Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Additives Interaction on the Miscibility and Crystal Structure of Two Immiscible Biodegradable Polymers

Poly lactic acid (PLLA) is a promising biopolymer, obtained from polymerization of lactic acid that is derived from renewable resources through fermentation. The characteristic brittleness of PLLA is attributed to slow crystallization rates, which results in the formation of the large spherulites. Its glass temperature is relative high, above room temperature and close to 60 oC, and therefore its applications are limited. The additives poly((R)-3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and tributyl citrate (TBC) were used as compatibilizers in the biodegradable polymer blend of (PLLA/PPC). Results from DSC and POM analysis indicated that the blends of PLLA and PPC are immiscible. However, the blends with additives are miscible. TBC as plasticizer was added to PLLA to reduce its Tg. PVAc was used as compatibilizer to improve the miscibility between PLLA and PPC. FT-IR showed about 7 cm-1 shift in the C=O peak in miscible blends due to physical interactions. POM experiments together with the results of DSC and WAXD showed that PHB enhances the crystallization behavior of PLLA by acting as bio nuclei and the crystallization process can occur more quickly. Consequently an increase was observed in the peak intensity in WAXD.
Long Period Grating in hollow core fibers: Fabrication and characterization

We report on the fabrication of Long Period Gratings (LPGs) in hollow-core air-silica photonic bandgap fibers by using pressure assisted Electrode Arc Discharge (EAD) technique. In particular, the fabrication procedure relies on the combined use of EAD step, to locally heat the HC fiber, and of a static pressure slightly higher than the external one inside the fiber holes, to modify the holes. This procedure permits to preserve the holey structure of the host fiber avoiding any hole collapsing and it enables a local effective refractive index change due to the size and shape modifications of core and cladding holes. Periodically repeated EAD treatments permit the fabrication of LPGs based devices in hollow core optical fibers enabling new functionalities hitherto not possible. Here, the experimental fabrication of LPG prototypes with different periods and lengths are discussed. And, the HC-LPGs sensitivity to environmental parameters such as strain and temperature are investigated.
Endotoxins in baled cottons and airborne dusts in textile mills in the People's Republic of China

Bulk cotton samples and airborne vertical elutriated cotton dusts were obtained from textile mills in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Analysis of endotoxin contents revealed that baled cottons which were grown in different countries varied in endotoxin contamination. The two textile mills, which operated at similar overall airborne dust levels, differed markedly in the levels of airborne endotoxins. The data suggest that the biological activity or "toxicity" of airborne cotton dusts may not be correlated directly with gravimetric dust levels.
Should we expand the concept of coronary heart disease equivalents?

Purpose of review This narrative review discusses the associations between metabolic and inflammatory diseases, as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy with coronary heart disease (CHD) and related risk factors, to support (or not) their potential role as CHD equivalents. Recent findings Although not regarded as CHD equivalents, several metabolic and inflammatory disorders are associated with an increased risk of CHD morbidity and/or mortality. These conditions include metabolic syndrome, impaired glucose metabolism, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, erectile dysfunction, periodontitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, systemic vasculitis and HIV infection, as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Summary More research should be carried out to identify which conditions can be added to the list of CHD equivalents.
Pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusions: a survey of physicians in South and Central America.

OBJECTIVE Pleurodesis is an effective alternative for the control of malignant pleural effusions. However, there is as yet no consensus regarding the indications for the procedure and the techniques employed therein. The objective of this study was to evaluate how pleurodesis is performed in South and Central America. METHODS Professionals who perform pleurodesis completed a questionnaire regarding the indications for the procedure, the techniques used therein, and the outcomes obtained. RESULTS Our sample comprised 147 respondents in Brazil, 49 in other South American countries, and 36 in Central America. More than 50% of the respondents reported performing pleurodesis only if pleural malignancy had been confirmed. However, scores on dyspnea and performance status scales were rarely used as indications for the procedure. Nearly 75% of the respondents in Brazil and in Central America preferred to perform pleurodesis only for recurrent effusions and stated that lung expansion should be 90-100%. Talc slurry, instilled via medium-sized chest tubes, was the agent most often employed. Thoracoscopy was performed in less than 25% of cases. Fever and chest pain were the most common side effects, and empyema occurred in < 14% of cases. The mean survival time after the procedure was most often reported to be 6-12 months. CONCLUSIONS There was considerable variation among the countries evaluated in terms of the indications for pleurodesis, techniques used, and outcomes. Talc slurry is the agent most commonly used, and thoracoscopy is the technique of choice in Brazil. Pleurodesis is an effective procedure that has few side effects, as evidenced by the low complication rates and high survival times.
The Chemistry and Pharmacology of Citrus Limonoids

