Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The adsorption enthalpy of nitrogen oxides on crystalline ice

The partitioning of nitrogen oxides between ice and air is important to the ozone budget in the upper tro- posphere. In the present study, the adsorption of nitrogen oxides on ice was investigated at atmospheric pressure us- ing a chromatographic technique with low concentrations of radioactively labelled nitrogen oxides. The measured reten- tions solely depended on molecular adsorption and were not influenced by dimerisation, formation of encapsulated hy- drates on the ice surface, dissociation of the acids, nor by mi- gration into a quasi-liquid layer or grain boundaries. Based on the chromatographic retention and the model of thermo- chromatography, the adsorption enthalpies of 20 kJ mol 1 for NO, 22 kJ mol 1 for NO2, 30 kJ mol 1 for peroxy- acetyl nitrate, 32 kJ mol 1 for HONO and 44 kJ mol 1 for HNO3 were calculated. To assess the adsorption en- thalpies, standard adsorption entropies were calculated based on statistical thermodynamics. In this work, the use of two different standard states was demonstrated. Conse- quently different values of the standard adsorption entropy, of either between 39 J(K mol) 1 and 45 J(K mol) 1 , or 164 J(K mol) 1 and 169 J(K mol) 1 for each nitrogen oxide were deduced. The adsorption enthalpy derived from the measurements, was independent of the choice of standard state. A brief outlook on environmental implications of our findings indicates that adsorption on ice might be an impor- tant removal process of HNO3. In addition, it might be of some importance for HONO and peroxyacetyl nitrate and ir- relevant for NO and NO2.
Development, validation and utilisation of food-frequency questionnaires – a review

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this review is to provide guidance on the development, validation and use of food-frequency questionnaires (FFQs) for different study designs. It does not include any recommendations about the most appropriate method for dietary assessment (e.g. food-frequency questionnaire versus weighed record). Methods: A comprehensive search of electronic databases was carried out for publications from 1980 to 1999. Findings from the review were then commented upon and added to by a group of international experts. Results: Recommendations have been developed to aid in the design, validation and use of FFQs. Specific details of each of these areas are discussed in the text. Conclusions: FFQs are being used in a variety of ways and different study designs. There is no gold standard for directly assessing the validity of FFQs. Nevertheless, the outcome of this review should help those wishing to develop or adapt an FFQ to validate it for its intended use.
Keeping Children in School

We study household and context determinants of school dropout using data for 130,000 children in 363 regions of 30 developing countries using multi-level discrete-time event-history analysis. Most (72%) of the variation in school dropout is due to household-level factors, with socioeconomic resources (parental education, father’s occupation, and wealth) being most important. Household structure plays a role too. Earlier born, non-biological children and children living with one parent drop out more. Important context factors are educational resources (availability of schools and teachers) and level of development of the region. Interaction analysis reveals that many effects of household-level factors depend on context characteristics, stressing the importance of a situation-specific approach. Results also indicate that the transition from primary to secondary education is a major breaking point in children’s educational careers and that extending the duration of primary education might be an effective strategy to keep children in school longer.
N-3 PUFA Supplementation Triggers PPAR-α Activation and PPAR-α/NF-κB Interaction: Anti-Inflammatory Implications in Liver Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Dietary supplementation with the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to rats preconditions the liver against ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, with reduction of the enhanced nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) functionality occurring in the early phase of IR injury, and recovery of IR-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine response. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that liver preconditioning by n-3 PUFA is exerted through peroxisone proliferator-activated receptor α (PPAR-α) activation and interference with NF-κB activation. For this purpose we evaluated the formation of PPAR-α/NF-κBp65 complexes in relation to changes in PPAR-α activation, IκB-α phosphorylation and serum levels and expression of interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in a model of hepatic IR-injury (1 h of ischemia and 20 h of reperfusion) or sham laparotomy (controls) in male Sprague Dawley rats. Animals were previously supplemented for 7 days with encapsulated fish oil (General Nutrition Corp., Pittsburg, PA) or isovolumetric amounts of saline (controls). Normalization of IR-altered parameters of liver injury (serum transaminases and liver morphology) was achieved by dietary n-3 PUFA supplementation. EPA and DHA suppression of the early IR-induced NF-κB activation was paralleled by generation of PPAR-α/NF-κBp65 complexes, in concomitance with normalization of the IR-induced IκB-α phosphorylation. PPAR-α activation by n-3 PUFA was evidenced by enhancement in the expression of the PPAR-α-regulated Acyl-CoA oxidase (Acox) and Carnitine-Palmitoyl-CoA transferase I (CPT-I) genes. Consistent with these findings, normalization of IR-induced expression and serum levels of NF-κB-controlled cytokines IL-lβ and TNF-α was observed at 20 h of reperfusion. Taken together, these findings point to an antagonistic effect of PPAR-α on NF-κB-controlled transcription of pro-inflammatory mediators. This effect is associated with the formation of PPAR-α/NF-κBp65 complexes and enhanced cytosolic IκB-α stability, as major preconditioning mechanisms induced by n-3 PUFA supplementation against IR liver injury.
DCP1 forms asymmetric trimers to assemble into active mRNA decapping complexes in metazoa

