Dietary analysis of eight insectivorous bats (Chiroptera) from Puting Bato Cave Complex, Burdeos, Polillo Island, Philippines

Phillip A. Alviola,Marnelli S. Alviola,Kirk J. Taray,Cristian C. Lucañas,Anna Pauline O. de Guia,Aimee Lynn B. Dupo,Virginia C. Cuevas,Nelson M. Pampolina,Ireneo L. Lit Jr. 국립중앙과학관 2023 Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Vol.16 No.3

Food habits of eight insectivorous bat species from Puting Bato Cave Complex, Polillo Island, wereexamined. Fecal samples collected from eight species of cave-dwelling insectivorous bats containedculled fragments from seven prey taxa (six insect orders and one fish prey). Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, andHymenoptera were the most consumed group in both percentage volume and percentage frequency. Thediet of Hipposideros diadema, H. pygmaeus, Rhinolophus arcuatus, and R. philippinensis mostly concurswith previous studies but with varying proportions. Baseline information on the diets of H. coronatus,M. paululus, R. macrotis, and R. rufus is provided in this study.

Deposition of hybrid structures of reduced graphene oxide and tin dioxide thin films, and persistent photoconductivity observation

de Oliveira Letícia da S.,Fonseca Lucas P.,de Souza Renato D.,Bueno Cristina de F.,Martins Lucas M.,Scalvi Luis V.A. 한국물리학회 2022 Current Applied Physics Vol.41 No.-

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is deposited on glass substrate by dripping and sol-gel-coating methods giving rise to nanostructures. When in combination with thin films of SnO2, they form a heterostructure SnO2:2 at% Eu/ rGO, which alters the surface electrical conductivity. SnO2 and rGO were also combined as a composite, with conductivity strongly affected by ultraviolet excitation, and shows persistent photoconductivity (PPC) phenomenon even very close to room temperature. Both sort o hybrid structures can be applied in electronic devices. The SnO2 films are deposited via chemical route by sol-gel or by a mixed technique that combines powders generated by drying the sol-gel solution with resistive evaporation of this powder. Resistivity measured as a function of temperature show that the SnO2:2 at%Eu sample behaves very similarly to the SnO2:2 at%Eu/rGO heterostructure sample, with the same energy level for the dominant defect, 172 meV, coincident with ionization of oxygen vacancies. Despite not changing the position of this level, the presence of rGO on the surface of the SnO2 film induces a decrease in conductivity in vacuum, demonstrating the surface interaction.

Single nucleotide polymorphism of GSTP1 and pathological complete response in locally advanced rectal cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant concomitant radiochemotherapy

Luca Nicosia,Giovanna Gentile,Chiara Reverberi,Giuseppe Minniti,Maurizio Valeriani,Vitaliana de Sanctis,Luca Marinelli,Fabiola Cipolla,Ottavia de Luca,Maurizio Simmaco,Mattia F. Osti 대한방사선종양학회 2018 Radiation Oncology Journal Vol.36 No.3

Purpose: Standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer consists of neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy with concomitant fluoropyrimidine or oxaliplatin and surgery with curative intent. Pathological complete response has shown to be predictive for better outcome and survival; nevertheless there are no biological or genetic factors predictive for response to treatment. We explored the correlation between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) GSTP1 (A313G) and XRCC1 (G28152A), and the pathological complete response and survival after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Genotypes GSTP1 (A313G) and XRCC1 (G28152A) were determined by pyrosequencing technology in 80 patients affected by locally advanced rectal cancer. Results: The overall rate of pathological complete response in our study population was 18.75%. Patients homozygous AA for GSTP1 (A313G) presented a rate of pathological complete response of 26.6% as compared to 8.5% of the AG+GG population (p = 0.04). The heterozygous comparison (AA vs. AG) showed a significant difference in the rate of pathological complete response (26.6% vs. 6.8%; p = 0.034). GSTP1 AA+AG patients presented a 5- and 8-year cancer-specific survival longer than GSTP1 GG patients (87.7% and 83.3% vs. 44.4% and 44.4%, respectively) (p = 0.014). Overall survival showed only a trend toward significance in favor of the haplotypes GSTP1 AA+AG. No significant correlations were found for XRCC1 (G28152A). Conclusion: Our results suggest that GSTP1 (A313G) may predict a higher rate of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy and a better outcome, and should be considered in a more extensive analysis with the aim of personalization of radiation treatment.

