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A Level-Set Way for Skinning Animated Chemical Files.
macronema and N. triangulata were found on the skin of Epinephelus coioides and Seriolina nigrofasciata, respectively. The highest species diversity was found in E. GSK2126458 molecular weight coioides, which harbored two species of parasitic isopods, A. macronema and A. rhinoceros. Cymothoa eremita, C. elegans, S. irregularis and N. triangulata were recorded for the first time in the Gulf of Thailand. link2 The reported discovery of C. eremita, S. irregularis, N. sundaica and N. triangulata in their fish hosts were new recorded hosts. Moreover, A. macronema and N. triangulata were found for the first time in the central Indo-Pacific region.(1) Background Access to clean water is a very important factor for human life. However, pathogenic microorganisms in drinking water often cause diseases, and convenient/inexpensive testing methods are urgently needed. (2) Methods The reagent contains 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and phenazine methosulfate (PMS) and can react with succinate dehydrogenase within bacterial cell membranes to produce visible purple crystals. The colorimetric change of the reagent after reaction can be measured by a sensor (AS7262). (3) Results Compared with traditional methods, our device is simple to operate and can provide rapid (i.e., 5 min) semi-quantitative results regarding the concentration of bacteria within a test sample. (4) Conclusions This easy-to-use device, which employs MTT-PMS reagents, can be regarded as a potential and portable tool for rapid water quality determination.Membrane phospholipase D (PLD) is associated with numerous neuronal functions, such as axonal growth, synaptogenesis, formation of secretory vesicles, neurodegeneration, and apoptosis. PLD acts mainly on phosphatidylcholine, from which phosphatidic acid (PA) and choline are formed. In turn, PA is a key element of the PLD-dependent secondary messenger system. Changes in PLD activity are associated with the mechanism of action of olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic. link3 The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of short-term administration of the first-generation antipsychotic drugs haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and fluphenazine on membrane PLD activity in the rat brain. Animals were sacrificed for a time equal to the half-life of the antipsychotic drug in the brain, then the membranes in which PLD activity was determined were isolated from the tissue. The results indicate that only haloperidol in a higher dose increases the activity of phospholipase D. Such a mechanism of action of haloperidol has not been described previously. Induction of PLD activity by haloperidol may be related to its mechanism of cytotoxicity. The finding could justify the use of PLD inhibitors as protective drugs against the cytotoxicity of first-generation antipsychotic drugs like haloperidol.Molybdenum and tungsten carbides are perspective catalytic systems. Their activity in many reactions is comparable to the activity of platinum group metals. The development of the synthesis method for of highly dispersed binary molybdenum and tungsten carbides is an important task. Dispersions of molybdenum-tungsten blue were used as a precursor for synthesis of binary molybdenum and tungsten carbides. The synthesis of carbides was carried out by thermal decomposition of molybdenum-tungsten blue xerogels in an inert atmosphere. The binary carbides were characterized by XRD, TGA, SEM and nitrogen adsorption. The influence of the molar ratio reducing agent/Me [R]/[ΣMe], molar ratio molybdenum/tungsten [Mo]/[W] on phase composition, and morphology and porous structure of binary carbides was investigated. Samples of binary molybdenum and tungsten carbides with a highly developed porous structure and a specific surface area were synthesized.The polypeptide backbone of proteins is held together by two main types of covalent bonds the peptide bonds that link the amino acid residues and the disulfide bonds that link pairs of cysteine amino acids. Disulfide bonds form as a protein folds in the cell and formation was assumed to be complete when the mature protein emerges. This is not the case for some secreted human blood proteins. The blood clotting protein, fibrinogen, and the protease inhibitor, α2-macroglobulin, exist in multiple disulfide-bonded or covalent states in the circulation. Thousands of different states are predicted assuming no dependencies on disulfide bond formation. In this study, probabilities for disulfide bond formation are employed to estimate numbers of covalent states of a model polypeptide with reference to α2-macroglobulin. When disulfide formation is interdependent in a protein, the number of covalent states is greatly reduced. Theoretical estimates of the number of states will aid the conceptual and experimental challenges of investigating multiple disulfide-bonded states of a protein.Studies on the mechanisms of activation of cytotoxic lymphocyte subpopulations are an important research direction in modern immunology. This study provides a detailed analysis of the effect of Tag7 (PGRP-S, PGLYRP1) on the development of lymphocyte subpopulations cytotoxic against MHC-negative tumor cells in a pool of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The results show that Tag7 can bind to the TREM-1 receptor on the surfaces of monocytes, thereby triggering the expression of mRNA TNFα and IFNγ. The appearance of these cytokines in conditioned medium leads to IL-2 cytokine secretion by CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes. In turn, IL-2 facilitates unspecific activation of three cytotoxic cell subpopulations in the PBMC pool NK (CD16+CD56+), CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+. These subpopulations appear after a certain period of incubation with Tag7 and show toxicity against tumor cells.Bartonella species are globally important emerging pathogens that were not known to infect animals or humans in North America prior to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. Ongoing improvements in diagnostic testing modalities have allowed for the discovery of