2%. The sensitivity and specificity of ProGRP+DWI and NSE+DWI were higher than those of single test, and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.001). One hundred and fifty-six SCLC patients with brain metastases were treated with whole brain radiotherapy. Pearson correlation analysis showed that ADC values were negatively correlated with ProGRP and NSE levels (r = -0.945, P < 0.001; r = -0.995, P < 0.001). Conclusion DWI combined with ProGRP and NSE can provide objective evidence and clinical guidance for the diagnosis of SCLC brain metastases and the evaluation of whole brain radiotherapy. Key words: Small-cell lung carcinoma; Brain metastases; Progastrin-releasing peptide; Neuron-specific enolase; Magnetic resonance imaging
Copper concentration inside Guinier-Preston I zones formed in an Al –Cu alloy

Abstract The copper concentration inside a Guinier-Preston (GPI) zone was studied by means of an extended Hückel molecular orbital (EHMO) calculation. The present EHMO calculation revealed that the Cu concentration inside a GPI zone depends on the size of the zone. The GPI zone comprises both Cu and Al in a small GPI zone, whereas the Cu concentration inside the GPI zone increases to nearly 100 at. % Cu in a large GPI zone. A compressive lattice distortion, which is associated with the zone, increases the stability, but when a GPI zone is 5 nm in diameter, the stabilizing effect of the zone is estimated to be not higher than 10% of the chemical energy due to Cu coalescence.
Grafting of polyamide 6 by the anionic polymerization of ε‐caprolactam from an isocyanate bearing polystyrene backbone

The grafting of polyamide 6 (PA6) onto polystyrene (PS) can rely on the use of a copolymer of styrene (St) and 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzene isocyanate (TMI), PS-co-TMI, to activate the polymerization of e-caprolactam (CL) in the presence of sodium e-caprolactam (NaCL) as an anionic catalyst. This article is aimed at answering the following key questions. First, do all the isocyanate moieties of the PS-co-TMI participate in the activation of the polymerization of CL? Second, what are the composition of the resulting polymer product and the structure of the resulting graft copolymer? The results show that the isocyanate moieties had all participated in the activation of the polymerization, implying that each isocyanate moiety has led to the formation of a PA6 graft. The as-polymerized product was composed of a pure PS-g-PA6 graft copolymer, homo-PA6, and unreacted CL. Moreover, when the composition of a PS-co-TMI/CL/NaCL system was fixed, the mass ratio between the PA6 grafts and PS backbone of the pure PS-g-PA6 graft copolymer was almost a constant and was almost independent of its molar mass.
Long-term cost-effectiveness of a disease management program for patients with atrial fibrillation compared to standard care – a multi-state survival model based on a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Aim To assess the long-term cost-effectiveness of an atrial fibrillation disease management program (i.e. the SAFETY program) from the Australian healthcare system perspective. Methods A multistate Markov model was developed based on patient-level data from the SAFETY randomized controlled trial. Predicted long-term survival, dependent on hospital admission history, was estimated by extrapolating parametric survival models. Quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and life years (LY) were the primary and secondary outcome measures used to estimate the incremental cost-utility/effectiveness ratio (ICUR/ICER). Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were undertaken. Results The SAFETY program was associated with both higher costs ($94,953 vs. $78,433) and benefits [QALY (3.99 vs 3.60); LY (5.86 vs 5.24)], with an ICUR of $42,513/QALY or ICER of $26,356/LY, compared to standard care. Due to the extended survival, the SAFETY was associated with a greater number of hospitalizations (14.85 vs 11.65) and higher costs for medications ($25,084 vs $22,402) and outpatient care ($12,904 vs $11,524). The cost per hospitalization for an average length of stay, analytical time horizon, and cost of medication are key determinants of ICUR. The PSA showed that the intervention has a 70.4% probability of being cost-effective at a threshold of $50,000/QALY. Conclusions The SAFETY program has a high probability of being cost-effective for patients with atrial fibrillation. It is associated with uncertainty that further research could potentially eliminate; implementation with further evidence collection is recommended.
Adaptive capacity of rearing hens : effects of early life conditions

