Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biphasic Electrical Currents Stimulation Promotes both Proliferation and Differentiation of Fetal Neural Stem Cells

The use of non-chemical methods to differentiate stem cells has attracted researchers from multiple disciplines, including the engineering and the biomedical fields. No doubt, growth factor based methods are still the most dominant of achieving some level of proliferation and differentiation control - however, chemical based methods are still limited by the quality, source, and amount of the utilized reagents. Well-defined non-chemical methods to differentiate stem cells allow stem cell scientists to control stem cell biology by precisely administering the pre-defined parameters, whether they are structural cues, substrate stiffness, or in the form of current flow. We have developed a culture system that allows normal stem cell growth and the option of applying continuous and defined levels of electric current to alter the cell biology of growing cells. This biphasic current stimulator chip employing ITO electrodes generates both positive and negative currents in the same culture chamber without affecting surface chemistry. We found that biphasic electrical currents (BECs) significantly increased the proliferation of fetal neural stem cells (NSCs). Furthermore, BECs also promoted the differentiation of fetal NSCs into neuronal cells, as assessed using immunocytochemistry. Our results clearly show that BECs promote both the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of fetal NSCs. It may apply to the development of strategies that employ NSCs in the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
Thalamocortical Connectivity and Microstructural Changes in Congenital and Late Blindness

There is ample evidence that the occipital cortex of congenitally blind individuals processes nonvisual information. It remains a debate whether the cross-modal activation of the occipital cortex is mediated through the modulation of preexisting corticocortical projections or the reorganisation of thalamocortical connectivity. Current knowledge on this topic largely stems from anatomical studies in animal models. The aim of this study was to test whether purported changes in thalamocortical connectivity in blindness can be revealed by tractography based on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. To assess the thalamocortical network, we used a clustering method based on the thalamic white matter projections towards predefined cortical regions. Five thalamic clusters were obtained in each group representing their cortical projections. Although we did not find differences in the thalamocortical network between congenitally blind individuals, late blind individuals, and normal sighted controls, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indices revealed significant microstructural changes within thalamic clusters of both blind groups. Furthermore, we find a significant decrease in fractional anisotropy (FA) in occipital and temporal thalamocortical projections in both blind groups that were not captured at the network level. This suggests that plastic microstructural changes have taken place, but not in a degree to be reflected in the tractography-based thalamocortical network.
Age differences in emotional reactions to daily negative social encounters.

OBJECTIVES Negative social interactions are the most frequently reported daily stressors and most detrimental for well-being, yet we know little about older adults' efforts to regulate their emotional reactions to such encounters. This study examined age differences in emotional reactions to social encounters and the implications of these reactions for daily well-being. METHODS Middle-aged, young-old, and oldest-old adults (59% women; aged 40-95, N = 110) completed daily interviews for 14 days. Each day, participants reported whether they had social interactions that made them feel irritated, hurt, or annoyed (experienced emotional reaction) and social interactions in which they could have felt irritated, hurt, or annoyed but avoided feeling that way (minimized emotional reaction). RESULTS Findings revealed no age differences in the types of emotional reactions reported (experienced or minimized). Associations between emotional reactions and daily well-being varied by age group. Oldest-old individuals' well-being was less negatively affected by minimized emotional reactions, but more negatively affected by experienced emotional reactions compared with younger individuals' well-being. DISCUSSION Findings support the strength and vulnerability integration model that suggests that when older individuals use avoidant strategies, they show better emotion regulation than younger individuals.
Peripheral nerve regeneration with conduits: use of vein tubes

Treatment of peripheral nerve injuries remains a challenge to modern medicine due to the complexity of the neurobiological nerve regenerating process. There is a greater challenge when the transected nerve ends are not amenable to primary end-to-end tensionless neurorraphy. When facing a segmental nerve defect, great effort has been made to develop an alternative to the autologous nerve graft in order to circumvent morbidity at donor site, such as neuroma formation, scarring and permanent loss of function. Tubolization techniques have been developed to bridge nerve gaps and have been extensively studied in numerous experimental and clinical trials. The use of a conduit intends to act as a vehicle for moderation and modulation of the cellular and molecular ambience for nerve regeneration. Among several conduits, vein tubes were validated for clinical application with improving outcomes over the years. This article aims to address the investigation and treatment of segmental nerve injury and draw the current panorama on the use of vein tubes as an autogenous nerve conduit.
A distributional interpretation of robust optimization

