Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental Investigation of Stability of Silica Nanoparticles at Reservoir Conditions for Enhanced Oil-Recovery Applications

To be effective enhanced oil-recovery (EOR) agents, nanoparticles must be stable and be transported through a reservoir. However, the stability of a nanoparticle suspension at reservoir salinity and temperature is still a challenge and how it is affected by reservoir rocks and crude oils is not well understood. In this work, for the first time, the effect of several nanoparticle treatment approaches on the stability of silica nanoparticles at reservoir conditions (in the presence of reservoir rock and crude oil) was investigated for EOR applications. The stability of nanoparticle suspensions was screened in test tubes at 70 °C and 3.8 wt. % NaCl in the presence of reservoir rock and crude oil. Fumed silica nanoparticles in suspension with hydrochloric acid (HCl), polymer-modified fumed nanoparticles and amide-functionalized silica colloidal nanoparticles were studied. The size and pH of nanoparticle suspension in contact with rock samples were measured to determine the mechanism for stabilization or destabilization of nanoparticles. A turbidity scanner was used to quantify the stability of the nanoparticle suspension. Results showed that both HCl and polymer surface modification can improve nanoparticle stability under synthetic seawater salinity and 70 °C. Suspensions of polymer-modified nanoparticles were stable for months. It was found that pH is a key parameter influencing nanoparticle stability. Rock samples containing carbonate minerals destabilized unmodified nanoparticles. Crude oil had limited effect on nanoparticle stability. Some components of crude oil migrated into the aqueous phase consisting of amide-functionalized silica colloidal nanoparticles suspension. Nanoparticles modification or/and stabilizer are necessary for nanoparticle EOR application.
Using Body Size Indices for Selection of future Rainbow Trout Breeding (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum1792)

Fish and fish products were always a commodity in human nutrition. Aquaculture resources of natural continental or maritime waters permanently secured human food needs, but today, under the global population explosion, humanity may destroy the balance of existing ecosystems by exploiting their irrational considerations to which attention is directed to aquaculture specialists, knowing that real progress in recent years. In this economic stage, a fierce commercial competition and significantly reduce the market price, and achieving alignment implies a new concept of strategy to lower production cost, which ends with the use of improved genetic lines. Genetic improvement programs correctly applied in accordance with existing species and environmental conditions will help increase the performance of production and reproduction of fish and getting a low production cost, benefiting in this respect, both producers and consumers.
Effects of antimicrobial agents on oral biofilms in a saliva-conditioned flowcell

Oral bacteria form mixed-species biofilms known as dental plaque. Growth of these complex microbial communities is often controlled with the use of antimicrobial mouthrinses. Novel laboratory methods for testing the efficacy of antimicrobials in situ are necessary to complement current clinical testing protocols. In this study, we examined the effects of antimicrobial agents on a streptococcal biofilm grown in a saliva-conditioned flowcell. The flowcell coupled with confocal laser scanning microscopy enabled examination of growing oral biofilms in situ without disruption of the microbial community. Biofilms composed of Streptococcus gordonii DL1 were grown in an in vitro flowcell and treated with several commercially available antimicrobial mouthrinses containing essential oils, triclosan, cetylpyridinium chloride/domiphen or chlorhexidine. The results of this study revealed varying abilities of the antimicrobial agents to cause cellular damage on the growing biofilm in situ . This study therefore demonstrated the usefulness of the flowcell in the rapid assessment of antimicrobial efficacy.
The biology of pulse beetle, C. chinensis on stored mungbean

Callosobruchus chinensis is internal, primary and most devastating pest of stored pulses. The fecundity of female beetle was observed with an average of 78.93 ± 4.83 eggs per female and incubation period was observed 4.33 ± 0.97 days. The larval and pupal period varied from 20 to 23 days with an average of 21.73 ± 0.96 days. The oviposition and post oviposition period was observed with an average 7.93 ± 1.27 and 2.2 ± 0.67 days, respectively. The longevity of adult female and male beetle observed wih an average 8.8 ± 1.56 and 11.33 ± 1.98 days, respectively. The total life cycle of C. chinensis was 32.73 ± 2.96 days and the sex ratio of female and male beetle was 0.83: 1.21.
Inhibition of coated pit formation in Hep2 cells blocks the cytotoxicity of diphtheria toxin but not that of ricin toxin

