Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ku86 alleviates human umbilical vein endothelial cellular apoptosis and senescence induced by a low dose of ionizing radiation

Objective The aim of this study was to observe the effect of Ku86 on cellular senescence and apoptosis induced by various doses of ionizing radiation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Methods Senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity was detected to evaluate cell senescence. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry and a caspase enzyme determination kit. p16Ink4a, Sirt1, superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), xanthine oxidase (XOD), and Bcl-2 protein expression levels were measured by western blotting. Results Low doses of ionizing radiation induced cellular senescence and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The Ku86 protein was negatively correlated with ionization intensity. After transfection of Ku86 with a vector (pcDNA 3.1), or interference with siRNA (si-Ku86), apoptosis/senescence and related protein expression were observed. Western blot results revealed that this induction of senescence was associated with activated Sirt1 and SOD2, and downregulation of p16Ink4a and XOD in 0.2 Gy ionizing radiation. The expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins, such as Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9, were significantly altered in both the presence and absence of Ku86 with ionizing radiation (0.2 Gy). Conclusions Our study revealed that Ku86 overexpression inhibits HUVEC apoptosis and senescence induced by low doses of ionizing radiation.
Reprogramming human dermal fibroblast into induced pluripotent stem cells using nonintegrative Sendai virus for transduction.

INTRODUCTION Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) that exhibit embryonic stem cell-like properties with unlimited self-renewal and multilineage differentiation properties, are a potential cell source in regenerative medicine and cell-based therapy. Although retroviral and lentiviral transduction methods to generate iPSC are well established, the risk of mutagenesis limits the use of these products for therapeutic applications. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, reprogramming of human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) into iPSC was carried out using non-integrative Sendai virus for transduction. The iPSC clones were characterised based on the morphological changes, gene expression of pluripotency markers, and spontaneous and directed differentiation abilities into cells of different germ layers. RESULTS On day 18-25 post-transduction, colonies with embryonic stem cell-like morphology were obtained. The iPSC generated were free of Sendai genome and transgene after passage 10, as confirmed by RT-PCR. NHDF-derived iPSC expressed multiple pluripotency markers in qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining. When cultured in suspension for 8 days, iPSC successfully formed embryoid body-like spheres. NHDF-derived iPSC also demonstrated the ability to undergo directed differentiation into ectoderm and endoderm. CONCLUSION NHDF were successfully reprogrammed into iPSC using non-integrating Sendai virus for transduction.
Urinary Levels of Trimethylamine‐N‐Oxide and Incident Coronary Heart Disease: A Prospective Investigation Among Urban Chinese Adults

Background Trimethylamine‐N‐oxide (TMAO), a diet‐derived, gut microbial–host cometabolite, has been associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patient populations; however, evidence is lacking from prospective studies conducted in general populations and non‐Western populations. Methods and Results We evaluated urinary levels of TMAO and its precursor metabolites (ie, choline, betaine, and carnitine) in relation to risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among Chinese adults in a nested case–control study, including 275 participants with incident CHD and 275 individually matched controls. We found that urinary TMAO, but not its precursors, was associated with risk of CHD. The odds ratio for the highest versus lowest quartiles of TMAO was 1.91 (95% CI, 1.08–3.35; P trend=0.008) after adjusting for CHD risk factors including obesity, diet, lifestyle, and metabolic diseases and 1.75 (95% CI, 0.96–3.18; P trend=0.03) after further adjusting for potential confounders or mediators including central obesity, dyslipidemia, inflammation, and intake of seafood and deep‐fried meat or fish, which were associated with TMAO level in this study. The odds ratio per standard deviation increase in log‐TMAO was 1.30 (95% CI, 1.03–1.63) in the fully adjusted model. A history of diabetes mellitus modified the TMAO–CHD association. A high TMAO level (greater than or equal to versus lower than the median) was associated with odds ratios of 6.21 (95% CI, 1.64–23.6) and 1.56 (95% CI, 1.00–2.43), respectively, among diabetic and nondiabetic participants (P interaction=0.02). Diabetes mellitus status also modified the associations of choline, betaine, and carnitine with risk of CHD; significant positive associations were found among diabetic participants, but null associations were noted among total and nondiabetic participants. Conclusions Our study suggests that TMAO may accelerate the development of CHD, highlighting the importance of diet–gut microbiota–host interplay in cardiometabolic health.
Pythium keratitis in South India: Incidence, clinical profile, management, and treatment recommendation

