Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nomograms of Fetal Right Ventricular Fractional Area Change by 2D Echocardiography

Objectives: Fetal right ventricular (RV) function assessment is challenging due to the RV geometry and limitations of in utero assessment. Postnatally, 2D echocardiographic RV fractional area change (FAC) is used to assess RV global systolic function by calculating the percentage of change in RV area from systole to diastole. Reports on FAC are scarce in prenatal life, and nomograms throughout pregnancy are not available. Our aims were (1) to study prenatal RV FAC feasibility and reproducibility and (2) to construct nomograms for RV FAC and end-diastolic (ED) and end-systolic (ES) RV areas from 18 to 41 weeks of gestation. Methods: Prospective cohort study including 602 low-risk singleton pregnancies undergoing a fetal echocardiography from 18 to 41 weeks of gestation. RV ED and ES areas were measured following standard recommendations for ventricular dimensions and establishing strict landmarks to identify the different phases of the cardiac cycle. RV FAC was calculated as: ([ED area – ES area]/ED area) × 100. RV FAC intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was evaluated in 45 fetuses by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Parametric regressions were tested to model each parameter against gestational age (GA) and estimated fetal weight (EFW). Results: RV areas and FAC were successfully obtained in ∼99% of fetuses with acceptable reproducibility throughout gestation (RV ED area inter-observer ICC [95% CI] 0.96 [0.93–0.98], RV ES area 0.97 [0.94–0.98], and FAC 0.69 [0.44–0.83]). Nomograms were constructed for RV ED and ES areas and FAC. RV areas showed a quadratic and logarithmic increase with GA and EFW, respectively. In contrast, RV FAC showed a slight quadratic decrease throughout gestation (mean RV FAC ranged from 36% at 18 weeks of gestation [10–90th centiles: 25–47%, respectively] to 29% at 41 weeks [10–90th centiles: 18–40%, respectively]). The best models for RV areas and FAC were a second-degree polynomial. Conclusions: RV FAC is a feasible and reproducible parameter to assess RV global systolic function in fetal life. We provide reference ranges adjusted by GA and EFW that can be used as normal references for the assessment of RV function in prenatal conditions.
Galectin-3 Interacts with C/EBPβ and Upregulates Hyaluronan-Mediated Motility Receptor Expression in Gastric Cancer

The hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) is overexpressed in gastric cancer; however, the apparent role of HMMR has not been well defined owing to lack of detailed studies on gastric tumorigenesis. Therefore, we elucidated the functional and regulatory mechanisms of HMMR in gastric cancer. Using publicly available data, we confirmed HMMR overexpression in patients with gastric cancer. HMMR silencing decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells, whereas HMMR overexpression reversed these effects. A gastric cancer xenograft mouse model showed statistically significant inhibition of tumor growth upon HMMR depletion. Previous data from cDNA microarray showed reduced HMMR expression upon inhibition of galectin-3. However, overexpression of galectin-3 increased HMMR expression, cell proliferation, and motility in gastric cancer cells, whereas HMMR silencing blocked these effects. Interestingly, galectin-3 interacted directly with C/EBPβ and bound to HMMR promoter to drive its transcription, and gastric cancer cell proliferation and motility. Altogether, high expression of HMMR promoted gastric cancer cell proliferation and motility and could be a prognostic factor in gastric cancer. In addition, HMMR expression was regulated by the interaction between C/EBPβ and galectin-3. Therefore, targeting HMMR along with galectin-3 and C/EBPβ complex could be a potential treatment strategy for inhibiting gastric cancer progression and metastasis. Implications: This study provides evidence that galectin-3 interacts with C/EBPβ in gastric cancer, and galectin-3 and C/EBPβ complex promotes gastric cancer cell progression and motility through upregulating HMMR expression.
Comparison between conservative treatment and plate fixation for displaced middle third clavicle fracture: clinical outcomes and complications

