Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Responsible Citizens: Individuals, Health and Policy under Neoliberalism

Documents the rise of ‘responsibility discourse’ in social policy in the UK and worldwide and sows how it is one of the most important themes of the early 21st century. Brings together scholarship, policy and debate across a variety of fields where responsibility is concerned, including health, social care, behaviour management, housing, therapy and the justice system. Develops a theoretical framework, inspired by key scholars such as Michel Foucault and Nikolas Rose and extends its reach into a variety of contemporary phenomena such as health advice, screening programmes, self-help, therapy and public order. Shows how taking responsibility is never quite as simple as it seems. Being responsible is very likely to mean doing what you’re told.
Differential regulation of Ca2+ influx by ORAI channels mediates enamel mineralization

SOCE mediated by ORAI1 affects the metabolism, redox status, and function of enamel cells in teeth. Preventing CRAC’d teeth Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) through CRAC channels, specifically complexes formed by ORAI Ca2+ channels and STIM Ca2+ sensors, mediates Ca2+ uptake in enamel cells in teeth. Eckstein et al. described a patient with a null mutation in ORAI1 that likely accounted for the defective enamel mineralization in his teeth. In mice, deficiency of ORAI1, but not that of ORAI2, decreased SOCE in enamel cells and resulted in compromised enamel structure. In an enamel cell line, ORAI1 knockdown increased mitochondrial cellular respiration, resulting in altered redox status that increased the efficiency of Ca2+ uptake in the ER. These results indicate that ORAI1 is the major CRAC channel in enamel cells and reveal the mechanisms by which SOCE affects enamel cell function. Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) channels are highly selective Ca2+ channels activated by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) sensors STIM1 and STIM2. Their direct interaction with the pore-forming plasma membrane ORAI proteins (ORAI1, ORAI2, and ORAI3) leads to sustained Ca2+ fluxes that are critical for many cellular functions. Mutations in the human ORAI1 gene result in immunodeficiency, anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, and enamel defects. In our investigation of the role of ORAI proteins in enamel, we identified enamel defects in a patient with an ORAI1 null mutation. Targeted deletion of the Orai1 gene in mice showed enamel defects and reduced SOCE in isolated enamel cells. However, Orai2−/− mice showed normal enamel despite having increased SOCE in the enamel cells. Knockdown experiments in the enamel cell line LS8 suggested that ORAI2 and ORAI3 modulated ORAI1 function, with ORAI1 and ORAI2 being the main contributors to SOCE. ORAI1-deficient LS8 cells showed altered mitochondrial respiration with increased oxygen consumption rate and ATP, which was associated with altered redox status and enhanced ER Ca2+ uptake, likely due to S-glutathionylation of SERCA pumps. Our findings demonstrate an important role of ORAI1 in Ca2+ influx in enamel cells and establish a link between SOCE, mitochondrial function, and redox homeostasis.
Ionic Liquid Composite Polybenzimidazol Membranes for High Temperature PEMFC Applications

A series of proton exchange membranes based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) were prepared using the low cost ionic liquids (ILs) derived from 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (BMIM) bearing different anions as conductive fillers in the polymeric matrix with the aim of enhancing the proton conductivity of PBI membranes. The composite membranes prepared by casting method (containing 5 wt. % of IL) exhibited good thermal, dimensional, mechanical, and oxidative stability for fuel cell applications. The effects of anion, temperature on the proton conductivity of phosphoric acid-doped membranes were systematically investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The PBI composite membranes containing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-derived ionic liquids exhibited high proton conductivity of 0.098 S·cm−1 at 120 °C when tetrafluoroborate anion was present in the polymeric matrix. This conductivity enhancement might be attributed to the formed hydrogen-bond networks between the IL molecules and the phosphoric acid molecules distributed along the polymeric matrix.
Antioxidative Effects of Olive Polyphenols Compared to Vitamin E in Piglets Fed a Diet Rich in N-3 PUFA

