Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stimuli-responsive, mechanically-adaptive polymer nanocomposites

A new series of biomimetic stimuli-responsive nanocomposites, which change their mechanical properties upon exposure to physiological conditions, was prepared and investigated. The materials were produced by introducing percolating networks of cellulose nanofibers or “whiskers” derived from tunicates into poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA), and blends of these polymers, with the objective of determining how the hydrophobicity and glass-transition temperature (Tg) of the polymer matrix affect the water-induced mechanically dynamic behavior. Below the Tg (∼60−70 °C), the incorporation of whiskers (15.1−16.5% v/v) modestly increased the tensile storage moduli (E′) of the neat polymers from 0.6 to 3.8 GPa (PBMA) and from 2 to 5.2 GPa (PVAc). The reinforcement was much more dramatic above Tg, where E′ increased from 1.2 to 690 MPa (PVAc) and ∼1 MPa to 1.1 GPa (PBMA). Upon exposure to physiological conditions (immersion in artificial cerebrospinal fluid, ACSF, at 37 °C) all materials di.
Proposed revision to the taxonomy of the genus Pestivirus, family Flaviviridae

We propose the creation of seven new species in the genus Pestivirus (family Flaviviridae) in addition to the four existing species, and naming species in a host-independent manner using the format Pestivirus X. Only the virus species names would change; virus isolates would still be referred to by their original names. The original species would be re-designated as Pestivirus A (original designation Bovine viral diarrhea virus 1), Pestivirus B (Bovine viral diarrhea virus 2), Pestivirus C (Classical swine fever virus) and Pestivirus D (Border disease virus). The seven new species (and example isolates) would be Pestivirus E (pronghorn pestivirus), Pestivirus F (Bungowannah virus), Pestivirus G (giraffe pestivirus), Pestivirus H (Hobi-like pestivirus), Pestivirus I (Aydin-like pestivirus), Pestivirus J (rat pestivirus) and Pestivirus K (atypical porcine pestivirus). A bat-derived virus and pestiviruses identified from sheep and goat (Tunisian sheep pestiviruses), which lack complete coding region sequences, may represent two additional species.
Local Stress Field Approach for Shear Failure Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Members

Despite extensive research on behavior of reinforced concrete in shear, there is still considerable disagreement among researchers in proposing and using a rational way of calculating the shear strength of reinforced concrete members. Due to lack of a universally accepted model for shear, shear design provisions still generally consist of empirical relationships that differ from code-to-code. In this study, a simple rational formula for calculating the shear strength of reinforced concrete elements is proposed by conducting a systematic parametric study on the response of RC elements in shear. This is done by using a computational model which simulates the post cracking behavior of RC membrane element on the basis of local stress transferring mechanism between adjacent cracks and microscopic stress transfer across cracks. Through a comparison with extensive available experimental tests conducted on RC elements, it is shown that the proposed rational relation can appropriately predict the shear strength of reinforced concrete elements under different in-plane stress conditions. Then the proposed relation is extended to the shear design of RC members and again it is shown that the predicted shear strengths are in good agreement with the experimental test results under different combination of axial, bending and shear forces.
Gynaecological malignancies in pregnancy: A review

Gynaecological malignancies frequently occur in women of reproductive age and are estimated to complicate approximately one in 1000 pregnancies. The incidence of gynaecological malignancies during pregnancy is expected to rise as more women delay childbearing into their later reproductive years, and maternal age is the most powerful predictor of cancer risk. Pregnancy‐associated malignancies present significant challenges as a result of the conflict between optimal maternal therapy and fetal well‐being. The lack of prospective randomised treatment studies has prevented the development of clinical guidelines for most of the issues complicating the management. In the present review, recent diagnostic and treatment strategies for cervical, ovarian, vulvar and endometrial carcinomas during pregnancy are presented.
EFFECT OF MOZART MUSIC ON HIPPOCAMPAL CONTENT OF BDNF IN POSTNATAL RATS

1. Cellular and Molecular Research Center, and Neuroscience Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2. Anatomy Department, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran. 3. Physiology Research Center (PRC), Tehran university of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 4. Institute for Cognitive Science studies (ICSS), Tehran, Iran. 5. Department of Material Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Platelet to lymphocyte ratio plays an important role in prostate cancer's diagnosis and prognosis.

