Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human plasma fibronectin inhibits adherence of Streptococcus pyogenes to hexadecane

The effect of human plasma fibronectin on the adherence of Streptococcus pyogenes to hexadecane droplets was investigated. Fibronectin blocked the adherence of streptococci to hexadecane in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect resulted from the binding of fibronectin to the streptococcal cells; radiolabeled fibronectin failed to bind to the hexadecane but bound readily to untreated streptococci. Chemical treatments of streptococci that decreased streptococcal binding of fibronectin also decreased their binding to hexadecane. Pretreatment of fibronectin with lipoteichoic acid blocked the binding of fibronectin to streptococci and abolished its ability to inhibit streptococcal adherence to hexadecane in a dose-related manner. In contrast, wheat germ agglutinin, which binds to N-acetylglucosamine on the surface of S. pyogenes cells, failed to alter hexadecane adherence. The data suggest that fibronectin binds to lipoteichoic acid on the surface of the streptococci, thereby preventing lipoteichoic acid from interacting with the hexadecane phase.
Hepatotoxicity induced by coxibs: how concerned should we be?

ABSTRACT Introduction: The selective inhibitors of COX-2, coxibs, are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that have much better gastrointestinal safety profile as compared with non-selective NSAIDs. In this review, we analyze both the epidemiological features of coxib-induced hepatotoxicity and the clinical impact of coxib-associated liver damage, based on literature data. Areas covered: We carried out a search of the databases MEDLINE (PubMed), LILACS and SCIELO, from December 1999 to January 2016, to retrieve studies exploring the real impact of coxibs in liver toxicity as compared to non-selective COX-2 inhibitor NSAIDs. Expert opinion: Although reliable data on the incidence of celecoxib- and etoricoxib-induced hepatotoxicity are lacking, because of cohort studies have been generally underpowered to detect hepatic events, coxibs have been scarcely related to hepatotoxicity. Hence, coxib-induced liver injury seems to be an uncommon event, yet exhibits a wide spectrum of damage. Increasing COX-2 drug selectivity, as for rofecoxib, valdecoxib, parecoxib, and lumiracoxib, has been associated with higher cardiovascular risk, as well as dermatological and serious hepatic reactions. The actual risk of liver toxicity from the currently approved coxibs compared with non-selective NSAIDs will be discussed. Finally, classical and novel molecular mechanisms of coxib-induced hepatotoxicity are also described.
Controlling Overload in SIP Proxies: An Adaptive Window Based Approach Using No Explicit Feedback

The performance of SIP servers is largely degraded during overload conditions due to the built in message re-transmission mechanism of SIP. In this paper we propose adistributed and end-to-end adaptive window based overload control algorithm, by which upstream SIP servers control the amount of calls that are forwarded to a downstream SIP server in an attempt to prevent it from being overloaded. Our scheme uses the call establishment delay as a measure of the amount of load on the downstream server and unlike other methods does not rely on any explicit feedback from the downstream server. As a result the proposed algorithm imposes no additional complexity on the downstream server. Moreover, it requires no additional processing to be done at the downstream server, which is overloaded, making it a very robust approach. Using simulations we show that our proposed method achieves higher throughput than a commonly used overload control algorithm and is also fair among different upstream servers. It is also shown that compared with approaches using explicit feedback, the performance of our scheme is less sensitive to link delays. Furthermore, the effect of server queue size is also considered and a simple method for finding an upper bound on the queue size of the downstream server is given.
Cost-effectiveness of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid in the treatment of bipolar disorder

Background: This study develops an economic model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid (ethyl-EPA) as an adjunct treatment of bipolar I disorder. Methods: A 1-year Markov model is used incorporating three health states: euthymic, manic and depressive. The model was populated using outcomes from a clinical trial on clinical efficacy and other published literature. Results: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of ethyl-EPA in comparison with placebo was estimated to be -£2,782 in 2008/09 prices, the negative ICER indicating ethyl-EPA to be a more effective and less costly treatment option than placebo in terms of cost savings of other resource use. Conclusions: The sensitivity analysis indicated that the results were robust. Future research covering a longer time period using broader costs of the disease will be required to consolidate these findings.
Multi-Annual Fluctuations in Reconstructed Historical Time-Series of a European Lobster (Homarus gammarus) Population Disappear at Increased Exploitation Levels

