Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia in Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome: Application of Lymphocyte Subset Analysis in Predicting Clinical Outcomes

Purpose With immunosuppressants being widely used, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) has been increasing and could be life-threatening among HIV-negative patients. This study aimed at identifying prognostic factors of PCP in patients with nephrotic syndrome. Methods We retrospectively investigated patients with nephrotic syndrome who were diagnosed with PCP. The diagnosis of PCP was based on clinical manifestations, radiological findings, and microbiological confirmatory tests. Predictors of outcome were determined with multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 57 patients were included in this study. The PCP mortality was 33.3%, which increased to 48.6% if ICU admission was required and to 60% when mechanical ventilation was needed. The T lymphocyte count and CD4/CD8 ratio independently predicted the outcome of PCP, so did the CD4+ T lymphocyte count (OR, 0.981; 95% CI, 0.967–0.996; p=0.001). The cut-off value of 71 cells/μl for the CD4+ T lymphocyte count was determined to identify patients with poor prognosis. No association was found between PCP mortality and the type of immunosuppressant used. Conclusions PCP is a fatal complication among nephrotic syndrome patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy. The CD4+ T lymphocyte count is suggested as an independent predictor of prognosis, which can be used clinically to identify patients with high risk of unfavorable outcomes.
Reconstruction of a lncRNA-Associated ceRNA Network in Endothelial Cells under Circumferential Stress

Background Numerous studies have highlighted that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) can indirectly regulate the expression of mRNAs by binding to microRNA (miRNA). LncRNA-associated ceRNA networks play a vital role in the initiation and progression of several pathological mechanisms. However, the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network in endothelial cells under cyclic stretch is seldom studied. Methods The miRNA, mRNA, and lncRNA expression profiles of 6 human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) under circumferential stress were obtained by next-generation sequencing (NGS). We identified the differential expression of miRNAs, mRNAs, and lncRNAs using the R software package GDCRNATools. Cytoscape was adopted to construct a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network. In addition, through GO and KEGG pathway annotations, we analyzed gene functions and their related pathways. We also adopted ELISA and TUNEL to investigate the effect of si-NEAT1 on endothelial inflammation and apoptosis. Results We recognized a total of 32978 lncRNAs, 1046 miRNAs, and 31958 mRNAs in 6 samples; among them, 155 different expressed lncRNAs, 74 different expressed miRNAs, and 960 different mRNAs were adopted. Based on the established theory, the ceRNA network was composed of 13 lncRNAs, 44 miRNAs, and 115 mRNAs. We constructed and visualized a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, and the top 20 nodes are identified after calculating their degrees. The nodes with most degrees in three kinds of RNAs are hsa-miR-4739, NEAT1, and MAP3K2. Functional analysis showed that different biological processes enriched in biological regulation, response to stimulus and cell communication. Pathway analysis was mainly enriched in longevity regulating, cell cycle, mTOR, and FoxO signaling pathway. Circumferential stress can significantly downregulate NEAT1, and after transducing si-NEAT1 for 24 h, inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and MCP-1 were significantly increased; furthermore, fewer TUNEL-positive cells were found in the si-NEAT1 treated group. Conclusions The establishing of a ceRNA network can help further understand the mechanism of vein graft failure. Our data demonstrated that NEAT1 may be a core factor among the mechanical stress factors and that cyclic stress can significantly reduce expression of NEAT1, give rise to inflammation in the early stage of endothelial dysfunction, and promote EC apoptosis, which may play an essential role in vein graft failure.
False Memory in Alzheimer's Disease

Patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) not only are suffering from amnesia but also are prone to memory distortions, such as experiencing detailed and vivid recollections of episodic events that have never been encountered (i.e., false memories). To describe and explain these distortions, we offer a review to synthesize current knowledge on false memory in AD into a framework allowing for better understanding of the taxonomy and phenomenology of false memories and of the cognitive mechanisms that may underlie false memory formation in AD. According to this review, certain phenomenological characteristics of memories (e.g., high emotional load, high vividness, or high familiarity) result in misattributions in AD. More specifically, this review proposes that generalized decline in cognitive control and inhibition in AD may result in difficulties in suppressing irrelevant information during memory monitoring, especially when irrelevant (i.e., false) information is characterized by high emotion, vividness, or familiarity. This review also proposes that binding deficits in AD decrease the ability to retrieve relevant contextual details, leading to source monitoring errors and false memories. In short, this review depicts how phenomenological characteristics of memories and failures of monitoring during retrieval contribute to the occurrence of false memory in AD.
Bcl-2 Proteins Regulate Mitophagy in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury via PINK1/Parkin Signaling Pathway

Mitophagy is involved in sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Bcl-2 family proteins play an important role in mitochondrial homeostasis. However, whether targeting Bcl-2 proteins (Bcl-2 and Bad) could influence mitophagy in ALI remains unclear. In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce injury in A549 cells and ALI in mice. LPS treatment resulted in elevated cell apoptosis, enhanced mitophagy, decreased Bcl-2 expression, increased Bad expression, and activation of PINK1/Parkin signaling in cells and lung tissues. Both Bcl-2 overexpression and Bad knockdown attenuated LPS-induced injury, inhibited cell apoptosis and mitophagy, and improved survival. Atg5 knockout (KO) inhibited LPS-induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, Bcl-2 proteins regulated mitophagy by modulating the recruitment of Parkin from the cytoplasm to mitochondria via direct protein-protein interactions. These results were further confirmed in Park2 KO cells and Park2−/− mice. This is the first study to demonstrate that Bcl-2 proteins regulated mitophagy in LPS-induced ALI via modulating the PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway, promoting new insights into the mechanisms and investigation of therapeutic strategies for a septic patient with ALI.
Effect of Inflammation on Gingival Mesenchymal Stem/Progenitor Cells' Proliferation and Migration through Microperforated Membranes: An In Vitro Study

Background In the field of periodontal guided tissue regeneration, microperforated membranes have recently proved to be very promising periodontal regenerative tissue engineering tools. Regenerative periodontal approaches, employing gingival mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells in combination with these novel membranes, would occur mostly in inflamed microenvironmental conditions intraorally. This in turn entails the investigation into how inflammation would affect the proliferation as well as the migration dynamics of gingival mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells. Materials and Methods. Clones of human gingival mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (GMSCs) from inflamed gingival tissues were characterized for stem/progenitor cells' characteristics and compared to clones of healthy human GMSCs (n = 3), to be subsequently seeded on perforated collagen-coated poly-tetra-floro-ethylene (PTFE) membranes with a pore size 0.4 and 3 microns and polycarbonic acid membranes of 8 microns pore size in Transwell systems. The population doubling time and the MTT test of both populations were determined. Fetal bovine serum (FBS) was used as a chemoattractant in the culturing systems, and both groups were compared to their negative controls without FBS. Following 24 hours of incubation period, migrating cells were determined on the undersurface of microperforated membranes and the membrane-seeded cells were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Results GMSCs demonstrated all predefined stem/progenitor cell characteristics. GMSCs from inflamed gingival tissues showed significantly shorter population doubling times. GMSCs of inflamed and healthy tissues did not show significant differences in their migration abilities towards the chemoattractant, with no cellular migration observed in the absence of FBS. GMSCs from healthy gingival tissue migrated significantly better through larger micropores (8 microns). Scanning electron microscopic images proved the migratory activity of the cells through the membrane pores. Conclusions Inflammation appears to boost the proliferative abilities of GMSCs. In terms of migration through membrane pores, GMSCs from healthy as well as inflamed gingival tissues do not demonstrate a difference in their migration abilities through smaller pore sizes, whereas GMSCs from healthy gingival tissues appear to migrate significantly better through larger micropores.
Parathormone Levels in a Middle-Eastern Healthy Population Using 2nd and 3rd Generation PTH Assays

