Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic, Epigenetic, and Environmental Influences on Dentofacial Structures and Oral Health: Ongoing Studies of Australian Twins and Their Families

The Craniofacial Biology Research Group in the School of Dentistry at The University of Adelaide is entering an exciting new phase of its studies of dental development and oral health in twins and their families. Studies of the teeth and faces of Australian twins have been continuing for nearly 30 years, with three major cohorts of twins recruited over that time, and currently we are working with twins aged 2 years old to adults. Cross-sectional data and records relating to teeth and faces of twins are available for around 300 pairs of teenage twins, as well as longitudinal data for 300 pairs of twins examined at three different stages of development, once with primary teeth, once at the mixed dentition stage, and then again when the permanent teeth had emerged. The third cohort of twins comprises over 600 pairs of twins recruited at around birth, together with other family members. The emphasis in this third group of twins has been to record the timing of emergence of the primary teeth and also to sample saliva and dental plaque to establish the timing of colonization of decay-forming bacteria in the mouth. Analyses have confirmed that genetic factors strongly influence variation in timing of primary tooth emergence. The research team is now beginning to carry out clinical examinations of the twins to see whether those who become colonized earlier with decay-forming bacteria develop dental decay at an earlier age. By making comparisons within and between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs and applying modern molecular approaches, we are now teasing out how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors interact to influence dental development and also oral health.
Reproduction in an Orchid Can Be Resource‐Limited over its Lifetime 1

Most orchids studied thus far show long‐term resource adjustments to increases in fruit production within a flowering season, but none of these offers rewards to their potential pollinators. If nectar production is energetically expensive, then resources utilized to produce fruits and seeds may be even more limited in pollinator‐rewarding orchids than in non‐rewarding ones. Thus, resource adjustments may be more dramatic or entirely different in nectar producing plants. In this study, we performed artificial hand‐pollinations for two consecutive flowering seasons in die nectar producing orchid Comparettia falcata, and tested whether or not fruit set, seed set, and seed viability were limited by the quantity of pollinations or by resources. In addition, we compared mechanisms of short‐term (fruit abortion within seasons) and long‐term consequences (percent change in leaf length and change in flower number per plant between seasons, probability of shoot and inflorescence production, and mortality) between hand‐ pollinated and unmanipulated plants. The relationships among plant traits related to vegetative size and reproduction also were examined. Hand‐pollinations showed some negative effects. Fruit set was higher in hand‐pollinated plants in the first season but was similar to the controls in the second. Seed set was significantly lower and abortions were higher than in unmanipulated plants. On the other hand, some of our measurements were unaffected by die hand‐pollination treatment. Unexpectedly, there were no significant differences between groups in percent change in leaf length, change in flower number per plant between seasons, or die probability of shoot and inflorescence production. Although there was a strong correlation between leaf size and die number of flowers produced within a season, associations between leaf size and traits related to current or future reproduction were not consistent. Like other epiphytic orchids, pollination limitation occurred within a single season in C. falcata. , but increases in fruit production also resulted in reduced lifetime fitness as estimated by a compounded fitness index. Contrary to all other epiphytic orchids studied, long‐term adjustments to increased fruit production in C. falcata through reduction in future growth or flower and inflorescence production were either minor or lacking. Our results suggest that the nature of plant strategies associated with resource constraints during sexual reproduction may be dependent on whether or not plants have evolved traits that are costly.
Renal Interstitial Guanosine Cyclic 3′, 5′-Monophosphate Mediates Pressure-Natriuresis Via Protein Kinase G

