Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products: Digestion, Metabolism and Modulation of Gut Microbial Ecology

The formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in foods is accelerated with heat treatment, particularly within foods that are cooked at high temperatures for long periods of time using dry heat. The modern processed diet is replete with AGEs, and excessive AGE consumption is thought to be associated with a number of negative health effects. Many dietary AGEs have high molecular weight and are not absorbed in the intestine, and instead pass through to the colon, where they are available for metabolism by the colonic bacteria. Recent studies have been conducted to explore the effects of AGEs on the composition of the gut microbiota as well as the production of beneficial microbial metabolites, in particular, short-chain fatty acids. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the impact of dietary AGEs on gut microbiota reshaping, which may be due, in part, to the formation of alternate compounds during the thermal treatment of foods. This review summarises the current evidence regarding dietary sources of AGEs, their gastrointestinal absorption and role in gut microbiota reshaping, provides a brief overview of the health implications of dietary AGEs and highlights knowledge gaps and avenues for future study.
Sjögren's Syndrome: More Than Just Dry Eye

Purpose: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a common autoimmune disease affecting about four million Americans. Although approximately 1 in 10 patients with clinically-significant aqueous deficient dry eye has underlying SS, widespread underappreciation of SS leads to significant underdiagnosis, delays in diagnosis, and consequent morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this article is to illustrate that in addition to dry eye, SS can cause serious, vision-threatening extraglandular ocular manifestations. Methods: We conducted a narrative review of studies that have examined the dry eye and extraglandular ocular complications of SS. Results: SS-related dry eye is a progressive condition with major negative impact on the quality-of-life of afflicted patients, not only due to symptoms of ocular discomfort but also visual dysfunction. In addition, SS can lead to corneal melt/perforation, uveitis, scleritis, retinal vasculitis, and optic neuritis. A major problem with currently-available SS disease activity measurement instruments is the lack of domains evaluating dry eye-related visual dysfunction. For example, one of the most commonly-used instruments for assessing patient symptoms in SS (the EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Patient Reported Index [ESSPRI]) only includes one item (out of three) that addresses the severity of overall dryness, without mention of dry eye symptoms or vision-related quality-of-life. Similarly, no extraglandular ocular complications are included in currently-available SS disease activity instruments (e.g., the EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index [ESSDAI]). Conclusions: There needs to be a paradigm shift in which eye care providers and rheumatologists become more familiar with various SS-related extraglandular ocular manifestations. Existing disease activity measurement instruments must incorporate dry eye symptoms, particularly those related to visual dysfunction. An evidence-based screening algorithm for determining which patients with dry eye should be tested for underlying SS may be particularly helpful in preventing delays in diagnosis.
Praseodymium Vanadate-Decorated Sulfur-Doped Carbon Nitride Hybrid Nanocomposite: The Role of a Synergistic Electrocatalyst for the Detection of Metronidazole.

The construction of efficient and superior nanostructured materials for the precise determination of contaminants that are hazardous to the environment has gained significant attention by the scientific community. In this regard, we fabricated a nanocomposite consisting of praseodymium vanadate (PrVO4; PrV) anchored to sulfur-doped carbon nitride (PrV/SCN) and applied it to the electrochemical detection of the antibiotic drug metronidazole (MTZ). The structural and crystalline features of the as-prepared PrV/SCN nanocomposite were characterized by various analytical and spectroscopic methods. More distinctly, the PrV/SCN nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) exhibits an outstanding linear range (0.001-2444 μM), high sensitivity (1.386 μA/μM cm2), low detection limit (0.8 nM), good reproducibility, and strong anti-interference ability. Notably, the PrV/SCN sensor can determine MTZ in spiked urine and water samples with high recoveries, suggesting its feasibility for real-time applications. Our findings establish PrV/SCN as a robust and promising platform for electrochemical detection. This promotes innovative design for the synthesis of novel functional nanocomposites.
Predicting the functional and structural consequences of nsSNPs in human methionine synthase gene using computational tools