DCP1 stimulates the decapping enzyme DCP2, which removes the mRNA 5′ cap structure committing mRNAs to degradation. In multicellular eukaryotes, DCP1-DCP2 interaction is stabilized by additional proteins, including EDC4. However, most information on DCP2 activation stems from studies in S. cerevisiae, which lacks EDC4. Furthermore, DCP1 orthologs from multicellular eukaryotes have a C-terminal extension, absent in fungi. Here, we show that in metazoa, a conserved DCP1 C-terminal domain drives DCP1 trimerization. Crystal structures of the DCP1-trimerization domain reveal an antiparallel assembly comprised of three kinked α-helices. Trimerization is required for DCP1 to be incorporated into active decapping complexes and for efficient mRNA decapping in vivo. Our results reveal an unexpected connectivity and complexity of the mRNA decapping network in multicellular eukaryotes, which likely enhances opportunities for regulating mRNA degradation.
A case for an interleaving constrained shared-memory multi-processor

Shared-memory multi-threaded programming is inherently more difficult than single-threaded programming. The main source of complexity is that, the threads of an application can interleave in so many different ways. To ensure correctness, a programmer has to test all possible thread interleavings, which, however, is impractical. Many rare thread interleavings remain untested in production systems, and they are the root cause for a majority of concurrency bugs. We propose a shared-memory multi-processor design that avoids untested interleavings to improve the correctness of a multi-threaded program. Since untested interleavings tend to occur infrequently at runtime, the performance cost of avoiding them is not high. We propose to encode the set of tested correct interleavings in a program's binary executable using Predecessor Set (PSet) constraints. These constraints are efficiently enforced at runtime using processor support, which ensures that the runtime follows a tested interleaving. We analyze several bugs in open source applications such as MySQL, Apache, Mozilla, etc., and show that, by enforcing PSet constraints, we can avoid not only data races and atomicity violations, but also other forms of concurrency bugs.
Optimal video placement scheme for batching VOD services

Advances in broadband technology are generating an increasing demand for video-on-demand (VOD) applications. In this paper, an optimal video placement scheme is proposed for a batching VOD system with multiple servers. Given a specified requirement of the blocking probability, an optimal batching interval is derived and the corresponding file placement is obtained by hybrid genetic algorithm. It is demonstrated that the specified requirement on blocking probability is satisfied, while both batching interval and server capacity usage are minimized simultaneously.
Towards an open-source semantic data infrastructure for integrating clinical and scientific data in cognition-guided surgery

