Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Magnesium Orotate, Benfotiamine and a Combination of Vitamins on Mitochondrial and Cholinergic Function in the TgF344-AD Rat Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Glucose hypometabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cholinergic deficits have been reported in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, we examine these parameters in TgF344-AD rats, an Alzheimer model that carries amyloid precursor protein and presenilin-1 mutations, and of wild type F344 rats. In mitochondria isolated from rat hippocampi, we found reductions of complex I and oxidative phosphorylation in transgenic rats. Further impairments, also of complex II, were observed in aged (wild-type and transgenic) rats. Treatment with a “cocktail” containing magnesium orotate, benfotiamine, folic acid, cyanocobalamin, and cholecalciferol did not affect mitochondrial activities in wild-type rats but restored diminished activities in transgenic rats to wild-type levels. Glucose, lactate, and pyruvate levels were unchanged by age, genetic background, or treatment. Using microdialysis, we also investigated extracellular concentrations of acetylcholine that were strongly reduced in transgenic animals. Again, ACh levels in wild-type rats did not change upon treatment with nutrients, whereas the cocktail increased hippocampal acetylcholine levels under physiological stimulation. We conclude that TgF344-AD rats display a distinct mitochondrial and cholinergic dysfunction not unlike the findings in patients suffering from AD. This dysfunction can be partially corrected by the application of the “cocktail” which is particularly active in aged rats. We suggest that the TgF344-AD rat is a promising model to further investigate mitochondrial and cholinergic dysfunction and potential treatment approaches for AD.
Planar multilateral disc monopole antenna for UWB application

A planar multilateral disc monopole antenna for ultrawideband (UWB) application is proposed and experimentally studied. The proposed antenna has wide impedance bandwidth from 2.85 GHz to more than 15 GHz with better than −10 dB return loss. Moreover, the proposed antenna is simple in structure and easy to fabricate. The design is demonstrated assuming FR4 substrate with a relative dielectric constant of 4.4 and thickness of 1.6 mm. The size of the antenna is 40 mm × 50 mm. Experimental patterns are showing the behavior of omnidirectional beam pattern in H‐plane. Details of the proposed antenna design and simulation results for UWB operations are presented and discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 1101–1103, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22353
Continuum Theory for Planar Cell Polarity

Planar Cell Polarity (PCP), characterized by asymmetric localization of proteins at the cell membrane within the epithelial plane, plays essential roles in embryonic development and physiological functions. The significance of PCP can be appreciated by the outcomes of its failure in the form of defects in neural tube formation, tracheal malfunctions, organ shape misregulation, hair follicle misalignment etc. Extensive experimental works on PCP in fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have classified the proteins involved in PCP into a ‘core’ module, acting locally by inter-cellular protein interactions, and a ‘global’ module, responsible for the alignment of cell polarities with that of the tissue axis. Despite the involvement of different molecular players the asymmetric localization of the proteins of the two modules on cell membrane primarily involves inter-cellular dimer formations. We have developed a continuum model of the localization of PCP proteins on the cell membrane and its regulation via intra- and inter-cellular protein-protein interactions. We have identified the conditions for the asymmetric protein localization, or PCP establishment, for uniform and graded protein expression levels in the tissue. We have found that in the absence of any tissue level expression gradient polarized state of the tissue does not arise. However, in the presence of tissue-level expression gradients of proteins the polarized state remains stable. We have also looked at the influence of the loss of PCP proteins from a select region of the tissue on the polarization of the cells outside of that region. This continuum theory of planar cell polarity can be coupled with active-matter hydrodynamics to study cell flows and their regulation by genetic machinery.
Function Words at the Interface: A Two-Tier Approach

The distinction between function words and content words poses a challenge to theories of the syntax–prosody interface. On the one hand, function words are “ignored” by the mapping algorithms; that is, function words are not mapped to prosodic words. On the other hand, there are numerous accounts of function words which form prosodic words and can even be analysed as heads of larger prosodic units. Furthermore, function words seem to be a driving factor for the formation of prosodic structures in that they can largely be held accountable for the non-isomorphism between syntactic and prosodic constituency. This paper discusses these challenges with a focus on a particular function word, and the first-person nominative pronoun in Swabian, a Southern German dialect. By means of two corpus studies, it is shown that the pronoun occurs in two forms, the prosodic word [i:] and the enclitic [ə]. Depending on clause position and focus structure, the forms occur in complementary distribution. Occurrences of n-insertion allow for the establishment of a recursive prosodic word structure at the level of the phonological module. The findings support a new proposal in the form of a two-tier mapping approach to the interface between syntax and prosody.
Fibrinogen and Bleeding in Adult Cardiac Surgery: A Review of the Literature

