Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Jatiphala (Myristica fragrans houtt.) in experimentally induced allergic asthma in male wistar Rats

Several drugs are mentioned in Ayurveda for anti-asthmatic properties under the term shwasahara. Jatiphala (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) is a unique speice explained by acharyas for the treatment of various disorders including shwasa (Asthma), Kasa (Cough), Atisaara (Diarrhoea) etc. In present study, Jatiphala was tried for its effect on experimentally induced allergic asthma in male wistar rats. Jatiphala was collected & subjected to fine powder. Rats were grouped in three groups & sensitized with intraperitoneal ovalbumin (OVA) & aluminium hydroxide & then challenged with OVA – PBS (phosphate buffer solution) aerosols. The blood parameters like TC, DC, AEC, Serum IgE & BALF cellular differential count was measured along with histological analysis of lung. Jatiphala group significantly reduced the eosinophil count in blood, IgE, AEC and number of inflammatory cells in BALF & lung tissues. Results revealed that Jatiphala may have an anti-inflammatory and anti-asthmatic effect on allergic bronchial asthma
Prevalence and risk factors for low birth weight in Jordan and its association with under-five mortality: a population-based analysis.

Background Low birth weight (< 2.5 kg) is an important indicator of health and development of infants throughout their life. Aims This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for low birth weight in Jordan and its association with under-5 mortality. Methods In this secondary analysis, data were extracted from the 2012 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey for 9734 live births born in the 5 years preceding the survey and for which birth weight was reported. Data were collected on child and maternal characteristics. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine the significant risk factors for low birth weight and mortality. Results Of the 9734 births analysed, 13.8% were low birth weight and 1.3% were very low birth weight. Mother's age (< 30 and ≥ 35 years), education (less than higher education), birth interval (< 24 months and first birth), unplanned pregnancy, household wealth status (poorest and richest), consanguinity, residence (central and south regions of Jordan), female sex, birth order (1 and ≥ 6), twin birth and maternal smoking during pregnancy were significant risk factors for low birth weight. The risk of death under 5 years of age was 4.8 times higher in children with low birth weight than children with normal birth weight. Conclusions The high rate of low birth weight and its increasing rate in Jordan is a challenge for public health. Preventing low birth weight neonates and increasing their survival need to be prioritized in the national health strategy. Special care needs to be taken for the high-risk groups identified in this study.
Crocin regulates the proliferation and migration of neural stem cells after cerebral ischemia by activating the Notch1 pathway.

INTRODUCTION To investigate the effects of crocin on proliferation and migration of endogenous neural stem cells and the Notch1 signalling pathway in rats after cerebral ischemia reperfusion. MATERIAL AND METHODS SD rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group, model group and administration group (crocin). Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO/R) was used to establish the focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion model in rat. After surgical treatment, the treatment group was treated with crocin. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to detect the changes in the expression of Notch1, Bax and bcl-2 proteins in rat endogenous neural stem cells after cerebral ischemia reperfusion. ELISA was used to detect changes in inflammatory factors. Neural stem cells were cultured in vitro, which were divided into: the normal control group, the hypoglycaemic deprivation/reoxygenation group, hypoglycaemic deprivation/reoxygenation group with a low concentration of crocin, and hypoglycaemic deprivation/reoxygenation group with a high concentration of crocin. The cell proliferation assay detects cell activity. The cell migration assay tests the cell migration ability. And flow cytometry was used to determine cell apoptosis. RESULTS Compared with the sham group, the Notch1 signalling pathway was activated in the model group. The expression of Notch1 in the crocin group was increased compared to the model group. Crocin can inhibit the release of inflammatory factors. The results of our experiments showed that crocin could induce the proliferation and migration of neural stem cells and inhibit the apoptosis of neural stem cells in the hypoglycaemic/reoxygenation model group. CONCLUSIONS Crocin sufficiently promotes the proliferation and migration of neural stem cells and inhibits the apoptosis of these cells in rats after ischemia-reperfusion by manipulating the Notch signalling pathway.
Utility of global longitudinal strain to detect significant coronary artery disease, its extent and severity in patients with stable ischemic heart disease

Early changes in cardiac function due to ischemia may be detected by global longitudinal peak systolic strain (GLS). Till date, no Indian data exist regarding role of GLS in stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD) and data showing correlation of GLS and SYNTAX score (SS) is meager in world literature. Our aim was to ascertain the role of GLS in SIHD.
Common principles underlie the fluctuation of auditory and visual sustained attention

