Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological and physiological traits of Mediterranean sticklebacks living in the Camargue wetland (Rhone river delta).

Three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) living at the southern limit of the species distribution range could possess specific morphological and physiological traits that enable these fish to live at the threshold of their physiological capacities. Morphological analysis was carried out on samples of sticklebacks living in different saline habitats of the Camargue area (Rhone delta, northern Mediterranean coast) obtained from 1993 to 2017. Salinity acclimation capacities were also investigated using individuals from freshwater-low salinity drainage canals and from mesohaline-euryhaline lagoons. Fish were maintained in laboratory conditions at salinity values close to those of their respective habitats: low salinity (LS; 5 ‰) or seawater (SW; 30 ‰). Fish obtained from a mesohaline brackish water lagoon (BW; 15 ‰) were acclimated to SW or LS. Oxygen consumption rates and branchial Na+ /K+ -ATPase (NKA) activity (indicator of fish osmoregulatory capacity) were measured in these LS or SW control fish and in individuals subjected to abrupt SW or LS transfers. At all the studied locations, only the low-plated 'leiurus' morphotype showed no spatial or temporal variations in their body morphology. Gill rakers were only longer and denser in fish sampled from the LS-FW drainage canals. All fish presented similar physiological capacities. Oxygen consumption rates were not influenced by salinity challenge except in SW-fish transferred to LS immediately and 1 hour after transfer. However, and as expected, gill NKA activity was salinity-dependent. Sticklebacks of the Camargue area sampled from habitats with contrasted saline conditions are homogenously euryhaline, have low oxygen consumption rates and do not appear to experience significantly greater metabolic costs when challenged with salinity. However, an observed difference in gill raker length and density is most probably related to the nutritional condition of their habitat, indicating that individuals can rapidly acclimatise to different diets. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Racial Differences in Reasons for Failure to Receive Ovarian Cancer Treatment: An Analysis of National Cancer Database Cases (1998-2012)

Aim: Non-Hispanic blacks (NHB) have poorer ovarian cancer survival rates than non-Hispanic whites (NHW). This difference is in part due to differences in treatment uptake. The objective of this study is to characterize racial differences in reasons for non-receipt of treatment among women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (OVCA) in the United States and Puerto Rico between 1998 and 2012. Methods: NHB and NHW OVCA cases from National Cancer Database (NCDB; n = 173,617) were analyzed to assess differences in reasons for non-receipt of surgery and chemotherapy overall and by stage of cancer (I, II, III, and IV). Reasons for non-receipt of surgery and chemotherapy were characterized according to North American Association of Central Cancer Registries categorizations within NCDB. Chi-square test was used to assess racial differences in demographic and clinical variables. Stage-specific tests of proportions were conducted to examine racial differences for nonreceipt of treatment. Results: Among all women diagnosed, 3,665 (26.2%) of NHB versus 25,805 (16.2%) of NHW failed to receive surgery (< 0.01) and 4,566 (32.7%) of NHB versus 45,139 (28.3%) of NHW failed to receive chemotherapy (< 0.01). NHB were significantly younger in both treatment groups and differed significantly from NHW for each covariate analyzed. Significantly more NHB than NHW (6.7 vs. 4.4, p < 0.05) failed to undergo surgery due to patient, family or guardian refusal. Of those who did not receive chemotherapy, a greater proportion of NHB (4.9 vs. 3.4, p < 0.05) failed to receive chemotherapy as it was contraindicated due to patient risk factors. Conclusion: Results demonstrate significant racial differences in the reasons for refusal of surgical and chemotherapeutic treatment in OVCA. Reasons for these racial differences should be examined further to better understand and mitigate racial disparities in OVCA treatment and survival.
IMPACT OF THE AMBIENT AIR PM2.5 ON CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES OF ULAANBAATAR RESIDENTS