Citrus limonoids (CLs) are a group of highly oxygenated terpenoid secondary metabolites found mostly in the seeds, fruits and peel tissues of citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges, pumellos, grapefruits, bergamots, and mandarins. Represented by limonin, the aglycones and glycosides of CLs have shown to display numerous pharmacological activities including anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic and insecticidal among others. In this review, the chemistry and pharmacology of CLs are systematically scrutinised through the use of medicinal chemistry tools and structure-activity relationship approach. Synthetic derivatives and other structurally-related limonoids from other sources are include in the analysis. With the focus on literature in the past decade, the chemical classification of CLs, their physico-chemical properties as drugs, their biosynthesis and enzymatic modifications, possible ways of enhancing their biological activities through structural modifications, their ligand efficiency metrics and systematic graphical radar plot analysis to assess their developability as drugs are among those discussed in detail.
Craving-Induced EEG Reactivity in Smokers: Effects of Mood Induction, Nicotine Dependence and Gender

Background/Aims: Cigarette craving is a core symptom of smoking withdrawal, which is more intense and more frequently observed in smokers with depressed mood. Using self-reports and electroencephalographic (EEG) indices of frontal hemispheric asymmetry, which has been shown to be sensitive to mood states, the purpose of this study was to investigate the neural basis of cue-elicited cigarette craving, its variation with experimentally induced depressed mood, and with differences in gender and smoker type. Methods: Cigarette-cue reactivity was examined in 11 (5 male) regular and 11 (6 male) light smokers in two sessions involving the induction of neutral or depressed mood. Results: Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry changes reflecting left frontal hypoactivation were evident with cigarette-cue exposure, particularly in female smokers. During cigarette-cue exposure, EEG evidenced both decreases and increases in brain state activation, with the latter activational increments also being influenced by depressed mood. Exposure to the cigarette cue, in addition to increasing withdrawal symptoms, increased cravings and negative affect, these latter effects being more evident in female and regular smokers. Conclusion: These findings, which appear to provide a physiological basis for ‘withdrawal-like’ negative affective experiences during craving, are discussed in relation to theories of drug reinforcement and smoking motivation.
Clodronate changes neurobiological effects of pulsed magnetic field on diabetic rats with peripheral neuropathy

Several studies have reported that pulsed magnetic fields (PMFs) can be a choice of therapy for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. However, the exact underlying mechanism of PMF is still not known. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to investigate the effects of clodronate encapsulated with liposome, a specific agent depleting macrophage, on PMF-treated streptozotocin-induced type I diabetic rats with peripheral neuropathy. Effects of PMF, liposome-encapsulated clodronate (LEC) or their combined treatments were investigated in diabetic rats by measuring the thermal latencies, mechanical thresholds, whole blood glucose levels, serum insulin level, and body mass. In diabetic rats, PMF exhibited a decrease in the blood glucose levels but did not change the serum insulin level. Both mechanical thresholds and thermal latencies of diabetic rats enhanced throughout the PMF treatment. During the PMF treatment, the administration of LEC suppressed the PMF-induced decrease in blood glucose level, PMF-induced increase in mechanical threshold and thermal latencies in diabetic animals. In addition, PMF reduced the LEC-induced increase in insulin levels of diabetic rats. Findings demonstrated that although effects of both PMF alone and LEC alone on diabetic animals are mostly positive, LEC may remove the therapeutic efficacies of PMF in combined treatment.
Filing, Piling & Structuring: Strategies for Personal Document Management

Personal digital document management describes the activities performed by an individual in creating, acquiring, organizing and maintaining collections of their documents. The abundance of digital information that knowledge workers today must manage means that providing useful and usable tools to organize and handle this complexity is more important than ever. In order to better understand the differing approaches people take to document management, a study was conducted involving a combination of in-depth interviews and a survey. Qualitative analysis of the data from the interviews and quantitative analysis of the data from 72 survey participants were used together to develop a description of three major approaches to personal document management: a piling strategy, a filing strategy and a structuring strategy. Understanding of these three strategies can be used to inform the development of better tools to support document management.
Effects of Seasonality on Brain Size Evolution: Evidence from Strepsirrhine Primates

