Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bimetallic Nanoparticles: Enhanced Magnetic and Optical Properties for Emerging Biological Applications

: Metal nanoparticles are extensively studied due to their unique chemical and physical properties, which differ from the properties of their respective bulk materials. Likewise, the properties of heterogeneous bimetallic structures are far more attractive than those of single-component nanoparticles. For example, the incorporation of a second metal into a nanoparticle structure inﬂuences and can potentially enhance the optical/plasmonic and magnetic properties of the material. This review focuses on the enhanced optical/plasmonic and magnetic properties offered by bimetallic nanoparticles and their corresponding impact on biological applications. In this review, we summarize the predominant structures of bimetallic nanoparticles, outline their synthesis methods, and highlight their use in biological applications, both diagnostic and therapeutic, which are dictated by their various optical/plasmonic and magnetic properties.
A Novel Atlas of Human Cerebral Cortex based on Extrinsic Connectivity

Current theories hold that the human cortex can be subdivided in anatomically and functionally distinct regions, from which interactions cognition arises. In these interactions the long-range axonal connectivity, namely extrinsic connectivity, plays a fundamental role (Passingham et al., 2002). Hence, parceling the cortex taking into account its extrinsic connectivity can help to understand brain’s internal organization. However, current brain atlases are based on cytoarchitecture (Brodmann, 1909) or anatomical landmarks (Desikan et al., 2006), which do not necessarily reflect brain’s connectivity. Even modern approaches, like that of Glasser et al. (2016) did not include connectivity information on their building process. Using such parcellations on studies involving connectivity could introduce a bias, leading to erroneous connections and conclusions. In Gallardo et al. (2016) we presented a hierarchical clustering based technique to parcellate the whole cortex based on its extrinsic connectivity. In this work, we show the consistency of our technique. Then we use it to obtain a novel cortical 55 parcels parcellation based on the extrinsic connectivity of 138 subjects from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). Experiments show that several of our extrinsic parcels are closely related to brain functionality.
Effect of Dysarthria Type, Speaking Condition, and Listener Age on Speech Intelligibility.

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the effect of loud and slow speech cues on younger and older listeners' comprehension of dysarthric speech, specifically, (a) whether one strategy, as opposed to the other, promoted greater intelligibility gains for different speaker groups; (b) whether older and younger listeners' understandings were differentially affected by these strategies; and (c) which acoustic changes best predicted intelligibility gain in individual speakers. Method Twenty younger and 40 older listeners completed a perceptual task. Six individuals with dysarthria produced phrases across habitual, loud, and slow conditions. The primary dependent variable was proportion of words correct; follow-up acoustic analyses linked perceptual outcomes to changes in acoustic speech features. Results Regardless of dysarthria type, the loud condition produced significant intelligibility gains. Overall, older listeners' comprehension was reduced relative to younger listeners. Follow-up analysis revealed considerable interspeaker differences in intelligibility outcomes across conditions. Although the most successful speaking mode varied, intelligibility gains were strongly associated with the degree of change participants made to their vowel formants. Conclusions Perceptual outcomes vary across speaking modes, even when speakers with dysarthria are grouped according to similar perceptual profiles. Further investigation of interspeaker differences is needed to inform individually tailored intervention approaches.
On the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Prognosis and Diagnosis in the PROTEUS E-maintenance platform PROTEUS WP 2 Team

The PROTEUS project has identified several maintenance tasks and functionalities where Artificial Intelligence tools or methods could bring many benefits. In this paper, we focus on the diagnosis and prognosis of faulty states in equipments. We show how the generic “PROTEUS AI Web Service” can be instantiated with different AI tools to do diagnosis or prognosis. Thanks to the PROTEUS architecture, these services can work with various data and knowledge sources (like FMECA, SCADA, CMMS, ERP) enabling the use of both maintenance and production data. The characteristics of these “Web Services” are then analyzed so as to specify the features of a “Meta-Tool” that, for a given diagnosis or prognosis task, would help decide which tools are best suited. This Meta-Tool itself could be built as an instance of the generic “PROTEUS AI Web Service”.
Quality of life, treatment satisfaction and efficacy of non-biological systemic therapies in patients with plaque psoriasis: study protocol for a prospective observational study

