Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of the informational spectrum methodology for rapid biological analysis of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV: prediction of potential receptor, natural reservoir, tropism and therapeutic/vaccine target

A novel coronavirus recently identified in Wuhan, China (SARS-CoV-2) has expanded the number of highly pathogenic coronaviruses affecting humans. The SARS-CoV-2 represents a potential epidemic or pandemic threat, which requires a quick response for preparedness against this infection. The present report uses the informational spectrum methodology to identify the possible origin and natural host of the new virus, as well as putative therapeutic and vaccine targets. The performed in silico analysis indicates that the newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and, to a lesser degree, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV. Moreover, the well-known SARS-CoV receptor (ACE2) might be a putative receptor for the novel virus as well. Actin protein was also suggested as a host factor that participates in cell entry and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2; therefore, drugs modulating biological activity of this protein (e.g. ibuprofen) were suggested as potential candidates for treatment of this viral infection. Additional results indicated that civets and poultry are potential candidates for the natural reservoir of the SARS-CoV-2, and that domain 288-330 of S1 protein from the SARS-CoV-2 represents promising therapeutic and/or vaccine target.
Theory for aerosol generation in laminar flow condensers

Generation of aerosols in laminar flow condensers is investigated theoretically. A model is developed for simultaneous heat and vapor mass transfer, aerosol nucleation, condensation, coagulation, thermophoresis, and diffusion representing the aerosol size distribution by a lognormal function throughout the process. The importance of the above physical phenomena and the effect of process parameters (reheater and boiler temperature, seed nuclei concentration) on product aerosol characteristics (average particle size and concentration, polydispersity, and yield) and condenser length are investigated. The effects of the classical Becker-Doering and the Lothe-Pound theories for homogeneous nucleation on product aerosol characteristics are examined. Nucleation and condensation are the controlling aerosol phenomena in production of aluminum sec butoxide and dibutylphthalate aerosols in laminar flow condensers. This theory is in good agreement with theoretical and experimental results in literature.
3D-Analysis of the Proximal Humeral Anatomy before and after Stemless Shoulder Arthroplasty—A Prospective Case Series Study

Background: Stemless shoulder arthroplasty (SSA) is used to anatomically reconstruct proximal humerus geometry and preserve proximal humerus bone stock. The current literature lacks 3D-analysis of pre- and postoperative proximal humeral anatomy after SSA. The aim of this study was to prospectively analyze the humeral head anatomy using a computer-assisted topography mapping technique after SSA in relation to the preoperative status and the contralateral (not affected) side. Methods: Twenty-nine patients (mean age: 63.5 ± 11.7 years) affected by primary shoulder osteoarthritis and treated with SSA were included. Preoperative and postoperative CT scans of the affected and contralateral sites were analyzed regarding joint geometry. Clinical outcome was assessed by Constant and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score shortly before and one year after surgery. Results: Clinical outcome improved significantly. No correlation between clinical outcome and the evaluated anatomical parameters was found. There was a significant decrease of the humeral head height (p < 0.01) and radius (p = 0.03) in the preoperative versus the postoperative joint geometry. The comparison to the contralateral site showed also a significant decrease of the humeral head height (p < 0.01). All other parameters showed no significant differences. Conclusion: Proximal humeral anatomy can be almost anatomically reconstructed by SSA. Solely the humeral head height differs significantly to the preoperative as well as contralateral morphology.
Inducing Ovulation with hCG Improves Fertility Outcomes of Co-Dominant Follicle Drainage to Avoid Twin Pregnancy in Dairy Cows