Seasonal changes in energy supply impose energetic constraints that affect many physiological and behavioral characteristics of organisms. As brains are costly, we predict brain size to be relatively small in species that experience a higher degree of seasonality (expensive brain framework). Alternatively, it has been argued that larger brains give animals the behavioral flexibility to buffer the effects of habitat seasonality (cognitive buffer hypothesis). Here, we test these two hypotheses in a comparative study on strepsirrhine primates (African lorises and Malagasy lemurs) that experience widely varying degrees of seasonality. We found that experienced seasonality is negatively correlated with relative brain size in both groups, controlling for the effect of phylogenetic relationships and possible confounding variables such as the extent of folivory. However, relatively larger‐brained lemur species tend to experience less variation in their dietary intake than indicated by the seasonality of their habitat. In conclusion, we found clear support for the hypothesis that seasonality restricts brain size in strepsirrhines as predicted by the expensive brain framework and weak support for the cognitive buffer hypothesis in lemurs.
Comparative Study of Bowel Anastomosis-Hand Sewn Versus Stapler

Background:Bowel anastomosis are common procedures in both elective as well as emergency GI surgeries.The anastomotic technique selected depends upon site of anastomosis, bowel calibre, bowel quality and underlying disease process. Important factor in the decision to perform anastomosis however remains individual surgical experience and preference. The theory behind creating a safe, healthy bowel anastomosis remains constant, irrespective of the technique chosen. Aims And Objective:To compare hand suturing with surgical stapling in a comparative study in patients undergoing elective gastrointestinal surgeries Materials And Methods: A minimum of 70 cases (35 in each group) which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this hospital based comparative study. Results: There was no difference in appearance of bowel sounds or resumption of oral feeds, anastomotic leak rates and other complications in both hand sewn and stapler group. There was significant difference in total mean operating time and anastomosis time in the stapler group. There was no mortality in either group. Conclusion:Stapling technique can significantly reduce the time for the anastomotic procedure. With reduced operating time there is less tissue trauma due to less tissue handling. Due to the shortened total operating time staplers may be advantageous in patients whose general condition is poor and who would not tolerate prolonged anesthesia There is no doubt, however, that stapling techniques are quicker to perform, particularly in situations where access is difficult such as in low colorectal anastomosis. The only drawback being the added cost for staplers.
Characterisation of PD occurring in injected air bubbles in block polymeric insulation

Gas filled cavities in solid insulation can form during production and are likely to have initial spherical or ellipsoidal geometry; as degradation takes place the shape will distort. Due to the difficulties of producing spherical and ellipsoidal cavity shapes most previous partial discharge (PD) measurements, in polymeric insulations, have used a layered polymer sandwich approach to create flat cylindrical voids. A series of experiments is carried out on air bubble voids inside block polymeric insulation. This paper will investigate and compare the PD repetition rate, PD magnitude, PD distribution plots and the total charge injection in each void for samples with varying sizes of the air bubble. The PD characteristics recorded from these air bubble arrangements will also be compared to those obtained from layered polymer models of similar dimensions. Comparison of the natural and layered void results will provide information on validity of sample production methods.
Vixen Resistin’

In recent years, scholarship on Black womanhood has become more closely connected to postmodern discourses on identity and resistance, following in the footsteps of Audre Lorde’s claim that identity and sexuality have emancipatory potential. However, in the post-hip-hop era, feminists and media critics have once again brought up the idea of who controls the image. The purpose of this study is to describe possible sites of self-definition by Black women in music videos while accounting for the cultural industries that reproduce and exploit Black women’s sexuality. Using textual analysis and the perspective of a noted music video performer, Melyssa Ford, this study articulates the expanse of ambiguity that lies between the images of Black womanhood that bombard consumers of BET and MTV and the selfconceptualization of the women who play those roles.
Starch granule initiation is controlled by a heteromultimeric isoamylase in potato tubers

