Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psoriatic arthritis and hypopyon-iridocyclitis. Possible mechanism of the association of psoriasis and anterior uveitis.

BACKGROUND We present a 32-year-old Japanese man with psoriatic arthritis who developed recurrent episodes of hypopyon-iridocyclitis associated with exacerbations of the arthropathy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the mechanism of the association between psoriasis and uveitis, we analyzed the rheological characteristics of the patient's peripheral blood neutrophils during attacks and during remissions. METHODS The rheological activity of neutrophils was determined by the micropore filtration method. It was expressed as micropore filtration time when a neutrophil-erythrocyte suspension passes through a micropore filter (pore size 5 microns). RESULTS The micropore filtration time in this patient was longer than that of healthy control subjects (p < 0.01) and of psoriatic patients without uveitis (p < 0.05); it was also longer during the appearance of the eye disorder with the exacerbation of psoriatic arthritis than during remissions. CONCLUSIONS Activated neutrophils in the peripheral blood of our patient were probably responsible for the attacks of hypopyon-iridocyclitis as well as the exacerbation of psoriatic skin lesions and/or arthritis.
New complete mitochondrial genome of the Perccottus glenii (Perciformes, Odontobutidae): additional non-coding region

Abstract Perccottus glenii is a species of freshwater sleeper native to the Russian Far East, north-eastern China, and the northern part of the Korean Penninsula with introduced populations in other regions of Eurasia. In this study, a new complete mitochondrial genome of Perccottus glenii was reported. The circular genome is 16,510 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 1 control region. Except the origin of the light strand replication (OL), an additional non-coding region was present between ND6 and tRNA-Glu in the Light strand. The overall nucleotide composition was 30.5% A, 29.2% T, 24.4% C and 15.9% G, with an A + T bias of 59.7%. The gene composition and the structural arrangement of the P. glenii complete mtDNA were identical to most of the other vertebrates. The molecular data here we presented could play a useful role to study the evolutionary relationships and population genetics of Odontobutidae fish.
The human nucleophosmin 1 mutation A inhibits myeloid differentiation of leukemia cells by modulating miR-10b

Mutations in the nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) gene are the most frequent genetic alteration in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here, we showed that enforced expression of NPM1 mutation type A (NPM1-mA) inhibits myeloid differentiation of leukemia cells, whereas knockdown of NPM1-mA has the opposite effect. Our analyses of normal karyotype AML samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset revealed that miR-10b is commonly overexpressed in NPM1-mutated AMLs. We also found high expression of miR-10b in primary NPM1-mutated AML blasts and NPM1-mA positive OCI-AML3 cells. In addition, NPM1-mA knockdown enhanced myeloid differentiation, while induced expression of miR-10b reversed this effect. Finally, we showed that KLF4 is downregulated in NPM1-mutated AMLs. These results demonstrated that miR-10b exerts its effects by repressing the translation of KLF4 and that NPM1-mA inhibits myeloid differentiation through the miR-10b/KLF4 axis. This sheds new light on the effect of NPM1 mutations' on leukemogenesis.
SCMA-Based Uplink and Downlink Resource Reuse for Clustered mMTC

Massive machine-type communications (mMTC) are expected to play an essential role within future fifth generation (5G) wireless network. To deal with the challenge that a serving cell need to accommodate a massive number of MTC users, user clustering may become a promising scheme. In each cluster, there is a MTC header (MTH) directly connecting with the base station (BS) while MTC users in the cluster connect to the MTH with sparse code multiple access (SCMA). However, because all MTC users work in a distributed way, sometimes more conflicts than expected on each radio resource may occur, leading to high receiving complexity, severer interference and even outage. To tackle the problem, we propose a new method of uplink and downlink resource reuse (UDRR) at MTH under the constraints of BS-MTH downlink capacity. The simulation shows that UDRR can increase the uplink connectivity and improve the block probability effectively.
Immunoendocrine therapy with low-dose subcutaneous interleukin-2 plus melatonin of locally advanced or metastatic endocrine tumors.

