Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preparation of Nano Cu-ZnO/PET Fiber for Antibacterial Application

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber is applied to clothing, home textiles and other fields because of its low cost, high strength, quick-drying and stable structure, etc. Polyester fiber generally doesn’t have the ability to kill bacteria, and it is a kind of porous material which is conducive to the microbial adhesion and spread of bacteria. In the present study, Cu-ZnO and its antibacterial PET fibers were prepared by sol–gel method and melt spinning, respectively. The structures and compositions of Cu-ZnO were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectra. The crystallization and melting behavior of the PET/Cu-ZnO (0.05:1) composites were tested by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine the temperate of melt spinning. The morphologies and mechanical properties of antibacterial polyester fiber were studied by field emission scanning electron micrographs (FE-SEM) and strength machine, respectively. The antibacterial properties of the samples on E. coli and S. aureus were determined using powder inhibition zones and antibacterial rate. The results show that the fibers exhibited excellent antibacterial activity, it had obvious inhibiting effects on E. coli and S. aureus and the antibacterial rate were both above 90%.
Single and local blockade of interleukin‐6 signaling promotes neuronal differentiation from transplanted embryonic stem cell‐derived neural precursor cells

Safe and efficient transplantation of embryonic stem (ES) cells to the brain requires that local inflammatory and immune responses to allogeneic grafts are inhibited. To investigate cytokines that affect graft cell survival and differentiation, we used stromal cell‐derived inducing activity to induce the differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) from mouse ES cells and transplanted the NPCs into mouse brain. Examination of surrounding brain tissue revealed elevated expression levels of interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐4, and IL‐6 in response to NPC transplantation. Among these, only IL‐6 reduced neuronal differentiation and promoted glial differentiation in vitro. When we added anti‐IL‐6 receptor antibodies to NPCs during transplantation, this single and local blockade of IL‐6 signaling reduced the accumulation of host‐derived leukocytes, including microglia. Furthermore, it also promoted neuronal differentiation and reduced glial differentiation from the grafted NPCs to an extent similar to that with systemic and continuous administration of cyclosporine A. These results suggest that local administration of anti‐IL‐6 receptor antibodies with NPCs may promote neuronal differentiation during the treatment of neurological diseases with cell replacement therapy. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Frequency distribution of gastro esophageal reflux disease in inhalation injury: A historical cohort study

Background: There is no data on the prevalence and the association of gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) with toxic fume inhalation. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the frequency distribution of GERD symptoms among the individuals with mild respiratory disorder due to the past history of toxic fume exposure to sulfur mustard (SM). Materials and Methods: In a historical cohort study, subjects were randomly selected from 7000 patients in a database of all those who had a history of previous exposure to a single high dose of SM gas during war. The control group was randomly selected from adjacent neighbors of the patients, and two healthy male subjects were chosen per patient. In this study, we used the validated Persian translation of Mayo Gastroesophageal Reflux Questionnaire to assess the frequency distribution of reflux disease. Results: Relative frequency of GERD symptoms, was found to be significantly higher in the inhalation injury patients with an odds ratio of 8.30 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.73-14.55), and after adjustment for cigarette smoking, tea consumption, age, and body mass index, aspirin and chronic cough the odds ratio was found to be 4.41 (95% CI: 1.61-12.07). Conclusion: The most important finding of our study was the major GERD symptoms (heartburn and/or acid regurgitation once or more per week) among the individuals with the past history of exposure to SM toxic gas is substantially higher (4.4-fold) than normal populations.
Association between diabetic retinopathy and serum lipoproteins level.

INTRODUCTION diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness of working-age patients in the urban areas. OBJECTIVE to find out the association between diabetic retinopathy and serum lipoproteins in patients with diabetes mellitus MATERIALS AND METHODS a community-based cross-sectional study involving 100 subjects with type II diabetes living in the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur of Nepal was carried out using a purposive sampling method. The retinopathy was classified according to the modified Airlie House classification of diabetic retinopathy. The patients with systolic hypertension were excluded. The blood sugar level was assessed by using glycosylated hemoglobin. The fasting serum lipoproteins were assessed by photometric enzymatic methods. STATISTICS the SPSS version 10.0 software was used. The p value of <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS the majority (n=91) of the patients were in the age group 31-60 years with the mean of 48.2 +/- 9.5. The mean duration of diabetes mellitus in the patients with no-diabetic-retinopathy was 4 +/- 3.4 years and that in those with the retinopathy was 6.4 +/- 4years, (p =0.006). The mean glycosylated hemoglobin level for no-diabetic-retinopathy group was 6.9 1.1%, whereas for the diabetic retinopathy group, it was 7.7 +/- 1.5% (p = 0.004). The mean values of serum lipoproteins when taken together were slightly higher in the diabetic retinopathy group than in the group with no-diabetic-retinopathy. The serum triglyceride value was higher in the group with diabetic retinopathy than in the group with no retinopathy. Serum triglyceride had a low degree of positive correlation with HbA lc value. CONCLUSION there is no significant association between the serum lipoprotein levels and diabetic retinopathy in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. Serum triglyceride level has a low degree of positive correlation with HbA lc value.
Immunoblotting can help the diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis

Aims—To determine whether IgG immunoblotting can improve the diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis. Methods—Samples of serum were tested from patients with ocular lesions that could be caused by toxoplasmosis. All such samples from Scotland and Northern Ireland are usually referred to the Scottish Toxoplasma Reference Laboratory. From questionnaires filled out by the clinicians, two groups of sera were identified: ocular toxoplasmosis (active and quiescent), n = 54 (group 1); and eye disease as a result of other causes, n = 36 (group 2). Control groups were made up of sera from patients with no eye disease and a normal dye test result (≤ 125 IU/ml), n = 16 (group 3); and toxoplasma seronegative, cytomegalovirus (CMV) positive, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) positive sera (group 4), n = 18. Results—Immunoblots with an active pattern could be identified (IgG antibodies against at least four antigens with molecular weight of 6, 20, 22, 23, 25, and 36 kDa). Significantly more of this pattern was found in group 1 (33 of 54; 61.1%) compared with group 2 (nine of 36; 25%) or group 3 (six of 16; 37.5%). Within group 1, significantly more sera with an active pattern had dye test results ≥ 65 IU/ml compared with those without. More sera from patients < 30 years of age were found with the active pattern in group 1 compared with group 2. No group 4 sera had active immunoblot patterns. Conclusions—The immunoblot result adds more support to the diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis. In cases where the clinical diagnosis is difficult, immunoblots are particularly indicated; if negative, other causes of eye disease should be sought.
A new recombinant factor VIII: from genetics to clinical use

Advances in recombinant technology and knowledge about coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) are building a platform for new therapeutic options in patients with hemophilia A. The development of turoctocog alfa, a novel, high-purity, third-generation, B-domain truncated recombinant FVIII, has been produced and formulated without the use of animal-derived or human serum-derived components, in the wake of understanding of the new biochemical characteristics of FVIII, namely its protein structure, and glycosylation and sulfating patterns. Culture conditions and a five-step purification process have been developed to optimize the safety of turoctocog alfa. The results of two pilot clinical trials using turoctocog alfa confirmed high safety levels, with no patient developing inhibitors during the period of observation. The purpose of this review is to describe briefly the molecular and biological properties of turoctocog alfa, together with details of its clinical development, with emphasis on the needs of patients with hemophilia A.
Composition of the essential oils of three Uzbek Scutellaria species (Lamiaceae) and their antioxidant activities

Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from aerial parts of Scutellaria immaculata Nevski ex Juz. , Scutellaria ramosissima M. Pop. and Scutellaria schachristanica Juz. (Lamiaceae) growing wild in Uzbekistan was analysed by GC and GC–MS. The main constituents of the essential oils from S. immaculata were acetophenone (30.39%), eugenol (20.61%), thymol (10.04%) and linalool (6.92%), whereas constituents of the essential oils fromS. schachristanica were acetophenone (34.74%), linalool (26.98%) and eugenol (20.67%). The S. ramosissima oil is dominated by germacrene D (23.96%), β-caryophyllene (11.09%), linalool (9.63%) and hexadecanoic acid (8.34%). The essential oils of Scutellaria species exhibited weaker antioxidant effects in DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays. In FRAP assay, only eugenol exhibited a substantial reducing power IC50 = 2476.92 ± 15.8 (mM Fe(II)/g). Graphical Abstract
Safety and efficacy of cladribine tablets in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis: Results from the randomized extension trial of the CLARITY study

Background: In the 2-year CLARITY study, cladribine tablets significantly improved clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes (vs placebo) in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of cladribine treatment in a 2-year Extension study. Methods: In this 2-year Extension study, placebo recipients from CLARITY received cladribine 3.5 mg/kg; cladribine recipients were re-randomized 2:1 to cladribine 3.5 mg/kg or placebo, with blind maintained. Results: A total of 806 patients were assigned to treatment. Adverse event rates were generally similar between groups, but lymphopenia Grade ⩾ 3 rates were higher with cladribine than placebo (Grade 4 lymphopenia occurred infrequently). In patients receiving cladribine 3.5 mg/kg in CLARITY and experiencing lymphopenia Grade ⩾ 3 in the Extension, >90% of those treated with cladribine 3.5 mg/kg and all treated with placebo in the Extension, recovered to Grade 0–1 by study end. Cladribine treatment in CLARITY produced efficacy improvements that were maintained in patients treated with placebo in the Extension; in patients treated with cladribine 3.5 mg/kg in CLARITY, approximately 75% remained relapse-free when given placebo during the Extension. Conclusion: Cladribine tablets treatment for 2 years followed by 2 years’ placebo treatment produced durable clinical benefits similar to 4 years of cladribine treatment with a low risk of severe lymphopenia or clinical worsening. No clinical improvement in efficacy was apparent following further treatment with cladribine tablets after the initial 2-year treatment period in this trial setting.
Uncovering the Mechanisms Responsible for Why Language Learning May Promote Healthy Cognitive Aging