Starch granule initiation is not understood, but recent evidence implicates a starch debranching enzyme, isoamylase, in the control of this process. Potato tubers contain isoamylase activity attributable to a heteromultimeric protein containing Stisa1 and Stisa2, the products of two of the three isoamylase genes of potato. To discover whether this enzyme is involved in starch granule initiation, activity was reduced by expression of antisense RNA for Stisa1 or Stisa2. Transgenic tubers accumulated a small amount of a soluble glucan, similar in structure to the phytoglycogen of cereal, Arabidopsis, and Chlamydomonas mutants lacking isoamylase. The major effect, however, was on the number of starch granules. Transgenic tubers accumulated large numbers of tiny granules not seen in normal tubers. These data indicate that the heteromultimeric isoamylase functions during starch synthesis to suppress the initiation of glucan molecules in the plastid stroma that would otherwise crystallize to nucleate new starch granules.
Correlation between atherogenic risk and adiponectin in gestational diabetes mellitus.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a pregnancy complication which increases the risk for maternal and foetal complications during pregnancy, and also significantly increases the cardiovascular risk for women's health in the postpartum. Current literature provides contradictory information on the role of adiponectin (AdipoQ) in the course of GDM. The aim of the study was to measure AdipoQ concentration in blood of women with GDM and to find correlations between this adipokine and clinical and biochemical parameters of the atherogenic risk. MATERIAL AND METHODS The GDM group included 50 women diagnosed with GDM between 24 - 28 weeks of gestation who underwent routine prenatal tests for GDM in compliance with the guidelines of the Polish Diabetes Association. All patients underwent clinical and laboratory evaluation at GDM diagnosis. Laboratory tests included serum AdipoQ concentration, fasting glucose and insulin, OGTT, lipid parameters, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen in serum. RESULTS The GDM group showed significantly elevated fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR values, total cholesterol, LDLcholesterol and triglicerydes as compared with the control group (p<0.05). The atherogenic index, CRP, fibrinogen in women with GDM were significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.05). AdipoQ concentrations did not differ significantly between the groups during gestation (p=0.7054). No correlations, except with the neonatal weight (r= - 0.29, p<0.05), were found between AdipoQ and the studied parameters. CONCLUSIONS Based on the conducted studies, it may be conclude that women with early diagnosed and promptly treated GDM have a normal adiponectin level, although insulin resistant changes and increased cardiovascular risk in basic metabolic parameters are observed. Moreover, adiponectin does not reflect the atherogenic risk in pregnant women with GDM.
Connectivity Strength of Dissociable Striatal Tracts Predict Individual Differences in Temporal Discounting

Large individual differences exist in the ability to delay gratification for the sake of satisfying longer-term goals. These individual differences are commonly assayed by studying intertemporal preferences, as revealed by choices between immediate and delayed rewards. In the brain, reward-based and goal-oriented decisions are believed to rely on the striatum and its interactions with other cortical and subcortical networks. However, it remains unknown which specific cortical-striatal tracts are involved in intertemporal decision making. We use connectivity analyses in both structural and functional MRI to further our understanding of the relationship between distinct corticostriatal networks and intertemporal preferences in humans. Our results revealed distinct striatal pathways that are differentially related to delay discounting. Structural and functional connectivity between striatum and lateral prefrontal cortex was associated with increased patience, whereas connectivity between subcortical areas and striatum was associated with increased impulsivity. These findings provide novel insights into how the anatomy and functioning of striatal circuits mediate individual differences in intertemporal choice.
Melatonin abrogates cadmium induced oxidative stress related neurotoxicity in rats.

BACKGROUND Cadmium is a potent neurotoxic heavy metal, which induces oxidative stress and membrane disturbances in brain. Melatonin is an effective antioxidant and free radical scavenger against oxidative stress. The present study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective efficacy of melatonin in protecting the Cd induced changes in the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), levels of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls, non-enzymatic antioxidant, enzymatic antioxidant status, membrane bound ATPases and histopathology in the brain of rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty four male albino rats were used. Cadmium induced oxidative neurotoxicity was induced by oral administration of Cd for four weeks. Melatonin was pretreated along with Cd for four weeks to assess its neuroprotective activity against Cd intoxication. Rats treated with vehicles alone were used as controls. RESULTS Rats intoxicated with cadmium (5 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the AChE levels in the plasma and brain, elevated the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), lipid hydroperoxides and protein carbonyls along with the significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants (GSH, TSH and vitamins C and E), enzymatic antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and membrane bound ATPases in the brain tissue. Administration of melatonin (10 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks in cadmium intoxicated rats significantly (p < 0.05) diminished the levels of oxidative stress markers, lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyls in brain and significantly (p < 0.05) elevated the levels of nonenzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants, brain and the activities of AChE, enzymatic antioxidants and ATPases in brain. The histopathological studies in the brain of rats also supported that melatonin markedly reduced the Cd induced pathological changes and preserved the normal histological architecture of the brain tissue. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study suggest that melatonin may be beneficial in combating the cadmium induced oxidative neurotoxicity in the brain of rats.