Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carrier dynamics and the role of surface defects: Designing a photocatalyst for gas-phase CO2 reduction

Significance In this work, we investigate the role of defects on the electronic and photocatalytic properties of In2O3-x(OH)y nanoparticles that have been shown to effectively reduce CO2 to CO via the reverse water–gas shift reaction under light. To understand how such defects affect photogenerated electrons and holes in these materials, we studied the relaxation dynamics of these nanoparticles with varying concentration of defects. This analysis showed that higher defect concentrations result in longer excited-state lifetimes, which are attributed to improved charge separation and correlate well with the observed trends in the photocatalytic activity. In2O3-x(OH)y nanoparticles have been shown to function as an effective gas-phase photocatalyst for the reduction of CO2 to CO via the reverse water–gas shift reaction. Their photocatalytic activity is strongly correlated to the number of oxygen vacancy and hydroxide defects present in the system. To better understand how such defects interact with photogenerated electrons and holes in these materials, we have studied the relaxation dynamics of In2O3-x(OH)y nanoparticles with varying concentration of defects using two different excitation energies corresponding to above-band-gap (318-nm) and near-band-gap (405-nm) excitations. Our results demonstrate that defects play a significant role in the excited-state, charge relaxation pathways. Higher defect concentrations result in longer excited-state lifetimes, which are attributed to improved charge separation. This correlates well with the observed trends in the photocatalytic activity. These results are further supported by density-functional theory calculations, which confirm the positions of oxygen vacancy and hydroxide defect states within the optical band gap of indium oxide. This enhanced understanding of the role these defects play in determining the optoelectronic properties and charge carrier dynamics can provide valuable insight toward the rational development of more efficient photocatalytic materials for CO2 reduction.
Multiple category verbal fluency in mild cognitive impairment and correlation with CSF biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease

ABSTRACT Background: Verbal fluency (VF) tasks are widely used in neuropsychological evaluations, as a measure of executive/semantic dysfunction. The revised criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis (National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer Association, 2011) incorporating biomarkers has increased the interest in finding algorithms that combine neuropsychological and biomarkers features to better predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD. Our aim was to compare the most frequently used VF categories to determine which best discriminated cognitively healthy elderly from MCI patients, and whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers levels (Aβ42, P-tau, T-tau, and Aβ42/P-tau) correlated with patient's performance in MCI. Methods: We studied 37 cognitively healthy elderly and 30 MCI patients in five VF tasks (animal, fruits, means of transportation, FAS-COWA, and verbs); 23 controls and 19 MCI patients had their CSF biomarkers for AD determined. Results: MCI group performed worse than controls in all VF tasks (p < 0.0001). The cut-off scores were: 14 (animals) (AUC = 0.794), 12 (fruits and means of transportation) (AUC = 0.740 and 0.719, respectively), 41 (FAS) (AUC = 0.744), and 11 (verbs) (AUC = 0.700). The model “animal plus FAS-COWA” was the best to discriminate both groups (AUC = 0.833) (all p < 0.05). MCI produced fewer words than controls in the second-half of the task for all categories (p < 0.001). T-tau levels were negatively correlated to animal fluency (r = −0.485, p = 0.035), and showed a trend for negative correlation with fruits fluency (r = −0.4429, p = 0.057). Conclusions: Animal fluency alone and combined to FAS-COWA was slightly superior in discriminating controls from MCI (p < 0.001), and correlated to T-tau levels.
Reliability and validity of a modified 3-minute all-out swimming test in elite swimmers

Abstract Critical speed (CS) testing is useful in monitoring training in swimmers, however, completing a series of time trials (TTs) regularly is time-consuming. The 3-minute test may be a solution with positive initial findings. This investigation examined whether a modified 3-minute test (12 × 25 m) could assess CS and supra-CS distance capacity (D’) in swimmers. A series of 12 × 25 m intervals were completed unpaced at maximal effort, interspersed with 5 s rest periods. The model speed = a eb t + c was fitted to the data and integrated to calculate D’. The slowest two of the last four efforts were averaged to calculate CS. To assess reliability, 15 highly trained swimmers (9 females, 6 males) completed the 12 × 25 m twice within 72 h. Four measures were deemed reliable: peak velocity (0.01 m s−1; 0.5%, typical error and % coefficient of variation), CS (0.02 m s−1; 1.2%), D’ (1.22 m; 5.7%) and drop off % (0.70% points; 4.5%). To assess criterion validity, 21 swimmers (9 from reliability, 12 other) completed two competition races within 2 weeks of a 12 × 25 m in the same stroke. Traditional CS and D’ measures were calculated from competition performances (TT method). TT CS and 12 × 25 m CS were highly correlated (adj. R2 = 0.92, p < .001). D’ values were moderately correlated (adj. R2 = 0.60, p < .01). Two TTs may have been too few to estimate D’ accurately. The 12 × 25 m all-out swimming test is a reliable method for assessing CS and D’ in swimmers, however, the validity of D’ requires further investigation.
Mobility Modeling and Prediction in Bike-Sharing Systems

