Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural characteristics of poly(vinyl alcohol)–calcium carbonate composites prepared by sequential method

Composites of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) were prepared by a sequential method involving first in situ synthesis of CaCO3 in PVA solution, then physical crosslinking of synthetic suspension and subsequently washing of resultant elastic gel followed by consolidation. The phase and composition, mechanical properties and microstructure of the composites and possible molecular interactions between both components were evaluated. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that calcium carbonate was mainly composed of aragonite and calcite. Compression tests confirmed the composites prepared by this sequential method had good mechanical properties and that the compressive strength of the composites increased with higher content of calcium carbonate. PVA formed an interconnected network and needle-like CaCO3 crystals together with some fine grains were well compatible with PVA. In situ synthesis induced a spectral shift of hydroxyl groups and C–O bonds of PVA and the suppression of the characteristic adsorption of calcite was also observed, according to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements.
Comparing the memory system performance of the HP V-class and SGI Origin 2000 multiprocessors using microbenchmarks and scientific applications

As processor technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, the principal performance bottleneck of shared memory systems has become the memory access latency. In order to understand the e ects of cache and memory hierarchy on system latencies, performance analysts perform benchmark analysis on existing state-of-the-art multiprocessors. In this study, we present a detailed comparison of the memory system of two recent commercial ventures, the HP V-Class and the SGI Origin 2000. Our goal is to compare and contrast design techniques used in these multiprocessors to tolerate the e ect of memory latency. Our experimental methodology uses microbenchmarks as well as scienti c applications to characterize the user-level performance.
Automated Video Segmentation for Lecture Videos: A Linguistics-Based Approach

Video, a rich information source, is commonly used for capturing and sharing knowledge in learning systems. However, the unstructured and linear features of video introduce difficulties for end users in accessing the knowledge captured in videos. To extract the knowledge structures hidden in a lengthy, multi-topic lecture video and thus make it easily accessible, we need to first segment the video into shorter clips by topic. Because of the high cost of manual segmentation, automated segmentation is highly desired. However, current automated video segmentation methods mainly rely on scene and shot change detection, which are not suitable for lecture videos with few scene/shot changes and unclear topic boundaries. In this article we investigate a new video segmentation approach with high performance on this special type of video: lecture videos. This approach uses natural language processing techniques such as noun phrases extraction, and utilizes lexical knowledge sources such as WordNet. Multiple linguistic-based segmentation features are used, including content-based features such as noun phrases and discourse-based features such as cue phrases. Our evaluation results indicate that the noun phrases feature is salient.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE REPURACHSE ONLINE SHOPPING INTENTION OF THAI CUSTOMERS IN BANGKOK : A CASE STUDY OF eBAY

This study explores the repurchase intention to Thai customers on a well known international e-commerce web site. Specifically, it aims to examine the repurchase intention of working Thai customers in Bangkok toward eBay.com. The target population is Thai people working in three highly-ranked commercial areas of Bangkok. An alternative repurchase intention model was developed with perceived usefulness, trust, privacy, perceived interactivity and customer satisfaction as the independent variables and repurchase intention as the dependent variable. 390 Thai respondents were surveyed with a questionnaire. The Pearson’s Correlation was used to test the hypotheses. The results show that trust in a website has the ability to influence the perceived usefulness of eBay. They also show that the relationship of privacy with trust has an indirect impact on repurchase intention of Thai eBay customer and that customer satisfaction, perceived usefulness, perceived interactivity and trust directly affect the repurchase intention of Thai eBay customers.
An experimental test of host specialization in a ubiquitous polar ectoparasite: a role for adaptation?

