Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preparation and Characterization of Cellulose and Nanocellulose From Pomelo (Citrus grandis) Albedo

Pomelo (Citrus grandis) peel is one of the under-utilized waste materials that have potential in the production of functional ingredients, due to its high fiber content. This study was conducted to isolate and characterize cellulose and nanocellulose from pomelo albedo. Cellulose was prepared via alkali treatment followed by bleaching process, while nanocellulose was produced via hydrolysis using sulfuric acid. The physicochemical and structural properties of the produced materials were characterized using proximate analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and cellulose crystallinity index (CrI) by X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) and water holding capacity (WHC). Proximate analysis showed that pomelo albedo contains 72.62% carbohydrate, 16.13% moisture, 6.27% protein, 3.41% ash and 1.56% fat. FTIR spectra for cellulose and nanocellulose confirms absorption bands characteristic of pure celluloses at 3334, 2902, 1630, 1427, 1030 and 896 cm-1. The crystallinity index (CrI) of the isolated nanocellulose was found considerably higher than that of cellulose with the value of 60.27% and 57.47%, respectively. Water holding capacity (WHC) of nanocellulose was also higher (p<0.05) than cellulose with the value of 12.75 g water/g and 8.9 g water/g respectively. We conclude that pomelo albedo can be a principal source of natural cellulose and nanocellulose materials which can be further manipulated for food ingredient applications.
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Prosocial Norms in the Classroom: the Role of Self-regulation in following Norms of Giving

Children who are prosocial in elementary school tend to have higher academic achievement and experience greater acceptance by their peers in adolescence. Despite this positive influence on educational outcomes, it is still unclear why some children are more prosocial than others in school. The current study investigates a possible link between following a proso-cial norm and self-regulation. We tested 433 children between 6 and 13 years of age in two variations of the Dictator Game. Children were asked what they should or would give in the game and then played an actual DG. We show that most children hold a common norm for sharing resources, but that some children fail to follow that norm in the actual game. The gap between norm and behavior was correlated with self-regulation skills on a parent-report individual differences measure. Specifically, we show that two components of self-regulation, attention and inhibition, predict children's ability to follow the stated norm for giving. These results suggest that some children are poorer at holding the norm in mind and following through on enacting it. We discuss the implications of these results for education and programs that promote social and emotional learning (SEL).
The neural correlates of in-group and self-face perception: is there overlap for high identifiers?

Social identity, the part of the self-concept derived from group membership, is a key explanatory construct for a wide variety of behaviors, ranging from organizational commitment to discrimination toward out-groups. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined the neural basis of social identity through a comparison with the neural correlates of self-face perception. Participants viewed a series of pictures, one at a time, of themselves, a familiar other, in-group members, and out-group members. We created a contrast for self-face perception by subtracting brain activation in response to the familiar other from brain activation in response to the self face, and a contrast for social identity by subtracting brain activation in response to out-group faces from brain activation in response to in-group faces. In line with previous research, for the self—familiar other contrast we found activation in several right-hemisphere regions (inferior frontal gyrus, inferior and superior parietal lobules). In addition, we found activation in closely-adjacent brain areas for the social identity contrast. Importantly, significant clusters of activation in this in-group—out-group contrast only emerged to the extent that participants reported high identification with the in-group. These results suggest that self-perception and social identity depend on partly similar neural processes.
Deep scattering

We present a technique for efficiently synthesizing images of atmospheric clouds using a combination of Monte Carlo integration and neural networks. The intricacies of Lorenz-Mie scattering and the high albedo of cloud-forming aerosols make rendering of clouds---e.g. the characteristic silverlining and the "whiteness" of the inner body---challenging for methods based solely on Monte Carlo integration or diffusion theory. We approach the problem differently. Instead of simulating all light transport during rendering, we pre-learn the spatial and directional distribution of radiant flux from tens of cloud exemplars. To render a new scene, we sample visible points of the cloud and, for each, extract a hierarchical 3D descriptor of the cloud geometry with respect to the shading location and the light source. The descriptor is input to a deep neural network that predicts the radiance function for each shading configuration. We make the key observation that progressively feeding the hierarchical descriptor into the network enhances the network's ability to learn faster and predict with higher accuracy while using fewer coefficients. We also employ a block design with residual connections to further improve performance. A GPU implementation of our method synthesizes images of clouds that are nearly indistinguishable from the reference solution within seconds to minutes. Our method thus represents a viable solution for applications such as cloud design and, thanks to its temporal stability, for high-quality production of animated content.
Studies with CWR22 xenografts in nude mice suggest that ZD1839 may have a role in the treatment of both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent human prostate cancer.

