Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Negative internal working models as mechanisms that link mothers’ and fathers’ personality with their parenting: A short‐term longitudinal study

Abstract Objective Research on associations between parents’ personality and parenting has a long history, but mechanisms that explain them remain unsettled. We examined parents’ explicit and implicit negative internal working models (IWMs) of the child, assessed at toddler age, as linking parental personality and parenting. Method Mothers and fathers from 200 community families provided personality self‐reports (Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Empathy, and Anger/Hostility) when their children were infants. When children were toddlers, the explicit negative IWMs included self‐reported low‐mentalizing reflective functioning and resentment regarding the child. The implicit negative IWMs were coded as negative relational schemas from parental interviews. Parental positive affect, responsiveness, and power‐assertive control were observed in lengthy interactions. Measures were parallel for mother‐ and father‐child dyads. Results Mothers’ implicit IWMs linked the association between low Empathy and more power‐assertive control. Fathers’ explicit IWMs linked the associations between high Neuroticism and low Agreeableness and lower responsiveness. Additionally, fathers’ Agreeableness and Empathy directly predicted their parenting. Two paths (Agreeableness → implicit IWMs, and explicit IWMs → responsiveness) significantly differed between mothers and fathers. Conclusions IWMs may link parental personality with parenting. The findings integrate and inform several bodies of literature in personality, social cognition, and developmental psychology.
Molecular basis of crosstalk in nuclear receptors: heterodimerization between PXR and CAR and the implication in gene regulation

Abstract The 48 human nuclear receptors (NRs) form a superfamily of transcription factors that regulate major physiological and pathological processes. Emerging evidence suggests that NR crosstalk can fundamentally change our understanding of NR biology, but detailed molecular mechanisms of crosstalk are lacking. Here, we report the molecular basis of crosstalk between the pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), where they form a novel heterodimer, resulting in their mutual inhibition. PXR and CAR regulate drug metabolism and energy metabolism. Although they have been broadly perceived as functionally redundant, a growing number of reports suggests a mutual inhibitory relation, but their precise mode of coordinated action remains unknown. Using methods including RNA sequencing, small-angle X-ray scattering and crosslinking mass spectrometry we demonstrate that the mutual inhibition altered gene expression globally and is attributed to the novel PXR–CAR heterodimerization via the same interface used by each receptor to heterodimerize with its functional partner, retinoid X receptor (RXR). These findings establish an unexpected functional relation between PXR, CAR and RXR, change the perceived functional relation between PXR and CAR, open new perspectives on elucidating their role and designing approaches to regulate them, and highlight the importance to comprehensively investigate nuclear receptor crosstalk.
Using a neonatal rat model to explore the therapeutic potential of coenzyme Q10 in prematurity under hyperoxia

Hyperoxia, is often used in preterm supportive care, leading to high oxygen exposure in neonates. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a free radical scavenger that has been studied in older children but never be investigated for its role in preterm care. We hypothesize that the administration of exogenous CoQ10 would raise serum concentrations of CoQ10 and mitigate the adverse effects of hyperoxia on the organs by reducing oxygen‐free radicals and inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and survival in neonatal rats after CoQ10 treatment. Neonatal rats delivered from four pregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: (a) control, (b) CoQ10, (c) hyperoxia (O2 group), and (d) treatment (CoQ10 + O2) groups. The dose of CoQ10 injected was 30 mg/kg. The CoQ9, CoQ10, cytokines, oxidative stress, and antioxidant enzyme activity were measured. Tissue samples were histologically examined and mortality was monitored for 16 days. The level of CoQ9 significantly increased in the liver, kidney, and plasma, while the level of CoQ10 significantly increased in most organ tissues in the CoQ10 + O2 group. Additionally, CoQ10 decrease oxidative stress in the liver, increase antioxidant enzyme activity in the heart, kidney, and brain, and reverse an inclined level of hematopoietic growth factors. However, CoQ10 had no effect on inflammation, organ damage, or mortality. Therefore, the use of CoQ10 in potential adjuvant therapy for neonatal hyperoxia requires further research.
Protein expression of transmembrane protease serine 4 in the gastrointestinal tract and in healthy, cancer, and SARS-CoV-2 infected lungs

