Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-performance electrochemical glucose sensing enabled by Cu(TCNQ) nanorod array

It is highly attractive to construct stable enzyme-free glucose sensors based on three-dimensional direct electrochemical detection of glucose. In this paper, a copper 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (Cu(TCNQ)) nanorod array on Cu foam (Cu(TCNQ) NA/CF) is proposed as an efficient catalyst for electrochemical glucose oxidation in alkaline conditions. When Cu(TCNQ) NA/CF was used as the enzyme-free sensory of glucose, the sensor showed a response time within 3 s, a wide linear detection in the range 0.001–10.0 mM, the minimum limit of detection was as low as 10 nM (S/N = 3), and it had a high sensitivity of 26 987 μA mM−1 cm−2. Moreover, this sensor also possesses long-term stability, high selectivity, reproducibility, and actual applications for fresh human serum sample analysis is also successfully accepted.
Arduviz, a visual programming IDE for arduino

Arduino is an open source computing platform in a form of single-board microcontroller. The microcontroller in Arduino is reprogrammable. Officially supported way to program Arduino is by using Arduino language and Arduino IDE. Another way to program an Arduino board is by using visual programming approach. Language used in visual programming approach is called Visual Programming Language. Commonly used existing tools that enable a programmer to write Arduino program visually are Ardublock and miniBloq. Both of those tools have their own strength. But, because those are separate tools, a programmer can't use all of those strengths to create a program. We have implemented Arduviz, a visual programming integrated development environment. Arduviz has most of advantages from both Arduviz and miniBloq such as instant code generation and stand alone development environment.
The impact of surface geometry, cavitation, and condensation on wetting transitions: posts and reentrant structures

The fundamental impacts of surface geometry on the stability of wetting states, and the transitions between them are elucidated for square posts and reentrant structures in three dimensions. We identify three principal outcomes of particular importance for future surface design of liquid-repellent surfaces. Firstly, we demonstrate and quantify how capillary condensation and vapour cavitation affect wetting state stabilities. At high contact angles, cavitation is enhanced about wide, closely-spaced square posts, leading to the existence of suspended states without an associated collapsed state. At low contact angles, narrow reentrant pillars suppress condensation and enable the suspension of even highly wetting liquids. Secondly, two distinct collapse mechanisms are observed for 3D reentrant geometries, base contact and pillar contact, which are operative at different pillar heights. As well as morphological differences in the interface of the penetrating liquid, each mechanism is affected differently by changes in the contact angle with the solid. Finally, for highly-wetting liquids, condensates are shown to critically modify the transition pathways in both the base contact and pillar contact modes.
Reliability of Visual Examination, Fibre-Optic Transillumination, and Bite-Wing Radiography, and Reproducibility of Direct Visual Examination Following Tooth Separation for the Identification of Cavitated Carious Lesions in Contacting Approximal Surfaces

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of visual, fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI), and bite-wing radiographic examination performed by 4 observers for the identification of cavitated carious lesions in contacting approximal surfaces, and to assess the inter-observer agreement with these methods and with direct visual examination conducted after tooth separation, the method used as validation for definitive determination of cavitation. A total of 338 unrestored approximal surfaces in 53 students were examined independently by 4 dentists using the diagnostic methods under study. The results from the diagnostic methods were compared with the results from the validation method for each observer. The sensitivities for identification of cavitated lesions using visual examination ranged from 0.12 to 0.50. For FOTI and radiography, the sensitivities ranged from 0.00 to 0.08 and from 0.56 to 0.69, respectively. The specificities exceeded 0.90 for all observers with all methods. Kappa values expressing inter-observer reproducibility were lowest for FOTI, followed by visual and radiographic examination. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that FOTI was the least reliable of the diagnostic methods tested. For the validation method, the inter-observer agreement was only ‘substantial’. This implies that the method cannot be used as a validation for other diagnostic methods applied for the identification of cavitated carious lesions in contacting approximal surfaces. However, visual inspection after tooth separation may serve as a supplementary diagnostic tool to conventional visual and radiographic examination for clinical management of aproximal carious lesions.
Neuropsychological differentiation of progressive aphasic disorders

