Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of pursed‐lip breathing combined with number counting on blood pressure and heart rate in hypertensive urgency patients: A randomized controlled trial

Hypertensive urgency (HT urgency) is an alarming sign of uncontrolled hypertension. It is aggravated by nonadherence to medication, as well as psychosocial stress. Mindfulness is beneficial for reducing stress, while deep and slow breathing is effective for lowering blood pressure (BP). In our study, we aimed to assess BP and heart rate effects in HT urgency patients practicing pursed‐lip breathing and number counting (PLB with NC)—a practice that promotes mindfulness with deep/slow breathing patterns. In a randomized controlled trial, 110 patients were equally allocated to intervention and control groups. The intervention group was trained and encouraged to do PLB with NC during their emergency room admission, while the control group received conventional medical care. The mean systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and HR of the intervention group in the 3rd hour were significantly lower than the baseline values at −28.2 mm Hg (95%CI;‐23.5 to −32.4), −17.1 mm Hg (95%CI;‐14.2 to −20.0), and −4.9 beats per minute (bpm) (95%CI;‐4.0 to −5.8), respectively. In the control group, both the mean SBP and DBP were also significantly lower in the 3rd hour. However, HR reduction was inconclusive. When the two groups were compared, a greater degree of reduction was found in the intervention group for SBP (9.80 mm Hg, 95%CI; 4.10 to 15.50), DBP (7.69 mm Hg, 95%CI; 3.61 to 11.77), and HR (3.85 bpm, 95%CI; 1.99 to 5.72). In conclusion, PLB with NC was effective for lowering BP and HR. It might be used as a complementary treatment for HT urgency patients.
Modeling biofiltration of VOC mixtures under steady-state conditions

Treatment of air streams contaminated with binary volatile organic compound (VOC) mixtures in classical biofilters under steady-state conditions of operation was described with a general mathematical model. The model accounts for potential kinetic interactions among the pollutants, effects of oxygen availability on biodegradation, and biomass diversification in the filter bed. While the effects of oxygen were always taken into account, two distinct cases were considered for the experimental model validation. The first involves kinetic interactions, but no biomass differentiation, used for describing data from biofiltration of benzene/toluene mixtures. The second case assumes that each pollutant is treated by a different type of biomass. Each biomass type is assumed to form separate patches of biofilm on the solid packing material, thus kinetic interference does not occur. This model was used for describing biofiltration of ethanol/butanol mixtures. Experiments were performed with classical biofilters packed with mixtures of peat moss and perlite (2:3, volume:volume). The model equations were solved through the use of computer codes based on the fourth-order Runge-Kutta technique for the gas-phase mass balances and the method of orthogonal collocation for the concentration profiles in the biofilms. Good agreement between model predictions and experimental data was found in almost all cases. Oxygen was found to be extremely important in the case of polar VOCs (ethanol/butanol).
Kinetics of toluene disproportionation over unmodified and modified ZSM-5 zeolites

The kinetics of toluene disproportionation has been studied over both unmodified and Si-Mg modified ZSM-5 catalysts using an integral reactor and taking into account the reversibility of the reaction. It has been found that xylene dealkylation is the major secondary reaction, whereas toluene dealkylation can be considered negligible. For the unmodified ZSM-5, heterogeneous models based as the alkyl-transfer mechanism allowed the experimental results to be fit better than first and second pseudohomogeneous models, the best concordance being obtained when toluene adsorption is assumed as the rate-limiting step. The corresponding kinetic equations has been further applied to the modified zeolite (SiMg/ZSM-5), leading to the development of a kinetic model which includes the effect of the toluene and p-xylene intracrystalline diffusion rate and the presence of nonselective acid sites on the external zeolite surface. This model describes adequately the selective formation of p-xylene over modified ZSM-5, reproducing the experimental product distribution with an average relative error of 2.8%
Copepod feeding quantified by planar laser imaging of gut fluorescence