OBJECTIVE To compare the platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in normal people, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients and prostate cancer (PCA) patients, and to explore the prognostic role of PLR in PCA. METHODS 155 normal people, 168 BPH patients and 103 PCA patients were enrolled. PCA patients were divided into PLR low value group (PLR<150) and PLR high value group (PLR≥150), and the difference of patients' clinical characteristics between high value group and low value group was comparative studied. RESULTS The differences of PLR among normal people, BPH patients and PCA patients were statistically significant. In addition, platelet counts, neutrophil counts, PSA level, LDH level, AKP level, CRP level and alkaline phosphatase level were also significantly increased in PLR high value group, while the hemoglobin level was decreased. Besides, serious events such as coma during hospitalization were also more likely to appear in PLR high value group. PCA patients had an average follow-up of 3 years, and a total of 25 cases of patients died, including 11 (16.4%) cases in the PLR low value group, and 14 (38.9%) cases in PLR high value group with. Three years survival rate of patients in high value group was significantly reduced. Additionally, PLR was a possible risk factor associated with mortality, and an independent predictor of all-cause mortality during follow-up. CONCLUSION PLR is significantly increased in PCA patients, and it is an independent predictor of 3-year mortality in PCA patients.
Lap Joint of A5083 Aluminum Alloy and SS400 Steel by Friction Stir Welding

A lap joint of A5083 aluminum alloy and SS400 steel was produced by Friction Stir Welding (FSW) using the various process parameters such as rotational speed, traverse speed and pin depth. The variations of welding parameters produced various characteristic interfaces and had conspicuous influences on the joint properties. Increasing the rotational speed decreased the shear load of the joint due to producing a thick FeAl 3 intermetallic compound (IMC) at the interface. When traverse speed increased, the shear load increased because IMC thickness at the interface decreased, however, when the speed was so high, an incomplete interface was formed. Increasing the pin depth produced a thick FeAl 3 IMC phase and an incomplete interface that directly deteriorated the shear load of the joint.
Rheology of Blast Furnace Slags with Defined Concentrations of Titanium Oxides

800x600 The applying of burden materials containing titanium compounds in the blast furnace process and the processes of forming titanium carbides and nitrides has a directly impact on the physical and chemical properties of slag and pig iron. Thereby affecting the course of the process, its efficiency and economy. It is known that the dynamic viscosity coefficient of slag – with an increased titanium compounds content in the reducing conditions of the blast furnace - may rapidly change. The products of the reduction reaction, precipitation and separation of titanium compounds are responsible for the thickening effect of the slag and the problems of permeability of blast furnace, causing anomalies in the functioning of the unit. The presence of solid components (particles) in the melts determines the rheological character of the entire system.Authors have performed a rheological study of synthetic furnace slag concentration of TiO2 in the range of 6% to 30%. The measurements were performed at temperatures in the range between 1310-1490oC. The obtained results made it possible to analyze the rheological characteristics of liquid and semi-solid slag systems and produce flow curves. Identifying the rheological character of semi-solid slag systems provides opportunities for the development of a mathematical model of liquid phase flow in a dripping zone of the blast furnace, allowing for example to indentify the unstable parts of a metallurgical aggregate. Normal 0 21 false false false PL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Standardowy; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:. 0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
Protein Kinase C Enhances Tight Junction Barrier Function of Human Nasal Epithelial Cells in Primary Culture by Transcriptional Regulation

The epithelium of upper respiratory tissues such as human nasal mucosa forms a continuous barrier via tight junctions, which is thought to be regulated in part through a protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathway. To investigate the mechanisms of the regulation of PKC-mediated tight junction barrier function of human nasal epithelium in detail, primary human nasal epithelial cells were treated with the PKC activator 12-O-tetradecanoylophorbol-13-acetate (TPA). In primary human nasal epithelial cells, treatment with TPA led not only to activation of phosphorylation of PKC, myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate, and mitogen-activated protein kinase but also expression of novel PKC-δ, PKC-θ, and PKC-ϵ. Treatment with TPA increased transepithelial electrical resistance, with tight junction barrier function more than 4-fold that of the control, together with up-regulation of tight junction proteins, occludin, zona occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-2 and claudin-1 at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, it affected the subcellular localization of the tight junction proteins and the numbers of tight junction strands. The up-regulation of barrier function and tight junction proteins was prevented by a pan-PKC inhibitor, and the inhibitors of PKC-δ and PKC-θ but not PKC-ϵ. In primary human nasal epithelial cells, transcriptional factors GATA-3 and -6 were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The knockdown of GATA-3 using RNA interference resulted in inhibition of up-regulation of ZO-1 and ZO-2 by treatment with TPA. These results suggest that TPA-induced PKC signaling enhances the barrier function of human nasal epithelial cells via transcriptional up-regulation of tight junction proteins, and the mechanisms may contribute to a drug delivery system.
Measurement quality and validity of the “need for recovery scale”

