Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy—the Example of Hypertension: A Mini Review

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality worldwide in both sexes. Despite considerable progress in better understanding the patterns of disease in women, they are still often undertreated and benefit less from evidence-based treatment. Hypertension is a key contributor to CVD and is also one of the most potent risk factors for heart failure in women. Even with the wide variety of available drugs, blood pressure control is globally suboptimal. Current guidelines do not suggest differential treatment of hypertension for women; however, a growing body of research suggests gender dimorphism in the pathophysiology of hypertension and pharmacological response to cardiovascular drugs. The clinical relevance of theses sex-divergent effects of drugs is still under investigation. Owing to the exponential relationship between blood pressure and cardiovascular mortality, even a modest decrease in blood pressure or therapeutic adhesion could be clinically \relevant. In this review, we explore the known pharmacological and pharmacokinetic sex differences with special attention to the main classes of antihypertensive treatment. Current data shows frequently higher drug exposures in women and more frequent adverse drug reactions in all antihypertensive drug groups. As far as cardiovascular prevention is concerned, sex-specific data is often lacking in clinical trials, highlighting the necessity to further study CVD and their treatment in both men and women.
Alterações dos atributos físicos de um Latossolo Vermelho submetido a diferentes sistemas de manejo

O cultivo do solo pode alterar alguns atributos fisicos em relacao ao solo nao cultivado. Diante disso, neste estudo objetivou-se verificar as alteracoes provocadas pelos sistemas de uso do solo sobre alguns atributos fisicos de um Latossolo Vermelho no Triângulo Mineiro. Os tratamentos utilizados foram: Campo nativo (CN) (testemunha); preparo convencional do solo (PC); pastagem irrigada de braquiaria sob pastejo rotacionado tipo VoIsin (PT) e Semeadura direta (SD). Utilizou-se o delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com 4 repeticoes, onde foram avaliados os seguintes atributos fisicos: densidade do solo (Ds), volume total de poros (VTP), microporosidade (MI), macroporosidade (MA), condutividade hidraulica saturada (Kθ, resistencia mecânica do solo a penetracao (RP) e o indice de sensibilidade (Is). Nas areas sob PC, SD e PT nao foram observadas alteracoes significativas com relacao aos atributos fisicos avaliados. Para as profundidades avaliadas so ocorreram diferencas significativas entre as profundidades de 0,0 - 0,05 e a de 0,15 a 0,20 m para os parâmetros Ds e VTP. PC, SD, PT e CN apresentaram valores medios de volumes de MA proximos ou superiores daquele considerado ideal (0,33 dm-3dm-3). Apenas no CN nao ocorreu valores maiores que 2 MPa. No CN, PC, e SD nao ocorreram limitacoes ao desenvolvimento das culturas ate a profundidade de 0,08 m. O Is calculado para os atributos CC e Kθ nos sistemas PC e PT demonstraram o efeito prejudicial desses sistemas de manejo sobre a estrutura do solo, quando comparados ao SD.
Changes in Sea-Ice Protist Diversity With Declining Sea Ice in the Arctic Ocean From the 1980s to 2010s