Single nucleotide polymorphism of GSTP1 and pathological complete response in locally advanced rectal cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant concomitant radiochemotherapy

Nicosia, Luca,Gentile, Giovanna,Reverberi, Chiara,Minniti, Giuseppe,Valeriani, Maurizio,de Sanctis, Vitaliana,Marinelli, Luca,Cipolla, Fabiola,de Luca, Ottavia,Simmaco, Maurizio,Osti, Mattia F. The Korean Society for Radiation Oncology 2018 Radiation Oncology Journal Vol.36 No.3

Purpose: Standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer consists of neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy with concomitant fluoropyrimidine or oxaliplatin and surgery with curative intent. Pathological complete response has shown to be predictive for better outcome and survival; nevertheless there are no biological or genetic factors predictive for response to treatment. We explored the correlation between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) GSTP1 (A313G) and XRCC1 (G28152A), and the pathological complete response and survival after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Genotypes GSTP1 (A313G) and XRCC1 (G28152A) were determined by pyrosequencing technology in 80 patients affected by locally advanced rectal cancer. Results: The overall rate of pathological complete response in our study population was 18.75%. Patients homozygous AA for GSTP1 (A313G) presented a rate of pathological complete response of 26.6% as compared to 8.5% of the AG+GG population (p = 0.04). The heterozygous comparison (AA vs. AG) showed a significant difference in the rate of pathological complete response (26.6% vs. 6.8%; p = 0.034). GSTP1 AA+AG patients presented a 5- and 8-year cancer-specific survival longer than GSTP1 GG patients (87.7% and 83.3% vs. 44.4% and 44.4%, respectively) (p = 0.014). Overall survival showed only a trend toward significance in favor of the haplotypes GSTP1 AA+AG. No significant correlations were found for XRCC1 (G28152A). Conclusion: Our results suggest that GSTP1 (A313G) may predict a higher rate of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy and a better outcome, and should be considered in a more extensive analysis with the aim of personalization of radiation treatment.

Dental students’ ability to detect maxillary sinus abnormalities: A comparison between panoramic radiography and cone-beam computed tomography

Lucas de Paula Lopes Rosado,Izabele Sales Barbosa,Sibele Nascimento de Aquino,Rafael Binato Junqueira,Francielle Silvestre Verner 대한영상치의학회 2019 Imaging Science in Dentistry Vol.49 No.3

Purpose: To compare the diagnostic ability of undergraduate dental students to detect maxillary sinus abnormalities in panoramic radiographs (PR) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study based on the evaluation of PR and CBCT images. A pilot study was conducted to determine the number of students eligible to participate in the study. The images were evaluated by 2 students, and 280 maxillary sinuses were assessed using the following categories: normal, mucosal thickening, sinus polyp, antral pseudocyst, nonspecific opacification, periostitis, antrolith, and antrolith associated with mucosal thickening. The reference standard was established by the consensus of 2 oral radiologists based on the CBCT images. The kappa test, receiver operating characteristic curves, and 1-way analysis of variance with the Tukey-Kramer post-hoc test were employed. Results: Intraobserver and interobserver reliability showed agreement ranging from substantial (0.809) to almost perfect (0.922). The agreement between the students’ evaluations and the reference standard was reasonable (0.258) for PR and substantial (0.692) for CBCT. Comparisons of values of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy showed that CBCT was significantly better (P<0.05). Conclusion: CBCT was better than PR for the detection of maxillary sinus abnormalities by dental students. However, CBCT should only be requested after a careful analysis of PR by students and more experienced professionals.

