Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The inflammatory response of human pancreatic cancer samples compared to normal controls

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a poor prognosis cancer with an aggressive growth profile that is often diagnosed at late stage and that has few curative or therapeutic options. PDAC growth has been linked to alterations in the pancreas microbiome, which could include the presence of the fungus Malassezia. We used RNA-sequencing to compare 14 matched tumor and normal (tumor adjacent) pancreatic cancer samples and found Malassezia RNA in both the PDAC and normal tissues. Although the presence of Malassezia was not correlated with tumor growth, a set of immune- and inflammatory-related genes were up-regulated in the PDAC compared to the normal samples, suggesting that they are involved in tumor progression. Gene set enrichment analysis suggests that activation of the complement cascade pathway and inflammation could be involved in pro PDAC growth.
Price elasticity of demand for ready-to-drink sugar-sweetened beverages in Brazil

The taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages is a policy that has been adopted in many countries worldwide, including Latin American, to reduce sugar consumption. However, little is known about how taxation on these products may affect their demand. The present study aims to estimate the price elasticity of demand for sugar-sweetened beverages in Brazil. This study advances the literature by proposing a breakdown between ready-to-drink sugar-sweetened beverages and sugar-sweetened beverages that require some preparation before being consumed. With this disaggregation, it is possible to obtain more accurate elasticities for the group of products that will be effectively taxed. We estimated a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) model using the Household Budget Survey 2017–2018 microdata. The results show that ready-to-drink beverages is more consumed but less sensitive to changes in price than prepared beverages. The price elasticity of demand for ready-to-drink and prepared sugar-sweetened beverages was -1.19 and -3.38. Additionally, we observe heterogeneity in these price elasticities across household incomes, with a more elastic demand among lower-income households for ready to drink beverages. The findings suggest that taxing ready-to-drink sweetened beverages could potentially reduce sugar consumption directly through a decrease in the consumption of sugary drinks and this effect could be reinforced by reducing the consumption of other sugar-rich products. Therefore, the taxation police should effective contribute to minimize health risks associated to the sugar consumption.
Ketamine in Trauma: A Literature Review and Administration Guidelines

Ketamine is a phencyclidine (PCP) derivative, which primarily acts as a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. Ketamine serves as an analgesic and a dissociative sedative that produces potent analgesia, sedation, and amnesia while preserving spontaneous respiratory drive. It is rapidly gaining acceptance in the management of pain as multiple studies have demonstrated its reliable efficacy and a wide margin of safety. This article reviews some of these studies, the history of ketamine, and its pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties. The article also discusses the use of ketamine in the trauma setting, including joint reductions, procedures, sedation, and pain control, as well as dosing recommendations.
Development and Evaluation of Innovative Strategies for Mineral and Physical Trapping of CO2 in Geological Formations and of Long-Term Cap Rock Integrity

RWTH Aachen University, E.ON Energy Research Centre, Applied Geophysics and Geothermal Energy, Lochnerstrasse 4-20, D-52056 Aachen, Germany (c.clauser@geophysik.rwth-aachen.de) RWTH Aachen University, Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Germany University of Bayreuth, Hydrology, Bayreuth, Germany University of Stuttgart, Hydraulic Engineering, Stuttgart, Germany RWTH Aachen University, Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, Aachen, Germany GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam GFZ, Potsdam, Germany RWTH Aachen University, Clay and Interface Mineralogy, Aachen, Germany
Towards a European climatology of meteorological parameters associated to the genesis of severe storms

In this paper, we analyse the relevance of some meteorological parameters to determine the presence of severe storms within the European domain. The exact values that these parameters take during a case of severe weather are not considered the most important matter, but rather the relation they have when being compared with local climatologies is taken into account. To do so, a list of events which occurred between 1970 and 2005 within the European domain is used, and they show how the CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy), the contents of water vapour up to 850 hPa, the temperature at 850 hPa and the sea level pressure are very related to the severe weather phenomena; whereas others, such as the CAPEN (Convective Inhibition Energy), the temperature change between 700 and 500 hPa, the helicities relative to the storm and the geopotential height at 500 hPa, are less relevant.
Induced production of specialized steroids by transcriptional reprogramming in Petunia hybrida

Abstract Plants produce specialized metabolites with defensive properties that are often synthesized through the coordinated regulation of metabolic genes by transcription factors in various biological contexts. In this study, we investigated the regulatory function of the transcription factor PhERF1 from petunia (Petunia hybrida), which belongs to a small group of ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERF) family members that regulate the biosynthesis of bioactive alkaloids and terpenoids in various plant lineages. We examined the effects of transiently overexpressing PhERF1 in petunia leaves on the transcriptome and metabolome, demonstrating the production of a class of specialized steroids, petuniolides, and petuniasterones in these leaves. We also observed the activation of many metabolic genes, including those involved in sterol biosynthesis, as well as clustered genes that encode new metabolic enzymes, such as cytochrome P450 oxidoreductases, 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases, and BAHD acyltransferases. Furthermore, we determined that PhERF1 transcriptionally induces downstream metabolic genes by recognizing specific cis-regulatory elements in their promoters. This study highlights the potential of evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators to induce the production of specialized products through transcriptional reprogramming.
The re-emerging role of linoleic acid in paediatric asthma

