Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eco-friendly fabrication of sponge-like magnetically carbonaceous fiber aerogel for high-efficiency oil–water separation

To handle oil spillage and chemical leakage accidents, the development of novel sorbent materials is of global significance for environment and water source protection. In this work, a magnetically carbonaceous fiber (MCF) aerogel was for the first time fabricated by a facile approach from natural cotton as a precursor, and this material can be used as a potential adsorbent without any further chemical modification for oil–water separation under demanding conditions. Owing to its unique and superior properties, such as twisted fiber structure, light weight, high porosity, desirable hydrophobicity, excellent separation efficiency, and strong thermal/mechanical stability, the MCF aerogel exhibits a high adsorption capacity for organic solvents and oils (22–87 times its own weight) and good recyclability. Coupled with the simple, low-cost, and environment-friendly synthesis process, the MCF aerogel will be a promising candidate for removing organic pollutants in environmental pollution cleanup. Hopefully, the MCF aerogel and the corresponding fabrication approach will be further applied to extensive applications including energy storage, fabrication of multifunctional composite materials, and so on.
Update on the ongoing outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome due to Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serotype O104, Germany, May 2011.

Since early May 2011, a large outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and bloody diarrhoea related to infections with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) has been observed in Germany. The outbreak is focused in the north, but cases have been reported from all German states and other countries. Since our report last week, the number of HUS cases has increased to 470 and STEC serotype O104 has been confirmed in many cases.
Efficient max-margin metric learning

Efficient learning of an appropriate distance metric is an increasingly important problem in machine learning. However, current methods are limited by scalability issues or are unsuited to use with general similarity/dissimilarity constraints. In this paper, we propose an efficient metric learning method based on the max-margin framework with pairwise constraints that has a strong generalization guarantee. First, we reformulate the max-margin metric learning problem as a structured support vector machine which we can optimize in linear time via a cutting-plane method. Second, we propose a kernelized extention and an approximation method based on matching pursuit that allows linear-time training even in the kernel case.We find our method to be comparable to or better than state of the art metric learning techniques at a number of machine learning and computer vision classification tasks.
Selective feeding behaviour of key free-living protists: avenues for continued study

Phagotrophic protists are diverse and abundant in aquatic and terrestrial environments, making them fundamental to the transfer of matter/energy within their respective food webs. Recognising their grazing impact is essential to evaluate the role of protists in ecosystems, and this includes appreciating prey selectivity. Efforts have been made by groups and individuals to understand selective grazing behaviour by protists: many approaches and perspectives have been pursued, not all of which are compatible. This article, which is not a review, is the product of our discourse on this subject at the SAME 10 meeting. It is the work of individuals, assembled for their breadth of backgrounds, approaches, views, and expertise. Firstly, to communicate ideas and approaches, we develop a framework for selective feeding processes and suggest 6 steps: searching, contact, capture, processing, ingestion, digestion. We then separate study approaches into 2 categories: (1) those examining whole organisms at the community, population, and individual levels, and (2) those examining physiology and molecular attributes. Finally, we explore general problems associated with the field of protistan selective feeding (e.g. linking food selection into food webs and modeling). We do not present all views on any one topic, nor do we cover all topics; instead, we offer opinions and suggest avenues for continued study. Overall, this paper should stimulate further discourse on the subject and provide a roadmap for the future.
Spin Effects in Long Range Gravitational Scattering

We study the gravitational scattering of massive particles with and without spin in the effective theory of gravity at one loop level. Our focus is on long distance effects arising from nonanalytic components of the scattering amplitude and we show that the spin-independent and the spin-dependent long range components exhibit a universal form. Both classical and quantum corrections are obtained, and the definition of a proper second order potential is discussed.
The Rice Tungro Bacilliform Virus Gene II Product Interacts with the Coat Protein Domain of the Viral Gene III Polyprotein

