Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of liposomal linolenic acid on gastrointestinal microbiota in mice

Background The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori has long been a global health issue. Triple therapy, being the first-line treatment, has caused dysbiosis of the gastrointestinal tract that led to various complications. A novel nanomedicine – liposomal linolenic acid (LipoLLA) – has been proven to have great potential in eradicating H. pylori. However, the possible side effects of LipoLLA due to alteration of the gastrointestinal microbiota remain unknown. Aim This study focused on the impact of LipoLLA on gastrointestinal microbiota in mice in comparison with triple therapy in order to assess the safety profile. Methods Mice were divided into five groups: blank control group; H. pylori control group; triple therapy group; low-dose LipoLLA group (25 mg/kg); and high-dose LipoLLA group (50 mg/kg). Fecal samples were collected before and after the intake of corresponding formulas. Gastric tissues were obtained after mice dissection. These samples were analyzed with high-throughput sequencing. Results The analysis revealed that LipoLLA resulted in minor gut microbiota alteration at different levels. The altered proportions in the high-dose group were higher than that of the low-dose group. On the other hand, the triple therapy group showed dramatic shifts in the major community composition. It displayed a notable boost in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes along with a decrease in that of Verrucomicrobia and Bacteroidetes. All of them belonged to the major phyla in the microbiome. Triple therapy also led to the growth of the family Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Clostridiaceae_1 that may be associated with clinical illnesses. Gastric microbiota analysis reached similar conclusions. Conclusion Our findings indicated that LipoLLA causes minor gastrointestinal microbiota alterations while the triple therapy triggered dramatic changes. Thus, LipoLLA is not only promising but also a safe therapeutic medication to eradicate H. pylori infection.
Play, belief and stories about robots: A case study of a pleo blogging community

We present an analysis based on user-provided content collected from online blogs and forums about the robotic artifact Pleo. Our primary goal is to explore stories about how human-robot interaction would manifest themselves in actual real-world contexts. To be able to assess these types of communicative media we are using a method based on virtual ethnography that specifically addresses underlying issues in how the data is produced and should be interpreted. Results indicate that generally people are staging, performing and have a playful approach to the interaction. This is further emphasized by the way people communicate their stories through the blogging practice. Finally we argue that these resources are indeed essential for understanding and designing long-term human-robot relationships.
Differential effects of environmental heterogeneity on global mammal species richness

Spatial environmental heterogeneity (EH) is an important driver of species richness, affecting species coexistence, persistence and diversification. EH has been widely studied in ecology and evolution and quantified in many different ways, with a strong bias towards a few common measures of EH like elevation range. Here, we calculate 51 measures of EH within grid cells world-wide across three spatial grains to investigate similarities and differences among these measures. Moreover, we compare the association between species richness of terrestrial mammals and each EH measure to assess the impact of methodological choices on EH–richness relationships found by standard macroecological modelling approaches.
Prolonged in-vivo half-life of factor VIIa by fusion to albumin

Summary For the treatment of haemophilia patients with inhibitors, recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) is available as a therapeutic option to control bleeding episodes with a good balance of safety and efficacy. However, the short in-vivo half-life of approximately 2.5 hours makes multiple injections necessary, which is inconvenient for both physicians and patients. Here we describe the generation of a recombinant FVIIa molecule with an extended half-life based on genetic fusion to human albumin. The recombinant FVII albumin fusion protein (rVII-FP) was expressed in mammalian cells and upon activation displayed a FVII activity close to that of wild type FVIIa. Pharmacokinetic studies in rats demonstrated that the half-life of the activated recombinant FVII albumin fusion protein (rVIIa-FP) was extended six- to sevenfold compared with wild type rFVIIa. The in-vitro and in-vivo efficacy was evaluated and was found to be comparable to a commercially available rFVIIa (NovoSeven®). The results of this study demonstrate that it is feasible to develop a half-life extended FVIIa molecule with haemostatic properties very similar to the wild-type factor.
Fast Person Re-identification via Cross-Camera Semantic Binary Transformation