The “need for recovery scale” is suggested as an operationalisation for the measurement of (early symptoms of) fatigue at work. Definition of and background on the concept of need for recovery are briefly discussed. Details about scale construction are summarised. Correlations with other relevant measurement scales on fatigue at work are presented to validate the operationalisation claim, as are early results on predictive validity. A study is presented that further investigates the measurement quality and validity of the scale. The data used in this study were collected by Occupational Health Services for 68 775 workers during the period 1996–2000. Comparing the measurement quality of subgroups (Cronbach’s alpha) differing in terms of age class, sex, and education level, the general applicability of the scale was shown. The validity of the scale was studied by analysing its association with psychosocial risk factors. Multiple regression analyses of need for recovery were performed on individual and department level data, using 10 psychosocial job characteristics as independent variables. The two most important factors in the explanation of variance at the individual level were also dominant at the department level: pace and amount of work, and emotional workload. The percentage of explained variance was higher at the department level than at the individual level, and increased with department size. Results suggest that the need for recovery scale is an adequate scale, both for applications at the individual and at the group (department/organisation) level.
Why Smoking Prevention Programs Sometimes Fail. Does Effectiveness Depend on Sociocultural Context and Individual Characteristics?

Background: School-based smoking prevention programs sometimes fail in unexpected ways. This study tests the hypotheses that both social/cultural contexts and individual dispositional characteristics may interact with program content to produce effects that are variable in potentially predictable ways. Methods: Students in 24 culturally heterogeneous or primarily Hispanic/Latino middle schools (N = 3,157 6th graders) received a multicultural collectivist-framed social influences (SI) program, an individualist-framed SI program, or a control condition. Three-way linear and nonlinear interactions, program frame × social context × dispositional phenotype, were tested. Results: Three-way interactions were found for the dispositional phenotypes of depression and hostility with social context and program content/frame. In predominantly Hispanic/Latino schools, larger program effects were observed for high depressed and high hostile youth in both the collectivist and individualist framed programs. In culturally mixed schools, prevention effects were greatest for low depressed and low hostile youth, especially in the individualist framed program. In culturally mixed schools, there may have been a negative treatment effect for both programs among adolescents scoring high on depression and hostility. Discussion: Prevention program effects can vary by combination of program content, social setting, and individual dispositional characteristics. The results suggest that prevention program design and implementation should be sensitive to population characteristics at both the individual and sociocultural levels. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(6):1043–9)
Fatty Acids Derived from Royal Jelly Are Modulators of Estrogen Receptor Functions

Royal jelly (RJ) excreted by honeybees and used as a nutritional and medicinal agent has estrogen-like effects, yet the compounds mediating these effects remain unidentified. The possible effects of three RJ fatty acids (FAs) (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic-10H2DA, 3,10-dihydroxydecanoic-3,10DDA, sebacic acid-SA) on estrogen signaling was investigated in various cellular systems. In MCF-7 cells, FAs, in absence of estradiol (E2), modulated the estrogen receptor (ER) recruitment to the pS2 promoter and pS2 mRNA levels via only ERβ but not ERα, while in presence of E2 FAs modulated both ERβ and ERα. Moreover, in presence of FAs, the E2-induced recruitment of the EAB1 co-activator peptide to ERα is masked and the E2-induced estrogen response element (ERE)-mediated transactivation is inhibited. In HeLa cells, in absence of E2, FAs inhibited the ERE-mediated transactivation by ERβ but not ERα, while in presence of E2, FAs inhibited ERE-activity by both ERβ and ERα. Molecular modeling revealed favorable binding of FAs to ERα at the co-activator-binding site, while binding assays showed that FAs did not bind to the ligand-binding pocket of ERα or ERβ. In KS483 osteoblasts, FAs, like E2, induced mineralization via an ER-dependent way. Our data propose a possible molecular mechanism for the estrogenic activities of RJ's components which, although structurally entirely different from E2, mediate estrogen signaling, at least in part, by modulating the recruitment of ERα, ERβ and co-activators to target genes.
Retinoic Acid Signalling and the Control of Meiotic Entry in the Human Fetal Gonad

