Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of Cell Nucleation, Growth, and Coarsening in Plastic Foaming: Theory, Simulation, and Experiment

This thesis highlights a comprehensive research for the cell nucleation, growth and coarsening mechanisms during plastic foaming processes. Enforced environmental regulations have forced the plastic foam industry to adopt alternative blowing agents (e.g., carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon and helium). Nevertheless, the low solubilities and high diffusivities of these viable alternatives have made the production of foamed plastics to be non-trivial. Since the controls of the cell nucleation, growth and coarsening phenomena, and ultimately the cellular morphology, involve delicate thermodynamic, kinetic, and rheological mechanisms, the production of plastics foams with customized cell morphology have been challenging. In light of this, the aforementioned phenomena were investigated through a series of theoretical studies, computer simulations, and experimental investigations. Firstly, the effects of processing conditions on the cell nucleation phenomena were studied through the in-situ visualization of various batch foaming experiments. Most importantly, these investigations have led to the identification of a new heterogeneous nucleation mechanism to explain the inorganic fillersenhanced nucleation dynamics. Secondly, a simulation scheme to precisely simulate the bubble growth behaviors, a modified heterogeneous nucleation theory to estimate the cell nucleation rate, and an integrated model to simultaneously simulate cell nucleation and growth processes
Use of ethanol for selective isolation of sporeforming microorganisms

When mixed cultures containing sporeforming bacteria were treated with heat or with ethanol, the latter consistently resulted in better recovery of Clostridium and Bacillus species. Both techniques were effective in eliminating vegetative cells. An ethanol concentration greater than 25% and exposure for 45 min or longer were necessary to kill all vegetative cells in mixed-culture samples. Ethanol treatment (50% ethanol for 1 h) was effective for isolating sporeforming bacteria from intestinal specimens. Seven different species of Clostridium were the only bacteria isolated from the ethanol-treated specimen of intestinal contents from the large bowel of a patient. It was concluded that treatment with ethanol for 1 h is an effective technique for selective isolation of sporeforming bacteria from mixed cultures and certain types of clinical specimens.
Parsing Graphs with Regular Graph Grammars

Recently, several datasets have become available which represent natural language phenomena as graphs. Hyperedge Replacement Languages (HRL) have been the focus of much attention as a formalism to represent the graphs in these datasets. Chiang et al. (2013) prove that HRL graphs can be parsed in polynomial time with respect to the size of the input graph. We believe that HRL are more expressive than is necessary to represent semantic graphs and we propose the use of Regular Graph Languages (RGL; Courcelle 1991), which is a subfamily of HRL, as a possible alternative. We provide a top-down parsing algorithm for RGL that runs in time linear in the size of the input graph.
Increased risk of myocardial infarction with duration of protease inhibitor therapy in HIV-infected men

Background: In the current context of dyslipidaema, hyperglycaema and lipodystrophia observed among HIV-seropositive subjects, it is important to study the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in this population. The French Hospital Database on HIV, which includes a large number of seropositive subjects followed for substantial periods, offers the opportunity to analyse the impact of protease inhibitors (PI) on the risk of MI among men. Methods: Cox model was used to study the risk factors of MI occurrence. Standardized morbidity ratios (SMR) in men exposed to PI were calculated with data from the French general male population (FGMP) of the same age as reference. Results: Between 1996 and 1999, MI was diagnosed in 60 men among 88 029 person-years (PY), including 49 cases among men exposed to PI. In the Cox model, exposure to PI was associated with a higher risk of MI [relative hazard (RH), 2.56; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03–6.34]. The expected incidence in the FGMP was 10.8/10 000 PY. The SMR relative to the FGMP was 0.8 (95% CI, 0.5–1.3) for men exposed to PI for < 18 months (G1), 1.5 (95% CI, 0.8–2.5) for men exposed for 18–29 months (G2) and 2.9 (95% CI, 1.5–5.0) for men exposed for ⩾ 30 months (G3). With G1 as reference, the SMR was 1.9 (95% CI, 1.0–3.1) for G2 and 3.6 (95% CI, 1.8–6.2) for G3. Conclusion: Our results point to a duration-related effect relationship between PI and MI, with a higher MI incidence rate among men exposed to PI for 18 months or more.
Safety and Enhanced Immunogenicity of a Hepatitis B Core Particle Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Vaccine Formulated in Adjuvant Montanide ISA 720 in a Phase I Trial

