Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of decontamination solutions on the surface of titanium: investigation of surface morphology, composition, and roughness.

AIM To investigate the impact of treatments used to detoxify dental implants on the oxide layer morphology and to infer how changes in morphology created by these treatments may impact re-osseointegration of an implant. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pure titanium (cpTi) and the alloy Ti6Al4V were subjected to a series of chemical treatments and mechanical abrasion simulating surface decontamination of dental implants. The morphology and roughness of the surface layer before and after treatment with these solutions were investigated with optical and atomic force microscopy (OM, AFM). The solutions employed are typically used for detoxification of dental implants. These included citric acid, 15% hydrogen peroxide, chlorhexidine gluconate, tetracycline, doxycycline, sodium fluoride, peroxyacetic acid, and treatment with carbon dioxide laser. The treatments consisted of both immersions of samples in solution and rubbing with cotton swabs soaked in solution for 1, 2, and 5 min. Cotton swabs used were analyzed with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). RESULTS The microscopy investigation showed that corrosion and pitting of the samples were present in both metal grades with immersion and rubbing methods when employing more acidic solutions, which had pH <3. Mildly acidic solutions caused surface discoloration when coupled with rubbing but did not cause corrosion with immersion. Neutral or basic treatments resulted in no signs of corrosion with both methods. EDS results revealed the presence of titanium particles on all rubbing samples. CONCLUSION It was demonstrated in this study that acidic environments coupled with rubbing are able to introduce noticeable morphological changes and corrosion on the surface of both titanium grades.
What Happens to Olfaction without Adult Neurogenesis?

Constitutive neurogenesis clearly occurs within the adult central nervous system of almost all mammals. This process generates new neurons in at least two areas of the brain: the olfactory bulb (OB) and the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. However, it remains unknown why new neurons specifically populate those two neural structures rather than other areas. In empirical experiments, adult neurogenesis was impaired and the consequences of this impairment for the neural circuitry and behavior of animals were investigated with a view to determining the role of new neurons in the adult brain. In the December issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, Breton-Provencher et al. addressed this issue, by using drugs to establish a transient blockade of adult neurogenesis and combining several techniques to evaluate the consequences of this blockade for OB circuits and particular types of behavior. Here, we summarize and discuss some of their findings in light of other recently published data.
Printed in Brazil

 This study aimed to determine the best auxiliary trait for indirect selection of soybean grain yield, through path analysis and in avoidance of the adverse effects of multicollinearity and expected response. Seventy-nine F5 soybean genotypes from the cross FT-Cometa x Bossier were used. The populations were distributed on the field was the families inserted with replicated controls. Primary and secondary traits of grain yield were evaluated in four phenotypically superior plants per family. The traits number of pods, height and number of nodes were considered as the most important, showing the best combination of direct effect and genotypic correlation. The number of pods achieved the highest expected gain through the estimation method based on the selection differential. On the other hand, plant height, by the method based on selection intensity, was not a good indicator of the most productive plants.
Urinary Biomarkers Predict Brain Tumor Presence and Response to Therapy

Purpose: A major difficulty in treating brain tumors is the lack of effective methods of identifying novel or recurrent disease. In this study, we have evaluated the efficacy of urinary matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) as diagnostic biomarkers for brain tumors. Experimental Design: Urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and tissue specimens were collected from patients with brain tumors. Zymography, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry were used to characterize the presence of MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-9/neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Results were compared between age- and sex-matched controls and subjected to univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. Results: Evaluation of a specific panel of urinary biomarkers by ELISA showed significant elevations of MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-9/NGAL, and VEGF (all P < 0.001) in samples from brain tumor patients compared with controls. Multiplexing MMP-2 and VEGF provided superior accuracy compared with any other combination or individual biomarker. Receiver-operating characteristics curves for MMP-2 and VEGF showed excellent discrimination. Immunohistochemistry identified these same proteins in the source tumor tissue. A subset of patients with longitudinal follow-up revealed subsequent clearing of biomarkers after tumor resection. Conclusion: We report, for the first time, the identification of a panel of urinary biomarkers that predicts the presence of brain tumors. These biomarkers correlate with presence of disease, decrease with treatment, and can be tracked from source tissue to urine. These data support the hypothesis that urinary MMPs and associated proteins are useful predictors of the presence of brain tumors and may provide a basis for a novel, noninvasive method to identify new brain tumors and monitor known tumors after treatment.
Relationship of p15 and p16 gene alterations to elevated dihydrofolate reductase in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