Recent evidence has shown that endocrine tumors are under an endocrine and an immune regulation, and that biotherapies with interferon or the long-acting somatostatin analog octreotide may be effective in the control of tumor growth and clinical symptomatology. Within the biotherapies of tumors, interleukin-2(IL-2) has appeared to play an essential role in the antitumor immune response. Despite its important antitumor role, very few studies have been carried out to investigate the possible use of IL-2 in the treatment of advanced endocrine tumors. Its potential toxicity would represent the main limiting factor for the clinical experiments with IL-2. Our previous studies have shown that the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) may amplify the antitumor activity of IL-2, either through immunomodulating mechanisms or through a direct cytostatic activity by inhibiting tumor growth factor production. On this basis, we have performed a phase II pilot study with low-dose IL-2 plus MLT in 14 patients with untreatable endocrine tumors because of disseminated disease, lack of response to previous standard biotherapies or chemotherapies, or tumors for whom no effective therapy is available. Thyroid cancers, carcinoid and endodrine pancreatic tumors were the most frequent neoplasms. IL-2 was given at 3 million IU/day s.c. at 8 p.m. for 6 days/week for 4 weeks, corresponding to one cycle. MLT was given orally at 40 mg/day at 8 p.m. every day. In nonprogressed patients, a second cycle was given after a 21-day rest period. Patients were considered as evaluable when they received at least one complete cycle, and 12 patients were fully evaluable. According to WHO criteria, a partial response was achieved in 3/12 (25%) patients (carcinoid tumor: 1; neuroendocrine lung tumor: 1; pancreatic islet cell tumor: 1). Another patient with gastrinoma had a more than 50% reduction of tumor markers. Toxicity was low in all patients. This preliminary study suggests that low-dose IL-2 immunotherapy in association with the pineal hormone MLT may constitute a new well-tolerated and potentially active therapy of untreatable advanced endocrine tumors.
Emerging trends of nanoparticles application in food technology: Safety paradigms

Nanotechnology has expanded its wings in various spheres of life. It has progressed from first-generation passive nanomaterial to active nanotechnology (e.g., drug delivery) and nanosystems (e.g., robotics). Although nanofood is still in its infancy; however, these particles are now finding application as a carrier of antimicrobial polypeptides required against microbial deterioration of food quality in the food industry. Another challenging area is nanoencapsulation of pesticides that releases the pesticides within the stomach of the insect, thus minimizing contamination of crops and vegetables. The current nanotechnology applications in food science provide the detection of food pathogens, through nanosensors, which are quick, sensitive and less labour-intensive procedures. With the increasing health consciousness among consumers, it is possible to use nanosensors in plastic packaging to detect gases released due to food spoilage. However, it is well known that the nanoparticles equipped with new chemical and physical properties that vary from normal macro particles of the same composition may interact with the living systems thereby causing unexpected toxicity. Limited toxicological/safety assessments have been carried out for a few nanoparticles; hence studies relevant to oral exposure risk assessment are required for particles to be used in food.
Less is more: neural mechanisms underlying anomia treatment in chronic aphasic patients

See Thompson and Woollams (doi:10.1093/brain/awx264) for a scientific commentary on this article. Naming in aphasia can be facilitated by phonemic cueing, both as an immediate retrieval strategy and as a long-term treatment. Nardo et al. report that immediate and long-term facilitation of naming rely on common neural networks, while whole words and partial cues promote naming via different networks.
A Hierarchical Framework Combining Motion and Feature Information for Infrared-Visible Video Registration

