Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in Abnormal Water Metabolism between SD Rats and KM Mice Intoxicated by Microcystin-RR

The effects of microcystin-RR (MC-RR) on water metabolism were studied on Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats and KunMing (KM) mice. In the single dose toxicity test, polydipsia, polyuria, hematuria and proteinuria were found in group of rats receiving a MC-RR dose of 574.7 μg/kg, and could be relieved by dexamethasone (DXM). Gradient damage was observed in kidney and liver in rats with gradient MC-RR doses of 574.7, 287.3, and 143.7 μg/kg. No significant water metabolic changes or kidney injuries were observed in mice treated with MC-RR doses of 210.0, 105.0, and 52.5 μg/kg. In the continuous exposure test, in which mice were administrated with 140.0, 70.0, and 35.0 μg/kg MC-RR for 28 days, mice in the 140.0 μg/kg group presented increasing polydipsia, polyuria, and liver damage. However, no anatomic or histological changes, including related serological and urinary indices, were found in the kidney. In summary, abnormal water metabolism can be induced by MC-RR in rats through kidney injury in single dose exposure; the kidney of SD rats is more sensitive to MC-RR than that of KM mouse; and polydipsia and polyuria in mice exposed to MC-RR for 28 days occurred but could not be attributed to kidney damage.
Clinical studies on prophylaxis and treatment of cedondary hyperparathyroidism in uremic patients on chronic dialysis

1.1 THE VITAMIN D STORY In 1920, Aldolf Windaus, a German physician and chemist, and his colleagues isolated a material from plant sterols that following irradiation with ultraviolet light was active in healing rickets – a disorder characterized by defect mineralization of the skeleton. The substance was termed “vitamin D”. Dr. Windaus and his colleagues further isolated and identified other nutritional forms of vitamin D enabling them to cure diseases caused by lack of vitamin D. Thereby rickets was eliminated as a major medical problem. For this contribution Alfred Windaus received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1928 [8]. Besides the effects of vitamin D on bone mineralization, it was discovered in the 1920s and 1930s that an “endogenous factor” played an unequivocal role in calcium homeostasis by changing the intestinal absorption of calcium according to the skeletal need [9]. This “endogenous factor” was later shown to be the vitamin D analog, 1,25(OH)2D3. Inadequate plasma levels of calcium and phosphate were shown in the 1950s to be of importance for the defective mineralization of the skeleton in vitamin D deficiency. At that time it was discovered that another major function of vitamin D was to mobilize calcium from bone [10]. How vitamin D exerts this mobilization of calcium is still not known in details, but it became clear in the 1970s that both parathyroid hormone (PTH) and vitamin D, independently, were necessary for this process [11]. In the 1980s, the influence of vitamin D and PTH on renal calcium absorption was discovered [12] leading to vitamin D being accepted as a hormone and not just considered as a vitamin. Already in 1960, Kodieck et al. observed that the inactive vitamin D compound was converted to an active form after digestion [13, 14]. In 1968, 25(OH)D3 was purified and chemically identified as the first active metabolite of vitamin D [15]. Radio labelled 25(OH)D3 was shown to be metabolized to more polar metabolites [16, 17] and in 1971 the structure of the active vitamin D metabolite was unequivocally demonstrated to be 1,25(OH)2D3 [18]. The ultimate proof of 1,25(OH)2D3 being the active metabolite was obtained in 1973 when Vitamin D-dependent rickets type 1 (an autosomal recessive disorder with a defect in the 1α-hydroxylase enzyme) was successfully treated by what later was found to be physiological doses of synthetic 1,25(OH)2D3, whereas much larger amounts of vitamin D3 or 25(OH)D3 were needed to heal the disorder [19]. A few years later, two chemical different structures 1α,25(OH)2D3 [20] and 1β,25(OH)2D3 [21] were synthesized, with 1α,25(OH)2D3 being the active metabolite. The stringent, physiological control of plasma 1,25(OH)2D3 levels is exerted through the coordinated action of classic mineral regulating organs: the kidney, intestine, bone and parathyroid glands. In chronic renal failure, formation of 1,25(OH)2D3 is impaired [22, 23].
Enhancing Mechanical Properties of Polymer 3D Printed Parts

