Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Niyantrita Madhumeha Bharata 2017, Methodology for a Nationwide Diabetes Prevalence Estimate: Part 1

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) poses an ever-increasing threat to people's health worldwide. India has reported high rates of incidence of T2DM. The dangers make accurate assessment of its burden and intervention of lifestyle change, an urgent necessity. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to estimate the nationwide prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes, followed by a translational lifestyle trial. Methodology: The Indian Yoga Association was commissioned in 2016–2017 by the Government of India to conduct this study which was undertaken in two phases: Phase 1 was to estimate the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes across the country, and Phase 2 was to conduct a randomized controlled trial using a validated yoga lifestyle protocol. This paper highlights the unique methodology of Phase 1 of the study. The first stage was screening (February to April 2017) for adults (>20 years) with high risk for diabetes on Indian diabetes risk score (IDRS) on mobile app, using a random cluster sampling survey method. All households in the rural (4 villages with about 500 adult population/village) and urban (2 census enumeration blocks [CEBs] of about 1000 adult population/block) sectors of 65 districts (one per ten districts in the entire country) from 29 out of 35 states of India were approached. In the second stage, detailed assessments (sociodemographic, clinical details, A1c, lipid profile, body mass index, stress, and tobacco) were carried out on those with high risk on IDRS and on all self-reported diabetes individuals. Results: In the first stage of door-to-door visit, 240,968 adults in all households of the selected clusters of villages and CEBs were approached. Of these, 162,330 responded. The respondents in the second stage for detailed assessments in the selected cohort were 50,199 (48% rural and 52% urban) adults. Of these, 7472 were self-reported known diabetes adults and the remaining were 42,737. Prevalence estimates for the country will follow in the future publications. Conclusion: This rapid survey completed within 3 months in the entire country using trained volunteers offers the methodology to obtain a quick estimate of diabetes and high-risk population to implement any lifestyle program.
Novel block and new indication: Ultrasound-guided continuous “mid-point transverse process to pleura” block in a patient with multiple rib fractures

To avoid the complications related to thoracic epidural and paravertebral block, we performed mid-point transverse process to pleura (MTP) block in a patient with multiple rib fractures. A patient with 2nd--5th rib fractures came with complains of severe pain and difficulty in breathing. Ultrasound (US)-guided continuous MTP block was given at T4 level and 15 ml of 0.375% ropivacaine was deposited, followed by the catheter insertion at the same level. Patient reported decreased sensation from T2--T8 dermatomes and reduced VAS scores from 9/10 to 1/10 within 20 min of block insertion. Continuous MTP block is efficacious in providing thoracic analgesia and has higher safety margin as needle is inserted further away from pleura.
Predicting the winner of delhi assembly election, 2015 from sentiment analysis on twitter data-a bigdata perspective

: Social media is currently a place where people create and share contents at a massive rate. Because of its ease of use, speed and reach, it is fast changing the public discourse in society and setting trends and agendas in different topics including environment, politics technology, entertainment etc. As it is a form of collective wisdom, we decided to investigate its power at predicting real-world outcomes. The objective was to design a Twitter-based sentiment mining. We introduce a keyword-aware user-based collective tweet mining approach to rank the sentiment of each user. To prove the accuracy of this method, we chose an Election Winner Prediction application and observed how the sentiments of people on different political issues at that time got reflected in their votes. A Domain thesaurus is built by collecting keywords related to each issue. Twitter data being huge in size and difficult to process, we use a scalable and efficient Map Reduce programming model-based approach, to classify the tweets. The experiments were designed to predict the winner of Delhi Assembly Elections 2015, by analyzing the sentiments of people on political issues and from this analysis, we accurately predicted that Aam Admi Party has a higher support, compared to Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), the ruling party. Thus, a Big Data Approach that has widespread applications in today’s world, is used for sentiment analysis on Twitter data.
Distinguishing between Clausius, Boltzmann and Pauling Entropies of Frozen Non-Equilibrium States