Introduction Psoriasis vulgaris often leads to a significant impaired quality of life and dissatisfaction with the existing therapeutic approaches. However, patients’ quality of life and treatment satisfaction are of utmost importance, since it is positively related to therapy adherence and encourages patient’s compliance. The study described herein evaluates the quality of life, treatment satisfaction and efficacy during the initial 6 months of treatment with a non-biological systemic agent in a real-life clinical setting. Methods and analysis This observational study compares quality of life, treatment satisfaction and the efficacy of non-biological systemic therapy between 60 patients suffering from plaque psoriasis receiving the non-biological systemic therapies with apremilast, methotrexate and fumaric acid esters. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval was provided by the ethics committee of the medical faculty of the University of Heidelberg. Ethics approval number is S-298/2015. The design and the final results of the study will be published and made available to the public. Trial registration number German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS): DRKS00008721 (https://www.germanctr.de/).
Analytical prediction and experimental research on shrinkage cracking of restrained early-age concrete

The early-age mechanical properties and drying shrinkage of high performance concrete added with fiber were studied to investigate the development of stress in restrained concrete and predict the cracking age of concrete more precisely.An incremental representation of stress of restrained concrete ring was established based on elasticity theory in considering creep and restraint degree. Then the maximum tension stress theory was introduced to predict the cracking age of restrained concrete ring.Experimental and theoretical analysis showed that fiber addition reduced the drying shrinkage for about 2% to 20% at different ages,and the reduction decreased with age.Fiber addition also postponed the cracking age of concrete ring and narrowed the crack width.In theory,the cracking ages of the high performance concrete with and without fiber were 28 and 22 d respectively,which were in good agreement with the experimental results.
Effect of Fear of Falling on Turning Performance in Parkinson’s Disease in the Lab and at Home

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder associated with gait and balance problems and a substantially increased risk of falling. Falls occur often during complex movements, such as turns. Both fear of falling (FOF) and previous falls are relevant risk factors for future falls. Based on recent studies indicating that lab-based and home assessment of similar movements show different results, we hypothesized that FOF and a positive fall history would influence the quantitative turning parameters differently in the laboratory and home. Methods: Fifty-five PD patients (43 underwent a standardized lab assessment; 40 were assessed over a mean of 12 days at home with approximately 10,000 turns per participant; and 28 contributed to both assessments) were classified regarding FOF and previous falls as “vigorous” (no FOF, negative fall history), “anxious” (FOF, negative fall history), “stoic” (no FOF, positive fall history) and “aware” (FOF, positive fall history). During the assessments, each participant wore a sensor on the lower back. Results: In the lab assessment, FOF was associated with a longer turning duration and lowered maximum and middle angular velocities of turns. In the home evaluations, a lack of FOF was associated with lowered maximum and average angular velocities of turns. Positive falls history was not significantly associated with turning parameters, neither in the lab nor in the home. Conclusion: FOF but not a positive fall history influences turning metrics in PD patients in both supervised and unsupervised environments, and this association is different between lab and home assessments. Our findings underline the relevance of comprehensive assessments including home-based data collection strategies for fall risk evaluation.
Malawi Polyomavirus Is a Prevalent Human Virus That Interacts with Known Tumor Suppressors

ABSTRACT Malawi polyomavirus (MWPyV) is a recently identified human polyomavirus. Serology for MWPyV VP1 indicates that infection frequently occurs in childhood and reaches a prevalence of 75% in adults. The MWPyV small T antigen (ST) binds protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), and the large T antigen (LT) binds pRb, p107, p130, and p53. However, the MWPyV LT was less stable than the simian virus 40 (SV40) LT and was unable to promote the growth of normal cells. This report confirms that MWPyV is a widespread human virus expressing T antigens with low transforming potential.
A fragment of adhesion molecule L1 is imported into mitochondria, and regulates mitochondrial metabolism and trafficking

