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We model the velocity dispersion of the ultradiffuse galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 using Newtonian gravity and modified gravity (MOG). The velocity dispersion predicted by MOG is higher than the Newtonian gravity prediction, but it is fully consistent with the observed velocity dispersion that is obtained from the motion of 10 globular clusters (GCs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Hungary, dried pasta products are very popular amongst all groups of society. In recent years the demand for not only dried pasta made from hen eggs (Gallus gallus domesticus) but from alternative types of ingredients has increased. However, according to the literature the chemical and microbiological characteristics of this type of pasta have yet to be studied in depth. The effects of the use of quail eggs and heat treatments at different temperatures were studied by chemical and microbiological measurements. The activity of oxidative enzymes and nutritional characteristics (water-soluble total polyphenol content, water-soluble antioxidant capacity, peroxidase enzymatic activity, water-soluble protein content and yellow pigment content) was tested during our experiments. The data were evaluated by relevant statistical methods. Significant differences were found both between heat treatments and between the egg content of the dried pasta samples. The peroxidase enzymatic activity and yellow pigment content increased with temperature. However, the usage of quail eggs provides a higher water-soluble protein content and water-soluble antioxidant capacity. The presence of microorganisms is decreased by increasing the drying temperature. The number of all the examined microorganisms was within limits.

Establishing scalable nanomaterials synthesis protocols remains a bottleneck towards their commercialisation and, thus, a topic of intense research and development. Herein, we present an automated machine-learning microfluidic platform capable of synthesising optically active nanomaterials from target spectra originating from prior experience, theorised or published. Implementing unsupervised Bayesian optimisation with Gaussian processes reduces the optimisation time and the need for prior knowledge to initiate the process. Using PTFE tubing and connectors enables facile change in reactor design. Ultimately, the platform substitutes the labour-intensive trial-and-error synthesis and provides a pathway to standardisation and volume synthesis, slowing down the translation and commercialisation of high-quality nanomaterials. As a proof-of-concept, Ag nanoplates and Prussian-blue nanoparticle protocols were optimised and validated for volume production.

Bioelectronic therapies modulating the vagus nerve are promising for cardiovascular, inflammatory, and mental disorders. Clinical applications are however limited by side-effects such as breathing obstruction and headache caused by non-specific stimulation. To design selective and functional stimulation, we engineered VaStim, a realistic and efficient in-silico model. We developed a protocol to personalize VaStim in-vivo using simple muscle responses, successfully reproducing experimental observations, by combining models with trials conducted on five pigs. Through optimized algorithms, VaStim simulated the complete fiber population in minutes, including often omitted unmyelinated fibers which constitute 80% of the nerve. The model suggested that all Aα-fibers across the nerve affect laryngeal muscle, while heart rate changes were caused by B-efferents in specific fascicles. It predicted that tripolar paradigms could reduce laryngeal activity by 70% compared to typically used protocols. VaStim may serve as a model for developing neuromodulation therapies by maximizing efficacy and specificity, reducing animal experimentation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Vagal fibers travel inside fascicles and form branches to innervate organs and regulate organ functions. Existing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapies activate vagal fibers non-selectively, often resulting in reduced efficacy and side effects from non-targeted organs. The transverse and longitudinal arrangement of fibers inside the vagal trunk with respect to the functions they mediate and organs they innervate is unknown, however it is crucial for selective VNS. Using micro-computed tomography imaging, we tracked fascicular trajectories and found that, in swine, sensory and motor fascicles are spatially separated cephalad, close to the nodose ganglion, and merge caudad, towards the lower cervical and upper thoracic region; larynx-, heart- and lung-specific fascicles are separated caudad and progressively merge cephalad. Using quantified immunohistochemistry at single fiber level, we identified and characterized all vagal fibers and found that fibers of different morphological types are differentially distributed in fascicles: myelinated afferents and efferents occupy separate fascicles, myelinated and unmyelinated efferents also occupy separate fascicles, and small unmyelinated afferents are widely distributed within most fascicles. We developed a multi-contact cuff electrode to accommodate the fascicular structure of the vagal trunk and used it to deliver fascicle-selective cervical VNS in anesthetized and awake swine. Compound action potentials from distinct fiber types, and physiological responses from different organs, including laryngeal muscle, cough, breathing, and heart rate responses are elicited in a radially asymmetric manner, with consistent angular separations that agree with the documented fascicular organization. These results indicate that fibers in the trunk of the vagus nerve are anatomically organized according to functions they mediate and organs they innervate and can be asymmetrically activated by fascicular cervical VNS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing of interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Quantitative descriptions of the morphology and structure of peripheral nerves is central in the development of bioelectronic devices interfacing the nerves. While histological procedures and microscopy techniques yield high-resolution detailed images of individual axons, automated methods to extract relevant information at the single-axon level are not widely available. We implemented a segmentation algorithm that allows for subsequent feature extraction in immunohistochemistry (IHC) images of peripheral nerves at the single fiber scale. These features include short and long cross-sectional diameters, area, perimeter, thickness of surrounding myelin and polar coordinates of single axons within a nerve or nerve fascicle. We evaluated the performance of our algorithm using manually annotated IHC images of 27 fascicles of the swine cervical vagus; the accuracy of single-axon detection was 82%, and of the classification of fiber myelination was 89%.

