anthonyyazdaniml/gliner-biomed-curated-corpus huggingface dataset:
Coping with water stress depends on maintaining cellular function and hydraulic conductance. Yet measurements of vulnerability to drought and salinity do not often focus on capacitance in branch organs that buffer hydraulic function during water stress. The relationships between branch water relations, stem hydraulic vulnerability and stem anatomy were investigated in two co-occurring mangroves Aegiceras corniculatum and Rhizophora stylosa growing at low and high salinity. The dynamics of branch water release acted to conserve water content in the stem at the expense of the foliage during extended drying. Hydraulic redistribution from the foliage to the stem increased stem relative water content by up to 21%. The water potentials at which 12% and 50% loss of stem hydraulic conductivity occurred decreased by ~1.7 MPa in both species between low and high salinity sites. These coordinated tissue adjustments increased hydraulic safety despite declining turgor safety margins at higher salinity sites. Our results highlight the complex interplay of plasticity in organ-level water relations with hydraulic vulnerability in the maintenance of stem hydraulic function in mangroves distributed along salinity gradients. These results emphasise the importance of combining water relations and hydraulic vulnerability parameters to understand vulnerability to water stress across the whole plant.
The invention provides a nanoparticle preparation method. According to the preparation method, a first microemulsion is mixed with a second microemulsion. The first microemulsion contains a surfactant, an organic solvent and a first reactant aqueous solution. The second microemulsion contains a surfactant, an organic solvent and a second reactant aqueous solution. Precipitates can be formed after the first reactant contacts with the second reactant. The surfactant in the first microemulsion is the same as that in the second microemulsion, and the surfactant is a mixture of an oil-soluble polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene segmented copolymer surfactant and a water-soluble polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene segmented copolymer surfactant or a cationic surfactant of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and the like. The nanoparticles provided by the invention have good safety and can obviously raise gene transfection level and promote proteins or drugs to enter into cells.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are used to alleviate clinical inflammatory symptoms (e.g. pain, swelling and reduced function). Leukocytes, upon activation during inflammatory states, generate radical oxygen species (ROS) which primarily are intended for host defence against invading pathogens. Certain NSAID can modify the generation of ROS from stimulated neutrophils ranging form increased production to reduced production. Preliminary experiments in our laboratory have shown that different NSAIDs have opposing effects on the ability of leukocytes (granulocytes and monocytes) to produce ROS upon a standardized stimulus, i.e. phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Paracetamol has a marked inhibitory effect and ibuprofen has a facilitating effect on ROS production. An inhibitory effect of paracetamol was also seen when examining platelet activation markers, whereas acetylsalicylic acid showed a clear enhancing effect in this respect. We want to examine if intake of paracetamol or ibuprofen in vivo have similar effects on leukocyte ROS production and platelet activation, respectively.
PURPOSE: We conducted a single-center, single-arm study (NCT03129412) to prospectively analyze the long-term outcomes of newly diagnosed patients with oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who received radical radiotherapy and local treatment of metastases.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients who reached disease controll after platinum-based palliative chemotherapy continued to receive radical radiotherapy for the nasopharyngeal region and neck. Appropriate local treatments were selected to treat the metastatic lesions. The primary endpoint of this study was overall survival (OS) and the secondary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).
RESULTS: Fifty-one patients were included in the final analysis. During a median follow-up of 60 months, the median OS and PFS were 53.87 and 24.23 months, respectively. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year PFS and OS rates were 76.5 %, 38.1 %, and 31.8 % and 98 %, 75.4 %, 45.6 %, respectively. Both single and multivariate analysis indicated that maintenance therapy after radiotherapy could significantly increase PFS (36.43 vs. 16.1 months, P = 0.005). The OS of patients with single organ metastasis was significantly better than that of patients with double organ metastasis (P = 0.001). In addition, the number of metastatic organs also significantly affected PFS in the multifactor analysis.
CONCLUSION: Patients with newly diagnosed oligometastatic NPC can achieve long-term survival after receiving radical radiotherapy to the primary site and local treatment for metastases.
Growing evidence points to a complex influence of the exposome on health outcomes. Epidemiological studies show associations between pesticides and cognitive delay and cancers. Only few were conducted in children. Chemical exposures differ between socioeconomic groups. The more disadvantaged the group, the higher are some exposures. However, the effect of the exposome on health is complicated to assess due to the long latencies of most diseases. It is therefore important to link social and chemical exposures to 'immediate' outcomes or molecular risk factors for human diseases. There is a strong connection between DNA damage and chronic diseases such as cancers. However, it is difficult to attribute these risks to specific impregnations.

The present study will address the impact of socioeconomic position, hence social inequalities, on environmental exposures and their biological consequences in children. Our approach is to detect DNA damage in hair follicles and associate these measurements with pesticide detections in the hair matrix and socioeconomic position (SEP).

