Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Actin Cytoskeleton and Membrane Transporters in Cisplatin Resistance of Cancer Cells

Cisplatin [cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II)] is a platinum-based anticancer drug widely used for the treatment of various cancers. It forms interstrand and intrastrand cross-linking with DNA and block DNA replication, resulting in apoptosis. On the other hand, intrinsic and acquired cisplatin resistance restricts its therapeutic effects. Although some studies suggest that dramatic epigenetic alternations are involved in the resistance triggered by cisplatin, the mechanism is complicated and remains poorly understood. Recent studies reported that cytoskeletal structures regulate cisplatin sensitivity and that activities of membrane transporters contribute to the development of resistance to cisplatin. Therefore, we focus on the roles of actin filaments and membrane transporters in cisplatin-induced apoptosis. In this review, we summarize the relationship between actin cytoskeleton and membrane transporters in the cisplatin resistance of cancer cells.
Tell Me More: Transparency and Time-Fillers to Optimize Chatbots’ Waiting Time Experience

In customer-chatbot conversations, the agents regularly come to their limit, which requires to hand over the request to a human service representative. In the case of unmanaged handovers, customers encounter huge uncertainty while waiting and are often left alone with unsatisfied service inquiries. The waiting time (and service experience) might result in frustration and potential loss of the customer. In this paper, we discuss results from a study aimed at turning chatbot handover routines into positive experiences. In a lab study with (n=28) participants, we compared two handover types that utilized the concepts of time fillers and time and queue information with a baseline handover without such countermeasures. Our results, based on subjective waiting experience, service quality, as well as user experience and affect confirm that digital enterprises have to provide maximum transparency to customers, e.g., details about waiting time and queue status. In addition, they might use “time-fillers’’ in waiting situations to further improve customer satisfaction.
Identification of key genes and novel immune infiltration-associated biomarkers of sepsis

Sepsis is the major cause of mortality in the intensive care unit. The aim of this study was to identify the key prognostic biomarkers of abnormal expression and immune infiltration in sepsis. In this study, a total of 36 differentially expressed genes were identified to be mainly involved in a number of immune-related Gene Ontology terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. The hub genes (MMP9 and C3AR1) were significantly related to the prognosis of sepsis patients. The immune infiltration analysis indicated a significant difference in the relative cell content of naive B cells, follicular Th cells, activated NK cells, eosinophils, neutrophils and monocytes between sepsis and normal controls. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis and a de-convolution algorithm that quantifies the cellular composition of immune cells were used to analyse the sepsis expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and to identify modules related to differential immune cells. CEBPB is the key immune-related gene that may be involved in sepsis. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that CEBPB is involved in the processes of T cell selection, B cell–mediated immunity, NK cell activation and pathways of T cells, B cells and NK cells. Therefore, CEBPB may play a key role in the biological and immunological processes of sepsis.
Appendicular skeletal morphology of North American Martes reflect independent modes of evolution in conjunction with Pleistocene glacial cycles

Pleistocene glacial cycles are thought to have driven ecological niche shifts, including novel niche formation. North American pine martens, Martes americana and M. caurina, are exemplar taxa thought to have diverged molecularly and morphologically during Pleistocene glaciation. Previous research found correlations between Martes limb morphology with biome and climate, suggesting that appendicular evolution may have occurred via adaptation to selective pressures imposed by novel and shifting habitats. Such variation can also be achieved through non‐adaptive means such as genetic drift. Here, we evaluate whether regional genetic differences reflect limb morphology differences among populations of M. americana and M. caurina by analyzing evolutionary tempo and mode of six limb elements. Our comparative phylogenetic models indicate that genetic structure predicts limb shape better than size. Marten limb size has low phylogenetic signal, and the best supported model of evolution is punctuational (kappa), with morphological and genetic divergence occurring simultaneously. Disparity through time analysis suggests that the tempo of limb evolution in Martes tracks Pleistocene glacial cycles, such that limb size may be responding to shifting climates rather than population genetic structure. Contrarily, we find that limb shape is strongly tied to genetic relationships, with high phylogenetic signal and a lambda mode of evolution. Overall, this pattern of limb size and shape variation may be the result of geographic isolation during Pleistocene glacial advance, while declines in disparity suggest hybridization during interglacial periods. Future inclusion of extinct populations of Martes, which were more morphologically and ecologically diverse, may further clarify Martes phenotypic evolution.
Effects of root morphology, respiration and carboxylate exudation on carbon economy in two non-mycorrhizal lupines under phosphorus deficiency.