Sustained attention plays an important role in adaptive behaviours in everyday activities. As previous studies have mostly focused on vision, and attentional resources have been thought to be specific to sensory modalities, it is still unclear how mechanisms of attentional fluctuations overlap between visual and auditory modalities. To reduce the effects of sudden stimulus onsets, we developed a new gradual-onset continuous performance task (gradCPT) in the auditory domain and compared dynamic fluctuation of sustained attention in vision and audition. In the auditory gradCPT, participants were instructed to listen to a stream of narrations and judge the gender of each narration. In the visual gradCPT, they were asked to observe a stream of scenery images and indicate whether the scene was a city or mountain. Our within-individual comparison revealed that auditory and visual attention are similar in terms of the false alarm rate and dynamic properties including fluctuation frequency. Absolute timescales of the fluctuation in the two modalities were comparable, notwithstanding the difference in stimulus onset asynchrony. The results suggest that fluctuations of visual and auditory attention are underpinned by common principles and support models with a more central, modality-general controller.
Total thyroidectomy versus lobectomy: surgical approach to T1-T2 papillary thyroid cancer

SUMMARY The incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma, which accounts for 80-90% of all thyroid cancers, has recently been increasing. The current study aimed to compare the oncological and functional outcomes of total thyroidectomy (TT) and thyroid lobectomy (TL). To this end, a retrospective single-centre cohort study involving a tertiary care institution was conducted. Data regarding demographics, clinicopathology and postoperative complications from 586 patients with papillary thyroid cancer treated in a single institution were collected. Cox proportional-hazards models were utilised to determine differences in outcomes stratified according to propensity score. Our data suggested no significant difference in the risk for locoregional recurrence or distant metastasis between TL and TT among patients with pT1-2 pN0 papillary carcinoma. TT plays an important role in improving prognosis among patients with metastatic lymph nodes in the central neck compartment (pN1a) (p = 0.001). Moreover, TT had significantly higher rates of postoperative hypocalcaemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis compared to TL (p < 0.001 and p = 0.02, respectively).
Artificial light at night decreases biomass and alters community composition of benthic primary producers in a sub‐alpine stream

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is recognized as a contributor to environmental change and a biodiversity threat on a global scale. Despite its widespread use and numerous potential ecological effects, few studies have investigated the impacts on aquatic ecosystems and primary producers. Light is a source of energy and information for benthic autotrophs that form the basis of food webs in clear, shallow waters. Artificial night‐time illumination may thus affect biomass and community composition of primary producers. We experimentally mimicked the light conditions of a light‐polluted area (approximately 20 lux, white LED) in streamside flumes on a sub‐alpine stream. We compared the biomass and community composition of periphyton grown under ALAN with periphyton grown under a natural light regime in two seasons using communities in early (up to 3 weeks) and later (4–6 weeks) developmental stages. In early periphyton, ALAN decreased the biomass of autotrophs in both spring (57% at 3 weeks) and autumn (43% at 2 weeks), decreased the proportion of cyanobacteria in spring (54%), and altered the proportion of diatoms in autumn (11% decrease at 2 weeks and 5% increase at 3 weeks). No effects of ALAN were observed for later periphyton. Further work is needed to test whether streams with frequent physical disturbances that reset the successional development of periphyton are more affected by ALAN than streams with more stable conditions. As periphyton is a fundamental component of stream ecosystems, the impact of ALAN might propagate to higher trophic levels and/or affect critical ecosystem functions.
FLE at CLEF eHealth 2020: Text Mining and Semantic Knowledge for Automated Clinical Encoding

In Healthcare domain, several documents are provided in a narrative way, following textual unstructured formats. This is the case of the discharge summaries, which are clinical texts where physicians describe the conditions of the patients with natural language, making the automated processing of such texts hard and challenging. The objective of the tasks of the 2020 CLEF eHealth for Multilingual Information Extraction is to develop solutions to automatically annotate Spanish clinical texts with codes from the International Classiﬁcation of Diseases, 10th version (ICD-10). In the present paper, we show our approach which is based on Named Entity Recognition (NER) to detect the diagnoses and procedures, and semantic linking against a Knowledge Graph to extract the ICD-10 codes. Besides, we exploit text augmentation techniques to generate synthetic input samples and we use BERT pre-trained models and architecture to train the NERs.
Ecological determinants of Tyrannus flycatcher nestling growth at north- and south-temperate latitudes