Simple Summary In dairy herds, twin pregnancies considerably compromise cow welfare, reducing their lifespan and leading to the increased use of antibiotics postpartum. In cows with follicles of pre-ovulatory size at insemination, twins can be avoided by puncturing and draining one follicle. In this report, we propose the use of a recently described manual method of follicular drainage without the need for ultrasound guidance and its association with treatment of the animal with human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), thus also increasing fertility compared to the use of Gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH). The manual follicular drainage technique is simple, takes less than 1 min, and can be performed by a clinical veterinarian. In this study, even during heat stress periods follicle drainage plus hCG treatment gave rise to nearly 50% of pregnancies relative to conception rates, compared to 29% observed in non-drained, non-treated control animals or 20% in animals drained and treated with GnRH. This approach is recommended for weekly reproductive program visits. Abstract Twin pregnancies are undesirable in dairy cattle as they dramatically compromise cow lifespan and, consequently, herd economy. Clinical problems in cows arise from the time of pregnancy diagnosis to pregnancy loss, abortion, or parturition. The drainage of co-dominant follicles in cows with two or more follicles at insemination prevents twin pregnancy. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of draining the smaller of two follicles through a simplified maneuver not requiring ultrasonography in cows in their third or more lactation, and then inducing ovulation immediately before artificial insemination (AI) with GnRH or human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Animals were monitored by ultrasound at AI and randomly assigned to the groups: follicular drainage and treatment with GnRH (Deph; n = 60), follicular drainage and treatment with hCG (hCG; n = 60), and non-drainage (ND; n = 60) as control cows. On the basis of odds ratios, cows treated with hCG were 2.1 times more likely to become pregnant than control animals. Our results reveal the efficacy of hCG treatment at AI in cows with two follicles of pre-ovulatory size subjected to a simple follicular drainage procedure.
Nucleosomal association and altered interactome underlie the mechanism of cataract caused by the R54C mutation of αA-crystallin

The small heat shock protein (sHSP), αA-crystallin, plays an important role in eye lens development. It has three distinct domains viz. the N-terminal domain, α-crystallin domain and the C-terminal extension. While the α-crystallin domain is conserved across the sHSP family, the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal extension are comparatively less conserved. Nevertheless, certain arginine residues in the N-terminal region of αA-crystallin are conserved across the sHSP family. Interestingly, most of the cataractcausing mutations in αA-crystallin occur in the conserved arginine residues. In order to understand the molecular basis of cataract caused by the R54C mutation in human αA-crystallin, we have compared the structure, chaperone activity, intracellular localization, effect on cell viability and “interactome” of wild-type and mutant αA-crystallin. Although R54CαA-crystallin exhibited slight changes in quaternary structure, its chaperone activity was comparable to that of the wild-type. When expressed in lens epithelial cells, R54CαA-crystallin triggered a stress-like response, resulting in nuclear translocation of αB-crystallin, disassembly of cytoskeletal elements and activation of Caspase 3, leading to apoptosis. Comparison of the “interactome” of the wild-type and mutant proteins revealed a striking increase in the interaction of the mutant protein with nucleosomal histones (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4). Using purified chromatin fractions, we show an increased association of R54CαA-crystallin with these nucleosomal histones, suggesting the potential role of the mutant in transcriptional modulation. Thus, the present study shows that alteration of “interactome” and its nucleosomal association, rather than loss of chaperone activity, is the molecular basis of cataract caused by the R54C mutation in αA-crystallin.
My life with Sydney, 1961–1971

Abstract During the 1961–1971 decade, Sydney Brenner made several significant contributions to molecular biology—showing that the genetic code is a triplet code; discovery of messenger RNA; colinearity of gene and protein; decoding of chain terminating codons; and then an important transition: the development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans into the model eucaryote genetic system that has permeated the whole of recent biology.
Characterization of the structure of modified clay by Raman spectroscopy

One of promising fillers for polymers, sodium montmorillonite modified by dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAB), has been studied by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It has been shown that an increase in the DODAB content enlarges the height of a clay interlayer space through filling the clay interlayer galleries with DODAB molecules. According to both Raman and DSC data, DODAB molecules grafted to the clay can be in three different phase states depending on the modifier content. At a low DODAB content, its molecules are separated and contain a significant amount of gauche-conformers in methylene chains. At a medium content, the DODAB molecules form clusters, and the amount of trans-conformers in the DODAB methylene chains considerably increases. At a high DODAB content, its molecules are straightened and form a 2D ordered structure with either hexagonal or triclinic symmetry.
Optical dephasing and vibronic relaxation in molecular mixed crystals: A picosecond photon echo and optical study of pentacene in naphthalene and p‐terphenyl

