Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular and cell biological aspects of Alzheimer's ß-amyloid precursor and related proteins

The cerebral cortex of Alzheimer and Down patients is characterized by the presence of protein deposits in neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic plaques and neuropil threads. Here, these structures were shown to contain COOH-terminally aberrant forms (+1 proteins) of â amyloid precursor protein and of ubiquitin-B. The +1 proteins were not found in young control patients, while the presence of ubiquitin-B+' in aged controls may have indicated early stages of neurodegeneration. The two species o f+1 proteins displayed cellular colocalization, suggesting a common origin, operating at the transcriptional level or by posttranscriptional editing of RNA. This type of transcript mutation is likely to be an important factor in the widely occurring non-familial early and late onset forms of Alzheimer's disease.
MICRO-SCALE METHOD FOR SEPARATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF ATENOLOL AND HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE BY SEQUENTIAL INJECTION CHROMATOGRAPHY

A microscale stopped-flow separation manifold, which is termed sequential injection chromatograph (SIC), was exploited for separating and quantifying atenolol and hydrochlorothiazide. A short C18 separation column (4.6 × 25 mm) with a monolithic structure was used to offer a rapid and sufficient separation. Microscale fiber optic spectrometric devices were coupled with the SIC manifold for UV detection at 220 nm. The proposed SIC method was optimized, validated, and applied to both formulations single and binary mixture. The mobile phase composition (MPC) was optimized using the 23 full-factorial design approach while other conditions were optimized using the univariate approach. The optimum MPC was 40 µmol/L phosphate:methanol:acetonitrile (85:7.5:7.5, v/v/v) at pH 3.0. Other optimum conditions were 40 µL/s for flow rate and 40 µL for sample volume. Satisfactory separation with a resolution of 1.6 and numbers of theoretical plates of more than 630 was achieved. The interesting features of the proposed SIC method are the microliter-scale of the consumed volume of mobile phase (3.50 mL) and high sample frequency (23 samples/hr).
Desulfotomaculum carboxydovorans as biocatalyst for synthesis gas purification

Anaerobic methanogenic sludges harbor moderately thermophilic bacteria capable of hydrogen formation from carbon monoxide (CO). Recently, our group isolated a moderately thermophilic, anaerobic, chemolithoheterotrophic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated as Desulfotomaculum carboxydivorans from an anaerobic sludge treating paper mill wastewater, capable of hydrogenogenic, i.e. hydrogen producing, growth on CO both in the presence and absence of sulfate. The isolate with (Topt = 55oC) grows with a generation time of 1.7 hours and is not inhibited by 200 kPa CO, producing equimolar amounts of H2 from CO. In the presence of sulfate the formed H2 is used for sulfate reduction. Therefore, D. carboxydivorans is interesting in both the biotechnological treatment of sulfate-rich inorganic wastewaters using synthesis gas as a cheap electron donor as well as in the purification of synthesis gas to a high purity hydrogen gas.
Application of a novel semiconductor catalyst, CT, in degradation of aromatic pollutants in wastewater: phenol and catechol

Water-soluble phenol and phenolic compounds were generally removed via advanced oxidation processes. A novel semiconductor catalyst, CT, was the first-time employed in the present study to degrade phenol and catechol. The phenolic compounds (initial concentration of 88 mg L−1) were completely mineralized by the CT catalytic nanoparticles (1%) within 15 days, under acidic condition and with the presence of mild UV radiation (15 w, the emitted wavelength is 254 nm and the light intensity <26 μw/cm2). Under the same reaction condition, 1% TiO2 (mixture of rutile and anatase, nanopowder, <100 nm) and H2O2 had lower removal efficiency (phenol: <42%; catechol: <60%), whereas the control (without addition of catalysts/H2O2) only showed <12% removal. The processes of phenol/catechol removal by CT followed pseudo-zero-order kinetics. The aromatic structures absorbed the UV energy and passed to an excited state, which the CT worked on. The pollutants were adsorbed on the CT's surface and oxidized via charge-transfer and hydroxyl radical generation by CT. Given low initial concentrations, a circumstance encountered in wastewater polishing, the current set-up should be an efficient and less energy- and chemical-consumptive treatment method.
A one-piece lateral flow impedimetric test strip for label-free clenbuterol detection

