Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ionic-liquid-induced ferroelectric polarization in poly(vinylidene fluoride) thin films

Thin films of ferroelectric β-phase poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) were spin-coated from a solution that contained small amounts of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate. A remanent polarization of 60 mC/m2 and a quasi-static pyroelectric coefficient of 19 μC/m2K at 30 °C were observed in the films. It is suggested that the IL promotes the formation of the β phase through dipolar interactions between PVDF chain-molecules and the IL. The dipolar interactions are identified as Coulomb attraction between hydrogen atoms in PVDF chains and anions in IL. The strong crystallinity increase is probably caused by the same dipolar interaction as well.
Clinical pattern and predictors of stroke treatment outcome among hospitalised patients who had a stroke at Felege Hiwot comprehensive specialised hospital, northwest Ethiopia: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Objectives This study aimed to assess the clinical pattern and predictors of stroke treatment outcomes among hospitalised patients in Felege Hiwot comprehensive specialised hospital (FHCSH) in northwest Ethiopia. Design A retrospective cross-sectional study. Setting The study was conducted medical ward of FHCSH. Participants The medical records of 597 adult patients who had a stroke were included in the study. All adult (≥18 years) patients who had a stroke had been admitted to the medical ward of FHSCH during 2015–2019 were included in the study. However, patients with incomplete medical records (ie, incomplete treatment regimen and the status of the patients after treatment) were excluded in the study. Results In the present study, 317 (53.1%) were males, and the mean age of the study participants was 61.08±13.76 years. About two-thirds of patients (392, 65.7%) were diagnosed with ischaemic stroke. Regarding clinical pattern, about 203 (34.0%) of patients complained of right-side body weakness and the major comorbid condition identified was hypertension (216, 64.9%). Overall, 276 (46.2%) of them had poor treatment outcomes, and 101 (16.9%) of them died. Patients who cannot read and write (AOR=42.89, 95% CI 13.23 to 111.28, p<0.001), attend primary school (AOR=22.11, 95% CI 6.98 to 55.99, p<0.001) and secondary school (AOR=4.20, 95% CI 1.42 to 12.51, p<0.001), diagnosed with haemorrhagic stroke (AOR=2.68, 95% CI 1.62 to 4.43, p<0.001) and delayed hospital arrival more than 24 hours (AOR=2.92, 95% CI 1.83 to 4.66, p=0.001) were the independent predictors of poor treatment outcome. Conclusions Approximately half of the patients who had a stroke had poor treatment outcomes. Ischaemic stroke was the most predominantly diagnosed stroke type. Education status, types of stroke and the median time from onset of symptoms to hospitalisation were the predictors of treatment outcome. Health education should be given to patients regarding clinical symptoms of stroke. In addition, local healthcare providers need to consider the above risk factors while managing stroke.
Perturbation of nutrient source-sink relationships by post-anthesis stresses results in differential accumulation of nutrients in wheat grain

Mineral nutrients in grains act as a source of nutrients in human diets, in which deficiencies of key minerals including calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc have prompted efforts to increase their concentrations in the edible portions of staple grain crops. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops in many regions often suffer abiotic stresses such as drought, extreme heat or frost during grain filling, which affect mineral source–sink relationships. We hypothesized that these stresses would have nutrient-specific impacts on grain nutrient concentrations due to differences among nutrients in phloem mobility, post-anthesis uptake and grain loading patterns. Nutrient loading patterns into wheat grains were investigated in two wheat cultivars in the field by sequentially harvesting tagged ears and analyzing tissues for key nutrients. In addition, the impact of perturbed source–sink relations during grain filling on nutrient loading was investigated by inducing post-anthesis drought /floret abortion in a glasshouse study. Over 90% of Ca and around 70% of Na, K, and Mg accumulated in both wheat cultivars in the field during the first 14 d of grain development. The concentrations of micronutrients (Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn), Mg and P in grains generally increased when florets were aborted, and were unchanged under drought stress, while concentrations of Ca and K were highest under drought stress and lowest under the 66% floret abortion treatment. The observed changes in grain nutrient concentrations from post-anthesis drought/floret abortion could not be fully explained by nutrient-specific differences in phloem mobility, post-anthesis uptake and grain loading patterns. This study will inform future research to define the precise roles of individual nutrients within developing grains and to fully understand the observed variations in grain nutrient concentrations due to source/sink modifications.
Ab initio pseudopotential study of vacancies and self-interstitials in hcp titanium

