Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TiN-Nanoparticulate-Reinforced ZrO2 for Electrical Discharge Machining

This study presents a fabrication route for an electrically conductive ZrO2–TiN ceramic nanocomposite with a nanoscale TiN phase occupying ≤30 vol% to improve the mechanical reinforcement of the zirconia matrix, and at the same time provide electrical conductivity to facilitate electro-discharge machining (EDM). The TiN nanoparticles were incorporated into a 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP) powder, either by admixing a TiN nanopowder (MCP) or by using in-situ synthesis (ISS) via the forced hydrolysis of a titanyl sulphate aqueous solution and the direct nitriding of as-synthesized titania nanoparticles, followed by consolidation and rapid sintering in a spark plasma sintering (SPS) system. The initial phase composition and crystal structure of the as-synthesized powders and the sintered samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray difraction (XRD). The influence of the different fabrication routes on the microstructural evolution, electrical and mechanical properties, and affinity for EDM were assessed using TEM, focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM, Vickers indentation, electrical conductivity measurements, and profilometry. The MCP synthesis route resulted in finer microstructures that are less prone to microstructural inhomogeneities; however, using the ISS route, it was possible to fabricate electrically conductive Y-TZP nanocomposites containing only 15 vol% of the TiN nanoparticulate phase. Both synthesis routes resulted in an increase of the fracture toughness with an increase of the TiN phase due to the nanoparticulate TiN reinforcement of the Y-TZP ceramic matrix via crack-bridging toughening mechanisms. As both synthesis routes yielded Y-TZP nanocomposites capable of successful EDM machining at a TiN content of ≥30 vol% for the MCP and ≥ 15 vol% TiN for the ISS, a possible mechanism was developed based on the microstructure evolution and grain growth.
Meat subtypes and colorectal cancer risk: A pooled analysis of 6 cohort studies in Japan

Red meat and processed meat have been suggested to increase risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), especially colon cancer. However, it remains unclear whether these associations differ according to meat subtypes or colon subsites. The present study addressed this issue by undertaking a pooled analysis of large population‐based cohort studies in Japan: 5 studies comprising 232 403 participants (5694 CRC cases) for analysis based on frequency of meat intake, and 2 studies comprising 123 635 participants (3550 CRC cases) for analysis based on intake quantity. Study‐specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model and then pooled using the random effect model. Comparing the highest vs lowest quartile, beef intake was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer in women (pooled HR 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01‐1.44) and distal colon cancer (DCC) risk in men (pooled HR 1.30; 95% CI, 1.05‐1.61). Frequent intake of pork was associated with an increased risk of distal colon cancer in women (pooled HR 1.44; 95% CI, 1.10‐1.87) for “3 times/wk or more” vs “less than 1 time/wk”. Frequent intake of processed red meat was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer in women (pooled HR 1.39; 95% CI, 0.97‐2.00; P trend = .04) for “almost every day” vs “less than 1 time/wk”. No association was observed for chicken consumption. The present findings support that intake of beef, pork (women only), and processed red meat (women only) might be associated with a higher risk of colon (distal colon) cancer in Japanese.
An Empirical Study Comparing Unobtrusive Physiological Sensors for Stress Detection in Computer Work

Several unobtrusive sensors have been tested in studies to capture physiological reactions to stress in workplace settings. Lab studies tend to focus on assessing sensors during a specific computer task, while in situ studies tend to offer a generalized view of sensors’ efficacy for workplace stress monitoring, without discriminating different tasks. Given the variation in workplace computer activities, this study investigates the efficacy of unobtrusive sensors for stress measurement across a variety of tasks. We present a comparison of five physiological measurements obtained in a lab experiment, where participants completed six different computer tasks, while we measured their stress levels using a chest-band (ECG, respiration), a wristband (PPG and EDA), and an emerging thermal imaging method (perinasal perspiration). We found that thermal imaging can detect increased stress for most participants across all tasks, while wrist and chest sensors were less generalizable across tasks and participants. We summarize the costs and benefits of each sensor stream, and show how some computer use scenarios present usability and reliability challenges for stress monitoring with certain physiological sensors. We provide recommendations for researchers and system builders for measuring stress with physiological sensors during workplace computer use.
Extraction and separation of acetanilide herbicides in beans based on metal-organic framework MIL-101 (Zn) as sorbent