Mongolia is a landlocked country with a total land area of 1,564,116 square kilometers. The ambient annual average particulate matter (PM) concentration in Ulaanbaatar is 10–25 times greater than the Mongolian air quality standards (AQS). More than 40 percent of the nation’s total population lives in Ulaanbaatar. The study aims at defining the relationship between the ambient air PM2.5 level and hospital admissions in Ulaanbaatar in 2011–2014. The pollution data included a 24-hour average PM2.5. The air was sampled daily and recorded by the national air monitoring stations located in Ulaanbaatar. The sampling frame of hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease (CVD) were the records of all outpatient hospitals of Ulaanbaatar. The data covered the period from January 2011 to January 2014. To test the differences of the results, appropriate statistical tests were employed. During 2011–2014, the highest concentration of PM2.5 was in the coldest period and the particulate matter level recorded was 3.7 times higher in the cold period than the warm period. The number of admissions for CVD were the highest during cold periods. Four days after exposure, the PM2.5 impact on hospital admissions weakened but there remained a positive correlation. For PM2.5, 100 μg/m3 growth of the pollutant led to 0.65 % increase in the hospitalization for CVD on the exposure day. On the second day of exposure, 10 μg/m3 growth of the pollutant led to 0.66 % increase; on the third day of exposure, 10 μg/m3 growth of the pollutant led to 0.08 % increase of hospital admissions for CVD, and at the fourth day, such growth led to 0.6 % increase of CVD cases in 2011–2014 in Ulaanbaatar. In conclusion we may state that most incidences of CVD registered during the cold months in Ulaanbaatar in the last four years were a result of PM2.5 exposure. This shows that the PM2.5 exposure and hospital admissions for cardiovascular system chronic diseases are positively correlated. CVD in Ulaanbaatar residents was affected greater on the same and the third day of exposure.
Extrusion enhances apparent metabolizable energy, ileal protein and amino acid digestibility of palm kernel cake in broilers

Objective This study consisted of two stages; the first was to determine the effect of extrusion and sieving treatments on the chemical properties of palm kernel cake (PKC), and accordingly, a follow-up experiment (second stage) was conducted to determine and compare the apparent metabolizable energy (AME), and protein and amino acid digestibility of extruded and sieved PKC. Methods Two physical treatments, namely extrusion (using temperature profiles of 90°C/100°C/100°C, 90°C/100°C/110°C, and 90°C/100°C/120°C) and sieving (to 8 particles sizes ranging from >8.00 to 0.15 mm) were carried out to determine their effects on chemical properties, primarily crude protein (CP) and fiber contents of PKC. Based on the results from the above study, PKC that extruded with temperature profile 90/100/110°C and of sieved size between 1.5 to 0.15 mm (which made up of near 60% of total samples) were used to determine treatments effect on AME and CP and amino acid digestibility. The second stage experiment was conducted using 64 male Cobb 500 chickens randomly assigned to 16 cages (4 cages [or replicates] per treatment) to the following four dietary groups: i) basal (control) diet, ii) basal diet containing 20% untreated PKC, iii) basal diet containing 20% extruded PKC (EPKC), and iv) basal diet containing 20% sieved PKC (SPKC). Results Extrusion and sieving had no effect on CP and ash contents of PKC, however, both treatments reduced (p<0.05) crude fiber by 21% and 19%, respectively. Overall, extrusion and sieving reduced content of most of the amino acids except for aspartate, glutamate, alanine and lysine which increased, while serine, cysteine and tryptophan remained unchanged. Extrusion resulted in 6% increase (p<0.05) in AME and enhanced CP digestibility (p<0.05) by 32%, as compared to the untreated PKC while sieving had no effect on AME but improved CP digestibility by 39% which was not significantly different from that by extrusion. Conclusion Extrusion is more effective than sieving and serves as a practical method to enhance AME and digestibility of CP and several amino acids in broiler chickens.
The Expression of Tumor-Associated Macrophages and Multinucleated Giant Cells in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Inflammation that occurred in the tumor microenvironment was characterized by abundant macrophage infiltration, playing role in innate immunity. Multinucleate giant cells (MGCs) occur in a variety of inflammatory, hyperplastic, and neoplastic thyroid disorders. They also have been recognized as a feature of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate cases of PTC for the presence of macrophages, and estimate CD68+ TAMs density in tumor stroma, margin and the surrounding tissue. We assessed also MGCs. METHODS: Macrophages and MGCs densities were correlated with clinicopathologic parameters to assess the possible prognostic significance. We investigated 56 patients immunohistochemically and immunofluorescence with antibodies against CD68 and IL-17. RESULTS: A statistically significant correlation was established between PTC patients in III stage, containing many MGCs, and PTC in I and II stage, with many MGCs. Eighty Percent of patients in III stage showed many MGCs in comparison with patients in I and II stage, where many MGCs were found only in 21,1% (χ2 = 6.189, p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that the increased density of MGCs is associated with advanced stage of PTC, and therefore with tumor progression and that cases of PTC should be carefully screened for their presence.
von Willebrand factor D and EGF domains is an evolutionarily conserved and required feature of blastemas capable of multitissue appendage regeneration