The differentiation of subtypes of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) remains challenging. We aimed to identify optimum neuropsychological measures for characterizing PPA, to examine the relationship between behavioural change and subtypes of PPA and to determine whether characteristic profiles of language, working memory, and behavioural changes occur in PPA. Forty‐seven patients with PPA and multi‐domain Alzheimer's disease (AD) together with 19 age‐matched controls underwent a large battery of working memory and language tests. We found that simple tasks of sentence ordering, narrative production, and buccofacial praxis were particularly useful in differentiating non‐fluent/agrammatic variant PPA (nfvPPA) from other PPA subtypes, whereas a test of single word comprehension was useful in detecting semantic dementia (SD). No individual tests were discriminating for logopenic variant PPA (lvPPA) relative to nfvPPA. LvPPA and multidomain AD exhibited similar language profiles. A principal components analysis revealed that characteristic PPA profiles extended beyond the realms of language, in particular, the presence of apraxia in nfvPPA, behavioural changes in SD, and working memory deficits in lvPPA. These findings suggest that not all tests are equally discriminatory for PPA and highlight the importance of a test profile in differentiating PPA. These results also support the view that lvPPA is a focal form of AD and emphasize the difficulties classifying lvPPA.
Asynchronous replication of homologous α-satellite DNA loci in man is associated with nondisjunction

We tested the hypothesis that loss of replication control of DNA loci associated with human centromeres affects the main centromere function, namely, ensuring proper sister chromatid separation and accurate chromosomal segregation during cell division. Applying one-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to interphase nuclei, we studied the replication patterns of homologous DNA loci associated with human centromeres (α-satellite sequences) of chromosome pairs 10, 11, 17, and X in PHA-stimulated lymphocytes of female cancer patients with a familial predisposition to malignancy and normal, healthy women. Concomitantly, we measured the rates of aneuploidy for these chromosomes in the same cells. To elucidate the replication patterns of the various centromeric loci, we analyzed the replication-dependent configuration signals obtained following FISH with four chromosome-specific α-satellite probes. Our data showed an association between replication timing of α-satellite sequences and centromeric function. Chromosome pairs whose homologous α-satellite loci replicated highly synchronously revealed low rates of aneuploidy, whereas chromosome pairs with a slightly asynchronous replication pattern (i.e., short intervals between early- and late-replicating loci) revealed intermediate rates of aneuploidy, and chromosome pairs exhibiting asynchrony with long-time intervals between early- and late-replicating loci showed the highest rate of aneuploidy.
YAP-Induced PD-L1 Expression Drives Immune Evasion in BRAFi-Resistant Melanoma

Transcription factor YAP increases PD-L1 expression in BRAF inhibitor-resistant melanoma cells, promoting their direct evasion of T-cell killing. Inhibition of this YAP-orchestrated interplay between inhibitor resistance and immune evasion could improve the treatment of BRAF-mutant melanoma patients. Activation of YAP, a Hippo pathway effector, is an important resistance mechanism to BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) in melanoma. Emerging evidence also suggests that YAP is involved in suppression of the antitumor immune response. However, the potential direct impact of YAP activity on cytotoxic T-cell immune responses has not been explored yet. Here, we show that BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells evade CD8+ T-cell immune responses in a PD-L1–dependent manner by activating YAP, which synchronously supports melanoma cell survival upon BRAF inhibition. PD-L1 expression is elevated in BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells, in which YAP is robustly activated, and YAP knockdown decreases PD-L1 expression. In addition, constitutively active YAP (YAP-5SA) increases PD-L1 expression by binding to an upstream enhancer of the PD-L1 gene and potentiating its transcription. Both BRAFi-resistant and YAP-5SA–expressing melanoma cells suppress the cytotoxic function and cytokine production of Melan-A–specific CD8+ T cells, whereas anti–PD-1 antibody reverses the YAP-mediated T-cell suppression. Moreover, nuclear enrichment of YAP in clinical melanoma samples correlates with increased PD-L1 expression. Our findings show that YAP directly mediates evasion of cytotoxic T-cell immune responses in BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells by upregulating PD-L1, and targeting of YAP-mediated immune evasion may improve prognosis of melanoma patients. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(3); 255–66. ©2018 AACR.
Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori antibodies in CAPD patients.

