Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Editorial update on emerging treatments of atopic dermatitis

Various new agents are in the research pipeline for atopic dermatitis. These include IL-4 receptor antagonist, cis-urocanic acid, κ-opiod receptor agonist, neurokinin receptor antagonist and antimicrobial peptide. The current review updates the status of these clinical trials and provides insight into other potential molecular targets including IL-22 and TLR-2.
ANALYSIS AND POLLUTION ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL IN SOIL

Concentration of 5 heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb) were studied in the soils around Perlis, to assess heavy metals contamination distribution due to industrialization, urbanization and agricultural activities. Soil samples were collected at depth of 0-15cm in eighteen station around Perlis.The soil samples (2mm) were obtained duplicates and subjected to hotblock digestion and the concentration of total metal was determined via ICP-MS. Overall concentrations of Cu, Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb in the soil samples ranged from 0.38-240.59, 0.642-3.921, 0.689-2.398, 0-0.63 and 0.39-27.47 mg/kg respectively. The concentration of heavy metals in the soil display the following decreasing trend: Cu>Pb>Cr>Ni>Cd. From this result, found that level of heavy metal in soil near centralized Chuping industrial areas give maximum value compared with other location in Perlis. The Pollution index revealed that only 11% of Cu and 6% of Cd were classes as heavily contaminated. Meanwhile, Cu and Pb showed 6% from all samples result a moderately contaminated and the others element give low contamination. Results of combined heavy metal concentration and heavy metal assessment indicate that industrial activities and traffic emission represent most important sources for Cu, Cd and Pb whereas Cr, Ni mainly from natural sources. Increasing anthropogenic influences on the environment, especially pollution loadings, have caused negative changes in natural ecosystems and decreased biodiversity.
Personalized Cognitive Training in Unipolar and Bipolar Disorder: A Study of Cognitive Functioning

Patients with unipolar depressive disorder and in the depressive phase of bipolar disorder often manifest psychological distress and cognitive deficits, notably in executive control. We used computerized cognitive training in an attempt to reduce psychological affliction, improve everyday coping, and cognitive function. We asked one group of patients (intervention group) to engage in cognitive training three times a week, for 20 min each time, for eight consecutive weeks. A second group of patients (control group) received standard care only. Before the onset of training we administered to all patients self-report questionnaires of mood, mental and psychological health, and everyday coping. We also assessed executive control using a broad computerized neurocognitive battery of tests which yielded, among others, scores in Working Memory, Shifting, Inhibition, Visuomotor Vigilance, Divided Attention, Memory Span, and a Global Executive Function score. All questionnaires and tests were re-administered to the patients who adhered to the study at the end of training. When we compared the groups (between-group comparisons) on the amount of change that had taken place from baseline to post-training, we found significantly reduced depression level for the intervention group. This group also displayed significant improvements in Shifting, Divided Attention, and in the Global executive control score. Further exploration of the data showed that the cognitive improvement did not predict the improvements in mood. Single-group data (within-group comparisons) show that patients in the intervention group were reporting fewer cognitive failures, fewer dysexecutive incidents, and less difficulty in everyday coping. This group had also improved significantly on the six executive control tests and on the Global executive control score. By contrast, the control group improved only on the reports of cognitive failure and on working memory.
Highly Efficient, Iodine‐Free Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells with Solid‐State Synthesis of Conducting Polymers

In ssDSSCs, hole transporting materials (HTMs) and the control of interfacial properties between the nanoporous TiO 2 layer and the HTM are critical to the photoconversion effi ciency of the cells. Recently, HTMs have been extensively investigated as potential replacements for conventional I 3 − /I − redox electrolyte systems using iodine (I 2 ) in DSSCs. [ 12–18 ] As an organic HTM, spiro-OMeTAD was used for an iodine free ssDSSC and showed higher effi ciency of 5.1%. [ 17 , 18 ] Inorganic HTMs such as CuI showed a good effi ciency of 4.7%, [ 12 ] but the crystal formation of metal oxide gradually reduced cell performance. [ 19 ]
Nanoribbon Waveguides for Subwavelength Photonics Integration

