Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
omparative study on corrosion resistance and in vitro iocompatibility of bulk nanocrystalline and icrocrystalline biomedical 304 stainless steel

Objectives. SUS 304 stainless steels have been widely used in orthodontics and implants such as archwires, brackets, and screws. The purpose of present study was to investigate the biocompatibility of both the commercial microcrystalline biomedical 304 stainless steel (microcrystalline 304ss) and novel-fabricated nanocrystalline 304 stainless steel (nanocrys-
Quantitative detection of salmeterol after inhalation in equine urine by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

A sensitive, accurate and precise liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS(2)) method was developed for the quantification of salmeterol in the urine of horses. The method consists of a liquid-liquid extraction with tert-butylmethyl ether and isopropanol at pH 12 after enzymatic hydrolysis. The extracts are analysed using an LC/MS system equipped with an electrospray ionisation (ESI) probe. Method validation showed excellent linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision and intra-laboratory repeatability and reproducibility. The limit of quantitative detection was 0.25 ng/mL and the limit of detection was 0.125 ng/mL. The excretion profile was determined after administration of 500 microg salmeterol (Serevent) to four standard-bred mares via a metered dose inhaler (MDI) with an Equinehaler adapter. Salmeterol was detected from 1 h until 12 h post-administration. Maximum urinary concentrations varied between 2.3 and 14.9 ng/mL.
Recognising and localising human actions

Human action recognition in challenging video data is becoming an increasingly important research area. Given the growing number of cameras and robots pointing their lenses at humans, the need for automatic recognition of human actions arises, promising Google-style video search and automatic video summarisation/description. Furthermore, for any autonomous robotic system to interact with humans, it must first be able to understand and quickly react to human actions. Although the best action classification methods aggregate features from the entire video clip in which the action unfolds, this global representation may include irrelevant scene context and movements which are shared amongst multiple action classes. For example, a waving action may be performed whilst walking, however if the walking movement appears in distinct action classes, then it should not be included in training a waving movement classifier. For this reason, we propose an action classification framework in which more discriminative action subvolumes are learned in a weakly supervised setting, owing to the difficulty of manually labelling massive video datasets. The learned models are used to simultaneously classify video clips and to localise actions to a given space-time subvolume. Each subvolume is cast as a bag-of-features (BoF) instance in a multiple-instance-learning framework, which in turn is used to learn its class membership. We demonstrate quantitatively that even with single fixed-sized subvolumes, the classification performance of our proposed algorithm is superior to our BoF baseline on the majority of performance measures, and shows promise for space-time action localisation on the most challenging video datasets. Exploiting spatio-temporal structure in the video should also improve results, just as deformable part models have proven highly successful in object recognition. However, whereas objects have clear boundaries which means we can easily define a ground truth for initialisation, 3D space-time actions are inherently ambiguous and expensive to annotate in large datasets. Thus, it is desirable to adapt pictorial star models to action datasets without location annotation, and to features invariant to changes in pose such as bag-of-feature and Fisher vectors, rather than low-level HoG. Thus, we propose local deformable spatial bagof-features (LDSBoF) in which local discriminative regions are split into a fixed grid of parts that are allowed to deform in both space and time at test-time. In our experimental evaluation we demonstrate that
EHD2 and the Novel EH Domain Binding Protein EHBP1 Couple Endocytosis to the Actin Cytoskeleton*

Here we identified two novel proteins denoted EH domain protein 2 (EHD2) and EHD2-binding protein 1 (EHBP1) that link clathrin-mediated endocytosis to the actin cytoskeleton. EHD2 contains an N-terminal P-loop and a C-terminal EH domain that interacts with NPF repeats in EHBP1. Disruption of EHD2 or EHBP1 function by small interfering RNA-mediated gene silencing inhibits endocytosis of transferrin into EEA1-positive endosomes as well as GLUT4 endocytosis into cultured adipocytes. EHD2 localizes with cortical actin filaments, whereas EHBP1 contains a putative actin-binding calponin homology domain. High expression of EHD2 or EHBP1 in intact cells mediates extensive actin reorganization. Thus EHD2 appears to connect endocytosis to the actin cytoskeleton through interactions of its N-terminal domain with membranes and its C-terminal EH domain with the novel EHBP1 protein.
Brood Parasitism Is Linked to Egg Pattern Diversity within and among Species of Australian Passerines