Abstract—Pressure-natriuresis is the physiological protective mechanism whereby elevation of blood pressure induces a rapid increase in renal sodium (Na+) excretion. Pressure-natriuresis abnormalities are common to all forms of hypertension. We tested the hypothesis that pressure-natriuresis is mediated by renal interstitial (RI) cGMP and protein kinase G (PKG). We used anesthetized, uninephrectomized Sprague-Dawley rats and a standard pressure-natriuresis model in which bilateral adrenalectomy and renal denervation was done on rats. Renal perfusion pressure (RPP) was adjusted by manipulating clamps above and below the renal artery, and RI cGMP was quantified by microdialysis. RI cGMP increased from 3.1±0.5 to 5.5±0.4 fmol/min (P <0.05) when RPP was raised from 100 to 140 mm Hg. This increase in RI cGMP was eliminated by RI infusion of soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,2-&agr;]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ). Raising RPP from 100 to 140 mm Hg increased urinary sodium excretion from 0.2±0.1 to 0.8±0.1 μmol/min, fractional sodium excretion from 0.2±0.1% to 0.8±0.1%, and fractional lithium excretion from 20.1±3.0% to 62.7±3.7% (all P <0.05). These responses were eliminated by RI infusion of nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, ODQ, and PKG inhibitors Rp-8-pCPT-cGMP and Rp-8-Br-cGMP. Increasing RPP from 100 to 140 mm Hg decreased fractional proximal sodium reabsorption without influencing fractional distal Na+ reabsorption or glomerular filtration rate. In conclusion, pressure-natriuresis is mediated by RI cGMP and a PKG signaling pathway in target renal proximal tubule cells.
A Topic-modeling Based Framework for Drug-drug Interaction Classification from Biomedical Text

Classification of drug-drug interaction (DDI) from medical literatures is significant in preventing medication-related errors. Most of the existing machine learning approaches are based on supervised learning methods. However, the dynamic nature of drug knowledge, combined with the enormity and rapidly growing of the biomedical literatures make supervised DDI classification methods easily overfit the corpora and may not meet the needs of real-world applications. In this paper, we proposed a relation classification framework based on topic modeling (RelTM) augmented with distant supervision for the task of DDI from biomedical text. The uniqueness of RelTM lies in its two-level sampling from both DDI and drug entities. Through this design, RelTM take both relation features and drug mention features into considerations. An efficient inference algorithm for the model using Gibbs sampling is also proposed. Compared to the previous supervised models, our approach does not require human efforts such as annotation and labeling, which is its advantage in trending big data applications. Meanwhile, the distant supervision combination allows RelTM to incorporate rich existing knowledge resources provided by domain experts. The experimental results on the 2013 DDI challenge corpus reach 48% in F1 score, showing the effectiveness of RelTM.
Design of a Stub-Loaded Ring-Resonator Slot for Antenna Applications

A T-shaped stub-loaded ring-resonator (SLRR) slot etched on the ground plane or on the radiating patch has been designed and analyzed for antenna applications. Compared with the conventional ring slot, the two resonant frequencies of the proposed SLRR-slot can be lowered, and can also be tunable by varying the parameters of the four T-shaped stubs. To validate the design concept, a tri-band printed antenna and a dual band-notched ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna using the SLRR-slot on the ground plane and radiating patch, respectively, are presented. For the tri-band antenna, a simple U-shaped slot etched on the microstrip feeding line is used to excite a third upper-frequency band independently without increasing the overall size of the antenna and without affecting the lower two bands. The proposed tri-band antenna has three frequency bands of 2.4, 3.5, and 5.8 GHz, and the dual band-notched UWB antenna can guarantee a very wide bandwidth from 3.0 to 12.0 GHz with dual undesired bands successfully. The experimental results including radiation patterns, peak gains and efficiencies of both antennas are presented.
Sphingomonas Paucimobilis Infections in Children: 24 Case Reports

