Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multi-modal exercise intervention that improves cognitive function and physical performance, elderly with mobility-related disability: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Physical exercise interventions have showed improvement on cognitive performance and mobility of old people. However, the results regarding the inclusion of cognitive activities into exercise were not evaluated simultaneously. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of multimodal exercise program on cognitive function and physical performance in elderly people with mobility disabilities. METHODS The sample of the study consisted of 70 old people randomly appointed to the exercise and control groups (35 people for each) with mobility disabilities. A new exercise program was conducted for old people in the exercise group for 6 months. Evaluation between 1st and 24th week included cognitive change, mobility, balance and walking parameters. RESULTS Exercise group showed better performance on orientation, memory and language point than before the intervention (p<0.05). Again, the total mental test score of the exercise group significantly increased from [18.7±3.5] to [20.1±3.5] after the intervention (p<0.001). People without a cognitive disorder increased from 8 to 11 in the exercise group (p<0.001), while the number did not change in control group. Correlation was found between exercise group and activities such as mobility, walking and balance performance (r=0.81; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS A multimodal exercise program with intense mental activities enabled an improvement in both cognitive and physical performance in old people with loss of competences due to mobility.
Screening gender minority people for harmful alcohol use

This study identifies how to screen for harmful alcohol use among gender minority (e.g., transgender and gender-expansive) people using brief screening methods and identifies which screening methods perform best among gender-expansive, transfeminine, and transmasculine subgroups, as screening recommendations are not currently available. Using 2018 Annual Questionnaire data from The PRIDE Study, area under the curve (AUC) values were compared to identify which screening methods (“4 or more” or “5 or more” drinks on one occasion in the past year, or one or more items from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT]) best predicted (i) harmful alcohol use and (ii) one or more past year alcohol dependence symptoms or consequences. Among 1892 participants, “5 or more” drinks on one occasion (AUC ranges: 0.82–0.86) performed better than “4 or more” drinks (AUC ranges: 0.78–0.81) in predicting harmful drinking. The screening methods “4 or more” drinks, “5 or more” drinks, and the consumption items of the AUDIT (AUDIT-C) using a cutoff score of 3 all maximized sensitivity and specificity to predict alcohol dependence symptoms or consequences in gender minority people overall (AUC: 0.77–0.78). Screening for “5 or more” drinks on one occasion within the past year performed as well as or better than other screening methods to detect both harmful drinking and alcohol dependence-related symptoms or consequences. This single-item screening method can identify if more extensive alcohol use assessment is warranted with gender minority people.
A Pilot Study on the Effect of Anti-Thrombopoietin Antibody on Platelet Count in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Thrombopoietin (THPO) is a circulatory cytokine that plays an important role in platelet production. The presence of anti-THPO antibody relates to thrombocytopenia and is rarely seen in hematopoietic and autoimmune diseases. To date, there had been no reports that focused on the anti-THPO antibody in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). To evaluate prevalence of the anti-THPO antibody in patients with T2DM and the relationship between anti-THPO antibody and platelet count, a cross-sectional study was performed on 82 patients with T2DM. The anti-THPO antibody was measured by ELISA using preserved sera and detected in 13 patients. The average platelet count was significantly lower in patients with the anti-THPO antibody than in those without the anti-THPO antibody. Multivariate linear regression analyses showed a significant relationship between the anti-THPO antibody and platelet count, after adjusting for other variables. To our best knowledge, this was the first report on the effect of the anti-THPO antibody on platelet count in patients with T2DM. Further investigation is needed to validate the prevalence and pathological significance of the anti-THPO antibody in patients with T2DM.
Estradiol-induced senescence of hypothalamic astrocytes contributes to aging-related reproductive function declines in female mice

Hypothalamic astrocytes are important contributors that activate gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons and promote GnRH/LH (luteinizing hormone) surge. However, the potential roles and mechanisms of astrocytes during the early reproductive decline remain obscure. The current study reported that, in intact middle-aged female mice, astrocytes within the hypothalamic RP3V accumulated senescence-related markers with increasing age. It employed an ovariectomized animal model and a cell model receiving estrogen intervention to confirm the estrogen-induced senescence of hypothalamic astrocytes. It found that estrogen metabolites may be an important factor for the estrogen-induced astrocyte senescence. In vitro molecular analysis revealed that ovarian estradiol activated PKA and up-regulated CYPs expression, metabolizing estradiol into 2-OHE2 and 4-OHE2. Of note, in middle-aged mice, the progesterone synthesis and the ability to promote GnRH release were significantly reduced. Besides, the expression of growth factors decreased and the mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines significantly increased in the aging astrocytes. The findings confirm that ovarian estradiol induces the senescence of hypothalamic astrocytes and that the senescent astrocytes compromise the regulation of progesterone synthesis and GnRH secretion, which may contribute to the aging-related declines in female reproductive function.
Carbon Allotrope-Based Optical Fibers for Environmental and Biological Sensing: A Review