In conventional textbook thermodynamics, entropy is a quantity that may be calculated by different methods, for example experimentally from heat capacities (following Clausius) or statistically from numbers of microscopic quantum states (following Boltzmann and Planck). It had turned out that these methods do not necessarily provide mutually consistent results, and for equilibrium systems their difference was explained by introducing a residual zero-point entropy (following Pauling), apparently violating the Nernst theorem. At finite temperatures, associated statistical entropies which count microstates that do not contribute to a body’s heat capacity, differ systematically from Clausius entropy, and are of particular relevance as measures for metastable, frozen-in non-equilibrium structures and for symbolic information processing (following Shannon). In this paper, it is suggested to consider Clausius, Boltzmann, Pauling and Shannon entropies as distinct, though related, physical quantities with different key properties, in order to avoid confusion by loosely speaking about just “entropy” while actually referring to different kinds of it. For instance, zero-point entropy exclusively belongs to Boltzmann rather than Clausius entropy, while the Nernst theorem holds rigorously for Clausius rather than Boltzmann entropy. The discussion of those terms is underpinned by a brief historical review of the emergence of corresponding fundamental thermodynamic concepts.
Failure to Provide Adequate Palliative Care May Be Medical Neglect

Parents have an ethical and legal obligation to provide appropriate medical care for their children. Does this include their provision of appropriate palliative treatments? Doctors are required to notify Child Protective Services (CPS) if parents do not provide appropriate medical care for their children. But criteria for reporting medical neglect are vague. Which treatments properly fall within the realm of shared decision-making in which parents can decide whether to accept doctors’ recommendations? Which treatments are so clearly in the child’s interest that it would be neglectful to refuse them? When to report medical neglect concerns to CPS may be controversial. It would seem inhumane to allow a child to suffer because of parental refusal to administer proper analgesia. In this ethics rounds, we present a case of an adolescent with chronic pain who is terminally ill. Her parents were not adherent to recommended analgesia regimens. Her palliative care team had to decide whether to report the case to CPS.
Vertical transmission of dengue virus in Aedes aegypti and its role in the epidemiological persistence of dengue in Central and Southern Mexico

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the main mosquito species responsible for dengue virus (DENV) transmission to humans in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The role of vertical transmission in the epidemiology of dengue and the maintenance of this arbovirus in nature during interepidemic periods remain poorly understood, and DENV vertical transmission could sustain the existence of virus reservoirs within Aedes populations.
Citrus unshiu peel suppress the metastatic potential of murine melanoma B16F10 cells in vitro and in vivo

The peel of Citrus unshiu Marcow. fruits (CU) has long been used as a traditional medicine that has therapeutic effects against pathogenic diseases, including asthma, vomiting, dyspepsia, blood circulation disorders, and various types of cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of CU peel on metastatic melanoma, a highly aggressive skin cancer, in B16F10 melanoma cells, and in B16F10 cells inoculated‐C57BL/6 mice. Our results show that ethanol extracts of CU (EECU) inhibited cell growth and increased the apoptotic cells in B16F10 cells. EECU also stimulated the induction of mitochondria‐mediated intrinsic pathway, with reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and increased generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, EECU suppressed the migration, invasion, and colony formation of B16F10 cells. In addition, the oral administration of EECU reduced serum lactate dehydrogenase activity without weight loss, hepatotoxicity, nor nephrotoxicity in B16F10 cell‐inoculated mice. Moreover, EECU markedly suppressed lung hypertrophy, the number and expression of metastatic tumor nodules, and the expression of inflammatory tumor necrosis factor‐alpha in lung tissue. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the inhibitory effect of EECU on the metastasis of melanoma indicates that it may be regarded as a potential therapeutic herbal drug for melanoma.
Super Wide-Field Photoacoustic Microscopy of Animals and Humans In Vivo