Under phosphorus (P) deficiency, Lupinus albus develops cluster roots that allow efficient P acquisition, while L. angustifolius without cluster roots also grows well. Both species are non-mycorrhizal. We quantitatively examined the carbon budgets to investigate the different strategies of these species. Biomass allocation, respiratory rates, protein amounts, and carboxylate exudation rates were examined in hydroponically-grown plants treated with low (1 μM; P1) or high (100 μM; P100) P. At P1, L. albus formed cluster roots, and L. angustifolius increased biomass allocation to the roots. The respiratory rates of the roots were faster in L. albus than in L. angustifolius. The protein amounts of the non-phosphorylating alternative oxidase and uncoupling protein were greater in the cluster roots of L. albus at P1 than in the roots at P100, but similar between the P treatments in L. angustifolius roots. At P1, L. albus exuded carboxylates at a faster rate than L. angustifolius. The carbon budgets at P1 were surprisingly similar between the two species, which is attributed to the contrasting root growth and development strategies. L. albus developed cluster roots with rapid respiratory and carboxylate exudation rates, while L. angustifolius developed a larger root system with slow respiratory and exudation rates. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Aminoglycoside riboswitch control of the expression of integron associated aminoglycoside resistance adenyltransferases

ABSTRACT The proliferation of antibiotic resistance has its origins in horizontal gene transfer. The class 1 integrons mediate gene transfer by assimilating antibiotic-resistance genes through site-specific recombination. For the class 1 integrons the first assimilated gene normally encodes an aminoglycoside antibiotic resistance protein which is either an aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (AAC), nucleotidyltransferase – (ANT), or adenyl transferase (AAD). An aminoglycoside-sensing riboswitch RNA in the leader RNA of AAC/AAD that controls the expression of aminoglycoside resistance genes has been previously described. Here we explore the relationship between the recombinant products of integron recombination and a series of candidate riboswitch RNAs in the 5ʹ UTR of aad (aminoglycoside adenyltransferases) genes. The RNA sequences from the 5ʹ UTR of the aad genes from pathogenic strains that are the products of site-specific DNA recombination by class 1 integrons were investigated. Reporter assays, MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) and covariance analysis revealed that a functional aminoglycoside-sensing riboswitch was selected at the DNA level through integron-mediated site-specific recombination. This study explains the close association between integron recombination and the aminoglycoside-sensing riboswitch RNA.
Metabolite screening of Medicago truncatula applying salt and drought stress