We present a new method for quantifying the feeding of individual copepods, using a planar sheet of laser light to stimulate the fluorescence of phytoplankton ingested by the copepod. The fluorescence is imaged with a sensitive CCD camera, giving two‐dimensional images of the copepod's gut with 20 × 20 µm spatial resolution. Using tethered copepods, we have obtained > 3 h long time series of copepod gut fluorescence with images every 15–20 s. The same individual copepod can be used for multiple experiments, obviating the problems of individual variability as a source of error. Initial data reveal two distinct patterns of variability as material moves through two functionally different gut compartments. These patterns reflect processes occurring in each compartment. The upper (anterior) mid‐gut shows higher variability and less repeatability than the posterior midgut where undigested material is aggregated into a fecal pellet and evacuated at regular intervals. Variability in the upper mid‐gut is likely due to factors such as intermittence of feeding and relatively complex mixing dynamics. In the posterior mid‐gut, mixing dynamics are much simpler, and the variability of the upper compartment is integrated over the time scale of pellet formation.
Joint Hidden Markov Model for Longitudinal and Time-to-Event Data with Latent Variables

Abstract This study develops a new joint modeling approach to simultaneously analyze longitudinal and time-to-event data with latent variables. The proposed model consists of three components. The first component is a hidden Markov model for investigating a longitudinal observation process and its underlying transition process as well as their potential risk factors and dynamic heterogeneity. The second component is a factor analysis model for characterizing latent risk factors through multiple observed variables. The third component is a proportional hazards model for examining the effects of observed and latent risk factors on the hazards of interest. A shared random effect is introduced to allow the longitudinal and time-to-event outcomes to be correlated. A Bayesian approach coupled with efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo methods is developed to conduct statistical inference. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated through simulation studies. An application of the proposed model to a general health survey study concerning cognitive impairment and mortality for Chinese elders is presented.
Complications and Sequelae in Patients With Congenital Microcephaly Associated With Zika Virus Infection: Two-Year Follow-Up

Background: We aim to describe the long term follow-up of a cohort of children exposed in utero to the Zika virus. Methods: Descriptive study of a cohort of microcephalic children due to Zika virus. Logistic regression was used to evaluate variables associated with worse prognosis epilepsy. Results: We followed 28 children (15 females), with a median follow-up of 24 months (IQR = 12-28). During the follow-up, 1 infant died. The median head circumference at birth was 29 cm (IQR = 27-31). All presented a global developmental delay. The most frequent central nervous system abnormalities were on cortical development in 22 participants; dysgenesis of corpus callosum in 13; ventriculomegaly in 25; and calcifications in 24. A total of 9 presented ocular abnormalities, 4 auditory impairment. During follow-up, 12 presented with sleep disorders, 10 with irritability, and 23 with epilepsy (2 with generalized tonic-clonic, 3 with generalized tonic-clonic and spasms, 12 with spasms, 3 tonic and spasms, and 3 motor focal and spasms). The median age at the begin of the epilepsy was 4 months (IQR = 2-10), the median number of drugs used to control the epilepsy was 2 (IQR = 2-3). Maternal illicit drug use during pregnancy was associated with worse prognosis epilepsy (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, West syndrome, or status epilepticus). A total of 19 presented with dysphagia, 10 children required gastrostomy. Conclusion: Children with microcephaly due to Zika virus presented with several complications during follow-up, as epilepsy, spastic diplegia, and global developmental delay.
The fate of carbon compounds in the landfill disposal of organic matter