Asthma is the most common chronic disease within the paediatric population. Although it is multifactorial, its onset may be linked to early-life exposures with subsequent impact on immune system development. Microbial and dietary metabolic products have been implicated in the development and exacerbation of paediatric asthma. Linoleic acid is the most common omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid in the Western diet. In this review, we summarise the literature regarding the involvement of linoleic acid in the development of and its impact on existing paediatric asthma. First, we summarise the existing knowledge surrounding the relationship between human microbial metabolism and allergic diseases in children. Next, we examine cellular or animal model-based mechanistic studies that investigated the impact of dietary- and microbial-derived linoleic acid metabolites on asthma. Finally, we review the literature investigating the impact of linoleic acid metabolites on the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma. While there is conflicting evidence, there is growing support for a role of linoleic acid in the onset and pathophysiology of asthma. We recommend that additional cellular, animal, and longitudinal studies are performed that target linoleic acid and its metabolites. Tweetable abstract There is mounting evidence that linoleic acid and its metabolites affect paediatric asthma. Further investigation is needed on the timing and mechanism of this exposure to determine if dietary interventions could help prevent paediatric asthma. https://bit.ly/3EtEltJ
Comparison of Longevity in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Using Pirfenidone Versus Triple Therapy with Prednisolone, Azathioprine, and Acetylcysteine

Background: The effect of the combination of prednisolone, azathioprine, and acetylcysteine for the treatment of Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is minimal. We aimed to investigate the effect of these drugs in case of intolerance to new anti-fibrotic drugs. Materials and Methods: This historical prospective study was performed on 91 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who were referred to a pulmonologist in Mashhad during 2016–2020. Patients were divided into two groups, Pirfenidone which was prescribed for 46 subjects, and a combination of prednisolone, azathioprine, and acetylcysteine which was prescribed for 45 subjects. Patients were selected by convenience sampling and a life expectancy comparison between the two groups was performed by Cox regression. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between age, gender, and drug type in the two groups at the beginning of treatment. The death rate per year in the triple-drug treatment group was 44.44% (n = 20) and in the Pirfenidone treatment group was 11.08% (n=2). Of the 65 recovered population, 49% (22 patients) were in the triple-drug treatment group, and 78% (36 patients) were in the Pirfenidone treatment group which indicated that Pirfenidone has a significant impact on reducing death rate compared to triple-drug treatment (pvalue=0.003 <0.05). Pirfenidone decreased the risk of death, compared to triple therapy (0.23 when death was set up as one in the triple-therapy group). Conclusion: Pirfenidone has a favorable effect on increasing life expectancy and triple therapy should be considered as short-term only in subjects intolerant to anti-fibrotic.
Contrast in Preservation of Bivalve Death Assemblages in Siliciclastic and Carbonate Tropical Shelf Settings

Abstract Determining the selectivities, rates, and key agents of destruction in the post-mortem accumulation of skeletal carbonate is important for understanding the possible bias in the fossil record. This is particularly important for tropical settings, since they are areas of high biodiversity today and in the past. Bivalve death assemblages of the San Blas Archipelago, Caribbean Panama, were collected from ten carbonate and siliciclastic shelf environments, across a range of water depths, sediment compositions, grain sizes, water chemistries, biological communities, and porewater chemistries. Taphonomic signature can differ significantly among environments and individual sites. Shells from reefal carbonates display high levels of encrustation, macroscopic bioerosion, edge rounding, and surface alteration, while those from nonreefal carbonates display microboring, patchy to pervasive chalkiness, and pitting. Shells from siliciclastic sediments display extensive staining, moderate-high patchy surface alteration, occasional encrustation, root etching, and microboring. Patterns of damage in these death assemblages reveal strong differences in taphonomic processes among environments that bear additional testing, in particular contrasts between exposure and burial, carbonate versus siliciclastic, and microstructure and organic content. Death assemblages in siliciclastic sites show moderate-low taphonomic damage, whereas carbonate reefs show high levels of damage, and this contrasts with predictions based on temperate siliciclastics, where seasonal dissolution is intense. The differences observed in taphonomic conditions across the range of environments in this study suggest that the fossil records of these environments should be biased relative to each other.
Laramide Tectonic Development of the Rocky Mouintain Foreland of Southwestern Montana

