Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is it necessary for children to receive professional fluoride in addition to regular fluoride toothpaste? Protocol for a systematic review

Introduction Regular toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste is a fundamental intervention for caries prevention. Professional fluoride application (PFA) is widely considered a beneficial supplement to the routine use of fluoride toothpaste. However, some recent studies have failed to demonstrate the preventive effect of PFA. In addition, an increasing number of studies have highlighted the potential adverse effects of fluoride. However, little information exists on the effectiveness of additional PFA. The objective of this review is to systematically analyse the efficacy of PFA in addition to regular fluoride toothpaste among children under the age of 16. Method and analysis We will search the PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases for randomised controlled trials without language or publication date restrictions. Additional studies will be identified by manually searching the reference lists of the included studies and relevant reviews. At least two authors will carry out the selection of studies independently and in duplicate. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool will be used to assess the risk of bias of the included studies. The random effects model will be used for meta-analyses. The data synthesis will be conducted using Review Manager software (RevMan V.5.3). The Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation will be used to assess the quality of supporting evidence for each major comparison. Ethics and dissemination There is no need for ethical approval. The results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and social networks. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020165270
Enabling early detection of osteoarthritis from presymptomatic cartilage texture maps via transport-based learning

Significance Many diseases lack visual cues in early stages, eluding image-based detection. Today, osteoarthritis is diagnosed at an irreversible stage after bone damage has occurred. This research demonstrates that osteoarthritis detection in healthy individuals may be possible 3 y prior to symptoms or bone damage. We describe a technique combining mass transport theory with statistical pattern recognition, discovering sensitive cartilage phenotypes that predict future osteoarthritis progression with high accuracy. As our approach is based on mass transport principles, the cartilage phenotype defining predictive ability can be directly visualized, a key contribution of this work. This research demonstrates that transport-based learning might enable early osteoarthritis detection and visualization at a potentially reversible stage. Many diseases have no visual cues in the early stages, eluding image-based detection. Today, osteoarthritis (OA) is detected after bone damage has occurred, at an irreversible stage of the disease. Currently no reliable method exists for OA detection at a reversible stage. We present an approach that enables sensitive OA detection in presymptomatic individuals. Our approach combines optimal mass transport theory with statistical pattern recognition. Eighty-six healthy individuals were selected from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, with no symptoms or visual signs of disease on imaging. On 3-y follow-up, a subset of these individuals had progressed to symptomatic OA. We trained a classifier to differentiate progressors and nonprogressors on baseline cartilage texture maps, which achieved a robust test accuracy of 78% in detecting future symptomatic OA progression 3 y prior to symptoms. This work demonstrates that OA detection may be possible at a potentially reversible stage. A key contribution of our work is direct visualization of the cartilage phenotype defining predictive ability as our technique is generative. We observe early biochemical patterns of fissuring in cartilage that define future onset of OA. In the future, coupling presymptomatic OA detection with emergent clinical therapies could modify the outcome of a disease that costs the United States healthcare system $16.5 billion annually. Furthermore, our technique is broadly applicable to earlier image-based detection of many diseases currently diagnosed at advanced stages today.
Deep Temporal-Spatial Feature Learning for Motor Imagery-Based Brain–Computer Interfaces