Although the electrical integration of chemically synthesized nanowires has been achieved with lithography, optical integration, which promises high speeds and greater device versatility, remains unexplored. We describe the properties and functions of individual crystalline oxide nanoribbons that act as subwavelength optical waveguides and assess their applicability as nanoscale photonic elements. The length, flexibility, and strength of these structures enable their manipulation on surfaces, including the optical linking of nanoribbon waveguides and other nanowire elements to form networks and device components. We demonstrate the assembly of ribbon waveguides with nanowire light sources and detectors as a first step toward building nanowire photonic circuitry.
p53 from complexity to simplicity: mutant p53 stabilization, gain‐of‐function, and dominant‐negative effect

Increasing the complexity of their models, p53s are stabilized either in order to func‐tion (wt p53) or due to the loss of function (mutant p53) with acquiring a mysterious prion‐like ability to drive the normal p53 into the abnormal conforma‐tion to gain new functions. As already recognized, the loss of trans‐activating function leads to a stabi‐lization of mutant p53 because of the disappearance of the p53‐inducible proteins, which otherwise di‐rectly (Mdm‐2) or indirectly (p21) target p53 for degradation. Simplifying further, I will discuss that the loss of function results in a dominant‐negative effect and gain‐of‐function (a dominant‐positive ef‐fect). Thus, mutant p53 lacking trans‐activation func‐tion nevertheless may retain the ability to repress transcription due to its competition with numerous transcription factors for their coactivators. When mutant p53 competes with wt p53, the inhibition of the wt p53‐dependent transcription is perceived as a dominant‐negative effect. Just like trans‐repression, a dominant‐negative effect requires an excess of p53 and, therefore, a ‘dominant’‐negative effect is not dominant. Furthermore, the stabilization of an en‐dogenous mt p53 due to the loss of wt functions cannot occur in the presence of the wt p53 allele. Given the inability of mutant p53 to accumulate in the presence of wt p53, a dominant‐negative effect does not naturally occur and, not surprisingly, het‐erozygous mt/wt cells are rare. The detection of a dominant‐negative effect simply indicates that mu‐tant p53 indeed has lost its function. Last, since mutant p53 loses some or most but not all activities and accumulates in the absence of wt allele, gain‐of‐function can be considered as an exaggeration of the remaining functions. Applications to cancer therapy are discussed. —Blagosklonny, M. V. p53 from complexity to simplicity: mutant p53 stabilization, gainof‐function, and dominant‐negative effect. FASEB J. 14, 1901–1907 (2000)
Topical treatment with butenafine significantly lowers relapse rate in an interdigital tinea pedis model in guinea pigs

Butenafine is a novel antifungal agent of the class of benzylamines. The incidence of relapse after topical treatment with butenafine or bifonazole was investigated in a guinea pig interdigital tinea pedis model. One percent butenafine or bifonazole cream was applied on the infected site of animals for 20 consecutive days starting on day 10 postinfection. On day 30 posttreatment, relapse of the infection occurred in 11 of the 12 feet treated with bifonazole but in only 3 of the 12 feet treated with butenafine. The lower relapse rate after butenafine treatment might be attributable to its potent fungicidal activity and long retention time in the skin.
Simple Analysis for Average BER of Orthogonal Signals in Nonidentical Rician Channels with Improved-Gain Noncoherent Diversity Reception

This letter proposes a new noncoherent combiner, which we call the noncoherent weighted branches combiner (NC-WBC), to mitigate the disadvantages of the conventional noncoherent equal-gain combiner (NC-EGC) in nonidentically distributed Rician fading channels. It is shown that, unlike those of the NC-EGC, the NC-WBC results in simple closed-form expression for average bit error rate (BER) of the binary orthogonal signaling scheme. The results also show that the NC-WBC provides performance improvement, and alleviates the noncoherent combining loss of the NC-EGC. The theoretical development is verified by simulation results
Unfavourable Left-Right Asymmetries of the Brain and Autism: A Question of Methodology