Numerous methods have been proposed for person re-identification, most of which however neglect the matching efficiency. Recently, several hashing based approaches have been developed to make re-identification more scalable for large-scale gallery sets. Despite their efficiency, these works ignore cross-camera variations, which severely deteriorate the final matching accuracy. To address the above issues, we propose a novel hashing based method for fast person re-identification, namely Cross-camera Semantic Binary Transformation (CSBT). CSBT aims to transform original high-dimensional feature vectors into compact identity-preserving binary codes. To this end, CSBT first employs a subspace projection to mitigate cross-camera variations, by maximizing intra-person similarities and inter-person discrepancies. Subsequently, a binary coding scheme is proposed via seamlessly incorporating both the semantic pairwise relationships and local affinity information. Finally, a joint learning framework is proposed for simultaneous subspace projection learning and binary coding based on discrete alternating optimization. Experimental results on four benchmarks clearly demonstrate the superiority of CSBT over the state-of-the-art methods.
Photo‐induced toxicity following exposure to crude oil and ultraviolet radiation in 2 Australian fishes

Some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), components of crude oil, are known to cause increased toxicity when organisms are co‐exposed with ultraviolet radiation, resulting in photo‐induced toxicity. The photodynamic characteristics of some PAHs are of particular concern to places like Australia with high ultraviolet radiation levels. The objective of the present study was to characterize the photo‐induced toxicity of an Australian North West Shelf oil to early life stage yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) and black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri). The fish were exposed to high‐energy water accommodated fractions for 24 to 36 h. During the exposure, the fish were either co‐exposed to full‐intensity or filtered natural sunlight and then transferred to clean water. At 48 h, survival, cardiac effects, and spinal deformities were assessed. Yellowtail kingfish embryos co‐exposed to oil and full‐spectrum sunlight exhibited decreased hatching success and a higher incidence of cardiac arrhythmias, compared with filtered sunlight. A significant increase in the incidence of pericardial edema occurred in black bream embryos co‐exposed to full‐spectrum sunlight. These results highlight the need for more studies investigating the effects of PAHs and photo‐induced toxicity under environmental conditions relevant to Australia. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1359–1366. © 2018 SETAC
Monoclinic Cc-phase stabilization in magnetically diluted lead free Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3—Evolution of spin glass like behavior with enhanced ferroelectric and dielectric properties

The effect of magnetic cation substitution on the phase stabilization, ferroelectric, dielectric and magnetic properties of a lead free Na0.5Bi0. 5TiO3 (NBT) system prepared by O2 atmosphere solid state sintering were studied extensively. Cobalt (Co) was chosen as the magnetic cation to substitute at the Ti-site of NBT with optimized 2.5 mol%. Rietveld analysis of x-ray diffraction data favours the monoclinic Cc phase stabilization strongly rather than the parent R3c phase. FE-SEM micrograph supports the single phase characteristics without phase segregation at the grain boundaries. The stabilized Cc space group was explained based on the collective local distortion effects due to spin–orbit stabilization at Co3+ and Co2+ functional centres. The phonon mode changes as observed in the TiO6 octahedral modes also support the Cc phase stabilization. The major Co3+-ion presence was revealed from corresponding crystal field transitions observed through solid state diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The enhanced spontaneous polarization (Ps) from ≅38 μC cm−2 to 45 μC cm−2 could be due to the easy rotation of polarization vector along the ( 1 1 ¯ 0 ) pc ? > in Cc phase. An increase in static dielectric response (ϵ) from ϵ ≅ 42 to 60 along with enhanced diffusivity from γ ≅ 1.53 to 1.75 was observed. Magneto-thermal irreversibility and their magnetic field dependent ZFC/FC curves suggest the possibility of a spin glass like behaviour below 50 K. The monoclinic Cc phase stabilization as confirmed from structural studies was well correlated with the observed ferroic properties in magnetically diluted NBT.
Analysis of a Clinically Failed, Mechanically Intact, Hemi-Toe Implant