PESTIFOL will include children over 8 and under 12 years old of different socioeconomic positions (SEP), mostly living in the region of Pays de la Loire. This approach should enable us to assess the impact of the SEP, and therefore social inequalities, on chemical expositions and DNA damage, and to characterize which (classes/mixture of) pollutants are major source of DNA damage. The study will also address potential effects associated with geographical location on the exposome and its biological consequences.
The trial will be conducted in two maternity clinics in Ouidah, 40km from Cotonou. A total of 1600 women will be selected and randomised to receive either SP (1500 mg sulfadoxine with 75 mg pyrimethamine) or MQ (15 mg/kg) twice during pregnancy at ante-natal clinic (ANC) visits. The first dose will be given between 16 and 28 weeks of gestation, the second between 30 and 36 weeks, and at least one month after the first dose. Women will be visited at home within one week after the initial and subsequent ANC visits to check for adverse reactions due to the study drugs. Peripheral blood samples will be collected on each ANC visit to assess for haemoglobin level and parasitemia. Peripheral, placental, and cord blood samples will be collected at delivery for haematological determinations and parasitological examination. Birthweight will be recorded and the gestational age assessed by the Ballard method. The mother and her child will be assessed for general health status six weeks after birth.
Hydroxymethylated cytosine (5hmC) in DNA is an epigenetic modification that regulates gene transcription. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity (OB) are diseases that are serious global public health challenges. Little is known about the role of 5hmC in the development of T2D and OB. In our exploratory study to investigate hydroxymethylation using a co-twin control design, we included three monozygotic twin pairs (MZ) discordant for incident T2D (iT2D) and five separate MZ pairs discordant for prevalent OB from our previous R21 (1R21HL127368-01) study of cardiovascular disease. Using circulating 5hmC as an aggregate surrogate for cumulative systemic hydroxymethylation, intriguingly, we found statistically significant, whole-genome differentially hydroxymethylated regions (DhMRs) related to iT2D and prevalent OB, respectively, after controlling for genetic variation in germline consisting of 3.2 billion base pairs, age-period-cohort effects, and multiple-testing. Due to the very limited sample size and lack of twin pairs discordant for incident OB (iOB) in our prior exploratory study, it is imperative to perform the prospective research in a relatively large sample to generate strong evidence. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Twin Study is a well-characterized, 46-year follow-up study initiated in 1969. Leveraging existing rich resources in the NHLBI Twin Study and our established, multi-mechanism students' research engagement plan, we propose this R15 study. Our overall objectives are to characterize circulating 5hmC in relation to iT2D and iOB and to offer an excellent opportunity for students to be engaged in public health epigenome research. These objectives will be achieved by pursuing three specific aims: 1) measure whole genome hydroxymethylation (5hmC) in blood DNA samples; 2) test if DNA regions are differentially hydroxymethylated in relation to iT2D (aim 2-1) and iOB (aim 2-2) independent of germline and common environment; which, in turn, will identify novel differentially hydroxymethylated regions; and 3) characterize sociobehavioral and other environmental correlates of hydroxymethylation in literature-based candidate and novel DNA regions independent of germline and common environment. We will include all available twin pairs discordant for iT2D \[17 MZ and 20 dizygotic twin pairs (DZ)\] and separate twin pairs discordant for iOB (11 MZ pairs and 15 DZ pairs) from NHLBI Twin Study. The NHLBI Twin Study twins were born between 1917 and 1927, a period when 2 male MZ pairs and 4 male DZ pairs of twins were born per 1,000 live births. An illustrative example is that inclusion of our dMZ twin sample size is equivalent to that of at least 126,746 singletons. The significance of our study is to provide innovative evidence about iT2D and iOB-discriminating hydroxymethylation induced environmentally, which could impact disease prevention and treatment through the improvement of modifiable environmental factors. Our study will offer a unique opportunity for engaging medical and graduate students at the applicant's institute in the public health epigenome research.
Diabetes is one of the biggest global public health problems. India has 100 million people living with diabetes as per the 2023 data. Reversal of T2DM, the holy grail of diabetes management, was not deemed possible until recently. Primary care-led weight management for remission of type 2 diabetes (DiRECT) trial has been conducted in obese patients with T2DM patients for a period of 2 years in the UK. Research on the effect of dietary intervention would be necessary for Asian Indians since liver fat deposition is more severe than in white Caucasians. Although some nutritionists and physicians are replicating methods of DiRECT study in their patients, it is not clear if similar diets will work effectively in community-dwelling Asian Indians.
AIMS: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is a hydrophilic dihydroxy bile acid used for cholestatic liver disease and exhibits antioxidant, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, its potential effects on atopic dermatitis (AD) have not been elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of UDCA in inhibiting the inflammatory response and alleviating lesions in AD-like mice.