PURPOSE These studies examined the effect of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor ZD1839 ("Iressa")(3) on CWR22 prostate tumors in nude mice. The effect of ZD1839 was also examined in combination with either bicalutamide ("Casodex") or cytotoxic agents against a hormone-dependent or -independent variant of CWR22, respectively. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The xenografts were grown for 4-7 days, then tumor measurements were made and therapy initiated. ZD1839 and bicalutamide were given p.o. on a once-daily, 5-day schedule for 2 successive weeks. Carboplatin and paclitaxel were given every 3-4 days for a total of four doses. Measurements of tumor volume were made twice weekly during treatment and for 2 weeks after treatment. The effect of ZD1839 on EGFR function was assessed by Western blotting of EGFR and its phosphorylated form in CWR22 and variant tumors before and after treatment with this agent. RESULTS ZD1839 at its maximum tolerated dose (150 mg/kg) inhibited the growth of androgen-dependent CWR22 by 54%, and the growth of two variants with different degrees of androgen independence and androgen receptor gene expression (CWR22LD1 and CWR22RV1) by 76%. The effects of ZD1839 were similar to those recorded for phosphorylation of EGFR as determined by Western blotting. Coadministration of ZD1839 at its maximum tolerated dose markedly increased the antiproliferative action of the antiandrogen bicalutamide against CWR22LD1. In fact, combining ZD1839 with a suboptimal dose of bicalutamide was more effective than a higher dose of bicalutamide alone. Coadministration of ZD1839, which required a 2-3-fold attenuation of dose to avoid toxicity, also markedly increased the therapeutic activity of carboplatin and paclitaxel against CWR22RV1, bringing about regression to a degree not seen with either agent alone. Tumor-free mice were seen only with the combination of ZD1839 and paclitaxel. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained in these related and highly relevant models of human prostate cancer suggest that ZD1839 may have a role in enhancing existing treatments of androgen-dependent and -independent forms of this disease in patients.
Fate of volatile chlorinated organic compounds in a laboratory chamber with alfalfa plants.

The fate of two volatile organo chlorinated compounds, 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) and trichloroethylene (TCE), was studied in rhizosphere soil. Laboratory experiments were performed with alfalfa (Medicago sativa) growing in sandy silt soil fed continuously with groundwater contaminated with TCA and TCE at 50 and 200 μL/L, respectively. Methane generated in the groundwater provided evidence for anaerobic biodegradation. Groundwater samples indicated that the concentration of TCE decreased with axial position during the steady-state period. The flow rate of the effluent was significantly less than the inlet flow because of active evapotranspiration. Thus, a significant fraction of TCA and TCE disappeared. Headspace analysis of the gas in the enclosed chamber using a FT-IR spectrophotometer showed that small quantities of TCA and TCE migrated into the gas phase above the alfalfa plants ; no chlorinated intermediates or methane were found in this gas phase.
Studying Different Tasks of Implicit Learning across Multiple Test Sessions Conducted on the Web

Implicit learning is usually studied through individual performance on a single task, with the most common tasks being the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task, the Dynamic System Control (DSC) task, and Artificial Grammar Learning (AGL). Few attempts have been made to compare performance across different implicit learning tasks within the same study. The current study was designed to explore the relationship between performance on the DSC Sugar factory task and the Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task. We also addressed another limitation of traditional implicit learning experiments, namely that implicit learning is usually studied in laboratory settings over a restricted time span lasting for less than an hour. In everyday situations, implicit learning is assumed to involve a gradual accumulation of knowledge across several learning episodes over a longer time span. One way to increase the ecological validity of implicit learning experiments could be to present the learning material repeatedly across shorter test sessions. This can most easily be done by using a web-based setup in which participants can access the material from home. We therefore created an online web-based system for measuring implicit learning that could be administered in either single or multiple sessions. Participants (n = 66) were assigned to either a single session or a multiple session condition. Learning occurred on both tasks, and awareness measures suggested that acquired knowledge was not fully conscious on either of the tasks. Learning and the degree of conscious awareness of the learned regularities were compared across conditions and tasks. On the DSC task, performance was not affected by whether learning had taken place in one or over multiple sessions. On the ASRT task, RT improvement across blocks was larger in the multiple-session condition. Learning in the two tasks was not related.
A Prospective Study on Serum Methylmalonic Acid and Homocysteine in Pregnant Women

This study aimed to investigate serum methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine levels and to assess their effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Serum MMA and homocysteine levels in 278 pregnant Korean women, determined by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in each trimester, were compared with those of previous studies in other ethnic groups. We investigated the association between MMA and homocysteine status with pregnancy and neonatal events: gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, gestational age at delivery, preterm birth, small for gestational age, neonatal birth weight, and congenital abnormalities. The median (range) MMA level was 0.142 (0.063–0.446) µmol/L and homocysteine level was 10.6 (4.4–38.0) µmol/L in pregnant women. MMA levels were significantly higher in the third trimester than during other trimesters (p < 0.05), while homocysteine levels were not. No significant association was observed between MMA or homocysteine levels and any of the maternal or neonatal outcomes examined. Future studies are needed to assess the associations among maternal serum concentrations of MMA and homocysteine, and maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Health and development among Mexican, black and white preschool children: An integrative approach using latent class analysis