Motivated by data-driven decision making and sampling problems, we investigate probabilistic interpretations of Robust Optimization (RO). We establish a connection between RO and Distributionally Robust Stochastic Programming (DRSP), showing that the solution to any RO problem is also a solution to a DRSP problem. Specifically, we consider the case where multiple uncertain parameters belong to the same fixed dimensional space, and find the set of distributions of the equivalent DRSP. The equivalence we derive enables us to construct RO formulations that are statistically consistent, and in the process, provides a systematic approach for tuning the uncertainty set.
Submodular Salient Region Detection

The problem of salient region detection is formulated as the well-studied facility location problem from operations research. High-level priors are combined with low-level features to detect salient regions. Salient region detection is achieved by maximizing a sub modular objective function, which maximizes the total similarities (i.e., total profits) between the hypothesized salient region centers (i.e., facility locations) and their region elements (i.e., clients), and penalizes the number of potential salient regions (i.e., the number of open facilities). The similarities are efficiently computed by finding a closed-form harmonic solution on the constructed graph for an input image. The saliency of a selected region is modeled in terms of appearance and spatial location. By exploiting the sub modularity properties of the objective function, a highly efficient greedy-based optimization algorithm can be employed. This algorithm is guaranteed to be at least a (e - 1)/e 0.632-approximation to the optimum. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach outperforms several recently proposed saliency detection approaches.
Wild yeast harbour a variety of distinct amyloid structures with strong prion‐inducing capabilities

Variation in amyloid structures profoundly influences a wide array of pathological phenotypes in mammalian protein conformation disorders and dominantly inherited phenotypes in yeast. Here, we describe, for the first time, naturally occurring, self‐propagating, structural variants of a prion protein isolated from wild strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Variants of the [RNQ+] prion propagating in a variety of wild yeast differ biochemically, in their intracellular distributions, and in their ability to promote formation of the [PSI+] prion. [PSI+] is an epigenetic regulator of cellular phenotype and adaptability. Strikingly, we find that most natural [RNQ+] variants induced [PSI+] at high frequencies and the majority of [PSI+] variants elicited strong cellular phenotypes. We hypothesize that the presence of an efficient [RNQ+] template primes the cell for [PSI+] formation in order to induce [PSI+] in conditions where it would be advantageous. These studies utilize naturally occurring structural variants to expand our understanding of the consequences of diverse prion conformations on cellular phenotypes.
Prenatal weight gain patterns and infant birthweight associated with maternal smoking.

BACKGROUND Maternal smoking during pregnancy is recognized as an important and modifiable risk factor for low infant birthweight. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of maternal smoking status on prenatal weight gain and infant birthweight, and to determine if maternal weight gain mediates the effect of smoking cessation on infant birthweight. METHODS This prospective study of 341 white, non-Hispanic pregnant smokers, never smokers, and women who stopped smoking during pregnancy used multivariate analysis of variance to evaluate prenatal weight gain patterns. Multiple regression was used to investigate the effects of smoking status and maternal weight gain on infant birthweight. RESULTS Women who stopped smoking gained on average 39.68 lb during pregnancy. Smokers gained 32.75 lb, and never smokers gained 34.16 lb. Women who stopped gained significantly more weight than both smokers and never smokers (p = 0.01). Rates of weight gain differed significantly beginning in the second trimester, when women who stopped smoking gained more weight than never smokers (2.57 lb, 99% CI = 0.46, 8.07) and continued during the third trimester, with those who stopped smoking gaining more weight than both smokers (4.31 lb, 99% CI = 1.88, 12.00) and never smokers (1.25 lb, 99% CI = 0.56, 10.49). Infant birthweight differences were significant for women who stopped smoking versus continuing smokers (292 g, 99% CI = 145, 440) and for never smokers versus continuing smokers (253 g, 99% CI = 104, 401). Controlling for baseline maternal body mass index and infant gender, smoking status and weight gain each contributed significantly to infant birthweight (p < 0.001). No evidence of interaction between smoking status and weight gain on infant birthweight was found. CONCLUSIONS Maternal smoking status significantly affects prenatal weight gain and infant birthweight, but smoking cessation protects against lower birthweight through mechanisms other than increased maternal weight gain or different weight gain patterns.
Increased sensitivity in detecting renal impairments by quantitative measurement of marker protein excretion compared to detection of pathological particles in urine sediment analysis

