Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hepatoprotective Potential of Extracts from Seeds of Areca catechu and Nutgalls of Quercus infectoria

Aqueous extracts from seeds of Areca catechu L. (Arecaceae) (AC) and nutgalls of Quercus infectoria Oliv. (Fagaceae) (QI) were investigated for their hepatoprotective potential by studying their antioxidant capacity using four different methods, by determining their in vitro anti−inflammatory activity against 5-lipoxygenase, and by evaluating their hepatoprotective potential against liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. AC and QI extracts exhibited potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Treatment of rats with AC and QI extracts reversed oxidative damage in hepatic tissues induced by CCl4. It is suggested that extracts rich in either condensed or hydrolysable tannins and known for their potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, may potentially confer protection against oxidative stress−induced liver injury. These data should contribute to evidence-based traditional medicines for anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective effects of both extracts.
Cell surface annexins regulate ADAM-mediated ectodomain shedding of proamphiregulin

Ectodomain shedding of EGFR ligands by ADAM17 is a key step of transactivation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the downstream signaling network. In this study, we identified cell surface annexins as regulators of ectodomain shedding of amphiregulin precursor. We propose that cell surface annexins act as a shedding platform to determine the substrate selectivity of ADAM17.
The impact of inducing germination of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus thuringiensis spores on potential secondary decontamination strategies

Decontamination and remediation of a site contaminated by the accidental or intentional release of fully virulent Bacillus anthracis spores are difficult, costly and potentially damaging to the environment. Development of novel decontamination strategies that have minimal environmental impacts remains a high priority. Although ungerminated spores are amongst the most resilient organisms known, once exposed to germinants, the germinating spores, in some cases, become susceptible to antimicrobial environments. We evaluated the concept that once germinated, B. anthracis spores would be less hazardous and significantly easier to remediate than ungerminated dormant spores.
Biodegradable scaffold of natural polymer and hydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering: A short review

Biodegradable polymeric scaffold is a promising area of research for cellular and tissue regeneration engineering. Many natural-based polymers have been studied as candidates for bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffold due to their high biocompatibility and biodegradability. Incorporating biopolymers with reinforcement particles such as hydroxyapatite (HA) results in composites that have improved mechanical properties, osteoconductivity and bioactivity. The inclusion of HA also enables the production of biopolymer scaffolds that resembles the natural structure and composition of bone tissues. Several natural polymers have been identified, blended, functionalized and applied for designing scaffolds for numerous biomedical applications. This review intends to summarize the recent progress and roles of commonly used natural polymer/HA composites for bone tissue engineering application.Biodegradable polymeric scaffold is a promising area of research for cellular and tissue regeneration engineering. Many natural-based polymers have been studied as candidates for bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffold due to their high biocompatibility and biodegradability. Incorporating biopolymers with reinforcement particles such as hydroxyapatite (HA) results in composites that have improved mechanical properties, osteoconductivity and bioactivity. The inclusion of HA also enables the production of biopolymer scaffolds that resembles the natural structure and composition of bone tissues. Several natural polymers have been identified, blended, functionalized and applied for designing scaffolds for numerous biomedical applications. This review intends to summarize the recent progress and roles of commonly used natural polymer/HA composites for bone tissue engineering application.
Code acquisition schemes using antenna arrays for DS-SS systems and their performance in spatially correlated fading channels

We propose parallel and serial code-acquisition schemes using antenna arrays for initial acquisition of direct-sequence spread-spectrum signals, which can lower substantially the range of detectable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as compared to the corresponding conventional schemes with a single antenna. The proposed schemes use the sum of all the single-antenna decision samples from antenna arrays, corresponding to an identical subsequence of a given pseudonoise code as a decision variable in order to enhance SNR of the resulting signal. We analyze the mean acquisition time performance under an additive white Gaussian noise channel and spatially correlated time-varying flat Rayleigh fading channels by deriving the expressions for the probabilities of detection, missing, and false alarm. We consider two extreme cases of spatial fading correlation among antenna arrays, the case of uncorrelated diversity antennas and the case of perfectly correlated antennas. From numerical results, we see that the acquisition performance of the proposed schemes using antenna arrays becomes improved continually as the number of antennas increases and the performance improvement depends on the degree of spatial fading correlation.
A review on date palm (phoenix dactylifera) fibers and its polymer composites