Background: Fibrinogen is a substrate for blood clots formation. In cardiac surgery, a number of different mechanisms lead to a decrease in fibrinogen levels and consequent impaired haemostasis. Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are therefore frequently exposed to blood loss and allogeneic blood transfusion, which are risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality. Thus, particular efforts in fibrinogen management should be made to decrease bleeding and the need for blood transfusion. Therefore, fibrinogen remains an active focus of investigations from basic science to clinical practice. This review aims to summarise the latest evidence regarding the role of fibrinogen and current practices in fibrinogen management in adult cardiac surgery. Methods: The PubMed database was systematically searched for literature investigating the role and disorders of fibrinogen in cardiac surgery and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures related to fibrinogen deficiency aimed at reducing blood loss and transfusion requirements. Clinical trials and reviews from the last 10 years were included. Results: In total, 146 articles were analysed. Conclusion: The early diagnosis and treatment of fibrinogen deficiency is crucial in maintaining haemostasis in bleeding patients. Further studies are needed to better understand the association between fibrinogen levels, bleeding, and fibrinogen supplementation and their impacts on patient outcomes in different clinical settings.
Client drivers for construction projects: implications for standardization

This paper presents the results from interviews of 59 senior personnel from major construction clients. There are two main themes: client drivers for construction projects and their implications for standardization of processes and components. The client sample is described and reasons for procuring construction projects are established along with the extent of their involvement in the construction process and hence their ability to influence the outcomes. Their views on value for money, preconceptions of standardization and their opinion on its future potential are explored. Many clients recognize the need to involve constructors and manufacturers early, although fewer actually achieve this. Misconceptions about standardization exist, but many clients are recognizing the benefits possible from standardization. However, very few actually measure benefits and so are unable to truly evaluate success. There is a future for increased standardization, but only if the industry recognizes the unique aspects of each client and responds positively to meet those needs.
The Differential Reactive Oxygen Species Production of Tear Neutrophils in Response to Various Stimuli In Vitro

A large number of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) invade the ocular surface during prolonged eye closure (sleep); these leukocytes are commonly referred as tear PMNs. PMNs contribute to homeostasis and possess an arsenal of inflammatory mediators to protect against pathogens and foreign materials. This study examined the ability of tear PMNs to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), an essential killing mechanism for PMNs which can lead to oxidative stress and imbalance. Cells were collected after sleep from healthy participants using a gentle eye wash. ROS production in stimulated (phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or N-Formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP)) and unstimulated tear PMNs was measured using luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence for 60 min. A high level of constitutive/spontaneous ROS production was observed in tear PMNs in the absence of any stimulus. While tear PMNs were able to produce ROS in response to PMA, they failed to appropriately respond to LPS and fMLP, although fMLP-stimulated tear PMNs generated ROS extracellularly in the first three minutes. Higher ROS generation was observed in isolated tear PMNs which may be due to priming from the magnetic bead cell separation system. The differential responses of tear PMNs in ROS generation provide further evidence of their potential inflammatory roles in ocular complications involving oxidative stress.
Machine Learning-Based Plant Detection Algorithms to Automate Counting Tasks Using 3D Canopy Scans

This study tested whether machine learning (ML) methods can effectively separate individual plants from complex 3D canopy laser scans as a prerequisite to analyzing particular plant features. For this, we scanned mung bean and chickpea crops with PlantEye (R) laser scanners. Firstly, we segmented the crop canopies from the background in 3D space using the Region Growing Segmentation algorithm. Then, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based ML algorithms were fine-tuned for plant counting. Application of the CNN-based (Convolutional Neural Network) processing architecture was possible only after we reduced the dimensionality of the data to 2D. This allowed for the identification of individual plants and their counting with an accuracy of 93.18% and 92.87% for mung bean and chickpea plants, respectively. These steps were connected to the phenotyping pipeline, which can now replace manual counting operations that are inefficient, costly, and error-prone. The use of CNN in this study was innovatively solved with dimensionality reduction, addition of height information as color, and consequent application of a 2D CNN-based approach. We found there to be a wide gap in the use of ML on 3D information. This gap will have to be addressed, especially for more complex plant feature extractions, which we intend to implement through further research.
Deepening the Knowledge of ROS1 Rearrangements in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Diagnosis, Treatment, Resistance and Concomitant Alterations