ABSTRACT Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) is a plant pararetrovirus whose DNA genome contains four genes encoding three proteins and a large polyprotein. The function of most of the viral proteins is still unknown. To investigate the role of the gene II product (P2), we searched for interactions between this protein and other RTBV proteins. P2 was shown to interact with the coat protein (CP) domain of the viral gene III polyprotein (P3) both in the yeast two-hybrid system and in vitro. Domains involved in the P2-CP association have been identified and mapped on both proteins. To determine the importance of this interaction for viral multiplication, the infectivity of RTBV gene II mutants was investigated by agroinoculation of rice plants. The results showed that virus viability correlates with the ability of P2 to interact with the CP domain of P3. This study suggests that P2 could participate in RTBV capsid assembly.
Domain-Specific Cognitive Recovery after First-Ever Stroke: A 2-Year Follow-Up

Abstract Objectives: The aim of this work was to study the change in different cognitive domains after stroke during a 2-year follow-up. Method: We evaluated both neuropsychologically and neurologically a consecutive cohort of working-age patients with a first-ever stroke at baseline (within the first weeks), 6 months, and 2 years after stroke-onset. A total of 153 patients participated in all examinations and were compared to 50 healthy controls. Results: Forty-nine percent of the patients were cognitively impaired at baseline, 41% at 6 months, and 39% at 2-year follow-up. We analyzed seven cognitive domains (impairment rates at baseline and 2-year follow-up): psychomotor speed (34%; 23%), executive functions (27%; 17%), visual memory (21%; 4%), visuospatial function (20%; 14%), verbal memory (18%; 12%), basic language processing (baseline 11%; 6 months 5%), and reasoning (2 years 14%). The patients who were cognitively impaired at baseline improved more within 6 months, than either the controls or cognitively intact patients in all cognitive domains (all p<.05). Later on, between 6 months and 2 years, the domain-specific change scores did not differ between patients who were cognitively intact and impaired at 6 months. Also, the cognitive status (intact or impaired) remained the same in 90% of patients between 6-month and 2-year follow-ups. At 2 years, half of the patients, who were categorized cognitively impaired, were rated as well-recovered according to neurological evaluation. Conclusions: Most of the cognitive improvement took place within 6 months. Long-lasting cognitive impairment was common even after good neurological recovery. An early neuropsychological examination is essential in evaluating cognitive dysfunction and need for rehabilitation. (JINS, 2018, 24, 117–127)
Effect of Different Sampling Methodologies on Measured Methane Concentrations in Groundwater Samples

Analysis of dissolved light hydrocarbon gas concentrations (primarily methane and ethane) in water supply wells is commonly used to establish conditions before and after drilling in areas of shale gas and oil extraction. Several methods are currently used to collect samples for dissolved gas analysis from water supply wells; however, the reliability of results obtained from these methods has not been quantified. This study compares dissolved methane and ethane concentrations measured in groundwater samples collected using three sampling methods employed in pre‐ and post‐drill sampling programs in the Appalachian Basin. These include an open‐system collection method where 40 mL volatile organic analysis (VOA) vials are filled directly while in contact with the atmosphere (Direct‐Fill VOA) and two alternative methods: (1) a semi‐closed system method whereby 40 mL VOA vials are filled while inverted under a head of water (Inverted VOA) and (2) a relatively new (2013) closed system method in which the sample is collected without direct contact with purge water or the atmosphere (IsoFlask®). This study reveals that, in the absence of effervescence, the difference in methane concentrations between the three sampling methods was relatively small. However, when methane concentrations equaled or exceeded 20 mg/L (the approximate concentration at which effervescence occurs in the study area), IsoFlask® (closed system) samples yielded significantly higher methane concentrations than Direct‐Fill VOA (open system) samples, and Inverted VOA (semi‐closed system) samples yielded lower concentrations. These results suggest that open and semi‐closed system sample collection methods are adequate for non‐effervescing samples. However, the use of a closed system collection method provides the most accurate means for the measurement of dissolved hydrocarbon gases under all conditions.
Laser damage investigation in RbTiOPO4 crystals: a study on the anisotropy of the laser induced damage threshold

