Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantified Vascular Calcification at the Dialysis Access Site: Correlations with the Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Survival Analysis of Access and Cardiovascular Outcomes

Vascular calcification is a major contributor to mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. In this study, we investigated whether there was a correlation between the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and the vascular calcification score (VCS), and whether higher VCS increased the incidence of interventions and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). ECG-gated CT, including vascular access and the coronary vessel, was taken. CACS and VCS were calculated by the Agatston method. A comparison of CACS and survival analysis according to VCS groups was performed. Using a cutoff of VCS = 500, 77 patients were divided into two groups. The vintage was significantly older in the higher VCS group. The median CACS was higher in the higher VCS group (21 [0, 171] vs. 552 [93, 2430], p < 0.001). The hazard ratio (HR) for interventions and MACCEs in the higher VCS group increased by 3.2 and 2.3, respectively. Additionally, a longer duration of hemodialysis and higher magnesium levels (>2.5 mg/dL) showed lower HRs for interventions (<1). We quantified VCS and found that it was associated with the CACS. Additionally, higher VCS increased the risk of access interventions and MACCE. VCS of the access site may be suggested as a biomarker to predict ESRD patients.
A Multifunctional Mineral Binder for Plywood Production: The Effect of Manufacturing Parameters on Bonding Quality

Geopolymers show great potential for use as binders in developing and manufacturing multifunctional wood products. The objective of this study was to improve the bonding quality of a geopolymer binder, with wood veneers, using different manufacturing parameters. To this end, we produced five layered plywood panels treated with various lay-up times (1, 5, 10, 15 min), panel compressibility values during hot pressing (5%, 10%, 15%, and 30% compression), veneer roughness values (low, medium, and high roughness), press temperatures (120, 140, and 160 °C), and veneer layouts via changing the middle layer position of plywood relative to the surface layers. The results show that the shear strength and thickness swelling were negatively influenced by increasing the lay-up time of resinated veneers and panel compressibility. Increasing the veneer roughness significantly increased the panels’ properties. Furthermore, the panels produced with a pressing temperature of 140 °C showed the best performances. The veneer layouts also significantly changed the physical and mechanical properties of the plywood panels. Generally speaking, the results obtained in this study show that improving the bonding quality of geopolymer binders with wood can be done through the manipulation of plywood manufacturing parameters.
Study on Different Water-Based Binders for Li4Ti5O12 Electrodes

In this study, Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) electrodes with different types of water-soluble binders are successfully coated upon aluminum foil. Electrodes containing solely sodium alginate (SA) as a binder or a mixed PVDF/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) binder show the most stable performance in 1 M LiPF6 in EC/DMC 1:1 in half cell vs. Li, with respect to cycle stability over 100 cycles at 1 C. The electrodes processed with a mixture of PVDF/SA show considerable fading and slightly worse values for rate capability. Each one of the different binders used is eco-friendly, and the whole processing can be performed without the use of organic solvents. Further advantages covering the whole production and recycling process, as well as safety issues during operation, encourage deeper research in this area.
Analisi genetica del policromatismo di Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas) Savigny (Ascidiacca)

Summary In the first part of this paper the main colour markings of Botryllus are take into account and their behaviour during the life of the colonies is described. The colour pattern of the zooids of a given colony is made of a ground colour, due to an unknown bluish pigment, and of other superimposed pigments, the white and the orange pigments. The white pigment, a purine compound probably xantine, which looks yellowish by transmitted light and silvery by reflected light, on the dorsal surface of the zooids is either scattered or arranged into definite colour markings, the intersiphonal band and the peristomatic ring. The orange pigment, a carotenoid, which unlike blue and white pigments is completely lacking in a part of the colonies, whenever present is preferentially arranged around oral and cloacal orifices, representing another typical colour marking. All the three pigments are contained in vacuolar blood cells that make their appearance during metamorphosis of the larva; but the full expression o.
Comparison of Interposition Ratios of Pink Muscle Fiber in Dorsal Ordinary Muscle among Various Marine Fishes

The difference in interposition ratio of pink muscle fiber among various fish species was studied to learn its influence in dorsal ordinary muscle on the post-mortem change of K-value. A remarkable mosaic pattern was exhibited in the interpositioned white and pink muscle fibers in many of the species. The relative number and area percentages of these fibers to all muscle fiber types differed greatly among fish species, and distributed from 12.9% to 56.53% in a number, and from 2.22% to 53.68% in an area. The relationship between the area and numerical percentages had significantly high positive correlation. Size of the pink muscle fiber was somewhat smaller than that of white muscle fiber.
Eustachian Tube Function in Patients with Symptoms on Baro-Challenge

