Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epoxidized Vegetable Oils Plasticized Poly(lactic acid) Biocomposites: Mechanical, Thermal and Morphology Properties

Plasticized poly(lactic acid) PLA with epoxidized vegetable oils (EVO) were prepared using a melt blending method to improve the ductility of PLA. The plasticization of the PLA with EVO lowers the Tg as well as cold-crystallization temperature. The tensile properties demonstrated that the addition of EVO to PLA led to an increase of elongation at break, but a decrease of tensile modulus. Plasticized PLA showed improvement in the elongation at break by 2058% and 4060% with the addition of 5 wt % epoxidized palm oil (EPO) and mixture of epoxidized palm oil and soybean oil (EPSO), respectively. An increase in the tensile strength was also observed in the plasticized PLA with 1 wt % EPO and EPSO. The use of EVO increases the mobility of the polymeric chains, thereby improving the flexibility and plastic deformation of PLA. The SEM micrograph of the plasticized PLA showed good compatible morphologies without voids resulting from good interfacial adhesion between PLA and EVO. Based on the results of this study, EVO may be used as an environmentally friendly plasticizer that can improve the overall properties of PLA.
Toward a Dynamic Probabilistic Model for Vestibular Cognition

We suggest that research in vestibular cognition will benefit from the theoretical framework of probabilistic models. This will aid in developing an understanding of how interactions between high-level cognition and low-level sensory processing might occur. Many such interactions have been shown experimentally; however, to date, no attempt has been made to systematically explore vestibular cognition by using computational modeling. It is widely assumed that mental imagery and perception share at least in part neural circuitry, and it has been proposed that mental simulation is closely connected to the brain’s ability to make predictions. We claim that this connection has been disregarded in the vestibular domain, and we suggest ways in which future research may take this into consideration.
The generalised scaling function: a systematic study

We describe a procedure for determining the generalised scaling functions fn(g) at all the values of the coupling constant. These functions describe the high spin contribution to the anomalous dimension of large twist operators (in the sl(2) sector) of N = 4 SYM. At fixed n, fn(g) can be obtained by solving a linear integral equation (or, equivalently, a linear system with an infinite number of equations), whose inhomogeneous term only depends on the solutions at smaller n. In other words, the solution can be written in a recursive form and then explicitly worked out in the strong coupling regime. In this regime, we also emphasise the peculiar convergence of different quantities ('masses', related to the fn(g)) to the unique mass gap of the O(6) nonlinear sigma model and analyse the first next-to-leading order corrections.
A comparison of the efficacy of metronidazole vaginal gel and Myrtus (Myrtus communis) extract combination and metronidazole vaginal gel alone in the treatment of recurrent bacterial vaginosis

Objective: Due to the high incidence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and its resistance to chemical medications and considering the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effects of Myrtus communis, the present study aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of the vaginal gel of M. communis 2% (in metronidazole base) with metronidazole vaginal gel 0.75% alone on BV. Materials and Methods: This research was a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted on 80 women of 18-40 years old with BV. Patients were divided into two groups of 40 women. Diagnostic criteria were Amsel's criteria and Gram staining. The first group received vaginal gel of metronidazole plus M. communis 2% and the second group received metronidazole vaginal gel alone for five consecutive nights. Therapeutic effects and Amsel’s criteria were assessed after one week. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS 16 using t-test and Chi square tests. Results: There was a significant difference in the therapeutic response between the two groups. The results demonstrated that the combination of metronidazole and M. communis had a higher efficiency (p<0.05). The patients receiving M. communis in metronidazole gel base did not experience any recurrent BV, but 30% of patients taking metronidazole alone faced recurrent BV after three weeks of follow up. Conclusion: Findings of the study suggested that adding M. communis extract to metronidazole increases the efficiency of BV treatment.
The photometric evolution of dissolving star clusters: II. Realistic models. Colours and M/L ratios

