Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coating Pt-Ni Octahedra with Ultrathin Pt Shells to Enhance the Durability without Compromising the Activity toward Oxygen Reduction.

We describe a new strategy to enhance the catalytic durability of Pt-Ni octahedral nanocrystals in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by conformally depositing an ultrathin Pt shell on the surface. The Pt-Ni octahedra were synthesized according to a protocol reported previously and then employed directly as seeds for the conformal deposition of ultrathin Pt shells by introducing a Pt precursor dropwise at 200 °C. The amount of Pt precursor was adjusted relative to the number of Pt-Ni octahedra involved to obtain Pt-Ni@Pt1.5L octahedra of 12 nm in edge length for the systematic evaluation of their chemical stability and catalytic durability compared to Pt-Ni octahedra. Specifically, we compared the elemental compositions of the octahedra before and after treatment with acetic and sulfuric acids. We also examined their electrocatalytic stability toward the ORR through an accelerated durability test by using a rotating disk electrode method. Even after treatment with sulfuric acid for 24 h, the Pt-Ni@Pt1.5L octahedra maintained their original Ni content, whereas 11 % of the Ni was lost from the Pt-Ni octahedra. After 10 000 cycles of ORR, the mass activity of the Pt-Ni octahedra decreased by 75 %, whereas the Pt-Ni@Pt1.5L octahedra only showed a 25 % reduction.
Purification and Properties of Acridone Synthase from Cell Suspension Cultures of Ruta gvaveolens L.

Acridone synthase has been purified from cell suspension cultures of Ruta graveolens using a combination of gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. The purified enzyme has an apparent molecular weight of 69 kDa on gel filtration and a subunit structure on SDS-PAGE of 40 kDa. The apparent Km-values are 10.64 μM and 32.8 μM for N-methylanthraniloyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA, respectively. Tryptic digestion of the homogeneous acridone synthase was performed. Seven of the peptides were chosen for microsequencing. The homology of the amino acid sequences from this particular polypeptide and corresponding peptides from chalcone synthase 3 from garden pea amounted to 76%.
Numerical Study of Graphene Superlattice-Based Photodetectors

The optical properties of 1-D superlattices formed by armchair graphene nanoribbons embedded in hexagonal boron nitride superlattices (BNSLs) are studied. A set of tight-binding (TB) parameters is proposed, which gives results in excellent agreement with first-principle calculations. Based on the tight-binding model, it is demonstrated that in BNSLs, a larger bandgap opening is achieved than in hydrogen-passivated superlattices (HSL). The optical properties of BNSL and HSL are studied by employing the nonequilibrium Green function method and are verified with first-principle calculations. The role of line-edge roughness on the optical properties of such devices is carefully investigated.
MicroRNA in kidney disease

Abstract Clinical and laboratory findings of kidney disease in an adult may find an explanation in kidney functional and/or structural abnormalities that already existed during infancy and childhood, but that may have been missed or underdiagnosed. All the cardiovascular abnormalities that occur in adults with chronic kidney disease are also present in children with chronic kidney disease. Complications in childhood chronic kidney disease will have consequences well beyond pediatric age and influence outcomes of affected young adults with disease. Kidney dysfunction appears early in the course of kidney disease and has been observed in children and adults with chronic kidney disease, condition characterised with kidney fibrosis. Transforming growth factor beta is recognized as a major mediator of kidney fibrosis. New evidence illustrates the relationship between transforming growth factor beta signaling and microRNAs expression during kidney diseases development. MicroRNAs play important roles in kidney development and kidney diseases; they are naturally occurring, 22-nucleotide, noncoding RNAs that mediate posttranscriptional gene regulation. Dysregulation of miRNA expression is an indicator of several diseases including chronic kidney disease. Targeting microRNAs should be a therapeutic potential to ameliorate the disease related to fibrosis. The discovery that circulating miRNAs are detectable in serum and plasma, and that their expression varies as a result of disease, presents great potential to be used as biomarkers in kidney disease prevention and diagnosis.
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for a multi-rotor with heavy slung load

In this paper a novel controller for stable and precise operation of multi-rotors with heavy slung loads is introduced. First, simplified equations of motions for the multi-rotor and slung load are derived. The model is then used to design a Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (NMPC) that can manage the highly nonlinear dynamics whilst accounting for system constraints. The controller is shown to simultaneously track specified waypoints whilst actively damping large slung load oscillations. A Linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) controller is also derived, and control performance is compared in simulation. Results show the improved performance of the Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) controller over a larger flight envelope, including aggressive maneuvers and large slung load displacements. Computational cost remains relatively small, amenable to practical implementation. Such systems for small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) may provide significant benefit to several applications in agriculture, law enforcement and construction.
Proteomics Identification of Azaspiracid Toxin Biomarkers in Blue Mussels, Mytilus edulis*