Bird eggs show striking diversity in color and pattern. One explanation for this is that interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts drive egg phenotype evolution. Brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other species, their hosts. Many hosts defend their nests against parasitism by rejecting foreign eggs, which selects for parasite eggs that mimic those of the host. In theory, this may in turn select for changes in host egg phenotypes over time to facilitate discrimination of parasite eggs. Here, we test for the first time whether parasitism by brood parasites has led to increased divergence in egg phenotype among host species. Using Australian host and nonhost species and objective measures of egg color and pattern, we show that (i) hosts of brood parasites have higher within-species variation in egg pattern than nonhosts, supporting previous findings in other systems, and (ii) host species have diverged more in their egg patterns than nonhost species after controlling for divergence time. Overall, our results suggest that brood parasitism has played a significant role in the evolution of egg diversity and that these effects are evident, not only within species, but also among species.
Acetaminophen Adducts Detected in Serum of Pediatric Patients With Acute Liver Failure

Objectives: Previous studies in patients with acute liver failure identified acetaminophen (APAP) protein adducts in the serum of 12% and 19% of children and adults, respectively, with acute liver failure of indeterminate etiology. This article details the testing of APAP adducts in a subset (n = 393) of patients with varied diagnoses in the Pediatric Acute Liver Failure Study Group (PALFSG). Methods: Serum samples were available from 393 participants included in the PALFSG registry. Adduct measurement was performed using validated methods. Participants were grouped by diagnostic category as known APAP overdose, known other diagnosis, and indeterminate etiology. Demographic and clinical characteristics and participant outcomes were compared by adduct status (positive or negative) within each group. Results: APAP adduct testing was positive in 86% of participants with known APAP overdose, 6% with other known diagnoses, and 11% with an indeterminate cause of liver failure. Adduct-positive participants were noted to have marked elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase coupled with total serum bilirubin that was significantly lower than adduct-negative patients. In the indeterminate group, adduct-positive patients had different outcomes than adduct-negative patients (P = 0.03); spontaneous survival was 16 of 21 (76%) in adduct-positive patients versus 75 of 169 (44%) in adduct-negative patients. Prognosis did not vary by adduct status in patients with known diagnoses. Conclusions: Furthermore, study is needed to understand the relation of APAP exposure, as determined by the presence of APAP adducts, to the clinical phenotype and outcomes of children with acute liver failure.
When is an indole not an indole?

An indole is not an indole when it is a naphthalene derivative! We routinely measure 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA) by a long-established method using nitrosonaphthol, as first described by Udenfriend in 1955 (1), but with various modifications to improve specificity (2). The profession’s elder statesmen may well recall the method of Hanson and Serin (3) using Erlich’s reagent. Although the Udenfriend method is very specific for 5-hydroxyindoles, it is subject to interference, probably the most documented being that from acetaminophen and …
Clinicopathological analysis of ATRX, DAXX and NOTCH receptor expression in angiosarcomas

