Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electronic Cigarettes and their Effects on Developing Symptoms of Respiratory Diseases among the Youth

Background: Electronic Cigarettes (EC) are new and popular harm reduction devices that are used to help current smokers quit smoking traditional cigarettes (TC). Although many public health practitioners would agree that this harm reduction strategy will be beneficial to the population, others would argue that it could be a gateway to smoking cigarettes for non-smokers, and young adults to start using EC. EC are not classified as combustible devices, but they still have some potential risks that can affect one’s health. The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of EC and determine if there is a relationship between their use and the development of symptoms of respiratory diseases within the youth population. Methods: The Population Assessment of Tobacco Health (PATH) data set was used to analyze, this research question. Wheezing, shortness of breath and dry cough are the three-main outcome of interest. Types of tobacco products and frequency of tobacco product use are the two main exposers of interest. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to test for the association between all exposures with all outcomes of interest while adjusting for other variables. Results: Current EC users had an odds ratio of 1.10 (95% CI 0.71; 1.72) of experiencing shortness of breath compared to non-users while adjusting for all covariates. Current EC users had an odds ratio of 0.92 (95% CI 0.72; 1.17) of experiencing wheezing compared to non-users while adjusting for all covariates. Current EC users had an odds ratio of 1.01 (95% CI 0.79; 1.28) of experiencing dry cough compared to non-users while adjusting for all covariates. Conclusion: EC’s are a new product that many people in the youth population have not used during the time that the survey was conducted. This resulted in a small sample size of EC use. Due to these factors, there was no statistically significant relationship at the 0.05 p-value level between any EC and symptoms of respiratory disease.
Commentary on the article “Burn probability simulation and subsequent wildland fire activity in Alberta, Canada-Implications for risk assessment and strategic planning” by J. L. Beverly and N. McLoughlin

Monte Carlo simulations using wildland fire spread models have been conducted to produce numerical estimates of fire likelihood, project potential fire effects, and produce event sets of realistic wildfires (Parisien et al., 2019). The application of these methods has greatly expanded over the last few decades as a result of increased computation capabilities, available data, and our fundamental understanding of landscape fire dynamics. In their recently published article, Beverly and McLoughlin (2019) attempt to assess the accuracy of fire likelihood outputs (hereafter “burn probability” [BP]) they produced for five large areas in Alberta, Canada, by testing the “correspondence between observed burned areas and pre-fire burn probability maps” in order to “explore how the expectations of decision-makers influenced our assessment of map accuracy. ” To do so, they superimposed BP estimates computed with the Burn-P3 fire simulation model (Parisien et al., 2005) with areas recently burned by wildfire from the reference year used in Burn-P3 until 2017. Their results show a moderate statistical preference of recent burns for high-probability areas in three study areas and no preference in the remaining two. This leads them to conclude that “the use of these maps for research or other applications should be approached with caution and consideration of their shortcomings and apparent limitations. ” In dismissing the accuracy of the BP estimates, they are sending an erroneous message to managers and the research community that BP maps are not useful. We agree with Beverly and McLoughlin (hereafter B & M) that assessing the skill of BP models—or any model—is necessary, but we argue that the manner in which their evaluation was executed undermines (or even invalidates) some of their conclusions regarding the utility and potential accuracy of fire simulation model outputs. We display and discuss three major weaknesses in B & M’s analysis: (1) the inappropriate method of assessing accuracy, (2) a misinterpretation of BP outputs, and (3) data quality considerations. Finally, we propose ways in which a discussion on assessing BP model skill could move forward.
Adenovirus-mediated Transfer of a Wild-Type p53 Gene and Induction of Apoptosis in Cervical Cancer1