In ungestressten Pflanzen von Medicago truncatula zeigen die Stickstoff-fixierenden Pflanzen hohere Metabolitkonzentrationen auf als die gedungten Pflanzen. Wenn man nun 2 Tage lang hohen Salzstress von 200 mM NaCl oder Trockenstress appliziert, dann weisen Stickstoff-fixierende Pflanzen meist geringere Metabolitkonzentrationen als gedungten Pflanzen auf. Weiters konnte festgestellt werden, dass abiotischer Stress in den Wurzeln starkere Reaktionen hervorruft als im Spross, und dies unabhangig, ob die Pflanze Stickstoff-fixierende Bakterien besitzt oder nicht. Zusatzlich konnte herausgefunden werden, dass gedungte Pflanzen mit 2 Tage langem Salzstress besser umgehen konnen als Stickstoff-fixierende; bei gedungten Pflanzen sieht man fast keine signifikanten Metabolitkonzentrationsanderungen. Im selben Zusammenhang konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Einwirkdauer des Salzstresses ausschlaggebend fur Metabolitkonzentrationsanderungen ist: Konkret, bei der Untersuchung der Wurzeln von Stickstoff-fixierenden Pflanzen wurde in dieser Studie gezeigt, dass nach 2 Tagen Salzstress die Konzentration zweier Metabolite des TCA- Zyklus gestiegen sind, hingegen in einer anderen Studie, bei der 6 Tage lange Salzstress appliziert wurde die Konzentrationen derselben Metabolite aber gesunken sind. Interessanterweise weisen Pflanzen, die 2 Tage lang einem geringeren Salzstress ausgesetzt waren, eine starkere Reaktion auf als Pflanzen, die hoherem Salzstress ausgesetzt waren. Dabei befinden sich die signifikanten Metabolitkonzentrationsanderungen in den Sprossen und nicht in den Wurzeln. Weiters konnte Oxalsaure als geeigneter Marker fur Salzstress identifiziert werden. Gedungte Pflanzen konnen mit Salzstress besser umgehen als mit Trockenstress. Bei Stickstoff-fixierenden Pflanzen ist es so, dass Salzstress hauptsachlich Aminosauren und Metabolite des TCA-Zyklus beeinflussen, wogegen Trockenstress hauptsachlich Veranderungen von Zuckerkonzentrationen bedingt. Eine weitere Auffalligkeit ist, dass in gedungten Pflanzen nach 2 Tagen Trockenstress die Metabolitkonzentrationen in Wurzeln als auch im Spross erhoht sind, hingegen in Stickstoff-fixierenden Pflanzen bei gleicher Behandlung die entsprechenden Konzentrationen abgenommen haben.
Hemostatic efficacy evaluation of radiation-crosslinked carboxymethyl cellulose granules and kappa-carrageenan/polyethylene oxide/polyethylene glycol dressing in rat bleeding models

Carboxymethyl cellulose granules (CMC-G) and kappa-carrageenan/polyethylene oxide/polyethylene glycol dressing (KPP-D) hemostatic agents, developed through radiation-induced crosslinking and sterilization, were tested in Sprague-Dawley rats using three bleeding models: (a) deep wound with the puncture of femoral artery; (b) aortic puncture; and (c) partial nephrectomy. Dressing and granules were applied in the animals without sustained compression and monitored for a period of 7 or 14 days. Comparisons were made against the commercial chitosan-based agent, Celox (CLX). Primary outcomes observed were bleeding time, the incidence of re-bleeding, animal survival, as well as gross and microscopic changes. The KPP-D group showed the shortest bleeding time for all bleeding models (a. 2.75 ± 0.64, b. 1.63 ± 0.54, c. 2.05 ± 0.62), significantly faster than all the other treatment groups. KPP-D also registered the highest survival rate of 100% with no display of gross abnormalities. CMC-G showed comparable bleeding time with CLX products but had a better survival rate at 98% compared to 96%. The incidence of re-bleeding was greater in CLX treated groups as well as more occurrence of granular adhesions that impacted mortality outcomes. Findings indicate the efficacy of KPP-D in the treatment of severe hemorrhage due to traumatic injury and intraoperative cases, while CMC-G was more suited for external trauma. Complications arising from inflammation, granules deposition, and adhesions emphasize stringent handling and removal of granular hemostat as a critical consideration in hemostat development and testing.
DeLFT and Entity-fishing: Tools for CLEF HIPE 2020 Shared Task

This article presents an overview of approaches and results during our participation in the CLEF HIPE 2020 NERC-COARSE-LIT and EL-ONLY tasks for English and French. For these two tasks, we use two systems: 1) DeLFT, a Deep Learning framework for text processing; 2) entity-ﬁshing , generic named entity recognition and disambiguation service deployed in the technical framework of INRIA.
Vocalization by extant nonavian reptiles: A synthetic overview of phonation and the vocal apparatus

Among amniote vertebrates, nonavian reptiles (chelonians, crocodilians, and lepidosaurs) are regarded as using vocal signals rarely (compared to birds and mammals). In all three reptilian clades, however, certain taxa emit distress calls and advertisement calls using modifications of regions of the upper respiratory tract. There is no central tendency in either acoustic mechanisms or the structure of the vocal apparatus, and many taxa that vocalize emit only relatively simple sounds. Available evidence indicates multiple origins of true vocal abilities within these lineages. Reptiles thus provide opportunities for studying the early evolutionary stages of vocalization. The early literature on the diversity of form of the laryngotracheal apparatus of reptiles boded well for the study of form‐function relationships, but this potential was not extensively explored. Emphasis shifted away from anatomy, however, and centered instead on acoustic analysis of the sounds that are produced. New investigative techniques have provided novel ways of studying the form‐function aspects of the structures involved in phonation and have brought anatomical investigation to the forefront again. In this review we summarize what is known about hearing in reptiles in order to contextualize the vocal signals they generate and the sound‐producing mechanisms responsible for them. The diversity of form of the sound producing apparatus and the increasing evidence that reptiles are more dependent upon vocalization as a communication medium than previously thought indicates that they have a significant role to play in the understanding of the evolution of vocalization in amniotes.
Divergent membrane properties of mouse cochlear glial cells around hearing onset

