Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preliminary geological study and physicochemical characteristics of talc of Boumnyebel (Centre-Cameroon)

Two talc schist occurrences were discovered in the Boumnyebel area, embedded in the Pan-African mica schist, at the junction between Archean, Eburnean and Neoproterozoic formations in Cameroon. They have been analysed by different techniques such as chemical analyses, XRD, DRIFTS, DTA and TG. The talc schist of the northern deposit contains talc (up to 95 wt %) with chlorite, goethite and lepidocrocite as minor minerals. The talc schist of the southern deposit has up to 88 % of talc and is speckled with dark green phenoblasts of amphiboles (coexisting prismatic tremolite and magnesio-riebeckite). Due to its high talc content, the amphibole-free talc schist is economically attractive. Chemical analyses show that most of the rocks consist of SiO2, MgO and Fe2O3, except the sample from the southern deposit that displays some amounts of Al2O3 and CaO. Among trace elements, Ni, Co and Cr are as high as in serpentinized peridotites, and suggest a protolith of ultrabasic nature. Chromium concentration in tremolite reaches 6178 ppm; most of the trace elements (Cd, Cr, Dy, Er, Eu, Ga, Gd, Ho, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Zr) are compatible with a tremolite lattice. The regional metamorphism yielded garnet micaschist nappes and thus belongs to the upper greenschist facies. Based on the high talc contents of the rocks and occasional coexisting tremolite and
Differential hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry analysis of protein–ligand interactions

Functional regulation of ligand-activated receptors is driven by alterations in the conformational dynamics of the protein upon ligand binding. Differential hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) coupled with mass spectrometry has emerged as a rapid and sensitive approach for characterization of perturbations in conformational dynamics of proteins following ligand binding. While this technique is sensitive to detecting ligand interactions and alterations in receptor dynamics, it also can provide important mechanistic insights into ligand regulation. For example, HDX has been used to determine a novel mechanism of ligand activation of the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ, perform detailed analyses of binding modes of ligands within the ligand-binding pocket of two estrogen receptor isoforms, providing insight into selectivity, and helped classify different types of estrogen receptor-α ligands by correlating their pharmacology with the way they interact with the receptor based solely on hierarchical clustering of receptor HDX signatures. Beyond small-molecule–receptor interactions, this technique has also been applied to study protein–protein complexes, such as mapping antibody–antigen interactions. In this article, we summarize the current state of the differential HDX approaches and the future outlook. We summarize how HDX analysis of protein–ligand interactions has had an impact on biology and drug discovery.
Age-Related Changes in Executive Inhibition of Emotional and Non-emotional Interference

To examine the development of inhibitory capacity of emotional and cognitive conflicting interference by conducting a pictorial emotional Stroop paradigm, 96 participants in four age groups (9 yr, 12 yr, 20-24 yr, 68-74 yr) were required to name the colors of filtered images consisting of a series of pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant pictures. All the pictures were chosen from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and rated by a pilot group of undergraduate students. Results indicated that development of emotional interference inhibitory function was more rapid than that of cognitive conflicting interference inhibitory function; as for the aging aspect, the findings support the contrary. The inhibition of the emotional and non-emotional interference dissociates in the developmental time course, which supply new data for the research on inhibition of location and identity. It is useful to distinguish these two types of inhibitory processes in the identity inhibition. And the related paradigm shows promise as a nonlexical, ecologically valid approach to evaluating the selective processing of emotional distracters.
Low-Dose Fluvoxamine as an Adjunct to Reduce Olanzapine Therapeutic Dose Requirements: A Prospective Dose-Adjusted Drug Interaction Strategy

