Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Laucysteinamide A, a Hybrid PKS/NRPS Metabolite from a Saipan Cyanobacterium, cf. Caldora penicillata

A bioactivity guided study of a cf. Caldora penicillata species, collected during a 2013 expedition to the Pacific island of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (a commonwealth of the USA), led to the isolation of a new thiazoline-containing alkaloid, laucysteinamide A (1). Laucysteinamide A is a new monomeric analogue of the marine cyanobacterial metabolite, somocystinamide A (2), a disulfide-bonded dimeric compound that was isolated previously from a Fijian marine cyanobacterium. The structure and absolute configuration of laucysteinamide A (1) was determined by a detailed analysis of its NMR, MS, and CD spectra. In addition, the highly bioactive lipid, curacin D (3), was also found to be present in this cyanobacterial extract. The latter compound was responsible for the potent cytotoxicity of this extract to H-460 human non-small cell lung cancer cells in vitro.
Translational manipulation under anesthesia for patients with frozen shoulder: a case series study with five-year health care utilization and post-manipulative arthroscopic findings

Abstract Study Design: Case series study. Objectives: Although there have been no reported complications from translational manipulation under anesthesia (tMUA) for individuals with adhesive capsulitis (AC) there are no cases reporting surgical findings post tMUA. Also, there are no studies evaluating health care utilization following tMUA. The purpose of this study was to: (1) report clinical outcomes following tMUA, (2) describe relevant health care costs and utilization following tMUA, and (3) summarize findings from two cases receiving joint arthroscopy following tMUA. Methods: Fourteen Individuals with AC underwent tMUA. Range of motion (ROM) and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) values were collected at baseline and six weeks follow-up. Shoulder-related health care cost and utilization were analyzed for a five-year period following tMUA. Two additional patients with AC underwent tMUA followed by arthroscopic assessment for evidence of iatrogenic injury. Results: Thirteen patients completed the six-week follow-up. Mean change scores for ROM and SPADI values were flexion; +38.5°, abduction; +71.1°, external rotation (shoulder abducted); +49.8°, internal rotation (shoulder abducted); +26.6°, SPADI scores; +44.4. 13 patient records were analyzed for health care utilization. Ten of the 13 patients utilized no additional shoulder-related health care. Surgical evaluation revealed no evidence of iatrogenic injury. Discussion: Clinical outcomes were similar to previous studies. Utilization data indicated that for the majority of patients, little shoulder-related health care was utilized. Surgical evaluation provided further evidence that tMUA performed by a physical therapist is safe. Future research will be required to establish a causal relationship between tMUA and the results observed in this study. Level of Evidence: Therapy, Level 4.
A comparison of methods to assess the antimicrobial activity of nanoparticle combinations on bacterial cells

Background Bacterial cell quantification after exposure to antimicrobial compounds varies widely throughout industry and healthcare. Numerous methods are employed to quantify these antimicrobial effects. With increasing demand for new preventative methods for disease control, we aimed to compare and assess common analytical methods used to determine antimicrobial effects of novel nanoparticle combinations on two different pathogens. Methods Plate counts of total viable cells, flow cytometry (LIVE/DEAD BacLight viability assay) and qPCR (viability qPCR) were used to assess the antimicrobial activity of engineered nanoparticle combinations (NPCs) on Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria at different concentrations (0.05, 0.10 and 0.25 w/v%). Results were analysed using linear models to assess the effectiveness of different treatments. Results Strong antimicrobial effects of the three NPCs (AMNP0–2) on both pathogens could be quantified using the plate count method and flow cytometry. The plate count method showed a high log reduction (>8-log) for bacteria exposed to high NPC concentrations. We found similar antimicrobial results using the flow cytometry live/dead assay. Viability qPCR analysis of antimicrobial activity could not be quantified due to interference of NPCs with qPCR amplification. Conclusion Flow cytometry was determined to be the best method to measure antimicrobial activity of the novel NPCs due to high-throughput, rapid and quantifiable results.
Parameter Estimation for Interactive Visualisation of Scientific Data

This paper presents a method for accelerating algorithms for computing common statistical operations like parameter estimation or sampling on B-Tree indexed data in the context of visualisation of large scientific data sets. The method builds heavily on technology that is already part of relation database management systems and requires only small extensions. The technical goal is the following: Given a massive set of scientific data like sensor data stored in a Relational Database Management System, enable interactive exploration and visualisation of the data by exploiting the technology that already is in place in the database back-end. The main underlying idea is the following: the shape of balanced data structures like B-Trees encodes and reflects data semantics according to the balance criterion. For example, clusters in the index attribute are somewhat likely to be present not only on the data or leaf level of the tree but should propagate up into the interior levels. The paper investigates opportunities and limitations of this approach for visualisation. The advantages of the method are manifold. Not only does it enable advanced algorithms through a performance boost for basic operations, but it also builds on functionality that is already present to a large degree in current RDBMSs; furthermore, it is fully dynamic by avoiding redundancy: when the underlying source data change, the index and therefore the estimations adapt accordingly. Furthermore, we show that the sample quality is data-independent and never worse than a uniform sample if some basic prerequisites are ensured.
Numerical modelling of directional solidification of metallic alloys