ABSTRACT Methionine synthase encoded by the MTR gene is one of the key enzymes involved in the SAM (S- Adenosyl Methionine) cycle catalyzing the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Methionine plays an important role in the DNA, RNA, protein, phospholipids, and neurotransmitters methylation. It also maintains serum homocysteine level and indirectly regulates de novo nucleotide synthesis and repair. The current study predicted the functional consequences of nsSNPs in human MTR gene using SIFT, PolyPhen2, PROVEAN, SNAP2, PMut, nsSNPAnalyzer, PhD-SNP, SNPs&GO, I-Mutant, MuPro, and iPTREE-STAB. The PTM sites within the protein were predicted using ModPred and the phylogenetic conservations of amino acids & conserved domains of protein were predicted using ConSurf and NCBI conserved domain search tool respectively. The protein 3D structure was generated using SPARKS-X and analyzed using RAMPAGE. Structural deviation was analyzed using TM-Score. STRING analysis was preformed to predict protein-protein interactions. D621G, G682D, V744L, V766E, and R1027W were predicted to be the most deleterious nsSNPs in MTR. R1027 was predicted to having the three PTM sites and G682 & V744 were predicted as highly conserved residues. D621G, G682D, V744L, V776E, and R1027W were predicted to be within conserved domains of methionine synthase. The G682D, V744L, V776E, and R1027W were predicted to alter protein 3D structure. STRING predicted that methionine synthase interacting with 10 different proteins. The present study predicted D621G, G682D, V744L, V766E, and R1027W as functionally and structurally significant nsSNPs in human MTR gene. The present study can provide the significant information for further experimental analysis. Abbreviations: cblG: methylcobalamin deficiency G; MTR: 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate-homocysteine methyl transferase; MS: methionine synthase; SAM: S-adenosyl methionine; nsSNPs: non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms; OMIM: online mendelian inheritance in man; NCBI: national center for biological information; SIFT: sorting intolerant from tolerant; PolyPhen2: polymorphism phenotyping 2; PROVEAN: protein variation effect analyzer; SNPs&GO: single nucleotide polymorphisms and gene ontology; PhD-SNP: predictor of human deleterious single nucleotide polymorphisms; RI: reliability index; PTM: post translational modification; SPDBV: Swiss PDB viewer; PDB: protein data bank; RMSD: root mean square deviation; STRING: search tool for the retrieval of interacting proteins
Incidental covariation learning leading to strategy change

As they approach a traffic light, drivers and pedestrians monitor the color (instructed stimulus feature) and/or the position of the signal (covarying stimulus feature) for response selection. Many studies have pointed out that instructions can effectively determine the stimulus features used for response selection in a task. This leaves open whether and how practice with a correlating alternative stimulus feature can lead to a strategy change from an instructed to a learned variant of performing the task. To address this question, we instructed participants to respond to the position of a stimulus within a reference frame, at the same time, during task performance, an unmentioned second stimulus feature, the color, covaried with stimulus position and allowed the use of an alternative response strategy. To assess the impact of the non-instructed stimulus feature of color on response selection throughout practice, the spatial position of the stimulus was ambiguous on some trials. Group average increases in color usage were based on a mixture of (1) participants who, despite extended practice on the covariation, exclusively relied on the instructed stimulus feature and (2) those who abruptly started to rely heavily on stimulus color to select responses in ambiguous trials. When the instructed and uninstructed feature predicted different actions, choices were still biased by the uninstructed color feature, albeit more weakly. A second experiment showed that the influence of color generalized across frequently and infrequently presented combinations of position and color. Strategy changes were accompanied by awareness in both experiments. The results suggest that incidental covariation learning can trigger spontaneous voluntary strategy change involving a re-configuration of the instructed task set.
Women’s Preferences for Maternal Healthcare Services in Bangladesh: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment

Despite substantial improvements in several maternal health indicators, childbearing and birthing remain a dangerous experience for many women in Bangladesh. This study assessed the relative importance of maternal healthcare service characteristics to Bangladeshi women when choosing a health facility to deliver their babies. The study used a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative methods (expert interviews, focus group discussions) were initially employed to identify and develop the characteristics which most influence a women’s decision making when selecting a maternal health service facility. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was then constructed to elicit women’s preferences. Women were shown choice scenarios representing hypothetical health facilities with nine attributes outlined. The women were then asked to rank the attributes they considered most important in the delivery of their future babies. A Hierarchical Bayes method was used to measure mean utility parameters. A total of 601 women completed the DCE survey. The model demonstrated significant predictive strength for actual facility choice for maternal health services. The most important attributes were the following: consistent access to a female doctor, the availability of branded drugs, respectful provider attitudes, a continuum of maternal healthcare including the availability of a C-section delivery and lesser waiting times. Attended maternal healthcare utilisation rates are low despite the access to primary healthcare facilities. Further implementation of quality improvements in maternal healthcare facilities should be prioritised.
Prospects of Pharmacological Interventions to Organismal Aging

Abstract Intense research in the areas of cellular and organismal aging using diverse laboratory model systems has enriched our knowledge in the processes and the signalling pathways involved in normal and pathological conditions. The field finds itself in a position to take decisive steps towards clinical applications and interventions not only for targeted age-related diseases such as cardiovascular conditions and neurodegeneration but also for the modulation of health span and lifespan of a whole organism. Beyond nutritional interventions such as dietary restriction without malnutrition and various regimes of intermittent fasting, accumulating evidence provides promise for pharmacological interventions. The latter, mimic caloric or dietary restriction, tune cellular and organismal stress responses, affect the metabolism of microbiome with subsequent effects on the host or modulate repair pathways, among others. In this mini review, we summarise some of the evidence on drugs that can alter organismal lifespan and the prospects they might offer for promoting healthspan and delaying age-related diseases.
Prevention and Treatment of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy Induced Oral Mucositis

