Birchmoody8873

This paper provides an effective method for preparing a micro piezoelectric vibrator for MEMS ultrasonic devices, which simplifies the manufacturing process and enhances the performance of the piezoelectric vibrator.Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the highest quality of olive oil and is characterized by highly beneficial nutritional properties. The large increase in both consumption and fraud, for example through adulteration, creates new challenges and an increasing demand for developing new quality assessment methodologies that are easier and cheaper to perform. As of today, the determination of olive oil quality is performed by producers through chemical analysis and organoleptic evaluation. The chemical analysis requires advanced equipment and chemical knowledge of certified laboratories, and has therefore limited accessibility. In this work a minimalist, portable, and low-cost sensor is presented, which can perform olive oil quality assessment using fluorescence spectroscopy. The potential of the proposed technology is explored by analyzing several olive oils of different quality levels, EVOO, virgin olive oil (VOO), and lampante olive oil (LOO). The spectral data were analyzed using a large number of machine learning methods, including artificial neural networks. The analysis performed in this work demonstrates the possibility of performing the classification of olive oil in the three mentioned classes with an accuracy of 100%. These results confirm that this minimalist low-cost sensor has the potential to substitute expensive and complex chemical analysis.(1) Background Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is common complication of diabetes. Current therapy for DN does not include promotion of podocyte protection. Therefore, we investigated the therapeutic effect of melatonin (Mel) combined extracorporeal shock wave (SW) therapy on a DN rat model. (2) Methods The DN rats were treated with Mel (5 mg/kg) twice a week for 6 weeks and SW treatment once a week (0.13 mJ/mm2) for 6 weeks. We assessed urine microalbumin, albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR), glomerular hypertrophy, glomerular fibrosis, podocyte markers (Wilm's tumor protein-1, synaptopodin and nephrin), cell proliferation, cell survival, cell apoptosis, renal inflammation and renal oxidative stress. (3) Results The Mel combined SW therapy regimen significantly reduced urine microalbumin excretion (3.3 ± 0.5 mg/dL, p less then 0.001), ACR (65.2 ± 8.3 mg/g, p less then 0.001), glomerular hypertrophy (3.1 ± 0.1 × 106 μm3, p less then 0.01) and glomerular fibrosis (0.9 ± 0.4 relative mRNA fold, p less then 0.05). Moreover, the Mel combined SW therapy regimen significantly increased podocyte number (44.1 ± 5.0% area of synaptopodin, p less then 0.001) in the Mel combined SW group. This is likely primarily because Mel combined with SW therapy significantly reduced renal inflammation (753 ± 46 pg/mg, p less then 0.01), renal oxidative stress (0.6 ± 0.04 relative density, p less then 0.05), and apoptosis (0.3 ± 0.03 relative density, p less then 0.001), and also significantly increased cell proliferation (2.0 ± 0.2% area proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), p less then 0.01), cell survival, and nephrin level (4.2 ± 0.4 ng/mL, p less then 0.001). (4) Conclusions Mel combined SW therapy enhances podocyte protection and ameliorates kidney function in a DN rat model. Mel combined SW therapy may serve as a novel noninvasive and effective treatment of DN.

axillary lymph node (LN) status is one of the main breast cancer prognostic factors and it is currently defined by invasive procedures. The aim of this study is to predict LN metastasis combining MRI radiomics features with primary breast tumor histological features and patients' clinical data.

99 lesions on pre-treatment contrasted 3T-MRI (DCE). All patients had a histologically proven invasive breast cancer and defined LN status. Patients' clinical data and tumor histological analysis were previously collected. For each tumor lesion, a semi-automatic segmentation was performed, using the second phase of DCE-MRI. Each segmentation was optimized using a convex-hull algorithm. In addition to the 14 semantics features and a feature ROI volume/convex-hull volume, 242 other quantitative features were extracted. A wrapper selection method selected the 15 most prognostic features (14 quantitative, 1 semantic), used to train the final learning model. The classifier used was the Random Forest.

the AUC-classifier was 0.856 (label = positive or negative). The contribution of each feature group was lower performance than the full signature.

the combination of patient clinical, histological and radiomics features of primary breast cancer can accurately predict LN status in a non-invasive way.