Multiple genetic alterations, including alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) and NOTCH mutations, have been described in angiosarcoma. Loss of α‐thalassaemia/mental retardation syndrome X‐linked (ATRX) and death domain‐associated protein 6 (DAXX) expression is frequently associated with the ALT phenotype. Additionally, inhibition of NOTCH signalling induces the development of malignant vascular tumours in mice, indicating a tumour suppressive role of the NOTCH pathway in the pathogenesis of angiosarcoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of ATRX, DAXX and NOTCH receptors (NOTCH1 and NOTCH2) in a large cohort of angiosarcomas, and study their clinicopathological and prognostic significance.
Self-perception of oral health in non-institutionalised elderly of Piracicaba city, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES To associate the self-perception of oral health with sociodemographic, clinical, quality of life and geriatric depression, evaluating what influence in the self-perception of the elderly and the importance to the oral health. BACKGROUND The current demographic transition and poor oral health of the elderly deserves particular attention, especially the impact of oral health on the quality of life. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 371 elderly, aged 60 years or more, adscript to Health Family Units, Piracicaba city, Brazil. Clinically, the indexes decayed missing filled teeth (DMFT), CPI and Use/Need of Prosthesis (WHO/99) were used and evaluated by means of instruments such as the self-perceived oral health [geriatric oral health assessment index (GOHAI)], quality of life (SF-36) and geriatric depression (Geriatric Depression Scale). The statistical analyses were carried out by means of univariate analysis of chi-square and Fisher's exact (α = 0.05) and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The mean age was 67.35 (2.8), with a mean DMFT of 28.5 (4.8) and a positive GOHAI score (>30). Most were women (63.3%), between 60 and 70 years (72.2%), married (60.4%), had just the elementary school (75.5%) education. Around 80% used some removable prosthetic. The results were associated with characteristics of self-perception of oral health and were significative of schooling (OR = 2.46) and the emotional aspects of quality of life (OR = 0.30). Over 20% of the sample had traits of depression, and these results were statistically significant (OR = 1.65) when associated with the GOHAI scores. CONCLUSION Educational and emotional aspects and geriatric depression are factors that influence the positive self-perception of oral health of elderly people of Piracicaba USFs. These results represent that education, feelings and behaviours deserve special attention in their oral health, thereby approaching the self-perception of real dental condition.
Effects of ovariectomy or hypophysectomy on day one of pregnancy on development and transport of fertilized rat eggs.

The development of fertilized eggs and their transport through the oviduct were studied in rats ovariectomized or hypophysectomized on day 1 of pregnancy. When killed on day 5 of pregnancy, 100%, 66% and 27% of the eggs were in the uterus of intact controls, ovariectomized and hypophysectomized rats, respectively. Thus both ovariectomy and hypophysectomy retarded transport of a proportion of the eggs. Ninety-nine per cent, 72 % and 78 % of the eggs were in the blastocyst stage in intact controls, ovariectomized and hypophysectomized rats. The remainder of the eggs were either morulae or degenerated. Blastocysts and morulae recovered from the hypophysectomized rats were transferred to the uteri of pseudopregnant recipients: 52\p=n-\57% developed into normal term foetuses compared to 57% for intact controls. In hypophysectomized rats killed in the morning of day 6, the number of eggs recovered was greatly reduced as compared with rats killed on day 5. This loss of eggs was prevented by placing a ligature at the cervical end of the uterus in the morning of day 5. It was therefore concluded that the eggs had been expelled from the uterus into the vagina between days 5 and 6.
THE INFLUENCE OF PHASE AND DURATION ON EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE IN DEGRADING STRUCTURES

There are many parameters that are used to define the damage potential of earthquake shaking. However, no parameter is of any use unless it is empirically or analytically correlated with indices or measures of damage. Correlations between different damage parameters and the strength degradation of low to medium height masonry structures under the action of nearly 500 recorded earthquakes have been explored. Damage predictions using spectral acceleration are significantly improved by considering an average spectral acceleration over an interval from the natural period of the undamaged structure To to FTo, where F is a constant to be defined. This is because as the structure degrades its stiffness decreases and effective natural period increases.
New record of wild banana ( Musa balbisiana Colla ) in West Kalimantan , Indonesia