Objectives: To explore the relationship between aural symptoms during baro-challenge and the underlying measured Eustachian tube (ET) function. Two key questions were addressed. (1) In patients who have features of obstructive ET dysfunction, is there a measurable underlying difference in ET function between those who experience severe symptoms on baro-challenge and those that do not? (2) What is the diagnostic value of ET function tests in the identification of patients with severe symptoms on baro-challenge? Methods: Patients with symptoms of obstructive ET dysfunction were recruited, with the presence of aural symptoms on baro-challenge established via the clinical history and analysis of the Cambridge ET Dysfunction Assessment, a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). ET function tests were assessed in each patient: 9 objective and semi-objective measures of ET opening, and 2 symptom-based PROMs. The tests’ results were grouped by type of ET opening assessed, generating passive and active dysfunction scores. Individual test results were assessed for diagnostic accuracy in reference to features in the history or PROM-based evidence of symptoms on baro-challenge. Results: Both passive and active opening of the ET was significantly reduced in ears with a history of pain on baro-challenge. Some patients had apparent severe obstructive ET dysfunction without symptoms on baro-challenge, whilst others had symptoms but normal test results. No individual test of ET opening was of diagnostic value in predicting those ears likely to experience pain or exacerbated symptoms on baro-challenge. Conclusion: The relationship between aural pain during baro-challenge and ET function appears more complex than had been assumed, with pain possibly related to factors other than just ET function.
Microbial Transglutaminase as a Tool to Improve the Features of Hydrocolloid-Based Bioplastics

Several proteins from animal and plant origin act as microbial transglutaminase substrate, a crosslinking enzyme capable of introducing isopeptide bonds into proteins between the aminoacids glutamines and lysines. This feature has been widely exploited to modify the biological properties of many proteins, such as emulsifying, gelling, viscosity, and foaming. Besides, microbial transglutaminase has been used to prepare bioplastics that, because made of renewable molecules, are able to replace the high polluting plastics of petrochemical origin. In fact, most of the time, it has been shown that the microbial enzyme strengthens the matrix of protein-based bioplastics, thus, influencing the technological characteristics of the derived materials. In this review, an overview of the ability of many proteins to behave as good substrates of the enzyme and their ability to give rise to bioplastics with improved properties is presented. Different applications of this enzyme confirm its important role as an additive to recover high value-added protein containing by-products with a double aim (i) to produce environmentally friendly materials and (ii) to find alternative uses of wastes as renewable, cheap, and non-polluting sources. Both principles are in line with the bio-economy paradigm.
Sensitivity of Serum Tissue Transglutaminase Antibodies for Endomysial Antibody Positive and Negative Coeliac Disease

Background: Serum antibodies to tissue transglutaminase (tTGA) are reported to have high sensitivity and specificity for coeliac disease and to correlate closely with endomysial antibodies (EmA). We assessed their performance in a coeliac population with a high proportion of EmA-negative patients, who have been under-represented in previous studies. Methods: We used a commercial ELISA kit to test for IgA class tTGA in sera from a population of 73 untreated coeliac patients with normal serum IgA and a high percentage (19%) EmA-negative, taking 58 patients with normal duodenal biopsies as controls. EmA was measured using indirect immunofluorescence. Results: Forty-six (63%) patients with villous atrophy (VA) had both tTGA and EmA. However, when considered separately, sensitivities of tTGA and EmA for VA were similar (75% versus 81%) and both had high specificity (98% versus 97%). As 9 patients were tTGA-positive only and 13 had EmA only, selection of patients for biopsy on the presence of either antibody would have had a sensitivity of 93% (68 of 73), with 5 (7%) patients seronegative for both. Conclusion: Although the ELISA tTGA assay is more convenient than EmA testing, it offers no advantages in sensitivity or specificity if used in isolation. However, incomplete concordance between EmA and tTGA positivity means that combination screening with both assays offers higher sensitivity, as almost a third of patients have only one antibody. As some coeliac patients with normal serum IgA are negative for both antibodies, biopsies should still be performed in seronegative individuals deemed at high risk for coeliac disease.
The ABC transporter G subfamily in Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABC transporters are ubiquitously present in all kingdoms and mediate the transport of a large spectrum of structurally different compounds. Plants possess high numbers of ABC transporters in relation to other eukaryotes, especially the ABCG subfamily is enlarged. Earlier studies demonstrate that ABCG transporters are involved in important processes influencing plant fitness. This review summarizes the functions of ABCG transporters present in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. These transporters take part in diverse processes such as pathogen response, diffusion barrier formation or phytohormone transport. Studies involving knock-out mutations reported pleiotropic phenotypes of the mutants. In some cases, different physiological roles were assigned to the same protein. The actual transported substrate(s) however still remain to be determined for the majority of ABCG transporters. Additionally, the proposed substrate spectrum of different ABCG proteins is not always reflected by sequence identities between ABCG members. Applying only reverse genetics is thereby insufficient to clearly identify the substrate(s). We therefore stress the importance of in vitro studies in addition to in vivo studies in order to i) clarify the substrate identity, ii) determine the transport characteristics including directionality and iii) identify dimerization partners of the half-size proteins, which might in turn affect substrate specificity.
Landscape patterns in a disturbed environment

