Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Establishing of apoptosis model of cultured rabbit's retinal pigment epithelium cells in vitro

【Objective】To investigate the method of establishing the apoptosis model of cultured rabbit′s retinal pigment epithelium(RPE) cells in vitro. 【Methods】Primary cultured and subcultured rabbit′s retinal pigment epithelium(RPE) cells were treated with indomethacin(IN) by concentration of 0,100,200,400,600,800 and 1 000 μmol/L for 24 h.Quantitative analysis of apoptotic rRPE cells was assessed by MTT method. 【Results】The rRPE OD of≥200 μmol/L IN was 0.2094±0.0113,0.0799±0.0809,0.0685±0.0746,0.0538±0.0512 and 0.0501±0.0616 respectively and the OD of control sroup(0 μmol/L IN)was 0.3012±0.0395. 【Conclusion】Indomethacin could induce apoptosis of cutured rRPE cells.
Using emergency department syndromic surveillance to investigate the impact of a national vaccination program: A retrospective observational study

Background Rotavirus infection is a common cause of gastroenteritis in children worldwide, with a high mortality burden in developing countries, particularly during the first two years of life. Rotavirus vaccination was introduced into the United Kingdom childhood vaccination schedule in July 2013, with high coverage (>90%) achieved by June 2016. We used an emergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance system to assess the impact of the rotavirus vaccination programme, specifically through the demonstration of any immediate and continuing impact on ED gastroenteritis visits in England. Methods This retrospective, observational study used syndromic surveillance data collected from 3 EDs in the two years before (July 2011—June 2013) and 3 years post (July 2013—June 2016) introduction of rotavirus vaccination. The weekly levels of ED visits for gastroenteritis (by age group and in total) during the period before rotavirus vaccination was first described alongside the findings of laboratory surveillance of rotavirus during the same period. An interrupted time-series analysis was then performed to demonstrate the impact of rotavirus vaccination introduction on gastroenteritis ED visit levels. Results During the two years before vaccine introduction ED visits for gastroenteritis in total and for the 0–4 years age group were seen to rise and fall in line with the seasonal rotavirus increases reported by laboratory surveillance. ED gastroenteritis visits by young children were lower in the three years following introduction of rotavirus vaccination (reduced from 8% of visits to 6% of visits). These attendance levels in young children (0-4years) remained higher than in older age groups, however the previously large seasonal increases in children were greatly reduced, from peaks of 16% to 3–10% of ED visits per week. Conclusions ED syndromic surveillance demonstrated a reduction in gastroenteritis visits following rotavirus vaccine introduction. This work establishes ED syndromic surveillance as a platform for rapid impact assessment of future vaccine programmes.
Chronic toxicity of 50 metals to Ceriodaphnia dubia

Metals are essential elements for human life but may cause disorders when exposure is excessive. Previously, we reported on the acute toxicity of 50 metals; however, the chronic toxicity data of some metals are not available. Therefore, we conducted chronic toxicity tests to determine the effects of 50 metals on the water flea, Ceriodaphnia dubia. The IC20 of 20 metals (Be, Sc, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Ru, Ag, Cd, In, Te, W, Os, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl and Pb) were <100 μg/L; nine metals (Al, V, As, Se, Zr, Nb, Rh, Sb and Bi) were 100 ≤ IC20 < 1000 μg/L; 16 metals (Li, Mg, K, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ga, Ge, Rb, Sr, Mo, Sn, Cs, Ba, Re and Ir) were 1000 ≤ IC20 ≤ 100 000 μg/L; and two metals (Na and Ca) were >100 000 μg/L. Three metals (Pd, Hf and Ta) did not show IC20 at the upper limit of respective aqueous solubility, and IC20s were not obtained. The maximum test concentrations (almost aqueous solubility) of Pd, Hf and Ta were 83, 2400 and 5.3 μg/L, respectively. These data show the high correlation between our IC50s for C. dubia and those for Dahpnia magna published previously. The IC50s of 47 metals were not correlated with electronegativity, first ionization energy, atomic weight, atomic number, covalent radius, atomic radius or ionic radius.
11. Effect of Heat Stress on Metabolic Disorders Prevalence Risk and Milk Production in Holstein Cows in Croatia

Abstract The objectives were to evaluate the effect of heat stress on daily milk traits (yield, fat and protein content, F/P ratio) as well as to determine the differences in metabolic disorders (acidosis, ketosis) prevalence risk regarding the heat stress conditions. For statistical analysis 1,187,781 test-day records of milk, fat, and protein from 89,030 Holsteins reared on 6,388 farms provided by the Croatian Agricultural Agency, were used. Based on the results it could be concluded that heat stress condition causes decline of daily milk yield and components as well as increase of acidosis risk regardless of the lactation stage and increase of ketosis risk during mid-lactation. The research results point out that the test-day records and environmental measurements collected in regular milk recording could be used as a tool for dairy herd monitoring enabling the early detection of unfavourable environmental conditions and the subclinical disorders. Since environmental conditions significantly affect daily milk yield and components, and consequently F/P ratio, further research with the purpose of detailed formulation of metabolic disease risk in relation to the environmental conditions is needed.
Azithromycin in the treatment of rectogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infections: end of an era?