ABSTRACT The cell adhesion molecule L1 (also known as L1CAM) plays important roles in the mammalian nervous system under physiological and pathological conditions. We have previously reported that proteolytic cleavage of L1 by myelin basic protein leads to the generation of a 70 kDa transmembrane L1 fragment (L1-70) that promotes neuronal migration and neuritogenesis. Here, we provide evidence that L1-70 is imported from the cytoplasm into mitochondria. Genetic ablation of L1, inhibition of mitochondrial import of L1-70 or prevention of myelin basic protein-mediated generation of L1-70 all lead to reduced mitochondrial complex I activity, and impaired mitochondrial membrane potential, fusion, fission and motility, as well as increased retrograde transport. We identified NADH dehydrogenase ubiquinone flavoprotein 2 as a binding partner for L1, suggesting that L1-70 interacts with this complex I subunit to regulate complex I activity. The results of our study provide insights into novel functions of L1 in mitochondrial metabolism and cellular dynamics. These functions are likely to ameliorate the consequences of acute nervous system injuries and chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Summary: A transmembrane fragment of the cell adhesion molecule L1 is imported into neuronal mitochondria, and is important for regulation of mitochondrial metabolism, fusion, fission and trafficking.
Crystal Structure of DIM-1, an Acquired Subclass B1 Metallo-β-Lactamase from Pseudomonas stutzeri

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) hydrolyze almost all classes of β-lactam antibiotic, including carbapenems—currently first choice drugs for opportunistic infections by Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. MBL inhibitor development is complicated by the diversity within this group of enzymes, and by the appearance of new enzymes that continue to be identified both as chromosomal genes and on mobile genetic elements. One such newly discovered MBL is DIM-1, a mobile enzyme originally discovered in the opportunist pathogen Pseudomonas stutzeri but subsequently identified in other species and locations. DIM-1 is a subclass B1 MBL more closely related to the TMB-1, GIM-1 and IMP enzymes than to other clinically encountered MBLs such as VIM and NDM; and possesses Arg, rather than the more usual Lys, at position 224 in the putative substrate binding site. Here we report the crystallization and structure determination of DIM-1. DIM-1 possesses a binuclear metal center with a 5 (rather than the more usual 4) co-ordinate tri-histidine (Zn1) site and both 4- and 5-co-ordinate Cys-His-Asp- (Zn2) sites observed in the two molecules of the crystallographic asymmetric unit. These data indicate a degree of variability in metal co-ordination geometry in the DIM-1 active site, as well as facilitating inclusion of DIM-1 in structure-based MBL inhibitor discovery programmes.
Large-Scale Multimodal Gesture Recognition Using Heterogeneous Networks

This paper presents the method designed for the 2017 ChaLearn LAP Large-scale Gesture Recognition Challenge. The proposed method converts a video sequence into multiple body level dynamic images and hand level dynamic images as the inputs to Convolutional Neural Networks (ConvNets) respectively through bidirectional rank pooling and adopts Convolutional LSTM Networks (Con-vLSTM) to learn long-term spatiotemporal features from short-term spatiotemporal features extracted using a 3D convolutional neural network (3DCNN) at body and hand level. Such a heterogeneous network system learns effectively different levels of spatiotemporal features that are complementary to each other to improve the recognition accuracy largely. The method has been evaluated on the 2017 isolated and continuous ChaLearn LAP Large-scale Gesture Recognition Challenge datasets and the results are ranked among the top performances.
Carbon nanotubes: toxicological impact on human health and environment

Summary Nanotechnology is an emerging field of science which is producing nano-sized materials. Some nanomaterials are having a significant impact in health care. Of these, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent one of the most promising materials in the field of nano-science and technology. Their potential in industrial applications has brought them much attention and the wide spectrum of usage has made it imperative that the impact of CNTs on human health and the environment is investigated thoroughly. In addition to their various beneficial applications, there is a potential for hazardous effects on human health. For example, the potential hazards through inhalation of CNTs have not been sufficiently evaluated. CNTs produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are associated with diminishing cellular activities, such as a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential etc. This paper reviews the hazardous influence of CNTs on human health and the environment. Specifically, the effects of CNTs on lung toxicity, skin irritation and CNTs cytotoxicity on various cell lines are reviewed. Biomedical applications and biocompatibility of carbon nanotubes are also summarized.
Antibacterial activity and mode of action of &egr;‐polylysine against Escherichia coli O157:H7