As an innovative mobility strategy, public bike-sharing has grown dramatically worldwide. Though providing convenient, low-cost and environmental-friendly transportation, the unique features of bike-sharing systems give rise to problems to both users and operators. The primary issue among these problems is the uneven distribution of bicycles caused by the ever-changing usage and (available) supply. This bicycle imbalance issue necessitates efficient bike re-balancing strategies, which depends highly on bicycle mobility modeling and prediction. In this paper, for the first time, we propose a spatio-temporal bicycle mobility model based on historical bike-sharing data, and devise a traffic prediction mechanism on a per-station basis with sub-hour granularity. We extensively evaluated the performance of our design through a one-year dataset from the world's largest public bike-sharing system (BSS) with more than 2800 stations and over 103 million check in/out records. Evaluation results show an 85 percentile relative error of 0.6 for both check in and check out prediction. We believe this new mobility modeling and prediction approach can advance the bike re-balancing algorithm design and pave the way for the rapid deployment and adoption of bike-sharing systems across the globe.
Effects of Selenylation Modification on Immune-Enhancing Activity of Garlic Polysaccharide

The garlic polysaccharide was modified by HNO3-Na2SeO3 method according to orthogonal design L9(34) to obtain nine selenizing garlic polysaccharides, sGPS1-sGPS9. Their effects on chicken peripheral lymphocytes proliferation in vitro were compared by MTT assay. The results showed that sGPSs could significantly promote lymphocytes proliferation, sGPS3, sGPS5 and sGPS6 presented stronger efficacy. In vivo experiment, 14-day-old chickens were injected respectively with sGPS3, sGPS5 and sGPS6 when they were vaccinated with ND vaccine taking unmodified GPS as control. The results showed that three sGPSs could significantly promote lymphocyte proliferation, enhance serum antibody titer, IFN-γ and IL-2 contents. These results indicated that selenylation modification could significantly enhance the immune-enhancing activity of GPS, sGPS6 possessed the best efficacy and could be as a candidate drug of immunoenhancer. Its optimal modification conditions were 400 mg of sodium selenite for 500 mg of GPS, reaction temperature of 70°C and reaction time of 6 h.
The rheological and fracture properties of Gouda cheese

The rheological and fracture behaviour of Gouda cheese was studied. Methods for determining these properties of visco-elastic materials are described. Application of the theory of fracture mechanics, after modification and expansion, to visco-elastic materials with a low or no yield stress is discussed. For such materials, of which Gouda cheese is an example, the flow properties greatly affect the fracture behaviour. From the effect of variation in composition (fat, water, NaCl and Ca content, pH) and maturation on the behaviour of Gouda cheese, it may be concluded that this cheese may be considered as a composite material. Fat particles act as a filler in a swollen protein matrix. The amount of fat and the rigidity of the fat particles affect the rigidity of the cheese. Factors like pH, water and NaCl content, that change the properties of the protein matrix, clearly affect the -rheological and fracture behaviour, e.g. the rigidity and the shortness, of the cheese. The trends of these changes on the protein matrix are similar to those on rennet and acid skimmilk gels under various conditions . As an example of the importance of the experimental results for cheese manufacturing, the relation between the pH of cheese and eye or slit formation was studied.
NANOPILLAR CHIPS ARRANGED IN TILTED ARRAY PATTERN FOR FAST SEPARATION OF DNA AND PROTEINS

In this paper, EOF mesurement and biomolecular separation (21-340 kDa in proteins, 1-48.5 kbp in DNA) were carefully studied by using nanopillar chips arranged in tilted array pattern with 100-nm spacing. We revealed that the nanopillar chips had an intrinstic function to suppress electro-osmotic flow (EOF), and as a result, DNA and SDS-protein complexes could be separated without any sieving matrices and surface coatings.
Use of Acidified Litter for Broiler Production in Winter Season

This experiment was conducted to compare the effect of litter amendments by using acidifier on growth performance, carcass characteristics and welfare of commercial broiler chicks along with its economical implication during winter season (December-January months). A total of 180, day-old (Vencobb) broiler chicks were equally and randomly assigned to two litter abatements with alum and sodium bisulphate (ATL and SBTL) treatment groups along with one Control group of 60 birds each for 6 weeks. All the chicks were reared under identical managemental conditions except the treatments. The result revealed that, average body weight gain was significantly (p<0.05) highest in SBTL group (1860g) followed closely by ATL (1813g) than the Control group (1770g) at end of 6th week. The growing chicks significantly gained more body weight with better FCR, PER, EER and higher carcass yield with better immunity in the same order of succession. Findings proved that the pH of the acidified treated litter and the control litter had significant difference which clearly reveals the efficiency of litter treatment products to improve the quality of litter thus in turn enhances the productivity and welfare in broiler production.
Development of the submerged heat treatment machine for PBSAT(polybutylene succinate adipate-co-terephthalate) monofilament nets and its efficiency