Context. Evolutionary synthesis models are the primary means of constructing spectrophotometric models of stellar populations, and deriving physical parameters from observations compared with these models. One of the basic assumptions of evolutionary synthesis models has been the time-independence of the stellar mass function, apart from the successive removal of high-mass stars by stellar evolution. However, dynamical simulations of star clusters in tidal fields have demonstrated that the mass function can be changed by the preferential removal of low-mass stars from clusters. Aims. We combine the results of dynamical simulations of star clusters in tidal fields with our evolutionary synthesis code GALEV. We extend the models to consider the total cluster disruption time as additional parameter. Methods. Following up on our earlier work, which was based on simplifying assumptions, we reanalyse the mass-function evolution found in N-body simulations of star clusters in tidal fields, parametrise it as a function of age and total disruption time of the cluster, and use this parametrisation to compute GALEV models as a function of age, metallicity, and total cluster disruption time. Results. We study the impact of cluster dissolution on colours (which generally become redder) and magnitudes (which become fainter) of star clusters, their mass-to-light ratios (which can deviate by a factor of ∼2–4 from predictions of standard models without cluster dissolution), and quantify the effect of the altered integrated photometry on cluster age determination. In most cases, clusters appear to be older than they are, where the age difference can range from 20% to 200%. By comparing our model results with observed M/L ratios for old compact objects in the mass range 10 4.5 –10 8 M� , we find a strong discrepancy for objects more massive than 10 7 M� , such that observed M/L ratios are higher than predicted by our models. This could be caused either by differences in the underlying stellar mass function or be an indication of the presence of dark matter in these objects. Less massive objects are well described by the models.
ScatterAlloc: Massively parallel dynamic memory allocation for the GPU

In this paper, we analyze the special requirements of a dynamic memory allocator that is designed for massively parallel architectures such as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). We show that traditional strategies, which work well on CPUs, are not well suited for the use on GPUs and present the thorough design of ScatterAlloc, which can efficiently deal with hundreds of requests in parallel. Our allocator greatly reduces collisions and congestion by scattering memory requests based on hashing. We analyze ScatterAlloc in terms of allocation speed, data access time and fragmentation, and compare it to current state-of-the-art allocators, including the one provided with the NVIDIA CUDA toolkit. Our results show, that ScatterAlloc clearly outperforms these other approaches, yielding speed-ups between 10 to 100.
CACTA Transposons in Triticeae. A Diverse Family of High-Copy Repetitive Elements1

In comparison with retrotransposons, which comprise the majority of the Triticeae genomes, very few class 2 transposons have been described in these genomes. Based on the recent discovery of a local accumulation of CACTA elements at theGlu-A3 loci in the two wheat species Triticum monococcum and Triticum durum, we performed a database search for additional such elements in Triticeae spp. A combination of BLAST search and dot-plot analysis of publicly available Triticeae sequences led to the identification of 41 CACTA elements. Only seven of them encode a protein similar to known transposases, whereas the other 34 are considered to be deletion derivatives. A detailed characterization of the identified elements allowed a further classification into seven subgroups. The major subgroup, designated the “Caspar ” family, was shown by hybridization to be present in at least 3,000 copies in theT. monococcum genome. The close association of numerous CACTA elements with genes and the identification of several similar elements in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and rice (Oryza sativa) led to the conclusion that CACTA elements contribute significantly to genome size and to organization and evolution of grass genomes.
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Effect of stress on a cognitive autopoietic system

ABSTRACT A cognitive autopoietic system is a dynamic, self-generating, organized and self-organizing thing which self-regulates (by internal rearrangement) with respect to an external medium. The present model of the effect of stress on a cognitive autopoietic (ESCA) system captures the notion of how a priori cognitive structures (categories), combined with external sensations, constitute the basis for the development of cognitive structures (CS) and their architecture. The ESCA model integrates the fact that the mind–environment relation has a twofold effect: on one hand, it enables self-regulation of mind (the matching of external sensations with CS), but on the other hand, it poses a potential perturbation on the same, which may result in the breakdown of the self-regulation of mind. The architecture of the CS developed on the basis of the ESCA model is consistent with the manifestations of the effect of stress on mind behavior at different levels. The ESCA model predicts that the faculty to concatenate synthetic propositions, which enables enhanced categorical conscious cognition (ECCC) on the basis of CS, is inhibited by stress, thus reducing cognition to a mechanized heuristic categorical conscious cognition (HCCC) and/or an unconscious cognition (UC) level. The ESCA model explains the casual relation between cognition of persistent social stress and self-esteem, sensory deprivation and self-cognition, a mechanized mind state and accumulated stress, and the effect of stress activated short-term emotions on cognition. Finally, it is speculated how persistently perceived uncertainty may induce stress.
Sizing and Optimal Operation of Battery Energy Storage System for Peak Shaving Application

This paper presents a sizing methodology and optimal operating strategy for a battery energy storage system (BESS) to provide a peak load shaving. The sizing methodology is used to maximize a customer's economic benefit by reducing the power demand payment with a BESS of a minimum capacity, i.e. a system with a lowest cost. The BESS optimal operating strategy is based on dynamic programming and is aimed to minimize the energy cost while satisfying battery physical constraints.
A two‐sided medal: On the complexity of international comparative and collaborative team research

