Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition in autoimmune pancreatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background and study aims There is limited evidence on the diagnostic performance of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided tissue acquisition in autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP). The aim of this meta-analysis was to provide a pooled estimate of the diagnostic performance of EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and fine-needle biopsy (FNB) in patients with AIP. Patients and methods Computerized bibliographic search was performed through January 2020. Pooled effects were calculated using a random-effects model by means of DerSimonian and Laird test. Primary endpoint was diagnostic accuracy compared to clinical diagnostic criteria. Additional outcomes were definitive histopathology, pooled rates of adequate material for histological diagnosis, sample adequacy, mean number of needle passes. Diagnostic sensitivity and safety data were also analyzed. Results Fifteen studies with 631 patients were included, of which four were prospective series and one randomized trial. Overall diagnostic accuracy of EUS tissue acquisition was 54.7 % (95 % confidence interval, 40.9 %–68.4 %), with a clear superiority of FNB over FNA (63 %, 52.7 % to 73.4 % versus 45.7 %, 26.5 %–65 %; p < 0.001). FNB provided level 1 of histological diagnosis in 44.2 % of cases (30.8 %–57.5 %) as compared to 21.9 % (10 %–33.7 %) with FNA (P < 0.001). The rate of definitive histopathology of EUS tissue sampling was 20.7 % (12.9 %–28.5 %) and it was significantly higher with FNB (24.3 %, 11.8 %–36.8 %) as compared to FNA (14.7 %, 5.4 %–23.9 %; P < 0.001). Less than 1 % of subjects experienced post-procedural acute pancreatitis. Conclusion The results of this meta-analysis demonstrate that the diagnostic performance of EUS-guided tissue acquisition is modest in patients with AIP, with an improved performance of FNB compared to FNA.
Rapid Silylation of a Glass Surface: Choice of Reagent and Effect of Experimental Parameters on Hydrophobicity

The silylation of the surface of sodium borosilicate glass was investigated under conditions that might be applied to the fabrication of ion-selective microelectrodes of the liquid membrane type such as are used in physiology, Silylation was carried out for 15 min at different temperatures and with six different silanes. The hydrophobicity was measured and found to be greatest with reaction temperatures of 200–350°, the effectiveness of the different silylating agents being in the (increasing) order: trimethylchlorosilane, tributylchlorosilane, (dimethylamino)trimethylsilane, hexamethyldisilazane, dimethyldichlorosilane, bis(dimethylamino)dimethylsilane. The results give evidence of a catalytic effect of basic amine groups and show that the reactivity of the surface of freshly drawn glass is increased by acid leaching.
Aptamer-Based Lateral Flow Biosensor for Rapid Detection of Salivary Cortisol

We have developed a disposable point-of-care (POC) aptamer-based biosensor for the detection of salivary cortisol. Nonstressful and noninvasive sampling of saliva compared to that of blood makes saliva an attractive biological matrix in developing POC devices for biomarker monitoring. Aptamers are attractive as recognition elements for multiple reasons, including their specific chemical synthesis, high stability, lack of immunogenicity, and cell-free evolution. A duplex aptamer conjugated to the surface of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) by Au–S bonds is utilized as the sensor probe in a lateral flow assay (LFA) device. The addition of saliva samples containing cortisol makes the cortisol–aptamer undergo conformational changes and dissociate from the capture probe. Increasing cortisol concentration in the dispensed saliva sample results in increased dissociation and leads to increased binding of AuNP conjugate on the test line. Therefore, the color intensity of the test line on the LFA is a direct function of the concentration of cortisol in saliva. This simple and fast method provides detection in the cortisol range of ∼0.5–15 ng/mL, which is in the clinically accepted range for salivary cortisol. The limit of detection was 0.37 ng/mL, and the accuracy was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing results. High selectivity was observed for salivary cortisol against other closely related steroids and stress biomarkers present in saliva.
A Facile Microwave Assisted Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Activity of 5-Phenyl-1,3,4-Oxadiazole Derivatives for Chemotherapeutic Use

