Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disease evolution in a long-term follow-up of 104 undifferentiated connective tissue disease patients.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the rate of disease evolution in a cohort of patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) and to determine clinical and immunological features more frequently associated with disease progression. METHODS This retrospective single-centre long-term follow-up cohort study included patients with UCTD diagnosis, ANA positive, with a follow-up of at least 2 years. RESULTS A total of 100 UCTD patients were recruited. During the follow-up (6.2±2.1 years), 44 patients (44%) developed novel clinical and/or laboratory features (rate of development patient/year of 7%), and 21 patients (21%) evolved into a definite connective tissue disease (CTD) after a mean time of 7±5.5 years with a rate of disease evolution (patient/year) of 3%. New clinical manifestations (39 patients) included: joints (36%), haematological (30%), cutaneous (13%), pulmonary (10%) and renal (10%) involvement. New laboratory findings (17 patients (17%)) included: 2 anti-ENA positivity, 3 anti-dsDNA antibodies positivity and 6 low complement levels. At follow-up, 13 patients (61.9%) met the classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus, 1 patient (4.8%) for mixed CTD, 5 patients (23.8%) for systemic sclerosis and 2 patients (9.5%) for Sjögren's syndrome. Patients evolving towards a new diagnosis had longer disease duration (15.2±9.7 years vs. 10±5.8 years; respectively, p<0.005), had a higher prevalence of anti-Ro/SSA antibodies (63.2% vs. 28.4%; respectively, p<0.05) and anti-RNP antibodies (21.1% vs. 7.4%; respectively, p<0.05). The statistical difference was also confirmed after the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS Up to 45% of UCTD patients might develop novel clinical and/or laboratory features during the follow-up, leading to evolution into a definite CTD in 1 out 5 cases.
Effects of Temperature and Blinking on Contact Lens Dehydration of Contemporary Soft Lens Materials Using an In Vitro Blink Model

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of temperature and blinking on contact lens (CL) dehydration using an in vitro blink model. Methods Three silicone hydrogel (delefilcon A, senofilcon A, and comfilcon A) and two conventional hydrogel (etafilcon A and omafilcon A) CL materials were evaluated at 1 and 16 hours. The water content (WC) of the CLs was measured using a gravimetric method. Lenses were incubated on a blink model, internally heated to achieve a clinically relevant surface temperature of 35°C. An artificial tear solution (ATS) was delivered to the blink model at 4.5 µL/min with a blink rate of 6 blinks/min. A comparison set of lenses were incubated in a vial containing either 2 mL of ATS or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 35°C. Results Increasing temperature to 35°C resulted in a decrease in WC for all tested CLs over time (P ≤ 0.0052). For most CLs, there was no significant difference in WC over time between ATS or PBS in the vial (P > 0.05). With the vial system, WC decreased and plateaued over time. However, on the blink model, for most CLs, the WC significantly decreased after 1 hour but returned toward initial WC levels after 16 hours (P > 0.05). Conclusions The reduction in WC of CLs on the eye is likely due to both an increase in temperature and dehydration from air exposure and blinking. Translational Relevance This study showed that the novel, heated, in vitro blink model could be used to provide clinical insights into CL dehydration on the eye.
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production from Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) and Rapeseed Oil Obtained under Spanish Conditions

The high demand of fuels and the problems associated with the resources depletion and environmental effects of its production have motivated the search for alternative sources. An interesting option in Spain is the cultivation of Cynara cardunculus as primary raw material of biodiesel manufacture. In this paper, the environmental feasibility of the value chain form cropping to fuel manufacture is studied for Cynara cardunculus oil (CCB) and compared to rapeseed oil (RSB) through life cycle assessment, according to the ISO Standard 14040 and using the Gabi software v4.3 as calculation tool. The functional unit selected was 1 tonne of biodiesel. The total energy consumption and the energy return on energy investment (EROEI) were calculated from energy balance. The indicators for life cycle assessment corresponding to impact categories in human health, ecosystem quality and resources depletion were estimated by means of Ecoindicator 99 method. Obtained EROEI values (calculated considering only the calorific .
Comparative evaluation of shape retrieval methods on macromolecular surfaces: an application of computer vision methods in structural bioinformatics