Summary Thirty-six patients with infantile autism and various neurological disorders underwent computerized tomographic (CT) scanning of the brain. All CT scans were assessed blindly and independently by a diagnostic radiologist. Two techniques modified from two previous studies were used for measuring parieto-occipital asymmetry. The frequency of reversed asymmetry in autistic patients was the same as that in patients with various neurological disorders, and there was no significant association between reversed asymmetry and delayed language development. The study does not support the concept that unfavourable morphological asymmetries of the brain near the posterior language zone may contribute to the difficulties autistic children experience in acquiring language. Methodological difficulties and the design of new studies are discussed.
Failure to Engage Spatial Working Memory Contributes to Age-related Declines in Visuomotor Learning

It is well documented that both cognitive and motor learning abilities decline with normative aging. Given that cognitive processes such as working memory are engaged during the early stages of motor learning [Anguera, J., Reuter-Lorenz, P., Willingham, D. , & Seidler, R. Contributions of spatial working memory to visuomotor learning. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22(9), 1917–1930, 2010], age-related declines in motor learning may be due in part to reductions in cognitive ability. The present study examined whether age-related declines in spatial working memory (SWM) contribute to deficits in visuomotor adaptation. Young and older adult participants performed a visuomotor adaptation task that involved adapting manual aiming movements to a 30° rotation of the visual feedback display as well as an SWM task in an fMRI scanner. Young adults showed a steeper learning curve than older adults during the early adaptation period. The rate of early adaptation was correlated with SWM performance for the young, but not older, adults. Both groups showed similar brain activation patterns for the SWM task, including engagement of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral inferior parietal lobules. However, when the SWM activation was used as a limiting mask, younger adults showed neural activation that overlapped with the early adaptation period, whereas older adults did not. A partial correlation controlling for age revealed that the rate of early adaptation correlated with the amount of activation at the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that a failure to effectively engage SWM processes during learning contributes to age-related deficits in visuomotor adaptation.
Brief Report: Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) may Demonstrate

Pioneering studies of animal personality appeared in the 1970s (e.g., Adamec, 1975; Buirski, Plutchik, & Kellerman, 1978; Stevenson-Hinde & Zunz, 1978). These studies proposed personality differences and examined behavioral tendencies that would be predicative of those personality traits. These studies began a surge of interest in consistent individual characteristics among individuals of various species, and during the past few years, research has begun to focus on animal personality more seriously. This line of research has resulted in a number of studies revealing individual differences in personality traits in such diverse species as primates, marine mammals, insects, fish, invertebrates, and birds (Gosling, 2001). Animal personality is defined as an individual animal’s unique and stable patterns of behavior (Gosling, 2001). Based on this definition, there are often two main goals of animal personality research: 1) determine if individuals within a species exhibit distinctive patterns of behavior and 2) determine if these patterns are consistent and stable over time and in a variety of contexts.
Interactions of Six SNPs in ABCA1gene and Obesity in Low HDL-C Disease in Kazakh of China

