Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corner Store Retailers’ Perspectives on a Discontinued Healthy Corner Store Initiative

Making fresh fruits and vegetables (FFV) more widely available has been a prominent focus of healthy retail interventions and may have an important role in improving food access and diet quality at the population level. ‘Healthy retail’ interventions in corner/convenience stores (CS) are increasingly being adopted by public health practitioners to address the diet-related risk factors, improve food access at the community level, and change food retail environments. Private sector retailers are integral to the success of public health retailing interventions, making their perspectives and experiences critical. There is a particular need for greater evidence from retailers in settings where evaluations of these interventions have yielded null or mixed results. Through semi-structured interviews with 8 CS retailers (7 from urban settings and 1 from rural) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this study aimed to describe experiences and critical factors regarding the feasibility and sustainability of a healthy CS program that was not sustained following the pilot testing phase, with a specific focus on the sale of FFV. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data, which indicated that retailers faced two dominant challenges with selling FFV in CS: both relate to how these stores are embedded in the larger local and global food system. We join others in arguing that efforts and support for retail interventions aiming to increase the availability of FFV in CS need to address the structure and relations of the food system, as an upstream determinant of CS retailer interest and motivation.
SMART approaches for genome-wide analyses of skeletal muscle stem and niche cells

Abstract Muscle stem cells (MuSCs) also called satellite cells are the building blocks of skeletal muscle, the largest tissue in the human body which is formed primarily of myofibers. While MuSCs are the principal cells that directly contribute to the formation of the muscle fibers, their ability to do so depends on critical interactions with a vast array of nonmyogenic cells within their niche environment. Therefore, understanding the nature of communication between MuSCs and their niche is of key importance to understand how the skeletal muscle is maintained and regenerated after injury. MuSCs are rare and therefore difficult to study in vivo within the context of their niche environment. The advent of single-cell technologies, such as switching mechanism at 5’ end of the RNA template (SMART) and tagmentation based technologies using hyperactive transposase, afford the unprecedented opportunity to perform whole transcriptome and epigenome studies on rare cells within their niche environment. In this review, we will delve into how single-cell technologies can be applied to the study of MuSCs and muscle-resident niche cells and the impact this can have on our understanding of MuSC biology and skeletal muscle regeneration.
Effects of exercise programs on physical function and activity levels in patients undergoing hemodialysis. A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND There are still many barriers when implementing exercise routines within daily dialysis care, even though benefits are well-known. Developing cost-effective strategies is necessary to overcome these barriers and include exercise as a complementary therapy in dialysis. AIM To compare several exercise programs on hemodialysis patient's functional capacity and health-related quality of life. DESIGN This study was a 16-week follow-up, two-parallel group trial with balanced randomization. SETTING Participants in this study belonged to a private hospitalized care center. POPULATION Referred sample of 71 patients that suffered end-stage chronic kidney disease who underwent hemodialysis for at least 3 months and had a medical stable condition. METHODS 36 participants performed during 16 weeks an intradialytic exercise program lead by the nursing staff of the hemodialysis unit and 35 a home-based program supervised by physical therapists of the hospital. RESULTS The main researcher and the data analyst were both blinded to participant allocation. There was a significant effect in time for both groups. Participants improved significantly in the Short Performance Physical Battery (SPPB), One-Leg Heel-Rise (OLHR) and 6 Minute-Walk Test (6MWT), and in the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and Short Survey Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS Nurse-led and home-based exercise interventions produce beneficial effects involving physical function, activity levels and health-related quality of life in patients undergoing hemodialysis. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT The study emphasizes the importance of exercise rehabilitation routines in fragile populations such as dialysis patients, and the potential to overcome barriers for its daily implementation.
Association analysis of miRNA-related genetic polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and KRAS with colorectal cancer susceptibility and survival

Abstract Background: There is accumulating evidence of aberrant expression of miR-143 and miR-145 and their target gene KRAS in colorectal cancer (CRC). We hypothesize that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within or near mRNA–microRNA (miRNA) binding sites may affect miRNA/target gene interaction, resulting in differential mRNA/protein expression and promoting the development and progression of CRC. Methods: We conducted a case–control study of 507 patients with CRC recruited from a tertiary hospital and 497 population-based controls to assess the association of genetic polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and the KRAS 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) with susceptibility to CRC and patients’ survival. In addition, genetic variations of genomic regions located from 500 bp upstream to 500 bp downstream of the miR-143/miR-145 gene and the 3′UTR of KRAS were selected for analysis using the Haploview and HaploReg software. Results: Using publicly available expression profiling data, we found that miR-143/145 and KRAS expression were all reduced in rectal cancer tissue compared with adjacent non-neoplastic large intestinal mucosa. The rs74693964 C/T variant located 65 bp downstream of miR-145 genomic regions was observed to be associated with susceptibility to CRC (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 2.414, 95% CI: 1.385–4.206). Cumulative effects of miR-143 and miR-145 on CRC risk were observed (Ptrend=0.03). Patients having CRC carrying variant genotype TT of KRAS rs712 had poorer survival (log-rank P=0.044, adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 4.328, 95% CI: 1.236–15.147). Conclusions: Our results indicate that miRNA-related polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and KRAS are likely to be deleterious and represent potential biomarkers for susceptibility to CRC and patients’ survival.
Primary platinum resistance and its prognostic impact in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer: an analysis of three prospective trials from the NOGGO study group