Picosecond photon echo and spectroscopic measurements have been used to establish that optical dephasing in the pure electronic and several vibronic transitions of pentacene in naphthalene is induced by pseudolocal phonon scattering in the ground and excited state. The frequency and low‐temperature lifetime of this local phonon are 18 cm−1 and 3.5 ps in the groundstate and 13.8 cm−1 and 11 ps in the excited state (vibron independent). The deuterium isotope effect on the local phonon frequency demonstrates its molecular character and suggests its assignment as an in‐plane librational mode. For the system pentacene in p‐terphenyl photon echo measurements indicate the existence of a librational mode of ? 30 cm−1 with a ? 1.5 ps lifetime. Line shift measurements on both mixed crystal systems further show that the observed temperature induced shift is due to a difference in quadratic electron–bandphonon coupling of the ground and excited state and crystal anharmonicity (thermal expansion). We further report for .
Trimethylornithine Membrane Lipids: Discovered in Planctomycetes and Identified in Diverse Environments

Intact polar membrane lipids (IPLs) are the building blocks of all cell membranes. There is a wide range of phosphorus-free IPL structures, including amino acid containing IPLs, that can be taxonomically specific. Trimethylornithine membrane lipids (TMOs) were discovered in northern wetland Planctomycete species that were isolated and described in the last decade. The trimethylated terminal nitrogen moiety of the ornithine amino acid in the TMO structure gives the lipid a charged polar head group, similar to certain phospholipids. Since their discovery, TMOs have been identified in various other recently described northern latitude Planctomycete species, and in diverse environments including tundra soil, a boreal eutrophic lake, meso-oligotrophic lakes, and hot springs. The majority of environments or enrichment cultures in which TMOs have been observed include predominately heterotrophic microbial communities involved in the degradation of recalcitrant material and/or low oxygen methanogenic conditions at primarily northern latitudes. Other ecosystems occupied with microbial communities that possess similar metabolic pathways, such as tropical peatlands or coastal salt marshes, may include TMO producing Planctomycetes as well, further allowing these lipids to potentially be used to understand microbial community responses to environmental change in a wide range of systems. The occurrence of TMOs in hot springs indicates that these unique lipids could have broad environmental distribution with different specialized functions. Opportunities also exist to investigate the application of TMOs in microbiome studies, including forensic necrobiomes. Further environmental and microbiome lipidomics research involving TMOs will help reveal the evolution, functions, and applications of these unique membrane lipids.
Engaging Underrepresented Communities in Health Research: Lessons Learned

Members of marginalized communities experience health disparities or inequities and are underrepresented in health research. Community engagement in research is a catalyst for researchers to address health disparities while prioritizing community needs and strengthening community capacity. There is limited knowledge on how to engage underrepresented communities throughout the research process, particularly on initiating a partnership and planning research with a community. The purpose of this reflection piece is to share individual cases of research engagement within four communities: immigrant postpartum women, rural residents engaged in farming, low literate and non-English speaking adults, and individuals with intellectual disabilities in the United States. In each case, we explain how we initiated partnerships with the communities, continued to integrate community feedback to guide research questions, and implemented tailored methodologies. Finally, we discuss commonalities and differences in approaches used, tailoring within, and lessons learned when working with these diverse, underrepresented communities during the research process.
Ultra-Small 2D PbS Nanoplatelets: Liquid-Phase Exfoliation and Emerging Applications for Photo-Electrochemical Photodetectors.

