Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interlaboratory Evaluation of a Portable Fluorescence Method for the Measurement of Trace Beryllium in the Workplace

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developed a field-portable fluorescence method for the measurement of trace beryllium in workplace samples such as surface dust and air filters. The technology has been privately licensed and is commercially available. In cooperation with the Analytical Subcommittee of the Beryllium Health and Safety Committee, we have carried out a collaborative interlaboratory evaluation of the LANL field-portable fluorescence method. The interlaboratory study was conducted for the purpose of providing performance data that can be used to support standard methods. Mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane filters and Whatman 541 filters were spiked with beryllium standard solutions so that the filters spanned the range ≈0.05 - ≈0.5 µg Be per sample. Sets of these filters were then coded (to ensure blind analysis) and sent to participating laboratories, where they were analyzed. Analysis consisted of the following steps: 1. Removal of the filters from transport cassettes and placement of them into 15-mL centrifuge tubes; 2. mechanically- assisted extraction of the filters in 5 mL of 1 % ammonium bifluoride solution (aqueous) for 30 min; 3. -4. filtration and transfer of sample extract aliquots (100 µL) into fluorescence cuvettes; 5. introduction of 1.9 mL of detection solution (to effect reaction of the fluorescence reagent with beryllium in the extracted sample); and 6. measurement of fluorescence at ≈475 nm using a portable fluorometer. This work presents performance data in support of a procedure that is targeted for publication as a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) method and as an ASTM International standard.
Optimization of Operating Parameters of Intermittent Aeration‐Type Activated Sludge Process for Nitrogen Removal: A Simulation‐Based Approach

Biological nitrogen removal is becoming a proven approach to reducing the total nitrogen discharged from wastewater treatment facilities. Simulation performed with intermittent aeration‐type activated sludge process using Activated Sludge Model No. 1 predicted that up to 90% total nitrogen removal could be attained when the total cycle time and its anoxic phase were balanced adequately. This control limits electron donor and acceptor levels—ammonia‐nitrogen (NH4+‐N) in the aerobic phase and nitrate‐nitrogen (NO3−‐N) in the anoxic phase. Specifically, maximum nitrogen removal appears to be achieved with a 2‐ to 3‐hour cycle time, during which, anoxic conditions were present for 40 to 50% of the time. A 10‐ to 16‐hour hydraulic retention time appears adequate to achieve these results. The solids retention time studied was between 15 and 25 days, as this range was deemed sufficient to establish the nitrifying organism population in most applications. Predictions indicate that the conventional activated sludge system can be retrofitted for better nitrogen management at the treatment plants.
Gene Expression Profiles in Rice Developing Ovules Provided Evidence for the Role of Sporophytic Tissue in Female Gametophyte Development

The development of ovule in rice (Oryza sativa) is vital during its life cycle. To gain more understanding of the molecular events associated with the ovule development, we used RNA sequencing approach to perform transcriptome-profiling analysis of the leaf and ovules at four developmental stages. In total, 25,401, 23,343, 23,647 and 23,806 genes were identified from the four developmental stages of the ovule, respectively. We identified a number of differently expressed genes (DEGs) from three adjacent stage comparisons, which may play crucial roles in ovule development. The DEGs were then conducted functional annotations and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. Genes related to cellular component biogenesis, membrane-bounded organelles and reproductive regulation were identified to be highly expressed during the ovule development. Different expression levels of auxin-related and cytokinin-related genes were also identified at various stages, providing evidence for the role of sporophytic ovule tissue in female gametophyte development from the aspect of gene expression. Generally, an overall transcriptome analysis for rice ovule development has been conducted. These results increased our knowledge of the complex molecular and cellular events that occur during the development of rice ovule and provided foundation for further studies on rice ovule development.
An Approach of Frictional Characterization for Elastomers and Elastomeric Composites

