Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exome-Wide Association Study Reveals Several Susceptibility Genes and Pathways Associated With Acute Coronary Syndromes in Han Chinese

Genome-wide association studies have identified more than 150 susceptibility loci for coronary artery disease (CAD); however, there is still a large proportion of missing heritability remaining to be investigated. This study sought to identify population-based genetic variation associated with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in individuals of Chinese Han descent. We proposed a novel strategy integrating a well-developed risk prediction model into control selection in order to lower the potential misclassification bias and increase the statistical power. An exome-wide association analysis was performed for 1,669 ACS patients and 1,935 healthy controls. Promising variants were further replicated using the existing in silico dataset. Additionally, we performed gene- and pathway-based analyses to investigate the aggregate effect of multiple variants within the same genes or pathways. Although none of the association signals were consistent across studies after Bonferroni correction, one promising variant, rs10409124 at STRN4, showed potential impact on ACS in both European and East Asian populations. Gene-based analysis explored four genes (ANXA7, ZNF655, ZNF347, and ZNF750) that showed evidence for association with ACS after multiple test correction, and identification of ZNF655 was successfully replicated by another dataset. Pathway-based analysis revealed that 32 potential pathways might be involved in the pathogenesis of ACS. Our study identified several candidate genes and pathways associated with ACS. Future studies are needed to further validate these findings and explore these genes and pathways as potential therapeutic targets in ACS.
A Study on the Place Attachment of Golf Club Members

The purpose of this study is to explore the members of golf clubs in the central region of Taiwan and find out whether their involvement in activities affects the degree of place attachment and to add the two factors of activity experience and experience value so as to develop a theoretical framework. A questionnaire survey was used to collect 534 samples from golf clubs in central Taiwan for analysis using the following research tools: the Activity Involvement scale, Place Attachment scale, and Likert psychological scale. The results of the study show that (1) activity involvement has a significant positive impact on place attachment, activity experience, and experience value; (2) activity experience has a significant positive impact on experience value; (3) experience value has a significant positive impact on place attachment. This result verifies the theory that activity involvement impacts place attachment. It is suggested that the relevant bodies should strengthen the incentives given in the activities and strengthen the value of the leisure experience so as to facilitate the development of related industries in the future.
Progenitors Deve lop

We have revealed that about one and a half thousand tiny clusters, filled with one thousand closely packed lymphocytes, can be found throughout the murine small and large intestinal nmcosa. They are located in crypt lamina propria (cryptopatches; CP) and can be first detected at 14-17 d after birth. A large fraction oflymphocytes in CP expresses c-kit, IL-7R, Thyl and a lymphocyte function-associated antigen, LFA-1, whereas most of them remain CD3, T C R oil3-, T C R "yS-, slgM-, and B220-. The population size of IL-2Ikot +, HSA + and Pgp-1 + subsets is variable (20-50%) and the composition of CD8 +, Ly-1 +, and CD4 + subsets is smaller but also variable (3-20%). In the small intestine, CP do not contain cells undergoing apoptosis nor cells bearing RAG-1 molecules, but do contain dendritic stromal cells bearing CD1 lc /CD18 molecules. The frequency of DNA replicating cells in CP is higher than that in Peyer's patches (PP), is lower than that in the thymic cortex and is almost comparable with that in the thymic medulla. The numbers of CP remain the same in aged mice (>114 wk) but double after estrogen treatment even though the thymi are attenuated sharply in both conditions. Thus, with respect to histogenesis, lymphocyte composition and tissue level of cellular behavior, neither PP, isolated lymphoid follicles, peripheral LNs, nor thymus are identical with CP. Finally, CP are virtually absent in lamina propria of IL-7R-deficient mice that display a profound reduction in thymic and peripheral lymphoid cellularity. By contrast, CP are present in germ-free mice and in athymic (nu/nu), SCID, T C R [3 • 8 / , RAG-2 / , PP-deficient (aly/aly), stem cell factor (S1/S1 a) and c-kit (W/W v) mutant mice. Taking all of these results together, CP are the first identification of gut-associated murine lymphoid tissues where the generation of IL-7-dependent lympho-hematopoietic progenitors for T and/or B cell descendants may start to take place at the age of commencement of weaning.
The mechanism by which chronic inflammation leads to fibrosis and subsequent organ dysfunction is poorly understood. Disease states associated with fibrosing reactions such as progressive systemic sclerosis