Parts made from thermoplastic polymers fabricated through 3D printing have reduced mechanical properties compared to those fabricated through injection molding. This paper analyzes a post-processing heat treatment aimed at enhancing mechanical properties of 3D printed parts, in order to reduce the difference mentioned above and thus increase their applicability in functional applications. Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) polymer is used to 3D print test parts with 100% infill. After printing, samples are packed in sodium chloride powder and then heat treated at a temperature of 220 °C for 5 to 15 min. During heat treatment, the powder acts as support, preventing deformation of the parts. Results of destructive testing experiments show a significant increase in tensile and compressive strength following heat treatment. Treated parts 3D printed in vertical orientation, usually the weakest, display 143% higher tensile strength compared to a control group, surpassing the tensile strength of untreated parts printed in horizontal orientation—usually the strongest. Furthermore, compressive strength increases by 50% following heat treatment compared to control group. SEM analysis reveals improved internal structure after heat treatment. These results show that the investigated heat treatment increases mechanical characteristics of 3D printed PETG parts, without the downside of severe part deformation, thus reducing the performance gap between 3D printing and injection molding when using common polymers.
EMG-Based 3D Hand Motor Intention Prediction for Information Transfer from Human to Robot

(1) Background: Three-dimensional (3-D) hand position is one of the kinematic parameters that can be inferred from Electromyography (EMG) signals. The inferred parameter is used as a communication channel in human–robot collaboration applications. Although its application from the perspective of rehabilitation and assistive technologies are widely studied, there are few papers on its application involving healthy subjects such as intelligent manufacturing and skill transfer. In this regard, for tasks associated with complex hand trajectories without the consideration of the degree of freedom (DOF), the prediction of 3-D hand position from EMG signal alone has not been addressed. (2) Objective: The primary aim of this study is to propose a model to predict human motor intention that can be used as information from human to robot. Therefore, the prediction of a 3-D hand position directly from the EMG signal for complex trajectories of hand movement, without the direct consideration of joint movements, is studied. In addition, the effects of slow and fast motions on the accuracy of the prediction model are analyzed. (3) Methods: This study used the EMG signal that is collected from the upper limb of healthy subjects, and the position signal of the hand while the subjects manipulate complex trajectories. We considered and analyzed two types of tasks with complex trajectories, each with quick and slow motions. A recurrent fuzzy neural network (RFNN) model was constructed to predict the 3-D position of the hand from the features of EMG signals alone. We used the Pearson correlation coefficient (CC) and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) as performance metrics. (4) Results: We found that 3-D hand positions of the complex movement can be predicted with the mean performance of CC = 0.85 and NRMSE = 0.105. The 3-D hand position can be predicted well within a future time of 250 ms, from the EMG signal alone. Even though tasks performed under quick motion had a better prediction performance; the statistical difference in the accuracy of prediction between quick and slow motion was insignificant. Concerning the prediction model, we found that RFNN has a good performance in decoding for the time-varying system. (5) Conclusions: In this paper, irrespective of the speed of the motion, the 3-D hand position is predicted from the EMG signal alone. The proposed approach can be used in human–robot collaboration applications to enhance the natural interaction between a human and a robot.
Medicinal Use of Testosterone and Related Steroids Revisited

