Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxytocin: bringing magic into nipple aspiration.

A large need remains for new noninvasive breast cancer screening modalities. Nipple fluid, that contains breast epithelial cells, is produced in the breast ducts of nonlactating women and can be collected by vacuum aspiration. Previous studies failed to obtain nipple fluid in a considerable proportion of women. We assessed the feasibility of carrying out oxytocin-supported nipple aspiration on 67 healthy female volunteers. Nipple fluid was aspirated through use of a vacuum system after administration of oxytocin nasal spray. Nipple aspiration was successful in 94% of women. Volumes ranged from 5 to >100 ll, containing 2000 ng DNA, which showed to be largely enough for carrying out a quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction for multiple genes. The procedure was very well endured. Oxytocin-supported nipple aspiration provides a valuable tool for accessing mammary epithelium, providing sufficient DNA for a broad spectrum of analysis in the large majority of women. New noninvasive breast cancer screening modalities are urgently needed. In high-risk women, current screening modalities miss one out of four breast tumors [1]. Nipple fluid, that contains breast epithelial cells and proteins secreted by them, is produced in small amounts in the breast ducts of nonlactating women and can be collected by noninvasive vacuum aspiration. Analyzing genomic changes in nipple fluid could cause a breakthrough in breast cancer screening and prevention. Historically, successful nipple fluid aspiration was reported in only 39%–66% of women [2, 3], clearly limiting its potential. Other approaches to obtain ductal cells such as ductal lavage and random fine needle aspiration are more invasive, cause more discomfort and cost more time and money [2]. Zhang et al. [4] previously suggested from a pilot of nine volunteers, that the use of nasal oxytocin spray potentially increased the yield of nipple aspirate fluid. Oxytocin stimulates and facilitates emptying of the breast glands. After approval of the study protocol by the Hospital's Ethics Committee, we assessed the feasibility of carrying out oxytocin-supported nipple aspiration on 67 healthy female volunteers. After warming of the breast and scrubbing of the nipple, nipple fluid was aspirated with a vacuum system within half an hour after administration of four IE oxytocin nasal spray. Participants rated the experienced discomfort during different stages of the procedure from 0 to 10. Participants were 18–60 years old (mean 29 years). 12% of the women were postmenopausal, 75% were nulliparous, 19% had previously breast-fed and 7 of 67 participants (10%) reported a …
Learning Robotic Assembly from CAD

In this work, motivated by recent manufacturing trends, we investigate autonomous robotic assembly. Industrial assembly tasks require contact-rich manipulation skills, which are challenging to acquire using classical control and motion planning approaches. Consequently, robot controllers for assembly domains are presently engineered to solve a particular task, and cannot easily handle variations in the product or environment. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a promising approach for autonomously acquiring robot skills that involve contact-rich dynamics. However, RL relies on random exploration for learning a control policy, which requires many robot executions, and often gets trapped in locally suboptimal solutions. Instead, we posit that prior knowledge, when available, can improve RL performance. We exploit the fact that in modern assembly domains, geometric information about the task is readily available via the CAD design files. We propose to leverage this prior knowledge by guiding RL along a geometric motion plan, calculated using the CAD data. We show that our approach effectively improves over traditional control approaches for tracking the motion plan, and can solve assembly tasks that require high precision, even without accurate state estimation. In addition, we propose a neural network architecture that can learn to track the motion plan, thereby generalizing the assembly controller to changes in the object positions.
Lower galactosylation levels of the Lipophosphoglycan from Leishmania (Leishmania) major-like strains affect interaction with Phlebotomus papatasi and Lutzomyia longipalpis

BACKGROUND Leishmania major is an Old World species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis and is transmitted by Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus duboscqi. In Brazil, two isolates from patients who never left the country were characterised as L. major-like (BH49 and BH121). Using molecular techniques, these isolates were indistinguishable from the L. major reference strain (FV1). OBJECTIVES We evaluated the lipophosphoglycans (LPGs) of the strains and their behaviour in Old and New World sand fly vectors. METHODS LPGs were purified, and repeat units were qualitatively evaluated by immunoblotting. Experimental in vivo infection with L. major-like strains was performed in Lutzomyia longipalpis (New World, permissive vector) and Ph. papatasi (Old World, restrictive or specific vector). FINDINGS The LPGs of both strains were devoid of arabinosylated side chains, whereas the LPG of strain BH49 was more galactosylated than that of strain BH121. All strains with different levels of galactosylation in their LPGs were able to infect both vectors, exhibiting colonisation of the stomodeal valve and metacyclogenesis. The BH121 strain (less galactosylated) exhibited lower infection intensity compared to BH49 and FV1 in both vectors. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Intraspecific variation in the LPG of L. major-like strains occur, and the different galactosylation levels affected interactions with the invertebrate host.
Anomalous Buckling Characteristics of Laminated Metal-Matrix Composite Plates With Central Square Holes