The large declines in Arctic sea-ice age and extent over the last decades could have altered the diversity of sea-ice associated unicellular eukaryotes (referred to as sea-ice protists). A time series from the Russian ice-drift stations from the 1980s to the 2010s revealed changes in community composition and diversity of sea-ice protists from the Central Arctic Ocean. However, these observations have been biased by varying levels of taxonomic resolution and sampling effort, both of which were higher in the early years at drift stations on multiyear sea ice (MYI) in the Central Arctic Ocean. We here combine the Russian ice-drift station data with more recent data to (1) identify common sea-ice protists (in particular diatoms) in drifting sea ice of the Central Arctic Ocean; (2) characterize the potential change in such communities over 35 years in terms of species number and/or community structure; and (3) relate those shifts to relevant environmental factors. In terms of relative abundance, pennate diatoms were the most abundant sea-ice protists across the Arctic, contributing 60% on average of counted cells. Two pennate colony-forming diatom species, Nitzschia frigida and Fragilariopsis cylindrus, dominated at all times, but solitary diatom species were also frequently encountered, e.g., Cylindrotheca closterium and Navicula directa. Multiyear sea ice contained 39% more diatom species than first-year ice (FYI) and showed a relatively even distribution along entire sea-ice cores. The decrease in MYI over the last decades explained the previously reported decreases in sea-ice protist diversity. Our results also indicate that up to 75% of diatom species are incorporated into FYI from the surrounding sea ice and the water column within a few months after the initial formation of the ice, while the remaining 25% are incorporated during ice drift. Thus, changing freeze-up scenarios, as currently witnessed in the Central Arctic, might result in long-term changes of the biodiversity of sea-ice protists in this region.
Nanocellulose: From Fundamentals to Advanced Applications

Over the past few years, nanocellulose (NC), cellulose in the form of nanostructures, has been proved to be one of the most prominent green materials of modern times. NC materials have gained growing interests owing to their attractive and excellent characteristics such as abundance, high aspect ratio, better mechanical properties, renewability, and biocompatibility. The abundant hydroxyl functional groups allow a wide range of functionalizations via chemical reactions, leading to developing various materials with tunable features. In this review, recent advances in the preparation, modification, and emerging application of nanocellulose, especially cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), are described and discussed based on the analysis of the latest investigations (particularly for the reports of the past 3 years). We start with a concise background of cellulose, its structural organization as well as the nomenclature of cellulose nanomaterials for beginners in this field. Then, different experimental procedures for the production of nanocelluloses, their properties, and functionalization approaches were elaborated. Furthermore, a number of recent and emerging uses of nanocellulose in nanocomposites, Pickering emulsifiers, wood adhesives, wastewater treatment, as well as in new evolving biomedical applications are presented. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of NC-based emerging materials are discussed.
Geographical Variation in Medication Prescriptions: A Multiregional Drug-Utilization Study

Background Studies have emphasized the importance of geographical factors and general practitioner (GP) characteristics in influencing drug prescriptions. Objectives To: (i) ascertain the prevalence rate (PR) of use of drugs in six therapeutic categories used for chronic conditions; (ii) assess how geographical characteristics and GP characteristics may influence drug prescribing. Methods This study is part of the EDU.RE. DRUG Project, a national collaborative project founded by Italian Medicine Agency (AIFA). Cross-sectional analyses were undertaken employing the pharmacy-claim databases of four local health units (LHUs) located in two Italian regions: Lombardy and Campania. Six drug categories were evaluated: proton-pump inhibitors; antibiotics; respiratory-system drugs; statins; agents acting on the renin−angiotensin system; psychoanaleptic drugs. The PR was estimated according to drug categories at the LHU level. A linear multivariate regression analysis was undertaken to evaluate the association between the PR and geographical area, age and sex of GPs, number of patients, and percentage of patients aged >65 per GP. Results LHUs in Campania showed a PR that was significantly higher than that in Lombardy. Antibiotics showed the highest PR in all the LHUs assessed, ranging from 32.5% in Lecco (Lombardy) to 59.7% in Naples-2 (Campania). Multivariate linear regression analysis confirmed the association of the PR with geographical area for all drug categories. Being located in Campania increased the possibility of receiving a drug prescription from the categories considered, with estimates more marked for antibiotics, proton-pump-inhibitors, and respiratory-system drugs. Conclusions This study provides information about the PR of medications used for treating common and costly conditions in Italy and highlighted a significant geographical variation. These insights could help to develop area-specific strategies to optimize prescribing behavior.
Meso–Macro Coupled Analysis of Pressure-Dependent Friction of Rubber