MAIN METHODS: To investigate the efficacy of UDCA in AD-like inflammatory responses, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)- and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-stimulated HaCaT cells and anti-dinitrophenyl immunoglobulin E (DNP-IgE)- and human serum albumin (HSA)-stimulated RBL-2H3 cells were used to investigate the levels of inflammatory factors and their mechanisms. AD-like lesions were induced by applying DNCB/DFE to mice. The effect of UDCA administration in AD-like mice was analyzed by assessing organ weight, serum IgE and inflammatory cytokine levels, and histopathological changes using immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent staining.
KEY FINDINGS: In HaCaT cells, UDCA significantly diminished TARC, MDC, MCP-1, and IL-6 expression by inhibiting the phosphorylation of nuclear NF-κB and cytoplasmic IκB, and also increased the levels of skin barrier protein. In RBL-2H3 cells, UDCA reduced β-hexosaminidase and IL-4 levels. In AD-like mice, UDCA suppressed organ hypertrophy, ear edema, SCORAD index, DFE-specific IgE levels, inflammatory cytokine levels, skin hypertrophy, mast cell invasion, skin barrier loss, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin-positive areas.
SIGNIFICANCE: UDCA suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by keratinocytes and mast cells. It also alleviated atopy by suppressing symptoms without organ toxicity in AD-like mice. UDCA may be an effective and safe treatment for AD.
BACKGROUND: Vesicle-mediated transport, vital for substance exchange and intercellular communication, is linked to tumor initiation and progression. This work was designed to study the role of vesicle-mediated transport-related genes (VMTRGs) in breast cancer (BC)prognosis.
METHODS: Univariate Cox analysis was utilized to screen prognosis-related VMTRGs. BC samples underwent unsupervised clustering based on VMTRGs to analyze survival, clinical factors, and immune cell abundance across different subtypes. We constructed a risk model using univariate Cox and LASSO regression analysis, with validation conducted using GEO datasets. Subsequently, we performed tumor mutational burden analysis, and immune landscape analysis on both groups. Ultimately, we conducted immunophenoscore (IPS) scoring to forecast immunotherapy and performed drug sensitivity analysis.
RESULTS: We identified 102 VMTRGs associated with BC prognosis. Using these 102 VMTRGs, BC patients were classified into 3 subtypes, with Cluster3 patients showing significantly better survival rates. We constructed a prognostic model for BC based on 12 VMTRGs that effectively predicted patient survival. Riskscore was an independent prognostic factor for BC patients. According to median risk score, high-risk group (HRG) had higher TMB values. The immune landscape of the HRG exhibited characteristics of cold tumor, with higher immune checkpoint expression levels and lower IPS scores, whereas Gemcitabine, Nilotinib, and Oxaliplatin were more suitable for treating low-risk group.
CONCLUSION: We classified BC subtypes and built a prognostic model based on VMTRGs. The genes in the prognostic model may serve as potential targets for BC therapy.
Palpitations (noticeable pounding, fluttering or irregular heart beat) and pre syncope (near blackout) are common ED problems sometimes due to an abnormal heart rhythm. Diagnosis is difficult as examination and electrocardiogram (ECG) are commonly normal and symptoms have usually resolved by the time the patient arrives in the ED. Diagnosing an abnormal heart rhythm as the cause of symptoms rests on capturing it on an ECG and patients are usually advised to return to the ED for a 12-lead ECG should symptoms recur. The investigators will recruit 242 participants aged 16 years or over presenting to the ED or Medical Assessment Unit of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh with an episode of palpitations or pre-syncope and who remain undiagnosed after ED assessment. The investigators will randomise and allocate participants to either study or control arms. All study arm participants will be given an AliveCor Heart Monitor and trained in the use of the device. Control arm participants will receive standard care only. If a participant allocated to the study arm has palpitations or pre-syncope during the 90-day study period, the participant can record an ECG using the AliveCor Monitor which can be viewed by the study team. Participants will be asked to log symptoms and whether the participant was able to record an ECG during the symptoms in a participant symptom diary, which the participant will return to the research team along with the Participant satisfaction and compliance questionnaire, and smart phone based event recorder at the end of the 90 days in a pre-paid stamped, addressed envelope. Participants will be phoned at 90 days to remind the participant to complete the Participant satisfaction and compliance questionnaire and to return this with the symptom diary and smart phone based event recorder. The investigators believe a smart phone based event recorder will allow better and earlier diagnosis in patients.
Techniques for static and dynamic input multiplexing for high-density neural signal recording are disclosed herein. A multiplexer can receive a first set of neural signals via inputs. A subset of the first set of neural signals above a threshold can be determined. A group of the inputs corresponding to the subset of the first set of neural signals can be determined. Operation of the multiplexer can be modified to block inputs not in the identified group of the inputs. A second set of neural signals can be received into the multiplexer via the group of the inputs. The second set of neural signals can be transmitted to a plurality of channels of an amplifier while blocking inputs not in the identified group of the inputs. The second set of neural signals can be amplified using the amplifier. The amplified second set of neural signals can be transmitted for further processing.
