Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conformational study on glycosylated asparagine‐oligopeptides by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculations

The conformational properties of the homo oligomers of increasing chain length Boc‐(Asn)n‐NHMe (n = 2, 4, 5), (GlcNAc‐β‐Asn)n‐NHMe (n = 2, 4, 5, 8) and Boc‐[GlcNAc(Ac)3‐β‐Asn]n‐NHMe (n = 2, 4, 5) were studied by using NOE experiments and molecular dynamic calculations (MD). Sequential NOEs and medium range NOEs, including (i,i+2) interactions, were detected by ROESY experiments and quantified. The calculated inter‐proton distances are longer than those characteristic of β‐turn secondary structures. Owing to the large conformational motions expected for linear peptides, MD simulations were performed without NMR constraints, with explicit water and by applying different treatments of the electrostatic interactions. In agreement with the NOE results, the simulations showed, for all peptides, the presence of both folded and unfolded structures. The existence of significant populations of β‐turn structures can be excluded for all the examined compounds, but two families of structures were more often recognized. The first one with sinusoidal or S‐shaped forms, and another family of large turns together with some more extended conformations. Only the glycosylated pentapeptide shows in vacuo a large amount of structures with helical shaped form. The results achieved in water and in DMSO are compared and discussed, together with the effect of the glycosylation. Copyright © 2005 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Second Culture Acquisition: Ethnography in the Foreign Language Classroom.

This article reports the findings of a study with university foreign language students, which employed ethnographic interview techniques as a pedagogical tool to promote positive attitudes toward speakers of the language studied. Informed by the theory of culture as process, the National Language Resource Center (LARC)1 at San Diego State University trained elementary-level university Spanish students to conduct ethnographic interviews in preparation for a cross-cultural project that was integrated into the course curriculum and class requirements. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate that the project enhanced student attitudes toward the study of Spanish as well as their understanding of their own culture and the culture of local Spanish speakers. Furthermore, by learning and conducting ethnographic interviews, students practiced formally the life skill of active listening. In addition to providing a review of relevant literature and research findings, this article describes a program for implementing ethnographic interview techniques in the foreign language classroom.
Design for tolerance of electro-mechanical assemblies: An integrated approach

Tolerancing decisions can profoundly impact the quality and cost of electro-mechanical assemblies. Existing approaches to tolerance analysis and synthesis in design entail detailed knowledge of geometry of the assemblies and are mostly applicable during advanced stages of design, leading to a less than optimal design process. During the design process of assemblies, both the assembly structure and associated tolerance information evolve continuously. Therefore, significant gains can be achieved by effectively using this information to influence the design of the assembly. Motivated by this, we identify and explore two goals for future research that we believe can enhance the scope of tolerancing for the entire design process. The first goal is to advance tolerancing decisions to the earliest possible stages of design. This issue raises the need for effective representation of tolerancing information during different stages of design and for effective assembly modeling. The second goal addresses the appropriate, synergistic use of available methods and best practices for tolerance analysis and synthesis, at successive stages of design. Pursuit of these goals leads to the definition of a multilevel approach that enables tolerancing to be addressed at successive stages of design in an incremental fashion. The resulting design process, which we call the design for tolerance process, integrates three important domains: (1) design activities at successive stages of design; (2) assembly models that evolve continuously through the design process; (3) methods and best practices for tolerance analysis and synthesis. We demonstrate major steps of our proposed approach through a simple, yet illustrative, example.
Characterization of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from coastal water in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Aims: Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a marine and estuarine bacterium that has been documented as the causative agent of food-borne outbreak worldwide. The aim of this study was to confirm the identification of presumptive V. parahaemolyticus isolates to the species level by using PCR targeted to the outer membrane protein regulation operon gene (toxR) and to investigate antibiotic resistance, plasmid profile, and the main core virulence genes of thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh) and tdh-related hemolysin (trh). Methodology and results: A total of 56 presumptive isolates of V. parahaemolyticus were isolated from seawater collected during year a 2010 sampling pilot study performed along the Arabian Gulf coast of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this study was to confirm the identification of presumptive V. parahaemolyticus isolates to the species level by using PCR targeted to the toxR gene and to investigate antibiotic resistance, plasmid profile, and the main core virulence genes of tdh and trh. The toxR-specific PCR assay revealed that a total of 30 out of 56 isolates tested positive for V. parahaemolyticus. None of the 30 strains of the toxR gene were tested positive for tdh and trh genes. 100% of isolates were highly resistant to amikacin, cefuroxime, ampicillin, ticarcillin, cefaclor (80%), and tetracycline (70%). The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index was measured for all 16 antimicrobial agents, and the high ranged from 0.25 to 0.56. Among the isolated V. parahaemolyticus, 22 out of 30 strains contained plasmid DNA bands ranging in size from 1.5 to 55 kb and no correlation was observed between the plasmid profiles and antibiotic resistance patterns. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The results obtained in this study indicate that V. parahaemolyticus is present in the coastal environment of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Towards an Understanding of Music Appreciation