ABSTRACT An extraction method based on metal-organic framework has been developed and applied to acetanilide herbicides, including metazachlor, propanil, pretilachlor, and butachlor, in black beans, red beans, and kidney beans. The acetanilide herbicides are extracted with a mixture of ethyl acetate and n-hexane. The extract solution is absorbed and purified with metal-organic framework MIL-101 (Zn). The separation and determination of four acetanilide herbicides were implemented by high-performance liquid chromatography. The experimental parameters were evaluated by a univariate method and orthogonal experiments. The presented method can obtain effective extraction and purification. The detection limits for metazachlor, propanil, pretilachlor, and butachlor were 0.58, 0.90, 1.78 and 1.18 µg/kg, respectively. The average recoveries of the acetanilide herbicides at spiked concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 µg/kg ranged from 86.9% to 119.0%, and relative standard deviations were equal to or lower than 2.80%. Graphical Abstract
Function, Regulation and Biological Roles of PI3Kγ Variants

Phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) γ is the only class IB PI3K member playing significant roles in the G-protein-dependent regulation of cell signaling in health and disease. Originally found in the immune system, increasing evidence suggest a wide array of functions in the whole organism. PI3Kγ occur as two different heterodimeric variants: PI3Kγ (p87) and PI3Kγ (p101), which share the same p110γ catalytic subunit but differ in their associated non-catalytic subunit. Here we concentrate on specific PI3Kγ features including its regulation and biological functions. In particular, the roles of its non-catalytic subunits serving as the main regulators determining specificity of class IB PI3Kγ enzymes are highlighted.
Cost‐effectiveness of population‐level proactive tobacco cessation outreach among socio‐economically disadvantaged smokers: evaluation of a randomized control trial

Abstract Aims To estimate the cost‐effectiveness at population‐level of the OPT‐IN proactive tobacco cessation outreach program for adult smokers enrolled in publicly funded health insurance plans for low‐income persons (e.g. Medicaid). Design Cost‐effectiveness analysis using a state transition model based on data from the Offering Proactive Treatment Intervention (OPT‐IN) randomized control trial. Setting The trial was conducted in Minnesota, USA, and the economic analysis was conducted from the Medicaid program perspective. Participants Data were used from 2406 smokers who were randomized into the intervention or comparator groups. Intervention and comparator The intervention was comprised of proactive outreach (mailed invitation and telephone calls) and free cessation treatment (nicotine replacement therapy and intensive telephone counseling). The comparator was usual care, which comprised access to a primary care physician, insurance coverage of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved smoking cessation medications and the state's telephone quitline. Measurements Smoking status, quality of life and health‐care use at varying times, including at baseline and 1 year. Findings The OPT‐IN program cost an average of $84 per participant greater than the comparator. One year after randomization, the population‐level, 6‐month prolonged smoking abstinence rate was 16.5% in the proactive outreach intervention group and 12.1% in the usual care group (P < 0.05). The model projected that the proactive outreach intervention added $78 in life‐time cost and generated 0.005 additional quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALYs), with an expected incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio of $4231 per QALY. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis found that the proactive outreach intervention would be cost‐effective against a willingness‐to‐pay threshold of $50 000/QALY approximately 68% of the time. Conclusions Population‐level proactive tobacco treatment with personal telephone outreach was effective in achieving higher population‐level quit rates and was cost‐effective at various willingness‐to‐pay thresholds, compared with usual care (i.e. reactive treatment). Taken together with prior research, population‐level proactive tobacco cessation outreach programs are judged to be highly cost‐effective over the long term.
The Synergism of Platinum-Gold Bimetallic Nanoconjugates Enhances 5-Fluorouracil Delivery In Vitro

Nanoparticle application has significantly impacted the field of medicine. The need to develop novel drugs with higher therapeutic potential has stimulated the development of innovative delivery strategies to mitigate the potent side effects associated with known chemotherapeutic drugs. This paper describes the synthesis of platinum-gold bimetallic nanoparticles (PtAuBNps), their functionalisation with chitosan, and entrapment of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). All PtAuBNps and their drug nanocomposites were physico-chemically characterised, displaying desirable properties with regards to shape, size (<120 nm) and colloidal stability. 5-FU binding and loading capacities in PtAuBNps were found to be 90.17% and 22.56%, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity profiles determined using the MTT and SRB assays reflected up to 65% cell death in the MCF-7, HepG2 and Caco-2 cell lines. These nanocomposites exhibited excellent physiochemical attributes, high specificity towards cancer cells, with a pH-sensitive drug release in a simulated acidic tumour microenvironment through zero-order release kinetics. In addition, they possessed the potential to traverse the mucosal lining facilitating oral drug administration. Overall, 5-FU encapsulation improved the bioavailability of the drug in cancer cells, with the promise of enhancing its therapeutic effect, biocompatibility and safety. These positive results highlight PtAuBNps as promising in vitro delivery systems and merits future in vivo research.
Using openEHR Archetypes for Automated Extraction of Numerical Information from Clinical Narratives