Abstract Motivation The investigation of the structure of biological systems at the molecular level gives insights about their functions and dynamics. Shape and surface of biomolecules are fundamental to molecular recognition events. Characterizing their geometry can lead to more adequate predictions of their interactions. In the present work, we assess the performance of reference shape retrieval methods from the computer vision community on protein shapes. Results Shape retrieval methods are efficient in identifying orthologous proteins and tracking large conformational changes. This work illustrates the interest for the protein surface shape as a higher-level representation of the protein structure that (i) abstracts the underlying protein sequence, structure or fold, (ii) allows the use of shape retrieval methods to screen large databases of protein structures to identify surficial homologs and possible interacting partners and (iii) opens an extension of the protein structure–function paradigm toward a protein structure-surface(s)-function paradigm. Availabilityand implementation All data are available online at http://datasetmachat.drugdesign. fr. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Analysis of polyphenols in Aegle marmelos leaf and ameliorative efficacy against diabetic mice through restoration of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory status.

The biomedical survey reports edible plant Aegle marmelos has been utilized for centuries by tribal communities in India as a dietary supplement for the management of diabetes. Herein, we have investigated cytotoxicity, cytoprotective and antidiabetic activity of characterized alkaloid-free hydroalcoholic extract of A. marmelos (AFEAM; 200 and 400 mg/kg). Identification of polyphenols and quantification of major compounds were done using UPLC-MS and HPTLC, respectively. AFEAM showed good cytocompatibility and cytoprotective potential against oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia in HepG2 cells. The AFEAM intake had significantly ameliorated the serum blood glucose level, state of dyslipidemia, level of pro-inflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β), and antioxidant (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and malondialdehyde) status in diabetic mice. Histological examination of the treated groups showed amelioration of damaged pancreas, liver, and kidney tissues. Conclusively, AFEAM intake might be promising dietary supplements for prediabetics as well as an adjuvant to modern treatment in diabetics. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Different reports have been published on Aegle marmelos but as per our understanding till date, no study has been reported on the amelioration of diabetes due to alkaloid free hydroalcoholic extract of A. marmelos /polyphenolic content in the animal model. The result of this study indicated that A. marmelos supplementation effectively ameliorates diabetes through the restoration of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory status. This study has collated sufficient scientific evidence for the dietary application of A. marmelos in society especially for prediabetics, however, it can also be used as an adjuvant to modern treatments in diabetics.
A novel Streptococcus species causing clinical mastitis in a pregnant donkey

An 8-y-old jenny was presented because of anorexia and mild depression. The jenny had weaned her colt 10 d before the admission. Upon arrival at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the heart rate was elevated, and the right udder was painful and swollen on palpation. Milk stripping of the affected side revealed purulent content; the contralateral udder had normal-appearing milk. Cytology of mammary gland secretions from the affected side revealed a large number of hypersegmented reactive neutrophils with phagocytized bacteria. Complete blood count, serum chemistry, and fibrinogen were within normal limits. A diagnosis of clinical mastitis was made, and the jenny was started on a 5-d course of broad-spectrum antibiotics, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, hydrotherapy, and milk stripping. Clinical signs reduced over time, and the cure was attained by 96 h post-admission. Aerobic culture and subsequent MALDI-TOF MS analysis identified a bacterium of the Streptococcus genus but not the species. Whole-genome analysis was performed, and 16S rDNA sequencing and analysis determined that our isolate 20-37394 clustered with 2 other Streptococcus strains (27284-01 and 28462). Single-nucleotide variations and phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that Streptococcus 20-37394 had 96.8% and 94.9% identities to Streptococcus strains 27284-01 and 28462, respectively; therefore, the bacteria isolated in our case was deemed as a new Streptococcus species.
Lineage of Lime Sulfur as an Insecticide and Fungicide