AbstractA brief review is first given of the important considerations involved in numerical simulation of solidification. This is followed by presentation of an explicit finite-difference treatment for directional freezing of alloys, in which emphasis is laid on modelling the detailed internal response of the metal. Particular attention is devoted to the handling of latent heat evolution (as it is influenced by micro segregation phenomena) and representation of the mushy zone. Techniques for describing convective heat transfer in the melt are also briefly examined. Modelling results are presented for both laboratory experiments and industrial processes, and examples are given of how this type of analysis can assist in process optimization and control. In the course of these treatments, some of the heat-flow features of solidification with a mushy zone are illustrated and discussed.
Developing an international consensus guidance for myasthenia gravis using RAND/UCLA appropriateness method

1Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China. 2School of Pharmacy, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, China. 3School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, City University of New York, NY 11367, USA. 4Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China.
Tissue Factor-Expressing Tumor Cells Can Bind to Immobilized Recombinant Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor under Static and Shear Conditions In Vitro

Mammary tumors and malignant breast cancer cell lines over-express the coagulation factor, tissue factor (TF). High expression of TF is associated with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), the endogenous inhibitor of TF, is constitutively expressed on the endothelium. We hypothesized that TF-expressing tumor cells can bind to immobilized recombinant TFPI, leading to arrest of the tumor cells under shear in vitro. We evaluated the adhesion of breast cancer cells to immobilized TFPI under static and shear conditions (0.35 – 1.3 dyn/cm2). We found that high-TF-expressing breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231 (with a TF density of 460,000/cell), but not low TF-expressing MCF-7 (with a TF density of 1,400/cell), adhered to recombinant TFPI, under static and shear conditions. Adhesion of MDA-MB-231 cells to TFPI required activated factor VII (FVIIa), but not FX, and was inhibited by a factor VIIa-blocking anti-TF antibody. Under shear, adhesion to TFPI was dependent on the TFPI-coating concentration, FVIIa concentration and shear stress, with no observed adhesion at shear stresses greater than 1.0 dyn/cm2. This is the first study showing that TF-expressing tumor cells can be captured by immobilized TFPI, a ligand constitutively expressed on the endothelium, under low shear in vitro. Based on our results, we hypothesize that TFPI could be a novel ligand mediating the arrest of TF-expressing tumor cells in high TFPI-expressing vessels under conditions of low shear during metastasis.
Distinct white matter injury associated with medial temporal lobe atrophy in Alzheimer's versus semantic dementia

This study aims at further understanding the distinct vulnerability of brain networks in Alzheimer's disease (AD) versus semantic dementia (SD) investigating the white matter injury associated with medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy in both conditions. Twenty‐six AD patients, twenty‐one SD patients, and thirty‐nine controls underwent a high‐resolution T1‐MRI scan allowing to obtain maps of grey matter volume and white matter density. A statistical conjunction approach was used to identify MTL regions showing grey matter atrophy in both patient groups. The relationship between this common grey matter atrophy and white matter density maps was then assessed within each patient group. Patterns of grey matter atrophy were distinct in AD and SD but included a common region in the MTL, encompassing the hippocampus and amygdala. This common atrophy was associated with alterations in different white matter areas in AD versus SD, mainly including the cingulum and corpus callosum in AD, while restricted to the temporal lobe — essentially the uncinate and inferior longitudinal fasciculi — in SD. Complementary analyses revealed that these relationships remained significant when controlling for global atrophy or disease severity. Overall, this study provides the first evidence that atrophy of the same MTL region is related to damage in distinct white matter fibers in AD and SD. These different patterns emphasize the vulnerability of distinct brain networks related to the MTL in these two disorders, which might underlie the discrepancy in their symptoms. These results further suggest differences between AD and SD in the neuropathological processes occurring in the MTL. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1791–1800, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Experimental evaluation of a self-powered smart damping system in reducing vibrations of a full-scale stay cable

