Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paramagnetic Functionalization of Biocompatible Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications: A Perspective

The burst of research papers focused on the tissue engineering and regeneration recorded in the last years is justified by the increased skills in the synthesis of nanostructures able to confer peculiar biological and mechanical features to the matrix where they are dispersed. Inorganic, organic and hybrid nanostructures are proposed in the literature depending on the characteristic that has to be tuned and on the effect that has to be induced. In the field of the inorganic nanoparticles used for decorating the bio-scaffolds, the most recent contributions about the paramagnetic and superparamagnetic nanoparticles use was evaluated in the present contribution. The intrinsic properties of the paramagnetic nanoparticles, the possibility to be triggered by the simple application of an external magnetic field, their biocompatibility and the easiness of the synthetic procedures for obtaining them proposed these nanostructures as ideal candidates for positively enhancing the tissue regeneration. Herein, we divided the discussion into two macro-topics: the use of magnetic nanoparticles in scaffolds used for hard tissue engineering for soft tissue regeneration.
rTMS modulates precuneus-hippocampal subregion circuit in patients with subjective cognitive decline

Hippocampal subregions (HIPsub) and their network connectivities are generally aberrant in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). This study aimed to investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could ameliorate HIPsub network connectivity by modulating one node of HIPsub network in SCD. In the first cohort, the functional connectivity (FC) of three HIPsub (i.e., hippocampal emotional, cognitive, and perceptual regions: HIPe, HIPc, and HIPp) were analyzed so as to identify alterations in HIPsub connectivity associated with SCD. Afterwards, a support vector machine (SVM) approach was applied using the alterations in order to evaluate to what extent we could distinguish SCD from healthy controls (CN). In the second cohort, a 2-week rTMS course of 5-day, once-daily, was used to activate the altered HIPsub network connectivity in a sham-controlled design. SCD subjects exhibited distinct patterns alterations of HIPsub network connectivity compared to CN in the first cohort. SVM classifier indicated that the abnormalities had a high power to discriminate SCD from CN, with 92.9% area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), 86.0% accuracy, 83.8% sensitivity and 89.1% specificity. In the second cohort, changes of HIPc connectivity with the left parahippocampal gyrus and HIPp connectivity with the left middle temporal gyrus demonstrated an amelioration of episodic memory in SCD after rTMS. In addition, SCD exhibited improved episodic memory after the rTMS course. rTMS therapy could improve the posterior hippocampus connectivity by modulating the precuneus in SCD. Simultaneous correction of the breakdown in HIPc and HIPp could ameliorate episodic memory in SCD. Thus, these findings suggested that rTMS manipulation of precuneus-hippocampal circuit might prevent disease progression by improving memory as the earliest at-risk state of Alzheimer’s disease in clinical trials and in practice.
6DoF Pose Estimation of Transparent Object from a Single RGB-D Image

6DoF object pose estimation is a foundation for many important applications, such as robotic grasping, automatic driving, and so on. However, it is very challenging to estimate 6DoF pose of transparent object which is commonly seen in our daily life, because the optical characteristics of transparent material lead to significant depth error which results in false estimation. To solve this problem, a two-stage approach is proposed to estimate 6DoF pose of transparent object from a single RGB-D image. In the first stage, the influence of the depth error is eliminated by transparent segmentation, surface normal recovering, and RANSAC plane estimation. In the second stage, an extended point-cloud representation is presented to accurately and efficiently estimate object pose. As far as we know, it is the first deep learning based approach which focuses on 6DoF pose estimation of transparent objects from a single RGB-D image. Experimental results show that the proposed approach can effectively estimate 6DoF pose of transparent object, and it out-performs the state-of-the-art baselines by a large margin.
Endoscopic Ultrasonography Findings of Early and Suspected Early Chronic Pancreatitis

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is associated with a risk of pancreatic cancer and is characterized by irreversible morphological changes, fibrosis, calcification, and exocrine and endocrine insufficiency. CP is a progressive disease with a poor prognosis and is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage. The Japan Pancreas Society proposed criteria for early CP in 2009, and their usefulness has been reported. Recently, a mechanism definition was proposed by the International Consensus Guidelines and early CP was defined as a disease state that is not based on disease duration. CP is diagnosed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and endoscopic cholangiopancreatography, which can detect calcification and dilation of the pancreatic ducts; however, detecting early CP with these modalities is difficult because subtle changes in early CP occur before established CP or end-stage CP. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is useful in the diagnosis of early CP because it allows high-resolution, close-up observation of the pancreas. In addition to imaging findings, EUS with elastography enables measurement of the stiffness of the pancreas, an objective diagnostic measure. Understanding the EUS findings of early CP is important because a histological diagnosis is problematic, and other modalities are not capable of detecting subtle changes in early CP.
New Service Virtualisation Approach to Generate the Categorical Fields in the Service Response