Simple Summary Olive polyphenols exert many favorable properties, such as an antioxidative effect in humans, but are poorly studied in animals, especially in pigs. Therefore, we conducted a trial including olive leaf extract (OLE), which is rich in polyphenols, in pigs fed a linseed oil-enriched diet, which is a known cause of postprandial oxidative stress. OLE exerted some antioxidative effects in piglets fed a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich diet without any negative effects, even when included in a higher concentration than that proposed for humans. Additionally, the inclusion of OLE did not compromise the zootechnical performance of the piglets as in the case of the dietary inclusion of olive leaves. Therefore, OLE could be used as an effective feed additive for beneficial effects on intestinal health and meat quality, among others. Abstract The aim of the current study was to assess the antioxidative effects of the dietary supplementation of olive leaf extract (OLE) in different concentrations compared to those of vitamin E in piglets under conditions of dietary n-3 PUFA-induced oxidative stress. Forty-eight castrated male piglets (10.6 ± 0.99 kg) were fed the following experimental diets: Cont− (low-fat diet, no supplement), Cont+ (high linseed oil diet, no supplement), Vit-E (as Cont+, 105 IU vitamin E/day), OLE-1 (as Cont+, 3.84 mg hydroxytyrosol equivalents (HEQs)/day), OLE-2 (as Cont+, 38.4 mg HEQ/day), and OLE-3 (as Cont+, 96 mg HEQ/day). After 21 days of feeding, the experimental diets, blood and urine samples were collected to assess the extent of the oxidative stress. Results indicated that diet OLE-1 lowered the activity of gamma-glutamyl transferase, protected DNA (measured as DNA tail %) and altered urinary 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Dietary vitamin E lowered the levels of urinary F2-isoprostanes, as well as of plasma malondialdehyde and γ-tocopherol, but raised the plasmatic α-tocopherol and altered the level of urinary 8-OHdG. In conclusion, only minor positive effects of dietary OLE on the oxidative stress parameters were observed. Additionally, OLE did not show concentration dependence.
Antiparasitic Properties of Cantharidin and the Blister Beetle Berberomeloe majalis (Coleoptera: Meloidae)

Cantharidin (CTD) is a toxic monoterpene produced by blister beetles (Fam. Meloidae) as a chemical defense against predators. Although CTD is highly poisonous to many predator species, some have evolved the ability to feed on poisonous Meloidae, or otherwise beneficially use blister beetles. Great Bustards, Otis tarda, eat CTD-containing Berberomeloe majalis blister beetles, and it has been hypothesized that beetle consumption by these birds reduces parasite load (a case of self-medication). We examined this hypothesis by testing diverse organisms against CTD and extracts of B. majalis hemolymph and bodies. Our results show that all three preparations (CTD and extracts of B. majalis) were toxic to a protozoan (Trichomonas vaginalis), a nematode (Meloidogyne javanica), two insects (Myzus persicae and Rhopalosiphum padi) and a tick (Hyalomma lusitanicum). This not only supports the anti-parasitic hypothesis for beetle consumption, but suggests potential new roles for CTD, under certain conditions.
Inertial Measurement Unit Based Upper Extremity Motion Characterization for Action Research Arm Test and Activities of Daily Living

In practical rehabilitation robot development, it is imperative to pre-specify the critical workspace to prevent redundant structure. This study aimed to characterize the upper extremity motion during essential activities in daily living. An IMU-based wearable motion capture system was used to access arm movements. Ten healthy subjects performed the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and six pre-selected essential daily activities. The Euler angles of the major joints, and acceleration from wrist and hand sensors were acquired and analyzed. The size of the workspace for the ARAT was 0.53 (left-right) × 0.92 (front-back) × 0.89 (up-down) m for the dominant hand. For the daily activities, the workspace size was 0.71 × 0.70 × 0.86 m for the dominant hand, significantly larger than the non-dominant hand (p ≤ 0.011). The average range of motion (RoM) during ARAT was 109.15 ± 18.82° for elbow flexion/extension, 105.23 ± 5.38° for forearm supination/pronation, 91.99 ± 0.98° for shoulder internal/external rotation, and 82.90 ± 22.52° for wrist dorsiflexion/volarflexion, whereas the corresponding range for daily activities were 120.61 ± 23.64°, 128.09 ± 22.04°, 111.56 ± 31.88°, and 113.70 ± 18.26°. The shoulder joint was more abducted and extended during pinching compared to grasping posture (p < 0.001). Reaching from a grasping posture required approximately 70° elbow extension and 36° forearm supination from the initial position. The study results provide an important database for the workspace and RoM for essential arm movements.
Strong Top-Down Control in Southern California Kelp Forest Ecosystems

