Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RopGEF1 Plays a Critical Role in Polar Auxin Transport in Early Development1[OPEN]

The Arabidopsis RopGEF1 is important for the localization of auxin influx carrier AUX1 and accumulation of efflux carrier PIN proteins, thereby affecting auxin-dependent growth and development. Polar auxin transport, facilitated by the combined activities of auxin influx and efflux carriers to maintain asymmetric auxin distribution, is essential for plant growth and development. Here, we show that Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) RopGEF1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor and activator of Rho GTPases of plants (ROPs), is critically involved in polar distribution of auxin influx carrier AUX1 and differential accumulation of efflux carriers PIN7 and PIN2 and is important for embryo and early seedling development when RopGEF1 is prevalently expressed. Knockdown or knockout of RopGEF1 induces embryo defects, cotyledon vein breaks, and delayed root gravity responses. Altered expression from the auxin response reporter DR5rev:GFP in the root pole of RopGEF1-deficient embryos and loss of asymmetric distribution of DR5rev:GFP in their gravistimulated root tips suggest that auxin distribution is affected in ropgef1 mutants. This is reflected by the polarity of AUX1 being altered in ropgef1 embryos and roots, shifting from the normal apical membrane location to a basal location in embryo central vascular and root protophloem cells and also reduced PIN7 accumulation at embryos and altered PIN2 distribution in gravistimulated roots of mutant seedlings. In establishing that RopGEF1 is critical for AUX1 localization and PIN differential accumulation, our results reveal a role for RopGEF1 in cell polarity and polar auxin transport whereby it imapcts auxin-mediated plant growth and development.
[Vitamin D Insufficiency in a Hospital Population: A Photograph from the Laboratory Perspective].

INTRODUCTION Although vitamin D deficiency is increasingly recognized around the world, there are few studies on the Portuguese reality. This study aims to analyse vitamin D levels in the assays performed in our hospital and their relationship with age, genre, requesting specialty and moment of sample collection. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cross-sectional study of measurements of 25(HO)D performed in our Hospital between June 2012 and November 2014. Included variables: gender, age, requesting specialty, month of sample collection. Vitamin D status classified as: 'Deficiency' (≤ 20 ng/mL), 'Insufficiency' (21 - 29 ng/ml) and 'Sufficiency' (≥ 30 ng/mL). RESULTS We included 5 439 assays; 55.0% from women; the median age was 64.0 years. Sixty per cent had 'Deficiency', 20.7% 'Insufficiency' and 18.9% 'Sufficiency'. We found a negative correlation between age and vitamin D level (p < 0.001). We didn't find differences in vitamin D levels between genres. Nine specialties requested 98% of the assays, namely Nephrology (56.2%). We found differences between specialties based on age and vitamin D level (p < 0.001). Vitamin D levels changed throughout the year, with higher levels in the summer, followed by autumn, spring and winter (p < 0.001). Despite this seasonal fluctuation, vitamin D sufficiency was only present in a minority of assays (27.8% in summer and 9.2% in winter). DISCUSSION Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in this population, affects individuals of all ages and is not offset by the seasonal variation of sunlight. CONCLUSION Vitamin D deficiency is a real and prevalent problem in our population that needs further attention and action, given its clinical implications.
X-Shaped α-FeOOH with Enhanced Charge Separation for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting.

Photocatalytic overall water splitting (POWS) is a promising route for converting solar energy into green and sustainable energy. Herein, we report a facile hydrothermal approach for the fabrication of x-shaped α-FeOOH photocatalysts containing high-index facets for POWS. The x-shaped α-FeOOH photocatalysts exhibited enhanced visible-light-driven POWS activities in comparison with that of FeOOH without x-structures, with a maximum H2 and O2 evolution rate of 9.2 and 4.7 μmol h-1 g-1 , respectively. The morphology and particle size of the α-FeOOH could be controlled by adjusting the NH4 F concentration in the precursors. The photodeposition of Pt and RuO2 on the x-shaped α-FeOOH revealed the specially separated reduction and oxidation centers on the surface of α-FeOOH, with the oxidation-active sites selectively located on the edges of the α-FeOOH x-structures. Electrochemical experiments further affirmed the enhanced charge separation in the x-shaped α-FeOOH. The smaller particle size and unique x-shape of the α-FeOOH photocatalyst were shown to enhance the POWS performance owing to the large specific surface area, high proportion of exposed high-index facets, high electron-transfer efficiency and effective separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The current study revealed that the x-shaped α-FeOOH products could serve as cost-effective and stable photocatalysts for POWS.
A go-to-market strategy for green extration and impregnation