In the surgical domain, individual clinical experience, which is derived in large part from past clinical cases, plays an important role in the treatment decision process. Simultaneously the surgeon has to keep track of a large amount of clinical data, emerging from a number of heterogeneous systems during all phases of surgical treatment. This is complemented with the constantly growing knowledge derived from clinical studies and literature. To recall this vast amount of information at the right moment poses a growing challenge that should be supported by adequate technology. While many tools and projects aim at sharing or integrating data from various sources or even provide knowledge-based decision support - to our knowledge - no concept has been proposed that addresses the entire surgical pathway by accessing the entire information in order to provide context-aware cognitive assistance. Therefore a semantic representation and central storage of data and knowledge is a fundamental requirement. We present a semantic data infrastructure for integrating heterogeneous surgical data sources based on a common knowledge representation. A combination of the Extensible Neuroimaging Archive Toolkit (XNAT) with semantic web technologies, standardized interfaces and a common application platform enables applications to access and semantically annotate data, perform semantic reasoning and eventually create individual context-aware surgical assistance. The infrastructure meets the requirements of a cognitive surgical assistant system and has been successfully applied in various use cases. The system is based completely on free technologies and is available to the community as an open-source package.
Dissecting one click frauds

"One Click Fraud" is an online confidence scam that has been plaguing an increasing number of Japanese Internet users, in spite of new laws and the mobilization of police task forces. In this scam, the victim clicks on a link presented to them, only to be informed that they just entered a binding contract and are required to pay a registration fee for a service. Even though no money is legally owed, a large number of users prefer to pay up, because of potential embarrassment due to the type of service "requested" (e.g., pornographic goods). Using public reports of fraudulent websites as a source of data, we analyze over 2,000 reported One Click Frauds incidents. By correlating several attributes (WHOIS data, bank accounts, phone numbers, malware installed.), we discover that a few fraudsters are seemingly responsible for a majority of the scams, and evidence a number of loopholes these miscreants exploit. We further show that, while some of these sites may also be engaging in other illicit activities such as spamming, the connection between different types of scams is not as obvious as we initially expected. Last, we show that the rise in the number of these frauds is fueled by high expected monetary gains in return for very little risk. The quantitative data obtained gives us an interesting window on the economic dynamics of some online criminal syndicates.
Lowering the Error Floor of LDPC Codes by a Two-stage Hybrid Decoding Algorithm

In this paper, a hybrid decoding scheme is proposed to lower the error floor of low-density parity-check codes. With the observation that some error bits' LLR values oscillate throughout iterative decoding procedure, a "feedback BP" (FBP) decoding algorithm is presented as second-stage decoding cell to reduce the phenomena of oscillations. The hybrid decoding scheme, which consists LLR-BP decoding algorithm and FBP decoding algorithm, detects errors in the codewords obtained by using the parity check equations of LDPC codes. Simulation results show that the new decoding scheme exhibits a lower error floor than that of belief propagation decoding algorithm in the moderate and high SNR region.
R-plasmid-encoded adhesive factor in Klebsiella pneumoniae strains responsible for human nosocomial infections

Klebsiella pneumoniae strains involved in hospital outbreaks of nosocomial infections, such as suppurative lesions, bacteremia, and septicemia, were resistant to multiple antibiotics including broad-spectrum cephalosporins. Epidemiologic investigations revealed that the reservoir for these K. pneumoniae strains was the gastrointestinal tracts of the patients. The study of the adherence ability of the strains reported here showed that these bacteria adhered to the microvilli of the Caco-2 cell line. This adhesion was mediated by a nonfimbrial protein with a molecular mass of 29,000 Da designated CF29K. Pretreatment of bacteria with antibodies raised against CF29K or Caco-2 cells with purified CF29K prevented the adhesion of K. pneumoniae strains to Caco-2 cells. CF29K immunologically cross-reacted with the CS31A surface protein of Escherichia coli strains involved in septicemia in calves. Genes encoding CF29K were located on a high-molecular-weight conjugative R plasmid, which transferred to E. coli K-12. Transconjugants expressed a large amount of CF29K protein and adhered to the brush border of Caco-2 cells. These findings show that K. pneumoniae strains were able to colonize the human intestinal tract through a plasmid-encoded 29,000-Da surface protein. Hybridization experiments indicated that the gene encoding resistance to broad-spectrum cephalosporins by the production of CAZ-1 enzyme and the gene encoding the adhesive property to intestinal cells were both located on a 20- to 22-kb EcoRI restriction DNA fragment. Genes encoding aerobactin and the ferric aerobactin receptor were also found on this R plasmid.
Upregulation of putaminal dopamine D2 receptors in early Parkinson's disease: a comparative PET study with [11C] raclopride and [11C]N-methylspiperone.