Objective Patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) have a high need for reliable prognostic markers. Since significance of primary platinum resistance (PPR) versus secondary platinum resistance (SPR) was identified for patients receiving anti-angiogenic therapy, it has not been confirmed for chemotherapy only. Methods PROC patients from 3 prospective trials of the NOGGO study group (TOWER, NOGGO-Treosulfan, and TRIAS) were included in this meta-analysis. Exploratory Cox and logistic regression analyses were performed to correlate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) with the timing when platinum resistance developed. Results Of 477 patients, 264 (55.3%) were classified as PPR, compared to 213 (44.7%) with SPR. For patients receiving chemotherapy only, SPR was associated with a significantly longer median PFS of 3.9 compared to 3.1 months for PPR (hazard ratio [HR]=0.78; p=0.015). SPR versus PPR was confirmed to be an independent prognostic factor for better PFS in multivariate analysis (HR=0.74; p=0.029). Benefit from adding sorafenib to chemotherapy was mainly seen in PPR (HR=0.40; p<0.001) compared to SPR patients (HR=0.83; p=0.465). Conclusions Prognostic significance of SPR versus PPR could be elucidated for patients receiving chemotherapy only. In contrast to bevacizumab, the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib exhibits profound therapeutic efficacy in PPR patients indicating potential to overcome this negative prognostic impact.
Criticality of a conserved tyrosine residue in the SpeG protein from Escherichia coli

The SpeG spermidine/spermine N‐acetyltransferase (SSAT) from Escherichia coli belongs to the Gcn5‐related N‐acetyltransferase (GNAT) superfamily of proteins. In vitro characterization of this enzyme shows it acetylates the polyamines spermine and spermidine, with a preference toward spermine. This enzyme has a conserved tyrosine residue (Y135) that is found in all SSAT proteins and many GNAT functional subfamilies. It is located near acetyl coenzyme A in the active center of these proteins and has been suggested to act as a general acid in a general acid/base chemical mechanism. In contrast, a previous study showed this residue was not critical for E. coli SpeG enzymatic activity when mutated to phenylalanine. This result was quite different from previous studies with a comparable residue in the human and mouse SSAT proteins, which also acetylate spermine and spermidine. Therefore, we constructed several mutants of the E. coli SpeG Y135 residue and tested their enzymatic activity. We found this conserved residue was indeed critical for E. coli SpeG enzyme activity and may behave similarly in other SSAT proteins.
Identification of loss-of-function RyR2 mutations associated with idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and sudden death

Abstract Mutations in cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) are linked to catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). Most CPVT RyR2 mutations characterized are gain-of-function (GOF), indicating enhanced RyR2 function as a major cause of CPVT. Loss-of-function (LOF) RyR2 mutations have also been identified and are linked to a distinct entity of cardiac arrhythmia termed RyR2 Ca2+ release deficiency syndrome (CRDS). Exercise stress testing (EST) is routinely used to diagnose CPVT, but it is ineffective for CRDS. There is currently no effective diagnostic tool for CRDS in humans. An alternative strategy to assess the risk for CRDS is to directly determine the functional impact of the associated RyR2 mutations. To this end, we have functionally screened 18 RyR2 mutations that are associated with idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) or sudden death. We found two additional RyR2 LOF mutations E4146K and G4935R. The E4146K mutation markedly suppressed caffeine activation of RyR2 and abolished store overload induced Ca2+ release (SOICR) in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells. E4146K also severely reduced cytosolic Ca2+ activation and abolished luminal Ca2+ activation of single RyR2 channels. The G4935R mutation completely abolished caffeine activation of and [3H]ryanodine binding to RyR2. Co-expression studies showed that the G4935R mutation exerted dominant negative impact on the RyR2 wildtype (WT) channel. Interestingly, the RyR2-G4935R mutant carrier had a negative EST, and the E4146K carrier had a family history of sudden death during sleep, which are different from phenotypes of typical CPVT. Thus, our data further support the link between RyR2 LOF and a new entity of cardiac arrhythmias distinct from CPVT.
Maternal Adverse Childhood Experience and Depression in Relation with Brain Network Development and Behaviors in Children: A Longitudinal Study.