The Laramide structuralpattern of the Rocky Mountain foreland of Southwestern Montana is dominated bya set of more than 30 major northwest-trending faults which dip steeply northeast, The faults transect both Archean metamorphic rocks and the Phanerozoic section, are spaced 6 to 10 km apart, and have separations measured on the ArcheanCambrian unconformity which range from tens of meters to seven kilometers. A middle Proterozoic inheritance of these faults is demonstratedby: 1- the presence of diabase dikes dated at 1455 my and 1130 my in the fault zones, and 2- separations of Archean rock units along the faults which differ from separations of the ArcheanCambrian unconformity. Laramide slip was oblique, with roughly equal components of left-lateral and reverse movement. The geometry of the folds associated with the northwest-trending faults closely resembles that of fold-thrusts described elsewhere in the foreland (Berg, 1982), but their inferred development also has characteristics of drape folding as described by Stearns (1978). In at least eight localities the foliation in the Archean rocks is locally folded concordantly with the Paleozoic rocks around the fold hinges. Another important component of the Laramide structural pattern in southwestern Montana is a system of northto northeast-trending thrusts which dip gently (25-40") westward. They involve both Archean and Phanerozoic rocks and are associated with overturned, east-verging folds. Foliation in Archean rocks is locally folded in the core regions of the hanging wall anticlines. Movement on both fault systems is responsible for several tens of kilometers of shortening of the foreland crust, and the inferred slip directions for each system are consistent with a predominantly west-to-east direction of compression. The movements within the thrust belt, which impinges on the foreland uplifts from the west, also are compatible with west to east regional compression, suggesting that the same forces were responsible for the structural features both in the thrust belt and the foreland.
Coexistence of structure I and II gas hydrates in Lake Baikal suggesting gas sources from microbial and thermogenic origin

We report the field observation of hydrate deposits of different crystal structures in the same cores of a mud volcano in the Kukuy Canyon. We link those deposits to chemical fractionation during gas hydrate crystallization. Gas composition and crystallographic analyses of hydrate samples reveal involvement of two distinct gas source types in gas hydrate formation at present or in the past: microbial (methane) and thermogenic (methane and ethane) gas types. The clathrate structure II, observed for the first time in fresh water sediments, is believed to be formed by higher mixing of thermogenic gas.
Non-invasive monitoring of neoadjuvant radiation therapy response in soft tissue sarcomas by multiparametric MRI and quantification of circulating tumor DNA—A study protocol

Background Wide resection remains the cornerstone of localized soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) treatment. Neoadjuvant radiation therapy (NRT) may decrease the risk of local recurrences; however, its effectiveness for different histological STS subtypes has not been systematically investigated. The proposed prospective study evaluates the NRT response in STS using liquid biopsies and the correlation of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) with histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Methods Patients with localized high-grade STS, who qualify for NRT, are included in this study. Liquid biopsies Quantification of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patient blood samples is performed by targeted next-generation sequencing. Soft-tissue sarcoma subtype-specific panel sequencing in combination with patient-specific exome sequencing allows the detection of individual structural variants and point mutations. Circulating free DNA is isolated from peritherapeutically collected patient plasma samples and ctDNA quantified therein. Identification of breakpoints is carried out using FACTERA. Bioinformatic analysis is performed using samtools, picard, fgbio, and the MIRACUM Pipeline. mpMRI Combination of conventional MRI sequences with diffusion-weighted imaging, intravoxel-incoherent motion, and dynamic contrast enhancement. Multiparametric MRI is performed before, during, and after NRT. We aim to correlate mpMRI data with the resected specimen’s macroscopical, histological, and immunohistochemical findings. Results Preliminary data support the notion that quantification of ctDNA in combination with tumor mass characterization through co-registration of mpMRI and histopathology can predict NRT response of STS. Clinical relevance The methods presented in this prospective study are necessary to assess therapy response in heterogeneous tumors and lay the foundation of future patient- and tumor-specific therapy concepts. These methods can be applied to various tumor entities. Thus, the participation and support of a wider group of oncologic surgeons are needed to validate these findings on a larger patient cohort.
Assessing the precision of frequency distributions estimated from trawl-survey samples

In trawl surveys a cluster of fish are caught at each station, and fish caught together tend to have more similar characteristics, such as length, age, stomach contents etc., than those in the entire population. When this is the case, the effective sample size for estimates of the frequency distribution of a population characteristic can, therefore, be much smaller than the number of fish sampled during a survey. As examples, it is shown that the effective sample size for estimates of length-frequency distributions generated by trawl surveys conducted in the Barents Sea, off Namibia, and off South Africa is on average approximately one fish per tow. Thus many more fish than necessary are measured at each station (location). One way to increase the effective sample size for these surveys and, hence, increase the precision of the length-frequency estimates, is to reduce tow duration and use the time saved to collect samples at more stations.
Stratospheric clouds at south pole during 1988 1. Results of lidar observations and their relationship to temperature