Sphingomonas paucimobilis is a causative agent of infection in immunocompromised patients, and healthcare-associated infection. Although the infections associated with S.paucimobilis occurs rarely, it has been encountered with increasing frequency in clinical settings. In the current study we reported clinical features of the children with S.paucimobilis infection, and the antimicrobial susceptibilities of the isolated strains among the patients. This study was conducted in Dr. Behçet Uz Children’s Hospital, Turkey, during the period of January 2005 and December 2012. The medical records of pediatric patients with positive cultures for S.paucimobilis were reviewed. Sphingomonas paucimobilis isolates were recovered from 24 pediatric patients. The median age was 4 years (ranging from 3 days infant to 15 years) and 58,3% were male. Eight (33,3%) of the patients were under 1 months of age. Among the patients; 13 (54,2%) infections were community related however 11(45.8%) infections were nosocomial infection. The median duration of hospital stay was 7 days (ranging from 4 to 22 days). The most effective antibiotics were fluoroquinolones, carbapenems, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. This is the first largest study in children to evaluate the clinical features of S. paucimobilis infections. Sphingomonas paucimobilis may cause infections in both previously healthy and immunocompromised children. Although variable antimicrobial regimens were achieved to the patients, there was no attributable fatality due to S.paucimobilis infections due to the low virulence of the bacteria.
[Assessment of plasma endothelin level measurement in systemic sclerosis].

PURPOSE According to current knowledge, endothelin (ET)-1 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). We assessed ET plasma levels in SSc patients according to the clinical presentation and the presence of complications such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). METHODS Sixty-three consecutive patients with SSc were included. The control group included 17 healthy patients. ET plasma level was determined for all patients. Pulmonary function test and pulmonary high resolution computed tomography were performed in 44 patients and echocardiography in 51 patients, to screen for PAH, always confirmed by a right heart catheterization. RESULTS ET plasmatic levels were higher in SSc patients than in healthy group subjects but the difference was not significant (3.72+/-1.13 vs 3.40+/-0.71 pmol/l, p=0.27). ET plasmatic levels were significantly higher in patients with PAH than in patients without PAH (4.28+/-0.65 vs 3.62+/-1.07 pmol/l, p=0.04) and in patients with anticentromere antibodies (3.96+/-1.11 vs 3.19+/-1.12 pmol/l, p=0.03). There was a positive linear correlation between ET plasmatic levels and systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (r=0.34, p=0.013). The best cut-off value for ET plasmatic level to discriminate patients affected by PAH was determined by ROC curve method: 4.1 pmol/l (sensibility 85.7%, specificity 66%). CONCLUSION ET plasmatic levels were higher in SSc patients affected by PAH and patients with anticentromere antibodies. There was a positive linear correlation between ET plasmatic levels and systolic pulmonary arterial pressure. Assessment of ET plasmatic levels for detection and monitoring of pulmonary hypertension during SSc is warranted in larger prospective studies.
Factors influencing variation of test day milk yield, somatic cell count, fat, and protein in dairy sheep.

Between January and July 1992, 8403 monthly test day records were obtained from 3202 ewes from 22 Churra dairy flocks in the Castilla-León region of Spain. Variables measured were milk yield, SCC, and fat and protein percentages; means were 912 ml, 1501 x 10(3) cells/ml, 6.76%, and 6.28%. Analysis of variance showed significant effects of flock, stage of lactation, parity, and type of birth on milk yield, SCC, and composition. Variability in SCC among flocks was high and ranged from 420 to 2719 x 10(3) cells/ml. During lactation, SCC and fat and protein percentages showed increases of 31.2, 37.6, and 20.3%. Twin birth ewes had higher SCC (8.6%) and yield (4.4%) than single birth ewes. However, fat and protein fell 1.7 and . 8% in twin birth ewes. The parity effect was highly significant for yield, SCC, and fat; first lactation was always lower. A statistical model similar to that for dairy cattle was used to predict milk yield on the basis of flock, ewes within the flock, lactation stage, parity number, type of birth, and SCC. The model predicted 73% of the variation in milk yield.
Time Course of the Acetazolamide Effect in Patients with Extracranial Carotid Artery Disease