The mechanism by which chronic inflammation leads to fibrosis and subsequent organ dysfunction is poorly understood. Disease states associated with fibrosing reactions such as progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), 1 chronic graft vs. host disease, the fibrotic pulmonary disorders, and cirrhosis are often characterized by infiltration of mononuclear cells followed by either increased or altered collagen deposition (1). Several in vitro studies have indicated that mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) are capable of modulating the function of the cells of connective tissues, which suggests that cell-cell interactions are important in these processes (2-6). There have been conflicting reports regarding the effects of supernatants from antigenor mitogen-stimulated M N L cultures on fibroblast collagen production. It has been suggested (2) that the contradictory observations might be related to the different culture conditions used. Johnson and Ziff (3) observed stimulation of collagen synthesis by supernatants from cultures of phytohemagglutin-stimulated M N L using human lung fibroblasts as the target cell. Supernatants from antigen-stimulated guinea pig peritoneal exudate cell cultures have been reported to stimulate both collagen production and fibroblast proliferation (4). In contrast, J imenez et al. (2) have found that supernatants generated by cultures of human M N L stimulated with mitogens inhibited collagen production by dermal fibroblasts when incubated in the presence of serum. Using similar culture conditions to those of J imenez and coworkers, Neilson et al. (5) reported that stimulation with renal tubular antigen of guinea pig mononuclear cells obtained from animals with interstitial nephritis generated soluble mediators that stimulated collagen production; supernatants from antigen-stimulated M N L from control animals inhibited collagen accumulation. More recently, fraction~/tion of antigen-stimulated human M N L culture supernatants by molecular sieve chromatography has been reported to reveal mediators that stimulate collagen production as well as a substance that inhibits collagen accumulation (6). These findings suggest a muhifaceted role for M N L in regulation of collagen production by the fibroblast. These studies used M N L culture supernatants as the modulating agent and thus
Amino Acid Transporter Genes Are Essential for FLO11-Dependent and FLO11-Independent Biofilm Formation and Invasive Growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Amino acids can induce yeast cell adhesion but how amino acids are sensed and signal the modulation of the FLO adhesion genes is not clear. We discovered that the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae CEN.PK evolved invasive growth ability under prolonged nitrogen limitation. Such invasive mutants were used to identify amino acid transporters as regulators of FLO11 and invasive growth. One invasive mutant had elevated levels of FLO11 mRNA and a Q320STOP mutation in the SFL1 gene that encodes a protein kinase A pathway regulated repressor of FLO11. Glutamine-transporter genes DIP5 and GNP1 were essential for FLO11 expression, invasive growth and biofilm formation in this mutant. Invasive growth relied on known regulators of FLO11 and the Ssy1-Ptr3-Ssy5 complex that controls DIP5 and GNP1, suggesting that Dip5 and Gnp1 operates downstream of the Ssy1-Ptr3-Ssy5 complex for regulation of FLO11 expression in a protein kinase A dependent manner. The role of Dip5 and Gnp1 appears to be conserved in the S. cerevisiae strain ∑1278b since the dip5 gnp1 ∑1278b mutant showed no invasive phenotype. Secondly, the amino acid transporter gene GAP1 was found to influence invasive growth through FLO11 as well as other FLO genes. Cells carrying a dominant loss-of-function PTR3647::CWNKNPLSSIN allele had increased transcription of the adhesion genes FLO1, 5, 9, 10, 11 and the amino acid transporter gene GAP1. Deletion of GAP1 caused loss of FLO11 expression and invasive growth. However, deletions of FLO11 and genes encoding components of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway or the protein kinase A pathway were not sufficient to abolish invasive growth, suggesting involvement of other FLO genes and alternative pathways. Increased intracellular amino acid pools in the PTR3647::CWNKNPLSSIN-containing strain opens the possibility that Gap1 regulates the FLO genes through alteration of the amino acid pool sizes.
Isolation of Mouse Cerebral Microvasculature for Molecular and Single-Cell Analysis