Regenerative ability varies tremendously across species. A common feature of regeneration of appendages such as limbs, fins, antlers, and tails is the formation of a blastema—a transient structure that houses a pool of progenitor cells that can regenerate the missing tissue. We have identified the expression of von Willebrand factor D and EGF domains (vwde) as a common feature of blastemas capable of regenerating limbs and fins in a variety of highly regenerative species, including axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa), and Polpyterus (Polypterus senegalus). Further, vwde expression is tightly linked to the ability to regenerate appendages in Xenopus laevis. Functional experiments demonstrate a requirement for vwde in regeneration and indicate that Vwde is a potent growth factor in the blastema. These data identify a key role for vwde in regenerating blastemas and underscore the power of an evolutionarily informed approach for identifying conserved genetic components of regeneration.
Role of interleukin 6 in liver cell regeneration after hemi-hepatectomy, correlation with liver enzymes and flow cytometric study

Aim of the study Liver regeneration after hemi-hepatectomy may be affected by several growth factors and cytokines. The aim is to evaluate the importance of interleukin 6 (IL-6) in the induction of liver cell regeneration and find correlations with other parameters such as liver enzymes, and DNA analysis by flow cytometric studies. Material and methods 80 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were obtained and divided into two equal groups (n = 40 rats) to undergo 70% partial hepatectomy: group 1 – untreated (control) group; 40 rats not treated; and group 2 – treated group, 40 rats treated with IL-6 35 μg/100 gm body weight according to a lethality study for a period of 4 days, then hepatic resection was carried out according to the steps of Higgins and Anderson. Assessment of liver enzymes and bilirubin level was done. Flow cytometric study was done using a flow cytometer (FACSCalibur; Becton Dickinson) and DNA content was estimated with CellQuest software (Becton Dickinson). Results The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were significantly higher in the untreated group of rats with liver resection. A higher value of bilirubin was observed in the treated group. Rat weight at sacrification was significantly lower in the group of rats treated with IL-6 than those without treatment, p < 0.001. Liver weight at sacrification was significantly higher in the group of rats treated with IL-6 (p < 0.001). The percentage of apoptotic cells with hypodiploid DNA content was determined from DNA histograms. Untreated rat resected liver showed a peak pattern that represented liver damage with high damage of 73.4%. Conclusions Interleukin 6 is of value in induction of liver cell regeneration after seventy percent hemi-hepatectomy as evident by increased liver cell mass, liver enzymes and flow cytometric analysis.
Impact of Removing Nonprescription Codeine in Australia: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study