Background: Clavicle fractures are common injuries in adults, especially due to sport activities or road traffic accidents. Most lesions occur at the level of the middle-third presenting some degree of displacement often. Traditionally, non-surgical management was considered the first treatment option for the most clavicle fractures. Nowadays, various authors suggest early surgical fixation of displaced midshaft fractures. The aim of this study is to compare surgical versus non-surgical treatment and to evaluate the outcomes and the incidence of complications following to both treatment options. Matherial and methods: 87 patients with 2 displaced clavicle fractures fragments (AO 15.2A) were included in the retrospective study, evaluating the clinical and functional outcomes and the complication rate with a follow-up average of 48 months. Results: The risk of nonunion resulted lower in the surgically treated patients. The Constant Score after 1 year was slightly better after the plate fixation (94,36 vs 91,36), while the DASH score resulted better in the conservatively treated patients (3,86 vs 4,63). The delay or revision surgery rates were similar for both groups and most of the complications were associated with the conservative treatment. Conclusions: According to our results, the plate fixation does not lead to better clinical and functional outcomes, instead it reduces the risk of nonunion. We suggest to tailor the treatment patient-by-patient considering the functional demand, patient’s comorbidity and nonunion risk factor. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Determination of four bisphenols in water and urine samples by magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction using a modified zeolite/iron oxide composite prior to liquid chromatography diode array detection.

A novel approach is presented to determine four bisphenols in water and urine samples, employing magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction combined with liquid chromatography and diode array detection. A modified zeolite-based magnetic composite was used as an efficient sorbent, combining the advantages of magnetic materials with the remarkable properties of zeolites. A multivariate optimization design was employed to optimize some experimental factors affecting magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction. The method was evaluated under optimized conditions (i.e., amount of sorbent, 50 mg; sample pH, unadjusted; NaCl concentration, 1.25%; extraction and elution time, 2 min; eluent solvent, ethanol; eluent solvent volume, 400 µL), obtaining good linearity with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.995 and 0.999 (N = 5) (from 2 to 250 μg L-1 for bisphenol A, bisphenol AP and bisphenol P and from 5 to 250 μg L-1 for bisphenol AF). Method repeatability was assessed obtaining coefficients of variation between 3 and 11% (n = 6). Finally, the method was applied to spiked real samples, obtaining for water samples relative recoveries between 83 and 105% and, for urine samples between 81 and 108% for bisphenol A, bisphenol AP and bisphenol AF, and between 47 and 59% for bisphenol P. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Stem cells and lower urinary tract dysfunction: Has its potential finally reached clinical maturity? ICI‐RS2018

Efforts to engineer and repair genitourinary tissue to treat lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) have recently increased thanks in part to advances in stem cell (SC) research. At the International Consultation on Incontinence‐Research Society meeting in Bristol in 2018 a proposal was convened to address the question: has the potential of SCs in treating LUTD reached clinical maturity?
Validation of a simplified international prognostic score (IPS‐3) in patients with advanced‐stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma

A novel prognostic score (IPS‐3), comprised of only three of the seven IPS‐7 indicators (age ≥45, stage IV, haemoglobin <105 g/l), was recently proposed as a simplified model for advanced‐stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). We aimed to validate this model in advanced‐stage cHL patients treated with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine (ABVD) in British Columbia. The estimated five‐year freedom from progression (FFP) for scores of 0, 1, 2 and 3 were very similar to the original report at 84%, 76%, 72% and 68% respectively. The IPS‐3 score is highly reproducible in this independent dataset and its simplicity makes it appealing for everyday clinical practice.
RNA-sequencing reveals that STRN, ZNF484 and WNK1 add to the value of mitochondrial MT-COI and COX10 as markers of unstable coronary artery disease

