Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Miniimonas sp. S16 isolated from activated sludge

*For correspondence. (H. Kim) E-mail: hikim@vitabio.net; Tel. : +82-42-864-4647; Fax: +82-42-864-4645 / (S.J. Park) E-mail: sjpark@jejunu.ac. kr; Tel. : +82-64-753-3524; Fax: +82-64-756-3541 The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain S16 is MF457652. Biological factors (e.g. microorganism activity) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) play essential roles for degradation and/or removal of organic matters. In this study, to understand the microbial functional roles in WWTP, we tried to isolate and characterize a bacterial strain from activated sludge sample. Strain S16 was isolated from the activated sludge of a municipal WWTP in Daejeon metropolitan city, the Republic of Korea. The cells were a Gram-stain-positive, non-motile, facultative anaerobe, and rod-shaped. Strain S16 grew at a temperature of 15~40°C (optimum, 30°C), with 0~9.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 1.0~2.0%), and at pH 5.5~9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0~7.5). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain S16 was most closely related to the unique species Miniimonas arenae NBRC 106267 T (99.79%, 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) of the genus Miniimonas. The cell wall contained alanine, glutamic acid, serine, and ornithine. Although the isolation source of the type strain NBRC 106267 T which considered as a marine microorganism is sea sand, that of strain S16 is terrestrial environment. It might raise an ecological question for habitat transition. Therefore, comparative genome analysis will be valuable investigation for shedding light on their potential metabolic traits and genomic streamlining.
Tunable upconversion emission in NaLuF4–glass-ceramic fibers doped with Er3+ and Yb3+

Novel glass-ceramic optical fibers containing NaLuF4 nanocrystals doped with 0.5ErF3 and 2YbF3 (mol%) have been prepared by the rod-in-tube method and controlled crystallization. NaLuF4 nanocrystals with a size around 20 nm are obtained after heat treatment at 600 °C. Intense upconverted green and red emissions due to (2H11/2, 4S3/2) → 4I15/2 and 4F9/2 → 4I15/2 transitions, respectively, together with a blue emission due to 2H9/2 → 4I15/2 transition have been observed under excitation at 980 nm. The intensity of the green and red upconversion bands shows a nearly linear dependence on the excitation power which can be explained by saturation effects in the intermediate energy states and proves that a sensitized energy transfer upconversion process is responsible for the population of the emitting levels of Er3+ ions. The upconversion emission color changes from yellow to green by increasing the excitation power density which allows to manipulate the color output of the Er3+ emission in the glass-ceramic fibers. The tunable emission color is easily detected with the naked eye. This interesting characteristic makes these glass-ceramic fibers promising materials for photonic applications.
Characterization of Nano-Fe2O3-Stabilized Polymer-Free Foam Fracturing Fluids for Unconventional Gas Reservoirs

The present investigation is aimed at formulating a stable foam for fracturing of unconventional reservoirs through selective application of various combinations of nanoparticles and surfactants. Ferric oxide nanoparticles are proposed for the first time to enhance the thermal stability of the foam fluid for hydraulic fracturing. Addition of ferric oxide nanoparticles up to a concentration of 0.5 wt % as a foam stabilizer to the mixture of surfactants (SDBS and CAPB) improved the foam rheology and enhanced thermal stability to 52% at 80 °C. A morphological study of foam bubbles through confocal laser scanning and microscopic analyses validated the experimental results in improved stability and reduction in film drainage time through adsorption of nanoparticles on the bubble interfaces. In addition, nanostabilized foam bubbles showed enhanced viscosity and a satisfactory proppant settling velocity. Consequently, these above favorable outcomes help in improving proppant suspension capacity and efficient pro.
Correlation between Fourier-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Parameters and HbA1c Level and Diabetes Duration in Early Stage Diabetic Retinopathy

We examined a significant correlation between Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) parameters and the glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and duration of diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients at the early stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Thirty eyes of 30 patients with early stage DR that were examined at the Chiba University Hospital were studied. The macular map 5 (MM5), the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, and the ganglion cell complex thickness were obtained by FD-OCT. The coefficients of correlation between these parameters and the HbA1c level and the DM duration were determined by Spearman rank correlation. The thickness of the inferior sector of the outer ring of the MM5 was significantly correlated with the HbA1c level. The superior sector and the temporal sector of the outer ring were significantly correlated with the DM duration. Our findings suggest that the significant positive correlation between the retinal thickness of the sectors in the outer ring and the HbA1c level and DM duration may be due to a subclinical increase of the vascular permeability. A swelling of Muller cells may have also contributed to the correlation because their density is known to be higher in the perifoveal area than the central area.
Manipulation of the dually thermoresponsive behavior of peptide‐based vesicles through modification of collagen‐like peptide domains

