Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial activity of metal oxide nanoparticles against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria: a comparative study

Background Nanomaterials have unique properties compared to their bulk counterparts. For this reason, nanotechnology has attracted a great deal of attention from the scientific community. Metal oxide nanomaterials like ZnO and CuO have been used industrially for several purposes, including cosmetics, paints, plastics, and textiles. A common feature that these nanoparticles exhibit is their antimicrobial behavior against pathogenic bacteria. In this report, we demonstrate the antimicrobial activity of ZnO, CuO, and Fe2O3 nanoparticles against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Methods and results Nanosized particles of three metal oxides (ZnO, CuO, and Fe2O3) were synthesized by a sol–gel combustion route and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. X-ray diffraction results confirmed the single-phase formation of all three nanomaterials. The particle sizes were observed to be 18, 22, and 28 nm for ZnO, CuO, and Fe2O3, respectively. We used these nanomaterials to evaluate their antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) bacteria. Conclusion Among the three metal oxide nanomaterials, ZnO showed greatest antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria used in this study. It was observed that ZnO nanoparticles have excellent bactericidal potential, while Fe2O3 nanoparticles exhibited the least bactericidal activity. The order of antibacterial activity was demonstrated to be the following: ZnO > CuO > Fe2O3.
Tissue engineering of heart valves: advances and current challenges

It is estimated that the number of patients requiring heart valve replacement will triple over the next five decades. None of the current replacement valves can fully restore native valve function because they lack growth and remodeling capabilities. Heart valve tissue engineering is a promising technology to overcome these limitations. Various approaches are being employed, either aimed at development of the valve substitute in vitro or at the use of the regenerative potential of the body (in situ) for the tissue culture phase. This review provides an overview of the progress within both the in vitro and in situ tissue engineering approaches for trileaflet heart valve tissue engineering. Current challenges with these approaches are discussed, focusing in particular on the use of synthetic scaffold materials.
Metabolomics reveals herbivore-induced metabolites of resistance and susceptibility in maize leaves and roots.

Plants respond to herbivory by reprogramming their metabolism. Most research in this context has focused on locally induced compounds that function as toxins or feeding deterrents. We developed an ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-TOF-MS)-based metabolomics approach to evaluate local and systemic herbivore-induced changes in maize leaves, sap, roots and root exudates without any prior assumptions about their function. Thirty-two differentially regulated compounds were identified from Spodoptera littoralis-infested maize seedlings and isolated for structure assignment by microflow nuclear magnetic resonance (CapNMR). Nine compounds were quantified by a high throughput direct nano-infusion tandem mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method. Leaf infestation led to a marked local increase of 1,3-benzoxazin-4-ones, phospholipids, N-hydroxycinnamoyltyramines, azealic acid and tryptophan. Only few changes were found in the root metabolome, but 1,3-benzoxazin-4-ones increased in the vascular sap and root exudates. The role of N-hydroxycinnamoyltyramines in plant-herbivore interactions is unknown, and we therefore tested the effect of the dominating p-coumaroyltyramine on S. littoralis. Unexpectedly, p-coumaroyltyramine was metabolized by the larvae and increased larval growth, possibly by providing additional nitrogen to the insect. Taken together, this study illustrates that herbivore attack leads to the induction of metabolites that can have contrasting effects on herbivore resistance in the leaves and roots.
Thyroid Disease and Oral Lichen Planus as Comorbidity: A Prospective Case-Control Study

Background: Thyroid disease has been mentioned to have a possible relation to the development of oral lichen planus (OLP). Objective: Because goiter is considered endemic in many countries, we proposed to determine whether thyroid disease constitutes a comorbidity of OLP. Methods: Two hundred and fifteen patients diagnosed as having OLP were evaluated concerning their serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroxine (T4) levels. The results were contrasted with those obtained in control series of the same number of subjects matched for age and sex. Results: Diagnosis of thyroid disease was present in 15.3% of OLP patients (33/215) and in 5.2% (12/215) of the control group. In relation to OLP patients, the odds ratio of presence of thyroid disorders was 3.06 and that of using levothyroxine medication 3.21. Conclusions: In the present study, OLP patients were associated with thyroid disease, specifically with hypothyroidism. Because most thyroid patients need T4 treatment, our findings confirmed that OLP and thyroid disease could be comorbidities.
Automated Symbolic Orienting: The Missing Link