A hybrid experimental-computational approach is proposed for frictional characterization of elastomers and elastomeric composites. An axisymmetric indentor is pressed into a thick slab of elastomer and resistance to the indentor's axial torsion is experimentally measured. Similar numerical analysis is performed based on FEA to predict the same torsional resistance due to friction at contact surface. Finally, unknown frictional properties are statistically evaluated by matching the corresponding experimental and numerical predictions of the torque under different levels of compression, angular speed, etc. Implementation of the approach is shown for representative elastomeric materials, where coefficient of friction (COF) is analyzed as a nonlinear function of contact pressure and approximated by a polynomial series. The effect of angular speed on frictional properties is experimentally observed and quantified in a simple form. The generalization of the approach, accounting for the effect of friction on contact pressure, is proposed in the form of an iterative procedure. The sensitivity of COF on contact pressure is experimentally observed.
Real-Time-PCR Assay for Diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica Infection

ABSTRACT We developed a real-time-PCR assay utilizing a molecular-beacon probe for the detection of Entamoeba histolytica and compared its sensitivity to stool antigen detection and traditional PCR. A total of 205 stool and liver abscess pus specimens from patients and controls were used for this purpose, 101 (49%) of which were positive by the TechLab E. histolytica-specific antigen detection test, while the other 104 (51%) stool and liver abscess pus specimens were negative by the antigen detection test. DNA was extracted from the stool and liver abscess pus specimens by the QIAGEN method and the small-subunit rRNA gene of E. histolytica and then amplified by traditional and real-time PCR. Out of these 205 stool and liver abscess pus specimens, 124 were positive by the real-time-PCR assay and 90 were positive by the traditional-PCR test. Compared to the real-time-PCR assay, the antigen detection test was 79% sensitive and 96% specific. When the traditional-PCR test results were compared to the real-time-PCR assay, the sensitivity of traditional PCR was 72% and the specificity was 99%. In conclusion, all three methods for the detection of E. histolytica were highly specific, with real-time PCR being the most sensitive.
Exploiting First-Order Regression in Inductive Policy Selection

We consider the problem of computing optimal generalised policies for relational Markov decision processes. We describe an approach combining some of the benefits of purely inductive techniques with those of symbolic dynamic programming methods. The latter reason about the optimal value function using first-order decision-theoretic regression and formula rewriting, while the former, when provided with a suitable hypotheses language, are capable of generalising value functions or policies for small instances. Our idea is to use reasoning and in particular classical first-order regression to automatically generate a hypotheses language dedicated to the domain at hand, which is then used as input by an inductive solver. This approach avoids the more complex reasoning of symbolic dynamic programming while focusing the inductive solver's attention on concepts that are specifically relevant to the optimal value function for the domain considered.
Near-infrared integral field spectroscopy of the Homunculus nebula around η Carinae using Gemini/CIRPASS

This work presents the first integral field spectroscopy of the Homunculus nebula around Eta Carinae in the near-infrared spectral region (J band). We confirmed the presence of a hole on the polar region of each lobe, as indicated by previous near-IR long-slit spectra and mid-IR images. The holes can be described as a cylinder of height (i.e. the thickness of the lobe) and diameter of 6.5 and 6.0x10^{16} cm, respectively. We also mapped the blue-shifted component of He I 10830 seen towards the NW lobe. Contrary to previous works, we suggested that this blue-shifted component is not related to the Paddle but it is indeed in the equatorial disc. We confirmed the claim of Smith (2005) and showed that the spatial extent of the Little Homunculus matches remarkably well the radio continuum emission at 3 cm, indicating that the Little Homunculus can be regarded as a small HII region. Therefore, we used the optically-thin 1.3 mm radio flux to derive a lower limit for the number of Lyman-continuum photons of the central source in Eta Car. In the context of a binary system, and assuming that the ionising flux comes entirely from the hot companion star, the lower limit for its spectral type and luminosity class ranges from O5.5 III to O7 I. Moreover, we showed that the radio peak at 1.7 arcsec NW from the central star is in the same line-of-sight of the `Sr-filament' but they are obviously spatially separated, while the blue-shifted component of He I 10830 may be related to the radio peak and can be explained by the ultraviolet radiation from the companion star.
Mastoparan, a novel mitogen for Swiss 3T3 cells, stimulates pertussis toxin-sensitive arachidonic acid release without inositol phosphate accumulation

