Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biochar Surface Oxygenation by Ozonization for Super High Cation Exchange Capacity

Biochar cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a key property central to better retention of soil nutrients and reduction of fertilizer runoff. This paper reports a breakthrough process to improve biochar CEC value by a factor of nearly 10 through biochar surface oxygenation by ozonization. The CEC value of the untreated biochar was measured to be anywhere between 14 and 17 cmol/kg. A 90 min dry ozonization treatment resulted in an increased biochar CEC value of 109–152 cmol/kg. Simultaneously, the biochar ozonization process resulted in a reduction of biochar pH from 9.82 to as low as 3.07, indicating the formation of oxygen-functional groups including carboxylic acids on biochar surfaces. Using the technique of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the formation of oxygen-functional groups including carboxylic acids on biochar surfaces have been observed at a nanometer molecular scale following the ozonization treatment. The molar O/C ratio (0.31:1) on ozonized biochar surface as analyzed by XPS was indeed.
Extraction and characterization of "Batuan" [Garcinia binucao (Blco.) Choisy] seed protein.

“Batuan” [Garcinia binucao (Blco.) Choisy], an indigenous, lesser known member of the Gutifferae family with export potential is underutilized and understudied. The present study was carried out to extract and characterize the protein in “batuan” [Garcinia binucao (Blco.) Choisy] seeds for nutritional quality assessment. Protein content of “batuan” seed meal was 8.9 ± 0.59% dry basis. Solubility fractionation of “batuan” seed meal showed globulin and glutelin as the major seed proteins. SDS-PAGE resolved the globulin and glutelin into three groups of polypeptides with molecular weights of about 20 – 54 kDa. Amino acid analysis revealed that seed protein contained all the essential amino acids with leucine as the most abundant while tryptophan, the least. “Batuan” seed proteins were mostly made up of acidic and hydrophobic amino acids with glutamic acid (2.67%) as the highest. Nutritional assessments including E/T (38.4%), amino acid score (1.6%), predicted PER (3.2-3.7) and estimated BV (98.3%) suggested that the seed proteins are of good quality. Hence, “batuan” seeds has a promising potential as an important sources of valuable proteins and amino acids for use as food supplement/enhancing ingredient.
The Case for Mutual Recognition of Drug Approvals

Modern medicines improve both health outcomes and quality of life for those stricken with illness, and their ability to do so continues to improve and advance over time. Every day, researchers and scientists work to come up with new and innovative ways to treat illnesses, mitigate suffering, and prolong life while research-based pharmaceutical companies invest in the development and testing necessary to bring these innovations to market. The medicines that are available today are not only able to treat illnesses that could not previously be treated, but also represent a substitution for older, less efficient, and less effective methods of treatment. Even in cases where medicines may not have a different impact therapeutically, they can expand access to better health through reductions in adverse events and reactions, and may work better for some parts of the population poorly served by previous advances. However, access to these newer (and superior) pharmaceuticals is not equal across developed countries. This is, in part, the result of governmental regulations and approvals. Critically, new medicines are only accessible by the public after they have been granted regulatory clearance by the host jurisdiction’s responsible body such as Health Canada , the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The efficiency with which these agencies approve drugs and the numbers of drugs ultimately approved varies considerably between these regulatory authorities. While the potential for harm that accompanies any new medicine on the market may provide some justification for regulatory approval in general, the question of why such approval is duplicated in one jurisdiction (e.g., Canada) while it is being undertaken in another with comparable standards (e.g., Europe) remains. Indeed, to the extent submissions to these agencies and their efficiency in approving them vary, such duplication of effort reinforces the unfortunate reality that drugs are available to patients in different countries, at different points in time. This study aims to measure the difference in access to new medicines that results from duplication of effort in Canada. By compiling a list of new drugs approved in Canada between 2005-2011/12 (Health Canada moved from calendar-year to fiscal-year reporting in 2011/12), and comparing the corresponding approval dates with those in the United States and the European Union, we seek to provide Canadians an estimate of how much sooner these new drugs would have been available to them in the absence of what might be considered an unnecessary regulatory hurdle imposed by Health Canada.
Preterm Birth: Prevention and Management