Abstract: Despite the advances in antipsychotic pharmacotherapy over the past decade, many atypical antipsychotic agents are not readily accessible by patients with major psychosis or in developing countries where the acquisition costs may be prohibitive. Olanzapine is an efficacious and widely prescribed atypical antipsychotic agent. In theory, olanzapine therapeutic dose requirement may be reduced during concurrent treatment with inhibitors of drug metabolism. In vitro studies suggest that smoking-inducible cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2 contributes to formation of the metabolite 4′-N-desmethylolanzapine. The present prospective study tested the hypothesis that olanzapine steady-state doses can be significantly decreased by coadministration of a low subclinical dose of fluvoxamine, a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 1A2. The study design followed a targeted "at-risk" population approach with a focus on smokers who were likely to exhibit increased cytochrome P450 1A2 expression. Patients with stable psychotic illness (N = 10 men, all smokers) and receiving chronic olanzapine treatment were evaluated for steady-state plasma concentrations of olanzapine and 4′-N-desmethylolanzapine. Subsequently, olanzapine dose was reduced from 17.5 ± 4.2 mg/d (mean ± SD) to 13.0 ± 3.3 mg/d, and a nontherapeutic dose of fluvoxamine (25 mg/d, PO) was added to regimen. Patients were reevaluated at 2, 4, and 6 weeks during olanzapine-fluvoxamine cotreatment. There was no significant change in olanzapine plasma concentration, antipsychotic response, or metabolic indices (eg, serum glucose and lipids) after dose reduction in the presence of fluvoxamine (P > 0.05). 4′-N-desmethylolanzapine/olanzapine metabolic ratio decreased from 0.45 ± 0.20 at baseline to 0.25 ± 0.11 at week 6, suggesting inhibition of the cytochrome P450 1A2-mediated olanzapine 4′-N-demethylation by fluvoxamine (P < 0.05). In conclusion, this prospective pilot study suggests that a 26% reduction in olanzapine therapeutic dose requirement may be achieved by coadministration of a nontherapeutic oral dose of fluvoxamine.
Deletion of the CTG Expansion in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Reverses DMPK Aberrant Methylation in Human Embryonic Stem Cells but not Affected Myoblasts

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) results from a CTG repeat expansion in the 3’-UTR of DMPK. When the repeat extensively expands, this results in DMPK aberrant methylation, reduction in SIX5 transcription and the development of the congenital form of the disease. To explore whether hypermethylation could be reversed in DM1 embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and patient myoblasts, we monitored methylation levels following removal of the expanded repeat by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing. Excision of the repeat in undifferentiated hESCs (CTG2000) resets the locus by abolishing abnormal methylation and H3K9me3 enrichment, and rescues SIX5 transcription. In contrast, in affected myoblasts methylation levels remain unchanged following deletion of a large expansion (CTG2600). Altogether, this provides evidence for a transition from a reversible to an irreversible heterochromatin state by the DM1 mutation upon cell differentiation. These findings should be taken into account when considering gene correction in congenital DM1 and potentially other epigenetically regulated disorders.
[Expression of B7 molecules and TLR-9 on corneal epithelial cells infected with adenovirus: clinico-pathological implications in viral keratoconjunctivitis].

PURPOSE B7 molecules are a family of proteins that co-stimulate T cells during immune activation. Normally the corneal epithelial cells (CEC) do not express these molecules on their cell surface. Toll-like receptors play an important role in the innate immune response to invading pathogens and recently have been demonstrated to be expressed on mice cornea. The objective of this study was to determine whether adenoviral infection induces B7 molecules and TLR9 on human CEC. METHODS CEC were isolated from human corneas treated with dispase-II, and grown in the presence of supplemented hormonal epithelial medium until confluence. Then CEC were then infected with adenovirus 5 (Ad5) and cultured for different times. The CEC were then recovered and stained against human CD80, CD86, TLR-9 and cytokeratin. All cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS Ad5 infection of CEC induced the expression of B7 molecules and TLR-9 after 24 hours in culture, rising to maximum levels at 72 hours. B7 expression at 72 hours was as follows: CD80 expression on infected CEC was 62% (standard error [SE] 2.6) versus 3% (SE 1.2) on non-infected CEC (p<0.001); CD86 expression on infected CEC was 95% (SE 2.1) versus 5% (SE 1.2) on non-infected CEC (p<0.001). TLR-9 expression at 72 hours was 80% (SE 1.2) on infected CEC versus 5% (SE 1) on non-infected CEC (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Ad5 infection induced the expression of B7 molecules and TLR-9 on CEC.
Eco-bond graphs: an energy-based modeling framework for complex dynamic systems with a focus on sustainability and embodied energy flows

