Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneous Reaction of NO2: Characterization of Gas-Phase and Adsorbed Products from the Reaction, 2NO2(g) + H2O(a) → HONO(g) + HNO3(a) on Hydrated Silica Particles

This study provides the first in-situ characterization of the products in the heterogeneous reaction 2NO2(g) + H2O(a) → HONO(g) + HNO3(a). Transmission FT-IR spectroscopy and UV−vis spectroscopy were used to probe the heterogeneous chemistry of gas-phase nitrogen dioxide on hydrated SiO2 particles. At 298 K, gaseous nitrogen dioxide reacts with adsorbed water on the surface of SiO2 particles to form adsorbed nitric acid and gas-phase nitrous acid. FT-IR spectroscopy of the hydrated SiO2 surface following reaction with NO2 provides definitive identification of the adsorbed nitric acid product. The reaction does not occur when gas-phase nitrogen dioxide is reacted on dehydrated silica particles. The gas-phase product nitrous acid was detected with both FT-IR and UV−vis spectroscopy. Although homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions can contribute to the observed HONO signal, flow cell measurements can be used to distinguish between heterogeneous and homogeneous reaction pathways leading to HONO production.
Research trends, hot spots and prospects for necroptosis in the field of neuroscience

There are two types of cell death-apoptosis and necrosis. Apoptosis is cell death regulated by cell signaling pathways, while necrosis has until recently been considered a passive mechanism of cell death caused by environmental pressures. However, recent studies show that necrosis can also be regulated by specific cell signaling pathways. This mode of death, termed necroptosis, has been found to be related to the occurrence and development of many diseases. We used bibliometrics to analyze the global output of literature on necroptosis in the field of neuroscience published in the period 2007–2019 to identify research hotspots and prospects. We included 145 necroptosis-related publications and 2239 references published in the Web of Science during 2007–2019. Visualization analysis revealed that the number of publications related to necroptosis has increased year by year, reaching a peak in 2019. China is the country with the largest number of publications. Key word and literature analyses demonstrated that mitochondrial function change, stroke, ischemia/reperfusion and neuroinflammation are likely the research hotspots and future directions of necroptosis research in the nervous system. The relationship between immune response-related factors, damage-associated molecular patterns, pathogen-associated molecular patterns and necroptosis may become a potential research hotspot in the future. Taken together, our findings suggest that although the inherent limitations of bibliometrics may affect the accuracy of the literature-based prediction of research hotspots, the results obtained from the included publications can provide a reference for the study of necroptosis in the field of neuroscience.
Cortical plasticity and nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injury

With the development of neuroscience, substantial advances have been achieved in peripheral nerve regeneration over the past decades. However, peripheral nerve injury remains a critical public health problem because of the subsequent impairment or absence of sensorimotor function. Uncomfortable complications of peripheral nerve injury, such as chronic pain, can also cause problems for families and society. A number of studies have demonstrated that the proper functioning of the nervous system depends not only on a complete connection from the central nervous system to the surrounding targets at an anatomical level, but also on the continuous bilateral communication between the two. After peripheral nerve injury, the interruption of afferent and efferent signals can cause complex pathophysiological changes, including neurochemical alterations, modifications in the adaptability of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, and the reorganization of somatosensory and motor regions. This review discusses the close relationship between the cerebral cortex and peripheral nerves. We also focus on common therapies for peripheral nerve injury and summarize their potential mechanisms in relation to cortical plasticity. It has been suggested that cortical plasticity may be important for improving functional recovery after peripheral nerve damage. Further understanding of the potential common mechanisms between cortical reorganization and nerve injury will help to elucidate the pathophysiological processes of nerve injury, and may allow for the reduction of adverse consequences during peripheral nerve injury recovery. We also review the role that regulating reorganization mechanisms plays in functional recovery, and conclude with a suggestion to target cortical plasticity along with therapeutic interventions to promote peripheral nerve injury recovery.
Iridium and Ruthenium Modified Polyaniline Polymer Leads to Nanostructured Electrocatalysts with High Performance Regarding Water Splitting

The breakthrough in water electrolysis technology for the sustainable production of H2, considered as a future fuel, is currently hampered by the development of tough electrocatalytic materials. We report a new strategy of fabricating conducting polymer-derived nanostructured materials to accelerate the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and water splitting. Extended physical (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX)) and electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)) methods were merged to precisely characterize the as-synthesized iridium and ruthenium modified polyaniline (PANI) materials and interrogate their efficiency. The presence of Ir(+III) cations during polymerization leads to the formation of Ir metal nanoparticles, while Ru(+III) induces the formation of RuO2 oxide nanoparticles by thermal treatment; they are therefore methods for the on-demand production of oxide or metal nanostructured electrocatalysts. The findings from using 0.5 M H2SO4 highlight an ultrafast electrochemical kinetic of the material PANI-Ir for HER (36 − 0 = 36 mV overpotential to reach 10 mA cm−2 at 21 mV dec−1), and of PANI-Ru for OER (1.47 − 1.23 = 240 mV overpotential to reach 10 mA cm−2 at 47 mV dec−1), resulting in an efficient water splitting exactly at its thermoneutral cell voltage of 1.45 V, and satisfactory durability (96 h).
The COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors Index: Development and Validation in Two Samples From the United Kingdom