Testosterone derivatives and related compounds (such as anabolic-androgenic steroids—AAS) are frequently misused by athletes (both professional and amateur) wishing to promote muscle development and strength or to cover AAS misuse. Even though these agents are vastly regarded as abusive material, they have important pharmacological activities that cannot be easily replaced by other drugs and have therapeutic potential in a range of conditions (e.g., wasting syndromes, severe burns, muscle and bone injuries, anemia, hereditary angioedema). Testosterone and related steroids have been in some countries treated as controlled substances, which may affect the availability of these agents for patients who need them for therapeutic reasons in a given country. Although these agents are currently regarded as rather older generation drugs and their use may lead to serious side-effects, they still have medicinal value as androgenic, anabolic, and even anti-androgenic agents. This review summarizes and revisits the medicinal use of compounds based on the structure and biological activity of testosterone, with examples of specific compounds. Additionally, some of the newer androgenic-anabolic compounds are discussed such as selective androgen receptor modulators, the efficacy/adverse-effect profiles of which have not been sufficiently established and which may pose a greater risk than conventional androgenic-anabolic agents.
Nitroaromatic Antibiotics as Nitrogen Oxide Sources

Nitroaromatic antibiotics show activity against anaerobic bacteria and parasites, finding use in the treatment of Heliobacter pylori infections, tuberculosis, trichomoniasis, human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. Despite this activity and a clear need for the development of new treatments for these conditions, the associated toxicity and lack of clear mechanisms of action have limited their therapeutic development. Nitroaromatic antibiotics require reductive bioactivation for activity and this reductive metabolism can convert the nitro group to nitric oxide (NO) or a related reactive nitrogen species (RNS). As nitric oxide plays important roles in the defensive immune response to bacterial infection through both signaling and redox-mediated pathways, defining controlled NO generation pathways from these antibiotics would allow the design of new therapeutics. This review focuses on the release of nitrogen oxide species from various nitroaromatic antibiotics to portend the increased ability for these compounds to positively impact infectious disease treatment.
Cost-Effectiveness of Two Dry Needling Interventions for Plantar Heel Pain: A Secondary Analysis of an RCT

Plantar heel pain is a common cause of foot pain that affects patients’ quality of life and represents a significant cost for the healthcare system. Dry needling and percutaneous needle electrolysis are two minimally invasive treatments that were shown to be effective for the management of plantar heel pain. The aim of our study was to compare these two treatments in terms of health and economic consequences based on the results of a published randomized controlled trial. For this, we evaluated the costs from the point of view of the hospital and we carried out a cost-effectiveness study using quality of life as the main variable according to the Eq-5D-5L questionnaire. The cost of the complete treatment with dry needling (DN) was €178.86, while the percutaneous needle electrolysis (PNE) was €200.90. The quality of life of patients improved and was translated into +0.615 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for DN and +0.669 for PNE. PNE presented an average incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of €411.34/QALY against DN. These results indicate that PNE had a better cost-effectiveness ratio for the treatment of plantar heel pain than DN.
Kobra Surgery Simulator—A Possibility to Improve Digital Teaching? A Case-Control Study

Computer-aided simulations have long been of great importance in university teaching; however, to date, there is limited use of such simulations in the dental surgical sector. For this purpose, an oral surgery simulator, “Kobra”, was implemented in student training and was evaluated for dental education. Dental students (group 1, third-year and group 2, fourth-year) and dentists of the faculty (control group) were trained to use the simulator. The outcomes for group 1 (apicoectomy of an upper lateral incisor with Kobra), group 2 (removal of an impacted lower wisdom tooth with Kobra) and the control group (both procedures with Kobra) were evaluated. For evaluation purposes, subjective parameters (improvement of practical skills, comparison between conventional training and Kobra simulation, and implementation of simulation-based teaching) and objective parameters (removal of bone, tooth substance and soft tissue measured while performing the Kobra simulation) were assessed using questionnaires with a scale ranging from 1–5. A total of 49 students (third-year n = 29, with 22 women and 7 men; fourth-year n = 20, with 17 women and 3 men) and 10 dentists (women n = 5 and men n = 5) participated. Compared to the Kobra simulation, the conventional training method with plastic models was still favored (the difference was non-significant). Compared to the dentists, the simulation data showed a less precise surgical performance of the students (the difference was not significant). The Kobra simulation may offer an additional method to conventional surgery training using plastic models, with benefits for students and faculty staff.
Bibliometric analysis of the top 100 most-cited articles on astrocytoma

