Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of the adsorption of pesticide endosulfan on gold nanoparticles

The absorption of pesticide endosulfan on the surface of gold nanoparticles results from the formation of micrometric structures (1–10 μm) with irregular shape because of the aggregation of individual particles. Such aggregation of gold nanoparticles after absorption of pesticide shows a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrum, whose intensity depends on the concentration of endosulfan. In addition, the discoloration of the colloidal solution and a diminishing of the intensity of the surface plasmon resonance absorption from individual particles were observed by UV-visible spectroscopy. At the same time, a second band between 638 and 700 nm confirms the formation of aggregates of gold nanoparticles as the concentration of endosulfan increases. Finally, we used the SERS intensity of the S‒O stretching vibration at 1239 cm−1 from the SO3 group as a measure of concentration of pesticide endosulfan. This method could be used to estimate the level of pollution in water by endosulfan in a simple and practical form.
Inhibition of p38 MAPK During Ischemia, But Not Reperfusion, Effectively Attenuates Fatal Arrhythmia in Ischemia/Reperfusion Heart

Abstract: The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play an important role in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Previous evidence suggests that p38 MAPK inhibition before ischemia is cardioprotective. However, whether p38 MAPK inhibition during ischemia or reperfusion provides cardioprotection is not well known. We tested the hypothesis that p38 MAPK inhibition at different times during I/R protects the heart from arrhythmias, reduces the infarct size, and attenuates ventricular dysfunction. Adult Wistar rats were subject to a 30-minute left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion, followed by a 120-minute reperfusion. A p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, was given intravenously before left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion, during ischemia, or at the onset of reperfusion. The results showed that SB203580 given either before or during ischemia, but not at the onset of reperfusion, decreased the ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) incidence and heat shock protein 27 phosphorylation, and increased connexin 43 phosphorylation. The infarct size and cytochrome c level was decreased in all SB203580-treated rats, without the alteration of the total Bax/Bcl-2 expression. The ventricular function was improved only in SB203580-pretreated rats. These findings suggest that timing of p38 MAPK inhibition with respect to onset of ischemia is an important determinant of therapeutic efficacy.
Existence of enterprise synergy with random incomes

The research of enterprise synergy emphasizes the consistency of the individual rationality and the group rationality in the supply chain.In this paper,the enterprise synergy with the stochastic income functions is modeled and analyzed.The optimal synergy is defined by assuming that the enterprises tend to maximize the probability of exceeding their business targets.The existence of the optimal synergy is proved based on the aspiration equivalent theory and the condition of its existence is brought out during the proof.When the aspiration equivalent is used in practice,the rules of calculating and choosing the aspiration equivalents are discussed.The results show that the small values should be selected preferentially when there are multiple aspiration equivalents.
CONTROVERSIES IN THE ENDOVASCULAR MANAGEMENT OF CEREBRAL VASOSPASM AFTER INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSM RUPTURE AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES

CEREBRAL VASOSPASM IS one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite maximal medical therapy, however, up to 15% of patients surviving the ictus of subarachnoid hemorrhage experience stroke or death from vasospasm. For those cases of vasospasm that are refractory to medical treatment, endovascular techniques are frequently used, including balloon angioplasty with or without intra-arterial infusion of vasodilators, combined endovascular modalities, and aortic balloon devices. In this article, we review each of these therapies and their expanding role in the management of this condition. Moving forward, rigorous prospective outcome assessments after endovascular treatment of cerebral vasospasm are necessary to clearly delineate the efficacy and indications for these techniques.
PARAQUAT RESISTANT1, a Golgi-Localized Putative Transporter Protein, Is Involved in Intracellular Transport of Paraquat1[C][W]

Golgi-localized putative transporter proteins are involved in the intracellular transport of paraquat. Paraquat is one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide. In green plants, paraquat targets the chloroplast by transferring electrons from photosystem I to molecular oxygen to generate toxic reactive oxygen species, which efficiently induce membrane damage and cell death. A number of paraquat-resistant biotypes of weeds and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants have been identified. The herbicide resistance in Arabidopsis is partly attributed to a reduced uptake of paraquat through plasma membrane-localized transporters. However, the biochemical mechanism of paraquat resistance remains poorly understood. Here, we report the identification and characterization of an Arabidopsis paraquat resistant1 (par1) mutant that shows strong resistance to the herbicide without detectable developmental abnormalities. PAR1 encodes a putative l-type amino acid transporter protein localized to the Golgi apparatus. Compared with the wild-type plants, the par1 mutant plants show similar efficiency of paraquat uptake, suggesting that PAR1 is not directly responsible for the intercellular uptake of paraquat. However, the par1 mutation caused a reduction in the accumulation of paraquat in the chloroplast, suggesting that PAR1 is involved in the intracellular transport of paraquat into the chloroplast. We identified a PAR1-like gene, OsPAR1, in rice (Oryza sativa). Whereas the overexpression of OsPAR1 resulted in hypersensitivity to paraquat, the knockdown of its expression using RNA interference conferred paraquat resistance on the transgenic rice plants. These findings reveal a unique mechanism by which paraquat is actively transported into the chloroplast and also provide a practical approach for genetic manipulations of paraquat resistance in crops.
3D Reconstruction based on the matching method of GA