This paper deals with an efficient synthesis of some 2-amino-5-substituted phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazoles by using both conventional and microwave methods for chemotherapeutic use. The obtained results confirmed that, microwave assisted technique is efficient, eco-friendly, and inexpensive method which not only gives higher yield but also reduces the reaction time significantly. The structural elucidation of the prepared compounds was carried out by the aid of IR, 1 H NMR, UV-Vis and mass spectral analyses. Compounds S a -S f showed antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli , Serratia marcescens, Salmonella enterica and Proteus vulgaris (Gram-negative bacteria) and Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria) at low concentrations (10–1000 µg/mL).
Southern hemisphere ocean CO2 uptake: reconciling atmospheric and oceanic estimates

Using an atmospheric inversion model we investigate the southern hemisphere ocean CO2 uptake. From sensitivity studies that varied both the initial ocean flux distribution and the atmospheric data used in the inversion, our inversion predicted a total (ocean and land) uptake of 1.65–1.90 Gt C yr−1. We assess the consistency between the mean southern hemisphere ocean uptake predicted by an atmospheric inversion model for the 1991–1997 period and the T99 ocean flux estimate based on observed ΔpCO2 in Takahashi et al. (2002; Deep-Sea Res II, 49, 1601–1622). The inversion can not match the large 1.8 Gt C yr−1 southern extratropical (20–90°S) uptake of the T99 ocean flux estimate without producing either unreasonable land fluxes in the southern mid-latitudes or by increasing the mismatches between observed and simulated atmospheric CO2 data. The southern extratropical uptake is redistributed between the mid and high latitudes. Our results suggest that the T99 estimate of the Southern Ocean uptake south of 50°S is too large, and that the discrepancy reflects the inadequate representation of wintertime conditions in the T99 estimate.
Inorganic polyphosphate as an energy source in tumorigenesis

Cancer cells have high demands for energy to maintain their exceedingly proliferative growth. However, the mechanism of energy expenditure in cancer is not well understood. We hypothesize that cancer cells might utilize energy-rich inorganic polyphosphate (polyP), as energetic reserve. PolyP is comprised of orthophosphates linked by phosphoanhydride bonds, as in ATP. Here, we show that polyP is highly abundant in several types of cancer cells, including brain tumor-initiating cells (BTICs), i.e., stem-like cells derived from a mouse brain tumor model that we have previously described. The polymer is avidly consumed during starvation of the BTICs. Depletion of ATP by inhibiting glycolysis and mitochondrial ATP-synthase (OXPHOS) further decreases the levels of polyP and alters morphology of the cells. Moreover, enzymatic hydrolysis of the polymer impairs the viability of cancer cells and significantly deprives ATP stores. These results suggest that polyP might be utilized as a source of phosphate energy in cancer. While the role of polyP as an energy source is established for bacteria, this finding is the first demonstration that polyP may play a similar role in the metabolism of cancer cells.
Athermal models for diblock copolymer self-assembly

Recent work on coarse-grained representations of interacting homopolymers and diblock copolymers in solution is briefly reviewed. Long homopolymer chains are modelled as ‘ultrasoft colloids’, with the effective interaction between their centres of mass (CM) determined by averaging over polymer conformations for fixed CM–CM distances. Diblock copolymers are modelled as ‘ultrasoft dumbells’, with the CMs of the two strands tethered by an anharmonic intramolecular potential. Monte Carlo simulations of these coarse-grained models allow the self-assembly of model diblock copolymers into lamellar and micellar microphases to be investigated. We show that the onset of clustering of two athermal models of diblock copolymers can be predicted within the ‘reference interaction site model’ (RISM) integral equation theory for the pair structure, using the simple random phase closure assumption. This analytic formulation highlights the natural link between bulk phase separation of binary polymer mixtures and microphase separation of the corresponding diblock copolymer in the same selective solvent.
Influences of initial pH on performance and anodic microbes of fed‐batch microbial fuel cells