Global-scale changes in anthropogenic nutrient input into marine ecosystems via terrestrial runoff, coupled with widespread predator removal via fishing, have created greater urgency for understanding the relative role of top-down versus bottom-up control of food web dynamics. Yet recent large-scale studies of community regulation in marine ecosystems have shown dramatically different results that leave this issue largely unresolved. We combined a multiyear, large-scale data set of species abundances for 46 species in kelp forests from the California Channel Islands with satellite-derived primary production and found that top-down control explains 7- to 10-fold more of the variance in abundance of bottom and mid-trophic levels than does bottom-up control. This top-down control was propagated via a variety of species-level direct and indirect responses to predator abundance. Management of top-down influences such as fishing may be more important in coastal marine ecosystems, particularly in kelp forest systems, than is commonly thought.
Decadal monitoring reveals an increase in Vibrio spp. concentrations in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, USA

A decade long study was conducted to investigate the ecological, biological, and temporal conditions that affect concentrations of Vibrio spp. bacteria in a well-studied lagoonal estuary. Water samples collected from the Neuse River Estuary in eastern North Carolina from 2004–2014 (with additional follow-up samples from Fall of 2018) were analyzed to determine Vibrio spp. concentrations, as well as the concentrations of inorganic and organic nutrients, fecal indicator bacteria, phytoplankton biomass, and a wide range of other physio-chemical estuarine parameters. A significant increase in Vibrio spp. was observed to occur in the estuary over the examined period. Strikingly, over this long duration study period, this statistically significant increase in total culturable Vibrio spp. concentrations does not appear to be correlated with changes in salinity, temperature, or dissolved oxygen, the three most commonly cited influential factors that predict estuarine Vibrio spp. abundance. Furthermore, shorter term (~3 years) data on specific Vibrio species (V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus)show that while Vibrio spp. are increasing overall as a genus, the numbers of some key potentially pathogenic species are decreasing as a part of the total population, further supporting the concept that quantification of the entire genus is not a worthwhile use of resources toward predicting levels of specific potentially pathogenic species of public health concern. The significant increase in this concentration of Vibrio spp. in the studied estuary appears to be related to nitrogen and carbon in the system, indicating a continued need for further research.
lncRNA FOXD3‐AS1 is associated with clinical progression and regulates cell migration and invasion in breast cancer

For women, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of women deaths due to cancer. In recent years, increasing long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) has been discovered to be related to tumorigenesis, progression, and prognosis. FOXD3‐AS1 is a lncRNA and has been identified as a cancer‐promoting gene in glioma. By analysing the FOXD3‐AS1 expression in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we found that FOXD3‐AS1 has significantly high expression in breast cancer tumour comparing with the normal tissue. And patients with low FOXD3‐AS1 expression had greater survival probability, smaller tumour size, and less distant metastasis. This leads us to peep inquisitively biological function of FOXD3‐AS1 in breast cancer. Biological assays demonstrated that silenced FOXD3‐AS1 impaired cell proliferation and inhibited cell migration and invasion in breast cancer cell lines (BT549, MDA‐MB‐231). These results suggest that FOXD3‐AS1 could play a potential diagnostics or prognostic biomarker for patients with breast cancer.
National Cancer Institute (NCI) state of the science: Targeted radiosensitizers in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents a major public health problem as the second leading cause of cancer‐related mortality in the United States. Of an estimated 140,000 newly diagnosed CRC cases in 2018, roughly one‐third of these patients will have a primary tumor located in the distal large bowel or rectum. The current standard‐of‐care approach includes curative‐intent surgery, often after preoperative (neoadjuvant) radiotherapy (RT), to increase rates of tumor down‐staging, clinical and pathologic response, as well as improving surgical resection quality. However, despite advancements in surgical techniques, as well as sharpened precision of dosimetry offered by contemporary RT delivery platforms, the oncology community continues to face challenges related to disease relapse. Ongoing investigations are aimed at testing novel radiosensitizing agents and treatments that might exploit the systemic antitumor effects of RT using immunotherapies. If successful, these treatments may usher in a new curative paradigm for rectal cancers, such that surgical interventions may be avoided. Importantly, this disease offers an opportunity to correlate matched paired biopsies, radiographic response, and molecular mechanisms of treatment sensitivity and resistance with clinical outcomes. Herein, the authors highlight the available evidence from preclinical models and early‐phase studies, with an emphasis on promising developmental therapeutics undergoing prospective validation in larger scale clinical trials. This review by the National Cancer Institute's Radiation Research Program Colorectal Cancer Working Group provides an updated, comprehensive examination of the continuously evolving state of the science regarding radiosensitizer drug development in the curative treatment of CRC.
Does Herpes Zoster Increase the Risk of Stroke and Myocardial Infarction? A Comprehensive Review