- In this case study a clinically failed, mechanically intact, hemi-toe device was investigated. The clinical indication of the failure constitutes radiolucent line indicating loosening of the implant and possible interactions among the bone-implant initiated by osteolysis may become a factor, producing pain, inflammatory reactions, deformity and discomfort. The patient file was not available to determine these parameters. The device was titanium coated, Cobalt Chromium alloy used for making hemi-toe. Degeneration of hemi implant was due to spalling of the coating from the surface, causing loosening of stem from bone. However, pre-removal X-ray films were not available to confirm. Mechanism by which the clinical failure occurred likely due to lack of bony adhesion or other clinical reasons. Surface topographical features were documented using optical microscope. A method to classify various area of the articulating surface was proposed in this study that shows the anterior contacts were more damaging than the other areas where deeper scratches, pits and some debris were present. There is a need to converge mechanical and clinical failures together for these types of medical devices.
QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND CONTENT OF MINERAL COMPOUNDS IN FRUIT OF SOME CULTIVARS OF SWEET PEPPER (CAPSICUM ANNUUM L.)

The study was carried out in 2005–2007. The aim of the experiment was to estimate the quality and mineral compound content in sweet pepper fruits. The experimental material consisted of seven F 1 hybrids grown in the open field: ISI 56511 F 1 , ISI 56503 F 1 , Axel F 1 , Akron F 1 , Roei F 1 , Elfo F 1 and Polonez F 1 (control cultivar). The fruits were harvested many times. They were collected when green and fully grown. After the harvest, the fruit quality including its mean weight, length, diameter, pericarp weight and pericarp thickness, was evaluated. In 2006-2007, the content of macro– and microelements, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and nitrates was determined in the dry weight of the yield. The results were statistically evaluated by the analysis of variance. Significance of the differences was tested by Tukey’s test at p = 0.05. The biometrical traits of fruits were characteristic for each cultivar. The highest content of dry weight was found for cultivar ISI 56511 F1 (11.2% higher than the mean amount determined for all of the cultivars and 39.8% higher than the lowest dry matter content assessed in fruits of cultivar Roei F 1 ). The sweet pepper cultivars tested in the experiment differed significantly in the content of macro- and microelements. The highest content of nitrogen was determined in fruits of cultivar Polonez F1. Fruits produced by cultivars Elfo F1, ISI 56503 F1 and Roei F1 in comparison with the other cultivars were characterized by a significantly higher content of iron. The highest content of nitrates was assessed in cultivar ISI 56503 F 1 fruit.
Copy number variations and expression of MPDZ are prognostic biomarkers for clear cell renal cell carcinoma

The vital copy number variation (CNV) plays a crucial role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). MPDZ inhibit cell polarity associate with osmotic pressure response and cancer-related biological processes. In order to clarify the role of the CNV of MPDZ in the progression of ccRCC, we analyzed the CNV and expression of MPDZ and prognosis in ccRCC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas data portal. Notably, we found that the deletion of MPDZ was the common CNV, which was present in 28.65% of ccRCC patients. With the development of tumors, the percentage of MPDZ deletion increased significantly (19.38% in stage I; 20.00% in stage II; 40.94% in stage III; and 45.00% in stage IV). The deletion of MPDZ significantly increased ccRCC risk (P=0.0025). Low MPDZ expression associated with its deletion was significantly associated with adverse outcomes in ccRCC patients (P=0.0342). Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis by tissue microarray showed that MPDZ was expressed at lower levels in tumor tissues compared with adjacent tissues (P<0.01). Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that ccRCC patients with low MPDZ expression had significantly shorter survival than those with high MPDZ expression (P=0.002). These results indicated that low MPDZ expression associated with CNV is a potential biomarker for the prognosis of ccRCC patients.
Hydrothermal carbonization of glucose in saline solution: sequestration of nutrients on carbonaceous materials

