Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validated Densitometric TLC-Method for the Simultaneous Analysis of (R)- and (S)-Citalopram and its Related Substances Using Macrocyclic Antibiotic as a Chiral Selector: Application to the Determination of Enantiomeric Purity of Escitalopram

A novel economic procedure for the simultaneous stereospecific separation and analysis of (R)- and (S)-citalopram and its related substances or impurities has been developed and validated. Chromatography was performed on silica gel 60 F254 plates with acetonitrile: methanol: water (15:2.5:2.5: v/v/v) as a mobile phase containing 1.5 mM norvancomycin or 2.5 mM vancomycin as a selector at ambient temperature. (R)- and (S)-citalopram enantiomers in presence of its related substances; citalopram citadiol and citalopram N-oxide were well separated with significant Rf values of 0.33 ± 0.02, 0.85 ± 0.02, 0.45 ± 0.02 and 0.22 ± 0.02, respectively. The spots were detected with either iodine vapor, or by use of a UV lamp followed by densitometric measurement at 239 nm. All variables affecting the resolution, such as concentration of chiral selectors, mobile phase system at different temperatures and pH-values were investigated and the conditions were optimized. Calibration plots for analysis of (R)- and (S)-enantiomers were linear in the range of 0.2-16.8 μg/10 μl (R≥0.9994, n=6) with acceptable precision (%RSD<2.0) and accuracy (99.70 ± 0.85% and 99.51 ± 0.61% for (S)-citalopram and escitalopram, respectively). The limit of detection and quantification were 0.08 μg/10 μl and 0.25 μg/10 μl, respectively, for (R)- and (S)-citalopram. The proposed method is simple, selective, and robust and can be applied for quantitative determination of enantiomeric purity of (R)- and (S)-citalopram (escitalopram) as well as the related impurities in drug substances and pharmaceutical preparations. The method can be useful to investigate adulteration of pure isomer with the cheep racemic form.
Spatial registration and normalization of images

This paper concerns the spatial and intensity transformations that map one image onto another. We present a general technique that facilitates nonlinear spatial (stereotactic) normalization and image realignment. This technique minimizes the sum of squares between two images following nonlinear spatial deformations and transformations of the voxel (intensity) values. The spatial and intensity transformations are obtained simultaneously, and explicitly, using a least squares solution and a series of linearising devices. The approach is completely noninteractive (automatic), nonlinear, and noniterative. It can be applied in any number of dimensions.
Utility of Survival Motor Neuron ELISA for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Clinical and Preclinical Analyses

Objectives Genetic defects leading to the reduction of the survival motor neuron protein (SMN) are a causal factor for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). While there are a number of therapies under evaluation as potential treatments for SMA, there is a critical lack of a biomarker method for assessing efficacy of therapeutic interventions, particularly those targeting upregulation of SMN protein levels. Towards this end we have engaged in developing an immunoassay capable of accurately measuring SMN protein levels in blood, specifically in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as a tool for validating SMN protein as a biomarker in SMA. Methods A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed and validated for measuring SMN protein in human PBMCs and other cell lysates. Protocols for detection and extraction of SMN from transgenic SMA mouse tissues were also developed. Results The assay sensitivity for human SMN is 50 pg/mL. Initial analysis reveals that PBMCs yield enough SMN to analyze from blood volumes of less than 1 mL, and SMA Type I patients' PBMCs show ∼90% reduction of SMN protein compared to normal adults. The ELISA can reliably quantify SMN protein in human and mouse PBMCs and muscle, as well as brain, and spinal cord from a mouse model of severe SMA. Conclusions This SMN ELISA assay enables the reliable, quantitative and rapid measurement of SMN in healthy human and SMA patient PBMCs, muscle and fibroblasts. SMN was also detected in several tissues in a mouse model of SMA, as well as in wildtype mouse tissues. This SMN ELISA has general translational applicability to both preclinical and clinical research efforts.
The Genetics of Bene Israel from India Reveals Both Substantial Jewish and Indian Ancestry