UNLABELLED Dopamine D2 receptor function was assessed in a PET study with 2 dopamine D2 receptor PET ligands, [11C]raclopride (RAC) and [11C]N-methylspiperone (NMSP), in early Parkinson's disease. METHODS Seven patients with early Parkinson's disease and 5 healthy volunteers were studied. Each underwent PET both with reversible [11C]RAC and with irreversible [11C]NMSP. RESULTS Upregulation of dopamine D2 receptors in the putamen contralateral to the predominant symptoms of Parkinson's disease was confirmed using both [11C]RAC and [11C]NMSP. Uptake of [11C]RAC in the contralateral putamen was 105% of uptake in the opposite putamen (P = 0.020). For [11C]NMSP, uptake in the contralateral putamen was 105% of uptake in the ipsilateral putamen (P = 0.011). No significant differences between Parkinson's disease patients and healthy volunteers were detected in any of the studied brain regions using either [11C]RAC or [11C]NMSP. No significant differences between [11C]RAC and [11C]NMSP uptake were detected in the striatum, whereas in the extrastriatal regions, [11C]NMSP showed significantly higher uptake than [11C]RAC both in healthy volunteers and in Parkinson's disease patients. CONCLUSION This study confirms an increase in dopamine D2 receptors in the putamen contralateral to the predominant symptoms, compared with the ipsilateral putamen, in early Parkinson's disease. This increase was seen both with reversible ligand [11C]RAC and with irreversible ligand [11C]NMSP and thus does not seem a consequence of depleted endogenous dopamine.
Predictability as an Index of Impaired Verbal Communication in Schizophrenic and Affective Disorders

Summary The cloze procedure was used to examine predictability in speech samples from schizophrenic, depressive, manic, schizoaffective and normal subjects. Each speech sample was also rated for particular indices of thought disorder using the Andreasen Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication. Schizophrenics were found to be less predictable than other patient groups or normals. Depressives were found to be the most predictable. Correlational analyses of cloze scores and specific thought disorder ratings suggest that reduced predictability is associated with traditional indicators of thought disorder.
Bioadhesive properties of poly(anhydride) nanoparticles coated with different molecular weights chitosan

The aim of this study was to develop and characterize the bioadhesive properties of poly(anhydride) nanoparticles coated with two types of low-molecular weight chitosan (CH20 of 20 kDa or CH50 of 50 kDa) or their thiolated conjugates. Nanoparticles were prepared by a solvent displacement method and characterized by measuring the size, zeta potential, morphology and composition. For bioadhesion studies, nanoparticles were fluorescently labelled with rhodamine B isothiocyanate. In all cases, coated nanoparticles showed a slightly higher size and lower negative zeta potential than uncoated nanoparticles. Nanoparticles coated with CH20 showed a higher adhesive capacity than uncoated nanoparticles. On the contrary, when nanoparticles were coated with CH50, the resulting carriers displayed a decreased ability to develop adhesive interactions within the gut. Finally, the coating of nanoparticles with thiolated chitosan improved their adhesive abilities. Poly(anhydride) nanoparticles coated with thiolated chitosan can be considered as promising bioadhesive particulate carriers for oral delivery strategies.
Effectiveness of Mirror Therapy to Improve Hand Functions in Acute and Subacute Stroke Patients