Sunandar A. 2017. Short Communication: New record of wild banana (Musa balbisiana Colla) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 18: 1324-1330. Kalimantan Island (Indonesia) is part of the center of origin and diversity of wild bananas in Indo-Malesia region. West Kalimantan is one of province in Kalimantan Island. However, only a little information is available about diversity of wild bananas in West Kalimantan. The aims of this study were to study a possible new record of wild banana species in Nipah Panjang and Teluk Nibung Villages, Kubu Raya District and to describe its phenetic relationships among wild banana species based on morphological characters. By examination based on the morphological character, one species of wild banana was identified, i.e. Musa balbisiana found in Teluk Nibung Village (Local name: Pisang Klotok). However, we didn’t found any wild bananas in Nipah Panjang Village. M. balbisiana was a new record in West Kalimantan. Previously, M. balbisiana is widely distributed only in Java and Sulawesi. M. balbisiana was found in roadsides or backyards of residents in Teluk Nibung Village. Dendrogram of phenetic relationship showed that M. balbisiana from West Kalimantan had similarity with M. balbisiana from Sulawesi with coefficient of similarity 80%.
ERIC recommendations for TP 53 mutation analysis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia-update on methodological approaches and results

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), TP53 gene defects, due to deletion of the 17p13 locus and/or mutation(s) within the TP53 gene, are associated with resistance to chemoimmunotherapy and a particularly dismal clinical outcome. On these grounds, analysis of TP53 aberrations has been incorporated into routine clinical diagnostics to improve patient stratification and optimize therapeutic decisions. The predictive implications of TP53 aberrations have increasing significance in the era of novel targeted therapies, i.e., inhibitors of B-cell receptor (BcR) signaling and anti-apoptotic BCL2 family members, owing to their efficacy in patients with TP53 defects. In this report, the TP53 Network of the European Research Initiative on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (ERIC) presents updated recommendations on the methodological approaches for TP53 mutation analysis. Moreover, it provides guidance to ensure that the analysis is performed in a timely manner for all patients requiring treatment and that the data is interpreted and reported in a consistent, standardized, and accurate way. Since nextgeneration sequencing technologies are gaining prominence within diagnostic laboratories, this report also offers advice and recommendations for the interpretation of TP53 mutation data generated by this methodology.
Structural and functional biological assessment of aggregate dredging intensity on the Belgian part of the North Sea

Marine aggregate dredging in the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS) is restricted to four dedicated concession zones. Within these zones, there are areas under different dredging pressure, but with the advantage that these are situated within a similar habitat (cfr. similar sediment characteristics) . As such, this study assessed how different degrees of dredging pressure executed on a similar sandy habitat affect the benthic ecosystem. Possible responses of the macrobenthos on the dredging pressure were evaluated based on both structural (species number, species composition, abundance and biomass) and functional (e.g. bioturbation potential, BTA) characteristics of the benthic ecosystem. The structural changes in benthic characteristics were summarised by the benthic indicator BEQI. The most obvious impact of dredging on the benthic community was observed in the most intensely used area (high dredging intensity and frequency) with significant changes in the structural benthic characteristics, and a moderate to poor score for the benthic indicator BEQI. For the benthic functional characteristics, no impact of dredging was measured in any of the areas. Furthermore, the hearturchin (Echinocardium cordatum) was observed to be the most sensitive species to dredging, because it reduced substantially in numbers or even disappeared in all impacted areas. Our results suggest that the current benthic sandy ecosystem of the BPNS is resilient enough to buffer aggregate dredging when performed at low or at high, but infrequent intensities. However, when dredging focuses on a small surface area, and when it is performed at high and frequent intensities, changes in sediments result in clear biological changes.
Elongation in translation as a dynamic interaction among the ribosome, tRNA, and elongation factors EF-G and EF-Tu