Motor imagery (MI) decoding is an important part of brain-computer interface (BCI) research, which translates the subject’s intentions into commands that external devices can execute. The traditional methods for discriminative feature extraction, such as common spatial pattern (CSP) and filter bank common spatial pattern (FBCSP), have only focused on the energy features of the electroencephalography (EEG) and thus ignored the further exploration of temporal information. However, the temporal information of spatially filtered EEG may be critical to the performance improvement of MI decoding. In this paper, we proposed a deep learning approach termed filter-bank spatial filtering and temporal-spatial convolutional neural network (FBSF-TSCNN) for MI decoding, where the FBSF block transforms the raw EEG signals into an appropriate intermediate EEG presentation, and then the TSCNN block decodes the intermediate EEG signals. Moreover, a novel stage-wise training strategy is proposed to mitigate the difficult optimization problem of the TSCNN block in the case of insufficient training samples. Firstly, the feature extraction layers are trained by optimization of the triplet loss. Then, the classification layers are trained by optimization of the cross-entropy loss. Finally, the entire network (TSCNN) is fine-tuned by the back-propagation (BP) algorithm. Experimental evaluations on the BCI IV 2a and SMR-BCI datasets reveal that the proposed stage-wise training strategy yields significant performance improvement compared with the conventional end-to-end training strategy, and the proposed approach is comparable with the state-of-the-art method.
Cytotoxicity of Oleandrin Is Mediated by Calcium Influx and by Increased Manganese Uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cells

Oleandrin, the main component of Nerium oleander L. extracts, is a cardiotoxic glycoside with multiple pharmacological implications, having potential anti-tumoral and antiviral characteristics. Although it is accepted that the main mechanism of oleandrin action is the inhibition of Na+/K+-ATPases and subsequent increase in cell calcium, many aspects which determine oleandrin cytotoxicity remain elusive. In this study, we used the model Saccharomyces cerevisiae to unravel new elements accounting for oleandrin toxicity. Using cells expressing the Ca2+-sensitive photoprotein aequorin, we found that oleandrin exposure resulted in Ca2+ influx into the cytosol and that failing to pump Ca2+ from the cytosol to the vacuole increased oleandrin toxicity. We also found that oleandrin exposure induced Mn2+ accumulation by yeast cells via the plasma membrane Smf1 and that mutants with defects in Mn2+ homeostasis are oleandrin-hypersensitive. Our data suggest that combining oleandrin with agents which alter Ca2+ or Mn2+ uptake may be a way of controlling oleandrin toxicity.
The cytoplasmic tail of human mannosidase Man1b1 contributes to catalysis-independent quality control of misfolded alpha1-antitrypsin

Significance Defects in systems that orchestrate the intracellular clearance of misfolded proteins are implicated as central contributors to numerous human diseases. Our study has further elucidated the unexpected capacity for the prototype mannosidase, Man1b1, to target misfolded alpha1-antitrypsin for intracellular loss by an unconventional, N-glycan-independent manner. Identification of this functional dichotomy, and especially the Man1b1-mediated catalysis-independent system, might influence the design of future therapeutic interventions for selected conformational diseases of the secretory pathway. The failure of polypeptides to achieve conformational maturation following biosynthesis can result in the formation of protein aggregates capable of disrupting essential cellular functions. In the secretory pathway, misfolded asparagine (N)-linked glycoproteins are selectively sorted for endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) in response to the catalytic removal of terminal alpha-linked mannose units. Remarkably, ER mannosidase I/Man1b1, the first alpha-mannosidase implicated in this conventional N-glycan-mediated process, can also contribute to ERAD in an unconventional, catalysis-independent manner. To interrogate this functional dichotomy, the intracellular fates of two naturally occurring misfolded N-glycosylated variants of human alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT), Null Hong Kong (NHK), and Z (ATZ), in Man1b1 knockout HEK293T cells were monitored in response to mutated or truncated forms of transfected Man1b1. As expected, the conventional catalytic system requires an intact active site in the Man1b1 luminal domain. In contrast, the unconventional system is under the control of an evolutionarily extended N-terminal cytoplasmic tail. Also, N-glycans attached to misfolded AAT are not required for accelerated degradation mediated by the unconventional system, further demonstrating its catalysis-independent nature. We also established that both systems accelerate the proteasomal degradation of NHK in metabolic pulse-chase labeling studies. Taken together, these results have identified the previously unrecognized regulatory capacity of the Man1b1 cytoplasmic tail and provided insight into the functional dichotomy of Man1b1 as a component in the mammalian proteostasis network.
Liquid‐Metal Synthesized Ultrathin SnS Layers for High‐Performance Broadband Photodetectors