(a) The aesthetic theory was concerned primarily with the nature of so-called "musical emotion". It stated that: "While all music (of value) possesses a uniquely aesthetic emotional character or vitality, it may also possess a second, distinct and unrelated emotional character in the sense of an emotional subject-matter. The latter is concerned with ordinary human emotions which are more or less identifiable according to the nature of the music. " (b) Of the six factors or variables (Vs) which were isolated as components of appreciation, two were concerned with these emotional aspects of music: (1) its specifically aesthetic-emotional character or value (AE), and (2) its humanemotional subject-matter (HE). The other four factors hinged on its nonemotional attributes: (3) its formal or textural structure (F), (4) its historical significance (H), (5) its instrumentation or orchestration (0), and (6) any extramusical implication it might have-visual, dramatic or philosophical (XM).
Comparison of transarterial chemoembolization in patients with unresectable, diffuse vs focal hepatocellular carcinoma.

HYPOTHESIS Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is beneficial for selected patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). DESIGN AND SETTING A prospective comparison study in a tertiary hospital. STUDY PERIOD November 21, 1995, to May 2, 2001, with a mean follow-up of 939 days. PATIENTS A total of 157 TACE treatments were performed in 88 patients with unresectable HCC: 132 treatments in 69 patients with focal HCC (F-HCC) and 25 treatments in 19 patients with diffuse HCC (D-HCC). INTERVENTIONS Transarterial chemoembolization consisted of selective catheterization and intra-arterial infusion of a mixture of doxorubicin hydrochloride, cisplatin, and mitomycin followed by embolization. Sequential treatments were performed for bilobar HCC. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Child-Pugh classification and clinical outcomes, including alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) response, length of hospital stay, readmission rate, and survival, were compared between patients with F-HCC and D-HCC following TACE using the chi(2) test, Fisher exact test, or t test (2-tailed, unpaired). RESULTS Fifty-eight patients (84%) in the F-HCC group and 18 patients (95%) in the D-HCC group had cirrhosis. For those patients with cirrhosis, 58 (100%) in the F-HCC group and 14 (78%) in the D-HCC group had a Child-Pugh score of A or B (P =.002). The mean baseline AFP was higher in the D-HCC group: 55 577 vs 7815 ng/mL in the F-HCC group (P =.001). Of the patients secreting AFP, 4 (29%) of 14 in the D-HCC group and 30 (68%) of 44 in the F-HCC group had a significant decrease in AFP 1 month following TACE (P =.01). The mean hospital stay was longer (3 vs 1.9 days; P =.001), and readmissions occurred more frequently (44% vs 9%; P<.001) in the D-HCC group. The mean survival rate was significantly higher in the F-HCC group: 425 vs 103 days (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS In patients with F-HCC, TACE is well tolerated and provides a survival benefit. However, there is no apparent benefit for patients with D-HCC. Importantly, tumor characteristics and hepatic reserve are essential criteria for successful TACE.
What is the ‘World’ of Phenomenography?