One of the great challenges facing humankind in the 21st century is preserving healthy brain function in our aging population. Individuals over 60 are the fastest growing age group in the world, and by 2050, it is estimated that the number of people over the age of 60 will triple. The typical aging process involves cognitive decline related to brain atrophy, especially in frontal brain areas and regions that subserve declarative memory, loss of synaptic connections, and the emergence of neuropathological symptoms associated with dementia. The disease-state of this age-related cognitive decline is Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, which may cause older adults to lose their independence and rely on others to live safely, burdening family members and health care systems in the process. However, there are two lines of research that offer hope to those seeking to promote healthy cognitive aging. First, it has been observed that lifestyle variables such as cognitive leisure activities can moderate the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which has led to the development of plasticity-based interventions for older adults designed to protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Second, there is evidence that lifelong bilingualism acts as a safeguard in preserving healthy brain function, possibly delaying the incidence of dementia by several years. In previous work, we have suggested that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. Here, we will outline potential future lines of research that may uncover the mechanism responsible for the emergence of language learning related brain advantages, such as language typology, bi- vs. multi-lingualism, age of acquisition, and the elements that are likely to result in the largest gains.
A Note on the Number of Solutions of the Noncoplanar P4P Problem

In the literature, the PnP problem is indistinguishably defined as either to determine the distances of the control points from the camera's optical center or to determine the transformation matrices from the object-centered frame to the camera-centered frame. We show that these two definitions are generally not equivalent. In particular, we prove that, if the four control points are not coplanar, the upper bound of the P4P problem under the distance-based definition is 5 and also attainable, whereas the upper bound of the P4P problem under the transformation-based definition is only 4. Finally, we study the conditions under which at least two, three, four, and five different positive solutions exist in the distance based noncoplanar P4P problem.
Histamine elimination from the cerebrospinal fluid across the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier: involvement of plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT/SLC29A4)

The elimination of histamine, an excitatory neurotransmitter, from the brain/CSF across the blood–brain barrier and blood–CSF barrier (BCSFB) was investigated using Wistar rats, which were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium. An in vivo intracerebral microinjection study suggested that there was only partial efflux of [3H]histamine from the rat brain across the blood–brain barrier. The [3H]histamine elimination clearance from the rat CSF was 3.8‐fold greater than that of a CSF bulk flow marker, and the elimination of [3H]histamine was significantly inhibited by the co‐administration of unlabeled histamine, suggesting the involvement of a carrier‐mediated process in histamine elimination from the CSF. The uptake study of [3H]histamine by the isolated rat choroid plexus revealed histamine elimination from the CSF across the BCSFB. The [3H]histamine uptake by TR‐CSFB3 cells, a model cell line for the BCSFB, exhibited temperature‐dependent and saturable kinetics, suggesting the involvement of carrier‐mediated transport of histamine at the BCSFB. In the inhibition study, [3H]histamine uptake by TR‐CSFB3 cells was significantly inhibited by substrates and/or inhibitors of plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT/SLC29A4), but not affected by substrates of organic cation transporters. These results suggest the elimination of histamine from the CSF via plasma membrane monoamine transporter at the BCSFB.
Nonparametric directional perception

Artificial perception systems, like autonomous cars and augmented reality headsets, rely on dense 3D sensing technology such as RGB-D cameras and LiDAR scanners. Due to the structural simplicity of man-made environments, understanding and leveraging not only the 3D data but also the local orientations of the constituent surfaces, has huge potential. From an indoor scene to large-scale urban environments, a large fraction of the surfaces can be described by just a few planes with even fewer different normal directions. This sparsity is evident in the surface normal distributions, which exhibit a small number of concentrated clusters. In this work, I draw a rigorous connection between surface normal distributions and 3D structure, and explore this connection in light of different environmental assumptions to further 3D perception. Specifically, I propose the concepts of the Manhattan Frame and the unconstrained directional segmentation. These capture, in the space of surface normals, scenes composed of multiple Manhattan Worlds and more general Stata Center Worlds, in which the orthogonality assumption of the Manhattan World is not applicable. This exploration is theoretically founded in Bayesian nonparametric models, which capture two key properties of the 3D sensing process of an artificial perception system: (1) the inherent sequential nature of data acquisition and (2) that the required model complexity grows with the amount of observed data. Herein, I derive inference algorithms for directional clustering and segmentation which inherently exploit and respect these properties. The fundamental insights gleaned from the connection between surface normal distributions and 3D structure lead to practical advances in scene segmentation, drift-free rotation estimation, global point cloud registration and real-time direction-aware 3D reconstruction to aid artificial perception systems. Thesis Supervisor: John W. Fisher III Title: Senior Research Scientist, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Thesis Co-Supervisor: John J. Leonard Title: Samuel C. Collins Professor of Mechanical and Ocean Engineering
Multiple pathways regulate Cten in colorectal cancer without a Tensin switch