Abstract Materials that respond to temporally defined exogenous cues continue to be an active pursuit of research toward on‐demand nanoparticle drug delivery applications, and using one or more exogenous temperature stimuli could significantly expand the application of nanoparticle‐based drug delivery formulations under both hyperthermal and hypothermal conditions. Previously we have reported the development of a biocompatible and thermoresponsive elastin‐b‐collagen‐like polypeptide (ELP‐CLP) conjugate that is capable of self‐assembling into vesicles and encapsulating small molecule therapeutics that can be delivered at different rates via a single temperature stimulus. Herein we report the evaluation of multiple ELP‐CLP conjugates, demonstrating that the inverse transition temperature (T t) of the ELP‐CLPs can be manipulated by modifying the melting temperature (T m) of the CLP domain, and that the overall hydrophilicity of the ELP‐CLP conjugate also may alter the T t. Based on these design parameters, we demonstrate that the ELP‐CLP sequence (VPGFG)6‐(GPO)7GG can self‐assemble into stable vesicles at 25°C and dissociate at elevated temperatures by means of the unfolding of the CLP domain above its T m. We also demonstrate here for the first time the ability of this ELP‐CLP vesicle to dissociate via a hypothermic temperature stimulus by means of exploiting the inverse transition temperature (T t) phenomena found in ELPs. The development of design rules for manipulating the thermal properties of these bioconjugates will enable future modifications to either the ELP or CLP sequences to more finely tune the transitions of the conjugates for specific biomedical applications.
COMPARISON OF VITAMIN A, D & ZINC SERUM LEVELS BETWEEN CHILDREN WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTION AND CONTROL GROUP IN TWO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Background : Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infections in infants and children, especially in their first decade of life. These patients are more susceptible to renal scars and other possible complications like growth retardation, arterial hypertension, proteinuria, isostenuria, and finally chronic renal failure. Trace elements like vitamins and minerals are essential for efficient metabolism and proper function of various body systems namely immune system. In this trial we compared the relation between serum levels of zinc, vitamins A and D in children inflicted with UTI and control group. Methods : This was a cross-sectional study on 25 patients with UTI admitted to pediatric wards of Rasul Akram Hospital and Bahrami Hospital. They were compared to 40 other patients admitted in surgical wards for elective surgery. Serum levels of zinc, vitamins A and D were measured in both groups. Results : Seventy two percent of the patients were male and 28% female. The average age was 2.17 . Despite the lower levels of vitamins A and D in cases than controls, the difference was not significant ( P=0.4 and P=0.9 , respectively). However, serum levels of zinc were significantly lower in cases than controls (P<0.05). Conclusion: Vitamins A and D may play some role in patients’ vulnerability to UTI , but this supposition needs more research on larger samples, considering differences among patients of various age groups and their nutritional status. According to the study, lower levels of zinc were associated with susceptibility to UTI ; thence, its administration might be helpful. Abstract
TREATMENT OF METASTATIC COLORECTAL CANCER Review of recent advances

Colorectal cancer ranks second as a cause of cancer death in Canadian men and third in women. Unfortunately, metastatic disease—either present at diagnosis or recurring following resection—occurs in a significant proportion of patients. The last few years have seen important advances in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC), including introduction of regimens based on oxaliplatin, irinotecan, oral capecitabine, and the monoclonal antibodies cetuximab and bevacizumab. Here, Oncology Exchange reviews notable recent developments in the management of metastatic colorectal cancer, including chemotherapy as first-line, second-line and neoadjuvant treatment, and the integration of targeted therapies into existing regimens. Top-line summary TREATMENT OF METASTATIC COLORECTAL CANCER Review of recent advances
A Spoonful of Honey Helps Antibiotic Usage Go Down

Honey is a complex sweet food stuff with well-established antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. It has been used for millennia in a variety of applications, but those most noteworthy include treatment of surface wounds, burns and inflammation. A variety of substances in honey have been suggested as the key component to its antimicrobial potential; 30 polyphenolic compounds, hydrogen peroxide, methylglyoxal and bee-defensin 1. These 31 components vary greatly across honey samples due to botanical origin, geographical location 32 and the individual bee. The use of medical grade honey, Medihoney and Revamil, in the 33 treatment of surface wounds and burns has been seen to improve the healing process, reduce 34 healing time, reduce scarring and prevent microbial contamination. Therefore, medical grade 35 honeys should be used for these treatments and reduce the demand for antibiotic usage. In 36 this review, we outline the constituents of honey and how they affect the antibiotic potential 37 of honeys in a clinical setting.
Uterine artery embolisation for fibroid disease: Results of a 6 year study