Abstract Phenomenographic research (especially that which aims to uncover student conceptions of key disciplinary concepts) is subjected to critical review on two main fronts. (1) We consider the adequacy with which research procedures for revealing student conceptions are stipulated. There are clear methodological requirements for the study of life worlds, not all of which phenomenography consistently meets. (2) The product of phenomenographic research is to arrive at a structure of categories of description. This aim threatens to subvert entry into the actual student life world, which may well have less coherence than phenomenography requires. Additionally, phenomenography can show over‐concern with ‘authorized conceptions’: student perceptions of the world are implicitly seen as deficient versions of the official views. The article advocate that phenomenographic research should give more active consideration to the process of research in revealing the actual lived worlds of students.
Enhancement of Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) Biocomposites by Matrix Esterification Using Succinic Anhydride

In this work, the oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber was used as a source of lignocellulosic filler to fabricate a novel type of cost effective biodegradable composite, based on the aliphatic aromatic co-polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) PBAT (EcoflexTM), as a fully biodegradable thermoplastic polymer matrix. The aim of this research was to improve the new biocomposites’ performance by chemical modification using succinic anhydride (SAH) as a coupling agent in the presence and absence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiators. For the composite preparation, several blends were prepared with varying ratios of filler and matrix using the melt blending technique. The composites were prepared at various fiber contents of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 (wt %) and characterized. The effects of fiber loading and coupling agent loading on the thermal properties of biodegradable polymer composites were evaluated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used for morphological studies. The chemical structure of the new biocomposites was also analyzed using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique. The PBAT biocomposite reinforced with 40 (wt %) of EFB fiber showed the best mechanical properties compared to the other PBAT/EFB fiber biocomposites. Biocomposite treatment with 4 (wt %) succinic anhydride (SAH) and 1 (wt %) dicumyl peroxide (DCP) improved both tensile and flexural strength as well as tensile and flexural modulus. The FTIR analyses proved the mechanical test results by presenting the evidence of successful esterification using SAH/DCP in the biocomposites’ spectra. The SEM micrograph of the tensile fractured surfaces showed the improvement of fiber-matrix adhesion after using SAH. The TGA results showed that chemical modification using SAH/DCP improved the thermal stability of the PBAT/EFB biocomposite.
Human Nonvisual Responses to Simultaneous Presentation of Blue and Red Monochromatic Light

Blue light sensitivity of melatonin suppression and subjective mood and alertness responses in humans is recognized as being melanopsin based. Observations that long-wavelength (red) light can potentiate responses to subsequent short-wavelength (blue) light have been attributed to the bistable nature of melanopsin whereby it forms stable associations with both 11-cis and all-trans isoforms of retinaldehyde and uses light to transition between these states. The current study examined the effect of concurrent administration of blue and red monochromatic light, as would occur in real-world white light, on acute melatonin suppression and subjective mood and alertness responses in humans. Young healthy men (18-35 years; n = 21) were studied in highly controlled laboratory sessions that included an individually timed 30-min light stimulus of blue (λmax 479 nm) or red (λmax 627 nm) monochromatic light at varying intensities (1013-1014 photons/cm2/sec) presented, either alone or in combination, in a within-subject randomized design. Plasma melatonin levels and subjective mood and alertness were assessed at regular intervals relative to the light stimulus. Subjective alertness levels were elevated after light onset irrespective of light wavelength or irradiance. For melatonin suppression, a significant irradiance response was observed with blue light. Co-administration of red light, at any of the irradiances tested, did not significantly alter the response to blue light alone. Under the current experimental conditions, the primary determinant of the melatonin suppression response was the irradiance of blue 479 nm light, and this was unaffected by simultaneous red light administration.
Dietary uptake models used for modeling the bioaccumulation of organic contaminants in fish