Stereo matching is an important part of three-dimensional reconstruction (3D). Because of the problem that the traditional matching methods have a lower matching precision, and it causes a poor robustness of reconstructed result, this paper presents a matching method that is combined the method of Euclidean distance between feature points as the similarity measurement and genetic algorithm (GA). Through the Euclidean distance between feature points, it gets the initial set of matching points, and then uses GA to estimate the transformation matrix between the two to be matched images. After that it can recover the translation, rotation and scaling relations between the images accurately, and eliminate the false matching points from the initial set of matching points, then obtain the accurate set of matching points. And the experimental result shows that because of the increased matching accuracy, the robustness of the reconstructed result also has been improved.
Low power IoT platform for vital signs monitoring

Recent years have witnessed tremendous advances in wearable technology with many applications ranging from health and fitness, sports, security, and more recently augmented reality. Classical body area networks have been reduced to small, wearable devices such as smart watches where signal acquisition is accompanied by processing or streaming to a more powerful device such as a smart phone (or “fog”), or directly to the Cloud. We present a system based around EPIC electric potential sensors which are capable of acquiring bio-electric signals, including an electrocardiogram-like signal (ECG). The paper compares a set of validation algorithms for the extraction of Heart Rate (HR) and Respiratory Rate (RR) suitable for use on EPIC sensor data acquired with the proposed system. These algorithms are evaluated in terms of precision and the estimated robustness and variance. The system is of particular relevance in the field of Augmented and Virtual Reality, in which such a miniaturised, wireless platform becomes a necessity [1].
Characterization of XynC from Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis Strain 168 and Analysis of Its Role in Depolymerization of Glucuronoxylan

ABSTRACT Secretion of xylanase activities by Bacillus subtilis 168 supports the development of this well-defined genetic system for conversion of methylglucuronoxylan (MeGAXn [where n represents the number of xylose residues]) in the hemicellulose component of lignocellulosics to biobased products. In addition to the characterized glycosyl hydrolase family 11 (GH 11) endoxylanase designated XynA, B. subtilis 168 secretes a second endoxylanase as the translated product of the ynfF gene. This sequence shows remarkable homology to the GH 5 endoxylanase secreted by strains of Erwinia chrysanthemi. To determine its properties and potential role in the depolymerization of MeGAXn, the ynfF gene was cloned and overexpressed to provide an endoxylanase, designated XynC, which was characterized with respect to substrate preference, kinetic properties, and product formation. With different sources of MeGAXn as the substrate, the specific activity increased with increasing methylglucuronosyl substitutions on the β-1,4-xylan chain. With MeGAXn from sweetgum as a preferred substrate, XynC exhibited a V max of 59.9 units/mg XynC, a Km of 1.63 mg MeGAXn/ml, and a k cat of 2,635/minute at pH 6.0 and 37°C. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization—time of flight mass spectrometry and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance data revealed that each hydrolysis product has a single glucuronosyl substitution penultimate to the reducing terminal xylose. This detailed analysis of XynC from B. subtilis 168 defines the unique depolymerization process catalyzed by the GH 5 endoxylanases. Based upon product analysis, B. subtilis 168 secretes both XynA and XynC. Expression of xynA was subject to MeGAXn induction; xynC expression was constitutive with growth on different substrates. Translation and secretion of both GH 11 and GH 5 endoxylanases by the fully sequenced and genetically malleable B. subtilis 168 recommends this bacterium for the introduction of genes required for the complete utilization of products of the enzyme-catalyzed depolymerization of MeGAXn. B. subtilis may serve as a model platform for development of gram-positive biocatalysts for conversion of lignocellulosic materials to renewable fuels and chemicals.
An open platform for the design of social robot embodiments for face-to-face communication