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effects of pH on performance and anodic microbes of MFCs (microbial fuel cells), double-chamber MFCs were fed-batch operated at four different values of initial pH (4, 5, 6, and 7) and the changes in anodic microbes (species and appearance) were studied. RESULTS: Lower voltage outputs (232–284 mV vs. 311–339 mV) and power generation (95–116 mW m−2 vs. 182–237 mW m−2) with faster COD removal were obtained under acidic pH conditions. Simplicispira, Variovorax, Comamonas, and Acinetobacter were the major communities under acidic conditions, while Chlorobi, Aquaspirillum, and Sphingomonas were in the majority under neutral conditions. Anodic biofilms cracked and reduced at pH ≤5. MFCs operated at pH 4 failed to recover optimal electricity generation when pH was readjusted to 7. There were significant correlations between the time-course pH changes (anodic and cathodic) and voltage outputs of the MFC under neutral conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Injured anodic microbes and biofilms may be the reason for decreased MFC performance under acidic conditions. pH ≤4 may cause long-term, even irreversible reduction to MFC performances. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry
STABILITY OF TRANSPARENT CONDUCTING OXIDE FILMS FOR USE AT HIGH TEMPERATURES

The stability of a number of transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films prepared by magnetron sputtering has been tested in various atmospheres at high temperatures up to 1000 °C: binary compounds such as ZnO, In2O3, and SnO2; ternary compounds such as Zn2In2O5, In4Sn3O12, GaInO3, ZnSnO3, and MgIn2O4; and multicomponent oxides composed of combinations of binary compounds or ternary compounds. With regard to the stability of the electrical properties, In2O3, ITO, SnO2, and SnO2:Sb films were stable in an Ar gas atmosphere at temperatures up to 900 °C. SnO2 and SnO2:Sb films were stable in air at temperatures up to 900 °C, and In2O3 and ITO were stable in air at temperatures up to 800 °C. Although the ZnO:Al film was stable in an Ar gas atmosphere at temperatures up to 600 °C, it was unstable in air at temperatures above 400 °C. The stability improved as the Sn content in Sn containing TCO films was increased, but it lessened as the Zn, Mg, and/or Ga contents were increased. In addition, the chemical stabilit.
Proposing a new fouling index in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) based on mechanistic fouling model

Membrane fouling is the most serious problem in membrane bioreactor (MBR) process, which is restricting the widespread application of MBRs in wastewater treatment processes. In recent years, several studies on the precise diagnosis and prediction of the membrane fouling have been carried out to obtain an efficient operation of MBRs. The aims of this study are 1) to predict the membrane fouling and to determine the chemical cleaning interval of membrane using traditional mechanistic fouling model; and 2) to propose the new fouling index based on the usually obtained traditional technique. As the traditional fouling technique use an exponential fouling model, however, this method has some shortcomings, such as inadequate comprehension of the fouling mechanism and steady state assumption. Therefore, in this study, the coefficient (κ) of the exponential fouling model is proposed as a new fouling index to overcome the inadequate understanding of the fouling mechanism and steady state assumption in traditional .
Spectroscopic Investigations of β-Amyloid Interactions with Propofol and L-Arginine

Beta amyloid (Aβ) aggregation has been characterized to be responsible for several amyloid diseases. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, fluorescence, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to investigate induced changes in the secondary structure of Aβ upon thermal denaturation and interaction with propofol and L-arginine. Spectral analysis has revealed an effective static quenching for the intrinsic fluorescence of Aβ by propofol and l-arginine with binding constants of 2.81 × 102 M-1 for Aβ-propofol and 0.37 × 102 M-1 for Aβ-L-arginine. Fourier self-deconvolution (FSD) technique has been used to evaluate the relative intensity changes in the spectra of the component bands in the amide I and amide II regions at different ligand’s concentration in the protein complex. The analysis showed a decrease in the intensities of the parallel beta bands of propofol and L-arginine interactions with Aβ, accompanied with an increase in the antiparallel bands for the Aβ-propofol interaction and a decrease for the Aβ-l-arginine interaction. The relative increase in peaks’ intensities at 1694 cm-1 and 1531 cm-1 for the propofol interaction is linked to the formation of oligomers in the protein.
Synthesis of highly chemiluminescent graphene oxide/silver nanoparticle nano-composites and their analytical applications