Through the history of ecology, fluctuations of populations have been a dominating topic, and endogenous causes of fluctuations and oscillations have been recognized and studied for more than 80 years. Here we analyzed an historical dataset, covering more than 130 years, of European lobster (Homarus gammarus) catches. The data shows periodic fluctuations, which are first dampened and then disappear over time. The disappearance of the periodicity coincided with a substantial increase in fishing effort and the oscillations have not reappeared in the time series. The shifting baseline syndrome has changed our perception of not only the status of the stock, but also the regulating pressures. We describe the transition of a naturally regulated lobster population into a heavily exploited fisheries controlled stock. This is shown by the incorporation of environmental and endogenous processes in generalized additive models, autocorrelation functions and periodicity analyses of time-series.
Silver Nanoparticles and Mitochondrial Interaction

Nanotechnology has gone through a period of rapid growth, thus leading to the constant increase in the application of engineered nanomaterials in daily life. Several different types of nanoparticles have been engineered to be employed in a wide array of applications due to their high surface to volume ratio that leads to unique physical and chemical properties. So far, silver nanoparticles (AgNps) have been used in many more different medical devices than any other nanomaterial, mainly due to their antimicrobial properties. Despite the promising advantages posed by using AgNps in medical applications, the possible health effects associated with the inevitable human exposure to AgNps have raised concerns as to their use since a clear understanding of their specific interaction with biological systems has not been attained yet. In light of such consideration, aim of the present work is the morphological analysis of the intracellular behavior of AgNps with a diameter of 10 nm, with a special attention to their interaction with mitochondria.
DNA replication pattern and cell wall growth in Escherichia coli PAT 84

An electron microscopic radioautographic study was made of tritiated thymidine incorporation into the genome of Escherichia coli PAT 84 and of tritiated meso-D,L-2,6-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) into the cell envelope. Pulse-labeled cells growing at 30 degrees C with a doubling time of 170 min were classified according to length by the method of agar filtration. Mathematical analysis of the length distribution led to the assumption of an exponential relation between length and time. A novel DNA replication pattern was found. Within the cell cycle DNA replication terminates at 70 min; then a gap follows of 64 min, after which DNA replication is initiated at 134 min. Thus, the C period is 106 min and the D period is 100 min. Cell constriction starts at 141 min and coincides with initiation of DNA replication. Detailed quantitative analysis of the [3H]thymidine grain frequency distribution allowed the distinction of three groups of cells. The first group incorporated no label, the second group an amount C, and the third group an amount 2 X C. The relative contribution of each group to a particular length class was determined. The data fitted very well into the DNA replication pattern. The same analysis was carried out on DAP pulse-labeled cells. Again, three groups of cells could be distinguished, and their relative contributions to each length class was determined. The group with the double amount of label was especially prominent at the end of the cell cycle. The emergence of this group might represent the acquisition of new lateral growth areas.
A Three-dimensional Finite Element Model of Prismatic Enamel: A Re-appraisal of the Data on the Young's Modulus of Enamel