The Bene Israel Jewish community from West India is a unique population whose history before the 18th century remains largely unknown. Bene Israel members consider themselves as descendants of Jews, yet the identity of Jewish ancestors and their arrival time to India are unknown, with speculations on arrival time varying between the 8th century BCE and the 6th century CE. Here, we characterize the genetic history of Bene Israel by collecting and genotyping 18 Bene Israel individuals. Combining with 486 individuals from 41 other Jewish, Indian and Pakistani populations, and additional individuals from worldwide populations, we conducted comprehensive genome-wide analyses based on FST, principal component analysis, ADMIXTURE, identity-by-descent sharing, admixture linkage disequilibrium decay, haplotype sharing and allele sharing autocorrelation decay, as well as contrasted patterns between the X chromosome and the autosomes. The genetics of Bene Israel individuals resemble local Indian populations, while at the same time constituting a clearly separated and unique population in India. They are unique among Indian and Pakistani populations we analyzed in sharing considerable genetic ancestry with other Jewish populations. Putting together the results from all analyses point to Bene Israel being an admixed population with both Jewish and Indian ancestry, with the genetic contribution of each of these ancestral populations being substantial. The admixture took place in the last millennium, about 19-33 generations ago. It involved Middle-Eastern Jews and was sex-biased, with more male Jewish and local female contribution. It was followed by a population bottleneck and high endogamy, which can lead to increased prevalence of recessive diseases in this population. This study provides an example of how genetic analysis advances our knowledge of human history in cases where other disciplines lack the relevant data to do so.
Facile synthesis of nanostructured vanadium oxide as cathode materials for efficient Li-ion batteries

Homogeneous VO2 (B) nanorods approximately 100 nm in width and 1–2 μm in length have been fabricated via the hydrothermal process, and are then transformed into irregularly shaped V2O5 nanoparticles of several hundreds nanometers large and 20–30 nm thick after annealing the precursor material at 500 °C for 30 min. Both the V2O5 sheet-like nanoparticles and VO2 (B) nanorods were tested as active cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. The V2O5 sheet-like nanoparticles delivered a high discharge capacity of 281 mA h g−1 at 50 mA g−1 and 191 mA h g−1 at 2400 mA g−1; the material also demonstrated good cyclic stability with a small capacity loss of 35 mA h g−1 after 40 cycles. The VO2 (B) nanorods and V2O5 sheet-like nanoparticles prepared by the straightforward, environmental friendly and high yield route investigated in this study could prove to be promising candidates for efficient Li-ion batteries.
Scream and gunshot detection in noisy environments

This paper describes an audio event detection system which automatically classifies an audio event as ambient noise, scream or gunshot. The classification system uses two parallel GMM classifiers for discriminating screams from noise and gunshots from noise. Each classifier is trained using different features, appropriately chosen from a set of 47 audio features, which are selected according to a 2-step process. First, feature subsets of increasing size are assembled using filter selection heuristics. Then, a classifier is trained and tested with each feature subset. The obtained classification performance is used to determine the optimal feature vector dimension. This allows a noticeable speed-up w.r. t. wrapper feature selection methods. In order to validate the proposed detection algorithm, we carried out extensive experiments on a rich set of gunshots and screams mixed with ambient noise at different SNRs. Our results demonstrate that the system is able to guarantee a precision of 90% at a false rejection rate of 8%.
Epidural Blood Patches in a Patient With Multi-level Cerebrospinal Fluid Leakage That Was Induced by Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is considered to be a very rare disorder. It is characterized by an orthostatic headache that is aggravated with the patient in the upright position and it is relieved by the patient assuming the supine position. SIH is caused by a spontaneous spinal cerebrospinal fluid leakage without the patient having undergone trauma, surgery or dural puncture or having any other significant medical history. An autologous epidural blood patch (EBP) is effective in relieving SIH. We report here on a case of SIH with cerebrospinal fluid leakage at the upper cervical vertebral level and the middle thoracic vertebral level. The points of leakage were identified by radionuclide cisternography, and this patient was successfully managed by injecting an EBP at each level of leakage.
Predicting endoscopic diagnosis in the dyspeptic patient. The value of predictive score models.

BACKGROUND Score models to predict endoscopic diagnosis in dyspepsia may compensate for the unreliable clinical diagnosis. This study aimed to construct and test score models designed to predict diagnosis in dyspepstic patients managed in primary care. METHODS Three models to predict organic dyspepsia, major dyspepsia, or peptic ulcer were constructed by regression analysis of clinical data from 1026 consecutive dyspeptic patients referred for endoscopy. The models were tested in 207 patients in primary care, who were potential candidates for endoscopy. Validation experiments were analysed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS Significant losses of predictive power were found for all models when applied to primary care patients, and no model could be used as a reliable decision support instrument in primary care. CONCLUSIONS Predictive score models developed in patients referred for endoscopy are not reliable when applied to patients in primary care who are potential candidates for endoscopy. Future models should be constructed and validated in unselected primary care populations.
Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in a Second Language: Past, Present and Future Directions.