Mastoparan, a basic tetradecapeptide isolated from wasp venom, is a novel mitogen for Swiss 3T3 cells. This peptide induced DNA synthesis in synergy with insulin in a concentration-dependent manner; half- maximum and maximum responses were achieved at 14 and 17 microM, respectively. Mastoparan also stimulated DNA synthesis in the presence of other growth promoting factors including bombesin, insulin-like growth factor-1, and platelet-derived growth factor. The synergistic mitogenic stimulation by mastoparan can be dissociated from activation of phospholipase C. Mastoparan did not stimulate phosphoinositide breakdown, Ca2+ mobilization or protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of a major cellular substrate or transmodulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor. In contrast, mastoparan stimulated arachidonic acid release, prostaglandin E2 production, and enhanced cAMP accumulation in the presence of forskolin. These responses were inhibited by prior treatment with pertussis toxin. Hence, mastoparan stimulates arachidonic acid release via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein in Swiss 3T3 cells. Arachidonic acid, like mastoparan, stimulated DNA synthesis in the presence of insulin. The ability of mastoparan to stimulate mitogenesis was reduced by pertussis toxin treatment. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that mastoparan stimulates reinitiation of DNA synthesis in Swiss 3T3 cells and indicate that this peptide may be a useful probe to elucidate signal transduction mechanisms in mitogenesis.
Keep up the momentum

The pricing mechanisms that lay behind the momentum risk premium, which is seen as one of the most important alternative risk premia alongside the carry premium, seem not well understood. In the finance literature, there is no consensus on whether a momentum investment gears towards asset selection (alpha) or rather towards a systematic exposure to risk (beta). Does selecting the trending assets within a market introduce a skew or convexity into the expected return distribution? Does it modify the price correlation relationships with respect to other positions that are taken in a portfolio? The goal of this paper is to address these questions and define what momentum investing stands for. What characterises momentum investing is to us its capacity to diversify which is particularly pronounced in stressed markets. This market-timing aspect we observe is of interest for long investors, as the price decorrelation that is provoked comes when it is most needed. We make evident that the diversification asymmetry is less relevant for a long–short absolute-return investment.
Allergen-specific immunotherapy of Hymenoptera venom allergy – also a matter of diagnosis

ABSTRACT Stings of hymenoptera can induce IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions in venom-allergic patients, ranging from local up to severe systemic reactions and even fatal anaphylaxis. Allergic patients' quality of life can be mainly improved by altering their immune response to tolerate the venoms by injecting increasing venom doses over years. This venom-specific immunotherapy is highly effective and well tolerated. However, component-resolved information about the venoms has increased in the last years. This knowledge is not only able to improve diagnostics as basis for an accurate therapy, but was additionally used to create tools which enable the analysis of therapeutic venom extracts on a molecular level. Therefore, during the last decade the detailed knowledge of the allergen composition of hymenoptera venoms has substantially improved diagnosis and therapy of venom allergy. This review focuses on state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic options as well as on novel directions trying to improve therapy.
Enhancement of Color Images by Scaling the DCT Coefficients

This paper presents a new technique for color enhancement in the compressed domain. The proposed technique is simple but more effective than some of the existing techniques reported earlier. The novelty lies in this case in its treatment of the chromatic components, while previous techniques treated only the luminance component. The results of all previous techniques along with that of the proposed one are compared with respect to those obtained by applying a spatial domain color enhancement technique that appears to provide very good enhancement. The proposed technique, computationally more efficient than the spatial domain based method, is found to provide better enhancement compared to other compressed domain based approaches.
Comparison of Pycnogenol® and Daflon® in Treating Chronic Venous Insufficiency: A Prospective, Controlled Study