In this study, feasibility of selected nutrient sequestration during hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) was tested for three different HTC temperatures (180, 230, and 300 °C). To study the nutrient sequestration in solid from liquid solution, sugar and salt solutions were chosen as HTC feedstock. Glucose was used as carbohydrate source and various salts e.g., ammonium hydrophosphate, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, and anhydrous ferric chloride were used as source of nitrogen and phosphorus, potassium, and iron, respectively. Solid hydrochar was extensively characterized by means of elemental, ICP-OES, SEM-EDX, surface area, pore volume and size, and ATR-FTIR to determine nutrients’ sequestration as well as hydrochar quality variation with HTC temperatures. The spherical mesoporous hydrochars produced during HTC have low surface area in the range of 1.0–3.5 m 2 g −1 . Hydrochar yield was increased about 10% with the increase of temperature from 180 °C to 300 °C. Nutrient sequestration was also increased with HTC temperature. In fact, around 71, 31, and 23 wt% nitrogen, iron, and phosphorus were sequestered at 300 °C, respectively. Potassium sequestration was very low throughout the HTC and maximum 5.2% was observed in solid during HTC.
Extensive Remineralization of Large Pelvic Lytic Lesions Following Total Therapy Treatment in Patients With Multiple Myeloma

Osteolytic bone lesions are a hallmark of multiple myeloma (MM) bone disease. Bone destruction is associated with severely imbalanced bone remodeling, secondary to increased osteoclastogenesis and significant osteoblast suppression. Lytic lesions of the pelvis are relatively common in MM patients and are known to contribute to the increased morbidity because of the high risk of fracture, which frequently demands extensive surgical intervention. After observing unexpected radiological improvement in serial large pelvic CT assessment in a patient treated in a total therapy protocol, the radiographic changes of pelvic osteolytic lesions by PET/CT scanning in patients who received Total Therapy 4 (TT4) treatment for myeloma were retrospectively analyzed. Sixty‐two (62) patients with lytic pelvic lesions >1 cm in diameter were identified at baseline PET/CT scanning. Follow‐up CT studies showed that 27 of 62 patients (43%) with large baseline pelvic lesions achieved significant reaccumulation of radiodense mineralization at the lytic cortical site. The average size of lytic lesions in which remineralization occurred was 4 cm (range, 1.3 to 10 cm). This study clearly demonstrates that mineral deposition in large pelvic lesions occurs in a significant proportion of MM patients treated with TT4, potentially affecting patient outcomes, quality of life, and future treatment strategies. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Effect of Rickettsia felis Strain Variation on Infection, Transmission, and Fitness in the Cat Flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)

Abstract Rickettsia felis is a human pathogen transmitted by the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) (str. LSU), as well as an obligate symbiont of the parthenogenic booklouse Liposcelis bostrychophila (Badonnel) (str. LSU-Lb). The influence of genetic variability in these two strains of R. felis on host specialization and fitness and possible resulting differences on infection and transmission kinetics in C. felis is unknown. Utilizing an artificial host system, cat fleas were exposed to a R. felis str. LSU-Lb-infected bloodmeal and monitored for infection at 7-d intervals for 28 d. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine rickettsial load and infection density in newly exposed cat fleas, and transmission frequency between cat fleas. The effect of persistent R. felis infection on cat flea F1 progeny was also assessed. At 7 d postexposure 76.7% of the cat fleas successfully acquired R. felis str. LSU-Lb. In R. felis str. LSU-Lb-exposed cat fleas, the mean infection load (6.15 × 106), infection density (0.76), and infection prevalence (91/114) were significantly greater than R. felis str. LSU infection load (3.09 × 106), infection density (0.68), and infection prevalence (76/113). A persistent R. felis str. LSU-Lb infection was detected for 28 d in adult cat fleas but neither female:male ratio distortion nor vertical transmission was observed in F1 progeny. While infection kinetics differed, with higher intensity associated with R. felis str. LSU-Lb, no distinct phenotype was observed in the F1 progeny.
Change in health-related quality of life in the context of pediatric obesity interventions: A meta-analytic review.