A one-piece lateral flow impedimetric test was developed for detection of clenbuterol hydrochloride, a restricted food additive. The immunochromatograph strip was sandwiched between microelectrodes patterned on a thin poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film. To demonstrate the label-free assay capability of the electrode/lateral flow impedimetric test, a polyaniline@graphene oxide (PANI@GO) nanocomposite was synthesized to functionalize the sensing electrode. The morphology, chemical functional group and electrochemical stability of the synthesized polyaniline/graphene oxide nanocomposite were characterized by field emission scan electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The fully assembled one-piece lateral flow impedimetric tests were successfully applied for detection of clenbuterol hydrochloride (CLH) with a working range of 0.12–58 ppb and a lower detection limit of 0.12 ppb, demonstrating a universal method to label-free, sensitive detection of small target molecules by a portable strip for applications in food safety.
Determination of Pure Neutron Radiolysis Yields for use in Chemical Modeling of Supercritical Water

This work has determined pure neutron radical yields at elevated temperature and pressure up to supercritical conditions using a reactor core radiation. The data will be necessary to provides realistic conditions for material corrosion experiments for the supercritical water reactor (SCWR) through water chemistry modeling. The work has been performed at the University of Wisconsin Nuclear Reactor using an apparatus designed to transport supercritical water near the reactor core. Low LET yield data used in the experiment was provided by a similar project at the Notre Dame Radiation Lab. Radicals formed by radiolysis were measured through chemical scavenging reactions. The aqueous electron was measured by two methods, a reaction with N2O to produce molecular nitrogen and a reaction with SF6 to produce fluoride ions. The hydrogen radical was measured through a reaction with ethanol-D6 (CD3CD2OD) to form HD. Molecular hydrogen was measured directly. Gaseous products were measured with a mass spectrometer and ions were measured with an ion selective electrode. Radiation energy deposition was calibrated for neutron and gamma radiation separately with a neutron activation analysis and a radiolysis experiment. Pure neutron yields were calculated by subtracting gamma contribution using the calibrated gamma energy deposition and yield results from work at the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory. Pure neutron yields have been experimentally determined for aqueous electrons from 25 to 400 C at 248 bar and for the hydrogen radical from 25 C to 350 C at 248 bar. Isothermal data has been acquired for the aqueous electron at 380 C and 400 C as a function of density. Molecular hydrogen yields were measured as a function of ii temperature and pressure, although there was evidence that chemical reactions with the walls of the water tubing were creating molecular hydrogen in addition to that formed through radiolysis. Critical hydrogen concentration behavior was investigated but a final result was not determined because a measurable oxygen yield was not seen at the outlet of the radiolysis loop.
Epitaxial lateral overgrowth of thick semipolar {11$ \bar 2 $2} GaN by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

A thick semipolar {11–22} GaN layer was grown on m -plane sapphire substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). We succeeded in using epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) with a striped SiO2 mask to suppress crack generation, improve the flatness, and reduce the dark spot density in the semipolar {11–22} GaN layer. The ELO was performed at a growth rate of over 100 µm/h, and it was found that ELO using a SiO2 mask could be used to achieve high-growth rate HVPE. Large hillocks were eliminated by using ELO. The dark spot density of the 2 mm {11–22} GaN layer grown by ELO was 2.7 × 107cm–2, which was one digit lower than that of a conventional GaN layer. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A one-step chemiluminescence immunoassay for 20 fluoroquinolone residues in fish and shrimp based on a single chain Fv–alkaline phosphatase fusion protein