: This article presents a general methodology for modeling complex dynamic systems, focusing on sustainability properties that emerge from tracking energy flows. We adopt the embodied energy (e m ergy) concept that traces all energy transformations required for running a process. Energy can therefore be studied in terms of all energy previously invested up to the primary sources, and sustainability can be analyzed structurally. These ideas were implemented in the bond graph framework, a modeling paradigm where variables are explicitly checked for adherence to energy conservation principles. We introduced the new Ecological Bond Graphs (EcoBG) along with the EcoBondLib Modelica library. EcoBG represent systems in a three ‐ faceted fashion, describing dynamics at their mass, energy, and e m ergy facets. EcoBG offers a scalable formalism for the description of e m ergy dynamic equations (resolving some mathematical difficulties present in their original formulation) and new capabilities for detecting unsustainable phases not automatically discovered when using the e m ergy technique alone.
Biotechnological Production of Vitamins

Summary Vitamins are defined as essential micronutrients that are required in trace quantity and cannot be synthesized by mammals. Apart from their in vivo nutritional and physiological roles as growth factors for men, animals, plants and microorganisms, vitamins are now being increasingly introduced as food/feed additives, as medical-therapeutic agents, as health aids, and also as technical aids. Production of vitamins by chemical synthesis, or extraction from their known sources has serious disadvantages. This led to an increased interest in substituting these processes with biotechnological processes. For several of these compounds microbiological and algal processes exist, or are rapidly emerging. Different methods like media optimization, mutation and screening, genetic engineering and biocatalyst conversion have been used for improvement of the production of vitamins. The survey describes the current state of vitamin production by biotechnological processes and their significance, as compared to the existing chemical processes.
Comparative in vitro activities of MDL 473, rifampin, and ansamycin against Mycobacterium intracellulare

The susceptibilities of 20 clinical isolates of Mycobacterium intracellulare to rifampin, MDL 473, and ansamycin were determined by broth and agar dilution methods. Ansamycin was more active than MDL 473, which in turn was usually more active than rifampin by either method. The MICs for 90% of the strains tested by agar dilution were 1, 2, and 4 micrograms of ansamycin, MDL 473, and rifampin per ml, respectively.
Evaluation of methodologies for measurement of interstitial fluid pressure (Pi): physiological implications of recent Pi data.

As one of the determinants of net transcapillary filtration, filling of initial lymphatics and interstitial compliance, interstitial fluid pressure (Pi) is of great physiological interest. Several methods have been developed to measure Pi, all measuring the fluid equilibration pressure, i.e., the pressure in a saline-filled tube brought into contact with the interstitium. The methods designed to establish such contact may be characterized as acute and chronic. With acute methods, i.e., needle without infusion, wick catheters, WIN, and micropipettes, measurements are made within minutes to a few hours after insertion of the device. The chronic methods are various capsules (perforated, porous, or Teflon rings) implanted into the tissue 4 to 6 weeks before measurements. A general finding in previous studies from different laboratories and in different species have been that the chronic methods give more strongly negative (subatmospheric) Pi than the acute methods, and that the chronic methods give much greater pressure responses to changes in IFV. By direct comparison of acute and chronic methods in the same tissue and site, all give similar Pi in steady state conditions, while an acute over- and dehydration results in far more pronounced pressure changes recorded with chronic than with acute devices. It is proposed that these transient pressure differences recorded by acute vs. chronic methods result from different physical properties of the capsule lining compared with that of the surrounding skin, in addition to a possible osmometer effect of the capsule lining. Recent data show that such methodological problems have resulted in great variation in the estimation of compliance of the interstitium and have overemphasized the importance of Pi as an edema-preventing mechanism. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Genetic Dissection of Cytonuclear Epistasis in Line Crosses