ROS proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1) rearrangements are reported in about 1–2% of non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). After efficacy of crizotinib was demonstrated, identification of ROS1 translocations in advanced disease became fundamental to give patients the chance of specific and effective treatment. Different methods are available for detection of rearrangements, and probably the real prevalence of ROS1 rearrangements is higher than that reported in literature, as our capacity to detect gene rearrangements is improving. In particular, with next generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, we are currently able to assess multiple genes simultaneously with increasing sensitivity. This is leading to overcome the “single oncogenic driver” paradigm, and in the very near future, the co-existence of multiple drivers will probably emerge more frequently and represent a therapeutic issue. Since recently, crizotinib has been the only available therapy, but today, many other tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) are emerging and seem promising both in first and subsequent lines of treatment. Indeed, novel inhibitors are also able to overcome resistance mutations to crizotinib, hypothesizing a possible sequential strategy also in ROS1-rearranged disease. In this review, we will focus on ROS1 rearrangements, dealing with diagnostic aspects, new therapeutic options, resistance issues and the coexistence of ROS1 translocations with other molecular alterations.
MSC Secretome as a Promising Tool for Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration in a Model of Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are considered to be critical contributors to injured tissue repair and regeneration, and MSC-based therapeutic approaches have been applied to many peripheral and central neurologic disorders. It has been demonstrated that the beneficial effects of MSC are mainly mediated by the components of their secretome. In the current study, we have explored the neuroprotective potential of the MSC secretome in a rat model of intracerebral hemorrhage and shown that a 10-fold concentrated secretome of human MSC and its combination with the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) provided a better survival and neurological outcome of rats within 14 days of intracerebral hemorrhage compared to the negative (non-treated) and positive (BDNF) control groups. We found that it was due to the ability of MSC secretome to stimulate neuron survival under conditions of glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. However, the lesion volume did not shrink in these rats, and this also correlated with prominent microglia activation. We hypothesize that this could be caused by the species-specificity of the used MSC secretome and provide evidence to confirm this. Thus, we have found that allogenic rat MSC secretome was more effective than xenogenic human MSC secretome in the rat intracerebral hemorrhage model: it reduced the volume of the lesion and promoted excellent survival and neurological outcome of the treated rats.
New Insights on the Nickel State Deposited by Hydrazine Wet-Chemical Synthesis Route in the Ni/BCY15 Proton-Conducting SOFC Anode

Yttrium-doped barium cerate (BCY15) was used as an anode ceramic matrix for synthesis of the Ni-based cermet anode with application in proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (pSOFC). The hydrazine wet-chemical synthesis was developed as an alternative low-cost energy-efficient route that promotes ‘in situ’ introduction of metallic Ni particles in the BCY15 matrix. The focus of this study is a detailed comparative characterization of the nickel state in the Ni/BCY15 cermets obtained in two types of medium, aqueous and anhydrous ethylene glycol environment, performed by a combination of XRD, N2 physisorption, SEM, EPR, XPS, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Obtained results on the effect of the working medium show that ethylene glycol ensures active Ni cermet preparation with well-dispersed nanoscale metal Ni particles and provides a strong interaction between hydrazine-originating metallic Ni and cerium from the BCY15 matrix. The metallic Ni phase in the pSOFC anode is more stable during reoxidation compared to the Ni cermet prepared by the commercial mechanical mixing procedure. These factors contribute toward improvement of the anode’s electrochemical performance in pSOFC, enhanced stability, and a lower degradation rate during operation.
Impact of family ownership, management, and generations on IPO underpricing and long-run performance

This paper examines the impact of family ownership, management, and generations on IPO underpricing and the long-run performance of publicly listed firms in Indonesia from 2004 to 2015. This study is based on agency theory, which discusses the relationship between shareholders and management, as well as controlling and non-controlling shareholders. Study results show that IPO underpricing was 28% higher for family firms than non-family firms. Among family firms, a family member’s presence as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) significantly reduced the level of IPO underpricing. A negative relationship between family CEO and IPO underpricing was only observed if a CEO at the time of IPO was the founder instead of family descendants. A long-run return of family-firm IPOs was more likely to underperform their non-family-firm counterparts. The findings in the primary market suggest that investors predict bigger issues of agency conflicts between controlling and non-controlling shareholders in family firms than the issues of agency conflicts between shareholders and management in non-family firms. Since investors consider family-firm IPOs to be riskier than non-family firms, they demand a higher level of IPO underpricing to compensate for such risks. The results in the secondary market confirm the findings in the primary market.
Molar Septum Expansion with Osseodensification for Immediate Implant Placement, Retrospective Multicenter Study with Up-to-5-Year Follow-Up, Introducing a New Molar Socket Classification