List of Contributors. Definitions. Abbreviations. Preface. 1 The Global Impact of Preterm Birth (Jennifer Harris Requejo & Mario Merialdi). 2 Preterm Birth: A Complex Disease (Eric J. Hodgson & Charles J. Lockwood). 3 Why Prevention? (Jason K. Baxter). 4 The Epidemiology of Preterm Birth (Robert L. Goldenberg & Elizabeth M. McClure). 5 Genetics of Preterm Birth (Heidi L. Thorson & Hyagriv N. Simhan). 6 The Cervix (Vincenzo Berghella). 7 Infl ammation and Infection (Roberto Romero, Francesca Gotsch, Shali Mazaki-Tovi & Juan Pedro Kusanovic). 8 The Endocrine Regulation of Human Labor (Roger Smith, Julia I. Smith & Andrew M. Bisits). 9 Preventive Issues for All Gravidas (Priyadarshini Koduri). 10 Tobacco and Preterm Birth (Jeroen P. Vanderhoeven & Jorge E. Tolosa). 11 Care for Women with Prior Preterm Birth (Jay D. Iams). 12 Short Cervical Length (Timothy J. Rafael). 13 Fetal Fibronectin (Maria Bisulli). 14 Bacterial Vaginosis (Nancy W. Hendrix). 15 Sexually Transmitted Infections (Neil S. Seligman). 16 Multiple Gestations: Preventing and Managing Preterm Birth (Edward J. Hayes & Suneet P. Chauhan). 17 Asymptomatic Manual Cervical Changes (Leonardo Pereira). 18 Preterm Labor (Amen Ness, Yair Blumenfeld & Joyce F. Sung). 19 Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes (Brian M. Mercer). 20 Promotion of Fetal Maturation (Kellie E. Murphy). 21 Location, Mode of Delivery and Intrapartum Issues for the Preterm Gestation (Dana Figueroa & Dwight J. Rouse). 22 Perinatal Care and Long-Term Implications (Janet E. Larson, Shobhana A. Desai & William McNett). 23 Ethical Issues Related to Preterm Birth (Frank A. Chervenak & Laurence B. McCullough). 24 Future Research (Catherine Y. Spong). Index.
Experimental and deep learning artificial neural network approach for evaluating grid‐connected photovoltaic systems

This article evaluates a 1.4‐kW building integrated grid‐connected photovoltaic plant. The PV plant was installed in the Faculty of Engineering solar energy lab, Sohar University, Oman, and the system data have been collected for a year from July 2017 to June 2018. The grid‐connected system was evaluated in terms of power, energy, specific yield, capacity factor, and cost of energy, and payback period. The measured diffuse and global solar irradiations are 3289 and 6182 Wh/m2, respectively. Four predictive models (TLRN, FRNN‐1, FRNN‐2, and FRNN‐3) using deep learning approach based on RNN and TLRN were proposed to predict the PV current performance through data input of temperature (T) and solar irradiance (G). The experiment results found that the highest energy production, array, reference, and final yields are 245.8 kWh, 3.43 to 5.65 kWh/kWp‐day, 4.61 to 7.33 kWh/kWp‐day, and 3.24 to 4.82 kWh/kWp‐day, respectively. Meanwhile, CF, CoE, and PBP were found to be 21.7%, 0.045 USD/kWh and 11.17 years, respectively. The highest performance for prediction models were found for FRNN‐2 and FRNN‐3 due to they exhibit lower MSE which means being tightly fitted to experiments.
Detection and identification of canker and blight on orange trees using a hand‐held Raman spectrometer

J Raman Spectrosc. 2019;1–6. Abstract Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, is a devastating disease of citrus that is debilitating the U.S. citrus industry. The infected trees exhibit yellowing leaves, premature defoliation, and ultimately death of the entire plant. In addition to the devastating impact of HLB alone, infected trees become an easy target for other diseases. This further decreases the fruit yield, shortens the tree life, and complicates management practices. Raman spectroscopy is a noninvasive and nondestructive analytical technique that provides insight on the chemical structure of a specimen. In this study, we demonstrate that utilization of a hand‐held Raman spectrometer in combination with chemometric analyses enables detection and identification of the secondary disease such as blight on HLB‐infected orange trees (HLB + BL). We also showed that using this spectroscopic approach, we could detect and identify canker and distinguish this disease from healthy trees, HLB, and HLB + BL with high accuracy.
Hydrogen and Methane Production Under Conditions of Anaerobic Digestion of Key-Lime and Cabbage Wastes