Dissection of cytonuclear interactions is fundamentally important for understanding the genetic architecture of complex traits. Here we propose a mating design based on reciprocal crosses and extend the existing QTL mapping method to evaluate the contribution of cytoplasm and QTL × cytoplasm interactions to the phenotypic variation. Efficiency of the design and method is demonstrated via simulated data.
PIVKA-II Is the Best Prognostic Predictor in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Radiofrequency Ablation Therapy

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the prognostic predictor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated clinical outcomes in a cohort of 179 Child-Pugh stage A cirrhotic patients who received curative RFA for naive HCC within Milan criteria. The median follow-up period was 40.5 months. Results: The cumulative survival rate was significantly lower in patients with prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) ≥100 mAU/ml compared with PIVKA-II <100 mAU/ml (58.0 vs. 84.0% at 5 years; p < 0.001). The cumulative recurrence-free survival rates were significantly lower in patients with PIVKA-II ≥100 mAU/ml compared with PIVKA-II <100 mAU/ml (12.1 vs. 16.9% at 5 years; p < 0.032). The cumulative rate of maintaining period within Milan criteria was significantly lower in patients with PIVKA-II ≥100 mAU/ml compared with PIVKA-II <100 mAU/ml (34.1 vs. 55.6% at 5 years; p < 0.001). Cox regression analysis showed that low serum albumin (<3.5 g/dl; p = 0.002, RR 3.75, CI 1.64–8.56), a high level of PIVKA-II (≥100 mAU/ml; p = 0.04, RR 3.15, CI 1.45–6.87), and multiple nodules (p = 0.021, RR 2.61, CI 1.15–5.91) were independently significant mortality risk factors. Conclusion: In patients with Child-Pugh stage A HCC, the PIVKA-II level is the best prognostic predictor after curative RFA.
The role of dissolved organic matter release in the productivity of the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean

Based on a long‐term set of observations and measurements at a station in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean, it now appears that contemporaneous rates of primary production in low‐nutrient open ocean regions and perhaps in the ocean as a whole may be greater than had been considered in field studies conducted in previous decades. Data collected at the Hawaii Ocean Time‐Series (HOT) Station ALOHA from October 1988 to July 1997 indicate that daytime particulate organic carbon (POC) production, based on 12‐h 14C in situ incubations, averages 472 mg C m−2 d−1 (SD = 125 mg C m−2 d−1; n = 70). This carbon production rate is two‐ to three‐fold greater than most of the pre‐1980 estimates. We present evidence that particulate production rates may have been overestimated by up to 30% as a result of 14C‐labeled dissolved organic carbon (14C‐DOC) adsorption onto glass fiber filters. More importantly, when one considers the 14C‐DOC that is produced but not adsorbed onto the filters, gross primary production rates (14C‐POC plus 14C‐DOC) in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean may approach 1 g C m−2 d−1. We hypothesize that the large flux of 14C‐DOC may be a manifestation of decade‐scale habitat changes resulting from variations in climate. The balance between POC and DOC production will ultimately influence the structure of the food web, especially the interactions of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacterial populations, and the mechanisms and rates of carbon sequestration by the biological pump.
Anomeric structure of globoside and ceramide grihexoside of human erythrocytes and hamster fibroblasts.