ABSTRACT Introduction Azithromycin was recommended as the first-line therapeutic regimen for treatment of genital infections in men and women by the Centers for Disease Control in 1998. A series of studies of azithromycin for treatment of rectal chlamydial infection in men who have sex with men (MSM) found that azithromycin was significantly less effective than doxycycline. Areas covered Literature on treatment of rectal C. trachomatis from 2000 through May 2020 was searched using PubMed. Retrospective and observational studies were identified documenting the frequency and treatment of rectal chlamydial infection in MSM, heterosexual men and women that reported lower efficacy of single-dose azithromycin compared to doxycycline. Literature on possible reasons for the lower efficacy were also reviewed including studies of antibiotic resistance, impact of organism load, and persistent infection in rectal specimens and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of azithromycin in rectal tissue. Expert opinion The available data suggests that single-dose azithromycin is not as effective as azithromycin for the treatment of rectal infection in MSM and women. Most of these data have been retrospective or from observational studies. Final recommendations will depend on the outcome of prospective, randomized, treatment studies. We may also need to examine other dosage regimens for azithromycin.
Inner bark as a crucial tissue for non-structural carbohydrate storage across three tropical woody plant communities.

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are crucial for forest resilience, but little is known regarding the role of bark in NSC storage. However, bark's abundance in woody stems and its large living fraction make it potentially key for NSC storage. We quantified total NSC, soluble sugar (SS), and starch concentrations in the mostly living region of bark (inner bark, IB), and sapwood of twigs, trunks, and roots of 45 woody species from three contrasting tropical climates spanning global extremes of bark diversity and wide phylogenetic diversity. NSC concentrations were similar (total NSC, starch) or higher (SS) in IB than wood, with concentrations covarying strongly. NSC concentrations varied widely across organs and species within communities and were not significantly affected by climate, leaf habit, or the presence of photosynthetic bark. Starch concentration tended to increase with density, but only in wood. IB contributed substantially to NSC storage, accounting for 17-36% of total NSC, 23-47% of SS, and 15-33% of starch pools. Further examination of the drivers of variation in IB NSC concentration and taking into account the substantial contribution of IB to NSC pools will be crucial to understand the role of storage in plant environmental adaptation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Effect of topical marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) on atopic dermatitis in children: A pilot double‐blind active‐controlled clinical trial of an in‐silico‐analyzed phytomedicine

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic relapsing eczematous skin disease, which primarily affects infants and young children. Due to the side effects of commonly used drugs for its treatment, the development of safer therapeutic strategies is needed. There are many reports on the topical use of marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) for a range of skin diseases in Persian medicine. The main aim of the present investigation was evaluating the efficacy of marshmallow in children with mild‐to‐moderate atopic dermatitis. Another aim of the study was screening the anti‐allergic and anti‐inflammatory potential of phytocomponents against target proteins, including TNF‐alpha, IL6, and PDEs A, B, and D enzymes with PDB IDs: 2AZ5, 1P9M, 3I8V, 4KP6, and 1Y2K, respectively, along with their respective standard ligands using computational docking analysis. A pilot clinical trial was designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of Althaea officinalis in children with AD. The diagnosis of AD was made according to the criteria of Hanifin and Rajka. Children between 3 months and 12 years old were participated in this trial and randomly allocated into two parallel intervention and control groups. The intervention group used Althaea officinalis 1% ointment while the positive control group used Hydrocortisone 1% ointment twice a day for a week and after that, three times per week for a period of 3 weeks. The severity of AD was measured using the SCORAD score at the end of each assessment visits. A total number of 22 patients completed the study. A significant decrease of the SCORAD score was observed in both groups. At the end of the study, this score change, which indicates the improvement of the patients was significantly higher in the intervention group in comparison to the baseline (p‐value = .015) and week 1 (p‐value = .018). In the docking analysis of the study, 33 phytochemical compounds were identified, which were docked into the active site of IL6, TNF‐alpha, and human PDE4 isoenzymes. Affinity toward the selected enzymes was significantly higher in glycosylated compounds. The results of this pilot study showed that the efficacy of Althaea officinalis 1% ointment in a decrease of disease severity is more than Hydrocortisone 1% in children with AD. However, further studies are needed to confirm this finding. Moreover, the docking analysis revealed that the inhibitory activity of compounds with free hydroxyl groups such as glycosylated compounds was better than others, probably due to the hydrogen bond interaction of hydroxyl groups of the ligands with the enzymes.
Prolonged (≥ 24 hours) Normothermic (≥ 32 °C) Ex Vivo Organ Perfusion: Lessons From the Literature.