Up to 80% of medical information is documented by unstructured data such as clinical reports written in natural language. Such data is called unstructured because the information it contains cannot be retrieved automatically as straightforward as from structured data. However, we assume that the use of this flexible kind of documentation will remain a substantial part of a patient's medical record, so that clinical information systems have to deal appropriately with this type of information description. On the other hand, there are efforts to achieve semantic interoperability between clinical application systems through information modelling concepts like HL7 FHIR or openEHR. Considering this, we propose an approach to transform unstructured documented information into openEHR archetypes. Furthermore, we aim to support the field of clinical text mining by recognizing and publishing the connections between openEHR archetypes and heterogeneous phrasings. We have evaluated our method by extracting the values to three openEHR archetypes from unstructured documents in English and German language.
Effect of Non-Conventional Drying Methods on In Vitro Starch Digestibility Assessment of Cooked Potato Genotypes

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are a good dietary source of carbohydrates in the form of digestible starch (DS) and resistant starch (RS). As increased RS content consumption can be associated with decreased chronic disease risk, breeding efforts have focused on identifying potato varieties with higher RS content, which requires high-throughput analysis of starch profiles. For this purpose, freeze drying of potatoes has been used but this approach leads to inaccurate RS values. The present study objective was to assess the starch content (RS, DS and total starch (TS)) of three cooked potato genotypes that were dried using freeze drying and innovative drying techniques (microwave vacuum drying, instant controlled pressure drop drying and conductive hydro-drying) relative to freshly cooked potato samples. Depending on the genotype, all drying methods showed one or more starch measures that were significantly different from freshly cooked values. The combination of ultrasound and infrared assisted conductive hydro-drying was the only method identified to be associated with accurate assessment of DS and TS content relative to fresh samples. The drying treatments were all generally associated with highly variable RS content relative to fresh controls. We conclude that freshly cooked samples must be used for selecting varieties with a high proportion of RS starch as drying of cooked potatoes leads to unreliable RS measurements.
Antibody Responses to Fusobacterium nucleatum Proteins in Prediagnostic Blood Samples are not Associated with Risk of Developing Colorectal Cancer

Background: There is a lack of prospective data on the potential association of Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) and colorectal cancer risk. In this study, we assessed whether antibody responses to F. nucleatum are associated with colorectal cancer risk in prediagnostic serum samples in the European Prospective Investigation into Nutrition and Cancer (EPIC) cohort. Methods: We applied a multiplex serology assay to simultaneously measure antibody responses to 11 F. nucleatum antigens in prediagnostic serum samples from 485 colorectal cancer cases and 485 matched controls. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: We observed neither a statistically significant colorectal cancer risk association for antibodies to individual F. nucleatum proteins nor for combined positivity to any of the 11 proteins (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.62–1.06). Conclusions: Antibody responses to F. nucleatum proteins in prediagnostic serum samples from a subset of colorectal cancer cases and matched controls within the EPIC study were not associated with colorectal cancer risk. Impact: Our findings in prospectively ascertained serum samples contradict the existing literature on the association of F. nucleatum with colorectal cancer risk. Future prospective studies, specifically detecting F. nucleatum in stool or tissue biopsies, are needed to complement our findings.
Effects of NaHCO3 Acclimation on Rye (Secale Cereale) Growth Under Sodic-Alkaline Stress

Sodic-alkalinity is a serious limiting factor in agricultural productivity. This study was conducted to examine the contribution of acclimation to the adaptation of rye (Secale cereale) to sodic-alkalinity. Effects of acclimation were determined in two sets of experiments: One experiment for mineral accumulation, antioxidative capacity, and other physiological parameters; and a vivo experiment for root Evan’s Blue and Na+ influx from medium to root. Being exposed to sodic-alkalinity, acclimation did not affect plant dry weight. However, acclimation significantly reduced Na+ concentration and maintained a lower Na+/K+ ratio in all the tissues, increased the Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations in the root tissues, and increased the water uptake ability in comparison to the non-acclimated plants. Acclimation increased the antioxidant capacity represented by the increased activities of the enzymes SOD, GR, CAT, and GPOX in the leaf tissues of acclimated plants in comparison to the non-acclimated plants. Moreover, acclimation increased the root cell viability inhibited the Na+ influx to the root tissues in comparison to the non-acclimated plants. Together, these results suggest that rye can acclimate to sodic-alkalinity by increasing root cell viability, and therefore limited Na+ influx to root tissues and increased water uptake and antioxidant capacities without any change in the plant growth.
Prognostic Significance of Abdominal-to-Gluteofemoral Adipose Tissue Distribution in Patients with Breast Cancer