IX Resumo XI List of Figures XVII List of Tables XIX List of acronyms and abbreviations XXI 1.Executive Summary 1 2.Technology 5 2.1. Description of the technology 5 2.1.1. Supercritical fluids 5 2.1.2. Carbon dioxide 6 2.1.3. Polymers 7 2.1.4 Conventional impregnation processes 7 2.1. 5. Summary of the main advantages of GEI 8 2.2. Possible applications 9 2.2.1.Market analysis of medical pacifier and dental prostheses that dispense medicine . 16 3.Market pain: The value preposition of GEI dental 17 4.Proof GEI dental concept 21 4.1. Extraction Tests 22 4.2. Impregnation Tests 23 4.3. Conclusion 24 4.4. GEI dental components 25 5.Market Analysis 29 5.1.Market Outlook 29 5.1.1.Potential Market Dimension 29 5.1.1. 1. The United Kingdom case 30 5.1.1.2. Dental prosthesis users 32 5.1.1.3. Number of dental laboratories 33 5.1.1.4. Portugal’s Case 34 5.1.2.The STP Process 35
KISE : A HIGH PERFORMANCE FPGA-BASED SORTING ACCELERATOR WITH A DATA COMPRESSION

Sorting is an extremely important computation kernel that has been accelerated in a lot of fields such as databases, image processing, and genome analysis. Given that advent of Internet of Things (IoT) era due to mobile technology progressions, the future needs a sorting method that is available on any environment, such as not only high performance systems like servers but also low computational performance machines like embedded systems. In this paper, we present an FPGA-based sorting accelerator combining Sorting Network and Merge Sorter Tree, which is customizable by means of tuning design parameters. The proposed FPGA accelerator sorts data sent from a host PC via the PCIe bus, and sends back the fully sorted data sequence to it. We also present a detailed analytical model that accurately estimates the sorting performance. Due to these characteristics, designers can know how fast a developed sorting hardware is in advance and can implement the best one to fulfill the cost and performance constraints. Our experiments show that the proposed hardware achieves up to 19.5x sorting performance, compared with Intel Core i7-3770K operating at 3.50GHz, when sorting 256M 32-bits integer elements. However, this result is limited because of insufficient memory bandwidth. To overcome this problem, we propose a data compression mechanism and the experimental result shows that the sorting hardware with it achieves almost 90% of the estimated performance, while the hardware without it does about 60%. In order to allow every designer to easily and freely use this accelerator, the RTL source code is released as open-source hardware. key words: sorting, hardware accelerator, data compression, open source
Strains in an Inflated Rubber Sheet, and the Mechanism of Bursting

Abstract The two principal strains in a circular sheet of rubber clamped round its circumference and inflated are measured at all points on the surface of the spheroidal balloon thus formed. The principal strains may show relatively-large variations over an area in which the form is nearly spherical and the thickness is approximately constant. The reasons for this, and for certain other effects brought out in the experiments, are discussed. In experiments on the bursting of sheets of various rubbers (natural and synthetic), there appeared to be a general relation between the hardness at the instant of breaking and the number and regularity of the radial tears. From the strain measurements it is concluded that these radial tears are not caused by the relatively slight radial orientation of the molecules in the sheet. A detailed mechanism of bursting is suggested, in which the radial tears are compared with the radial cracks associated with glass fractures.
Regulatory role of the RstB‐RstA system in adhesion, biofilm production, motility, and hemolysis