BACKGROUND Building on an emerging scientific consensus that the concept of child health should encompass chronic conditions, functional abilities, and developmental domains, we delineate the multidimensional health statuses of Mexican, non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic white preschool children in the United States. This integrative approach provides the foundation for an in-depth analysis of health disparities. OBJECTIVE The research objectives are: (1) to demonstrate a new methodological approach to identifying the major child health statuses; (2) to document differences in the prevalence of those health statuses among children in the largest ethnoracial groups in the U.S.; and (3) to assess whether key sources of disadvantage account for ethnoracial disparities in children’s health. METHODS With data from a nationally representative sample, we use latent class analysis to estimate a set of latent health statuses that capture the nature of health at age four. The latent class membership of children is predicted using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS Mexican and non-Hispanic black children are more likely than non-Hispanic white children to fall into health statuses distinguished by low cognitive achievement and multiple developmental problems. Mexican children are the most likely to be classified into these problematic health statuses. This pattern persists in multivariate models that incorporate potential explanatory factors, including health at birth, socio-demographic characteristics, home environment, well-child care and center-based child care. CONCLUSIONS Latent class analysis is a useful method for incorporating measures of physical conditions, functional problems, and development into a single analysis in order to identify key dimensions of childhood health and locate ethnoracial health disparities.
Suppression of E-cadherin Mediates Gallotannin Induced Apoptosis in Hep G2 Hepatocelluar Carcinoma Cells

Though gallotannin was known to have anti-oxidant and antitumor activity, the underlying antitumor mechanism of gallotannin still remains unclear. Thus, in the present study, antitumor mechanism of gallotannin was elucidated in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Gallotannin significantly exerted cytotoxicity against Hep G2 and Chang hepatocellular carcinoma cells with the accumulation of the sub-G1 population and increase of terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferasedUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) positive cells as an apoptotic feature. Also, gallotannin attenuated the expression of pro-caspase9, pro-caspase3, Bcl2 and integrin β1 and cleaved poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP) in Hep G2 and Chang cancer cells. Furthermore, gallotannin suppressed cell repair motility by wound healing assay and also inhibited cell adhesion in Hep G2 cells. Of note, gallotannin attenuated the expression of epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) to form cell-cell adhesion from the early stage, and also beta-catenin at late phase in Hep G2 cells. Consistently, Immunofluorescence assay showed that E-cadherin or β-catenin expression was suppressed in a time dependent manner by gallotannin. Furthermore, silencing of E-cadherin by siRNA transfection method enhanced PAPR cleavage, caspase 3 activation and sub G1 population and attenuated the cell adhesion induced by gallotannin in Hep G2 cells. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the disruption of cell adhesion junction by suppression of E-cadherin mediates gallotannin enhanced apoptosis in Hep G2 liver cancer cells.
Investigating the impact of alliance-focused training on interpersonal process and therapists' capacity for experiential reflection

Abstract Objective: In this article we present preliminary findings from a research program designed to investigate the value of alliance-focused training (AFT), a supervision approach designed to enhance therapists' ability to work constructively with negative therapeutic process. Method: In the context of a multiple baseline design, all therapists began treating their patients using cognitive therapy and then joined AFT supervision groups at either session 8 or 16 of a 30 session protocol. Study I investigated the impact of AFT on patient and therapist interpersonal process as assessed through the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB). Study 2 investigated the impact of AFT on therapists' tendency to reflect on their relationships with their patients in an experientially grounded fashion, as assessed via the Experiencing Scale (EXP). Since one of the goals of AFT is to train therapists to use their own emerging feelings as important clues regarding what may be taking place in the therapeutic relationship, we hypothesized that they would show increased levels of EXP after undergoing AFT. Results and Conclusion: The results of both studies 1 and 2 were for the most part consistent with hypotheses. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
Symplectic fillability of tight contact structures on torus bundles

We study weak versus strong symplectic llability of some tight contact structures on torus bundles over the circle. In particular, we prove that almost all of these tight contact structures are weakly, but not strongly symplectically llable. For the 3{torus this theorem was established by Eliashberg. AMS Classication 53D35; 57M50, 57R65
Messenger RNA expression of translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) in liver regeneration and cancer.