SummaryUterine myomata are very common Failed treatment frequently leads to major surgery Therefore, non-invasive techniques, such as uterine artery embolisation (UAE) are of great interest and were first reported by Ravina et a1 to treat symptomatic myomata initially scheduled for surgery The objectives of this 6 year study were to evaluate UAE as the only treatment of myomata.Between 1991 and 1997, 184 women with symptomatic myomata were prospectively enrolled in the study Bilateral, particular UAE was performed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA, halon) under local anaesthesia and analgesia during a 24 h hospitalisation Women's ages ranged from 21 to 54 years (mean 41) Menorrhagia was present in 93% of cases, pain in 22%, enlarged uterus in 25% Myomata were interstitial (77%), subserous (16%) or submucous (7%) Multiple myomata were common (in 80%, ≥3 myomata) mean myomata diameter 58 mm 157 cases could be evaluated (19 were lost during follow-up and there were eight catheterisation failures) The mean duration.
Taking into Account Density Fluctuations in a Solvent in a Model of Dissolution

Earlier it was shown by different authors that there are cavities (vacancies, holes) in any liquid. The cavities should play a prominent role in dissolution processes. Nevertheless this fact was ignored in previous model of dissolution. The sizes of the cavities in different solvents containing benzene molecules were determined using solvent induced spectral shift method. The measurements of S1←S0 benzene transition spectral shifts permit to conclude that 1) macroscopic excess volumes play an almost negligible role in processes of benzene dissolution in very different solvents and 2) the minimal size of the cavity in water able to accommodate benzene molecule coincides with the solute size. Generalization of this conclusion to other nonpolar aromatics leads to evaluation contraction of the solutes under aqueous solvent influence permits to predict the solubility values of other aromatics in water and to evaluate effect of enhancement hydrate cell around these molecules on solubility.
Fundamental Study of Wax Deposition in Crude Oil Flows in a Pipeline via Interface-Resolved Numerical Simulations

This work presents a fundamental analysis of the mechanisms governing wax deposition and removal in crude oil transportation pipelines. We utilize a numerical framework where oil and deposit are treated as two immiscible phases, and the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method is adopted to resolve the unsteady dynamics of the free interface. Deposition is modeled locally at the oil–deposit interface via a chemical equilibria model, here adapted to the VOF method. Deposit ageing is included via a thixotropic rheological model. The results emphasize that the deposit pattern may appear as a uniform axisymmetric film covering the pipe wall or be completely stratified. Although different mechanisms of deposit mobilization may occur, the removal rates correlate well with the Reynolds number of the bulk flow and the viscosity of the deposit layer. The simulation data are used to benchmark closure laws for the velocity and temperature within the film, and a prediction method for the steady-state deposit thickness is proposed.
Incidence of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy among Nigerian women

This study investigates the incidence of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) and some factors associated with increased risk of suffering NVP. The results showed that an early menarcheal age, higher level of education, increased parity and age at menopause associated significantly (P<0.05) with NVP in one group but not in the other. An increased proportion of women born in wet season, having higher economic status, had an early child birth and carrying female foetuses reported having NVP. So also were variations in the ethnic report of NVP among the study population. This study also suggest a high prevalence (43.71%) of NVP among Nigerian women and an increased incidence over the years with women of Igbo origin having the highest incidence (53.91%) and Hausa's the least incidence (34.80%).
How Gaseous Environment Influences a Carbon Nanotube-Based Mechanical Resonator

Nanoscale mechanical resonator-based nanoelectromechanical systems have been reported with ultrahigh sensitivity, which are normally acquired from an ultravacuum environment at cryostat temperature. To facilitate their practical applications for gas sensing or bio-detection, it is critical to understand how the fluid (gas or liquid) environment will impact the resonance behaviors of the nanoresonator. This work reports a first-time comprehensive investigation on the influence of the N2 gaseous environment on the resonance properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based mechanical resonator, through a combination of grand canonical Monte Carlo and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown that the gaseous environment exerts a significant effect on the resonance properties of the CNT resonator through a dynamic desorption and readsorption process. Under the temperature of 100 K and the pressure of 1 bar, the displacement amplitude of the CNT resonator is found to experience a sharp reduction of abou.
GABA RECEPTORS AND PAIN REGULATION