For infection, initial invasion of the host is of great importance, with adhesion playing a critical role. We previously demonstrated rstA and rstB are remarkably downregulated in Vibrio alginolyticus cultured under heavy metal and acidic stresses, with impaired adhesion, suggesting that rstA and rstB might be involved in adhesion regulation. The present study showed that rstA and rstB silencing resulted in impaired adhesion, biofilm production, motility, hemolysis, and virulence. Meanwhile, changes of temperature, starvation, and pH remarkably affected rstA and rstB expression. These findings indicated that (1) rstA and rstB are critical regulators of adhesion in V. alginolyticus; (2) rstA and rstB have remarkable effects on biofilm production, motility, hemolysis, and virulence in V. alginolyticus; (3) rstA and rstB modulate adhesion in response to environmental changes of temperature, pH, and starvation.
Bonsai in the Fog: An active learning lab with Fog computing

As for every new technological trend, education of new scientists and engineers will be instrumental in shaping the implementation of the Fog architecture, including software development. In this paper, we describe a 2-hour hands-on lab activity that we designed and run during an M.Sc. course at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Pisa, Italy. The proposed activity is designed to practically (and incrementally) show different deployment models for IoT applications — viz., IoT+Edge, IoT+Cloud and Fog — over a meaningful yet simple application example. In addition to featuring a quick learning curve and limited cost, the proposed activity shows some possible extensions to design other lab sessions.
Using Multivariable Mendelian Randomization to Disentangle the Causal Effects of Lipid Fractions

Background Previous Mendelian randomization studies have suggested that, while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and triglycerides are causally implicated in coronary artery disease (CAD) risk, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) may not be, with causal effect estimates compatible with the null. Principal Findings The causal effects of these three lipid fractions can be better identified using the extended methods of ‘multivariable Mendelian randomization’. We employ this approach using published data on 185 lipid-related genetic variants and their associations with lipid fractions in 188,578 participants, and with CAD risk in 22,233 cases and 64,762 controls. Our results suggest that HDL-c may be causally protective of CAD risk, independently of the effects of LDL-c and triglycerides. Estimated causal odds ratios per standard deviation increase, based on 162 variants not having pleiotropic associations with either blood pressure or body mass index, are 1.57 (95% credible interval 1.45 to 1.70) for LDL-c, 0.91 (0.83 to 0.99, p-value = 0.028) for HDL-c, and 1.29 (1.16 to 1.43) for triglycerides. Significance Some interventions on HDL-c concentrations may influence risk of CAD, but to a lesser extent than interventions on LDL-c. A causal interpretation of these estimates relies on the assumption that the genetic variants do not have pleiotropic associations with risk factors on other pathways to CAD. If they do, a weaker conclusion is that genetic predictors of LDL-c, HDL-c and triglycerides each have independent associations with CAD risk.
Brain Mapping of the Latency Epochs in a McGurk Effect Paradigm in Music Performance and Visual Arts Majors

Brain Mapping of the Latency Epochs in a McGurk Effect Paradigm in Music Performance and Visual Arts Majors Lauren Donelle Nordstrom Department of Communication Disorders, BYU Master of Science The McGurk effect is an illusion that occurs when an auditory /ba/ is combined with a visual /ga/. The two stimuli fuse together which leads to the perception of /da/, a sound in between /ba/ and /ga/. The purpose of this study was to determine whether music performance and visual arts majors process mismatched auditory and visual stimuli, like the McGurk effect, differently. Nine syllable pairs were presented to 10 native English speakers (5 music performance majors and 5 visual arts majors between the ages of 18 and 28 years) in a fourforced-choice response paradigm. Data from event-related potentials were recorded for each participant. Results demonstrate that there are differences in the electrophysiological responses to viewing the mismatched syllable pairs. The /ga/ phoneme in the music performance group produced more differences while the /da/ phoneme produced more differences in the visual arts group. The McGurk effect is processed differently in the music performance majors and the visual arts majors; processing begins in the earliest latency epoch in the visual arts group but in the late latency epoch in the music performance group. These results imply that the music performance group has a more complex decoding system than the visual arts group. It also may suggest that the visual arts group is better able to integrate the visual and auditory information to resolve the conflict when mismatched signals are presented.
Liver kinase B1 suppresses growth of lung cancer cells through sonic hedgehog signaling pathway

