Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Innervation of the synovium.

This review will describe the normal innervation of the joints, in particular the synovium, and then show how this changes in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) joint in the human. Substance P will be described in detail, as an example of a particular neuropeptide. The concepts surrounding neuropeptide release and the role of neuropeptides in inflammatory joint disease (neurogenic inflammation) will then be explored. The in vitro and in vivo effects of substance P will be described. The receptors for substance P and the effects of antagonists, peptide and synthetic, for the receptor on inflammatory models will also be discussed. The synovial distribution of the enzyme systems that break down neuropeptides and how this may lead to functional compartmentalisation will be described. Finally, some mechanisms by which pain may arise will be presented.
Molecular surface generation using marching tetrahedra

A method is presented to generate and triangulate molecular surfaces rapidly. It is based on the ‘marching tetrahedra’ approach. The method is fast, simple and easy to implement. Our approach is not analytical in nature. Hence no special treatment is required for complications with singularity, degeneracy, or with self‐intersecting re‐entrant surfaces. A quick test for determining the solvent accessibility of a point in space forms an important part of the method. This test has potential use outside of the surface generation algorithm such as in molecular field analysis where the solvent accessibility of a point needs to be determined. The triangulated surface generated is suitable for molecular graphics display as well as boundary element continuum dielectric calculations. © 1998, Government of Canada. Exclusive worldwide publication rights in the article have been transferred to John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in perpetuity. J Comput Chem 19: 1268–1277, 1998
Saline Growth Conditions Favour Supercooling and Increase the Freezing Tolerance of Leaves of Barley and Wheat

When young plants of barley and wheat grown in hydroponic culture were subjected to salt stress, their freezing tolerance increased with increasing severity of salt stress. Detached leaves from salt-stressed plants also exhibited an increased ability to supercool. Avoidance of ice formation permitted leaf survival at subzero temperatures which were no longer tolerated when ice nucleation resulted in extracellular freezing. The increased freezing tolerance under salt stress is attributed to osmotic adjustment of the plants. Increased cellular solute concentrations decrease the extent of cellular dehydration at freezing temperatures, thereby decreasing mechanical and chemical stresses on biomembranes during freezing and thawing.
Assessment of Neuroprotective Effects of Local Administration of 17- Beta- Estradiol on Peripheral Nerve Regeneration in Ovariectomized Female Rats.

OBJECTIVE To assess the neuroprotective effects of local administration of 17- beta- estradiol on nerve regeneration. METHODS Sixty female Wistar rats were overiectomized and divided into four experimental groups (n = 15), randomly: In autograft group a segment of sciatic nerve was transected and re-implanted reversely. In sham-surgery group sciatic nerve was exposed and manipulated. In transected group left sciatic nerve was transected and stumps were fixed in adjacent muscle. In treatment group defect was bridged using a silicon conduit filled with 10 µL (0.1 mg/mL) 17- beta- estradiol. Each group was subdivided into four subgroups of five animals each and nerve fibers were studied in a 12-week period. RESULTS Behavioral, functional, biomechanical, electrophysiological and gastrocnemius muscle mass findings and morphometric indices confirmed faster recovery of regenerated axons in treatment group than in other groups (p<0.05). Immunohistochemical reactions to S-100 in treatment group were more positive than that in other groups. CONCLUSION Local administration of 17-beta-estradiol improved functional recovery and morphometric indices of sciatic nerve. It could have clinical implications for the surgical management of patients after facial nerve transection.
A Week-long Study on Robot-Visitors Spatial Relationships during Guidance in a Sciences Museum

In order to observe spatial relationships in social human-robot interactions, a field trial was carried out within the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona. The follow me episodes studied showed that the space configurations formed by guide and visitors walking together did not always fit the robot social affordances and navigation requirements to perform the guidance successfully, thus additional communication prompts are considered to regulate effectively the walking together and follow me behaviors.
Regularization and numerical optimization of a fast eddy current imaging method

This paper deals with the improvement of a fast noniterative imaging algorithm to retrieve the spatial distribution of the (two-phase) resistivity of a conductor starting from eddy current nondestructive testing data. A critical analysis of the algorithm shows that it can be improved by: 1) taking into account a priori information (regularization) and 2) by reducing the computational cost
Relaxin-2 in Cardiometabolic Diseases: Mechanisms of Action and Future Perspectives

Despite the great effort of the medical community during the last decades, cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide, increasing their prevalence every year mainly due to our new way of life. In the last years, the study of new hormones implicated in the regulation of energy metabolism and inflammation has raised a great interest among the scientific community regarding their implications in the development of cardiometabolic diseases. In this review, we will summarize the main actions of relaxin, a pleiotropic hormone that was previously suggested to improve acute heart failure and that participates in both metabolism and inflammation regulation at cardiovascular level, and will discuss its potential as future therapeutic target to prevent/reduce cardiovascular diseases.
Novel mutation of RUNX2 gene in a patient with cleidocranial dysplasia.