Monitoring compliance with, and understanding the factors affecting, COVID-19 preventive behaviors requires a robust index of the level of subjective likelihood that the individual will engage in key COVID-19 preventive behaviors. In this article, the psychometric properties of the COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors Index (CPBI), including its development and validation in two samples in the United Kingdom, are described. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on data from 470 participants in the United Kingdom who provided demographic information and completed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the COVID-19 Own Risk Appraisal Scale (CORAS) and the CPBI. Results showed that a unidimensional, 10-item model fits the data well, with satisfactory fit indices, internal consistency and high item loadings onto the factor. The CPBI correlated positively with both fear and perceived risk of COVID-19, suggesting good concurrent validity. The CPBI is a measure of the likelihood of engaging in preventive activity, rather than one of intention or actual action. It is adaptable enough to be used over time as a monitoring instrument by policy makers and a modeling tool by researchers.
Bioactive Terpenes and Their Derivatives as Potential SARS-CoV-2 Proteases Inhibitors from Molecular Modeling Studies

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by a novel coronavirus; the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Millions of cases and deaths to date have resulted in a global challenge for healthcare systems. COVID-19 has a high mortality rate, especially in elderly individuals with pre-existing chronic comorbidities. There are currently no effective therapeutic approaches for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Therefore, the identification of effective therapeutics is a necessity. Terpenes are the largest class of natural products that could serve as a source of new drugs or as prototypes for the development of effective pharmacotherapeutic agents. In the present study, we discuss the antiviral activity of these natural products and we perform simulations against the Mpro and PLpro enzymes of SARS-CoV-2. Our results strongly suggest the potential of these compounds against human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.
Validity and Reliability of Executive Function Measures in Children with Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Correspondence Between Multiple Raters and Laboratory Measures.

BACKGROUND Rating scales are designed to complement traditional performance-based measures, and both can provide useful information about the functioning of youth with histories of prenatal alcohol exposure. Few studies, however, have compared ratings from multiple informants or the relationship between these subjective rating scale scores and the objective results from laboratory performance-based scales. METHODS The current study addressed both of these questions in three study groups: children with histories of prenatal alcohol exposure (AE; n = 47), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 41), and typically developing controls (CON; n = 73). All subjects completed a standardized neuropsychological test battery, including laboratory measures of executive functioning and a self-report measure of executive function behaviors. Parents and teachers completed corresponding rating scales of executive function behaviors for each subject. This study assessed the relationship between these behavior rating scales and corresponding neuropsychological tests, and inter-rater agreement among the multiple informants. RESULTS Weak correlations were found between the rating scales and laboratory measures, indicating poor convergent validity for the behavior rating scale. Inter-rater reliability was found but differed by group. Agreement was found between parent and teacher ratings for children with prenatal alcohol exposure, whereas teacher-child agreement was found for those with ADHD. CONCLUSION Findings from this study indicate that behavior ratings can be used to supplement laboratory measures but may not be measuring cognitive abilities regardless of whether a clinical diagnosis is present. A multi-method approach should be used when measuring skills in this domain. This was one of the first studies to examine cross-informant agreement in a sample of children with prenatal alcohol exposure. Further research is necessary to understand why inter-rater agreement differed for children with prenatal alcohol exposure and those with ADHD.
Genome-Wide Association Study on Total Starch, Amylose and Amylopectin in Barley Grain Reveals Novel Putative Alleles

The content and composition of starch in cereal grains are closely related to yield. Few studies have been done on the identification of the genes or loci associated with these traits in barley. This study was conducted to identify the genes or loci controlling starch traits in barley grains, including total starch (TS), amylose (AC) and amylopectin (AP) contents. A large genotypic variation was found in all examined starch traits. GWAS analysis detected 13, 2, 10 QTLs for TS, AC and AP, respectively, and 5 of them were commonly shared by AP and TS content. qTS-3.1, qAC-6.2 and qAP-5.1 may explain the largest variation of TS, AC and AP, respectively. Four putative candidate genes, i.e., HORVU6Hr1G087920, HORVU5Hr1G011230, HORVU5Hr1G011270 and HORVU5Hr1G011280, showed the high expression in the developing barley grains when starch accumulates rapidly. The examined 100 barley accessions could be divided into two groups based on the polymorphism of the marker S5H_29297679, with 93 accessions having allele GG and seven accessions having AA. Moreover, significantly positive correlation was found between the number of favorable alleles of the identified QTLs and TS, AC, AP content. In conclusion, the identified loci or genes in this study could be useful for genetic improvement of grains starch in barley.
Identification of Promiscuous African Swine Fever Virus T-Cell Determinants Using a Multiple Technical Approach