Dear Sir, Helicobacter pylori is a spiral gram-negative bacterium responsible for chronic active gastritis of type B. It is also implicated in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease and epi-demiologically linked to gastric cancer [1-3]. The bacterium converts urea in the gastric juice into ammonia and carbon dioxide and creates its own protective alkaline microen-vironment against the gastric acidity. One could wonder whether the high availability of urea in uremic patients is predisposing to more frequent gastric colonization with H. pylori. We investigated the prevalence and the significance of H. pylori IgG-specific antibodies in 39 unselected uremic patients (22 men, 17 women, median age 58 years, age range 36-74) undergoing CAPD from 1 to 108 months. Serum samples were analyzed for H. pylori IgG-specific antibodies using ELISA (GAP test IgG, Bio-Rad) which has a 95% sensitivity [2]. A titer of ≥ 20 U/ml was interpreted as positive. A questionnaire on gastric complaints (epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, etc), was individually filled. Fifteen patients (38%), most of them females, suffered symptoms. All patients were taking aluminum hydroxide and/or calcium carbonate as phosphate binders, and 4 of them were also taking ranitidine. Groups were formed based on gender, age, the actual existence of symptoms and of diabetes mellitus. The Student’s t suggest that H. pylori infection is no more frequent in patients than in the general population. It is possible that the frequent use of antibiotics in CAPD patients (e.g. for peritonitis) protects from an H. pylori infection or results even in eradication and consequently underestimates the prevalence. Among CAPD patients, the prevalence of H. pylori antibodies is higher in older patients and it seems to be higher in diabetics and in females. The significance of these observations has to be further evaluated in a greater number of patients.
Protective roles of flavonoids and flavonoid-rich plant extracts against urolithiasis: A review

ABSTRACT In the urinary system, urolithiasis is the third prevalent disorder which causes severe pain in individuals. Urinary stones are composed of calcium oxalate (CaOx) and calcium phosphate in approximately 80% of patients. Although various drugs and surgery operations are used to treat the disease, side effects of drugs and the high recurrence after therapy in patients cannot be ignored. Flavonoids are a large group of plant polyphenols with presumed beneficial effects on several common diseases. Whereas, a very few have reached clinical use. The results of recent studies have shown that the plant flavonoids could effectively inhibit the formation of CaOx stones in vitro and in vivo, correlating with their diuretic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial properties and other protective effects. Thus, the flavonoids or flavonoid-rich plant extracts endowed with anti-urolithiasis activities and probable mechanisms of actions were reviewed. In addition, we also put forward some issues needed to be concerned in future investigations as well as offered prospects and challenges for developing the plant flavonoids into drugs for stone prevention.
Effect of peritoneal trauma on peritoneal fibrinolytic activity and intraperitoneal adhesion formation. An experimental study in the rat.

Changes in peritoneal fibrinolytic activity have been studied following four types of insult which may occur in the course of abdominal surgery, namely (1) creation of peritoneal defects, (2) free peritoneal grafting, (3) diathermy coagulation and (4) peritoneal ischaemia. Free peritoneal grafting, diathermy, and peritoneal ischaemia are associated with a significant depression of fibrinolytic activity compared with unsutured peritoneal defects and are also associated with a significant increase in adhesion formation. Fibrinolytic activity is not maximally depressed at the time of operation and further depression occurs during the first 24 h post-operatively. Depression of fibrinolytic activity may be a significant factor in the aetiology of intraperitoneal adhesions.
Electronic properties of topological insulator candidate CaAgAs

The topological phases of matter provide the opportunity to observe many exotic properties, such as the existence of 2D topological surface states in the form of Dirac cones in topological insulators and chiral transport through the open Fermi arc in Weyl semimetals. However, these properties affect the transport characteristics and, therefore, may be useful for applications only if the topological phenomena occur near the Fermi level. CaAgAs is a promising candidate for which the ab initio calculations predict line-nodes at the Fermi energy. However, the compound transforms into a topological insulator on considering spin–orbit interaction. In this study, we investigated the electronic structure of CaAgAs with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), ab initio calculations, and transport measurements. The results from ARPES show that the bulk valence band crosses the Fermi energy at the Γ-point. The measured band dispersion matches the ab initio calculations closely when shifting the Fermi energy in the calculations by −0.5 eV. The ARPES results are in good agreement with transport measurements, which show abundant p-type carriers.
PDCD1 gene polymorphisms as regulators of T‐lymphocyte activity in cutaneous melanoma risk and prognosis

This study aimed to evaluate whether PD1.1 (c.‐606G>A), PD1 (c.627 + 252C>T), PD1.5 (c.804C>T), and PD1.9 (c.644C>T) single nucleotide polymorphisms of PDCD1 gene influence the risk, clinicopathological aspects, and survival of cutaneous melanoma (CM). Individuals with phototype I or II and PD1 CC genotype were under 5.89‐fold increased risk of developing CM. PD1.5 TT genotype increased PDCD1 expression (2.49 versus 1.28 arbitrary units, p = .03) and PD1.5 CT or TT genotype and allele T increased PD1 expression in TCD4+ lymphocytes (16.6 versus 12.5%, p = .01; 17.0 versus 13.1%, p = .006). At 60 months of follow‐up, short recurrence‐free survival was seen in patients with PD1.1 AA genotype (33.3 versus 71.8%, p = .03). Patients with PD1.1 AA and PD1.5 CC genotype had 4.21 and 2.62 more chances of presenting relapse and evolving death by disease in Cox analyses, respectively. Our data provide preliminary evidence that abnormalities in regulation of T lymphocyte alter CM risk, clinical aspects, and prognosis.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the risk of 12 cardiovascular diseases: a population-based study using UK primary care data