By means of an ab initio plane-wave pseudopotential method, monovacancy, divacancy and self-interstitials in hcp titanium are investigated. The calculated monovacancy formation energy is 1.97 eV, which is in excellent agreement with other theoretical calculations, and agrees qualitatively with published experimental results. The relaxation of the atoms around a single vacancy is observed to be small. Two divacancy configurations, the in-plane and the off-plane, have also been shown to be equally stable. With regards to the interstitials, of the eight configurations studied, two (octahedral and basal octahedral) have relatively lower formation energies and are, thus, the most likely stable configurations. We find small energy differences between them, suggesting their possible co-existence. It is also observed that the tetrahedral configuration decays to a split dumbbell configuration, whereas both the basal tetrahedral and the basal pseudocrowdion interstitials decay to the basal octahedral configuration. Using the nudged elastic band method (NEB), we determine a possible minimum energy path (MEP) for the diffusion of self-interstitial titanium atoms from an octahedral site to the nearest octahedral site. The energy barrier for this migration mechanism is shown to be about 0.20 eV.
Electrical and Structural Properties of Oxygen-Precipitation Induced Extended Defects in Silicon

Although the oxygen precipitation process has been extensively studied during the last two decades, there still exists controversy concerning the electrical activity of the precipitates and the associated extended defect complexes. Therefore in the present study a unique combination of complementary characterization techniques is used to gain a better insight into the structural and electrical properties of oxygen-precipitation induced extended defects. TEM and LST are used for the structural analyses, while DLTS, PL, lifetime measurements, EBIC analyses and low frequency noise spectroscopy are used for the electrical characterization. The experimental observations are compared with relevant data available in the literature. Strong evidence is given that in clean processed wafers, the dominant recombination activity is associated with the dislocations, rather than with the precipitates themselves.
Colloidal star polymers: Models for studying dynamically arrested states in soft matter

The use of well-defined macromolecular assemblies with tunable interactions represents the key for exploring the regime of soft-material behavior between hard spheres and polymer coils. Colloidal stars are ideal choices for such a formidable task and especially for shedding light on the formation and properties of dynamically arrested states. In this brief review, we demonstrate the rich variety of kinetic frustration phenomena that can be encountered with such ultrasoft particles. We address two specific examples in particular: the reversible vitrification upon heating and the melting of star gels upon the addition of linear polymers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2931–2941, 2004
Intestinal parasitic infections and associated factors among people living with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Intestinal parasitic infections are major public health problems throughout the world, particularly in people living with HIV/AIDS. People living with HIV/AIDS are vulnerable groups for a variety of diseases, hence they are easily affected by opportunistic and non-opportunistic intestinal parasites due to the weakening of their immunity. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections among people living with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. Methods Articles were identified through search engines in the online electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, HINARI, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and reference lists of previous studies following the PRISMA Protocol. Studies conducted between 2003 and 2020 with English language were included in this study. This review included papers with having high-quality NOS scores. Meta-analysis was computed using STATA version 11 software. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochrane Q-test and I2 test statistics. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis was employed with evidence of heterogeneity. Publication bias was determined using the funnel plot and Egger’s regression test statistic. Results This study included a total of twenty-two cross-sectional studies with 5,833 study participants. The mean age of the study participants was 35 years old. The pooled prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among people living with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia was 39.15% (95%CI: 32.34, 45.95). The pooled prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among people living with HIV/AIDS who had taking ART and who had not to start ART was found to be 28.27% (95%CI 22.47, 34.06) and 41.63% (95%CI: 28.75, 54.52) respectively. Unavailability of latrine (AOR: 4.87, (95% CI: 2.39, 9.92)), CD4+ T cell count <200cells/μl ((AOR: 3.53, (95%CI: 1.98, 6.27)), and having a history of diarrhea (AOR: 4.79 (95%CI: 1.53, 14.99) were factors significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infections. Conclusion In this study, the overall pooled prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among HIV/AIDS patients in Ethiopia was relatively high. CD4+ T-cell count <200cells/μl, unavailability of a latrine, and history of diarrhea were significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infections. Therefore, the policymakers and health care professionals could give special attention to the presence of latrines, early detection and treatment of intestinal parasitic infections, and early initiation of ART drugs.
Insight into the bZIP Gene Family in Solanum tuberosum: Genome and Transcriptome Analysis to Understand the Roles of Gene Diversification in Spatiotemporal Gene Expression and Function

