Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychosocial consequences of gastrointestinal symptoms and dietary changes in people receiving automated peritoneal dialysis

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are associated with poor psychosocial wellbeing among people receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD). The mind-gut axis represents one possible explanatory mechanism for this relationship. Despite existing evidence, the individual's experience of GI symptoms and their potential psychosocial consequences have not been explored. OBJECTIVE To understand the experiences of people receiving peritoneal dialysis regarding their gastrointestinal health and psychosocial wellbeing. METHOD Ten people undergoing automated PD (five females, five males) aged 31-77 years (Mean = 59.3, SD = 15.67) participated in a single one-on-one qualitative interview. Interviews ceased at thematic saturation. Transcripts were analysed using the framework approach. RESULTS A central theme of Autonomy emerged from the data representing participants' experiences of the psychosocial consequences of dialysis, GI symptoms, and dietary changes. This overarched two main themes: 1) Loss of Autonomy [Sub-themes: Interference to Daily Life (Dialysis process and sleep, Impacts on relationships), Powerlessness, Frustration, Food Aversion, and Restriction (Friendships and social life, Impacts on partner)] and 2) Attempts to Gain Autonomy (Sub-themes: Coping Well, Pragmatism, and Maintaining Normality). A related sub-theme of Partner as a Carer emerged as part of Loss of Autonomy. CONCLUSION GI symptoms and diet and fluid restrictions have psychosocial consequences resulting in multiple losses of autonomy for people receiving PD, who employ strategies to attempt to regain autonomy in the face of these issues. Dietary and GI symptom management advice should aim to enhance patient autonomy within the confines of PD therapy and thus reduce its psychosocial impacts.
Proteomic analysis of the peroxisomal membrane of Penicillium chrysogenum

Penicillium chrysogenum is een draadvormige schimmel, die gebruikt wordt in de productie van penicilline antibiotica op een industriele schaal. Penicillines hebben een gemeenschappelijke structuur, maar de diverse antibiotica hebben verschillende zijketens. Tijdens de biosynthese wordt de kernstructuur van het molecuul gemaakt in het cytosol van de schimmel, terwijl de zij-ketens gekoppeld worden in subcellulaire compartimenten die microbodies (microlichaampjes? ) worden genoemd. De zijketens bestaan gewoonlijk uit organische zuren die eerst geactiveerd moeten worden met coenzym A. Voor deze reactie is energie in de vorm van ATP nodig. Dit ATP wordt echter geproduceerd in het cytosol en moet daarom eerst de microbody in getransporteerd worden voordat de zijketen activatie kan optreden. In dit proefschrift hebben we een transporter geidentificeerd in de microbody, die verantwoordelijk is voor de opname van ATP in de microbody. Indien het gen dat codeert voor deze transporter wordt uitgeschakeld is de productie van penicilline ernstig belemmerd. Industriele Penicillium stammen zijn verkregen door langdurige klassieke veredelingsprogramma’s, waarbij de schimmel blootgesteld wordt aan chemische verbindingen die genoomwijde mutaties en duplicaties van genen veroorzaken. Het cluster van genen dat betrokken is bij penicilline biosynthese bevat drie genen, en in een vroegere productiestam is dit cluster aanwezig in acht kopieen. Om te bepalen wat de bijdrage van dit zogenaamde gen-dosis effect is hebben we het aantal kopieen gevarieerd tussen 1 en 8 in een stam die bekend staat voor hoge penicilline productie. Penicilline productie nam niet lineair toe met het aantal kopieen, maar toonde een verzadiging bij 2 to 3 kopieen. Verdere analyse liet zien dat deze verzadiging het gevolg was van een niet-lineaire toename in de hoeveelheid van de microbody-gelokaliseerde acyltransferase verantwoordelijk voor de koppeling van de zijketen aan de kernstructuur van de penicilline. Onze resultaten laten zien dat microbodies een sleutelrol vervullen in penicilline-productie en bieden nieuwe mogelijkheden om de productie van deze belangrijke klasse antibiotica te verbeteren.
Plasma Zonulin Levels as a Non-Invasive Biomarker of Intestinal Permeability in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: We aimed to compare the levels of plasma zonulin, a non-invasive biomarker of increased intestinal permeability, between pregnant subjects, with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), at 24–28 gestational weeks. The eighty-five consecutive pregnant subjects that presented to our hospital’s obstetrics outpatient clinic and were diagnosed with GDM, for the first time by an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), formed the GDM group; 90 consecutive subjects that were not diagnosed with GDM by OGTT, formed the control group. The diagnosis of GDM was made by an OGTT performed between the 24th and 28th weeks of gestation, and in compliance with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria. Plasma zonulin levels were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. The Plasma zonulin level was significantly higher in the GDM group than the control group (p < 0.001). A correlation analysis showed that plasma zonulin level was positively correlated to body mass index (BMI), creatinine, fasting plasma glucose, baseline, first hour, and two hours glucose levels and the OGTT, hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Our findings suggest that zonulin may be a non-invasive biomarker involved in the pathogenesis of GDM. Further large-scale studies are needed on this subject.
Orthostatic hypotension: is it a predictor of total and cardiovascular mortality in the elderly?