The downstream effects of p15 and p16 gene deletions and loss of transcripts on dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) were examined in 63 B‐precursor (BP) acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) samples. p15 and/or p16 gene deletions were seen in 6% and 8%, respectively, of BP‐ALL samples; however, losses of p15 and/or p16 transcripts were seen in 26 out of 63 (41%) samples. Loss of p15 transcripts (36·5%) exceeded that for p16 (17·5%). For the 26 BP‐ALLs that lacked p15 and/or p16 transcripts, only six (23%) exhibited low levels of DHFR by flow cytometry assay with Pt430, a fluorescent anti‐folate. Conversely, 18 out of 37 (49%) BP‐ALL samples with intact p15 and/or p16 genes and transcripts showed low levels of DHFR (P = 0·04). In p15‐ and p16‐null K562 cells transfected with a tetracycline‐inducible p15 cDNA construct, induction of p15 transcripts and protein was accompanied by decreased growth rates, decreased S‐phase fraction, decreased retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation, and markedly reduced levels of DHFR transcripts and protein. Collectively, our results suggest that losses of p15 and/or p16 gene expression result in elevated levels of DHFR in BP‐ALL in children. However, additional downstream factors undoubtedly also contribute to elevated levels of this enzyme target.
Proteolytic Processing of Stat6 Signaling in Mast Cells as a Negative Regulatory Mechanism

Accumulating evidence has shown the importance of Stat6-mediated signaling in allergic diseases. In this study, we show a novel regulatory mechanism of Stat6-mediated signaling in mast cells. When Stat6 is activated by interleukin (IL)-4 and translocated to the nucleus, Stat6 is cleaved by a nucleus-associated protease in mast cells. The cleaved 65-kD Stat6 lacks the COOH-terminal transactivation domain and functions as a dominant-negative molecule to Stat6-mediated transcription. The retrovirus-mediated expression of cleavage-resistant Stat6 mutants prolongs the nuclear accumulation of Stat6 upon IL-4 stimulation and enhances IL-4–induced gene expression and growth inhibition in mast cells. These results indicate that the proteolytic processing of Stat6 functions as a lineage-specific negative regulator of Stat6-dependent signaling in mast cells, and thus suggest that it may account for the limited role of Stat6 in IL-4 signaling in mast cells.
Repeated Intraperitoneal α-Radioimmunotherapy of Ovarian Cancer in Mice

The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of α-radioimmunotherapy of ovarian cancer in mice using different fractionated treatment regimens. The study was performed using the monoclonal antibody MX35 F(ab′)2 labeled with the α-particle emitter 211At. Methods. Nude mice were intraperitoneally inoculated with ~1 × 107 cells of the cell line NIH:OVCAR-3. Four weeks later 6 groups of animals were given 400 kBq 211At-MX35 F(ab′)2 as a single or as a repeated treatment of up to 6 times (n = 18 in each group). The fractionated treatments were given every seventh day. Control animals were treated with unlabeled MX35 F(ab′)2 (n = 12). Eight weeks posttreatment the animals were sacrificed and the presence of macro- and microscopic tumors and ascites was determined. Results. The tumor-free fractions (TFFs) of the animals, defined as the fraction of animals with no macro- and microtumors and no ascites, were 0.17, 0.11, 0.39, 0.44, 0.44, and 0.67 when treated with 400 kBq 211At-MX35 F(ab′)2 once or 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 times, respectively. Repeated treatment 3 times or more resulted in a significantly higher (P < .05) TFF than compared to treatment once or twice. The presence of ascites decreased from 15 out of 18 animals in the group given only one treatment to zero for the 2 groups given 5 or 6 fractions. Treatment with unlabeled MX35 F(ab′)2 resulted in a TFF of zero. Conclusion. Weekly repeated intraperitoneal injections of tolerable amounts of activity of 211At-MX35 F(ab′)2 of up to 6 times produced increased therapeutic efficacy without observed toxicity, indicating a potential increase of the therapeutic index.
Diversity in the Glucose Transporter-4 Gene (SLC2A4) in Humans Reflects the Action of Natural Selection along the Old-World Primates Evolution