ABSTRACT Highly purified subunit vaccines require potent adjuvants in order to elicit optimal immune responses. In a previous phase I trial, an alum formulation of ICC-1132, a malaria vaccine candidate comprising hepatitis B core (HBc) virus-like particle containing Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite (CS) protein epitopes, was shown to elicit Plasmodium falciparum-specific antibody and cellular responses. The present study was designed as a single-blind, escalating-dose phase I trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of single intramuscular doses of ICC-1132 formulated in the more potent water-in-oil adjuvant Montanide ISA 720 (ICC-1132/ISA 720). The vaccine was safe and well tolerated, with transient injection site pain as the most frequent complaint. All vaccinees that received either 20 μg or 50 μg of ICC-1132/ISA 720 developed antiimmunogen and anti-HBc antibodies. The majority of volunteers in these two groups developed sporozoite-specific antibodies, predominantly of opsonizing immunoglobulin G subtypes. Peak titers and persistence of parasite-specific antibody following a single injection of the ISA 720 formulated vaccine were comparable to those obtained following two to three immunizations with alum-adsorbed ICC-1132. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of ICC-1132/ISA 720 vaccinees proliferated and released cytokines (interleukin 2 and gamma interferon) when stimulated with recombinant P. falciparum CS protein, and CS-specific CD4+ T-cell lines were established from volunteers with high levels of antibodies to the repeat region. The promising results obtained with a single dose of ICC-1132 formulated in Montanide ISA 720 encourage further clinical development of this malaria vaccine candidate.
Combination Effects of Peramivir and Favipiravir against Oseltamivir-Resistant 2009 Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1) Infection in Mice

Antiviral drugs are being used for therapeutic purposes against influenza illness in humans. However, antiviral-resistant variants often nullify the effectiveness of antivirals. Combined medications, as seen in the treatment of cancers and other infectious diseases, have been suggested as an option for the control of antiviral-resistant influenza viruses. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic value of combination therapy against oseltamivir-resistant 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1 virus infection in DBA/2 mice. Mice were treated for five days with favipiravir and peramivir starting 4 hours after lethal challenge. Compared with either monotherapy, combination therapy saved more mice from viral lethality and resulted in increased antiviral efficacy in the lungs of infected mice. Furthermore, the synergism between the two antivirals, which was consistent with the survival outcomes of combination therapy, indicated that favipiravir could serve as a critical agent of combination therapy for the control of oseltamivir-resistant strains. Our results provide new insight into the feasibility of favipiravir in combination therapy against oseltamivir-resistant influenza virus infection.
Radio hyperthermia for re-treatment of superficial tumours

Purpose: Relapse remains an unsolved problem for previously radio-treated patients. Our purpose is to evaluate the role of radio-hyperthermia (RT-HT) in the retreatment of superficial recurrences. Materials and methods: From 1998 to 2007, 51 patients affected by four histological types (breast recurrences (group A), melanoma recurrences (group B), head and neck recurrences (group C), and others (group D)) of 76 superficial lesions, were enrolled at Mauriziano Hospital at the Research Institute of Cancer Care Candiolo (IRCC) in Turin. All patients had previously undergone RT except 6 patients of group B. The total mean retreatment dose was 31.8 Gy (20–60 Gy), while the mean of HT sessions was 5 (1 to 8), temperature ranged from 38.5°C (T min) to 44°C (T max). Results: Acute cutaneous toxicity was 77.6% G1, 22.4% G2, none for G3. Forty-five days later we observed: for group A 65.9% complete response (CR), 29.5% partial response (PR), 4.5% non-response (NR); for group B 33.3% CR, 25% PR and 41.7% NR; for group C 40% CR, 13.3% PR, 46.7% NR, for group D 60% CR and 40% NR. 18 months later group A presented 72.7% local control (LC), 20.5% stable disease (SD) and 6.8% non-control (NC), group B 50% LC, 16,7% SD and 33.3% NC, group C 33.3% LC, 40% SD and 26.7% NC, group D 40% LC and 60% NC. Early response, size of lesions ≤3 cm, T max ≥42°C and RT doses ≥40 Gy were predictive outcome factors. Conclusions: We confirmed that radio-hyperthermia is useful in re-irradiation with a very high patient compliance.
Mother–Teen Communication About Weight Management

Although research shows family members can influence each other's diet and exercise behaviors, the specific strategies that most effectively motivate individuals to enact healthy behaviors have not been revealed. Toward this goal, this study employed confirmation theory to assess how the quality of weight management (WM) communication between 107 mother–teen dyads was related to their diet and exercise behaviors as well as their subjective perceptions of the productivity of WM conversations. Confirmation theory proposes two components of confirmation: acceptance and challenge. Analyses revealed that accepting and challenging communication were both positively related to the perceived productivity of WM conversations. However, more complex associations emerged for diet and exercise. Acceptance was more helpful in motivating better eating habits for mothers with low health motivation and teens with high health motivation. For exercise, challenge was helpful in motivating teens with higher sensitivity about communicating about weight issues; however, counter to predictions, challenge was negatively related to exercise for teens with low health motivation and low sensitivity. These interactions, however, explained less variance than analyses for perceived effectiveness and satisfaction.
Meiotic crossover hotspots contained in haplotype block boundaries of the mouse genome