In addition to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a number of host cell entry mediators have been identified for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), including transmembrane protease serine 4 (TMPRSS4). The authors have recently demonstrated the upregulation of TMPRSS4 in 11 different cancers, as well as its specific expression within the central nervous system using in silico tools. The present study aimed to expand the initial observations and, using immunohistochemistry, TMPRSS4 protein expression in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and lungs was further mapped. Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue arrays and lung tissues of patients with non-small cell lung cancer with concurrent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection using TMPRSS4 antibody. The results revealed that TMPRSS4 was abundantly expressed in the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, jejunum, ileum, colon, liver and pancreas. Moreover, the extensive TMPRSS4 protein expression in the lungs of a deceased patient with COVID-19 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial carcinoma, as well in the adjacent normal tissue, was demonstrated for the first time, at least to the best of our knowledge. On the whole, the immunohistochemistry data of the present study suggest that TMPRSS4 may be implicated in the broader (pulmonary and extra-pulmonary) COVID-19 symptomatology; thus, it may be responsible for the tropism of this coronavirus both in the GI tract and lungs.
A review of wound dressing materials and its fabrication methods: emphasis on three-dimensional printed dressings

Abstract A wound is a trauma caused by some adverse external or blunt forces that can damage the body tissues. Wound healing is a complex process that occurs post-injury which involves the revamping of the structure and function of damaged tissues. Scaffolds are engineered tissue structures manufactured using different materials and methods for facilitating the wound healing process. For external wounds, the antimicrobial property and ability to absorb moisture play an important role in the material selection of the scaffold. Among different methods that exist for designing scaffolds, three-dimensional printing has emerged as a promising technique wherein customised scaffolds can be designed. However, the literature on three-dimensional printed dressings is very much limited compared to conventional ones. Therefore, this review specifically focuses on the methods used to design the scaffolds with special emphasis on different three-dimensional printing techniques. It covers the process of external wound healing, different materials used in the fabrication of scaffolds, and their advantages and drawbacks.
Identifying the optimal monopolar electrocautery output power in pedicular internal thoracic artery harvesting: 20 or 40 watts?

BACKGROUND Monopolar electrocautery is an important tool for harvesting the pedicular internal thoracic artery (ITA) in cardiac surgery. The different power outputs of cautery may affect graft integrity and long-term patency. This study aimed to identify the optimal threshold of electrocautery power for ITA harvest. METHODS This prospective study included 30 patients who underwent elective coronary artery bypass surgery at the Medipol Mega University Hospital. The ITA was harvested by monopolar electrocautery after a median sternotomy. The output of cautery was adjusted at 20 W in group A and 40 W in group B. Three to 4 cm of a distal ITA sample from each patient was examined under a light microscope by two independent pathologists. RESULTS The ITA harvest time was longer in group A (21.2 ± 7.5 vs 10.3 ± 8.1 min, p < 0.001) than in group B. ITA free flow was similar in the two groups (43.6 ± 48.7 vs 51.7 ± 45.0 Ml/min, p = 0.762). Mild to moderate injury in the endothelial and sub-endothelial sample was more frequent in the low-cautery group (p = 0.0037). CONCLUSIONS ITA endothelial integrity was found to be better preserved with 40W electrocautery. Moreover, 20W of monopolar electrocautery may not be safe in pedicular ITA harvesting.
Acculturative Stress and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms among Immigrant Arab American Couples

