Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stress Exposure of Evolved Bacteriophages under Laboratory versus Food Processing Conditions Highlights Challenges in Translatability

Bacterial viruses, or bacteriophages, are highly potent, target-specific antimicrobials. Bacteriophages can be safely applied along the food production chain to aid control of foodborne pathogens. However, bacteriophages are often sensitive to the environments encountered in food matrices and under processing conditions, thus limiting their applicability. We sought to address this challenge by exposing commercially available Listeria monocytogenes bacteriophage, P100, to three stress conditions: desiccation, elevated temperature, and low pH, to select for stress-resistant bacteriophages. The stressed bacteriophage populations lost up to 5.1 log10 in infectivity; however, the surviving subpopulation retained their stress-resistant phenotype through five passages with a maximum of 2.0 log10 loss in infectivity when exposed to the same stressor. Sequencing identified key mutation regions but did not reveal a clear mechanism of resistance. The stress-selected bacteriophage populations effectively suppressed L. monocytogenes growth at a modest multiplicity of infection of 0.35–0.43, indicating no trade-off in lytic ability in return for improved survivability. The stressed subpopulations were tested for survival on food grade stainless steel, during milk pasteurization, and within acidic beverages. Interestingly, air drying on stainless steel and pasteurization in milk led to significantly less stress and titer loss in bacteriophage compared to similar stress under model lab conditions. This led to a diminished benefit for stress-selection, thus highlighting a major challenge in real-life translatability of bacteriophage adaptational evolution.
The extended homogenous cavitation transport model

Cavitating flows are complex three dimensional flows with phase change in the low pressure regions. These are very sensitive to bubbles formation process and to velocity/pressure pulsations caused by turbulence. The presented cavitation model derived from a reduced Rayleigh–Plesset equation accounts for some of these effects. This model is based on the additional generic transport equation for vapour phase. The cavitation influence over the mixture density and viscosity is included in the model, which is implemented in commercial, general purpose Computational Fluid Dynamics code and validated on practical flow examples
NONLINEAR SCHRODINGER EQUATION AND N-SOLITON INTERACTIONS : GENERALIZED KARPMAN-SOLOV'EV APPROACH AND THE COMPLEX TODA CHAIN

A method for the description of the N-soliton interaction, which generalizes in a natural way the Karpman- Solov'ev one for the nonlinear Schrodinger ~NLS! equation, is proposed. Using it, we derive a nonlinear system of equations describing the dynamics of the parameters of N well separated solitons with nearly equal amplitudes and velocities. Next we study an exhaustive list of perturbations, relevant for nonlinear optics, which include linear and nonlinear dispersive and dissipative terms, effects of sliding filters, amplitude and phase modulation, etc. We prove that the linear perturbations affect each of the solitons separately, while the nonlinear ones also lead to additional interactive terms between neighboring solitons. Under certain approxi- mations we show that the N-soliton interaction for the unperturbed NLS equation is described by the complex Toda chain ~CTC! with N nodes, which is a completely integrable dynamical system with 2N degrees of freedom. A comparison made by numeric simulation shows that CTC gives an adequate description for the soliton interactions for a number of choices of the initial conditions. @S1063-651X~97! 03104-8#
A Comparison of Two Forward Head Posture Corrective Approaches in Elderly with Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Study