Brain microvasculature forms a specialized structure, the blood-brain barrier (BBB), to maintain homeostasis and integrity of the central nervous system (CNS). The BBB dysfunction is emerging as a critical contributor to multiple neurological disorders, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, autoimmune multiple sclerosis, and neurodegenerative diseases. The brain microvasculature exhibits highly cellular and regional heterogeneity to accommodate dynamic changes of microenvironment during homeostasis and diseases. Thus, investigating the underlying mechanisms that contribute to molecular or cellular changes of the BBB is a significant challenge. Here, we describe an optimized protocol to purify microvessels from the mouse cerebral cortex using mechanical homogenization and density-gradient centrifugation, while maintaining the structural integrity and functional activity of the BBB. We show that the isolated microvessel fragments consist of BBB cell populations, including endothelial cells, astrocyte end-feet, pericytes, as well as tight junction proteins that seal endothelial cells. Furthermore, we describe the procedures to generate single-cell suspensions from isolated microvessel fragments. We demonstrate that cells in the single-cell suspensions are highly viable and suitable for single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis. This protocol does not require transgenic mice and cell sorting equipment to isolate fluorescence-labeled endothelial cells. The optimized procedures can be applied to different disease models to generate viable cells for single-cell analysis to uncover transcriptional or epigenetic landscapes of BBB component cells.
Migration Corridors and Threats in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits for Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Along migration corridors, animals can face natural and anthropogenic threats that differ from those in breeding and non-breeding residence areas. Satellite telemetry can aid in describing the timing and location of these migrations. We use this tool with switching state-space modeling and line kernel density estimates to identify migration corridors of post-nesting adult female loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta, n = 89 tracks) that nested at five beaches in the Gulf of Mexico. Turtles migrated in both neritic and oceanic areas of the Gulf of Mexico with some exiting the Gulf. High-use migration corridors were found in neritic areas to the west of Florida and also in the Florida Straits. Repeat tracking of post-nesting migrations for eight turtles showed variability in track overlap, ranging from ∼13 to 82% of tracks within 10 km of each other. Migration primarily occurred in July and August. We document the longest known post-nesting migration to-date of a wild adult female loggerhead of >4,300 km, along with an apparent stopover of about 1 month. Migration corridors overlaid on three spatially explicit anthropogenic threats (shipping density, commercial line fishing, and shrimp trawling) showed hotspots in the Florida Straits, off the northwest Florida coast and off the coast of Tampa Bay. Identifying where and at what intensity multiple human activities and natural processes most likely occur is a key goal of Cumulative Effects Assessments. Our results provide the scientific information needed for designing management strategies for this threatened species. Information about this loggerhead migration corridor can also be used to inform adaptive management as threats shift over time.
Trichoderma Species Attract Coptotermes formosanus and Antagonize Termite Pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae

Although subterranean termites live within soil, little attention has been paid on the potential interaction among subterranean termites and soil microbes. Herein, we conducted different choice tests to investigate aggregation and tunneling behaviors of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki responding to soil/sand treated with conidia of seven soil fungi, Trichoderma longibrachiatum Rifai, Trichoderma koningii Oud. , Trichoderma hamatum (Bon.) Bain. , Trichoderma atroviride Karsten, Trichoderma spirale Indira and Kamala, Trichoderma harzianum Rifai, and Trichoderma viride Pers. ex Fries. In aggregation-choice test, soil treated with nearly all Trichoderma species tested (except T. koningii) significantly increased termite aggregation compared with untreated soil. In tunneling-choice tests, termites produced significantly larger tunnels in sand treated with T. longibrachiatum or T. koningii than that in untreated sand. We hypothesized that Trichoderma species could benefit termites by protecting them from infection of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn) Sorokin, and three Trichoderma species that attracted termites (T. longibrachiatum, T. atroviride, and T. harzianum) were tested. The antagonism tests showed that the three Trichoderma species suppressed growth of M. anisopliae. Also, the median lethal time (LT50) of termites exposed to both Trichoderma species and M. anisopliae was significantly longer than termites exposed to M. anisopliae alone. Interestingly, though significantly fewer termites aggregated in soil treated with M. anisopliae conidia compared with untreated soil, M. anisopliae conidia mixed with T. longibrachiatum or T. harzianum were no longer repellent to termites. Our results showed that the fungi in the genus Trichoderma (1) exerted generally attractive effects on termites, (2) protected termites from the infection of entomopathogenic fungus, and (3) altered pathogen-avoiding behaviors of termites. Future studies will be required to understand the mechanisms underlying these newly discovered effects.
Use of Tumor Marker and Enzymes in Recurrence and Monitoring Response to Pre and Post Chemotherapy for Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Carcinoma

Aim - To analyze the level of serum Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) Glutathione-S-Transferase (GSTs), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) before and after different cycles of chemotherapy in reference to upper gastrointestinal cancer patients. Methods - For the study comprising total 232 cases suffering from gastrointestinal cancer (before and after different cycles of chemotherapy) were selected. All patients were clinically and histopathologically diagnosed. A total of 42 age and sex matched healthy subjects taken as control. The circulating levels of CEA, GSTs, LDH and ALP activity were assayed in the in the serum of control group and in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Results - Mean CEA, GSTs, LDH and ALP activity in serum were significantly higher in gastrointestinal cancer patients as compared to normal control group (p<0.001). After first chemotherapy (stage II) the activity of GSTs, LDH and ALP were significantly higher but the activity of CEA was highly significantly decreased than before chemotherapy (stage I). In stage III (after second cycle of chemotherapy) activity was significantly decreased than that of stage II and the activity of CEA, GSTs, LDH and ALP was significantly decreased in stage IV (after third cycle of chemotherapy) than stage III (after second cycle of chemotherapy) and levels become normal in range. Conclusion - The study highlights serum CEA and GSTs measurement are useful marker for gastrointestinal cancer, its activity helpful to predict the response of treatment in advanced stage of cancer and recurrence of disease. Increased levels of serum LDH and ALP indicates infection or blockage or metastasized or liver damage by treatment. LDH and ALP are good prognostic marker in gastrointestinal cancer treated with chemotherapy. Increased level of ALP indicates advanced disease progression or treatment strategy. Statistically significant changes in CEA, GSTs, LDH and ALP levels during the treatment with positive response and no established disease progression during study period near about 27 months after the treatment, which indicate that GSTs and CEA are important predictive factor.
The Trace Conditional Learning of the Noxious Stimulus in UWS Patients and Its Prognostic Value in a GSR and HRV Entropy Study