Purpose: To study the demographic profile, clinical features, treatment outcome, and ocular morbidity of microbiologically proven Pythium keratitis in South India. Methods: A retrospective analysis of clinical records of microbiologically proven Pythium keratitis at a tertiary eye care referral center in South India from January 2016 to November 2017 was performed. Demographic details, predisposing risk factors, microbiological investigations, clinical course, and visual outcome were analyzed. Results: Seventy-one patients with microbiologically proven Pythium keratitis were identified. The mean age was 44(±18.2) years with an increase in male preponderance and 50% were farmers. Duration of delay at time of presentation to the hospital was a mean of 14(±7.2) days. The visual acuity at baseline ranged from 6/6 to no light perception (median 2.1 logMAR). A combination of 5% natamycin and 1% voriconazole was given to 42% patients, and natamycin alone was given to 39.4% patients. 1% itraconazole eye drops alone was initiated in 7 (10%) patients and 3 among this group responded. Therapeutic keratoplasty (TPK) was performed in 48 (67.6%) patients. None of the primary grafts remained clear after a period of 1 month. Twenty-six eyes (54.2%) had graft reinfection and all these eyes either developed anterior staphyloma (4) or were eviscerated (3) and 13 eyes became phthisical. The remaining 22 patients who had TPK resulted in failed graft. Among these, re-grafts were performed in 6 patients, of which 5 were doing well at the last follow-up. Conclusion: We report a large series of patients with Pythium keratitis. Promoting early and differential diagnosis, awareness of clinicians and specific treatment options are needed for this devastating corneal disease.
Compartmentalized Response of IL-6/STAT3 Signaling in the Colonic Mucosa Mediates Colitis Development

A single layer of polarized epithelial cells lining the colonic mucosa create a semipermeable barrier indispensable for gut homeostasis. The role of intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) polarization in the maintenance of the epithelial homeostasis and in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases is not fully understood. In this review, now we report that IEC polarization plays an essential role in the regulation of IL-6/STAT3 signaling in the colonic mucosa. Our results demonstrate that autocrine STAT3 activation in IECs is mediated by the apical secretion of IL-6 in response to the basolateral stimulation with IFN-γ. This process relies on the presence of functional, IFN-γ−producing CD4+ T cells. In the absence of basolateral IFN-γ, the compartmentalization of the IL-6/STAT3 signaling is disrupted, and STAT3 is activated mainly in macrophages. Thus, in this study, we show that during inflammation, IFN-γ regulates IL-6/STAT3 signaling in IEC in the colonic mucosa.
Kidney function, proteinuria and breast arterial calcification in women without clinical cardiovascular disease: The MINERVA study

Background Breast arterial calcification (BAC) may be a predictor of cardiovascular events and is highly prevalent in persons with end-stage kidney disease. However, few studies to date have examined the association between mild-to-moderate kidney function and proteinuria with BAC. Methods We prospectively enrolled women with no prior cardiovascular disease aged 60 to 79 years undergoing mammography screening at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between 10/24/2012 and 2/13/2015. Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR), along with specific laboratory, demographic, and medical data, were measured at the baseline visit. Baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), medication history, and other comorbidities were identified from self-report and/or electronic medical records. BAC presence and gradation (mass) was measured by digital quantification of full-field mammograms. Results Among 3,507 participants, 24.5% were aged ≥70 years, 63.5% were white, 7.5% had eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73m2, with 85.7% having uACR ≥30 mg/g and 3.3% having uACR ≥300 mg/g. The prevalence of any measured BAC (>0 mg) was 27.9%. Neither uACR ≥30 mg/g nor uACR ≥300 were significantly associated with BAC in crude or multivariable analyses. Reduced eGFR was associated with BAC in univariate analyses (odds ratio 1.53, 95% CI: 1.18–2.00), but the association was no longer significant after adjustment for potential confounders. Results were similar in various sensitivity analyses that used different BAC thresholds or analytic approaches. Conclusions Among women without cardiovascular disease undergoing mammography screening, reduced eGFR and albuminuria were not significantly associated with BAC.
A Performance Based Transposition Algorithm for Frequent Itemsets Generation

Association Rule Mining (ARM) technique is used to discover the interesting association or correlation among a large set of data items. It plays an important role in generating frequent itemsets from large databases. Many industries are interested in developing the association rules from their databases due to continuous retrieval and storage of huge amount of data. The discovery of interesting association relationship among business transaction records in many business decision making process such as catalog decision, cross-marketing, and loss-leader analysis. It is also used to extract hidden knowledge from large datasets. The ARM algorithms such as Apriori, FP-Growth requires repeated scans over the entire database. All the input/output overheads that are being generated during repeated scanning the entire database decrease the performance of CPU, memory and I/O overheads. In this paper, we have proposed a Performance Based Transposition Algorithm (PBTA) for frequent itemsets generation. We will compare proposed algorithm with Apriori and FP Growth algorithms for frequent itemsets generation. The CPU and I/O overhead can be reduced in our proposed algorithm and it is much faster than other ARM algorithms.
B-ALL Relapses After Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Associated With a Shift from e1a2 to e14a2 BCR-ABL Transcripts: A Case Report