Landfill sites containing domestic refuse should be managed so as to optimise methane production when hydrogeological conditions permit. On large sites this would be both economically profitable and environmentally desirable as uncontrolled pollution would be minimised and sites could be reclaimed as quickly as possible. Landfill microbiology has been confined to public health aspects, and clearly, further microbiological studies are required to optimise the degradation of carbon compounds. Knowledge of the fate of synthetic polymers is poor. It is interesting to consider whether they constitute a reservoir of delayed-potential methane generation. Contrary to previous ideas it is concluded that there is no requirement for added nitrogen and phosphorus sources. The interaction of refuse density and water content is identified as a major factor which must be controlled to optimise methane generation. The high solids content and reactivity of this anaerobic bioreactor coupled with the poor thermal conductivity of refuse enables the landfill to generate and sustain high temperatures. The roles of refuse pretreatment, placement methods and water management techniques in the control and stimulation of refuse fermentation are also discussed.
The Revised Children's Communication Checklist‐2 (CCC‐R): Factor Structure and Psychometric Evaluation

The Children's Communication Checklist‐2 (CCC‐2) is often applied to assess pragmatic language impairment which is highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and several mental health conditions. We replicated previous findings on the limited applicability of the CCC‐2 in clinical samples and the inconsistent findings concerning the factor structure. The aim of the present study was, thus, to develop a concise, simplified, and revised version of the CCC‐2 in a large German‐speaking sample. Four groups of children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 years were included: ASD (n = 195), intellectual disability (ID, n = 83), diverse mental health conditions (MHC, n = 144) and a typically developing control group (TD, n = 417). We reduced the original number of items from 70 to 39, based on item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and the exclusion of communication‐unrelated items. The revised version, CCC‐R (α = 0.96), consists of two empirically derived factors: a pragmatic‐language (α = 0.96) and a grammatical‐semantic‐language factor (α = 0.93). All clinical groups (ASD, ID, and MHC) had significantly increased CCC‐R total scores, with the highest scores being in the neurodevelopmental disorder groups (ASD and ID). In addition, we found group‐specific patterns of elevated pragmatic‐language scores in the ASD group and grammatical‐semantic scores in the ID group. The CCC‐R was comparable to the CCC‐2 in distinguishing ASD from the other groups. The CCC‐R is proposed as a simplified and easily applied, clinical questionnaire for caregivers, assessing pragmatic language impairments across neurodevelopmental disorders and mental health conditions.
Influence of Phase Behavior and Miscibility on Mechanical, Thermal and Micro-Structure of Soluble Starch-Gelatin Thermoplastic Biodegradable Blend Films

Polymer blends of cold water soluble starches (amylose or amylopectin soluble starch) with gelatin were prepared using solvent casting method. The solid state miscibility and polymer-polymer interactions between the constituent polymers were studied by fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorirmetry (DSC), light optical microscopy (OP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), whereas the thermal stability of the blends was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Furthermore, tensile and water vapor barrier properties of the blends were assessed. The obtained results exhibited that gelatin was more miscible with amylose soluble starch than with amylopectin soluble starch. Moreover, enhancing mechanical and water barrier properties of amylose soluble starch/gelatin blends were more pronounced than those of amylopectin soluble starch/gelatin blends. Generally, tensile strength (TS) and Elongation percentage (E) of the blend films were found to be gradually increased with increasing the proportion of gelatin. Nevertheless, increasing starch proportion was in favor of decreasing water vapor permeability (WVP). At equal proportions of starch and gelatin (1:1), TS was raised up to 8.69 MPa for amylose soluble starch/gelatin blend films while it raised up to 4.96 MPa for amylopectin soluble starch/gelatin blend films, and so on E was increased to its maximum by ~179.6% for soluble amylose starch/gelatin blends while it was increased to ~114.5% for amylopectin soluble starch/gelatin blends. On the other hand, WVP was significantly decreased to be 6.46 and 12.09 g·mm/m2·day·kPa for blends of amylose and amylopectin soluble starches, respectively.
Growth of ring-shaped microtubule assemblies through stepwise active self-organisation