BACKGROUND Cleidocranial dysplasia is a rare hereditary skeletal disorder due to heterozygous loss of function mutations in the RUNX2 gene that encodes runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2). Here we report a 52 year-old woman with cleidocranial dysplasia due to a novel RUNX2 mutation. CASE DESCRIPTION A 52 year-old Han Chinese woman presented with short stature and skeletal dysplasia that was first noted during early childhood. She was 153 cm in height and 40 kg in weight. Her skull was deformed with hypertelorism, midface hypoplasia, protrusion of chin, and dental abnormalities. Radiological examination revealed shortened clavicles and depressed skull bone and that were consistent with the clinical diagnosis of cleidocranial dysplasia. There was no family history of a similar skeletal disorder. We sequenced the RUNX2 gene and discovered a novel heterozygous mutation in exon 3 (c.476 del G, p.G159fs175X) that is predicted to cause a frameshift and premature termination that leads to the loss of the final 347 amino acid residues. This severely truncated protein is expected to be inactive. LITERATURE REVIEW RUNX2 gene controls osteoblast differentiation and chondrocyte maturation. Around 90 RUNX2 mutations have been discovered in patients with cleidocranial dysplasia. CLINICAL RELEVANCE We identified a case of cleidocranial dysplasia due to a novel mutation of RUNX2 gene at exon 3 (c.476 del G).
Daytime visual load and the effects upon human sleep.

The importance of vision to man was used as a basis for a possible link between vision and sleep. A physiological approach to the human visual system identified several factors which might produce a visual load. Five subjects were exposed to high and low levels of visual load on two different occasions. Exercise and noise were controlled. Sleep EEGs were taken for 3 baseline nights and for 2 nights following each condition. The only significant changes were for SWS stages, which increased after the high load condition. These increases were particularly prominent on the second night. There were no significant changes fallowing the low condition. On all nights RKM remained constant: this was contrary to the cognitive theories of REM. Although the findings indicate that visual load can affect SWS. this interpretation is qualified.
Seminal plasma glycoproteins in male infertility and prostate diseases: is there a chance for glyco-biomarkers?

Context: Disturbed protein–carbohydrate interactions may underlie the molecular mechanism of some diseases of the male reproductive tract, including infertility and prostate diseases. Objective: To summarize the current knowledge on the glycosylation patterns of glycodelin-S, fibronectin, prostate-specific antigen, and α1-acid glycoprotein. Results: Some rare glycoepitopes have been found in seminal plasma glycoproteins: high-mannose and polylactosamine-type glycans, and N-glycans containing N-acetyl-galactosamine. The glycosylation profiles occur altered in pathological conditions. Conclusion: Further detailed studies may lead up to indicate the biomarkers useful in the management of male reproductive tract disorders.
Discovery of New Risk Markers for Ischemic Stroke Using a Novel Targeted Proteomics Chip

Background and Purpose— Emerging technologies have made it possible to simultaneously evaluate a large number of circulating proteins as potential new stroke risk markers. Methods— We explored associations between 85 cardiovascular proteins, assessed by a proteomics chip, and incident ischemic stroke in 2 independent cohorts of elderly (Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors [PIVUS]: n=977; 50% women, mean age=70.1 years, 71 fatal/nonfatal ischemic stroke events during 10.0 years; and Uppsala Longitudinal Study in Adult Men [ULSAM]: n=720, mean age=77.5 years, 75 ischemic stroke events during 9.5 years). The proteomics chip uses 2 antibodies for each protein and a polymerase chain reaction step to achieve a high-specific binding and the possibility to measure multiple proteins in parallel, but gives no absolute concentrations. Results— In PIVUS, 16 proteins were related to incident ischemic stroke using a false discovery rate of 5%. Of these, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (P=0.0032), adrenomedullin (P=0.018), and eosinophil cationic protein (P=0.0071) were replicated in ULSAM after adjustment for established stroke risk factors. In predefined secondary meta-analyses of individual data, interleukin-27 subunit &agr;, growth/differentiation factor 15, urokinase plasminogen activator surface receptor, tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 6, macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1, and matrix metalloproteinase-7 were also potential risk markers for ischemic stroke after adjustment for multiple comparisons (P<0.0006). The addition of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, adrenomedullin, and eosinophil cationic protein to a model with established risk factors increased the C-statistic from 0.629 to 0.689 (P=0.001). Conclusions— Our data suggest that large-scale proteomics analysis is a promising way of discovering novel biomarkers that could substantially improve the prediction of ischemic stroke.
Empirical validation of an instrument to measure habitual physical activity in youth from Maputo, Mozambique