O rthostatic hypotension is defined as sustained reduction of SBP of at least 20mmHg or DBP of 10 mmHg within 3min of standing [1]. There are several additional variants to the classic definition of orthostatic hypotension. Initial orthostatic hypotension which is defined as a transient exaggerated blood pressure (BP) decrease (>40mmHg SBP and/or >20mmHg DBP) within 15 s of standing. This BP fall can only be diagnosed with continuous beat-to-beat BP monitoring. Delayed orthostatic hypotension occurs beyond 3min of standing. This disorder can be diagnosed by extending the period of orthostatic stress beyond 3 min. In patients with supine hypertension, a reduction in SBP of 30mmHg may be a more appropriate criterion for orthostatic hypotension because the magnitude of the orthostatic BP fall is dependent on the baseline BP [1]. Most studies define orthostatic hypotension according the change in BP when moving from supine to standing position. However, there are situations in which a supineto-standing manoeuvre cannot be easily performed. In this case, a sitting-to-standing manoeuvre with lower diagnostic cut-offs for orthostatic hypotension provides a simple screening test for orthostatic hypotension. A recent analysis suggested that a SBP drop of at least 15mmHg or a DBP drop of at least 7 mmHg best optimizes sensitivity and specificity of this sit-to-stand test [2]. In a previous study, we have shown that even intermediate postural BP drop below the orthostatic hypotension range may be an important finding in the geriatric population [3]. The finding of orthostatic hypotension may not be consistent. It is more common during the morning and during summer time [4,5]. Orthostatic BP fall is also
MicroRNA‐184 and its long noncoding RNA sponge urothelial carcinoma associated 1 are induced in wounded keratinocytes in a store‐operated calcium entry‐dependent manner

There remains a significant need for therapeutic interventions for wound healing as the clinical and socioeconomic challenges presented by the ageing population and associated rise in non-healing wounds persist, exerting enormous pressure on health services. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short ≈22 nucleotide non-coding RNA molecules that fine-tune gene expression by degradation of mRNA targets. Several miRNAs promote keratinocyte migration, including miR-21, miR-31 and miR-132 (reviewed in 3 ), hence miRNA-dependent migration is emerging as a framework for wound healing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Catalytic Activity of Polynuclear vs. Dinuclear Aroylhydrazone Cu(II) Complexes in Microwave-Assisted Oxidation of Neat Aliphatic and Aromatic Hydrocarbons

One-dimensional (1D) polynuclear Cu(II) complex (1) derived from (5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-2-hydroxybenzohydrazide (H2L) is synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, ESI-MS, and single crystal X-ray crystallography. Its catalytic performance towards the solvent-free microwave-assisted peroxidative oxidation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons under mild conditions is compared with that of dinuclear Cu(II) complexes (2 and 3) of the same ligand, previously reported as antiproliferative agents. Polymer 1 exhibits the highest activity, either for the oxidation of cyclohexane (leading to overall yields, based on the alkane, of up to 39% of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone) or towards the oxidation of toluene (selectively affording benzaldehyde up to a 44% yield), after 2 or 2.5 h of irradiation at 80 or 50 °C, respectively.
A novel olfactometer for efficient and flexible odorant delivery

Understanding how sensory space maps to neural activity in the olfactory system requires efficiently and flexibly delivering numerous odorants within single experimental preparations. Such delivery is difficult with current olfactometer designs, which typically include limited numbers of stimulus channels and are subject to inter-trial and inter-channel contamination of odorants. Here, we present a novel olfactometer design that is easily constructed, modular, and capable of delivering an unlimited number of odorants with temporal precision and no detectable inter-trial or inter-channel contamination. The olfactometer further allows for flexible generation of odorant mixtures and flexible timing of odorant sequences. Odorant delivery from the olfactometer is turbulent but reliable from trial-to-trial, supporting operant conditioning of mice in an odorant discrimination task and permitting odorants and concentrations to be mapped to neural activity with a level of precision equivalent to that obtained with a flow dilution olfactometer. This novel design thus provides several unique advantages for interrogating olfactory perception and for mapping sensory space to neural activity in the olfactory system.
Development of risk models for the prediction of new or worsening acute kidney injury on or during hospital admission: a cohort and nested study