The role of the physical embodiment of a social robot is of key importance during the interaction with humans. If we want to study the interactions we need to be able to change the robot's embodiment to the nature of the experiment. Nowadays, researchers build one-off robots from scratch or choose to use a commercially available platform. This is justified by the time and budget constraints and the lack of design tools for social robots. In this work, we introduce an affordable open source platform to accelerate the design and production of novel social robot embodiments, with a focus on face-to-face communication. We describe an experiment where Industrial Design students created physical embodiments for 10 new social robots using our platform, detailing the design methodology followed during the different steps of the process. The paper gives an overview of the platform modules used by each of the robots, the skinning techniques employed, as well as the perceived usability of the platform. In summary, we show that our platform (1) enables non-experts to design new social robot embodiments, (2) allows a wide variety of different robots to be built with the same building blocks, and (3) affords itself to being adapted and extended.
A study on the WTP estimates of green public buildings by the Contingent Valuation Method

Currently, green house gas(GHG) emissions in korea is aiming for a 30% reduction that it is compared to BAU by 2020. To this end, the government has proceed to a variety of reduction policies in GHG. In particular, GHG reduction effect in the public buildings is being a active discussion. It needs to reduce GHG for energy efficiency improvements in the way that public buildings are operated and maintained by public taxes. In this background, the purpose of this paper is to study environmental values judgement for non-market goods in the residents who use public buildings. The results of study are as follows; Respond to first suggested price was found the higher in price, the lower in willingness to pay(WTP). The result of second suggested price was as the same. Analysis of DBDC CVM revealed that income level shows a positive impact on WTP, but the other variables are irrelevant to WTP. Therefore, the citizen participation of the local population seems absolutely necessary to more effective GHG reduction of public sector in the future.
Use of a biosimilar granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor for peripheral blood stem cell mobilization: an analysis of mobilization and engraftment

Peripheral blood haematopoietic progenitor cell mobilization has become a standard procedure prior to autologous stem cell transplantation. Biosimilar granulocyte colony‐stimulating factors (GCSF) have recently been awarded European Union (EU) licences for stem cell mobilization but data for their use in this context remain limited. The biosimilar GCSF, Ratiograstim® (Ratiopharm, Ulm, Germany) was granted an EU licence in September 2008 and incorporated into clinical practice in the Wessex Blood and Marrow Transplantation Programme in December 2008. Data were retrospectively collected for 154 consecutive patients undergoing peripheral blood stem cell harvest between January 2009 and December 2011 using the biosimilar GCSF. 131 consecutive patients from the preceding 3 years, who had received Neupogen®, were used as a control. We analysed both parameters relevant to stem cell collection and engraftment data, where patients proceeded to transplantation. We found no statistically significant difference between the two groups when comparing CD34 predictors, total number of CD34+ stem cells collected, number of days required for collection, or for time to engraftment. This is, to our knowledge, the largest direct comparison of a biosimilar GCSF with originator GCSF for stem cell mobilization. The use of biosimilar GCSF can produce a significant cost saving, allowing investment in other areas of stem cell transplantation.
Computer Security Education and Research: Handle with Care

Many computer security researchers are actively seeking ways to detect attackers and their malicious code and tools to protect computing systems from hackers' activities. Sharing these research findings with practitioners and students magnifies the impact. In pursuing these goals, however, researchers, educators, and their students must ensure that their own computing activities remain legal and ethical. Computer security professionals should be equally cautious in assisting corporate or government computer resource owners with investigations. Advances in technology often outstrip the legal system's ability to create statutes and experience case law to test them - a process that can take many years. In this column, we outline specific areas where those in academic security roles should tread carefully, particularly with regard to US laws
Pharmacokinetics of alpha-methyl-L-tryptophan in rhesus monkeys and calculation of the lumped constant for estimating the rate of serotonin synthesis.

