Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness, electrical resistivity and mechanical performance of carbonized medium density fiberboard

The effect of carbonization temperature on the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness, electrical resistivity, and mechanical performance of medium density fiberboards carbonized in a vacuum furnace under a gas flow of nitrogen (200 mL/min) between 400℃ and 1500℃ was investigated. The medium density fiberboards specimens carbonized below 700℃ showed stable and low electromagnetic interference values (1.3–7.6 dB) between 10 MHz and 1 GHz frequency. The electromagnetic interference (average 43.1 dB) of the MDF specimens carbonized at 800℃ were suitable for industrial applications. However, the MDF specimens carbonized above 900–1500℃ showed high electromagnetic interference values (66.8–84.6 dB). When the carbonization temperature increased from 600℃ to 700℃, the electrical resistivity of the specimens greatly decreased (180.9 × 103 to 137.5 Ω-cm). A further increment in the carbonization temperature (1200℃) had a small effect on the electrical resistivity (5.8 Ω-cm) of the specimens and no effect between 1300℃ (0.5 Ω-cm) and 1500℃ (0.5 Ω-cm). The carbonized specimens showed lower modulus of rupture and internal bond strength values than the untreated specimens but the differences between the strength values of the untreated specimens and the carbonized specimens decreased with increasing carbonization temperature. The modulus of elasticities of the specimens carbonized above 800℃ were higher than the untreated specimens.
User Acceptance in Different Electronic Negotiation Systems - A Comparative Approach

In line with the progress of artificial intelligence, electronic negotiation theory has developed a great variety of promising negotiation models. These models have been evaluated in several ways. Besides formal evaluation, which could prove a lot of optimality properties, some researchers have already examined the user acceptance of these models. However, there are no studies that compare different negotiation models under identical frame conditions. This paper thus aims at contributing to IS research by filling this gap. From the perspective of temporary employment job allocation, we prototyped a pure auction negotiation system, a semi-structured argumentation-based negotiation system, and a structured argumentation-based negotiation system and evaluated these systems regarding their user acceptance with an identical test setting (application domain, tasks, and laboratory setting). The results contribute to IS-research by systematically revealing specific acceptance characteristics and differences between the negotiation approaches regarding performance, effort and usage intention.
Concentrations of riboflavin and related organic acids in children with protein-energy malnutrition.

BACKGROUND Riboflavin, flavin mononucleotide (FMN), and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) concentrations have been little studied in cases of malnutrition. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to investigate the effects of malnutrition on riboflavin status and riboflavin's relation with thyroid hormones and concentrations of urinary organic acids. DESIGN Malnourished children from the savannah in Benin (group S, n = 30) and the coast in Togo (group C, n = 30), as well as 24 control subjects from both regions, were studied. Blood riboflavin, FMN, and FAD were analyzed by HPLC; urinary organic acids were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS Children in group S were more severely malnourished than children in group C. Triiodothyronine concentrations were lower in group S than in group C or the control group (1.12 +/- 0.24 compared with 1.74 +/- 0.18 and 2.92 +/- 0.19 nmol/L, respectively; P < 0.0001). Plasma riboflavin concentrations in group S were higher than those in group C or the control group (66.90 +/- 12.75 compared with 28.09 +/- 9.12 and 20.08 +/- 3.03 nmol/L, respectively; P < 0.001). Plasma FAD concentrations in group S were lower than those in group C or the control group (31.57 +/- 10.19 compared with 59.02 +/- 5.60 and 65.35 +/- 5.23 nmol/L, respectively; P < 0.0001). Dicarboxylic aciduria was higher in group C than in group S or the control subjects. CONCLUSIONS Children in group S had low triiodothyronine concentrations and low conversion of plasma riboflavin into its cofactors, leading to a plasma FAD deficiency. Plasma FAD was not correlated with urinary dicarboxylic acid concentrations.
Periodontal Evaluation of Erupted Through Grafted Cleft Defects Canines Alveolar