LCSS Leibniz Center for Science and Society, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany Abstract In recent years, more and more international comparative research has been conducted in internationally and geographically spread project teams and international research networks, and comparative research has become a fundamentally collaborative effort. Accordingly, research in such projects has to cope with a higher level of methodological complexity than non-comparative research as well as with a particular sociocultural complexity. This complexity can have an influence on the research process and therefore on the quality and validity of the results, an issue that has so far not been discussed much, either in Higher Education research or beyond. Thus, this article refers to studies that provide empirical insights into comparative collaborative research teams and illuminates why international collaboration in comparative research projects is both a source of better solutions and of amplified complications and how they are interrelated. On this basis it provides a conceptual reflection and delineates dimensions of task-related, methodological complexity and team diversity. While comparative research has specific methodological challenges that can be alleviated by international team collaboration, collaborative research has particular social challenges that can be aggravated in comparative research. The conclusion makes propositions for further analyses, discusses lessons for comparative Higher Education research and sets out implications for its institutional development.
Persistence of uterine bacterial infection, and its associations with endometritis and ovarian function in postpartum dairy cows

We investigated the relationship between the persistence of uterine bacterial infections with cytologically determined endometritis and ovarian function in 65 postpartum Holstein cows. Vaginal mucus discharges were collected, and endometrial smear samples (n = 130) were collected for cytological and bacteriological examinations from the cows at weeks 5 and 7 postpartum (pp). Blood samples were collected at weeks 3, 5 and 7 pp to determine plasma progesterone concentrations to monitor ovarian activity. According to the bacteriological examination, cows were classified into four groups. The first group (n = 32; 49%) comprised cows negative for bacteria at weeks 5 and 7 pp. The second group (n = 11; 17%) comprised cows with bacterial infections at week 5 pp but that were clear of infection at week 7 pp. The third group (n = 12; 19%) comprised cows without bacteria at week 5 pp but that acquired an infection by week 7 pp. The fourth group (n = 10; 15%) comprised cows with bacterial infections at weeks 5 and 7 pp (persistence of infection). A positive correlation (P < 0.001) was noted between the severity of cytologically determined endometritis, purulent vaginal discharge and the persistence of infection. Cows with persistent infections had a significantly (P < 0.01) prolonged luteal phase compared with cows without infection. In conclusion, the prevalence of cytologically determined endometritis and prolonged luteal phase were significantly increased in cows with persistent infections.
Why do we desire ‘dark’ personalities? A study investigating attractiveness of the dark triad personality traits

4 Chapter 1: Introduction 5 1.1. Narcissism 6 1.2. Psychopathy 7 1.3. Machiavellianism 8 1.4. The Dark Triad 9 1.5. Attraction and the Dark Triad 11 Chapter 2: Methods 18 2.1. Participants 18 2.2. Design 18 2.3. Measures 18 2.4. Procedure 20 2.5. Analysis 21 Chapter 3: Results 22 3.1. Personality similarity 22 3.2. Gender differences 24 3.3. Age differences 25 Chapter 4: Discussion 30 4.1. Attractiveness of the Dark Triad 30 4.2. Attractiveness and gender 32 4.3. Attractiveness and age groups 33 4.4. Limitations and future directions 34
Structural Basis for Competition between Drug Binding and Kvβ1.3 Accessory Subunit-Induced N-Type Inactivation of Kv1.5 Channels