Background On February 1, 2018, Australia rescheduled codeine to a prescription-only medication. Many concerns were associated with this change, including increased financial costs, reduced service accessibility, the potential for poorer pain management, and a decline in physical and mental health if codeine could not be accessed. In the research literature, there is limited knowledge about the long-term consequences of rescheduling pharmaceutical opioids and, as Australia has followed many countries in implementing a restriction on codeine, further study of these consequences is critical. Objective The goal of this study was to examine the impact of rescheduling codeine from an over-the-counter (OTC) product to a prescription-only medicine on the primary measures of codeine use and dependence in a prospective cohort of people who are frequent consumers of OTC codeine. Secondary measures included pain and self-efficacy, health service use, and mental health. Methods The Codeine Cohort study aimed to recruit 300 participants in Australia who regularly (at least a few times per week for the past 6 months) used OTC codeine. Using an online survey, participants were followed up at three time points (February 2018, June 2018, and February 2019) after codeine was rescheduled. Results All four waves of data collection are complete, with the final round of data collection finalized in August 2019. Data analyses are yet to be completed. Information on demographics, codeine use and dependence, physical and mental health, medication use, and health service use will be analyzed using mixed models. Conclusions Results of this study will provide insight into the effectiveness of regulatory restriction in curtailing nonmedical use of and harms associated with codeine. Additionally, results will explore positive and negative outcomes of codeine rescheduling for individual patients, which informs health professionals who support patients who use codeine and further community education. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/15540
Deconvolution of calcium imaging data using marked point processes

Calcium imaging has been widely used for measuring spiking activities of neurons. When using calcium imaging, we need to extract summarized information from the raw movie beforehand. Recent studies have used matrix deconvolution for this preprocessing. However, such an approach can neither directly estimate the generative mechanism of spike trains nor use stimulus information that has a strong influence on neural activities. Here, we propose a new deconvolution method for calcium imaging using marked point processes. We consider that the observed movie is generated from a probabilistic model with marked point processes as hidden variables, and we calculate the posterior of these variables using a variational inference approach. Our method can simultaneously estimate various kinds of information, such as cell shape, spike occurrence time, and tuning curve. We apply our method to simulated and experimental data to verify its performance.
Effects of Osiris9a on Silk Properties in Bombyx mori Determined by Transgenic Overexpression

Osiris is an insect-specific gene family with multiple biological roles in development, phenotypic polymorphism, and protection. In the silkworm, we have previously identified twenty-five Osiris genes with high evolutionary conservation and remarkable synteny among several insects. Bombxy mori Osiris9a (BmOsi9a) is expressed only in the silk gland, particularly in the middle silk gland (MSG). However, the biological function of BmOsi9a is still unknown. In this study, we overexpressed BmOsi9a in the silk gland by germline transgene expression. BmOsi9a was overexpressed not only in the MSG but also in the posterior silk gland (PSG). Interestingly, BmOsi9a could be secreted into the lumen in the MSG but not in the PSG. In the silk fiber, overexpressed BmOsi9a interacted with Sericin1 in the MSG, as confirmed by a co-immunoprecipitation assay. The overexpression of BmOsi9a altered the secondary structure and crystallinity of the silk fiber, thereby changing the mechanical properties. These results provide insight into the mechanisms underlying silk proteins secretion and silk fiber formation.
A Camera Sensors-Based System to Study Drug Effects on In Vitro Motility: The Case of PC-3 Prostate Cancer Cells

Cell motility is the brilliant result of cell status and its interaction with close environments. Its detection is now possible, thanks to the synergy of high-resolution camera sensors, time-lapse microscopy devices, and dedicated software tools for video and data analysis. In this scenario, we formulated a novel paradigm in which we considered the individual cells as a sort of sensitive element of a sensor, which exploits the camera as a transducer returning the movement of the cell as an output signal. In this way, cell movement allows us to retrieve information about the chemical composition of the close environment. To optimally exploit this information, in this work, we introduce a new setting, in which a cell trajectory is divided into sub-tracks, each one characterized by a specific motion kind. Hence, we considered all the sub-tracks of the single-cell trajectory as the signals of a virtual array of cell motility-based sensors. The kinematics of each sub-track is quantified and used for a classification task. To investigate the potential of the proposed approach, we have compared the achieved performances with those obtained by using a single-trajectory paradigm with the scope to evaluate the chemotherapy treatment effects on prostate cancer cells. Novel pattern recognition algorithms have been applied to the descriptors extracted at a sub-track level by implementing features, as well as samples selection (a good teacher learning approach) for model construction. The experimental results have put in evidence that the performances are higher when a further cluster majority role has been considered, by emulating a sort of sensor fusion procedure. All of these results highlighted the high strength of the proposed approach, and straightforwardly prefigure its use in lab-on-chip or organ-on-chip applications, where the cell motility analysis can be massively applied using time-lapse microscopy images.
Prevalence of latent tuberculosis among refugee children in Malaysia