Herpes zoster (HZ) caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV) reactivation is characterized as a vesicular rash of unilateral distribution that can also cause multiple complications; such as post-herpetic neuralgia; ophthalmic zoster; and other neurological issues. VZV can also increase incident hemorrhagic or ischemic complications by causing inflammatory vasculopathy. Thus; emerging epidemiological and clinical data recognizes an association between HZ and subsequent acute strokes or myocardial infarction (MI). This study reviewed published articles to elucidate the association between HZ and cerebrovascular and cardiac events. Individuals exposed to HZ or herpes zoster ophthalmicus had 1.3 to 4-fold increased risks of cerebrovascular events. Higher risks were noted among younger patients (age < 40 years) within one year after an HZ episode. The elevated risk of CV events diminished gradually according to age and length of time after an HZ episode. The putative mechanisms of VZV vasculopathy were also discussed. Several studies showed that the development of herpes zoster and herpes zoster ophthalmicus increased the risks of stroke; transient ischemic attack; and acute cardiac events. The association between VZV infection and cardiovascular events requires further studies to establish the optimal antiviral treatment and zoster vaccination to reduce zoster-associated vascular risk
The Role of Laparoscopic Investigation in Enabling Natural Conception and Avoiding in vitro Fertilization Overuse for Infertile Patients of Unidentified Aetiology and Recurrent Implantation Failure Following in vitro Fertilization

The present study aims to explore the effectiveness of laparoscopic surgery on women presenting with infertility, of unidentified aetiology according to the standard infertility investigation, and recurrent failed In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) attempts. Identifying and correcting possible underlying pathologies by laparoscopy may subsequently enable natural conception in an effort to address infertility and avoid IVF overuse. One-hundred and seven (107) women with unidentified aetiology of infertility and recurrent failed IVF attempts met the inclusion criteria. Laparoscopic surgery was performed as the endpoint of the patients’ diagnostic journey, aiming to identify a possible underlying factor as the cause of infertility. Sixty-two (62) out of 107 patients (57.94%) that underwent laparoscopy were diagnosed with endometriosis, 25 out of the 107 patients (23.3%) were diagnosed with periadnixal and pelvic adhesions, and 20 cases (18.69%) presented with no pathology and remained unexplained. Following identification and correction of endometriosis and pelvic adhesions, patients were invited to conceive naturally. For the patients that laparoscopic investigation failed to reveal any pathology they were categorized as unexplained infertility and were subjected to a single IVF cycle. Natural conception success rate within the first postoperative year was the primary outcome. Within the first postoperative year, 30 out of 62 patients (48.38%) diagnosed with endometriosis following laparoscopic investigation achieved a natural conception, and 28 out of them (93.4%) reported live-births. Additionally, 11 out of 25 patients (44%) diagnosed with periadnixal and pelvic adhesions achieved natural conception within the first operative year. Regarding the group of unexplained infertility patients, only four out of the 20 patients (20%) achieved clinical pregnancy in the first post-operative IVF cycle. In conclusion, laparoscopy appears to be a promising approach, addressing infertility, providing significant diagnostic findings, while avoiding IVF overuse regarding patients of unidentified infertility presenting with recurrent failed IVF attempts.
A Two-Stage Method for Online Signature Verification Using Shape Contexts and Function Features