Azaspiracids are a class of recently discovered algae-derived shellfish toxins. Their distribution globally is on the increase with mussels being most widely implicated in azaspiracid-related food poisoning events. Evidence that these toxins were bound to proteins in contaminated mussels has been shown recently. In the present study characterization of these proteins in blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, was achieved using a range of advanced proteomics tools. Four proteins present only in the hepatopancreas of toxin-contaminated mussels sharing identity or homology with cathepsin D, superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase Pi, and a bacterial flagellar protein have been characterized. Several of the proteins are known to be involved in self-defense mechanisms against xenobiotics or up-regulated in the presence of carcinogenic agents. These findings would suggest that azaspiracids should now be considered and evaluated as potential tumorigenic compounds. The presence of a bacterial protein only in contaminated mussels was an unexpected finding and requires further investigation. The proteins identified in this study should assist with development of urgently required processes for the rapid depuration of azaspiracid-contaminated shellfish. Moreover they may serve as early warning indicators of shellfish exposed to this family of toxins.
A Birth-Interval Model for Estimating Cetacean Reproductive Rates from Resighting Data

Three approaches are examined for estimating reproductive rates from data on multiple resighting of distinctly marked animals. The three approaches correspond to parameter estimation for three population growth models. Two of the approaches. parameter estimation for the Leslie matrix and geometric serin models. are based only on known-aged individuals. A third approach. the birth-interval model. is developed making fuller rue of available information. The birth-interval approach uses only known-aged individuals to estimate the first-binh ogive and uscs all females with previous births to estimate the probabilities associated with various birth intervals. A Monte Carlo simulation is rued to examine the bias and precision of the three methods p e n the quantity of data that is usually available in a multiple resighting study. All three approaches appear capable of giving unbiased estimatn of population growth rate. The variance d a t e d with such estimates is greatest for the Leslie model. leu for the geometric series model and least for the birth-interval model.
Cushioned centrifugation of stallion semen: factors impacting equine sperm recovery rate and quality

Cushioned Centrifugation of Stallion Semen: Factors Impacting Equine Sperm Recovery Rate and Quality. (December 2007) Jessica Arlene Waite, B.S., Texas Tech University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Dickson D. Varner Centrifugation of stallion semen is an integral part of the cryopreservation procedure, primarily allowing for the concentration of sperm and removal of seminal plasma. In addition, centrifugation is required for maximizing spermatozoal quality in semen from some stallions subjected to cooled transport, because of the detrimental effects of long-term exposure to high levels of seminal plasma. The centrifugation process, however, has potential deleterious effects, including reduction in sperm quality as well as loss of sperm numbers. Since centrifugation plays such a crucial role in semen processing, two experiments were designed to evaluate more efficient centrifugation methods to meet the demands of the equine industry. In Experiment 1, semen was centrifuged in two different tube types (nippleor conical-bottom), using a cushioned technique (Eqcellsire® Component B) with two different extenders (opaqueINRA96 or clear-HGLL). For Experiment 2, nipple-tube centrifugation was conducted at two different g forces (400 or 600) for 20 min, using three different iodixanol cushion media, Eqcellsire® Component B, OptiPrepTM, or Cushion FluidTM.
Designer Arrays for Defined Mutant Analysis To Detect Genes Essential for Survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Mouse Lungs

ABSTRACT The mechanisms by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis elicits disease are complex, involving a large repertoire of bacterial genes that are required for in vivo growth and survival. To identify such genes, we utilized a high-throughput microarray detection method to rapidly screen hundreds of unique, genotypically defined transposon mutants for in vivo survival with a high degree of specificity and sensitivity. Thirty-one M. tuberculosis genes were found to be required for in vivo survival in mouse lungs. These genes are involved in a broad range of activities, including metabolism, cell wall functions, and regulation. Our screen included 11 of the 12 known members of the mycobacterial membrane protein (mmpL) family genes, and mutation of 6 of these genes—mmpL4, mmpL5, mmpL7, mmpL8, mmpL10, and mmpL11—severely compromised the ability of the mutants to multiply in mouse lungs. Most of the 31 genes are conserved in other pathogenic mycobacteria, including M. leprae and M. bovis, suggesting that a core of basic in vivo survival mechanisms may be highly conserved despite the divergent human pathology caused by members of the mycobacterial genus. Of the 31 genes reported here, 17 have not been previously described to be involved in in vivo growth and survival of M. tuberculosis.
Overview of Computer-assisted Language Learning for European Portuguese at L2f