ABSTRACT An organism's life history strategy is made up of a suite of physiological, behavioral, and ecological traits, which vary at both the interspecific and intraspecific levels in accordance with selective pressures operating on individuals. For birds, 2 primary ecological factors have been proposed to explain intraspecific and interspecific variation in nestling growth: nest predation and food availability. Individual nestling growth rates have important consequences for overall fitness because growth speed could influence subsequent reproductive performance and survival. We studied the relationship between ecological factors (i.e. precipitation level and predation rate) and nestling growth patterns of 2 New World flycatcher species (Tyrannidae) of the genus Tyrannus (Fork-tailed Flycatcher [T. savana] and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher [T. forficatus]) breeding at south- and north-temperate latitudes. We tested the hypothesis that nestling growth rates are driven by nest predation rates and predicted that nestling growth rates would be higher in species experiencing higher nest predation rates. We also tested the hypothesis that nestling growth rates are related to precipitation levels (a proxy for food abundance) and predicted that nestling growth rates would be higher at sites with higher precipitation levels. Growth rate was not associated with predation rate, but it varied with precipitation level, with faster nestling growth rates during wet years for the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher living at north-temperate latitudes. Among species, similar growth rates were found during wet years. These results indicate that, at least as proximate causes, precipitation explains intraspecific and interspecific growth rate variation in Tyrannus species to a larger degree than predation. Additionally, the variation in growth rate we observed between wet and dry years indicates a high level of plasticity in growth rate in this group of insectivorous birds.
Aprepitant, an antiemetic agent, interferes with metal ion homeostasis of Candida auris and displays potent synergistic interactions with azole drugs

ABSTRACT With the rapid increase in the frequency of azole-resistant species, combination therapy appears to be a promising tool to augment the antifungal activity of azole drugs against resistant Candida species. Here, we report the effect of aprepitant, an antiemetic agent, on the antifungal activities of azole drugs against the multidrug-resistant Candida auris. Aprepitant reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of itraconazole in vitro, by up to eight-folds. Additionally, the aprepitant/itraconazole combination interfered significantly with the biofilm-forming ability of C. auris by 95 ± 0.13%, and significantly disrupted mature biofilms by 52 ± 0.83%, relative to the untreated control. In a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model, the aprepitant/itraconazole combination significantly prolonged the survival of infected nematodes by ~90% (five days post-infection) and reduced the fungal burden by ~92% relative to the untreated control. Further, this novel drug combination displayed broad-spectrum synergistic interactions against other medically important Candida species such as C. albicans, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, and C. parapsilosis (ƩFICI ranged from 0.08 to 0.31). Comparative transcriptomic profiling and mechanistic studies indicated aprepitant/itraconazole interferes significantly with metal ion homeostasis and compromises the ROS detoxification ability of C. auris. This study presents aprepitant as a novel, potent, and broad-spectrum azole chemosensitizing agent that warrants further investigation.
Natsumushi: Image measuring software for entomological studies

Natsumushi is a free image analysis software that offers easy handling and quick measurement, designed especially for entomologists as the main users. The software enables measurement of: (i) color features of a specific region; (ii) area size; (iii) length of simple lines or polylines; and (iv) number of points or their x–y coordinates. Users can specify the region for measurement either manually or automatically by using image thresholding operations. The software is freely available at the website https://staff.aist. go.jp/t-fukatsu/Natsumushi.html.
The PARENT model: a pathway approach for understanding parents’ role after early childhood mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract Objective Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI or “concussion”) is a highly prevalent health condition in children, and those under the age of 6 years have the highest rate of Emergency Department presentation for suspected head injuries. The outcome of mTBI is determined by a range of child (injury, biological, functional) and environmental (socio-economic status, parent, family) factors. The aim of this work is to present evidence supporting the central role of parental and familial factors in pediatric mTBI recovery, and to illustrate ways in which parental factors can especially influence the outcome of early mTBI, defined as injuries sustained by infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Method The manuscript first presents a topical review of empirical studies providing evidence that family functioning and parental factors such as their mental or affective state, parenting style, and the quality of their interactions with their child, are affected by and determine the course of recovery after pediatric mTBI. Then, a pathway approach and conceptual model are proposed to illustrate probable scenarios associated with how parents detect and react to their child’s post-concussive symptoms and changes in behavior after early mTBI. Conclusion The “Perception, Attribution, and Response after Early Non-inflicted Traumatic Brain Injury” (PARENT) model suggests that parental roles and factors are especially influential in the context of early brain injuries, and that parents’ ability to perceive, attribute and respond to the symptoms experienced by their child in a well-adjusted and adaptive manner critically sets the direction and rhythm of the early mTBI recovery process.
Bacillus-based bionematicides: development, modes of action and commercialisation