ABSTRACT Compressive buckling analysis was performed on metal-matrix composite (MMC) plates with centralsquare holes. The MMC plates have varying aspect ratios and hole sizes and are supported under differentboundary conditions. The finite-element structural analysis method was used to study the effects of plateboundary conditions, plate aspect ratio, hole size, and the composite stacking sequence on the compres-sive buckling strengths of the perforated MMC plates. Studies show that by increasing the hole sizes,compressive buckling strengths of the perforated MMC plates could be considerably increased under cer-tain boundary conditions and aspect ratios ("anomalous" buckling behavior); and that the plate bucklingmode could be symmetrical or antisymmetrical, depending on the plate boundary conditions, aspect ratio,and the hole size. For same-sized plates with same-sized holes, the compressive buckling strengths of theperforated MMC plates with [90/0/0/90] 2 lamination could be as much as 10 percent higher or lower thanthose of the [45/-45/-45/45] 2 laminations, depending on the plate boundary conditions, plateaspect ratios, and the hole size. Clamping the plate edges induces far stronger "anomalous" buckling be-havior (enhancing compressive buckling strengths at increasing hole sizes) of the perforated MMC platesthan simply supporting the plate edges.
Galectin-3: The Impact on the Clinical Management of Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Future Perspectives

Galectins (S-type lectins) are an evolutionarily-conserved family of lectin molecules, which can be expressed intracellularly and in the extracellular matrix, as well. Galectins bind β-galactose-containing glycoconjugates and are functionally active in converting glycan-related information into cell biological programs. Altered glycosylation notably occurring in cancer cells and expression of specific galectins provide, indeed, a fashionable mechanism of molecular interactions able to regulate several tumor relevant functions, among which are cell adhesion and migration, cell differentiation, gene transcription and RNA splicing, cell cycle and apoptosis. Furthermore, several galectin molecules also play a role in regulating the immune response. These functions are strongly dependent on the cell context, in which specific galectins and related glyco-ligands are expressed. Thyroid cancer likely represents the paradigmatic tumor model in which experimental studies on galectins’ glycobiology, in particular on galectin-3 expression and function, contributed greatly to the improvement of cancer diagnosis. The discovery of a restricted expression of galectin-3 in well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas (WDTC), compared to normal and benign thyroid conditions, contributed also to promoting preclinical studies aimed at exploring new strategies for imaging thyroid cancer in vivo based on galectin-3 immuno-targeting. Results derived from these recent experimental studies promise a further improvement of both thyroid cancer diagnosis and therapy in the near future. In this review, the biological role of galectin-3 expression in thyroid cancer, the validation and translation to a clinical setting of a galectin-3 test method for the preoperative characterization of thyroid nodules and a galectin-3-based immuno-positron emission tomography (immuno-PET) imaging of thyroid cancer in vivo are presented and discussed.
From Puffins to Plankton: A DNA-Based Analysis of a Seabird Food Chain in the Northern Gulf of Maine