It has been recently shown (Larkin, J. M., M. S. Brown, J. L. Goldstein, and R. G. W. Anderson, 1983, Cell, 33:273-285) that after a hypotonic shock followed by incubation in a K+-free medium, human fibroblasts arrest their coated pit formation and therefore arrest receptor-mediated endocytosis of low density lipoprotein. We have used this technique to study the endocytosis of transferrin, diphtheria toxin, and ricin toxin by three cell lines (Vero, Wi38/SV40, and Hep2 cells). Only Hep2 cells totally arrested internalization of [125I]transferrin, a ligand transported by coated pits and coated vesicles, after intracellular K+ depletion. Immunofluorescence studies using anti-clathrin antibodies showed that clathrin associated with the plasma membrane disappeared in Hep2 cells when the level of intracellular K+ was low. In the absence of functional coated pits, diphtheria toxin was unable to intoxicate Hep2 cells but the activity of ricin toxin was unaffected by this treatment. By measuring the rate of internalization of [125I]ricin toxin by Hep2 cells, with and without functional coated pits, we have shown that this labeled ligand was transported in both cases inside the cells. Hep2 cells with active coated pits internalized twice as much [125I]ricin toxin as Hep2 cells without coated pits. Entry of ricin toxin inside the cells was a slow process (8% of the bound toxin per 10 min at 37 degrees C) when compared to transferrin internalization (50% of the bound transferrin per 10 min at 37 degrees C). Using the indirect immunofluorescence technique on permeabilized cells, we have shown that Hep2 cells depleted in intracellular K+ accumulated ricin toxin in compartments that were predominantly localized around the cell nucleus. Our study indicates that in addition to the pathway of coated pits and coated vesicles used by diphtheria toxin and transferrin, another system of endocytosis for receptor-bound molecules takes place at the level of the cell membrane and is used by ricin toxin to enter the cytosol.
Cranberry Extract for Preventing Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: An Outcome-Specific Meta-Analysis of Prospective Trials

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections, representing enormous healthcare-cost and morbidity burdens. Though cranberries have long been used to prevent recurrent UTI (r-UTI), extant evidence is inconsistent. Potentials reasons for inconsistency include using different cranberry preparations (juice versus tablet/capsule), heterogenous populations, and outcome definition. Importantly, juice hardly a feasible long-term therapeutic option and there are no meta-analyses specifically examining tablet/capsule form of cranberry. We conducted an updated meta-analysis to address these inconsistencies. Methods: MEDLINE was systematically searched for, i) placebo-controlled clinical trials, ii) restricted to adults, iii) exclusively investigating cranberry extract in tablet/capsule form to prevent r-UTI, and iv) clearly reporting incidence of any of the three outcomes (detailed subsequently) in treatment and placebo groups. Three outcome measures, i.e culture-confirmed UTI, asymptomatic pyuria/bacteriuria, and symptomatic UTI were meta-analyzed separately. Results: 15 RCTs met inclusion criteria. Ten trials reported culture-confirmed UTI, seven reported asymptomatic pyuria/bacteriuria, and 5 trials reported symptomatic but not culture-confirmed UTI as primary outcome, yielding twelve (n=2391 subjects), ten (n=2565 urine cultures), and seven (n=1325 subjects) independent cohorts, respectively. Meta-analysis revealed a 30% reduced risk of culture-confirmed UTI (pooled RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.54, 0.91; I2=59%), 23% reduction in asymptomatic bacteriuria/pyuria (pooled RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.69, 0.86, I2=75%), and 14% reduction in symptomatic UTI (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.75, 0.98; I2=48%). Excluding low-risk patients and those with neurogenic bladder having indwelling/intermittent catheterization reduced heterogeneity among culture-confirmed UTI trials revealing baseline risk profile of patients is a significant factor contributing to heterogeneity in extant literature. Funnel plot analysis did not reveal significant publication bias. Discussion: Cranberry extract in capsule/tablet form reduces risk of r-UTI in those with a history of r-UTI, but not in those without such history, or those using indwelling or intermittent catheterization. Major limitation of available data was significant heterogeneity, though without evidence of publication bias.
Anticancer Effects of Plasma-Activated Medium Produced by a Microwave-Excited Atmospheric Pressure Argon Plasma Jet