Forward head posture (FHP) is a common postural displacement that is significantly associated with neck pain, with higher risks of having neck pain in female and older populations. This study investigated the effect of two different forward head posture (FHP) interventions in elderly participants with poor posture and non-specific neck pain. Sixty-six elderly participants with a craniovertebral angle (CVA) < 50° were randomized into either a Chiropractic Biophyics® (CBP®) or a standardized exercise based FHP correction group (Standard Group). Both groups were treated for 18 sessions over a 6-week period. A 3-month post-treatment follow-up was also assessed with no further interventions. The CBP group received a mirror image® exercise and a Denneroll™ cervical traction orthotic (DCTO); the standard group performed a protocol of commonly used stretching and strengthening exercises for the neck. Both groups received 30 min of their respective interventions per session. The primary outcome was the CVA, with secondary outcomes including pain intensity, Berg balance score (BBS), head repositioning accuracy (HRA), and cervical range of motion (CROM). After 18 sessions (6 weeks later), the CBP group had statistically significant improvement in the CVA (p < 0.001), whereas the standard group did not. In contrast, both groups showed improved functional measurements on the BBS and HRA as well as improved pain intensity. However, at the 3-month follow-up (with no further treatment), there were statistically significant differences favoring the CBP group for all outcomes (p < 0.001). The differences in the between group outcomes at the 3-month follow-up indicated that the improved outcomes were maintained in the CBP group, while the standard group experienced regression of the initially improved outcomes at 6 weeks. It is suggested that the improvement in the postural CVA (in the CBP group but not in the standard group) is the driver of superior and maintained pain and functional outcomes.
The Buffering Effect of Awe on Negative Emotions in Self-Threatening Situations

Negative emotions arising from self-threat are ubiquitous and harmful. We propose that the experience of awe awakens the small-self, which in turn alleviates these negative emotions. We examine our theoretical hypotheses in four studies employing various self-threatening situations, using distinct awe manipulations and involving participants from different countries. The participants experiencing awe reported lower levels of negative emotions arising from self-threat compared with those in the neutral (Study 1) and happiness conditions (Study 2). Moreover, we verified that the small-self mediates the alleviating effect of awe on negative emotions through measuring (Study 3) and manipulating the small-self (Study 4). Beyond a set of practical implications for promoting mental health and well-being, our research also provides novel insights into awe, self-appraisal, and self-threat.
Manifold Design for Micro-Channel Cooling With Uniform Flow Distribution

High-power electronic systems often require temperature uniformity for optimal performance. While many advanced cooling systems, such as micro-channels, result in significant heat removal, they are also susceptible to flow mal-distribution that can impact the local temperature variation on a device. By examining the pressure drops through each flow path in a multi-channel cooling system, an analytical model is predicted for the optimal manifold shape to produce uniform velocities. This is a simple power law, whose exponent depends on the flow regime in the manifold passages. The model is validated for laminar fully developed conditions using a series of computational simulations. With the power law design, the speeds in a parallel channel design are uniformly distributed at low Reynolds numbers, with a standard deviation of less than 3% of the overall mean channel speed. At higher Reynolds numbers, some mal-distribution is observed due to developing flow conditions, but it is not as significant as with typical untapered designs.
Diversity and Biosynthetic Potential of Fungi Isolated from St. John’s Island, Singapore

Adaptation to a wide variety of habitats allows fungi to develop unique abilities to produce diverse secondary metabolites with diverse bioactivities. In this study, 30 Ascomycetes fungi isolated from St. John’s Island, Singapore were investigated for their general biosynthetic potential and their ability to produce antimicrobial secondary metabolites (SMs). All the 30 fungal isolates belong to the Phylum Ascomycota and are distributed into 6 orders and 18 genera with Order Hypocreales having the highest number of representative (37%). Screening for polyketide synthase (PKS) and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes using degenerate PCR led to the identification of 23 polyketide synthases (PKSs) and 5 nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) grouped into nine distinct clades based on their reduction capabilities. Some of the identified PKSs genes share high similarities between species and known reference genes, suggesting the possibility of conserved biosynthesis of closely related compounds from different fungi. Fungal extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and Candida albicans. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the active constituents from two promising isolates resulted in the isolation of seven compounds: Penilumamides A, D, and E from strain F4335 and xanthomegnin, viomellein, pretrichodermamide C and vioxanthin from strain F7180. Vioxanthin exhibited the best antibacterial activity with IC50 values of 3.0 μM and 1.6 μM against S. aureus and MRSA respectively. Viomellein revealed weak antiproliferative activity against A549 cells with an IC50 of 42 μM. The results from this study give valuable insights into the diversity and biosynthetic potential of fungi from this unique habitat and forms a background for an in-depth analysis of the biosynthetic capability of selected strains of interest with the aim of discovering novel fungal natural products.
An Empirical Study on Workers' Preferences in Human–Robot Task Assignment in Industrial Assembly Systems

