Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Member of Endothelial Arsenal Against Inflammation.

The endothelium evolved from a conceptual cellophane-like structure involved in blood–tissue exchange of solutes to an active set of vascular cells with a diverse and broad array of functions in health and disease.1,2 Because of its strategic immediate contact with blood and tissues, the endothelium regulates transport barrier properties, contributes to control of blood flow, prevents hemorrhage through fine tuning of platelet adhesion, and is an important player in controlling immunologic responses. Several articles and reviews have pointed out that endothelial dysfunction is the fundamental basis of inflammation and vascular disease.3–6 Article, see p 222 Research in vascular biology has identified several key endothelial proteins along with factors that cause the onset of inflammation. Tissue necrosis factor-α is a major cytokine that activates endothelial cells and promotes inflammation. Proteins involved in regulatory functions include intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and vascular endothelial cadherin. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1-1 play an important role in adhesion and migration of leukocytes in inflammation,7 whereas vascular endothelial cadherin participates in the regulation of microvascular transport.8,9 The proteins mentioned in the preceding paragraph, as well as the proteins that serve as coagulation factors, are largely located on the cell membrane and exert their main function by reacting to external stimuli. Interest in the biology of endothelial cells was immensely enhanced by the realization that they produce endogenous factors, …
Differentially Fed Dielectric Resonators: Applications in Filters and Antennas

With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, high-performance miniaturized RF circuits are becoming more complicated, and more functions and signals are being packed into a small, tight space, resulting in a significant level of electromagnetic (EM) interference and signal crosstalk. In modern wireless communication systems, a higher signal-to-noise ratio is desirable and can be attained using differential signals and circuits. Using the differential technique, commonmode (CM) interference is rejected, enhancing signal transparency. Thus, lots of attention has been drawn to differential/balanced circuits, owing to their advantages over traditional single-ended circuits, such as immunity to interference, high reliability, considerable output power, harmonic suppression, and so on [1]. Corresponding to this trend, differential topologies have been used to design basic and key devices for RF front-end systems, such as filters [2], [3], power dividers [4], antennas [5], [6], and active components [7].
Development of a Quantitative In-Shoe Measurement System for Assessing Balance: Sixteen-Sensor Insoles

This work presents the first phase in the development of an in-shoe sensor system designed to evaluate balance. Sixteen force-sensitive resistors were strategically mounted to a removable insole, and the bilateral outputs were recorded. The initial results indicate that these sensors are capable of detecting subtle changes in weight distribution, corresponding to the subject's ability to balance. Preliminary analysis of this data found a clear correlation between the ability to balance and the state of health of the subject
Exploring frequency differences of physiological processes to enhance dynamic FDG-PET without blood function

Due to the difference between the glucose utilization rates of malignant and normal tissue, the observed dynamic FDG-PET time activity curve (TAC) of malignant tissue increases in time, whereas, the normal tissue's TAC washouts with time. This paper aims at exploiting this temporal difference in frequency domain to characterize the behaviors of the individual physiological function, defined as the convolution of the input blood function and an exponential function with decay factor /spl beta/, for malignance and normal tissue, respectively. We proved that for a given dynamic acquisition time duration T, there exists a value /spl beta/*, differing for each patient, such that the physiological functions monotonically increase in the acquisition period T if the decay factor /spl beta//spl beta/*. Based on the facts that FDG uptake, which reflects glucose metabolic rate, increases in tumor cell while decreases in normal tissue, we claim that the physiological functions with /spl beta//spl beta/* are associated to normal tissues. In this paper, we first map such temporal differences in malignancy and normal tissue to frequency domain, then design a low pass filter whose cut-off frequency is selected to suppress the frequency components mainly attributed to the normal tissues. The dependence of the cutoff frequency of the low pass filter on the decay factor of the physiological functions is also addressed. An image enhancement method based on the frequency domain property of the TAC is proposed and tested with both digital phantom and clinical data. One advantage of this method is that no blood function is needed for image enhancement process. Our results from clinic and phantom data show that the tumor to background contrast can be substantially improved.
Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