Abstract Background: Positive test strip results, pathological particles in urine and the presence of proteinuria are common findings in nephropathies. A comparison between these methods and renal biopsies became available with the introduction of quantitative measurement of marker proteins (albumin, transferrin, IgG, α1-microglobulin, retinol binding protein, α2-macroglobulin, Bence Jones proteins) and standardised urine sediment analysis by flow cytometry or microscopy. Methods: A total of 400 urine samples were examined using marker protein patterns, test strips and quantitative sediment analyses. Results: Results from standardised urine sediment analyses were compared with the excretion of renal marker proteins. Increased erythrocyte and leukocyte counts in urine were observed in only 29% and 39% of the samples for which pathological protein excretion was found. The sensitivity in detecting pathological particles in urine sediment, such as casts and/or dysmorphic erythrocytes, was only 19%. Renal biopsies from 65 patients who were classified as pathological were compared with proteinuria and sediment analyses. Increased excretion of marker proteins was found in all cases, whereas only 41% of the cellular urine sediments showed pathological results. Conclusions: Quantitative measurement of marker proteins from both the glomerular and tubular sides should be used upfront as screening parameters for the early detection of renal disorders. Clin Chem Lab Med 2006;44:1347–54.
Assessment of Minimal Residual Disease in Ewing Sarcoma

Advances in molecular pathology now allow for identification of rare tumor cells in cancer patients. Identification of this minimal residual disease is particularly relevant for Ewing sarcoma, given the potential for recurrence even after complete remission is achieved. Using RT-PCR to detect specific tumor-associated fusion transcripts, otherwise occult tumor cells are found in blood or bone marrow in 20–30% of Ewing sarcoma patients, and their presence is associated with inferior outcomes. Although RT-PCR has excellent sensitivity and specificity for identifying tumor cells, technical challenges may limit its widespread applicability. The use of flow cytometry to identify tumor-specific antigens is a recently described method that may circumvent these difficulties. In this manuscript, we compare the advantages and drawbacks of these approaches, present data on a third method using fluorescent in situ hybridization, and discuss issues affecting the further development of these strategies.
Modeling the dielectric behavior of epoxy resin blends during curing

A model is developed to describe the evolution of dielectric behavior during the cure of epoxy resins and of blends containing soluble polymeric additives. Data on cure kinetics are used to predict: (a) changes in viscosity and hence in ion mobility; (b) gelation times; (c) vitrification times; and (d) dipolar relaxation times, for both resin and blends. These predictions are then used in conjunction with the Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars (MWS) theory to calculate dielectric permittivity ϵ′ and loss ϵ″ as functions of cure time and test frequency in both resin and blends. The predictions are compared with experimental data on dielectric behavior obtained during cure of both neat epoxy resin and of blends containing 15 wt% CTBN (carboxyl-terminated poly(butadiene-co-acrylonitrile)).
Growth properties of artificial heterogeneous human colon tumors.