Pleiotropic effects of enhancing vacuolar K/H exchange in tomato

De Luca, Anna,Pardo, José,M.,Leidi, Eduardo O. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2018 Physiologia Plantarum Vol.163 No.1

<P>Cation antiporters of the NHX family are widely regarded as determinants of salt tolerance due to their capacity to drive sodium (Na) and sequester it into vacuoles. Recent work shows, however, that NHX transporters are primarily involved in vacuolar potassium (K) storage. Over‐expression of the K/H antiporter AtNHX1 in tomato increases K accumulation into vacuoles and plant sensitivity to K deprivation. Here we show that the appearance of early leaf symptoms of K deficiency was associated with higher concentration of polyamines. Transgenic roots exhibited a greater sensitivity than shoots to K deprivation with changes in the composition of the free amino acids pool, total sugars and organic acids. Concentrations of amides (glutamine), amino acids (arginine) and sugars significantly increased in root, together with a reduction in malate and succinate concentrations. The concentration of pyruvate and the activity of pyruvate kinase were greater in the transgenic roots before K withdrawal although both parameters were depressed by K deprivation and approached wild‐type levels. In the longer term, the over‐expression of the NHX1 antiporter affected root growth and biomass partitioning (shoot/root ratio). Greater ethylene release produced longer stem internodes and leaf curling in the transgenic line. Our data show that enhanced sequestration of K by the NHX antiporter in the vacuoles altered cellular K homeostasis and had deeper physiological consequences than expected. Early metabolic changes lead later on to profound morphological and physiological adjustments resulting eventually in the loss of nutrient use efficiency.</P>

Effect of fluorescent brighteners on the insecticidal activity of B. thuringieniss var. kurstaki (Btk) and LdMNPV on Lymantria dispar asiatica in Korea

Lucas Mezione de Carvalho,Hwal-Su Hwang,Kyeong-Yeoll Lee 한국응용곤충학회 2023 한국응용곤충학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2023 No.10

Stilbene-based fluorescent brighteners (FB) have been shown to enhance insecticidal activities of entomopathogenic viruses but little is known its effect on entomopathogenic bacteria. We investigated the effect of two FBs (FB 28 and FB 71) on the insecticidal activity of B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) as well as the Lymantria dispar multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus (LdMNPV) in Lymantria dispar asiatica. FB 28 increased the mortality at the combination with low concentration (1.6×102 IU/ml) of Btk, but FB 71 slightly reduced the mortality with middle and high concentrations (1.6×103 and 1.6×104 IU/ml) of Btk in comparison to Btk alone. Both FB 28 and FB 71 increased mortality in combination with LdMNPV at all concentrations (3×102, 3×104, and 3×106 POBs/ml) compared to LdMNPV alone. Our findings suggest that FBs enhanced pathogenic activities but depend on chemical nature of FBs.

Fractal dimension analysis as an easy computational approach to improve breast cancer histopathological diagnosis

Lucas Glaucio da Silva,Waleska Rayanne Sizinia da Silva Monteiro,Tiago Medeiros de Aguiar Moreira,Maria Aparecida Esteves Rabelo,Emílio Augusto Campos Pereira de Assis,de Souza Gustavo Torres 한국현미경학회 2021 Applied microscopy Vol.51 No.1

Histopathology is a well-established standard diagnosis employed for the majority of malignancies, including breast cancer. Nevertheless, despite training and standardization, it is considered operator-dependent and errors are still a concern. Fractal dimension analysis is a computational image processing technique that allows assessing the degree of complexity in patterns. We aimed here at providing a robust and easily attainable method for introducing computer-assisted techniques to histopathology laboratories. Slides from two databases were used: A) Breast Cancer Histopathological; and B) Grand Challenge on Breast Cancer Histology. Set A contained 2480 images from 24 patients with benign alterations, and 5429 images from 58 patients with breast cancer. Set B comprised 100 images of each type: normal tissue, benign alterations, in situ carcinoma, and invasive carcinoma. All images were analyzed with the FracLac algorithm in the ImageJ computational environment to yield the box count fractal dimension (Db) results. Images on set A on 40x magnification were statistically different ( p = 0.0003), whereas images on 400x did not present differences in their means. On set B, the mean Db values presented promissing statistical differences when comparing. Normal and/or benign images to in situ and/or invasive carcinoma (all p < 0.0001). Interestingly, there was no difference when comparing normal tissue to benign alterations. These data corroborate with previous work in which fractal analysis allowed differentiating malignancies. Computer-aided diagnosis algorithms may beneficiate from using Db data; specific Db cut-off values may yield ~ 99% specificity in diagnosing breast cancer. Furthermore, the fact that it allows assessing tissue complexity, this tool may be used to understand the progression of the histological alterations in cancer.