Attention can be controlled either exogenously, driven by the stimulus features, or endogenously, driven by the internal expectancies about events in the environment. Extending this prevailing framework, we (Ristic and Kingstone, 2012) recently demonstrated that performance could also be independently controlled by overlearned behaviorally relevant stimuli, like arrows, producing automated effects. Using a difficult target discrimination task within a double cuing paradigm, here we tested whether automated orienting engages selective attention, and if in doing so it draws on its own pool of attentional resources. Our data unequivocally support both possibilities, and indicate that human attention networks are uniquely specialized for processing behaviorally relevant information.
Sub-types of nonbelieved memories reveal differential outcomes of challenges to memories

ABSTRACT Nonbelieved memories (NBMs) highlight the independence between distinct metamemorial judgements that contribute to the experience of remembering. Initial definitions of NBMs portrayed them as involving the withdrawal of belief in occurrence despite sustained recollection. While people rate belief for their NBMs as weaker than recollection, the average difference is too small to support the idea that autobiographical belief is completely withdrawn in all cases. Furthermore, autobiographical belief and recollection ratings vary considerably across NBMs. In two studies, we reanalysed data from prior studies to examine whether NBM reports reflect a single category or multiple sub-categories using cluster analytic methods. In Study 1, we identified three sub-types of NBMs. In Study 2 we incorporated the concept of belief in accuracy, and found that two of the clusters from Study 1 split into two clusters apiece. All clusters were characterised by higher recollection than belief in occurrence ratings, and clusters were differentiated by the degree of difference between these variables. In both studies the clusters were discriminated by a number of memory characteristic ratings and by reasons reported as leading to the alteration of belief. Implications for understanding the remembering of past events and predicting the creation of NBMs are discussed.
A statistical analysis of copper bottom coverage of high-aspect-ratio features using ionized physical vapor deposition

Ionized physical vapor deposition (IPVD) is a new method for depositing metal into high-aspect-ratio features used as interconnects in microelectronic fabrication. It is similar to sputtering except that a portion of the metal flux to the substrate is ionized. We show how a high ionized-metal-flux fraction (IMFF) at the deposition location improves the bottom coverage of deposited metal films. To measure IMFF, a tool was developed, that biased the front surface of a microbalance crystal directly so as to repel ions. Cu IMFFs to the substrate of greater than 90 % along with deposition rates of 1000 /spl Aring//min can be achieved. A statistical model for both IMFF and total metal flux as a function of four control variables, chamber height, Ar pressure, ionizer power, and sputter power, was developed.
Evolutionary Analysis for the Functional Divergence of the Spo0A Protein: The Key Sporulation Control Element

Sporulation involves inducing scores of genes in a temporally and spatially coordinated cell development programme. Its initiation is controlled by an expanded two-component signal transduction system, termed a phosphorelay. The Spo0A response regulator is the master control element in the decision to sporulate, consisting of a receiver or phosphoacceptor domain and an effector or transcription activation domain having a high degree of sequence conservation. This study examined long-term Spo0A protein evolution for determining whether concerted evolution or purifying selection was the major factor in its evolution. The proportion of synonymous (pS) and non-synonymous nucleotide (pN) differences between Spo0A genes from 28 bacterial species was analysed. DIVERGE software was used for evaluating site-specific amino acids before phylogenetic divergence between Bacillus and Clostridium for detecting site-selective constrains operating on the Spo0A protein. Evolutionary Trace software was used for tracing the phylogenetic markers for this protein.
Outcome of conjunctival flap repair for corneal defects with and without an acellular submucosa implant in 73 canine eyes.