Abstract The terminal galactosyl residue of ceramide trihexoside of human erythrocytes and BHK fibroblasts and that of the ceramide trihexoside derived from "globoside" of human erythrocytes were hydrolyzed and totally converted to ceramide lactoside by an α-galactosidase isolated from fig. The enzyme showed a strict substrate specificity for α-galactosides and was completely freed from β-galactosidase activity. With the sequential application of glycosidases, the carbohydrate sequence and anomeric linkages of glycosphingolipids have been simultaneously determined. The presence of α-anomeric (equatorial) proton in these glycolipids was supported by a doublet at δ 4.6 ppm (J = 2 Hz) in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of a trimethylsilyl derivative and by an absorption at 850 cm-1 in the infrared spectra. From these results and the results of methylation study, the structures of ceramide trihexoside and of globoside were determined, respectively, galactopyranosyl-α-(1 → 4)-galactopyranosyl-β-(1 → 4)glucopyranosyl-(1 → 1)ceramide, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-galactopyranosyl-β-(1 → 3)galactopyranosyl-α-(1 → 4)galactopyranosyl-β-(1 → 4)glucopyranosyl(1 → 1)ceramide.
Plug-and-Play Nonlinear Droop Construction Scheme to Optimize Islanded Microgrid Operations

The operating cost of islanded microgrids (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{\mu G}}$</tex-math> </inline-formula>s) can be minimized by performing an optimal power sharing among the distributed generators ( <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{DG}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>s). In this study, a plug-and-play optimization scheme (PPOS) for developing nonlinear droop relations is proposed to achieve an optimal power sharing among <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{DG}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>s in islanded <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{\mu G}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>s. The PPOS constructs optimal nonlinear relations for each <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{DG}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, which are used as nonlinear droop curves that adjusts the output power of the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{DG}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>s subsequent to any load variation to minimize the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{\mu G}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> operating cost effectively. The construction of nonlinear droop relations in the PPOS is performed individually for each DG by optimizing each one against hypothetical <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{DG}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>s. This approach provides an indirect optimization among different <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathbf{DG}}$</tex-math> </inline-formula>s in the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu G$</tex-math></inline-formula> network and ensures an operating cost minimization irrespective of the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{\mu G\;}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> topology. An islanded <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{\mu G}}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> topology has been developed and simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and the performance of the nonlinear droop control. An experimental study has also been conducted on a <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{\mu G\;}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> test bed to prove the effectiveness of the nonlinear power sharing and to verify the performance of the nonlinear droop control in the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm{\mu G\;}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> operating cost minimization.
Perceptual Identification Thresholds for 150 Fragmented Pictures from the Snodgrass and Vanderwart Picture Set

This paper reports perceptual identification thresholds for 150 pictures from the 1980 Snodgrass and Vanderwart picture set. These pictures were fragmented and presented on the Apple Macintosh microcomputer in a picture-fragment completion task in which identification thresholds were obtained at three phases of learning: Train (initial presentation), New (initial presentation after training on a different set), and Old (repeated presentation of the Train set). Pictures were divided into five sets of two subsets of 15 pictures each, which served alternately as the Train and New sets. A total of 100 subjects participated in the task, with 10 subjects assigned to each subset. Individual thresholds for each picture at each phase of learning are presented, along with the fragmented pictures identified by 35% of the subjects across the Train and New learning phases. This set of fragmented pictures is provided for use in experiments in which a single level of fragmented image is presented for identification after a priming phase. Correlations between the Snodgrass and Vanderwart norms and identification thresholds at the three phases of learning are also reported.
ACTIVE FILTERS IN HVDC TRANSMISSIONS

This paper aims to give a description of active filters, with a brief discussion on topologies, main components and control principles followed by a review on achieved performance and operational experience in the above projects. Finally, the paper concludes with future expectations for active dc filters. In addition the paper gives a brief discussion on active ac filters and continuously tuned filters for HVDC schemes.
Research of Performance of Distributed Platforms Based on Clustering Algorithm

With the deep development and application of Internet technology, data need to be processed more and more, when dealing with large amounts of data. Spark is a versatile high-performance and parallel computing framework, which can be applied to data mining. This paper is based on the parallelization of platforms’ K-means algorithm, by building a YARN cluster environment and making experiments to analyze performance of two distributed platforms, and finally find out that the match of Spark and YARN shows more effective on clustering results and consumes less time on the execution of programs, so it’s more suitable for cluster analysis of big data.