For two centuries, researchers have studied ex vivo perfusion intending to preserve the physiologic function of isolated organs. If it were indeed possible to maintain ex vivo organ viability for days, transplantation could become an elective operation with clinicians methodically surveilling and reconditioning allografts before surgery. To this day, experimental reports of successfully prolonged (≥ 24 hours) organ perfusion are rare and have not translated into clinical practice. In order to identify the crucial factors necessary for successful perfusion, this review summarizes the history of prolonged normothermic ex vivo organ perfusion. By examining successful techniques and protocols used, this review outlines the essential elements of successful perfusion, limitations of current perfusion systems, and areas where further research in preservation science is required.
Physiological and Biochemical Mechanism of Mycorrhizal Fungi Improving the Resistance of Poplar to Canker Disease

This study investigated the changes of biochemical index and the proteins associated with disease resistance after inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) of Glomus mosseae and ectomycorrhizal fungi(ECMF) of Boletus luridus on the growth of healthy poplar 107(Populus×euramericana cv.'74/76') and the poplar attacked by canker disease.The possible mechanism of disease resistance induced by mycorrhizal fungi was primarily discussed.The results indicated that both AMF and ECMF significantly decreased the index and incidence of poplar canker disease and increased the content of chlorophyll,bark soluble protein content and root activity.In addition,both AMF and ECMF can decrease the content of malonaldehyde(MDA) and increase the free proline contents.The activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD) and phenylalnine ammonialyase(PAL) in diseased sites.AMF significantly induced the boost of activity of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in diseased sites,but ECMF just had a little effect.The index related with resisting canker disease among AMF was superior to ECMF,but both the incidence and disease index of canker disease of AMF were lower than ECMF,the effect of AMF was better when inoculating the poplar seedlings.It is clear that mycorrhizal fungi can improve the absorption of nutrient and growth of poplar when attacked by canker pathogen,the activity of protective enzyme and resistant compound were increased in the mycorrhizal poplar seedlings,producing large amount of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase to induce secondary defending reaction of poplar.Consequently,mycorrhizal fungi can remedy the harm of disease and improve the disease resistance of poplar.
Identification of Escherichia coli Host Genes That Influence the Bacteriophage Lambda (λ) T4rII Exclusion (Rex) Phenotype

Despite its historic role in evolving our understanding of modern molecular genetics, the mechanism governing the bacteriophage T4rII exclusion (Rex) phenotype has remained a mystery for over six decades. The Rex system is thought. The T4rII exclusion (Rex) phenotype is the inability of T4rII mutant bacteriophage to propagate in hosts (Escherichia coli) lysogenized by bacteriophage lambda (λ). The Rex phenotype, triggered by T4rII infection of a rex+ λ lysogen, results in rapid membrane depolarization imposing a harsh cellular environment that resembles stationary phase. Rex “activation” has been proposed as an altruistic cell death system to protect the λ prophage and its host from T4rII superinfection. Although well studied for over 60 years, the mechanism behind Rex still remains unclear. We have identified key nonessential genes involved in this enigmatic exclusion system by examining T4rII infection across a collection of rex+ single-gene knockouts. We further developed a system for rapid, one-step isolation of host mutations that could attenuate/abrogate the Rex phenotype. For the first time, we identified host mutations that influence Rex activity and rex+ host sensitivity to T4rII infection. Among others, notable genes include tolA, ompA, ompF, ompW, ompX, ompT, lpp, mglC, and rpoS. They are critical players in cellular osmotic balance and are part of the stationary phase and/or membrane distress regulons. Based on these findings, we propose a new model that connects Rex to the σS, σE regulons and key membrane proteins.
Yeast Strain and Nitrogen Supplementation: Dynamics of Volatile Ester Production in Chardonnay Juice Fermentations

Volatile esters are a major by-product in the yeast fermentation of grape juice and can significantly impact wine flavor. Seven strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were monitored for their production of seven important volatile esters during fermentation of Chardonnay juice. Significant differences were observed in the rate of ester accumulation and the maximum and final ester concentrations among the wines made with the different yeast strains. Three of these strains, a “low,” “medium,” and high” ester producer, were further studied to determine the effects of different types of nitrogen additions on ester production. Chardonnay juice was supplemented with either diammonium phosphate (DAP), a common nutrient additive in the wine industry, or amino acids, and the ester production was monitored in the same manner as for the yeast strain experiment. The kinetics of ester formation for each nitrogen treatment were dependent upon yeast strain (in our experiment only one strain responded to nitrogen addition), and the DAP addition resulted in more significant increases in volatile esters than did the amino acid addition. From measurements of ammonium and amino acid utilization, our results could indicate that in this study, most of the volatile esters were not formed from the degradation of the added amino acids, but rather, at least in large part, by other biosynthetic mechanisms.
GYS1 or PPP1R3C deficiency rescues murine adult polyglucosan body disease