The inconsistencies of published data on the Young's modulus of dental enamel, the parameter used to quantify stiffness, have, for a long time, restricted our understanding of the biomechanical behavior of teeth. With the use of modeling techniques, the aim of this paper is to investigate which of the data may be more reliable. In this way, the possible causes of the discrepancies in data will be addressed. Two different structural levels are considered within the model. At an ultrastructural (i.e., crystalline) level, the model considers enamel to behave as a simple composite, being made up of long, parallel crystals held together by an organic matrix. At this level, the stiffness of enamel is predicted by simple composite theory, and the model indicates that stiffness is dependent on chemical composition and crystal orientation. At a microstructural (i.e., prismatic) level, the model considers enamel to behave as a hierarchical composite, being made up of prisms, in which the crystal orientation is heterogeneous. At this level, the stiffness of enamel is predicted by finite element stress analysis, and values of predicted stiffness are found to be dependent on both chemical composition and prism orientation. Within a realistic compositional range, predicted values of Young's modulus along the direction of prisms are comparable with the corresponding experimental values of 77.9 ± 4.8 GPa obtained by Craig et al. (1961) and 73 GPa obtained by Gilmore et al. (1970), but not with those low values of 9.65 ± 3.45 obtained by Stanford et al. (1960). Predictions of Young's modulus values across the direction of prisms are also made, and the model is less stiff in this direction. These findings indicate that human prismatic enamel is almost certainly anisotropic with respect to stiffness.
Suspected transmission of norovirus in eight long-term care facilities attributed to staff working at multiple institutions

SUMMARY This study reports on gastroenteritis outbreaks suspected of being norovirus infections in eight long-term care facilities. A descriptive epidemiological investigation was used to depict sources of infections and control measures. Outbreaks affected 299 (31%) of 954 residents and 95 (11%) of 843 staff. Attack rates were higher in residents (range 17–55%) than staff (range 3–35%). Person-to-person spread was suspected. The case-hospitalization rate was 2·5%, and no death occurred. Eight staff members were employed at multiple affected facilities and may have introduced disease into three facilities. Thirty-two stool specimens were positive for norovirus by real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction or enzyme immunoassay. Sequenced specimens were closely related to GII.4 New Orleans. A concurrent Clostridium difficile outbreak was also detected at one facility. Staff members who work at multiple facilities may transmit norovirus between them. Regulatory agencies should consider precluding ill staff from working in multiple facilities during outbreaks. Guidelines to control norovirus must be applied promptly and meticulously by facilities.
Improvement in head loss characteristics of fine particulate coal-water suspension with addition of coarser particulate

ABSTRACT An experimental study is performed to examine the pressure drop characteristics during the flow of coal-water slurry suspension using a pilot-plant test loop. The effect of slurry concentration, particle size, and flow velocity on the pressure drop characteristics during the transportation through a horizontal pipeline has been investigated. The present study considers both the unimodal and bimodal particle size distributions for the preparation of coal-water slurry. The pressure drop characteristics for both unimodal and bimodal coal-water slurry are analyzed for a wide variety of slurry concentrations ranging from 30% to 60%, which covers from low to high concentrations. The pressure drop characteristics are also analyzed for different flow velocities ranging from 2 to 5 m/s. It is found that the amount of pressure drop during the flow of coal-water slurry suspension in horizontal pipeline is the function of solid concentration, particle size, and flow velocity. It is also found that the bimodal coal-water slurry significantly reduces the pressure drop during the flow as compared to unimodal coal-water slurry. The maximum reduction in pressure drop during the flow is observed by bimodal coal-water slurry prepared by adding 30% of coarser particles in finer coal particles.
Silicon technology tradeoffs for radio-frequency/mixed-signal (quote)systems-on-a-chip(quote)

Silicon technology has progressed over the last several years from a digitally oriented technology to one well suited for microwave and RF applications at a high level of integration. Technology scaling, both at the transistor and back-end metallization level, has driven this progress. CMOS technology is ideally suited for low-noise amplification and receiver applications, but the fundamental breakdown voltage is lower than that of equivalent Si/SiGe HBTs. High-quality passive devices are equally important, and improvements in metallization technology are resulting in higher quality inductors. This paper summarizes the silicon technology issues associated with RF "system-on-a-chip" applications.
The impact of short daily hemodialysis on anemia and the quality of life in Chinese patients