2D PbS nanoplatelets (NPLs) form an emerging class of photoactive materials and have been proposed as robust materials for high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, the main drawback of PbS NPLs is the large lateral size, which inhibits their further investigations and practical applications. In this work, ultra-small 2D PbS NPLs with uniform lateral size (11.2 ± 1.7 nm) and thickness (3.7 ± 0.9 nm, ≈6 layers) have been successfully fabricated by a facile liquid-phase exfoliation approach. Their transient optical response and photo-response behavior are evaluated by femtosecond-resolved transient absorption and photo-electrochemical (PEC) measurements. It is shown that the NPLs-based photodetectors (PDs) exhibit excellent photo-response performance from UV to the visible range, showing extremely high photo-responsivity (27.81 mA W-1 ) and remarkable detectivity (3.96 × 1010 Jones), which are figures of merit outperforming currently reported PEC-type PDs. The outstanding properties are further analyzed based on the results of first-principle calculations, including electronic band structure and free energies for the oxygen evolution reaction process. This work highlights promising applications of ultra-small 2D PbS NPLs with the potential for breakthrough developments also in other fields of optoelectronic devices.
Photochemical and thermal isomerizations of azobenzene-containing amphiphilic diblock copolymers in aqueous micellar aggregates and in film

Homopolymers of azobenzene methacrylates (azo) and their diblock copolymers with 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl metharylate (DMAEMA) were synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Polymers of cyano- and butoxy-substituted azobenzenes exhibited liquid crystalline textures. Water-soluble diblock copolymers could be obtained with a long DMAEMA block and a short azo block. These diblock copolymers self-assembled into polymeric micelles with core−shell structure in aqueous solutions. The rates of trans−cis photoisomerization were almost the same for the DMAEMA copolymers of 6-[4-phenylazo]phenoxy]hexyl methacrylate (PPHM), p(DMAEMA172-b-PPHM9), and 6-[4-(4-cyanophenylazo)phenoxy]hexyl methacrylate (CPHM), p(DMAEMA172-b-CPHM7), whereas slightly slower rates were observed for the copolymer of 6-[4-(4-butoxyphenylazo)phenoxy]hexyl methacrylate (BPHM), p(DMAEMA172-b-BPHM7), most likely due to steric hindrance presented by the bulky butoxy group. The rates in aqueous micellar solutions were only marginal.
Removal of Cadmium and Chromium by Mixture of Silver Nanoparticles and Nano-Fibrillated Cellulose Isolated from Waste Peels of Citrus Sinensis

Nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC) was extracted by a chemical method involving alkali and acid hydrolysis. The characterisation of the citrus sinensis fruit peel bran and nano-fibrillated cellulose was performed by XRD, FTIR, TEM, and FESEM. XRD confirmed the phase of NFC which showed monoclinic crystal with spherical to rod shape morphology with a size of 44–50 nm. The crystallinity index of treated NFC increased from 39% to 75%. FTIR showed the removal of lignin and hemicellulose from waste peels due to the alkaline treatment. Silver nanoparticles were also synthesised by utilizing extract of citrus sinensis skins as a reducing agent. Pharmaceutical effluent samples from an industrial area were tested by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Out of the four metals obtained, cadmium and chromium were remediated by silver nanoparticles with nano-fibrillated cellulose via simulated method in 100 mg/L metal-salt concentrations over a time period of 160 min. The highest removal efficiency was found for cadmium, i.e., 83%, by using silver and NFC together as adsorbents. The second highest was for chromium, i.e., 47%, but by using only NFC. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were well fitted for the sorption of Cd (II) and Cr (II) with suitable high R2 values during kinetic simulation. Thus, the isolation of NFC and synthesis of silver nanoparticles proved efficient for heavy metal sorption by the reuse of waste skins.
Monocytes in sarcoidosis are potent tumour necrosis factor producers and predict disease outcome