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the most significant agricultural crop, found abundantly in the Arabian Gulf in Saudi Arabia, Northern Africa, Pakistan, India, and the United States (California). Huge deposition of more than 15000 tons of date palm leaves and trunk are generated as wastes alone in Saudi Arabia. The date palm fibers from trunk and leaf possess considerable mechanical strength and modulus to many of the natural fibers and higher with respect to E-glass fibers and many aluminium alloys. Wide varieties of both thermosets and thermoplastics polymers have been modified by the reinforcement of date palm fibers derived from leaf and trunk. Date palm fibers represent a promising alternative substitute to synthetic fibers in polymer composite industries for both advanced structural and semi-structural applications. Present review article designed to be a comprehensive source of recent literature and study on date palm fibers origin, cultivation and its surface modifications. This article also intended to covers the recent findings in date palm fibers reinforced polymer composites with some interest on physical structure and chemical compositions, including their different commercial applications.
Data Mining and NIR Spectroscopy in Viticulture: Applications for Plant Phenotyping under Field Conditions

Plant phenotyping is a very important topic in agriculture. In this context, data mining strategies may be applied to agricultural data retrieved with new non-invasive devices, with the aim of yielding useful, reliable and objective information. This work presents some applications of machine learning algorithms along with in-field acquired NIR spectral data for plant phenotyping in viticulture, specifically for grapevine variety discrimination and assessment of plant water status. Support vector machine (SVM), rotation forests and M5 trees models were built using NIR spectra acquired in the field directly on the adaxial side of grapevine leaves, with a non-invasive portable spectrophotometer working in the spectral range between 1600 and 2400 nm. The ν-SVM algorithm was used for the training of a model for varietal classification. The classifiers’ performance for the 10 varieties reached, for cross- and external validations, the 88.7% and 92.5% marks, respectively. For water stress assessment, the models developed using the absorbance spectra of six varieties yielded the same determination coefficient for both cross- and external validations (R2 = 0.84; RMSEs of 0.164 and 0.165 MPa, respectively). Furthermore, a variety-specific model trained only with samples of Tempranillo from two different vintages yielded R2 = 0.76 and RMSE of 0.16 MPa for cross-validation and R2 = 0.79, RMSE of 0.17 MPa for external validation. These results show the power of the combined use of data mining and non-invasive NIR sensing for in-field grapevine phenotyping and their usefulness for the wine industry and precision viticulture implementations.
First report in a dog model of atopic dermatitis: expression patterns of protease-activated receptor-2 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin.

BACKGROUND Protease-activated receptor (PAR)-2 plays a crucial role in inflammation and the skin barrier. Protease-activated receptor-2 is activated by proteolytic enzymes of allergens and stimulates thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), promoting T-helper 2 cytokines. In humans with atopic dermatitis (AD), increased expression of PAR-2 and TSLP has been reported. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To compare the pattern of staining of PAR-2 and TSLP between normal and atopic beagle dogs. The hypothesis tested was that increased expression is present in atopic dog skin compared with healthy control skin. ANIMALS Eight atopic and five normal dogs were challenged for 3 days with house dust mites. METHODS Skin biopsies were taken to measure the intensity, distribution, integrity and cell staining pattern on days 0, 3 and 10, both objectively and subjectively. Clinical signs were scored and compared between groups. RESULTS Atopic dogs showed a significant increase in clinical scores on days 3 (peak of challenge) and 10 (resolution) and a significant condensed staining pattern for TSLP in the stratum basale at all times in comparison to normal dogs. They showed a significant patchy pattern for PAR-2 on days 0 and 3 and for TSLP at all times compared with normal dogs. The intensity itself was not significantly increased in atopic dogs compared with normal animals for both PAR-2 and TSLP. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE These preliminary findings do not confirm a difference in the amount of expression but rather in its pattern. Studies using PAR-2 or TSLP inhibitors could shed light on their clinical relevance.
Superior survival using living donors and donor‐recipient matching using a novel living donor risk index

The deceased‐donor organ supply in the U.S. has not been able to keep pace with the increasing demand for liver transplantation. We examined national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS) data from 2002‐2012 to assess whether living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has surpassed deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) as a superior method of transplantation, and used donor and recipient characteristics to develop a risk score to optimize donor and recipient selection for LDLT. From 2002‐2012, there were 2,103 LDLTs and 46,674 DDLTs that met the inclusion criteria. The unadjusted 3‐year graft survival for DDLTs was 75.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 75.1‐76.0%) compared with 78.9% (95% CI: 76.9‐80.8%; P < 0.001) for LDLTs that were performed at experienced centers (>15 LDLTs), with substantial improvement in LDLT graft survival over time. In multivariate models, LDLT recipients transplanted at experienced centers with either autoimmune hepatitis or cholestatic liver disease had significantly lower risks of graft failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.37‐0.84 and HR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.63‐0.92, respectively). An LDLT risk score that included both donor and recipient variables facilitated stratification of LDLT recipients into high, intermediate, and low‐risk groups, with predicted 3‐year graft survival ranging from >87% in the lowest risk group to <74% in the highest risk group. Conclusion: Current posttransplant outcomes for LDLT are equivalent, if not superior, to DDLT when performed at experienced centers. An LDLT risk score can be used to optimize LDLT outcomes and provides objective selection criteria for donor selection in LDLT. (Hepatology 2014;60:1717–1726)
Extending postharvest storage life of non-astringent persimmon cv. Fuyu by 1-MCP treatments.