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of oral Pycnogenol® (Horphag Research Ltd., UK) in patients with severe chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in comparison to the combination of diosmin and hesperidin (Daflon®, Servier, France). A group of 86 patients with severe chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), venous hypertension, ankle swelling) and previous history of venous ulcerations received either oral Pycnogenol (capsules) 150 mg or 300 mg daily for 8 weeks or Daflon, 1000 mg/day. All patients completed the study without dropouts. At the end of the study, microcirculatory results indicated: a progressive decrease of skin flux at rest (RF); a significant decrease in capillary filtration (RAS); an improvement in the symptomatic venous score (ASLS); a reduction in edema; a significant improvement (increase) in pO2 and a decrease in pCO2 in the Pycnogenol group. A significant level of improvement was reached after 4 weeks of treatment in most patients (p < .05) of the Pycnogenol group while clinical improvement was significant only in 6 subjects in the Daflon group. The positive effects of treatment with Pycnogenol after 8 weeks were significantly larger in comparison with the Daflon group. In conclusion, this study confirms the fast clinical efficacy of Pycnogenol in patients with chronic venous insufficiency and venous microangiopathy and its superiority—considering the evaluated parameters—to the combination of diosmin and hesperidin.
Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites and Their Mechanical, Thermal, and Morphological Properties

Short bamboo fiber reinforced polypropylene composites were prepared by incorporation of various loadings of chemically modified bamboo fibers. Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MA-g-PP) was used as compatibilizer to improve fiber–matrix adhesion. The effects of bamboo fiber loading and modification of the resin on the physical, mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of the bamboo reinforced modified PP composites were studied. Scanning electron microscopy studies of the composites were carried out on the interface and fractured surfaces. Thermogravimetric analysis and IR spectroscopy were also carried out. At 50% volume fraction of the extracted bamboo fiber in the composites, considerable increase in mechanical properties like impact, flexural, tensile, and thermal behavior like heat deflection temperature were observed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011
LFPy: a tool for biophysical simulation of extracellular potentials generated by detailed model neurons

Electrical extracellular recordings, i.e., recordings of the electrical potentials in the extracellular medium between cells, have been a main work-horse in electrophysiology for almost a century. The high-frequency part of the signal (≳500 Hz), i.e., the multi-unit activity (MUA), contains information about the firing of action potentials in surrounding neurons, while the low-frequency part, the local field potential (LFP), contains information about how these neurons integrate synaptic inputs. As the recorded extracellular signals arise from multiple neural processes, their interpretation is typically ambiguous and difficult. Fortunately, a precise biophysical modeling scheme linking activity at the cellular level and the recorded signal has been established: the extracellular potential can be calculated as a weighted sum of all transmembrane currents in all cells located in the vicinity of the electrode. This computational scheme can considerably aid the modeling and analysis of MUA and LFP signals. Here, we describe LFPy, an open source Python package for numerical simulations of extracellular potentials. LFPy consists of a set of easy-to-use classes for defining cells, synapses and recording electrodes as Python objects, implementing this biophysical modeling scheme. It runs on top of the widely used NEURON simulation environment, which allows for flexible usage of both new and existing cell models. Further, calculation of extracellular potentials using the line-source-method is efficiently implemented. We describe the theoretical framework underlying the extracellular potential calculations and illustrate by examples how LFPy can be used both for simulating LFPs, i.e., synaptic contributions from single cells as well a populations of cells, and MUAs, i.e., extracellular signatures of action potentials.
Development of an Integrated Reporting System for Verifying Hemolysis, Icterus, and Lipemia in Clinical Chemistry Results