Background Pulmonary sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease characterised by granuloma formation and heterogeneous clinical outcome. Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine contributing to granuloma formation and high levels of TNF have been shown to associate with progressive disease. Mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) are potent producers of TNF and highly responsive to inflammation. In sarcoidosis, alveolar macrophages have been well studied. However, MNPs also include monocytes/monocyte-derived cells and dendritic cells, which are poorly studied in sarcoidosis, despite their central role in inflammation. Objective To determine the role of pulmonary monocyte-derived cells and dendritic cells during sarcoidosis. Methods We performed in-depth phenotypic, functional and transcriptomic analysis of MNP subsets from blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from 108 sarcoidosis patients and 30 healthy controls. We followed the clinical development of patients and assessed how the repertoire and function of MNP subsets at diagnosis correlated with 2-year disease outcome. Results Monocytes/monocyte-derived cells were increased in blood and BAL of sarcoidosis patients compared to healthy controls. Interestingly, high frequencies of blood intermediate monocytes at time of diagnosis associated with chronic disease development. RNA sequencing analysis showed highly inflammatory MNPs in BAL of sarcoidosis patients. Furthermore, frequencies of BAL monocytes/monocyte-derived cells producing TNF without exogenous stimulation at time of diagnosis increased in patients that were followed longitudinally. In contrast to alveolar macrophages, the frequency of TNF-producing BAL monocytes/monocyte-derived cells at time of diagnosis was highest in sarcoidosis patients that developed progressive disease. Conclusion Our data show that pulmonary monocytes/monocyte-derived cells are highly inflammatory and can be used as a predictor of disease outcome in sarcoidosis patients. Phenotypic, transcriptomic and functional mapping of blood and pulmonary mononuclear phagocytes in sarcoidosis patients found that frequency and function of pulmonary monocytes at time of diagnosis predict 2-year outcome in sarcoidosis https://bit.ly/2JX8fhr
Do you see what I mean?: Using mobile eye tracking to capture parent–child dynamics in the context of anxiety risk

Abstract Temperamental behavioral inhibition (BI) is a robust endophenotype for anxiety characterized by increased sensitivity to novelty. Controlling parenting can reinforce children's wariness by rewarding signs of distress. Fine-grained, dynamic measures are needed to better understand both how children perceive their parent's behaviors and the mechanisms supporting evident relations between parenting and socioemotional functioning. The current study examined dyadic attractor patterns (average mean durations) with state space grids, using children's attention patterns (captured via mobile eye tracking) and parental behavior (positive reinforcement, teaching, directives, intrusion), as functions of child BI and parent anxiety. Forty 5- to 7-year-old children and their primary caregivers completed a set of challenging puzzles, during which the child wore a head-mounted eye tracker. Child BI was positively correlated with proportion of parent's time spent teaching. Child age was negatively related, and parent anxiety level was positively related, to parent-focused/controlling parenting attractor strength. There was a significant interaction between parent anxiety level and child age predicting parent-focused/controlling parenting attractor strength. This study is a first step to examining the co-occurrence of parenting behavior and child attention in the context of child BI and parental anxiety levels.
The application of response surface methodology to the production of phenolic extracts of lemon grass, galangal, holy basil and rosemary

Summary The effects of independent variables (ethanol:water ratio, temperature and time) on the extraction yield and antioxidant properties of phenolic extracts from lemon grass, galangal, holy basil and rosemary were studied. The extraction solvent ratio of ethanol to water was found to have a significant (P < 0.05) influence on extraction yield, reducing power and total phenolic content, but not on the antioxidant activity of all herb and spice samples, while extraction temperature had only minor effects. Extraction time had a significant (P < 0.05) effect only on the reducing power of holy basil extracts. The optimum extraction conditions, i.e. extraction solvent ratio of ethanol to water, extraction temperature and extraction time for maximum total phenolic content, were 3:1 at 25 °C for 30 min for lemon grass, 3:1 at 75 °C for 90 min for galangal and holy basil and 3:1 at 75 °C for 30 min for rosemary.