Collaborative industrial robotic arms (cobots) are integrated industrial assembly systems relieving their human coworkers from monotonous tasks and achieving productivity gains. The question of task allocation arises in the organization of these human–robot interactions. State of the art shows static, compensatory task allocation approaches in current assembly systems and flexible, adaptive task sharing (ATS) approaches in human factors research. The latter should exploit the economic and ergonomic advantages of cobot usage. Previous research results did not provide a clear insight into whether industrial workers prefer static or adaptive task allocation and which tasks workers do prefer to assign to cobots. Therefore, we set up a cobot demonstrator with a realistic industrial assembly use case and did a user study with experienced workers from the shop floor (n = 25). The aim of the user study is to provide a systematic understanding and evaluation of workers' preferences in a practical context of human–robot interaction (HRI) in assembly. Our main findings are that participants preferred the ATS concept to a predetermined task allocation and reported increased satisfaction with the allocation. Results show that participants are more likely to give manual tasks to the cobot in contrast to cognitive tasks. It shows that workers do not entrust all tasks to robots, but like to take over cognitive tasks by themselves. This work contributes to the design of human-centered HRI in industrial assembly systems.
Neogene aridification and lake development in the Issyk‐Kul basin, Kyrgyzstan

Uplift of the Tian Shan range modified regional climate during Cenozoic aridification in Central Asia. This study presents facies analyses and Neogene oxygen and carbon isotopic records from magnetostratigraphically dated terrestrial sedimentary sections on the southern side of the intermontane Issyk‐Kul basin in the Kyrgyz Tian Shan and 26Al/10Be isochron burial ages from the southern and eastern sides of the basin. The δ18O and δ13C data show a positive ca. 2‰ shift in values between ca. 8 and 7 Ma and a change from a negative to a positive trend. This change is attributed to the upwind growth of the Kyrgyz, Kungey and Trans Ili (Zaili) ranges, which diverted the westerlies, thereby changing the Issyk‐Kul basin from a windward to a leeward position, enhancing aridification and establishing the modern‐day spring and summer precipitation regime within the basin. Two 4 to 5 Ma 26Al/10Be isochron burial ages constrain the onset of Sharpyl Dak deposition on the eastern side of the basin; southward paleocurrent directions there suggest the eastward growth of the Kungey range in the Pliocene. Increased subsidence on the southern side of the basin and local tectonically induced river system reorganization led to the commencement of lake formation at ca. 5 Ma, followed by a ca. 2 Ma local depositional hiatus. The transition from sandstones of the Chu sedimentary group to conglomerates of the Sharpyl Dak group, marking a change from fluvial‐alluvial deposits to a proximal alluvial fan, is dated at 2.6–2.8 Ma by 26Al/10Be isochron burial dating on the southern side of the basin, driven either by tectonics or Northern Hemisphere glaciation. This study concludes that the late Miocene–Pliocene northward growth of Tian Shan significantly altered environmental conditions within the range, preventing the moisture‐bearing westerlies from reaching the intermontane Issyk‐Kul basin and promoting lake formation and expansion.
Derivation of local impurity transport quantities from soft-x radiation evolution during tracer injection at W7-AS