Two clonal cell lines (designated as clones A and D), originally isolated from the heterogeneous DLD-1 human colon adenocarcinoma, were used to produce xenograft tumors in nude mice. Neoplasms produced from either A or D cells alone were compared to those produced from a range of percentage admixtures of the two subpopulations. Then, Gompertzian growth parameters (initial growth rates, retardation rates) were determined, along with estimation of the final asymptotic volumes. It was found that the growth kinetics of the various artificial heterogeneous tumors could not be predicted from knowledge of the growth parameters of the pure clonal xenograft tumors. Additionally, both pure clonal and artificial heterogeneous tumors were enzymatically disaggregated as a function of time postinjection, and it was found that the admixed tumors became more zonal in composition as time progressed. Further, admixtures of extreme composition (i.e., 9% A plus 91% D or 88% A plus 12% D) remained stable with time, while those of intermediate initial composition (i.e., 50% A plus 50% D) did not. All of these data (growth kinetics, zonality, compositional stability) indicate that the growth properties of heterogeneous tumors are very complex.
Effects of family forms and dynamics on children's well-being and life chances: literature review

In this report, we review literature on the effects of family forms and dynamics on children’s well-being. We focus on European studies, and cover five themes, namely the effects of various family forms (and separation and step-parenthood in particular) on children’s life chances, whether the effects are causal, the role of parenting and social relationships, heterogeneity of the effects, and variation in the effects over time and across countries.
Smart partitioning of geo-distributed resources to improve cloud network performance

Cloud Computing systems with geo-distributed resources are becoming more popular for enabling a new family of applications, which are latency sensitive or bandwidth intensive, e.g., Internet of Things and online video gaming services. The approach is to host the cloud services at the network edges to reduce the latency and bandwidth consumption. However, the topology of the existing networks is not necessarily optimal for hosting Cloud services. Moreover, how the services are placed on the nodes, can affect the performance of the applications and the whole network. Therefore, we propose a novel algorithm to partition a distributed infrastructure into a set of computing clusters, each called a Micro Data Center. Our proposed algorithm is a decentralized community detection algorithm that does not require any global knowledge of the network topology. We compare our solution with a geolocation based clustering solution and demonstrate our preliminary results based on a real world network data set. We show that micro data centers increase the minimum available bandwidth in the network to up to 62%. Likewise, the average latency can be reduced to 50%.
The Crystallisation and Aqueous Durability of Borosilicate Nuclear Waste Glasses

Two simulated (non-radioactive) borosilicate high-level waste (HLW) glasses were supplied by Nexia Solutions; Blend glass and Oxide glass. This work is primarily concerned with identifying the crystal phases present in both as-cast and heat treated (simulating the retarded cooling experienced by 'real ' (radioactive) borosilicate HLW glasses after pouring) samples of these two glasses; as well as determining the aqueous durability of these samples. An as-cast Oxide glass sample contained a 'yellow phase' inclusion which was also investigated. Combined direct current plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (DCP-AES) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) determined the chemical composition of both glasses. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) identified their glass transition temperatures, whilst Archimedes' principle yielded their densities. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) identified crystal phases and, in the case of microscopy, determined microstructural homogeneity. As-cast Blend glass samples were compositionally homogeneous and contained RU02 crystals. Heat treated Blend glass samples contained Cel- (x+y)ZrxGdy0 2- (y/2), (Sr,Nd,La) molybdate and lanthanide (Nd,Gd,La,Ce) silicate crystals. As-cast Oxide glass samples were either compositionally homogeneous (Type I microstructure) or compositionally inhomogeneous (Type II microstructure). RU02, metallic Pd-Te and (Cr,Fe,Ni)304 crystals were observed in both Type I and Type II microstructures, with Na3Li(Mo04)2 . 6H20 crystals occasionally detected. Zrl- (x+y)CexGdy0 2- (y/2) and lanthanide (Nd,Gd,La,Ce) silicate crystals were only detected in Type II microstructures. Heat treated Oxide glass samples displayed either: extensive crystallisation and matrix cracking (Type A microstructure) or 'banded' crystallisation (Type B microstructure), depending on their parent (as-cast) microstructure (Type I or Type II respectively). (Na,Sr,Nd,La)Mo04, Cel- (x+y)ZrxGdy0 2- (y! 2) and aNi-rich crystal phase were detected in both Type A and Type B microstructures. a-cristobalite crystals were found exclusively in Type A microstructures, whilst lanthanide (Nd,Gd,La,Ce) silicate and zektzerite crystals were only detected in Type B microstructures. A modified product consistency test (modified PCT-B) determined the aqueous durability of as-cast and heat treated samples of both glasses. Heat treatment of Blend glass improved its aqueous durability marginally. Heat treatment of Oxide glass decreased its aqueous durability significantly (as-cast and heat treated Oxide glass samples had Type I and Type A microstructures respectively). Combined DCP-AES and XRF revealed the chemical composition of the 'yellow phase' inclusion, showing it to be enriched in Mo, Cs, Na, Li, Cr, Ba, Sr and Te compared to Oxide glass. XRD identified the 'yellow phase' inclusion as crystalline, containing CsLiMo04, Na3Li(Mo04)2 . 6H20, (Na,Sr,Nd)Mo04 and BalxSrxMo04 (where 0
Synthesis, Molecular Properties Estimations, and Dual Dopamine D2 and D3 Receptor Activities of Benzothiazole-Based Ligands