The evolution of host specificity is considered to be an essential mechanism driving parasite diversity. It may be governed by adaptive constraints that lead to host-dependent fitness trade-offs. Alternatively, specificity may arise via transmission constraints that isolate parasite populations, without necessarily involving adaptation per se. Here, we ask whether the repeated observation of host-associated genetic races across the worldwide distribution of the seabird ectoparasite Ixodes uriae is associated with host adaptation. We conducted a field-based experiment to test for adaptive specialisation in host races of I. uriae. We transferred unengorged ticks of two life stages (nymphs and adults) originating from three host species (black-legged kittiwake, common guillemot and Atlantic puffin) onto young kittiwake nestlings and followed attraction and attachment rates, engorgement times and feeding success of the transplanted ticks. All ticks were also typed genetically to match exploitation patterns with genetic differences among races. Ticks from atypical hosts were significantly less attracted to nestlings than ticks from the typical host, and showed lower feeding success and higher mortality. The degree of host specificity matched patterns of neutral genetic variation among races, with puffin ticks being more specific than guillemot ticks. Differences in specificity were also apparent among tick life stages, suggesting that nymphal ticks may be less discriminating of host type than adult ticks. Our results indicate that the genetic divergence previously observed among sympatric I. uriae host races is at least partially linked to adaptive specialisation to the host species and not simply to host-mediated transmission. They also suggest that the adaptation process may evolve differently in different life stages based on trade-offs with physiological constraints. The identification of the selective forces acting in host specialization will now be necessary to better characterize these patterns and to understand how transmission interacts with the adaptation process to generate parasite biodiversity.
Endometrial Stromal Nodule: Report of a Case

Endometrial stromal nodule (ESN) is the least common of the endometrial stromal tumors. They are rare neoplasms which are diagnosed in most instances by light microscopy. Although such nodules are benign, hysterectomy has been considered the treatment of choice to determine the margins of the tumor required for diagnosis and to differentiate it from invasive stromal sarcoma Whose prognosis is totally different. We report a case of a 45 years old woman, with presurgical diagnosis of adnexal mass or uterine tumor. She underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy. Pathologic examination revealed an endometrial stromal nodule. Through this observation, we insist on the fact that the ESNs are rare and benign entities which must be differentiated from the other invasive malignant stromal tumors; this can change the final prognosis.
Inhibition of cytokine production and interference in IL‐2 receptor‐mediated Jak‐Stat signaling by the hydroxylamine metabolite of sulfamethoxazole

Sulfonamides, used for the treatment of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, are associated with a high incidence of adverse drug events, including severe hypersensitivity reactions. Imbalances in the production and detoxification of reactive sulfonamide metabolites have been implicated in the pathogenesis of these life‐threatening reactions. The hydroxylamine metabolite of sulfamethoxazole (SMX‐HA) inhibits the proliferation of mitogen‐stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in vitro without reducing Interleukin 2 (IL‐2) expression. We investigated the effects of SMX‐HA on accessory cytokine expression and IL‐2 receptor (IL‐2R) mediated signal transduction. SMX‐HA did not reduce significantly mRNA production of proinflammatory [tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) and IL‐lβ], Thl‐type (IFN‐γ), and Th2‐type cytokines (IL‐4 and IL‐10). Sublethal concentrations of SMX‐HA (25 μM) reduced significantly the production of TNF‐α, IL‐lβ, and IL4 protein without inhibiting the production of IFN‐γ. This finding suggests that exposure to SMX‐HA might direct a response towards a Th‐1 vs. a Th‐2 response. Immunoblot analysis of IL‐2R‐mediated Janus kinases and signal transduction activators of transcription (Jak‐Stat) signal transduction revealed diminished phosphorylation of Jak1 and Jak3 and inhibited downstream phosphorylation of Stat3, Stat5a, and IL‐2Rγ in phytohemagglutinin/rIL‐2 activated PBMCs treated with SMX‐HA. SMX‐HA did not inhibit Jak association with IL‐2Rγ or IL‐2Rβ. These data illustrated that sublethal concentrations of SMX‐HA interfere with IL‐2R‐mediated signal transduction, resulting in altered cytokine production and inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation.
MAO-inhibitors in Parkinson's Disease