Anemia is a frequent complication in hemodialysis patients. Compared to conventional hemodialysis (CHD), short daily hemodialysis (sDHD) has been reported to be effective in many countries except China. The aim of the present study was to determine whether sDHD could improve anemia and quality of life (QOL) for Chinese outpatients with end-stage renal disease. Twenty-seven patients (16 males/11 females) were converted from CHD to sDHD. All laboratory values were measured before conversion (baseline), at 3 months after conversion (sDHD1), and at 6 months after conversion (sDHD2). The patient's QOL was evaluated at baseline and 6 months after conversion using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Hemoglobin concentration increased significantly from 107.4±7.9 g/L at baseline to 114.4±6.8 g/L (P<0.05) at sDHD1, and 118.3±8.4 g/L (P<0.001) at sDHD2 (Student paired t-test). However, the dose requirement for erythropoietin decreased from 6847.8±1057.3 U/week at baseline to 5869.6±1094.6 U/week (P<0.05) at sDHD2. Weekly stdKt/V increased significantly from 2.05±0.13 at baseline to 2.73±0.20 (P<0.001) at sDHD1, and 2.84±0.26 (P<0.001) at sDHD2. C-reactive protein decreased from baseline to sDHD1 and sDHD2, but without statistically significant differences. Physical and mental health survey scores increased in the 6 months following conversion to sDHD. sDHD may increase hemoglobin levels, decrease exogenous erythropoietin dose requirements, and improve QOL in Chinese hemodialysis patients compared to CHD. A possible mechanism for improvement of clinical outcomes may be optimized management of uremia associated with the higher efficiency of sDHD.
Why as men do a-land the great ones eat up the little ones

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the largest coral reef system in the world and the coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus (Pisces: Serranidae, Lacepede 1802) is one of its most widespread and abundant piscivores (Ayling and Ayling 1986). Despite the importance of the coral trout fishery, very little is known . about the feeding ecology of P. leopardus on the GBR. The principal objective of this study was to describe the diet and feeding of P. leopardus on this large reef system. Variation in the diet of this piscivore over a range of latitudes along the GBR and on reefs open and closed to fishing was examined. Seasonality of feeding by P. leopardus was addressed by comparing rates of digestion, consumption of food and diet in the austral summer and winter. Within populations of P. leopardus, the ontogenetic shifts in diet and individual feeding behaviour were examined. Plectropomus leopardus is one of the major predators of adult coral reef fishes on the GBR. After their first year of life, P. leopardus are almost entirely piscivorous oh adult fishes (99% of fish diet). The dominance of fish in the diet does not vary temporally or spatially. Feeding studies have shown that P. leopardus are intermittent feeders, consuming an average of one prey item daily. After 24 hours, approximately 90% of prey items were digested. Thus, contents of stomachs represented daily feeding in P. leopardus. Seasonal rates of food consumption were not related to rates of digestion in P. leopardus. In P. leopardus, the major dietary shift in the type, species composition, length and shape of prey occurred at approximately 20 cm SL and corresponded to the onset of sexual maturity. Juvenile P. leopardus consumed a higher proportion of benthic crustaceans, mostly penaeid prawns. Though families of prey fish in the diet varied ontogenetically, the breadth of the diet (in terms
The Localized Chemical Pollution in NGC 5253 Revisited: Results from Deep Echelle Spectrophotometry

We present echelle spectrophotometry of the blue compact dwarf galaxy NGC 5253 obtained with the VLT UVES. We have measured the intensities of a large number of permitted and forbidden emission lines in four zones of the central part of the galaxy. We detect faint C II and O II recombination lines, the first time that these are unambiguously detected in a dwarf starburst galaxy. The physical conditions of the ionized gas have been derived using a large number of different line intensity ratios. Chemical abundances of He, N, O, Ne, S, Cl, Ar, and Fe have been determined following standard methods. C++ and O++ abundances have been derived from pure recombination lines and are larger than those obtained from collisionally excited lines (from 0.30 to 0.40 dex for C++ and from 0.19 to 0.28 dex for O++). This result is consistent with a temperature fluctuation parameter (t2) between 0.050 and 0.072. We confirm previous results that indicate the presence of a localized N enrichment in certain zones of NGC 5253 and detect a possible slight He overabundance in the same zones. The enrichment pattern agrees with that expected for the pollution by the ejecta of Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars. The amount of enriched material needed to produce the observed overabundance is consistent with the mass lost by the number of W-R stars estimated in the starbursts. We discuss the possible origin of the difference between abundances derived from recombination and collisionally excited lines (the so-called abundance discrepancy problem) in H II regions, finding that a recent hypothesis based on the delayed enrichment by SN ejecta inclusions seems not to explain the observed features.
Complete mitochondrial genomes of the African clawless (Aonyx capensis) and spotted necked (Hydrictis maculicollis) otter: structure, annotation, and interspecies variation