Neurleptic drugs, e.g., aripiprazole, targeting the dopamine D2S and D3 receptors (D2SR and D3R) in the central nervous system are widely used in the treatment of several psychotic and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, a new series of benzothiazole-based ligands (3-20) was synthesized by applying the bioisosteric approach derived from the selective D3Rs ligand BP-897 (1) and its structurally related benz[d]imidazole derivative (2). Herein, introduction of the benzothiazole moiety was well tolerated by D2SR and D3R binding sites leading to antagonist affinities in the low nanomolar concentration range at both receptor subtypes. However, all novel compounds showed lower antagonist affinity to D3R when compared to that of 1. Further exploration of different substitution patterns at the benzothiazole heterocycle and the basic 4-phenylpiperazine resulted in the discovery of high dually acting D2SR and D3R ligands. Moreover, the methoxy substitution at 2-position of 4-phenylpiperazine resulted in significantly (22-fold) increased D2SR binding affinity as compared to the parent ligand 1, and improved physicochemical and drug-likeness properties of ligands 3-11. However, the latter structural modifications failed to improve the drug-able properties in ligands having un-substituted 4-phenylpiperazine analogs (12-20). Accordingly, compound 9 showed in addition to high dual affinity at the D2SR and D3R [Ki (hD2SR) = 2.8 ± 0.8 nM; Ki (hD3R) = 3.0 ± 1.6 nM], promising clogS, clogP, LE (hD2SR, hD3R), LipE (hD2SR, hD3R), and drug-likeness score values of −4.7, 4.2, (0.4, 0.4), (4.4, 4.3), and 0.7, respectively. Also, the deaminated analog 10 [Ki (hD2SR) = 3.2 ± 0.4 nM; Ki (hD3R) = 8.5 ± 2.2 nM] revealed clogS, clogP, LE (hD2SR, hD3R), LipE (hD2SR, hD3R) and drug-likeness score values of −4.7, 4.2, (0.4, 0.4), (3.9, 3.5), and 0.4, respectively. The results observed for the newly developed benzothiazole-based ligands 3-20 provide clues for the diversity in structure activity relationships (SARs) at the D2SR and D3R subtypes.
Nanobiotechnology: Application of Nanotechnology in Therapeutics and Diagnosis

ABSTRACT Nanobiotechnology is a recently coined term describing the convergence of the two existing but distant worlds of engineering and molecular biology. Nanobiotechnology is the interface between nanotechnology and biology. This is a combination of three words: NANO is tiny, BIO is living things, and TECHNOLOGY is about tools. It is an emerging area of scientific and technological advancement. Nanobiotechnology refers to the ability to create and manipulate biological and biochemical materials, devices, and systems at atomic and molecular levels (billionth of a meter). Thus, it is an integration of physical sciences, molecular engineering, biology, chemistry, and biotechnology, and holds considerable promise of advances in pharmaceuticals and health care. Nanomaterials are at the leading edge of the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology. Their unique size-dependent properties make these materials superior, indispensable in many areas of human activity, and above all a tiny tool to learn about liv.