To deepen the understanding of the frictional sliding phenomena of rough surfaces, advances are required in numerical analysis methods at various spatial scales. In this study, to examine the microscopic behavior of a rough asperity contact corresponding to a bulk contact on the macroscopic scale, a loop-type meso–macro coupled analysis scheme is proposed. A mesoscale numerical model and a macroscopic friction model are required for the proposed multi-scale analysis. A friction model was adopted based on the multipoint contact model for the mesoscale model, and the pressure- and state-dependent elastoplastic analogy friction model was used for the macroscale model. In the proposed meso–macro coupled analysis, the parameter set for the elastoplastic analogy friction model was first identified via a numerical friction test using the mesoscale multipoint contact model assuming various conditions. Then, a macroscale finite element analysis incorporating the elastoplastic analogy friction model was performed for the macroscopic analysis of contact between a rough rubber hemisphere and a smooth plate. Here, the information from the mesoscale rough surfaces were reflected in the macroscale finite element analysis. Finally, a mesoscale localization analysis was performed in which the macroscopic histories of several typical locations were obtained by finite element analysis and used as boundary conditions for the mesoscale model. It is suggested that the microscopic sliding process of rough surfaces represented by the finite element analysis can be examined using the proposed method.
Harmonization of Brain Diffusion MRI: Concepts and Methods

MRI diffusion data suffers from significant inter- and intra-site variability, which hinders multi-site and/or longitudinal diffusion studies. This variability may arise from a range of factors, such as hardware, reconstruction algorithms and acquisition settings. To allow a reliable comparison and joint analysis of diffusion data across sites and over time, there is a clear need for robust data harmonization methods. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of diffusion data harmonization concepts and methods, and their limitations. Overall, the methods for the harmonization of multi-site diffusion images can be categorized in two main groups: diffusion parametric map harmonization (DPMH) and diffusion weighted image harmonization (DWIH). Whereas DPMH harmonizes the diffusion parametric maps (e.g., FA, MD, and MK), DWIH harmonizes the diffusion-weighted images. Defining a gold standard harmonization technique for dMRI data is still an ongoing challenge. Nevertheless, in this paper we provide two classification tools, namely a feature table and a flowchart, which aim to guide the readers in selecting an appropriate harmonization method for their study.
Novel Nomograms Individually Predicting Overall Survival of Non-metastatic Colon Cancer Patients

Background: This study aimed to develop an effective prognostic nomogram for predicting non-metastatic colon cancer. Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program was utilized to analyze patients who underwent surgical therapy (25,350 for training, 10,860 for validation). Nomograms were created depending upon multivariate analysis in the training cohort and were compared to current American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) classifications. Areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUCs), Akaike's information criterions (AICs), and calibration curves were used. The clinical benefit was measured using decision curve analyses (DCAs). The validation cohort was used to validate the results. Results: Nomogram 1 included age, gender, histological grade, T stage, number of retrieved lymph nodes, tumor size, and N stage. Nomogram 2 included age, gender, histological grade, T stage, number of retrieved lymph nodes, tumor size, and number of positive lymph nodes. The prognostic discrimination of nomogram 1 (AUC, 0.729, 95% CI, 0.723–0.736) was better than that of nomogram 2 (AUC, 0.704, 95% CI, 0.698–0.710, p < 0.001) in five-year overall survival in the training cohort. Nomogram 1 (AIC, 137,319) also showed superior model-fitting compared to nomogram 2 (AIC, 137,453). Similarity, nomogram 1 was better than the AJCC 6th and 8th TNM classifications. DCA revealed that nomogram 1 had a superior net benefit than other models. These findings were validated using the validation cohort. Conclusions: The proposed nomogram 1 was a better prognostic prediction model with better discrimination and superior model-fitting for patients with non-metastatic colon cancer, which might prove to be clinically helpful.
Brain-based limitations in attention and secondary task engagement during high-fidelity driving simulation among young adults