Two to eight years after receiving autogenous iliac crest grafts for treatment of alveolar cleft defects, eighteen patients who had unilateral cleft palate were evaluated for their periodontal status. When cleft-associated canines were compared with contralateral control canines, no statistically significant differences were found between specific surface values for plaque index, gingival index, or probing depths. Attachment loss was found to be greater (~0.72 mm) on the mesio-facial, facial, and mesiopalatal surfaces of the cleft-associated canines than on the control canines. Fifty-six per cent of the cleft-associated canines required surgical exposure and 44% also required orthodontic assistance to erupt to a functional occlusion, Osseous grafting of alveolar cleft defects resulted in satisfactory clinical periodontal support for cleft-associated canines.
Whole Stress-Strain Relationship of Cement Soil under Uniaxial Compression

To research on the mechanical properties of cement soil and be convenient to engineering application,cement soil were prepared by the typical silty soil and Portland cement which is widely distributed in the Yellow River irrigation located in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. A series of laboratory tests for the cement soil were carried out considering the factors such as cement mixing ratio( 5%,10%,15% and 20%) and curing age( 7 d,14 d,21 d,28 d,60 d and 90 d),and many of stressstrain relationship curves were obtained. Through analyzing by using the visualization curve fitted tools interface cftool in Matlab,a new type of stress-strain relationship nonlinear model was built,which was made of upward section and downward section,the upward section was fitted by logistic function,and the downward section was fitted by composite hyperbolic function. The result showed that this nonlinear model was simple and practical,fitted experimental data well,and better fitted than traditional nonlinear model.
Effects of intraduodenal glucose infusion on gastric myoelectrical activity and antropyloroduodenal motility.

Intraduodenal nutrient infusions cause an inhibition of antral motility and an increase in pyloric motility. The involvement of gastric myoelectrical activity in this intestinogastric feedback was studied. Electrogastrography and antropyloroduodenal manometry were performed in 10 healthy volunteers. The effects of 20-min infusions of 25% glucose (4 kcal/min) and saline were compared. Intraduodenal glucose infusions caused a decrease in the power of the dominant frequency in the electrogastrogram ( P = 0.028), but the frequency itself remained unchanged. The total number of dysrhythmias increased ( P = 0.035). An inhibition of antral motor activity ( P = 0.001), an increase in the number of isolated pyloric pressure waves ( P = 0.027), and an increase in basal pyloric tone ( P = 0.001) were simultaneously recorded. The change in power during glucose infusion correlated positively with the change in the antral motility index ( r s = 0.50, P = 0.001). It is concluded that inhibition of gastric myoelectrical activity is one of the mechanisms underlying an inhibition of motor activity in the gastric antrum.
Nonlinear waves in Hertzian granular chains: Effects of inertial and stiffness heterogeneities

A one-dimensional granular medium, a chain of beads which interact via the nonlinear Hertz potential, exhibits strongly nonlinear behaviors. When an alignment of grains further contains some heterogeneities (e.g. local modification of the inertia or of the stiffness), it exhibits even more complex behaviors. We report some recent experiments, analysis and numerical simulations concerning nonlinear propagation of pulses in such alignments. We consider first a monodisperse chain as a reference case. We then analyze how pulse modifies in heterogeneous configurations. We show that strongly nonlinear behaviors take place if a chain contains a single intruder or if it contains a sharp decrease of bead's size. Finally, we present recent results concerning a monodisperse chain in which additional fluid is set between grains.
Contribution of cytochrome P-450 4A1 and 4A2 to vascular 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid synthesis in rat kidneys.