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been reported to have strong anticancer effects in vitro and in vivo. CAP has been known to induce apoptosis in most cancer cells by treatment to cells using direct and indirect treatment methods. There are many reports of apoptosis pathways induced by CAP, but for indirect treatment, there is still a lack of fundamental research on how CAP can cause apoptosis in cancer cells. In this study, we applied an indirect treatment method to determine how CAP can induce cancer cell death. First, plasma-activated medium (PAM) was produced by a 2.45 GHz microwave-excited atmospheric pressure plasma jet (ME-APPJ). Next, the amounts of various reactive species in the PAM were estimated using colorimetric methods. The concentration of NO2– and H2O2 in PAM cultured with cancer cells was measured, and intracellular reactive oxidative stress (ROS) changes were observed using flow cytometry. When PAM was incubated with A549 lung cancer cells, there was little change in NO2– concentration, but the concentration of H2O2 gradually decreased after 30 min. While the intracellular ROS of A549 cells was rapidly increased at 2 hours, there was no significant change in that of PAM-treated normal cells. Furthermore, PAM had a significant cytotoxic effect on A549 cells but had little effect on normal cell viability. In addition, using flow cytometry, we confirmed that apoptosis of A549 cells occurred following flow cytometry and western blot analysis. These results suggest that among various reactive species produced by PAM, hydrogen peroxide plays a key role in inducing cancer cell apoptosis.
The narrative arc: Revealing core narrative structures through text analysis

We find a consistent, unified narrative structure that can be reliably quantified using modern text analysis methods. Scholars across disciplines have long debated the existence of a common structure that underlies narratives. Using computer-based language analysis methods, several structural and psychological categories of language were measured across ~40,000 traditional narratives (e.g., novels and movie scripts) and ~20,000 nontraditional narratives (science reporting in newspaper articles, TED talks, and Supreme Court opinions). Across traditional narratives, a consistent underlying story structure emerged that revealed three primary processes: staging, plot progression, and cognitive tension. No evidence emerged to indicate that adherence to normative story structures was related to the popularity of the story. Last, analysis of fact-driven texts revealed structures that differed from story-based narratives.
MobileGaze: An efﬁcient framework for mobile gaze tracking

Figure 1: Tracking the Network’s Gaze: What a neural network focuses on when making gaze predictions Abstract Gaze tracking on mobile devices demands optimization across prediction accuracy, space usage and computational efﬁciency. To this end, we propose an efﬁcient and compact convolutional neural network, MobileGaze, that is primed towards accurate gaze predictions using a compact set of parameters. On the GazeCapture dataset, MobileGaze achieves a dot error rate of 2.12 cm without ensembling after 5 epochs of training, beating the existing state-of-the-art’s 2.46 cm error rate. What’s more astonishing is Mo-bileGaze was able to achieve 2.22 cm dot error after just 3 epochs of training, compared to the 25 epochs of training for the state-of-the-art, showing that MobileGaze converges to a satisfactory solution signiﬁcantly faster than its competitor. Alongside its memory and computational efﬁciency, this attribute also makes MobileGaze a more suitable model for deployment in conditions that require real-time machine learning. We also perform experiments tracking the speciﬁc parts of inputs MobileGaze focuses on when making predictions. Comparing its saliency maps with those of the iTracker model, we ﬁnd that the gradient ﬂow in MobileGaze is considerably more conservative, which makes it more robust to noise in the facial crops that form a third of its image inputs. We conclude by establishing the connection between this robustness to noise and the superior performance over iTracker on the gaze prediction task.
Evidence of changing intrinsic water‐use efficiency under rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations in Boreal Fennoscandia from subfossil leaves and tree ring δ13C ratios