The predator-prey interactions within food chains are used to both characterize and understand ecosystems. Conventional methods of constructing food chains from visual identification of prey in predator diet can suffer from poor taxonomic resolution, misidentification, and bias against small or completely digestible prey. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has become a powerful tool for diet reconstruction through barcoding of DNA in stomach content or fecal samples. Here we use multi-locus (16S and CO1) next-generation sequencing of DNA barcodes on the feces of Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) chicks (n=65) and adults (n=64) and the stomach contents of their main prey, Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus, n=44) to investigate a previously studied food chain. We compared conventional and molecular-derived chick diet, tested the similarity between the diets of puffin adults and chicks, and determined whether herring prey can be detected in puffin diet samples. There was high variability in the coverage of prey groups between 16S and CO1 markers. We identified more unique prey with our 16S compared to CO1 barcoding markers (51 and 39 taxa respectively) with only 12 taxa identified by both genes. We found no significant difference between the 16S-identified diets of puffin adults (n=17) and chicks (n=41). Our molecular method is more taxonomically resolved and detected chick prey at higher frequencies than conventional field observations. Many likely planktonic prey of herring were detected in feces from puffin adults and chicks, highlighting the impact secondary consumption may have on the interpretation of molecular dietary analysis. This study represents the first simultaneous molecular investigation into the diet of multiple components of a food chain and highlights the utility of a multi-locus approach to diet reconstruction that is broadly applicable to food web analysis.
The T2238C Human Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Molecular Variant and the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiac hormone which plays important functions to maintain cardio-renal homeostasis. The peptide structure is highly conserved among species. However, a few gene variants are known to fall within the human ANP gene. The variant rs5065 (T2238C) exerts the most substantial effects. The T to C transition at the 2238 position of the gene (13–23% allele frequency in the general population) leads to the production of a 30-, instead of 28-, amino-acid-long α-carboxy-terminal peptide. In vitro, CC2238/αANP increases the levels of reactive oxygen species and causes endothelial damage, vascular smooth muscle cells contraction, and increased platelet aggregation. These effects are achieved through the deregulated activation of type C natriuretic peptide receptor, the consequent inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity, and the activation of Giα proteins. In vivo, endothelial dysfunction and increased platelet aggregation are present in human subjects carrying the C2238/αANP allele variant. Several studies documented an increased risk of stroke and of myocardial infarction in C2238/αANP carriers. Recently, an incomplete response to antiplatelet therapy in ischemic heart disease patients carrying the C2238/αANP variant and undergoing percutaneous coronary revascularization has been reported. In summary, the overall evidence supports the concept that T2238C/ANP is a cardiovascular genetic risk factor that needs to be taken into account in daily clinical practice.
Speech effects of Hawley and vacuum-formed retainers by acoustic analysis: A single-center randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of alteration on speech articulation of adult patients between Hawley retainers and vacuum-formed retainers by an objective acoustic analysis of vowels and voiceless fricatives. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty adults, aged 19.0-29.0 years, who had just finished active orthodontic treatment were included in this study. They were divided into a Hawley retainer group and a vacuum-formed retainer group by sortation randomization method. The assessment of speech sounds was performed objectively using acoustic analysis before and after retainer application at the following time points: before wearing (T0), immediately after wearing (T1), and at 24 hours (T2), 1 week (T3), 1 month (T4), and 3 months (T5). RESULTS The production of /з:/, /i:/, /f/, /θ/, /s/, and /∫/ sounds for the Hawley retainer group and /i:/, /θ/, /s/, and /∫/ sounds for the vacuum-formed retainer group showed severe speech impairment according to acoustic analysis (P < .05). A comparison of the Hawley retainer group with the vacuum-formed retainer group revealed that the performance of /i:/, /f/, and /s/ sounds were significantly different (P < .05). CONCLUSION Although sound distortion could be found in both the Hawley retainer group and the vacuum-formed retainer group, changes in articulation were more obvious in the Hawley retainer group.
AzBio Speech Understanding Performance in Quiet and Noise in High Performing Cochlear Implant Users.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate high-performing cochlear implant patients' performance on AzBio sentence testing. METHODS Retrospective review of prospectively collected database at a tertiary care hospital. Unilateral cochlear implant patients with AzBio testing were included. The primary outcome of interest was AzBio performance scores in quiet and at +10 and +5 decibels signal to noise (dB S/N). RESULTS One hundred eighty five subjects met inclusion criteria with scores for AzBio in quiet, 114 at +10 dB S/N, and 66 at +5 dB S/N. Linear mixed effects models showed performance significantly correlated with time since activation in all conditions (8.4%/yr; p < 0.0001). Strong correlations between mean performance in quiet and at +10 dB S/N (r = 0.77, p < 0.0001), and between +10 and +5 dB S/N (r = 0.73, p < 0.0001) were found. The correlation between quiet and +5 dB S/N (r = 0.45, p = 0.01) was less robust. Shapiro-Wilks test of normality found only +10 dB S/N to correspond to a normal distribution. Skew analysis demonstrated values of -0.64, -0.11, and 0.8 for quiet, +10 dB S/N, and +5 dB S/N, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AzBio scores at +10 dB S/N show a strong correlation with, but avoid the ceiling effects that limit the usefulness of testing in quiet for high performing cochlear implant users, making it the preferred test in this population. Significant complexities exist in the study of outcomes in cochlear implant recipients, and there is no single test that is ideal for the entirety of this population.
Protective Effect of Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa L.) Extract against Cadmium Impact on the Biomechanical Properties of the Femur: A Study in a Rat Model of Low and Moderate Lifetime Women Exposure to This Heavy Metal

The hypothesis that the consumption of Aronia melanocarpa berries (chokeberries) extract, recently reported by us to improve bone metabolism in female rats at low-level and moderate chronic exposure to cadmium (1 and 5 mg Cd/kg diet for up to 24 months), may increase the bone resistance to fracture was investigated. Biomechanical properties of the neck (bending test with vertical head loading) and diaphysis (three-point bending test) of the femur of rats administered 0.1% aqueous chokeberry extract (65.74% of polyphenols) or/and Cd in the diet (1 and 5 mg Cd/kg) for 3, 10, 17, and 24 months were evaluated. Moreover, procollagen I was assayed in the bone tissue. The low-level and moderate exposure to Cd decreased the procollagen I concentration in the bone tissue and weakened the biomechanical properties of the femoral neck and diaphysis. Chokeberry extract administration under the exposure to Cd improved the bone collagen biosynthesis and femur biomechanical properties. The results allow for the conclusion that the consumption of chokeberry products under exposure to Cd may improve the bone biomechanical properties and protect from fracture. This study provides support for Aronia melanocarpa berries being a promising natural agent for skeletal protection under low-level and moderate chronic exposure to Cd.
Support for the microgenderome invites enquiry into sex differences