In this article, the results of key lime fruit (Citrus aurantifolia) wastes and cabbage (Brassica L.) wastes anaerobic digestion are presented. Anaerobic digestion of the wastes was performed in batch process, neutral pH (key-lime 7.47 and cabbage 7.67) and substrate concentration of Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS) 10 gVSS/L. One of the aims of this research was to check the availability of these substrates to be the source of methane and hydrogen. Key lime wastes produced 32 times more methane than raw cabbage. However, hydrogen production from cabbage was 149 times higher than key lime. The percentage of methane production in cabbage was up to 81% and in key lime was up to 75%. This research showed from the substrates comparison that efficient hydrogen production is less dependent on low pKa, pH than on total solids of the substrates.
Development of an Evidence Based Referral Protocol for Early Diagnosis of Vestibular Schwannomas

Title of Document: DEVELOPMENT OF AN EVIDENCE BASED REFERRAL PROTOCOL FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF VESTIBULAR SCHWANNOMAS Jessica Ann Barrett Doctor of Audiology, 2008 Directed By: Dr. Sandra Gordon-Salant Director, Audiology Graduate Program The purpose of this investigation was to identify the presenting symptoms and testing outcomes that were most suggestive of a potential vestibular schwannoma and to propose an audiological referral protocol for MRIs. To that end, a retrospective chart review was conducted to examine radiologic, audiometric, and case history information from patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center who were referred to the Department of Radiology to rule out retrocochlear pathology. Charts of 628 patients were reviewed from their electronic medical records, although the final patient sample was 328 patients who had complete audiologic data. Analyses were conducted to compare the unaffected and affected ears of the positive MRI group to the better and poorer ears of the negative MRI group. Results were significant between the affected ear of the positive group and the poorer ear of the negative group for pure tone thresholds, speech discrimination scores, and acoustic reflex thresholds. Significant differences between the groups were not generally seen for the comparison of the unaffected ear to the better ear, with the exception of acoustic reflex thresholds. The interaural difference between ears was significant between the two groups for pure tone thresholds and speech discrimination scores; however, the difference was not significant for acoustic reflex thresholds. For all significant differences between the groups, the positive MRI group evidenced poorer audiological results. Additionally, three symptoms/outcomes that led to the patients’ referral were significantly different between the two groups: unilateral tinnitus, asymmetrical word recognition, and positive rollover in speech recognition scores. Logistic regression was applied to the audiological tests and symptoms to determine the most predictive set of variables that differentiated between the patients with a positive and negative MRI. The most predictive model yielded a sensitivity of 81.25% and a specificity of 82.59% when applied to the current patient sample. The audiological profile identified may be useful for clinicians in deciding whether their patient should be referred for an MRI to rule out the presence of a vestibular schwannoma. DEVELOPMENT OF AN EVIDENCE BASED REFERRAL PROTOCOL FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF VESTIBULAR SCHWANNOMAS
Assessing the Estrogenic Activity of EDCs and Human Risks of Groundwater after Ozonation and Chlorination

ABSTRACT Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) in groundwater could result in severe risks to human health. Therefore, in the present study, ozone (O3) and chlorine were applied to remove the estrogenicity of Bisphenol-A (BPA), 4-Nonylphenol (4-NP) and Triclosan (TCS) in groundwater. Bioluminescent Yeast Estrogen Screen and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (BLYES-GC/MS) demonstrated that there is no directly proportional relationship between concentration and estrogenicity. Human Risk Assessment (HRA) was conducted, considering the concentration of EDCs, their estrogenicity and the by-products formed. Estrogenicity decreased by 98.7, 79.3 and 97.0% (ozone) and 86.2, 94.3 and 97.8% (chlorine) for BPA, 4-NP AND TCS, respectively. The individual Hazard Quotient (HQ<1), cumulative risk Hazard Index (HI) and intake 17-estradiol equivalents (EEQ) (µg day−1) indicate that ozone and chlorine treatment, including any by-products formed, do not result in estrogenicity with associated HR.
Regulation Of Hippocampal NMDA Receptor Signaling, Memory And Synaptic Plasticity By The JIP1 Scaffold Protein