In this paper, we give an overview of our research in Computer-Assis ted Language Learning for European Portuguese, to show how our long-time experience in spoken language proc ssing allowed to propose multimedia documents as learning material. Web-based serious game were also intro duced to cover aspects of listening, reading, and writing skills. One fundamental aspect of all our tools rema ins in the fully-automatic generation of the curriculum. This is very valuable for teachers, saving them time in se arch for motivating materials of appropriate quality, level and topic. A Web portal was recently created to m ake all our tools publicly available athttp://call.l2f. inesc-id.pt/reap.public .
ApproxQA: A unified quality assurance framework for approximate computing

Approximate computing, being able to trade off computation quality and computational effort (e.g., energy) by exploiting the inherent error-resilience of emerging applications (e.g., recognition and mining), has garnered significant attention recently. No doubt to say, quality assurance is indispensable for satisfactory user experience with approximate computing, but this issue has remained largely unexplored in the literature. In this work, we propose a novel framework namely ApproxQA to tackle this problem, in which approximation mode tuning and rollback recovery are considered in a unified manner. To be specific, ApproxQA resorts to a two-level controller, in which the high-level approximation controller tunes approximation modes at a coarse-grained scale based on Q-learning while the low-level rollback controller judiciously determines whether to perform rollback recovery at a fine-grained scale based on the target quality requirement. Experimental results on various benchmark applications demonstrate that it significantly outperforms existing solutions in terms of energy efficiency with quality assurance.
Identification of a New Quaternary Neutralizing Epitope on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Virus Particles

ABSTRACT The selection of human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 by binding assays may fail to identify Abs to quaternary epitopes on the intact virions. The HIV neutralization assay was used for the selection of human MAb 2909, which potently neutralizes SF162 and recognizes an epitope on the virus surface but not on soluble proteins. Three regions of gp120, the V2 and V3 loops and the CD4 binding domain, contribute to the epitope recognized by MAb 2909. The existence of such a unique MAb, which defines a complex epitope formed by a quaternary structure, suggests that there may be other new neutralizing HIV epitopes to target with vaccines.
Regulation and function of p 38 protein kinase in isolated canine gastric parietal cells

Pausawasdi, N. , S. Ramamoorthy, V. Stepan, J. Del Valle, and A. Todisco. Regulation and function of p38 protein kinase in isolated canine gastric parietal cells. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 278: G24–G31, 2000. —We examined the regulation and functional role of p38 kinase in gastric acid secretion. p38 kinase was immunoprecipitated from cell lysates of highly purified gastric parietal cells in primary culture, and its activity was quantitated by in vitro kinase assay. Carbachol effects were doseand time-dependent, with a maximal 10-fold stimulatory effect detected after 30 min of incubation. SB-203580, a highly selective inhibitor of p38 kinase, blocked carbachol induction of p38 kinase activity, with maximal inhibition at 10 μM. Stimulation by carbachol was unaffected by preincubation of parietal cells with the intracellular Ca21 chelator BAPTA-AM, but incubation of cells in Ca21-free medium led to a 50% inhibition of carbachol induction of p38 kinase activity. Because some of the effects of carbachol are mediated by the small GTPbinding protein Rho, we examined the role of Rho in carbachol induction of p38 kinase activity. We tested the effect of exoenzyme C3 from Clostridium botulinum (C3), a toxin known to ADP-ribosylate and specifically inactivate Rho. C3 led to complete ADP-ribosylation of Rho, and it inhibited carbachol induction of p38 kinase by 50%. We then tested the effect of SB-203580 and C3 on carbachol-stimulated uptake of [14C]aminopyrine (AP). Inhibition of p38 kinase by SB203580 led to a dose-dependent increase in AP uptake induced by carbachol, with maximal (threefold) effect at 10 μM SB-203580. Similarly, preincubation of parietal cells with C3 led to a twofold increase in AP uptake induced by carbachol. Thus carbachol induces a cascade of events in parietal cells that results in activation of p38 kinase through signaling pathways that are at least in part dependent on Rho activation and on the presence of extracellular Ca21. p38 kinase appears to inhibit gastric acid secretion.
Improving the performance of a preference-based multi-objective algorithm to optimize food treatment processes