In most cervical cancers, the function of p53 is down regulated. To explore the potential use of p53 in gene therapy for cervical cancer, we introduced wild-type p53 into cervical cancer cell lines via a recombinant adenoviral vector, Ad5( MV-/>5(, and analyzed its effects on cell and tumor growth. The transduction efficiencies of all cell lines were 100% at a multiplicity of infection of 100 or greater. The p53 protein was detected in Ad5CMV-p53-infected cells. Protein expression peaked at day 3 after infection and lasted 15 days. The Ad5CMV-p55-infected cells underwent apoptosis, and cell growth was greatly suppressed. The Ad5( MV-/>5J treatment significantly reduced the volumes of established s.c. tumors in vivo. These results indicate that transfection of cervical cancer cells with the wild-type p53 gene via Ad5CMV-p5J is a potential novel approach to the therapy of cervical cancer.
Early Detection of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy by fMRI: An Evidence-Based Review

With the significant rise in the prevalence of diabetes worldwide, diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) remains the most common complication among type 1 and 2 diabetics. The adverse sequelae of DPN, which include neuropathic pain, diabetic foot ulcers and lower-limb amputations, significantly impact quality of life and are major contributors to the biopsychosocial and economic burden of diabetes at the individual, societal and health system levels. Because DPN is often diagnosed in the late stages of disease progression by electromyography (EMG), and neuropathic pain as a result of DPN is difficult to treat, the need for earlier detection is crucial to better ascertain and manage the condition. Among the various modalities available to aid in the early detection of DPN, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has emerged as a practical tool in DPN imaging due to its noninvasive radiation-free nature and its ability to relate real-time functional changes reflecting the local oxygen consumption of regions of the CNS due to external stimuli. This review aims to summarize the current body of knowledge regarding the utility of fMRI in detecting DPN by observing central nervous system (CNS) activity changes among individuals with DPN when compared to controls. The evidence to date points toward a tendency for increased activity in various central neuroanatomical structures that can be detected by fMRI and positively correlates with diabetic neuropathic pain.
Euarchontoglires Challenged by Incomplete Lineage Sorting

Euarchontoglires, once described as Supraprimates, comprise primates, colugos, tree shrews, rodents, and lagomorphs in a clade that evolved about 90 million years ago (mya) from a shared ancestor with Laurasiatheria. The rapid speciation of groups within Euarchontoglires, and the subsequent inherent incomplete marker fixation in ancestral lineages, led to challenged attempts at phylogenetic reconstructions, particularly for the phylogenetic position of tree shrews. To resolve this conundrum, we sampled genome-wide presence/absence patterns of transposed elements (TEs) from all representatives of Euarchontoglires. This specific marker system has the advantage that phylogenetic diagnostic characters can be extracted in a nearly unbiased fashion genome-wide from reference genomes. Their insertions are virtually free of homoplasy. We simultaneously employed two computational tools, the genome presence/absence compiler (GPAC) and 2-n-way, to find a maximum of diagnostic insertions from more than 3 million TE positions. From 361 extracted diagnostic TEs, 132 provide significant support for the current resolution of Primatomorpha (Primates plus Dermoptera), 94 support the union of Euarchonta (Primates, Dermoptera, plus Scandentia), and 135 marker insertion patterns support a variety of alternative phylogenetic scenarios. Thus, whole genome-level analysis and a virtually homoplasy-free marker system offer an opportunity to finally resolve the notorious phylogenetic challenges that nature produces in rapidly diversifying groups.
Phage–Antibiotic Therapy as a Promising Strategy to Combat Multidrug-Resistant Infections and to Enhance Antimicrobial Efficiency

Infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria have highlighted the importance of the development of new antimicrobial agents. While bacteriophages (phages) are widely studied as alternative agents to antibiotics, combined treatments using phages and antibiotics have exhibited Phage–Antibiotic Synergy (PAS), in which antibiotics promote phage replication and extraordinary antimicrobial efficacy with reduced development of bacterial resistance. This review paper on the current progress of phage–antibiotic therapy includes aspects of the mechanisms of PAS and the therapeutic performance of PAS in combating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. The choice of phages and antibiotics, the administration time and sequence, and the concentrations of the two agents impact the bacterial inhibitory effects to different extents.
The effects of isometric hand grip force on wrist kinematics and forearm muscle activity during radial and ulnar wrist joint perturbations