OBJECTIVE Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) was recently reported to be involved in tumor reversion. In order to understand TCTP mRNA transcript in proliferative tissue and malignant lesions, the mRNA expression of TCTP was determined in a rat model of liver regeneration and human liver cancer tissues. In addition, the potential role of TCTP on suppression of liver cancer was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Liver regeneration model was established by a two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PH) in adult, male Sprague-Dawley rat. TCTP mRNA expression was determined by semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis. Antisense mRNA of TCTP was transfected into the SMMC-7721 liver cancer cell line. Biological assay of proliferation and cell cycle were analysed by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS After PH of rats, the level of TCTP mRNA transcript was upregulated slightly in liver tissue at 1 hour followed by a high expression from 3 to 12 hours, which then decreased dramatically at 24 hours before returning to original level during liver tissue proliferation. TCTP mRNA transcript increased significantly in liver cancer tissues when compared to non-cancerous adjacent tissues as control. The transfection with antisense oligodeoxynucleotides of TCTP led to decreased proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells resulting in cell cycle arrest and pro-apoptosis. CONCLUSION The results suggested that TCTP mRNA expression might be stage-specific in the proliferation of liver tissue but alter abnormally in cancer lesions. TCTP could be used as a potential target for suppression of liver tumorigenicity.
LOAD AND DEFLECTION CHARACTERISTICS OF DOWELS IN TRANSVERSE JOINTS OF CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

LABORATORY TESTS WERE MADE ON SINGLE DOWELS ENCASED IN CONCRETE TO OBSERVE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FAILURE AND THE RATE OF DEFLECTION OF TRANSVERSELY LOADED DOWELS IN CONCRETE. THE RATE AT WHICH THE CONCRETE REACTS UNDER A DEFLECTING DOWEL IS CALLED MODULUS OF DOWEL REACTION. LOADED 1/2 IN. FROM THE FACE OF THE CONCRETE, 3/4-IN. HARD GRADE DOWELS FAILED AT 6000 LB. DOWEL LOAD AND 1-IN. INTERMEDIATE GRADE DOWELS AT 9000 LB. DOWEL LOAD, WHEN ENCASED IN 3000 LB. PER SQ. IN. CONCRETE. WARNING OF FAILURE IS GIVEN BY SURFACE SPALLING UNDER THE DOWEL, COMMENCING AT LOADS CONSIDERABLY LESS THAN THE ULTIMATE. ULTIMATE FAILURE IS ACCOMPANIED BY CRUSHING OF THE CONCRETE IMMEDIATELY UNDER THE DOWEL. THE 3/4-IN. DOWELS ARE ALL PERMANENTLY BENT AT FAILURE. RELATIONSHIP OF DOWEL STRENGTH TO THE STRENGTH OF THE CONCRETE AND TO THE YIELD POINT OF THE STEEL IS INDICATED. A REASONABLE VALUE FOR THE MODULUS OF DOWEL REACTION FOR 3/4-IN. AND 1-IN. GREASED DOWELS IN 6-AND 7- IN. CONCRETE PAVEMENTS ON YIELDING SUBGRADE IS DEDUCED FROM THESE TESTS TO BE 300 TIMES THE UNIT CRUSHING STRENGTH OF CYLINDERS OF THE CONCRETE. /AUTHOR/
Simulating galaxy clusters -II. Global star formation histories and the galaxy populations

We performed N-body + hydrodynamical simulations of the formation and evolution of galaxy groups and clusters in acold dark matter cosmology. The simulations invoke star forma- tion, chemical evolution with non-instantaneous recycling, metal-dependent radiative cooling, strong starbursts and (optionally) active galactic nucleus (AGN) driven galactic superwinds, effects of a meta-galactic ultraviolet field and thermal conduction. The properties of the galaxy populations in two clusters, one Virgo-like (T ∼ 3k eV) and one (sub)Coma-like (T ∼ 6k eV), are discussed. The global star formation rates of the cluster galaxies are found to decrease very significantly from redshift z = 2t o0 ,i nagreement with observations. The total K-band luminosity of the cluster galaxies correlates tightly with total cluster mass, and for models without additional AGN feedback, the zero-point of the relation matches the observed one fairly well. Compared to the observed galaxy luminosity function (LF), the simulations nicely match the number of intermediate-mass galaxies (−20 MB −17, smaller galaxies being affected by resolution limits) but they show a deficiency of bright galaxies in favour of an overgrown central dominant (cD) galaxy. High-resolution tests indicate that this deficiency is not simply due to numerical 'overmerging'. The redshift evolution of the LFs from z = 1t o0i smainly driven by luminosity evolution, but also by merging of bright galaxies with the cD. The colour-magnitude relation of the cluster galaxies matches the observed 'red sequence', although with a large scatter, and on average galaxy metallicity increases with luminosity. As the brighter galaxies are essentially coeval, the colour-magnitude relation results from metallicity rather than age effects, as observed. On the whole, a top-heavy initial mass function appears to be preferably required to reproduce also the observed colours and metallicities of the stellar populations. Ke yw ords: methods: N-body simulations - methods: numerical - galaxies: clusters: general -g alaxies: evolution - galaxies: formation - cosmology: theory.