One of the major insecticides and fungicides in use before the development of the plethora of modern man-made organic pesticides was lime sulfur. Consisting of a mixture of the sulfides and polysulfides of calcium, the compound is prepared by heating an aqueous suspension of lime with sulfur. The preparation was a popular and fairly inexpensive means of pest control during the last half of the 19th century and for the first half of the 20th. Forerunners of the mixture, as sulfur and lime [Ca(OH)2] or sulfur and quicklime (CaD), either alone or together, had a long history of use against agricultural pests in early agriculture. This review discusses the various applications of lime and sulfur and the evolution of lime sulfur.
A New Muscle Activation Dynamics Model, That Simulates the Calcium Kinetics and Incorporates the Role of Store-Operated Calcium Entry Channels, to Enhance the EMG-Driven Hill-type Models.

Hill-type models are frequently used in biomechanical simulations. They are attractive for their low computational cost and close relation to commonly measured musculotendon parameters. Still, more attention is needed to improve the activation dynamics of the model specifically because of the nonlinearity observed in the EMG-Force relation. Moreover, one of the important and practical questions regarding the assessment of the model's performance is how adequately can the model simulate any fundamental type of human movement without modifying model parameters for different tasks? This paper tries to answer this question by proposing a simple physiologically based activation dynamics model. The model describes the ? kinetics of the calcium dynamics while activating and deactivating the muscle contraction process. Hence, it allowed simulating the recently discovered role of store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) channels as immediate counter-flux to calcium loss across the tubular system during excitation-contraction coupling. By comparing the ability to fit experimental data without readjusting the parameters, the proposed model has proven to have more steady performance than phenomenologically based models through different submaximal isometric contraction levels. This model indicates that more physiological insights is key for improving Hill-type model performance.
The role of P2Y12 in the kinetics of microglial self-renewal and maturation in the adult visual cortex in vivo

Microglia are the brain’s resident immune cells with a tremendous capacity to autonomously self-renew. Because microglial self-renewal has largely been studied using static tools, its mechanisms and kinetics are not well understood. Using chronic in vivo two-photon imaging in awake mice, we confirm that cortical microglia show limited turnover and migration under basal conditions. Following depletion, however, microglial repopulation is remarkably rapid and is sustained by the dynamic division of remaining microglia, in a manner that is largely independent of signaling through the P2Y12 receptor. Mathematical modeling of microglial division demonstrates that the observed division rates can account for the rapid repopulation observed in vivo. Additionally, newly born microglia resemble mature microglia within days of repopulation, although morphological maturation is different in newly born microglia in P2Y12 knock out mice. Our work suggests that microglia rapidly locally and that newly born microglia do not recapitulate the slow maturation seen in development but instead take on mature roles in the CNS.
Separation and Characterization of Reactive and Non-Reactive Sulfur in Petroleum and Its Fractions

We present an efficient, easy-to-use chromatographic method to separate reactive and nonreactive sulfur compounds in crude oil for subsequent quantitative analysis and molecular characterization. Sulfur compounds in petroleum samples are separated by ligand exchange chromatography (LEC) on a silver-modified strong-cation exchange (SCX) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. LEC separation takes advantage of the bonding affinity of different sulfur types with silver-cations. The elution of a particular sulfur type (reactive or nonreactive) depends on the “strength” of the solvent used. One solvent mixture elutes nonreactive sulfur compounds (thiophenics and diaryl sulfides) into the first fraction. A second solvent mixture elutes reactive S-compounds (sulfides and disulfides) into the second fraction. A third reactive sulfur class (thiols) irreversibly reacts with the impregnated silver-ion to form silver thiolates that are insoluble in the solvent mixtures employed. The distribution of reactive and nonre.
Correction to Synthesis and Structures of Scandium and Lutetium Benzyl Complexes