Software services communicate with different requisite services over the computer network to accomplish their tasks. The requisite services may not be readily available to test a specific service. Thus, service virtualisation has been proposed as an industry solution to ensure availability of the interactive behaviour of the requisite services. However, the existing techniques of virtualisation cannot satisfy the required accuracy or time constraints to keep up with the competitive business world. These constraints sacrifices quality and testing coverage, thereby delaying the delivery of software. We proposed a novel technique to improve the accuracy of the existing service virtualisation solutions without sacrificing time. This method generates the service response and predicts categorical fields in virtualised responses, extending existing research with lower complexity and higher accuracy. The proposed service virtualisation approach uses conditional entropy to identify the fields that can be used to drive the value of each categorical field based on the historical messages. Then, it uses joint probability distribution to find the best values for the categorical fields. The experimental evaluation illustrates that the proposed approach can generate responses with the required fields and accurate values for categorical fields over four data sets with stateful nature.
Improved adhesion property and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of electroless Cu‐plated layer on poly(ethylene terephthalate) by plasma treatment

To develop high-quality electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials, the effect of plasma pretreatment with various gases prior to Cu plating was investigated. Plasma treatment increased the surface roughness in the decreasing order of Ar > O2 > NH3, but adhesion of the Cu layer on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film increased in the following order of O2 < Ar < NH3, indicating that the appropriate surface roughness and introduction of an affinitive functional group to Pd on the surface of the PET film were key factors for improving adhesion of the Cu layer. As investigated by XPS analysis, plasma treatment with NH3 produced N atoms on the PET film, which enhances the chemisorption of Pd2+ on PET film, resulting in improved adhesion and shielding effectiveness of the Cu layer deposited on the Pd-catalyzed surface, because of the high affinity of Pd2+ for nitrogen. Comparatively, O2 plasma treatment allowed the chemisorption of more Sn2+ than of Pd2+ due to a lack in the affinity of Pd2+ for oxygen, resulting in the lowest Pd3d/Sn3d ratio; thereby, the lowest EMI–shielding effectiveness (SE) value was obtained. In addition, fairly low adhesion was obtained with Ar plasma-treated PET, even though the PET surface was significantly etched with Ar plasma, due to introduced oxygen groups on the PET surface. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 1369–1379, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10272
Association between brain morphometry and aerobic fitness level and sex in healthy emerging adults

Objective Aerobic fitness may be beneficial for neuroanatomical structure. However, few have investigated this in emerging adults while also accounting for potential sex differences. Here we examine aerobic fitness level, sex, and their interaction in relation to cortical thickness, surface area, and volume. Method Sixty-three young adults between the ages of 16–26 were balanced for sex and demonstrated a wide range of aerobic fitness levels. Exclusion criteria included left-handedness, past-year independent Axis-I disorders, major medical/neurologic disorders, prenatal medical issues, prenatal alcohol/illicit drug exposure, or excessive substance use. Participants completed an MRI scan and a graded exercise test to volitional fatigue (VO2 max). Data analyses were run in Freesurfer and data was corrected for multiple comparisons with Monte Carlo simulations at . 05. Results Males demonstrated higher VO2 values. Higher VO2 values were statistically independently related to thinner lateral occipital, superior parietal, cuneus, precuneus, and inferior parietal regions, smaller lateral occipital volume, and larger inferior parietal surface area. Compared to females, males had larger volume in rostral anterior cingulate, lateral occipital, and superior frontal regions, and greater surface area in fusiform, inferior parietal, rostral and caudal anterior cingulate, and superior parietal regions. VO2*Sex interactions revealed higher-fit females had higher inferior parietal, paracentral, and supramarginal surface area, while lower-fit males showed larger surface area in these same regions. Conclusions Individuals with higher aerobic fitness performance had thinner cortices, lower volume, and larger surface area in sensorimotor regions than lower fit individuals, perhaps suggesting earlier neuromaturation in higher fit individuals. Larger surface area was associated with higher-fit females and lower-fit males. Thus both sex and aerobic fitness are important in shaping brain health in emerging adults.
Level and Determinants of Adherence to COVID-19 Preventive Measures in the First Stage of the Outbreak in Uganda