The purpose of this work was to investigate forearm muscle activity and wrist angular displacement during radial and ulnar wrist perturbations across various isometric hand grip demands. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded from eight muscles of the upper extremity. A robotic device delivered perturbations to the hand in the radial and ulnar directions across four pre-perturbation grip magnitudes. Angular displacement and time to peak displacement following perturbations were evaluated. Muscle activity was evaluated pre- and post-perturbation. Results showed an inverse relationship between grip force and angular displacement (p ≤ 0.001). Time to peak displacement decreased as grip force increased (p ≤ 0.001). There was an increase in muscle activity with higher grip forces across all muscles both pre-and post-perturbation (p ≤ 0.001) and a greater average muscle activity in ulnar as compared to radial deviation (p = 0.02). This work contributes to the wrist joint stiffness literature by relating wrist angular displacement to grip demands during novel radial/ulnar perturbations and provides insight into neuromuscular control strategies.
Peer Status as a Potential Risk or Protective Factor: A Latent Profile Analysis on Peer Status and Its Association with Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescents with and without Parental Physical Abuse Experience

Research has well established that parental physical abuse experiences can lead to devastating consequences for adolescents, with peer relationships acting as both protective and risk factors. With the person-centered latent profile analysis (LPA), we analyzed questionnaire data from a cross-sectional study in 2020 composed of a sample of 1959 seventh-grade high school students from Switzerland. This study investigated and compared peer-status profiles combining peer acceptance and peer popularity for adolescents with and without parental physical abuse experiences. We conducted a multinomial logistic regression analysis to investigate further depression, anxiety, and dissociation as predictors of profile membership. With LPA, we identified three distinct profiles for adolescents within the subgroup with experiences of parental physical abuse (n = 344), namely liked, liked-popular, and rejected-unpopular. Within the subgroup of adolescents without parental physical abuse experiences (n = 1565), LPA revealed four profiles, namely liked, liked-popular, rejected-unpopular, and average. For adolescents with parental physical abuse experiences, higher levels of dissociation significantly indicated they were more likely to belong to the rejected-unpopular group than belong to the liked group. Anxious students without experiences of parental physical abuse were more likely to belong to the rejected-unpopular and liked profiles than belong to the liked-popular and average profiles. These findings clearly argue for a deeper understanding of the role of parental physical abuse when analyzing the relationship between dissociation and anxiety and peer status. Operationalizing peer status with the four individual dimensions of likeability, rejection, popularity, and unpopularity was valuable in that the role of peer rejection with respect to different internalizing symptoms became apparent.
Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion with β-Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) Improves Ischemic Lung Function

Ischemia-reperfusion injury compromises short- and long-term outcomes after lung transplantation. The scarce existing data on NAD+ suggest effects on hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction, on reactive oxygen species and on tampering inflammation. We exposed rat lungs to 14 h of cold ischemic storage and perfused them in a rat ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) system for 4 h. A control group (n = 6) was compared to groups receiving 100 µM (n = 6) or 200 µM NAD+ (n = 6) in the preservation solution and groups receiving 200 µM (n = 4) or 2000 µM (n = 6) NAD+ every 30 min in the perfusate, starting at 1 h of EVLP. Compared to the control, significant effects were only achieved in the 2000 µM NAD+ group. During the 4 h of EVLP, we monitored higher vascular flow, lower mean pulmonary arterial pressure and increased oxygenation capacity. Tissue inflammation estimated with the myeloperoxidase assay was lower in the 2000 µM NAD+ group. We observed higher levels of anti-inflammatory IL-10, higher anti-inflammatory IL-6/IL-10 ratios and lower levels of pro-inflammatory IL-12 and IL-18 as well as a trend of more anti-inflammatory IFNy in the 2000 µM NAD+ perfusate. In the bronchoalveolar lavage, the pro-inflammatory levels of IL-1α and IL-1β were lower in the 2000 µM NAD+ group. NAD+ administered during EVLP is a promising agent with both anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to improve ischemic lung function.
Molecular Characterization of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Using a Next-Generation Sequencing Custom-Designed Multigene Panel