Adult polyglucosan body disease (APBD) is an adult‐onset neurological variant of glycogen storage disease type IV. APBD is caused by recessive mutations in the glycogen branching enzyme gene, and the consequent accumulation of poorly branched glycogen aggregates called polyglucosan bodies in the nervous system. There are presently no treatments for APBD. Here, we test whether downregulation of glycogen synthesis is therapeutic in a mouse model of the disease.
Development of MicroRNA-Based Therapeutics for Vascular Disease.

Posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression is an important mechanism by which diverse physiological processes are modulated, including cell differentiation, growth, proliferation, and apoptosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short, highly conserved, noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression through interaction with the 3′ untranslated region of target mRNA (messenger RNA). 1 These posttranscriptional regulators have become a major focus of molecular biology research over the past 15 years because of the pivotal roles miRNAs play in virtually all aspects of development and disease. MiRNAs recognize mRNA targets mainly by the miRNA seed sequence, typically nucleotides 2 to 8 of the 5′ end. However, an important feature of miRNA-mediated gene regulation is that mismatches in the 3′ sequence allow miRNAs to potentially target hundreds or even thousands of genes. This multitargeting feature opens up the possibility of one miRNA having the capability to regulate entire biological pathways, which, given that human disease often involves deregulation of multiple genes, has led to considerable interest in miRNAs as therapeutic targets. For example, in 2018, nearly 3500 studies were published that had potential implications for miRNA-based therapies.2 However, despite this considerable volume of studies, questions remain as to the actual clinical application of miRNA-based drugs and how far they truly are from the patients.
Applying a values‐based decision process to facilitate comanagement of threatened species in Aotearoa New Zealand

Ko koe ki tēnā, ko ahau ki tēnai kīwai o te kete (you at that, and I at this handle of the basket). This Māori (New Zealanders of indigenous descent) saying conveys the principle of cooperation—we achieve more through working together, rather than separately. Despite decades of calls to rectify cultural imbalance in conservation, threatened species management still relies overwhelmingly on ideas from Western science and on top‐down implementation. Values‐based approaches to decision making can be used to integrate indigenous peoples’ values into species conservation in a more meaningful way. We used such a values‐based method, structured decision making, to develop comanagement of pekapeka (Mystacina tuberculata) (short‐tailed bat) and tara iti (Sternula nereis davisae) (Fairy Tern) between Māori and Pākehā (New Zealanders of European descent). We implemented this framework in a series of workshops in which facilitated discussions were used to gather expert knowledge to predict outcomes and make management recommendations. For both species, stakeholders clearly stated their values as fundamental objectives from the start, which allowed alternative strategies to be devised that naturally addressed their diverse values, including mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge and perspectives). On this shared basis, all partners willingly engaged in the process, and decisions were largely agreed to by all. Most expectations of conflicts between values of Western science and Māori culture were unfounded. Where required, positive compromises were made by jointly developing alternative strategies. The values‐based process successfully taha wairua taha tangata (brought both worlds together to achieve the objective) through codeveloped recovery strategies. This approach challenges the traditional model of scientists first preparing management plans focused on biological objectives, then consulting indigenous groups for approval. We recommend values‐based approaches, such as structured decision making, as powerful methods for development of comanagement conservation plans between different peoples.
Biomechanical evaluation of unilateral subcondylar fracture of the mandible on the varying materials: A finite element analysis

Fixation materials used in the surgical treatment of subcondylar fractures contribute to successful clinical outcomes. In this study, we simulated the mechanical properties of four fixation materials [titanium (Ti), magnesium alloy (Mg alloy), poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), and hydroxyapatite/poly-L-lactide (HA-PLLA)] in a finite-element analysis model of subcondylar fracture. Two four-hole plates were fixed on the anterior and posterior surfaces of the subcondyle of the mandible. In the simulation model of a subcondylar fracture, we evaluated the stress distribution and mechanical deformation of fixation materials. The stress distribution conspicuously appeared on the condylar neck of the non-fractured side and the center of the anterior plate for all materials. More stress distribution to the biologic component appeared with HA-PLLA than with Ti or Mg alloy, but its effects were less prominent than that of PLLA. The largest deformation was observed with PLLA, followed by HA-PLLA, Mg alloy, and Ti. The results of the present study imply the clinical potential of the HA-PLLA fixation material for open reduction of subcondylar fractures.