L'A. examine les differents developpements qu'a connu la recherche sur le vocabulaire, au cours de ces 20 dernieres annees, dans le cadre de l'enseignement/apprentissage d'une langue seconde. Si le vocabulaire etait le parent pauvre de l'enseignement des langues dans les annees 60 et 70, un interet grandissant s'est manifeste a son egard dans les annees 80. L'A. examine quelles peuvent etre les orientations futures de ce domaine de recherche
New Pharmacological Opportunities for Betulinic Acid

Abstract Betulinic acid is a naturally occurring pentacyclic lupane-type triterpenoid usually isolated from birch trees, but present in many other botanical sources. It is found in different plant organs, both as a free aglycon and as glycosyl derivatives. A wide range of pharmacological activities has been described for this triterpenoid, including antiviral and antitumor effects. In addition, several other interesting properties have been identified in the fields of immunity and metabolism, namely antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, and anti-inflammatory activities. Taken together, these latter three properties make betulinic acid a highly interesting prospect for treating metabolic syndrome. The present review focuses on the therapeutic potential of this agent, along with several of its semisynthetic derivatives, which could open new frontiers in the use of natural product-based medicines.
Rewriting a Complex Story for a Young Reader: The Development of Audience-Adapted Writing Skills.

The aim of this study was to describe the development of audience-adapted writing skills between the end of elementary school and the beginning of college. Students in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11, and college freshmen, were given the task of rewriting a linguistically complex story for a young reader. Analyses of rewritten stories showed significant, agerelated decreases in mean lexical and syntactic complexity, as well as significant increases in mean reading ease. Further analyses of the alteration of difficult lexical items and rewriting of the moral of the story suggested a shift from extensive use of "word-oriented" strategies in the lower grades to increasing use of a "meaning-oriented" approach in the higher grades. Studies of communication development have frequently focused on children's abilities to adapt messages to the knowledge, needs, or interests of their listeners. For example, Piaget's (1926/1955) early research on 6to 8year-old children's explanations of taps and syringes seemed to show that these preoperational children, trapped in an egocentric orientation, were not very proficient communicators, because they failed to adapt their messages to their listeners' needs for full and explicit information. Although Piaget's seminal study had, as Brown (1965) put it, "no interesting followup for forty years" (p. 342), beginning in the late 1960s with the studies of Flavell (1968), Glucksberg and Krauss (1967), and others, there was an explosion of important research on children's abilities to adapt messages to their listeners, as well as a concomitant surge of interest in investigating the development of those social-cognitive abilities (e.g., roleor perspectivetaking) which seemed to underlie listener-adapted communication (for reviews see Chandler, 1977; Glucksberg, Krauss, & Higgins, 1975; Shantz, 1975). Research in these areas expanded throughout the 1970s, as insights from more naturalistic studies of children communicating in familiar contexts began to be added to data from experimental studies of children performing communication tasks resulting in a large and diverse literature on the development of children's oral communication skills (Dickson, 1981). My aim is not to review this literature, but rather to point to an important gap in it: the relative paucity of developmental research on children's audience-adapted writing skills. Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 19, No. 2, May 1985
Investigation of Biofilm Forming Ability in Staphylococci Causing Bovine Mastitis Using Phenotypic and Genotypic Assays

A total of 40 S. aureus and 68 coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CNS) isolates from bovine subclinical mastitis were investigated for their ability to form biofilm as one of the most important virulence factors.Using Congo Red Agar (CRA) method, 32.5%, 35%, and 32.5% of S. aureus strains were strong, intermediate, and negative biofilm producers, while in CNS the percentages were 29.5%, 42.6%, and 27.9%, respectively. By microtiter plate (MTP) method, 52.5%, 27.5%, and 20% of S. aureus isolates were strong, moderate, and weak biofilm producers, while in CNS the percentages were 44%, 30.9%, and 19.2%, respectively. Indian ink staining was used to detect the EPS layer of biofilm producers. All isolates were screened for presence of biofilm related genes, eno, icaA, icaD, and bap. In S. aureus isolates, the positive rates of eno, icaA, icaD, and bap genes were 75%, 15%, 62.5%, and 2.5% while in CNS were 92.6%, 5.9%, 47.1%, and 4.4%, respectively. The eno gene had the highest rate while the bap gene had the lowest rate. Presence of icaA and icaD genes was not always correlated with biofilm production. This study demonstrated high prevalence of Staphylococcus biofilm producers among bovine mastitis in Egypt. Therefore, attention must be paid toward implementation of new ways for effective treatment of such infections.
Expressive or Instrumental: the Dual Perspective Model of Personal Web Usage at Workplace

IT devices such as computers, tablets, smartphones as well as Internet are playing extremely important role in both work and non-work fields. Meanwhile, IT facilities also blurred the boundary between work and non-work. With the ubiquity of IT devices and Internet at workplace, organizational employees nowadays increasingly engage in online activities for personal purposes, which are not related to work, during office hours using organizational IT resources, hereafter Personal Web Usage (PWU) at workplace. Previous studies have identified multiple motivations behind employees’ PWU behavior from different perspectives. By reviewing existing literature, we propose the dual nature of PWU with respect to its antecedents, namely expressive nature and instrumental nature. Accordingly, we develop a dual-perspective model of PWU, in which different types of antecedents as well as their interactions are explained. In specific, drawing from job demand-control model, we identify a new antecedent addressing expressive aspect of PWU, namely burnout. And perceived benefit is identified to be the antecedent addressing the instrumental nature of PWU in our model. The proposed model sheds new light on PWU research by proposing an important, yet not recognized previously, nature of PWU, and thus offering a framework to unify existing research and proposing directions for future research.
Information Cascades and Threshold Implementation: An Application to Crowdfunding