Since the discovery of HLA 60 years ago, it has contributed to the understanding of the immune system as well as of the pathogenesis of several diseases. Aside from its essential role in determining donor-recipient immune compatibility in organ transplantation, HLA genotyping is meanwhile performed routinely as part of the diagnostic work-up of certain autoimmune diseases. Considering the ability of HLA to influence thymic selection as well as peripheral anergy of T cells, its role in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity is understandable. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the role and current clinical relevance of HLA-B27 in spondyloarthritis and HLA-B51 in Behçet's disease as well as HLA-DQ2/DQ8 in celiac disease and HLA-DRB1 in rheumatoid arthritis and to discuss possible future implications.

Bedside chest X-rays (CXR) for catheter position control may add up to a considerable radiation dose for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). In this study, image quality and dose reduction potentials of a novel X-ray scatter correction software (SkyFlow, Philips Healthcare, Hamburg, Germany) were evaluated. CXRs of a 'LUNGMAN' (Kyoto Kagaku Co., LTD, Kyoto, Japan) thoracic phantom with a portacath system, a central venous line and a dialysis catheter were performed in an experimental set-up with multiple tube voltage and tube current settings without and with an antiscatter grid. Images with diagnostic exposure index (EI) 250-500 were evaluated for the difference in applied mAs with and without antiscatter grid. Three radiologists subjectively assessed the diagnostic image quality of grid and non-grid images. Compared with a non-grid image, usage of an antiscatter grid implied twice as high mAs in order to reach diagnostic EI. SkyFlow significantly improved the image quality of images acquired without grid. CXR with grid provided better image contrast than grid-less imaging with scatter correction., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: Aim of this study was to investigate the influence of contrast agent leakage on relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), using clinical dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) protocols. Different correction methods were compared, in order to identify a clinically reliable method., Materials and Methods: DSC perfusion data from patients with glioma were acquired with a single-shot EPI technique at 3.0T using a pre-dose. Three different post-processing methods for leakage correction were compared, concerning rCBV, the permeability related parameter K2 and the predominant leakage effect in tumor regions (T1 effect: K2>0; T2* effect: K2<0). Additionally, simulations were performed, to investigate the influence of noise and input curve modifications on correction results., Results: Our results indicate several differences between post-processing methods with regard to rCBV values, reflected by the fact that the distribution of detected leakage effects and the correction strength differed between methods. Leakage was heterogeneous within tumorous tissue and between patients, with a general predominance of T2* effects but an increased amount of T1 effects in low grade glioma. Simulations confirmed differential dependencies on signal-to-noise ratios, mean transit times and input curves as possible reasons., Conclusion: The impact of leakage is complex, thus adequate correction necessitates care. Standardized input parameters are one important factor for comparability of rCBV and K2 values among patients. The extension of DSC analysis with K2 maps could potentially allow improved differentiation between tumor grades. Further methods need to integrate special advantages of existing approaches to achieve more reliable rCBV estimates within clinically reasonable calculation times., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: MR-derived cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen utilization (CMRO(2)) has been suggested to be analogous to PET-derived CMRO(2) and therefore may be used for detection of viable tissue at risk for infarction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate MR-derived CMRO(2) mapping in acute ischemic stroke in relation to established diffusion- and perfusion-weighted imaging., Methods: In 23 patients (mean age 63 ± 18.7 years, 11 women) with imaging findings for acute ischemic stroke, relative oxygen extraction fraction was calculated from quantitative transverse relaxation times (T2, T2*) and relative cerebral blood volume using a quantitative blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) approach in order to detect a local increase of deoxyhemoglobin. Relative CMRO(2) (rCMRO(2)) maps were calculated by multiplying relative oxygen extraction fraction (rOEF) by cerebral blood flow, derived from PWI. After co-registration, rCMRO(2) maps were evaluated in comparison with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and time-to-peak (TTP) maps. Mean rCMRO(2) values in areas with diffusion-restriction or TTP/ADC mismatch were compared with rCMRO(2) values in the contralateral tissue., Results: In tissue with diffusion restriction, mean rCMRO(2) values were significantly decreased compared to perfusion-impaired (17.9 [95 % confidence interval 10.3, 25.0] vs. 58.1 [95 % confidence interval 50.1, 70.3]; P < 0.001) and tissue in the contralateral hemisphere (68.2 [95 % confidence interval 61.4, 75.0]; P < 0.001). rCMRO(2) in perfusion-impaired tissue showed no significant change compared to tissue in the contralateral hemisphere (58.1 [95 % confidence interval 50.1, 70.3] vs. 66.7 [95 % confidence interval 53.4, 73.4]; P = 0.34)., Conclusion: MR-derived CMRO(2) was decreased within diffusion-restricted tissue and stable within perfusion-impaired tissue, suggesting that this technique may be adequate to reveal different pathophysiological stages in acute stroke.

Gastric mucosal integrity can be influenced both by peripheral and central mechanisms. In the periphery several protective factors play a role in gastric mucosal defense. Moreover, receptors located in the gastric mucosa (e.g. toll-like receptors, proteinase-activated receptors, α2-adrenoceptors, opioid receptors) may also be involved in the regulation of gastric mucosal integrity. Activation of peripheral δ-opioid receptors by opioid peptides was shown to induce gastric mucosal defense. In contrast, the gastroprotective action mediated by α2-adrenoceptors (α2B/C-subtypes) is likely to be initiated centrally. Namely, central nervous system (CNS) is also involved in the regulation of gastrointestinal functions; hypothalamus and dorsal vagal complex (DVC) have prominent role in this process. In DVC several receptors have been identified, among others, μ and δ-opioid-, α2-adrenergic-, cannabinoid CB1- and CB2-, angiotensin II AT1-, nociceptin NOP-, neurokinin NK1- and TRH-receptors. Activation of these receptors results in gastric mucosal protection, mainly in a vagal dependent manner. In addition, glutamate (together with GABA and norepinephrine) is involved in synaptic connections between nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMNV) neurons. AP-7, a selective NMDA receptor antagonist blocked the gastroprotective effect of opioid peptides, indicating that N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) might play a role in centrally induced gastroprotective effect. Moreover, interactions between neuropeptides may have also importance in centrally initiated gastric mucosal protection. Clarification of the role of neuropeptides in gastric mucosal defense may serve as a basis for the development of new strategies to enhance gastric mucosal resistance against injury.