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between acculturative stress, perceived stress, social support, and postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms among immigrant Arab American couples. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 30 Arab American immigrant couples were enrolled. During home visits, couples completed the demographic information, the Multi-Dimensional Acculturative Stress Inventory, Perceived Stress, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support among Arab Women, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using bivariate linear regression and Pearson correlation. Results: In bivariate regressions, paternal and maternal acculturative stress was moderately associated with maternal PPD symptoms (r = .39, and .46, respectively; p < .05). Maternal perceived stress (r = .70, P < .01) was strongly associated with PPD and maternal perceived social support was moderately associated with PPD (r = -.42, p < .05). Maternal and paternal acculturative stress was strongly correlated (r = .61, p < .001). Conclusion: Couple's acculturative stress and mother's perceived stress were positively associated with mother's PPD symptoms. Our findings suggest the need to develop a culturally appropriate procedure to assess couple's stress that may affect immigrant women at high risk for PPD. Approximately 3.5 million Arab Americans live in the United States, yet they are largely absent from health research on family mental health and infant outcomes, in part due to the classification of Arab Americans within the U.S. racial schema as “White” which makes them invisible as a minority group. In this study, immigrant Arab American couples are asked about their stress during postpartum and new parenting. Relationships between acculturative stress and postpartum depression are explored.
In vitro and in vivo characterization of a novel tricalcium silicate-based ink for bone regeneration using laser-assisted bioprinting

Grafts aside, current strategies employed to overcome bone loss still fail to reproduce native tissue physiology. Among the emerging bioprinting strategies, laser-assisted bioprinting (LAB) offers very high resolution, allowing designing micrometric patterns in a contactless manner, providing a reproducible tool to test ink formulation. To this date, no LAB associated ink succeeded to provide a reproducible ad integrum bone regeneration on a murine calvaria critical size defect model. Using the Conformité Européenne (CE) approved BioRoot RCS® as a mineral addition to a collagen-enriched ink compatible with LAB, the present study describes the process of the development of a solidifying tricalcium silicate-based ink as a new bone repair promoting substrates in a LAB model. This ink formulation was mechanically characterized by rheology to adjust it for LAB. Printed aside stromal cells from apical papilla (SCAPs), this ink demonstrated a great cytocompatibility, with significant in vitro positive impact upon cell motility, and an early osteogenic differentiation response in the absence of another stimulus. Results indicated that the in vivo application of this new ink formulation to regenerate critical size bone defect tends to promote the formation of bone volume fraction without affecting the vascularization of the neo-formed tissue. The use of LAB techniques with this ink failed to demonstrate a complete bone repair, whether SCAPs were printed or not of at its direct proximity. The relevance of the properties of this specific ink formulation would therefore rely on the quantity applied in situ as a defect filler rather than its cell modulation properties observed in vitro. For the first time, a tricalcium silicate-based printed ink, based on rheological analysis, was characterized in vitro and in vivo, giving valuable information to reach complete bone regeneration through formulation updates. This LAB-based process could be generalized to normalize the characterization of candidate ink for bone regeneration.
Gizmo Festival: K-8 Outreach as a Design/Build for Engineering Students

The Gizmo Project is completed by first-year engineering students as the final exercise in their introductory course: ENGR 100 – Exploring Engineering. The project also serves as a component for an inquiry-based unit designed by Elementary Education students in EDUC 344 –Science as Inquiry. The engineering students, in teams of 3-4, must design and build a “gizmo” that can demonstrate a given concept from science, mathematics, or engineering. Concepts are submitted by local teachers, scout leaders, or teachers-intraining. Students generate their own constraints and goals in addition to any imposed by the teachers/volunteers and the faculty imposed constraint that any Gizmo must be both safe and composed of $20 or less in materials. Concepts as diverse as “half-life” and “surface tension” have been foci of past Gizmos. The education students are required to create a detailed science inquiry unit. Inquiry must be used as the main method for teaching and a “gizmo” must also be infused into at least one of the lessons. The duration of the unit must be between 3 and 5 consecutive lessons and is aligned with the state and national science education standards. This project acts as K-8 outreach in two important ways. First, the Gizmos and corresponding units are demonstrated in an interactive Expo, open to teachers, volunteers, children and parents. Typical attendance is over 200 people, over half of whom are K-8 students. Second, the Gizmos and units are given away by the end of the Expo event to any teacher or other adult who requests them, for continued use in educational settings. Survey data indicate that the Expo and Gizmos are very positively received by K-8 students as well as their parents and teachers, while achieving its educational objectives for the first year engineering students as well as the education students.
SiteMotif: A graph-based algorithm for deriving structural motifs in Protein Ligand binding sites