A fast, linker free, one step strategy for in situ preparation of graphene oxide/Ag nanoparticle (GO-AgNP) nano-composites was proposed by reducing AgNO3 with chemiluminescent reagent luminol in the presence of GO. The nano-composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis absorption spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that many Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) with an average diameter of about 22 nm were uniformly dispersed on the surface of GO nanosheets. Luminol molecules were also decorated on the surface of the nano-composites. Thus the nano-composites showed excellent chemiluminescence (CL) activity when reacting with H2O2. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of the as-prepared GO-AgNP nano-composites is proposed as follows: Ag+ adsorbs on the surface of GO via an electrostatic force and Ag+-π orbital interaction. Afterwards, they are in situ gradually reduced by luminol molecules to AgNPs on the surface of GO and some luminol molecules are attached on the surface of the nano-composites. Finally, it was found that glutathione could enhance the CL intensity between GO-AgNP nano-composites and hydrogen peroxide. On this basis, a sensitive and selective method for the detection of glutathione was developed. This method showed a detection limit of 25 μmol L−1 and a linear range from 30 to 1000 μmol L−1. The nano-composites may be attractive and advanced composite materials with great promise as advanced building blocks, CL labels, and platforms for various analytical devices with CL detection such as sensors, microchips and bioassays.
Role of Coke Characteristics in the Regeneration of a Catalyst for the MTG Process

The effect on combustion in air of the nature of the coke deposited in HZSM5 zeolites used in the MTG process has been studied. This coke is highly hydrogenated and unstable, and its H/C ratio decreases during combustion or when a previous thermal treatment is carried out. Coke H/C ratio greatly affects its reactivity during combustion; consequently, a severe thermal equilibration treatment is recommended for reproducibility of results. Combustion kinetics of equilibrated coke, when it is released from the catalyst, has been proven to be similar to that of the coke deposited on other catalysts for several processes. Lower coke reactivity for aging and combustion, on being deposited within the HZSM5 zeolite, must be attributed to air-coke contact restrictions due to the location of the coke, which partially impedes the flow of air into the crystals.
The heat capacity and glass transition of hyperquenched glassy water

Abstract The glass transition and heat capacity of hyperquenched glassy water have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry and by isothermal measurements from 103 K to a temperature where its crystallization to cubic ice is complete. Glassy water shows a thermally reversible glass-liquid transition and has a Tg, of 136 ± 1 K. The activation energy of structural relaxation in the transition range is ∼55kjmol−1 and is a reflection of the energy required to break two hydrogen bonds before a rotational-translational diffusion of a water molecule in the H-bonded network can occur. The temperature width of the transition is ∼12°, and the increase in the heat capacity is 1.6±0.1JK−1 mol−1. Liquid water formed on heating the glassy water to 146 K is more stable against crystallization than that which exists near 232 K. The hyperquenched glassy form of water can be thermodynamically continuous with liquid water, but whether or not it has the same structure as water above 273 K or supercooled water near t.
Estimation of the Length of the Oxymethylene Bridges Introduced into Cotton Cellulose by Formaldeh de and by Methylenedisulfuric Acid

The average values of n in cellulose-O(CH2O)n-cellulose, inter- and intramolecular bridges not differentiated, have been estimated in cotton fabrics treated by various methods. These values were obtained from n = 0.6 ÷ (1 - R), where R is the ratio of dry weight lost to formaldehyde lost, when formaldehyde was removed from the fabric by exposure to moist HCl vapor. The values estimated for n were 2.5, 2.4, 1.7, and 1.1 for Form W', Form D', Form V, and the alkaline methylenedisulfuric acid methods, respectively.
Talent is Overrated