Organometallics 2008, 27 (7), 1501−1505. DOI: 10.1021/om701171y I the article, the broad signals observed in the H NMR spectrum of [Lu(CH2Ph)3(THF)3], obtained in Edmonton, in THF-d8 at RT and the two sets of signals at LT were attributed to some fluxional behavior. Subsequently, KS discovered that the actual reason for this was the presence of the ate-complex, K[Lu(CH2Ph)4(THF)x], in the sample. The Edmonton synthesis was repeated several times, but in each case, it was accompanied by the formation of variable amounts of the ate-complex contamination, as determined by H NMR spectroscopy in THF-d8. Although crystals of [Lu(CH2Ph)3(THF)3] were obtained from such preparations, in our hands, pure neutral tribenzyl was best obtained by trituration/extraction of the crude product with toluene, which gave [Lu(CH2Ph)3(THF)2] with two coordinated THF molecules (structure at hand) but with loss of yield. Figure 1 shows the H NMR spectra of pure [Lu(CH2Ph)3(THF)3], the ate-complex, and mixture of the two in THF-d8 at LT; the H NMR spectra of the former two complexes are temperatureinvariant except for minor changes in chemical shifts, whereas that of the mixture shows broad signals at RT due to intermolecular exchange. JT regrets the error and wishes to emphasize that the problem with ate-complex formation was only observed in the Edmonton synthetic protocol and workup procedure. Alternative, large-scale synthesis of [Ln(CH2Ph)3(THF)3] 2 and most recently including that of [Lu(CH2Ph)3(THF)3] has appeared. 3
Photo-, Bio-, and Magneto-active Colored Polyester Fabric with Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic and Enhanced Mechanical Properties through Synthesis of TiO2/Fe3O4/Ag Nanocomposite

A polyester fabric with durable photo-, bio-, and magneto-activities was prepared in a single-step process. In the proposed method alkali hydrolysis of polyester fabric was carried out along with the synthesis of the TiO2/Fe3O4/Ag nanocomposite, which enhanced the surface activity and nanoparticles adsorption, and produced ethylene glycol for reducing silver nitrate into nano-silver. The uniform distribution of the nanocomposite on the fiber surface was confirmed by FESEM and EDX. The fabrics showed an excellent photoactivity toward degradation of Methylene Blue under sunlight irradiation. The treated samples showed reasonable saturation magnetization and excellent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The tensile properties of the treated samples were enhanced as compared to the untreated fabric. Moreover, a central composite design based on response surface methodology was applied to study the influence of Fe2+/TiO2 and Ag/TiO2 molar ratio in the prepared nanocomposi.
The Comparison of Imaging and Clinical Methods to Estimate Prostate Volume: A Single-Centre Retrospective Study

Background: Prostate volume (PV) is a useful tool in risk stratification, diagnosis, and follow-up of numerous prostatic diseases including prostate cancer and benign prostatic hypertrophy. There is currently no accepted ideal PV measurement method. Objective: This study compares multiple means of PV estimation, including digital rectal examination (DRE), transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and radical prostatectomy specimens to determine the best volume measurement style. Methods: A retrospective, observational, single-site study with patients identified using an institutional database was performed. A total of 197 patients who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy were considered. Data collected included age, serum PSA at the time of the prostate biopsy, clinical T stage, Gleason score, and PVs for each of the following methods: DRE, TRUS, MRI, and surgical specimen weight (SPW) and volume. Results: A paired t test was performed, which reported a statistically significant difference between PV measures (DRE, TRUS, MRI ellipsoid, MRI bullet, SP ellipsoid, and SP bullet) and the actual prostate weight. Lowest differences were reported for SP ellipsoid volume (M = −2.37; standard deviation [SD] = 10.227; t[167] = −3.011; and p = 0.003), MRI ellipsoid volume (M = −4.318; SD = 9.53; t[167] = −5.87; and p = 0.000), and MRI bullet volume (M = 5.31; SD = 10.77; t[167] = 6.387; and p = 0.000). Conclusion: The PV obtained by MRI has proven to correlate with the PV obtained via auto-segmentation software as well as actual SPW, while also being more cost-effective and time-efficient. Therefore, demonstrating that MRI estimated the PV is an adequate method for use in clinical practice for therapeutic planning and patient follow-up.
Mini Nutritional Assessment and physical function of older people in residential aged care facility, Bangladesh