Background Hemolysis, icterus, and lipemia (HIL) cause preanalytical interference and vary unpredictably with different analytical equipments and measurement methods. We developed an integrated reporting system for verifying HIL status in order to identify the extent of interference by HIL on clinical chemistry results. Methods HIL interference data from 30 chemical analytes were provided by the manufacturers and were used to generate a table of clinically relevant interference values that indicated the extent of bias at specific index values (alert index values). The HIL results generated by the Vista 1500 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, USA), Advia 2400 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics), and Modular DPE system (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland) were analyzed and displayed on physicians' personal computers. Results Analytes 11 and 29 among the 30 chemical analytes were affected by interference due to hemolysis, when measured using the Vista and Modular systems, respectively. The hemolysis alert indices for the Vista and Modular systems were 0.1-25.8% and 0.1-64.7%, respectively. The alert indices for icterus and lipemia were <1.4% and 0.7% in the Vista system and 0.7% and 1.0% in the Modular system, respectively. Conclusions The HIL alert index values for chemical analytes varied depending on the chemistry analyzer. This integrated HIL reporting system provides an effective screening tool for verifying specimen quality with regard to HIL and simplifies the laboratory workflow.
Relationships among androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism, sex hormones and penile length in Han adult men from China: a cross-sectional study

This study aimed to investigate the correlations among androgen receptor (AR) CAG repeat polymorphism, sex hormones and penile length in healthy Chinese young adult men. Two hundred and fifty-three healthy men (aged 22.8 ± 3.1 years) were enrolled. The individuals were grouped as CAG short (CAGS) if they harbored repeat length of ≤20 or as CAG long (CAGL) if their CAG repeat length was >20. Body height/weight, penile length and other parameters were examined and recorded by the specified physicians; CAG repeat polymorphism was determined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method; and the serum levels of the sex hormones were detected by radioimmunoassay. Student's t-test or linear regression analysis was used to assess the associations among AR CAG repeat polymorphism, sex hormones and penile length. This investigation showed that the serum total testosterone (T) level was positively associated with the AR CAG repeat length (P = 0.01); whereas, no significant correlation of T or AR CAG repeat polymorphism with the penile length was found (P = 0.593). Interestingly, an inverse association was observed between serum prolactin (PRL) levels and penile length by linear regression analyses (β= −0.024, P = 0.039, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.047, 0). Collectively, this study provides the first evidence that serum PRL, but not T or AR CAG repeat polymorphism, is correlated with penile length in the Han adult population from northwestern China.
SNMMI/ASNC/SCCT Guideline for Cardiac SPECT/CT and PET/CT 1.0*

1Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; 2Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; 3Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; 4St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital, New York, New York; 5University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland; 6Baptist Hospital of Miami, Miami, Florida; 7University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; 8Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas; and 9Advanced Radiology Services, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Oscillating expression of interleukin-16 in multiple myeloma is associated with proliferation, clonogenic growth, and PI3K/NFKB/MAPK activation

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematologic malignancy emerging from a plasma cell clone located in the bone marrow and is characterized by a high rate of fatal relapses after initially effective treatment. We have previously identified Interleukin-16 (IL-16) as an important factor promoting the proliferation of MM cells. We demonstrate here an upregulated, periodic expression, and secretion of IL-16 by MM cells leading to high extracellular IL-16 levels. The level of IL-16 released from a given MM cell line correlated with its proliferative activity. Establishing an inducible knockdown system and performing gene expression arrays we observed an association between IL-16 expression and activation of PI3, NFκB and MAP kinase pathways and, specifically, genes involved in tumor cell proliferation. Functional assays showed that IL-16 knockdown reduced the proliferative activity with a significant delay in cell cycle progression to G2 phase of conventional MM cells and completely suppressed the growth of clonogenic MM cells, which are suspected to be responsible for the high relapse rates in MM. Overall, our results demonstrate that tumor-regenerating MM cells may be particularly susceptible to IL-16 neutralization, suggesting an important role of anti-IL-16 therapies in the treatment of MM, particularly in combination with existing strategies targeting the bulk of myeloma cells.