Atomically thin materials face an ongoing challenge of scalability, hampering practical deployment despite their fascinating properties. Tin monosulfide (SnS), a low‐cost, naturally abundant layered material with a tunable bandgap, displays properties of superior carrier mobility and large absorption coefficient at atomic thicknesses, making it attractive for electronics and optoelectronics. However, the lack of successful synthesis techniques to prepare large‐area and stoichiometric atomically thin SnS layers (mainly due to the strong interlayer interactions) has prevented exploration of these properties for versatile applications. Here, SnS layers are printed with thicknesses varying from a single unit cell (0.8 nm) to multiple stacked unit cells (≈1.8 nm) synthesized from metallic liquid tin, with lateral dimensions on the millimeter scale. It is reveal that these large‐area SnS layers exhibit a broadband spectral response ranging from deep‐ultraviolet (UV) to near‐infrared (NIR) wavelengths (i.e., 280–850 nm) with fast photodetection capabilities. For single‐unit‐cell‐thick layered SnS, the photodetectors show upto three orders of magnitude higher responsivity (927 A W−1) than commercial photodetectors at a room‐temperature operating wavelength of 660 nm. This study opens a new pathway to synthesize reproduceable nanosheets of large lateral sizes for broadband, high‐performance photodetectors. It also provides important technological implications for scalable applications in integrated optoelectronic circuits, sensing, and biomedical imaging.
Deletion of PIN4 Suppresses the Protein Transport Defects Caused by sec12-4 Mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Newly synthesized secretory proteins are released into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The secretory proteins are surrounded by coat protein complex II (COPII) vesicles, and transported from the ER and reach their destinations through the Golgi apparatus. Sec12p is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Sar1p, which initiates COPII vesicle budding from the ER. The activation of Sar1p by Sec12p and the subsequent COPII coat assembly have been well characterized, but the events that take place upstream of Sec12p remain unclear. In this study, we isolated the novel extragenic suppressor of sec12-4, PIN4/MDT1, a cell cycle checkpoint target. A yeast two-hybrid screening was used to identify Pin4/Mdt1p as a binding partner of the casein kinase I isoform Hrr25p, which we have previously identified as a modulator of Sec12p function. Deletion of PIN4 suppressed both defects of temperature-sensitive growth and the partial protein transport observed in sec12-4 mutants. The results of this study suggest that Pin4p provides novel aspects of Sec12p modulations.
Weed diversity in maize (Zea mays L.) fields in South Western Cameroon

A B S T R A C T Understanding the weed flora of a particular crop helps decide an effective weed management strategy. Maize, though a good competitor cannot cope with a number of competitive weeds at a time. Hence, the present study was aimed at documenting the weeds in maize crop in the South West Region of Cameroon in the growing seasons of 2010 2013. A total of 53 weed species were recorded as problematic and inflicting yield losses to maize crop. The weeds belong to 53 different families with Asteraceae as the most dominant (15%) of the weed flora of the crop and was followed by Poaceae (8%), Fabaceae (6%), Euphorbiaceae (6%) and Amaranthaceae (6%). These five families contributed 41% of the weed flora of maize crop. As far as the distribution pattern of the weeds was concerned, there were five dominant weeds, viz., Amaranthus spinosus, Bidens pilosa, Commelina benghalensis, Mariscus alternafolius and Cynodon dactylon. The rest of the weeds were however occasional and did not have consistent and dominant distribution. The distribution of weed species was diverse and important for the botanists and weed scientists to formulate a long term weed management strategy in the locality in light of the weed flora recorded in maize crop.
Astrocytic phagocytosis is a compensatory mechanism for microglial dysfunction