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) are the primary afferent neurons of the auditory system, and together with their attendant glia, form the auditory nerve. Within the cochlea, satellite glial cells (SGCs) encapsulate the cell body of SGNs, whereas Schwann cells (SCs) wrap their peripherally‐ and centrally‐directed neurites. Despite their likely importance in auditory nerve function and homeostasis, the physiological properties of auditory glial cells have evaded description. Here, we characterized the voltage‐activated membrane currents of glial cells from the mouse cochlea. We identified a prominent weak inwardly rectifying current in SGCs within cochlear slice preparations (postnatal day P5‐P6), which was also present in presumptive SGCs within dissociated cultures prepared from the cochleae of hearing mice (P14‐P15). Pharmacological block by Ba2+ and desipramine suggested that channels belonging to the Kir4 family mediated the weak inwardly rectifying current, and post hoc immunofluorescence implicated the involvement of Kir4.1 subunits. Additional electrophysiological profiles were identified for glial cells within dissociated cultures, suggesting that glial subtypes may have specific membrane properties to support distinct physiological roles. Immunofluorescence using fixed cochlear sections revealed that although Kir4.1 is restricted to SGCs after the onset of hearing, these channels are more widely distributed within the glial population earlier in postnatal development (i.e., within both SGCs and SCs). The decrease in Kir4.1 immunofluorescence during SC maturation was coincident with a reduction of Sox2 expression and advancing neurite myelination. The data suggest a diversification of glial properties occurs in preparation for sound‐driven activity in the auditory nerve.
The prevalence and severity of periodontal disease in Mainland China: Data from the Fourth National Oral Health Survey (2015-2016).

AIM To evaluate periodontal conditions in adults in mainland China based on data from the 4th National Oral Health Survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data of adult subjects (35- to 44-year-old group [N = 4,409], 55- to 64-year-old group [N = 4,622], and 65- to 74-year-old group [N = 4,428]) were analyzed. Demographic, socioeconomic, personal habit, dental history, and health attitude data were obtained using a questionnaire. Periodontal condition was assessed using the standardized case definitions of the 2018 classification scheme. A multivariate analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between periodontitis severity and age, smoking status, gender, and region using generalized additive models after adjusting for confounders. RESULTS The frequency of subjects with periodontitis was 52.8%, 69.3%, and 64.6% in the three age groups, respectively. The frequency of subjects with severe periodontitis (stage III or IV) was 10.6%, 37.3%, and 43.5% in the three age groups, respectively. The severity of periodontal disease was positively associated with age. Current and former smokers exhibited significantly greater disease severity than non-smokers after adjustment for confounders. No significant difference of severity was found between males and females. CONCLUSION Within the limitations of the study, the prevalence of periodontitis is very high among adults in mainland China. Periodontal status is associated with age and smoking status.
Fraunhofer AICOS at CLEF eHealth 2020 Task 1: Clinical Code Extraction From Textual Data Using Fine-Tuned BERT Models