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS.4 LIST OF FIGURES. 7 LIST OF COMMON ABBREVIATION.9 1.0. Introduction.11 1.1. Learning and Memory.11 1.2. The hippocampus.12 1.2. 1. Hippocampal pathways.14 1.2. 2. CA1 pyramidal neurons.17 1.3. Electrophysiology of CA3-CA1 pathway.19 1.4. Synaptic Plasticity: STP, LTP, LTD and Depotentiation . 21 1.4. 1. NMDA receptor subunits in LTP and LTD . 26 1.4. 2. Membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUK’s). 31 1.4. 3. Actin dynamics and microtubules in synaptic plasticity and neurodegeneration.32 1.5. MAPK’s in the CNS: the JNKs.34 1.6. JIP scaffold proteins.39 1.6. 1. JIP1 in transport . 42 1.7. JNK regulation by JIP1.43 1.8. Aims of the dissertation.45 1.8. 1. Specific aim 1.47 1.8. 2. Specific aim 2.48 2.0. Materials and methods.51
The effect of yeast extract supplementation on activity of bulk starter in cheese manufacturing: A laboratory simulation

Starter culture plays a crucial role in deciding ultimate flavor, aroma, texture and moisture content of natural cheese. Milk, the traditionally used bulk starter (BS) media for cheese starter growth, is found not to provide all the nutrients for starter culture growth. This study investigated the effect of yeast extract as a BS media supplement in increasing cheese BS activity. The BS system and cheese vats in a selected commercial cheese factory were simulated on laboratory scale. Conditions used in the BS system and cheese vats such as temperature, pH, neutralising agent, starter strains and inoculum sizes were used equivalent to those that are used in the selected cheese factory. Effect of two commercial yeast extracts (YE-A and YE-F) on activity of Lactococcus lactis sub sp. cremoris strains 49, 831, 1926 ASCRC in BS were evaluated. Starter growth during BS fermentation was analysed determining lactic acid (LA) production and pH reduction. Activity of cultures was evaluated by continuous pH monitoring in simulated cheese vats. YE supplementation increased LA production in the BS and reduced fermentation time by 20% compared to traditional BS media. 0.5% YE-A and 0.2% YE-F were chosen as optimum levels for simulated BS. YE supplemented BS cultures were more active compared to no YE added BS cultures, allowing inoculum levels required to inoculate cheese vats to be reduced by 40%.
IL-15 negatively regulates curdlan-induced IL-23 production by human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and subsequent Th17 response

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of long- and short-term IL-15 cytokine exposure of human monocyte-derived curdlan-matured dendritic cells (DCs) on the production of Th17 cell-polarizing cytokine IL-23 and subsequent Th17 cell activation. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were purified using Ficoll-Paque from healthy donors. Monocytes were magnetically selected using CD14 Miltenyi beads and differentiated into DCs with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-4 for five days in the presence or absence of IL-15 (100ng/ml) for long-term exposure experiments. Then, DCs were matured with peptidoglycan (PGN), or curdlan for 24 hours. For short-term exposure experiments, IL-15 was added only during maturation of DCs. Then, DCs were characterized concerning the expression of MHC II and costimulatory molecules, production of cytokine subunits IL-23p19, IL-12p40, IL-12p35 and cytokine IL-23 via flow cytometry or real-time qPCR or ELISA. Finally, the phosphorylation of signaling molecules after curdlan stimulation was assessed using phospho-flow assays. RESULTS: IL-15 exposure suppressed IL-23 production by DCs. As a result, IL-15-exposed DCs suppressed IL-17 production by allogeneic T cells. Importantly, we observed a reduction in the surface Dectin-1 receptor levels by IL-15-exposed DCs. In line with these observations, curdlan stimulation resulted in reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, NF-kB p65 and AKT by human DCs exposed to IL-15 compared with controls. These results may explain why IL-15-exposed DCs produce less IL-23 after maturation with curdlan, which is a ligand of Dectin-1. CONCLUSION: Short- or long-term exposure to IL-15 of human DCs during their differentiation or maturation programs DCs against Th17 cell polarization, which suggests that IL-15 availability may affect CD4+ T cell-mediated protective immunity to fungal infections.
Substituting urea by organic wastes for improving maize yield in alkaline soil