the combination of patient clinical, histological and radiomics features of primary breast cancer can accurately predict LN status in a non-invasive way.Macrophages were discovered in the 19th century by Ukrainian biologist Élie Metchnikoff who worked in Ukraine, Russia, and France [...].The scope of this work is the study of a combined process including a dipping step into an oregano (Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum) infusion (OV) followed by osmotic treatment of chicken fillets at 15 °C. Chicken fillets were immersed in an osmotic solution consisting of 40% glycerol and 5% NaCl with (OV/OD) and without (OD) prior antioxidant enrichment in a hypotonic oregano solution. A comparative shelf life study of all the samples (untreated, OD and OV/OD treated) was then conducted at 4 °C in order to assess the impact of this process on the quality and shelf life of chilled chicken fillets. Microbial growth, lipid oxidation and color/texture changes were measured throughout the chilled storage period. Rates of microbial growth of pretreated fillets were significantly reduced, mainly as a result of water activity decrease (OD step). Rancidity development closely related to off odors and sensory rejection was greatly inhibited in treated fillets owing to both inhibitory factors (OD and OV), with water-soluble phenols (OV step) exhibiting the main antioxidant effect. Shelf life of treated chicken fillets exhibited a more than three-fold increase as compared to the untreated samples based on both chemical and microbial spoilage indices, maintaining a positive and pleasant sensory profile throughout the storage period examined.Visual integration of experimental data in metabolic networks is an important step to understanding their meaning. As genome-scale metabolic networks reach several thousand reactions, the task becomes more difficult and less revealing. While databases like KEGG and BioCyc provide curated pathways that allow a navigation of the metabolic landscape of an organism, it is rather laborious to map data directly onto those pathways. There are programs available using these kind of databases as a source for visualization; however, these programs are then restricted to the pathways available in the database. Here, we present IDARE2 a cytoscape plugin that allows the visualization of multiomics data in cytoscape in a user-friendly way. It further provides tools to disentangle highly connected network structures based on common properties of nodes and retains structural links between the generated subnetworks, offering a straightforward way to traverse the splitted network. The tool is extensible, allowing the implementation of specialised representations and data format parsers. We present the automated reproduction of the original IDARE nodes using our tool and show examples of other data being mapped on a network of E. coli. The extensibility is demonstrated with two plugins that are available on github. IDARE2 provides an intuitive way to visualise data from multiple sources and allows one to disentangle the often complex network structure in large networks using predefined properties of the network nodes.Background and Objectives Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are increased in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). It is likely that the accumulation of uremic toxins resulting in increased oxidative stress (OS) is a major contributing factor, but no clear link has been identified. The purpose of this research is to establish if advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) levels in the serum of predialysis patients are a contributing factor to vascular calcification and increased arterial stiffness. Materials and Methods After obtaining the informed consent, 46 predialysis patients (CKD stages G3-G5) were included in the study. In order to identify vascular calcifications, hand and pelvic radiographs were performed. Valvular calcifications were identified using cardiac ultrasound. AOPP were measured using a commercially available ELISA kit. The relationships between serum AOPP values and biochemical parameters relevant in the evaluation of CKD patients were analyzed. In addition to identifying the differences in AOPP levels between patients with/without vascular or valvular calcifications, the research focused on describing the relationship between OS and arterial stiffness assessed by oscillometric pulse-wave velocity (PWV) measurement. Results No significant relationship between serum AOPP and vascular or valvular calcifications was highlighted, but significant correlations of AOPP with C-reactive protein (p = 0.025), HDL-cholesterol levels (p = 0.04), HbA1c (p = 0.05) and PWV values (p = 0.02) were identified. Conclusions The usefulness of (OS) measurement in clinical practice remains debatable; however, the relationship between AOPP and arterial stiffness could be valuable in improving cardiovascular risk assessment of patients with CKD.

Recurrent bleeding in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) can lead to chronic iron deficiency anemia (CIDA). Existing research points to CIDA as a contributing factor in restless leg syndrome (RLS). The association between HHT-related symptoms and the prevalence of RLS was analyzed.

An online survey was conducted whereby the standardized RLS-Diagnostic Index questionnaire (RLS-DI) was supplemented with 82 additional questions relating to HHT.

A total of 474 persons responded to the survey and completed responses for questions pertaining to RLS (mean age 56 years, 68% females). Per RLS-DI criteria, 48 patients (48/322, 15%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 11-19%) self-identified as having RLS. An analysis of physician-diagnosed RLS and the RLS-DI revealed a relative frequency of RLS in HHT patients of 22% (95% CI 18-27%). In fact, 8% (25/322; 95% CI 5-11%) of the HHT patients had RLS which had not been diagnosed before. This equals 35% of the total amount of patients diagnosed with RLS (25/72; 95% CI 25-46%). HHT patients with a history of gastrointestinal bleeding (prevalence ratio (PR) = 2.70, 95% CI 1.53-4.77), blood transfusions (PR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.27-2.86), or iron intake (PR = 2.05, 95% CI 0.99-4.26) had an increased prevalence of RLS.

Our data suggest that RLS is underdiagnosed in HHT. In addition, physicians should assess CIDA parameters for possible iron supplementation.

Our data suggest that RLS is underdiagnosed in HHT. In addition, physicians should assess CIDA parameters for possible iron supplementation.