Acoustic-resolution photoacoustic micro-scopy (AR-PAM) is an emerging biomedical imaging modality that combines superior optical sensitivity and fine ultrasonic resolution in an optical quasi-diffusive regime (~1–3 mm in tissues). AR-PAM has been explored for anatomical, functional, and molecular information in biological tissues. Heretofore, AR-PAM systems have suffered from a limited field-of-view (FOV) and/or slow imaging speed, which have precluded them from routine preclinical and clinical applications. Here, we demonstrate an advanced AR-PAM system that overcomes both limitations of previous AR-PAM systems. The new AR-PAM system demonstrates a super wide-field scanning that utilized a 1-axis water-proofing microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) scanner integrated with two linear stepper motor stages. We achieved an extended FOV of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$36 \times 80$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup> by mosaicking multiple volumetric images of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$36 \times 2.5$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup> with a total acquisition time of 224 seconds. For one volumetric data (i.e., <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$36 \times 2.5$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup>), the B-scan imaging speed over the short axis (i.e., 2.5 mm) was 83 Hz in humans. The 3D volumetric image was also provided by using MEMS mirror scanning along the X-axis and stepper-motor scanning along the Y-axis. The super-wide FOV mosaic image was realized by registering and merging all individual volumetric images. Finally, we obtained multi-plane whole-body <italic>in-vivo</italic> PA images of small animals, illustrating distinct multi-layered structures including microvascular networks and internal organs. Importantly, we also visualized microvascular networks in human fingers, palm, and forearm successfully. This advanced MEMS-AR-PAM system could potentially enable hitherto not possible wide preclinical and clinical applications.
Sex differences by design and outcome in the Safety of Urate Elevation in PD (SURE-PD) trial

Objective To investigate whether women and men with Parkinson disease (PD) differ in their biochemical and clinical responses to long-term treatment with inosine. Methods The Safety of Urate Elevation in Parkinson’s Disease (SURE-PD) trial enrolled 75 people with early PD and baseline serum urate below 6 mg/dL and randomized them to 3 double-blinded treatment arms: oral placebo or inosine titrated to produce mild (6.1–7.0 mg/dL) or moderate (7.1–8.0 mg/dL) serum urate elevation for up to 2 years. Parkinsonism, serum urate, and plasma antioxidant capacity were measured at baseline and repeatedly on treatment; CSF urate was assessed once, at 3 months. Here in secondary analyses results are stratified by sex. Results Inosine produced an absolute increase in average serum urate from baseline that was 50% greater in women (3.0 mg/dL) than in men (2.0 mg/dL), consistent with expected lower baseline levels in women. Similarly, only among women was CSF urate significantly greater on mild or moderate inosine (+87% [p < 0.001] and +98% [p < 0.001], respectively) than on placebo (in contrast to men: +10% [p = 0.6] and +14% [p = 0.4], respectively). Women in the higher inosine dosing group showed a 7.0 Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) points/year lower rate of decline vs placebo (p = 0.01). In women, slower rates of UPDRS change were associated with greater increases in serum urate (r = −0.52; p = 0.001), and with greater increases in plasma antioxidant capacity (r = −0.44; p = 0.006). No significant associations were observed in men. Conclusions Inosine produced greater increases in serum and CSF urate in women compared to men in the SURE-PD trial, consistent with the study's design and with preliminary evidence for slower clinical decline in early PD among women treated with urate-elevating doses of inosine. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00833690. Classification of evidence This study provides Class II evidence that inosine produced greater urate elevation in women than men and may slow PD progression in women.
Effect of astragaloside IV and the role of nuclear receptor RXRα in human peritoneal mesothelial cells in high glucose-based peritoneal dialysis fluids