Abstract Nitrogen (N) deficiency is a very common problem of alkaline soils. Incorporation of organic residues with urea could be promising practice for improving soil properties and crop yield. This study was aimed, to evaluate the responses of two maize cultivar (Azam and Jalal) to organic wastes and Urea (sole organic residues i.e. seed cake (SC), poultry manure (PM), press mud (PrM) and mineral nitrogen (urea) and their combinations with urea (25%, 50% or 75%) applied at 150 kg N ha−1 under field conditions. Significant differences were recorded for leaf area index, plant height, number of grains ear−1, 1000 grain weight, biological and grain yield to N sources. Maize cultivar Jalal performed significantly better than Azam for all tested traits. The performance of both cultivars was significantly better when N was applied as either SC/PM with urea at 25:75, SC and PM with urea at 25:25:50, 100% sole urea, SC/PrM with urea at 50:50, or all organic N sources (25%) with urea (75%). Integration of organic wastes with urea gave the higher maize yield however, it was similar to the yield obtained from sole urea but due to allied environmental and health hazards, the sole use of urea could not be encouraged.
Persea americana: Phenolic profile, Antioxidant potential, Antimicrobial Activity and in silico Prediction of Pharmacokinetic and Toxicological Properties

The objective of this study was to carry out a phytochemical evaluation of the hydroethanol extract and chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of the leaves of Persea americana and correlate with its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, in order to verify which phytoconstituent is responsible for these activities. In addition, an in silico study of the active constituents identified was carried out to evaluate pharmacological and toxicological properties. The butanol fraction yielded high content of phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, vitamin C and a very high content of rutin (20.6±0.5 mg/g) and quercetin (6.1±0.1 mg/g). The hydroethanol extract demonstrated IC50 of 6.7±1.7 in the DPPH method, ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated greater ability to scavenge H2O2 (28.5±0.1) and butanol fraction to reduce Fe3+ to Fe2+ (55.1±0.1). Significant antifungal activity was found in the hydroethanol extract and the ethyl acetate and butanol fractions (MIC of 32 µg/ml against Candida glabrata and C. glabrata fluconazole resistant). The ethyl acetate fraction showed antimycobacterial activity with an MIC of 156.25 µg/ml for all species tested. The phytoconstituents identified have no carcinogenic potential but rutin and quercetin might be mutagenic and inhibit cytochrome P450 isozymes, CYP1A2 and CYP3A4. The results provided a good understanding of the constituents present in the leaves of the plant and their potential for pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics application.
Isolation and Analysis of Tumor‐Derived Exosomes

A method for isolation of exosomes from tumor cell supernatants or cancer patients’ plasma is presented. Tumor‐derived exosomes (TEX) are defined as a subset of extracellular vesicles (EVs) sized at 30 to 150 nm and originating from multivesicular bodies (MVBs). The method utilizes size exclusion chromatography (SEC) for recovery of exosomes from cell‐line supernatants or cancer patients’ plasma. The recovered exosomes are morphologically intact, aggregate‐free, and functionally competent. Their molecular content parallels that of the parent tumor cells and they carry various immunoregulatory ligands known to modulate functions of immune cells. All exosomes isolated from tumor cell lines are TEX, while those isolated from plasma of cancer patients have to be fractionated into TEX and non‐TEX. Mini‐SEC allows for exosome isolation and recovery in quantities sufficient for molecular profiling, functional studies, and, in the case of plasma, further fractionation into TEX and non‐TEX. The mini‐SEC method can also be used for comparative studies of the exosome content in serial specimens of cancer patients’ body fluids. © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Dental service areas: Methodologies and applications for evaluation of access to care

Significant efforts have been undertaken in medicine to identify hospital and primary care service areas (eg, the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care) using patient origin information. Similar research in dentistry is nonexistent. The goal of this dissertation was to develop and refine methods of defining dentist service areas (DSAs) using dental insurance claims. These service areas were then used as spatial units of analysis in studies that examined relationships between utilization of oral health services, dentist workforce supply, and service area characteristics. Enrollment and claims data were obtained from the Iowa Medicaid program for children and adolescents ages 3-18 years during calendar years 2008 through 2010. The first study described rates of treatment by orthodontists in children ages 6-18 years. Orthodontic DSAs were identified by small area analysis in order to examine regional variability in utilization. The overall rate of utilization was approximately 3%; 19 DSAs were delineated. Interestingly, children living in small towns and rural areas were significantly more likely to have received orthodontic services than those living in metropolitan and micropolitan areas. The second study identified 113 DSAs using claims submitted by primary care dentists (ie, general and pediatric dentists). Characteristics of these primary care DSAs were then compared with counties. Localization of care was used as a measure of how well each region approximated a dental