Lasers for space applications require miniaturized high power components that can be operated at low voltages. RbTiOPO4 (RTP) is a highly efficient electro-optical material, which is used in particular for the realization of low voltage and high repetition rate Pockels cells. RTP can be operated in two crystal orientations (x-cut and y-cut). In both cases, the incoming linear polarization is oriented at 45o to the z-direction. In this study, laser damage is investigated in RTP crystals. More precisely, we focus on the correlation between the laser damage characteristics and the used crystal orientation. The laser damage tests were carried out at 1064 nm with a standard 6 ns Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and the polarization was oriented as for Pockels cell operation at 45o to the z-axis of the crystals. This work reveals that the Laser Induced Damage Threshold (LIDT) is two times higher for x-cut than for y-cut RTP crystals. Reflection and transmission measurements show that this LIDT anisotropy can not be explained by an evident loss mechanism like Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS).
Modulation of primary motor cortex outputs from ventral premotor cortex during visually guided grasp in the macaque monkey

Area F5, in the ventral premotor cortex of the macaque monkey, plays a critical role in determining the hand shape appropriate for grasp of a visible object. F5 neurones show increased firing for particular types of grasp, and inactivation of F5 produces deficits in visually guided grasp. But how is F5 activity transformed into the appropriate pattern of hand muscle activity for efficient grasp? Here we investigate the pathways that may be involved by testing the effect of single stimuli delivered through microwires chronically implanted in area F5 and in primary motor cortex (M1) of two macaque monkeys. The EMG responses from M1 test (T) stimulation were recorded from 4–11 contralateral hand, digit and arm muscles during reach‐to‐grasp of visually presented objects. Conditioning (C) stimulation of F5, at intensities subthreshold for motor effects, caused strong modulation (over twofold) of M1 test (T) responses. The pattern of facilitation was specific. First, facilitation of the T response was particularly evident at short C–T intervals of −1 to 1 ms. Second, this facilitation was only present in some muscles and during reach‐to‐grasp of a subset of objects; it did not appear to be simply related to the level of EMG activity in the muscles at the moment of cortical stimulation or indeed to the upcoming contribution of that muscle during grasp. At later C–T intervals (1–6 ms), F5 stimulation caused significant suppression of the test M1 response. The results are in keeping with the concept that during visually guided grasp, F5 modulates corticospinal outputs from M1 in a muscle‐ and grasp‐specific manner.
Role of endothelin receptor activation in secondary pulmonary hypertension in awake swine after myocardial infarction

We previously observed that pulmonary hypertension secondary to myocardial infarction (MI) in swine is characterized by elevated plasma endothelin (ET) levels and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Consequently, we tested the hypothesis that an increased ET‐mediated vasoconstrictor influence contributes to secondary pulmonary hypertension after MI and investigated the involvement of ETA and ETB receptor subtypes. Chronically instrumented swine with (MI swine; n= 25) or without (normal swine; n= 19) MI were studied at rest and during treadmill exercise (up to 4 km h−1), in the absence and presence of the ETA antagonist EMD 122946 or the mixed ETA/ETB antagonist tezosentan. In normal swine, exercise caused a small decrease in PVR. ETA blockade had no effect on PVR at rest or during exercise. Conversely, ETA/ETB blockade decreased PVR but only during exercise (at 4 km h−1, from 3.0 ± 0.1 to 2.3 ± 0.1 mmHg min l−1; P≤ 0.05). MI increased pulmonary arterial pressure and PVR both at rest and during exercise (both P≤ 0.05). The increased pulmonary arterial pressure correlated with the increased plasma ET levels in resting MI swine (r= 0.71; P≤ 0.01). Furthermore, the pulmonary vasoconstrictor response to ET‐1 infusion was enhanced after MI (P≤ 0.05). ETA/ETB blockade decreased PVR in MI swine from 3.6 ± 0.3 to 3.1 ± 0.5 mmHg min l−1 at rest and from 3.4 ± 0.3 to 2.4 ± 0.2 mmHg min l−1 during exercise at 4 km h−1 (both P≤ 0.05). This increased response to mixed ETA/ETB blockade in MI compared to normal swine appeared to be the result of an increased ETA‐mediated vasoconstriction, as ETA blockade decreased PVR in MI swine from 3.4 ± 0.4 to 2.8 ± 0.2 mmHg min l−1 at rest and from 3.1 ± 0.3 to 2.6 ± 0.2 mmHg min l−1 at 4 km h−1 (both P≤ 0.05). In conclusion, increased plasma ET levels together with increased pulmonary resistance vessel responsiveness to ET result in an exaggerated pulmonary vasoconstrictor influence of ET in swine with a recent MI. This vasoconstrictor influence is the result of an emergent tonic ETA‐mediated vasoconstriction in addition to the exercise‐induced ETB‐mediated vasoconstriction that is already present in normal swine.
Audio context recognition in variable mobile environments from short segments using speaker and language recognizers