CTEN/TNS4 is a member of the Tensin gene family. It localizes to focal adhesions and induces cell motility. The mechanisms regulating Cten expression are unclear although we have shown regulation by Kras in the colon and pancreas. In normal mammary cell lines, it is reportedly upregulated by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and STAT3 signalling and upregulation is accompanied by downregulation of Tensin 3 (Tensin switch). In this study, we investigated the roles of EGFR and STAT3 signalling in the regulation of Cten in colorectal cancer (CRC). In addition, we investigated calpain – a regulator of focal adhesion‐associated proteins whose relevance to Cten has not been investigated. CRC cell lines were stimulated with epidermal growth factor (EGF). This resulted in an increase in Cten and Tensin 3 protein. Kras was knocked down and this resulted in downregulation of Cten and Tensin 3. We next investigated the role of STAT3 signalling. Activation and knockdown of STAT3 resulted in downregulation and upregulation, respectively, of Cten. Inhibition of calpain resulted in upregulation of both Cten and Tensin 3. As the regulators of Cten also seemed to regulate Tensin 3, we tested the interaction between Cten and Tensin 3. Cten was forcibly expressed or knocked down resulting, respectively, in upregulation and downregulation of Tensin 3. We conclude that in CRC, Cten is upregulated by EGFR and Kras but downregulated by STAT3. We show that calpain may be a negative regulator of Cten and that a Tensin switch does not occur and, if anything, Cten stabilizes Tensin 3.
Human Glycolipid Transfer Protein (GLTP) Expression Modulates Cell Shape

Glycolipid transfer protein (GLTP) accelerates glycosphingolipid (GSL) intermembrane transfer via a unique lipid transfer/binding fold (GLTP-fold) that defines the GLTP superfamily and is the prototype for GLTP-like domains in larger proteins, i.e. phosphoinositol 4-phosphate adaptor protein-2 (FAPP2). Although GLTP-folds are known to play roles in the nonvesicular intracellular trafficking of glycolipids, their ability to alter cell phenotype remains unexplored. In the present study, overexpression of human glycolipid transfer protein (GLTP) was found to dramatically alter cell phenotype, with cells becoming round between 24 and 48 h after transfection. By 48 h post transfection, ∼70% conversion to the markedly round shape was evident in HeLa and HEK-293 cells, but not in A549 cells. In contrast, overexpression of W96A-GLTP, a liganding-site point mutant with abrogated ability to transfer glycolipid, did not alter cell shape. The round adherent cells exhibited diminished motility in wound healing assays and an inability to endocytose cholera toxin but remained viable and showed little increase in apoptosis as assessed by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. A round cell phenotype also was induced by overexpression of FAPP2, which binds/transfers glycolipid via its C-terminal GLTP-like fold, but not by a plant GLTP ortholog (ACD11), which is incapable of glycolipid binding/transfer. Screening for human protein partners of GLTP by yeast two hybrid screening and by immuno-pulldown analyses revealed regulation of the GLTP-induced cell rounding response by interaction with δ-catenin. Remarkably, while δ-catenin overexpression alone induced dendritic outgrowths, coexpression of GLTP along with δ-catenin accelerated transition to the rounded phenotype. The findings represent the first known phenotypic changes triggered by GLTP overexpression and regulated by direct interaction with a p120-catenin protein family member.
Centralized vs decentralized multi-agent guesswork

We study a notion of guesswork, where multiple agents intend to launch a coordinated brute-force attack to find a single binary secret string, and each agent has access to side information generated through either a BEC or a BSC. The average number of trials required to find the secret string grows exponentially with the length of the string, and the rate of the growth is called the guesswork exponent. We compute the guesswork exponent for several multi-agent attacks. We show that a multi-agent attack reduces the guesswork exponent compared to a single agent, even when the agents do not exchange information to coordinate their attack, and try to individually guess the secret string using a predetermined scheme in a decentralized fashion. Further, we show that the guesswork exponent of two agents who do coordinate their attack is strictly smaller than that of any finite number of agents individually performing decentralized guesswork.