Lung cancer is one of life‐threatening cancers in the worldwide. Liver kinase B1 (LKB1) has been reported to be closely related to cancers; however, the underlying mechanism of LKB1 in lung cancer remains unclear. In our study, a LKB1 specific shRNA was employed to down‐regulate LKB1 levels and a LKB1 over‐expression plasmid was constructed to up‐regulate LKB1 levels. Thereafter, growth of lung cancer cells was assessed by MTT assay and flow cytometry. Effects of LKB1 on the activation of sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway were detected by Western blot. Effects of LKB1 on lung cancer growth and Shh signaling pathway activation were also assessed in vivo. Our results showed that LKB1 inhibited proliferation of lung cancer cells and induced their apoptosis. Moreover, LKB1 inhibited Shh signaling pathway activation. Our in vivo study also showed that LKB1 inhibited lung cancer growth in vivo and modulated Shh signaling pathway. Treatment with cyclopamine, a Shh signaling pathway inhibitor, reversed the effects of LKB1 silencing and enhanced the effects of LKB1 over‐expression. Results of our study demonstrate that LKB1 inhibits lung cancer growth in vitro and in vivo through Shh signaling pathway.
Oncotargets and Therapy Dovepress Prognostic Role of Pretreatment Serum Albumin in Renal Cell Carcinoma: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms Abstract: Recently, many studies have shown that pretreatment serum albumin can be closely linked to the prognosis of cancer patients, including those with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, not all studies have reached the same conclusion. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment serum albumin in RCC patients. A total of 17 studies involving 6,447 patients were included in our meta-analysis. Our results indicated that a lower pretreatment serum albumin level yielded a worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]=2.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.92–3.13), cancer-specific survival (HR=2.22, 95% CI 1.87–2.64), and relapse-free survival/progression-free survival (HR=1.75, 95% CI 1.28–2.38). Generally, these findings were particularly pronounced when stratified by tumor type, analysis type, cutoff value, and HR-obtaining method. In conclusion, a decreased pretreatment serum albumin level implies a poor prognosis for RCC patients, and can be monitored for risk stratification and individualized treatment in RCC patients.
Design and Evaluation of Empirical Models for Stock Price Prediction

The efficient market hypothesis and related theories claim that it is impossible to predict future stock prices. Even so, empirical research has countered this claim by achieving better than random prediction performance. Using a model built from a combination of text mining and time series prediction, we provide further evidence to counter the efficient market hypothesis. We discuss the difficulties in evaluating such models by investigating the drawbacks of the common choices of evaluation metrics used in these empirical studies. We continue by suggesting alternative techniques to validate stock prediction models, circumventing these shortcomings. Finally, a trading system is built for the Euronext Brussels stock exchange market. In our framework, we applied a novel sentiment mining technique in the design of the model and show the usefulness of state-of-the-art explanation-based techniques to validate the resulting models.
Strengths and challenges in conducting clinical trials in Parkinson's disease mild cognitive impairment

Treatments to slow the progression of cognitive dysfunction to dementia and improve the quality of life of persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) are desperately needed. Because PD mild cognitive impairment is considered a transitional stage before dementia, it opens a window to timely intervention. This article critically reviews the strengths and challenges of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic clinical therapeutic trials in PD mild cognitive impairment conducted during the past 5 years, including ongoing trials. Relatively few high‐quality trials have been conducted, and some important factors in designing future clinical trials are discussed. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
[Epidemiological surveillance for multidrug-resistant microorganisms in a general ICU].