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical problem with significant morbidity and mortality. All hospitalised patients are at risk. AKI is often preventable and reversible; however, the 2009 National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death highlighted systematic failings of identification and management, and recommended risk assessment of all emergency admissions. Objectives: To develop three predictive models to stratify the risk of (1) AKI on arrival in hospital; (2) developing AKI during admission; and (3) worsening AKI if already present; and also to (4) develop a clinical algorithm for patients admitted to hospital and explore effective methods of delivery of this information at the point of care. Study design: Quantitative methodology (1) to formulate predictive risk models and (2) to validate the models in both our population and a second population. Qualitative methodology to plan clinical decision support system (CDSS) development and effective integration into clinical care. Data analysis: Quantitative – both traditional and Bayesian regression methods were used. Traditional methods were performed using ordinal logistic regression with univariable analyses to inform the development of multivariable analyses. Backwards selection was used to retain only statistically significant variables in the final models. The models were validated using actual and predicted probabilities, an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve analysis and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. Qualitative – content analysis was employed.
Characterization of ankaflavin from Penicillium aculeatum and its cytotoxic properties

Abstract The pigment was extracted from Penicillium aculeatum, purified and characterized as Ankaflavin by spectroscopic analysis. The stability of the pigment was determined under various conditions and was found to possess high stability. The cytotoxicity property of the purified pigment was determined by MTT assay in MCF-7, HCT116 and PC-3 and the studies were compared with its activity in CHOK1 cells. In MCF-7 and in CHOK 1 cells, the pigment exhibited very less toxicity. However, significant cytotoxicity was observed in HCT116 and PC-3 cells with IC50 of 162 μg mL−1 and 85 μg mL−1 for HCT116 and PC-3 cells respectively. In vitro toxicity was tested by haemolysis assay and MTT assay in HEK 293 cells. The pigment showed least cytotoxicity (<5%) at 160 and 320 μg mL−1 concentrations HEK 293 cells and negligible (<5%) toxicity on human erythrocytes at 160 and 320 μg mL−1, the highest concentrations tested. Graphical abstract
Active 3-D Shape Cosegmentation With Graph Convolutional Networks

We present a novel active learning approach for shape cosegmentation based on graph convolutional networks (GCNs). The premise of our approach is to represent the collections of three-dimensional shapes as graph-structured data, where each node in the graph corresponds to a primitive patch of an oversegmented shape, and is associated with a representation initialized by extracting features. Then, the GCN operates directly on the graph to update the representation of each node based on a layer-wise propagation rule, which aggregates information from its neighbors, and predicts the labels for unlabeled nodes. Additionally, we further suggest an active learning strategy that queries the most informative samples to extend the initial training samples of GCN to generate more accurate predictions of our method. Our experimental results on the Shape COSEG dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
Little video-gaming in adolescents can be protective, but too much is associated with increased substance use

Abstract Background: Studies have demonstrated inconsistent results regarding the association between video gaming time and substance use in teenagers. Understating intricacies of this association can help with substance use reduction in teenagers. Objectives: This study aimed to untangle this complex relationship by theorizing and examining a U-shaped association. Methods: We analyzed two large samples (n1 = 7313 [52.5% female] and n2 = 8079 [51.6% female]) of 8th and 10th graders in the United States. Substance use was operationalized as the sum of self-reported number of lifetime use instances of 14 unprescribed substances. Video game use time (hours per week) was self-reported on a 1 (none) to 9 (40+) scale. Common covariates/risk factors were included. Results: Consistently across datasets, partial-correlation between squared video gaming time and substance use (r = .10, p < .001 in 2014 and r = .08, p < .001 in 2015) supported the hypothesized u-shaped association. Analysis of covariance revealed that teenagers playing video games for 1–5 h a week report on significantly fewer instances of substance use compared with non-gamers (p < .001–.007). Post hoc analyses revealed that those who play at least 30 h per week report on significantly (p < .001) more instances of substance use (3.92 in 2014 and 3.38 in 2015) compared with teenagers playing video games for 1–5 h a week (2.17 in 2015 and 1.96 in 2015). Conclusions: Video gaming time and substance use follow a u-shaped association; light video gaming can be protective in terms of substance use, while too much video gaming is associated with increased substance use.
Spectroscopic study of the transmembrane domain of a rhodopsin–phosphodiesterase fusion protein from a unicellular eukaryote

The choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta contains a chimeric rhodopsin protein composed of an N-terminal rhodopsin (Rh) domain and a C-terminal cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) domain. The Rh-PDE enzyme light-dependently decreases the concentrations of cyclic nucleotides such as cGMP and cAMP. Photoexcitation of purified full-length Rh-PDE yields an “M” intermediate with a deprotonated Schiff base, and its recovery is much faster than that of the enzyme domain. To gain structural and mechanistic insights into the Rh domain, here we expressed and purified the transmembrane domain of Rh-PDE, Rh-PDE(TMD), and analyzed it with transient absorption, light-induced difference UV-visible, and FTIR spectroscopy methods. These analyses revealed that the “K” intermediate forms within 0.005 ms and converts into the M intermediate with a time constant of 4 ms, with the latter returning to the original state within 4 s. FTIR spectroscopy revealed that all-trans to 13-cis photoisomerization occurs as the primary event during which chromophore distortion is located at the middle of the polyene chain, allowing the Schiff base to form a stronger hydrogen bond. We also noted that the peptide backbone of the α-helix becomes deformed upon M intermediate formation. Results from site-directed mutagenesis suggested that Glu-164 is protonated and that Asp-292 acts as the only Schiff base counterion in Rh-PDE. A strong reduction of enzymatic activity in a D292N variant, but not in an E164Q variant, indicated an important catalytic role of the negative charge at Asp-292. Our findings provide further mechanistic insights into rhodopsin-mediated, light-dependent regulation of second-messenger levels in eukaryotic microbes.
Neuroticism and Health as Individuals Age

Neuroticism and conscientiousness have emerged as key concepts in understanding health and thriving as individuals age, but various conceptual misunderstandings and methodological deficiencies have impaired progress. Personality traits are not analogous to health threats such as infectious microbes or dangerous behaviors or environmental toxins; rather, they can capture biopsychosocial processes across time. This article examines how healthy neuroticism and unhealthy neuroticism play out in differing environments and how these concepts can help clarify and explain the important variability in health and longevity that emerges in middle age. Progress in utilizing personality to improve public health ultimately will depend on the precise study and full specification of causal models, including pathways across time and clear description of unambiguous outcomes.
Neurological Disorders in Central Spain, Second Survey: Feasibility Pilot Observational Study

Background The Neurological Disorders in Central Spain, second survey (NEDICES-2) is a population-based, closed-cohort study that will include over 8000 subjects aged ≥55 years. It will also include a biobank. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate all major aspects of the NEDICES-2 (methods, database, screening instruments, and questionnaires, as well as interexpert rating of the neurological diagnoses) in each one of the planned areas (all of them in central Spain) and to test the possibility of obtaining biological samples from each participant. Methods A selection of patients and participants of the planned NEDICES-2 underwent face-to-face interviews including a comprehensive questionnaire on demographics, current medications, medical conditions, and lifestyle habits. Biological samples (blood, saliva, urine, and hair) were also obtained. Furthermore, every participant was examined by a neurologist. Results In this pilot study, 567 study participants were enrolled (196 from hospitals and 371 from primary care physician lists). Of these 567, 310 completed all study procedures (questionnaires and the neurological evaluation). The study was time-consuming for several primary care physicians. Hence, a few primary care physicians from some areas refused to participate, which led to a reconfiguration of study areas. In addition, the central biobank needed to be supplemented by the biobanks of local Spanish National Health System hospitals. Conclusions Population-based epidemiological surveys, such as the NEDICES-2, require a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of all aspects of a future field study (population selection, methods and instruments to be used, neurological diagnosis agreement, and data collection).
Increased Risk of Hypertension Associated with Spondyloarthritis Disease Duration: Results from the ASAS-COMOSPA Study

Objective. Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is associated with a number of cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities. We examined the association of SpA disease duration and delay in diagnosis with CV-related conditions. Methods. Using data from the COMOSPA study, the associations between SpA disease duration and CV-related conditions were evaluated in univariable and multivariable logistic regression models. Each model examined 1 CV-related factor as dependent and “SpA disease duration” as a predictor, adjusted for relevant confounders. Results. Data from 3923 subjects (median SpA disease duration 5.1 yrs, interquartile range 1.3–11.8 yrs) were available for analysis. The main CV-related conditions were hypertension (HTN; 22.4%), ischemic heart disease (2.6%), stroke (1.3%), and diabetes mellitus (5.5%). HTN was associated with SpA disease duration in both univariable and multivariable analysis, with an OR of 1.129 (95% CI 1.072–1.189; p < 0.001) for each 5-year increase in SpA disease duration. Other factors associated with HTN were age, male sex, current body mass index, ever steroid therapy, and ever synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy, but not nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID). In subgroup analysis, the strongest association of HTN and disease duration was seen in subjects with the axial-only SpA phenotype (OR 1.202, 95% CI 1.053–1.372) but not in those with peripheral-only SpA (OR 0.902, 95% CI 0.760–1.070). The other CV conditions were not associated with SpA disease duration. Conclusion. Duration of SpA disease in the ASAS-COMOSPA cohort is associated with higher odds of HTN, particularly in those with axial disease, but not with other CV-related conditions. The association with HTN does not appear to be related to NSAID exposure.