Recently, carbon allotropes have received tremendous research interest and paved a new avenue for optical fiber sensing technology. Carbon allotropes exhibit unique sensing properties such as large surface to volume ratios, biocompatibility, and they can serve as molecule enrichers. Meanwhile, optical fibers possess a high degree of surface modification versatility that enables the incorporation of carbon allotropes as the functional coating for a wide range of detection tasks. Moreover, the combination of carbon allotropes and optical fibers also yields high sensitivity and specificity to monitor target molecules in the vicinity of the nanocoating surface. In this review, the development of carbon allotropes-based optical fiber sensors is studied. The first section provides an overview of four different types of carbon allotropes, including carbon nanotubes, carbon dots, graphene, and nanodiamonds. The second section discusses the synthesis approaches used to prepare these carbon allotropes, followed by some deposition techniques to functionalize the surface of the optical fiber, and the associated sensing mechanisms. Numerous applications that have benefitted from carbon allotrope-based optical fiber sensors such as temperature, strain, volatile organic compounds and biosensing applications are reviewed and summarized. Finally, a concluding section highlighting the technological deficiencies, challenges, and suggestions to overcome them is presented.
Downstream Effectors of ILK in Cisplatin-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Despite good responses to first-line treatment with platinum-based combination chemotherapy, most ovarian cancer patients will relapse and eventually develop platinum-resistant disease with poor prognosis. Although reports suggest that integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a potential target for ovarian cancer treatment, identification of ILK downstream effectors has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular and biological effects of targeting ILK in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer. Western blot analysis showed that phosphorylation levels of ILK were higher in cisplatin-resistant compared with cisplatin-sensitive ovarian cancer cells. Further immunohistochemical analysis of ovarian cancer patient samples showed a significant increase in phosphorylated ILK levels in the tumor tissue when compared to normal ovarian epithelium. Targeting ILK by small-interfering RNA (siRNA) treatment reduced cisplatin-resistant cell growth and invasion ability, and increased apoptosis. Differential gene expression analysis by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) upon ILK-siRNA transfection followed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) and survival analysis using the Kaplan–Meier plotter database identified multiple target genes involved in cell growth, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis, including several non-coding RNAs. Taken together, results from this study support ILK as an attractive target for ovarian cancer and provide potential ILK downstream effectors with prognostic and therapeutic value.
A Pilot Study Evaluating the Effects of 670 nm Photobiomodulation in Healthy Ageing and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Limited evidence suggests that the application of 670 nm of red light alters the course of aged decline. A previous report on 18 patients showed regression of drusen and improvement in visual functions in patients with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 12 months. We evaluated the functional and structural effects of applying 670 nm light to 31 patients with intermediate AMD and 11 people aged 55 years or above with normal retina. The study eyes were treated daily in the morning with a 670 nm hand-held light source housed in a torch-like tube that emitted energy equivalent to 40 mW/cm2 or 4.8J/ cm2 for 2 min at the viewing aperture. Visual function in terms of best-corrected visual acuity, low luminance visual acuity, scotopic thresholds and rod-intercept time were compared between baseline and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Structural changes on optical coherence tomography OCT and colour photographs were also assessed. Five withdrew consent voluntarily due to the intensity of the study visit assessments and two developed neovascular AMD and were excluded from further treatment and the analysis. In normal ageing, there was an improvement in scotopic thresholds in the group with no AMD by 1.77dB (p = 0.03) and no other parameters showed any clinically significant change. In eyes with intermediate AMD, there was no significant improvement in any functional or structural changes at any time point up to 12 months although the compliance was good. This pilot study shows that photobiomodulation with 670 nm has no effect in patients who have already progressed to intermediate AMD.
Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease: current trends and future directions

ABSTRACT Over the last three decades, extensive basic and clinical research has been performed on the use of subthalamic nucleus (STN) as the preferred deep brain stimulation (DBS) target for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The mechanism underlying the benefit for the motor symptoms in PD is related to the modulation of firing patterns within the hyperdirect projections from motor cortical areas, as well as within the afferent and efferent fibers to the motor STN. Advancements in neuroimaging techniques allow us to identify precisely the STN optimizing surgical targeting. In this review, we provide an update on the current uses of STN-DBS as a routine therapy as well as its experimental indications in PD, the critical aspects associated with its successful implementation and recent advances in DBS technology.
Use of Sensory Analysis to Investigate the Influence of Climate Chambers and Other Process Variables in the Production of Sweet Wines