The ideal positioning of immediate implants in molar extraction sockets often requires the osteotomy to be in the interradicular septum, which can be challenging in some cases, with traditional site preparation techniques. Patients who had undergone molar tooth extraction and immediate implant placement at five different centers, and followed up between August 2015 and September 2020, were evaluated. Inclusion criteria were use of the osseodensification technique for implant site preparation. The primary outcome was septum width measurement pre-instrumentation and osteotomy diameter post expansion. Clinical outcomes, such as implant insertion torque (ISQ) and implant survival rate, were also collected. A total of 131 patients, who received 145 immediate implants, were included. The mean overall septum width at baseline was 3.3 mm and the mean osteotomy diameter post instrumentation was 4.65 mm. A total of ten implants failed: seven within the healing period and three after loading; resulting in a cumulative implant survival rate of 93.1%. This retrospective study showed that osseodensification is a predictable method for immediate implant placement with interradicular septum expansion in molar extraction sockets. Furthermore, it allowed the introduction of a new molar socket classification. In the future, well-designed controlled clinical studies are needed to confirm these results and further explore the potential advantages of this technique.
Intercalibration of Backscatter Measurements among Ku-Band Scatterometers Onboard the Chinese HY-2 Satellite Constellation

The Chinese HY-2D satellite was launched on 19 May 2021, carrying a Ku-band scatterometer. Together with the operating scatterometers onboard the HY-2B and HY-2C satellites, the HY-2 series scatterometer constellation was built, constituting different satellite orbits and hence opportunity for mutual intercomparison and intercalibration. To achieve intercalibration of backscatter measurements for these scatterometers, this study presents and performs three methods including: (1) direct comparison using collocated measurements, in which the nonlinear calibrations can also be derived; (2) intercalibration over the Amazon rainforest; (3) and the double-difference technique based on backscatter simulations over the global oceans, in which a geophysical model function and numerical weather prediction (NWP) model winds are needed. The results obtained using the three methods are comparable, i.e., the differences among them are within 0.1 dB. The intercalibration results are validated by comparing the HY-2 series scatterometer wind speeds with NWP model wind speeds. The curves of wind speed bias for the HY-2 series scatterometers are quite similar, particularly in wind speeds ranging from 4 to 20 m/s. Based on the well-intercalibrated backscatter measurements, consistent sea surface wind products from HY-2 series scatterometers can be produced, and greatly benefit data applications.
THE INFLUENCE OF PERCEIVED EASE OF USE, PERCEIVED USEFULNESS, AND ATTITUDE TOWARD BEHAVIOR ON THE INTENTION TO USE OF INTERNET BANKING (Case Study at BNI 46 Bank Kln Brawijaya University Malang)

This research aims to determine the influence of ease of use, usefulness, and attitude of the users in the use of of Internet Banking. This research intended for costumers who use Internet Banking in banking ac t ivities, are classified in several c a tegories including age and gender. This research is based on two theories, that is Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Technology Acceptence Model (TAM). This resea r ch uses quantitative methods using questionaire to obtain data to be processed, the researcher collected the data in BNI 46 Bank KLN Brawijaya Universitas Malang with the and customers who use internet banking as a sample . The results of this research are two of the three factors giving influence to the user in the use of Internet Banking. Keywords: Internet Banking, Influence of TAM and TRA, Bank. Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh kemudahan penggunaan, kegunaan, dan sikap pengguna dalam penggunaan Internet Banking . Penelitian ini ditujukan untuk pelanggan yang menggunakan Internet Banking di dalam kegiatan perbankan, diklasifikasikan dalam beberapa kategori termasuk usia dan jenis kelamin. Penelitian ini didasarkan pada dua teori, yaitu Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) dan Technology Accaptance Model (TAM). Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan menggunakan kuesioner untuk mendapatkan data yang akan diproses, peneliti mengumpulkan data di BNI 46 Bank KLN Universitas Brawijaya Malang dan nasabah yang menggunakan internet banking sebagai sampelnya. Hasil penelitian ini adalah dua dari tiga faktor yang memberikan pengaruh kepada pengguna dalam penggunaan Internet Banking. Kata kunci: Internet Banking , Influence of TAM and TRA , Bank .
Controllability of blended wing body aircraft

Several research studies indicate that the Blended Wing Body concept offers a significant performance improvement compared to conventional civil transportation aircraft due to its efficient aerodynamic configuration. Technical challenges are currently present in nearly all key areas of the design of a Blended Wing Body aircraft as a result of its highly integrated design. The aim of the current research is the development of a tool that automatically generates a nonlinear flight mechanics model of a Blended Wing Body aircraft within a Multidisciplinary Design Optimization framework. The main purpose of the model is to assess the controllability of the aircraft in the conceptual design phase via desktop and piloted simulation. Specific topics of interest to be investigated are handling qualities in normal operation and with failure states present. The model will also serve as a baseline for the development of control allocation schemes. Results obtained by analyzing the model can be used for the preliminary design of the aerodynamic control surfaces in terms of size, position and arrangement.