A one-step generic chemiluminescence competitive direct enzyme immunoassay (CL-cdELISA) based on a single-chain variable fragment (scFv)–alkaline phosphatase (AP) fusion protein (CL-cdELISAscFv–AP) was developed. It was capable of detecting 20 targeted fluoroquinolones (FQs) in fish and shrimp matrices within 40 min below the maximum residue levels (MRLs). In the optimized generic assay, the scFv–AP fusion protein in combination with a norfloxacin–ovalbumin conjugate (NOR–OVA) showed 50% binding inhibition (IC50) at 0.15 ± 0.01 μg kg−1 for NOR in 0.01 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), indicating that it is seven times as sensitive as the corresponding competitive direct enzyme immunoassay (cdELISAscFv–AP), and the linear response range of the assay was extended from 0.04 to 1.08 μg kg−1. The limits of detection (LODs) of the assay for NOR were 0.017 μg kg−1 in shrimp and 0.018 μg kg−1 in fish, and the LODs inferred from the cross reactivity (CR) ranged from 0.013 μg kg−1 for ciprofloxacin (CIP) to 4.19 μg kg−1 for trovafloxacin (TRO); the recoveries of the three representative antibiotics norfloxacin, flumequine (FLU) and sarafloxacin (SAR) from spiked fish and shrimp samples varied from 72.50 to 118.50% and the mean coefficients of variation for the inter-assay and intra-assay were 6.4% and 9.2%, respectively. Further validation of CL-cdELISAscFv–AP with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) confirmed that the assay was a reliable screening tool for the detection of FQs in fish and shrimp.
Synthesis of a Gum rosin alcohol-poly(acrylamide) based adsorbent and its application in removal of malachite green dye from waste water

The present paper is focused on the synthesis of a green GrA-cl-poly(AAm) adsorbent using N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide and potassium persulphate as a crosslinker–initiator system. The synthesized adsorbent was found to remove 83% of the toxic malachite green dye from aqueous waste water. Kinetic studies of the adsorption of the dye on the adsorbent showed pseudo second order kinetics and was found to fit well with the Langmuir isotherm model.
Kinetic study of a cw optically pumped laser with metastable rare gas atoms produced in an electric discharge

An analytical model of a cw diode pumped laser that uses metastable rare gas atoms as the lasing species is developed, providing a method for quick assessment of a rare gas laser performance. Ar mixtures with He are analysed as examples of active media. Ar metastables are supposed to be produced in a glow discharge. Laser efficiency, gain and output power of this novel system are assessed as functions of Ar content, pressure, pump intensity and the system size along the direction of pumping radiation. Efficiency of metastables' excitation in a glow discharge is estimated solving Boltzmann equation. It was found that for efficient operation at 300 K optimal Ar content is of the order of 1% and the pressure is near atmospheric. Output power and specific discharge power increase with pump intensity essentially linearly, starting from 300 W cm−2. With pump intensity of 840 W cm−2 optical and total efficiency reach ∼60%, specific output power—500 W cm−3. At the same time, the discharge power density required to sustain sufficient metastables' number density amounts to 18 W cm−3 only.
Production and Evaluation of Breakfast Cereals from Blends of African Yam Bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa), Maize (Zea mays) and Defatted Coconut (Cocus nucifera)

Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals were produced from blends of African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) (AYB), maize (Zea mays) and defatted coconut cake, by roasting. Six samples of the breakfast cereals were obtained by mixing AYB and maize composite flour with graded levels of defatted coconut (100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50), sugar, salt, sorghum malt extract and water. The samples were roasted at 280C for 5 min and subjected to proximate, microbial and amino acid analyses using standard methods. The results revealed the following ranges of proximate parameters (%): protein (15.68–18.26), moisture (3.38–4.20), fat (1.84–2.02), crude fiber (6.70–9.08), carbohydrates (59.99–62.31), ash (5.29–7.36) and energy (326.63–339.47). Different levels of both essential and non-essential amino acids were detected, with aspartic acid, glutamic acid and proline having least values; while threosine, leucine and glycine had higher values. Bacteria and mould counts were 0.5 × 10–1.51 × 102 cfu/g and 0.0 × 10–0.6 × 10 cfu/g, while coliform was not detected. Practical Applications African yam bean is being increasingly consumed by diabetics, hypertensive and cardiovascular patients in some Nigerian communities. However, the processes involved in making it ready to eat are cumbersome and time consuming, thereby denying vulnerable groups instant consumption access. Therefore, it is of great industrial and commercial importance to develop the technology for its processing into ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, in combination with other local food materials, which will eliminate the associated drudgery and add value to the product. This work, therefore, has the potential to address the twin problems of energy malnutrition as well as food security. It will stimulate establishment of food industries for the production of breakfast cereals, creating marketing and employment opportunities.
Fabrication, swelling, and biological properties of surface-patterned hydrogels based on poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)