Persimmon is the species Diospyros kaki, a tree belonging to the family Ebenaceae and native to the Far East. Originally cultivated in China and Japan, it is also known as Chinese date plum. A research was carried out to understand the potential of the commercial use of 1-MCP (1 methylcyclopropene) to extend the shelf life of the non-astringent persimmon cultivar cv. Fuyu. Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) fruit were harvested at the commercial maturity (yellowish orange colour) and then treated with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at three different doses (250 ppb, 500 ppb and 750 ppb) for 24 hrs at 20°C and kept at ambient air temperature (20°C) for shelf life evaluation. The result showed that the non 1-MCP treated fruit softened within 15 days after harvest, resulting in unacceptable quality as compare to all 1-MCP treated fruits. The 1-MCP treatments at more than 500 ppb inhibited fruit softening for 30 days after harvest in association with suppression of respiration at room temperature and thus helps in retaining the fruit firmness. Treatment with 250 ppb 1-MCP had a limited inhibitory effect on softening. Change in soluble solid content, acid and peel colour occurred during storage, but all these processes were significantly delayed by 1-MCP treatment. These results indicated that 1-MCP is an effective tool for quality improvement and extension of shelf life in persimmon and fruit might be harvested in yellowish orange stage of ripening, at which the most desirable organoleptic attributes had been developed on tree.
Color Image Segmentation using Adaptive Spatial Gaussian Mixture Model

An adaptive spatial Gaussian mixture model is proposed for clustering based color image segmentation. A new clustering objective function which incorporates the spatial information is introduced in the Bayesian framework. The weighting parameter for controlling the importance of spatial information is made adaptive to the image content to augment the smoothness towards piecewisehomogeneous region and diminish the edge-blurring effect and hence the name adaptive spatial finite mixture model. The proposed approach is compared with the spatially variant finite mixture model for pixel labeling. The experimental results with synthetic and Berkeley dataset demonstrate that the proposed method is effective in improving the segmentation and it can be employed in different practical image content understanding applications. Keywords—Adaptive; Spatial; Mixture model; Segmentation ; Color.
Deconvolution of sparse spike trains by iterated window maximization

A new algorithm for deconvolution of sparse spike trains is presented. To maximize a joint MAP criterion, an initial configuration is iteratively improved through a number of small changes. Computational savings are achieved by precomputing and storing two correlation functions and by employing a window strategy. The resulting formulas are simple, intuitive, and efficient. In addition, they allow much more complicated transitions than state-space solutions such as Kormylo and Mendel's (1982) single most likely replacement algorithm. This makes it possible to reduce significantly the probability that the algorithm terminates in a local maximum. Synthetic data examples are presented that support these claims.
Perfusion computed tomography in the acute phase of mild head injury: Regional dysfunction and prognostic value

Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of disability and death. Most patients sustain a mild head injury with a subgroup that experiences disabling symptoms interfering with return to work. Brain imaging in the acute phase is not predictive of outcome, as 20% of noncontrast computed tomographic (CT) scans on admission is normal in patients with a suboptimal outcome. The aim of this study was to perform perfusion CT imaging in the acute phase of mild head injury in patients without intracranial abnormalities on the noncontrast CT, to assess whether these patients had cerebral perfusion abnormalities. Furthermore, the relation between perfusion CT parameters and severity of head injury and outcome was evaluated.
Improving efficiency and decreasing scanning time of sonographic examination of the shoulder by using a poster illustrating proper shoulder positioning to the patient

Patients often have difficulty performing the various movements required for ideal positioning to enable accurate sonographic (US) assessment of the shoulder; this may result from pain and or unclear oral instructions. We performed this study to ascertain whether the use of a poster depicting the positions required during the examination would decrease scanning time and hence improve the overall efficiency of shoulder US.
Political engagement and ICTs: Internet use in marginalized communities