Kvβ subunits are accessory proteins that modify gating of Kv1 channels. Kvβ1. 3 subunits bind to the N termini of Kv1.5 α-subunits and induce fast N-type inactivation, slow the rate of deactivation, and alter the voltage dependence and kinetics of channel activation. The N terminus of a Kvβ subunit and quaternary ammonium compounds bind to the inner pore of Kv1 channels; however, it is unknown to what extent the pore binding sites for drugs and Kvβ subunits overlap. Here, we used site-directed Ala mutagenesis to scan residues of the Kv1.5 pore to define the binding site for Kvβ1. 3 subunits. Individual mutations of five residues in the S6 domain (Val505, Ile508, Leu510, Val512, and Val516) greatly retarded or prevented Kvβ1. 3 induced inactivation, and reduced effects on Kv1.5 deactivation. Mutation of Thr479 and Thr480 enhanced Kvβ1. 3-induced N-type inactivation. None of the Ala mutations prevented the Kvβ1. 3-induced negative shifts in the voltage dependence of activation or slow C-type inactivation, suggesting that these gating effects are mediated by an interaction other than the one for N-type inactivation. Thr479, Thr480, Val505, Ile508, and Val512, of Kv1.5 channels are also important interaction sites for the anthranilic acid S0100176 (N-benzyl-N-pyridin-3-ylmethyl-2-(toluene-4-sulfonylamino)-benzamide hydrochloride). Leu510 and V516A prevented Kvβ1. 3-induced inactivation but did not alter drug block. Block of Kv1.5 by S0100176 was reduced and voltage-dependent in the presence of Kvβ1. 3 but not in the presence of an N-truncated form of the Kvβ subunit. Thus, residues in the pore of Kv1.5 required for N-type inactivation overlap with but are not identical to the drug binding site.
Open-Label Crossover Study of Primaquine and Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine Pharmacokinetics in Healthy Adult Thai Subjects

ABSTRACT Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is an artemisinin-based combination treatment (ACT) recommended by the WHO for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and it is being used increasingly for resistant vivax malaria where combination with primaquine is required for radical cure. The WHO recently reinforced its recommendations to add a single dose of primaquine to ACTs to reduce P. falciparum transmission in low-transmission settings. The pharmacokinetics of primaquine and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine were evaluated in 16 healthy Thai adult volunteers in a randomized crossover study. Volunteers were randomized to two groups of three sequential hospital admissions to receive 30 mg (base) primaquine, 3 tablets of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (120/960 mg), and the drugs together at the same doses. Blood sampling was performed over 3 days following primaquine and 36 days following dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine dosing. Pharmacokinetic assessment was done with a noncompartmental approach. The drugs were well tolerated. There were no statistically significant differences in dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine pharmacokinetics with or without primaquine. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine coadministration significantly increased plasma primaquine levels; geometric mean ratios (90% confidence interval [CI]) of primaquine combined versus primaquine alone for maximum concentration (Cmax), area under the concentration-time curve from 0 h to the end of the study (AUC0–last), and area under the concentration-time curve from 0 h to infinity (AUC0–∞) were 148% (117 to 187%), 129% (103 to 163%), and 128% (102 to 161%), respectively. This interaction is similar to that described recently with chloroquine and may result in an enhanced radical curative effect. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT01525511.)
An Integrated Statistical Investigation of the Internal Carotid Arteries hosting Cerebral Aneurysms

Cerebral aneurysm formation is the result of a complex interplay of systemic and local factors. Among the latter, the role of the geometry of the vessel hosting an aneurysm (parent vessel) and the induced hemodynamics still needs to be carefully investigated. In this paper we have considered a data set of 52 patients, reconstructed the geometries of the parent vessel and extracted the relevant morphological features with image processing methods. We performed the computational fluid dynamics analysis of these patients with a finite element solver. We have collected in this way a set of data including morphology and wall shear stress along the parent vessel. Thanks to a functional principal component analysis we related relevant This work has been supported by the Foundation Politecnico di Milano with SIEMENS Medical Solutions Italy (ANEURISK Project) , the Brain Aneurysm Foundation “Computational and Statistical Analysis of Brain Aneurysm Morphology & Hemodynamics and the Italian MIUR FIRB research project “Advanced statistical and numerical methods for the analysis of high dimensional functional data in life sciences and engineering”. T. Passerini, M. Piccinelli, A. Veneziani Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Emory University Tel. : +1-404-7277925 E-mail: tiziano,marina,ale@mathcs.emory. edu L. M. Sangalli, S. Vantini, P. Secchi MOX (Modeling and Scientific Computing, Department of Mathematics, Politecnico di Milano, E-mail: laura.sangalli,simone.vantini,piercesare.secchi@polimi.it S.Bacigaluppi Department of Neurosurgery, Niguarda Ca’Granda Hospital, Milan, Department of Neurosciences and Biomedical Technologies, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy E-mail: susannabacigaluppi@yahoo.it L. Antiga Orobix, Bergamo, Italy E-mail: luca.antiga@gmail.com E. Boccardi Department of Neuroradiology, Niguarda Ca Granda Hospital, Milan E-mail: Edoardo.Boccardi@OspedaleNiguarda.it 2 Passerini, Sangalli, et al. geometrical and fluid dynamical features to a classification of patients depending on the location of the aneurysms and the rupture status. This analysis is anticipated to provide a contribution for the assessment of an index for the rupture risk.