Markers in monocytes, precursors of macrophages, which are related to CAD, are largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to identify genes in monocytes predictive of a new ischemic event in patients with CAD and/or discriminate between stable CAD and acute coronary syndrome. We included 66 patients with stable CAD, of which 24 developed a new ischemic event, and 19 patients with ACS. Circulating CD14+ monocytes were isolated with magnetic beads. RNA sequencing analysis in monocytes of patients with (n = 13) versus without (n = 11) ischemic event at follow-up and in patients with ACS (n = 12) was validated with qPCR (n = 85). MT-COI, STRN and COX10 predicted new ischemic events in CAD patients (power for separation at 1% error rate of 0.97, 0.90 and 0.77 respectively). Low MT-COI and high STRN were also related to shorter time between blood sampling and event. COX10 and ZNF484 together with MT-COI, STRN and WNK1 separated ACS completely from stable CAD patients. RNA expressions in monocytes of MT-COI, COX10, STRN, WNK1 and ZNF484 were independent of cholesterol lowering and antiplatelet treatment. They were independent of troponin T, a marker of myocardial injury. But, COX10 and ZNF484 in human plaques correlated to plaque markers of M1 macrophage polarization, reflecting vascular injury. Expression of MT-COI, COX10, STRN and WNK1, but not that of ZNF484, PBMCs paired with that in monocytes. The prospective study of relation of MT-COI, COX10, STRN, WNK1 and ZNF484 with unstable CAD is warranted.
Identification and Field Evaluation of the Sex Pheromone of Apolygus lucorum (Hemiptera: Miridae) in China.

BACKGROUND The plant bug, Apolygus lucorum Meyer-Dür, has begun to resurge and become a key pest in cotton in northern China, along with the wide-scale adoption of transgenic Bt cotton. To control this plant bug, we attempted to develop a new approach by identifying and utilizing its sex pheromone. RESULTS Extracts from A. lucorum adults and nymphs were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-electroantennogram detector (GC-EAD) to identify the sex pheromone components. (E)-4-Oxo-2-hexenal and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate were the major components from females and were also the electrophysiology-active components to male antennae. For males, (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal and hexyl butyrate were the major components. These three components, however, were not detected in nymphs. Field tests showed that binary blends of (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate at a ratio of 3:2 resulted in the trapping of the greatest numbers of A. lucorum males. A long-term dispenser was developed by loading the pheromone components dissolved in sunflower oil into PE vials. Further field evaluation showed that the PE dispensers attracted significantly more bugs even when they were deployed in the field for 5 weeks. CONCLUSION We identified the sex pheromone of A. lucorum and developed a type of high-efficiency and long-term lure. Our results could expand the knowledge of the pheromones of plant bugs, and provide novel technologies to monitor and control this pest. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Evaluation of neutropenia-related outcomes in Hodgkin's lymphoma patients with moderate or severe neutropenia who received ABVD chemotherapy without using granulocyte-colony stimulating factor

Objective To evaluate the possible neutropenia-related effects of administering adriamycin [doxorubicin], bleomycin, vinblastin, dacarbazine (ABVD) chemotherapy in Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients with moderate or severe neutropenia without granulocyte-colony stimulating factor supplementation. Methods This study evaluated neutropenia-related outcomes and the need for granulocyte-colony stimulating factor use during the periods between chemotherapy rounds. Forty-three rounds of ABVD chemotherapy were evaluated in the study. The outcomes that could be related to neutropenia were analyzed. In addition, rounds of ABVD chemotherapy given in the presence of severe neutropenia were compared with ABVD chemotherapy rounds given in the presence of moderate neutropenia in terms of neutropenia-related outcomes and the need for granulocyte-colony stimulating factor use. The study only included patients with classical Hodgkin's disease (lymphoma). Patients with a final neutrophil count of <1 × 103 cells/µL (<1000 cells/µL) prior to chemotherapy round and those receiving ABVD chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma were included in the study. Results We observed that none of the patients with moderate neutropenia before the start of chemotherapy round needed granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, and four patients with severe neutropenia prior to the start of chemotherapy round required granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between the severity of neutropenia (in terms of moderate and severe) before chemotherapy and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor requirement after chemotherapy (p> 0.05). Furthermore, none of the patients included in the study had bleomycin-related lung toxicity during the treatment periods included in the study. Conclusion Administering ABVD chemotherapy to patients with moderate neutropenia seems to be safe.
Dietary pterostilbene supplementation attenuates intestinal damage and immunological stress of broiler chickens challenged with lipopolysaccharide1.