Pain is an adaptive sensation that normally appears as a warning, activated in response to a damage of the organism. Pain serves to protect the organism to further tissue injuries. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defined pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (see definition on the IASP homepage at www.iasp-pain.org). Pain can be generally divided into two categories, acute and chronic pain: acute pain is properly a sudden warning pain which signals that something is wrong in the body. If the cause is not removed acute pain may develop in chronic pain, which is persistent and debilitating.
マイクロ・ベアチューブ熱交換器の最適設計(熱工学,内燃機関,動力など)

*原稿受付 2003年 2月 10日. *1非会員,日産自動車(株). (〒243-0126 神奈川県厚木市岡津古久 560-2). *2正員,東京大学大学院工学系研究科機械工学専攻. (〒1138656 東京都文京区本郷 7-3-1). E-mail: kasagi@thtlab.t. u-tokyo.ac. jp Micro bare-tube heat exchangers can accomplish high performance and compactness with their simple structure. In general, decreasing characteristic length leads to higher heat transfer area density at the expense of larger pressure drop. The trade-off has been so far optimized by trial and error. In the present study, simulated annealing (SA) is employed to optimize various design parameters of heat exchangers, which composes a multiple-variable highly nonlinear system. Although the heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop on the air-side make major contribution to the total heat resistence and pumping power, empirical correlations of flow around tube bank can not predict them accurately in the low Reynolds number range, which is characteristic of compact heat exchangers. Hence, we make a series of numerical simulation for heat transfer and pressure drop of flow in the tube bank at various tube spacings and Reynolds numbers, and correlation functions are developed using an artificial neural network. Finally, optimum design is made for three types of micro bare-tube heat exchangers, i.e., heater core and radiator for automobiles, electronic equipement cooling system, and recuperator for micro gas turbine.
Effect of DMPA on IL-1 Alpha in Serum of Women with Endometrioma

AbstractObjective: The aim of this paper was to study effect of DMPA on serum IL-1α in women with endometrioma undergoing the conservative surgery.Material and methods: A randomized clinical trial was performed in thirty-five women with endometrioma who underwent conservative surgery inReproductive Endocrinology and Laparoscopy clinic in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital.These patients were randomly assigned to one of the following treatment: group A surgery and postoperative treatment with DMPA 150 mg intramuscular or group B surgery alone.Results: There were no statistically significant difference in IL-1α serum level in both groups at 2 weeks or 12 weeks after surgery (P value 0.23, 1.00 respectively). There were no statistically significant difference in IL-1α level at pre and postoperation with or without DMPA postoperative treatment (P value 0.06, 0.06, 0.86 respectively). Pain score of both group were significantly decreased at 2 weeks and 12 weeks after surgery (P value < 0.001). We found less pain score in DMPA group and the difference were statistically significant at 12 weeks after surgery (P value 0.01). Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that no significant change of IL-1α serum level in women with endometrioma before and after surgery, with or without postoperative treatment with DMPA. We found decreasing of pain score in both group after surgery and less pain score in DMPA group. Key words: endometriosis, endometrioma, conservative surgery, IL-1α , DMPA
TNF-? and G-CSF induce CD62L and CD106 expressions on rat bone marrow-derived MSCs

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that CD62L and CD106 are positively expressed on the surface of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). It has been reported that both receptors can be induced by tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-? ), granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on leucocytes. However, whether these stimulations induce CD62L and CD106 expressions on MSCs is still unknown. Thus, in the present study we investigated the effects of TNF-? , G-CSF and VEGF on CD62L and CD160 expressions on the surface of MSCs. Method: MSCs were isolated from rat bone marrows, and treated with different concentrations of TNF- ? (0.1, 1 and 10 ng/mL), G-CSF and VEGF (1, 10, and 100 ng/mL) for 12 and 24 hours respectively. Then the expressions of CD62L and CD106 on the surface of MSCs were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: Immunochemistry assay showed positive CD90 but negative CD45 in the MSCs. Flow cytometry analysis suggested that TNF-? and G-CSF could induce CD62L and CD106 expressions on the surface of MSCs in a dose-dependent manner, but not in a time-dependent manner. Further, all the concentrations of VEGF had no significant effect on the CD62L and CD106 expressions. Conclusion: CD62L and CD106 can be induced by TNF-? and G-CSF on the surface of MSCs, but not by VEGF. These findings can help improve BM-MSC migration capability and therapeutic efficiencies of MSC transplantation. Keywords: CD106, CD62L, G-CSF, mesenchymal stem cells, TNF-?