OBJECTIVE To report and compare the success rate of a conjunctival pedicle flap (CPF) alone vs. a CPF with an underlying acellular submucosa implant for the repair of deep or perforating corneal wounds in dogs. PROCEDURES Records of 69 dogs (73 eyes) receiving a CPF with or without an acellular submucosa implant between 2004 and 2012 were reviewed. Successful outcome was defined as a comfortable eye with vision at the last post-operative evaluation. Age, breed, underlying corneal disease, surgical time, lesion characteristics, topical therapies, and postoperative complications were investigated. RESULTS Groups consisted of dogs that had a CPF alone (n = 37) and dogs that had a CPF plus an acellular submucosa implant (n = 36). Age, lesion size, surgical time, and time to discontinuation of topical anti-proteolytic medications was not significant between groups. Topical antibiotic use was terminated 13 days sooner (P ≤ 0.01) in dogs with an acellular submucosa implant. The combined success rate of all corneal wounds was 93% with success rate of corneal perforations, descemetoceles, and deep stromal wounds being 89%, 95%, and 100%, respectively. There was no difference in overall success rate between groups. Increasing age was associated with a negative outcome (P ≤ 0.01). Lesion size, presence of a corneal perforation, and concurrent keratoconjunctivitis sicca was not associated with a negative outcome. CONCLUSIONS A comparable success rate is achieved for deep or perforating corneal wounds stabilized with a CPF alone vs. a CPF plus acellular submucosa. Glaucoma, persistent uveitis, and cataract formation were not reported as post-operative complications in this study population.
New Insights into HIV/AIDS-Associated Cryptococcosis

Cryptococcal meningitis is a life-threatening opportunistic fungal infection in both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients. According to the most recent taxonomy, the responsible fungus is classified into a complex that contains two species (Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii), with eight major molecular types. HIV infection is recognized worldwide as the main underlying disease responsible for the development of cryptococcal meningitis (accounting for 80–90% of cases). In several areas of sub-Saharan Africa with the highest HIV prevalence despite the recent expansion of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy programme, cryptococcal meningitis is the leading cause of community-acquired meningitis with a high mortality burden. Although cryptococcal meningitis should be considered a neglected disease, a large body of knowledge has been developed by several studies performed in recent years. This paper will focus especially on new clinical aspects such as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, advances on management, and strategies for the prevention of clinical disease.
Optimal Iris Fuzzy Sketches

Fuzzy sketches, introduced as a link between biometry and cryptography, are a way of handling biometric data matching as an error correction issue. We focus here on iris biometrics and look for the best error-correcting code in that respect. We show that two-dimensional iterative min-sum decoding leads to results near the theoretical limits. In particular, we experiment our techniques on the iris challenge evaluation (ICE) database and validate our findings.
Cyanosis, cor triatriatum, and primum atrial septal defect in an adult

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and correlates of left ventricular thrombosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction, and whether the occurrence of early mitral regurgitation has a protective effect against the formation of left ventricular thrombus. Design and setting: Multicentre clinical trial carried out in 47 Italian coronary care units. Patients and methods: 757 patients from the GISSI-3 echo substudy population with their first acute myocardial infarct were studied by echocardiography at 24–48 hours from symptom onset (S1), at discharge (S2), at six weeks (S3), and at six months (S4). The diagnosis of left ventricular thrombosis was based on the detection of an echo dense mass with defined margins visible throughout the cardiac cycle in at least two orthogonal views. Results: In 64 patients (8%), left ventricular thrombosis was detected in one or more examinations. Compared with the remaining 693 patients, subjects with left ventricular thrombosis were older (mean (SD) age: 64.6 (13.0) v 59.8 (11.7) years, p < 0.005), and had larger infarcts (extent of wall motion asynergy: 40.9 (11.5)% v 24.9 (14)%, p < 0.001), greater depression of left ventricular ejection fraction at S1 (43.3 (6.9)% v 48.1 (6.8)%, p < 0.001), and greater left ventricular volumes at S1 (end diastolic volume: 87 (22) v 78 (18) ml/m2, p < 0.001; end systolic volume: 50 (17) v 41 (14) ml/m2, p < 0.001). The prevalence of moderate to severe mitral regurgitation on colour Doppler at S1 was greater in patients who had left ventricular thrombosis at any time (10.2% v 4.2%, p < 0.05). On stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis the only independent variables related to the presence of left ventricular thrombosis were the extent of wall motion asynergy and anterior site of infarction. Conclusions: Left ventricular thrombosis is not reduced, and may even be increased, by early moderate to severe mitral regurgitation after acute myocardial infarction. The only independent determinant of left ventricular thrombosis is the extent of the akinetic-dyskinetic area detected on echocardiography between 24–48 hours from symptom onset.
Usefulness of a bioengineered oral mucosa model for preventing palate bone alterations in rabbits with a mucoperiostial defect