OBJECTIVE Multidrug resistant (MDR) microorganisms represent a threat for patients admitted in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The objective of the present study is to analyse the results of epidemiological surveillance cultures for these microorganisms in one of these units. METHODS General ICU. Retrospective analysis, descriptive statistics. Analysis of epidemiological surveillance cultures for MDR microorganisms in 2015. Studied microorganisms: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), ESBL-and/or carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CESBL-KP) and MDR Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB). RESULTS One thousand, two hundred and fifty nine patients admitted. A total of 2,234 specimens from 384 patients were analysed (690, 634, 62 and 286 were rectal, throat, nasal and skin swabs respectively). Global APACHE II was 18.3 ± 8 versus 21.7 ± 7.8 in patients colonized/infected on admission. Global mortality was 19.7% versus 22.3% in patients colonized/infected on admission. The higher sensitivities achieved with the different samples for the different microorganism detection were as follows. MRSA: 79% and 90% for nasal and nasal + throat swabs, respectively. MDRAB: 80% and 95% for throat and throat + rectal swabs, respectively. CESBL-KP: 95% and 98% for rectal and rectal + throat swabs, respectively. 94 out of the 384 patients (24.4%) were colonized/infected with MDR at admission. 134 patients (10.6% of the total patients admitted) were colonized/infected with a total of 169 MMR during the hospital stay. MRSA has the earliest colonization/infection (9.2 ± 6.4days) and ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, the latest (18.7± 16.4 days). CONCLUSIONS 24.4% of patients were colonized/infected by MDR at admission. Nasal, throat and rectal swabs were the most effective specimens for recovering MRSA, MDRAB and CESBL-KP, respectively. The combination of two specimens improves MDR detection except for CESBL-KP. Skin swabs are worthless. The most prevalent MDR at admission were ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae while the most frequent hospital acquired MDR was MDRAB.
The impact of post-radioiodine therapy SPECT/CT on early risk stratification in differentiated thyroid cancer; a bi-institutional study

Objective SPECT/CT has numerous advantages over planar and traditional SPECT images. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of post-radioiodine therapy SPECT/CT of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) in early risk classification and in prediction of late prognosis. Patients and methods 323 consecutive patients were investigated after their first radioiodine treatment (1100–3700 MBq). Both whole body scan and SPECT/CT images of the head, neck, chest and abdomen regions were taken 4–6 days after radioiodine therapy. Patients were re-evaluated 9–12 months later as well as at the end of follow up (median 37 months). Results Post-radioiodine therapy SPECT/CT showed metastases in 22% of patients. Lymph node, lung and bone metastases were detected in 61, 13 and 5 patients, respectively, resulting in early reclassification of 115 cases (36%). No evidence of disease was found in 251 cases at 9–12 months after radioiodine treatment and 269 patients at the end of follow-up. To predict residual disease at the end of follow-up, the sensitivities, specificities and diagnostic accuracies of the current risk classification systems and SPECT/CT were: ATA: 77%, 47% and 53%; ETA: 70%, 62% and 64%; SPECT/CT: 61%, 88% and 83%, respectively. There was no difference between cohorts of the two institutions when data were analyzed separately. Conclusions Based on our bi-institutional experience, the accuracy of post-radioiodine SPECT/CT outweighs that of the currently used ATA and ETA risk classification systems in the prediction of long-term outcome of DTC.
Peri-implant diseases.

UNLABELLED Peri-implant diseases are inflammatory conditions that affect the soft and hard supporting tissues around implant fixtures. Peri-implant mucositis usually responds to oral hygiene instructions, scaling and prophylaxis, but peri-implantitis, which involves bone resorption, has less predictable treatment outcomes following non-surgical management. Adjunctive treatment for decontaminating sites may include the use of antimicrobials and resistant cases may sometimes be managed with a surgical approach. CLINICAL RELEVANCE As dental implant-retained prostheses become more popular the prevalence of peri-implant complications will also increase. Dental practitioners and care professionals should appreciate their potential roles in the management of these conditions.