Purpose. Gram‐negative Escherichia coli O157:H7 were chosen as model bacteria to evaluate the antimicrobial mechanism of &egr;‐polylysine (&egr;‐PL). Methodology. The antibacterial activity of &egr;‐PL was detected by measuring the minimum inhibitory concentration values as well as the time‐kill curve. The membrane integrity was determined by ultraviolet (UV) absorption, membrane potential (MP) assay and flow cytometry (FCM) experiments. The permeability of the inner membrane was detected by &bgr;‐galactosidase activity assay. Furthermore, electron microscopy [scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)] was utilized to observe bacterial morphology. Key findings. These results demonstrated that &egr;‐PL showed its antibacterial activity by changing the integrity and permeability of cell membranes, leading to rapid cell death. The electron microscopy analysis (SEM and TEM) results indicated that the bacterial cell morphology, membrane integrity and permeability were spoiled when the E. coli O157:H7 cells were exposed to minimum inhibitory concentrations of &egr;‐PL (16 &mgr;g ml−1). In addition, the bacterial membrane was damaged more severely when the concentration of &egr;‐PL was increased. Conclusion. The present study investigated the antimicrobial mechanism of &egr;‐PL by measuring the content of cytoplasmic &bgr;‐galactosidase, proteins and DNA. In addition, SEM and TEM were carried out to assess the mechanism. These results show that &egr;‐PL has the ability to decrease the content of large molecules, cellular soluble proteins and nucleic acids associated with increasing the content of cytoplasmic &bgr;‐galactosidase in supernatant by causing damage to the cell membranes. Consequently, the use of &egr;‐PL as a natural antimicrobial agent should eventually become an appealing method in the field of food preservation.
Optimal crashworthiness design of thin-walled circular tubes with triggering holes

By applying the moving least square surface fitting technique and genetic algorithm optimization technology,a complete structural optimization design technique for crashworthiness was proposed and the corresponding program codes were developed to realize the typical aircraft structure crashworthiness optimization design.Thin-walled cylindrical aluminum tubes with triggering holes were designed and proven to have high efficiency in energy absorption.The results show that this thin-walled cylindrical structure has a high energy absorption capacity and it is easy in application.
Membranous nephropathy with light chain restricted deposits

The literature on membranous nephropathy (MN) with monoclonal deposits on immunofluorescence (IF) and their outcome is very scarce. We report our experience of managing five patients with this clinical entity. The mean age of the patients was 33.2 ± 6.55 years. The mean proteinuria, serum albumin and serum creatinine was 5.73 ± 2.17 g/day, 2.86 ± 0.51 g/dL and 1.34 ± 1.19 mg/dL, respectively. None of the patients had a lymphoproliferative disorder. Only one patient had an elevated free light chain ratio. Four (80%) patients were M‐type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) negative (tissue and serum), and one (20%) was PLA2R related. Three (60%) cases had monoclonal IgG3/k, one IgG3/λ, whereas one patient with PLA2R positivity had an IgG3/IgG4k subtype. Two (67%) patients treated with cyclical cyclophosphamide and steroids (cCYC/GC) achieved complete remission and one patient (33%) with elevated baseline creatinine had a reduction in serum creatinine with persistent proteinuria at the end of the 12th month of follow‐up. One patient with PLA2R positive MN was treated with Rituximab and is in complete remission. The patient with an elevated free light chain at baseline was treated with Bortezomib/Thalidomide/Dexamethasone, had complete remission at 12 months, however, had a progressive rise in creatinine over the next 40 months of follow‐up. The current series, though limited by numbers, documents the efficacy of conventional therapies in non‐malignant associated MN with monoclonal deposits on IF.
Correlation between 13Cα chemical shifts and helix content of peptide ensembles

Replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations are used to generate three ensembles of an S‐peptide analog (AETAAAKFLREHMDS). Percent helicity of the peptide ensembles calculated using STRIDE is compared to percent helicity calculated from 13Cα chemical shift deviations (CSD) from random coil in order to test the assumption that CSD can be correlated to percent helicity. The two estimates of helicity, one based on structure and the other on CSD, are in close to quantitative agreement, except at the edges of helical stretches where disagreements of as much as 50% can be found. These disagreements can occur by CSDs both as an under‐ and an overestimate of peptide helicity. We show that underestimation arises due to ensemble averaging of positive CSDs from conformers with torsion angles in the helical region of Ramachandran space with negative CSDs corresponding to conformers of the peptide in the extended region. In contrast, overestimation comes about due to the fact that a large number of conformations with torsion angles in the helical region are not counted as helical by STRIDE due to a lack of correlated helical torsion angles in neighboring residues.
Electrocatalytic Performance of Carbon Supported 2 WO 3-Contained PdW Nanoalloys for Oxygen 3 Reduction Reaction in Alkaline Media 4

In this paper, we first report that WOx contained nanoalloys exhibit stable electrocatalytic 12 performance in alkaline media, though bulk WO3 are easy to be dissolved in NaOH solutions. 13 Carbon supported oxide-rich Pd-W alloy nanoparticles (PdW/C) with different Pd:W atom ratios 14 were prepared by reduction-oxidation method. Among the catalysts, the oxide-rich Pd0.8W0. 2/C 15 (Pd/W = 8:2, atom ratio) exhibits the highest catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction. The 16 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data shows that ~40% of Pd atoms and ~ 60% of the W atoms are 17 in their oxides form. The Pd 3d5/2 peaks in oxide-rich Pd-W nanoalloys are positive shift compared 18 with that of Pd/C, which indicates the electronic structure of Pd is affected by the strong interaction 19 between Pd and W/WO3. Compare to Pd/C, the onset potential of oxygen reduction reaction at the 20 oxide-rich Pd0.8W0. 2/C is positive shifted. The current density (mA·mg Pd−1) at the oxide-rich 21 Pd0.8W0. 2/C is ~1.6 times of that at Pd/C. The oxide-rich Pd0.8W0. 2/C also exhibits higher catalytic 22 stability than Pd/C, which demonstrate that it is a prospective candidate for the cathode of fuel cells 23 operated with alkaline electrolyte. 24
Oncogene-induced senescence in pituitary adenomas and carcinomas

OBJECTIVEThe model of ‘oncogene-induced senescence’ (OIS), resulting in cell-proliferation arrest, has recently been suggested as a possible explanation for the non-progression of pituitary tumours to malignancy. The aim of the study was to compare the expression of β-galactosidase as a molecular marker of OIS, and p21/p16 as additional markers involved in mediating OIS, in pituitary adenomas, carcinomas and normal pituitary tissue.DESIGNWe performed: a) semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry (β-galactosidase, p16, p21) in 41 pituitary adenomas [(11 GH-secreting, 9 PRL-secreting, 10 ACTH-secreting, 11 non-functioning (NFPAs)], 6 carcinomas (3 multihormonal: PRL/ACTH/GH, PRL/ACTH, PRL/GH/FSH; 1 non-functioning; 2 ACTH-secreting) and 7 normal pituitary tissues; b) quantitative PCR of mRNA (p16 and p21) in 6 GH-secreting, 6 NFPAs and 6 normal pituitary tissues. RESULTSβ-galactosidase was significantly increased in GH-secreting tumours (P=0.002), NFPAs (P=0.04), macroadenomas (P=0.03) and carcinomas (P=0.02), as compared to normal pituitary tissue. We found that p16 expression was significantly lower in all tumours (both adenomas and carcinomas) probably secondary to reduced transcription, at least for NFPAs; p21 showed a different biological behaviour, implying that p21 and p16 may play different roles in the senescence of each individual type of adenoma. CONCLUSIONSβ-galactosidase was significantly over-expressed in GH-secreting and NFPAs, and unexpectedly also in carcinomas. We speculate that the senescence pathway, which may explain the rarity of malignant progression to carcinomas in GH-secreting and NFPAs, might not be universal but cell-type specific.
Development of plant fiber cushion packaging material

The technical process and performance tests of the cushion packing material made from plant fiber were introduced.The cushion packaging material was mainly composed of straw,apple waste,and starch additive.The technology of expanding and press molding was applied to produce this naturally degradable material and does not contaminate the environment.It is an environmental friendly cushion material and has large potential in the field of packaging.