A frequently used method for determination of impurity transport coefficients is the analysis of the radial and temporal time evolution of the impurity density of injected tracer impurities. In cases when the impurity density cannot be measured directly, e.g., by active charge exchange recombination spectroscopy, the impurity density has to be reconstructed from impurity radiation as measured, e.g., by the soft-x camera. Due to the energy integrated information, assumption about the spatial ionization state distribution, e.g., coronal equilibrium, is necessary. This might not be valid in cases of large transport. Consequently, the transport quantities, derived under the preliminary assumption of radial coronal distribution, are used again in an iterative way to improve the density reconstruction in order to approach more realistic transport quantities. The procedure was applied to plasma discharges in the stellarator Wendelstein 7-AS.
Ferromagnetic Resonance Line Width in Yttrium Iron Garnet Single Crystals

A study of ferromagnetic resonance line width in polished, single- crystal spheres of yttriunn iron garnet is described. Wave-guide cavity perturbation techniques are used with samples 0.013 in. to 0.020 in. in diameter. An extremely narrow line width of 520 millioersteds (the full width) is observed at 9300 Mc/sec along the hard axis STA100! It is believed this is the narrowest resonance line yet reported on ferromagnetic materials. The line width is shown to be strongly influenced by the sample surface, with the line narrowing by over a factor of twenty as the polishing proceeds. The line width at 3000 Mc/sec on the same sample is 530 millioersteds. The approximate invariance of the line width for more than a three-to-one change in frequency is compared with the predictions of some recent theories of ferromagnetic resonance line width. The invariance of line widih with frequency is also used to conclude that lambda omega and T/sub 2/ in the Landau-Lifshitz and Bloch-Bloembergen equations of motion, respectively, are approximately constant over this frequency range. (auth)
Effect of lambing season on ewe’s colostrum composition

Abstract Colostrum provides newborns with nutrients and immunoglobulins that play a major role in the immune system. In this survey, the immunoglobulin G (IgG) content, gross composition, mineral content, and fatty acid composition were determined in the colostrum of Valle del Belice ewes with the aim of evaluating the effect of lambing of season. In total, we analysed 60 bulk tank colostrum samples taken after lambing during two seasons (summer and winter). The IgG content and Brix mean values were 40.35 g/L and 21.02%, respectively. The colostrum fat, protein, casein, and lactose percentages were 8.01, 12.10, 8.51, and 3.13%, respectively. The lambing season significantly influenced the pH and somatic cell count, with higher values observed in winter than in summer. The most common fatty acids were palmitic (27.75 vs. 24.84 g/100 g), oleic (24.57 vs. 18.15 g/100 g), myristic (12.55 vs. 12.16 g/100 g) and stearic (7.02 vs. 6.16 g/100 g) detected in the summer and winter seasons, respectively. The winter season significantly increased the polyunsaturated fatty acid values (11.18 vs. 6.41). Additionally, the lambing season determined different mineral composition levels in the colostrum, particularly copper (8.50 vs. 5.35 µmol L−1) and manganese (3.35 vs. 0.80 µmol L−1), which were higher in the summer. Based on IgG content, the quality of the colostrum was excellent.
COVID-19 as an Occupational Disease—Temporal Trends in the Number and Severity of Claims in Germany

COVID-19 is considered an occupational disease (OD), when infection occurs at the workplace for health workers (HW). Because of the increased infection risk of these workers, they were deemed to be a priority group when the vaccination campaign started in Germany in December 2020. By December 2021, more than 90% of HW had been vaccinated twice. We studied the number and the time trend concerning the severity of OD claims related to COVID-19. Workers’ compensation claims for OD are recorded in a standardized database of the Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services (BGW). We analyzed all notifiable COVID-19 related claims filed between 1 March 2020 and 30 September 2022. The proportion of severe cases was estimated by inpatient stays, injury benefit payments, rehabilitation measures, and deaths. The data analysis was descriptive. Due to COVID-19, 317,403 notifiable cases were reported to the BGW. Of these, 200,505 (63.2%) had thus far been recognized as OD. The number of notifiable cases was highest in 2022 and lowest in 2020. In total, 3289 insured individuals were admitted to rehabilitation management. This represented 1.6% of all recognized ODs due to COVID-19 at the BGW. The proportion of cases admitted to rehabilitation management decreased from 4.5% of all recognized ODs in 2020 to 3.2% in 2021 and to 0.1% of all recognized cases in 2022. For inpatient stays, injury benefit payment, and death, a similar trend was observed. Therefore, it might be concluded that the successful vaccination campaign mitigated the negative health effects of COVID-19 on HW. Even with vaccination, severe cases can occur. Therefore, infection prevention at the workplace remains paramount.
Risk Assessment and Pancreatic Cancer: Diagnostic Management and Artificial Intelligence