Despite the efforts made in the management of PDAC, the 5-year relative survival rate of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) still remains very low (10%). To date, precision oncology is far from being ready to be applied in cases of PDAC, although studies exploring the molecular and genetic alterations have been conducted, and the genomic landscape of PDAC has been characterized. This study aimed to apply a next-generation sequencing (NGS) laboratory-developed multigene panel to PDAC samples to find molecular alterations that could be associated with histopathological features and clinical outcomes. A total of 68 PDACs were characterized by using a laboratory-developed multigene NGS panel. KRAS and TP53 mutations were the more frequent alterations in 75.0% and 44.6% of cases, respectively. In the majority (58.7%) of specimens, more than one mutation was detected, mainly in KRAS and TP53 genes. KRAS mutation was significantly associated with a shorter time in tumor recurrence compared with KRAS wild-type tumors. Intriguingly, KRAS wild-type cases had a better short-term prognosis despite the lymph node status. In conclusion, our work highlights that the combination of KRAS mutation with the age of the patient and the lymph node status may help in predicting the outcome in PDAC patients.
Role of Iron in Aging Related Diseases

Iron progressively accumulates with age and can be further exacerbated by dietary iron intake, genetic factors, and repeated blood transfusions. While iron plays a vital role in various physiological processes within the human body, its accumulation contributes to cellular aging in several species. In its free form, iron can initiate the formation of free radicals at a cellular level and contribute to systemic disorders. This is most evident in high iron conditions such as hereditary hemochromatosis, when accumulation of iron contributes to the development of arthritis, cirrhosis, or cardiomyopathy. A growing body of research has further identified iron’s contributory effects in neurodegenerative diseases, ocular disorders, cancer, diabetes, endocrine dysfunction, and cardiovascular diseases. Reducing iron levels by repeated phlebotomy, iron chelation, and dietary restriction are the common therapeutic considerations to prevent iron toxicity. Chelators such as deferoxamine, deferiprone, and deferasirox have become the standard of care in managing iron overload conditions with other potential applications in cancer and cardiotoxicity. In certain animal models, drugs with iron chelating ability have been found to promote health and even extend lifespan. As we further explore the role of iron in the aging process, iron chelators will likely play an increasingly important role in our health.
Ozone Treatment Improves the Texture of Strawberry Fruit during Storage

The major aim of this study was to check whether a cyclic ozonation process will affect the preservation of the texture of strawberries stored at room temperature. Strawberry fruit was stored for 3 days at room temperature and ozonated with gaseous ozone at a concentration of 10 and 100 ppm for 30 min, every 12 h of storage. Research showed that the ozonation process inhibited the texture deterioration of the fruit during storage. The positive effect of ozone was directly related to the inhibition of the activity of enzymes involved in the degradation of the fruit cell walls, as well as indirectly from the improved energy metabolism of the fruit. The higher level of energy charge corresponded to the higher resistance of ozonated fruit to abiotic stress, leading to the maintenance of the integrity of cell membranes and, consequently, to maintaining good hardness of the fruit throughout the storage period.
Dual Inhibition of PI3K A and mTOR as an Alternative Treatment for Kaposi’s Sarcoma

Rapamycin (or sirolimus), the prototypical inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and an immunosuppressant used for the prevention of renal transplant rejection, has recently emerged as an effective treatment for Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), an enigmatic vascular tumor and a model for pathologic angiogenesis. Indeed, recent work supports a role for mTOR as a central player in the transformation of endothelial cells by the KS-associated herpesvirus–encoded G protein–coupled receptor (vGPCR), the viral oncogene believed to be responsible for causing KS. However, emerging evidence that rapamycin may transiently promote the activation of Akt may limit its use as an anti-KS therapy. Here, we show that activation of Akt in endothelial cells expressing vGPCR is augmented by treatment with rapamycin, resulting in the up-regulation of several Akt proliferative and survival pathways. However, use of a novel dual phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase A (PI3K A )/mTOR inhibitor, PI-103, effectively and independently blocked activation of both PI3K and mTOR in vGPCR-expressing endothelial cells. This resulted in more effective inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation and survival in vitro and tumor growth in vivo . Our results suggest that PI-103 may be an effective therapeutic option for the treatment of patients with KS. Moreover, as KS may serve as a model for pathologic angiogenesis, our results further provide the basis for the early assessment of PI-103 as an antiangiogenic chemotherapeutic. [Cancer Res 2008;68(20):8361–8]
Neurotrophin & synaptogenesis