We conducted an online survey in the first two months of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in Uganda to assess the level and determinants of adherence to and satisfaction with the COVID-19 preventive measures recommended by the government. We generated Likert scales for adherence and satisfaction outcome variables and measured them with four preventive measures, including handwashing, wearing face masks, physical distancing, and coughing/sneezing hygiene. Of 1726 respondents (mean age: 36 years; range: 12–72), 59% were males, 495 (29%) were adherent to, and 545 (32%) were extremely satisfied with all four preventive measures. Adherence to all four measures was associated with living in Kampala City Centre (AOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1–2.6) and receiving COVID-19 information from health workers (AOR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.01–1.5) or village leaders (AOR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.02–1.9). Persons who lived with younger siblings had reduced odds of adherence to all four measures (AOR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.61–0.93). Extreme satisfaction with all four measures was associated with being female (AOR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1–1.6) and health worker (AOR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0–1.5). Experiencing violence at home (AOR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.09–0.67) was associated with lower satisfaction. Following reported poor adherence and satisfaction with preventive measures, behavior change programs using health workers should be expanded throughout, with emphasis on men.
Evolution of gold nanoparticles through Catalan, Archimedean, and Platonic solids

This paper reports the transformation of rhombic dodecahedral gold nanoparticles through two different pathways depending on the water content. The gold nanoparticles were prepared by reducing HAuCl4 with N,N-dimethylforamide in the presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and water. Not only the concentration of PVP but also the water content has a critical role in determining the shape transformation of the gold nanocrystals. At low water content the rhombic dodecahedron is transformed into a rhombicuboctahedron to a truncated octahedron and then to an octahedron, while at higher water content the rhombic dodecahedron is transformed into a rhombicuboctahedron and then to a cube or a truncated cube and then to a cuboctahedron and to a truncated octahedron. In addition, we demonstrated cell imaging by using the truncated octahedral, rhombic dodecahedral and octahedral gold nanoparticles as a contrast agent.
Inhibition of Serum Response Factor Improves Response to Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer

Simple Summary Despite the improvement in the treatment options for prostate cancer patients, we still lack effective treatments when the cancer has spread outside the prostate. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new therapies that will work better in this setting. Our study has identified one central factor, the serum response factor (SRF), which controls many genes associated with prostate cancer development. We have shown that an SRF inhibitor can stop the cancer cells from dividing and surviving. When this inhibitor is used in combination with current treatments, these are more effective in killing cancer cells. We also confirmed the relevance of SRF to patients by looking at its abundance in prostate cancer tissues from patients. We showed that patients who did not respond to current treatments had significantly higher levels of SRF. We are currently investigating SRF inhibitor mechanisms and hope that these drugs will soon be available to patients. Abstract Castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is challenging to treat with the androgen receptor (AR), the main target and key focus of resistance. Understanding the mechanisms of AR interaction with co-regulators will identify new therapeutic targets to overcome AR resistance mechanisms. We previously identified the serum response factor (SRF) as a lead target in an in vitro model of CRPC and showed that SRF expression in tissues of CRPC patients was associated with shorter survival. Here, we tested SRF inhibition in vitro and in vivo to assess SRF as a potential target in CRPC. Inhibition of SRF with the small-molecule inhibitor CCG1423 resulted in enhanced response to enzalutamide in vitro and reduced tumour volume of LuCaP 35CR, a CRPC patient-derived xenograft model. Nuclear localisation of AR post-CCG1423 was significantly decreased and was associated with decreased α-tubulin acetylation in vitro and decreased prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in vivo. SRF immunoreactivity was tested in metastatic tissues from CRPC patients to investigate its role in enzalutamide response. Kaplan–Meier curves showed that high SRF expression was associated with shorter response to enzalutamide. Our study supports the use of SRF inhibitors to improve response to enzalutamide.
Polydimethylsiloxane Elastomers Filled with Rod-Like α-MnO2 Nanoparticles: An Interplay of Structure and Electrorheological Performance

For the first time, electroactive nanocomposite elastomers based on polydimethylsiloxane and filled with rod-like α-MnO2 nanoparticles have been obtained. The curing of the filled elastomer in an electric field, resulting in the ordering of the α-MnO2 particles, had a significant effect on the degree of polymer crosslinking, as well as on the electrorheological characteristics of the nanocomposites obtained through this process, namely the values of the storage and loss moduli. The dielectric spectra of filled elastomers in the frequency range 25–106 Hz were analysed in terms of interfacial relaxation processes. It has been shown, for the first time, that the application of an electric field leads to a decrease in the value of the Payne effect in composite elastomers. Analysis of the rheological effect in the obtained materials has demonstrated the possibility of designing highly efficient electrorheological elastomers that change their elastic properties by 4.3 times in electric fields of up to 2 kV/mm.
Role of Graphene in Constructing Multilayer Plasmonic SERS Substrate with Graphene/AgNPs as Chemical Mechanism—Electromagnetic Mechanism Unit