Microglia are the principal phagocytes that clear cell debris in the central nervous system (CNS). This raises the question, which cells remove cell debris when microglial phagocytic activity is impaired. We addressed this question using Siglechdtr mice, which enable highly specific ablation of microglia. Non‐microglial mononuclear phagocytes, such as CNS‐associated macrophages and circulating inflammatory monocytes, did not clear microglial debris. Instead, astrocytes were activated, exhibited a pro‐inflammatory gene expression profile, and extended their processes to engulf microglial debris. This astrocytic phagocytosis was also observed in Irf8‐deficient mice, in which microglia were present but dysfunctional. RNA‐seq demonstrated that even in a healthy CNS, astrocytes express TAM phagocytic receptors, which were the main astrocytic phagocytic receptors for cell debris in the above experiments, indicating that astrocytes stand by in case of microglial impairment. This compensatory mechanism may be important for the maintenance or prolongation of a healthy CNS.
Charge distribution on narrowMEMS beams of nearly square cross-section

The subject of this paper is the calculation of charge distribution on the surfaces of thin conducting microelectromechanical systems beams, of nearly square cross-section, in electrostatic problems, by the boundary element method (BEM). A line model of a beam is proposed here. This model overcomes the problem of dealing with nearly singular matrices that occur when the standard BEM is applied to very thin features (objects or gaps). This new approach is also very efficient. Numerical results are presented for selected examples. Copyright q 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fast estimation of time-varying infectious disease transmission rates

Compartmental epidemic models have been used extensively to study the historical spread of infectious diseases and to inform strategies for future control. A critical parameter of any such model is the transmission rate. Temporal variation in the transmission rate has a profound influence on disease spread. For this reason, estimation of time-varying transmission rates is an important step in identifying mechanisms that underlie patterns in observed disease incidence and mortality. Here, we present and test fast methods for reconstructing transmission rates from time series of reported incidence. Using simulated data, we quantify the sensitivity of these methods to parameters of the data-generating process and to mis-specification of input parameters by the user. We show that sensitivity to the user’s estimate of the initial number of susceptible individuals—considered to be a major limitation of similar methods—can be eliminated by an efficient, “peak-to-peak” iterative technique, which we propose. The method of transmission rate estimation that we advocate is extremely fast, for even the longest infectious disease time series that exist. It can be used independently or as a fast way to obtain better starting conditions for computationally expensive methods, such as iterated filtering and generalized profiling.
Dysmenorrhea Symptom-Based Phenotypes

Background Dysmenorrhea is a prevalent pain condition among women and a risk factor for other chronic pain conditions. Individuals vary in dysmenorrhea pain severity, the number of painful sites, and co-occurring gastrointestinal symptoms. Three dysmenorrhea symptom-based phenotypes were previously identified using latent class analysis; however, there is a need to validate these in an independent sample, so they can be used in mechanistic and interventional research. There is also a need to further characterize dysmenorrhea symptom-based phenotypes in terms of demographic, clinical, and psychobehavioral characteristics so they can be used to inform precision dysmenorrhea treatment. Objectives The study objectives were to (a) determine whether the same dysmenorrhea symptom-based phenotypes would be found in a new sample; (b) determine whether including demographic, clinical, and psychobehavioral covariates in latent class analyses would change individuals’ phenotype memberships; and (c) investigate relationships between dysmenorrhea symptom-based phenotypes and demographic, clinical, and psychobehavioral characteristics. Methods This cross-sectional survey study included 678 women (aged 14–42 years) with dysmenorrhea. Participants reported dysmenorrhea symptom severity, demographic, clinical (comorbid chronic pain and gynecological conditions), and psychobehavioral characteristics (perceived stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and pain catastrophizing). We used latent class analysis to identify symptom-based phenotypes. We compared analyses with and without covariates (i.e., demographic, clinical, and psychobehavioral characteristics) to determine if individuals’ phenotype memberships changed. We then examined associations between phenotypes and demographic, clinical, and psychobehavioral characteristics. Results We reproduced three dysmenorrhea symptom-based phenotypes: the “mild localized pain” phenotype (characterized by mild abdominal cramps), the “severe localized pain” phenotype (characterized by severe abdominal cramps), and the “multiple severe symptoms” phenotype (characterized by severe pain at multiple locations and gastrointestinal symptoms). Analyses with and without covariates had little effect on individuals’ phenotype membership. Race, comorbid chronic pain condition, endometriosis, and pain catastrophizing were significantly associated with the dysmenorrhea phenotypes. Discussion Findings provide a foundation to further study mechanisms of dysmenorrhea symptom heterogeneity and develop dysmenorrhea precision treatments. The three dysmenorrhea symptom-based phenotypes were validated in a second sample. Demographic, clinical, and psychobehavioral factors were associated with dysmenorrhea symptom-based phenotypes.
Effects of bonny light crude oil on anti-oxidative enzymes and total proteins in Wistar rats