To develop a questionnaire to assess habitual physical activity in Mozambican children and youth, a study with school youth of Maputo was done. The study included the assessment of usual activities, development of the questionnaire, and testing its validity and reliability. The questionnaire was initially based on anecdotal observations of the usual activities of this population, then a sample of 20 children was observed during 24 h and interviewed the day before with a model that asked the subjects about the time spent in each activity. Fifteen days later the same students were interviewed with the questionnaire in order to test its validity. After another 15 days, the reliability of the questionnaire was tested. To score the questionnaire, estimation of metabolic equivalents (METS) of the socioculturally specific activities was done. This was based on published tables and heart rate monitoring of the children performing the activities listed on the questionnaire. Intraclass correlations between time observed and time reported ranged form 0.06–0.80, demonstrating limited capacity of the children to report time. However, percentage of agreement between the observations and the questionnaire concerning activity levels was 83%. It was concluded that the questionnaire may be a useful instrument for assessing the patterns of physical activity of African youth and for classifying groups according to levels of activity. However, it has limited utility for estimating energy expenditure. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:437–446, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Segmentation of 3D outdoor scenes using hierarchical clustering structure and perceptual grouping laws

In this paper, we propose a bottom-up point cloud segmentation method, which utilizes a hierarchical clustering structure combined with the perceptual grouping laws. Our method allows a learning-free and completely automatic but parametric process for segmenting point clouds of 3D outdoor scenes. The experiments using terrestrial laser scanning dataset have demonstrated that our proposed method can achieve good results, especially for complex scenes and nonplanar surfaces of objects. The quantitative comparison between our method and the region growing based method also confirms the effectiveness and efficiency of our method.
X-cells in the cat retina: relationships between the morphology and physiology of a class of cat retinal ganglion cells.

1. The morphology of 21 physiologically characterized X-cells in the cat retina was studied using intracellular recording and injection with horseradish peroxidase. The data from these experiments were used to test directly the relationships between specific structural and functional characteristics of a sample of individual retinal ganglion cells of the same anatomical and physiological class. Where possible, the response properties of 53 other retinal X-cells that were not successfully injected and recovered are compared with those of the labeled sample. These comparisons, which included conduction velocities (both intraretinal and extraretinal) and receptive-field size, indicate that the labeled X-cells are a representative sample of the population of retinal X-cells at corresponding eccentricities. 2. The somata of this group of injected retinal X-cells increase in size with increasing distance from the area centralis up to 13 degrees eccentricity (the greatest distance from the area centralis at which an X-cell was injected and recovered). The soma sizes of this sample of retinal ganglion cells range from 143.5 to 529.9 micron 2 (diam = 13.5-26.0 micron). Comparison of the soma sizes of the injected and recovered retinal X-cells with those of 300 Nissl-stained neurons at comparable eccentricities in the same retinae indicate that the injected sample had soma sizes that are consistent with their classification as "medium-sized" retinal ganglion cells (5, 69, 74). 3. All of the physiologically characterized retinal X-cells of this study have the compact dendritic arbors described to the morphological class of retinal ganglion cell called beta-cells by Boycott and Wässle (5). The dendrites of some of these neurons have many spinelike appendages, whereas those of other cells are nearly appendage free. We found no obvious correlation between the presence of dendritic appendages and any specific response characteristic ("ON-" or "OFF-center", etc). Like the size of the soma, both the diameter of the dendritic arbors of these cells, and the number of primary dendrites (those dendrites that originate directly from the soma), increase with increasing distance from the area centralis. 4. Since both morphological and physiological data were obtained for these neurons, it is possible to describe the relationship between the size of the receptive-field center and the diameter of the dendritic arbor for individual retinal ganglion cells. These comparisons show that the relationship between the anatomical measure and this response parameter for the entire sample of labeled X-cells is not as strong as had previously been suggested. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Maximal lipid oxidation during exercise: A target for individualizing endurance training in obesity and diabetes?

This review summarizes the rationale for personalized exercise training in obesity and diabetes, targeted at the level of maximal lipid oxidation as can be determined by exercise calorimetry. This measurement is reproducible and reflects muscles’ ability to oxidize lipids. Targeted training at this level is well tolerated, increases the ability to oxidize lipids during exercise and improves body composition, lipid and inflammatory status, and glycated hemoglobin, thus representing a possible future strategy for exercise prescription in patients suffering from obesity and diabetes.
Anal sucking-like movements in the chicken and chick embryo followed by the transportation of environmental material to the bursa of Fabricius, caeca and caecal tonsils.