ABSTRACT The microgenderome defines the interaction between microbiota, sex hormones and the immune system. Our recent research inferred support for the microgenderome by showing sex differences in microbiota-symptom associations in a clinical sample of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). This addendum expands upon the sex-specific pattern of associations that were observed. Interpretations are hypothesized in relation to genera versus species-level analyses and D-lactate theory. Evidence of sex-differences invites future research to consider sex comparisons in microbial function even when microbial abundance is statistically similar. Pairing assessment of clinical symptoms with microbial culture, DNA sequencing and metabolomics methods will help advance our current understandings of the role of the microbiome in health and disease.
Sex‐related differences in behavioral and amygdalar responses to compound facial threat cues

During face perception, we integrate facial expression and eye gaze to take advantage of their shared signals. For example, fear with averted gaze provides a congruent avoidance cue, signaling both threat presence and its location, whereas fear with direct gaze sends an incongruent cue, leaving threat location ambiguous. It has been proposed that the processing of different combinations of threat cues is mediated by dual processing routes: reflexive processing via magnocellular (M) pathway and reflective processing via parvocellular (P) pathway. Because growing evidence has identified a variety of sex differences in emotional perception, here we also investigated how M and P processing of fear and eye gaze might be modulated by observer's sex, focusing on the amygdala, a structure important to threat perception and affective appraisal. We adjusted luminance and color of face stimuli to selectively engage M or P processing and asked observers to identify emotion of the face. Female observers showed more accurate behavioral responses to faces with averted gaze and greater left amygdala reactivity both to fearful and neutral faces. Conversely, males showed greater right amygdala activation only for M‐biased averted‐gaze fear faces. In addition to functional reactivity differences, females had proportionately greater bilateral amygdala volumes, which positively correlated with behavioral accuracy for M‐biased fear. Conversely, in males only the right amygdala volume was positively correlated with accuracy for M‐biased fear faces. Our findings suggest that M and P processing of facial threat cues is modulated by functional and structural differences in the amygdalae associated with observer's sex.
Electrical Transport in Suspended Two-Dimensional Materials

Author(s): Wang, Fenglin | Advisor(s): Lau, Chun Ning | Abstract: Two-dimensional (2D) materials are ones that are only single to a few atomic layers in thickness, and exhibit novel material properties not found in their three-dimensional counterparts. The research of 2D materials starts to take off after the isolation and transport measurements of graphene in 2004. Graphene has a unique dispersion relation and unprecedented material properties such as extreme mechanical strength, high thermal conductivity, and exceedingly high charge carrier mobility. The first part of this thesis describes the fabrication and transport measurements of suspended twisted bilayer graphene devices.The second part of this dissertation focuses on 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which, unlike graphene, has a band gap. However, its low mobility severely restricted the applications of MoS2 and the mechanism for mobility bottleneck is unclear. To investigate the role played by substrates, we fabricate suspended MoS2 field effect transistor devices and develop an effective gas annealing technique that significantly improves device quality and increases conductance by 3-4 orders of magnitude. Mobility of the suspended devices ranges from 0.01 to 46 cm2/Vs before annealing, and from 0.5 to 105 cm2/Vs after annealing. Temperature dependence measurements reveal two transport mechanisms: electron-phonon scattering at high temperatures and thermal activation over a gate-tunable barrier height at low temperatures. Our results suggest that transport in these devices is not limited by the substrates, but likely by defects, charge impurities and/or Schottky barriers at the metal-MoS2 interfaces. Furthermore, we successfully apply ionic liquid for electrolyte gating on suspended MoS2 transistors and achieve very high coupling efficiency, up to 4.4×1013 cm-2V-1. Electrical characterization reveals contact-dominated electrical transport. From the Schottky emission model, the dielectric constant of ionic liquid DEME-TFSI is estimated to be ~11. Comparison between ionic liquid gating of substrate-supported and suspended devices also demonstrates far higher doping efficiency and better screening of charge impurities as well as Schottky barriers.Recently, the realization of one-dimensional electrical contacts to hexagonal-boron nitride-encapsulated samples points a direction for transport studies of 2D materials. For instance, such MoS2 devices with graphene contacts have demonstrated unprecedented mobility. Furthermore, heterostructures consisting of various 2D atomic layers may be built to create artificial superlattices, thus enable the exploration of novel phenomena and devices with new functionalities.