The present study explored the potential effect of pterostilbene as a prophylactic treatment on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal injury of broiler chickens by monitoring changes in mucosal injury indicators, redox status, and inflammatory responses. In total, 192 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly divided into four groups. This trial consisted of a 2 × 2 factorial design with a diet factor (supplemented with 0 or 400 mg/kg pterostilbene from 1 to 22 days of age) and a stress factor (intraperitoneally injected with saline or LPS at 5.0 mg/kg body weight at 21 days of age). The results showed that LPS challenge induced a decrease in body weight gain (P < 0.001) of broilers during a 24-hour period post-injection; however, this decrease was prevented by pterostilbene supplementation (P = 0.031). Administration of LPS impaired the intestinal integrity of broilers, as indicated by increased plasma diamine oxidase (DAO) activity (P = 0.014) and D-lactate content (P < 0.001), reduced jejunal villus height (VH; P < 0.001) and the ratio of VH to crypt depth (VH:CD; P < 0.001), as well as a decreased mRNA level of jejunal tight junction protein 1 (ZO-1; P = 0.002). In contrast, pterostilbene treatment increased VH:CD (P = 0.018) and up-regulated the mRNA levels of ZO-1 (P = 0.031) and occludin (P = 0.024) in the jejunum. Consistently, pterostilbene counteracted the LPS-induced increased DAO activity (P = 0.011) in the plasma. In addition, the LPS-challenged broilers exhibited increases in nuclear accumulation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65 (P < 0.001), the protein content of tumor necrosis factor alpha (P = 0.033), and the mRNA abundance of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β; P = 0.042) and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3; P = 0.019). In contrast, pterostilbene inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 (P = 0.039) and suppressed the mRNA expression of IL-1β (P = 0.003) and NLRP3 (P = 0.049) in the jejunum. Moreover, pterostilbene administration induced a greater amount of reduced glutathione (P = 0.017) but a lower content of malondialdehyde (P = 0.023) in the jejunum of broilers compared with those received a basal diet. Overall, the current study indicates that dietary supplementation with pterostilbene may play a beneficial role in alleviating the intestinal damage of broiler chicks under the conditions of immunological stress.
Exploring Cellular Protein Localization Through Semantic Image Synthesis

Cell-cell interactions have an integral role in tumorigenesis as they are critical in governing immune responses. As such, investigating specific cell-cell interactions has the potential to not only expand upon the understanding of tumorigenesis, but also guide clinical management of patient responses to cancer immunotherapies. A recent imaging technique for exploring cell-cell interactions, multiplexed ion beam imaging by time-of-flight (MIBI-TOF), allows for cells to be quantified in 36 different protein markers at sub-cellular resolutions in situ as high resolution multiplexed images. To explore the MIBI images, we propose a GAN for multiplexed data with protein specific attention. By conditioning image generation on cell types, sizes, and neighborhoods through semantic segmentation maps, we are able to observe how these factors affect cell-cell interactions simultaneously in different protein channels. Furthermore, we design a set of metrics and offer the first insights towards cell spatial orientations, cell protein expressions, and cell neighborhoods. Our model, cell-cell interaction GAN (CCIGAN), outperforms or matches existing image synthesis methods on all conventional measures and significantly outperforms on biologically motivated metrics. To our knowledge, we are the first to systematically model multiple cellular protein behaviors and interactions under simulated conditions through image synthesis.
Comparative Analysis of Big Data Technologies

Recent technological advances and reduction in storage prices has led to accumulation of huge amount of data known as Big Data. This data, belonging to different applications and timelines, is difficult for organisations to process. In order to solve this difficulty, Doug Cutting and Mike Cafarella came up with a framework called Hadoop. Becoming open source in 2012, Hadoop went on to include Pig, Hive and many more products. Following this, Spark was developed by Matie Zaharia in 2009 which was open sourced in 2010. Meanwhile, many organisations came up with their own platforms to deal with Big Data. Hence, sprouting from Google's MapReduce paper, these tools have grown into a wide array of technologies. This project focusses on comparing three main big data technologies which are used widely these days namely Pig, Hive and R. Similar problem statements are executed on all three platforms and performance is judged based upon the query execution time.
PREDICTIVE INTEGRATED MODELLING OF PLASMAS AND THEIR OPERATION SCENARIOS TOWARDS EXPLOITATION OF JT-60SA EXPERIMENT