PURPOSE: A geometrically controlled tube shaped device for programmable drug delivery is provided to facilitate drug delivery at low cost. CONSTITUTION: A geometrically controlled tube shaped device for programmable drug delivery comprises a drug tube in which drug powder is stored and drug delivery tubes which include diffusion disorder tubes in which the diffusion disorder materials are saved while being connected to the drug tube. The plurality of drug delivery tubes are connected in parallel or serially. The lower circumference surface of the drug tube and the upper circumference surface of the diffusion disorder tube are sealed by being welded with medical adhesive. The system additionally includes an outer tube for storage in which the drug tube and the diffusion disorder tube can be inserted and stored inside. Both ends of the outer tube for storage are sealed by the medical adhesive in order to prevent leakage of the minute drug powder. The diffusion disorder material is a biocompatible material.
Patients randomized to the phenazopyridine arm will be given a 200 mg pill with a sip of water in the pre-operative area 1 hour before their scheduled procedure. Cystoscopy will be performed in the standard fashion during the course of the operation.
BACKGROUND: In 2020, 203 million people experienced neck pain, with a higher prevalence in women. By 2050, it is predicted that neck pain will affect 269 million people, representing a 32.5% increase. Physical rehabilitation is often employed for the treatment of chronic non-specific neck pain (CNSNP) and the associated functional loss. Taping is frequently used as an adjunct treatment alongside primary physical rehabilitation. Unlike kinesio tape (KT), the therapeutic benefits of dynamic tape (DT) have not been thoroughly explored and documented in non-athletic conditions. Therefore, the aim of this trial was to determine the effects of DT on pain, disability, and overall well-being in individuals experiencing CNSNP.
METHODS: A prospective parallel-group active controlled trial was conducted at a single center, involving 136 patients with CNSNP, randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio. The sham taping group (STC) received standard physiotherapy care (n = 67) alongside DT without tension, while the dynamic taping group (DTC) (n = 69) underwent standard cervical offloading technique with appropriate tension in addition to standard physiotherapy care. Demographic information and three patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), namely the Neck Disability Index (NDI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), were collected for each participant at three time points (baseline, four weeks post-taping, and four weeks follow-up).
RESULTS: At baseline, no significant differences were observed between the STC and DTC for any outcome measure. Notably, all three PROMs exhibited a significant improvement from baseline to four weeks post-intervention, with moderate to small effect sizes (NDI ηp2 = 0.21, VAS ηp2 = 0.23, and WHO-55 ηp2 = 0.05). The WHO-5 scores for both groups demonstrated improvement from baseline through follow-up (p < 0.001). The NDI and VAS scores ameliorated from baseline to the four weeks post-taping period, with marginal improvements observed during the four weeks follow-up.
CONCLUSION: The incorporation of DT as an adjunct to standard physiotherapy care yielded enhancements in pain levels, functional disability, and well-being among patients with CNSNP when compared to the sham group. However, the sustainability of these improvements beyond the taping period lacks statistical significance and warrants further validation.
OCTA-C1-INH injection, 20IU/kg BW after first qualifying attack. Treatment to be administered to blinded as well as open-label subjects.
BACKGROUND: Functional activation of the focal ischemic brain has been reported to improve outcomes by augmenting collateral blood flow. However, functional activation also increases metabolic demand and might thereby worsen outcomes. Indeed, preclinical and clinical reports have been conflicting. Here, we tested the effect of functional activation during acute ischemic stroke using distal middle cerebral artery occlusion in anesthetized mice.
METHODS: Using transgenic mice expressing channelrhodopsin-2 in neurons, we delivered functional activation using physiological levels of transcranial optogenetic stimulation of the moderately ischemic cortex (ie, penumbra), identified using real-time full-field laser speckle perfusion imaging during a 1-hour distal microvascular clip of the middle cerebral artery. Neuronal activation was confirmed using evoked field potentials, and infarct volumes were measured in tissue slices 48 hours later.
RESULTS: Optogenetic stimulation of the penumbra was associated with more than 2-fold larger infarcts than stimulation of the contralateral homotopic region and the sham stimulation group (n=10, 7, and 9; 11.0±5.6 versus 5.1±4.3 versus 4.1±3.7 mm3; P=0.008, 1-way ANOVA). Identical stimulation in wild-type mice that do not express channelrhodopsin-2 did not have an effect. Optogenetic stimulation was associated with a small increase in penumbral perfusion that did not explain enlarged infarcts.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that increased neuronal activity during acute focal arterial occlusions can be detrimental, presumably due to increased metabolic demand, and may have implications for the clinical management of hyperacute stroke patients.