Synaptogenesis is encoded by multiple genes that program the assembly of neural networks in the immature brain during development and later in life, in the experienced brain that must respond to changes of the external world and of proprioception. Processing of neural network activity cannot solely rely on the activity of established synapses as their plasticity can saturate. For this reason, synaptogenesis is reversible. Assembly and disassembly of synapses depend on the exchange of signals between the pre- and post-synaptic terminals. Synaptic trophic factors are paramount for neural network remodeling, homeostasis and survival because they are present in limited supply. Neurotrophins present the necessary attributes to operate as synaptic trophin. It is speculated that many diverse and pleiotropic actions of neurotrophins on the synapse depend on the sources of neurotrophin ligands, its modes of secretion and signaling, all influenced by their locations at the synapse. What information is encoded when synaptic neurotrophin signaling is retrograde or anterograde, paracrine or autocrine? Answers emerged from the characterization of the cells that secrete neurotrophins, the cells that respond to neurotrophins, the various modes of secretion, receptor-signaling pathways, and the temporal constraints imposed by synaptic transmission. Failure to communicate the appropriate synaptic trophic signals impairs neuronal networks maintenance and updated wiring.
ACCEPTED AUTHOR VERSION OF THE MANUSCRIPT: Effect of electrical and mechanical stunning on rabbit welfare and meat quality

Increased interest in the production of rabbit meat justifies the need to assess and improve the welfare of these animals not only during the production cycle but also at slaughter. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of different stunning methods on the level of blood biochemical parameters (stress indicators), and meat quality of slaughter rabbits. Rabbits of the Hycole line (n = 60), were subjected to the following stunning methods: mechanical with a non-penetrating captive bolt (group I; n = 20), mechanical by hitting a narrow rod on the head (group II; n = 20), and electrical stunning (n = 20). In the stunning groups there were no differences found in the blood level of insulin, cortisol, glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids, and protein content (P>0.05). The stunning method did not affect the pH of rabbit meat (P=0.768), but significantly influenced the L* and b* colour parameters. The muscles of longissimus thoracis et lumborum, from group of rabbits mechanically stunned by hitting a narrow rod on the head, were the darkest (L * = 58.4), with the lowest yellowness electrically stunned rabbits (P=0.042). The percentage of dry matter, crude protein, extractable fat and water to protein ratio, were affected only by the muscle type (P<0.001). To conclude, the rabbit meat was characterised by good quality, with only slight differences between the groups. No differences were found in the stress reaction of rabbits subjected to the examined stunning methods.
Fractional High Order Methods For the Nonlinear Fractional Ordinary Diﬀerential Equation

In this paper, we consider the nonlinear fractional order ordinary diﬀerential equation 0 D αt y ( t ) = f ( y, t ), ( t > 0), n − 1 < α ≤ n , y ( i ) (0) = y ( i ) 0 , i = 0 , 1 , 2 , · · · , n − 1, where f ( y, t ) satisﬁes the L -condition, i.e., | f ( y 1 , t ) − f ( y 2 , t ) | ≤ L | y 1 − y 2 | in t ∈ [0 , T ]. Fractional order linear multiple step methods are introduced. The high order (2-6) approximations of the fractional order ordinary diﬀerential equation with initial value are proposed. The consistence, convergence and stability of the fractional high order methods are proved. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to show that the fractional high order methods for solving the fractional order nonlinear ordinary diﬀerential equation are computationally eﬃcient solution methods.