Background: Citation analysis reflects the scientific recognition and influential performance of a published article within its field. We aim to identify the top 100 most-cited articles on astrocytoma using this bibliometric analysis method. Methods: In May 2020, we performed a thorough search in the Scopus database using the word “Astrocytoma. ” The top 100 most-cited articles were arranged based on citation count in descending order. The resultant articles were then analyzed with an assessment of pertinent factors. Results: The most-cited articles on astrocytoma had been cited 23,720 times. The top-cited article received a total of 682 citations, with an average of 34.1 citations annually. The list comprised eight clinical trials, in which the highest cited article received 625 citations. Articles were published from 1975 to 2015 with the 1995–2005 era as the most prolific period. Neuropathology studies were the most studied category, followed by clinical studies. The United States of America was the most significant contributor, with 49 published articles. The University of California San Francisco was the most contributing institution by producing 11 articles. Articles were published in 32 different journals led by the Cancer Research Journal, with a total of 12 publications. Approximately 160 authors contributed to the list in which Scheithauer, B.W. contributed the most with a total of eight articles. Conclusion: This report clustered the most impactful articles on astrocytoma. It serves as an adequate tool to identify publication trends and helps in achieving evidence-based clinical practice.
Bioresorbable Polymers: Advanced Materials and 4D Printing for Tissue Engineering

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a valuable tool in the production of complexes structures with specific shapes for tissue engineering. Differently from native tissues, the printed structures are static and do not transform their shape in response to different environment changes. Stimuli-responsive biocompatible materials have emerged in the biomedical field due to the ability of responding to other stimuli (physical, chemical, and/or biological), resulting in microstructures modifications. Four-dimensional (4D) printing arises as a new technology that implements dynamic improvements in printed structures using smart materials (stimuli-responsive materials) and/or cells. These dynamic scaffolds enable engineered tissues to undergo morphological changes in a pre-planned way. Stimuli-responsive polymeric hydrogels are the most promising material for 4D bio-fabrication because they produce a biocompatible and bioresorbable 3D shape environment similar to the extracellular matrix and allow deposition of cells on the scaffold surface as well as in the inside. Subsequently, this review presents different bioresorbable advanced polymers and discusses its use in 4D printing for tissue engineering applications.
Cytokinin Signaling and De Novo Shoot Organogenesis

The ability to restore or replace injured tissues can be undoubtedly named among the most spectacular achievements of plant organisms. One of such regeneration pathways is organogenesis, the formation of individual organs from nonmeristematic tissue sections. The process can be triggered in vitro by incubation on medium supplemented with phytohormones. Cytokinins are a class of phytohormones demonstrating pleiotropic effects and a powerful network of molecular interactions. The present study reviews existing knowledge on the possible sequence of molecular and genetic events behind de novo shoot organogenesis initiated by cytokinins. Overall, the review aims to collect reactions encompassed by cytokinin primary responses, starting from phytohormone perception by the dedicated receptors, to transcriptional reprogramming of cell fate by the last module of multistep-phosphorelays. It also includes a brief reminder of other control mechanisms, such as epigenetic reprogramming.
Therapeutic Potential of αS Evolvability for Neuropathic Gaucher Disease