Distracted driving remains a leading factor in fatal motor vehicle crashes, particularly in young drivers. Due to ongoing neuromaturation, attention capabilities are changing and improving throughout young adulthood. Here, we sought to bridge neuroscience with driving simulation by evaluating the effects of driving on attention processing through a selective auditory attention task. Participants (18–25 years old) engaged in an auditory attention task during LOAD (driving a high-fidelity simulator) and No-LOAD conditions (sitting in the parked simulator). For the auditory task, participants responded to a target auditory tone in a target ear. The event-related potential components, collected from frontal and posterior regions, P2 and P3, were used to evaluate attention processing across LOAD and No-LOAD conditions for attended and unattended stimuli. Data from 24 participants were evaluated in repeated measures ANOVAs, considering interactions between load and attention conditions for the P2 and P3 components of the cortical region. We observed a significant difference between response to attended and unattended stimuli for posterior P2 and P3 responses at the frontal and posterior midline sites. Comparing LOAD and No-LOAD conditions, there was a significant difference for P2 response at the posterior site and P3 response at the frontal site. A significant interaction between load and attended stimuli was found for P3 response at the posterior site. These data document differences in neural processing of auditory stimuli during high-fidelity simulated driving versus sitting parked in the simulator. Findings suggest the cognitive load of driving affects auditory attention.
Inheritance of aluminium tolerance in Phalaris aquatica L

The inheritance of aluminium tolerance in P. aquatica was investigated in solution culture, and correlations with other screening systems were determined. In the Israeli cultivar, Noy, the difference between the highly sensitive and moderately tolerant classes, which had been resolved in earlier experiments, can be largely explained by a two-gene hypothesis in which tolerance requires at least one dominant allele at each locus. Modifiers of these genes may also be involved. Assuming that the extensive continuous variation within the moderately tolerant class is polygenic, a quantitative inheritance study was conducted in a population of half-sib families in a diverse breeding population, the sensitive class being eliminated on performance in solution. Heritability estimates for relative root extension in solution ranged from 0.48 to 0.75, and estimated response to selection was high. However, heritability estimates for shoot growth of the same plants on a field site high in aluminium were low and non-significant (0.07-0.26). The highest estimate of genetic correlation between solution and field was not significant at 0.56. Variability in soil aluminium concentrations appeared to be a major cause of these low values. Prior screening of the population using a haematoxylin root-staining procedure gave a significant genetic correlation with solution responses (0.48). However, the technique requires further development for screening phalaris. In breeding for improved tolerance, the highly sensitive class could be eliminated by test crossing potential parents with homozygous sensitive plants. Several generations of selection could then be imposed, which, on the basis of genetic parameters estimated from solution screening, should yield a population appreciably more aluminium-tolerant than existing cultivars.
Identification of the Ligand Binding Site for the Integrin α9β1 in the Third Fibronectin Type III Repeat of Tenascin-C*

The integrin α9 subunit forms a single heterodimer, α9β1 that mediates cell adhesion to a site within the third fibronectin type III repeat of tenascin-C (TNfn3). In contrast to at least 3 other integrins that bind to this region of tenascin-C, α9β1 does not recognize the common integrin recognition motif, Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD). In this report, we have used substitution mutagenesis to identify a unique ligand recognition sequence in TNfn3. We introduced mutations substituting alanine for each of the acidic residues in or adjacent to each of the exposed loops predicted from the solved crystal structure. Most of these mutations had little or no effect on adhesion of α9-transfected SW480 colon carcinoma cells, but mutations of either of two acidic residues in the B-C loop region markedly reduced attachment of these cells. In contrast, cells expressing the integrin αvβ3, previously reported to bind to the RGD sequence in the adjacent F-G loop, attached to all mutant fragments except one in which the RGD site was mutated to RAA. The peptide, AEIDGIEL, based on the sequence of human tenascin-C in this region blocked the binding of α9-transfected cells, but not β3-transfected cells to wild type TNfn3. This sequence contains a tripeptide, IDG, homologous to the sequences LDV, IDA, and LDA in fibronectin and IDS in VCAM-1 recognized by the closely related integrin α4β1. These findings support the idea that this tripeptide motif serves as a ligand binding site for the α4/α9 subfamily of integrins.
TNF‐α increases ubiquitin‐conjugating activity in skeletal muscle by up‐regulating UbcH2/E220k