20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (20-HETE), a biologically active cytochrome P-450 (CYP) metabolite of arachidonic acid in the rat kidney, can be catalyzed by CYP4A isoforms including CYP4A1, CYP4A2, and CYP4A3. To determine the contribution of CYP4A isoforms to renal 20-HETE synthesis, specific antisense oligonucleotides (ODNs) were developed, and their specificity was examined in vitro in Sf9 cells expressing CYP4A isoforms and in vivo in Sprague-Dawley rats. Administration of CYP4A2 antisense ODNs (167 nmol ⋅ kg body wt-1 ⋅ day-1iv for 5 days) decreased vascular 20-HETE synthesis by 48% with no effect on tubular synthesis, whereas administration of CYP4A1 antisense ODNs inhibited vascular and tubular 20-HETE synthesis by 52 and 40%, respectively. RT-PCR of microdissected renal microvessel RNA indicated the presence of CYP4A1, CYP4A2, and CYP4A3 mRNAs, and a CYP4A1-immunoreactive protein was detected by Western analysis of microvessel homogenates. Blood pressure measurements revealed a reduction of 17 ± 6 and 16 ± 4 mmHg in groups receiving CYP4A1 and CYP4A2 antisense ODNs, respectively. These studies implicate CYP4A1 as a major 20-HETE synthesizing activity in the rat kidney and further document the feasibility of using antisense ODNs to specifically inhibit 20-HETE synthesis and thereby investigate its role in the regulation of renal function and blood pressure.
Acetylcholine stimulates alveolar macrophages to release inflammatory cell chemotactic activity.

Neurological transmitters including ACh, substance P (SP), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) play an important role in regulating airway tone, and increased bronchial reactivity to cholinergic stimulation is a well-recognized phenomenon in patients with bronchial asthma. We postulated that ACh, SP, and CGRP might stimulate alveolar macrophages (AMs) to release neutrophil, monocyte, and eosinophil chemotactic activities. To test this hypothesis, bovine AMs were isolated by bronchoalveolar lavage and cultured. AMs released chemotactic activities in response to ACh in a dose- and time-dependent manner ( P < 0.05). However, SP and CGRP did not stimulate bovine AMs. Checkerboard analysis revealed that these released activities were predominantly chemotactic. Partial characterization and molecular-sieve column chromatography revealed that low-molecular-weight lipid-soluble activity was predominant. Lipoxygenase inhibitors significantly blocked the release of chemotactic activities ( P < 0.05). Leukotriene B4- and platelet-activating factor-receptor antagonists blocked the chemotactic activities. Immunoreactive leukotriene B4 significantly increased in supernatant fluids in response to ACh ( P < 0.05), but platelet-activating factor did not. The receptor responsible for the release of the chemotactic activities was the muscarinic M3 receptor. These data demonstrate that ACh stimulates AMs to release lipoxygenase-derived chemotactic activities and plays a role in inflammatory cell recruitment into the airway.
Local upregulation of colonic angiotensin II receptors enhances potassium excretion in chronic renal failure.

The role of angiotensin II (ANG II) in colonic secretion of K+ was examined in rats with chronic renal failure (CRF). The basal net secretory flux of86Rb+(as a tracer for K+) across the CRF distal colon (-0.20 ± 0.04 μeq ⋅ cm-2 ⋅ h-1) was reversed to an absorptive flux (0.35 ± 0.05 μeq ⋅ cm-2 ⋅ h-1) by injecting the rats with the AT1receptor antagonist, losartan. A similar result was observed when losartan was added to the CRF colonic tissue in vitro. In contrast, an AT2 receptor antagonist, PD-123319, did not reverse the CRF-induced alterations in Rb+ transport across the short-circuited colonic tissue. Plasma concentrations of ANG II, aldosterone, and K+, as well as the ANG II content of colonic tissues from CRF and normal rats, were similar. However, specific125I-labeled ANG II binding sites in rat distal colon increased twofold in CRF [maximal specific binding (Bmax) = 28.6 ± 1.6 fmol/mg protein] compared with normal (Bmax = 15.2 ± 0.4 fmol/mg protein). These studies suggest that CRF-induced secretion of K+ by the colon is mediated by an upregulation of AT1 receptors present in CRF.
Prediction of Static Recrystallisation after Extrusion of Shaped Aluminium Sections