Abstract Anal sucking-like movements and the uptake of tracer materials by the bursa Fabricii, caeca and caecal tonsils were studied in chick embryos and chickens of various ages. In embryos, aged 15 days or more, sucking movements were associated with transportation of colloidal carbon from the anal lips into the bursal lumen. Since sucking was found only after mechanical irritation of the skin, occurring simultaneously with slow respiratory efforts, we conclude that it may not have any biological importance during the embryonal period. After hatching, the sucking movements were spontaneous and occurred also in old chickens after bursal involution. In young chickens movements were simultaneous with the respiratory motions, increasing in older birds. In chickens with intact bursa, anal sucking was associated with effective transport of tracer materials into the bursal lumen, immediately after application; later the tracers were found in the caecal lumina. Also in old chickens, after bursal involution, the tracers were taken up into the cloaca, colon and the caeca. As in the bursa, a further transport of colloidal carbon from the lumen into the mucosal lymphoid tissue was found also in the caecal tonsils, but in the bursa this transport was by far more effective.
Enhanced purification of plasmid DNA isoforms by exploiting ionic strength effects during ultrafiltration

The solution structure of plasmid DNA is known to be a strong function of solution conditions due to intramolecular electrostatic interactions between the charged phosphate groups along the DNA backbone. The objective of this work was to determine whether it was possible to enhance the use of ultrafiltration for separation of different plasmid isoforms by proper selection of the solution ionic strength and ion type. Experiments were performed with a 3.0 kbp plasmid using composite regenerated cellulose ultrafiltration membranes. The transmission of the linear isoform was nearly independent of solution ionic strength, but increased significantly with increasing filtrate flux due to the elongation of the highly flexible plasmid in the converging flow field into the membrane pores. In contrast, the transmission of the open‐circular and supercoiled plasmids both increased with increasing NaCl or MgCl2 concentration due to the change in plasmid size and conformational flexibility. The effect of ionic strength was greatest for the supercoiled plasmid, providing opportunities for enhanced purification of this therapeutically active isoform. This behavior was confirmed using experiments performed with binary mixtures of the different isoforms. These results clearly demonstrate the potential for enhancing the performance of membrane systems for plasmid DNA separations by proper selection of the ionic conditions. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 783–789. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Experiences and needs for work participation in employees with rheumatoid arthritis treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy

Purpose. To investigate the experiences and needs with respect to work participation of employees with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy. Method. Face-to-face interviews in 14 employees with RA on anti-TNF therapy focused on experiences, offered support and needs with respect to work participation. Results. Experiences regarding work participation varied and ranged from fatigue at work, having no job control, not being understood by the work environment or difficulty dealing with emotions as a result of interaction within the work environment. Support by health care professionals for work participation was considered important, especially concerning social or psychological issues. Advice in becoming aware of one's changes in abilities was highly appreciated, as was the availability of professional advice in times of an urgent work issue due to RA. Employees mentioned an increase in social support at work and job control as important facilitating factors for work participation. Conclusion. Although patients with RA report improvement in their work functioning after starting anti-TNF therapy, employees continue facing challenges in working life due to RA. For support concerning work participation, it is recommended that health care professionals are more aware of work-related problems in patients with RA treated with anti-TNF therapy.
Epidemiology of schistosomiasis.

Transmission Mode  The life cycle of trematode is completed in 2 different classes of hosts: definitive (ie., humans, domestic animals, wild animals) and intermediate (ie., freshwater snails; the amphibious snail Oncomelania for S. japonicum).  Each species of schistosomes can infect only a single species of vector snail. A common factor in the population dynamics of many vector species is that they thrive on organic material and firm mud substrates. Usually they live in abundant aquatic vegetation that increases dissolved oxygen and provides food through green algae encrusting the submerged portion of the plants. Decayed vegetation also provides food and a suitable surface for depositing egg masses (Malek 1958). People become infected when larval forms of the parasite penetrate their skin during contact with infested water (see diagram at the end of article).  Animal reservoirs maintain the infection in the environment, but if the snail population are kept under control steadily for years, the transmission chain will be cut.
Occurrence of a new microsporidan: Enterocytozoon bieneusi n.g., n. sp., in the enterocytes of a human patient with AIDS.

A new microsporidium is reported infesting the enterocytes of a Haitian patients with AIDS. The stages observed were diplokaryotic cells, sporogonial plasmodia, unikaryotic sporoblasts, and spores. Neither a sporophorous vesicle (pansporoblastic membrane) nor parasitophorous vacuole were differentiated around the developmental stages, which were in direct contact with the host cell cytoplasm. The polar tube (5-6 coils) was differentiated before fission of the sporogonial plasmodium. The mature spores measured 1.5 micron X 0.5 micron. The spore wall was very thin as the endospore was absent or poorly differentiated. The organism is named Enterocytozoon bieneusi n. g. , n. sp. and is assigned to the suborder Apansporoblastina.