The use of mucoperiostial flaps during cleft palate surgery is associated with altered palatal bone growth and development. We analyzed the potential usefulness of a bioengineered oral mucosa in an in vivo model of cleft palate. First, a 4 mm palate defect was created in one side of the palate oral mucosa of 3 week-old New Zealand rabbits, and a complete autologous bioengineered oral mucosa (BOM) or acellular fibrin–agarose scaffold (AS) was implanted. No material was implanted in the negative controls (NC), and positive controls were not subjected to palatal defect (PC). Animals were allowed to grow for 6 months and the results were analyzed morphologically (palate mucosa and bone size) and histologically. Results show that palatal mucosa and bone growth and development were significantly altered in NC and AS animals, whereas BOM animals had similar results to PC and the bioengineered oral mucosa was properly integrated in the host palate. The amount and compaction of collagen fibers was similar between BOM and PC, and both groups of animals had comparable contents of proteoglycans and glycoproteins at the palate bone. No differences were found for decorin, osteocalcin and BMP2. The use of bioengineered oral mucosa substitutes is able to improve palate growth and maturation by preventing the alterations found in animals with denuded palate bone. These results support the potential clinical usefulness of BOM substitutes for the treatment of patients with cleft palate and other conditions in which palate mucosa grafts are necessary with consequent bone denudation.
Effect of bump structural friction on the performance of bump foil bearing and rotor dynamic behavior: Experimental study

Air foil bearings are a kind of self-acting lubricated bearing, which have potential applications in high-speed turbomachinery. Air foil journal bearings have simple structure that consists of top foil, bump foil, and bearing sleeve, and use gas as working fluid. However, the relative motion of top foil and bump foil, bump foil and bearing sleeve occurs when dynamic pressure is generated as long as there is spinning of shaft. Thus, the friction between each part of bearing should be considered when modeling. Many papers have theoretically shown the effect of Coulomb friction between top foil and top foil, bump foil and bearing sleeve on the static and dynamic performances of air foil journal bearing by developing many bump foil structural models. The results show that this foil structural Coulomb friction can significantly make bump foil stiffer. However, the improvement of the Coulomb friction effect through experiments is quite difficult and there is no study regarding this so far. The purpose of this paper is to certify the Coulomb effect on bearing performance by using experimental method. Two bump foil journal bearings are manufactured with different bearing sleeve surface roughnesses. Foil structure stiffness, bearing lift-off speed, and rotor dynamic behavior supported by two sets of bearings are measured and compared.
Deproteinized bovine bone in association with guided tissue regeneration or enamel matrix derivatives procedures in aggressive periodontitis patients: a 1-year retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES To retrospectively evaluate and compare two regenerative periodontal procedures in young individuals with aggressive periodontitis (AgP). METHODS Thirty-two patients aged 14-25 years (mean ± SD 19.3 ± 5.7) were diagnosed as having AgP with multiple intra-bony defects (IBDs) and treated by one of two regenerative modalities of periodontal therapy: guided tissue regeneration (GTR) using deproteinized bone xenograft (DBX) particles and a resorbable membrane (the GTR group), or an application of enamel matrix derivatives (EMD) combined with DBX (the EMD/DBX group). Periodic monitoring of treated sites included recording of probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and gingival recession. Pre-treatment and 1-year post-operative findings were statistically analysed within and between groups. RESULTS The PD and CAL values decreased significantly with time, but not those between study groups. The mean pre-treatment and 1-year post-treatment PDs of the IBDs of the GTR group (n = 16; sites = 67) were 8.93 ± 1.14 mm and 3.58 ± 0.50 mm, respectively, and the mean CALs were 9.03 ± 1.03 mm and 4.16 ± 0.53 mm respectively. The mean PDs of the EMD/DBX group (n = 16; sites = 73) were 8.77 ± 1.04 mm and 3.61 ± 0.36 mm, respectively, and the mean CALS were 8.79 ± 1.04 mm and 3.77 ± 0.22 mm respectively (p < 0.001 for all). CONCLUSION Surgical treatment of AgP patients by either GTR or by application of EMD/DBX yielded similarly successful clinical results at 1-year post-treatment.
Multi-scale theory-assisted nano-engineering of plasmonic-organic hybrid electro-optic device performance