Graphene–metal substrates have received widespread attention due to their superior surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance. The strong coupling between graphene and metal particles can greatly improve the SERS performance and thus broaden the application fields. The way in which to make full use of the synergistic effect of the hybrid is still a key issue to improve SERS activity and stability. Here, we used graphene as a chemical mechanism (CM) layer and Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) as an electromagnetic mechanism (EM) layer, forming a CM–EM unit and constructing a multi-layer hybrid structure as a SERS substrate. The improved SERS performance of the multilayer nanostructure was investigated experimentally and in theory. We demonstrated that the Raman enhancement effect increased as the number of CM–EM units increased, remaining nearly unchanged when the CM–EM unit was more than four. The limit of detection was down to 10−14 M for rhodamine 6G (R6G) and 10−12 M for crystal violet (CV), which confirmed the ultrahigh sensitivity of the multilayer SERS substrate. Furthermore, we investigated the reproducibility and thermal stability of the proposed multilayer SERS substrate. On the basis of these promising results, the development of new materials and novel methods for high performance sensing and biosensing applications will be promoted.
Towards capability-adjusted life years in public health and social welfare: Results from a Swedish survey on ranking capabilities

Introduction The aim of this study was to rank capabilities and suggest a relevant set of capabilities for the Swedish context to inform the development of capability-adjusted life years (CALYs). CALYs is a quality of life measure for policy making based on the capability approach by Amartya Sen. Materials and methods A Swedish governmental review proposed the following 10 relevant capabilities: time, financial situation, mental/physical health, political resources, knowledge, living environment, occupation, social relations, security, and housing. Researchers in health-related disciplines from 5 universities ranked these capabilities from 1 to 10 (most to least important) in a web-based cross-sectional survey; 115 of 171 responses were eligible. Results Health, social relations, and financial situation were deemed most important. Stratification by gender, research field, and age group revealed few differences. We found that it was possible to rank capabilities and that health, social relations, and financial situation were ranked highest by a non-representative sample of researchers and doctoral students from health-related disciplines at five Swedish universities. Conclusions The revealed ranking is dependent on the metric and must be further explored. The findings support continued development of CALYs for monitoring and evaluating outcomes in public health and social-welfare interventions.
Natural history study of glycan accumulation in large animal models of GM2 gangliosidoses

β-hexosaminidase is an enzyme responsible for the degradation of gangliosides, glycans, and other glycoconjugates containing β-linked hexosamines that enter the lysosome. GM2 gangliosidoses, such as Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff, are lysosomal storage disorders characterized by β-hexosaminidase deficiency and subsequent lysosomal accumulation of its substrate metabolites. These two diseases result in neurodegeneration and early mortality in children. A significant difference between these two disorders is the accumulation in Sandhoff disease of soluble oligosaccharide metabolites that derive from N- and O-linked glycans. In this paper we describe our results from a longitudinal biochemical study of a feline model of Sandhoff disease and an ovine model of Tay-Sachs disease to investigate the accumulation of GM2/GA2 gangliosides, a secondary biomarker for phospholipidosis, bis-(monoacylglycero)-phosphate, and soluble glycan metabolites in both tissue and fluid samples from both animal models. While both Sandhoff cats and Tay-Sachs sheep accumulated significant amounts of GM2 and GA2 gangliosides compared to age-matched unaffected controls, the Sandhoff cats having the more severe disease, accumulated larger amounts of gangliosides compared to Tay-Sachs sheep in their occipital lobes. For monitoring glycan metabolites, we developed a quantitative LC/MS assay for one of these free glycans in order to perform longitudinal analysis. The Sandhoff cats showed significant disease-related increases in this glycan in brain and in other matrices including urine which may provide a useful clinical tool for measuring disease severity and therapeutic efficacy. Finally, we observed age-dependent increasing accumulation for a number of analytes, especially in Sandhoff cats where glycosphingolipid, phospholipid, and glycan levels showed incremental increases at later time points without signs of peaking. This large animal natural history study for Sandhoff and Tay-Sachs is the first of its kind, providing insight into disease progression at the biochemical level. This report may help in the development and testing of new therapies to treat these disorders.