Economic activities such as crowdfunding often involve sequential interactions, observational learning, and project implementation contingent on achieving certain thresholds of support. We incorporate endogenous all-or-nothing thresholds in a classic model of information cascade. We find that early supporters tap the wisdom of a later "gate-keeper" and effectively delegate their decisions, leading to uni-directional cascades and preventing agents' herding on rejections. Consequently, entrepreneurs or project proposers can charge supporters higher fees, and proposal feasibility, project selection, and information production all improve, even when agents have the option to wait. Novel to the literature, equilibrium outcomes depend on the crowd size, and in the limit, efficient project implementation and full information aggregation ensue.
Expectancy violations and the search for meaning among breast cancer survivors

A number of theoretical perspectives suggest that expectancy violations (EVs) threaten a person’s sense of meaning and prompt efforts to reinstate meaning. Yet, little to no research has explicitly examined whether EVs predict actual efforts to search for meaning. The current research redresses this gap in the literature among a sample of breast cancer survivors. The results revealed that EVs, but not life satisfaction, positively predicted the search for meaning. By comparison, the presence of meaning was predicted by both EVs and life satisfaction. Further, EVs predicted an increased search for meaning among participants who simultaneously believed that their life had high levels of meaning. Thus, personal EVs may offer a compelling framework for understanding what prompts searches for meaning.
Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Italian milk by HPLC with fluorescence detection

The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Italian commercial milk samples is reported. The study was carried out on lactating (cow and goat) and plant (rice, soya, oat) milk. The quantitative determination involved liquid–liquid extraction of PAHs, a pre-concentration and determination by HPLC using a fluorescence detector. The recovery of analytes was in the range of 70–115%. The precision of the method was found to be between 6% and 24%. The detection limit ranged from 0.66 to 33.3 µg l–1 corresponding to 0.03–1.66 µg kg–1 milk (wet weight), at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, depending on the compound. By this procedure, the levels of more volatile PAHs (two to three aromatic rings) were confirmed in 34 commercial milk and three plant milk samples, whereas benzo[a]pyrene was found only in five pasteurised milk samples at a mean concentration of 0.17 µg kg–1 milk. These results provide evidence that PAH levels are influenced by heat treatments and skimming processes of milk production. Graphical Abstract
Evaluation of lipoarabinomannan for the serological diagnosis of tuberculosis

The availability of highly purified lipoarabinomannan from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in its native acylated, highly antigenic state allowed its application to the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis in patients from the Republic of Mexico. Antilipoarabinomannan immunoglobulin G antibodies in sera from 66 patients with pulmonary, miliary, and pleural tuberculosis and tuberculosis lymphadenities were measured by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay against sera from a control population of healthy individuals, people with histoplasmosis, and people with lung diseases not caused by mycobacteria. The results pointed to an unexpectedly high degree of specificity of 91% and a sensitivity of 72%, comparable to figures from previous studies with other purified antigens; most of the false-positive results were for patients with histoplasmosis. Thus, lipoarabinomannan of M. tuberculosis is a potentially useful antigen for the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis.
Preclinical Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion of an Oral Amide Prodrug of Gemcitabine Designed to Deliver Prolonged Systemic Exposure

Gemcitabine is an intravenously administered nucleoside analog chemotherapeutic agent. The ability to deliver this agent as an oral drug would allow greater flexibility of administration and patient convenience; however, attempts have been fraught with high first-pass metabolism and potential intestinal toxicity. Alternatively, an amide prodrug of gemcitabine (LY2334737) was discovered, which is able to avoid the extensive first-pass metabolism that occurs following administration of gemcitabine. Preclinical in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to evaluate the hydrolysis and pharmacokinetics of LY2334737 and its downstream metabolites. In mice, rats, and dogs, the prodrug is absorbed largely intact across the intestinal epithelium and delivers LY2334737 to systemic circulation. The hydrolysis of LY2334737 is relatively slow, resulting in sustained release of gemcitabine in vivo. In vitro experiments identified carboxylesterase 2 (CES2) as a major enzyme involved in the hydrolysis of LY2334737, but with relatively low intrinsic clearance. Following hydrolysis of the prodrug, gemcitabine is cleared predominantly via the formation of its inactive metabolite dFdU. Both biliary and renal excretion was responsible for the elimination of LY2334737 and its metabolites in both mice and dogs.
Pilot study of treatment of persistent auditory hallucinations by modified auditory input.

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