The development of subunit vaccines against African swine fever (ASF) is mainly hindered by the lack of knowledge regarding the specific ASF virus (ASFV) antigens involved in protection. As a good example, the identity of ASFV-specific CD8+ T-cell determinants remains largely unknown, despite their protective role being established a long time ago. Aiming to identify them, we implemented the IFNγ ELISpot as readout assay, using as effector cells peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from pigs surviving experimental challenge with Georgia2007/1. As stimuli for the ELISpot, ASFV-specific peptides or full-length proteins identified by three complementary strategies were used. In silico prediction of specific CD8+ T-cell epitopes allowed identifying a 19-mer peptide from MGF100-1L, as frequently recognized by surviving pigs. Complementarily, the repertoire of SLA I-bound peptides identified in ASFV-infected porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs), allowed the characterization of five additional SLA I-restricted ASFV-specific epitopes. Finally, in vitro stimulation studies using fibroblasts transfected with plasmids encoding full-length ASFV proteins, led to the identification of MGF505-7R, A238L and MGF100-1L as promiscuously recognized antigens. Interestingly, each one of these proteins contain individual peptides recognized by surviving pigs. Identification of the same ASFV determinants by means of such different approaches reinforce the results presented here.
The evolution of wood warbler flight calls: Species with similar migrations produce acoustically similar calls

Diverse animal species engage in long‐distance migrations. Many migrants travel in groups, and communication within these groups may be important to survival and successful migration. We examined migration and communication in 36 species of wood warblers (Parulidae), songbirds that breed in North America and migrate in mixed‐species flocks to their wintering grounds. During migration, wood warblers produce short vocalizations called “flight calls. ” The function of flight calls and the patterns of acoustic similarity between species are poorly understood. We investigated whether acoustic similarity of flight calls of different species of warbler reflects the similarity in their migratory journeys or their phylogenetic relatedness. We found that phylogeny, similarity in breeding latitude, and overlap in the timing of migration predict acoustic flight call similarity across warbler species. Further, we found that phylogeny, similarity in migration distance, and overlap in wintering range predict acoustic flight call similarity in a subset of 12 species with highly similar calls, although this analysis has a small sample size. We conclude that migratory similarity may be an important force driving the evolution of acoustically similar calls in wood warblers, in addition to phylogenetic relatedness. Acoustic convergence in these species may facilitate communication between individuals with similar migrations.
Liver Abnormalities after Elimination of HCV Infection: Persistent Epigenetic and Immunological Perturbations Post-Cure

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. While directly acting antiviral (DAA) drugs are now able to cure virtually all hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, even in subjects with advanced liver disease, what happens to the liver and progression of the disease after DAA-induced cure of viremia is only beginning to emerge. Several large-scale clinical studies in different patient populations have shown that patients with advanced liver disease maintain a risk for developing HCC even when the original instigator, the virus, is eliminated by DAAs. Here we review emerging studies derived from multiple, complementary experimental systems involving patient liver tissues, human liver cell cultures, human liver slice cultures, and animal models, showing that HCV infection induces epigenetic, signaling, and gene expression changes in the liver associated with altered hepatic innate immunity and liver cancer risk. Of critical importance is the fact that these virus-induced abnormalities persist after DAA cure of HCV. These nascent findings portend the discovery of pathways involved in post-HCV immunopathogenesis, which may be clinically actionable targets for more comprehensive care of DAA-cured individuals.
Vancomycin pharmacokinetic parameters in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Introduction Current guidelines on vancomycin dosing lack specific recommendations about its dosing in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients, the objective of the current study was to compare vancomycin pharmacokinetic variables in this population with those of general population. Methods A prospective study was designed and the calculated parameters of vancomycin pharmacokinetic were compared with individualized parameters. Two trough levels before 4th and 5th doses and a peak level after the 4th dose, were taken. All patients received a dose of 15 mg/kg of vancomycin two or three times a day. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using a one compartmental model. The association between different variables and of acute kidney injury (AKI) development and achievement of target levels were also evaluated. Results A significant difference was observed between population Volume of distribution (Vd) and individualized Vd (mean 57.33 L vs 162.86 L, p value 0.019) and trough and peak levels (p values 0.0001 and 0.001; for mean trough and peak levels respectively). The achievement of the recommended trough levels and area under the concentration time curve per minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC24/MIC) was very low (5/71 and 24/71 patients respectively). No significant differences were observed between population and individualized clearance and rate of elimination of vancomycin (p values of 0.092 and 0.55 respectively). Concomitant receipt of cyclosporine was significantly related with development of AKI (p value 0.046). Conclusion The dosing methods which use population-based pharmacokinetic variables does not result in desired therapeutic levels in HSCT patients, mainly because of larger vancomycin volume of distribution.
A Non-Isokinetic Approach for Modeling Solid-State Transformations: Application to Crystallization of a Fe-B Amorphous Alloy