The heat treatment machine based on immersion was developed to reduce temperature difference during netting process and appraised it performance compared current heat treatment machine using high pressure. It was also reviewed the optimum heat treatment procedures for PBSAT monofilament net in accordance with the immersion time and temperature. The procedure was based on physical measurement such as breaking load, elongation and angle of the mesh for PBSAT monofilament. The water temperature gap of the treatment machine based on immersion was less than . and the energy consumption was also increased in high temperature condition. It was identified that the optimum temperature was and its optimum processing time was between 15 minutes and 20 minutes to get qualified physical properties.
Functional Cortical Network in Alpha Band Correlates with Social Bargaining

Solving demanding tasks requires fast and flexible coordination among different brain areas. Everyday examples of this are the social dilemmas in which goals tend to clash, requiring one to weigh alternative courses of action in limited time. In spite of this fact, there are few studies that directly address the dynamics of flexible brain network integration during social interaction. To study the preceding, we carried out EEG recordings while subjects played a repeated version of the Ultimatum Game in both human (social) and computer (non-social) conditions. We found phase synchrony (inter-site-phase-clustering) modulation in alpha band that was specific to the human condition and independent of power modulation. The strength and patterns of the inter-site-phase-clustering of the cortical networks were also modulated, and these modulations were mainly in frontal and parietal regions. Moreover, changes in the individuals’ alpha network structure correlated with the risk of the offers made only in social conditions. This correlation was independent of changes in power and inter-site-phase-clustering strength. Our results indicate that, when subjects believe they are participating in a social interaction, a specific modulation of functional cortical networks in alpha band takes place, suggesting that phase synchrony of alpha oscillations could serve as a mechanism by which different brain areas flexibly interact in order to adapt ongoing behavior in socially demanding contexts.
Effect of Microwaves on the Rabbit Eye

AbstractExperiments are described in which the eyes of anesthetized rabbits were exposed at discrete frequencies in the range of 8 – 6.3 GHz. One eye of each animal was irradiated once, and the subsequent effects observed with specific emphasis on lens injuries. This work, done over a five-year period, gives results that compare the cataractogenic thresholds of CW and pulsed power at 5.5 GHz, determine the threshold ocular response to 0.8 GHz, and suggest how lens injury depends on the frequency of microwave power entering the eye. A simple coaxial adaptor that provided a means of achieving broadband exposures is described. In addition, similar work, done at 70 GHz with CW power, suggests the nature of the response of the eye to millimeter wave radiation.
Diagnostic Tests in Pediatric Constipation

ABSTRACT Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms in children. With a median reported prevalence of 12%, it accounts for about 25% of all pediatric gastroenterology consultations. The majority of children experiences functional constipation and do not usually require any diagnostic testing. For those children not responding to conventional medical treatment or in the presence of a more significant clinical picture, however, an accurate instrumental assessment is usually recommended to evaluate either the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms or a possible organic etiology. The present review analyzes the possible diagnostic investigations for severely constipated children, focusing on their actual indications and their utility in clinical practice. During the last decade, there has been a remarkable increase in our knowledge of normal and abnormal colonic and anorectal motility in children, and a number of different techniques to measure transit and motility have been developed and are discussed in this narrative review.
Capecitabine and lapatinib for the first‐line treatment of metastatic/recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The combination of cisplatin, 5‐fluorouracil, and cetuximab is a standard treatment for patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer, with a high rate of toxicity. Identifying less toxic, equally effective regimens is imperative. Therefore, in the current study, the authors investigated first‐line treatment with an all‐oral regimen of capecitabine and lapatinib.
The Dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum Responds to N Depletion by a Polarized Deposition of Starch and Lipid Bodies