Fertility requires successful chromosome segregation in meiosis, which in most sexual organisms depends on the formation of appropriately placed crossovers. The nonrandom genome-wide distributions of meiotic recombination events have been examined at the molecular level experimentally in yeast and by inference from linkage disequilibrium patterns in humans. Thus far, no method has existed for pinpointing sites of crossing-over on a genome-wide scale in an experimentally tractable animal whose genome size and complexity models that of humans. Here, we present a genomic approach to identify mouse crossover hotspots, based on targeting haplotype block boundaries. This represents a previously undescribed method potentially applicable to large-scale mouse hotspot identification. Using this method, we have successfully predicted the location of two previously uncharacterized crossover hotspots in male mice. As increasing amounts of single-nucleotide polymorphism data emerge, this approach will be useful for investigating the recombination landscape of the mouse genome.
Psychological reactions during polar expeditions and isolation in hyperbaric chambers.

BACKGROUND Psychological data from environments that are considered as analog to space was collected from 68 subjects; 18 in hyperbaric chambers, 16 in polar expeditions, and 34 on Arctic stations. The objective was to identify psychological reactions expected in different phases of spaceflights and examine personality variables associated with superior adaptation. METHOD Helmreich Personality Characteristic Inventory was administered before the isolation. Adaptation to the environment was assessed through a questionnaire once a week. RESULTS Crews in hyperbaric chambers indicated a steady increase in coping over the isolation. Polar expeditions members reported high aggressiveness and anxiety in the first quarter and an increase in homesickness over time. A personality characterized by strong expressiveness and instrumentality ("the right stuff") predicted superior adaptation in hyperbaric chambers. CONCLUSION The data suggest that isolation in hyperbaric chambers and polar expeditions should be considered as models for different aspects of the space environment.
Testing the direct effect of CO2 concentration on a bloom of the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi in mesocosm experiments

We studied the direct effects of CO2 and related changes in seawater carbonate chemistry on marine planktonic organisms in a mesocosm experiment. In nine outdoor enclosures (~11 m3 each), the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the seawater was modified by an aeration system. The triplicate mesocosm treatments represented low (~190 parts per million by volume (ppmV) CO2), present (~410 ppmV CO2), and high (~710 ppmV CO2) pCO2 conditions. After initial fertilization with nitrate and phosphate a bloom dominated by the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi occurred simultaneously in all of the nine mesocosms; it was monitored over a 19‐day period. The three CO2 treatments assimilated nitrate and phosphate similarly. The concentration of particulate constituents was highly variable among the replicate mesocosms, disguising direct CO2‐related effects. Normalization of production rates within each treatment, however, indicated that the net specific growth rate of E. huxleyi, the rate of calcification per cell, and the elemental stoichiometry of uptake and production processes were sensitive to changes in pCO2. This broad influence of CO2 on the E. huxleyi bloom suggests that changes in CO2 concentration directly affect cell physiology with likely effects on the marine biogeochemistry.
Prevalence Estimation of Williams Syndrome

There are limited population-based data on the occurrence of Williams syndrome. We estimated its prevalence combining data from two investigations. One was an epidemiologic study originally designed to assess the prevalence and etiology of mental retardation among 30,037 Norwegian children born between 1980 and 1985 and living in Akershus County on January 1, 1993. The other investigation was a national survey of Williams syndrome. In the first study, 213 children were referred for evaluation, whereas the second study comprised 57 cases with Williams syndrome born between 1970 and 1992, who were referred for evaluation from all Norwegian counties. The epidemiologic study revealed three children with Williams syndrome, whereas one additional case complying with our demographic criteria was identified in the national survey, thus giving a prevalence of 1 in 7500. In all cases, a typical chromosome 7q11.23 deletion was detected. We also conclude that Williams syndrome is not an uncommon cause of mental retardation, with a prevalence of approximately 6% of patients with genetic etiology. (J Child Neurol 2002;17:269-271).
How Does Mentoring Contribute to Gen Y Employees’ Intention to Stay? An Indian Perspective

The present study is aimed at investigating the impact of mentoring on intention to stay of Gen Y employees working in Indian IT industry. Also, the mediating roles of perceived organization support and affective commitment are examined. Primary data were collected from a sample of 314 Gen Y employees (born between 1980-2000) from IT industry in Delhi, NCR India. Data analysis was carried out using AMOS and SPSS to test sequential mediation. Findings reveal that mentoring has a direct influence on intention to stay of Gen Y employees and perceived organization support and affective commitment sequentially mediate the relationship between the two. This study contributes to the literature on mentoring, perceived organization support, affective commitment, and intention to stay.
Enhancement of Lime-Hemp Concrete Properties Using Different Manufacturing Technologies