The problem of context recognition from mobile audio data is considered. We consider ten different audio contexts (such as car, bus, office and outdoors) prevalent in daily life situations. We choose mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) parametrization and present an extensive comparison of six different classifiers: knearest neighbor (kNN), vector quantization (VQ), Gaussian mixture model trained with both maximum likelihood (GMM-ML) and maximum mutual information (GMM-MMI) criteria, GMM supervector support vector machine (GMM-SVM) and, finally, SVM with generalized linear discriminant sequence (GLDS-SVM). After all parameter optimizations, GMM-MMI and and VQ classifiers perform the best with 52.01 %, and 50.34 % context identification rates, respectively, using 3-second data records. Our analysis reveals further that none of the six classifiers is superior to each other when class-, useror phone-specific accuracies are considered.
Lessons Learned from Implementing Ad-hoc Multicast Routing in Sensor Networks

The mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) community has proposed a wide range of protocols for unicast and multicast routing through mobile wireless devices. Many of these protocols have been studied only under simulation using simplistic radio models, and do not consider issues such as bandwidth or memory limitations. In contrast, the sensor network community has demanded solutions that work on hardware with limited resources, with a focus on routing through stationary nodes to a single base station. Still, several emerging sensor network applications involve mobile nodes with communication patterns requiring any-to-any routing topologies. We should be able to build upon the MANET work to implement these systems. However, translating these protocols into real implementations on resource-constrained sensor nodes raises a number of challenges. In this paper, we present the lessons learned from implementing one such protocol, Adaptive Demand-Driven Multicast Routing (ADMR), on CC2420-based motes using the TinyOS operating system. ADMR was chosen because it supports multicast communication, a critical requirement for many pervasive and mobile applications. To our knowledge, ours is the ﬁrst non-simulated implementation of ADMR. Through extensive measurement on a 30-node sensor network testbed, we present the performance of TinyADMR under a wide range of conditions. We highlight the real-world impact of path selection metrics, radio asymmetry, protocol overhead, and limited routing table size.
Rosiglitazone Controls Fatty Acid Cycling in Human Adipose Tissue by Means of Glyceroneogenesis and Glycerol Phosphorylation*

Control of fatty acid homeostasis is crucial to prevent insulin resistance. During fasting, the plasma fatty acid level depends on triglyceride lipolysis and fatty acid re-esterification within fat cells. In rodents, Rosiglitazone® controls fatty acid homeostasis by stimulating two pathways in the adipocytes, glyceroneogenesis and glycerol phosphorylation, that provide the glycerol 3-phosphate necessary for fatty acid re-esterification. Here, we analyzed the functionality of both pathways for controlling fatty acid release in subcutaneous adipose tissue samples from lean and overweight women before and after Rosiglitazone® ex vivo treatment. In controls, pyruvate, used as a substrate of glyceroneogenesis, could contribute to the re-esterification of up to 65% of the fatty acids released after basal lipolysis, whereas glycerol phosphorylation accounted for only 14 ± 9%. However, the efficiency of glyceroneogenesis diminished as body mass index (BMI) of women increased. After Rosiglitazone treatment, increase of either pyruvate- or glycerol-dependent fatty acid re-esterification was strictly correlated to that of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glycerol kinase, the key enzymes of each pathway, but depended on BMI of the women. Whereas the Rosiglitazone® responsiveness of glyceroneogenesis was rather constant according to the BMI of the women, glycerol phosphorylation was mostly enhanced in lean women (BMI < 27). Overall, these data indicate that, whereas glyceroneogenesis is more utilized than glycerol phosphorylation for fatty acid re-esterification in human subcutaneous adipose tissue in the physiological situation, both are solicited in response to Rosiglitazone® but with lower efficiency when BMI is increased.
Recruitment for a hospital-based pragmatic clinical trial using volunteer nurses and students