Risks for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) other than myocardial infarction and stroke in the general COPD population are not well quantified. We used a matched cohort study design and Cox regression to estimate relative risks for 12 separate CVDs in a large population-based cohort of patients with COPD over a 12-year period. Associations between COPD and individual CVDs were heterogeneous, with the highest relative risks observed for heart failure and diseases of the arterial circulation (in excess of 2.5 for those aged 64–75 years). Relative risks declined with increasing age but for most CVD outcomes remained unchanged over the study period.
Severity of asphyxia is a covariate of phenobarbital clearance in newborns undergoing hypothermia

Abstract Aim: Phenobarbital (PB) pharmacokinetics (PK) in asphyxiated newborns show large variability, not only explained by hypothermia (HT). We evaluated potential relevant covariates of PK of PB in newborns treated with or without HT for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Methods: Clearance (CL), distribution volume (Vd) and elimination half-life (t1/2) were calculated using one-compartment analysis. Covariates were clinical characteristics (weight, gestational age, hepatic, renal, and circulatory status), comedication and HIE severity [time to reach normal aEEG pattern (TnormaEEG), dichotomous, within 24 h] and asphyxia severity [severe aspyhxia = pH ≤7.1 + Apgar score ≤5 (5 min), dichotomous]. Student’s t-test, two-way ANOVA, correlation and Pearson’s chi-square test were used. Results: Forty newborns were included [14 non-HT; 26 HT with TnormaEEG <24 h in 14/26 (group1-HT) and TnormaEEG ≥24 h in 12/26 (group2-HT)]. Severe asphyxia was present in 26/40 [5/14 non-HT, 11/14 and 10/12 in both HT groups]. PB-CL, Vd and t1/2 were similar between the non-HT and HT group. However, within the HT group, PB-CL was significantly different between group1-HT and group2-HT (p = .043). ANOVA showed that HT (p = .034) and severity of asphyxia (p = .038) reduced PB-CL (−50%). Conclusion: The interaction of severity of asphyxia and HT is associated with a clinical relevant reduced PB-CL, suggesting the potential relevance of disease characteristics beyond HT itself.
Effects of Androgens on Reproduction in Female Pigs

To examine how androgens increased ovulation rate, gilts were injected with androgen receptor agonists, antagonist or a combination of both. Blood samples were collected hourly from day 13 to estrus (day 0= onset of estrus) coincident with gilts (n=6) receiving daily treatments of; vehicle (corn oil), 10 mg of testosterone, 10 mg of 5αdihydrotestosterone (dihydrotestosterone), 1.5 g of flutamide (an androgen receptor antagonist), testosterone plus flutamide or dihydrotestosterone plus flutamide. Treatment of gilts with testosterone or dihydrotestosterone alone increased (P<.05) mean concentrations of FSH in serum and this effect was blocked by co-treatment with flutamide. Mean concentrations of estradiol-17ß and androstenedione were increased (P<.05) at two hours after injection of testosterone or testosterone plus flutamide but not after dihydrotestosterone treatment; probably due to the role of testosterone as a substrate for estradiol-17β and androstenedione synthesis. There were no effects of the six treatment regimens on serum concentrations of progesterone during luteolysis, but
Scalable Robust Matrix Factorization with Nonconvex Loss

Robust matrix factorization (RMF), which uses the $\ell_1$-loss, often outperforms standard matrix factorization using the $\ell_2$-loss, particularly when outliers are present. The state-of-the-art RMF solver is the RMF-MM algorithm, which, however, cannot utilize data sparsity. Moreover, sometimes even the (convex) $\ell_1$-loss is not robust enough. In this paper, we propose the use of nonconvex loss to enhance robustness. To address the resultant difficult optimization problem, we use majorization-minimization (MM) optimization and propose a new MM surrogate. To improve scalability, we exploit data sparsity and optimize the surrogate via its dual with the accelerated proximal gradient algorithm. The resultant algorithm has low time and space complexities and is guaranteed to converge to a critical point. Extensive experiments demonstrate its superiority over the state-of-the-art in terms of both accuracy and scalability.
Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder: a heterogeneous conundrum

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