Numerous models have been developed to predict the bioaccumulation of organic chemicals in fish. Although chemical dietary uptake can be modeled using assimilation efficiencies, bioaccumulation models fall into two distinct groups. The first group implicitly assumes that assimilation efficiencies describe the net chemical exchanges between fish and their food. These models describe chemical elimination as a lumped process that is independent of the fish's egestion rate or as a process that does not require an explicit fecal excretion term. The second group, however, explicitly assumes that assimilation efficiencies describe only actual chemical uptake and formulates chemical fecal and gill excretion as distinct, thermodynamically driven processes. After reviewing the derivations and assumptions of the algorithms that have been used to describe chemical dietary uptake of fish, their application, as implemented in 16 published bioaccumulation models, is analyzed for largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), walleye (Sander vitreus = Stizostedion vitreum), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that bioaccumulate an unspecified, poorly metabolized, hydrophobic chemical possessing a log KOW of 6.5 (i.e., a chemical similar to a pentachlorobiphenyl).
Search-Related Suppression of Hippocampus and Default Network Activity during Associative Memory Retrieval

Episodic memory retrieval involves the coordinated interaction of several cognitive processing stages such as mental search, access to a memory store, associative re-encoding, and post-retrieval monitoring. The neural response during memory retrieval is an integration of signals from multiple regions that may subserve supportive cognitive control, attention, sensory association, encoding, or working memory functions. It is particularly challenging to dissociate contributions of these distinct components to brain responses in regions such as the hippocampus, which lies at the interface between overlapping memory encoding and retrieval, and “default” networks. In the present study, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and measures of memory performance were used to differentiate brain responses to memory search from subcomponents of episodic memory retrieval associated with successful recall. During the attempted retrieval of both poorly and strongly remembered word pair associates, the hemodynamic response was negatively deflected below baseline in anterior hippocampus and regions of the default network. Activations in anterior hippocampus were functionally distinct from those in posterior hippocampus and negatively correlated with response times. Thus, relative to the pre-stimulus period, the hippocampus shows reduced activity during intensive engagement in episodic memory search. Such deactivation was most salient during trials that engaged only pre-retrieval search processes in the absence of successful recollection or post-retrieval processing. Implications for interpretation of hippocampal fMRI responses during retrieval are discussed. A model is presented to interpret such activations as representing modulation of encoding-related activity, rather than retrieval-related activity. Engagement in intensive mental search may reduce neural and attentional resources that are otherwise tonically devoted to encoding an individual’s stream of experience into episodic memory.
Impaired growth hormone secretion in obese subjects is partially reversed by acipimox-mediated plasma free fatty acid depression.