The basic region-leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors (TFs) form homodimers and heterodimers via the coil–coil region. The bZIP dimerization network influences gene expression across plant development and in response to a range of environmental stresses. The recent release of the most comprehensive potato reference genome was used to identify 80 StbZIP genes and to characterize their gene structure, phylogenetic relationships, and gene expression profiles. The StbZIP genes have undergone 22 segmental and one tandem duplication events. Ka/Ks analysis suggested that most duplications experienced purifying selection. Amino acid sequence alignments and phylogenetic comparisons made with the Arabidopsis bZIP family were used to assign the StbZIP genes to functional groups based on the Arabidopsis orthologs. The patterns of introns and exons were conserved within the assigned functional groups which are supportive of the phylogeny and evidence of a common progenitor. Inspection of the leucine repeat heptads within the bZIP domains identified a pattern of attractive pairs favoring homodimerization, and repulsive pairs favoring heterodimerization. These patterns of attractive and repulsive heptads were similar within each functional group for Arabidopsis and S. tuberosum orthologs. High-throughput RNA-seq data indicated the most highly expressed and repressed genes that might play significant roles in tissue growth and development, abiotic stress response, and response to pathogens including Potato virus X. These data provide useful information for further functional analysis of the StbZIP gene family and their potential applications in crop improvement.
Persistence of Perchlorate and the Relative Numbers of Perchlorate- and Chlorate-Respiring Microorganisms in Natural Waters, Soils, and Wastewater

Cell numbers of perchlorate (PRM)- and chlorate (CRM)-reducing microorganisms and the persistence of perchlorate were determined in samples of soils, natural waters, and wastewater incubated under laboratory conditions. Complete perchlorate reduction in raw wastewater and creek water was achieved in 4 to 7 days and 8 to 29 days, respectively, depending on the individual growth substrate (acetate, lactate, citric acid, or molasses) employed. Perchlorate persisted in most mixed cultures developed with 2 g of “pristine” soil, but declined in mixed cultures developed with 100 g of soil. Less than seven days were required to completely reduce perchlorate in cultures started with 10 g of a perchlorate-contaminated soil obtained from a site in Texas. The concentration of PRM was estimated using a 5-tube most probable number (MPN) procedure. To account for discrepancies due to differences in the total number of bacteria (per mass of sample) in the samples, difficulty in removing bacteria from soil samples, and the lack of an unequivocal method to measure total viable cells in these different systems, we normalized our MPN results on the basis of 106 or 109 total bacteria counted using acridine orange direct counts (AODC). There were more PRM in wastewater samples on a per-cell basis (15 to 350 PRM/106-AODC) than in water samples (0.02 to 0.4 PRM/106-AODC). There were also more PRM in soils from sites exhibiting direct evidence of perchlorate contamination (100 to 200 PRM/109-AODC) than from other sites (nondetectable to 0.77 PRM/109-AODC). These results demonstrate that perchlorate-reducing bacteria are present at perchlorate-contaminated sites, and that perchlorate can be degraded by these microorganisms through the addition of different electron donors, such as acetate and lactate.
The use of methylprednisolone in COVID-19 patients: A propensity score matched retrospective cohort study

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of methylprednisolone in treating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted, and all COVID-19 patients were recruited who were admitted to the Yichang Third People’s Hospital from February 1st to March 31st, 2020. One-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was used for minimizing confounding effects. The primary outcome was hospital mortality, with the secondary outcomes being the time needed for a positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test to turn negative and the length of hospital stay. Results Totaling 367 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized at the Yichang Third People’s Hospital were identified, of whom 276 were mild or stable COVID-19, and 67 were serious or critically ill. Among them, 255 patients were treated using methylprednisolone, and 188 did not receive any corticosteroid-related treatment. After PSM, no statistically significant difference was found in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. Regarding the outcomes, there also were no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Patients without the use of methylprednisolone were more quickly to obtain negative results of their nasopharyngeal swab tests of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid after treatment, compared to those receiving methylprednisolone. Conclusion Methylprednisolone could not improve the prognosis of patients with COVID-19, and the efficacy and safety of the use of methylprednisolone in patients with COVID-19 still remain uncertain, thus the use of corticosteroids clinically in patients with COVID-19 should be with cautions.
Antidiabetic activity of Basella rubra and its relationship with the antioxidant property

Oxidative stress induced by streptozotocin (STZ) has been shown to damage pancreatic beta cell and produce hyperglycemia in rats. In the present study an attempt was made to examine the action of Basella rubra against experimental diabetes as well as the antioxidant potential of the leaf extract. Aqueous extract of Basella rubra (400mg/kg body weight for 30 days) was found to significantly reduce the blood sugar level. The oxidative stress produced by streptozotocin was found to be significantly lowered when compared to control rats. This was evident from a significant decrease in blood sugar level and increased level of liver enzymatic (Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) and non enzymatic antioxidants (vitamin C, E and reduced glutathione). These results indicate that Basella rubra extract effectively reduced the oxidative stress induced by streptozotocin and potential reduction in blood sugar level.
Stabilities and properties of ozone–sulphuryl fluoride (O3–SO2F2) complexes:a computational study