In some inflammatory diseases, TNF‐α is thought to stimulate muscle catabolism via an NF‐κB‐dependent process that increases ubiquitin conjugation to muscle proteins. The transcriptional mechanism of this response has not been determined. Here we studied the potential role of UbcH2, a ubiquitin carrier protein and homologue of murine E220k. We find that UbcH2 is constitutively expressed by human skeletal and cardiac muscles, murine limb muscle, and cultured myotubes. TNF‐α stimulates UbcH2 expression in mouse limb muscles in vivo and in cultured myotubes. The UbcH2 promoter region contains a functional NF‐κB binding site;NF‐κB binding to this sequence is increased by TNF‐α stimulation. A dominant negative inhibitor of NF‐κB activation blocks both UbcH2 up‐regulation and the increase in ubiquitin‐conjugating activity stimulated by TNF‐α. In extracts from TNF‐α‐treated myotubes, ubiquitin‐conjugating activity is limited by UbcH2 availability; activity is inhibited by an antiserum to UbcH2 or a dominant negative mutant of UbcH2 and is enhanced by wild‐type UbcH2. Thus, UbcH2 up‐regulation is a novel response to TNF‐α/NF‐κB signaling in skeletal muscle that appears to be essential for the increased ubiquitin conjugation induced by this cytokine. —Y. ‐P.Li, S. H.Lecker, Y.Chen, I. D.Waddell, A. L.Goldberg, M. B.Reid TNF‐α increases ubiquitin‐conjugating activity in skeletal muscle by up‐regulating UbcH2/E220k. FASEB J. 17, 1048–1057 (2003)
An adaptive correlation based video data mining using machine learning

With the immense growth in the multimedia contents for education and other purposes, the availability of the video contents has also increased Nevertheless, the retrieval of the content is always a challenge. The identification of two video contents based on internal content similarity highly depends on extraction of key frames and that makes the process highly time complex. In the recent time, many of research attempts have tried to approach this problem with the intention to reduce the time complexity using various methods such as video to text conversion and further analysing both extracted text similarity analysis. Regardless to mention, this strategy is again language dependent and criticised for various reasons like local language dependencies and language paraphrase dependencies. Henceforth, this work approaches the problem with a different dimension with reduction possibilities of the video key frames using adaptive similarity. The proposed method analyses the key frames extracted from the library content and from the search video data based on various parameters and reduces the key frames using adaptive similarity. Also, this work uses machine learning and parallel programming algorithms to reduce the time complexity to a greater extend. The final outcome of this work is a reduced time complex algorithm for video data-based search to video content retrieval. The work demonstrates a nearly 50% reduction in the key frame without losing information with nearly 70% reduction in time complexity and 100% accuracy on search results.
TREC-COVID: rationale and structure of an information retrieval shared task for COVID-19

Abstract TREC-COVID is an information retrieval (IR) shared task initiated to support clinicians and clinical research during the COVID-19 pandemic. IR for pandemics breaks many normal assumptions, which can be seen by examining 9 important basic IR research questions related to pandemic situations. TREC-COVID differs from traditional IR shared task evaluations with special considerations for the expected users, IR modality considerations, topic development, participant requirements, assessment process, relevance criteria, evaluation metrics, iteration process, projected timeline, and the implications of data use as a post-task test collection. This article describes how all these were addressed for the particular requirements of developing IR systems under a pandemic situation. Finally, initial participation numbers are also provided, which demonstrate the tremendous interest the IR community has in this effort.