Objective: To detect the interactions between six functional polymorphisms in ABCA1 and obesity in Kazakhs with low HDL-C levels. Methods: A total of 204 patients with low HDL-C and 207 health control subjects, which were randomly selected from among 5692 adult Kazakhs, were matched for age and sex. We genotyped ABCA1 single nucleotide polymorphisms of rs2515602, rs3890182, rs2275542, rs2230806, rs1800976, and rs4149313. Results: (1) The genotypic and allelic frequencies of rs2515602, rs2230806 and rs4149313 were different between normal HDL-C and low HDL-C subjects, the genotypic frequency of rs2275542 was also different between normal HDL-C and low HDL-C subjects (p < 0.05); (2) the level of HDL-C (rs2515602 and rs2275542) in normal HDL-C subjects were different among the genotypes (p < 0.05); the levels of TC, LDL-C (rs2515602, rs4149313); TG (rs2515602, rs1800976, rs4149313) in low HDL-C patients were different among the genotypes (p < 0.05); (3) interactions between the rs3890182, rs2275542, rs180096, and rs4149313 polymorphisms in ABCA1 gene and obesity may be associated with low HDL-C disease; (4) the C-C-C-A-A-G, T-C-C-A-A-A, T-C-C-A-A-G, C-C-C-A-A-A, C-T-G-G-A-A, and T-T-C-G-A-A haplotypes were significant between the subjects with normal HDL-C and low HDL-C level (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The differences in serum lipid levels between normal HDL-C and low HDL-C subjects among Kazakhs might partly result from ABCA1 gene polymorphisms; ABCA1 gene polymorphisms may be associated with low HDL-C disease; the low HDL-C disease might partly result from interactions between ABCA1 gene polymorphisms and obesity; the C-C-C-A-A-G, T-C-C-A-A-A, and T-C-C-A-A-G haplotypes may serve as risk factors of low HDL-C disease among Kazakhs, the C-C-C-A-A-A, C-T-G-G-A-A, and T-T-C-G-A-A haplotypes may serve as protective factor of low HDL-C disease among Kazakhs.
Do interspecific differences in sapling growth traits contribute to the co-dominance of Acer saccharum and Fagus grandifolia?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Acer saccharum and Fagus grandifolia are among the most dominant late-successional tree species in North America. The influence of sapling growth responses to canopy gaps on the co-dominance of the two species in an old-growth forest in southern Quebec, Canada was examined. Two predictions were evaluated: (a) F. grandifolia is more shade tolerant than A. saccharum due to greater sapling leaf area and net production per sapling in closed-canopy conditions; and (b) the height growth rate of A. saccharum in canopy gaps is greater than that of F. grandifolia due to increased net production per sapling. METHODS Sapling crown allometry, net production and height growth rates were compared between and within the two species in closed canopy vs. canopy gaps. Standardized major axis regression was used to analyse differences in crown allometry. KEY RESULTS F. grandifolia had greater crown projection, sapling leaf area and net production rate per sapling than A. saccharum in closed-canopy conditions. In response to canopy gaps, net production per sapling increased to the same degree in both species. The net production per sapling of F. grandifolia thus was much greater than that of A. saccharum in both canopy gap and closed-canopy conditions. The height growth rate of both species increased in canopy gaps, but the degree of increase was greater in F. grandifolia than in A. saccharum. CONCLUSIONS F. grandifolia regenerated more successfully than A. saccharum in both closed-canopy conditions and canopy gaps, which indicates that the co-dominance of the two species cannot be maintained simply by interspecific differences in shade tolerance and growth in gaps. Previous research showed that although Fagus and Acer shared dominance at this site, their relative dominance shifted with edaphic conditions. This suggests that the widespread co-dominance of the two species in eastern North American forests is maintained by the joint influence of canopy disturbance and species-specific responses to the heterogeneity of moisture and fertility regimes within forested landscapes.
The Locomotor Behavior of Callicebus brunneus and Callicebus torquatus

This study presents data on the positional behavior of Callicebus torquatus and Callicebus brunneus collected from two different localities in Peru. C. brunneus primarily utilizes short-distance, bounding leaps, while C. torquatus relies predominantly on quadrupedal walking. Both species utilize small, horizontal and terminal branches more than any other substrate class. We relate the differences in locomotor behaviors between the two species to their utilization of different forest levels. C. brunneus tends to reside in the understory and brush layer forest levels. These more discontinuous strata necessitate higher frequencies of short-distance leaping. C. torquatus occupies the more continuous, interconnected canopy level, and much of its food is found in this level. Comparisons with other species show that Callicebus spp. locomote along smaller-sized, horizontal branches using quadrupedal progression and leaping.
Forward-Looking Bidding in Online Auctions