MP2, M05-2x and CCSD(T) calculations with aug-cc-pVDZ basis sets were used to analyse the interaction between sulphuryl fluoride (SO2F2) and ozone (O3). Four minima were located on the potential energy surface of SO2F2…O3 complexes at these computational levels. The basis set superposition error-corrected interaction energies were in a range between 3.2 and 7.5 kJ mol− 1 at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ computational level. The atoms in molecules theory was also applied to explain the nature of the complexes. The interaction energies were partitioned with the natural energy decomposition analysis showing that the most important attractive term corresponds to the polarisation one.
ALLELOPATHIC EFFECTS OF CHENOPODIUM ALBUM L. EXTRACTS ON NITRIFICATION

Allelopathic effects of Chenopodium album L. leaf aqueous extract on nitrification were investigated. In the presence of leaf extracts, complete nitrite oxidation to nitrate was delayed significantly. Also, in the presence of leaf extract the amounts of both nitrite and nitrate produced were significantly higher than those in control solutions. This increase was attributed to protein hydrolysis and ammonification of resulting amino acids present in leaf extracts. The delay in nitrification was proposed to be due to the presence of phenolic acids in this plant.
First Principles Search for Multiferroism in BiCrO3

We present results of first-principles density functional calculations for the candidate multiferroic magnetoelectric, bismuth chromite. Although little is known experimentally about BiCrO3, its chemical neighbors BiMnO3 and BiFeO3 are known to be ferromagnetic and ferroelectric respectively, with structural distortions driven by the strongly polarizable Bi ions. Our calculations reveal, as expected, a Bi-induced distortion, and an octahedral Cr3+ ion which resists off-center displacement. We predict a G-type antiferromagnetic ground state, with an antiferrodistortive or antiferroelectric structural distortion, similar to that seen in PbZrO3.
Styrene and butyl methacrylate copolymers and their application in leather finishing

Homopolymers and copolymers of styrene and butyl methacrylate were synthesized with different ratios by an emulsion polymerization technique with K2S2O8/NaHSO3 as the redox initiation system and sodium dodecyl sulfate as the emulsifier at 60°C for 3 h. The effects of different monomer ratios on the kinetics of emulsion polymerization and polymer viscosity were studied. These copolymers were applied to leather surfaces with a hand coater to a thickness of 18 μm. The effects of the coatings on the leather surfaces were evaluated through the measurement of physical and mechanical properties of coated and uncoated leather. IR spectra showed new bands characteristic of styrene and butyl methacrylate, which disappeared in the spectrum of uncoated leather. The physical and mechanical results showed that the water absorption content decreased with increasing styrene content, and the water vapor permeability of the coated leather was less than that of the uncoated leather; however, it was still in the acceptable range. The results indicated improvements in the tensile strength and elongation (%) for the coated leather with increases in the butyl methacrylate content. Thermogravimetric analysis showed characteristic improvements in the thermal stability of leather after the coating; its optimum stability was reached when the leather was coated with poly(styrene:butyl methacrylate) (1 : 1). Finally, scanning electron microscopy showed the full grain surface of the leather. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009
Micellar Properties of Cationic Surfactants in Pure and Mixed States

The solution properties of the surfactants dodecyl-, tetradecyl-, and hexadecyl(cetyl)trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB, TTAB, and CTAB, respectively) as well as hexadecylpyridinium chloride (CPC) in pure and mixed states (binary and ternary combinations) have been studied. The critical micelle concentration (cmc), counterion binding, aggregation number, polarity, thermodynamics of micellization, interfacial adsorption, etc., have been quantitatively estimated by surface tension, conductance, spectrophotometry, fluorescence, and calorimetric methods. The micellar compositions, activities of the components in the micelle, and their mutual interactions have been estimated from Rubingh's theory. The surfactant mixtures have been found to be nonideal, with a lower degree of counterion association compared to pure states, but possess more or less comparable micellar polarity and energetic parameters.
Deposition of Cr Species at ( La , Sr ) ( Co , Fe ) O3 Cathodes of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Deposition process of Cr species at the (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O 3 (LSCF) electrode and Gd 0 . 2 Ce 0 . 8 O 2 (GDC) electrolyte system is investigated under the O 2 reduction conditions in the presence of a Fe-Cr alloy interconnect for solid oxide fuel cells. Deposition of Cr species preferentially occurs on the surface of the LSCF electrode with and without the cathodic polarization at 900°C, forming SrCrO 4 and Cr 2 O 3 phase. At the initial stage of the reaction, Cr deposition was not detected inside the LSCF electrode or at the LSCF electrode/GDC electrolyte interface. Deposition of Cr species on the LSCF electrode surface under the rib of Fe-Cr alloy interconnect is substantial in comparison to that under the channel of the interconnect. The results demonstrate clearly that the deposition of Cr species at the LSCF electrode is essentially a chemical reaction and is kinetically controlled by nucleation reaction between the gaseous Cr species and SrO-enriched/segregated on the LSCF electrode surface.