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide a distinctive structure of opportunities with the potential to promote political engagement. However, concerns remain over unequal technological access in our society, as political resources available on the internet empower those with the resources and motivation to take advantage of them, leaving those who are disengaged farther behind. Hence, those who face digital inequalities are not only deprived of the benefits of the so‐called Information Society, they are also deprived of exercising their civic rights. To promote political engagement among the marginalized, we analyze different sociotechnical factors that may play a role in promoting their inclusion in future political activities. We employed a survey for marginalized communities to analyze a set of research questions relating to sociotechnical factors. We show that online content creation, digital freedom, and access to the mobile Internet may positively impact political engagement. The development of these factors may not only promote the inclusion of marginalized populations in future political events, but also help to build a more equal society where everyone's voice has a chance to be heard.
Mobile Home Security with GPRS

This paper presents research-in-progress on the development of a home security system for use on mobile devices. Mobile Home Security (MHS) is a system that uses the wireless high-speed technology GPRS. An effective system requires the delivery of good quality images and video to the mobile device. Existing wireless networks have low bandwidth and hence are not capable of providing this service. The introduction of GPRS offers a number of advantages including high bandwidth and low operational cost. Our research is investigating how effectively video and images can be captured and sent across a radio network. Results of this work will provide an awareness of the problems and we will provide guidelines for implementing a mobile security system. Further our research will provide insights into future bandwidth hungry video data applications, not only in wireless security applications but also in other related areas of mobile communication technologies.
Performance improvement in inverted organic solar cells by incorporating core-shell SiO2@Au plasmonic structures

Organic solar cells (OSCs) are very attractive as a clean and renewable energy technology owing to their advantages of low cost, abundant material sources, good flexibility, etc. Nevertheless, OSCs are faced with the contradictions between the optical and electrical properties. Their low absorption efficiency requires a thick active layer for efficient light harvesting, while the short carrier transport distance implies a thin active layer is necessary for efficient charge extraction. One way to solve this contradiction is to effectively enhance light absorption in the active layer without increasing the thickness. In this work, a core-shell structured plasmonic nanoparticles in the form of Au nanorod core coated with a SiO2 shell (in short of Au NR@SiO2) were introduced at the interface between the active and the cathode buffer layer of an inverted OSC based on PTB7:PC70BM active layer. By adjusting the concentration of the plasmonic nanoparticles of Au NRs@SiO2, we optimized the optoelectronic performances of OSCs. The results indicated when we spin-coated 1 pM Au NRs@SiO2 on top of the buffer layer, the device performances were optimized with the short circuit current increasing significantly while the open circuit voltage bearing negligible change. Overall, the power conversion efficiency of the OSC increases from 6.52% to 7.03%, corresponding to an enhancement of 8% as compared to that of the structurally identical control cell without Au NRs@SiO2. The performance improvement in inverted OSCs is mainly resulted from efficient light trapping effect of the core-shell plasmonic nanoparticles.
Fast power grid simulation

The decrease in feature size and added chip functionality in large sub-micron integrated circuits demand larger grids for power distribution. Since power grids are performance limiting factors [1, 2, 3], then their analysis is important in order to (1) predict the performance and (2) improve the performance if necessary. Thus, there is a clear need for new efficient, in terms of both execution time and memory, techniques for power grid analysis. This paper discusses the modeling of power grids and proposes a new PDE-like multigrid method for the simulation of power grids. The proposed method is very efficient and suitable for both DC and transient simulation of power grids.
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) – based, tunable passively Q switched thulium-fluoride fiber (TFF) laser

We demonstrated the tunable passively Q-switched Thulium-Flouride Fiber (TFF) laser based on exfoliated MoS 2 saturable absorber (SA). The generation of Q-switched pulses of the proposed experiment favors the tunable operation from 1460.0 nm to 1506.0 nm, with range of 46.0 nm. The achievable maximum repetition rate and maximum pulse energy in the experiment are 35.1 kHz and 63.2 nJ, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the first reported tunable passively Q-switched TFF laser using exfoliated MoS 2 as saturable absorber has been demonstrated.
Can nursing epistemology embrace p‐values?

The use of correlational probability values (p-values) as a means of evaluating evidence in nursing and health care has largely been accepted uncritically. There are reasons to be concerned about an uncritical adherence to the use of significance testing, which has been located in the natural science paradigm. p-values have served in hypothesis and statistical testing, such as in randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses to support what has been portrayed as the highest levels of evidence in the framework of evidence-based practice. Nursing has been minimally involved in the rich debate about the controversies of treating significance testing as evidentiary in the health and social sciences. In this paper, we join the dialogue by examining how and why this statistical mechanism has become entrenched as the gold standard for determining what constitutes legitimate scientific knowledge in the postpositivistic paradigm. We argue that nursing needs to critically reflect on the limitations associated with this tool of the evidence-based movement, given the complexities and contextual factors that are inherent to nursing epistemology. Such reflection will inform our thinking about what constitutes substantive knowledge for the nursing discipline.