Bartonella species (spp.) DNA in blood; cerebrospinal fluid; and the skin of patients with cutaneous lesions, fatigue, myalgia, and neurological symptoms. We describe Bartonella spp. test results for participants reporting neuropsychiatric symptoms, the majority of whom reported the concurrent development of cutaneous lesions. Study participants completed a medical history, a risk factor questionnaire, and provided cutaneous lesion photographs. Bartonella spp. serology and Bartonella alpha proteobacteria enrichment blood culture/PCR were assessed. Within a 14-month period, 33 participants enrolled; 29/33 had serological and/or PCR evidence supporting Bartonella spp. infection, of whom 24 reported concurrent cutaneous lesions since neuropsychiatric symptom onset. We conclude that cutaneous lesions were common among people reporting neuropsychiatric symptoms and Bartonella spp. infection or exposure. Additional studies, using sensitive microbiological and imaging techniques, are needed to determine if, or to what extent, Bartonella spp. might contribute to cutaneous lesions and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients.Using standard digital cameras in combination with deep learning (DL) for pose estimation is promising for the in-home and independent use of exercise games (exergames). We need to investigate to what extent such DL-based systems can provide satisfying accuracy on exergame relevant measures. Our study assesses temporal variation (i.e., variability) in body segment lengths, while using a Deep Learning image processing tool (DeepLabCut, DLC) on two-dimensional (2D) video. This variability is then compared with a gold-standard, marker-based three-dimensional Motion Capturing system (3DMoCap, Qualisys AB), and a 3D RGB-depth camera system (Kinect V2, Microsoft Inc). Simultaneous data were collected from all three systems, while participants (N = 12) played a custom balance training exergame. The pose estimation DLC-model is pre-trained on a large-scale dataset (ImageNet) and optimized with context-specific pose annotated images. Wilcoxon's signed-rank test was performed in order to assess the statistical significance of the differences in variability between systems. The results showed that the DLC method performs comparably to the Kinect and, in some segments, even to the 3DMoCap gold standard system with regard to variability. These results are promising for making exergames more accessible and easier to use, thereby increasing their availability for in-home exercise.Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) has been identified as a colon cancer oncogene. Since this initial observation, CDK8 has been implicated as a potential driver of other cancers including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and some breast cancers. Here, we observed different biological responses to CDK8 inhibition among colon cancer cell lines and the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-468. When treated with CDK8 inhibitor 4, all treated cell lines responded with decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis. In the MDA-MB-468 cell line, the decrease in cell viability was dependent on increased phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), which is not observed in the colon cancer cell lines. Furthermore, increased STAT3 phosphorylation in 4 treated MDA-MB-468 cells was dependent on increased transcription factor E2F1 protein. These results are consistent with previous reports of exogenous expression of E2F1-induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-468 cells.Background Accurate monitoring of skin surface temperatures is necessary to ensure treatment quality during superficial hyperthermia. A high-resolution thermal monitoring sheet (TMS) was developed to monitor the skin surface temperature distribution. The influence of the TMS on applicator performance was investigated, feasibility and ability to reliably monitor the temperature distribution were evaluated in a clinical study. Methods Phantom experiments were performed to determine the influence of the TMS on power deposition patterns, applicator efficiency, and heat transfer of the water bolus for 434 and 915 MHz applicators. Clinical feasibility was evaluated in 10 women with locoregional recurrent breast cancer. Skin surface temperatures during consecutive treatments were monitored alternatingly with either standard Amsterdam UMC thermometry or TMS. Treatments were compared using (generalized) linear mixed models. Results The TMS did not significantly affect power deposition patterns and applicator efficiency (1-2%), the reduced heat transfer of the water boluses (51-56%) could be compensated by adjusting the water bolus flow. Skin surface temperatures were monitored reliably, and no alteration of thermal toxicity was observed compared to standard Amsterdam UMC thermometry. Conclusion Clinical application of the TMS is feasible. Power deposition patterns and applicator efficiency were not affected. Surface temperatures were monitored reliably.Three-dimensional porous nanostructures made of noble metals represent novel class of nanomaterials promising for nonlinear nanooptics and sensors. Such nanostructures are typically fabricated using either reproducible yet time-consuming and costly multi-step lithography protocols or less reproducible chemical synthesis that involve liquid processing with toxic compounds. Here, we combined scalable nanosecond-laser ablation with advanced engineering of the chemical composition of thin substrate-supported Au films to produce nanobumps containing multiple nanopores inside. Most of the nanopores hidden beneath the nanobump surface can be further uncapped using gentle etching of the nanobumps by an Ar-ion beam to form functional 3D plasmonic nanosponges. The nanopores 10-150 nm in diameter were found to appear via laser-induced explosive evaporation/boiling and coalescence of the randomly arranged nucleation sites formed by nitrogen-rich areas of the Au films. Density of the nanopores can be controlled by the amount of the nitrogen in the Au films regulated in the process of their magnetron sputtering assisted with nitrogen-containing discharge gas.
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