Background and objectives: Oral mucositis is one of the main adverse events of cancer treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy. It presents as erythema, atrophy or/and ulceration of oral mucosa. It occurs in almost all patients, who receive radiation therapy of the head and neck area and from 20% to 80% of patients who receive chemotherapy. There are few clinical trials in the literature proving any kind of treatment or prevention methods to be effective. Therefore, the aim of this study is to perform systematic review of literature and examine the most effective treatment and prevention methods for chemotherapy or/and radiotherapy induced oral mucositis. Materials and methods: Clinical human trials, published from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2017 in English, were included in this systematic review of literature. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocol was followed while planning, providing objectives, selecting studies and analyzing data for this systematic review. “MEDLINE” and “PubMed Central” databases were used to search eligible clinical trials. Clinical trials researching medication, oral hygiene, cryotherapy or laser therapy efficiency in treatment or/and prevention of oral mucositis were included in this systematic review. Results: Results of the studies used in this systematic review of literature showed that laser therapy, cryotherapy, professional oral hygiene, antimicrobial agents, Royal jelly, L. brevis lozenges, Zync supplementation and Benzydamine are the best treatment or/and prevention methods for oral mucositis. Conclusions: Palifermin, Chlorhexidine, Smecta, Actovegin, Kangfuxin, L. brevis lozenges, Royal jelly, Zync supplement, Benzydamine, cryotherapy, laser therapy and professional oral hygiene may be used in oral mucositis treatment and prevention.
Application of aSi-kVCBCT for Volume Assessment and Dose Estimation: An Offline Adaptive Study for Prostate Radiotherapy

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop a method to estimate the dose using amorphous silicon detector panel cone beam computed tomography (aSi-kVCBCT) for the OARs and targets in prostate radiotherapy and to compare with the actual planned dose. Methods: The aSi-kVCBCT is used widely in radiotherapy to verify the patient position before treatment. The advancement in aSi-kVCBCT combined with adaptive software allows us to verify the dose distribution in daily acquired CBCT images. CBCT images from 10 patients undergoing radical prostate radiotherapy were included in this study. Patients received total dose of 65Gy in 25 fractions using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). aSi-kVCBCT scans were acquired before daily treatment and exported to smart adapt software for image adaptation. The planning CT is adapted to daily aSi-kVCBCT images in terms of HU mapping. The primary VMAT plans were copied on to the adapted planning CT images and dose was calculated using Anisotropic Analytic Algorithm (AAA). The DVH is then used to evaluate the volume changes of organs at risk (OAR), the actual dose received by OARs, CTV and PTV during a single fraction. Results: The normalized volume of the bladder and rectum ranged from 0.70–1.66 and 0.70–1.16 respectively. The cumulative mean Sorensen–Dice coefficient values of bladder and rectum were 0.89±0.04 and 0.79±0.06 respectively. The maximum dose differences for CTV and PTV were 2.5% and -4.7% and minimum were 0.1% and 0.1% respectively. Conclusion: The adapted planning CT obtained from daily imaging using aSi-kVCBCT and SmartAdapt® can be used as an effective tool to estimate the volume changes and dose difference in prostate radiotherapy.
A 3D Macroporous Alginate Graphene Scaffold with an Extremely Slow Release of a Loaded Cargo for In Situ Long‐Term Activation of Dendritic Cells

Ex vivo manipulation of autologous antigen‐presenting cells and their subsequent infusion back into the patient to dictate immune response is one of the promising strategies in cancer immunotherapy. Here, a 3D alginate scaffold embedded with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is proposed as a vaccine delivery platform for in situ long‐term activation of antigen‐presenting dendritic cells (DCs). High surface area and hydrophobic surface of the rGO component of the scaffold provide high loading and a very slow release of a loaded antigen, danger signal, and/or chemoattractant from the scaffold. This approach offers long‐term bioavailability of the loaded cargo inside the scaffold for manipulation of recruited DCs. After mice are subcutaneously vaccinated with the macroporous alginate graphene scaffold (MAGS) loaded with ovalbumin (OVA) and granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF), this scaffold recruits a significantly high number of DCs, which present antigenic information via major histocompatibility complex class I for a long period. Furthermore, an MAGS loaded with OVA, GM‐CSF, and CpG promotes production of activated T cells and memory T cells, leading to the suppression of OVA‐expressing B16 melanoma tumor growth in a prophylactic vaccination experiment. This study indicates that an MAGS can be a strong candidate for long‐term programming and modulating immune cells in vivo.
Mother or Father: Who Is in the Front Line? Mechanisms Underlying the Non-Genomic Transmission of Obesity/Diabetes via the Maternal or the Paternal Line