The microtubule (MT)–kinesin system is a promising candidate for constructing artificial biomachines. The active self-organisation (AcSO) method has been developed to integrate MT filaments into highly organised assembled structures. The creation of ring-shaped MT assemblies is one of the outcomes of the organisation process and holds prospects for use in future nano-technological applications. However, making use of ring-shaped MT assemblies in practical applications requires further control of the size of these assemblies, which has not yet been addressed. In this work, we demonstrated AcSO of MTs in a stepwise manner inside an inert atmosphere. We show that in an inert atmosphere, AcSO could be performed several times (at least nine times), and as a result, this method successfully increased the thickness of ring-shaped MT assemblies.
Purification Systems Based on Bacterial Surface Proteins

Affinity purification is based on the selective and reversible interaction between two binding partners, of which one is bound to a chromatography matrix and the other may be either a native target protein or a recombinant protein fused with an affinity tag (Cuatrecasas et al. 1968). Recombinant DNA-technology allows straightforward construction of gene fusions to provide fusion proteins with two or more functions. The main intention is to facilitate downstream purification; however gene fusions may also improve solubility and proteolytic stability and assist in refolding (Waugh 2005). There are many fusion partners for which commercially available purification systems exist, ranging in size from a few amino acids to whole proteins (Flaschel & Friehs 1993; Terpe 2003). A commonly used purification handle is the poly-histidine (His) tag, enabling purification of the recombinant protein on a column with immobilized metal ions (Hochuli et al. 1988). Other commonly used tags include the FLAG peptide (binding to anti-FLAG monoclonal antibodies), the strep-tag (binding to streptavidin), glutathione S-transferase (binding to glutathione) and maltose binding protein (binding to amylose) (Terpe 2003). Many affinity chromatography strategies also exist for the purification of native proteins, however these are slightly less specific and generally purify classes of proteins, as individual proteins each need a specific ligand. Today, many different ligands are available that can separate specific groups of proteins, for example phosphorylated, glycosylated or ubiquitinylated proteins (Azarkan et al. 2007).
Fluoride content of some common South Indian foods and their contribution to fluorosis

Fluoride contents of food items commonly used in South India were determined with special reference to the feeding habits of remote rural populations in villages of Andhra Pradesh, India, where dental and skeletal fluorosis is endemic. The role played by food composition, cooking habits of the local population, in contributing to the prevalence of fluorosis in schoolchildren is discussed
Salinity and specific ion effects on onion establishment in relation to disposal of desalting concentrates

Concentrate from nanofiltration (NF) is usually enriched with divalent ions, and low in proportions of monovalent ions. Therefore, its disposal to irrigation water may not be deleterious, especially for growing crops susceptible to specific effects of Na and/or Cl. This possibility was examined in a greenhouse by observing effects of four levels of salinity and ion composition of irrigation solutions on seedling emergence and growth of onions (sensitive to Cl ions) in loamy sand and silt loam. Seedling emergence from surface-irrigated loamy sand was excellent, regardless of the saline solutions used. In subirrigated silt loam, however, seedling emergence was reduced by increasing initial soil salinity and salinity of irrigation solutions, but not by the ion composition. Seedling growth was reduced by increasing Cl to SO4 ratio only when the Cl concentration of irrigation solutions exceeded a concentration between 10 and 20 me L-1. The Cl effect seems to appear after seedling growth is first reduced by sal.
Eucalyptus Oil and Lemon Grass Oil: Effect on Chemical Composition and Shelf-Life of Soft Cheese

A study was conducted to compare the effect of different levels of Eucalyptus oil (EO) and Lemongrass oil (LO) on the shelf-life of fresh West African soft cheese (wara) in a completely randomized design model for a 28-day period (n=60). The experiment consists of Treatment A (Control, Cheese kept in the whey), Treatment B (75% EO + 25% LO) and Treatment C (50% EO + 50% LO). The results showed similarity in the evaluated parameters (Crude protein, fat and dry matter contents). The ash content was numerically highest in C (5.75%) and least in A (5.00%). The sensory properties were described by positive attributes such as high general acceptability and flavor for Treatments B > C > A. While the microbial evaluation showed least colony unit for Treatment B followed closely by C and A in that order. In conclusion, while both Eucalyptus oil 75% plus 25% lemon grass had a positive impact on the nutritional, sensory and microbial values, whey had no quality to significantly enhance the nutritional, sensory and microbial qualities of West African soft cheese.
Synthesis and magnetic properties of AlxCoFe2-xO4 ferrite powders