Nosology is an important branch of Medical Science that concerns the classiﬁcation and coding of diseases, conditions, procedures, and other medical information. This is a vital task for all stakeholders of the health sector, from hospitals and health regulators, to insurance companies and governments. The ICD10 system is the current revision of a Nosology system managed by the World Health Organization, being widely used internationally. Since medical coding is based on manual analysis of clinical textual data, it is ripe for automation, with Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques used to address this challenge. This paper describes our contribution to the CLEF eHealth 2020 Task 1 Challenge, regarding Information Extraction of ICD10 codes on un-structured Spanish clinical text. We present two approaches for ICD10 code extraction based on Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) and the BERT Deep Learning Language Model. The BERT -based methodology achieved a mean average precision of 0 . 517 and 0 . 445 for ICD10-CM and ICD10-PCS codes, respectively, and a F1 score of 0 . 505 for the Explain-able AI subtask. The results obtained show the ﬂexibility and robustness of pre-trained Deep Learning models for NLP, only requiring ﬁne-tuning for a particular task, leading to reduced requirements both for labelled data and computational eﬀort.
Individual Treatment Prescription Effect Estimation in a Low Compliance Setting

Individual Treatment Effect (ITE) estimation is an extensively researched problem, with applications in various domains. We model the case where there exists heterogeneous non-compliance to a randomly assigned treatment, a typical situation in health (because of non-compliance to prescription) or digital advertising (because of competition and ad blockers for instance). The lower the compliance, the more the effect of treatment prescription - or individual prescription effect (IPE) - signal fades away and becomes harder to estimate. We propose a new approach for the estimation of the IPE that takes advantage of observed compliance information to prevent signal fading. Using the Structural Causal Model framework and do-calculus, we define a general mediated causal effect setting and propose a corresponding estimator which consistently recovers the IPE with asymptotic variance guarantees. Finally, we conduct experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets that highlight the benefit of the approach, which consistently improves state-of-the-art in low compliance settings.
Structure-Function Analysis of Toxin-like Protein of Haliclona molitba Associated with Symbiotic Bacteria from Indonesian Islands

Tropical marine sponge, Haliclona molitba is collected from Indonesian archipelago and investigated for toxin-like protein activities. The aim of this research is to determine the structure-function relationships of the toxin-like protein, especially for hemolytic and hem agglutination activities which have wide range potentials as anticancer, antitumor, and antimicrobial, from two distinguished type of sponges: cultured (A03k) and uncultured (A03) Haliclona molitba. The crude toxin-like proteins were extracted from A03k and A03 at concentration 0.26 mg/mL and 0.23 mg/mL in aqueous extracts, respectively. On SDS-PAGE, the crude protein yielded five well-defined bands around 17, 24, 36, 96, and 120 kDa from A03 and four well-defined bands around 17, 37, 44 and 96 kDa from A03k. Hemolytic and hemagglunation assays were conducted by utilizing 8 weeks old of male Sprague Dawley rat erythrocyte. The results showed that hemolytic activity was found on protein extracted from A03k while hemagglutinating activities were not found in both cultured (A03k) and unculterd (A03) of Haliclona molitba. Symbiotic bacteria associated with Haliclona molitba are predicted as Enterobacter sp. This finding revealed that the marine sponge is a potential source of novel bioactive proteins.
Within- and Between- Person Relationships among Health, Awareness of Aging, and Control Beliefs: A Micro-Longitudinal Study.

OBJECTIVE Control beliefs are bidirectionally related to physical and cognitive health, and control beliefs are associated with awareness of aging (subjective age and awareness of age-related change [AARC]), but it is unclear how these processes unfold within-persons over time. We examine these relationships from both between- and within-person perspectives. METHODS Older adults (n=116) ranging in age from 60 to 90 (M=64.71) completed a nine-day daily diary study online, resulting in 743 total days. Participants reported their sociodemographic characteristics on Day 1 and physical symptoms, memory failures, felt age, daily AARC gain and loss experiences, and control beliefs on Days 2-9. RESULTS Within-person deviations from one's typical awareness of aging (AARC losses, AARC gains, and subjective age) were associated with fluctuations in control beliefs. Multilevel mediation results showed that between-person AARC losses mediated the relationship between health (both physical symptoms and memory failures) and control beliefs, whereas both within- and between- person control beliefs mediated the relationship between physical health and AARC losses. Model fit comparisons showed that models with control beliefs mediating health and awareness of aging fit better than models with awareness of aging mediating health and control beliefs. DISCUSSION Our findings suggest that within-person physical and cognitive health indicators were associated with awareness of aging indirectly through control beliefs. Although between-person differences in AARC losses may link health and control beliefs, our results suggest that a more consistent pattern involves control beliefs linking health and awareness of aging.