The traditional strategy to deal with pathogens in the layer industry is based on monitoring and control methods, primarily aimed at minimizing the risk of infection with the pathogen. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether the adaptive capacity of layers could be influenced by early life conditions as they may occur in layer practice, as an alternative strategy for improving layer health and disease resistance. The first study investigated whether suboptimal versus optimal incubation, hatch and early rearing conditions could influence the adaptive capacity during infectious challenges with Eimeria and Infectious Bronchitis (IB). The second study investigated effects of prenatal high temperature manipulation on postnatal temperature preference and adaptive response of layers to heat stress. The third study investigated effects of suboptimal and optimal incubation temperature on the adaptive response to Eimeria under normal circumstances or following exposure to a high (35 o C) environmental temperature. The fourth study investigated effects of feed provision immediately after hatch (early feeding) and suppression of gram negative intestinal bacteria (by use of the antibiotic Colistin) for 21 d post hatch on microbial composition of the intestines, layer development and response to a mix challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and humane serum albumin (HuSA). Finally, effects of early feeding and Colistin treatment on organ weights and response to an infectious challenge with Eimeria were investigated. Results demonstrated that optimized incubation, hatch and rearing resulted in a better adaptive response to Eimeria and IB, as was shown by a higher feed intake and reduced weight loss. Optimal incubation as a single early life condition also had a positive influence on the adaptive response of layers toEimeria, as demonstrated by tendencies to higher feed intake and BW gain, less duodenal lesions and a lower oocyst production. Early feeding resulted in higher body and organ weights, a changed microbiota composition in the intestines, and a changed response to E. acervulina and LPS/HuSA. Colistin treatment resulted in a changed microbiota composition of the intestines and a changed response to E. acervulina and LPS/HuSA. These results confirmed the hypothesis that early life conditions can be used to influence the adaptive capacity to infectious challenges. In conclusion, improving the adaptive capacity with the use of particular early life conditions may be the first step towards an alternative method to maintain or improve layer health and disease resistance.
Beneficial Effects of Citrus-Derived Polymethoxylated Flavones for Central Nervous System Disorders

The number of patients with central nervous system disorders is increasing. Despite diligent laboratory and clinical research over the past 30 years, most pharmacologic options for the prevention and long-term treatment of central nervous system disorders and neurodegenerative disorders have been unsuccessful. Therefore, the development of drugs and/or functional foods to prevent the onset of neurodegenerative disorders is highly expected. Several reports have shown that polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs) derived from citrus fruit, such as nobiletin, tangeretin, and 3,3′,4′,5,6,7,8-heptamethoxyflavone, are promising molecules for the prevention of neurodegenerative and neurological disorders. In various animal models, PMFs have been shown to have a neuroprotective effect and improve cognitive dysfunction with regard to neurological disorders by exerting favorable effects against their pathological features, including oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and synaptic dysfunction as well as its related mechanisms. In this review, we describe the profitable and ameliorating effects of citrus-derived PMFs on cognitive impairment and neural dysfunction in various rat and murine models or in several models of central nervous system disorders and identify their mechanisms of action.
Synthesis of 3a,4-Dihydro-8-substituted-3H-isoxazolo [c-4,3]thiapyrano[5,6-3,2]quinolines

Abstract Condensation of 2-chloro-3-formylquinoline 1a-c with allylthiol 2 afforded 2-allysulfanyl-3-formylquinolines 3a-c. Oximation followed by oxidation of 3a-c with NaOCl or chloramine-T, in cold or mercuric acetate resulted in the formation of respective nitrile oxides, which underwent insituintramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction and afforded the title compounds 5a-c in high yield.
Exploration of endoscopic findings and risk factors of early gastric cancer after eradication of Helicobacter pylori

Abstract Aim To explore the endoscopic features and risk factors of early gastric cancer (EGC) after eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Methods A total of 1961 patients who underwent esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (EGD) with a history of successful H. pylori eradication were enrolled in this multicenter research. Among them, 162 EGC lesions of 132 patients were detected. The endoscopic features and risk factors of post-eradication EGC were explored. Results Severe atrophy (75.3% vs. 16.7%, p value <.01), intestinal metaplasia (96.3% vs. 77.1%, p value <.01), map-like redness (89.5% vs. 65.4%, p value <.01), distinct intermediate zone (IZ) (68.5% vs. 23.4%, p value <.01) and xanthoma (58.0% vs. 17.9%, p value <.01) were significantly more frequent in the CA group (patients with newly detected EGC after eradication of H. pylori) than in the NC group (patients without gastric cancer after eradication of H. pylori). In multivariate analysis, severe atrophy (odds ratio (OR) = 8.08; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.43–20.0; p value<. 01), map-like redness (OR = 1.75; 95% CI, 0.11–5.25; p value = .04), distinct IZ (OR = 2.87; 95% CI, 1.20–6.93; p value = .02) and xanthoma (OR = 2.84; 95% CI, 1.20–7.03; p value=.02) were proved to be risk factors for detection of EGC after eradication of H. pylori. Conclusions Severe atrophy and map-like redness and distinct IZ and xanthoma are risk factors of EGC after eradication of H. pylori.
Mesoporous carbon reinforced hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction for the enrichment of phenylurea herbicides followed by their determination with high performance liquid chromatography

In this paper, a new sample preparation method based on mesoporous carbon reinforced hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (MC-HF-LPME) was developed for the extraction of some phenylurea herbicides (chlortoluron, isoproturon, monolinuron and buturon) in river water and soil samples prior to high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection. Mesoporous carbon was synthesized using MCM-41 as a template and sucrose as a carbon precursor. The as-prepared mesoporous carbon was characterized by SEM, TEM and nitrogen adsorption. Several important parameters that affect the extraction efficiencies, such as concentration of ordered porous carbon, fiber length, extraction time, sample solution pH, salt addition and stirring rate, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the linearity for buturon was in the range of 0.3–100.0 ng mL−1 and 5.0–300.0 ng g−1 for river water and soil samples, respectively. The linearity for the other three analytes was in the range of 0.2–100.0 ng mL−1 for the river water sample and 2.0–300.0 ng g−1 for the soil sample. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) of the method ranged from 0.05 to 0.1 ng mL−1 for the river water sample and 0.5 to 1.0 ng g−1 for the soil sample. The results indicated that the developed method is a simple, efficient and environmentally friendly method for the extraction and determination of phenylurea herbicides in river water and soil samples.
Interplay of protein primary sequence, lipid membrane, and chaperone in β‐barrel assembly