Background Glucose is an important source of energy for living organisms. In vertebrates it is ingested with the diet and transported into the cells by conserved mechanisms and molecules, such as the trans-membrane Glucose Transporters (GLUTs). Members of this family have tissue specific expression, biochemical properties and physiologic functions that together regulate glucose levels and distribution. GLUT4 –coded by SLC2A4 (17p13) is an insulin-sensitive transporter with a critical role in glucose homeostasis and diabetes pathogenesis, preferentially expressed in the adipose tissue, heart muscle and skeletal muscle. We tested the hypothesis that natural selection acted on SLC2A4. Methodology/Principal Findings We re-sequenced SLC2A4 and genotyped 104 SNPs along a ∼1 Mb region flanking this gene in 102 ethnically diverse individuals. Across the studied populations (African, European, Asian and Latin-American), all the eight common SNPs are concentrated in the N-terminal region upstream of exon 7 (∼3700 bp), while the C-terminal region downstream of intron 6 (∼2600 bp) harbors only 6 singletons, a pattern that is not compatible with neutrality for this part of the gene. Tests of neutrality based on comparative genomics suggest that: (1) episodes of natural selection (likely a selective sweep) predating the coalescent of human lineages, within the last 25 million years, account for the observed reduced diversity downstream of intron 6 and, (2) the target of natural selection may not be in the SLC2A4 coding sequence. Conclusions We propose that the contrast in the pattern of genetic variation between the N-terminal and C-terminal regions are signatures of the action of natural selection and thus follow-up studies should investigate the functional importance of differnet regions of the SLC2A4 gene.
Dusky-Footed Wood Rats (Neotoma fuscipes) as Reservoirs of Granulocytic Ehrlichiae (Rickettsiales: Ehrlichieae) in Northern California

ABSTRACT Dusky-footed wood rats (Neotoma fuscipes) andPeromyscus sp. mice (P. maniculatus andP. truei) were collected from one site in Placer County, one site in Santa Cruz County, and two sites in Sonoma County in northern California. Serum or plasma samples from 260 rodents were tested for antibodies to the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. Of these, samples from 25 wood rats (34% of those tested) and 10 (8%)Peromyscus sp. mice were found to be seropositive, but only those from one site. PCR assays targeting the groESL heat shock operon were conducted on all seropositive specimens and a subset of seronegative blood specimens. Ehrlichial DNA was identified in 17 (68%) of the 25 seropositive wood rat blood samples and in 1 of the 10 (10%) Peromyscus sp. specimens. None of 40 seronegative blood samples was PCR positive. Both seropositive and PCR-positive animals were collected during each trapping period. One male tick out of 84 Ixodes pacificus adults collected was PCR positive; samples of Dermacentor occidentalis nymphs and adults were negative. Nucleotide sequences of amplicons from three wood rat blood specimens and from the single PCR-positive tick differed by one and two bases, respectively, from a sequence previously obtained fromEhrlichia equi. At one site in Sonoma County, wood rats had a concurrent high prevalence of seropositivity and PCR positivity, while other sigmodontine rodents collected at the site were only occasionally infected. We suggest that dusky-footed wood rats serve as reservoirs of granulocytic ehrlichial agents in certain areas of northern California. The tick species involved in the transmission of granulocytic ehrlichiae among wood rats remains unknown.
Characterization of the Effective Elastic Modulus of an Integrated Sandwich Composite