OBJECTIVE To quantitatively characterize change in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the context of behavioral (n = 16), surgical (n = 5), and pharmacological (n = 1) interventions for pediatric overweight and obesity. A secondary goal was to examine the relationship between change in HRQoL and change in body mass index (ΔBMI) by treatment type. The amount of weight loss necessary to observe a minimally clinically important difference (MCID) in HRQoL was determined. METHOD Data were gathered from studies reporting on weight change and ΔHRQoL over the course of obesity interventions (N = 22) in youths (N = 1,332) with average ages between 7.4 and 16.5 years (M = 12.2). An overall effect size was calculated for ΔHRQoL. Moderation analyses were conducted using analysis of variance and weighted regression. MCID analyses were conducted by converting HRQoL data to standard error of measurement units. RESULTS The overall effect size for ΔHRQoL in the context of pediatric obesity interventions was medium (g = 0.51). A significant linear relationship was detected between ΔBMI and ΔHRQoL (R2 = 0.87). This relationship was moderated by treatment type, with medical (i.e., surgical) interventions demonstrating a stronger relationship. Results indicated that it takes a change of 0.998 BMI units to detect true change in HRQoL. CONCLUSION This study provides the first known quantitative examination of changes in HRQoL associated with weight loss in pediatric interventions. Medical interventions appear to offer a more substantial increase in HRQoL per unit of BMI change. These results offer a concrete weight loss goal for noticing positive effects in daily life activities. (PsycINFO Database Record
Characterization of occupational exposure to air contaminants in modern tunnelling operations.

OBJECTIVES Personal air measurements of aerosols and gases among tunnel construction workers were performed as part of a 11-day follow-up study on the relationship between exposure to aerosols and gases and cardiovascular and respiratory effects. METHODS Ninety tunnel construction workers employed at 11 available construction sites participated in the exposure study. The workers were divided into seven job groups according to tasks performed. Exposure measurements were carried out on 2 consecutive working days prior to the day of health examination. Summary statistics were computed using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), and the procedure NLMIXED and LIFEREG in SAS was used to perform MLE for repeated measures data subject to left censoring and for calculation of within- and between-worker variance components. RESULTS The geometric mean (GM) air concentrations for the thoracic mass aerosol sub-fraction, α-quartz, oil mist, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) for all workers were 561, 63, 210, 146, and 35.2 μg m(-3), respectively. Statistical differences of air concentrations between job groups were observed for all contaminants, except for OC, EC, and ammonia (P > 0.05). The shaft drillers, injection workers, and shotcreting operators were exposed to the highest GM levels of thoracic dust (7061, 1087, and 865 μg m(-) (3), respectively). The shaft drillers and the support workers were exposed to the highest GM levels of α-quartz (GM = 844 and 118 μg m(-3), respectively). Overall, the exposure to nitrogen dioxide and ammonia was low (GM = 120 and 251 μg m(-) (3), respectively). CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study show significant differences between job groups with shaft drilling as the highest exposed job to air concentrations for all measured contaminants. Technical interventions in this job should be implemented to reduce exposure levels. Overall, diesel exhaust air concentrations seem to be lower than previously assessed (as EC).
Cadmium nanoparticles citrullinate cytokeratins within lung epithelial cells: cadmium as a potential cause of citrullination in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective The objective of the study was to determine whether the cadmium-derived materials induce intracellular protein citrullination. Methods Human A549 lung epithelial cells were exposed to cadmium in soluble and nanoparticulate forms represented by cadmium chloride (CdCl2) and cadmium oxide (CdO), respectively, and their combinations with ultrafine carbon black (ufCB) produced by high temperature combustion, imitating cigarette burning. Protein citrullination in cell lysates was analyzed by Western immunoblotting and verified by immunofluorescent confocal microscopy. Target citrullinated proteins were identified by proteomic analysis. Results CdO, ufCB and its combination with CdCl2 and CdO after high temperature combustion induced protein citrullination in cultured human lung epithelial cells, as detected by immunoblotting with anti-citrullinated protein antibody. Cytokeratins of type II (1, 2, 5, 6A, 6B and 77) and type I (9, 10) were identified as major intracellular citrullination targets. Immunofluorescent staining confirmed the localization of citrullinated proteins both in the cytoplasm and cell nuclei. Conclusion Cadmium oxide nanoparticle exposure facilitated post-translational citrullination of proteins.