This paper investigates the effectiveness of a self-powered smart damping system consisting of a magnetorheological (MR) damper and an electromagnetic induction (EMI) device in reducing cable vibrations. The proposed smart damping system incorporates an EMI device, which is capable of converting vibration energy into useful electrical energy. Thus, the incorporated EMI device can be used as an alternative power source for the MR damper, making it a self-powering system. The primary goal of this experimental study is to evaluate the performance of the proposed smart damping system using a full-scale, 44.7 m long, high-tension cable. To this end, an EMI part and an MR damper were designed and manufactured. Using a cable test setup in a laboratory setting, a series of tests were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the self-powered smart damping system in reducing free vibration responses of the cable. The performances of the proposed smart damping system are compared with those of an equivalent passive system. Moreover, the damping characteristics of the smart damping system and the passive system are compared. The experimental results show that the self-powered smart damping system outperforms the passive control cases in reducing the vibrations of the cable. The results also show that the EMI can operate the smart damping system as a sole power source, demonstrating the feasibility of the self-powering capability of the system.
Intraindividual Variability in Late-Life Functional Limitations Among White, Black, and Hispanic Older Adults

Consistent with the weathering hypothesis, many studies have captured racial/ethnic disparities in average functional health trajectories. The same mechanisms of social inequality that contribute to worse average health among minority adults may also contribute to greater fluctuations in their physical function at upper ages. Using panel data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examine patterns of intraindividual variability over time in trajectories of functional limitations for White, Black, and Hispanic older adults. Intraindividual variability increases with age for both Whites and Blacks and such increase is greater for Blacks. Hispanics have the greatest intraindividual variability but there is no age-based pattern. Socioeconomic status and comorbidity are associated with intraindividual variability for all race/ethnicity yet do not explain the age-based increase in intraindividual variability for Whites or Blacks. The findings suggest further nuances to the weathering hypothesis—social disadvantage can generate instability in physical function as minority adults age.
Enhanced ethanol sensing response from nanostructured MoO3:ZnO thin films and their mechanism of sensing

A novel ZnO incorporated MoO3 nanostructured thin film system exhibiting high sensitivity and selectivity to ethanol has been developed. The MoO3:ZnO nanostructures exhibit enhanced ethanol sensing performance in non-humid and humid (75% r.H. at 21 °C) atmospheres compared to the pure MoO3 layer; with increase in ZnO concentrations, the sensitivity and stability increased, and the response/recovery time decreased. The response (Gethanol/Gair) of the 25% MoO3:ZnO sensor at an operating temperature of 300 °C against 500 ppm ethanol is up to 171 under non-humid and 117 under humid (75% r.H.) conditions. By comparing the response of the 25% ZnO added MoO3 sensor toward various gases (H2, CO, C3H6, CH4 and C2H5OH), distinctive selectivity to ethanol is observed. The ethanol sensitivity action over MoO3 nanostructures can be ascribed to the catalytic oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde, and the enhancement of gas sensing response of the MoO3:ZnO system can be attributed to more active centers that are obtained from the enhanced oxygen vacancy defects induced by ZnO. The presence of a humid atmosphere has a dramatic influence on the sensor performance towards ethanol; the sensitivity diminishes drastically due to the partial site precluding nature of the adsorbed hydroxyl groups to the analyte. The ZnO incorporated MoO3 nanostructure based sensing layers in the present work show significantly superior ethanol sensing performance to the works previously reported for various metal oxide systems.
Towards the Detection of Explosive Taggants: Microwave and Millimetre-Wave Gas-Phase Spectroscopies of 3-Nitrotoluene.

The monitoring of gas-phase mononitrotoluenes is crucial for defence, civil security and environmental interests because they are used as taggant for TNT detection and in the manufacturing of industrial compounds such as dyestuffs. In this study, we have succeeded to measure and analyse at high-resolution a room temperature rotationally resolved millimetre-wave spectrum of meta-nitrotoluene (3-NT). Experimental and theoretical difficulties have been overcome, in particular, those related to the low vapour pressure of 3-NT and to the presence of a CH3 internal rotation in an almost free rotation regime (V3 =6.7659(24) cm-1 ). Rotational spectra have been recorded in the microwave and millimetre-wave ranges using a supersonic jet Fourier Transform microwave spectrometer (Trot <10 K) and a millimetre-wave frequency multiplication chain (T=293 K), respectively. Spectral analysis of pure rotation lines in the vibrational ground state and in the first torsional excited state supported by quantum chemistry calculations permits the rotational energy of the molecule, the hyperfine structure due to the 14 N nucleus, and the internal rotation of the methyl group to be characterised. A line list is provided for future in situ detection.
ACCELERATED AGEING OF ASPHALT IN PRESSURE AGEING VESSEL