Background The purpose of the current study is to determine PTH reference values in vitamin-D-replete Lebanese adults using 2nd and 3rd generation PTH assays and to look at the factors that affect PTH variations. Methods Fasting PTH was measured using 2nd and 3rd generation Diasorin PTH assays in 339 vitamin-D-replete healthy subjects aged 18 to 63 years (230 men and 109 women) who have normal calcium levels and an eGFR ≥60 ml/mn. 25-OH vitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured using the Diasorin assay. Results For the 2nd PTH generation, median (IQR) levels were 48.9 (34.9–66.0) pg/ml, and its 2.5th–97.5th percentile values were 19.7–110.5 pg/ml for 25(OH)D values between 20 and 30 ng/ml, and 19.7–110.7 pg/ml for 25(OH)D values ≥30 ng/ml. For the 3rd PTH generation, the median (IQR) values were 23.9 (17.7–30.5) pg/ml, and its 2.5th–97.5th percentile values were, respectively, 9.2 and 50.2 pg/ml for 25(OH)D values between 20 and 30 ng/ml, and 8.4 and 45.4 pg/ml for 25(OH)D values ≥30 ng/ml. The median (IQR) serum 25(OH)D levels were 27.5 (23.8–32.7) ng/ml. 2nd and 3rd generation PTH values are strongly correlated (r = 0.96, p < 0.0001), but poorly concordant (Lin's concordance coefficient 0.365, 95% CI: 0.328–0.401) with observations beyond the 95% Bland–Altman limits of agreement. 2nd and 3rd generation PTH levels did not differ according to gender and were significantly correlated with age but not with 25(OH)D and serum calcium levels. Conclusion Lebanese adult healthy subjects have higher 2nd and 3rd generation PTH levels compared with the reference range provided by the manufacturer. The reference range was not influenced by changing the 25(OH)D cutoff. The clinical significance of the higher PTH levels in our population should be investigated.
Copper Does Not Induce Tenogenic Differentiation but Promotes Migration and Increases Lysyl Oxidase Activity in Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Background Copper belongs to the essential trace metals that play a key role in the course of cellular processes maintaining the whole body's homeostasis. As there is a growing interest in transplanting mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) into the site of injury to improve the regeneration of damaged tendons, the purpose of the study was to verify whether copper supplementation may have a positive effect on the properties of human adipose tissue-derived MSCs (hASCs) which potentially can contribute to improvement of tendon healing. Results Cellular respiration of hASCs decreased with increasing cupric sulfate concentrations after 5 days of incubation. The treatment with CuSO4 did not positively affect the expression of genes associated with tenogenesis (COL1α1, COL3α1, MKX, and SCX). However, the level of COL1α1 protein, whose transcript was decreased in comparison to a control, was elevated after a 5-day exposition to 25 μM CuSO4. The content of the MKX and SCX protein in hASCs exposed to cupric sulfate was reduced compared to that of untreated control cells, and the level of the COL3α1 protein, whose transcript was decreased in comparison to a control, was elevated after a 5-day exposition to 25 μM CuSO4. The content of the MKX and SCX protein in hASCs exposed to cupric sulfate was reduced compared to that of untreated control cells, and the level of the COL3 Conclusion Copper sulfate supplementation can have a beneficial effect on tendon regeneration not by inducing tenogenic differentiation, but by improving the recruitment of MSCs to the site of injury, where they can secrete growth factors, cytokines and chemokines, and prevent the effects of oxidative stress at the site of inflammation, as well as improve the stabilization of collagen fibers, thereby accelerating the process of tendon healing.
MPCR : An E cient and Flexible Chains

mpcr is a stand-alone, exible and eecient implementation of the Chains of Recurrences (CR) method. It can be used interactively, as a network-based server, or as a library. Using the CR method, mpcr evaluates closed-form expressions over regular grids with an unsurpassed eeciency { often hundreds of times faster than comparable programs. In this paper, the main features of mpcr are described, evaluation timings are given and compared with other programs, and the algorithms which result in the high eeciency of mpcr are discussed.
Yield quality of statice [Limonium sinuatum (L.) Mill.] as affected by cultivars and planting densities