We have determined several kinetic and pharmacokinetic parameters of L-tryptophan (Trp) and alpha-methyl-L-tryptophan (alphaMTrp) in the rhesus monkey from which the lumped constant for the alphaMTrp method of estimating serotonin synthesis rates is calculated. AlphaMTrp was isolated from DL-alphaMTrp using a chiral separation column with high performance liquid chromatography. AlphaMTrp (50 microgram/kg) was administered i.v. to four adult male rhesus monkeys and arterial blood samples were collected for a 4-hr period. Plasma concentrations, as determined by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, were best fitted by a tri-exponential equation. Plasma protein binding of Trp and alphaMTrp was determined by measuring concentrations in ultrafiltrates obtained at 30 degrees C. After a 2-hr adjusted rate infusion of alphaMTrp designed to establish steady-state plasma concentrations, three adult male rhesus monkeys were killed by exsanguination with perfused ice-cold saline. Brain/arterial plasma concentration ratios of Trp and alphaMTrp and the Michaelis-Menten parameters for tryptophan hydroxylase, EC 1.14. 16.4, with Trp and alphaMTrp as initiating substrates, were determined for seven brain regions. The lumped constants determined for the different brain regions were not significantly different from each other and indicate, that for modeling purposes, the brain may be treated as a homogeneous area and the lumped constant given a single value, 0.18 +/- 0.05.
Is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test better suited than the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) detection among people aged over 60? Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES Screening tests play a crucial role in dementia diagnostics, thus they should be very sensitive for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) assessment. Nowadays, the MiniMental State Examination (MMSE) is the most commonly used scale in cognitive function evaluation, albeit it is claimed to be imprecise for MCI detection. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was created as an alternative method for MMSE. Aim. MoCA vs. MMSE credibility assessment in detecting MCI, while taking into consideration the sensitivity and specificity by cut-off points. METHODS A systematic literature search was carried out by the authors using EBSCO host Web, Wiley Online Library, Springer Link, Science Direct and Medline databases. The following medical subject headings were used in the search: mild cognitive impairment, mini-mental state examination, Montreal cognitive assessment, diagnostics value. Papers which met inclusion and exclusion criteria were chosen to be included in this review. At the end, for the evaluation of MoCA 20, and MMSE 13 studies were qualified. Research credibility was established by computing weighted arithmetic mean, where weight is defined as population for which the result of sensitivity and specificity for the cut-off point was achieved. The cut-offs are shown as ROC curve and accuracy of diagnosis for MoCA and MMSE was calculated as the area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS ROC curve analysis for MoCA demonstrated that MCI best detection can be achieved with a cut-off point of 24/25 (n = 9350, the sensitivity of 80.48% and specificity of 81.19%). AUC was 0.846 (95% CI 0.823-0.868). For MMSE, it turned out that more important cut-off was of 27/28 (n = 882, 66.34% sensitivity and specificity of 72.94%). AUC was 0.736 (95% CI 0.718-0.767). CONCLUSIONS MoCA test better meets the criteria for screening tests for the detection of MCI among patients over 60 years of age than MMSE.
Effect of inflammatory mediators on cardiovascular function

Purpose of reviewInflammatory mediators can interfere with cardiovascular system. This article describes some recent findings in this field. Recent findingsIn septic cardiomyopathy, direct and indirect interactions of endotoxin with the pacemaker current contribute to cardiac autonomic dysfunction and inadequately high heart rate, worsening prognosis. In myocardial infarction, inflammatory blood cells correlate with impaired coronary microvascular reperfusion. In cardiogenic shock, systemic inflammation and development of multiorgan dysfunction syndrome have a major impact on mortality. Shock patients have low levels of activated protein C and high levels of the endogenous danger signal molecule peroxiredoxin 1; both conditions might represent further therapeutic targets. As major cause of cytopathic hypoxia, mitochondrial dysfunction has also been identified in mitochondria from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in paediatric septic shock. Transcatheter aortic valve endocarditis, a new endocarditis entity after transcatheter aortic valve implantation in old and very old patients, needs our special attention, because immunosenescence may modify the clinical course in a negative sense. Systemic spreading of endocarditis to septic shock adds to the local valve infection the problem of septic shock. SummaryNot only in septic shock, but also in classic heart diseases like cardiogenic shock and endocarditis, the detrimental role of inflammatory mediators becomes more and more evident, whereas effective anti-inflammatory treatment concepts are still missing.
Lowering dialysate temperature improves sleep and alters nocturnal skin temperature in patients on chronic hemodialysis

Hemodialysis (HD) induces physiological changes that may affect the ability to dissipate heat and adversely affect sleep. We studied the effects of altering dialysate temperature on polysomnographic measures of nocturnal sleep and the time course of proximal skin temperature. The sample included seven stable HD patients. The three‐phase randomized trial was conducted in a research facility. After one acclimatization night, subjects were readmitted in the evening on two additional occasions for 42 h and received HD the next morning in the warm condition (dialysate 37 °C) and cool condition (dialysate 35 °C) in random order. Continuous proximal skin temperature (axillary, Tax) and polysomnographic measures of sleep were recorded the nights before and after HD was administered. Highly significant findings included that the time course of Tax was markedly affected by dialysis temperature. There was a greater drop of Tax in the early morning following the warm condition than during the baseline nights or in the cool condition. Logistic regression indicated that the odds for the occurrence of sleep and its deeper stages were strongly and positively associated with Tax. Time of sleep onset was earlier in the cool condition (P = 0.03) with trends toward longer total sleep times (P = 0.09) and shorter rapid‐eye‐movement latencies (P = 0.09). These observations suggest that the use of cool dialysate during HD may improve nocturnal sleep by decreasing sympathetic activation and sustaining the normally elevated nocturnal skin temperature until later into the morning hours.