The EU directive 2010/31/EU – sets goals to reduce CO2 emission levels by 20% until year 2020. As primary energy for households and construction industry both are among the largest manufacturers of CO2, a building material that can positively impact both these industries is topical. A lime-hemp concrete (LHC) is a material with negative CO2 balance, but to achieve the goals set in EU directive a more industrialized product, that can also be used in insulation of existing buildings is needed, so methods of LHC slab and block manufacture are tested in this paper. Eight different types of hemp shives are taken and twelve LHC mixes are prepared to assess the importance of hemp granulometrical distribution. To measure the effect of different preparation techniques mixes in two different mixers – gravity and forced action – were prepared to test the superiority of the latter as it is widely used in LHC production. Also different drying methods – natural, forced with temperature at various stages and with increased moisture – were tested. As well as various hydraulic additives were tried in order to increase the mechanical properties of the LHC. After complete drying, physical and mechanical properties density, thermal conductivity, compressive and flexural strength were determined and compared to assess the most suitable materials and manufacture technologies for LHC blocks. Also a reaction to fire test were performed for one of the samples. The results allow to better understand the principles of how the material works and how it`s properties can be enhanced with various manufacture techniques. The results suggest that LHC blocks have the necessary properties and potential to become widely used in improvement of thermal insulation of existing buildings.
LYSGROUP: Adapting a Spanish microtext normalization system to English.

In this article we describe the microtext normalization system we have used to participate in the Normalization of Noisy Text Task of the ACL W-NUT 2015 Workshop. Our normalization system was originally developed for text mining tasks on Spanish tweets. Our main goals during its development were flexibility, scalability and maintainability, in order to test a wide variety of approximations to the problem at hand with minimum effort. We will pay special attention to the process of adapting the components of our system to deal with English tweets which, as we will show, was achieved without major modifications of its base structure.
Where’s the noise? Key features of neuronal variability and inference emerge from self-organized learning

Abstract Trial-to-trial variability and spontaneous activity of cortical recordings have been suggested to reflect intrinsic noise. This view is currently challenged by mounting evidence for structure in these phenomena: Trial-to-trial variability decreases following stimulus onset and can be predicted by previous spontaneous activity. This spontaneous activity is similar in magnitude and structure to evoked activity and can predict decisions. Allof the observed neuronal properties described above can be accounted for, at an abstract computational level, by the sampling-hypothesis, according to which response variability reflects stimulus uncertainty. However, a mechanistic explanation at the level of neural circuit dynamics is still missing. In this study, we demonstrate that all of these phenomena can be accounted for by a noise-free self-organizing recurrent neural network model (SORN). It combines spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) and homeostatic mechanisms in a deterministic network of excitatory and inhibitory McCulloch-Pitts neurons. The network self-organizes to spatio-temporally varying input sequences. We find that the key properties of neural variability mentioned above develop in this model as the network learns to perform sampling-like inference. Importantly, the model shows high trial-to-trial variability although it is fully deterministic. This suggests that the trial-to-trial variability in neural recordings may not reflect intrinsic noise. Rather, it may reflect a deterministic approximation of sampling-like learning and inference. The simplicity of the model suggests that these correlates of the sampling theory are canonical properties of recurrent networks that learn with a combination of STDP and homeostatic plasticity mechanisms. Author Summary Neural recordings seem very noisy. If the exact same stimulus is shown to an animal multiple times, the neural response will vary. In fact, the activity of a single neuron shows many features of a stochastic process. Furthermore, in the absence of a sensory stimulus, cortical spontaneous activity has a magnitude comparable to the activity observed during stimulus presentation. These findings have led to a widespread belief that neural activity is indeed very noisy. However, recent evidence indicates that individual neurons can operate very reliably and that the spontaneous activity in the brain is highly structured, suggesting that much of the noise may in fact be signal. One hypothesis regarding this putative signal is that it reflects a form of probabilistic inference through sampling. Here we show that the key features of neural variability can be accounted for in a completely deterministic network model through self-organization. As the network learns a model of its sensory inputs, the deterministic dynamics give rise to sampling-like inference. Our findings show that the notorious variability in neural recordings does not need to be seen as evidence for a noisy brain. Instead it may reflect sampling-like inference emerging from a self-organized learning process.
Strategies for Prediction Under Imperfect Monitoring

We propose simple randomized strategies for sequential prediction under imperfect monitoring, that is, when the forecaster does not have access to the past outcomes but rather to a feedback signal. The proposed strategies are consistent in the sense that they achieve, asymptotically, the best possible average reward. It was Rustichini [11] who first proved the existence of such consistent predictors. The forecasters presented here offer the first constructive proof of consistency. Moreover, the proposed algorithms are computationally efficient. We also establish upper bounds for the rates of convergence. In the case of deterministic feedback, these rates are optimal up to logarithmic terms.