Background: Malnutrition may decrease physical function and exacerbate health conditions and thus have a negative effect on health-related quality of life of older people. Aim: The study was aimed at evaluating the extent of malnutrition, physical function and other associated risk factors for the older persons (>65 years) living in the residential aged care facilities in Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed with a sample of 200 older people in various residential aged care facilities in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Nutritional status was evaluated using the Mini Nutritional Assessment. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the socioeconomic condition, dietary diversity, functional ability and other related risk factors for malnutrition. Results: According to the Mini Nutritional Assessment, 33.5% of participants living in residential aged care facilities were malnourished and 52.5% were at risk of malnutrition. Dietary diversity score differs significantly (p<0.001) among malnourished (3.78 ± 0.45), at risk of malnutrition (4.46 ± 0.98) and well-nourished (4.75 ± 1.11) groups. Twenty-five percent of the study participants reported limitations in mobility and 26.5% reported limitations in activities of daily living. Females were more vulnerable in terms of malnutrition and physical function than males. Mini Nutritional Assessment score is significantly correlated (p<0.05) with several risk factors for malnutrition such as body mass index, education level, meal, protein consumption, dietary diversity score, weight loss, reduced food intake, mobility and activities of daily living of the older people. Conclusions: The study reaffirms that a high rate of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition is prevalent among aged care residents, who need special attention and may benefit from individualized nutrition interventions.
Combination therapy using nitro compounds improves the efficacy of experimental Chagas disease treatment

Abstract Abstract Drug combinations have been evaluated for Chagas disease in an attempt to improve efficacy and safety. In this line, the objective of this work is to assess the effects of treatment with nitro drugs combinations using benznidazole (BZ) or nifurtimox (NFX) plus the sulfone metabolite of fexinidazole (fex-SFN) in vitro and in vivo on Trypanosoma cruzi infection. The in vitro interaction of fex-SFN and BZ or NFX against infected H9c2 cells by the Y strain was classified as an additive (0.5⩾ΣFIC<4), suggesting the possibility of a dose reduction in the in vivo T. cruzi infection. Next, the effect of combining suboptimal doses was assessed in an acute model of murine T. cruzi infection. Drug combinations led to a faster suppression of parasitemia than monotherapies. Also, the associations led to higher cure levels than those in the reference treatment BZ 100 mg day−1 (57.1%) (i.e. 83.3% with BZ/fex-SFN and 75% with NFX/fex-SFN). Importantly, toxic effects resulting from the associations were not observed, according to weight gain and hepatic enzyme levels in the serum of experimental animals. Taken together, this study is a starting point to explore the potential effects of nitro drugs combinations in preclinical models of kinetoplastid-related infections.
Science, Maddá, and ‘Ilm: The language divide in scientific information available to Internet users

The Internet has potential to alleviate inequality in general and specifically with respect to science literacy. Nevertheless, digital divides persist in online access and use, as well as in subsequent social outcomes. Among these, the “language divide” partly determines how successful users are in their Internet use depending on their proficiency in languages, and especially in English. To examine whether the quality of online scientific information varies between languages when conducting searches from the same country, we compared online search results regarding scientific terms in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Findings indicate that searches in English yielded overall higher quality results, compared with Hebrew and Arabic, but mostly in pedagogical aspects, rather than scientific ones. Clustering the results by language yielded better separation than clustering by scientific field, pointing to a “language divide” in access to online science content. We argue that scientific communities and institutions should mitigate this language divide.1