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO-I) belong to the earliest drugs tried in Parkinson's disease (PD). They have been used with or without levodopa (L-DOPA). Non-selective MAO-I due to their side-effect/adverse reaction profile, like tranylcypromine have limited use in the treatment of depression in PD, while selective, reversible MAO-A inhibitors are recommended due to their easier clinical handling. For the treatment of akinesia and motor fluctuations selective irreversible MAO-B inhibitors selegiline and rasagiline are recommended. They are safe and well tolerated at the recommended daily doses. Their main differences are related to (1) metabolism, (2) interaction with CYP-enzymes and (3) quantitative properties at the molecular biological/genetic level. Rasagiline is more potent in clinical practise and has a hypothesis driven more favourable side effect/adverse reaction profile due to its metabolism to aminoindan. Both selegiline and rasagiline have a neuroprotective and neurorestaurative potential. A head-to head clinical trial would be of utmost interest from both the clinical outcome and a hypothesis-driven point of view. Selegiline is available as tablet and melting tablet for PD and as transdermal selegiline for depression, while rasagiline is marketed as tablet for PD. In general, the clinical use of MAO-I nowadays is underestimated. There should be more efforts to evaluate their clinical potency as antidepressants and antidementive drugs in addition to the final proof of their disease-modifying potential. In line with this are recent innovative developments of MAO-I plus inhibition of acetylcholine esterase for Alzheimer's disease as well as combined MAO-I and iron chelation for PD.
Fad diets and their effect on urinary stone formation

The influence of unhealthy dietary habits on urinary stone formation has been widely recognized in literature. Dietary advice is indeed the cornerstone prescription for prevention of nephrolithiasis as well. However, only a small amount of medical literature has addressed the influence of popular or fad diets, often self-prescribed for the management of obesity and overweight or for cultural beliefs, on the risk of kidney stones. Thereby in this paper we analyze the current knowledge on the effects of some popular diets on overall lithogenic risk. High-protein diets, like Dukan diet, raise some concerns, since animal proteins are able to increase urinary calcium and to decrease urinary citrate excretion, thus leading to a high overall lithogenic risk. Low-carbohydrate diets, like Atkins diet or zone diet, may have a protective role against kidney stone formation, but there are also evidences stating that this dietary approach may rise calciuria and decrease citraturia, since it is generally associated to a relatively high intake of animal proteins. Vegan diet can be harmful for urinary stone disease, especially for the risk of hyperuricemia and micronutrient deficiencies, even if only few studies have addressed this specific matter. On the other side, the benefits of a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet on kidney stone prevention have been largely emphasized, provided that the intake of calcium and oxalate is balanced. Traditional Mediterranean diet should exert a protective effect on nephrolithiasis as well, even if specific studies have not been carried out yet. High phytate and antioxidant content of this diet have however demonstrated to be beneficial in preventing the formation of new or recurrent calculi. Anyway, at the current state of knowledge, the most effective dietary approach to prevent kidney stone disease is a mild animal protein restriction, a balanced intake of carbohydrates and fats and a high intake of fruit and vegetables. Other fundamental aspects, which are often neglected in fad diets, are a normal intake of milk and dairy products and salt restriction. All these nutritional aspects should be greatly taken into account when patients who are willing to undergo fad or commercial diets ask for dietary advice.
Effect of Trunk Flexion on the Occupant Neck Response to Anterolateral Whiplash Impacts