Simple Summary Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest cancers. Its high mortality rate is correlated with several explanations; the main one is the late disease stage at which the majority of patients are diagnosed. Since surgical resection has been recognised as the only curative treatment, a PC diagnosis at the initial stage is believed the main tool to improve survival. Therefore, patient stratification according to familial and genetic risk and the creation of screening protocol by using minimally invasive diagnostic tools would be appropriate. Abstract Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest cancers, and it is responsible for a number of deaths almost equal to its incidence. The high mortality rate is correlated with several explanations; the main one is the late disease stage at which the majority of patients are diagnosed. Since surgical resection has been recognised as the only curative treatment, a PC diagnosis at the initial stage is believed the main tool to improve survival. Therefore, patient stratification according to familial and genetic risk and the creation of screening protocol by using minimally invasive diagnostic tools would be appropriate. Pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCNs) are subsets of lesions which deserve special management to avoid overtreatment. The current PC screening programs are based on the annual employment of magnetic resonance imaging with cholangiopancreatography sequences (MR/MRCP) and/or endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). For patients unfit for MRI, computed tomography (CT) could be proposed, although CT results in lower detection rates, compared to MRI, for small lesions. The actual major limit is the incapacity to detect and characterize the pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) by EUS and MR/MRCP. The possibility of utilizing artificial intelligence models to evaluate higher-risk patients could favour the diagnosis of these entities, although more data are needed to support the real utility of these applications in the field of screening. For these motives, it would be appropriate to realize screening programs in research settings.
Purity assessment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes by Raman spectroscopy

Carbonaceous purity assessment for chemical vapor deposition multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) using Raman spectroscopy was investigated. Raman spectroscopy was performed on a reference sample set containing predetermined ratios of MWNTs and representative synthesis by-products. Changes in the characteristic Raman peak ratios (i.e., ID∕IG, IG′∕IG, and IG′∕ID) as a function of MWNT content were measured. Calibration curves were generated from the reference samples and used to evaluate MWNTs synthesized under different conditions with varying purity. The efficacy of using Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with thermogravimetric analysis for quantitative MWNT purity assessment is discussed.
AddaVax vs. Freund’s adjuvant use for animal immunization in hybridoma development

Use of a potent adjuvant is essential for stimulating a strong, antigen specific response from immunized animals. While Freund’s continues as the gold standard for use in research animals we continuously evaluate available adjuvants as part of our improvement efforts in developing mouse and rabbit hybridomas. We recently evaluated AddaVax adjuvant for use in developing a high titer, high affinity immune response. Animals were immunized with peptides or recombinant proteins emulsified with Adjulite Freund’s adjuvant or AddaVax adjuvant. Sera samples were collected following the final immunization and the antibody evaluated for titer and relative affinity. Results show that the average serum antibody titer and relative affinity for AddaVax immunized mice were equivalent to or better than that from Freund’s mice for 3/7 peptides and 5/7 recombinant proteins. Data from two proteins also suggest AddaVax animals may show binding to antigenic epitopes not recognized by Freund’s animals. Disappointingly, rabbits immunized using AddaVax adjuvant consistently developed a much weaker response vs. Freund’s. Based on results generated, we have modified our protocols to include the use of Freund’s and AddaVax when initiating new hybridoma development projects in mice.