Abstract The ribosome is a complex macromolecular machine that translates the message encoded in the messenger RNA and synthesizes polypeptides by linking the individual amino acids carried by the cognate transfer RNAs (tRNAs). The protein elongation cycle, during which the tRNAs traverse the ribosome in a coordinated manner along a path of more than 100 Å, is facilitated by large-scale rearrangements of the ribosome. These rearrangements go hand in hand with conformational changes of tRNA as well as elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-G – GTPases that catalyze tRNA delivery and translocation, respectively. This review focuses on the structural data related to the dynamics of the ribosomal machinery, which are the basis, in conjunction with existing biochemical, kinetic, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer data, of our knowledge of the decoding and translocation steps of protein elongation.
Changes in firing pattern of lateral geniculate neurons caused by membrane potential dependent modulation of retinal input through NMDA receptors

An optimal visual stimulus flashed on the receptive field of a retinal ganglion cell typically evokes a strong transient response followed by weaker sustained firing. Thalamocortical (TC) neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, which receive their sensory input from retina, respond similarly except that the gain, in particular of the sustained component, changes with level of arousal. Several lines of evidence suggest that retinal input to TC neurons through NMDA receptors plays a key role in generation of the sustained response, but the mechanisms for the state‐dependent variation in this component are unclear. We used a slice preparation to study responses of TC neurons evoked by trains of electrical pulses to the retinal afferents at frequencies in the range of visual responses in vivo. Despite synaptic depression, the pharmacologically isolated NMDA component gave a pronounced build‐up of depolarization through temporal summation of the NMDA receptor mediated EPSPs. This depolarization could provide sustained firing, the frequency of which depended on the holding potential. We suggest that the variation of sustained response in vivo is caused mainly by the state‐dependent modulation of the membrane potential of TC neurons which shifts the NMDA receptor mediated depolarization closer to or further away from the firing threshold. The pharmacologically isolated AMPA receptor EPSPs were rather ineffective in spike generation. However, together with the depolarization evoked by the NMDA component, the AMPA component contributed significantly to spike generation, and was necessary for the precise timing of the generated spikes.
Overexpression of JKTBP1 induces androgen‐independent LNCaP cell proliferation through activation of epidermal growth factor‐receptor (EGF‐R)

Heterogenous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D‐like protein (JKTBP) belongs to a new member of hnRNPs. Previous studies implied that JKTBP1 may be associated with the progression of androgen‐independent (AI) prostate cancer. In this study, we generated three stable LNCaP cell lines which expressed exogenous JKTBP1. Furthermore, the effect of ectopic JKTBP1 on the proliferation of LNCaP cells and its mechanism was investigated. We originally found that the ectopic JKTBP1 expression resulted in the proliferation of LNCaP cells in an AI way, as well as inducing the upregulated expression of EGF‐R and prostate‐specific antigen (PSA), but did not influence the expression level of AR. Moreover, AG1478 suppressed the effect of proliferation induced by JKTBP1. In addition, immunohistochemistry showed that JKTBP1 expression was significantly elevated in AI prostate cancer tissues when compared with the androgen‐dependent (AD) prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Our data indicated that overexpression of JKTBP1 in LNCaP cells leads to abnormal cell proliferation and may be involved in the process of AD to AI through induction of EGF‐R expression. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Blood Chemistry of Normal Human Fetuses at Midtrimester of Pregnancy

Abstract: Thirteen biochemical parameters and five enzymatic activities were determined on sera of 63 normal human fetuses sampled by direct puncture under ultrasound guidance, between the 20th and the 26th wk of gestation, and on their mothers. They were referred to us for various prenatal diagnoses but were well and confirmed healthy at birth. Some parameters were found to be very similar in both groups, mainly creatinine, calcium, creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, and γ-glutamyl transferase. Some values were significantly higher in the fetuses, such as total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, phosphorus, lactic dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activities, and α-fetoprotein. Urea, uric acid, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, and albumin levels were found to be lower in fetuses. These data indicate a slower metabolism in fetuses compared to their mothers, a lower level of energy requirement, and a relative liver immaturity. These normal values of fetal biochemistry will improve our knowledge of physiology and help to determine the specific values of a test in fetal pathology.