Kumar S, Ferrari R, Narayan Y, Vieira ER: Effect of trunk flexion on the occupant neck response to anterolateral whiplash impacts. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2005;84:346–354. Objective:The purpose of this study was to determine the response of the cervical muscles to increasing low-velocity anterolateral impacts with the volunteer’s trunk flexed to the right and left. Methods:A total of 20 healthy volunteers were subjected to left anterolateral impacts of 4.0, 7.6, 10.7, and 13.4 m/sec2 and, sequentially, with trunk flexed either left or right. Bilateral electromyograms (EMGs) of the sternocleidomastoids, trapezii, and splenii capitis were recorded. Design:At an acceleration of 13.4 m/sec2, with the trunk flexed left, the left trapezius generated 48% of its maximal voluntary contraction EMG, whereas the right trapezius (contralateral to the left anterolateral impact) generated 38% of this variable. All other muscle generated ≤23% of their maximal voluntary contraction EMG, a significant difference from the trapezii (P = 0.005). Similarly, with the trunk flexed to the right under these same conditions, the left trapezius generated 26% and the right trapezius 35% of their maximal voluntary contraction EMG. Again, all other muscles generated significantly less EMG activity, ≤22% (P = 0.009). Overall, the EMG responses were of low magnitude compared with known data with the trunk in neutral posture in this direction of impact. Conclusions:When the subject sits with trunk flexed out of neutral posture at the time of an anterolateral impact, the cervical muscle response is reduced compared with anterolateral impacts with the trunk in neutral posture.
A Skin-selective Homing Mechanism for Human Immune Surveillance T Cells

Effective immune surveillance is essential for maintaining protection and homeostasis of peripheral tissues. However, mechanisms controlling memory T cell migration to peripheral tissues such as the skin are poorly understood. Here, we show that the majority of human T cells in healthy skin express the chemokine receptor CCR8 and respond to its selective ligand I-309/CCL1. These CCR8+ T cells are absent in small intestine and colon tissue, and are extremely rare in peripheral blood, suggesting healthy skin as their physiological target site. Cutaneous CCR8+ T cells are preactivated and secrete proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor–α and interferon-γ, but lack markers of cytolytic T cells. Secretion of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, and transforming growth factor–β was low to undetectable, arguing against a strict association of CCR8 expression with either T helper cell 2 or regulatory T cell subsets. Potential precursors of skin surveillance T cells in peripheral blood may correspond to the minor subset of CCR8+CD25− T cells. Importantly, CCL1 is constitutively expressed at strategic cutaneous locations, including dermal microvessels and epidermal antigen-presenting cells. For the first time, these findings define a chemokine system for homeostatic T cell traffic in normal human skin.
Deposition of whole blood platelets on extracellular matrix under flow conditions in preterm infants

Background: A previous study showed greater adhesion by platelets of healthy full term infants to subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM) under flow conditions compared with healthy adult platelets. Aim: To investigate the adhesion and aggregation of platelets from preterm infants on ECM under defined shear conditions. Methods: In vitro platelet function was investigated in 106 preterm infants, 74 full term infants, and 26 healthy adults. Blood samples were obtained from all infants within 24 hours of birth, and weekly until discharge from preterm infants only. Citrated whole blood was placed in ECM precoated tissue culture plates and subjected to shear stress (1300 s−1) for two minutes using a rotating Teflon cone. Platelet adhesion (surface coverage) and aggregation (average size) to ECM were assayed using an image analyser. Assays for von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigen, ristocetin cofactor, and vWF collagen-binding activity were performed on samples from an additional 70 preterm infants, 23 healthy full term infants, and 24 healthy adults. Preterm infants with hyaline membrane disease (HMD) were analysed separately in both cohorts. Results: Platelets from preterm infants displayed significantly less platelet adhesion than those from full term infants but similar aggregation and levels of vWF antigen, ristocetin cofactor, and collagen binding activity. Mean surface coverage was 22.0 (8.4)% for preterm infants with HMD, 28.7 (8.0)% for healthy preterm infants, and 35.7 (7.9)% for full term infants. Surface coverage in the preterm infants correlated with gestational age during the first 24 hours only, and did not reach full term levels during 10 weeks of follow up. Conclusion: Platelet adhesion to ECM is significantly poorer in preterm than in full term infants, and poorer in preterm infants with HMD than in healthy preterm infants. Intrinsic platelet properties rather than the concentration or activity of vWF may be responsible for this difference.
Fast-convolution implementation of linear equalization based multiantenna detection schemes