The outer membrane of a Gram‐negative bacterium is a crucial barrier between the external environment and its internal physiology. This barrier is bridged selectively by β‐barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs). The in vivo folding and biogenesis of OMPs necessitates the assistance of the outer membrane chaperone BamA. Nevertheless, OMPs retain the ability of independent self‐assembly in vitro. Hence, it is unclear whether substrate–chaperone dynamics is influenced by the intrinsic ability of OMPs to fold, the magnitude of BamA–OMP interdependence, and the contribution of BamA to the kinetics of OMP assembly. We addressed this by monitoring the assembly kinetics of multiple 8‐stranded β‐barrel OMP substrates with(out) BamA. We also examined whether BamA is species‐specific, or nonspecifically accelerates folding kinetics of substrates from independent species. Our findings reveal BamA as a substrate‐independent promiscuous molecular chaperone, which assists the unfolded OMP to overcome the kinetic barrier imposed by the bilayer membrane. We additionally show that while BamA kinetically accelerates OMP folding, the OMP primary sequence remains a vital deciding element in its assembly rate. Our study provides unexpected insights on OMP assembly and the functional relevance of BamA in vivo.
Study of Dead-End Microfiltration Flux Variety Law, Part II: Choice of Favorable Model Parameter

The applicability of model predictive accuracy and the selection of suitable model parameters for the membrane flux prediction and prediction of the filtration characteristics of dead-end filtration systems were assessed. In determining the model predictive accuracy using model parameters, the selection of suitable model parameters is of great significance. A series of experiments were conducted. The relative deviations, average deviations, and root mean square between the experimental and predicted values were calculated to evaluate predictive accuracy. The results showed that the model parameter has changed nonlinearly with operating conditions. Particularly, in the membrane flux prediction model, the time-dependent character of the model parameter can result in a considerable error. However, model prediction accuracy can be improved indisputably and the model will get higher predictive accuracy than that of other predictive models if the constant membrane fouling index in the flux prediction model is either replaced by the average membrane fouling index or it takes a composite parameter with free combination of the initial membrane fouling index, meantime, minimum and the maximum of the model parameter. These results give us a possibility to see the panorama of the variation of the model parameters in different situations and an idea to establish the foundation for building mathematical models.
Reactive Extraction of Levulinic Acid by Amberlite LA-2 Extractant

The production of organic acids at relatively low concentrations in aqueous solutions is typical of both electrochemical and biochemical syntheses. The recovery of these solute species can be achieved by solvent extraction, and the reactive recovery of carboxylic acids from aqueous solutions has received increasing attention. In this study the reactive extraction of levulinic acid was done at 298.15 K, and all experiments were reported on the extraction of levulinic acid by Amberlite LA-2 dissolved in five different esters (dimethyl phthalate, dimethyl adipate, dimethyl succinate, dimethyl glutarate, and diethyl carbonate), five different alcohols (isoamyl alcohol, hexan-1-ol, octan-1-ol, nonan-1-ol, and decan-1-ol) and two different ketones (diisobutyl ketone (DIBK) and methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK)). Furthermore, single pure solvents (not containing Amberlite LA-2) were used for physical extraction. Experimental results of batch extraction experiments were calculated and reported as distribution coeffic.
Efficient Separation of Phytochemicals from Muehlenbeckia volcanica (Benth.) Endl. by Polarity-Stepwise Elution Counter-Current Chromatography and Their Antioxidant, Antiglycation, and Aldose Reductase Inhibition Potentials

Muehlenbeckia volcanica (Benth.) Endl. (M. volcanica), native to South America, is a traditional Peruvian medicinal plant that has multi-therapeutic properties; however, no phytochemicals have been identified from it yet. In this study, a five-step polarity-stepwise elution counter-current chromatography (CCC) was developed using methanol/water (1:5, v/v) as the stationary phase and different ratios of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol as mobile phases to separate the compounds from the 70% methanol extract of M. volcanica, by which six compounds with a wide range of polarities were separated in a single run of CCC and were identified as gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, 4,4′-dihydroxy-3,3′-imino-di-benzoic acid, rutin, quercitrin, and quercetin. Then, two compounds from the fractions of stepwise elution CCC were separated using conventional high-speed CCC, pH-zone-refining CCC, and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, and identified as shikimic acid and miquelianin. These compounds are reported from M. volcanica for the first time. Notably, except for shikimic acid, all other compounds showed anti-diabetic potentials via antioxidant, antiglycation, and aldose reductase inhibition. The results suggest that the polarity-stepwise elution CCC can be used to efficiently separate or fractionate compounds with a wide range of polarities from natural products. Moreover, M. volcanica and its bioactive compounds are potent anti-diabetic agents.