Studying similarities in protein molecules has become a fundamental activity in much of biology and biomedical research, for which methods such as multiple sequence alignments are widely used. Most methods available for such comparisons cater to studying proteins which have clearly recognizable evolutionary relationships but not to proteins that recognize the same or similar ligands but do not share similarities in their sequence or structural folds. In many cases, proteins in the latter class share structural similarities only in their binding sites. While several algorithms are available for comparing binding sites, there are none for deriving structural motifs of the binding sites, independent of the whole proteins. We report the development of SiteMotif, a new algorithm that compares binding sites from multiple proteins and derives sequence-order independent structural site motifs. We have tested the algorithm at multiple levels of complexity and demonstrate its performance in different scenarios. We have benchmarked against 3 current methods available for binding site comparison and demonstrate superior performance of our algorithm. We show that SiteMotif identifies new structural motifs of spatially conserved residues in proteins, even when there is no sequence or fold-level similarity. We expect SiteMotif to be useful for deriving key mechanistic insights into the mode of ligand interaction, predict the ligand type that a protein can bind and improve the sensitivity of functional annotation.
Limitations of Nasal Nitric Oxide Measurement for Diagnosis of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia with Normal Ultrastructure.

Rationale Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a heterogeneous, multisystem disorder characterized by defective ciliary beating. Diagnostic guidelines of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and European Respiratory Society (ERS) recommend measurement of nasal nitric oxide (nNO) for PCD diagnosis. Several studies demonstrated low nNO-production rates in PCD individuals but underlying causes remain elusive. Objective To determine nNO-production rates in a well-characterized PCD cohort including subgroup analyses with regard to ultrastructural and ciliary beating phenotypes. Methods This study included 301 individuals assessed according to ERS guidelines. Diagnostic cutoffs for nNO-production rates for this study cohort and subgroups with normal and abnormal ultrastructure were determined. Diagnostic accuracy was also tested for the widely used 77 nl/min-cutoff in this study cohort. The relationship between nNO-production rates and ciliary beat frequencies (CBFs) was evaluated. Results The study cohort comprised 180 individuals with definite PCD diagnosis including 160 individuals with genetic diagnosis, 16 individuals with probable PCD diagnosis and 105 disease controls. The 77 nl/min nNO-cutoff showed a test sensitivity of 0.92 and specificity of 0.86. Test sensitivity was lower (0.85) in the subgroup of 47 PCD individuals with normal ultrastructure compared to 133 PCD individuals with abnormal ultrastructure (0.95). The optimal diagnostic cutoff for the nNO-production rate for the whole study cohort was 69.8 nl/min (sensitivity 0.92, specificity 0.89), however it was 107.8 nl/min (sensitivity 0.89, specificity 0.78) for the subgroup of PCD with normal ultrastructure. PCD individuals with normal ultrastructure compared to abnormal ultrastructure showed higher ciliary motility. Consistently, PCD individuals with higher CBFs showed higher nNO-production rates. In addition, laterality defects occurred less frequently in PCD with normal ultrastructure. Conclusion Measurements of nNO below the widely used 77 nL/min cutoff are less sensitive in detecting PCD individuals with normal ultrastructure. Our findings indicate, that higher nNO-production in this subgroup with a higher cutoff for the nNO-production rate (107.8 nl/min) and higher residual ciliary motility are dependent on the underlying molecular PCD defect. Higher nNO-production rates, higher residual CBFs and the lower prevalence of laterality defects hamper diagnosis of PCD with normal ultrastructure. Adjusting the cutoff of nNO-production rate to 107.8 nl/min might promote diagnosing PCD with normal ultrastructure.
Cytokine Storm in COVID-19: Immunopathogenesis and Therapy