Maternal childhood maltreatment and depression increase risks for the psychopathology of the offspring. This study employed a longitudinal dataset of mother-child dyads to investigate the developmental trajectories of brain functional networks and behaviors of children in relation with maternal childhood adverse experience and depression. Maternal childhood trauma was retrospectively assessed via childhood trauma questionnaire, whereas maternal depressive symptoms were prospectively evaluated during pregnancy and after delivery (n = 518). Child brain scans were acquired at age of 4.5, 6, and 7.5 years (n = 163) and behavioral problems were measured at 7.5 years using the Child Behavior Checklist. We found the functional connectivity of the language network with the sensorimotor, frontal, and attentional networks as a function of maternal adverse experience that interacted with sex and age. Girls exposed to mothers with depressive symptoms or childhood abuse showed the increased development of the functional connectivity of the language network with the visual networks, which was associated with social problems. Girls exposed to mothers with depressive symptoms showed the slower growth of the functional connectivity of the language network with the sensorimotor networks. Our findings, in a community sample, suggest the language network organization as neuroendophenotypes for maternal childhood trauma and depression.
Acupuncture, from the ancient to the current

Acupuncture is characterized by the insertion of a fine metal needle through the skin of the human body at an acupuncture point (acupoint) in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is an ancient form of therapy, and has a long history of prosperity and decline. Due to the persistent efforts of TCM practitioners, a number of well‐designed clinical trials regarding acupuncture have been published in the past decade. Besides, numerous basic researches aiming to reveal the mechanisms of acupuncture have also been conducted. Several scientific explanations have been obtained to interpret the arcane TCM theory. This review provides brief information of acupuncture, including its history, status, evidence, and mechanisms.
Multinational Study to Assess Stress Levels Among the Health Care Workers of Radiation Oncology Community at the Outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

PURPOSE To evaluate stress levels among the health care workers (HCWs) of the radiation oncology community in Asian countries. METHODS HCWs of the radiation oncology departments from 29 tertiary cancer care centers of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal were studied from May 2020 to July 2020. A total of 758 eligible HCWs were identified. The 7-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire, and 22-Item Impact of Events Scale-Revised were used for assessing anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done to identify the causative factors affecting mental health. RESULTS A total of 758 participants from 794 HCWs were analyzed. The median age was 31 years (IQR, 27-28). The incidence of moderate to severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress was 34.8%, 31.2%, and 18.2%, respectively. Severe personal concerns were noticed by 60.9% of the staff. On multivariate analysis, the presence of commonly reported symptoms of COVID-19 during the previous 2 weeks, contact history (harzard ratio [HR], 2.04; CI, 1.15 to 3.63), and compliance with precautionary measures (HR, 1.69; CI, 1.19 to 2.45) for COVID-19 significantly predicted for increasing anxiety (HR, 2.67; CI, 1.93 to 3.70), depression (HR, 3.38; CI 2.36 to 4.84), and stress (HR, 2.89; CI, 1.88 to 4.43) (P < .001). A significant regional variation was also noticed for anxiety, stress, and personal concerns. CONCLUSION This survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that a significant proportion of HCWs in the radiation oncology community experiences moderate to severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. This trend is alarming and it is important to identify and intervene at the right time to improve the mental health of HCWs to avoid any long-term impacts.
Association between the omentin-1 gene rs2274907 A>T polymorphism and colorectal cancer in the Chinese Han population: a case-control study

Objective To explore the relationship between the omentin-1 gene rs2274907 A>T polymorphism and colorectal cancer (CRC) in the Chinese Han population. Methods rs2274907 A>T was assessed by PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Plasma omentin-1 expression from 358 patients with CRC and 286 healthy controls was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. CRC and control groups were divided into subgroups according to the body mass index (BMI) threshold of 25 kg/m2. Results No significant differences were observed between CRC and control groups in terms of genotype or allele frequencies of rs2274907 A>T. Compared with individuals with BMI <25 kg/m2 and the rs2274907 TT genotype, those with AA+AT genotypes and BMI ≥25 kg/m2 had a 3.027-fold increased risk of CRC. A significant tendency toward a higher stage of colorectal adenocarcinomas and depth of invasion was observed in individuals with the rs2274907 AA genotype compared with other genotypes. Conclusions The omentin-1 gene rs2274907 A>T polymorphism does not seem to play a critical role in the development of CRC in the Chinese Han population, but an interaction between the rs2274907 A allele and BMI may increase the CRC risk. The rs2274907 AA genotype is a potential biomarker for CRC stage progression.
Étude et réalisation de cristaux photoniques à base de polymère: Applications à l’optique non-linéaire et à l’optique quantique