Deciduous forest patterns were evaluated, using fractal analysis, in the U. S. Geological Survey 1: 250,000 Natchez Quadrangle, a region that has experienced relatively recent conversion of forest cover to cropland. A perimeter-area method was used to determine the fractal dimension; the results show a different dimension for small compared with large forest patches. This result is probably related to differences in the scale of human versus natural processes that affect this particular forest pattern. By identifying transition zones in the scale at which landscape patterns change this technique shows promise for use in developing hypotheses related to scale-dependent processes and as a simple metric to evaluate changes on the earth's surface using remotely sensed data.
HDL and Severely Aggravates Athero sclerosis in APOE*3-Leiden Mice

The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientifi c Research-Quality of Life, Dept. of Biomedical Research, Gaubius Laboratory, P.O. Box 2215, 2301 CE Leiden, The Netherlands; Departments of General Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, and Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands, Laboratory of Vascular Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Molecular Chaperones and Proteolytic Machineries Regulate Protein Homeostasis in Aging Cells

Throughout their life cycles, cells are subject to a variety of stresses that lead to a compromise between cell death and survival. Survival is partially provided by the cell proteostasis network, which consists of molecular chaperones, a ubiquitin-proteasome system of degradation and autophagy. The cooperation of these systems impacts the correct function of protein synthesis/modification/transport machinery starting from the adaption of nascent polypeptides to cellular overcrowding until the utilization of damaged or needless proteins. Eventually, aging cells, in parallel to the accumulation of flawed proteins, gradually lose their proteostasis mechanisms, and this loss leads to the degeneration of large cellular masses and to number of age-associated pathologies and ultimately death. In this review, we describe the function of proteostasis mechanisms with an emphasis on the possible associations between them.
Changes in Distribution of Three Isoforms of Nitric Oxide Synthase in Ulcerative Colitis

Background: Nitric oxide (NO) has an important role both in normal physiology and pathological events of the colon. Our aim was to study possible changes of the three nitric oxide synthases in ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: Tissue samples from normal colon and least and moderately affected regions of ulcerative colitis colon were obtained at surgery and immunostained for NOS-1, NOS-2, NOS-3, and GAP-43, a marker of nerve fibers. Quantitative analysis of NOS-1 immunoreactivity was performed on the circular muscle layer. Results: NOS-1-immunoreactive fibers in the muscularis mucosae disappeared in least affected and moderately affected UC colon. Quantitative analysis of NOS-1-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the circular muscle showed no differences between normal and diseased colon. NOS-2 immunoreactivity appeared apically in the epithelial cells. In normal colon some specimens showed immunoreactivity in lower parts of crypts. NOS-2 immunoreactivity increased according to the severity of UC. NOS-3 immunoreactivity was exclusively localized in the vascular endothelium. The difference in NOS-3 staining intensity between the lamina propria and submucosa observed in normal tissue disappeared in moderately affected UC colon. The number of NOS-3-immunoreactive vascular profiles increased in the lamina propria of UC colon. Conclusions: All three NOS isoforms show specific changes in UC colon.
Relationships between Juvenile Winter Flounder and Multiple‐Scale Habitat Variation in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

Abstract A rapid random sampling method was used to relate densities of juvenile winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus to multiple scales of habitat variation in Narragansett Bay and two nearby coastal lagoons in Rhode Island. We used a 1-m beam trawl with attached video camera, continuous global positioning system track overlay, and continuous recording YSI sonde to sample 163 sites in June and July 2002 and 2003. The YSI sonde recorded temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, depth, turbidity, and chlorophyll a throughout the tow, while the video camera recorded other habitat characteristics. Habitat patterns at larger spatial scales were assessed with aerial imagery and charted depth data. We caught 25 species and 977 fish, almost twice as many fish being captured in 2002 (596) as in 2003 (381). Winter flounder was the most common species in both years, comprising 60.2% of the catch in 2002 and 33.6% of the catch in 2003. Total fish and winter flounder were three times more abundant in the coas.
Systematic Review of the Epidemiological Burden of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Across Europe: Current Evidence and EUROMENE Research Recommendations for Epidemiology