ABSTRACT Agricultural crops are severely damaged by root-knot nematodes causing extensive financial losses globally. Historically, agrochemicals have been the preferred method to combat these pests; however, threats to humans and the environment posed by these agrochemicals led to the need for developing new biocontrol agents. Importantly, the latter should adhere to biosafety regulations while being highly effective. Root-knot nematodes live in soil and thus the use of rhizobacteria such as Bacillus for biocontrol development have shown potential. Although various Bacillus species have been tested in this capacity, little is known about their secondary metabolites and the mechanisms of action responsible for their nematicidal activity. If these secondary metabolites can be qualitatively and quantitatively characterised, metabolic features could be synthetically engineered and used to combat root-knot nematodes. Although there is great potential for bionematicides, the commercialisation and development of such products can be difficult. This review summarises the importance of Bacillus species as natural antagonists of root-knot nematodes through the production of secondary metabolites. It provides an overview of the significance of root-knot nematodes in agriculture and the advances of chemical nematicides in recent years. The potential of Bacillus species as biocontrol agents, the known mechanisms of action responsible for the nematicidal activity demonstrated by Bacillus species, non-target effects of biocontrol agents and the commercialisation of Bacillus-based bionematicides are discussed.
Efficacy of nedaplatin combined with docetaxel in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its influence on ECRG4 and VEGF expressions.

PURPOSE To explore the efficacy of nedaplatin combined with docetaxel in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its influence on the expressions of esophageal cancer-related gene 4 (ECRG4) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). METHODS 86 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, admitted to and treated in our hospital from March 2016 to February 2018, were selected and randomly divided into control group (n=43) and observation group (n=43). Chemotherapy combining cisplatin with fluorouracil was administered in the control group, while nedaplatin combined with docetaxel was given in the observation group. Then the efficacy, adverse reactions, the levels of serum hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and VEGF in patients before and after treatment, and the change in the expression level of ECRG4 in foci after treatment were compared between the two groups. After 1-year follow-up, the improvement in quality of life was compared between the two groups of patients. RESULTS The objective remission rate and disease control rate in the observation group were obviously higher than in the control group (p<0.05), and the total incidence rate of adverse reactions in the observation group was evidently lower than in the control group (p<0.05). At 2, 4, and 6 weeks after treatment, the two groups of patients had substantially decreased levels of serum HIF-1α and VEGF, and the declines were more apparent in the observation group (p<0.05). The expression level of ECRG4 in foci in the observation group was remarkably higher than in the control group (p<0.05). The observation group exhibited more apparent improvement in quality of life than the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Nedaplatin combined with docetaxel has better short-term efficacy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with milder adverse reactions, and it can reduce the levels of serum HIF-1α and VEGF, and up-regulate ECRG4 expression in patients, exerting an anti-carcinoma effect.
Safety and Biovigilance in Organ Donation (SAFEBOD): Protocol for a Population-Based Cohort Study

Background Tension lies between the need to increase access to organ transplantation and the equally urgent need to prevent inadvertent transmission of infectious diseases or cancer from organ donors. Biovigilance, or the evaluation of potential donors, is often time-pressured and may be based on incomplete information. Objective The Safety and Biovigilance in Organ Donation (SAFEBOD) study aims to improve estimates of infection and cancer transmission risk and explore how real-time data access could support decision-making. Methods We will link existing donor referral, actual donor, recipient, and health-outcome data sets from 2000-2015 in New South Wales. Organ donor data sets will include the Organ Donor Characterizing Risk-Profile of Donors Study, the National Organ Matching System, the Australian and New Zealand Organ Donor Register, and the Australian and New Zealand Living Donor Kidney Register. Recipient data sets will include the Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Register, the Australian and New Zealand Cardiothoracic Register, the Australian and New Zealand Islet and Pancreas Register, and the Australian and New Zealand Liver Transplant Register. New South Wales health outcome data sets will include HIV and AIDS Notifications and Surveillance Data, the Notifiable Conditions Information Management System, Admitted Patient Data Collection, Emergency Department Data Collection, the Central Cancer Registry, and the Cause of Death Data Collection. We will link organ donors to transplant recipients and health outcomes data sets using probabilistic data-matching based on personal identifiers. Transmission and nontransmission events will be determined by comparing previous cases in donors and posttransplant cases in recipients. We will compare the perceived-risk at referral with the verified risk from linked health outcome data sets and the odds of cancer or contracting an infectious disease in organ recipients from donors based on their transmission-risk profile and estimate recipient survival by donor transmission risk group. Results Data were requested from each of the listed registries in September 2018, and data collection is ongoing. Linked data from all listed data sets are expected to be complete in September 2020. Conclusions The SAFEBOD study will overcome current limitations in organ donation by accessing comprehensive information on referred organ donors and recipients in existing data sets. The study will provide robust estimates of disease transmission and nontransmission events based on recent data. It will also describe the agreement between perceived risk estimated at the time of referral and verified risk when all health outcome data are accessible. The improved understanding of transmission and nontransmission events will inform clinical decisions and highlight where current policies can be revised to broaden the acceptance of deceased donors. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/18282