Solid-state phase transformations like crystallization of amorphous alloys can be described by an analytical model incorporating a nucleation index a. However, this model cannot be used to examine isochronal transformations with abrupt changing of enthalpy differences performed with differential scanning calorimetry. Based on the model, a non-isokinetic approach is proposed and applied to analyze the isochronal crystallization kinetics of Fe85B15 amorphous alloy. The approach enabled us to obtain the kinetic parameters and activation energies for nucleation and growth.
Cryogel Poly(acrylamide): Synthesis, Structure and Applications

This review focuses on the description of macromolecular gels formed as a result of polymerization, under freezing conditions, from monomer solutions. Materials resulting from this polymerization are known as cryogels and have particular properties, such as porosity of a specific nature. They are attractive in terms of biotechnological applications. The cryogels have interconnected macropores, and their preparation method from aqueous solutions in freezing conditions is a process that combines the crystallization of a solvent with the copolymerization of monomers. Cryogels have recently been used as adsorbents for the efficient separation and purification of biomacromolecules, such as proteins, DNA, cell organelles, viruses and enzymes that are present in solutions. Despite the wide application of cryogels, improvements in their preparation are necessary to minimize problems, such as the formation of hydrogels, instead of cryogels. Hydrogels form due to immediate polymerization after addition of the redox initiator before solvent freezing. The synthesis and use of cryogels as chromatographic supports are also discussed.
Effects of Lead on Iron, Manganese, and Zinc Concentrations in Different Varieties of Maize (Zea mays)

To investigate the effects of different levels of lead (Pb) on the concentration of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in Zea mays, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design and 4 × 8 factorial arrangement with three replicates on a calcareous soil in a greenhouse. Factors included four levels of Pb (0 as control, 100, 200, and 400 mg Pb kg−1 soil) from PbCl2 source and eight varieties of maize (single cross 260, 301, 302, 500, 604, and 647 and double cross 370). Results showed that the accumulation of Pb was greater in roots than shoots in the maize varieties studied. Increased Pb concentration in soil decreased Mn and Fe in shoot and elevated Fe concentration in roots. The Mn concentration of roots on different levels of Pb was not affected. Zinc concentration of almost all varieties increased in shoots and decreased in roots with the increase of Pb in soil.
The Mass Action Law in Two‐Component Fermi Systems Revisited Excitons and Electron‐Hole Pairs

Taking up the quantum-statistical derivation of a mass action law for two-component Fermi systems with Coulomb interaction given previously an improved density formula for either species is presented. It expresses the densities as a sum of a free quasi-particle part and a correlated contribution resulting from bound and scattering states. Avoiding the resolvent-technique for the solution of the T-matrix equation the correlated density is directly expressed in terms of on-shell quantities, eventually the scattering phase shifts. The ionisation equilibrium of excitons, electrons, and holes is quantitatively analyzed by model calculations for a cut-off Coulomb potential. The possibility of Bose-Einstein condensation of scattering states is inspected. Auf der Grundlage einer fruher angegebenen quantenstatistischen Ableitung eines Massenwirkungsgesetzes fur Zweikomponenten-Fermisysteme mit Coulomb-Wechselwirkung wird ein verbesserter Ausdruck fur die Dichten der Teilchensorten angegeben. Die Dichten ergeben sich als Summe einer Dichte freier Quasiteilchen und eines Korrelationsbeitrages, der von den Bindungs- und Streuzustanden herruhrt. Bei der Behandlung der T-Matrix-Gleichung wird auf die Anwendung der Resolvententechnik verzichtet, und die korrelierte Dichte wird direkt durch aus der T-Matrix abgeleitete „on-shell”-Grosen, letzten Endes durch die Streuphasen, ausgedruckt. Das Ionisationsgleichgewicht von Exzitonen, Elektronen und Lochern wird anhand von Modellrechnungen fur ein „cut-off”-Coulomb-Potential untersucht. Die Moglichkeit der Bose-Einstein-Kondensation von Streuzustanden wird betrachtet.