In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical framework that combines motion and feature information to implement infrared-visible video registration on nearly planar scenes. In contrast to previous approaches, which involve the direct use of feature matching to find the global homography, the framework adds coarse registration based on the motion vectors of targets to estimate scale and rotation prior to matching. In precise registration based on keypoint matching, the scale and rotation are used in re-location to eliminate their impact on targets and keypoints. To strictly match the keypoints, first, we improve the quality of keypoint matching by using normalized location descriptors and descriptors generated by the histogram of edge orientation. Second, we remove most mismatches by counting the matching directions of correspondences. We tested our framework on a public dataset, where our proposed framework outperformed two recently-proposed state-of-the-art global registration methods in almost all tested videos.
Role of grain boundaries in tailoring electronic properties of polycrystalline graphene by chemical functionalization

Grain boundaries, inevitably present in chemical vapor deposited graphene, are expected to have considerable impact on the development of graphene-based hybrid materials with tailored material properties. We demonstrate here the critical role of polycrystallinity on the chemical functionalization of graphene comparing ozone-induced oxidation with remote plasma hydrogenation. We show that graphene oxidation and hydrogenation occur in two consecutive stages upon increasing defect density: an initial step in which surface-bound functional groups are generated, followed by the creation of vacancies. Remarkably, we find that hydrogenation yields homogeneously distributed defects while ozone-induced defects are preferentially accumulated at the grain boundaries eventually provoking local cracking of the structure. Supported by quantum simulations, our experimental findings reveal distinct electronic transport regimes depending on the density and distribution of induced defects on the polycrystalline graphene films. Our findings highlight the key role played by grain boundaries during graphene functionalization, and at the same time provide a novel perspective to tailor the properties of polycrystalline graphene.
MICROBIAL COMMUNITY PROFILING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM RIVER WATERS AND SHALLOW GROUNDWATER WELLS ALONG THE ROUGE RIVER, SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN

Abstract This study was conducted to elucidate microbiological characteristics of river water and groundwater communities in order to improve our conceptual and predictive understanding of river and groundwater ecosystem processes, functioning and management. Rouge River bacterial communities from shallow groundwater and river water were screened using Biolog Ecoplates, which test for oxidation of selected carbon sources and by culturing heterotrophic bacteria. The isolates cultured from the samples were also characterized using the 16S rRNA gene‐based approach. The patterns of utilization of the groups of carbon substrates by the microbial communities revealed differences between river water and groundwater samples. Carbohydrates, polymers, carboxylic acids and amino acids were highly utilized by the microbial communities in the river samples, while carbohydrates, polymers, amino acids and phenolic compounds were metabolized in the groundwater samples. Sequence comparison results showed that the most prevalent phylum in all sites was the Firmicutes (low G+C, mostly gram‐positive bacteria). The dominant isolates from this phylum were similar to Bacillus spp. , (98% nucleotide identity), which represented approximately 62% of the total number of unique isolates. Also prevalent were the γ‐Proteobacteria, which were dominated by 16S rRNA sequences 98‐99% similar to that of Pseudomonas spp. The observed profile of carbon sources metabolized reflected the catabolic potential of the river water and groundwater community. Many of the isolates recovered have been known to metabolize several organic substrates, and may have potential use in remediation organic contaminants from the Rouge River. Direct incubation water samples in Biolog Ecoplates produced patterns of metabolic response useful in the classification and characterization of river water and groundwater microbial communities. Heterotrophic bacteria isolated from the sites may play important roles in the fate of many organic and inorganic contaminants from the Rouge River, although future studies are needed to understand their response to these contaminants.
Xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in plants and their role in uptake and biotransformation of veterinary drugs in the environment