The assessment of the consciousness level of Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (UWS) patients often depends on a subjective interpretation of the observed spontaneous and volitional behavior. To date, the misdiagnosis level is around 30%. The aim of this study was to observe the behavior of UWS patients, during the administration of noxious stimulation by a Trace Conditioning protocol, assessed by the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) entropy. We recruited 13 Healthy Control (HC) and 30 UWS patients at 31 ± 9 days from the acute event evaluated by Coma Recovery Scale–Revised (CRS-R) and Nociception Coma Scale (NCS). Two different stimuli [musical stimulus (MUS) and nociceptive stimulus (NOC)], preceded, respectively by two different tones, were administered following the sequences (A) MUS1 – NOC1 – MUS2 – MUS3 – NOC2 – MUS4 – NOC3 – NOC*, and (B) MUS1*, NOC1*, NOC2*, MUS2*, NOC3*, MUS3*, NOC4*, MUS4*. All the (*) indicate the only tones administration. CRS-R and NCS assessments were repeated for three consecutive weeks. MUS4, NOC3, and NOC* were compared for GSR wave peak magnitude, time to reach the peak, and time of wave's decay by Wilcoxon's test to assess the Conditioned Response (CR). The Sample Entropy (SampEn) was recorded in baseline and both sequences. Machine Learning approach was used to identify a rule to discriminate the CR. The GSR magnitude of CR was higher comparing music stimulus (p < 0.0001) and CR extinction (p < 0.002) in nine patients and in HC. Patients with CR showed a higher SampEn in sequence A compared to patients without CR. Within the third and fourth weeks from protocol administration, eight of the nine patients (88.9%) evolved into MCS. The Machine-learning showed a high performance to differentiate presence/absence of CR (≥95%). The possibility to observe the CR to the noxious stimulus, by means of the GSR and SampEn, can represent a potential method to reduce the misdiagnosis in UWS patients.
Les populations de Mytilidae de Kerguelen (océan Austral) : génétique et adaptation à l'environnement de Mytilus desolationis

Mytilus desolationis (Mytilidae), espece endemique de l'archipel de Kerguelen, constitue un modele original pour l'analyse du polymorphisme enzymatique du fait de son isolement geographique et de sa ressemblence avec deux Mytilidae continentaux, M. Edulis et M. Galloprovincialis qui sont l'objet de nombreuses recherches en genetique des populations. Le niveau taxonomique de M. Desolationis a pu etre fixe sous le rang specifique puisque ce taxon n'a pas montre de caracteristique genetique nouvelle par rapport a M. Edulis et M. Galloprovincialis au niveau enzymatique. Par contre la perte de nombreux allozymes rares est le signe de l'absence d'une immigration reguliere, mais il indique aussi que le taux de mutation n'intervient pas de maniere significative dans la genetique de cette semi-species. Le caractere insulaire tres marque de M. Desolationis ne serait pas du a une barriere genetique mais plus vraisemblablement a la presence d'une barriere geographique, la convergence antarctique. Les populations de M. Desolationis sont tres differenciees spatialement pour les loci polymorphes analyses. Le niveau de differenciation entre populations voisines a Kerguelen est equivalent a celui de populations tres eloignees en Atlantique ou en Mediterranee. La distribution spatiale des frequences genotypiques aux loci polymorphes de M. Desolationis distingue trois regions genetiques qui correspondent a trois regions hydrologiques. L'analyse du polymorphisme de longueur de fragments de restriction de l'ADN mitochondrial dans les deux regions les plus differenciees au niveau enzymatique confirme l'absence de panmixie pour l'ensemble de l'archipel. A l'interieur de ces regions, la differentiation spatiale est en correlation avec les facteurs de l'environnement, principalement les variations de salinite, mais aussi le mode d'exposition et les ressources trophiques.
Prognostic Significance of β-Catenin Expression in Osteosarcoma: A Meta-Analysis

Background: β-catenin plays a crucial role in the progression of osteosarcoma. However, the clinical significance of β-catenin over-expression in osteosarcoma still remains unclear. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis of studies that evaluated the impact of β-catenin on metastasis and overall survival (OS) in osteosarcoma. Methods: We searched PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Springer, Science Direct, OVID, Weipu, Wanfang and China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) databases from their start year up to Aug.2019. Individual hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted and pooled HRs with 95% CIs or odd ratio (OR) were used to evaluate the relationships between β-catenin over-expression and metastasis and overall survival in osteosarcoma. Results: Eight related studies involving 521 patients were qualified for this meta-analysis. Results showed that over-expression of β-catenin was significantly correlated with metastasis (OR = 3.31, 95% CI = 2.08–5.24, P < 0.001) and overall survival (HR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.48–363, P = 0.02). Conclusion: The meta-analysis revealed that over-expression of β-catenin might be associated with distant metastasis and overall survival in osteosarcoma, which reminds that β-catenin acts as a prognostic biomarker and it can guide the clinical therapy in osteosarcoma patients.