ABSTRACT This work focuses on the optimization of some high-pressure and temperature food treatments. In some cases, when dealing with real-life multi-objective optimization problems, such as the one considered here, the computational cost of evaluating the considered objective functions is usually quite high. Therefore, only a reduced number of iterations is affordable for the optimization algorithm. However, using fewer iterations can lead to inaccurate solutions far from the real Pareto optimal front. In this article, different mechanisms are analysed and compared to improve the convergence of a preference-based multi-objective optimization algorithm called the Weighting Achievement Scalarizing Function Genetic Algorithm (WASF-GA). The combination of these techniques has been applied to optimize a particular food treatment process. In particular, one of the proposed methods, based on the introduction of an advanced population, achieves important improvements in the quality indicator measures considered.
Effects of Mood State and Psychosocial Functioning on Plasma Interleukin-6 in Adult Patients before Cardiac Surgery

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the potential effect of mood states and psychosocial functioning during the waiting weeks prior to major cardiac surgery on the plasma Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in 236 patients immediately before their operation. Method: The sample was recruited from patients at the cardiac clinic of the University of Michigan Medical Center (Ann Arbor). Two weeks before cardiac surgery, trained research assistants conducted a face-to-face interview with these middle-aged and older patients on their preoperative physical examination date at the clinic. Standardized instruments were used to assess mood states and psychosocial functioning. The blood samples of 236 patients, obtained on the morning of the operation, were analyzed for plasma IL-6. Results: In bivariate analysis, poor psychological functioning and anxiety, as well as bodily pain and body mass index (BMI), were correlated with plasma IL-6 (p < .05), but sociodemographics, chronic illness and use of psychotropic medications were not. When the effect of bodily pain and BMI were taken into account, partial correlation analysis showed that psychological functioning continued to be associated with plasma IL-6 (p < .05); the association of IL-6 with depression now became significant (p < .05), whereas that with anxiety became even more significant (p < .001). Conclusions: Preoperative psychological disturbances during the waiting weeks before cardiac surgery may influence the plasma levels of IL-6 immediately prior to the procedure. The clinical implications of these findings remain to be determined.
Reliable Web services composition using a transactional approach

Web services are a key technology for automating inter-organizational interactions. Enterprises can externalise parts of their business processes using them. Then they can dynamically combine existing services to offer value added composite services (CS). One remaining problem is how to ensure a correct composition and a reliable execution of a CS with regards to partners' transactional requirements. In this paper, we present a transactional approach to ensure the failure atomicity of CS required by partners. Partners specify their CS and the requested failure atomicity. Then, we use a set of rules to validate the composite service with regards to designers' transactional requirements.
An application of computerised adaptive testing for measuring health status in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Purpose. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of computerised adaptive testing (CAT) for measuring health status in knee osteoarthritis. Method. Three hundred and fifty-one patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) answered 118 questions from a range of widely used questionnaires. Three dimensions relevant to knee OA were identified by expert opinion as ‘pain, mental and emotional status’; ‘self-care and household activities’ and ‘mobility and social activities’. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the relationship between the items and their dimensions. After CFA, these dimensions were subjected to Rasch analysis to calibrate the items onto an interval scale. A CAT was developed for each dimension, and the results checked against simulated applications from 10,000 simulees. Results. After CFA and Rasch analysis, 14, 22 and 23 items remained in the first, second and third dimensions, respectively. Items were mostly free of differential item functioning for age, gender and duration of disease. Reliability exceeded 0.87 for each dimension. The health status levels generated using item banks and those obtained from the simulated CAT application were highly correlated (i.e. >0.91 for each dimension). On average, 8, 10 and 10 items were used to estimate the health status levels using the CAT for the first, second and third dimensions respectively. Conclusions. Using a combination approach of CFA and Rasch analysis, this study has shown that it is possible to calibrate items onto a single metric in a way that can be used to provide the basis of a CAT application.
Evidence for Power Law Tumor Growth and Implications for Cancer Radiotherapy

Understanding tumor growth dynamics is important for planning cancer therapy, especially in radiotherapy, where standard fractionation is determined based on the assumption that tumors grow exponentially. In this chapter, we explore the ramifications of an alternative, but equally plausible, assumption of tumor growth, namely power growth law, realized in linear increase in tumor diameter. We present a simple model for tumor growth, whose global dynamics demonstrate power law growth of the tumor, even under unlimited nutrient supply. For corroboration, we carry out and analyze one-, twoand three-dimensional tumor growth experiments both in vitro, in MCF-7 cells (breast cancer cell line) and in vivo, in mouse xenografts. In all studied cases, the unsaturated growth follows a power law growth function. Simulating radiotherapy under power law, Gompertz and exponential tumor growth, we show that the power law model predicts radically different outcomes for the conventionally used treatment. This demonstrates the importance of using the appropriate tumor growth model when calculating optimal dose fractionation schedule for radiotherapy.