Investigating the many internal feedbacks within the climate system is a vital component of the effort to quantify the full effects of future anthropogenic climate change. The stomatal apertures of plants tend to close and decrease in number under elevated CO2 concentrations, increasing water‐use efficiency (WUE) and reducing canopy evapotranspiration. Experimental and modelling studies reveal huge variations in these changes such that the warming associated with reduced evapotranspiration (known as physiological forcing) is neither well understood or constrained. Palaeo‐observations of changes in stomatal response and plant WUE under rising CO2 might be used to better understand the processes underlying the physiological forcing feedback and to link measured changes in plant WUE to a specific physiological change in stomata. Here we use time series of tree ring (Pinus sylvestris L.) δ13C and subfossil leaf (Betula nana L.) measurements of stomatal density and geometry to derive records of changes in intrinsic water‐use efficiency (iWUE) and maximum stomatal conductance in the Boreal zone of northern Finland and Sweden. We investigate the rate of change in both proxies, over the recent past. The independent lines of evidence from these two different Boreal species indicate increased iWUE and reduced maximum stomatal conductance of similar magnitude from preindustrial times (ca. ad 1850) to around ad 1970. After this maximum stomatal conductance continues to decrease to ad 2000 in B. nana but iWUE in P. sylvestris reaches a plateau. We suggest that northern boreal P. sylvestris might have reached a threshold in its ability to increase WUE as CO2 rises.
DYNAMICS OF THE ACMAEID LIMPET COLLISELLA SUBRUGOSA AND VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SIZE AND ABUNDANCE ALONG A WAVE EXPOSURE GRADIENT

The vertical distribution of the acmaeid limpet Collisella subrugosa (Orbigny) was studied on subtropical Brazilian shores. In a semi-sheltered shore at Ubatuba, monthly monitoring indicated that densities were higher in the mid-intertidal, and lower in the high- and low-intertidal. There was evidence of continuous recruitment mainly to mid- and lower levels on the shore, with a peak in the summer. Shell length increased with tidal height, and this pattern was maintained during the study period. To verify whether these results were consistent over a larger spatial scale, the vertical distribution of size, abundance, and shell shape of C. subrugosa was studied along a wave exposure gradient. Densities were not clearly related to wave action, and other sources of variation such as presence of competitors or secondary substrata appear to influence C. subrugosa distribution. Shell length increased towards the upper intertidal on more exposed shores, but no differences, or the reverse pattern was recorded on sheltered shores. These results are consistent with other studies on limpet distribution, and proposed causes include differential recruitment, migration, or microhabitat availability. Shell height increased faster with shell length in lower intertidal levels, and on more exposed sites. Foot surface area also increased faster with shell length on more exposed shores and indicate that wave action is an important factor determining shell shape in C. subrugosa. Additional sampling of upper and lower populations along a gradient of wave exposure in Florianopolis (southern Brazil) resulted in similar patterns of shell size, but the relationships between shell height and length for these populations were similar and isometric. Thus, there is a geographic variation in the vertical distribution of C. subrugosa, and possible causes include distinct physical conditions or differences in phenotypic plasticity of this limpet.
ACIDIFIED SODIUM CHLORITE, TRISODIUM PHOSPHATE AND POPULATIONS OF CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI ON CHICKEN BREAST SKIN