At Internet auction sites, such as eBay, nearly identical goods are often sold in a sequence of auctions, separated by small amounts of time. Upcoming auctions are announced several days in advance, so buyers can benefit from forward-looking strategies that take this information into account. This article develops a model of such bidding, provides empirical evidence of the model's relevance to actual behavior on eBay, and discusses the general implications of forward-looking bidding for sequential, auction-driven marketplaces.
Advances in chemistry and bioactivity of the genus Uncaria

The alkaloids of the pantropical genus Uncaria (Rubiaceae) were reviewed extensively by Phillipson et al. in (1978) Since then a host of papers with new results has been published. The compounds discovered are from three major groups: (1) alkaloids; (2) terpenoids; and (3) ﬂavonoids. Some highly unusual structures have been reported. Although there are at least 35 species of Uncaria known, recent research focussed on a relatively small number of species. During recent years bioactivity of extracts and pure compounds isolated from Uncaria species have been increasingly investigated. These include anticonvulsive, antiinﬂammatory, antimutagenic, antioxidant, cytoprotective, hypotensive, and immunoregulatory effects. The literature since 1978 is reviewed and 133 references are given. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cultivation of Arthrospira (spirulina) platensis in desalinator wastewater and salinated synthetic medium: protein content and amino-acid profile

Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis was cultivated in laboratory under controlled conditions (30°C, photoperiod of 12 hours light/dark provided by fluorescent lamps at a light intensity of 140 μmol photons.m-2.s-1 and constant bubbling air) in three different culture media: (1) Paoletti medium (control), (2) Paoletti supplemented with 1 g.L-1 NaCl (salinated water) and (3) Paoletti medium prepared with desalinator wastewater. The effects of these treatments on growth, protein content and amino acid profile were measured. Maximum cell concentrations observed in Paoletti medium, Paoletti supplemented with salinated water or with desalinator wastewater were 2.587, 3.545 and 4.954 g.L-1, respectively. Biomass in medium 3 presented the highest protein content (56.17%), while biomass in medium 2 presented 48.59% protein. All essential amino acids, except lysine and tryptophan, were found in concentrations higher than those requiried by FAO.
Interepisodic Functioning in Patients with Bipolar Disorder in Remission

Background and Objectives: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD), despite recovering symptomatically, suffer from several functional impairments even in remission. The actual causes of impaired functioning are less known. Materials and Methods: The study aimed to examine the clinical and psychosocial determinants of functioning in patients with BD in remission. A cross-sectional single-group design was adopted (n = 150). Participants meeting the study criteria were screened with Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview Scale. The selected participants were administered various tools to assess the level of functioning and the clinical, psychosocial determinants of functioning. Results: The clinical characteristics of the sample included early age of onset of illness, presence of precipitating factors, fewer episodes, minimal comorbidities, history of psychotic episodes, family history of mental illness, good medication adherence, and low depression and mania scores. Psychosocial factors included higher stress and moderate social support and self-esteem in the sample. Poor functioning patients had a history of longer hospital stay and had greater scores on depression, mania, stress, and maladaptive coping styles than better functioning patients. Conclusion: Higher depression, mania, stress, and maladaptive coping strategies were related to poor functioning, while higher medication adherence, self-esteem, and social support were related to better functioning.
Contingency, Hegemony, Universality: Contemporary Dialogues on the Left

Three concepts occupy each author: universal features of human nature, hegemonic social conditions, and social identities considered as universal kinds. The authors present their individual views and note where they are in agreement and address differences. The result is an intellectual conversation among the authors that takes the reader through fascinating ideas and distinctions; ideas and distinctions that have continued to occupy the authors since the publication of their conversation.