Pharmaceuticals are chemicals that are used because of their biological activity. They are often excreted unchanged and can reach the environment. Throughout developed countries, the pharmaceutical concentrations in the aquatic environment are in the same range (μg L−1 and below); however, it is not clear whether this holds for less-developed countries too. The health risks of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) remain poorly understood. Although there are no known short-term effects on humans, long-term effects cannot be ruled out until there is more research. The significance of metabolites and transformation products resulting from the parent APIs is not yet known. Awareness of the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment, coupled with some evidence of effects, suggests that precautionary management action to reduce the release of pharmaceuticals to the environment should be considered. As for effluent treatment, no technology works well for all compounds. Advanced effluent treatment is not .
Introduction to Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affects over 350 million people worldwide and over 1 million die annually of HBV-related chronic liver disease. Although many individuals eventually achieve a state of nonreplicative infection, the prolonged immunologic response to infection leads to the development of cirrhosis, liver failure, or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in up to 40% of patients. In endemic areas, where carrier rates are >5%, most individuals are infected perinatally, by vertical transmission, or in early childhood. In the United States, where prevalence is low except in particular areas and populations (e.g., Alaskan natives, immigrants from highly endemic areas), transmission is generally horizontal, percutaneous, or via sexual contact in adulthood. A variety of host (age at infection, gender, immune status); viral (viral load, genotype, mutation); and external (concurrent viral infections, alcohol consumption, chemotherapy) factors influence disease progression. Several variables (age at infection, gender, ethnicity, immune status) also influence the risk of chronic infection. Perinatal transmission, the most common mode of infection worldwide, can be reduced by appropriate prophylaxis (vaccination of the infant at birth together with hepatitis B immune globulin); anti-viral therapy in late pregnancy may also be beneficial. Five drugs are now FDA-approved for the treatment of HBV (interferon, lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir, and peginterferon alfa-2a), and suppressive anti-viral therapy improves the natural history of HBV. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis or HCC are highly likely to die unless they successfully undergo liver transplantation. While novel anti-viral drugs have improved the management of cirrhosis, strategies to prevent and treat HCC remain inadequate.
Organelle‐specific probe JC‐1 identifies membrane potential differences in the mitochondrial function of bovine sperm

The mitochondrial probe 5,5′,6,6′‐tetrachloro‐1,1′,3,3′‐tetraethylbenzimidazolyl‐carbocyanine iodide (JC‐1) not only identifies mitochondria exhibiting low membrane potentials by the emission of green fluorescence (range, 510–520 nm) but also differentiates these from mitochondria exhibiting relatively high membrane potentials. This discrimination occurs because JC‐1 forms aggregates at high membrane potentials. These J‐aggregates emit a bright red‐orange fluorescence at 590 nm. In this study, JC‐1 was combined with the classical dead cell stain, propidium iodide (PI), to identify a spectrum of functional sperm along with degenerate sperm. Flow cytometric analysis of bull sperm showed that the aggregate:monomer ratio differed among bulls before cryopreservation (P < 0.001) but not afterwards (P > 0.05). The effects of stain equilibration time, sperm concentration, and live:dead ratios were examined. The addition of SYBR‐14 to the JC‐1 and PI combination enhanced the distinction between the red PI‐stained and red‐orange JC‐1–stained populations. This discrimination between J‐aggregates and the PI‐stained sperm was affected by sperm concentration. These studies show that JC‐1 can be useful in monitoring mitochondrial function in bovine sperm. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 53:222–229, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
AIRCacher: virtual geocaching powered with augmented reality

Nowadays, smartphones and digital networks are being heavily used as data sources for research on social networks. Our daily experiences, interactions and transactions are recorded thanks to the digital traces that users leave behind their activities, both individual and social. In this work, we describe AiRCacher, a mobile app for virtual geocaching enhanced with Augmented Reality. By following gamification and Game With A Purpose design approaches, the aim is to bring people outside and make them move, by hiding and seeking virtual caches. As a side effect of their gaming activity, they became like social sensors able to provide geo-located social data. Therefore, the aim of our work is to carry out data analyses about users' outdoor behaviors, by looking for several findings such as trending places for different cache's typologies, and the detection of interesting events emerging from the concentration of caches in specific places.
Defining the Domains of Human Polynucleotide Phosphorylase (hPNPaseOLD-35) Mediating Cellular Senescence

ABSTRACT To fully comprehend cellular senescence, identification of relevant genes involved in this process is mandatory. Human polynucleotide phosphorylase (hPNPaseOLD-35), an evolutionarily conserved 3′, 5′ exoribonuclease mediating mRNA degradation, was first identified as a predominantly mitochondrial protein overexpressed during terminal differentiation and senescence. Overexpression of hPNPaseOLD-35 in human melanoma cells and melanocytes induces distinctive changes associated with senescence, potentially mediated by direct degradation of c-myc mRNA by this enzyme. hPNPaseOLD-35 contains two RNase PH (RPH) domains, one PNPase domain, and two RNA binding domains. Using deletion mutation analysis in combination with biochemical and molecular analyses we now demonstrate that the presence of either one of the two RPH domains conferred similar functional activity as the full-length protein, whereas a deletion mutant containing only the RNA binding domains was devoid of activity. Moreover, either one of the two RPH domains induced the morphological, biochemical, and gene expression changes associated with senescence, including degradation of c-myc mRNA. Subcellular distribution confirmed hPNPaseOLD-35 to be localized both in mitochondria and the cytoplasm. The present study elucidates how a predominantly mitochondrial protein, via its localization in both mitochondria and cytoplasm, is able to target a specific cytoplasmic mRNA, c-myc, for degradation and through this process induce cellular senescence.
AMLODIPIN-INDUCED GINGIVAL OVERGROWTH AND APPLICATION OF ER:YAG LASER IN THE TREATMENT PROTOCOL