In this paper, an integrated sandwich composite adopting 3-D woven fabrics as the core material is thoroughly studied for its effective elastic modulus. In spite of the extensive applications of 3-D woven sandwich composites due to their improved mechanical properties, no suitable theoretical model has been proposed to predict the elastic modulus for such composite structures in the open literature so far. For the present work, a theoretical model by means of a micromechanics approach and the rule of mixtures is proposed to predict its effective in-plane elastic modulus. To verify the veracity of our prediction, unidirectional tensile tests were also carried out to determine the effective elastic modulus. Eventually, our experimental results turn out to agree with our prediction very well.
Role of pirfenidone in the management of pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis is associated with a number of specific forms of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and can lead to progressive decline in lung function, poor quality of life, and, ultimately, early death. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), the most common fibrotic ILD, affects up to 1 in 200 elderly individuals and has a median survival that ranges from 3 to 5 years following initial diagnosis. IPF has not been shown to respond to immunomodulatory therapies, but recent trials with novel antifibrotic agents have demonstrated lessening of lung function decline over time. Pirfenidone has been shown to significantly slow decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) over time and prolong progression-free survival, which led to its licensing by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014 for the treatment of patients with IPF. However, pirfenidone has been associated with significant side effects, and patients treated with pirfenidone must be carefully monitored. We review recent and ongoing clinical research and experience with pirfenidone as a pharmacologic therapy for patients with IPF, provide a suggested approach to incorporate pirfenidone into a treatment algorithm for patients with IPF, and examine the potential of pirfenidone as a treatment for non-IPF forms of ILD accompanied by progressive pulmonary fibrosis.
Plasma Levels of Mitochondrial DNA in Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department With Sepsis

ABSTRACT Elevated levels of plasma mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been reported in trauma patients and may contribute to the systemic immune response. We sought to determine the plasma levels of mtDNA in emergency department (ED) patients with and without sepsis and evaluate their association with severity of illness. This was a prospective observational study of patients presenting to one of three large, urban, tertiary care EDs. Patients were enrolled into one of three cohorts: (i) sepsis defined as suspected infection and two or more systemic inflammatory response criteria without hypotension, (ii) septic shock defined as sepsis plus hypotension despite an adequate fluid challenge, and (iii) control defined as noninfected ED patients without systemic inflammatory response/hypotension. Plasma levels of three mtDNAs were measured using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Levels of mtDNAs were compared among the three cohorts, and linear regression was used to assess the association between mtDNAs, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores in patients with sepsis. We enrolled 93 patients: 24 control subjects, 29 patients with sepsis, and 40 patients with septic shock. As expected, comorbidities and SOFA score increased across categories. We found no difference in mtDNA levels between the three groups (P = 0.14–0.30). Among patients with sepsis, we found a small but significant negative association between mtDNA level and SOFA score, most clearly with cytochrome b (P = 0.03). We found no difference in mtDNA levels between control subjects and patients with sepsis. Mitochondrial DNA levels were negatively associated with organ dysfunction, suggesting that plasma mtDNA does not significantly contribute to the pathophysiology of sepsis.
Assessing adult attachment: Empirical sophistication and conceptual bases

Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1973, 1980, 1982) constitutes one of the most in uential theories of socio-emotional development, and some of its most impressive developments have stemmed from the study of attachment in adulthood (e.g. Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Main, Kaplan & Cassidy, 1985). The interest in attachment as a valid and meaningful construct in adulthood is well justied by both Bowlby’s (1982, 1988) and Ainsworth’s (1989) insistence on the in uence of the attachment system across the lifespan. However, neither Bowlby or Ainsworth gave much guidance as to the measurement of attachment beyond childhood. Perhaps as a result of this lack of theoretical framework, numerous researchers have developed attachment measures based on different assumptions regarding how attachment is best assessed in adulthood. Nearly all research on adult attachment emanates from one of two assessment traditions: measurement of attachment within the nuclear family (the developmental approach), or measurement of attachments to contemporary peers (the social/personality approach). One of the most unfortunate (although by no means necessary) consequences of the emergence of these assessment traditions has been the somewhat rigid division between developmental and social/personality researchers. The professional tensions between developmental and social researchers not only are unnecessary but also have impeded the progress of the eld of adult attachment. There is no doubt that our  eld would greatly bene t from moving toward integration and open-minded communication between the two traditions. In that sense, Shaver and Mikulincer’s article (hereafter cited as 2002) represents a very signicant contribution that we salute not only for its importance and relevance, but also for its remarkable thoughtfulness and scienti c integrity. In this commentary, we wish to further discuss such issues as the distinction between experimental sophistication and conceptual meaning, the experimental demonstration of causality, and the related yet clearly distinct concepts tapped by self-reports and interview methodologies.
Clinical and subclinical infections with Cryptosporidium in animals

Abstract Cryptosporidium spp. are frequent parasites of livestock and companion animals, raising questions about the clinical significance of such infections. Cryptosporidium infections have a wide spectrum of clinical signs that can vary from asymptomatic to serious infection to death. In neonatal ruminants, cryptosporidiosis is considered an important disease characterised by diarrhoea and mortality. In companion animals most infections are asymptomatic but severe clinical illness has also been reported in dogs, cats and horses. In birds, three main clinical forms of cryptosporidiosis are primarily seen in naturally occurring infections, i.e. respiratory, intestinal, and renal. In reptiles, cryptosporidiosis is an emerging problem given that infections are frequently chronic and lethal. Molecular tools have been developed to detect and differentiate Cryptosporidium at the species/genotype and subtype levels. The use of those tools has led to a more in-depth understanding of the genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium which plays an important role in the diverse clinical presentations of cryptosporidiosis. This review presents an overview of the current knowledge on clinical cryptosporidiosis in livestock, pets, and other animals.
Tricholoma nudum as a source of microbiological protein.

Tricholoma nudum is approximately equivalent to fodder yeast in protein content (Reusser et al., 1957a). Its mycelium is nontoxic to animals (J. M. Bell, Personal Communication) and grows well on waste sulfite liquor. This communication reports the results of a study of this mushroom in which factors influencing its growth and protein yield, and hence its potential nutritive value, have been examined more closely.
Sautrela: a highly modular open source speech recognition framework

This paper describes the Sautrela system (www.sautrela.org), a highly modular and pluggable open source framework for generic purpose signal processing, focused on speech recognition. The aim of Sautrela is to unify in a single framework almost all the tasks related to pattern recognition such as signal processing, model training and decoding. This framework has been developed using the Javatrade technology and thus ensures its portability to a large variety of computer platforms
Software engineering for 'social good': integrating action research, participatory design, and agile development

Software engineering for ‘social good’ is an area receiving growing interest in recent years. Software is increasingly seen as a way to promote positive social change: this includes initiatives such as Code for America and events such as hackathons, which strive to build innovative software solutions with a social conscience. From a software engineering perspective, existing software processes do not always match the needs of these social software projects, which are primarily aimed at social change and often involve vulnerable communities. In this paper, we argue for new software processes that combine elements of agile, iterative development with principles drawn from action research and participatory design. The former allow social software projects to be built quickly with limited resources; the latter allow for a proper understanding of the social context and vulnerable user groups. The paper describes Speedplay, a software development management framework integrating these approaches, and illustrates its use in a real social innovation case study.