Extrusions experience large deformations at discontinuities when they traverse the die land, leading to considerable modifications to the average deformation parameters when compared to the remainder of the extrusion. The distribution of structure is therefore greatly inhomogeneous. Reference to both empirical and physical models of the recrystallisation process indicate that nucleation and growth will differ at these locations in those alloys that are usually solution treated and aged subsequent to the deformation process. Since static recrystallisation has a significant influence on many of the properties of the extrudate, it is therefore essential to provide the methodology to predict these variations. In the work presented, a physical model based on dislocation density, subgrain size and misorientation is integrated into the commercial FEM codes, FORGE2® and FORGE3® to study the microstructure changes. Axi-symmetrical and shape extrusion are presented as examples. The evolution of the substructure influencing static recrystallisation is studied. The metallurgical behaviour of axi-symmetric extrusion and that of shape extrusion are compared. The predicted results show good agreement with experimental measurement. The distribution of equivalent strain, temperature compensated strain rate and temperatures are also presented to aid in interpretation.
HSP27 in signal transduction and association with contractile proteins in smooth muscle cells.

Sustained smooth muscle contraction is mediated by protein kinase C (PKC) through a signal transduction cascade leading to contraction. Heat-shock protein 27 (HSP27) appears to be the link between these two major events, i.e., signal transduction and sustained smooth muscle contraction. We have investigated the involvement of HSP27 in signal transduction and HSP27 association with contractile proteins (e.g., actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon) resulting in sustained smooth muscle contraction. We have carried out confocal microscopy to investigate the cellular reorganization and colocalization of proteins and immunoprecipitation of HSP27 with actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon as detected by sequential immunoblotting. Our results indicate that 1) translocation of Raf-1 to the membrane when stimulated with ceramide is inhibited by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a relaxant neuropeptide; 2) PKC-α and mitogen-activated protein kinase translocate and colocalize on the membrane in response to ceramide, and PKC-α translocation is inhibited by VIP; 3) HSP27 colocalizes with actin when contraction occurs; and 4) HSP27 immunoprecipitates with actin and with the contractile proteins myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon. We propose a model in which HSP27 is involved in sustained smooth muscle contraction and modulates the interaction of actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon.
Abnormal lipid concentrations in cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND Concentrations of cholesterol and triacylglycerol are commonly believed to be low in persons with cystic fibrosis and thus not of concern. OBJECTIVE The goal was to determine whether concentrations of cholesterol and triacylglycerol are related to glucose tolerance or nutritional status in patients with cystic fibrosis. DESIGN Fasting lipid profiles were measured in 192 patients ( +/- SD age: 21 +/- 11 y) in conjunction with an oral-glucose-tolerance test. RESULTS Cystic fibrosis patients in all age groups had higher triacylglycerol (1.51 +/- 0.95 mmol/L) and lower cholesterol (3.57 +/- 0.96 mmol/L) concentrations than US population means. Thirty patients (16%) had hypertriglyceridemia (3.22 +/- 1.22 mmol/L), and 8 patients (4%) had elevated cholesterol (6.05 +/- 1.32 mmol/L). In most cases, hypertriglyceridemia was isolated; only 3 subjects had elevation of both cholesterol and triacylglycerol. Lipid concentrations were not related to body mass index, weight, glucose tolerance, the areas under the curve for glucose or insulin, or glycated hemoglobin. Lipid concentrations also did not correlate with cystic fibrosis genotype, use of systemic steroids, blood pressure, liver enzymes, C-reactive protein, or pulmonary function. CONCLUSIONS Isolated hypertriglyceridemia appears to be common in cystic fibrosis, whereas cholesterol concentrations are generally low. Hypertriglyceridemia may be related to chronic low-grade inflammation or to a dietary macronutrient imbalance with excessive simple carbohydrate absorption relative to fat absorption. Whether it is associated with a risk of cardiovascular disease in this population is uncertain, but the clinical significance of triacylglycerol elevation may become important as survival improves.
Plasma free amino acid concentrations in healthy Guatemalan adults and in patients with classic dengue.