Abstract Many various xenobiotics permanently enter plants and represent potential danger for their organism. For that reason, plants have evolved extremely sophisticated detoxification systems including a battery of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes. Some of them are similar to those in humans and animals, but there are several plant-specific ones. This review briefly introduces xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in plants and summarizes present information about their action toward veterinary drugs. Veterinary drugs are used worldwide to treat diseases and protect animal health. However, veterinary drugs are also unwantedly introduced into environment mostly via animal excrements, they persist in the environment for a long time and may impact on the non-target organisms. Plants are able to uptake, transform the veterinary drugs to non- or less-toxic compounds and store them in the vacuoles and cell walls. This ability may protect not only plant themselves but also other organisms, predominantly invertebrates and wild herbivores. The aim of this review is to emphasize the importance of plants in detoxification of veterinary drugs in the environment. The results of studies, which dealt with transport and biotransformation of veterinary drugs in plants, are summarized and evaluated. In conclusion, the risks and consequences of veterinary drugs in the environment and the possibilities of phytoremediation technologies are considered and future perspectives are outlined.
Therapeutic Potential of Polyphenols in Cardiac Fibrosis

Cardiac fibrosis, in response to injury and stress, is central to a broad constellation of cardiovascular diseases. Fibrosis decreases myocardial wall compliance due to extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation, leading to impaired systolic and diastolic function and causing arrhythmogenesis. Although some conventional drugs, such as β-blockers and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors, have been shown to alleviate cardiac fibrosis in clinical trials, these traditional therapies do not tend to target all the fibrosis-associated mechanisms, and do not hamper the progression of cardiac fibrosis in patients with heart failure. Polyphenols are present in vegetables, fruits, and beverages and had been proposed as attenuators of cardiac fibrosis in different models of cardiovascular diseases. Together with results found in the literature, we can show that some polyphenols exert anti-fibrotic and myocardial protective effects by mediating inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrotic molecular signals. This review considers an overview of the mechanisms of cardiac fibrosis, illustrates their involvement in different animal models of cardiac fibrosis treated with some polyphenols and projects the future direction and therapeutic potential of polyphenols on cardiac fibrosis.
The effects of l-DOPA and sulpiride on growth hormone secretion at different injection times in Holstein steers.

The effects of l-DOPA, a precursor of dopamine (DA), and sulpiride, a D2 -type DA receptor blocker, on growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) secretion were investigated in steers. Eight Holstein steers (212.8 ± 7.8 kg body weight) were used. Lighting conditions were 12:12 L:D (lights on: 06.00-18.00 hours). Blood samplings were performed during the daytime (11.00-15.00 hours) and nighttime (23.00-03.00 hours). Intravenous injections of drugs or saline were performed at 12.00 hour for the daytime and 00.00 hour for the nighttime, respectively. Plasma GH and PRL concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. l-DOPA did not alter the GH secretion when it was injected at 12.00 hour (spontaneous GH level at its peak). On the other hand, l-DOPA increased GH secretion at 00.00 hour (GH level at its trough). Injection of sulpiride suppressed GH secretion at 12.00 hour but did not affect GH levels at 00.00 hour. l-DOPA inhibited and sulpiride stimulated PRL release during both periods. These results suggest that dopaminergic neurons have stimulatory action on GH secretion and inhibitory action on PRL secretion in cattle. In addition, injection time should be considered to evaluate the exact effects on GH secretion due to its ultradian rhythm of GH secretion in cattle.
Repolarization Heterogeneity Measured With T-Wave Area Dispersion in Standard 12-Lead ECG Predicts Sudden Cardiac Death in General Population