A study was conducted in a plastic greenhouse at Freesia Ethiopia PLC Sululta located in the central highlands of Ethiopia with the objective of determining the effect of cultivar, planting density and their interaction effect with reference to yield and quality of Statice. The experiment was laid out in a 3 x 4 factorial arrangement using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments consisted of three cultivars (‘Amazon Bird’, ‘Giant Blue Bird’ and ‘Yellow Sun Bird’) and four
DIAGNOSIS OF HEART DISEASE USING GENETICALLY OPTIMIZED NEURAL NETWORK

Cardiovascular diseases are a major public health problem and are expected to continue to be in the future due mainly to population aging; In Spain, represent the leading cause of death and hospitalization. The three most important cardiovascular problems, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure are based on the large epidemiological studies.This paper proposes Genetically optimized Neural Network technique for heart disease prediction. Performance of proposed approach is evaluated using confusion matrix plot.
A Data Mining Framework for Building A Web-Page Recommender System

In this paper, we propose a new framework based on data mining algorithms for building a Web-page recommender system. A recommender system is an intermediary program (or an agent) with a user interface that automatically and intelligently generates a list of information which suits an individual’s needs. Two information filtering methods for providing the recommended information are considered: (1) by analyzing the information content, i.e., content-based filtering, and (2) by referencing other user access behaviors, i.e., collaborative filtering. By using the data mining algorithms, the information filtering processes can be performed prior to the actual recommending process. As a result, the system response time could be improved and thus, making the framework scalable.
Comparative Analysis of Anomaly based Intrusion Detection Systems in Multi-tier Web Applications

: Now days, web applications and its services are useful in communication and the management of personal information from anywhere and to accommodate this increase in application and data complexity, web services have moved to a multi-tiered design wherein the web server runs the application front-end logic and data is outsourced to a database or file server. Our strategy is mainly focus on to detect intrusion at both front end and back end of web application and it is also able to detect intrusion in static and dynamic web application. IDS having maximum accuracy and is mainly responsible to identify intrusion. With the advent of anomaly-based intrusion detection systems, many approaches and techniques have been developed to track novel attacks on the systems. Though anomaly-based approaches are efficient, signature-based detection is preferred for mainstream implementation of intrusion detection systems. As a variety of anomaly detection techniques were suggested, it is difficult to compare the strengths, weaknesses of these methods. This paper elaborates the foundations of the main anomaly based network intrusion detection technologies along with their operational architectures and also presents a classification based on the type of processing that is related to the “behavioral” model for the target system. The most significant open issues regarding Anomaly based Network Intrusion Detection systems are identified, among which assessment is given particular. By monitoring both web and subsequent database requests, we are able to ferret out attacks that independent IDS would not be able to identify.
Empirical Evidence on the Long-Run Money Demand Function in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

The broad aim of this paper is to estimate the money demand function for the case of six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. By applying panel cointegration tests, the empirical results reveal strong evidence of cointegration between the variables of the model for individual countries as well as for the panel. Moreover, the results support the existence of a stable money function in the long-run estimation. The Granger non-causality test due to Toda and Yamamoto (1995) procedure shows evidence of a bidirectional causal relationship between money demand and income for panel estimation. At an individual level, the results change from one country to another one.
DEV119735 1254..1266