BACKGROUND Plasma free amino acid patterns in health and disease have been reported. However, amino acid concentrations in adult populations in developing countries and in patients with dengue, as a model for an acute infectious viral disease endemic to the tropics, have not been reported. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the amino acid profile in both healthy Guatemalan adults from different socioeconomic backgrounds and at 3 time points during the course of classic dengue. DESIGN The study was carried out in Guatemala and included measurement of plasma free amino acids in 22 healthy control subjects (14 low income, 8 middle class) and 17 febrile patients. Measurements of amino acids were repeated within a 48-h interval in 20 of the healthy Guatemalans. In 9 patients with dengue, amino acids were assayed 3 times: on admission to a local hospital in the coastal plain of Guatemala, on hospital discharge, and 7 d after hospital discharge. RESULTS Branched-chain amino acid concentrations in healthy adults and dengue patients in Guatemala were lower than normal values reported in the literature for healthy Swedish adults. With the exception of increased phenylalanine concentrations and an increased ratio of phenylalanine to tyrosine, all amino acids as well as the Fischer molar ratio were decreased in the acute phase of dengue. CONCLUSIONS Healthy Guatemalans have different amino acid patterns than do Swedish subjects independent of socioeconomic status. The systemic viral disease dengue is associated with changes in the plasma free amino acid pattern, reflecting infection-related alterations in amino acid metabolism.
Spiraling contaminant electrons increase doses to surfaces outside the photon beam of an MRI-linac with a perpendicular magnetic field

The transverse magnetic field of an MRI-linac sweeps contaminant electrons away from the radiation beam. Films oriented perpendicular to the magnetic field and 5 cm from the radiation beam edge show a projection of the divergent beam, indicating that contaminant electrons spiral along magnetic field lines and deposit dose on surfaces outside the primary beam perpendicular to the magnetic field. These spiraling contaminant electrons (SCE) could increase skin doses to protruding regions of the patient along the cranio-caudal axis. This study investigated doses from SCE for an MRI-linac comprising a 7 MV linac and a 1.5 T MRI scanner. Surface doses to films perpendicular to the magnetic field and 5 cm from the radiation beam edge showed increased dose within the projection of the primary beam, whereas films parallel to the magnetic field and 5 cm from the beam edge showed no region of increased dose. However, the dose from contaminant electrons is absorbed within a few millimeters. For large fields, the SCE dose is within the same order of magnitude as doses from scattered and leakage photons. Doses for both SCE and scattered photons decrease rapidly with decreasing beam size and increasing distance from the beam edge.
Comparative molecular profiling of HPV‐induced squamous cell carcinomas

Approximately 5% of all cancer incidences result from human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV infection most commonly leads to cancers of the anogenital region or oropharynx. It is unknown whether different HPV‐mediated cancers collectively share a molecular signature and it is important to determine if there are targetable alterations common to different types of HPV‐positive tumors. We analyzed 743 p53 wild‐type samples of anal, cervical, oropharyngeal, and vulvar squamous cell carcinomas which underwent multiplatform testing at a commercial molecular profiling service. Expression of 24 proteins was measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC), mutation of 48 genes was determined by next‐generation and Sanger sequencing, and copy number alteration for six genes was determined by in situ hybridization. The four cohorts had remarkably similar molecular profiles. No gene had a statistically significant difference in mutation frequency or copy number change between the four different types of squamous cell carcinomas. The only significant differences between cohorts were frequency of ERCC1 and SPARC loss as determined by IHC. In all four cancer types, oncogene mutation and PD‐L1 expression was relatively infrequent. The most commonly mutated gene was PIK3CA, with mutations most often affecting the helical domain of the protein and accompanied by concurrent lack of PTEN expression. Loss of MGMT and RRM1 was common among the four cohorts and may be predictive of response to cytotoxic therapies not currently being used to treat these cancer types. The similar molecular profiles of the four cohorts indicate that treatment strategies may be similarly efficacious across HPV‐positive cancers.