Hydrogels are networks of hydrophilic polymers which can retain large amounts of water. Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [poly(HEMA)] is a synthetic hydrogel well known for various biomedical applications due to excellent biocompatibility, high retention of water, and high mechanical and chemical stability, but, has limited applications in tissue engineering because of low cell-adhesion properties. Patterning surfaces of hydrogels with microscale features changes the surface properties and enables the regulation of functions of cultured cells. However, generating patterns of intricate microstructures onto the hydrogel surfaces remains challenging. In this work, arrays of micropillars were successfully patterned onto a hydrogel based on 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate by using soft lithography technique. The self-delamination of the hydrogel induced by swelling in solvents such as phosphate buffered saline, deionized water, 60% ethanol, and absolute ethanol facilitated the reproducible replication of the pattern. The swelling, mechanical properties, and structural parameters of the hydrogel were studied in detail. The biological properties of the hydrogel were evaluated using HeLa cells and human mesenchymal stem cells. It was revealed that the attachment of cells on the intrinsically non-adhesive hydrogel was enhanced by the micropillars. As well, the stem cells tend to form aggregates on the hydrogel and the size and number of cell aggregates can be tuned by changing the height of the micropillars. The fabricated material was not cytotoxic and did not inhibit the chondrogenic and adipogenic differentiation of stem cells at the composition used in synthesis.
Membrane Modules for Building Ventilation

Hollow fibre and flat sheet membranes with an interfacially polymerized coating of polyamide have a permeance for water vapour of about 0.16msec –1 . These membranes can serve as a basis for building ventilation which provides fresh air while recovering about 70% of the specific heat and 60% of the latent heat. Because these membranes are selective for water vapour, the air is exhausted with internal pollutants like carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and radon. The expense of the ventilator should be recovered in reduced heating costs in about three years.
Heat transfer and evaporation during single drop impingement onto a superheated wall

This thesis is aiming for the numerical simulation of the impingement process of a single droplet onto a wall which is superheated against the fluid's saturation temperature corresponding to the bulk pressure. The heat transfer during drop impingement is of particular importance in spray cooling which is a promising technology for the removal of high heat fluxes at a small temperature difference. While the hydrodynamics of an impinging droplet have been studied extensively in the past, the heat transfer to the droplet during the impingement process in the non-isothermal case is not yet fully understood, in particular if evaporation comes into play. Moreover, many studies on pool boiling heat transfer have demonstrated that the evaporation at the 3-phase contact line, where the solid, liquid, and gas phase meet, might contribute significantly to the overall heat transfer. Hence, it can be expected that a proper knowledge of the physical processes at the contact line might be crucial for the understanding of the entire process. However, up to now no attempt has been made to model the heat transfer of an impinging droplet just above the boiling point taking into account the microscale thermodynamic effects at the contact line. To shed light on the individual heat transfer processes involved in the overall process and to quantify their individual importance, a numerical simulation of the drop impingement is conducted within this thesis. Numerical simulations provide data on small length and time scales which cannot be resolved with available measurement techniques. The numerical model is based on the Volume of Fluid method to track the evolution of the droplet shape. Evaporation is accounted for at the surface of the droplet. Special attention is payed to the modeling of the evaporative heat transfer in the vicinity of the moving 3-phase contact line. The developed numerical model is validated with the help of highly resolved experimental data on single drop impingement. A good agreement of the model predictions to the measurements is achieved. At the same time the detailed information provided by the simulation are employed to identify the dominant phenomena governing the heat transfer during the entire impingement process. Moreover, the model is utilized to quantify the impact of the governing influence parameters. Thereby it is made use of the great advantage of numerical simulations that any parameter can be controlled individually without any additional effort. Even though the focus of this thesis is on single droplets, also the interaction of individual droplets during their impingement is addressed briefly.
Gluten Alleles and Predicted Dough Quality for Wheat Varieties Worldwide: A Great Resource—Free on the AACC International Website