Crude oil (CO) is a substance trado-medically used within some rural population as an antidote to poisoning and a cure for various gastro-intestinal disturbances among others. The ingestion of crude oil either orally or through polluted marine species represents a pathway for the delivery of potential toxicants to the human system. The study, therefore, analysed the effects of bonny light crude oil on the activities of anti-oxidative enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST)] and the concentration of total proteins (TP). The results show that SOD activity was significantly lower (p 0.05) between the SOD activity of the rats treated with 3 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (1.25 ± 0.27) and that of the control rats. CAT specific activity in the rats of the control group (5.5 ± 3.2x10 -3 ) was lower than that of the rats administered 3 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (6.2±3.4 x 10 -3 ), 6 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (7.5±4.8 x 10 -3 ) and 9 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (12.5 ± 8.3 x 10 -3 ); although the mean differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). GST specific activity was higher in the rats of the crude oil-untreated group (88.6 ± 136.3 x 10 -3 ) compared to the rats of the group treated with 3 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (82.7 ± 32.3 x 10 -3 ), 6 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (26.0 ± 19.5 x 10 -3 ) and 9 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (25.4 ± 21.2 x 10 -3 ). Nevertheless, the mean differences were still not statistically significant (p>0.05). Total proteins concentration was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the rats given 9 ml of crude oil/kg b.w (0.33±0.08) compared to that of the control rats (0.05±0.02). In connection with the above results, the crude oil at high dose was found to have oxidative stress-inducing potential and hence, warrants that its use be discouraged or replaced with other less or non-toxic agents with similar therapeutic values as it. Key words: Crude oil, trado-medically, bonny light, anti-oxidative enzymes and total proteins.
Childhood polyvictimization and marijuana use trajectories

Abstract Despite public sentiment to the contrary, recreational marijuana use is deleterious to adolescent health and development. Prospective studies of marijuana use trajectories and their predictors are needed to differentiate risk profiles and inform intervention strategies. Using data on 15,960 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, variable-centered approaches were used to examine the impact of childhood polyvictimization on marijuana onset, marijuana use from age 15 to 24 years, and marijuana dependence symptoms. Zero-Inflated Poisson latent class growth analysis (ZIP-LCGA) was used to identify marijuana use subgroups, and their associations with childhood polyvictimization were tested via multinomial logit regression within ZIP-LCGA. Results showed that the overall probability and frequency of marijuana use increased throughout adolescence, peaked in early adulthood, and diminished gradually thereafter. Polyvictimization was associated with earlier onset and greater overall use, frequency of use, and dependence symptoms. ZIP-LCGA uncovered four subgroups, including non-users and three classes of users: adolescence-limited users, escalators, and chronic users. Polyvictimization distinguished non-users from all classes of marijuana users. The findings underscore the lasting developmental implications of significant childhood trauma. Children who experience polyvictimization represent a group that may benefit from selective interventions aimed at preventing early, frequent, chronic, and dependent marijuana use.