A cytokine storm is a hyperinflammatory state secondary to the excessive production of cytokines by a deregulated immune system. It manifests clinically as an influenza-like syndrome, which can be complicated by multi-organ failure and coagulopathy, leading, in the most severe cases, even to death. The term cytokine storm was first used in 1993 to describe the graft-versus-host disease following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It was then reused to define the adverse syndromes secondary to the administration of immunostimulating agents, such as anti-CD28 antibodies or bioengineered immune cells, i.e., CAR T-cell therapy. Currently, the concept of cytokine storm has been better elucidated and extended to the pathogenesis of many other conditions, such as sepsis, autoinflammatory disease, primary and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and multicentric Castleman disease. Moreover, cytokine storm has recently emerged as a key aspect in the novel Coronavirus disease 2019, as affected patients show high levels of several key pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IP-10, GM-CSF, MCP-1, and IL-10, some of which also correlate with disease severity. Therefore, since the onset of the pandemic, numerous agents have been tested in the effort to mitigate the cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients, some of which are effective in reducing mortality, especially in critically ill patients, and are now becoming standards of care, such as glucocorticoids or some cytokine inhibitors. However, the challenge is still far from being met, and other therapeutic strategies are being tested in the hope that we can eventually overcome the disease.
What Drives Daily Perseverance and Passion? Grit, Conscientiousness, and Goal Pursuit Experiences

Two studies were conducted to further the understanding of daily experiences of perseverance and passion and the influences of personality traits (e.g., grit and conscientiousness) and contextual factors. Study 1 applied the experience sampling method (n = 116; observations = 5,187) and found that perseverance of effort (PE) predicted passion when controlling for conscientiousness. Study 2 used the day reconstruction method (n = 468; observations = 1,872) and found that both PE and consistency of interest (CI) had effects, although CI was a stronger predictor than PE. In both studies, PE was moderated only by instrumentality of the activity, whereas CI was moderated only by perceived difficulty. We also found mediating effects of instrumentality, (lower) perceived difficulty, and (fewer) intrusive thoughts on the pathways between traits and perseverance and passion. These results deepen our knowledge on why and how perseverance-related traits impact daily experiences of perseverance and passion.
Dermal αSMA+ myofibroblasts orchestrate skin wound repair via β1 integrin and independent of type I collagen production

Skin wound repair is essential for organismal survival and failure of which leads to non‐healing wounds, a leading health issue worldwide. However, mechanistic understanding of chronic wounds remains a major challenge due to lack of appropriate genetic mouse models. αSMA+ myofibroblasts, a unique class of dermal fibroblasts, are associated with cutaneous wound healing but their precise function remains unknown. We demonstrate that genetic depletion of αSMA+ myofibroblasts leads to pleiotropic wound healing defects, including lack of reepithelialization and granulation, dampened angiogenesis, and heightened hypoxia, hallmarks of chronic non‐healing wounds. Other wound‐associated FAP+ and FSP1+ fibroblasts do not exhibit such dominant functions. While type I collagen (COL1) expressing cells play a role in the repair process, COL1 produced by αSMA+ myofibroblasts is surprisingly dispensable for wound repair. In contrast, we show that β1 integrin from αSMA+ myofibroblasts, but not TGFβRII, is essential for wound healing, facilitating contractility, reepithelization, and vascularization. Collectively, our study provides evidence for the functions of myofibroblasts in β1 integrin‐mediated wound repair with potential implications for treating chronic non‐healing wounds.