Les proprietes des cristaux photoniques et quasi-cristaux photoniques sont etudiees theorique- ment et experimentalement. Nous avons demontre l’interet des structures quasi-periodiques en vue de l’obtention d’une bande photonique interdite isotrope avec un materiau de faible indice de refraction. Ces structures photoniques sont tres prometteuses pour ameliorer les proprietes optiques des particules actives via un couplage photonique. A cet effet, nous avons mis en œuvre de nouvelles technologies de fabrication pour realiser des structures photoniques sub-micrometriques 1D, 2D, et 3D a base de materiaux polymeres. Les deux techniques originales sont i) l’interferences de deux faisceaux laser avec une exposition multiple et ii) la gravure directe par absorption ultra-faible a un photon. Chaque technique presente ses avantages propres, mais elles sont toutes simples et a faible cout. Nous avons ensuite realise des etudes en optique lineaire et non-lineaire de materiaux poly- meres sous leurs differentes formes (couches minces ou structures), et mis en evidence un vaste choix d’applications interessantes. Les proprietes optiques et magnetiques des centres colores NV dans le diamant (massif ou nanocristal) sont egalement etudiees en detail. Ces centres peuvent deboucher sur plusieurs applications telles que la source de photons uniques a temperature ambiante, le capteur ultrasensible de champs magnetiques et electriques, ou encore l’informa- tion quantique. Les interactions entre ces materiaux actifs et les structures photoniques sont egalement etudiees. Finalement, nous avons mis au point theoriquement et experimentalement quelques tech- niques pour surmonter le probleme de la limite de diffraction dans un microscope optique, afin de realiser une imagerie optique super-resolue.
Identification des sites acides de Lewis des zéolithes Beta et Mordénite par modélisation et spectroscopie d’absorption de rayons X et Infrarouge

Le but de ce travail de these est d’identifier les sites acides de Lewis se formant lors de la deshydratation des zeolithes. Pour cela nous avons applique une approche combinant la spectroscopie d’absorption de rayons X et infrarouge et la modelisation moleculaire. Le calcul utilisant la theorie de la fonctionnelle de la densite a montre que trois types de sites aluminium sont generes lors du processus de deshydroxylation : les aluminiums tri-coordinnes, les aluminiums tetraedriques distordus et les aluminiums tri-coordines masques.L’interpretation des spectres d’absorption de rayons X au seuil K de l’aluminium s’est faite via le calcul des densites d’etats electroniques vides des sites generes. Nous avons montre que le pic apparaissant avant le seuil principal d’absorption est du principalement aux sites tetraedriques distordus et aux sites tri-coordinnes masques alors que les sites tri-coordinnes sont a l’origine d’un leger decrochement avant le seuil d’absorption. Les spectres infrarouge du monoxyde de carbone adsorbe sur les zeolites deshydratees a differentes temperatures ont montre la presence de deux acidites de Lewis. La modelisation des spectres infrarouge montre que l’acidite de Lewis moderee peut etre attribuee aux aluminiums tri-coordinnes et tri-coordinnes masques. L’acidite de Lewis plus forte pourrait provenir de sites silicium sous coordinnes se formant lors de la deshydroxylation.
Abnormal Cerebellar Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a group of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive behaviors with symptom onset in early infancy. The genetic risks for ASD have long been appreciated: concordance of ASD diagnosis may be as high as 90% for monozygotic twins and 30% for dizygotic twins, and hundreds of mutations in single genes have been associated with ASD. Nevertheless, only 5–30% of ASD cases can be explained by a known genetic cause, suggesting that genetics is not the only factor at play. More recently, several studies reported that up to 40% of infants with cerebellar hemorrhages and lesions are diagnosed with ASD. These hemorrhages are overrepresented in severely premature infants, who are born during a period of highly dynamic cerebellar development that encompasses an approximately 5-fold size expansion, an increase in structural complexity, and remarkable rearrangements of local neural circuits. The incidence of ASD-causing cerebellar hemorrhages during this window supports the hypothesis that abnormal cerebellar development may be a primary risk factor for ASD. However, the links between developmental deficits in the cerebellum and the neurological dysfunctions underlying ASD are not completely understood. Here, we discuss key processes in cerebellar development, what happens to the cerebellar circuit when development is interrupted, and how impaired cerebellar function leads to social and cognitive impairments. We explore a central question: Is cerebellar development important for the generation of the social and cognitive brain or is the cerebellum part of the social and cognitive brain itself?
A review of microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging: Excitation source, data acquisition system and biomedical applications

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging (TAI) is a noninvasive modality based on the differences in microwave absorption of various biological tissues. TAI has been extensively researched in recent years, and several studies have revealed that TAI possesses advantages such as high resolution, high contrast, high imaging depth and fast imaging speed. In this paper, we reviewed the development of the TAI technique, its excitation source, data acquisition system and biomedical applications. It is believed that TAI has great potential applications in biomedical research and clinical study.