Peritoneal fibrosis is a serious complication that can occur during peritoneal dialysis (PD), which is primarily caused by damage to peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs). The onset of peritoneal fibrosis is delayed or inhibited by promoting PMC survival and inhibiting PMC epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In the present study, the effect of astragaloside IV and the role of the nuclear receptor retinoid X receptor-α (RXRα) in PMCs in high glucose-based PD fluids was investigated. Human PMC HMrSV5 cells were transfected with RXRα short hairpin RNA (shRNA), or an empty vector, and then treated with PD fluids and astragaloside IV. Cell viability, apoptosis and EMT were examined using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and flow cytometry, and by determining the levels of caspase-3, E-cadherin and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) via western blot analysis. Cell viability and apoptosis were increased, as were the levels of E-cadherin in HMrSV5 cells following treatment with PD fluid. The protein levels of α-SMA and caspase-3 were increased by treatment with PD fluid. Exposure to astragaloside IV inhibited these changes; however, astragaloside IV did not change cell viability, apoptosis, E-cadherin or α-SMA levels in HMrSV5 cells under normal conditions. Transfection of HMrSV5 cells with RXRα shRNA resulted in decreased viability and E-cadherin expression, and increased apoptosis and α-SMA levels, in HMrSV5 cells treated with PD fluids and co-treated with astragaloside IV or vehicle. These results suggested that astragaloside IV increased cell viability, and inhibited apoptosis and EMT in PMCs in PD fluids, but did not affect these properties of PMCs under normal condition. Thus, the present study suggested that RXRα is involved in maintaining viability, inhibiting apoptosis and reducing EMT of PMCs in PD fluid.
Serum levels of epithelial‐derived mediators and interleukin‐4/interleukin‐13 signaling after bronchial challenge with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in patients with allergic asthma

Allergens are the main trigger that enhances airway type 2 inflammation, and the epithelium is the first line of defense that reacts to its exposure. Therefore, epithelial‐derived mediators, such as interleukin (IL)‐25, IL‐33, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and ezrin, may play a role as alarmins in IL‐4/IL‐13 signaling in allergic asthma (AA). We investigated the serum levels of IL‐25, IL‐33, TSLP, ezrin, IL‐4 and IL‐13, after bronchial challenge with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in patients with AA. We examined 18 subjects: nine steroid‐free stable patients with AA sensitized to D. pteronyssinus and nine non‐atopic healthy subjects (HS). Bronchial allergen challenge was performed using inhaled D. pteronyssinus allergen. IL‐4, IL‐13, IL‐25, IL‐33, TSLP and ezrin levels in serum were measured by ELISA at two time points ‐ before and 24 hours after bronchial allergen challenge. The serum levels of IL‐25, TSLP and ezrin did not differ between AA and HS groups at baseline. However, after allergen exposure, significant increases in serum levels of IL‐25, TSLP and ezrin were observed only in patients with AA. The serum level of IL‐33 at baseline was significantly higher in the AA group compared with HS, but the allergen challenge did not provoke an increase of this cytokine in any group. IL‐4 and IL‐13 levels were significantly higher at baseline in the AA group compared with HS and, after allergen exposure, were significantly increased in the AA group, with no effect on HS. Thus, the epithelial‐derived mediators IL‐25, TSLP and ezrin, via IL4/IL13 signaling, enhance type 2 inflammation after bronchial challenge with D. pteronyssinus in AA.
Potential of Adult Endogenous Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells in the Spinal Cord to Contribute to Remyelination in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Demyelination and remyelination play pivotal roles in the pathological process of multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a well-established animal model of MS. Although increasing evidence shows that various stimuli can promote the activation/induction of endogenous neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in the central nervous system, the potential contributions of these cells to remyelination following inflammatory injury remain to be fully investigated. In the present study, using an adult mouse model of EAE induced by myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide, we investigated whether adult NSPCs in the spinal cord can lead to remyelination under inflammatory conditions. Immunohistochemistry showed that cells expressing the NSPC marker Nestin appeared after MOG peptide administration, predominantly at the sites of demyelination where abundant inflammatory cells had accumulated, whereas Nestin+ cells were rarely present in the spinal cord of PBS-treated control mice. In vitro, Nestin+ NSPCs obtained from EAE mice spinal cords could differentiate into multiple neural lineages, including neurons, astrocytes, and myelin-producing oligodendrocytes. Using the Cre–LoxP system, we established a mouse strain expressing yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) under the control of the Nestin promoter and investigated the expression patterns of YFP-expressing cells in the spinal cord after EAE induction. At the chronic phase of the disease, immunohistochemistry showed that YFP+ cells in the injured regions expressed markers for various neural lineages, including myelin-forming oligodendrocytes. These results show that adult endogenous NSPCs in the spinal cord can be subject to remyelination under inflammatory conditions, such as after EAE, suggesting that endogenous NSPCs represent a therapeutic target for MS treatment.
Antagonistic action of TILLERS ABSENT1 and FLORAL ORGAN NUMBER2 regulates stem cell maintenance during axillary meristem development in rice.