Gaucher disease (GD), the most common lysosomal storage disorder (LSD), is caused by autosomal recessive mutations of the glucocerebrosidase gene, GBA1. In the majority of cases, GD has a non-neuropathic chronic form with adult onset (GD1), while other cases are more acute and severer neuropathic forms with early onset (GD2/3). Currently, no radical therapies are established for GD2/3. Notably, GD1, but not GD2/3, is associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD), the elucidation of which might provide a clue for novel therapeutic strategies. In this context, the objective of the present study is to discuss that the evolvability of α-synuclein (αS) might be differentially involved in GD subtypes. Hypothetically, aging-associated PD features with accumulation of αS, and the autophagy-lysosomal dysfunction might be an antagonistic pleiotropy phenomenon derived from αS evolvability in the development in GD1, without which neuropathies like GD2/3 might be manifested due to the autophagy-lysosomal dysfunction. Supposing that the increased severity of GD2/3 might be attributed to the decreased activity of αS evolvability, suppressing the expression of β-synuclein (βS), a potential buffer against αS evolvability, might be therapeutically efficient. Of interest, a similar view might be applicable to Niemann-Pick type C (NPC), another LSD, given that the adult type of NPC, which is comorbid with Alzheimer’s disease, exhibits milder medical symptoms compared with those of infantile NPC. Thus, it is predicted that the evolvability of amyloid β and tau, might be beneficial for the adult type of NPC. Collectively, a better understanding of amyloidogenic evolvability in the pathogenesis of LSD may inform rational therapy development.
A Comparative Analysis of Hippo Signaling Pathway Components during Murine and Bovine Early Mammalian Embryogenesis

The time required for successful blastocyst formation varies among multiple species. The formation of a blastocyst is governed by numerous molecular cell signaling pathways, such as the Hippo signaling pathway. The Hippo signaling pathway is initiated by increased cell–cell contact and via apical polarity proteins (AMOT, PARD6, and NF2) during the period of preimplantation embryogenesis. Cell–cell contact and cell polarity activate (phosphorylates) the core cascade components of the pathway (mammalian sterile twenty like 1 and 2 (MST1/2) and large tumor suppressor 1 and 2 (LATS1/2)), which in turn phosphorylate the downstream effectors of the pathway (YAP1/TAZ). The Hippo pathway remains inactive with YAP1 (Yes Associated protein 1) present inside the nucleus in the trophectoderm (TE) cells (polar blastomeres) of the mouse blastocyst. In the inner cell mass (ICM) cells (apolar blastomeres), the pathway is activated with p-YAP1 present in the cytoplasm. On the contrary, during bovine embryogenesis, p-YAP1 is exclusively present in the nucleus in both TE and ICM cells. Contrary to mouse embryos, transcription co activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) (also known as WWTR1) is also predominantly present in the cytoplasm in all the blastomeres during bovine embryogenesis. This review outlines the major differences in the localization and function of Hippo signaling pathway components of murine and bovine preimplantation embryos, suggesting significant differences in the regulation of this pathway in between the two species. The variance observed in the Hippo signaling pathway between murine and bovine embryos confirms that both of these early embryonic models are quite distinct. Moreover, based on the similarity of the Hippo signaling pathway between bovine and human early embryo development, bovine embryos could be an alternate model for understanding the regulation of the Hippo signaling pathway in human embryos.
Transformation of Selected Trichothecenes during the Wheat Malting Production

The transformation of deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), and their glucosides (DON3G and NIV3G) during the malting of grains of two wheat varieties was studied. The concentration of DON3G and NIV3G started to increase significantly before the concentration of DON and NIV increased. This may reflect the transformation of the parent mycotoxin forms into their glucosides due to xenobiotic detoxification reactions. After a sharp rise during the last 2 days of the process (day 6 and 7), the DON concentration reached 3010 ± 338 µg/kg in the Legenda wheat-based malt and 4678 ± 963 µg/kg in the Pokusa wheat-based malt. The NIV concentration, at 691 ± 65 µg/kg, remained the same as that in the dry grain. The concentration of DON3G in the Legenda and Pokusa wheat-based malt was five and three times higher, respectively, than that in the steeped grain. The concentration of NIV3G in the Legenda wheat-based malt was more than twice as high as that in the steeped grain. The sharp increase in the concentration of DON at the end of the malting process reflected the high pathogen activity. We set aside some samples to study a batch that was left undisturbed without turning and aeration, for the entire period of malting. The concentration of DON in the malt produced from the latter batch was 135% and 337% higher, for Legenda and Pokusa, respectively, than that in the malt produced from the batch that was turned and aerated. The NIV concentration was 22% higher in the latter batch.