This contribution addresses the channel equalization for MIMO systems utilizing filter bank based multicarrier (FBMC) transmission. The proposed frequency-domain MIMO equalizer is integrated with the subcarrier processing of the fast-convolution filter bank (FC-FB) structure. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated for both the static user and the user with high mobility in highly frequency-selective propagation scenarios. It is shown that integrating the equalization functions with the FC-FB processing leads to a highly efficient overall implementation.
Effects of Selenium, Copper and Magnesium on Antioxidant Enzymes and Lipid Peroxidation in Bovine Fluorosis

The antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation and free radicals assessment were made of the effects of selenium, copper and magnesium on bovine endemic fluorosis under high fluoride, low selenium and low copper productive conditions. Thirty-two beef cattle were selected from high fluoride area, and randomly divided into four groups with eight cattle each as follows: (1) high fluoride control group (HFC); (2) supplemented group with 0.25 mg/kg selenium (HFSe); (3) supplemented group with 15 mg/kg copper (HFCu) and (4) supplemented group with 0.25 mg/kg selenium+15 mg/kg copper+1 mg/kg magnesium (HFSeCuMg) per day for 83 days. Moreover, eight beef cattle were selected from non-high fluoride area as normal control group. Blood samples were collected from cattle on 0 d, 30 d and 83 d respectively, to analyze the enzyme activities and concentration of GSH-px, CAT, SOD, MDA and free radicals. The results showed that the contents of free radicals and MDA in HFC group were significantly higher, and the whole blood GSH-px, CAT, erythrocyte SOD activities were lower than the normal control group. Free radicals, metabolic imbalance and antioxidant disorder therefore, play an important role in fluorosis. However, GSH-px, CAT and SOD activities in HFSe group and HFSeCuMg group at 30 d and 83 d were markedly higher than the same groups at the 0 d and the HFC group at the same time. Likewise, there was a corresponding reduction in the contents of free radicals and MDA. These findings indicated that supplementation with selenium, copper and magnesium elevated high fluoride bovine antioxidant enzymes, and decreased MDA and free radicals contents. But, the activities of supplementation selenium group did not increase until day 83. These results demonstrated that fluorosis was associated with lower serum Se and Cu levels than in the control, and it was therefore concluded that fluorosis is associated with decreased serum levels of these minerals. Long-term high fluoride intake under productive condition enhances oxidative stress in the blood, thereby disturbing the antioxidant defense of cattle. Increased oxidative stress could be one of the mediating factors in the pathogenesis of toxic manifestations of fluoride. It is benefical for high fluoride cattle supplemented with proper selenium, copper and magnesium to increase fluoride excretion and obtain the protective impact of the activity of oxidative enzymes, and to decrease lipid peroxidation and free radicals contents.
Type 1 Fimbriation and Its Phase Switching in Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli Strains

ABSTRACT Type 1 fimbriae can be expressed by most Escherichia coli strains and mediate mannose-sensitive (MS) adherence to mammalian epithelial cells. However, the role of type 1 fimbriae in enteric pathogenesis has been unclear. Expression of type 1 fimbriae inE. coli is phase variable and is associated with the inversion of a short DNA element (fim switch). Forty-six strains of diarrheagenic E. coli were examined for the expression of type 1 fimbriae. Only four of these strains were originally type 1 fimbriated. Seventeen strains, originally nonfimbriated, expressed type 1 fimbriae in association with off-to-on inversion of the fim switch, after serial passages in static culture. The switching frequencies of these strains, from fimbriate to nonfimbriate, were greater than that of the laboratory strain E. coli K-12. None of the 16 strains of serovar O157:H7 or O157:H− expressed type 1 fimbriae after serial passages in static culture. The nucleotide sequence analysis of thefim switch region revealed that all of the O157:H7 and O157:H− strains had a 16-bp deletion in the invertible element, and the fim switch was locked in the “off” orientation. The results suggest that expression of type 1 fimbriae may be regulated differently in different E. coli pathogens causing enteric infections.