Background/Aim: The Philadelphia chromosome is found in 30% of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients, a distinct ALL subgroup where the BCR-ABL fusion gene is associated with poor prognosis. Treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) often induces complete remission and these patients subsequently undergo an autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). However, 20% of subjects experience a relapse associated with the selection of point-mutations in the BCR-ABL kinase domain. We report the clinical evolution of a Philadelphia-positive ALL patient co-expressing the e1a2 and e14a2 BCR-ABL transcript at diagnosis. Materials and Methods: Multiplex reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR was used to detect BCR-ABL transcripts and their levels were measured by quantitative Real Time PCR. Clonal sequencing and next-generation sequencing (NGS) were used to identify mutations. Results: Although the patient underwent ASCT following treatment with multiple TKIs, he relapsed twice. The first time he exhibited the e1a2 transcript and the second time he presented only the e14a2 variant. Mutation analysis, performed by clonal sequencing and NGS, detected two alterations after the first relapse and a single mutation at the time of the second relapse. Conclusion: The observed shift from the e1a2 to the e14a2 variant and the selection of TKI-resistant clones heavily contributed to the fatal evolution of the disease.
Investigating the Adoption of Mobile Health Services by Elderly Users: Trust Transfer Model and Survey Study

Background Although elderly users comprise a major user group in the field of mobile health (mHealth) services, their adoption rate of such services is relatively low compared with their use of traditional health services. Increasing the adoption rate of mHealth services among elderly users is beneficial to the aging process. Objective This study aimed to examine the determinants of mHealth service use intentions using a trust transfer model among elderly users facing declining physiological conditions and lacking support from hospitals. Methods A survey comprising 395 users aged 60 years and above was conducted in China to validate our research model and hypotheses. Results The results reveal that (1) trust in mHealth services positively influences use intentions, (2) trust in offline health services positively influences trust in mHealth services, (3) declining physiological conditions strengthen the effects of trust in offline health services regarding trust in mHealth services, (4) support from hospitals weakens the effects of trust in mHealth services on use intentions, and (5) the relationship between trust in offline health services and intention to use mHealth services is partially mediated by trust in mHealth services. The independent variables and moderators collectively explain a 48.3% variance in the use intention of mHealth services. Conclusions We conclude that the trust transfer theory is useful in explaining the development of initial trust in mHealth services. In addition, declining physiological conditions and support from hospitals are important factors for investigating the adoption of mHealth services among elderly users.
Quantification of epicardial fat with cardiac CT angiography and association with cardiovascular risk factors in symptomatic patients: from the ALTER-BIO (Alternative Cardiovascular Bio-Imaging markers) registry.

PURPOSE We aimed to assess the association between features of epicardial adipose tissue and demographic, morphometric and clinical data, in a large population of symptomatic patients with clinical indication to cardiac computed tomography (CT) angiography. METHODS Epicardial fat volume (EFV) and adipose CT density of 1379 patients undergoing cardiac CT angiography (918 men, 66.6%; age range, 18-93 years; median age, 64 years) were semi-automatically quantified. Clinical variables were compared between diabetic and nondiabetic patients to assess potential differences in EFV and adipose CT density. Multiple regression models were calculated to find the clinical variables with a significant association with EFV and adipose CT density. RESULTS The median EFV in diabetic patients (112.87 mL) was higher compared with nondiabetic patients (82.62 mL; P < 0.001). The explanatory model of the multivariable analysis showed the strongest associations between EFV and BMI (β=0.442) and age (β=0.365). Significant yet minor association was found with sex (β=0.203), arterial hypertension (β=0.072), active smoking (β=0.068), diabetes (β=0.068), hypercholesterolemia (β=0.046) and cardiac height (β=0.118). The mean density of epicardial adipose tissue was associated with BMI (β=0.384), age (β=0.105), smoking (β=0.088), and diabetes (β=0.085). CONCLUSION In a large population of symptomatic patients, EFV is higher in diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic patients. Clinical variables are associated with quantitative features of epicardial fat.
Exosomal protein CD82 as a diagnostic biomarker for precision medicine for breast cancer

CD82, a member of the tetraspanin superfamily, has been proposed to exert its activity via tetra‐transmembrane protein enriched microdomains (TEMs) in exosomes. The present study aimed to explore the potential of the exosome protein CD82 in diagnosing breast cancers of all stages and various histological subtypes in patients. The results strongly suggest that CD82 expression in breast cancer tissue was significantly lower than that in healthy and benign breast disease tissues. There was a significant negative correlation between CD82 expression in tissues and CD82 content in exosomes, which indicated that CD82 expression was redistributed from tissues to the blood with the development and metastasis of breast cancer.
Low-dose lipopolysaccharide inhibits neuronal apoptosis induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury via the PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway in rats