Background: We developed a novel electrocardiographic marker, T-wave area dispersion (TW-Ad), which measures repolarization heterogeneity by assessing interlead T-wave areas during a single cardiac cycle and tested whether it can identify patients at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the general population. Methods and Results: TW-Ad was measured from standard digital 12-lead ECG in 5618 adults (46% men; age, 50.9±12.5 years) participating in the Health 2000 Study—an epidemiological survey representative of the Finnish adult population. Independent replication was performed in 3831 participants of the KORA S4 Study (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg; 49% men; age, 48.7±13.7 years; mean follow-up, 8.8±1.1 years). During follow-up (7.7±1.4 years), 72 SCDs occurred in the Health 2000 Survey. Lower TW-Ad was univariately associated with SCD (0.32±0.36 versus 0.60±0.19; P<0.001); it had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.809. TW-Ad (⩽0.46) conferred a hazard ratio of 10.8 (95% confidence interval, 6.8–17.4; P<0.001) for SCD; it remained independently predictive of SCD after multivariable adjustment for clinical risk markers (hazard ratio, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 2.7–7.4; P<0.001). Replication analyses performed in the KORA S4 Study confirmed an increased risk for cardiac death (unadjusted hazard ratio, 5.5; 95% confidence interval, 3.2–9.5; P<0.001; multivariable adjusted hazard ratio, 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–3.5; P<0.05). Conclusion: Low TW-Ad, reflecting increased heterogeneity of repolarization, in standard 12-lead resting ECGs is a powerful and independent predictor of SCD in the adult general population.
Nanoparticles for cancer therapy and diagnosis

Abstract This paper reviews nanoparticles designed and prepared for cancer therapy and diagnosis, including inorganic nanoparticles, liposomes, lipid nanoparticles and polymeric nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are classified into (i) magnetite nanoparticles, (ii) other types of inorganic materialbased nanoparticles that are generally used for imaging and hyperthermia treatment, and (iii) organic material-based nanoparticles for drug delivery, gene therapy and other applications. Their structures are analyzed, and the details of the components and the modes of bonding of the core, shell and surface are compared. In the final section, lipid nanoemulsion and chitosan nanoparticles developed by the authors for gadolinium neutron capture therapy of cancer are introduced; the design and preparation of these particles for the accumulation of active agents in tumors have been demonstrated. In all cases, nanoparticle targeting in the body is the most critical requirement for achieving excellent outcomes. This is common to chemotherapy, gene therapy, molecular imaging, etc. From a pharmaceutical viewpoint, it is emphasized that the macro biodistribution of active agents in the whole body has to be optimized and controlled; this is necessary in order to assure the clinical efficiency and safety of these agents before utilizing specific functions of biomolecules that have been discovered through molecular cell biology.
Pregnancy, antithrombin III deficiency and venous thrombosis: report of another case.

A young woman was admitted to our Department for a sudden occlusion of the proximal deep venous stream of the right lower limb, and a controlateral recurrence within a few days, during the tenth week of pregnancy. Diagnosis was made by strain-gauge pletismography. We found she had a type 1 congenital AT III defect (AT III activity : 35%; AT III antigenic level : 40%), never diagnosed before
Nanostructure photolithography based on surface plasmonic interference

In this paper, we present a novel photolithographic technique to achieve variable 1D or 2D nanostructural patterns using a fixed 2-D metallic phase mask based on surface plasmonic interference. With different polarizing orientations of the incident light and a diffraction-limited phase mask which is formed by a metallic square array with a large period, surface plasmons (SPs) interferometric parttens with resolutions beyond diffraction limit can be obtained. The effects of different polarizing orientations of the linearly polarized incident light on the generation of uniform nanostructures have been investigated by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Numerical simulation results show that 1D and/or 2D tunable nanostructures with resolutions beyond diffraction limit can be obtained by controlling the polarizing orientation of the incident light.
Rheology of ordinary and low-impact environmental concretes

This study deals with the rheological properties of concrete mixtures incorporating various types of mineral additions as a partial replacement of cement in order to produce a low-impact environmental concrete. The control mixture contained only Portland cement as the binder, while the remaining mixtures incorporated binary cementitious blends of slag, limestone filler, and fly ash with different rates of replacement. After mixing, the plastic viscosity and yield stress of the concretes were evaluated at different slump values using a rheometer apparatus. The results showed that the type of mineral additions and the rate of substitution affect the rheological parameters of low-impact environmental concrete. Indeed, increasing the degree of substitution leads to an increase in the plastic viscosity of the concrete made with different types of additions used in this study.