The acetazolamide test of cerebrovascular reserve is performed as a two‐point transcranial Doppler (TCD) measurement of the flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) before and 15 to 20 minutes after injection of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. The time course was evaluated by bilateral TCD monitoring over 45 minutes in 51 patients with extracranial carotid artery disease. Twenty‐nine patients in Group 1 showed a unilateral and 22 patients in Group 2, a bilateral stenosis of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Thirty‐one normal hemispheres in 18 normal subjects provided baseline control values. The most useful parameter for the description of the time course was the integral of the mean flow velocity. In both groups integral of the mean flow velocity was significantly reduced compared to that in normal persons (Group 1:587.2 ± 538.3 cm, p < 0.01; Group 2: 728.9 ± 397.1 cm, p < 0.01; normal persons: 967.8 ± 350.0 cm). The maximal increase of mean flow velocity in a two‐point measurement also was significantly lower in the patient groups, but did not reach the same level of significance in Group 2 (Group 1: 19.6 ± 12.3 cm/sec, p < 0.01; Group 2: 24.2 ± 10.4 cm/sec, p < 0.05). Thirty‐four of 73 hemispheres had reduced integral of the mean flow velocity, but only 29 had a reduced maximal increase. These data indicate that continuous monitoring and evaluation of the time course of the acetazolamide effect provide additional information on cerebrovascular reserve and help to detect an increased number of patients with impaired cerebrovascular reserve.
Phospholipase D Activation Correlates with Microtubule Reorganization in Living Plant Cells Online version contains Web-only data. Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.014977.

A phospholipase D (PLD) was shown recently to decorate microtubules in plant cells. Therefore, we used tobacco BY-2 cells expressing the microtubule reporter GFP-MAP4 to test whether PLD activation affects the organization of plant microtubules. Within 30 min of adding n-butanol, a potent activator of PLD, cortical microtubules were released from the plasma membrane and partially depolymerized, as visualized with four-dimensional confocal imaging. The isomers sec- and tert-butanol, which did not activate PLD, did not affect microtubule organization. The effect of treatment on PLD activation was monitored by the in vivo formation of phosphatidylbutanol, a specific reporter of PLD activity. Tobacco cells also were treated with mastoparan, xylanase, NaCl, and hypoosmotic stress as reported activators of PLD. We confirmed the reports and found that all treatments induced microtubule reorganization and PLD activation within the same time frame. PLD still was activated in microtubule-stabilized (taxol) and microtubule-depolymerized (oryzalin) situations, suggesting that PLD activation triggers microtubular reorganization and not vice versa. Exogenously applied water-soluble synthetic phosphatidic acid did not affect the microtubular cytoskeleton. Cell cycle studies revealed that n-butanol influenced not just interphase cortical microtubules but also those in the preprophase band and phragmoplast, but not those in the spindle structure. Cell growth and division were inhibited in the presence of n-butanol, whereas sec- and tert-butanol had no such effects. Using these novel insights, we propose a model for the mechanism by which PLD activation triggers microtubule reorganization in plant cells.
Serology and longevity of immunity against Echinococcus granulosus in sheep and llama induced by an oil‐based EG95 vaccine

An oil‐based formulation of the EG95 vaccine to protect grazing animals against infection with Echinococcus granulosus was formulated in Argentina. The efficacy of the vaccine was monitored by serology in sheep and llama (Lama glama) and was compared to the serology in sheep previously published using a QuilA‐adjuvanted vaccine. Long‐term efficacy was also tested in sheep by challenging with E. granulosus eggs of the G1 strain 4 years after the beginning of the trial. The serological results for both sheep and llama were similar to those described previously, except that there was a more rapid response after the first vaccination. A third vaccination given after 1 year resulted in a transient boost in serology that lasted for about 12 months, which was similar to results previously described. Sheep challenged after 4 years with three vaccinations presented 84·2% reduction of live cysts counts compared with control group, and after a fourth vaccination prior to challenge, this reduction was 94·7%. The oil‐based vaccine appeared to be bio‐equivalent to the QuilA vaccine.
Psychological Aspects of Primary Aldosteronism