Multi-scale (correlated quantum and statistical mechanics) modeling methods have been advanced and employed to guide the improvement of organic electro-optic (OEO) materials, including by analyzing electric field poling induced electro-optic activity in nanoscopic plasmonic-organic hybrid (POH) waveguide devices. The analysis of in-device electro-optic activity emphasizes the importance of considering both the details of intermolecular interactions within organic electro-optic materials and interactions at interfaces between OEO materials and device architectures. Dramatic improvement in electro-optic device performance--including voltage-length performance, bandwidth, energy efficiency, and lower optical losses have been realized. These improvements are critical to applications in telecommunications, computing, sensor technology, and metrology. Multi-scale modeling methods illustrate the complexity of improving the electro-optic activity of organic materials, including the necessity of considering the trade-off between improving poling-induced acentric order through chromophore modification and the reduction of chromophore number density associated with such modification. Computational simulations also emphasize the importance of developing chromophore modifications that serve multiple purposes including matrix hardening for enhanced thermal and photochemical stability, control of matrix dimensionality, influence on material viscoelasticity, improvement of chromophore molecular hyperpolarizability, control of material dielectric permittivity and index of refraction properties, and control of material conductance. Consideration of new device architectures is critical to the implementation of chipscale integration of electronics and photonics and achieving the high bandwidths for applications such as next generation (e.g., 5G) telecommunications.
Densely distributed and real-time scour hole monitoring using piezoelectric rod sensors

This study aims to validate a piezoelectric driven-rod scour monitoring system that can sense changes in scour depth along the entire rod at its instrumented location. The proposed sensor is a polymeric slender rod with a thin strip of polyvinylidene fluoride that runs through its midline. Extraction of the fundamental frequency allows the direct calculation of the exposed length (or scour depth) of the slender rod undergoing fluid flow excitation. First, laboratory validation in dry conditions is presented. Second, hydrodynamic testing of the sensor system in a soil-bed flume is discussed. Each rod was installed using a three-dimensional-printed footing designed for ease of installation and stabilization during testing. The sensors were installed in a layout designed to capture symmetric scour conditions around a scaled pier. In order to analyze the system out of steady-state conditions, water velocity was increased in stages during testing to induce different degrees of scour. As ambient water flow excited the portion of the exposed rods, the embedded piezoelectric element outputted a time-varying voltage signal. Different methods were then employed to extract the fundamental frequency of each rod, and the results were compared. Further testing was also performed to characterize the relationship between frequency outputs and flow velocity, which were previously thought to be independent. In general, the proposed driven-rod scour monitoring system successfully captured changing frequencies under varied flow conditions.