Gingival overgrowth (GO) is one of the most important clinical features of gingival pathology. Amlodipine is a comparatively new III generation calcium channels blocker, used for management of cardiovascular disorders. Although it is considered safe, it can also rarely induce GO. A case of severe amlodipine-induced GO, complicated by inflammatory changes due to plaque accumulation is presented in a 54 years old patient. Treatment was performed as follows: drug substitution; initial periodontal therapy - scaling and root planning (reduction of inflammatory component in the gingival tissues); Er:YAG laser-performed gingivectomy and gingivoplasty; maintenance care. The healing process went uneventful and the postoperative results were extremely esthetically and functionally satisfactory.
Naming of Grammatical Classes in Frontotemporal Dementias: Linguistic and Non Linguistic Factors Contribute to Noun-Verb Dissociation

We studied noun and verb naming in three main variants of frontotemporal dementia: the frontal variant(Fv-FTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and semantic dementia (SD). We further distinguished PPA in nonfluent and fluent forms and restricted diagnosis of SD to subjects with progressive semantic breakdown leading to agnosia for words and objects. Fv-FTD and nonfluent-PPA named objects better than actions, SD showed an inverse dissociation and no specific pattern emerged in fluent-PPA. In this last group, in spite of the broad definition of fluent aphasia, quite heterogeneous patterns of language disorders and word class dissociation emerged when single-subject analyses were performed. In fv-FTD correlations between executive tasks and action naming were stronger than between executive tasks and object naming. We conclude that both linguistic and non linguistic factors, in particular an executive deficit, contribute to grammatical class dissociation. We also suggest that the fluent vs. nonfluent distinction does not reflect the complexity of primary aphasia.
Association amacrine cells of Ramón y Cajal: Rediscovery and reinterpretation

In 1895, by means of the Golgi method, Santiago Ramón y Cajal discovered a cell having a unique morphology in the avian retina. This cell had its cell body in the amacrine cell level of the inner nuclear layer, only a few rudimentary dendrites at the outermost level of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), and a long axon coursing horizontally and terminating in the IPL. Despite having defined amacrine cells as cells without axons, Cajal named this cell type “association amacrine cell” (AAC). This discovery was not confirmed by other investigators for nearly a century. Very recently, however, isthmo-optic target cells (IOTCs), which receive the terminals of centrifugal fibers emanating from the isthmo-optic nucleus, have been identified as one type of AAC. As summarized and discussed in this review, the morphology of the AACs as described by Cajal has been completely confirmed. However, since these cells appear to be classical polarized, monoaxonal neurons and lack the dendritic interactions that are typical of amacrine cells, they should be regarded as a distinct type of retinal interneuron and not as amacrine cells.
Clinical yield of fetal echocardiography for suboptimal cardiac visualization on obstetric ultrasound

OBJECTIVE Suboptimal cardiac imaging on obstetric ultrasound is a frequent referral indication for fetal echocardiography, even in the absence of typical risk factors for fetal cardiac disease. The clinical profile of patients and findings of examinations performed for such an indication are not well defined. Given the increased cost, time and resource utilization of fetal echocardiography, we sought to determine the clinical findings of such referrals. STUDY DESIGN We performed a single-center review of such referrals from January 2010 to June 2016. Patients with commonly accepted indications for fetal echocardiography were excluded. Demographic variables and echocardiogram findings were collected. Findings were classified as (1) "normal," (2) "probably normal," if minor pathology could not confidently be excluded, or if minor findings were noted that were expected to resolve, or (3) "abnormal. " Rates of pathology were determined with comparison of nonobese and obese populations. RESULTS A total of 583 gestations in 562 women were included (median gestational age 23.3 weeks, range 19.0-38.4). The median body mass index (BMI) was 34.6 kg/m2 (range 17.2-66.3 kg/m2 ). The majority of women were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 in 74.6%). Overall, 574 of 583 examinations (98.5%) were normal or "probably normal. " Pathology was noted in 9 fetuses (1.5%), 3 of whom required intervention (0.5%). No ductal dependent lesions were diagnosed. There was no significant difference in pathology rates between nonobese and obese mothers. CONCLUSIONS We found a low fetal cardiac anomaly rate in studies performed for suboptimal views on obstetric ultrasound. The majority of women referred for this indication were obese. The practice of routine referral for this indication deserves further evaluation.
Bolsas de Valores dos BRICS: uma análise comparativa das informações financeiras baseada na Lei de Benford