Background: Except for 3 case reports of Conn’s syndrome presenting as depression, psychosocial factors have not been explored in primary aldosteronism. We investigated psychological correlates in primary aldosteronism using methods that were found to be sensitive and reliable in psychosomatic research. Method: Ten consecutive newly diagnosed patients with primary aldosteronism were studied: 5 males/5 females; mean age (±SD) 45.5 ± 6.6 years, age range 34–54 years; 4 with an aldosterone-producing adenoma and 6 with idiopathic aldosteronism; systolic/diastolic blood pressure 189 ± 20/111 ± 7.7 mm Hg; upright plasma aldosterone 40.0 ± 18.3 ng/dl; upright plasma renin activity (PRA) 0.2 ± 0.1 ng/ml/h; aldosterone/PRA ratio 229.2 ± 191.0; serum K+ 3.5 ± 0.5 mmol/l. The Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) for eliciting psychiatric diagnoses, and a shortened version of the structured interview for subclinical psychological syndromes, the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR), were administered. Results: Seven patients (2 with aldosterone-producing adenoma and 5 with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism) received both DSM-IV and DCPR diagnoses, while 3 had neither. As to DSM-IV, generalized anxiety disorder was detected in 6 cases (in 1 it was associated with panic disorder and in 1 with major depression) and obsessive-compulsive disorder in 1. The most frequent DCPR cluster was demoralization (5 cases), while persistent somatization occurred in 2 cases (associated with demoralization in 1) and irritable mood in 1. Conclusions: The occurrence of anxiety disorders in patients with primary aldosteronism was much higher than that found in the general population and in primary care. Since an association between hyperaldosteronism and anxiety has also been suggested in previous animal studies, it seems worthwhile to gain further knowledge on clinical aspects by larger population studies.
The Canadian STOP-PAIN Project: The Burden of Chronic Pain—Does Sex Really Matter?

Objectives:The Canadian STOP-PAIN Project assessed the human and economic burden of chronic pain (CP) in individuals on waitlists of Canadian multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities. This article focuses on sex differences. Objectives were to (1) determine the pain characteristics and related biopsychosocial factors that best differentiated women and men with CP; and (2) examine whether public and private costs associated with CP differed according to sex. Materials and Methods:Sample consisted of 441 women and 287 men who were evaluated using self-administered questionnaires and a structured interview protocol. A subsample (233 women and 137 men) recorded all pain-related expenditures in a comprehensive diary over 3 months. Results:Results revealed that the burden of illness associated with CP was comparable in both sexes for average and worst pain intensity, pain impact on daily living, quality of life, and psychological well-being. The same was true for pain-related costs. The results of a hierarchical logistic regression analysis, in which sex was treated as the dependent variable, showed that factors that differentiated men and women were: work status, certain circumstances surrounding pain onset, present pain intensity, intake of particular types of pain medication, use of certain pain management strategies, pain beliefs, and utilization of particular health care resources. Discussion:This study suggests that women and men who are referred to multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities do not differ significantly in terms of their pain-related experience. However, the aspects that differ may warrant further clinical attention when assessing and managing pain.
Tocopheryl succinate-based lipid nanospheres for paclitaxel delivery: Preparation, characters, and in vitro release kinetics

Despite its strong anti-tumor activity against human cancers, paclitaxel (Taxol®) suffers limited clinical applications due to the low aqueous solubility and lack of appropriate delivery vehicles. In an attempt to develop an alternative formulation of paclitaxel suitable for parenteral administration, paclitaxel-loaded lipid nanospheres were constructed as colloidal carrier system for controlled drug delivery. Alpha-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS), a semi-synthetic vitamin E analog, was employed as a new physiological acceptable lipid material to prepare nanoparticulates. A novel bottom-up process was performed by a modified spontaneous emulsification solvent-diffusion method, which is suitable for large industrial scale production. The influence of key parameters such as temperature and surfactant concentration on the size and uniformity of the distribution of nanospheres were investigated. Spherical particles with ∼ 100 nm of mean diameter and 90% of drug entrapment efficiency were obtained under optimal conditions. Physicochemical characterization of the particles reveals a molecular dispersion of paclitaxel in the lipidic matrix. The in vitro release behavior of paclitaxel from the developed nanospheres was characterized by an initial fast release, followed by a sustained release up to 72 h. The release mechanism suggests that paclitaxel release from the vehicles was dual controlled by both the diffusion of drug and corrosion of lipid matrix. These results demonstrate the principle suitability of α-TOS-based lipid nanospheres as a potential delivery system for paclitaxel delivery.