Shoot branches are formed from the axillary meristem and their formation is a key process in plant development. Although our understanding of the mechanisms underlying stem cell maintenance in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) is progressing, our knowledge of these mechanisms during the process of axillary meristem development is insufficient. To elucidate the genetic mechanisms underlying axillary meristem development in rice (Oryza sativa), we undertook a molecular genetic analysis focusing on TILLERS ABSENT1 (TAB1) and FLORAL ORGAN NUMBER2 (FON2), respective orthologs of the WUSCHEL and CLAVATA3 genes involved in SAM maintenance in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We revealed that stem cells were established at an early stage of axillary meristem development in wild type, but were not maintained in tab1. By contrast, the stem cell region and TAB1 expression domain were expanded in fon2, and FON2 overexpression inhibited axillary meristem formation. These results indicate that TAB1 is required to maintain stem cells during axillary meristem development, whereas FON2 negatively regulates stem cell fate by restricting TAB1 expression. Thus, the genetic pathway regulating SAM maintenance in Arabidopsis seems to have been recruited to play a specific role within a narrow developmental window - namely, axillary meristem establishment - in rice. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Structure and Functional Binding Epitope of V-domain Ig Suppressor of T-cell Activation (VISTA)

V-domain Ig Suppressor of T cell Activation (VISTA) is an immune checkpoint protein that inhibits the T - cell response against cancer. Similar to PD-1 and CTLA-4, antibodies that block VISTA signaling can release the brakes of the immune system and promote tumor clearance. VISTA has an Ig-like fold, but little is known about its structure and mechanism of action. Here, we report a 1.85 Å crystal structure of the human VISTA extracellular domain and highlight structural features that make VISTA unique among B7 family members. Through fine-epitope mapping, we also identify solvent-exposed residues that underlie binding to a clinically relevant anti-VISTA antibody. This antibody-binding region is also shown to interact with V-set and Ig domain-containing 3 (VSIG3), the recently proposed functional binding partner of VISTA. The structure and functional epitope determined here will help guide future drug development efforts against this important checkpoint target.
Geographical Distribution of β-Lactam Resistance among Klebsiella spp. from Selected Health Facilities in Ghana

β-Lactam-resistant Klebsiella isolates continue to cause multidrug resistance infections worldwide. This study aimed to describe the geographical distribution of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), AmpC β-lactamase (AmpC), and carbapenemase production among 139 Klebsiella isolates recovered from patients at major referral health facilities in Ghana. The phenotypic methods of combined disc diffusion test, modified three-dimensional test, modified Hodge test (MHT), and combined disc test were performed for each isolate to detect ESBL, AmpC, carbapenemase, and metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) producers, respectively. Except for MBL, all other β-lactam resistance mechanisms were highest in the healthcare facilities situated in the northern belt of Ghana. Significant regional difference of ESBL producers was observed between the northern and middle belts as well as the northern and southern belts. Genotypic detection with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed the presence of bla TEM 36/139 (25.9%), bla SHV 40/139 (28.8%), bla CTX-M 37/139 (26.6%), bla OXA-48 3/139 (2.16%), and bla NDM 1/139 (0.72%) genotypes. In conclusion, there were variations in β-lactam resistance among Klebsiella spp. from health facilities situated in the northern, middle, and southern belts of Ghana. The study provides preliminary evidence that emphasizes the need to direct more attention to antimicrobial resistance control, especially in the northern belt of Ghana. Findings from this study may be critical for creating and fine-tuning effective antimicrobial resistance control strategies and for informing accurate antibiotic prescription by practitioners.