As a behavioral biometric trait, an online signature is extensively used to verify a person’s identity in many applications. In this paper, we present a method using shape contexts and function features as well as a two-stage strategy for accurate online signature verification. Specifically, in the first stage, features of shape contexts are extracted from the input and classification is made based on distance metric. Only the inputs passing by the first stage are represented by a set of function features and verified. To improve the matching accuracy and efficiency, we propose shape context-dynamic time warping (SC-DTW) to compare the test signature with the enrolled reference ones based on the extracted function features. Then, classification based on interval-valued symbolic representation is employed to decide if the test signature is a genuine one. The proposed method is evaluated on SVC2004 Task 2 achieving an Equal Error Rate of 2.39% which is competitive to the state-of-the-art approaches. The experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Crosstalk between p38 and Erk 1/2 in Downregulation of FGF1-Induced Signaling

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK): Erk1 and Erk2 are key players in negative-feedback regulation of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling. Upon activation, Erk1 and Erk2 directly phosphorylate FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) at a specific serine residue in the C-terminal part of the receptor, substantially reducing the tyrosine phosphorylation in the receptor kinase domain and its signaling. Similarly, active Erks can also phosphorylate multiple threonine residues in the docking protein FGF receptor substrate 2 (FRS2), a major mediator of FGFR signaling. Here, we demonstrate that in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts and human osteosarcoma U2OS cells stably expressing FGFR1, in addition to Erk1 and Erk2, p38 kinase is able to phosphorylate FRS2. Simultaneous inhibition of Erk1/2 and p38 kinase led to a significant change in the phosphorylation pattern of FRS2 that in turn resulted in prolonged tyrosine phosphorylation of FGFR1 and FRS2 and in sustained signaling, as compared to the selective inhibition of Erks. Furthermore, excessive activation of p38 with anisomycin partially compensated the lack of Erks activity. These experiments reveal a novel crosstalk between p38 and Erk1/2 in downregulation of FGF-induced signaling.
LCL161, a SMAC-mimetic, Preferentially Radiosensitizes Human Papillomavirus–negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Targeting inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAP) with second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (SMAC) mimetics may promote cancer cell death. We tested whether cIAP1 predicts poor prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and whether a novel Smac-mimetic, LCL161, could radiosensitize human papillomavirus–positive (HPV+) and -negative (HPV−) HNSCC. The association of BIRC2 (encoding cIAP1) mRNA level with HPV status in HNSCC was analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. cIAP1 was assessed by IHC on an HNSCC tissue microarray (TMA, n = 84) followed by correlation analysis with HPV status and patient outcomes. Human cell culture and animal models of HNSCC were used to analyze the outcome and molecular characteristics following radiotherapy in combination with LCL161. cIAP1 expression is increased in HPV− compared with HPV+HNSCC tumors in the TCGA database. In our TMA, cIAP1 was overexpressed in HNSCC compared with normal tissues (P = 0.0003) and associated with a poor overall survival (P = 0.0402). cIAP1 levels were higher in HPV− than that in HPV+HNSCC tumors (P = 0.004) and patients with cIAP1+/HPV− HNSCC had the worst survival. LCL161 effectively radiosensitized HPV− HNSCC cells, which was accompanied with enhanced apoptosis, but not HPV+ HNSCC cells. Importantly, LCL161 in combination with radiotherapy led to dramatic tumor regression of HPV− HNSCC tumor xenografts, accompanied by cIAP1 degradation and apoptosis activation. These results reveal that cIAP1 is a prognostic and a potential therapeutic biomarker for HNSCC, and targeting cIAP1 with LCL161 preferentially radiosensitizes HPV− HNSCC, providing justification for clinical testing of LCL161 in combination with radiation for patients with HPV− HNSCC.