In this study, a climate chamber, as an alternative method, has been used to dry raisins and the sensory profiles of the sweet sherry wines obtained have been evaluated. Other important factors, namely grape variety, vintage, vinification conditions, as well as the ageing method and its length of time, have also been considered. When heavy rainfall had been registered, the musts extracted from grapes dried under controlled conditions in a climate chamber showed a lower intensity of the musty off-odor compared to those elaborated with sun-dried grapes. The wine fermented at low temperature with Saccharomyces bayanus scored the highest in citric and floral notes, and this was preferred over all the other wines that were evaluated. The wines aged in oak barrels were preferred to both, wines aged in the presence of oak chips as well as those aged without any wood contact. The use of climate chambers to dry the grapes that are going to be used for the elaboration of sweet wines appears to be an advantageous alternative to the traditional method, since it allows a more precise control of the process and highly valued sweet wines from a sensory point of view are obtained thereby.
Hearing with One Ear: Consequences and Treatments for Profound Unilateral Hearing Loss

There is an increasing global recognition of the negative impact of hearing loss, and its association to many chronic health conditions. The deficits and disabilities associated with profound unilateral hearing loss, however, continue to be under-recognized and lack public awareness. Profound unilateral hearing loss significantly impairs spatial hearing abilities, which is reliant on the complex interaction of monaural and binaural hearing cues. Unilaterally deafened listeners lose access to critical binaural hearing cues. Consequently, this leads to a reduced ability to understand speech in competing noise and to localize sounds. The functional deficits of profound unilateral hearing loss have a substantial impact on socialization, learning and work productivity. In recognition of this, rehabilitative solutions such as the rerouting of signal and hearing implants are on the rise. This review focuses on the latest insights into the deficits of profound unilateral hearing impairment, and current treatment approaches.
Energy Metabolism and Nutritional Status in Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Introduction: Malnutrition is a factor that defines vital prognosis in chronic heart failure. Objective: This study investigated nutritional and metabolic disorders in patients with heart failure by examining the association of severity of heart failure with inflammatory cytokines, appetite-regulating hormones, and energy metabolism. Methods: Subjects were 50 patients with heart failure. On admission, nutritional status was assessed, and biochemical blood tests were performed, including for serum tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, ghrelin, and leptin levels. Resting energy expenditure (REE) was also measured by indirect calorimetry to examine its association with severity of heart failure and levels of inflammatory cytokines and appetite-regulating hormones. Results: There were significant associations between serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level and nutrition indices, indicating that nutritional status was worse when heart failure was more severe. Inflammatory cytokine levels showed significant positive correlations with BNP level. Measured REE/bodyweight was not associated with severity of heart failure, but was negatively correlated with body fat percentage and leptin levels. Conclusions: Energy metabolism was not associated with serum BNP level among patients with heart failure with New York Heart Association functional class up to III. Body fat percentage and leptin levels may be a good predictor of energy metabolism in patients with heart failure.
In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil Extracted from Leaves of Leoheo domatiophorus Chaowasku, D.T. Ngo and H.T. Le in Vietnam

The present study aimed to determine the antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of leaves-extracted essential oil of Leoheo domatiophorus Chaowasku, D.T. Ngo and H.T. Le (L. domatiophorus), including antibacterial, antimycotic, antitrichomonas and antiviral effects. The essential oil was obtained using hydrodistillation, with an average yield of 0.34 ± 0.01% (v/w, dry leaves). There were 52 constituents as identified by GC/MS with available authentic standards, representing 96.74% of the entire leaves oil. The essential oil was comprised of three main components, namely viridiflorene (16.47%), (-)-δ-cadinene (15.58%) and γ-muurolene (8.00%). The oil showed good antimicrobial activities against several species: Gram-positive strains: Staphylococcus aureus (two strains) and Enterococcus faecalis, with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Lethal Concentration (MLC) values from 0.25 to 1% (v/v); Gram-negative strains such as Escherichia coli (two strains), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (two strains) and Klebsiella pneumoniae, with MIC and MLC values between 2% and 8% (v/v); and finally Candida species, having MIC and MLC between 0.12 and 4% (v/v). Antitrichomonas activity of the oil was also undertaken, showing IC50, IC90 and MLC values of 0.008%, 0.016% and 0.03% (v/v), respectively, after 48h of incubation. The essential oil resultedin being completely ineffective against tested viruses, ssRNA+ (HIV-1, YFV, BVDV, Sb-1, CV-B4), ssRNA- (hRSVA2, VSV), dsRNA (Reo-1), and dsDNA (HSV-1, VV) viruses with EC50 values over 100 µg/mL. This is the first, yet comprehensive, scientific report about the chemical composition and pharmacological properties of the essential oil in L. domatiophorus.
Accelerated genome engineering of Pseudomonas putida by I‐SceI―mediated recombination and CRISPR‐Cas9 counterselection