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of low‑dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)‑induced brain injury, and to explore the mechanism of phosphoinositide 3‑kinase (PI3K)/Akt/forkhead box protein (Fox)O1 signaling pathway. Male Sprague‑Dawley rats were divided into control group (control), ischemia/reperfusion surgery group (I/R) and low‑dose LPS treatment group (LPS). An I/R model was established and the hemodynamic parameters were recorded at the end of I/R injury. The brain tissues were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl‑transferase‑mediated dUTP nick end labeling staining. Microglia were treated with LPS following hypoxia/reoxygenation. The cellular viability was detected by 3‑(4,5‑dimethylthiazol‑2‑yl)‑2,5‑diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The apoptotic rate of microglia was detected using AnnexinV/propidium iodide staining. The expression of B‑cell lymphoma (Bcl)‑2, Bcl‑2‑associated X (Bax), and caspase‑3 were detected by western blot analysis and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Akt, phosphorylated (p)‑Akt, FoxO1 and p‑FoxO1 expression were detected by western blotting. It was previously reported that, following I/R injury, neuronal cells were disorderly and brain injury markers (neuron‑specific enolase and S100 β), inflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)‑1β, IL‑6 and tumor necrosis factor‑α] levels were significantly upregulated. In the present study, the expression levels of Bax, caspase‑3 Akt and p‑Akt were significantly higher, while that of Bcl‑2, FoxO1 and p‑FoxO1 were significantly lower in the I/R group. LPS treatment significantly increased the viability of neuronal cells and decreased the rate of neuronal cell apoptosis. Following the addition of PI3K signaling pathway inhibitor LY294002 to microglia, LPS reduced the levels of activated Akt, increased the downstream regulatory gene phosphorylation of FoxO1 and reduced microglia apoptosis. It was concluded that LPS can alleviate I/R‑induced brain injury, inhibit neuronal cells apoptosis and protect neuronal cells via the PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway.
Abdominal wall endometriosis in patients with a history of cesarian section.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to review the characteristics, intraoperative and radiological findings of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE). METHODS This retrospective observational cohort study was executed through analysis of the medical records of patients who underwent excision of AWE between January 2000 and June 2017. All the diagnoses were confirmed pathologically. Characteristics, intraoperative and radiological findings of patients with AWE were and analyzed. RESULTS Each of the 20 patients had a history of at least one prior cesarean section. The main presenting symptoms were pain (70%). Ultrasonography and/or magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 95% and 45 % of the patients, respectively. One patient (5%) was investigated by 18 Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography - computed tomography. The preoperative radiological diagnosis was correcting in 55 % of the cases. The mean diameter of the masses was 4.7 ± 1.53 cm. Recurrence was found only in one patient during 36-month follow-up. DISCUSSION Meticulous anamnesis, accurate clinical examination and proper imaging studies, are important guides for diagnosis. CONCLUSION AWE should be kept in mind when pain or mass is detected on the abdominal wall of women who have cesarean section history. KEY WORDS Abdominal wall endometriosis, Cesarean section, Radiology, Scar endometriosis.
The impact of epidural analgesia on the mode of delivery in nulliparous women that attain the second stage of labor

Abstract Objective: We aimed to evaluate the impact of epidural analgesia on the mode of delivery of nulliparous women with a term single fetus in vertex presentation (NTSV) that attained the second stage of labor. Study design: A single-center retrospective study provided a strict and constant department protocol for epidural analgesia practice and obstetric interventions, between 2005 and 2014. Epidural users were compared to nonusers. The primary outcome was the mode of delivery. Secondary outcomes were diagnosis of prolonged second stage of labor and maternal and neonatal morbidities. The outcomes were evaluated by adjusted multivariate analyses (Adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR), 95% CI). Results: During the study period, 25,643 NTSV attained the second stage of labor; 18 676 (73%) epidural users and 6967 (27%) nonusers. Epidural users had an increased risk of instrumental delivery 2.48, [2.22–2.76], along with a lower risk of cesarean delivery 0.38, [0.29–0.50]. Notably, the diagnosis of prolonged second stage of labor was comparable among the study groups 0.99, [0.89–1.12]. The epidural users had a significantly higher risk of early postpartum hemorrhage 1.15, [1.04–1.27]. The risk for neonatal morbidity was comparable among the study groups 1.21 [0.90–1.63]. Conclusion: Epidural analgesia in a population of NTSV that attains the second stage of labor is associated with a higher risk of instrumental delivery, nonetheless with a reduced risk of cesarean delivery; independent of the length of the second stage of labor is and safe for the neonate.