Introduction Tuberculosis remains one of the top 10 major causes of global mortality, imposing social–economic and medical challenges in Malaysia. Refugees sheltered in Malaysia are a high-risk population but basic health checks upon their arrival, including tuberculosis screening, are not practised. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors of tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among refugee children in Malaysia. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in three refugee schools in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, using tuberculin skin tests or interferon-γ release assays. Participants who tested positive were sent for further examination with chest radiography to confirm the tuberculosis diagnosis. Results From April 2018 to April 2019, we screened 430 refugee children with a median age of 13.0 years. Most of the children were born in Myanmar (n=274, 63.7%) and Pakistan (n=60, 14.0%). No children were diagnosed with active tuberculosis but 55 of the children (12.8%) were diagnosed with LTBI. Children with LTBI were generally older (OR 3.01, 95% CI 1.71–5.29; p<0.001) than those without LTBI infection. Sex, history of bacille Calmette–Guérin vaccination and country of birth were not associated with increased risk of LTBI. Conclusion The relatively high LTBI burden among refugee children in this study poses an indication of possible LTBI risk among this population nationwide, and thus would be an important group to target for preventive therapy. This provides a unique opportunity for researchers to further examine and implement well-structured preventive strategies in combating the endemic infectious disease in Malaysia. The prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection among refugee children in Malaysia is considerably high. This provides further support for the local policy of screening all refugee children irrespective of age and country of birth. http://bit.ly/2NvNHLs
Iris Cysts: Clinical Features, Imaging Findings, and Treatment Results

Objectives: To report the clinical and demographic characteristics, imaging findings, treatment results, and follow-up data of patients with iris cysts. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 37 patients with iris cysts were retrospectively analyzed. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM), swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), and SS-OCT angiography (SS-OCTA) were performed to examine the iris cysts. Results: The mean age of the patients was 34.4 years, ranging from 5 to 85 years. Twenty-four patients (65%) were female and 13 (35%) were male. Mean follow-up period was 21.3 months, ranging from 4 months to 8 years. Thirty-five (94.5%) of the cysts were classified as primary and 2 (4.5%) were classified as secondary. Thirty-one (83.7%) of the primary cysts were pigment epithelial and 4 were stromal. Primary iris pigment epithelial cysts were classified as peripheral in 26 patients (72.2%), midzonal in 4 (11.1%), and dislodged in 1 (2.7%). Stromal cysts were classified as acquired in 3 patients (8.1%) and congenital in 1 patient (2.7%). Secondary iris cysts were caused by perforating eye injury. UBM could visualize both the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cysts (26 patients). Anterior segment SSOCT could visualize the anterior but not the posterior surface of the cysts (4 patients). Iris cysts did not display intrinsic vascularity on SS-OCTA (4 patients). All pigment epithelial cysts were managed by observation. Of the 4 primary stromal cysts, 3 were managed by surgical excision and 1 by observation. Two secondary cysts required surgical removal. Conclusion: Pigment epithelial cysts generally remain stable without need for treatment. However, iris stromal cysts frequently require surgical intervention. UBM and SS-OCT were valuable in the diagnosis of iris cysts. On UBM, iris cysts appear with a thin, hyperechoic wall with hypoechoic internal content. Iris cysts did not have intrinsic vascularity on anterior segment SS-OCTA.