Plasmas and their operation scenarios have been predicted by using integrated modelling codes towards the exploitation of JT-60SA experiment. Through the close collaboration between Japan and EU including the model validation and verification using JT-60U and JET experimental data, the following key results were obtained in various modelling activities. Integrated rotation and pedestal modelling for inductive scenarios revealed that the rotation with the neoclassical toroidal viscosity (NTV) due to the toroidal magnetic field ripple degrades the pedestal height, but it is high enough to achieve target parameters, and error field correction coils in JT-60SA can control the rotation by enhancing NTV. The neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) modelling with the mode frequency for inductive scenarios clarified the feasibility of electron cyclotron current drive to stabilize fully NTM or reduce the island width without mode locking. Nonlinear MHD simulations starting from a time slice of integrated simulation of current ramp up showed that an off-axis negative-ion-based neutral beam induces fast-ion-driven and reconnecting instabilities through making transiently the off-axis pressure peak and non-monotonic safety factor profile, resulting in flattening of plasma profiles. Improved modelling predicted a steady-state high-beta (βN ≳ 4) plasma with an internal transport barrier (ITB), its controllability to sustain the ITB location and target performance, its controllability to reduce the divertor heat load below 10 MW/m2 by impurity seeding, and its tolerance to the core accumulation of seeded impurity. The obtained predictions clarified the JT-60SA capability to explore the plasma scenarios indispensable to ITER and DEMO. 1. MODELLING STRATEGY TOWARDS EXPLOITATION OF JT-60SA EXPERIMENT JT-60SA [1] is a large superconducting tokamak and will start plasma operations in 2020 well in advance of ITER operation. The JT-60SA mission is to contribute to early realization of fusion energy by supporting the exploitation of ITER and by complementing ITER in resolving key issues for DEMO reactors. For this mission, JT-60SA is equipped with flexibly applicable actuators, i.e., negativeand positive-ion-based neutral beams (NNBs and P-NBs) and electron cyclotron (EC) waves, to control heating, current and torque profiles (total input power Pin=41 MW). With the actuators, JT-60SA explores inductive, advanced inductive and steady-state highbeta plasma operation scenarios. Integrated modelling and prediction of plasmas and their operation scenarios
Anthropogenic Contributions to the 2018 Extreme Flooding over the Upper Yellow River Basin in China

AFFILIATIONS: Ji—Key Laboratory of Regional ClimateEnvironment for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Yuan—Key Laboratory of Regional ClimateEnvironment for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and School of Hydrology and Water Resources, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China; Jiao—School of Hydrology and Water Resources, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China; Wang—Hydrology Bureau of Yellow River Conservancy Commission, Zhengzhou, China; Han and SHi—National Meteorological Information Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, China CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Xing Yuan, xyuan@nuist.edu. cn
Characterisation of a non-alcoholic beverage made of residues from king palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) industry

The heart of palm is a food extracted from several species of palm trees, especially from the Archontophoenix and Euterpe. Only 10 to 20 % of the raw material is transformed into canned heart of palm, therefore this agro-industry generates a large quantity of solid residue. The aim of this work was to extract and characterise a juice produced from this solid residue. This extract can be compared in centesimal composition to traditional fruit juices, with high values of minerals, such as magnesium (22.80mg/100g) and potassium (276.90 mg/100g), phenolic compounds (gallic, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic, chlorogenic, syringic and caffeic acids) and high DPPH free radical scavenging capacity, which suggest high antioxidant activity. Additionally, a new non-alcoholic beverage was formulated using this king palm juice as its main ingredient. The beverage samples formulated with this juice had high sensorial acceptability, high intention of consumption, which suggests an important low-cost application for this industrial residue.