O mercado de capitais de paises emergentes tem atraido, cada vez mais, a atencao de grandes investidores interessados em diversificar o risco de suas carteiras globais. Brasil, Russia, India, China e Africa do Sul (BRICS) compoem o grupo de paises que se destacam por receber parcela significativa desses investimentos. Nesse sentido, e relevante para o investidor conhecer as caracteristicas informacionais presentes nos respectivos mercados. O objetivo deste estudo e verificar se os dados financeiros divulgados pelas empresas listadas nas bolsas de valores dos BRICS apresentam padroes informacionais semelhantes. Para essa analise comparativa aplicou-se a Lei de Benford (LB), a qual e uma distribuicao logaritmica utilizada em procedimentos de auditoria para a identificacao de padroes anormais em um conjunto de dados. A variavel financeira utilizada como parâmetro comparativo foi o lucro antes dos juros, impostos, depreciacao e amortizacao. A amostra total considerou 2.193 empresas listadas nas bolsas de valores dos BRICS, com 10.965 observacoes analisadas no periodo de 2008 a 2012. Com um nivel de confianca de 95%, os resultados indicaram que os dados financeiros divulgados pelas bolsas do Brasil, Russia, India e Africa do Sul estao em conformidade com a LB, apontando, em uma analise preliminar, para a nao existencia vies informacional entre as empresas das respectivas bolsas. Nas bolsas chinesas, os dados de mercado de Hong Kong e de Shangai tambem estavam em conformidade com a distribuicao de LB, entretanto, a bolsa de Shenzhen apresentou significativo vies nas informacoes das empresas analisadas, incentivando novas analises para a identificacao de variaveis geradoras dessa anomalia.
Pharmacology and clinical applications of human recombinant antithrombin

Importance of the field: Antithrombin therapy (AT) has been tested in various medical applications. With advances in genetics and biotechnology, large-scale production of human recombinant antithrombin (rhAT) is now feasible. The prospect of administering a recombinant protein rather than a pooled blood component, has rekindled interest in antithrombin therapy. However, many known properties of human pooled antithrombin (hpAT) still need to be investigated and established for rhAT. Areas covered in this review: The manufacture and clinical pharmacology of antithrombin. The literature, evidence and our own views about the future of this drug and its potential clinical applications. What the reader will gain: The reader will appreciate the biological rationale underpinning antithrombin administration in various clinical settings. The potential benefits and harms of the intervention are addressed. Novel future applications of recombinant antithrombin are broached. Take home message: rhAT has been approved for its use in congenital antithrombin deficiency. rhAT has also been used off-label to treat heparin-resistance in cardiac surgery and sepsis. It is a promising adjuvant for immunosuppression in organ transplantation, and may have role as an anti-angiogenic, anti-tumor and anti-viral agent. rhAT has clear safety advantages over phAT, such as the avoidance of infection transmission.
Effects of microcystin‐free and microcystin‐containing strains of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa on growth of the grazer Daphnia magna

Harmful effects of the common bloom‐forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa on the grazer Daphnia have been explained from morphological features, nutritional insufficiency, and the production of toxins called microcystins. The effects of four M. aeruginosa strains, including one free of microcystins, on the growth of Daphnia magna were examined. Population growth was measured in Daphnia fed each M. aeruginosa strain alone and fed mixtures of each strain with the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus to avoid nutritional deficiency. The presence of Microcystis in the food resulted in decreased Daphnia population growth rates. A significant correlation (P < 0.001) was found between the amount of microcystins (MC) in the food and the population growth rate, but growth inhibition in Daphnia fed with the MC‐free strain could not be explained by the toxicity of the microcystins. Inasmuch as there was greater reduction in growth of the Daphnia fed mixtures of the MC‐free strain with Scenedesmus than of the Daphnia fed only the same amount of Scenedesmus as in the mixtures, other factors associated with this Microcystis strain must have inhibited growth. However, morphology and nutritional insufficiency could be excluded as causal factors. The strong relationship between Daphnia feeding activity and population growth suggests that feeding inhibition may have caused the observed detrimental effects on the animals. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 18: 202–210, 2003