Dinoflagellates are important contributors to the marine phytoplankton and global carbon fixation, but are also infamous for their ability to form the spectacular harmful algal blooms called red tides. While blooms are often associated with high available nitrogen, there are instances where they are observed in oligotrophic environments. In order to maintain their massive population in conditions of nitrogen limitation, dinoflagellates must have evolved efficient adaptive mechanisms. Here we report the physiological responses to nitrogen deprivation in Lingulodinium polyedrum. We find that this species reacts to nitrogen stress, as do most plants and microalgae, by stopping cell growth and diminishing levels of internal nitrogen, in particular in the form of protein and chlorophyll. Photosynthesis is maintained at high levels for roughly a week following nitrate depletion, resulting in accumulated photosynthetic products in the form of starch. During the second week, photosynthesis rates decrease due to a reduction in the number of chloroplasts and the accumulation of neutral lipid droplets. Surprisingly, the starch granules and lipid droplets are seen to accumulate at opposite poles of the cell. Lastly, we observe that cells acclimated to nitrogen-depleted conditions resume normal growth after addition of inorganic nitrogen, but are able to maintain high cell densities far longer than cells grown continuously in nitrogen-replete conditions.
Role of transarterial chemoembolization in relation with sorafenib for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Background Although sorafenib is considered standard therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), actual treatments vary. We evaluated the effects of different treatment strategies on overall survival. Methods A retrospective study of sorafenib-treated patients with advanced HCC was conducted. The primary outcome was overall survival. Prognostic factors were analyzed using multivariate Cox-proportional hazards model. Results A total of 658 patients (mean age, 54.5 years; 83.3% male) were analyzed; 293, 129, and 236 patients were treated with sorafenib, a combination therapy of sorafenib and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), and TACE followed by sorafenib, respectively. Overall, 51.2% of patients treated under the combination strategy had portal vein invasion, whereas 89.9% of patients receiving sorafenib monotherapy had distant metastasis. Median overall survival durations were comparable (11.8 months for sorafenib, 16.2 months for the combination therapy, and 13.5 months for TACE followed by sorafenib; P = 0.13). However, among portal vein invasion cases, combination (25.7 months, P = 0.002) and TACE followed by sorafenib (14.0 months, P = 0.030) treatments were associated with longer overall survival duration compared with than sorafenib monotherapy (5.5 months). In a multivariate model, sorafenib duration (hazard ratio [HR], 0.96, P < 0.001) and TACE (HR, 0.24, P < 0.001) along with Child-Pugh stage (HR, 1.83, P = 0.005) were associated with better survival. Conclusions In patients with portal vein invasion, TACE performed concurrently with or before sorafenib administration is associated with better survival.
High Thermoelectric Performance and Enhanced Mechanical Stability of p-type Ge1–xSbxTe

High thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, of ∼1.85 at 725 K along with significant cyclable temperature stability was achieved in Pb-free p-type Ge1–xSbxTe samples through simultaneous enhancement in Seebeck coefficient and reduction of thermal conductivity. Sb doping in GeTe decreases the carrier concentration due to the donor dopant nature of Sb and enhances the valence band degeneracy by increasing the cubic nature of the sample, which collectively boost Seebeck coefficient in the temperature range of 300–773 K. Significant thermal conductivity reduction was achieved due to collective phonon scattering from various meso-structured domain variants, twin and inversion boundaries, nanostructured defect layers, and solid solution point defects. The high performance Ge0.9Sb0. 1Te sample shows mechanical stability (Vickers microhardness) of ∼206 Hv, which is significantly higher compared to other popular thermoelectric materials such as Bi2Te3, PbTe, PbSe, Cu2Se, and TAGS.
Inflammation, but not recruitment, of adipose tissue macrophages requires signalling through Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) in diet-induced obesity (DIO)

Summary Cell accumulation is a prerequisite for adipose tissue inflammation. The leukocyte integrin Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18, αMβ2) is a classic adhesion receptor critically regulating inflammatory cell recruitment. Here, we tested the hypothesis that a genetic deficiency and a therapeutic modulation of Mac-1 regulate adipose tissue inflammation in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity (DIO). C57Bl6/J mice genetically deficient (Mac-1-/-) or competent for Mac-1 (WT) consumed a high fat diet for 20 weeks. Surprisingly, Mac-1-/- mice presented with increased diet-induced weight gain, decreased insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and in the liver in insulin-clamps, insulin secretion deficiency and elevated glucose levels in fasting animals, and dyslipidaemia. Unexpectedly, accumulation of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) was unaffected, while gene expression indicated less inflamed adipose tissue and macrophages in Mac-1-/- mice. In contrast, inflammatory gene expression at distant locations, such as in skeletal muscle, was not changed. Treatment of ATMs with an agonistic anti-Mac-1 antibody, M1/70, induced pro-inflammatory genes in cell culture. In vivo, treatment with M1/70 induced a hyper-inflammatory phenotype with increased expression of IL-6 and MCP-1, whereas accumulation of ATMs did not change. Finally, inhibition of Mac-1’s adhesive interaction to CD40L by the peptide inhibitor cM7 did not affect myeloid cell accumulation in adipose tissue. We present the surprising finding that adhesive properties of the leukocyte integrin Mac-1 are not required for macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue. Instead, Mac-1 modulates inflammatory gene expression in macrophages. These findings question the net effect of integrin blockade in cardio-metabolic disease. D. W. , N. B. , and D. E. equally contributed to this work. K. P., E. L. , and A. Z. share senior authorship. Note: The review process for this manuscript was fully handled by Gregory Y. H. Lip, Editor in Chief. Supplementary Material to this article is available online at www.thrombosis-online.com.