The development of mammalian fetal germ cells along oogenic or spermatogenic fate trajectories is dictated by signals from the surrounding gonadal environment. Germ cells in the fetal testis enter mitotic arrest, whilst those in the fetal ovary undergo sex-specific entry into meiosis, the initiation of which is thought to be mediated by selective exposure of fetal ovarian germ cells to mesonephros-derived retinoic acid (RA). Aspects of this model are hard to reconcile with the spatiotemporal pattern of germ cell differentiation in the human fetal ovary, however. We have therefore examined the expression of components of the RA synthesis, metabolism and signalling pathways, and their downstream effectors and inhibitors in germ cells around the time of the initiation of meiosis in the human fetal gonad. Expression of the three RA-synthesising enzymes, ALDH1A1, 2 and 3 in the fetal ovary and testis was equal to or greater than that in the mesonephros at 8–9 weeks gestation, indicating an intrinsic capacity within the gonad to synthesise RA. Using immunohistochemistry to detect RA receptors RARα, β and RXRα, we find germ cells to be the predominant target of RA signalling in the fetal human ovary, but also reveal widespread receptor nuclear localization indicative of signalling in the testis, suggesting that human fetal testicular germ cells are not efficiently shielded from RA by the action of the RA-metabolising enzyme CYP26B1. Consistent with this, expression of CYP26B1 was greater in the human fetal ovary than testis, although the sexually-dimorphic expression patterns of the germ cell-intrinsic regulators of meiotic initiation, STRA8 and NANOS2, appear conserved. Finally, we demonstrate that RA induces a two-fold increase in STRA8 expression in cultures of human fetal testis, but is not sufficient to cause widespread meiosis-associated gene expression. Together, these data indicate that while local production of RA within the fetal ovary may be important in regulating the onset of meiosis in the human fetal ovary, mechanisms other than CYP26B1-mediated metabolism of RA may exist to inhibit the entry of germ cells into meiosis in the human fetal testis.
National audit of the management of peritonsillar abscess

An anonymous postal survey of 200 consultants was used to audit the current prevalent practices in the management of quinsy in the UK; 101 responded. The findings reveal that on average an otolaryngology department treats 29 cases per year, the vast majority (94%) on an inpatient basis. The main initial treatment was needle aspiration combined with intravenous antibiotics. Interestingly, those departments treating more than 20 cases a year are more likely to use needle aspiration, while departments in England and Wales use significantly more incision and drainage than those in Scotland. Incision and drainage (52%) was the most common form of treatment of non-resolving patients. The median hospital stay was two days.
Hierarchically Compositional Kernels for Scalable Nonparametric Learning

We propose a novel class of kernels to alleviate the high computational cost of large-scale nonparametric learning with kernel methods. The proposed kernel is defined based on a hierarchical partitioning of the underlying data domain, where the Nystrom method (a globally low-rank approximation) is married with a locally lossless approximation in a hierarchical fashion. The kernel maintains (strict) positive-definiteness. The corresponding kernel matrix admits a recursively off-diagonal low-rank structure, which allows for fast linear algebra computations. Suppressing the factor of data dimension, the memory and arithmetic complexities for training a regression or a classifier are reduced from $O(n^2)$ and $O(n^3)$ to $O(nr)$ and $O(nr^2)$, respectively, where $n$ is the number of training examples and $r$ is the rank on each level of the hierarchy. Although other randomized approximate kernels entail a similar complexity, empirical results show that the proposed kernel achieves a matching performance with a smaller $r$. We demonstrate comprehensive experiments to show the effective use of the proposed kernel on data sizes up to the order of millions.
Correlation of Shoulder and Elbow Injuries with Muscle Tightness, Core Stability, and Balance by Longitudinal Measurements in Junior High School Baseball Players

[Purpose] The present study longitudinally investigated injury occurrences and the risk factors for muscle tightness, core stability, and dynamic standing balance among junior high school student baseball players. [Subjects] Thirty-nine male students, belonging to baseball clubs at 2 junior high schools, participated in this study. [Methods] Study measurements were obtained twice, once in the early stage of the baseball season (March) and once at the end of the season (July). All subjects underwent muscle tightness testing, the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), and trunk endurance testing during each measurement session. [Results] Fifteen players experienced episodes of elbow or shoulder pain while throwing. Players in the pain group demonstrated a significant increase in the tightness of their shoulder internal rotators, axis-leg quadriceps, and axis-leg hamstrings. There was no clear evidence of differences of changes in core stability and dynamic standing balance between the groups. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest that lower extremity muscle tightness early in a season and the subsequent decline in the flexibility of the axis-leg quadriceps and hamstrings during the season may be due to an increased upper extremity load while throwing, thus producing shoulder and elbow pain.