Abstract Otters are flagship species for pristine habitats and their southernmost distribution in Africa includes two species; Aonyx capensis and Hydrictis maculicollis. Here, we present novel full mitochondrial genomes of these otter species. The comparable mitogenomes consist of 36 genes including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, and 22 tRNAs including a hypervariable region. Only 19 out of the 36 genes showed some level of variation between species with the smallest being trnV (68 bp difference) and the biggest being nad5 (1830 bp difference). Such variations may provide guidance in selecting gene regions during marker development for phylogenetic assessments.
Marked antitumor activity of a new potent acronycine derivative in orthotopic models of human solid tumors.

S 23906-1 is a novel acronycine derivative selected on the basis of its potency in vitro. We investigated the antitumor activity of S 23906-1 against several murine transplantable tumors (C38 colon carcinoma, P388 leukemia, B16 melanoma, and Lewis lung carcinoma) and in orthotopic models of human lung (NCI-H460 and A549), ovarian (IGROV1 and NIH:OVCAR-3), and colorectal cancers (HCT116 and HT-29). Against established C38 colon carcinoma, S 23906-1 administered twice i.v. from 1.56-6.25 mg/kg markedly inhibited tumor growth. Treatment at the optimal dose (6.25 mg/kg) induced tumor regression in all of the mice. Acronycine was 16-fold less potent and only moderately active at the maximum tolerated dose, 100 mg/kg. Against other murine tumors of the former National Cancer Institute panel, S 23906-1 was either only moderately active or totally inactive. When evaluated in human orthotopic models, S 23906-1 given p.o. or i.v. demonstrated a marked antitumor activity against human carcinomas. In the two human lung cancer models, S 23906-1 increased the survival of the animals in a dose-dependent manner and induced treated versus control values of 162% (NCI-H460) and 193% (A549). Vinorelbine was less active, with treated versus control values of 119% and 174%, respectively. A significant survival benefit was also observed against the two i.p. ovarian tumors in which S 23906-1 was as active as paclitaxel, inducing 80% long-term survivors in the NIH:OVCAR-3 model. Lastly, S 23906-1 inhibited the growth of primary HT-29 and HCT116 colon tumors grafted onto the cecum as efficiently as irinotecan and eradicated the formation of lymph node, hepatic, and pulmonary metastases in the aggressive HCT116 model. The novel spectrum of activity of S 23906-1 compared with existing anticancer agents warrants further preclinical investigation.
Adaptive network coding and scheduling for maximizing throughput in wireless networks

Recently, network coding emerged as a promising technology that can provide significant improvements in throughput and energy efficiency of wireless networks, even for unicast communication. Often, network coding schemes are designed as an autonomous layer, independent of the underlying Phy and MAC capabilities and algorithms.Consequently, these schemes are greedy, in the sense that all opportunities of broadcasting combinations of packets are exploited. We demonstrate that this greedy design principle may in fact reduce the network throughput. This begets the need for adaptive network coding schemes. We further show that designing appropriate MAC scheduling algorithms is critical for achieving the throughput gainsexpected from network coding. In this paper, we propose a general framework to develop optimal and adaptive joint network coding and scheduling schemes. Optimality is shown for various Phy and MAC constraints. We apply this framework to two different network coding architectures: COPE, a scheme recently proposed in [7], and XOR-Sym, a new scheme we present here. XOR-Sym is designed to achieve a lower implementation complexity than that of COPE, and yet to provide similar throughput gains.