Background/aims: Recruitment of subjects is critical to the success of any clinical trial, but achieving this goal can be a challenging endeavor. Volunteer nurse and student enrollers are potentially an important source of recruiters for hospital-based trials; however, little is known of either the efficacy or cost of these types of enrollers. We assessed volunteer clinical nurses and health science students in their rates of enrolling family members in a hospital-based, pragmatic clinical trial of cardiopulmonary resuscitation education, and their ability to achieve target recruitment goals. We hypothesized that students would have a higher enrollment rate and are more cost-effective compared to nurses. Methods: Volunteer nurses and student enrollers were recruited from eight institutions. Participating nurses were primarily bedside nurses or nurse educators while students were pre-medical, pre-nursing, and pre-health students at local universities. We recorded the frequency of enrollees recruited into the clinical trial by each enroller. Enrollers’ impressions of recruitment were assessed using mixed-methods surveys. Cost was estimated based on enrollment data. Overall enrollment data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations. Results: From February 2012 to November 2014, 260 hospital personnel (167 nurses and 93 students) enrolled 1493 cardiac patients’ family members, achieving target recruitment goals. Of those recruited, 822 (55%) were by nurses, while 671 (45%) were by students. Overall, students enrolled 5.44 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.88, 10.27) more subjects per month than nurses (p < 0.01). After consenting to participate in recruitment, students had a 2.85 (95% CI: 1.09, 7.43) increased chance of enrolling at least one family member (p = 0.03). Among those who enrolled at least one subject, nurses enrolled a mean of 0.51(95% CI: 0.42, 0.59) subjects monthly, while students enrolled 1.63 (95% CI: 1.37, 1.90) per month (p < 0.01). Of 198 surveyed hospital personnel (127 nurses, 71 students), 168/198 (85%) felt confident conducting enrollment. The variable cost per enrollee recruited was $25.38 per subject for nurses and $23.30 per subject for students. Conclusions: Overall, volunteer students enrolled more subjects per month at a lower cost than nurses. This work suggests that recruitment goals for a pragmatic clinical trial can be successfully obtained using both nurses and students.
Ubiquitin- and ATP-dependent unfoldase activity of P97/VCP•NPLOC4•UFD1L is enhanced by a mutation that causes multisystem proteinopathy

Significance The ATPase p97 plays an important cellular role by extracting proteins modified with ubiquitin (Ub) from membranes, chromatin, or protein complexes. However, the unstable and complicated nature of p97 substrates has hindered a detailed study of mechanism. To overcome these issues, we developed Ub-GFP as a fluorescent reporter of p97 activity. When Ub-GFP is conjugated with ubiquitin chains, p97 and its cofactor NPLOC4-UFD1L unfold it in an ATP-dependent manner, explicitly demonstrating that p97 is an unfoldase. We also show that a p97 mutation associated with multisystem proteinopathy has enhanced unfoldase activity, which suggests a novel approach to disease therapy. Our method opens the door for future studies of p97 mechanism that were until now not feasible. p97 is a “segregase” that plays a key role in numerous ubiquitin (Ub)-dependent pathways such as ER-associated degradation. It has been hypothesized that p97 extracts proteins from membranes or macromolecular complexes to enable their proteasomal degradation; however, the complex nature of p97 substrates has made it difficult to directly observe the fundamental basis for this activity. To address this issue, we developed a soluble p97 substrate—Ub-GFP modified with K48-linked ubiquitin chains—for in vitro p97 activity assays. We demonstrate that WT p97 can unfold proteins and that this activity is dependent on the p97 adaptor NPLOC4-UFD1L, ATP hydrolysis, and substrate ubiquitination, with branched chains providing maximal stimulation. Furthermore, we show that a p97 mutant that causes inclusion body myopathy, Paget’s disease of bone, and frontotemporal dementia in humans unfolds substrate faster, suggesting that excess activity may underlie pathogenesis. This work overcomes a significant barrier in the study of p97 and will allow the future dissection of p97 mechanism at a level of detail previously unattainable.