This study aimed to evaluate the association between abdominal-to-gluteofemoral adipose tissue (AT) distribution and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in breast cancer patients. Staging F-18 fluorodexoyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images of 336 women with breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed. From CT images, the volume and CT-attenuation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and gluteofemoral AT were measured and the ratio of abdomen-to-gluteofemoral AT volume (AG volume ratio) was calculated. The relationships between adipose tissue parameters and RFS were assessed. Through univariate analysis, abdominal SAT volume, gluteofemoral AT volume, and AG volume ratio were significantly associated with RFS. An increase in abdominal SAT volume and AG volume ratio were associated with an increased risk of recurrence, whereas increased gluteofemoral AT volume was associated with a decreased risk of recurrence. On multivariate analysis, abdominal SAT volume, gluteofemoral AT volume, and AG volume ratio were found to be significant predictors of RFS after adjusting for clinic-histological factors. Irrespective of obesity, patients with a high AG volume ratio showed a higher recurrence rate than those with a low AG volume ratio. Increased abdominal SAT volume and decreased gluteofemoral AT volume were related to poor RFS in breast cancer patients.
Are remitted affective disorders and familial risk of affective disorders associated with metabolic syndrome, inflammation and oxidative stress? – a monozygotic twin study

Abstract Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with reduced life expectancy in patients with affective disorders, however, whether MetS also plays a role before the onset of affective disorder is unknown. We aimed to investigate whether MetS, inflammatory markers or oxidative stress act as risk factors for affective disorders, and whether MetS is associated with increased inflammation and oxidative stress. Methods We conducted a high-risk study including 204 monozygotic (MZ) twins with unipolar or bipolar disorder in remission or partial remission (affected), their unaffected co-twins (high-risk) and twins with no personal or family history of affective disorder (low-risk). Metabolic Syndrome was ascertained according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Inflammatory markers and markers of oxidative stress were analyzed from fasting blood and urine samples, respectively. Results The affected and the high-risk group had a significantly higher prevalence of MetS compared to the low-risk group (20% v. 15% v. 2.5%, p = 0.0006), even after adjusting for sex, age, smoking and alcohol consumption. No differences in inflammatory and oxidative markers were seen between the three groups. Further, MetS was associated with alterations in inflammatory markers, and oxidative stress was modestly correlated with inflammation. Conclusion Metabolic syndrome is associated with low-grade inflammation and may act as a risk factor and a trait marker for affective disorders. If confirmed in longitudinal studies, this suggests the importance of early intervention and preventive approaches targeted towards unhealthy lifestyle factors that may contribute to later psychopathology.
SIRT1-Dependent Upregulation of Antiglycative Defense in HUVECs Is Essential for Resveratrol Protection against High Glucose Stress

Uncontrolled accumulation of methylglyoxal (MG) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) occurs in hyperglycemia-induced endothelial dysfunction associated with diabetes. Resveratrol (RSV) protects the endothelium upon high glucose (HG); however, the mechanisms underlying such protective effects are still debated. Here we identified key molecular players involved in the glycative/oxidative perturbations occurring in endothelial cells exposed to HG. In addition, we determined whether RSV essentially required SIRT1 to trigger adaptive responses in HG-challenged endothelial cells. We used primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) undergoing a 24-h treatment with HG, with or without RSV and EX527 (i.e., SIRT1 inhibitor). We found that HG-induced glycative stress (GS) and oxidative stress (OS), by reducing SIRT1 activity, as well as by diminishing the efficiency of MG- and ROS-targeting protection. RSV totally abolished the HG-dependent cytotoxicity, and this was associated with SIRT1 upregulation, together with increased expression of GLO1, improved ROS-scavenging efficiency, and total suppression of HG-related GS and OS. Interestingly, RSV failed to induce effective response to HG cytotoxicity when EX527 was present, thus suggesting that the upregulation of SIRT1 is essential for RSV to activate the major antiglycative and antioxidative defense and avoid MG- and ROS-dependent molecular damages in HG environment.
Comparative Antibiofilm Efficacy of Meropenem Alone and in Combination with Colistin in an In Vitro Pharmacodynamic Model by Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae

We compared the efficacies of meropenem alone and in combination with colistin against two strains of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, using an in vitro pharmacodynamic model that mimicked two different biofilm conditions. Meropenem monotherapy achieved remarkable efficacy (even a bactericidal effect) under all conditions, whereas colistin was almost inactive and resistance emerged. ABSTRACT We compared the efficacies of meropenem alone and in combination with colistin against two strains of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, using an in vitro pharmacodynamic model that mimicked two different biofilm conditions. Meropenem monotherapy achieved remarkable efficacy (even a bactericidal effect) under all conditions, whereas colistin was almost inactive and resistance emerged. The addition of colistin to meropenem produced no relevant benefits, in contrast to experiences with other microorganisms.