This paper describes the long-term ageing properties for different asphalt mix designs after ageing in a Pressure Ageing Vessel (PAV). In connection with the SHRP project, the PAV has been developed for the examination of long-term ageing properties for pure bitumens. The ageing is performed under a constant pressure and temperature for 20 hours. In this project the PAV is applied for ageing of asphalt cores with varying mix design. The purpose of this project is to examine the influence which formula changes have on the long-term ageing properties of the asphalt. The ageing in the PAV is performed on Gyratory compacted cores of GAB-S (a base course asphalt mix) with varying mix designs. The ageing time in the PAV has been fixed in proportion to the ageing of the pure bitumen. The results show that the ageing of asphalt cores in a PAV requires about four times as much time as the ageing of standard bitumen. Moreover, when reducing the thickness of the bituminous aggregate cover, as expected an accelerated ageing is observed. It is expected that when comparing data from PAV ageing of asphalt with data from Gyratory compacting and Nottingham Asphalt Tests, mix designs cannot only be optimized in relation to the mechanical properties of the asphalt but possibly also in relation to the ageing properties. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 885061.
The Smartphone-Based Offline Indoor Location Competition at IPIN 2016: Analysis and Future Work

This paper presents the analysis and discussion of the off-site localization competition track, which took place during the Seventh International Conference on Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation (IPIN 2016). Five international teams proposed different strategies for smartphone-based indoor positioning using the same reference data. The competitors were provided with several smartphone-collected signal datasets, some of which were used for training (known trajectories), and others for evaluating (unknown trajectories). The competition permits a coherent evaluation method of the competitors’ estimations, where inside information to fine-tune their systems is not offered, and thus provides, in our opinion, a good starting point to introduce a fair comparison between the smartphone-based systems found in the literature. The methodology, experience, feedback from competitors and future working lines are described.
Performance of cepstrum-based deconvolution for DOA estimation in the presence of room reverberation

A time-quefrency dereverberation method for reducing the minimum-phase component (MPC) of an unknown room impulse response (RIR) is presented. This paper shows that the vocal-tract and glottal components and the MPC of the RIR can be eliminated from observed signals convolving the unknown RIR with an unknown voiced speech signal. The liftered sequence is applied to direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimator by the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) procedure. Computer simulations demonstrate the superiority of our cepstral prefiltering approach.
Exploiting the Geometry of Gene Expression Patterns for Unsupervised Learning

Typical gene expression clustering algorithms are restricted to a specific underlying pattern model while overlooking the possibility that other information carrying patterns may co-exist in the data. This may potentially lead to a large bias in the results. In this paper we discuss a new method that is able to cluster simultaneously various types of patterns. Our method is based on the observation that many of the patterns that are considered significant to infer gene function and regulatory mechanisms all share the geometry of linear manifolds
Manufacturing of a 3 D Soft Sensor for Feedback Control of Pneumatic Muscles and Applications with Cylindrical Structures

Computer Science Department The Robotics Institute Master of Science in Robotics by Luis Valle Presented is the manufacturing process and characterization of a 3-D Helical soft sensor composed of Eutectic Gallium Indium (eGaIn) as the conductive pattern and silicone rubber as the substrate. A novel eGaIn writing process was used to achieve the 3D structure. The process did not require any molds. Di↵erent diameter sensors and coil densities are shown to show repeatability and versatility of the process. A multilayer sensor is also shown. Some example applications for the sensors are shown. Sensors were tested up to deformations of 50% diametrically and 21% axially. Diametrically, resistance changes of up to 20 ⌦ are achieved. The results show negligible hysteresis diametrically and a change of 0.2 ⌦ axially, showing the sensor to be sensitive, reliable, and compact solution for applications where diameter change needs to be measured. In addition, presented is the modeling and control of a pneumatic artificial muscle actuator with an integrated 3-D sensor for position feedback. A theoretical model and experimental characterization of the muscle-sensor package are presented with high correlation and repeatability. A position feedback sliding mode controller is implemented with a position error of <0.9% of maximum muscle contraction. Finally, further applications of the sensor are discussed.
Effects of combined oral contraceptives on the clinical and biochemical parameters of hyperandrogenism in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Introduction: Nowadays, selection of COCs with maximum antiandrogenic effects is one the main issues in treatment of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the effects of COCs on the clinical and biochemical parameters of hyperandrogenism (HA) in patients with PCOS. Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and web of science) were searched from 1987 to November 2015 to identify clinical trials investigating effect of the various COCs on the clinical and biochemical parameters of HA in patients. In this meta-analysis, both fixed and random effect models were used. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored by meta-regression and subgroup analyses. Results: Findings showed that COC use for 3–12 months was significantly associated with an increase in sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels and a decrease in Ferriman–Gallwey (FG) score, total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), androstenedione (A4) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) levels. Type of progestin or duration of treatment had no important effects on declining androgen levels. Long-term use of COCs (6–12 months) was more effective in improving hirsutism, compared to short term. COCs containing cyproterone acetate (CPA) for 12 months had the strongest effect in improving hirsutism. Conclusions: This study shows that, in patients with PCOS, COCs can effectively improve biochemical and clinical parameters of HA. All COCs studies have similar effects on the hormonal profiles of these patients, and products containing CPA may be an effective treatment in hirsute patients with PCOS.