Development of the metanephric kidney depends on tightly regulated interplay between self-renewal and differentiation of a nephron progenitor cell (NPC) pool. Several key factors required for the survival of NPCs have been identified, including fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling and the transcription factor Wilms’ tumor suppressor 1 (WT1). Here, we present evidence that WT1 modulates FGF signaling by activating the expression of growth arrest-specific 1 (Gas1), a novel WT1 target gene and novel modulator of FGF signaling. We show that WT1 directly binds to a conserved DNA binding motif within the Gas1 promoter and activates Gas1 mRNA transcription in NPCs. We confirm that WT1 is required for Gas1 expression in kidneys in vivo. Loss of function of GAS1 in vivo results in hypoplastic kidneys with reduced nephron mass due to premature depletion of NPCs. Although kidney development in Gas1 knockout mice progresses normally until E15.5, NPCs show decreased rates of proliferation at this stage and are depleted as of E17.5. Lastly, we show that Gas1 is selectively required for FGF-stimulated AKT signaling in vitro. In summary, our data suggest amodel in whichWT1 modulates receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in NPCs by directing the
The association between physical activity and self-rated health in Atlantic Canadians

ABSTRACT The population of Atlantic Canada is aging rapidly and has among the highest rates of chronic disease in the country. This cross-sectional study drew data from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (Atlantic PATH) study to investigate the association between physical activity and self-rated health among adults in this population. The results suggest that physical activity is associated with and may help to improve perceived health status of individuals with one or more chronic conditions. The findings support literature suggesting that physical activity can be beneficial for adults as they age with chronic disease.
Impacts of Compost Bedded Pack Barns on the Welfare and Comfort of Dairy Cows

Simple Summary As few studies have examined the most common housing systems in terms of cow behavior and welfare, we designed this study to compare three loose housing systems for lactating cows: compost bedded pack, conventional bedded pack, and freestalls. Cows kept in bedded pack barns were dirtier yet had fewer hairless patches and lesions or swellings on the body and spent more time lying down in the resting area than cows housed in freestalls. All housing systems show benefits and inconveniences in terms of welfare and comfort at resting. Other factors, such as management practices and proper barn design, should be considered when comparing housing systems in terms of animal welfare. Abstract Three loose housing systems for lactating cows (compost bedded pack, CBP; conventional bedded pack, BP; and freestalls, FS) were assessed on one farm in terms of cow behavior and welfare. An on-farm welfare assessment based on the Welfare Quality protocols was used four times every three months on 757 cows. Video recordings taken twice over four days were used to assess behavior patterns at resting areas. Cows in CBP and BP were dirtier than those in FS (p < 0.0001). Fewer integument alterations were recorded for CBP and BP than FS (p < 0.001). Cows in BP were quicker to lie down and stand up compared to those in CBP or FS (p < 0.001). Percentages of cows needing more attempts before rising were higher for FS (p < 0.01). However, a higher frequency of kneeling was observed in CBP (p = 0.033). A lower percentage of cows lying in the resting area was recorded for FS (56%) than CBP or BP (97 or 84%, respectively, p < 0.05). Overall, in this study, cows kept in bedded pack barns were dirtier but had fewer integument alterations and spent more time lying down in the resting area than cows housed in freestalls.
Improvement of Foaming Ability of Surfactant Solutions by Water-Soluble Polymers: Experiment and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Aqueous foam is widely used in fire extinguishing and dust suppression technologies. Improving the foaming ability is the key to reducing the added concentration of foaming agents as well as the economic cost. In this work, the effect of a water-soluble polymer (polyvinyl alcohol, PVA) on the foaming ability of anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl ether sulfate, SDES) was studied by an experiment and molecular dynamics simulation. The experimental results showed that PVA greatly improves the foaming ability of SDES solutions when the surfactant concentration is less than 0.1%, which is attributed to the fact that the polymer can enhance the stability of bubble films and reduce the bubble rupture rate during the foam generation process. The simulation results indicate that PVA can enhance the hydration of surfactant head groups and contribute to the formation of a three-dimensional hydrogen bond network between surfactants, polymers, and water molecules, thus greatly improving the stability of bubble liquid films. The above results suggest that water-soluble polymers can be used to improve the foaming ability of surfactant solutions by enhancing the bubble film stability, which is beneficial as it reduces the added concentration of foaming agents in aqueous foam applications.