Extensive epidemiological and experimental evidence have shown that exposure to an adverse intrauterine environment as observed in offspring of pregnancies complicated by obesity or diabetes, can program susceptibility to metabolic, endocrine and cardiovascular disorders later in life. Although most studies have concentrated on the maternal environment, it is also becoming evident that paternal exposure to obesity or diabetes can result in the later development of metabolic disorders in the offspring. Such programmed effects might not be limited to the first directly exposed generation, but could be transmitted to subsequent generations. This suggests the existence of mechanisms by which metabolic changes in parental phenotype are transmissible to offspring. The mechanisms which underpin the transmission of the programmed effects across generations are still unclear. However, epigenetic regulation of transcription has emerged as a strong candidate for mediating the heritability of metabolic diseases. Here, we review the most relevant evidence from human and animal studies showing transmission of programming effects of obesity or diabetes across generations, and the current mechanisms underlying either maternal or paternal influences on the metabolic status of offspring.
Indexing Multivariate Mobile Data through Spatio-Temporal Event Detection and Clustering

Mobile and wearable devices are capable of quantifying user behaviors based on their contextual sensor data. However, few indexing and annotation mechanisms are available, due to difficulties inherent in raw multivariate data types and the relative sparsity of sensor data. These issues have slowed the development of higher level human-centric searching and querying mechanisms. Here, we propose a pipeline of three algorithms. First, we introduce a spatio-temporal event detection algorithm. Then, we introduce a clustering algorithm based on mobile contextual data. Our spatio-temporal clustering approach can be used as an annotation on raw sensor data. It improves information retrieval by reducing the search space and is based on searching only the related clusters. To further improve behavior quantification, the third algorithm identifies contrasting events within a cluster content. Two large real-world smartphone datasets have been used to evaluate our algorithms and demonstrate the utility and resource efficiency of our approach to search.
Scientific societies worry about threat from Plan S.

Nonprofit societies are alarmed that Plan S, an initiative by European funders to make scientific journal articles free to read, may wreak havoc on their publishing revenues and the services they provide. Some estimates project journal income, which depends heavily on subscriptions, could drop by up to a third under different scenarios. Societies worry that an alternative supported by Plan S—allowing grantees to publish in journals that offer immediate open access and charge authors to publish there—will force them to publish more articles to maintain income, potentially lowering quality. The Plan S funders have pledged to work with societies to explore business models that could help them continue publishing and maintain financial viability under the new regimen.
Mycotoxins and Mycotoxin Producing Fungi in Pollen: Review

Due to its divergent chemical composition and good nutritional properties, pollen is not only important as a potential food supplement but also as a good substrate for the development of different microorganisms. Among such microorganisms, toxigenic fungi are extremely dangerous as they can synthesize mycotoxins as a part of their metabolic pathways. Furthermore, favorable conditions that enable the synthesis of mycotoxins (adequate temperature, relative humidity, pH, and aw values) are found frequently during pollen collection and/or production process. Internationally, several different mycotoxins have been identified in pollen samples, with a noted predominance of aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin. Mycotoxins are, generally speaking, extremely harmful for humans and other mammals. Current EU legislation contains guidelines on the permissible content of this group of compounds, but without information pertaining to the content of mycotoxins in pollen. Currently only aflatoxins have been researched and discussed in the literature in regard to proposed limits. Therefore, the aim of this review is to give information about the presence of different mycotoxins in pollen samples collected all around the world, to propose possible aflatoxin contamination pathways, and to emphasize the importance of a regular mycotoxicological analysis of pollen. Furthermore, a suggestion is made regarding the legal regulation of pollen as a food supplement and the proposed tolerable limits for other mycotoxins.
Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Oligometastasis

Oligometastatic disease is defined as “a condition with a few metastases arising from tumors that have not acquired a potential for widespread metastases. ” Its behavior suggests a transitional malignant state somewhere between localized and metastatic cancer. Treatment of oligometastatic disease is expected to achieve long-term local control and to improve survival. Historically, patients with oligometastases have often undergone surgical resection since it was anecdotally believed that surgical resection could result in progression-free or overall survival benefits. To date, no prospective randomized trials have demonstrated surgery-related survival benefits. Short courses of highly focused, extremely high-dose radiotherapies (e.g., stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR)) have frequently been used as alternatives to surgery for treatment of oligometastasis. A randomized study has demonstrated the overall survival benefits of stereotactic radiosurgery for solitary brain metastasis. Following the success of stereotactic radiosurgery, SABR has been widely accepted for treating extracranial metastases, considering its efficacy and minimum invasiveness. In this review, we discuss the history of and rationale for the local treatment of oligometastases and probe into the implementation of SABR for oligometastatic disease.