GH secretion in response to provocative stimuli is blunted in obese patients. On the other hand, increases in plasma free fatty acids (FFA) inhibit the GH response to a variety of stimuli, and FFA levels in plasma are increased with obesity. To ascertain whether FFA might be responsible for the GH secretory alterations of obesity, we studied spontaneous and stimulated GH secretion in 31 obese patients after FFA reduction by acipimox, a lipid-lowering drug devoid of serious side-effects. Each subject underwent two paired tests. In one, acipimox was administered orally at a dose of 250 mg at -270 min and at a dose of 250 mg at -60 min; in the matched test, placebo was given at similar intervals. To induce GH release, three stimuli acting through different mechanisms were used: pyridostigmine (60 mg, orally, at -60 min), GHRH (100 micrograms, iv, at 0 min), and GHRH plus GH-releasing peptide (GHRP-6; His-D-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH2; both at a dose of 100 micrograms, iv, at 0 min). GH secretion was analyzed as the area under the secretory curve (AUC; mean +/- SE; micrograms per L/60 min). Acipimox pretreatment alone (n = 13) induced a large reduction in FFA levels compared with placebo treatment. The FFA reduction led to a slight GH rise (AUC, 123 +/- 47), not different from that in the placebo group (61 +/- 15). In the pyridostigmine-treated group (n = 6), the acipimox-pyridostigmine AUC (408 +/- 107) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that in the placebo-pyridostigmine group (191 +/- 25). Furthermore, the GHRH-mediated (n = 6) AUC of GH secretion in the placebo test (221 +/- 55) was tripled by FFA reduction due to acipimox, with an AUC of (691 +/- 134; P < 0.05). Even the most potent GH stimulus known to date, i.e. GHRH plus GHRP-6, was enhanced by FFA suppression. In fact, the placebo-GHRH-GHRP-6 AUC was 1591 +/- 349, lower (P < 0.05) than that in the acipimox-GHRH-GHRP-6 test (2373 +/- 242). The enhancing effects of FFA lowering on GHRH-mediated and GHRH- plus GHRP-6-mediated GH release were synergistic. These results indicate that in obese subjects, unlike normal weight subjects. FFA reduction per se does not stimulate GH secretion. A reduction in FFA with acipimox, however, increased pyridostigmine-. GHRH-, and even GHRH- plus GHRP-6-mediated GH release, suggesting that FFA reduction operates through a different mechanism from that of these three stimuli. The abnormally high FFA levels may be a contributing factor for the disrupted GH secretory mechanisms in obesity.
Planned Cesarean Delivery at Term and Adverse Outcomes in Childhood Health.

IMPORTANCE Planned cesarean delivery comprises a significant proportion of births globally, with combined rates of planned and unscheduled cesarean delivery in a number of regions approaching 50%. Observational studies have shown that offspring born by cesarean delivery are at increased risk of ill health in childhood, but these studies have been unable to adjust for some key confounding variables. Additionally, risk of death beyond the neonatal period has not yet been reported for offspring born by planned cesarean delivery. OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between planned cesarean delivery and offspring health problems or death in childhood. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Population-based data-linkage study of 321,287 term singleton first-born offspring born in Scotland, United Kingdom, between 1993 and 2007, with follow-up until February 2015. EXPOSURES Offspring born by planned cesarean delivery in a first pregnancy were compared with offspring born by unscheduled cesarean delivery and with offspring delivered vaginally. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was asthma requiring hospital admission; secondary outcomes were salbutamol inhaler prescription at age 5 years, obesity at age 5 years, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, cancer, and death. RESULTS Compared with offspring born by unscheduled cesarean delivery (n = 56,015 [17.4%]), those born by planned cesarean delivery (12,355 [3.8%]) were at no significantly different risk of asthma requiring hospital admission, salbutamol inhaler prescription at age 5 years, obesity at age 5 years, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, or death but were at increased risk of type 1 diabetes (0.66% vs 0.44%; difference, 0.22% [95% CI, 0.13%-0.31%]; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.35 [95% CI, 1.05-1.75]). In comparison with children born vaginally (n = 252,917 [78.7%]), offspring born by planned cesarean delivery were at increased risk of asthma requiring hospital admission (3.73% vs 3.41%; difference, 0.32% [95% CI, 0.21%-0.42%]; adjusted HR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.11-1.34]), salbutamol inhaler prescription at age 5 years (10.34% vs 9.62%; difference, 0.72% [95% CI, 0.36%-1.07%]; adjusted HR, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.01-1.26]), and death (0.40% vs 0.32%; difference, 0.08% [95% CI, 0.02%-1.00%]; adjusted HR, 1.41 [95% CI, 1.05-1.90]), whereas there were no significant differences in risk of obesity at age 5 years, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, or cancer. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among offspring of women with first births in Scotland between 1993 and 2007, planned cesarean delivery compared with vaginal delivery (but not compared with unscheduled cesarean delivery) was associated with a small absolute increased risk of asthma requiring hospital admission, salbutamol inhaler prescription at age 5 years, and all-cause death by age 21 years. Further investigation is needed to understand whether the observed associations are causal.