I recently picked up the book, title="talent is overrated" href="http://www.amazon. com/Talent-Overrated-Separates-World-Class-Performers/dp/1591842948/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&qid=1315491554&sr=8-1"Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin and it’s one of those books that continues to occupy my thoughts several weeks after reading. The author’s argument, supported by numerous studies, is that there are very few instances of true giftedness or talent.
X-ray imaging investigation of periodically electroded rubidium titanyl arsenate, RbTiOAsO4, under an applied electric field

The behaviour of a (001) slice of initially single-domain rubidium titanyl arsenate (RbTiOAsO4, RTA) crystal, when prepared with a periodic Ag electrode of period 38 µm, as for periodic poling in nonlinear optics, is investigated for applied voltages of up to ±1.5 kV. The method of investigation is by synchrotron x-ray section topography with electric fields applied in situ, while under white-beam x-ray illumination at the ID19 topography beamline of the ESRF, Grenoble. An increasing expansion of the width of section topographs is observed with increasing voltage resulting from a corresponding bending of the lattice planes in the near-surface region, with angles ranging between 4–200 µrads. This behaviour is explained by the formation of a Schottky barrier, which results from a semiconductor–metal contact interaction between RTA and the Ag film, in the near-surface region beneath the high voltage electrode. This restricts the depth of the electric field to a near-surface depletion layer. The actual bending of the planes is by the electrostrictive strain that acts only in the depletion layer where the field is non-zero.
Size-Dependent Superparamagnetic Properties of Mn Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles Synthesized from Reverse Micelles

MnFe2O4 nanoparticles in a size range of 4−14 nm have been synthesized from water-in-toluene reverse micelles by using sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (NaDBS) as surfactant. The blocking temperature, saturation magnetization, and coercivity of the nanoparticles are clearly size-dependent. The blocking temperature increases from 20 to 250 K when the mean size of the nanoparticles increases from 4.4 to 13.5 nm. The coercivity at 20 K increases from 30 to 300 Oe with increasing nanoparticle size. The field-dependent magnetization hysteresis disappears above the blocking temperature. Due to high saturation field, the saturation magnetization of the nanoparticles has been obtained by the extrapolation of the magnetization vs 1/H plot to 1/H = 0. The saturation magnetization decreases with decreasing nanoparticle size. The high saturation field and the size-dependent saturation magnetization suggest the existence of a magnetically inactive layer on MnFe2O4 nanoparticles. The linear fitting of the saturation magn.
Linear and nonlinear intensity dependent refractive index of Hg1−xCdxTe

The index of refraction n is calculated as a function of frequency and mole fraction x for the ternary compound Hg1−xCdxTe in terms of known experimental parameters and compared with recent experimental results. The theoretical result for n is obtained from a quantum mechanical calculation of the dielectric constant of a compound semiconductor, which has been successfully applied to a number of III–V and II–VI binary, ternary, and quaternary compounds for which experimental data are available. The refractive index is calculated in terms of basic material parameters only, with no adjustable constants. These material parameters consist of band‐gap energy, effective electron mass, and effective heavy hole mass at the band edge, the lattice constant, the spin‐orbit splitting energy, and the carrier concentration for n‐type of p‐type materials. If these parameters are known as functions of mole fraction x and temperature, the refractive index is completely determined as a function of frequency below the fundam.
The continuous wavelet transform, an analysis tool for NMR spectroscopy

The discrete wavelet transform has been used in NMR spectroscopy by several authors. We show here that the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) is also an efficient tool in that context. After reviewing briefly the analysis of spectral lines with the CWT, we discuss two applications specific to NMR, namely the removal of a large unwanted line and the rephasing of a signal perturbed by eddy currents. More details on the CWT are given in two appendixes. (C) 1997 Academic Press.