Establishment of bounds for the statistical moments of the crack size, for the collipriest model, using the fast crack bounds method

Lucas Gimenis de Moura,Claudio R. Ávila da S. Jr.,Thiago Castro Bezerra,Waldir Mariano Machado Jr. 대한기계학회 2019 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.33 No.6

There are several mathematical models that describe the propagation of cracks. For many engineering applications, up to a certain point, it is not necessary to have great accuracy in predictions about the behavior of the evolution of a crack, but a reliable prediction, within certain limits, of such behavior. This work presents theoretical results consisting in obtaining lower and upper bounds that "envelop" the first and second order statistical moment estimators of the crack size function based on the fast crack bounds method. These bounds are polynomials defined in the variable “number of cycles” that consider the uncertainties of the parameters that describe the crack propagation models. The performance of the bounds for the statistical moments of the crack size is evaluated through the relative deviation between the bounds and the approximate numerical solutions of the initial value problems (IVP) that describe the crack evolution laws. For this work, the Collipriest model is used. The Monte Carlo simulation method is used to create samples of the selected parameters to obtain the crack size for both the bounds and the Runge-Kutta method.

Fast-track surgery and telerehabilitation protocol in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty leads to superior outcomes when compared with the standard protocol: a propensity-matched pilot study

( Luca De Berardinis ),( Marco Senarighi ),( Carlo Ciccullo ),( Fabiana Forte ),( Marco Spezia ),( Antonio Pompilio Gigante ) 대한슬관절학회 2022 대한슬관절학회지 Vol.34 No.-

Background: Several strategies have been devised to reduce the length of stay after orthopedic surgery. Telerehabilitation has proved effective in functional outcomes after orthopedic procedures and is appreciated by patients. There is limited information on fast-track surgery and telerehabilitation protocols for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). The purpose of this pilot study was to report and compare functional outcomes and satisfaction levels during first 12 months of recovery in patients who underwent UKA according to a fast-track and telerehabilitation protocol (G1) or standard surgery and rehabilitation program (G2). Methods: Data were retrospectively collected and reviewed for all elective UKAs from January 2018 to November 2019. A total of seven patients undergoing UKA according to the fast-track and telerehabilitation protocol were propensity score matched (1:3 ratio) to 21 patients undergoing standard surgery and rehabilitation. Patients were matched for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and laterality. The Western Ontario and McMaster University (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index and range of motion (ROM) were collected pre- and postoperatively in both groups for 12 months. In addition, patient’ satisfaction was collected at 40 days. Results: The G1 group demonstrated significantly better outcomes in WOMAC index scores at 2, 15, and 40 days (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.020, respectively) and a significantly greater knee ROM after surgery and at 2, 15, 40, and 12 months (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.014, p < 0.001, p = 0.003, respectively). No patients in either group had postoperative complications. One patient was not completely satisfied in the G2, while no one in G1 reported not being completely satisfied (p = 1.000). Conclusions: This fast-track and telerehabilitation protocol after UKA can potentially be applied to patients as it is safe and effective. At 12-months follow-up, both groups reported favorable outcomes after UKA. However, the G1 score was better regarding WOMAC and ROM when compared with the propensity score-matched G2 program. A larger study is warranted to explore the role of fast-track and telerehabilitation in clinical and functional outcomes of UKA.