Al x CoFe 2-x O 4 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) ferrite powders were fabricated by the sol-gel method. The growth of particles and the crystallographic and magnetic properties of powders were investigated using X-ray diffraction, field emission electro microscopy, Mossbauer spectroscopy, and a vibrating sample magnetometer. Al x CoFe 2-x O 4 (x = 0.20) ferrite powder annealed at 773 K has only a single spinel structure and behaves ferrimagnetically. Powder annealed at 673 K has a coexistence of paramagnetic and ferrimagnetic phases. Study on the magnetic behavior of powders show that an increase in the annealing temperature yields a decrease in coercivity and an increase in saturation magnetization. In the Al x CoFe 2-x O 4 (x = 0.20) ferrite powder, the maximum coercivity is 950 Oe. All the structures of Al x CoFe 2-x O 4 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) ferrite powders annealed at 1073 K are spinel, and the lattice constants decrease with increasing x. The room temperature Mossbauer spectra consisted with two Zeeman sextets due to Fe 3+ ions at tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The variation of Mossbauer parameters has been discussed in terms of the crystallographic and magnetic properties of powders. The magnetic hyperfine fields decrease when x is increased in Al x CoFe 2-x O 4 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.20). Likewise, coercivity and saturation magnetization also decrease when x is increased in Al x CoFe 2-x O 4 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.20).
Relation between structure, magnetization process and magnetic shape memory effect of various martensites occurring in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys

Magnetic properties and magnetic shape memory effect of three Ni-Mn-Ga alloys representing three different martensitic phases; five-layered tetragonal (5M), seven-layered orthorhombic (7M), and non-modulated tetragonal (NM) martensite were studied at room temperature. Magnetization process occurs mostly by magnetization rotation. Magnetic anisotropy energy is high for all three phases ranging from 1.1 to 1.7×10 5 J/m 3 . The direction of short lattice constant is always a direction of easy magnetization. It is demonstrated that the high magnetic anisotropy and low twinning stress render a MSM effect possible in 5M and 7M martensite. The 5M martensite exhibits more than 6% field induced strain. The giant strain is followed by large magnetization jump. Simultaneous measurement of magnetization changes and field-induced strain as a function of magnetic field demonstrates the nature of the magnetic shape memory effect and validates the proposed mechanism.
Modeling Nanoparticle Agglomeration using Local Interactions

Nanoparticle agglomeration plays an important role in processes such as spray drying and particle flame synthesis. These processes have in common that nanoparticles collide at low concentrations and get irreversibly linked at the point of contact due to plastic deformation. In this article, we investigate several models of irreversible connections, which require only local interactions between the colliding nanoparticles and thus allow for scalable simulations. The models investigated here connect the particles upon collision by non-bonded strongly attractive interactions, bonded interactions or by binding agents placed at the point of contact. Models using spherically symmetric interactions form compact agglomerates and are therefore unsuitable to study agglomeration. In contrast, models that are either based on both central and angular potentials (type one) or on binding agents (type two) efficiently prevent restructuring of the agglomerates, and are therefore useful for modeling contacts formed by plastic deformation. Moreover, both types of models allow to control the rigidity and by that the degree of restructuring. The first type of model is computationally more efficient at low fractional dimensions of the aggregates, while the second gives easy access to local shear forces, which is important when breaking of agglomerates is to be considered. As example applications, we reproduce the well-known diffusion-limited agglomeration (DLA) and report results on soot aggregation. Copyright 2014 American Association for Aerosol Research