An optical radar—lidar—has been operational at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station since summer 1987–1988. The observations were specially directed to the detection of aerosol layers and polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). The lidar utilized a Nd-YAG laser followed by a second harmonic generator, and a 0.5-m diameter Cassegrain receiving telescope. Results obtained during the period May–October 1988 are summarized. Some 10,000 profiles of the lidar echoes, each the result of 1-min averaging, were obtained. Data sets consisting of profiles of the scattering ratio and of the backscattering cross section Ba, based on half-hour averaging, are presented. The data can be related to profiles of the atmospheric temperature T, usually obtained on a daily basis at South Pole. Stratifications appear to have two distinct types of structures: one structure shows only a modest variation with height; the other is characterized by sharp features, with large changes of the cross section with height. The basic results, the relationship between Ba and T, and their statistical relevance are considered in this paper. The microphysical interpretation, the attribution of these structures to PSC Type I and Type II, respectively involving the condensation of nitric acid trihydrate and of water ice, and the seasonal evolution of the phenomena are treated in a companion paper.
Effect of safranal or candesartan on 3-nitropropionicacid-induced biochemical, behavioral and histological alterations in a rat model of Huntington’s disease

3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) is a potent mitochondrial inhibitor mycotoxin. Systemic administration of 3-NP can induce Huntington’s disease (HD)-like symptoms in experimental animals. Safranal (Safr) that is found in saffron essential oil has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic actions. Candesartan (Cands) is an angiotensin receptor blocker that has the potential to prevent cognitive deficits. The present study aims to investigate the potential neuroprotective efficacy of Safr or Cands in 3-NP-induced rat model of HD. The experiments continued for nine consecutive days. Rats were randomly assigned into seven groups. The first group (Safr-control) was daily intraperitoneally injected with paraffin oil. The second group (Cands- and 3-NP-control) daily received an oral dose of 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose followed by an intraperitoneal injection of 0.9% saline. The third and fourth groups received a single daily dose of 50 mg/kg Safr (intraperitoneal) and 1 mg/kg Cands (oral), respectively. The sixth group was daily treated with 50 mg Safr kg/day (intraperitoneal) and was intraperitoneally injected with 20 mg 3-NP/ kg, from the 3rd till the 9th day. The seventh group was daily treated with 1 mg Cands /kg/day (oral) and was intraperitoneally injected with 20 mg 3-NP/ kg, from the 3rd till the 9th day. The present results revealed that 3-NP injection induced a considerable body weight loss, impaired memory and locomotor activity, reduced striatal monoamine levels. Furthermore, 3-NP administration remarkably increased striatal malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels, whereas markedly decreased the total antioxidant capacity. Moreover, 3-NP significantly upregulated the activities of inducible nitric oxide synthase and caspase-3 as well as the Fas ligand, in striatum. On the contrary, Safr and Cands remarkably alleviated the above-mentioned 3-NP-induced alterations. In conclusion, Safr and Cands may prevent or delay the progression of HD and its associated impairments through their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and neuromodulator effects.
A possible triggering mechanism for large Hawaiian earthquakes derived from analysis of the 26 June 1989 Kilauea south flank sequence

Examination of short-period seismic data from the ML = 6.1 Kilauea south flank earthquake and aftershock sequence indicates that the rupture process in large Hawaiian earthquakes is more complex than previously modeled. In contrast to the low-angle thrust solution determined for the mainshock from long-period teleseismic body waves by other workers, I find an intermediate- to high-angle reverse solution; I find, however, that focal mechanisms for coastal aftershocks of ML > 3.0 are similar to the teleseismic mechanism for the mainshock. A difference in focal mechanisms determined from short-period local-network seismic data and from long-period teleseismic data has been noted for other recent large Hawaiian earthquakes. Both the mapping of surface cracks and the focal mechanism derived from short-period seismic data for the ML = 6.6 1983 Kaoiki earthquake show strike-slip motion, whereas the centroid moment tensor solution shows low-angle thrusting. The focal mechanism calculated from short-period seismic data for the ML = 7.2 1975 Kalapana mainshock shows low-angle thrusting according to some workers, but intermediate- to high-angle reverse faulting according to others, whereas focal mechanisms calculated from long-period seismic data show low-angle thrusting. This result suggests that rupture initiation in large Hawaiian earthquakes, as represented by the short-period focal mechanisms, differs significantly from the overall rupture process, as represented by the teleseismic mechanisms. I propose that small earthquakes trigger the large-scale energy release at the bases of the volcanic edifices, the type of energy release often observed in large Hawaiian earthquakes. These triggering events may occur along rupture surfaces that differ from those along which the long-period moment release occurs and thus may represent release of a local stress concentration superposed upon the regional stress field.