Background and aim: Trials have shown modest clinical improvement in disabilities after stroke with the use of different techniques; however most of the treatment protocols for the paretic hand are either expensive or labour intensive, which makes the provision of intensive treatment for many patients difficult. Mirror therapy (MT) is an alternative therapeutic intervention that uses the interaction of visuomotor-proprioception inputs to enhance movement performance of the impaired hand. It has been suggested that mirror therapy is a simple, inexpensive and, most importantly patient-directed treatment that may improve hand function. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the effectiveness of Mirror Therapy to improve hand functions in acute and sub-acute stroke patients. Method: In a pre-test-post-test single-group design, a convenience sample of 11 of acute and sub-acute stroke patients at Department of Physiotherapy, in Pad. Dr. Vikhe Patil Hospital, Ahmednagar. Participants received a Mirror Therapy program, performing various movements by the less affected upper extremity and observing in the mirror box along with conventional management, 4 days per week for 4 weeks. Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), which includes subsection hand (FMA-WH), Wolf Motor Function Test (WFMT-WH) were used as an outcome measure. Results: Participants showed significant improvement for FMA-WH and WFMT-WH at post assessment. WFMTWH changed from 7.545 to 15.727. (p=<0.0001) whereas FMA-WH changed from 34.18 to 47.36. (p=0.0002). Conclusion: The preliminary findings suggest that Mirror therapy can be a useful intervention supplement in rehabilitation of patients; it provides a simple and cost effective therapy for wrist and hand motor recovery in acute and sub-acute stroke patients. Further studies in the form of randomized trials are needed to validate its effectiveness.
Simultaneous changes in the mechanical properties, quantitative collagen organization, and proteoglycan concentration of articular cartilage following canine meniscectomy

The mechanical properties and microstructure of articular cartilage from the canine tibial plateau were studied 12 weeks after total medial meniscectomy. The organization of the birefringent collagen network was measured with quantitative polarized light microscopy to determine the thickness and the degree of organization of the superficial and deep zones. The zonal concentration of sulfated glycosaminoglycan was quantified with digital densitometry of safranin‐O staining. Equilibrium compressive and shear properties, as well as dynamic shear properties, were measured at sites adjacent to those of microstructural analysis. The results evinced significant loss of cartilage function following meniscectomy, with decreases of 20–50% in the compressive and shear moduli. There was no evidence of alterations in the degree of collagen fibrillar organization, although a complete loss of the surface zone was seen in 60% of the samples that underwent meniscectomy. Meniscectomy resulted in a decreased concentration of sulfated glycosaminoglycan, and significant positive correlations were found between the equilibrium compressive modulus and the glycosaminoglycan content. Furthermore, the shear properties of cartilage correlated directly with collagen fibrillar organization measured at the superficial zone of corresponding sites. These findings demonstrate that meniscectomy leads to impaired mechanical function of articular cartilage, with significant evidence of quantitative correlations between cartilage microstructure and mechanics.
Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia in Japanese Neonates: Analysis of the Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene and Fetal Hemoglobin Composition in Cord Blood

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is frequent and severe in Japanese infants. Although the G71R mutation of the bilirubin uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase gene is associated with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in this population, it accounts for only half of the neonates with severe hyperbilirubinemia. It was suggested that increased bilirubin production would also be associated with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in Japanese infants. To elucidate the genetic factors causing severe hyperbilirubinemia in these patients, we studied two notable factors associated with bilirubin production: heme oxygenase-1, a key enzyme of heme metabolism, and fetal Hb composition, a factor possibly associated with heme load in neonates. We first determined the sequences of promoter and all coding regions of the heme oxygenase-1 gene in Japanese neonates who had undergone phototherapy, but found no mutation except for the polymorphic (GT)n repeats in the promoter region. These repeats modulate the transcription of the heme oxygenase-1 gene, and the longer repeat sequences are known to reduce the transcription. We detected a significant difference in the allele frequencies of each number of (GT)n repeats between Japanese and German populations. However, we could not find a relation between those polymorphisms and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. We next analyzed the state of Hb switching of the γ- to β-globin chain and the phenotype of γ-globin chain isoforms in cord blood. We found no relation between fetal Hb composition and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Further studies are required to elucidate genetic or environmental factors in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in Japanese infants.