This review aimed at determining the prevalence and incidence of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in Europe. We conducted a primary search in Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science for publications between 1994 and 15 June 2019 (PROSPERO: CRD42017078688). Additionally, we performed a backward-(reference lists) and forward-(citations) search of the works included in this review. Grey literature was addressed by contacting all members of the European Network on ME/CFS (EUROMENE). Independent reviewers searched, screened and selected studies, extracted data and evaluated the methodological and reporting quality. For prevalence, two studies in adults and one study in adolescents were included. Prevalence ranged from 0.1% to 2.2%. Two studies also included incidence estimates. In conclusion, studies on the prevalence and incidence of ME/CFS in Europe were scarce. Our findings point to the pressing need for well-designed and statistically powered epidemiological studies. To overcome the shortcomings of the current state-of-the-art, EUROMENE recommends that future research is better conducted in the community, reviewing the clinical history of potential cases, obtaining additional objective information (when needed) and using adequate ME/CFS case definitions; namely, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention−1994, Canadian Consensus Criteria, or Institute of Medicine criteria.
Chemical Compositions, Fatty Acid, Collagen and Cholesterol Contents of Thai Hybrid Native and Broiler Chicken Meats

Trails were conducted to determine chemical compositions of 4-lines and 5-lines cross Thai hybrid native chicken meats and skins as compared to those of commercial broiler at the market weight of 1.8kg. Protein of breasts, skins (P<0.01) and thighs (P<0.05) of hybrid native chickens were higher than those of broilers. Broiler and 5-lines cross chicken thighs had similar fat contents and higher (P<0.05) than those of 4-lines cross breed. Broiler breasts contained higher (P<0.01) cholesterol, while their skins contained lower amounts (P<0.01) than those of hybrid native chickens. The hybrid native chicken breasts and thighs contained almost twice higher collagen than those of broilers. In regard to sexes, proximate compositions of both sexes of the 5-lines cross chickens were in similar trends to those of broilers. Female breasts and thighs contained higher saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids than those of males (P<0.01). The meats and skins of male chickens contained higher polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol than those of females (P<0.01). Both sexes of the 4-lines cross chickens contained higher total collagen compared with broilers and 5-lines cross (P<0.01). In addition, it could be concluded that the meats of both Thai hybrid native chickens contained lower cholesterol and higher collagen than that of broiler chicken.
Rubiacearum Americanarum Magna Hama Pars XXVII: Six New Species and a New Taxonomic View of Posoqueria

Abstract. The Neotropical genus Posoqueria Aubl. (Rubiaceae) has a number of species with an asymmetric androecium and pollen catapult mechanism and others that apparently lack these features. A new taxonomy based on corolla form and size, the length and symmetry of the filaments, and fruit morphology finds the name P. panamensis (Walp. & Duchass.) Walp. to be a synonym of P. latifolia (Rudge) Roem. & Schult. and distinguishes additional species in southern Central America and northwestern South America, newly described here: P. chocoana C. M. Taylor of wet lowland Panama to northwestern Ecuador has medium-sized corollas, subglobose fruits, corolla lobes of unequal size, and a generally symmetric androecium that apparently lacks the pollen catapult mechanism; P. correana C. M. Taylor of lowland and premontane Panama has medium-sized corollas, leaf blades that are sharply acute at the apex and densely velutinous abaxially, slightly unequal corolla lobes, and a generally symmetric androecium that apparently lacks the pollen catapult mechanism; P. costaricensis C. M. Taylor, found in premontane forests in Costa Rica and Panama, has relatively short corollas (for Posoqueria) and a generally symmetric androecium that apparently lacks the pollen catapult mechanism; P. grandifructa Hammel & C. M. Taylor of lowland Nicaragua and Costa Rica has medium-sized corollas, relatively large, ellipsoid, rough-surfaced, thick-walled fruits, and a generally symmetric androecium that apparently lacks the pollen catapult mechanism; P. longifilamentosa C. M. Taylor of lowland northwestern Ecuador has relatively long corollas and an asymmetric androecium with a pollen catapult mechanism, relatively long unequal filaments, and relatively large anthers; and P. robusta Hammel & C. M. Taylor of lowland Nicaragua and Costa Rica has leathery leaves, relatively long corollas with unequal lobes, subglobose leathery fruits, and a symmetric androecium that apparently lacks the pollen catapult mechanism.