The gluten composition of more than 8,500 wheat varieties is provided in two new databases on the AACC International website (www.aaccnet.org/initiatives/definitions/Pages/Gluten.aspx). The databases augment earlier versions (1–3) by providing a program to screen the large volume of data. For each variety, the program provides the gliadin composition, listed as alleles at the Gli-1 and Gli-2 loci; the high molecular weight subunits of glutenin (HMW-GS), as subunit numbers and alleles at the Glu-1 loci; the low molecular weight subunits of glutenin (LMW-GS), as alleles at the Glu-3 loci; the Payne Glu-1 scores for dough quality; and estimates of dough strength (as Rmax) and extensibility based on both HMW-GS and LMW-GS alleles.
Hyperbranched Poly(fluorenevinylene)s Obtained from Self-Polymerization of 2,4,7-Tris(bromomethyl)-9,9-dihexylfluorene

Hyperbranched poly(fluorenevinylene)s (HF0.04−HF0.17 and HF0.08-cap) were prepared from 2,4,7-tris(bromomethyl)-9,9-dihexylfluorene (A) by the Gilch reaction (the numbers represent monomer concentration in mmol/mL; cap: end-capped by benzyl bromide). The structural analysis of the hyperbranched products was obtained from their 1H NMR spectra, from which an almost linear relationship between degree of branching (DB) and monomer concentration has been correlated. The absorption peaks blue-shifts significantly from 430 nm for linear LF0.17-cap counterpart, which was prepared from 2,7-bis(bromomethyl)-9,9-dihexylfluorene (A′), to 372 nm for the hyperbranched poly(fluorenevinylene)s which degenerates further at higher degree of branching. However, the photoluminescence spectra of the HF films show peaks at ca. 467−468 nm, which is close to that of the LF0.17-cap film (473 nm), suggesting effective photoexcited energy transfer occurs between segments in the HF samples. The maximal luminance (2180 cd/m2) and max.
Top down versus bottom up protein characterization by tandem high- resolution mass spectrometry

Characterization of larger proteins by mass spectrometry (MS) is especially promising because the information complements that of classical techniques and can be obtained on as little as 10-17 mol of protein. Using MS to localize errors in the DNA-derived sequence or modifications (posttranslational, derivatized active sites, etc.) usually involves extensive proteolysis to yield peptides of <3 kDa, with separation and MS/MS to compare their sequences to those expected (the “bottom up” approach). In contrast, an alternative “top down” approach limits the dissociation (proteolysis or MS/MS) to yield larger products from which a small set of complementary peptides can be found whose masses sum to those of the molecule. Thus a disagreement with the predicted molecular mass can be localized to a fragment(s) without examining all others, with further dissociation of the fragments in the same way providing further localization. Using carbonic anhydrase (29 kDa) as an example, Fourier transform mass spectrometry .
A model of non-congruent laser ablation as a source of fractionation effects in LA-ICP-MS

A model for laser ablation under conditions which are typical for LA-ICP-MS (He or Ar atmosphere, fluences below 100 J cm−2) is proposed that identifies the melted and subsequently re-solidified portion of the heated sample as a possible source for element-specific fractionation. Based on the full 3-dimensional description of the heat conduction problem, the heating, melting and evaporation of a sample is analytically modelled. Incorporation of radial heat losses provides a more realistic picture of the achievable surface temperature. Owing to the division of the ablation zone into a congruently vaporized part with stoichiometric mass removal and a zone of non-stoichiometric evaporation, the portion that laser ablation contributes to the total fractionation in LA-ICP-MS can be identified. The model describes the fluence dependence of fractionation, explains the size-dependent chemical composition of the particles, and the influence of the atmosphere on laser sampling. The theoretical predictions are compared with literature data and a fairly good agreement is found, especially for dilute alloys. Based on the model, optimal conditions for laser sampling in relation to a specific sample can be identified.