The present study was designed to determine the effects of acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) and trisodium phosphate (TSP) antimicrobial treatments. Chicken skin samples inoculated with Campylobacter jejuni ATCC 33291 and C. jejuni pc10 (isolated in our laboratory from chicken carcasses) were separately dipped into sterile tap water (control), 0.1% ASC, 10% TSP, 0.1% ASC followed by 10% TSP and 10% TSP followed by 0.1% ASC for 15 s at 25 ± 1C. Campylobacter jejuni counts and pH values were determined after 0, 1, 3 and 5 days of storage at 4 ± 1C. On day 0, reductions were between 1.1–2.5 log for C. jejuni ATCC 33291 and 1.4–2.4 log for C. jejuni pc10, while the reduction effects of all antimicrobials increased (P < 0.001) during the storage period and the bacterial counts reached undetectable levels (<1.0 × 102 cfu/g) on day 5 of storage at 4 ± 1C. The results of this study suggest that introduction of the antimicrobial treatments ASC, TSP and ASC followed by TSP into poultry processing systems could provide an added measure of safety.
Variety of responses of plant phenolic concentration to CO2 enrichment

A wide range of responses to elevated CO 2 was found for leaf total phenolic concentration of one grass species (wheat) growing in a Free-Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) system and two woody species (orange and pine trees) growing in Open-Top Chambers (OTC). The total phenolic concentration of wheat flag leaves grown at elevated [CO 2 ] was increased for most of the grain-filling stages studied ; there was no significant change in phenolic concentration of CO 2 -enriched orange tree leaves and CO 2 -enriched pine tree needles had reduced total phenolic concentration. There was an inverse relationship between the increase in leaf total phenolic concentration and increase in biomass of these pine trees. Different rates of increase in growth (carbon sink) produced by different environmental conditions or different resource availabilities apart from CO 2 itself must be considered in order to understand the response of carbon-based-secondary-compounds to elevated CO 2 .
Repeatability and number of growing seasons for the selection of custard apple progenies

This study aimed to estimate the repeatability coefficient and determine the minimum number of samples required for effective selection for yield of custard apple. Twenty progenies were evaluated in randomized blocks, five replications and four plants per plot. The fruits were collected, counted and weighed every two days of the year. Estimates of the repeatability coefficients were obtained by the methods of analysis of variance - ANOVA and principal components - PC. The estimates from the repeatability analysis of biennial data are higher than those based on individual years. The estimates of the PC method were accurate even in the first harvest, unlike ANOVA. Four biennia were sufficient to ensure effective progeny selection of custard apple.
Effects of food addition on the seasonal density- dependent structure of bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus populations

Summary 1. Population growth rates of bank vole populations in northern Finland were studied using long-term Capture‐Mark‐Recapture (CMR) data from two large grids (foodaddition and control), in 1982‐94. 2. A marked seasonal structure was found for direct density dependence, with a stronger density dependence in summer than in other seasons. There was no detectable evidence of delayed density dependence, consistent with the disappearance of large periodic multi-annual fluctuations. 3. Food-addition resulted in higher densities whereas the effect on the seasonal densitydependent structure was negligible. 4. Stability analysis of the deduced population dynamics model suggests that the dynamics were not affected by food addition. Variation in food resources is therefore unlikely to be a direct cause for multi-annual fluctuations in the studied system. Future studies should aim at linking the seasonal structure in the variation of vital rates to the seasonal structure in population dynamics.
Evaluation of the Nutrient Matrix Values for Phytase in Broilers

Abstract Microbial phytase has been shown to increase the availability of Ca, P, ME, and amino acids (AA) in diets for broilers. However, much more research has been conducted on the Ca and P effects than on the ME and AA effects. Therefore, 2 experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of phytase on the release of ME and AA from corn-soybean meal diets for broilers. Experiment 1 was a battery study that lasted for 14 d and included diets adequate in all nutrients, diets deficient in ME and AA, and these later 2 diets with and without added phytase. Experiment 2 was a floorpen study that lasted 42 d and included diets with reduced levels of ME and AA with added phytase. Growth performance, meat quality, and tibia ash were not affected by using the ME and AA values for phytase. Total P, soluble P, and inorganic soluble P in the litter were reduced when phytase was added to the diets. These data indicate that ME and AA values for phytase can be used in diet formulations for broilers with no loss in growth or yield performance, but a decrease in the P content of the litter will be observed.