Pseudomonas species have become reliable platforms for bioproduction due to their capability to tolerate harsh conditions imposed by large‐scale bioprocesses and their remarkable resistance to diverse physicochemical stresses. The last few years have brought forth a variety of synthetic biology tools for the genetic manipulation of pseudomonads, but most of them are either applicable only to obtain certain types of mutations, lack efficiency, or are not easily accessible to be used in different Pseudomonas species (e.g. natural isolates). In this work, we describe a versatile, robust and user‐friendly procedure that facilitates virtually any kind of genomic manipulation in Pseudomonas species in 3–5 days. The protocol presented here is based on DNA recombination forced by double‐stranded DNA cuts (through the activity of the I‐SceI homing meganuclease from yeast) followed by highly efficient counterselection of mutants (aided by a synthetic CRISPR‐Cas9 device). The individual parts of the genome engineering toolbox, tailored for knocking genes in and out, have been standardized to enable portability and easy exchange of functional gene modules as needed. The applicability of the procedure is illustrated both by eliminating selected genomic regions in the platform strain P. putida KT2440 (including difficult‐to‐delete genes) and by integrating different reporter genes (comprising novel variants of fluorescent proteins) into a defined landing site in the target chromosome.
Optimal one-bit perturbation in Boolean networks based on cascading aggregation

We investigate the problem of finding optimal one-bit perturbation that maximizes the size of the basin of attractions (BOAs) of desired attractors and minimizes the size of the BOAs of undesired attractors for large-scale Boolean networks by cascading aggregation. First, via the aggregation, a necessary and sufficient condition is given to ensure the invariance of desired attractors after one-bit perturbation. Second, an algorithm is proposed to identify whether the one-bit perturbation will cause the emergence of new attractors or not. Next, the change of the size of BOAs after one-bit perturbation is provided in an algorithm. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed method is verified by a T-cell receptor network.
Some consequences of selection for residual feed intake in beef cattle.

Body composition and energy expenditure were investigated in Angus heifers divergently selected for residual feed intake. Differences in fat deposition at rib and rump sites were observed between the lines but there was no difference in protein deposition, weight gain or energy expenditure. Most of the variation in energy expenditure could be accounted for by the metabolisable energy consumed by the animal. The implications of this observation on the biological consequences of selection for residual feed intake are discussed. These are preliminary observations and further work on the biological basis of the trait is required to provide definitive answers.
Significant Improvement in Pain and ASES Scores After Partial Thickness Rotator Cuff Repair with Augmentation Using a Xenograft Collagen Bioinductive Implant

Introduction: Rotator cuff tears (RCT) range from partial thickness to full thickness and are common problems creating pain and morbidity among sufferers. Even with the increasing prevalence of partial thickness RCTs, much of the literature focuses on full-thickness RCTs. Partial thickness RCTs are unique and affect a wide range of patients. Furthermore, a significant percentage of partial thickness RCT’s, up to 35%, propagate to full-thickness tears. Accepted treatments for partial thickness RCT’s include arthroscopic debridement, conversion repairs, and in-situ trans tendon repairs. Due to the lack of literature on partial thickness RCTs and the fact that one treatment option has not proven itself superior to the others, we looked at the treatment of partial thickness RCTs with augmentation using a xenograft collagen bio-inductive implant. Case study: Using data collected from a single surgeon, we evaluated both Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores as well as American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) functional scores pre-operatively and at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post rotator cuff repair using a xenograft collagen implant. Results: Pre-operative VAS scores averaged 6.03 and followed a nearly linear decline to 2.08 at the 6-month post-operative visit. ASES functional scores pre-operatively averaged 35.49 and followed a linear progression to reach 69.49 at 6 months post-op, a 95% improvement. Conclusion: Using the xenograft collagen implant is a novel treatment option for the management of partial thickness rotator cuff tears. It provides a buttress to the rotator cuff which dissipates strain at the injury site allowing time for healing while incorporating into the tendon itself creating more robust rotator cuff tissue.
Defining Homelessness in the Rural United States

Rural homelessness in the United States is an understudied phenomenon. Among those studies which do address the issue, there exists no uniform or consistent definition for rural homelessness. In this review of the literature, we look at rural homelessness and consolidate the literature into four main groups based on the definitions currently in use. We recommend a comprehensive definition for rural homelessness that looks at this phenomenon on a spectrum of needs, populations, and periodicity. We further recommend that current homeless count methodology be improved by using a more detailed survey of homeless situations, not only in the rural United States, but in urban areas as well.